Jan. 15 - The Austin Chronicle

ContentsVOL. 24, NO. 19 JANUARY 7, 2005Page Two ..........................................................6Postmarks ......................................................8NewsNaked City............................................................15Read These Stories – Pay a TollThe year’s Top 10s in political news nearand far ..................................................15The Hightower Report ....................................23Letters @ 3AM ..............................................24artsNever Say Die!Austin’s arts scene plays the ‘ComebackKid’ in 2004by Robert Faires ....................................27Performing ArtsUnforgettableThe year’s most memorable performers andperformancesby Robert Faires, Barry Pineo, HeatherBarfield, and Robi Polgar ........................27Visual ArtsTickling the EyeThe year’s most memorable visual artistsand exhibitionsby Jacqueline May and Rachel Koper ......30BooksEach in Its Own LanguageThe year in books, 2004by Shawn Badgley ..................................32After a Fashion ..............................................34FoodThe Dependables and theDiscoveriesThe year in food, 2004 ............................36Restaurant Roulette ......................................42COVER ILLUSTRATION BY PEAT DUGGINS VOTE! Music Poll Ballot p.5927screens‘TV Eye’ Looks Back at 2004; Children’s AuthorTrevor Romain Tries Out DVD; and Film News ....45FilmFew ‘Sideways’ GlancesTop 10 films of 2004 ................................46Anybody’s Home?The Texas Documentary Tour: Liz Lambert’s‘The Last Days of the San José’by Anne S. Lewis....................................49musicTCB: The Last Lists of 2004 ..............................51In the Land of American IdiotsTexas and national Top 10s, plus theannual ‘Chronicle’ Critics Poll ................52News of the Weird ..........................................56WEB EXTRAS ••••46‘Postmarks Online’ forum, ‘Soccer Watch’updates, ‘Ask Mr. Smarty Pants,’ and possiblymore!austinchronicle.com/webextraback of the book52Comics, Mr. Smarty Pants ..............................100Classifieds ............................................101The Common Law ............................................108Car Talk ..........................................................119calendar 58COMMUNITY ........................58Day Trips ......................................................60Soccer Watch ................................................61ARTS ......................................62FILM ......................................68White Noise, Red Lights, DiG!Showtimes ....................................................70Special Screenings ......................................76MUSIC ....................................78The Rise, Recover, etc.Venues ..........................................................80Club Listings + Roadshows ..........................84To Your Health ................................................121Free Will Astrology ..........................................123Personals ..............................................126LuvDoc Recommends ......................................126About AIDS ......................................................127PUBLISHEREDITORNick BarbaroLouis BlackSENIOR EDITORSMANAGING EDITOR Cindy WidnerFILM Marjorie BaumgartenARTS Robert FairesMUSIC Raoul HernandezNEWS Michael KingCITY Mike Clark-MadisonFOOD Virginia B. WoodSPECIAL ISSUES, GUIDES, INTERNS Kate MesserASSOCIATE EDITORSNEWS Lee NicholsSCREENS, BOOKS Shawn BadgleyMUSIC Darcie StevensCALENDARARTS LISTINGS Wayne Alan BrennerCOMMUNITY LISTINGS Diana WelchASST. LISTINGS Anne HarrisSTAFF WRITERSMargaret Moser, Rachel Proctor May, Marc Savlov, Amy Smith,Jordan SmithCONTRIBUTING WRITERSTV EYE Belinda AcostaTCB Christopher GrayVISUAL ARTS LISTINGS Jacqueline MayDAY TRIPS Gerald E. McLeodMR. SMARTY PANTS R.U. SteinbergLETTERS AT 3AM Michael VenturaLITERA Ric WilliamsCLASSICAL, DANCE LISTINGS Robi PolgarFASHION Stephen MacMillan MoserPRODUCTIONART DIRECTOR Taylor HollandPRODUCTION MANAGER Karen RheudasilWEBMASTER Brian BarryPREPRESS MANAGER Mark GatesGRAPHIC DESIGNERS Tim Grisham, Carrie Lewis, Chris Linnen,Liz Osting, Doug St. AmentSTAFF PHOTOGRAPHERS John Anderson, Jana BirchumPROOFREADERS Nora Ankrum, Mark Fagan, James Renovitch,Josh Rosenblatt, Jess SauerINTERNS Wells Dunbar, Kate Getty, Shelley Hiam, Reena Karia,Erin Mosow, Alexis Puchek, Courtney Shelton, Jennifer Smith,Baxter Steakley, Jeff Tonn, Max WynnADVERTISINGADVERTISING DIRECTOR Carol FlaggSENIOR ACCOUNT EXECUTIVES Jerald Corder, Annette Shelton Patterson,Carolyn Phillips, Lois RichwineACCOUNT EXECUTIVES Bobby Cheatham, Lindsey Dickson, HeatherFrankovis, Sandy Martinez, Elizabeth Nitz, Daintry Orologio,Lori WhitleyRETAIL OPERATIONS MANAGER Tobi WhiteMARKETING DIRECTOR Erin CollierPROMOTIONS DIRECTOR/PERSONALS Dan HardickPERSONALS ASSISTANT Alexis CarrollCLASSIFIEDS DIRECTOR Cassidy FrazierSENIOR CLASSIFIED ACCOUNT EXECUTIVES Brian Carr, Serena Horn,Mindy MessingerLEGAL NOTICES Jessica NesbittCLASSIFIED ACCOUNT EXECUTIVES Cindy Clarkson, Michael MacLaggan,Brenda Smith, Sara StarichaADVERTISING ASSISTANTS Jerod Cykoski, William PattonNATIONAL ADVERTISING The Ruxton GroupNATIONAL SALES DIR. Susan BelairMIDWEST SALES DIR. Stephen M. LeeSOUTHWEST SALES DIR. Terri SmithOFFICE STAFFCONTROLLER Michael SchwarzSUBSCRIPTIONS Amy LeGrandCREDIT MANAGER cindy sooACCOUNTING Liz FranklinACCOUNTING ASSISTANT Samantha McClellanINFO CENTER Roxanne Hillburn, Amy LeGrandSYSTEMS ADMINISTRATOR Steve RaymondASST. SYSTEMS ADMINISTRATOR Frederick StantonCOMPUTER HELP DESK TECH Gary HyattSPECIAL EVENTS Elizabeth DerczoCIRCULATIONJohn Williamson (mgr), Erik Conn, Perry Drake, Joy Fairchild, TomFairchild, Ruben Flores, Brent Malkus, Michael McKenzie, GrantMelcher, Paul Minor, Dane Richardson, Mike Sommers, Rex Tarr,Jeff Watts, Nicholas Wibbelsman, David WillifordCONTRIBUTORSClaudia Alarcón, Lynda Barry, Greg Beets, Kevin Brass, Rob Brezsny, JimCaligiuri, Lloyd Dangle, Steve Davis, Matt Dentler, Peat Duggins, Rachel Feit,Robert Gabriel, Melanie Haupt, Marrit Ingman, Kimberley Jones, Andy Langer,Anne S. Lewis, David Lynch, Tom and Ray Magliozzi, Wes Marshall, P.S.Mueller, Joe O’Connell, MM Pack, Chuck Shepherd, Jason Stout, TomTomorrow, Jay Trachtenberg, Roy Tompkins, Mick Vann, Shannon WheelerThe Austin Chronicle offers nonpaying internships.Contact Kate Messer at the intern hotline, 454-5765 x303.The Austin Chronicle (ISSN: 1074-0740) is published byThe Austin Chronicle Corporation weekly 52 times per yearat 4000 N. I-35, Austin, TX 78751.©2005 Austin Chronicle Corp. All rights reserved.Subscriptions: One Year: $60 2nd class. Half-year: $352nd class. Periodicals Postage Paid at Austin, TX.POSTMASTER: Send address changes toThe Austin Chronicle, PO Box 49066, Austin, TX 78765.Unsolicited submissions (including but not limited to articles,artwork, photographs, and résumés) are not returned.The Austin Chronicle • PO Box 49066, Austin, TX 78765 • 512/454-5766 • Classifieds: 512/454-5767 • Personals: 512/454-5768 • E-mail: mail@austinchronicle.com • austinchronicle.com4 | THE AUSTIN CHRONICLE | JANUARY 7, 2005