Sabroso Festival: Tacos and Punk Rock On

Posted on by Burke

Sunshine broke through the clouds at Dana Point last weekend, and with it came a bright expansion of the Sabroso Festival, this year featuring a taco eating contest, tastings of over 100 different regional craft beers, gourmet tacos, Lucha Libre wresting, and – music.

Sure, some people came to see whether Takeru Kobayashi could top his 2015 record of eating 144 street tacos, but most attendees were in it for the music. The crowd loved rocking out to punk and rock and Latin-edged acts. For the latter, it was Metalachi, for the punk it was Unwritten Law, Long Beach rock band Rival Sons, and Fullerton rock band Lit, straight up rock was well represented by Fueled by Defiance, and arguably the most renowned group on stage, Huntington Beach-based rockers the Offspring. Also on tap (pun intended): Canadian rock quintet Sum 41 whose set had a little pop sensibility.

Below, Fueled by Defiance commanded the stage with a blistering set.

Fueled by Defiance

Fueled by Defiance
Fueled by Defiance

Below, Metalachi added something primal and fun to a Latin edged set that was sexy, a little crazy, and totally intense.

Metalachi

Metalachi
Metalachi
Metalachi

Below, Lit was on fire.

Lit
Lit
Lit
Lit definitely preached to a crowd of music believers,  including a couple who got engaged right on stage. “Miss You Gone” – nope, these guys should stay and play.

Rival Sons, below, offered a powerful set that throbbed with rhythm.

Rival Sons
Rival Sons
Rival Sons

Sum 41 tore things up with a set that was both straight up rock and some pop-influenced material.

Sum 41

Sum 41
Sum 41
Sum 41
Sum 41

And closing act The Offspring proved their potency, reaffirming their status as a late 90s era headliner. If “The Kids Aren’t Alright” you couldn’t tell it here.

The Offspring
The Offspring
The Offspring
The Offspring

Along the way, the “Best of Taste” taco prizes were awarded…we were fortunate enough to taste several of the winners’ wares.

Taco Taste Winners

First place went to Mess Company Canteen food truck, second place Falasophy food truck, and third place went to Kroft.

And the taco eating competition unfolded – stuffed faces, full stomachs, and prizes. Above, entering champion Kobayashi.

Kobayashi
Molly Schuyler
Molly Schuyler

First place record holder Kobayashi  kept his spot, consuming 159 Chronic tacos.

Second place went to Molly Schuyler who devoured 139 Chronic tacos.

Wee Man – of Jackass fame –  promoting his Chronic Tacos.

The crowd around stage grew as the day faded into the night.

Samples of Gringo Bandito hot sauce were offered.
The crowd at the stage was exuberant day and night.
Above, attendees enjoyed a high-powered set by Metalachi.
Beer tasting on the beach drew it’s own crowd.
KLOS d.j.’s Frank, Heidi, Frosty work the crowd.
The KLOS crew raising their glasses.
Away from the stage KLOS also made its presence known: the radio station’s tent was home to swag and strong event support.
Sweet James – accident attorney. KLOS staff think highly of this legal eagle.
Beer tasting next to the main stage.

Strong music, strong brews, spicy tacos, and a beach front setting with great acoustics…who could ask for more? Flexing their musical and event driven muscles, the Sabroso festival is quintessentially Southern Californian,  a mix of music and marvelous madness.

  • Genie Davis; Photos – straight from the photographers’ pit – by Jack Burke.

Spring Art Week Blooms with Global Variety

Posted on by Diversions LA

Fabrik Photo independent crowd

Like spring flowers, art is blooming in Los Angeles – with a terrific art week at The Reef April 18th through 23rd. The DTLA location will feature three major art shows produced by Fabrik Media: Photo Independent Fair, The Los Angeles Festival of Photography, and EXPO Contemporary Fair.  Opening night festivities for all three events will take place Friday, April 21st from 6 to 10 p.m.

Fabrik TheReef

Here’s a look at all three shows.

Photo Independent

In it’s fourth year, Photo Independent, which runs from the 21st to the 23rd, offers a stellar platform for independent photographic artists. These exceptional works are presented by artists who have not yet participated in gallery-based fairs or reached a global audience. As a part of the exhibition, attendees have the opportunity to view the work of internationally renowned photographer Roger Ballen.

Fabrik Roger-Ballen-Photo

The South African-based artist will be presenting Ballenesque, four decades of work as well as pieces from his new series, The Theatre of Apparitions. Ballen will also be conducting a three-day Fine Art Photography workshop, as well as delivering the exhibition’s keynote speech, and holding a book signing. Working in black and white photography for over fifty years, Ballen believes that this medium as an “abstract way to interpret and transform what one might refer to as reality.”

Roger ballen

Ballen’s most recent series marks a departure from his already challenging oeuvre, inspired by hand-drawn carving on blacked-out windows in an abandoned women’s prison. Here his work is layered and experimental, merging painting, drawing, and photography using spray paints on glass, then removing the paint with a sharp object. We are looking at images which evoke pre-historic cave paintings. The series title refers to the theatrical mentality of life itself, dreams, imagination, and memories, as acted out on a mental and emotional stage.

In addition to Ballen’s work and that of other exhibitors, Paul Martineau, associate curator at the J. Paul Getty Museum will be reviewing photographers and their booths at Photo Independent, honoring one artist as Best of Show 2017. The winner will be awarded a solo exhibition in the 2018 fair.

Fabrik Photo Independent crowd 2

The Los Angeles Festival of Photography

This weeklong festival begins April 18th, and has as its goal the encouragement and celebration of photographic images and their creators. Lectures, workshops, gallery tours, networking, and of course, exhibitions are all a part of a festival that draws leading photographers.

Featured events include Keynotes from curator and writer Charlotte Cotton, and Roger Ballen, also leading a workshop on Fine Art Photography.  Other workshops will be presented by award winning photographers including Susan Burnstine, Karin Apollonia Müller, and Julia Dean.  Mobile Photography Workshops including David Ingraham: The iPhone Darkroom; Bob Weil: Creating Conceptual Art on Mobile Devices; and Nicki Fitz-Gerald: Life in Layers – Creative iPhone Artistry, will also be presented. The wide array of photographic exhibitions draws art lovers and photographers worldwide.

Fabrik photo contemporary EF Kitchen

Fabrik Expo Contemporary Linda Kunik

EXPO Contemporary

Looking for something different? Attendees will find exciting contemporary art here, in an annual exhibition that goes beyond the standard art fair experience, exposing audiences to a wide variety of artists, media, and practices. Both traditional and non-traditional media and materials will be presented from painters, printmakers, book and graphic artists, sculptors, assemblage and mixed media artists, muralists, installation artists, and high concept designers. The exhibition will also examine public art, experimental architecture, and environmental, social, and collaborative projects.

Fabrik Expo Contemporary 2

As Chris Davies, director of Fabrik Media, explains having three different art fairs in Los Angeles at one time is an exciting prospect. “With so many options, there will be a show for every type of art patron.”

All three exhibitions will be held at The Reef, 1933 S. Broadway, in DTLA.

For more information on each fair, and to purchase weekend, day passes, and opening night tickets see fair websites:

A New Phoenix Rising

Posted on by Burke

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Located on 3rd at its juncture with La Cienega is a reincarnation of the former Phoenix as – The Phoenix. And it’s a new bird rising. Sleek, French-bistro styling draws the eye to the  bar, while draft cocktails like the Dublin Donkey and La Paloma – as well as a wide selection of whiskies – draw the palette.

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While the food may be somewhat secondary to the beverages, it’s tasty too: below, Fusilli Marinara topped with a fried egg. The idea, our server tells us, is to mix the fried egg in with the basil and Parm cheese. The marinara sauce has a nice zing.
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Lighter fare is also present. The Phoenix House Salad adds feta cheese, pear, pepperocini, cilantro, cherry tomatoes, and red onions to fresh mixed green. Toasty bread on the side.
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Below, Adolfo Suaya, partner in the restaurant, ready to help patrons enjoy the classy but cool European vibe.

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The very red-lit patio was our favorite spot. Hip, happening, sexy lighting, comfortable booths and the al fresco bar scene that LA needs a lot more of.

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Below, crisply well-seasoned fries are redolent of rosemary.

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Below: those well prepared draft cocktails.

The Paloma features Milagro Blanco Tequila, Giffard’s Pamplemousse,  plus lime and soda.

We loved the Dublin Donkey, a nicely spicy blend of Tullamore Dew, Giffard’s Ginger of the Indies, lime, and Ginger Beer.

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To sum up: a welcoming place for a drink and some food, The Phoenix is open late and stays stylish. Insiders tip: the patio is the perfect spot for a date night. The Phoenix rises to become your next occasion for celebration. It’s located at 8480 3rd Street close to the Beverly Center.

  • Genie Davis; Photos: Jack Burke

Round Too: Durden and Ray Gets It Right – Again

Posted on by Diversions LA

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Curated by Max Presneill, Round Too – the second half of Durden and Ray’s opening – is strong, sensual, and smart.

Featuring artists  Jorin Bossen, Gul Cagin, Sijia Chen, Lana Duong, Ed Gomez, Brian Thomas Jones, Chris Mercier, Ty Pownall, Nano Rubio, Curtis Stage, Valerie Wilcox, and Steven Wolkoff, the exhibition has a cool, clean look from its colors to its spacing.  Both the style of the cohesive exhibition and that of the artists’ represented is innately different from the first half of gallery’s inaugural, Round Won.

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Christopher Mercier’s “In Proximity” describes his work as “an art conservator’s disaster.” Using frames to build new space, Mercier works with “Just paint. No rubber, no plastic, it’s just painting and the frame, latex, enamel, oil, water based ink,” he explains. By refolding the frames, Mercier has expanded the space in his wall sculpture to bring the painting into a three-dimensional space.

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The incredibly thick paint and even the artist’s unique use of space evokes the Excessivist movement. The piece is an encompassing 24 x 96 x 18 inches.

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Equally fascinating is the very different work by Nano Rubio, “Anti Flag.”

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Oil, acrylic, and spray paint on canvas, the work employs techniques Rubio often used in customizing cars. “There are lots of pin striping tools that I use, and I like to build up layers. I like the idea of trickery, that things can change your perception. Yes, the piece can be ready as very political,” he asserts.

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“Things are getting grittier to deal with politics in the California landscape.”

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Ty Pownall created his “Untitled (single fade out)” right on site. Comprised of steel, sand, and spray paint, the work needs to be created from scratch whenever Pownall exhibits it.

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“It’s loose sand raised on a steel sheet. The pigment is sifted on with a screen, you essentially tap it on in order to put the particulate on top. I do it all on site.” The piece seems to fade off into infinity at one end, creating an image that is both one of perfection and incompletion.

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Valerie Wilcox’ “Passage” is a mixed media work in cool whites, off-whites, grey and green. It’s both bold and ghostly; both all angular lines and soft colors.

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Steven Wolkoff, who curated the first half of Durden & Ray’s opening, here offers “High Adventure (a pile of gummy behrs).”

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Using Behr acrylic house paint to create his miniature paint bears, Wolkoff’s deliciously tactile work is available at a crazy-reasonable cost: $5 per bear. Good enough to eat, but don’t.

The impressionist abstract of Sijia Chen’s “Stray;” the photo diptych of Brian Thomas-Jones “Untitled (Green/Tan),” which fits visually with Wilcox’ “Passage” like they were destined to be shown together; and Gul Gain’s “To Look Aimlessly,” an abstract that looks as if a head was literally exploding other shadowy forms around it – are among the other standouts in a strong exhibition.

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Above, Durden and Ray’s Dani Dodge with curator Max Presneill.

The Durden and Ray collective continues to hit their art out of the ballpark – rarely has a gallery’s “opening season” looked so good.

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Durden and Ray is located at 1923 S. Santa Fe Avenue in a building now brimming with art galleries, including CB1.

  • Genie Davis; photos: Genie Davis