09.20.18
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PW OPINION PW NEWS PW LIFE PW ARTS<br />
•INTO THE NIGHT•<br />
BY BLISS BOWEN<br />
Beyoncé<br />
On the Run Again<br />
•NITELIFE•<br />
Thursday Sep. 20 through Wednesday Sep. 26<br />
PLEASE NOTE: Deadline for Calendar submissions is noon.<br />
Wednesday of the week before the issue publishes.<br />
PASADENA, SOUTH<br />
PASADENA & ALTADENA<br />
1881 Bar<br />
1881 E. Washington Blvd., Pasadena<br />
(626) 314-2077<br />
facebook.com/1881bar<br />
Fridays—Live jazz<br />
Saturdays—Gypsie jazz<br />
Wednesdays—Reggae<br />
The Blue Guitar<br />
Arroyo Seco Golf Course<br />
1055 Lohman Lane, South Pasadena<br />
(323) 769-3500<br />
blueguitar.club<br />
Thursday—Mark Towns & Braziliance<br />
The Boulevard Bar<br />
3199 E. Foothill Blvd., Pasadena<br />
(626) 356-9304<br />
blvdbar.com<br />
Fridays—Drag performances hosted by Tia Wanna<br />
every Friday<br />
Cabrera’s Mexican Cuisine<br />
655 N. Lake Ave., Pasadena<br />
(626) 795-0230<br />
cabreras.com<br />
Thursdays—Live jazz<br />
Fridays, Saturdays and Sundays—Karaoke<br />
Coffee Gallery Backstage<br />
2029 N. Lake Ave., Altadena<br />
(626) 798-6236<br />
coffeegallery.com<br />
Thursday—Richard Smith<br />
Friday—Songwriter Salon<br />
Saturday—Matinee show w/David Massengill; evening<br />
show w/Dave Stamey<br />
Sunday—Matinee show w/The Heart of Gold Band<br />
featuring Tom Sweeney; evening show w/Déjà Vu<br />
Crosby, Stills, Nash and Young tribute<br />
Wednesday—One for the Foxes<br />
Der Wolfskopf<br />
72 N. Fair Oaks Ave., Pasadena<br />
(626) 219-6054<br />
derwolfskopf.com<br />
Fridays—“Night Court” features Deejay Kind Cromang<br />
spinning vinyl soul, funk, disco and boogie<br />
Edwin Mills by Equator<br />
22 Mills Place, Pasadena<br />
(626) 564-8656<br />
edwinmills.com<br />
Friday—Lynn Cardona<br />
Saturday—Bri Sarikcioglu<br />
Wednesday—Cassia DeMayo<br />
The Mixx<br />
443 E. Colorado Blvd., Pasadena<br />
(626) 500-0021<br />
themixxpasadena.com<br />
Friday—Chauncey Hines & Mystique<br />
Tuesday—The Healers<br />
El Portal Restaurant<br />
695 E. Green St., Pasadena<br />
(626) 795-8553<br />
elportalrestaurant.com<br />
Fridays—Mariachi México<br />
Saturdays—Alanniz<br />
Sundays—Mariachi Bella<br />
Ice House<br />
24 N. Mentor Ave., Pasadena<br />
(626) 577-1894<br />
icehousecomedy.com<br />
Thursday—Good Stuff w/Mark Debonis; Stand-Up All<br />
Stars w/Erica Rhodes<br />
Friday—Hollywood Comes to Pasadena; Deathsquad<br />
Saturday—Cool Beans Comedy Improv; Jeff Hodge<br />
and Friends; Hollywood Comes to Pasadena;<br />
Sunday—Fritz Coleman Speaks to a Generatio; Keith<br />
–CONTINUED ON PAGE 24<br />
BEYONCÉ AND JAY-Z BRING THEIR TRIUMPHANT TOUR<br />
TO THE ROSE BOWL THIS WEEKEND<br />
I’ve never been married. I was<br />
in a devoted relationship for 13<br />
years with a man with whom<br />
I am now, happily, good friends<br />
— but married, no. I mention<br />
that not to be burdensome with<br />
TMI, but because it’s pertinent to<br />
something I’ve been puzzling over<br />
as it relates to the Carters, better<br />
known as Beyoncé and Jay-Z, the<br />
reining king and queen of American<br />
pop, who are bringing their<br />
highly anticipated OTR II road<br />
show to the Rose Bowl Saturday<br />
and Sunday.<br />
On the Run II is a Europe and<br />
North America-barnstorming<br />
reprise of the megastar couple’s<br />
sold-out summer 2014 tour, which<br />
itself extended the Bonnie-&-<br />
Clyde mythologizing of earlier<br />
concerts. Tightly choreographed<br />
and widely hyped, it represents<br />
the pinnacle of 21st-century multimedia<br />
spectacle. Jay-Z, the first<br />
rapper inducted into the Songwriters<br />
Hall of Fame, resurrects<br />
hits like 1999’s “Big Pimpin’”;<br />
Beyoncé continues to weave sociopolitical<br />
themes into setpieces<br />
like “Foundation” and “Freedom”<br />
while finessing dance moves not<br />
seen since Tina Turner’s heyday.<br />
Cultural references range from<br />
Nina Simone and O.J. Simpson to<br />
Nigerian novelist Chimamanda<br />
Ngozi Adichie. All of that add<br />
meaningful layers to this particular<br />
presentation of their music.<br />
Or does it? Along with projected<br />
photos of the couple’s recently<br />
born twins, what’s also on<br />
display is the Carters’ undeniable<br />
showmanship and their marriage,<br />
the subject of endless, often cruel<br />
gossip, and supposedly the foundation<br />
undergirding the corporate<br />
clout of their merged careers. But<br />
in this context, what is marriage?<br />
Steely professionalism?<br />
Regardless of what you<br />
think of its dizzying parade of<br />
co-writers (and I retain profound<br />
reservations about that<br />
disjointed approach to songwriting),<br />
Beyoncé’s seething 2016<br />
album “Lemonade” was a time<br />
capsule-worthy piece of artistic<br />
statement-making. Jay-Z’s “4:44”<br />
followed last year, humbling<br />
himself to similar acclaim. They<br />
flung accusations at each other<br />
in their songs, sang mea culpas,<br />
and pledged chastened fidelity to<br />
their mutual vows, which made<br />
for stirring musical moments on<br />
those solo albums as well as their<br />
joint effort “Everything is Love,”<br />
which they released in June as<br />
the Carters. But how believable<br />
is that music when it’s defanged<br />
and refashioned into a neatly<br />
resolved story more palatable for<br />
concert consumption? There’s<br />
nothing easy embodied in the<br />
roles of philandering husband<br />
and righteously indignant wife,<br />
nothing comfortable about the<br />
contradictions in those different<br />
narratives, and nothing tidy<br />
about resolutions achieved to<br />
reaffirm marital bonds. Pretending<br />
there is makes it simpler to<br />
package and market for show<br />
promoters and the Carters’ Tidal<br />
streaming service. But do we<br />
who value the music also dismiss<br />
messy, relatable ambiguity and<br />
privacy in service of pretense?<br />
What does it say about the<br />
audience — about us — that we<br />
reward that? n<br />
Jay-Z & Beyoncé OTR II at the Rose Bowl,<br />
1001 Rose Bowl Drive, Pasadena, 7:30<br />
p.m. Saturday and Sunday, Sept. 22 and<br />
23; $49-$350. Tickets: ticketmaster.com<br />
Venue info: (626) 577-3100.<br />
rosebowlstadium.com<br />
Blazing Strato<br />
DAVID M’ORE AND HIS BAND PERFORM SATURDAY<br />
AT ARCADIA BLUES CLUB<br />
A guitar hero arrived in LA in the early 1990s, determined to make his mark<br />
on the music scene, and, by all accounts, David M’ore, appearing with his band<br />
Saturday at the Arcadia Blues Club, has succeeded in that quest.<br />
M’ore has become known for his aggressive guitar work, raspy vocals and<br />
high-energy blues-rock. His six-string work amounts to sonic pyrotechnics.<br />
Blazing away on his custom-made Stratocaster, he demonstrates his virtuoso<br />
technique on his own originals and classic cover songs.<br />
M’ore’s style blends a traditional blues sound with classic, British hard rock.<br />
The Argentina native has traveled the world promoting his sound, taking influences<br />
from such masters as Albert King, Jimi Hendrix, Joe Satriani and Johnny<br />
Winter, to name a few.<br />
His latest album is “From the Other Side of the River.”<br />
Visit davidmore.net.— John Sollenberger<br />
Music starts at 7 p.m. Saturday at Arcadia Blues Club, 16 E. Huntington Drive, Arcadia.<br />
Tickets are $10 in advance, $15 at the door. Call (626) 447-9349 or visit<br />
arcadiabluesclub.com.<br />
<strong>09.20.18</strong> | PASADENA WEEKLY 23
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