S1: It's time for KPBS Midday Edition. On today's Arts and Culture show , we explore San Diego's drag scene ahead of the Pride Festival. Then we'll turn to summer movies and your weekend preview. I'm Jade Hindman. Here's to conversations that keep you informed , inspired , and make you think. Through the art and experience of drag.
S2: I think that most people need to experience drag , and I think that if someone is wanting to try it out , I think that they absolutely should.
S1: Then our film critics talk about the summer movies worth making a trip to the theater for , and hear about a local band and their record release in your weekend preview. That's ahead on Midday Edition. Pride week officially kicked off July 13th. This year actually marks the 50th anniversary of the first ever Pride March , and the fun continues this weekend with a huge two day festival. But part of that celebration will include drag performers from near and far. So today we want to dive into the current landscape of drag as they celebrate pride. I'm joined by Alexis Gabrielle , who is Miss San Diego Pride this year. Alexis , welcome.
S3: Good afternoon. Thank you for having me.
S1: So glad you're here. And Tootie Thomas , show director at lips , which is a drag show palace in San Diego. Lips is also very involved in this year's pride festivities. Tutti , welcome to you.
S4: Thank you so much.
S1: Also , Lolita Von Teese , performer with lips. Lolita. Welcome. Hi.
S2: Hi. Thank you.
S1: Well , you all look beautiful today , and I'm so glad you're here.
S4: Thank you.
S1: Well , I mean , I want to start by asking , how did you all first get your start in drag and tutti. I'll start with you on that one.
S4: Okay ? Actually , back in Hawaii , I started impersonating Cher there for some events and those kinds of things. But my first drag show was when I was in third grade. Um , I did a fourth grade. I did a drag show for all my classmates and the teachers , and of course people were like , wondering at that point. But , um , then , uh , you know , I had my own show called The Dames , and then one woman show , and then we opened lips. 25 years ago , we're celebrating our 25th anniversary. We opened on Fifth Avenue , and now we've moved to North Park on El Cajon Boulevard. I was a cigarette girl when I first moved here , and that made me very visible to the gay community and to nightlife culture , and it was a lot of fun. I employed six girls at that time , so it's always been a labor of love in in employing drag performers and drag personalities. It's just been great to do that , offer a little different career path.
S1: Yeah , well , congratulations on 25 years.
S3: I was in steppingstone. It's a recovery center , and we were stuck during Covid , and we needed to get outside of that space where we were feeling confined. So we did impromptu drag shows and got the residents out of their head. Everybody got their laughs in , and I have been since become the Princess Royal of San Diego. Um , the rain 50 , in 2022. And that allowed me to perform on stage for a bigger audience and do all the money for charity. Wow.
S1: Well , congratulations.
S3: Thank you as well.
S1:
S2: My sister had her bachelorette party at lips , and that was my first time experiencing it. Instantly fell in love. Uh , found out that they had an amateur contest , started doing that. And then about a year and a half later , I got offered a job there.
S1: All right. Yeah.
S2: Yeah.
S1: Well , congrats. Thank you. Tell me about your persona.
S2:
S1:
S2: I'm a rock star. I'm like , the moment , uh , I don't know , like , I love to dance. I love to give , like , theatrics and drama. And I really like choreography. I like intricate outfits.
S4: And Lolita is is really an incredible Lady Gaga impersonator. She has a fantastic TikTok thing that Lady Gaga actually has seen and liked. And so that's really like one of the shining things I think she's maybe a little shy about. Being.
S2: Being.
S4: Branded as that , but. But she is really amazing with that.
S1: Well , you're TikTok famous for it now , so maybe.
S2: Just a little. Bit.
S1: Bit.
S3: But when I get on stage , I just let my , I guess , wild side come through. So I like to do like Joan Jett , Blondie , Pete Burns and other like , R&B artists. So I , I feel like I can blend all of that together , put all of my energy somehow into the music. Right.
S1: Right. Well , in in 2D , I mean , the artistic expression.
S4: I mean , we can remake ourselves every night into a different character. I think that's the beauty of what working with Lolita , because we always see each other in a different way. I'm a comedian on stage really , as well as the show host is there , so I really keep the energy going. Um , but yeah , it's it's expression. And you'll see that this weekend at pride , there's going to be a flavor for everyone there. It's like the Baskin-Robbins of gay culture , you know.
S1: All right. Now , you know , drag has become closely connected with the queer community and identity , although not all drag performers are queer.
S4: Um , drag serves as a way to escape again , you know , and it's just a , a great thing and everybody really appreciates it.
S1:
S3: I believe , um , when people go to the drag shows , they are able to totally let loose and forget all of their problems and be in the present moment where the entertainer has captivated their eye and , you know , they just you just see them in , uh , freedom. You know , they may have office jobs , hold titles in the community , and to see them let loose is really amazing because that means , like , the entertainer has done what they've you know , they've done their job well.
S1: You know , do you share in that experience ? Yeah.
S2: I've been saying for a while that I believe that drag has a way of bringing people closer together. At Lipps alone , we have people from all different backgrounds , all different types of groups coming in together that will probably start off the night , maybe a little bit more quiet , but by the end of the night , everyone is talking , everyone is excited , and I also believe that it provides an escape for everyone. And I think that's what everyone needs every now and then.
S4: We just started this thing where we dance at the end of the show , and everybody gets up and dance together to Whitney Houston's I Want to Dance With Somebody amplified , though , and it is so much fun and everybody really enjoys it. They all step out. And how many times has it been that some guy has come in with his wife or girlfriend , doesn't even want to look at us. He , you know , is very , very affected by all of it. By the end of the night , he's like , can I get a hug ? I want a picture , you know ? So it's just a great way to melt all of those preconceived ideas and have fun. And that's this whole weekend is going to be like that. Okay.
S1: Okay. That's excellent. And , uh , Lolita , I mean , like we said , you're TikTok famous. Um , so , I mean , drag is big for a whole new generation because of shows like RuPaul's Drag Race pose. Can you talk more about that ? Absolutely.
S2: I love how present it is in current pop culture. I think that most people need to experience drag , and I think that if someone is wanting to try it out , I think that they absolutely should. Because for me at least , I found myself in a way that I never would have if I didn't have drag , because I didn't think of myself as a performer or an entertainer before I started doing it , I was too shy. I didn't think that I was able to , and then when I put everything on , I was like , oh , that's that's what's supposed to happen.
S4: You know , so much of our , our early years as kids being gay , you know , in a family structure and a church structure , whatever. You are constantly told , you're too flamboyant , you're too feminine , you're too this. But drag allows you to do that unbridled , you know , and so it really comes out. And I think this is interesting. Also , Alexis and I have never talked about this , but we're both in recovery. And I think that that also has taken off some of the shackles that we take on as kids and young adults. And so. Right.
S1: Right. Well , Alexis , tell me about that.
S3: Yeah , I used to see I'm from Dallas originally and Dallas , Texas , and I used to go to the clubs and see the , the dancers , the , um , the drag queens. And I used to think like , oh , my God , they must be super rich for all of their , you know , the diamonds and the everything. They make it really big. But like I said earlier , I'm not a seasoned as the ladies here , but I am in recovery and being on stage like I notice what the anxiety can be like. And sometimes I get in my head watching the other girls and they say , don't compare yourself to the other entertainers or whatever , because you bring something different. But , um , to do the the entertaining in a sober state of mind for me is like super empowering because of the fact that I have actually just tapped into my natural crazy side , and I've just let that spill out into into a crowd. And it's very amazing. It's actually that's been my most empowering moment in drag. Wow.
S1: Wow. And I mean , I guess it when now that you're in recovery , you can sort of feel the full spectrum of emotions. Absolutely that you have when when performing from remember them.
S4: Yeah , that's the other thing. You know , she mentioned that you're letting this spill out before. We were just spilling drinks , you know , now we are out there. I mean , I sat at a table with , um , Elton John and , uh , Alan Carr , who produced grease and passed out right there at the table. I mean , what a missed opportunity. I could have , you know , so.
S1: Oh my goodness. Well , that's that's excellent. I mean , like , from anxiety to the adrenaline rush. Yes.
S3: I feel when I came to San Diego , it opened a door as like , um , when I'm at 2D , I was working , like doing volunteer work for Take What You need at at a fair and 44. And we were giving out food. I noticed the people that were there were just ordinary people just like me , but then they had an alternate ego , like another person was in there. And then I noticed that they , you know , I realized that they were drag queens , and I was like , oh my God. And it totally like made me see people in a different way. And I've had lunch with Tootie , and I shared with her that like , people can turn pages in your book , like sometimes they just see the cover , but when they turn the pages in your book , there's more to that individual. As for 2D , she's got like a like her story goes on and on and on , but it lets you know , like an insight as to where their where their minds are , where their hearts lay. And it's just given me a different perspective as to what a drag queen can do and how they can affect people like in masses as as Lolita is going to do this weekend. Yeah.
S5: Yeah.
S1:
S6:
S2: Drag to someone who maybe doesn't get it , they're a little bit more apprehensive at first because they don't really understand it. And my whole thing is you don't need to understand it to enjoy it , because at the end of the day , we're not doing anyone harm. Uh , we're just trying to make everyone stay a little bit better. Like I said , provide a little bit of an escape. And I feel like if someone who didn't get it were to come to a drag show and just sit back and enjoy it , I think that they would feel differently afterwards.
S5:
S1: Alexis San Diego Pride Week it officially kicked off a few days ago. You're this year's miss Gay pride , as we mentioned.
S3: We have a recovery village area for people that are in recovery and those that have questions about recovery. Sometimes they the people that are that have been sober for several years or maybe months , attend pride , and then they may feel overwhelmed by what's going on around them. And we have created a safe space here at pride for those people and anyone that is wondering what we do to come in and get more knowledge about our services.
S1: Well , talk to me about why recovery is so necessary within the community. It's necessary for anybody , but there seems to be a focus on it for this , this year's pride.
S3: Speaking for my personal experience , I feel that I was judged quite a bit by my drinking in the past and misbehaving. I feel that with the fentanyl crisis and and all those things that have been going on within the last couple of years , it's rather scary to see people out on the street and to clean up our city and make these resources available to them. I feel , um , that's a wonderful thing to put in front and to let others know , like , hey , there is a way to recover and San Diego gives you that opportunity. The opportunities are there. I feel that San Diego opened a door to have me redesign myself and be accountable for myself , and have a way about myself. And they say , you know , pride. What is pride ? Well , pride to me is how I come out to the community on a daily basis. And with recovery , I just feel that it's just opening a door for people to to change the toxicity of even a relationship or alcohol and drug abuse. I just happen to be one of those people that have recovered from that. I have five years. And yeah , like right now it's a little nervous because I'm like in my feeling and usually before , like I'd have a conversation like this morning instead of coffee , I would have had alcohol and probably a joint. But it's the choices that I make from from day 1 in 1921 2019. The decisions that I've made from 2019 to 2024 have molded me into a different person , and I never thought I'd have this experience to sit in a podcast to do things for the community. And sobriety has brought that to the table for me.
S7: I was gonna say , you look.
S4: Good , girl. If you started in 1920 , Dan , Dang , you are still working them heels , girl.
S3: Well , San Diego has great doctors.
S1: Uh , well , I appreciate you sharing that , Lolita. I heard you've got a performance coming up on the main stage , so tell me about that. Yeah.
S2: Yeah. So , uh , this Sunday at 5 p.m. , I'll be performing on the main stage with the True Colors Revue , which is a group of me and a couple of my sister drag queens , and we've been working with some dancers who are part of it's called they the Healing Arts Embassy , and it's a collective of different people that come together to share their experiences , educate others , and heal. And so they're going to actually be all of our dancers during the show this year. And we've been rehearsing for a little over a month now. We've been working on outfits for weeks. Yeah. And it's really it's one of the highlights of my whole entire year , uh , getting on stage and looking out into the crowd and seeing actually over thousands of people that are all experiencing that same feeling and coming together because we don't all know each other , but in that moment , we're all feeling that same thing. And it's it's really empowering and it's nice and the.
S4: Outfits are crazy. And Lolita is a designer on top of it.
S2: I do a little bit of sewing. Yeah.
S8: Yeah.
S4: And the outfits are really amazing. So we always.
S2:
S1:
S4: When I ask at the beginning of a show at Lipps , how many people haven't been to a drag show before ? It's normally 15 or 20 people , you know , out of a room of 170. And when you ask how many people haven't been to lips , it is three quarters of the crowd have not been there. So it's just so like there's so much enthusiasm about it.
S5: All right.
S1: Well , I so appreciate you all. I've been speaking with Alexis , Miss San Diego Pride. Thank you.
S3: Thank you for having me.
S1: Also , Tootie Thomas , show director at lips 2D. Thank you , thank you. And the little Von Teese performer with lips Lolita. Thanks.
S9: Thanks.
S2: Thank you so much for having us.
S1: Still ahead , film critics Beth Accomando and Yazdi Pathak give us their take on summer movies.
S10: It's passable for summer entertainment , and if you just want to beat the heat in a nice , air conditioned theater and don't want to have to think too much about what you're watching , this is probably fine.
S1: Hear their take on twisters and more when KPBS Midday Edition returns. Welcome back. You're listening to KPBS Midday Edition. I'm Jade Hindman. It is summer movie season , so we are convening our midday movie critics to find out what's worth seeing in the cinemas and what we could just wait to come on streaming. Once again , I want to welcome KPBS , Cinema Junkie , Beth Accomando and movie Wallace podcaster Yazdi to Beth Yazdi. Welcome.
S11: Thank you , thank you.
S1: All right , so let's get started with a film that's opening this Friday , twisters. It stars Glen Powell and Daisy Edgar-Jones as rival Storm Chasers. Here's a clip where they try to explain the birth of a tornado.
S12: Flo is clean , pulling tons of warm , moist air from the south.
S13: And when that warm air moisture bust through the cap , it explodes in the atmosphere , creating an anvil. The vertical wind shear begins to rotate , the updraft , forming a mesocyclone.
S14: Here's the mystery.
S13: We don't know how a tornado forms. We see the hook on the radar.
S14: But what are all the invisible factors coming together ? Every little detail that has to be perfect.
S13: It's a mix of what we know and everything we can understand. It's part science , part religion.
S1:
S10: So the studio is calling it a standalone sequel in the same universe as twister , and the director , Lee Isaac Chung , is referring to it as a new science experiment in the same world. But essentially it is the same movie , just sort of revamped. It's kind of like a studio executive decided he didn't want to gamble on something brand new , but wanted to go with something safe , with a nostalgic vibe and decided to turn to twister. So essentially , it's a remake. It has all the same beats as the original film , but it brings in new technology and new characters. But what's kind of surprising to me is not only has weather technology changed , but movie technology has changed in like , the past 25 years. And yet the film is still sort of visually underwhelming to me , with the exception of one cool shot in a movie theater where the wind rips out the movie screen , most of it just doesn't quite capture the power and the allure that I think tornadoes have. And I never really felt what this passion these two characters had for tornadoes was. And even though there's some science in the film , the story does feel sort of dismissive about PhD's and educated people and kind of goes more with the hillbillies with a YouTube channel and sides with them. So it's passable for summer entertainment. And if you just want to beat the heat in a nice , air conditioned theater and don't want to have to think too much about what you're watching , this is probably fine. But unlike the original film , this film is not Paxton rated. And by that I mean there is no Bill Paxton here. So to me it comes up short.
S9: And disappoints. Me.
S1: Me. I was.
S9: Looking forward.
S1: To that one , especially as someone who grew up in the Midwest in Tornado Alley. You know , I mean , I was okay. All right. Well , Yazdi , I mean , you like the director's previous film , the indie hit Minari.
S15: It's silly , it's goofy , but I think as a simple barebones summer blockbuster , I think it delivers. And when you're , you know , rebooting an iconic film from the 90s , many things can go wrong. And for the most part , this movie kind of sticks its landing and doesn't falter so much. I just wish , like , bet that the movie had taken more risks. It had more of an edge and it had broken some rules. But the rules , they remain unbroken and you get somewhat broad strokes. Film making and also twisters continues in the relentless 2024 cinematic pursuit of trying to make Glen Powell happen.
S10: I got him totally confused with Dan Stevens. Yes.
S16: Yes.
S10: Similar square jawed white guys.
S1: It's the Hollywood thing , apparently.
S15: And I also think the movie misses on an opportunity to make an affectionate callback to the original. Come on , have at least one flying car.
UU: Another cow ? Actually , I think that was the same one.
S15: So instead we have everything else flying but a cow.
S1: Well , twisters is one of the summer's big releases , but we have a pair of indie films that are currently in cinema as well. Long legs opened last week. In. It centers on a woman who is an FBI agent stalking a serial killer. Let's take a listen to part of the trailer.
S17: I saw a beast rise up out of the sea with seven heads and ten horns. And on his horns he wore ten crowns. On each head was written a blasphemous name.
S18:
S19:
S20: I know you're not afraid of a little bit of dark.
UU: Because you are the dark.
S1: Well , this film is definitely playing up the Nic Cage factor.
S10: I mean , Nic Cage is always fun to watch , but Osgood Perkins , the director here , he has a good eye for creepy. And the film looks great. There is this eerie gloom that hangs over the entire movie , but it suffers from some of the same problems that plagues twisters. And that is what I call lazy filmmaking. So what he does here is he casts Nic Cage , he makes him look like some aging drag queen , and then he kind of just says , Nic , go do whatever you want , and doesn't seem to bother to write much background for his character or much dialogue or anything for him , and just is banking on the fact that Nic Cage being weird is enough to hold our attention. And it does , you know , for a certain amount of time , the film sort of rips off silence of the Lambs and Seven , but it never approaches the richness of either of those films. It feels more like it's all surface and a bit hollow. I will say I love the dolls. The dolls were incredibly creepy in this , but other than that , it kind of left me cold. And I never believed that this woman was an FBI agent. She was a little too weepy and emotional. Jodie Foster might have been vulnerable in silence of the lambs , but you never doubted her ability and her skill.
S1:
S10: And this one , I really wanted it to be better. And like I said , it has great craft to it , but it's just a little empty.
S1: Well , yeah.
S15: It was coming on the wings of claims that it's the scariest movie of the year , that it is not , uh.
S11:
S15: But but like Beth mentioned , it does maintain , at least through the first half , a genuinely creepy tone. It's beautifully shot. There are these long , long takes and I was keeping a count. There is no light or sunlight through the entire movie , right ? It's all Even scenes during the day are kind of all cloudy and muddled. So , you know , it really has a good , good feel for the visual in terms of how to scare you. But ultimately , the plot kind of didn't work for me. It just goes through that checklist of horror movie staples. There are dark stairwells and maggots and a psychotic bad guy creepy dolls , as Beth said. And the only thing missing , I think , was an evil clown. But wait a minute. Maybe Nicolas Cage. Maybe Nicolas Cage takes care of that too. So the plot is a little bit contrived , and the final explanation was unsatisfying to me. And I do agree with Beth that , you know , the lead in this movie is no Jodie Foster from silence of the lambs. But overall , I think if you're looking for some good kind of Dredd building and not too many cheap scares , this is not a bad way , I think , to spend a couple of hours during the summer.
S1: I will say that when movies are dark like that , right ? And muddled there , they're a bit depressing. Yes , and it reminds me of The Shining and that like , I watched that movie when I was young and I was like , disappointed because there was no sunshine in the whole movie. It was just cold.
S9: See , that brings me joy. Oh.
S1: Well , and let's talk about a film that you both liked. It is the final film in Ty West trilogy that began with X , followed by Pearl , and now we have Maxine. Beth. Tell us about this film. Sure.
S10: Sure. You know , I was feeling a bit curmudgeonly after these last two films , so I'm glad I get to talk about a film that I really like. This is such a solid and amazing trilogy. Each film has its own unique style. Each one can stand on its own , but the series is best watched all together. It's definitely better if you see them as they were released. I think seeing X first , which was a Texas Chainsaw Massacre style 70s horror film , followed by Pearl , which was like this Technicolor women's picture gone bonkers. And now we get Maxine giving us an 80s Italian giallo style slasher film. And I love the fact that the studio A24 actually made a trailer in the style of an old 80s film , so I want to play a little bit of that.
S18: A24 presents. The follow up to a film that possessed a nation , The Puritan , to.
S21: Cut the blood drunk.
S22: Molly Bennet , meet Maxim Minx. Pleased to meet you. Uh , sorry. We've all got blood on our hands now. We've made it to the belly of the beast. You must eliminate all distractions Well , the beast will spit you right back out.
S23: Drop it. Time to pay for your sins.
S24: It's America's new scream queen.
S10: Maxine Minx. So Mia Goth has been the anchor for this trilogy , playing two different yet thematically linked characters. I just love her energy and her kind of matter of fact kick ass quality. She's my kind of role model for female empowerment. She doesn't expect anybody to help her or save her , and she's fully prepared to do whatever she needs to do to survive. I just I love her character.
S1:
S15: I still think X is the best in the trilogy , but this one is pretty close in terms of satisfaction. It allows the director Ty West to do an homage not just of slasher movies , but , as Beth mentioned , of the 80s , and not that , you know , Legwarmers shoulder padded , candy colored aesthetic , but rather the more sleazy , neon lit underbelly of Los Angeles in the 80s , the kind that are reminiscent of films from that time , from Paul Schrader or Brian De Palma or even Martin Scorsese. So it's it's really not just a pastiche , but really does a full immersion of that time and space. It's also a movie about movies , which I like. The Hollywood Sign features prominently as a set piece in the last act of the movie , so I cared for that. There's even a reference to Buster Keaton. So it's , you know , it's doing a few things right. As others have said , it is great that the film completely subverts that , you know , final girl and horror movie trope where , you know , it's the scared woman , you know , trying to survive this onslaught of evil. Instead , Maxine in this movie is someone who , from the start , can really fend for herself and she doesn't need any saving. Just as Beth has said , the only disappointment for me comes from the very last act of the movie , which kind of gets saddled with not just closing out this chapter , but to close out the entire trilogy. So that part didn't work as well for me. But I think visually , conceptually , in terms of acting , it's quite an achievement.
S9: All right.
S1: Well , I'm excited to see some of the movies suggested. I want to thank KPBS , Cinema Junkie , Beth Accomando and Movie Wallace podcaster Yazdi. Thank you both.
S11: Thank you , thank you.
S1: Coming up here from Drug Hunt band member Rory Morrison and much more in your weekend preview.
S25: I believe in the bands that are in in this group right now , and I really believe in the messages that they each bring to the table.
S1: KPBS Midday Edition returns after the break. Welcome back to KPBS Midday Edition. I'm Jade Hindman. For our weekend preview , we're taking a closer look at a few interesting arts events happening this weekend. There's ballet , rock music , and also an art exhibit of modified action figures. Joining me with all the details is KPBS arts producer Julia Dickson Evans. Julia , welcome.
S26: Hey , Jade. Thanks for having. Me.
S9: Me.
S1: Good to have you. So let's start with those action figures. This is an exhibit at the Chicano Park Museum. It's a collection of art toys. Break that down for me. Right.
S26: So this is artist Moreno Gomez. He is a Sherman Heights based artist. And he was part of actually , another group exhibit at the Chicano Park Museum a little bit ago. And they asked him to come back and show more of his work for the solo show , and what he does is like , modify or custom make entirely action figures and toys , including the packaging. And this is a practice that sometimes called kit bashing , where artists will take apart existing toys and make something new or different. Um , in some cases totally new inventions , or they bootleg a character or a thing that doesn't exist in toy form otherwise. And for Marina Gomes , one of those bootlegged characters was what inspired him in the first place when he saw that somebody had made a toy version of The White Hand from Super Smash Brothers , one of the bosses.
S2: I had seen another artist make an. Action.
S27: Action. Figure.
S2: Figure. Or.
S27: Or. Even.
S2: Even.
S27: I don't even know if I could call it Action Figure. It was just a package toy of it was a white hand and that was the the boss from a old Nintendo game called Super Smash Brothers. And I thought that was so niche. You know , it's not really a character that anybody's ever brought up in my experience. And I just remember thinking like , man , why ? Why would somebody do like it's so cool , but it's so niche. And I remember being so amazed that somebody would take the time to make something like that. And the medium itself is something I had never seen before.
S1:
S26: There's all sorts in this exhibit. He does some obscure characters , celebrities , musicians , Padres players. There's a Comic-Con attendee that he has exhibited in the past. That was a thumbprint Thumbprint gallery , and most of these start from the standard action figures like those five point articulation 3.75in action figures. But one of the new toys that he's created for this show is something totally different. It's a landscaping truck , and he made it out of a 90s era Hot Wheels truck. He built a little ladder , a shovel. He made a little bag of leaves , a roof rack , and kind of made a version of those landscaping trucks that we see everyday here in any town. His dad and lots of his friends have worked in landscaping , so this was something that was really important to him. And the packaging he designs is a really big part of each piece too. So they're mounted on the wall and they look like commercially available toys like that. They're actually these full on custom art pieces. And I love that this is at the same time as Comic-Con. Like , I can see Comic-Con attendees being drawn to this and making a point to go and see this exhibit , but in other ways , it's just different. Like , it seems almost like an antidote to Comic-Con. But yeah , I love the way that this whole thing sort of plays on nostalgia and niche. And it opens the Saturday at the Chicano Park Museum in Barrio Logan. There's an opening reception from 1 to 5 , and then it'll be on view through August 6th. The gallery is open from 11 to 5 Thursday through Sunday.
S9: All right.
S1: Well , moving on to a little different art form ballet. The City Ballet of San Diego has a big production this weekend.
S26: The Shakespeare story has choreography by City Ballet's Elizabeth Westbrook , and they've done this before , but this is newly adapted this year for an outdoor stage. It's going to be at Epstein Family Amphitheater , UC San Diego. And this is a really playful but complicated story. So what they have done is added in some narration , like spoken word , to kind of keep the audience following along and kind of modernize it a little bit to. And they're also going to premiere a new work , brand new work by City Ballet's Jeff Gonzalez. It's set to orchestrations of Sinatra music , and I talked to him this week , and he told me that he has long wanted to do a ballet to Sinatra , inspired by some of the ballet greats like Twyla Tharp , and this started for him when he was a teenager. His first ever competition year , he did a solo to to Frank Sinatra's Luck Be a Lady , and he felt like he'd found a sound that matched his own energy.
S28: I wanted to create a piece that had my old connections from my early teen years all the way up through , so it kind of tells a story , really , about my connection to the music , along with being just , you know , fan favorites. Um , and then the sound , the sound is so dynamically jazz and has such a connection from the the big band era into modern , modern , more , you know , jazzy , more rock and roll tempos or , you know , all just different kinds of different sounds.
S26: And this is Friday and Saturday nights at 8 p.m. at the outdoor amphitheater at UCSD.
S1: I love that. All right. so from Sinatra to rock , local band Drug Hunt is releasing their new album this weekend with a record release concert.
S26: And just this month , Bad Vibes Good Friends launched a record label they put out last week's album from Los Gatos de San Jacinto , and this week they're putting out this new Drug Hunt album. And then again in September , they're going to release a third album. This is from a Joshua Tree brand called Lonesome Pine. So Drug Hunt is kind of this psychedelic garage rock sound. Los Gatos is cumbia , probably one of the more legendary cumbia bands , and Lonesome Pine is like an atmospheric noir indie band , so they have this really eclectic mix of bands on the label so far , and that's how Morrison said that he's always operated as bad vibes , good friends. Just having these shows with really diverse musical lineups , and the label embodies and supports that kind of cross genre experimentation. He said that building his own record label is such a massive undertaking as I can imagine , but it's also this natural extension of the way that he thinks about creating and gathering community and sharing music.
S25: Growing up in Mexico , those videos like family like outings and stuff like that , were always centered around music and laughter and cooking. And so , like my parents , both of them are the main inspirations behind those types of things. Thank God for credit cards and the American dream. Like we can rack up all the debt we want. Um , you know , I'm currently in debt , but I believe in the bands that are in in this group right now and , uh , under the label , and I really believe in the messages that they each bring to the table.
S9: Well , let's listen.
S1: To a track from this album. This is Kingdom by Drug Hunt , from their new album feast.
UU: And down to the sauce , I taste it , I feel it , it passes through veins a treat or contrition , the whip and the shame.
S26: So they'll celebrate the new album at the Casbah on Saturday night with Fresh Veggies , Micro Brass , Pay , mAh Vermin Class and Bang Bang Getaway. They'll also play and Drag Hunt is going to do some of the songs with this like supergroup version of the band , so they're going to have a nine piece band on stage. They'll be very energetic. Mhm.
S9: All right.
S1: Well here's an option if you're looking for some free art and culture tonight , it's actually part of the free third Thursday at the Museum of Contemporary Art , San Diego. And also some bomba.
S26: Yeah , so bomba is an Afro Puerto Rican dance , and it has this really intricate footwork and also arm work , um , kind of often clutching these big flowing skirts and the , the propulsive percussion music that goes with it is such a big part of it. And local group Bomba Liberté Liberty will perform a free show at the museum at 6 p.m. , and the museum is also tying this to the current exhibit. It's forecast form Art in the Caribbean Diaspora. That exhibit is closing at the end of this month , so this is one of your last chances to see it for free. And they're tying this this performance to the exhibit. And the way that the art there touches on movement and rhythm. So before the concert at Five , there's a free tour that we'll talk about how the visual art captures movement of rhythm as well.
S1: All right. Sounds like my cup of tea. But before we go , let's talk about live music options for the weekend.
S26: First Saturday night at the Observatory , local band Glass Spells. They're also doing an album release that they just surprised announced a couple of weeks ago. They are a synth pop band , and some of their music from their 2021 album shattered that that went kind of viral. So I love that album , and I've been wondering when we're going to see some more music from them. This is their brand new single , Without You.
UU: I'm up for what I pray.
S26: And they're playing with Body of Light and the Slashes on Saturday. Great. And another local album release is Sunday Night at Lulu's at the Lafayette. This is indie pop band Sleepy Pearls , and we're listening to one of the tracks from their new album. The album is called That's the Spirit and this is the song San Francisco.
UU: If I could get out of here now. Say.
S26: I really love their sound. It's kind of that dreamy pop sound , and Lulu's is a great place to see a show. It's also a free admission , first come , first served show so you can save your pennies to buy some vinyl.
S1: All right. You can find details on these and more arts events , and sign up for Julia's weekly newsletter at KPBS Smarts. I've been speaking with KPBS Arts producer Julia Dixon Evans. Julia. Thanks.
S26: Thank you. Jade.
UU: San Francisco. Coming up.
