Page 764 – Good Times

5 Things to Do in Santa Cruz County Oct 4-10

GT Staff

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October 4, 2017

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5 Things to Do in Santa Cruz County Oct 4-10

Event highlights for the week of October 4, 2017.

Art Seen

Local Poetry Book Exhibition

If you’ve been to Santa Cruz Coffee Roasting Company recently, you may have seen the drawing of an hourglass woman on the wall, or the poem encircled in roses. These are pieces from Illustrated Poems, by local writer Scott C. Mehner. The book is a collection of illustrations and poems from both local and worldwide artists, self-published by Mehner through Bookshop Santa Cruz. It’s a unique take on the art of poetry that’s on display through October.

INFO: Santa Cruz Coffee Roasting Co., 1330 Pacific Ave, Santa Cruz. scottcmehner.com. Free.

Green Fix

Bike to Work Day

Give your car the day off, it deserves it. Ecology Action’s Bike to Work day is an excuse to dust off the rusty beach cruiser in your garage and peddle for a cause—if the bike still works, that is. Did we mention there is free breakfast and bike maintenance? Stop by any of 12 locations for free coffee, breakfast, and a tune-up. Last year, more than 13,000 residents participated across the county; this year there’s sure to be even more. Check online to see which location is nearest you.

INFO: Breakfast 6:30 a.m.-9:30 a.m. Thursday, Oct. 5. ecoactbike.org. Free.

Sunday 10/8

Open Farm Tours

Tour 10 Corralitos regional family farms while learning about sustainable farming practices and where our food comes from. The tour is self-guided, and there will also be apple-juice making, fermentation demos and U-pick options, so make sure you wear comfy clothes and shoes and bring a hat.

INFO: 10 a.m.-4 p.m. Alladin Nursery, 2905 Freedom Blvd., Watsonville. openfarmtours.com. Free, donations accepted.

Sunday 10/8

Open Streets

For one day, West Cliff Drive will be closed to traffic and opened up for pedestrians, bicyclists, street performers and vendors. Enjoy the beauty of Lighthouse Field and West Cliff beaches without any of the pesky traffic. Check out any of the dance workshops and browse the local vendor tents. Rubberneckers welcome. Photo by Bill Bishoff.

INFO: 9 a.m.-2 p.m. West Cliff Drive, Santa Cruz. scopenstreets.org. Free.

Saturday 10/7

Third Annual Festival of Colors

Based on Holi—the Hindu celebration of spring, love and harvest known for its vibrant colored powders—the festival of colors is like a water balloon fight, only using colored, washable powders. The festival features live music, yoga and a variety of delicious vegetarian food. It’s not spring, but who can really wait that long, anyway?

INFO: 11 a.m.-4 p.m. San Lorenzo Park, 137 Dakota St., Santa Cruz. festivalofcolorsusa.com. Tickets start at $6.50.

Local Watchdog Looks Out For Health of Laurel Creek

Local News

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October 4, 2017

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Local Watchdog Looks Out For Health of Laurel Creek

Driving on Laurel Street during the two-and-a-half months of Westside construction has been an inconvenience for many Santa Cruz drivers, but one resident who lives near the PG&E work site at the top of Laurel Street hill says he spotted something more serious than a navigational irritant.

Silty excess asphalt has been piling up in the gutters along California and Laurel streets. David Callahan, an environmental activist and retired carpenter, is concerned that the dark sediment is falling directly into the nearby grates that lead down to Laurel Creek, a hidden, partially underground brook that wends its way to Neary Lagoon, and from there to the Monterey Bay.

There are four drains at the intersection that flow into the creek below. For the last two months, Callahan says he watched Snelson, the company contracted by PG&E, do nothing about the asphalt piling up in the gutters, so he started making phone calls to the city, county, and state agencies. He even tried to reach the federal Environmental Protection Agency.

“The level of their concern has been ‘We will respond to you as a citizen, but we don’t think it’s in our ballpark,’ or whatever. I find that completely shocking,” says Callahan, a 62-year-old with a scraggly white beard and a penchant for detailed storytelling, and once he gets going, it isn’t easy to slow him down.

Callahan remembers joining a tactical nonviolence training through the San Jose Peace Center to protest nuclear power in 1979 following the infamous Three Mile Island accident in Pennsylvania. The experience, he says, taught Callahan and his young classmates, who were just learning to question authority, how much power they have in the world. Ever since, he explains, Callahan has kept his eyes open for ways to make a difference in his immediate community. Laurel Creek runs through Callahan’s backyard, just upstream from the California Street work site and the Laurel Street hill.

Since his initial calls on Sept. 13, five county and city officials have made visits to the site, leading to a few attempts at corrections, such as sweeping up some but not all of the asphalt, he says. Crews recently put bright orange plastic filters over the gutters, eight weeks into the project, and two weeks after Callahan started making phone calls.

The city of Santa Cruz has a strict stormwater program that prohibits residents and businesses from discharging any pollutants including asphalt down the storm drains. Violations may be subject to up to $25,000 in fines.

Dave Martin, one of three environmental compliance inspectors at the city, paid the site a visit after Callahan reached out to him. “He phoned everyone,” Martin says of Callahan. Martin couldn’t find any evidence of a violation. He says that, yes, any amount of asphalt at all entering storm drains would be too much, but adds that it’s reasonable for a working construction site to move asphalt around during the active construction phase if they clean it up when the project is completed or before it rains.

Although rain totals have not been particularly high, it did rain a few times since construction began, for a total of a sixth of an inch over that time, according to the city’s water department. That’s a far cry from a winter storm, but more than enough to wet the ground a few times. Callahan says he also saw water from people washing their cars flow down the gutter into the grate, carrying the asphalt with it, in the weeks before crews installed the drain filters, which Callahan worries are too flimsy to keep out soot anyway.

When reached for follow-up, Martin says there are catch basins under each grate and that if any of them were to fill up with asphalt particles, city staff would force PG&E to clean them out.

In a statement, PG&E spokesperson Mayra Tostado says they responded to a formal complaint and found no violations. “Crews will continue to work safely to complete the project and protect the environment,” she writes.

According to a 1997 report from the National Parks Service, the main hazards from asphalt spills are its carcinogens and chemical compounds that can move through the ecosystem as the asphalt breaks down. “Asphalt,” it reads, “should be kept out of rivers, streams, and other natural waters to the extent possible.”

Some officials responding to Callahan’s calls claimed that what Callahan believed to be asphalt particles were probably only dirt. Skeptical of those suggestions, Callahan conducted an organic chemistry experiment in his garage, testing the solubility of the material with paint thinner and alcohol, proving that it was in fact, asphalt.

Laurel Creek, according to a 2008 analysis from the city, is, sure enough, an important riparian corridor, especially because it feeds Neary Lagoon, a critical wetland. “Although constrained by residential land uses, this reach is an important area for terrestrial and aquatic species due to its close proximity to the lagoon,” the report reads. “This reach offers some opportunity to enhance wildlife use and provide continuity to habitats within the lagoon.”

Callahan says he’s learned that environmental precautions should be part of any job site like the one on Laurel and California streets. “I’ve worked in construction sites where they have to wash the tires of the trucks off when they come off the construction site onto the road because they don’t want whatever is in the construction site to contaminate the drains, which can be outflows to the creeks, rivers, or the bay,” Callahan says. The first priority on a construction site, according to Callahan, is safety, followed only by environmental compliance.

In a follow-up email, Martin acknowledges that the project has been “very inconvenient” and knows that many people haven’t been happy about the construction. “However,” he writes, “PG&E is performing critical and necessary work, replacing a gas line to prevent real catastrophic loss of human life and property.”

Freedom Within Prison Project Provides Support to Incarcerated

Local News

Georgia Johnson

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October 4, 2017

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Freedom Within Prison Project Provides Support to Incarcerated

Jay Saber, cofounder of the Freedom Within Prison Project, says that whether we realize it or not, each day is filled with constant decision-making—a 2007 Cornell University study found the average person makes 227 decisions a day about food alone—but it’s the bad choices that can change everything, Saber says.

He and Jim Urgo created the Freedom Within Prison Project nearly 10 years ago to spark personal growth for incarcerated men through trainings and workshops. “There are a lot of boys walking around in men’s bodies, they never got a rite of passage. They don’t know how to be a man, they are boys and they are 50,” says Saber, who leads prisoners through what he calls “rites of passage retreats.”

To be clear, these “boys walking around in men’s bodies” may not fit what the average person thinks of when they picture somebody who’s young at heart. Many of them have been convicted of violent crimes and are serving lifelong sentences.

“We developed a curriculum that starts with communication skills, emotional literacy, meditations, a lot of edgy experiential processes,” Saber says. “That work has been profound, especially for men that are in for life without parole.”

Saber leads the program with four other men, focusing on restorative justice and accountability for those faced with gang violence and oppression, and he says it’s changed the lives of many incarcerated men, improving communication skills, self-awareness and forgiveness.

The Freedom Within Prison Project, which is hosting a fundraiser at the Museum of Art and History (MAH) on Saturday, Oct. 7, began in Folsom State Prison and branched out to Soledad Correctional Facility and San Quentin Prison. In 2013, the project came to Santa Cruz Main Jail, where it began holding weekly workshops for both men and women. The nonprofit currently focuses on the level-four maximum security sector of Salinas Valley Prison, holding a year-long curriculum of two groups of 30 men, while also hosting programs in both the county jail and Rountree Medium Facility in Watsonville.

Leveraging its Oct. 7 event at the MAH, the Freedom Within Prison Project hopes to keep expanding its initiatives, an effort that includes Saber’s goal of bringing on women to work in women’s prisons. Ex-inmates who have gotten out and taken part in the project will speak, as will Mayor Cynthia Chase, who’s also the inmate programs manager for the county sheriff’s office.

Saber and the volunteers strongly believe that everyone deserves a chance at redemption and freedom from violence and oppression, even those who murder and rape. But because of the project’s small size and delicate subject matter, it doesn’t have much funding to operate with, he says, adding that he spent thousands of his own dollars on the organization last year. “We don’t have a grant writer or anything,” he says.

The Freedom Within Prison Project, Saber says, is always looking for new members who want to learn how to work with the incarcerated. “Just like people work with the elderly, the handicapped or the homeless,” he says, “we work with the faction of society that is oppressed and shut off from everything.”

The Freedom Within Project Fundraiser is at the MAH on Oct. 7 at 5 p.m. For more information visit freedomwithinproject.org.

Music Picks October 4-10

GT Staff

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October 4, 2017

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Live music highlights for the week of October 4, 2017.

THURSDAY 10/5

EXPERIMENTAL

ROEDELIUS

Hans-Joachim Roedelius had a band called Kluster, then later another called Cluster, then later still one called Qluster. It’s probably no secret that we’re talking about an experimental artist here. The most famous incarnation of the group was Cluster, a ’70s Krautrock band that ranged from massive prog rock anthems to teeny tiny electronic ambient noise orchestrations. And that’s only scratching the surface of Roedelius’ projects. As a solo artist, the sheer amount of music he’s released is approaching critical mass. His fame has also risen steadily since the ’90s, as his pioneering work in modern electronic music has gained attention. AARON CARNES

INFO: 8 p.m. Crepe Place, 1134 Soquel Ave., Santa Cruz. $15. 429-6994.

THURSDAY 10/5

ROOTS

RISING APPALACHIA

Quickly now: a band that calls themselves “Rising Appalachia” plays what kind of music? If your answer was “Americana,” you get partial credit. Of course, when you think of Appalachian music, you imagine mountain folk with string ensembles. Sisters Leah and Chloe Smith grew up in the South, hearing this music as kids, but they also heard hip-hop, jazz, soul and world beat. So they decided to start a band that would allow them to explore their own interpretation of the music from their youth. The duo has remained fiercely independent since its formation in 2005. AC

INFO: 9 p.m. Catalyst, 1011 Pacific Ave., Santa Cruz. $23-$75. 429-4135.

FRIDAY 10/6

REGGAE

PREZIDENT BROWN

Put on your dancing shoes, smoke a fat spliff and get ready to praise Jah with the uplifting sounds of Prezident Brown. For decades, he has been a leader in Jamaican dancehall, first mentoring under U Brown’s wing, and later branching out on his own with songs like anti-drug anthem “Blow Your Nose.” This year, Prezident Brown released his 12th album, Journeyman Pilgrimage, the follow-up to his 2015 EP The Journeyman. He doesn’t tour the U.S. very often, so this Friday at Moe’s Alley will surely be a treat for all the natty dreads. MAT WEIR

INFO: 9 p.m, Moe’s Alley, 1535 Commercial Way, Santa Cruz. $14/adv, $18/door. 479-1854.

FRIDAY 10/6

HIP-HOP

MURS

Murs is the underground hip-hop equivalent to Jay-Z. He started building his empire as one of the founders of the L.A.-based group Living Legends, then went on to make a string of iconic, collaborative albums as Felt. If that wasn’t enough, he founded the Paid Dues Festival in 2007, which lasted for six years, all while continuing to record and release his own solo projects. Earlier this year, Murs released his 23rd album (outside of his Living Legends recordings), Captain California, once again proving that if you want to be the king, you can’t stop hustling. MW

INFO: 9 p.m. Catalyst, 1011 Pacific Ave., Santa Cruz. $18/adv, $23/door. 429-4135.

SATURDAY 10/7

CELTIC

MARTIN HAYES & DENNIS CAHILL

Longtime collaborators Martin Hayes and Dennis Cahill are Celtic music royalty. The duo’s one-two punch of Irish fiddle virtuoso Hayes and American guitarist Cahill have spent two decades fine-tuning their sound, while working with an impressive list of artists ranging from jazz guitarist Bill Frisell, jazz vocalist Cassandra Wilson and Sting. With a tendency to strip traditional jigs and reels down to their essence to make room for new interpretations of them, Hayes and Cahill are musical visionaries. CJ

INFO: 7:30 p.m. Kuumbwa Jazz, 320-2 Cedar St., Santa Cruz. $22/adv, $25/door. 427-2227.

SATURDAY 10/7

POP-ROCK

GAVIN DEGRAW

Gavin DeGraw is liberal with his influences, whether it’s rock ’n’ roll, soul, pop or roots rock. It doesn’t matter. What he’s all about is huge choruses, heart-on-the-sleeve lyrics and belting out the words with every ounce of his being. That last one might have gotten missed by some listeners, since he’s also fond of high production value and large backing bands. This current tour could turn a few heads as he embarks on his first ever “stripped down” tour. He’ll be performing songs with an intimate trio, from his smash hit “I Don’t Want to Be” to tracks from his subsequent half-dozen records. AC

INFO: 8 p.m. Rio Theatre, 1205 Soquel Ave., Santa Cruz. $42/gen, $63/gold. 423-8209.

MONDAY 10/9

JAZZ

CHRISTIAN McBRIDE’S TIP CITY

More than a virtuosic bassist, Christian McBride is one of jazz’s great public figures, an avuncular intellectual who’s embraced leadership roles as programmer (including the Newport Jazz Festival), broadcaster, and tireless bandleader. His latest ensemble is Tip City, a trio designed to showcase the brilliant young pianist Emmet Cohen, a McBride mentee since his teenage years in New Jersey. For this tour, they’re joined by versatile guitar great Rodney Jones, a longtime Juilliard faculty member whose resume includes recordings with Dizzy Gillespie, Ray Charles, Maceo Parker, James Brown, and James Carter. ANDREW GILBERT

INFO: 7 and 9 p.m. Kuumbwa Jazz, 320-2 Cedar St., Santa Cruz. $30/adv, $35/door. 427-2227.

MONDAY 10/9

COUNTRY

JUNIOR BROWN

Junior Brown’s classic country look and sound have established him as a favorite of the roots faithful, but Brown is no wannabe. He makes a point of being current and relevant with his song topics, with one of the best examples being his “Hang Up and Drive” anthem. Brown masterfully brings that classic sound and songwriting approach into modern times, and advises other artists to do the same. As he told GT in 2015, “Don’t sing about the boogie-woogie bugle boy of company B. That’s World War II. Stick with your own era.” On Monday, Brown makes his Moe’s Alley debut. CJ

INFO: 8 p.m. Moe’s Alley, 1535 Commercial Way, Santa Cruz. $25/adv, $30/door. 479-1854.

MONDAY 10/9

ROCK

JOE ROBINSON

A 25-year-old guitar virtuoso, Joe Robinson has head-turning technical chops and a songwriting ability that keeps audiences singing and swaying along. Hailing from Temagog, New South Wales, Robinson moves easily between rock, the blues, jazz and R&B to create a sound of his own. As the story goes, the self-taught Robinson started taking guitar lessons at the age of nine, but he “quickly outpaced” his instructor and started teaching himself by watching videos. The strategy paid off—Robinson won the 2008 season of the hit TV show Australia’s Got Talent and has a fanbase that stretches around the world. CJ

INFO: 7:30 p.m. Don Quixote’s, 6275 Hwy. 9, Felton. $10. 335-2800.

IN THE QUEUE

LOW LILY

Irish and Americana group led by fiddle champion John Wheeler. Wednesday at Don Quixote’s

THE GREEN

Hawaiian reggae favorites. Wednesday at Catalyst

MICHAEL FEINBERG QUARTET

Jazz bassist and his band, featuring Berkeley trumpeter Billy Buss. Thursday at Kuumbwa

B-SIDE PLAYERS

Ace Afro-Latin band celebrates new album, California Brown. Saturday at Moe’s Alley

MAPACHE AND ENTRANCE

California country and psychedelic rock. Saturday at Crepe Place

Be Our Guest: Damian Marley

A&E
Music

Cat Johnson

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October 4, 2017

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In 2005, Damian Marley released his debut album, Welcome to Jamrock, and immediately became a reggae sensation. The youngest child of the legendary Bob Marley, Damian continues—and furthers—his father’s legacy with songs of justice, rebellion and humanity. His latest record, this year’s Stony Hill, is a return to the spirituality of reggae music, and a reference to the uptown Kingston, Jamaica neighborhood he was raised in. “Coming from uptown doesn’t mean you can’t care about people who don’t live where you live,” Marley has said. “Jamaica is so small that nowhere is far.”

INFO: 9 p.m. Tuesday, Oct. 17. Catalyst, 1011 Pacific Ave., Santa Cruz. $38. 423-1338. WANT TO GO? Go to santacruz.com/giveaways before 11 a.m. on Wednesday, Oct. 11 to find out how you could win a pair of tickets to the show.

Love Your Local Band: Nagging Doubts

A&E
Music

Mat Weir

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October 4, 2017

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What do you get when you mix five seasoned musicians into one cover band? All-star group the Nagging Doubts. Comprising Chas Crowder (Shotgun Suitor), Ted Welty (Locomotive Breath), Spencer Ellison (Tom & Dave Show), Ryan “Darnell” Partington (Sometimes Jones), and Scott Polland (Shotgun Suitor), the Nagging Doubts are a whirlwind of energy and fun. Not only do they have their own bands, but each member also guest performs throughout the Bay Area with multiple musicians, resulting in jam-packed schedules that put most 20-something musicians to shame.

“Sometimes playing with other bands is more fun,” Ellison says. “When you play with your own band, it’s a lot of responsibility. But when you play with someone else’s band, it’s cool just to be the drummer.”

That’s how the Nagging Doubts formed last April, in a sense. Crowder and Polland already had a history of playing music together, jamming at gigs together and with Shotgun Suitor, when Crowder had an idea.

“One night I told Scott I was bringing in another guy who plays guitar,” he remembers “And when [Welty] came in, those two began playing the same notes.”

“It was one of those weird things where chemistry either happens or it doesn’t,” Polland agrees. “With Ted, it happens.”

Since then the band has grown to include Partington on bass and Ellison on drums, playing a number of gigs throughout Santa Cruz. Armed with an arsenal of tunes from Johnny Cash to Oasis, the Nagging Doubts know how to get the beer flowing, the feet dancing and the ladies laughing. However, keep in mind these guys are not just your average cover band, adding their own sense of style to the hits audiences love.

“One of the coolest compliments we’ve gotten is how well we draw and play off one another,” Welty says. “A lot of bands are so structured if someone messes up, it trainwrecks the whole group. I haven’t seen that with us.”

“We’re not just playing the songs,” Ellison agrees. “We’re playing together.”

Whether they’re jamming at Zelda’s, rocking out at the Crow’s Nest, or picking up the pace at Severino’s—as they will be this Saturday—it’s safe to say that one should expect the unexpected, even if the songs are all too familiar. And if you have any requests, feel free to make them, just don’t forget to tip.

“Scott and I played ‘Freebird’ one night and someone actually gave us 100 dollars,” Crowder laughs. “We felt that was worth it.”

INFO: 8 p.m. Severino’s, 7500 Old Dominion Ct., Aptos. Free. 688-8987.

Theater Review: ‘The Mountaintop’ by Santa Cruz Actors’ Theatre

A&E
Stage

Lisa Jensen

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October 4, 2017

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Theater Review: ‘The Mountaintop’ by Santa Cruz Actors’ Theatre

We all know how the story ends. Rev. Martin Luther King Jr., crusader of the Civil Rights Movement, tireless advocate for social justice and racial equality through peaceful protest, inspiration to millions, was shot to death outside his motel room in Memphis, Tennessee, on April 4, 1968.

Those are the facts. But what may or may not have occurred on the night of April 3, Dr. King’s last night on earth, is a matter of pure conjecture. That’s the challenge taken up in The Mountaintop, the award-winning 2009 drama from Memphis-born playwright Katori Hall receiving its local premiere in an intriguing new Santa Cruz Actors’ Theatre production at Center Stage.

A Columbia grad who received her MFA from Harvard, then graduated from the playwriting program at Juilliard, Hall has the audacity to imagine King’s final hours as a dialogue between the road-weary civil rights leader and a pretty young motel maid on her first day on the job. Hall surprises the audience with a portrait of King that dares to be both laudatory and iconoclastic, viewing him as more human than saint, while celebrating his profound effect on the fight for freedom and justice for which he finally gave his life.

The play takes its title from the words of King’s last speech, delivered the day before he died. Beset by death threats, in words now both famous and eerily prophetic, King said, in part, “I’ve been to the mountaintop. And I’ve seen the Promised Land. I may not get there with you. But . . . we as a people will get to the Promised Land.” Taking her cue from these words, Hall builds her play slowly but steadily to its satisfying conclusion.

The SCAT production, well-directed by local stage veteran Erik Gandolfi, begins with the civil rights leader returning to his motel room after delivering this speech to the striking sanitation workers he’s come to town to support. King (played with energetic presence by Avondina Wills), eager to get out of his shoes and get to work on the next speech he’s writing, has sent his roommate, Ralph Abernathy, out to the corner store to buy a pack of the Pall Malls he’s trying to quit smoking.

When he calls room service for a cup of coffee, it’s delivered by a starstruck young maid named Camae (Sarah Cruse). As luck would have it, she has a couple of Pall Malls in her pocket; he persuades her to have a smoke with him, and they bring out the flirt in each other—even though she has to keep apologizing for swearing in front of a preacher whenever her salty street vocabulary slips out. But he finds her charming; when he asks why she became a maid, she says, “I’m better at cleaning up other folks’ messes than my own.”

The stage seems to be set for debate along gender, class, and political lines. And for awhile, that’s how it goes, especially when they discuss the violence of the Black Panthers vs. King’s allegiance to peaceful protest. But there’s a seismic shift when Camae’s true nature and her purpose are suddenly revealed. It’s too good a plot twist to give away here, but it gives Hall’s play its slyly subversive edge as it ramps up toward its moving conclusion.

Wills endows King’s solid, steady persona with very human grace notes of both anxiety and acceptance. Cruse plays Camae sassy at first, making the most of Hall’s often hilarious dialogue—especially when she puts on King’s jacket and shoes to deliver her own speech on “how to deal with the white man.” But she effectively deepens the character to anchor the play. (A slideshow projection toward the end of the play was a little glitchy on opening night, but Cruse’s delivery of Camae’s commentary was vivid enough to carry the moment until the visuals kicked in.)

Hall’s play is a refreshing take on a story we think we already know. Kudos to SCAT for bringing it to town.

The Santa Cruz Actors’ Theatre production of ‘The Mountaintop’ plays weekends through Oct. 15 at Center Stage, 1001 Center St., Santa Cruz. Visit sccat.org.

Film Review: ‘Battle of the Sexes’

A&E
Film

Lisa Jensen

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October 4, 2017

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As grudge matches go, the stakes could not have been higher. At 29, Billie Jean King was the top-ranked woman tennis player in the world, making waves on the pro circuit by demanding promoters offer women players the same prize money as male players.

Bobby Riggs was a 55-year-old former tennis champ, gambling addict, and shameless self-promoting media hustler. When he challenged her to a duel on the tennis court in 1973, the whole world was watching.

It was billed as the “Battle of the Sexes,” a symbolic milestone in the then-burgeoning women’s movement. And now, their match-up comes to the big screen in Battle of the Sexes, a thoughtful and entertaining movie about gender, identity, politics, and celebrity at a pivotal cultural moment in American history. Written by Simon Beaufoy (Slumdog Millionaire), it was directed by Valerie Faris and Jonathan Dayton—whose first film, Little Miss Sunshine, demonstrated their skill at developing sympathetic characters and tuning into the subtle absurdities of life.

In 1973, women were burning their bras, and the word “feminism” was entering the lexicon—although uppity women who were advocating for radical things like equal rights and equal pay were more often referred to by the derogatory epithet “women’s libbers.” Billie Jean (a terrific Emma Stone) drops out of a United States Lawn Tennis Association tour when smug promoter and ex-champ Jack Kramer (Bill Pullman) refuses to pay the women players as much as their male counterparts. (Men are “more exciting,” he says, with families to support.)

Billie Jean starts her own tour with eight other female champions, in cahoots with World Tennis magazine founder Gladys Heldman (Sarah Silverman), who finds them a sponsor: Virginia Slims cigarettes. (Of the infamous slogan, “You’ve come a long way, baby.”) The publicity generated by the tour attracts gadfly Bobby (Steve Carell), who, since his heyday in the late 1940s, has been living off high-profile exhibition matches—and the inherited income of his wealthy wife, Priscilla (Elisabeth Shue).

Billie Jean rejects Bobby’s first offer. Long-married to her college sweetheart, she’s too busy coping with her sudden, intense attraction to Marilyn Barnett (Andrea Riseborough), here portrayed as a hairdresser who comes on tour with the female pros. (Introduced in a montage of slyly erotic close-ups and sidelong glances in the mirror as Marilyn cuts her hair.) But when Bobby defeats Billie Jean’s rival, Margaret Court (Jessica McNamee) in an exhibition match, and talks a lot of trash about the male being “the superior animal,” Billie Jean instructs her manager-husband, “Call the bozo. Tell him it’s on.”

Indeed it is. Bobby thrives on the media frenzy he creates, parading across TV screens with a squad of nubile cheerleaders, and declaring himself the defender of “male chauvinist pig” values. Carell plays him with gusto, in all his gross excess, and yet there’s unexpected charm in his brash exuberance, vowing to “put the show back in chauvinism!” or exhorting his fellow Gambler Anonymous inmates that they wouldn’t have a gambling “problem” if they learned how to win.

But despite the hi-jinks, the subject of gender inequality remains serious throughout. (Look at the paternalistic way Howard Cosell—his image from the actual broadcast, inserted via CGI—clutches tennis pro and co-commentator Rosie Casals (Natalie Morales) in a kind of hammerlock while calling the match for a worldwide TV audience. He wouldn’t try that trick if his “color man” were, say, John McEnroe.)

A vintage soundtrack keeps the action bubbling along, as the filmmakers remind us (in dozens of little onscreen asides) of the culture of the day, when women were chided for wearing shorts instead of fluffy little tennis dresses, and dismissed as biologically unable to handle the pressure of professional sports. But while it all seems sort of quaint now, wage disparity and piggy paternalism are still very much alive. Trailblazers like Billie Jean King deserve our thanks, and the tribute she receives in this movie. But maybe we haven’t yet come such a long way, baby, after all.

BATTLE OF THE SEXES

***1/2 (out of four)

With Emma Stone, Steve Carell, Andrea Riseborough, and Sarah Silverman. Written by Simon Beaufoy. Directed by Valerie Faris & Jonathan Dayton. A Fox Searchlight release. Rated PG-13. 121 minutes.

Lively Seafood Dishes at La Perla del Pacifico

Food & Drink

Lily Stoicheff

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October 4, 2017

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Lively Seafood Dishes at La Perla del Pacifico

Until I had lunch at La Perla del Pacifico in Watsonville, I had forgotten that seafood could be exciting.

It’s not that I think fish and shellfish are boring, but despite living on the edge of the water, it’s been awhile since I’ve had seafood prepared in a way that feels vibrant and stimulating. Usually, I’ll reach out to a local fishmonger like H&H Fish Co. or head over to Naka for sashimi to satisfy a craving.

But La Perla del Pacifico has reignited my fire for the flavors of the sea—although that might be the chilis. A casual restaurant on Main Street, located a block and a half from the beautiful Watsonville Civic Plaza, the dining room is cozy and relaxing, with oceanic decorations swimming along the walls.

On my first visit, I ordered a house speciality, the comal de mariscos, a showstopper of a dish that arrived sizzling. Chunks of octopus, white fish, scallops, shrimp and mussels were tossed with dried chilis until everything was a deep, glossy burgundy. It was a breathtaking sight that invited me to breathe in deeply the spicy scent of land and sea. This exciting main dish was served simply with fresh corn tortillas, beans and rice. As a single diner, I was not prepared for the generous portions. I wisely brought a guest on my second visit so I could order more food.

I almost didn’t recognize the seafood cocktail when it was delivered to the table—I was expecting something drenched in cocktail sauce, but what arrived was a deep bowl filled with a light broth of fresh tomatoes, cilantro and cucumber. Below the surface were just-cooked scallops, purple octopus and camarones swimming with diced cucumbers, tomatoes, red onion and slices of avocado. A generous squeeze of lime buoyed the clean flavors. Just that, piled high on a tostada, could qualify as one of the best lunches I’ve had in 2017.

But if I had stopped there, I wouldn’t have tasted the shrimp and octopus el diablo. That el diablo sauce, dark red and almost meaty, was intensely flavored with adobo and had a savory, smoky heat that rose slowly through my sinuses and made the backs of my eyes burn. In a good way.

458 Main St., Watsonville. 724-0993.

Alberti Vineyard’s Full-Bodied Pinot Noir

Josie Cowden

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October 4, 2017

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Alberti Vineyard’s Full-Bodied Pinot Noir

Peggy and Jim Alberti love to grow Pinot Noir grapes on their property in the Santa Cruz Mountains—and they strive to produce the finest fruit possible.

My husband and I were invited to their bucolic retreat for a tour of the vineyard, and for several tastings of different vintages of their Pinot, all well-made and impressive. I especially loved the 2015 estate-grown-and-bottled Pinot. Every aspect, from the growing of the grapes to the finished product, is done completely by the Albertis—and only those who grow grapes and till the land know how difficult it is to get everything right.

“It’s got a monster aroma when you first open it,” says Peggy Alberti of their 2015 prime Pinot. “And it’s better for decanting.” Dark, intense and full-bodied, it’s brimming with delicious red fruit and earthy flavors of spice and caramel.

This 2015 Pinot Noir (around $30) can be found at Deer Park Wine & Spirits and restaurants such as Michael’s on Main and the Hollins House. Also, Deluxe Foods in Aptos carries Alberti Pinot. albertivineyard.com.

Farewell to Au Midi

Au Midi, the lovely French bistro in Aptos which has always served the most outstanding food, will be closing on Oct. 28 after 10 years. The good news is that their new and much larger location is a short drive away at 476 Tyler St., Monterey. In the meantime, owners Muriel and Michel Loubiere will have “numerous special dinners to thank everyone who made us so welcome.” aumidi.com.

Pinot Paradise

A Reserve Tasting with premium Pinot Noirs and Chardonnays from 20 winemakers of the Santa Cruz Mountains will take place from 6-9 p.m. on Friday, Oct. 13 at the Hollins House. Enjoy a strolling dinner and bid on magnum bottles. Tickets are $80 and include admission to Pathway to Pinot Paradise Wine Trail. Other Pinot Paradise events include a technical session at the Scotts Valley Hilton from 9 a.m. to noon on Oct. 14; a Pinot Picnic in the Park at Quail Hollow Ranch, also on Oct. 14; and Pathway to Pinot Paradise on Oct. 15. For more information, visit the Santa Cruz Mountains Winegrowers Association at scmwa.com.

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