Arkansas Times

ARKTIMES.COM / MARCH 7, 2012 / NEWS + POLITICS + ENTERTAINMENT

TIME FOR

TOM PETTY The rocker finally comes to Central Arkansas.

They put all their hearts into caring for mine.

Physicians pictured with heart patient Paul Matthews (from left to right): F. Michael Bauer, M.D. David M. Evans, M.D., F.A.C.C. Randy A. Jordan, M.D., F.A.C.C. Charles J. Watkins, M.D. Morris E. Kelley, M.D., F.A.C.C. Scott W. Rypkema, M.D., F.A.C.C. Frederick A. Meadors, M.D. Eleanor E. Kennedy, M.D., F.A.C.C., F.H.R.S. Mangaraju (Raj) Chakka, M.D., F.A.C.C.

The Jack Stephens Heart Institute represents the integration of three leaders in cardiac care – St. Vincent Heart Clinic Arkansas, cardiovascular surgeons Drs. Watkins, Bauer and Meadors, and St. Vincent Health System. Together, we’ve created the state’s largest cardiovascular network offering the highest-quality care available. With Arkansas’ largest team of cardiologists, the state’s most experienced heart surgeons and a $36 million investment in state-ofthe-art facilities, we’re providing expert care for each heart patient’s needs.

Learn more today at StVincentHealth.com/Heart.

Our team of 32 cardiologists and cardiovascular surgeons cares for patients at more than 20 convenient clinic locations. Call 501-255-6000 to schedule an appointment or find a clinic near you.

Clinic locations: Little Rock North Little Rock Searcy

SVC 0312 002 hbeats_10x12.5.indd 1

Satellite locations: Arkadelphia Benton Cabot Camden

Clinton Fordyce Heber Springs Jacksonville

Lonoke Malvern Morrilton Nashville

Newport Russellville Stuttgart Warren

3/2/12 4:58 PM

KREBS BROTHERS SINCE 1933

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MARCH 7, 2012

3

COMMENT

Wise words from Griffen Reading a recent blog item regarding the order of a federal judge in the 1957 Central High integration crisis reminded me of a recent letter to the editor published in your newspaper and written by the esteemed Wendell Griffen. Writing about the Little Rock Board of Directors’ debate about whether to overturn a resolution it took in support of Orval Faubus in 1957, Mr. Griffen writes, in part, in November 2011, some 54 years later: “Rather than turning over the political graves of Orval Faubus and the misguided people who supported him, we should invest our time and efforts in confronting and correcting present injustice.”

Consider those words of wisdom.

Art Dorrington Little Rock

Whites not wanted Affluent? Middle class? The Central High neighborhood in the olden days?

C’mon, fellas. The article in the Dec. 28, 2011, Arkansas Times about the Central High neighborhood was revisionist history. The Central High neighborhood was never affluent or middle class. In 1956, one year before integration, Central High was a working class neighborhood where non-black people from affluent neighborhoods in Hillcrest and the Heights sent their children. But that didn’t make the Central High neighborhood affluent.

Today, just because affluent white children from the Heights and Hillcrest go to Central High for the gifted academic programs within the regular school doesn’t mean that affluent whites want to live in our neighborhood. Nor do we want them. We don’t need gentrification. Do me and my neighbors a favor: Stay in Hillcrest and the Heights, OK? William E. O’Ree Little Rock

From the web Arkansas Reporter

THE

INSIDER

An anonymous donor has offered a $100,000 reward for information leading to the arrest and conviction for those responsible for the 1993 murders of Stevie Branch, Christopher Byers and Michael Moore.

This is the latest effort by Arkansas Take Action, the group that worked to free Jason Baldwin, Damien Echols and Jesse Misskelley, who were each convicted in the case and served 18 years in prison until they were released last year.

According to a news release, billboards and radio advertising will be used to promote the reward. Attorneys for Echols will review all tips and pass along credible evidence to Craighead County Prosecuting Attorney Scott Ellington.

“We know Damien, Jason and Jessie were not involved in this crime, and that those responsible are still in our community,” said Arkansas Take Action co-founder Capi Peck. “It may be difficult to provide information about a murder, but it is the right thing to do.

We are hopeful that this reward will motivate someone to help put an end to these tragic events.”

The confidential tip-line number is 501-256-1775. Or to provide a tip by mail, write to P.O. Box 183, 6834 Cantrell Road, Little Rock, AR 72207.

Legislative Auditor stands mostly mute Legislative Auditor Roger Norman may be fine with figures but he’s wary of words. Norman declined to discuss detailed complaints that were made against him in an anonymous letter to the Arkansas Times.

Norman did provide some records in response to a Freedom of Information request, after referring the request to Frank Arey, the lawyer for the state Legislative Audit Division.

Sen. Bill Pritchard, R-Elkins, and Rep. Tim Summers, R-Bentonville, the co-chairmen of the Legislative Joint Auditing Committee, for whom Norman works, said they’d received no letters of complaint about Norman.

The letter to the Times said, for example, that Norman had received a 10 percent pay increase each year for the last three years but did not give the same raise to his employees, although he was authorized to do so.

Some years, the other employees of the division got smaller percentage

BRIAN CHILSON

Big money reward in WM3 case

No pills for women at St. Vincent Hospital claims it’s exempt from state law.

BY LESLIE NEWELL PEACOCK

A

n Arkansas law enacted during the administration of former Gov. Mike Huckabee that requires health insurance deliverers to include contraceptive coverage among their benefits does not apply to St. Vincent Health System, hospital Chief Executive Officer Peter Banko says.

The law states that religious employers are exempt if their organization “has one of its primary purposes the inculcation of religious values,” which Banko said is the mission of the hospital, and “employs primarily persons who share its religious beliefs.” That, too, describes the employees of St. Vincent, he said.

Potential and current employees of the hospital must be familiar with the guiding documents of the Catholic Church and “regularly have to attest that they are in compliance with those directives,” Banko said.

The federal Equal Employment Opportunity Commission’s position is that companies with 15 or more employees must offer birth control coverage if they offer any prescription coverage.

They would be exempt only if they offered no prescription coverage at all.

The EEOC ruling said to do otherwise was to discriminate on the basis of sex,

a violation of the 1964 Civil Rights Act. DePaul University in Chicago, the largest Catholic university in the nation, offers birth control coverage thanks to an EEOC complaint. Georgetown University provides its students plans that cover both contraceptives and abortion, according to the Catholic newspaper Our Sunday Visitor.

The EEOC ruling is not a “legislative mandate,” Banko noted. “We feel we are in compliance with all federal and state laws.”

In the words of one Catholic clinic that boils down the Ethical and Religious Directives for Catholic Health Care statement, “… each and every marriage act (quilibet matrimonii usus) must remain open to the transmission of life … .” Banko said employees have “to sign a statement with respect to compliance annually.”

Arkansas’s law, the Equity in Prescription Insurance and Contraceptive Coverage Act, was introduced in 2005

by Democratic and Republican women in the state legislature. State Sen. Joyce Elliott recalled that previous attempts at similar legislation by State Rep. Jim Lendall had failed to get a second to get out of committee. “I was bowled over,”

Elliott said, at Lendall’s failure.

Elliott said the legislation was about parity, not politics, and to stress that fact one Republican and one Democratic lawmaker presented it to the House Insurance and Commerce Committee.

“It was a matter of parity,” Elliott said; if insurance companies were going to cover Viagra and Cialis for men, they could certainly cover contraceptives for women.

“I wonder if any hospital, no matter who they are, who has a religious objection, if they are exercising that objection with a sense of parity as well,” such as covering medicine for erectile dysfunction, Elliott said.

The Times was not able to verify that St. Vincent’s provides coverage of Viagra and Cialis for employees by press time.

Baptist Health spokesman Mark Lowman said the hospital does offer its employees insurance that covers contraceptives.

State Insurance Commissioner Jay Bradford said that to his knowledge there has never been a complaint about St. Vincent’s insurance policy. He said he believes the institution meets the purpose test (of religious inculcation).

If an employee were to complain based on the shared beliefs requirement, however, the commission would perhaps “open a file and see what the circumstances are.”

In response to an article in the Feb. 29 issue of the Times on St. Vincent Health policy not to include birth control in the insurance policy offered employees: CONTINUED ON PAGE 13

12

FEBRUARY 29, 2012

ARKANSAS TIMES

The hospital exists primarily for the 4

MARCH 7, 2012

ARKANSAS TIMES

inculcation of religious values? Uh huh.

If they depend on that argument, presumably constitutionally based, let’s base their financial practices on the same argument. I assume then that they refuse to bill for Medicare and Medicaid, right? So they either dun my Southern Baptist Medicare-covered friend who recently spent about 10 days at St. Vincent’s or they write the bill off. (I happen to know he’s not going to write a check for it.)

Doigotta It is ridiculous to believe that

employees of St. Vincent depend on the only method of birth control approved by the Catholic Church. If they did, half the women of childbearing age would be either pregnant or out on maternity leave.

Verla Sweere In response to the Feb. 29 cover story about Arkansas State University’s hiring of Gus Malzahn as head football coach: I, like everyone else with a clue, could give a crap about ASU. As a Hog

fan I’d rather not play them, not for any reason of fearing a rivalry but because I don’t ever want to give these crybabies what they want.

The funniest thing about this Malzahn deal is that as excited as ASU fans are, they don’t understand that ASU was a soft place to land after getting forced out of Auburn. He’s going to be in Jonesboro a maximum of two years, and will never be any better than they were this past year.

At least they don’t have that racist mascot anymore.

Deep South Why even discuss the Arkansas Razorbacks? I’m a lifelong ASU fan and really have no desire to play them. If your article is about ASU and Coach Malzahn why even disuss UA? Why compare enrollment and attendance? Both are at an all time high for ASU by the way.

Why bring up the unfounded rumors that ASU can’t pay Malzahn when that rumor was proven to be wrong?

Sunbelt coaches moving up to higher profile jobs? Who? Hugh Freeze is the only one I know of to do it. Blakeney, Dickey, Cristobol, Schnellenberger have not moved “up” from the Sunbelt.

Poor article.

Possum

NEWS + POLITICS + ENTERTAINMENT / FEBRUARY 22, 2012 / ARKTIMES.COM

GONE ROGUE IN BRYANT

‘REPUBLICAN’ MAYOR JILL DABBS TAKES A PAGE FROM PALIN.

BY CHEREE FRANCO PAGE 14

In response to the Times’ Feb. 22 cover story on Bryant Mayor Jill Dabbs: I keep thinking of the title of Sen. J.Wm. Fulbright’s book — “The Arrogance of Power.”

Reckon that’s appropriate here?

Jill, a free brewski, darlin’, if you can make it down to the mobile adult beverage emporium at McNab (Like Bryant, McNab is also a veritable Republican conclave).

Louie

Submit letters to the Editor, Arkansas Times, P.O. Box 34010, Little Rock, AR 72203. We also accept letters via e-mail. The address is arktimes@ arktimes.com. We also accept faxes at 375-3623. Please include name and hometown.

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MARCH 7, 2012

5

EDITORIAL

War hawks

itler pretty well proved, if unintentionally, that fighting a two-front war is a bad idea. The Republican Party didn’t notice. Republican presidential candidates are crying out for military action against Iran even as fighting still rages in the party’s War on Women (a conflict described by some commentators as “gender cleansing”).

Indeed, the Republicans lost a battle in the WOW just last week, the United States Senate throttling a Republican effort to deny women insurance coverage for contraceptives. Arkansas Sen. Mark Pryor helped turn back the Republican surge, while Arkansas Sen. John Boozman, as always, meekly followed orders from Republican headquarters, which is meekly taking its orders from Rush Limbaugh. Limbaugh, never meek, seems to believe the only good woman is a dead woman, or perhaps one grasping an aspirin tablet between her knees. He’s not friendly to civil liberties, either, and thus the defeated Republican bill was written not only to keep women down, but to undermine religious freedom, allowing church-related institutions to override secular law and impose their own beliefs on others. “My religion or the highway” is how the Iranians do it, ironically. The Republicans want to imitate them and bomb them. This sort of muddy thinking is what allows people like John Boozman to become senators and people like Rick Santorum to become presidential candidates. At least they haven’t proposed to bomb the women yet, but it’s not outside Santorum’s reach.

Can’t hurt

O

n learning that the Arkansas Supreme Court will begin exacting a promise from lawyers to act right, a layman’s first thought is “too little, too late.” But the longest journey begins with a single step, it’s said, and that step deserves commendation. The Court has added a pledge of civility to the Attorney Oath of Admission: “I will maintain the respect and courtesy due to courts of justice, judicial officers, and those who assist them. To opposing parties and their counsel, I pledge fairness, integrity and civility, not only in court, but also in all written and oral communications.” (The oath already includes promises to support the U.S. and Arkansas constitutions, to advance the cause of justice, to refrain from robbing clients, etc.) The Court is, in effect, asking lawyers to be more like journalists. It’s a high standard, and yet we’ve seen a few lawyers who were unfailingly nice, even when facing the most uncivil opposition. Barack Obama, for one. Bill Clinton, for another. Their greatest success came in the political arena, though. Their civility might have been more severely tested in the rough-and-tumble of the courtroom.

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MARCH 7, 2012

ARKANSAS TIMES

BRIAN CHILSON

H

EYE ON ARKANSAS

OUT FOR A RUN: Runners of all kinds participated in the 10th Little Rock Marathon this past weekend. Mark Chepses won the men’s marathon, while Leah Thorvilson claimed the women’s title.

Corporate dominance

U

pdates follow on a couple of topics. Though unrelated in the specific, both are directly related to corporate dominance of the people’s government.

• LITTLE ROCK TECHNOLOGY PARK AUTHORITY: This is a public agency set up by a law written by the Little Rock Regional Chamber of Commerce and controlled by business interests. It even has a seat specifically designated for the chamber. The chamber handles the group’s administrative tasks and paperwork. The authority will have at least $22 million worth of city taxpayer money for a building that it hopes will be a magnet for private research firms.

A few weeks ago, the authority chose an engineering firm to oversee the preliminary work that likely will mean the uprooting of hundreds of people from their homes on the south side of Interstate 630 across from UAMS. The firm was chosen without a formal public vote, as the state law requires for legal actions. Only two members of the 7-member board were present. A third was on the phone. It was announced that the board had chosen a firm based on scores from ballots mailed to board members and scored before the meeting. The public was told that the firm with the highest score got the job.

Our reporter, Leslie Newell Peacock, asked to see the ballots recently. She was told they were destroyed, on advice of legal counsel. The city attorney didn’t provide the advice on that decision; a private law firm did. Working for whom? Under what sort of arrangement? Was there a vote on that? Whatever, this law firm defended secrecy as another firm did in advising the Chamber of Commerce not to report specific expenditures on the city sales tax campaign the chamber ran to raise the $22 million for the

Technology Park Authority.

Which the chamber controls.

Which just hired an engineering firm without a formal public vote. Which then destroyed the record of how that firm was MAX ranked. Follow the dots.

BRANTLEY maxbrantley@arktimes.com Peacock will be writing more on the evolution of the technology park in coming weeks. This much seems clear: The authority will never deserve public confidence as long as a private business organization (subsidized by tax money with no accountability on how that subsidy is spent) is destroying public records and preventing full transparency on decisions that affect hundreds of lives.

• REGNAT POPULUS 2012: The ad hoc group to tighten Arkansas ethics law has submitted its proposed ballot initiative for review by the attorney general. Let’s hope it gets expeditious approval so signature gathering may begin.

It has been boiled down to three simple parts: 1) It would have Arkansas law mirror federal law on campaign contributions — only from individuals or PACs, but none from corporations, partnerships or other enterprises, including unions; 2) legislators, beginning with those elected this year, would have to wait two years, not just one, after leaving office to become a lobbyist, 3) gifts to public officials, including food, drink and travel, would be prohibited. Government would operate like Walmart. Decision-makers could not take so much as a cup of coffee from someone trying to influence them.

This measure passes if it makes the ballot. Can a grassroots group without money get the 63,000 signatures it needs? With help, maybe. Check thepeoplerule2012.com.

OPINION

Rush prostituting for the GOP

I

t has never been clear whether Rush Limbaugh is the Republican Party’s philosopher or merely its herald, but he always comes through when the party needs him.

So it was again when the party and its presidential candidates tried to persuade religious voters, particularly Catholics, that President Obama was trying to destroy religious freedom in America by requiring health insurance policies to cover birth control. The new insurance law seeks to lower medical costs over the long term by insuring preventive care, and the administration said contraceptive medicine was a fundamental part of it.

Despite their cries that the rule would force Catholics to violate their conscience and Catholic employers to breach church doctrine, polls showed that Mitt Romney, Rick Santorum and Newt Gingrich weren’t getting the point across, so like Custer at Little Bighorn Limbaugh came to the rescue and illuminated the issue clearly where the presidential candidates and party leaders had only muddied it.

It’s all about U.S. women wanting to have sex and making others — taxpayers

and employers — pay to keep them from getting pregnant, Limbaugh explained, calling a female student ERNEST who favored the DUMAS coverage a slut and a prostitute and suggesting that she tape herself having sex and put it on the Internet so he could watch it.

More such help and the Republican chances of winning the White House and the Senate will vanish. Republicans by the weekend were looking for a strategy to hold onto a few women voters outside the Tea Party ranks, and Limbaugh was struggling to hold onto his lucrative radio program, or at least his sponsors. When businesses started canceling their ads, Limbaugh apologized to the woman snidely, but when nine of them canceled he amended his apology to say that he was sincere about it.

Limbaugh had undertaken to help the GOP in the way that he had learned 20 years ago from Newt Gingrich: Demonize anyone on the other side as an indecent

human being or an enemy who intends to destroy the United States. The best target seemed to be a student who had been trying to get her college, the Jesuit university in Washington that graduated Bill Clinton, to amend its insurance plan to cover contraceptive pills that control a disease that causes ovarian cysts.

Although he clearly did not know anything about Sandra Fluke, understand anything about birth control (he thought women took them only when they were going to have sex) or know anything about the health insurance law and the proposed rule (he thought taxpayers paid for the insurance), Limbaugh really did illuminate the issue. It had nothing at all to do with religious freedom, but if it triggered any constitutional issue it was equal protection of the laws for women.

Limbaugh, you may remember, uses Viagra, which is usually covered by insurance, to overcome his erectile dysfunction and maintain a virile sex life. (He’s with his fourth wife, with no children, so someone must be practicing birth control.)

To support the presidential candidates, Senate Republicans proffered a bill to allow all employers — not just Catholics and church-affiliated enterprises — that provide health insurance for their workers to opt out of covering any kind of medical expense that violates the boss’s beliefs. Sickened by the rank hypocrisy of

this and other snipe hunts by her party, Sen. Olympia Snowe voted against it and announced that she would not run again.

So how would that law work if it had passed? A Baptist preacher of my acquaintance has maintained for years that gluttony is a sin condemned not once but dozens of times by the Bible. I have an idea that the reverend maintains that covering treatment of diabetes and other diseases that may be related to food and alcohol excess violates God’s word. A conscientious Baptist employer would have to cancel that coverage, wouldn’t he?

No one has been more pious than Romney on the birth-control coverage.

No federal or state law, he said, can go against the doctrine of a church and expect acolytes of the church to adhere to it.

But what about the Morrill Act, passed by Republicans and signed by Abraham Lincoln, which outlawed polygamy, then the holy doctrine of Romney’s Mormon church. Lincoln didn’t enforce the law in Utah for a time in exchange for the territory not joining with the Confederates, but the church eventually accommodated its teachings to the law of the land. Romney now supports the government’s action, as presumably do Rick Santorum and Newt Gingrich. Maybe even Rush Limbaugh.

MEDIA

Somebody’s watching me

O

n March 1 Google updated its privacy policy. Previously, it had more than 70 policies for its various services — Chrome, Gmail, Google+, Picasa, YouTube, etc. The new policy covers nearly all Google properties. In January, the company explained the forthcoming change on its Official Blog: “Our new Privacy Policy makes clear that, if you’re signed in, we may combine information you’ve provided from one service with information from other services.” The upshot? Fewer passwords to remember for you, and easier access for Google to glean information about you and use it to more precisely target you with ads.

That didn’t sit well with many Internet commentators. The tech blog Gizmodo Photoshopped sinister eyebrows onto photos of Google founders Sergey Brin and Larry Page to accompany the headline “Google’s Broken Promise: The End of ‘Don’t Be Evil.’ ” The National Association of Attorneys General sent a strongly worded letter to Page, accusing Google of invading consumer privacy, signed by 36 attorneys general, including Arkansas Attorney General Dustin McDaniel.

For anyone who’s followed the development of the Internet over the years, this is an old story. As LINDSEY Joseph Turrow MILLAR lindseymillar@arktimes.com notes in his new book “The Daily You,” as early as 1995, Internet companies were hiring data firms to analyze their users — who they were, where they were coming from, what they were doing on the site and how long they stuck around.

That data makes the web go. The more of it companies like Google gobble up about you, the more useful Google is to you as well as to advertisers.

Because monitoring happens almost entirely behind the scenes, we rarely think about it. Pulling back the curtain is seeing a blown-up image of the dust mites that cover everything in your house — a little unsettling. Using a free Mozilla plug-in called Collusion, The Atlantic’s Alexis Madrigal recently offered a useful window into that typically invisible process. Over a 36-hour period

of normal web surfing, he counted 105 companies that were tracking him, mostly through cookies and beacons, files that allow websites to keep track of users’ browsing habits. Some of the companies Madrigal found were familiar names — Google, Microsoft — but most, he said, were smaller companies with names like Audience Science. Together, they represent a dizzying array of outfits that are trying, in one way or another, to more successfully sell you things. Some track our web movements so they can create detailed consumer profiles to sell to other marketers. Others target ads based on users’ behavioral, demographic or geographic information.

The large majority of the companies tracking you, including Google, promise that the data they collect is anonymized, meaning your name is not attached to it.

As many privacy experts have pointed out, however, it’s not difficult to connect detailed, anonymized data with detailed personal data (maybe Acxiom would be willing to help). Many of the data miners, increasingly, offer a “do not track option.”

In the wake of the Obama administration’s recently unveiled Consumer Privacy Bill of Rights, major browsers have also promised to implement “do not track”

technology into their products. Still, as many experts have pointed out, the only way to truly escape the long reach of marketers is to go offline completely.

Beyond being creepy, the social consequences of highly detailed profiling is largely theoretical at this point. A pragmatist might argue that whatever privacy we’re ceding is a reasonable exchange for a largely free Internet.

Turrow worries about discrimination in situations where advertisers supply discounts to people based on their marketing profile and none to others.

I’m worried about the power online marketers are accruing and how they might leverage it on publishers. Of, say, journalism. Increasingly, as Turrow details in “The Daily You,” marketers are pushing publishers to provide targeted content to users to enhance the value of their ads. When, according to a recent Pew Study, for every $7 newspapers lose in print ad revenue only $1 of digital ad revenue is gained, it’s not hard to imagine marketers putting the screws to publishers. If you ever visit the Arkansas Times and find an article on exfoliating tips next to ad for skin care and you have aging or otherwise imperfect skin, you’ll know the end is near. www.arktimes.com

MARCH 7, 2012

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ARKANSAS TIMES

3/6/12

3:07:10 PM

Rule change shouldn’t hamper 2012 Hogs

W

ith baseballs shooting out of parks at a rate that could be described as nakedly extreme, the NCAA implemented rules changes in 2009 that were designed to alter the way college baseball was played. The so-called “BBCOR” (Batted-Ball Coefficient of Restitution...but you knew that already) rule went into effect for the 2011 season and home run production across the board plummeted while pitchers reaped the ensuing rewards.

Arkansas tagged a school-record 92 team home runs in 2010; in 2011, the ban on composite bats knocked the Hogs’ power output down to only 38 bombs in 62 total games. The team batting average sank from a respectable .306 in 2010, a mark that was fourthbest in the SEC, to .270 in 2011. That suggested, to the casual observer, that maybe the equipment adjustments were also robbing the college game of the overall offense that caused its popularity to surge dramatically the past couple of decades.

Of course, the impetus for the BBCOR rule’s passage was not built out of some kind of unnatural spite for hitters. Rather, the NCAA, in one of its rare moments of clarity and sensibility, demonstrated that it was desirous of making the college game approximate the “real-world” or professional experience. After all, that .270 team clip the Hogs boasted in 2011 would have placed them sixth out of the 30 Major League teams, even as it placed them dead last among the 12 conference teams.

While college baseball’s appeal was partially rooted in its no-lead-is-eversafe spirit, the composite bats were arguably doing a disservice to amateur players with higher aspirations on the diamond. Khalil Greene hit .480 with 26 home runs for Clemson in 2002, winning the Golden Spikes Award as the best amateur player in the country, then floundered as a professional with a .245 career mark. That’s not an indictment of Greene, because we all acknowledge that hitting Major League pitching is an incomprehensible challenge regardless of what kind of materials you are wielding. Nevertheless, in retrospect it does appear that those gaudy college numbers of yore were misleading as indicators of long-term success.

The less-publicized byproduct of the rule change is that it probably shifted strategy more than anything else. Yes, the ball does not spring off the bar-

rel of these aluminum bats as it did previously, but coaches knew this change was coming and BEAU began to account WILCOX for that. Again, the Razorbacks’ season-to-season comparison bears this out, along with the comments that head coach Dave Van Horn offered before and during the guinea-pig year of 2011. Whereas the 2010 Hogs had a cadre of experienced, chiseled hitters like Zack Cox, Brett Eibner and Andy Wilkins, the 2011 squad was a smaller and scrappier bunch, and Van Horn and hitting coach Todd Butler seized upon this. For all the Razorbacks’ general offensive woes last season, they did prove more adept at manufacturing tallies by hustling and swiping bases — their 122 stolen bases led the SEC by a wide margin.

It’s a credit, then, to Van Horn and Butler for trying to reshape the offense to suit personnel, but overcorrecting may have been a byproduct of it. The Hogs were still strikeout-prone (second in the SEC) and had struggled with the much-ballyhooed “situational hitting.” Their season ended at the Tempe regional because they simply couldn’t overcome those scoring deficiencies over the latter half of the season.

So far in 2012, it appears that Arkansas is trying to balance things out. The Hogs are 11-2 after winning two of three at the Houston College Classic over the weekend, scoring seven runs in a routine win over Texas on Sunday. They are hitting at a more proficient clip (.312 team average, 11 home runs in 13 games) and still relying heavily on an extraordinarily deep pitching staff that was assembled, in part, to capitalize upon the rules changes.

The season is young, though, and the SEC as it does in every sport represents a meat grinder that will test the Hogs’ ability to sustain this balance. There seems to be a concerted approach by Van Horn and Butler to level things out, to take advantage of potential sluggers like Cabot product Sam Bates and third baseman Matt Reynolds while still being able to employ a station-tostation approach when justifiable. If Arkansas is going to capitalize on its enormous promise in 2012, the NCAA’s effort to mold the game in a newer, more demure image should not impede the team’s development.

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MARCH 7, 2012

9

THE OBSERVER NOTES ON THE PASSING SCENE

FRIED

Of birds and Cardinals THE OBSERVER’S PHOTOGRAPHER PAL, a

born and raised St. Louisian who bleeds Cardinals red, recently got the chance to meet his idol, the great Cardinal Lou Brock, during an event at the Clinton Center. His account of that dream-meeting is a humdinger: “Why are they booing that guy?” my little sister asked. Sisters are stupid and watching a baseball game in a packed stadium in the July heat in St. Louis is miserable, but there was nowhere I’d rather have been. I rolled my eyes and smirked.

“They aren’t booing him,” I said.

“They’re chanting LOOOUUUUU!” Lou Freaking Brock was coming to the plate. Lou was 40 then — old for a baseball player, and ancient for a base stealer — and the calls for his retirement had been loud the previous year. But Lou was on a tear that season. He’d go on to hit .304 over 120 games and end his storied career with a lifetime .293 batting average. But he’d only steal 21 bases that year, 1979, his last as a player. Twenty-one was a fraction of his 1974 single-season record (at the time THE record) of 118.

That record inspired a special edition Converse sneaker, the “Lou Brock 118.”

I had a pair, which I wore to everything but church until I just couldn’t stuff my growing feet into them anymore. The stadium was fuller than usual that day, not because the Cardinals were doing well, but because this was it: Lou was leaving the sport and any game could be it. We all wanted to be there.

Last week, much older and my 118’s long gone, I got an e-mail from The Boss.

My assignment: Photo op at the Clinton Presidential Center for the opening of a new St. Louis Cardinals exhibit.

Special guest: Lou Brock.

Lou. Freaking. Brock. I read it a couple of times. I was gonna meet Lou. I didn’t tell anyone, just in case it didn’t really happen. When the day came, I fumbled with my gear at the security check point. Had I remembered the right lenses? Did I put memory cards in the cameras? The guard told me to wait by the metal detector for an escort, but I’d gone almost around the corner to see if I could see Lou. As I was escorted to the waiting area in the lobby where the rest of the press was gathered, I tried to hold

back a little. There’s a fine line between enthusiastic fan and psycho, and I was very close to stepping over it.

Then there he was: Lou. He walked toward me, much older than I remembered and wearing his Cardinals Blazer.

He put out his hand, and I shook it. “Mr. Brock,” I said, “I grew up in Busch Stadium watching you play.” That was all I could muster. Words failed me past that.

We were taken to the exhibit, where reporters asked all the questions you ask a legend, which can be summed up thusly: “Tell us some stories, Lou.” I loved every minute of it. The other photographers and I buzzed around each other, snapping away, looking for angles, expressions, something the other guy hadn’t done. The questions tapered off, and I had turned to leave when a TV photographer sped past me and said, “Hey, you should ask him to sign your hat!”

My hat? MY HAT! I was wearing a St. Louis Cardinals 2011 Championship hat! I whipped the hat off my head, then walked back toward Lou and thrust it toward him like a 10-year-old trying to get his glove signed. He happily obliged, and one of the handlers took our photo.

As I stepped away to leave, I noticed a display he’d been standing beside the entire time. Inside: An original pair of Lou Brock 118’s, just like my once-treasured pair. Only these were on display in a presidential library, with The Man Himself standing beside them.

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STANDING OUTSIDE WATCHING Junior play kickball with his cousins at our Auntie’s summer retreat in North Pulaski County last sunny Sunday, we were startled to see a crowd of shadows flit over us: thousands of them, enough to gray out the sun for a moment. A few seconds later, a great, dark flock passed overhead at an altitude of maybe 75 feet, the mass of tiny birds folding in and out on itself like a porous liquid suspended against the blue sky. Even with the chance of getting a nasty surprise from above, we couldn’t help but stand with mouth agape for a second as they flowed over the tree line, taking their crawling, hazy shadow with them.

The world, we thought, is so beautiful at times. www.arktimes.com

MARCH 7, 2012

11

Arkansas Reporter

THE

IN S IDE R

Arvest Bank is working with the Hot Springs Documentary Film Festival to find a way to keep the Malco Theater out of foreclosure, the festival director says.

Carol Kimery was vague on what assistance Arvest is offering the HSDFI, but said “we’ve been working on this a long time.”

Arvest began foreclosure proceedings on the Malco last month, claiming in court documents that the HSDFI owes it $330,000. The board in 2008 used the Malco as collateral on an Arvest loan of $150,000 to buy the parking lot next door to the theater.

The three-year loan had a final balloon payment of $140,000, which the festival could not pay. It still owes $185,000 on the theater itself. The HSDFI is trying to sell the parking lot.

Kimery insists this year’s Documentary Film Festival, scheduled Oct. 12 through 21, will go on at the Malco as planned. Jim Miller, a volunteer and former assistant director of the festival, told the Times the HSDFI failed to obtain grants and private funds but hopes that the festival “will be able to continue to rent or have access to the Malco in the future.”

Keith Pike, an attorney with the Wagoner Law Firm, which is representing the Hot Springs Documentary Film Institute, contends the Malco is not in real jeopardy of being lost to the bank.

“The theater is not at risk,” Pike said. “There are four buildings and a parking lot [owned by the HSDFI].

Technically there’s a lien against the theater, but the amount of the loans that are owed to Arvest are a lot less than the property that’s securing those loans. The other properties, if need be, can be sold without the theater.”

The other buildings owned by the HSDFI, Pike said, are office buildings adjacent and attached to the theater, but are separated by walls, meaning they could be sold individually.

“It’s very simple,” Pike said. “There was a commercial loan, the commercial loan expired at a balloon payment, and they couldn’t meet the time frame to get it paid off or refinanced. They’re still working on it, but it’ll happen.”

Pike is scheduled to file a response to the Arvest foreclosure filing in Garland County Circuit Court later this week.

For now, the HSDFI is still holding events at the Malco. At 7:30 p.m.

March 9, the HSDFI will host a benefit screening there of the documentary “Patriot Guards,” and the film “NRA’s Life of Duty: A Tribute to Adam Brown, Navy SEAL,” the story of a graduate of nearby Lake Hamilton High School who died in 2010.

CONTINUED ON PAGE 13 12

MARCH 7, 2012

ARKANSAS TIMES

BRIAN CHILSON

No curtain yet

PAPER MOON: Women who danced here are dissatisfied.

The big turnoff Lawsuits question exotic dancer pay.

BY DAVID KOON

F

our lawsuits currently winding their way through federal court in the Eastern District of Arkansas seek to change the way exotic dancers are paid, with attorneys for the plaintiffs pointing out that in

most cases dancers are paid no hourly wage, work only for tips and actually have to pay the clubs to dance there.

The lawsuits, filed in August 2011 against Central Arkansas gentlemen’s clubs Visions, Peaches, Club 70 and

The Hudson file A rare look inside a cop’s internal records file.

BY DAVID KOON

T

wenty-eight citizen complaints and other allegations of misconduct have been lodged against the Little Rock police lieutenant involved in a much-publicized incident outside of Ferneau restaurant last fall since he was hired in 1978, according to internal LRPD files.

Little Rock attorney Keith Hall, whose client Chris Erwin was struck repeatedly

by Lt. David Hudson outside of Ferneau on Oct. 29 in an incident that was caught on video, provided the Arkansas Times with the files.

Asked if the number of complaints in Lt. Hudson’s file seems excessive when compared to other officers, LRPD

spokesperson Sgt. Cassandra Davis said it doesn’t. “Officers do get complaints, so no, that doesn’t seem too excessive with him being on the force that long,” Davis said. “Some officers don’t get any complaints, but some do. Being on that long, he’s made contact with a lot of people.”

According to an internal printout provided by Hall — part of what Hall called a 500 page “dump” of LRPD paperwork he received less than a week before Erwin was scheduled to go to trial — Hudson has been suspended four times during his career: Ten days in Sept. 1983 for an unspecified misconduct and two days in May 1986, five days in Dec. 1987 and one

Paper Moon, list 20 former dancers as plaintiffs. Attorneys requested that the cases be given broader classaction status last July, but that motion is still pending before the courts. The lawsuits seek damages in the form of back pay at the minimum wage for the hours and overtime the women worked.

Anne Milligan is an attorney with Little Rock’s Sanford Law Firm, which is representing the plaintiffs. Milligan CONTINUED ON PAGE 25

day in April 1991 for car accidents.

Hall also provided the Times with files that contain more detail about 15 complaints against Hudson and the outcome of the Internal Affairs Division investigations regarding those complaints. Of those 15, five are citizen complaints of physical abuse or excessive force. After internal investigations, Hudson was exonerated from two complaints, meaning the investigation found that he behaved lawfully and “within the scope of his authority.” Another was deemed “unfounded,” meaning investigators determined the alleged incident did not occur. Another was withdrawn. A complaint filed by Erwin remains under investigation.

Two of the incidents for which Hudson received a letter of reprimand but not a suspension are in the batch of 15 longer narratives Hall provided to the Times.

CONTINUED ON PAGE 24

THE

BIG

INSIDER, CONT.

PICTURE

Doing it right A little horn tooting: Editor & Publisher, the country’s oldest journal covering the newspaper business, includes the Arkansas Times in a feature called “Newspapers That Do It Right” in its March edition.

E&P cited 21 newspapers — a top 10 and 11 honorable mentions — that “demonstrate flexibility, creativity, sound judgment, and a commitment to high-quality journalism in some unique manner.” The Times is one of 11 papers, including USA Today, that received an honorable mention. Our coverage of the West Memphis 3 case is noted.

WASTING AWAY IN MARGARITAVILLE

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CORRECTIONS An article in the Feb. 29 issue of the Arkansas Times said incorrectly that the University of Arkansas does not reveal how much head football coach Bobby Petrino is paid. Here is the information from Kevin Trainor, sports information director at the UA: Petrino receives $1.935 million from the UA (including $1,766,563 from a university account funded by the Razorback Foundation, a private group, and $168,437 from athletic department funds). No tax dollars are involved.

Petrino also gets $1.05 million from the Razorback Foundation under a separate personal-services contract to make speeches on behalf of the foundation, to appear on television and radio shows, and do other assignments. Petrino also may get $150,000 more per year in deferred compensation if he remains the head football coach through December 2012.

PHOTOS BY BRIAN CHILSON AND ROBERT BELL

BRIAN CHILSON

LISTEN UP

Tune in to the Times’ “Week In Review” podcast each Friday.

Available on iTunes & arktimes.com

In last week’s Big Picture about the history of alternative media in Arkansas, we wrote that the oldest African-American newspaper we could find in the historical record was the Helena Golden Epoch, first published in 1881. Encyclopedia of Arkansas editor Guy Lancaster wrote in to let us know that honor actually goes to the Arkansas Freeman, a black community newspaper first published in Pulaski County on Aug. 21, 1869, with Rev. Tabbs Gross as publisher.

We also failed to credit the University of Arkansas Special Collections Department for use of the picture in that section.

In the Feb. 22 Big Picture, we failed to credit the Arkansas History Commission and the Black History Commission of Arkansas for use of the images in the feature.

www.arktimes.com

MARCH 7, 2012

13

spring arts

UP ON MULBERRY MOUNTAIN: The Avett Brothers are one of the headlining acts at this year’s Wakarusa music festival, May 31-June 2.

Music to anticipate

Tom Petty, Miranda Lambert, Riverfest and Wakarusa highlight the coming calendar.

BY ROBERT BELL

T

he music never dies, but springtime is a special season for concert-goers, ushering in big acts, outdoor music festivals and more.

Things kick off with Justin Townes Earle (March 15, Revolution).

He might have a famous father in the great Steve Earle, but he’s spent the last few years blazing his own path.

This show is a sure bet for anybody into the heartbroken, wistful end of the Americana spectrum. In a bit of direct musical democracy, The Arkansas Symphony Orchestra presents “People’s Choice” (March 17-18, Arkansas Robinson Center Music Hall), the program culled from social media nominations.

Making up for a postponed date, 14

MARCH 7, 2012

ARKANSAS TIMES

soul/funk legends Maze with Frankie Beverly (March 17, Verizon Arena) are sure to get the big room rocking. The First Ever Ninth Annual World’s Shortest St. Patrick’s Day Parade (March 17, Downtown Hot Springs) with grand marshal Tim Matheson (Otter from “Animal House”) and The Famous San Diego Chicken features live music from .38 Special and kicks off the weeklong Valley of the Vapors Independent Music Festival (March 18-24, Low Key Arts). VOV includes upwards of 40 bands (Cloud Nothings, Japanther, Psychic Ills, Black Belles, Maps and Atlases and more) as well as panel discussions, workshops, film screenings and more.

In what is one of the best hardcore

shows to come to the state in ages, Narrows and All Pigs Must Die (March 19, Dickson Theater) is a must for all fans of blistering ear destruction.

The bands boast personnel from Botch, Converge, The Hope Conspiracy and other heavy heavies, so take note.

For something entirely different, you’d be hard pressed to top bluegrass superstars Alison Krauss & Union Station with Jerry Douglas (March 23, Robinson Center Music Hall).

Although you’d come close if you mentioned rap veterans Bone ThugsN-Harmony (March 24, Downtown Music Hall and March 25, Rogue).

He might not have prevailed on American Idol, but Chris Daughtry and his band, Daughtry (March 28,

Robinson Center Music Hall), have eclipsed the careers of many of the reality show’s winners with a winning formula of Southern swagger and modern rock crunch.

Fans of folk and public radio will be thrilled no doubt at the chance to catch WoodSongs Old-Time Radio Hour – Live! March 31 at UCA’s Reynolds Performance Hall.

For some buzzy, jingle-jangle pop, check out Real Estate April 9 at Revolution. The Brooklyn-by-wayof-Jersey band’s latest album, “Days,” was a critic’s favorite.

Up in Fayetteville, Bela Fleck & The Flecktones (April 12, Walton Arts Center) are coming through with their original lineup. If you’re a jam-

spring arts band fan, you might just want to stay up there on The Hill, as Leftover Salmon (April 13, George’s Majestic Lounge) makes a return for what will undoubtedly be a packed house.

Pop-country songstress Miranda Lambert (April 13, Verizon Arena) comes to North Little Rock, with support from openers Chris Young and Jerrod Niemann.

The Arkansas Symphony Orchestra presents “Desert & Sea” (April 14-15, Robinson Center Music Hall), which includes works

by Debussy, Wagner and Michael Torke. ASO’s “Grand Finale” (April 16, Clinton Presidential Center) includes works by Schubert, Torke and others.

You’d probably better just go ahead and giddy up, oompoppa, oompoppa mow mow in preparation for The Oak Ridge Boys, who play UCA’s Reynolds Performance Hall April 16. Umphrey’s McGee (April 17-18, George’s Majestic Lounge) specializes in progressive rock-flavored jam-band tuneage, with excursions in metal, bluegrass, jazz and nearly any other genre you could name.

The Cali-fried oddballs in Cake bring their winningly weird, mariachitinged alt-rock to Fayetteville’s Arkansas Music Pavilion April 19.

In what’s got to be one of Central Arkansas’s most anticipated concerts of the year, Tom Petty & The Heartbreakers and Regina Spektor play Verizon Arena April 21.

The Moscow Festival Ballet performs “Romeo & Juliet” April 26 at UCA’s Reynolds Performance Hall.

Here’s one that you will likely never get another chance at seeing: The legendary Glen Campbell, native of Delight, comes to the Walton Arts Center April 27-28 on his farewell tour. Campbell announced in 2011 that he’d been diagnosed with Alzheimer’s, and that this would be his final outing.

Veteran Americana act Wilco (May 10, Arkansas Music Pavilion) returns to Fayetteville. Spastic San Francisco garage rock fireball Ty Segall performs at White Water Tavern May 23, which should help get you in fine form for Riverfest (May 25-27, Riverfest Amphitheatre), which this year boasts headliners such as Lynyrd Skynyrd, Boyz II Men, Little Big Town, Third Eye Blind, Gov’t Mule, Chevelle, Mute Math, Trout Fishing in America and more.

Up in Carroll County, the Eureka Springs Blues Weekend (May 31-June 3, The Auditorium and other venues) features Ruthie Foster, Tommy

ONE LAST TIME: Delight native Glen Campbell makes a final stop at Walton Arts on his farewell tour.

Castro, Kenny Neal, The Cate Brothers, Michael Burks, Lazy Lester and many more. Around the same time, throngs of music lovers will be swarming Mulberry Mountain near Ozark and setting up camp for the annual Wakarusa festival (May 31-June 2). This year’s headliners include The Avett Brothers, Primus, Pretty Lights, The Weir, Robinson, Greene Acoustic Trio and many more.

Country superstar and bona fide Louisiana Gentleman Trace Adkins comes to Magic Springs on June 2. Hot Springs Music Festival XVII (June 3-16, various venues) boasts more than 200 performers from around the world, who will gather for 20 concerts and hundreds of open rehearsals at venues all over the Spa City.

ROCKIN’ NOGGIN: Modern rockers Daughtry play Robinson Center Music Hall March 28. www.arktimes.com

MARCH 7, 2012

15

spring arts

GET LIT: New York Times and Oxford American food columnist John T. Edge, the director of the Southern Foodways Alliance, promises to be one of the highlights of the Arkansas Literary Festival, April 12-15, held largely in the River Market. Other names to anticipate: Roy Blount Jr., Ian Frazier, Greil Marcus, Heidi Julavits and Justin Torres.

SPRING ARTS CALENDAR GREATER LITTLE ROCK BOOKS MARCH 24: Crescent Dragonwagon.

WordsWorth Books & Co., 3 p.m. 5920 R St. 663-9198. www.wordsworthbooks.org.

APRIL 12-15: Arkansas Literary Festival.

Speakers, workshops, panels, performances and more at a variety of locations in Little Rock and North Little Rock. www.arkansasliteraryfestival.org.

JUNE 27-30: 12th International Short Story Conference. Short fiction conference includes workshops, performances, films, art, dance and more at several venues in North Little Rock and Little Rock. $175-$300. www. shortstoryconference.com.

COMEDY MARCH 14-17: Steve Hirst. The Loony Bin, 8 p.m. March 14-16; 8 p.m., 10:30 p.m. March 16; 7, 9 and 11 p.m. March 17, $7-$10. 10301 N. Rodney Parham Road. 228-5555. www. loonybincomedy.com.

MARCH 21-24: Steve Kramer, Jersey. The Loony Bin, 8 p.m. March 21-23; 10:30 p.m.

March 23; 7, 9 and 11 p.m. March 24, $7-$10.

10301 N. Rodney Parham Road. 228-5555.

16

MARCH 7, 2012

ARKANSAS TIMES

www.loonybincomedy.com.

MARCH 28-31: Rob Little. The Loony Bin, 8 p.m. March 28-30; 10:30 p.m. March 30; 7, 9 and 11 p.m. March 31, $7-$10. 10301 N. Rodney Parham Road. 228-5555. www. loonybincomedy.com.

APRIL 1: Bill Cosby. Robinson Center Music Hall, 3 p.m., $34-$81. Markham and Broadway. www.littlerockmeetings.com/ conv-centers/robinson.

APRIL 4-7: Jason Russell, Ryan Wingfield.

The Loony Bin, 8 p.m. April 4-6; 10:30 p.m.

April 6; 7, 9 and 11 p.m. April 7, $7-$10.

10301 N. Rodney Parham Road. 228-5555. www.loonybincomedy.com.

APRIL 11-13: Charlie Weiner, Kris Shaw.

The Loony Bin, 8 p.m. April 11-13; 10:30 p.m.

April 13; 7, 9 and 11 p.m. April 14, $7-$10.

10301 N. Rodney Parham Road. 228-5555. www.loonybincomedy.com.

APRIL 18-22: The Sandman. The Loony Bin, 8 p.m. April 18-20; 10:30 p.m. April 20; 7, 9 and 11 p.m. April 21; 8 p.m. April 22, $8-$12.

10301 N. Rodney Parham Road. 228-5555. www.loonybincomedy.com.

APRIL 20: Mike Epps. Robinson Center Music Hall, 8 p.m., $42-$51. Markham and Broadway. www.littlerockmeetings.com/ conv-centers/robinson.

MAY 20: Gabriel Iglesias. Robinson Center

Music Hall, 7 p.m., $48. Markham and Broadway. www.littlerockmeetings.com/ conv-centers/robinson.

EVENTS MARCH 22: Design/garden expert P. Allen Smith and filmmaker Gerry Bruno to speak, Little Rock Film Festival-sponsored event, 6 p.m., Argenta Community Theater.

MARCH 27: 13th Annual Art to Remember.

Presented by Alzheimer’s Arkansas Auxiliary.

Includes heavy hors d’oeuvres, spirits, live and silent auctions. Pavilion in the Park, 6:30 p.m., $125. 8201 Cantrell Road. 224-0021. www.alzark.org.

MARCH 28: Science After Dark: Vinyl.

Presentation on uses of vinyl records. Cash bar. Museum of Discovery, 6 p.m., $10. 500 Clinton Ave. 396-7050. www.amod.org.

MARCH 30: Eggshibition XXI. Benefit for Youth Home, with food, drinks, auctions for decorated eggs and more. Jack Stephens Center, UALR, 7 p.m., $50-$75. 2801 S. University Ave. www.youthhome.org APRIL 3: Studio Party: Jazzkapelle. The Arkansas Arts Center’s premiere 2012 fundraising event includes cocktails, live music and dancing in a speakeasy setting. Arkansas Arts Center, 8 p.m., $100-$250. 501 E. 9th St.

372-4000. www.arkarts.com.

APRIL 5: Empty Bowls Charity Dinner.

Fundraiser for Arkansas Foodbank includes dinner from several area restaurants and a silent auction. Arkansas Foodbank, 6 p.m., $65. 4301 W. 65th St. 569-4317. www.arkansasfoodbank.org.

APRIL 5: Bless the Mic: Tavis Smiley. The journalist and author will discuss his work.

Philander Smith College, 7 p.m., free. 900 W. Daisy L. Gatson Bates Drive.

APRIL 5: The Fashion Event. Chenal Country Club, $50. 10 Chenal Club Blvd. 227-3711.

APRIL 7: Designers Choice Fashion Preview.

Clear Channel Metroplex. $35-$50.

APRIL 12: CARTI’s 8th Annual Ragin’ Cajun Bash. Includes food, music and more to benefit CARTI. River Market Pavilions, 6 p.m., $30 adv., $35 door. 400 President Clinton Ave. 296-3406. www.rivermarket.info.

APRIL 13: Jumbo Gumbo! Cook Off. Benefit for the Allen School. River Market Pavilions, 5 p.m., $15 adv., $20 door. 400 President Clinton Ave. 375-2552. www.jumbogumbocookoff.com.

APRIL 18: 2012 Bolo Bash luncheon.

Fundraiser for Baptist Health includes special guest Kathryn Stockett, author of “The Help.” Baptist Health Center, noon. 9601 I-30. 202-1827.

spring arts APRIL 21: ArtWorks XXIV. Includes live and silent auctions of artworks from more than 100 Central Arkansas artists. Arkansas Repertory Theatre, 6:30 p.m. 601 Main St. 501-378-0405. www.therep.org.

APRIL 28: Craws for A Cause. Benefit for the March of Dimes. Dickey-Stephens Park, 7 p.m., $45 adv., $55 door. 400 W. Broadway St., NLR. 501-664-1555. www.crawsforacause.com.

MAY 2-6: Disney on Ice: “Mickey & Minnie’s Magical Journey.” Verizon Arena, 7 p.m.

May 2-3, 10:30 a.m. and 7 p.m. May 4, 11 a.m., 3 and 7 p.m. May 5, 2 p.m. May 6, $13$46. 1 Alltel Arena Way, NLR. 501-975-9001. verizonarena.com.

MAY 11: Dinner on the Grounds. Benefit for Our House includes Southern-style supper, with drinks and live entertainment from Lagniappe. Governor’s Mansion, 6 p.m., $150. 1800 Center St. 374-7383. www.ourhouseshelter.org.

FILM MAY 29-JUNE 3: Little Rock Film Festival.

Film festival includes screenings, panel discussions and other events at various venues.

Riverdale 10 Cinema. 2600 Cantrell Road.

296-9955.

MUSIC MARCH 15: Justin Townes Earle, Tristen.

18-and-older show. Revolution, 9 p.m., $12 adv., $15 d.o.s. 300 President Clinton Ave. 823-0090. revroom.com.

MARCH 17-18: Arkansas Symphony Orchestra: “People’s Choice.” Robinson Center Music Hall, 8 p.m. March 17, 3 p.m.

March 18, $20-$65. Markham and Broadway. www.littlerockmeetings.com/conv-centers/ robinson.

MARCH 17: Maze with Frankie Beverly.

Verizon Arena, 7:30 p.m., $37-$67. 1 Alltel Arena Way, NLR. 975-9001. verizonarena. com.

MARCH 17: Hayes Carll, Honeyhoney, John Paul Keith & The One Four Fives.

18-and-older show. Revolution, 9 p.m., $15.

300 President Clinton Ave. 823-0090. revroom.com.

MARCH 18: The Psychic Ills. Vino’s, 7 p.m., $5. 923 W. 7th St. 375-8466. www.vinosbrewpub.com.

MARCH 20: J Roddy Walston & The Business, Shovels & Rope, Jonny Corndawg. White Water Tavern, 9 p.m., $10. 2500 W. 7th. 375-8400. www.whitewatertavern.com.

MARCH 21: The Revival Tour. Includes Chuck Ragan, Tommy Gabel, Cory Branan, Dan Adriano, Jon Gaunt and Joe Ginsberg.

18-and-older. Revolution, 8:30 p.m., $15.

300 President Clinton Ave. 823-0090. revroom.com.

MARCH 23: Alison Krauss & Union Station with Jerry Douglas. Robinson Center Music Hall, 7:30 p.m., $60-$70. Markham and Broadway. www.littlerockmeetings.com/ conv-centers/robinson.

MARCH 24: Bone Thugs-N-Harmony featuring Krayzie, Wishbone with Dilemma, Arkatext. Downtown Music Hall, 7:30 p.m., $25 adv., $30 d.o.s. 211 W. Capitol. 376-1819. downtownmusichall.com.

MARCH 24: North Mississippi Allstars, Powder Mill. 18-and-older show. Revolution, 9 p.m., $20. 300 President Clinton Ave. 823-

0090. revroom.com.

MARCH 28: Daughtry. Robinson Center Music Hall, 8 p.m., $50-$61. Markham and Broadway. www.littlerockmeetings.com/ conv-centers/robinson.

MARCH 30: Tech N9ne, Machine Gun Kelly, Krizz Kalico, Prozac, Mayday, Stevie Stone. Juanita’s, 9 p.m., $25 adv., $30 d.o.s.

614 President Clinton Ave. 372-1228. www. juanitas.com.

MARCH 31: The Youth Rock Orchestra.

Robinson Center Music Hall, 7 p.m., $26.

Markham and Broadway. www.littlerockmeetings.com/conv-centers/robinson.

APRIL 3: Music Across America. The Quapaw Quartet will play music from Arkansas and beyond. Laman Library, 6 p.m. 2801 Orange St., NLR. 758-1720. www.lamanlibrary.org.

APRIL 5: Celtic Woman. Robinson Center Music Hall, 7:30 p.m., $45-$150. Markham and Broadway. 800-662-2386. www.littlerockmeetings.com/conv-centers/robinson.

APRIL 9: Real Estate, Twerps. All-ages show. Revolution, 8 p.m., $12. 300 President Clinton Ave. 823-0090. revroom.com.

APRIL 13: Miranda Lambert, Chris Young, Jerrod Niemann. Verizon Arena, 7:30 p.m., $35-$50. 1 Alltel Arena Way, NLR. 975-9001. verizonarena.com.

APRIL 14-15: Arkansas Symphony Orchestra: “Desert & Sea.” Includes works

by Debussy, Wagner and Michael Torke.

Robinson Center Music Hall, 8 p.m. April 14, 3 p.m. April 15, $14-$52. Markham and Broadway. www.littlerockmeetings.com/ conv-centers/robinson.

APRIL 16: Arkansas Symphony Orchestra: “Grand Finale.” Includes works by Schubert, Michael Torke and others.

Clinton Presidential Center, 7 p.m., $22.

1200 President Clinton Ave. 370-8000. www. clintonpresidentialcenter.org.

APRIL 16: Cursive, Conduits, Cymbals Eat Guitars. All-ages show. Revolution, 8 p.m., $12 adv., $14 d.o.s. 300 President Clinton Ave. 823-0090. revroom.com.

APRIL 17: Danny Barnes, Tony Furtado.

Juanita’s, 9 p.m., $10. 614 President Clinton Ave. 372-1228. www.juanitas.com.

APRIL 21: Tom Petty & The Heartbreakers, Regina Spektor. Verizon Arena, 7:30 p.m., $28-$100. 1 Alltel Arena Way, NLR. 975-9001. verizonarena.com.

APRIL 22-23: River City Men’s Chorus: “Life is a Cabaret.” Trinity United Methodist Church, April 22; April 23, free. 1101 N. Mississippi St. 666-2813. www.tumclr.org.

APRIL 25: J.J. Grey & Mofro. 18-and-older show. Revolution, 9 p.m., $17 adv., $20 d.o.s.

300 President Clinton Ave. 501-823-0090. revroom.com.

APRIL 27: Symphony on the Green.

Featuring dinner, cocktails and music from the Arkansas Symphony Big Band. Proceeds benefit ASO and music education in schools.

Chenal Country Club, 6:30 p.m., $150. 10 Chenal Club Blvd. 661-9516.

MAY 1: Eoto, Kraddy. 18-and-older show.

Revolution, 9 p.m., $12 adv., $15 d.o.s. 300 President Clinton Ave. 501-823-0090. revroom.com.

MAY 1: “Music at the Movies.” Featuring the Rockefeller Quartet. Laman Library, 6 p.m. 2801 Orange St., NLR. 758-1720. www. lamanlibrary.org.

MAY 2: The Toadies. Juanita’s, 9 p.m., $18.

614 President Clinton Ave. 372-1228. www. juanitas.com.

CONTINUED ON PAGE 19

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spring arts

‘LITTLE FUGITIVE’: Playing at the Ozarks Foothills Film Fest.

Summer cinema

Film fest season heats up with the weather.

BY DAVID KOON

Y

our reporter grew up at the tail-end of the drive-in era, and was reared in a house without air conditioning, so warmer weather and the experience of going to the movies will forever be linked in my mind. Is there anything better than easing into a seat in a dark, frosty-cool movie theater when the parking lot outside is hot enough to fry an egg? Luckily for Arkansans, the state is chock full of celluloid celebrations in the spring and early summer, each with its own distinctive flair.

Though there are older film festivals in the state, our crown jewel has to be the Little Rock Film Festival, which runs this year May 29-June 3. Now in its sixth year, in its fifth the LRFF drew over 25,000 people to view 100 films drawn from a pool of 1,000-plus submissions from 30 countries — quite a step up from the 3,000 souls who turned out for the first festival. Thanks to awards like the $10,000 Oxford American Award for Best Southern Film and the festival’s “Made 18

MARCH 7, 2012

ARKANSAS TIMES

in Arkansas” awards category, the LRFF is a yearly powerhouse of both Arkansas talent and Southern cinema, screening standout films long before the national buzz about them begins to build. In 2010, for example, both winners of the festival’s Golden Rock Awards — “Restrepo” for documentary and “Winter’s Bone” for narrative feature — were later nominated for Academy Awards. The 2011 Golden Rock winner for narrative feature, “Natural Selection,” also claimed awards at both South by Southwest and the Independent Spirit Awards.

As a bonus, the Little Rock Film Festival has spread the love in recent years by becoming an umbrella organization for a number of smaller festivals and film series, including the just-completed Little Rock Horror Picture Show, the Reel Civil Rights Film Festival, the 48 Hour Film Project, and the monthly Argenta Film Series, held at the Argenta Community Theater in North Little Rock.

Levi Agee, who runs the Argenta Film

Series, said that the AFS’s one-film-permonth format allows for more time and attention to be given to a film than is allowed during a normal festival screening. Last month’s AFS event featured the film “The Wise Kids,” a Southern bildungsroman set in Charleston, S.C. The screening featured a Q&A with actress Sadieh Rifai, a former Muslim who plays a Christian in the gay-themed film.

Bringing in filmmakers and actors to discuss their work after the film is interesting for regular movie goers, Agee said, but it’s invaluable for young filmmakers. “That is a group I feel needs to be at these screenings,” Agee said, “building relationships and asking questions with these people from Hollywood, London, Chicago and all over the world.”

Coming in April for the AFS is “Freak Dance,” a campy, wacky musical comedy by Arkansas native, improv comic and Upright Citizens Brigade founder Matt Besser. Tickets are $10 at the door (the date is still to be determined).

While we love the established festivals, we always root for the upstarts as well.

A new one we have high hopes for is the “Reel Women: Celebrate Women in Film Festival,” scheduled for 1 p.m. to 8 p.m.

Saturday, March 31, at Market Street Cinema. The centerpiece of Reel Women is Jennifer Siebel Newsom’s documentary,

“Miss Representation,” which spotlights the way women are depicted in the modern media and what those depictions have done to the self-image, goals and lives of women. Featured in the doc are luminaries like Nancy Pelosi, Rachel Maddow, and Condoleezza Rice. In addition, the festival will feature several made-inArkansas films that feature either a female director or a female lead, with many of the filmmakers in attendance. Tickets are $10 through March 8, $15 after that, and can be purchased at Market Street Cinema.

Also coming up in late March is the Ozark Foothills Film Fest in Batesville, scheduled for March 28-April 1. One of the most eclectic film festivals in the state, the Ozark Foothills Film Fest is now in its 11th year. This year’s slate features several films that focus on family drama, including the Virginia film “A Little Closer,” about a single mother juggling her work and the demands of her two sons, and Arkansas filmmaker Mike Akel’s “An Ordinary Family,” about a man who brings his boyfriend home to meet his meet his conservative kinfolks. Also included this year is a special screening of Morris Engel’s innovative 1953 film “Little Fugitive,” about a boy who runs away to Coney Island after being told his brother has been killed. Considered an early example of independent film, “Little Fugitive” had a lasting impact on the French directors of the New Wave.

This year, the Ozark Foothills Film Fest includes 29 films, including six full-length features, four full-length docs, and 19 short-subject documentaries and narrative films, many with Arkansas ties.

Many of the filmmakers will be on hand to answer questions and participate in panels about screenwriting and film. Even better, it’s a bargain, at only $5 per screening for regular admission, or $25 for a fullride weekend pass ($20 for students and adults over 54).

Though we can’t say much for KARN talker Dave Elswick’s politics, there’s nothing wrong with his taste in movies.

For several years now, Elswick has been hosting a monthly Classic Movie night on the first Tuesday of the month at Market Street Cinema, giving film buffs the chance to see great old flicks on the silver screen, as they were meant to be experienced. Coming up this spring are the Big House classic “Cool Hand Luke” on March 13, the 1962 Howard Hawks/John Wayne collaboration “Hatari!” on April 10, the 1938 version of “The Adventures of Robin Hood” starring Errol Flynn and Olivia de Havilland on May 8, and director Billy Wilder’s “The Seven Year Itch” with Marilyn Monroe on June 12. Admission is only $5. Great movies, it seems, are a subject we can all agree on.

spring arts CALENDAR

CONTINUED FROM PAGE 19

JUNE 9: Here Come the Mummies.

Shooter’s Sports Bar & Grill, 9:30 p.m. 9500 I-30. 565-4003. www.shooterslittlerock.com.

MAY 5: Arkansas Symphony Youth Orchestra Spring Concert. Pulaski Academy Performing Arts Center, 7 p.m., $10 adults, free for children grades K-12.

12701 Hinson Road.

MAY 23: Ty Segall, White Fence. White Water Tavern. 2500 W. 7th. 375-8400. www. whitewatertavern.com.

MAY 25-27: Riverfest, including Lynyrd Skynyrd, Bozy II Men, Little Big Town, Third Eye Blind, Gov’t Mule and more.

Riverfest Amphitheatre, $15-$30. 400 President Clinton Ave. JUNE 3: Little Rock Wind Symphony: “Sunday Serenade.” The LRWS Chamber Players present sarabandes, serenades, and soliloquies of works for chamber winds. St. Paul United Methodist Church, 3 p.m., $8-$10. 2223 Durwood Road. 6660777.

MARCH 7-8: “Young Frankenstein.”

Broadway musical adaptation of Mel Brooks’ classic 1974 comedy “Young Frankenstein.”

Robinson Center Music Hall, 7:30 p.m., $23$61. Markham and Broadway. www.littlerockmeetings.com/conv-centers/robinson.

MARCH 7-10: “The Odd Couple.” An updated, female version of Neil Simon’s classic. Murry’s Dinner Playhouse, $15-$33.

6323 Col. Glenn Road. 562-3131. www.murrysdinnerplayhouse.com for dinner and curtain times.

MARCH 7-APRIL 1: “The Wiz.” The 1970s Broadway hit re-imagines “The Wizard of Oz” as a Motown musical. Arkansas Repertory Theatre, 7 p.m., $30-$60. 601 Main St. 378-0405. www.therep.org.

CONTINUED ON PAGE 21

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spring arts

Spring on the stage

‘The Wiz,’ Shakespeare Festival highlight the season.

BY BLAIR TIDWELL

CONTINUED ON PAGE 21

20

MARCH 7, 2012

ARKANSAS TIMES

CINDY MOMCHILOV

S

trictly speaking, the first day of spring is March 20, but it feels like the season has already arrived. It’s not just the weather or the early-blooming flowers; for theatergoers, spring is being ushered in early by colorful, fun, flouncy and big entertainment.

Musical fans should be pleased with three major titles hitting stages first thing in March. The Rep grabs the spotlight this weekend when it opens the Tony Award-winning musical “The Wiz” (March 9-April 1). The retelling of the classic “Wonderful Wizard of Oz” is performed to a funkinflected score by a cast of black actors.

Expect flashy and outrageous costuming by Rafael Colón Castanera, whose original designs also shone in “Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat.” Bring on the sequins.

Celebrity Attractions debuts a different green villain this month with Mel Brooks’ “Young Frankenstein” at Robinson Center Music Hall (March 6-8). It was inspired by Brooks’ classic 1974 film starring Gene Wilder.

Not to be outdone, the Walton Arts Center in Fayetteville hosts the touring production of Broadway’s stunner “In the Heights” (March 8-9). The Tony Award-winning musical tells the story of a vibrant Latino-Amer-

EASE ON DOWN THE ROAD: Tony Melson, Carla Stewart, Nik Alexzander and Darryl Jovan Williams star in The Rep’s production of “The Wiz.”

CINDY MOMCHILOV

spring arts THEATER

CONTINUED FROM PAGE 20 ican community in New York City.

The Mouse House’s family-friendly (but recommended for Disney-loving adults, too) “Mary Poppins” flies in for a few performances as well (April 17-22).

The Walton Arts Center will also welcome two international circus shows and two musical tribute acts.

The Peking Acrobats is a troupe of jugglers, gymnasts, contortionists and more (March 14) and the steampunkstyle Circus Oz from Australia awes with live music, acrobats and aerial artists (March 29-April 3). There are also nostalgia trips with self-explanatory titles: “All-New Original Tribute to the Blues Brothers” (March 16) and “Rain: A Tribute to the Beatles” (May 7).

If you prefer your theater with fewer frills and more drama, don’t fret.

There’s plenty for you this spring, too.

The Rep takes a gamble on the genrebusting “Next to Normal” (May 4-20), which is billed as both a drama and a musical. Yet another Tony Award winner (in 2009 for musical score), this show also won a Pulitzer Prize in 2010. This tale of a manic-depressive housewife is rock opera.

The Rep’s season closes with a play from William Inge, though not one of his Broadway and film successes “Pic-

CALENDAR

CONTINUED FROM PAGE 19 MARCH 8-11: “We All Hear Voices.” Jack is a talented cook who hears voices in his head. As word of his talent grows, so too does business at the small-town diner where he works. But will the owner’s gambling and womanizing threaten a good thing?

Based on a book by Arkansas doctor and playwright Sam Taggart. The Public Theatre, 7:30 p.m., $12-$14. 616 Center St. 374-7529. www.thepublictheatre.com.

MARCH 9-24: “The Miracle Worker.” The story of Annie Sullivan, and her student Helen Keller. The Weekend Theater, Fridays and Saturdays, 7:30 p.m., $12-$16. 1001 W. 7th St. 374-3761. www.weekendtheater.org.

MARCH 13-14: “Branson on the Road.”

Includes country, bluegrass, rockabilly, gospel and comedy. Murry’s Dinner Playhouse, $15-$33. 6323 Col. Glenn Road. 562-3131. www.murrysdinnerplayhouse.com for dinner and curtain times.

MARCH 16-18: Red Skelton — “A Tribute

by Tom Mullica.” Entertainer Tom Mullica magically transforms himself into the comedy genius Red Skelton. Murry’s Dinner Playhouse, $15-$33. 6323 Col. Glenn Road.

562-3131. www.murrysdinnerplayhouse.com for dinner and curtain times.

MARCH 20-APRIL 22: “The Red Velvet

nic” or “Bus Stop.” It will stage the 1959 drama “A Loss of Roses” (June 15-July 1), about the struggle among a widow, her adult son yearning for independence and a beautiful actress.

Fayetteville’s TheatreSquared presents “The Fall of the House” (April 12-May 6), an experimental piece written by the theater company’s own artistic director, Robert Ford. The mind-bending play is a mystery with an Edgar Allan Poe motif, though don’t expect a “whodunit” style thriller. The audience must piece together the century-spanning story to discover the surprising connections between seemingly disparate characters.

TheatreSquared also brings back the annual Arkansas New Play Festival, in its fourth year, which will feature four new works from new Southern writers. The Rep will host readings and performances of the plays in Little Rock (May 17-18), before they’re presented in Fayetteville (May 18-20).

The Weekend Theater’s March show is a familiar story, made famous by the 1962 film of the same name.

“The Miracle Worker” (March 9-24) tells the inspirational story of Annie Sullivan’s triumph in teaching her blind and deaf student, Helen Keller, how to communicate. In May, Geoffrey Nauffts’ original new work, “Next Fall” (April 6-21), examines the humor and problems that come in a relation-

Cake Wars.” This comedy from the trio of Jones, Hope and Wooten concerns the three Verdeen cousins, Gaynelle, Peaches, and Jimmie Wyvette, and the mishaps that occur when they plan a family reunion.

Murry’s Dinner Playhouse, $15-$33. 6323 Col. Glenn Road. 562-3131. www.murrysdinnerplayhouse.com for dinner and curtain times.

APRIL 6-21: “Next Fall.” A gay couple — one a fervent atheist and the other a devout Christian — must reconcile their convictions and confront family members after an accident complicates their lives. The Weekend Theater, Fridays and Saturdays, 7:30 p.m., $12-$16. 1001 W. 7th St. 374-3761. www. weekendtheater.org.

APRIL 24-MAY 20: “Murder at the Howard Johnson’s.” Starring director Glen Gilbert in a comedic tale of a love triangle gone wrong. Murry’s Dinner Playhouse, $15-$33.

6323 Col. Glenn Road. 562-3131. www.murrysdinnerplayhouse.com for dinner and curtain times.

MAY 2-27: “Next to Normal.” The Tonyand Pulitzer Prize-winning musical set to a contemporary rock score concerns a dysfunctional family trying to take care of themselves and each other. Arkansas Repertory Theatre, 7 p.m. 601 Main St. 378-0405. www. therep.org.

CONTINUED ON PAGE 23

ship between two gay men, a devout Christian and his non-believer boyfriend. The theater’s season finale, “A … My Name is Alice” (May 4-20), is a humorous musical revue with 20 numbers and sketches performed by a variety of women.

No spring and summer theater season is complete without a Shakespeare festival. Though the content is classic, Arkansas Shakespeare Theatre (June 7-July 1) will mix it up this year by performing in new locations. The festival returns to the Village at Hendrix in Conway for an outdoor production of “Twelfth Night” (June 7, 9-10, 15, 17) and will make its debut at Wildwood Park for the Arts (June 22-24), dressing up the gardens with hanging

lanterns and banners.

“Richard III,” “The Tempest” and the season’s non-Shakespeare show, “Big River” (a musical based on Mark Twain’s “The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn”), play indoors at the University of Central Arkansas’s Reynolds Performance Hall, but with a twist.

For the intimate production, the auditorium seating will be closed off and the audience will share the stage with the actors.

It’s not over until the fat lady sings; wrapping up the performing arts season is the Opera in the Ozarks series (June 24-July 20), with powerhouse singers from across the nation performing “La Boheme” “Die Zauberflote” and “A Little Night Music.”

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spring arts

Invitational returns

The obsessive line is theme.

BY LESLIE NEWELL PEACOCK

T

he Arkansas Arts Center’s finances may have been anemic of late, but its drawing collection is meaty. The Arts Center recognizes that this spring with the welcome return after seven years of an exhibition of its own creation — the Drawing Invitational.

This “11th National Drawing Invitational: New York, Singular Drawings,” April 20-Sept. 9, will feature work by 10 emerging Brooklyn artists in an exhibition curated by Charlotta Kotik. Kotik, the former chairman of the Department of Contemporary Art at the Brooklyn Museum, is the first outside curator for the exhibition, created in 1986 by former director Townsend Wolfe to introduce contemporary artists whose work is either in or would be a good fit in the Arts Center’s permanent collection.

The energy and spontaneity of gesture — made with pen or pencil or crayon rather than a medium like oil that has to dry — is one of the strengths of works on paper, especially those intended as final products rather than drafts for paintings. Kotik has assembled a group of artists whose gestures are repeated and dense to the point of near obsession. These artists’ lines may suggest unbounded space, such as the multicolored whorls of Ati Maier, Kotik said, or the quantum infinity of a single cell, such as the complex organic creations of Daniel Zeller. Morgan O’Hara’s drawings are inspired by live performance of music; she has made 100 drawings to commemorate the 100th birthday of John Cage. Artist Dawn Clements creates lifesized interior landscapes, two-dimensional rooms; Karen Schiff extracts details from medieval manuscripts to enlarge and elaborate on. Reed Anderson cuts out shapes from his paper and layers other sheets underneath; Michael Waugh’s lines, inspected closely, turn out to be sentences. (Crystal Bridges Museum of American Art, stepping just a tiny bit on the Arts Center’s toes, just bought one of Waugh’s works). David Kramer’s subject matter is Americana and what the next generation will be able to achieve. Il Lee’s work draws in dense ballpoint, scribbles that produce depth.

“All the work is aesthetically very beautiful,” Kotik said, work that “involves you in viewing because there is so much happening.” It is also going to be fun, she said.

The exhibit runs April 20 through Sept. 9.

REED ANDERSON: In the Arts Center’s Drawing Invitational.

ATI MAIER: ‘Disappeared Time.’

APRIL IS CERTAINLY not the cruelest month

then, because there two more exhibits scheduled at the Arts Center that month.

“The New Materiality: Digital Dialogues at the Boundaries of Contemporary Craft” includes 30 works by craft artists using digital technology. Fo Wilson is curator; the exhibition runs April 13 to Aug. 5. “Dan Massad: Recent Work” features the Pennsylvania artist’s photorealist pastels incorporating the Golden Ratio. The show runs April 13 to June 10.

IN MAY, THE ARTS CENTER joins the state’s celebration of the centennial of former Gov. Winthrop Rockefeller’s birth with the exhibition “The Rockefeller Influence.”

George Bellows, Jean-Baptiste Corot,

Honore Daumier, Edgar Degas, Eugene Delacroix, Charles Demuth, Alphonse Legros, Henri Matisse, Odilon Redon, Diego Rivera, George Romney, Henri de Toulouse-Lautrec, Maurice Utrillo and James Whistler are among the artists whose works, which came into the collection through the Rockefeller family, will be exhibited.

The exhibition will also provide the story of the major role Winthrop and Jeannette Rockefeller played in the early years of the Arts Center, which opened a new facility to the public in 1963 after being put under the auspices of the city in 1961. The nearly 60 works in the show include etchings, lithographs, porcelain, photographs, bronzes, watercolors, oils and rugs.

spring arts CALENDAR

CONTINUED FROM PAGE 21 MAY 4-20: “A ... My Name is Alice.”

Musical comedy focuses on the relationships between several groups of women over the course of their lifetimes. The Weekend Theater, Fridays and Saturdays, 7:30 p.m., $12-$16. 1001 W. 7th St. 3743761. www.weekendtheater.org.

MAY 22-JUNE 6: “The Dixie Swim Club.”

Five Southern women, whose friendship began many years ago on their college swim team, set aside a long weekend every August to recharge those relationships.

Murry’s Dinner Playhouse, $15-$33. 6323 Col. Glenn Road. 562-3131. www.murrysdinnerplayhouse.com for dinner and curtain times.

JUNE 13-JULY 1: “A Loss of Roses.”

William Inge’s rarely performed masterpiece concerns a widow, her grown son and a beautiful actress who arrives on their doorstep, initiating a love triangle that can only end in heartbreak. Arkansas Repertory Theatre, 7 p.m. 601 Main St. 378-0405. www.therep.org.

JUNE 22-24: Arkansas Shakespeare Theatre: “Twelfth Night.” Wildwood Park for the Performing Arts, 7:30 p.m.

20919 Denny Road.

JUNE 26-JULY 22: “Barefoot in the Park.”

The Neil Simon classic about a couple of newlyweds, their first apartment, eccentric neighbors and a meddling mother.

Murry’s Dinner Playhouse, $15-$33. 6323 Col. Glenn Road. 562-3131. www.murrysdinnerplayhouse.com for dinner and curtain times.

JULY 24-AUG. 26: “The Sound of Music.”

Rodgers and Hammerstein’s most beloved musical is the story of the Von Trapp family and how their governess, Maria, brings music, hope and prayer into their lives in pre-World War II Austria. Murry’s Dinner Playhouse, $15-$33. 6323 Col. Glenn Road.

562-3131. www.murrysdinnerplayhouse. com for dinner and curtain times.

BATESVILLE FILM

www.hendrix.edu.

APRIL 3: Michael Ondaatje. The poet and author of “The English Patient” will discuss his work. Hendrix College, 7:30 p.m., free. 1600 Washington Ave. 501-450-4597. www.hendrix.edu.

COMEDY MARCH 11: Craig Robinson. Reynolds Performance Hall, UCA, 8 p.m., $10-$20.

350 S. Donaghey.

MARCH 30: Dance Ensemble Concert.

Includes nine contemporary dance works

choreographed by students and faculty.

Hendrix College, 7:30 p.m., free. 1600 Washington Ave. 504-505-2947. www.hendrix.edu.

EVENTS MARCH 16: Bravo! Gala fundraiser with Rick Steves. Fundraiser for UCA’s College of Fine Arts and Communication includes dinner and guest speaker Rick Steves, travel writer and host of Rick Steves Europe.

Reynolds Performance Hall, UCA, 6:30 p.m., $75. 350 S. Donaghey. 501-450-3293.

MUSIC MARCH 31: WoodSongs Old-Time Radio Hour – Live! Reynolds Performance Hall, University of Central Arkansas, 7:30 p.m., $23-$40. 201 Donaghey Ave. APRIL 16: The Oak Ridge Boys. Reynolds Performance Hall, UCA, 7:30 p.m., $23$40. 350 S. Donaghey.

APRIL 26: Moscow Festival Ballet in “Romeo & Juliet.” Reynolds Performance Hall, University of Central Arkansas, 7:30 p.m., $23-$40. 201 Donaghey Ave. CONTINUED ON PAGE 24

100 YEARS YOUNG Visit ach100.org to discover a century of inspiring stories of Care, Love and Hope.

Children’s Stories from

A RK A N SA S C H IL D REN ’S H O SP ITA L

As we turn the page on our first 100 years as the unquestioned leader of pediatric care in Arkansas, we have created a special website to celebrate the personal stories of the children and families who have changed our lives as much as we’ve changed theirs.

Our story is your story. We invite you to read what many have shared – and, then, to share your own.

MARCH 28-APRIL 1: 11th Annual Ozark Foothills Filmfest. Film festival at several venues in Batesville. Lyon College, March 28-April 1. 2500 Highland. 870-251-1189. www.ozarkfoothillsfilmfest.org.

CONWAY BOOKS MARCH 15: Rick Steves. The travel writer will lecture and sign copies of his latest book, “Travel as a Political Act.” College of Business, University of Central Arkansas, 7:30 p.m., free. 201 Donaghey Ave. 501450-3653. www.uca.edu.

MARCH 29: Mark Spitzer. The UCA professor and author of “Sick in the Head” will read from his work. Faulkner County Library, 7 p.m., free. 1900 Tyler St. 501327-7482. www.fcl.org.

APRIL 12: Avi Steinberg. The author and librarian presents “Midrash and the Art of Writing.” Hendrix College, 7:30 p.m., free. 1600 Washington Ave. 501-450-4597.

Open up and explore ach100.org for a spellbinding story like no other!

You can help us change lives for another hundred years.

Please give generously at ach100.org or toll-free, 1-855-224-4483 (1-855-ACH-GIVE). Every gift matters.

www.arktimes.com

MARCH 7, 2012

23

spring arts CALENDAR

CONTINUED FROM PAGE 23

MARCH 18: Alex Ortiz. UARK Bowl, 7 p.m., $5-$7. 644 W. Dickson St. 479-301-2030. www. uarkballroom.com.

THEATER

MUSIC

MARCH 27: “Stomp.” Reynolds Performance Hall, University of Central Arkansas, 7:30 p.m., $23-$40. 201 Donaghey Ave. APRIL 12-13, 18-20: “The Taming of the Shrew.” University of Central Arkansas, 7:30 p.m., $10. 201 Donaghey Ave. 501-450-3265. www.uca.edu.

JUNE 7, 9-10, 15, 17: Arkansas Shakespeare Theatre: “Twelfth Night.” Hendrix College, 7:30 p.m. 1600 Washington Ave. www.hendrix.edu.

JUNE 8: Arkansas Shakespeare Theatre: “Big River.” Musical based on Mark Twain’s “The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn.”

Reynolds Performance Hall, UCA, 7:30 p.m.

June 8, 1 p.m. June 10, 7:30 p.m. June 14, 1 p.m. June 17-27, 7:30 p.m. June 29-30. 350 S. Donaghey.

JUNE 16: Arkansas Shakespeare Theatre: “Richard III.” Reynolds Performance Hall, UCA, 7:30 p.m. June 16, 20, 21, 28; 1 p.m.

July 1. 350 S. Donaghey.

JUNE 20: Arkansas Shakespeare Theatre: “The Tempest.” Reynolds Performance Hall, UCA, 10 a.m. June 20, 22, 27-30. 350 S. Donaghey.

MARCH 19: Narrows, All Pigs Must Die. Dickson Theater, 9 p.m., $5. 227 W. Dickson St. 479-575-0500.

APRIL 12: Bela Fleck & The Flecktones.

Walton Arts Center, 7 p.m., $28-$52. 495 W. Dickson St. 479-443-5600.

APRIL 13: Leftover Salmon. George’s Majestic Lounge, 8 p.m., $24. 519 W. Dickson St. 479-442-4226.

APRIL 17-18: Umphrey’s McGee. George’s Majestic Lounge, April 17-18, 8 p.m., $29.

519 W. Dickson St. 479-442-4226.

APRIL 19: Cake. Arkansas Music Pavilion, 6 p.m. 2536 N. McConnell Ave. www.arkansasmusicpavilion.com.

APRIL 21: Big Gigantic. Arkansas Music Pavilion, 6 p.m. 2536 N. McConnell Ave. www.arkansasmusicpavilion.com.

APRIL 26: Hayes Carll. George’s Majestic Lounge, 9 p.m., $18. 519 W. Dickson St. 479-442-4226.

APRIL 27-28: Glen Campbell. Walton Arts Center, April 27-28, 8 p.m., $43-$79. 495 W. Dickson St. 479-443-5600.

MAY 7: RAIN: A Tribute to The Beatles.

Walton Arts Center, 7 p.m., $38-$54. 495 W. Dickson St. 479-443-5600.

MAY 8: Five Finger Death Punch. Arkansas Music Pavilion, 6 p.m. 2536 N. McConnell Ave. www.arkansasmusicpavilion.com.

MAY 10: Wilco. Arkansas Music Pavilion, 6 p.m., $44. 2536 N. McConnell Ave. www. arkansasmusicpavilion.com.

EUREKA SPRINGS MUSIC MAY 31-JUNE 3: Eureka Springs Blues Weekend. Featuring Ruthie Foster, Tommy Castro, Kenny Neal, The Cate Brothers, Michael Burks, Lazy Lester and many more.

The Auditorium, $15-$75. 36 Main St.

FAYETTEVILLE COMEDY MARCH 11: Carlos Mencia. UARK Bowl, 7 p.m., $5-$7. 644 W. Dickson St.. 479-3012030. www.uarkballroom.com.

THEATER MARCH 8-9: “In the Heights.” Tony-winning musical about a multi-generational, vibrant Latino community in New York City. Walton Arts Center, March 8, 7 p.m.; March 9, 8 p.m., $39-$49. 495 W. Dickson St. 479-443-5600.

APRIL 12-MAY 6: “The Fall of the House.”

This play from TheatreSquared Artistic Director Robert Ford is a mystery that spans

centuries. Walton Arts Center’s Nadine Baum Studios, Thu.-Sat., 7:30 p.m.; Sat., 2 p.m.; Sun., 2 and 7 p.m., $10-$20. 505 W. Spring St. 479-443-5600. theatre2.org.

APRIL 17-22: “Mary Poppins.” Musical version of the classic Disney film. Walton Arts Center, April 17-19, 7 p.m.; April 20, 8 p.m.; April 21, 2 and 8 p.m.; April 22, 2 and 7 p.m., $50-$65. 495 W. Dickson St. 479-443-5600.

HOT SPRINGS EVENTS MARCH 17: First Ever Ninth Annual World’s Shortest St. Patrick’s Day Parade. Includes grand marshal Tim Matheson (Otter from “Animal House”), as well as The Famous San Diego Chicken and live music from .38 Special.

Downtown, 6:30 p.m., free. 100 Central Ave.

MUSIC MARCH 16: Jack Oblivian, The Many Persian Z’s, Jonathan Wilkins. Maxine’s, 8 p.m., $5 adv., $7 door. 700 Central Ave. maxinespub.com.

March 18-24: Valley of the Vapors Independent Music Festival. Including a variety of music and arts events. Low Key Arts, noon, 118 Arbor St. APRIL 20: Arkansas Symphony Orchestra.

Includes soloist Tatiana Rotman at an event celebrating the 25th anniversary of the Hot Springs/Hot Springs Village Symphony Guild. Woodlands Auditorium, 7:30 p.m., $35. 1101 De Soto Blvd., Hot Springs Village. 501-922-0036. www.hsvwoodlands. com.

MAY 26: The Charlie Daniels Band. Magic Springs’ Timberwood Amphitheater. 1701 E. Grand Ave. JUNE 2: Trace Adkins. Magic Springs’ Timberwood Amphitheater. 1701 E. Grand Ave. JUNE 3-16: Hot Springs Music Festival XVII. More than 200 performers from around the world will gather for 20 concerts and hundreds of open rehearsals at venues all over Hot Springs. Central Avenue.

JUNE 9: Third Day. Magic Springs’ Timberwood Amphitheater. 1701 E. Grand Ave. JUNE 10: Brandon Heath. Magic Springs’ Timberwood Amphitheater. 1701 E. Grand Ave. JULY 7: Gretchen Wilson. Magic Springs’ Timberwood Amphitheater. 1701 E. Grand Ave. JULY 14: Switchfoot. Magic Springs’ Timberwood Amphitheater. 1701 E. Grand Ave. JULY 15: Tenth Avenue North. Magic Springs’ Timberwood Amphitheater. 1701 E. Grand Ave. JULY 21: Tesla. Magic Springs’ Timberwood Amphitheater. 1701 E. Grand Ave. AUG. 4: Justin Moore. Magic Springs’ Timberwood Amphitheater. 1701 E. Grand Ave.

OZARK MUSIC MAY 31-JUNE 2: Wakarusa Music and camping festival featuring The Avett Brothers, Primus, Pretty Lights and many more. Mulberry Mountain, 4117 Mulberry Mountain Loop.

PINE BLUFF MUSIC MARCH 11: Pine Bluff Symphony Orchestra: “An Afternoon at the Opera.” Pine Bluff Convention Center, 4 p.m. 500 E. 8th Ave.

ROGERS EVENTS MARCH 9: 2012 Starlight Gala. Includes performance from country group Rascal Flatts, food and drinks, silent and live auctions and more. John Q. Hammons Convention Center, 6 p.m., $200. 3303 Pinnacle Hills Pkwy. 479-795-2417, ext. 311.

THE HUDSON FILE, CONT. A Nov. 24, 2006, complaint is described as: “Internal investigation authorized by Chief Thomas pursuant to allegations of failure to supervise.” A June 1, 2007, complaint is described as: “Lost or stole property Glock Model 22 .40 caliber pistol SN GFD640/ Su Fire Tactical Light and Glock paddle holster.”

Responding to a Freedom of Information Act request seeking more documents related to the complaints against Hudson, department spokesman Lt. Terry Hastings said that all documents relating to the four suspensions Hudson has drawn since joining the force in 1978 have been destroyed because of their age in accordance with department policy, and other documents relating to citizen complaints against Hudson — including those for which Hudson received a letter of reprimand — aren’t accessible under the FOI because Hudson wasn’t punished 24

MARCH 7, 2012

ARKANSAS TIMES

with a suspension, demotion or termination. We’ve sent follow-up questions to Lt. Hastings, including asking for more detail on the LRPD’s old-document destruction policy, but haven’t heard back from him yet.

Department spokesperson Sgt. Cassandra Davis said that the LRPD’s Internal Affairs Division, which investigates citizen complaints and allegations of officer misconduct, is composed of sergeants who conduct the investigations and a higher-ranking supervisor. The investigators, Davis said, are “officers of this department that have served in other divisions such as detectives and patrol.”

Asked how the department ensures impartiality, Davis said: “the investigators are only fact finders and do not make a determination as to discipline.”

The Arkansas Supreme Court ruled in Hall and Erwin’s favor on Feb. 16, uphold-

ing a lower court ruling that said officers’ use-of-force documents — including the internal documents created during the internal investigation into the incident at Ferneau on Oct. 29 — should be public records. Hall said he wasn’t provided many of the documents he requested from the LRPD until he received over 500 pages of records on the Friday before the case against Erwin was scheduled to go to trial. Citing the delay in providing the documents to the defense, Sherwood District Judge Milas “Butch” Hale tentatively dismissed the criminal charges against Erwin on Feb. 21, but is currently reconsidering the ruling at the request of prosecutors. Hale said he will rule soon on whether the charges against Erwin will stand.

More from the 15 longer narratives: • May 1996: a complainant claims that $11,629 worth of property went miss-

ing following the execution of a search warrant. Outcome of the Internal Affairs investigation: not sustained.

• July 1996: a complainant claims that $2,400 worth of jewelry went missing following the execution of a search and seizure warrant. Outcome: not sustained.

• Oct. 1996: a complainant claimed that a $100 bill was missing from his wallet following execution of a search and seizure warrant. Outcome: A ruling of “misconduct not based on original complaint — inappropriate handling of money” with the complainant reimbursed $100.

• Feb. 2007: a complainant claims officers used excessive force while searching his vehicle and took $1,000. Outcome: Exonerated.

• Oct. 2009: a complainant claims he was “thrown to the ground and spit on

by Lt. Hudson.” Outcome: Complaint withdrawn.

BIG TURN OFF, CONT. said her firm became interested in independent contractors. They hear that at work and they think, ‘Well, if the issue after a woman who sought that’s the way my boss says it is, I’ll representation in a domestic case believe him.’ “ told attorneys about pay and working Milligan said similar issues were conditions at the club where she worked. once common all over the country.

We left messages at Peaches She said the first lawsuits concerning and Paper Moon seeking comment how exotic dancers are paid started for this story, but our calls weren’t in Alaska in the 1980s, and have since returned at press time. Club 70 filed spread to other states.

Live Entertainment Weekly for bankruptcy in November 2011 Due to the clubs classifying Now Booking: the dancers as independent and the phone number listed for the contractors, Milligan said, there’s business is disconnected. Little Rock Private Events • Weddings attorney Denise Reid Hoggard, who usually no recourse for those who Cocktail & Dinner Parties represents plaintiffs in the lawsuit are injured while performing.

Non-Profit Fundraisers against Visions, said she couldn’t “We have one client who had to take comment on the lawsuit. six months off from work and couldn’t Corporate Meetings get unemployment or Worker’s Comp Though Milligan is limited by court rulings as to what she can say because she hurt her knee dancing,” about individual defendants in the she said. “There was just no safety net 1020 Front Street, Conway, AR • 72034 lawsuits, she said club managers for her, so... our recorded address for Visit us on Facebook for artist lineup and rental information. routinely tell dancers they are her was a tent in Bauxite, Arkansas.” working as independent contractors We were able to reach a few of or “lessees.” Clubs usually require the plaintiffs, but none of them wanted to speak dancers to pay a on the record. “house fee” of $25 In an affidavit to $35 per shift for attached to the the right to work “They have to tip out the lawsuit against there, with the DJ, or the DJ will make dancers working Visions Cabaret, a your life miserable. He’ll solely for tips. In former bartender call you names when you some cases, she named Jennifer come out on stage, or said, dancers are Armstrong writes he’ll play purposefully bad required to pay under oath that music that you can’t dance during her six the house fee to, or he’ll play music that years working twice in one day A WALK TO HELP PUT GOOD FOOD ON THE TABLES OF ARKANSANS IN NEED. turns your dance numat the club, she A WALK TO HELP PUT GOOD FOOD ON THE TABLES OF ARKANSANS IN NEED. if they work two ber into a kind of comsaw dancers as shifts. Dancers are A WALK TO HELP PUT GOOD FOOD ON THE TABLES OF ARKANSANS IN NEED. edy routine. ... No one is young as 18 “so also responsible really turned on by that, intoxicated they for tipping the DJ who plays were falling off the so nobody [tips] you any music during their stage,” screamed money.”

A WALK TO HELP PUT GOOD FOOD ON THE TABLES OF ARKANSANS IN NEED. dances. at, mistreated A WALK TO HELP PUT GOOD FOOD ON THE TABLES OF ARKANSANS IN NEED. PETER BRAVE BRAVE PETER or sexually “They have to willembark embark onaBRAVE a223 223mile mile tip out the DJ, or harassed by staff will on PETER solo hike through the the DJ will make and management, will through embark on a 223 mile solo hike the Ouachita Trailthrough the your life miserable,” Milligan said. with dancers often “degraded, talked solo Trail hike Ouachita “He’ll call you names when you come down to, and made to feel like less Ouachita Trail out on stage, or he’ll play purposefully of a person.”

APRIL 1-14 -14 BRAVE APRIL 1PETER APRIL 1 -14 bad music that you can’t dance to, or “I frequently saw door men refuse will embark BRAVE on a 223 mile PETER he’ll play music that turns your dance to let dancers into the club unless to raise funds and to raisetofunds and solo hikeand through willfunds embark on athe 223 mile raise number into a kind of comedy routine. they showed them their breasts,” awareness on behalf of awareness on behalf of of the awareness on behalf Ouachita Trail ... No one is really turned on by that, Armstrong writes. “Floor guys often solo hike through so nobody [tips] you any money.” ogled the dancers while they dressed Ouachita Trail Under state law, workers who and undressed in the dressing rooms.”

APRIL 1 -14 make more than $30 per month in tips Noting that the only money she APRIL 1 -14 are considered “tipped employees” might earn for her cooperation to raise funds and is a $100 witness fee if the case and must be paid a base wage of $2.63 awareness on behalf to raise funds and of proceeds to trial, Armstrong says per hour. With no hourly wage, no awareness on behalf of overtime, the house fee, tips to the her participation isn’t about money.

PRE-HIKE PARTY PRE-HIKE PARTY AT AT DJ, and other expenses, Milligan said “This is about being a woman, a BRAVE NEW RESTAURANT PRE-HIKE AT BRAVE NEWPARTY RESTAURANT SUNDAY, MARCH 11 it’s possible for a woman to leave at human, and realizing that the way SUNDAY, MARCH 11 BRAVE NEW RESTAURANT 5-7 PM. the end of the night actually owing you treat people matters,” she writes.

5-7 PM. SUNDAY, MARCH 11 money to the club.

“Even though I doubt this lawsuit 5-7 PM. “Usually, you have extremely will change things, or make it better young women who are coming into regarding that type of industry, by AND IS ASKING FOR YOUR HELP in making a daily difference in the YOUR a daily difference in the PRE-HIKE PARTY AT this, and they’re just told that this involving myself now as an affiantAND IS ASKING lives of othersFOR by supporting theHELP hike withinamaking pledge to POTLUCK - Arkansas’ only food BRAVE NEW RESTAURANT is the way it’s done,” Milligan said. and a witness, I can look backAND andlivesIS of ASKING others by supporting the hike with a pledge to POTLUCK Arkansas’ only food rescue organization and THE COMMON SENSE LINK BETWEEN THOSE WITH TOO MUCH FOR YOUR HELP in making a daily difference in PRE-HIKE the PARTY AT SUNDAY, FOOD AND THOUSANDS ARKANSANS WITH TOO LITTLE. “Some clubs go so far as to say they’re know I finally stood up for them.” organization and THE LINK THOSE WITH TOO MUCH lives rescue of others by supporting the COMMON hikeOF with aSENSE pledge toBETWEEN POTLUCK - Arkansas’ only foodMARCH 11

At Kill Shelter, Very Sweet.

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Arts Entertainment AND

BRIAN CHILSON

THE HOLY SHAKES

SHAKES TAKE IT ALL THE HOLY SHAKES WIN THE 20TH ARKANSAS TIMES MUSICIANS SHOWCASE.

BY ROBERT BELL

A

fter five rounds, 19 performances and probably more chicken fingers, beers and shots than we should dwell on, the 2012 Arkansas Times Musicians Showcase came down to the five finalists: Don’t Stop Please, Laundry for the Apocalypse, The Holy Shakes, War Chief and Joey Farr & The Fuggins Wheat Band.

In the end, The Holy Shakes’ pummeling, rock ’n’ roll-flavored hardcore prevailed, though a solid argument could have been made for any of the others.

It was a diverse lineup and to boost an overused 26

MARCH 7, 2012

ARKANSAS TIMES

expression from the sports world, every band brought its A-game, with tight playing, energetic performances and charisma to spare. Throughout the night, folks in the crowd commented to the Times staff about the ridiculously high number of excellent bands in this small state.

Don’t Stop Please got things under way and wasted exactly no time revving the energy level up to 11, with more shimmying, shaking, swaying, sharing of instruments, tossing of hair, trombone freakouts, saxophone wails and good-time tunes than any other

Central Arkansas band currently kicking up a racket.

“These guys/gal are undeniably talented,” wrote showcase judge Clay Fitzpatrick. The band looked “well-rehearsed and confident,” wrote judge Cheyenne Matthews. “Super solid.” Guest judge Kelley Bass called DSP “amazing, frenetic, musical-chairs rock.”

Laundry for the Apocalypse was up next and matched DSP’s frenetic pace with the ultra-catchy buzz-saw pop gem “Rob Zombie’s ‘Halloween 2’ ” followed by the mournful yet imposing “Murdertarp for the Apocalypse.” Guest judge Lizzie Burnham wrote, “I hope they laid out a tarp, because they just murdered me in the best possible way.” Judge Sammy Williams thought the band played “with a passion missing from a lot of local bands” and they transported Fitzpatrick “back to when I loved music for the first time.”

The Holy Shakes played third, with frontman Bill Solleder swinging a small lamp the way Fred Astaire swung a cane. The Shakes also brought a big crowd, and that crowd brought panties. Lots and lots and lots of panties of nearly every configuration, which they rained down on the band, sort of like if Misti’s Low-Priced Ladies Undergarment Barn out on Hwy. 84 had exploded.

Burnham loved the swagger and “throwback to ’70s/early ’80s punk.” Fitzpatrick was impressed as well: “This band kills it every time. The intensity automatically throws me into a state of mind I can’t contain.”

War Chief’s roots- and country-inspired modern rock was up next. The quartet had impressed the judges in the semifinals with their professionalism and radioready sound, and they kept that up Friday. According to Burnham, War Chief had “an uphill battle after Holy Shakes, but they are handling it extremely well.” Bass was impressed by “super tight, gritty rock ’n’ roll,” with a “lead guitarist bordering on rock-star status. Great energy and melodies.” Williams noted that he can’t describe why he loves the Old 97s, “so I won’t even try to describe why I love this band. Give this band a record deal … NOW!” Wrapping up the finals were Joey Farr & The Fuggins Wheat Band, who are without a doubt one of the most technically proficient bands to ever play the showcase in any of its two decades, hands down. The term “shred” doesn’t even begin to do justice to Farr, whose band “is like the love child of Dave Grohl and Steve Vai,” according to Williams. They’re “musicians’ musicians” who “would blow up Midtown,” Fitzpatrick noted. Farr & Co. seemed indeed likely to blow up Midtown or pretty much any other venue they played with their insanely virtuosic blues-rock, which was Fuggins Wheat, indeed.

All in all, this year’s showcase was an utter blast. All the elements that make it fun were there: great performers, a spirit of spontaneity and unpretentiousness, and diverse crowds getting turned on to bands they might not otherwise see. The Times offers sincerest thanks to all the bands, fans, sponsors and our gracious hosts, Stickyz and Revolution. Here’s to another 20 years!

THE TO-DO

LIST

BY ROBERT BELL

WEDNESDAY 3/7

DALE EARNHARDT JR. JR.

8 p.m. Juanita’s. $10 adv., $12 d.o.s.

Dale Earnhardt Jr. Jr. plays buzzy indie pop of the post Animal Collective/MGMT species. Think layers of bright twinkling sounds, wistful melodies, clean guitar, ethereal Casio drones, echoing synthetic percussion and reedy, upper middle-class harmonies. All of these elements abound on the group’s highly pleasant-sounding 2011 full-length, “It’s a Corporate World.”

It sure is fellas. I read that these guys sent a

THURSDAY 3/8 note to Dale Earnhardt Jr. to let him know they weren’t making funny on his name.

Supposedly he’s cool with it and digs their music, according to DEJJ’s Josh Epstein.

That’s good news because a few years back, someone (not me) dressed up for Halloween as Dale Earnhardt Sr. (after the crash) and went out to the bar, and people got seriously, hair’s-breadth-from-a-physical-altercationlevel angry about it. You’ve got to be cautious with your NASCAR joking. Opening up this show are The Tricks and Whale Fire.

WINTHROP ROCKEFELLER INSTITUTE FILM FORUM

Winthrop Rockefeller Institute at Petit Jean. $35-$750.

Here’s something for the devoted film geeks, who thankfully make up a growing number of us in Central Arkansas. This forum includes a variety of panels and workshops with actors Robert Walden (“Happily Divorced”), Lea Thompson (“Back to the Future”),

acting coach and teacher Sandra Seacat, director and teacher Joan Darling (“M*A*S*H*), Craig Renaud (Little Rock Film Festival founder), director Howard Deutch (“Pretty in Pink,” “Some Kind of Wonderful”) producer Fred Roos (“The Godfather Part II,” “Apocalypse Now”) and many more, including some surprise guests.

The forum runs from March 8-11, and for my money, you really couldn’t ask for a better setting.

FRIDAY 3/9

JIMBO MATHUS AND THE TRI-STATE COALITION

10 p.m. White Water Tavern. $10.

JOSHUA BLACK WILKENS

The Mississippi Renaissance man Jimbo Mathus writes and performs the type of tunes that have been described as “catfish music for the masses.” Now as you can probably imagine, the Arkansas Times is going to be into something like that. We’re pretty populist, we love catfish (we’ve got one as our mascot) and we dig music. Add it all up and it does indeed sound something like Mathus: It’s familiar, Southern, steeped in tradition yet beholden to no one. An aside: Do you think Mathus has ever been to The Lassis Inn? If not, one of ya’ll should take him there. I’m being serious now. I know Mississippi’s got some good catfish over there, but Lassis is undeniable. If you can’t find anyone else to take him to get lunch there, I’ll go. I’ve got my own car. I’m at: 501-375-2985. Ask for “Robert.”

FRIDAY 3/9

BALLET ARKANSAS: BEYOND CATEGORY

CONSUMMATE ENTERTAINER: Nashville native Bobby Bare Jr. plays Juanita’s Friday night.

FRIDAY 3/9

BOBBY BARE JR.

9 p.m. Juanita’s. $12 adv., $15 d.o.s.

Bobby Bare Jr. has been at this music thing for a minute. He had his first Grammy nod at age 8 back in ’74 for a duet with his father, the legendary country performer. Their version of the Shel Silverstein number “Daddy What If,” was a huge success, reaching No. 2 on the country charts. Bare has released several albums for, among others, Bloodshot Records. His tunes straddle Nashville — where he was born and raised — and the wider world of rock ’n’ roll. How many other Music City natives can cover The Smiths or The Pixies and make it sound 28

MARCH 7, 2012

ARKANSAS TIMES

so natural? But even with such a pedigree, Bare seems like a very down-to-earth dude. Looking around on his website, it would appear that he is a most game and good-natured performer. You can get him to play a small concert at your house, and you can — for a minor remuneration — be an executive producer on his next album. Now, you will probably be an executive producer only in a very “loose” sense, and your suggestions will likely be considered only in a very “whatever” kinda manner, but still: You’ll get your name on that thing. Opening up this show are The Goodtime Ramblers and First Baptist Chemical, which is Rod Bryan’s new band.

8 p.m. Wildwood Park for the Performing Arts. $20-$25.

This eclectic concert from Ballet Arkansas melds classical, contemporary and modern dance and highlights Michael Bearden, principal dancer from Ballet West in Salt Lake City. Bearden returns to Little Rock fresh off a fiveweek engagement in Scotland. The show includes choreography by Michelle Jarvis, Bud Kerwin, Keisha Ilama-White and Leslie Schickel, whose world premiere dance, “Delta, Push Up Open,” is a ballet based on the history of the Delta Blues.

Performances are at 8 p.m. March 9-10 and at 2 p.m. March 11.

IN BRIEF

THURSDAY 3/8 If spastic Technicolor Japanese pop-punk is your thing, don’t miss Peelander-Z at Maxine’s, with openers Electric Eel Shock and Booyah!

Dad, 8 p.m., $8 adv., $10 door. If, on the other hand, you’re seeking some boogie-woogie Southern-fried rock ’n’ soul, choogle on over to Revolution for Blackberry Smoke, 18-andolder, 8:30 p.m., $12 adv., $15 d.o.s.

Zach Williams & The Reformation open the show.

SATURDAY 3/10

CORROSSION OF CONFORMITY

6:30 p.m. Downtown Music Hall. $15 adv., $18 d.o.s.

It’s so good — and sadly, so rare — when a legendary band gets back together and actually creates something vital. I can think of a few instances, but for every Wire (specifically the ’00s reunion) or Mission of Burma, it seems that there are a dozen that are mediocre (The Police), pointless (Spice Girls, The Sex Pistols) or so obviously just about the money that it’s kind of a bummer (Pixies). I’m happy to report that the mighty Corrosion of Conformity can be placed firmly among the few truly worthwhile reunions of recent years.

The band’s new self-titled album marks the return of the original founding trio of Mike Dean, Reed Mullin and Woody Weatherman. The band hasn’t abandoned the Southern metal groove of the 1990s Pepper Keenan-era lineup, but they’ve brought back the bruisin’ ’n contusin’ thrash chops of their ’80s crossover classics “Animosity” and “Technocracy.” Check out “El Lamento de Las Cabras,” an instrumental that sounds like Earth if they decided

FRIDAY 3/9

METAL LEGENDS REBORN: North Carolina’s Corrosion of Conformity is back with its original founding lineup. The band plays Downtown Music Hall Saturday with Torche, Valient Thorr and A Storm of Light.

to focus and rein in the wandering tendencies just a bit. “The Doom” swings between Pentagram-like riff worship and galloping hardcore, while “The Moneychangers” sounds like it could be a criminally neglected B-side from the “Deliverance” or “Wiseblood.”

Rumor has it that Keenan might be returning to COC’s ranks, which could

be awesome, given how alive and inspired the band sounds now. Opening acts are the Miami-based doom-pop honchos in Torche, the chorus-happy skull-crushers Valient Thorr and the harsh, epically bleak post-metallers A Storm of Light. This will certainly be — if not the best — then one of the very best metal shows of the year.

SUNDAY 3/11

NEON INDIAN

8:30 p.m. Revolution. $12 adv., $15 d.o.s.

The buzz doesn’t buzz much buzzier than it did for Neon Indian’s 2009 debut “Psychic Chasms,” which is one of the cornerstones of the whole, uh, you know, that thing that’s a genre with a name that everyone associated with sorta doesn’t wanna be associated with.

You probably know the lazy shorthand: Ariel Pink-influenced, burbling, gurgling electro pop that burbles and gurgles like the soundtrack to a forgotten NES game that’s drowning to death and there are ’80s/’90s references/sounds and the cover is often a blurry Hipstamatic photo of a beach or a girl or something sun-kissed and vaguely sentimental. With a name like Neon Indian and song titles like “Deadbeat Summer,” “Terminally Chill,” and “Should have taken acid with you,” Neon Indian’s initial offering had all the signifiers of the nascent chillwave or glo-fi or whatever that was or is.

Being that it was music made by and for

The 2012 Starlight Gala benefits Northwest Arkansas Children’s Shelter and includes a performance by country group Rascal Flatts, food and drinks, silent and live auctions and more, John Q. Hammons Convention Center, Rogers, 6 p.m., $200. St. Michael’s Episcopal Church hosts a fundraiser for Lucie’s Place, an LGBT homeless shelter. Includes silent auction for artwork, hors d’oeuvres and drinks, 7 p.m., $25 single, $45 couple.

You know that song “Master of Puppets” by Metallica? Everybody knows it’s about the control of drug dealers over addicts, right? But what if it was about Jeff Dunham?

The puppet comedian is at Verizon Arena, 8 p.m., $44. For a doubledose of Southern rock swagger, check out Jonathan Tyler & The Northern Lights with Arkansas Southern rockers Starroy, Stickyz, 9 p.m., $10 adv., $12 d.o.s. Masters of Masters in the Hall is the final concert of the season from the Arkansas Chamber Singers, with works by Arvo Part, Bach and more, St. James United Methodist Church, 7:30 p.m., $10-$18. For some electronic dance jams, Revolution has Zodiac: The Wobble Edition. It’s an 18-and-older show featuring Hulk, Durden, Sniq, Germz, MC Kreepa and Columbus, 9 p.m., $10 adv., $13 d.o.s.

SATURDAY 3/10

BUZZ, BUZZ: Neon Indian plays Revolution.

attractive, funded twentysomethings as a soundtrack for their carefree, drugtaking, fun-having, never-ending good times, I summarily dismissed “Psychic Chasms” and its peers. I was prepared to give the same treatment to its follow-up from last year, “Era Extraña.”

But it’s actually a very enjoyable listen,

as is “Psychic Chasms,” here at a couple years’ remove and now that I don’t live in Austin anymore. It’s still burbling, gurgling electro pop, but recorded and produced a little better and the songs have a darker, “Man, I’m in my mid20s now” sort of edge to them. Purity Ring opens up this all-ages show.

When Atlanta rapper Tity Boi failed to break into the mainstream several years back (and with a name like that?), he reinvented himself as 2 Chainz and has since become the hottest thing going on the mixtape scene. In a much-hyped show, he comes to Clear Channel Metroplex, 8 p.m., $25 general, $75 VIP (tickets available at Sophisticated Urban and Ugly Mike’s). Rootsy Canadian outfit Whitehorse is a new project from Luke Doucet and Melissa McClelland, who are both members of Sarah McLachlan’s band. They play Juanita’s with The Elise Davis Band opening the show, 8:30 p.m., $8 adv., $10 d.o.s. The 6th Annual Bard Ball: “The Taming of the Brew” is a benefit for Arkansas Shakespeare Theatre. It includes beers from local brewers, food from Starving Artist Cafe and live entertainment, Argenta Community Theater, 7 p.m., $75.

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MARCH 7, 2012

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AFTER DARK All events are in the Greater Little Rock area unless otherwise noted. To place an event in the Arkansas Times calendar, please e-mail the listing and all pertinent information, including date, time, location, price and contact information, to calendar@arktimes.com.

WEDNESDAY, MARCH 7

MUSIC

Acoustic Open Mic. The Afterthought, 8 p.m., free. 2721 Kavanaugh Blvd. 501-6631196. www.afterthoughtbar.com.

Alternative Wednesdays. Features alternative bands from Central Arkansas and the surrounding areas. Mediums Art Lounge, 6:30 p.m., $5. 521 Center St. 501-374-4495.

Bolly Open Mic Hype Night with Osyrus Bolly and DJ Messiah. All American Wings, 9 p.m. 215 W. Capitol Ave. 501-376-4000. allamericanwings.com.

Brian & Nick. Cajun’s Wharf, 5 and 9 p.m., $5 after 8:30 p.m. 2400 Cantrell Road. 501375-5351. www.cajunswharf.com.

Dale Earnhardt Jr. Jr., The Tricks, Whale Fire. Juanita’s, 8 p.m., $10 adv., $12 d.o.s.

614 President Clinton Ave. 501-372-1228. www.juanitas.com.

Gil Franklin & Friends. Holiday Inn, North Little Rock, first Tuesday, Wednesday of every month. 120 W. Pershing Blvd., NLR. G r i m M u z i k p r e s e n t s Wa y B a c k Wednesdays. Cornerstone Pub & Grill, 8:30 p.m. 314 Main St., NLR. 501-374-1782. cstonepub.com.

Jim Dickerson. Sonny Williams’ Steak Room, 7 p.m. 500 President Clinton Ave. 501-3242999. www.sonnywilliamssteakroom.com.

Karaoke at Khalil’s. Khalil’s Pub, 7 p.m. 110 S. Shackleford Road. 501-224-0224. www. khalilspub.com.

Karaoke. Maxine’s, 8 p.m., free. 700 Central Ave., Hot Springs. maxinespub.com.

Karaoke with Big John Miller. Denton’s Trotline, 8 p.m. 2150 Congo Road, Benton.

501-315-1717.

Open mic jam with Kat and Chuck. Thirst n’ Howl, 8 p.m.; March 14, 8 p.m.; March 28, 8 p.m., free. 14710 Cantrell Road. 501-3798189. www.thirst-n-howl.com.

Ricky David Tripp. Ferneau, 5:30 p.m. 2601 Kavanaugh Blvd. 501-603-9208. www.ferneaurestaurant.com.

Ron Paul benefit. Featuring The Acousticatz, Willie Ray & The Smoking Guns, Steve Bates.

Stickyz Rock ‘n’ Roll Chicken Shack, 8:30 p.m., $10. 107 Commerce St. 501-372-7707. www.stickyfingerz.com.

Ron Paul benefit show. Featuring Quadkiller, Reticent, The Revolutioners, Bread for Bones.

Revolution, 8:30 p.m., $10. 300 President Clinton Ave. 501-823-0090. revroom.com.

Take Off and Destroy. The Lightbulb Club, 9 p.m., $3. 21 N. Block Ave., Fayetteville.

479-444-6100.

Ted Ludwig Trio. Capital Bar and Grill, 5 p.m., free. 111 Markham St. 501-374-7474. www. capitalhotel.com/CBG.

COMEDY

Tony Tone, Matt Holt, Sam Norton. The Loony Bin, 8 p.m.; March 9, 10:30 p.m.; March 10, 7, 9 and 11 p.m., $7-$10. 10301 N. Rodney Parham Road. 501-228-5555. www.loonybincomedy.com.

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MARCH 7, 2012

ARKANSAS TIMES

COUNTRY JAM: The massively popular Zac Brown Band brings its laid-back, jam bandinformed show to Verizon Arena, Saturday at 7:30 p.m., $34-$65.

EVENTS

UALR College of Business Health Forum.

Includes discussion with a panel of experts and a moot court preview of the issues that will be decided by the Supreme Court regarding the health care reform law. The Peabody Little Rock. 3 Statehouse Plaza. 501-569-3356. www. peabodylittlerock.com.

FILM

The Art of Poetry: “SlamNation.” Arkansas Arts Center, 6:30 p.m., free. 501 E. 9th St. 501372-4000. www.arkarts.com.

“Get the Antennae! Cinephilia and Storytelling.” Lecture by Dr. Rashna Wadia Richards, professor at Rhodes College in Memphis and author of “Cinematic Flashes: Cinephilia and Classical Hollywood.” Hendrix College, 4:15 p.m. 1600 Washington Ave., Conway. www.hendrix.edu.

LECTURES

Oaklawn Brown Bag Lunches: Women in Racing. Featuring Kim Baron (Oaklawn director of marketing), Jennifer Hoyt (media relations manager), Deborah Keene (director of horsemen’s relations), Mary Rampellini (Daily Racing Form journalist and expert) and Kathy Moore (retired jockey and racing manager). Garland County Library, 12 p.m., free. 1427 Malvern Ave., Hot Springs. 501-623-4161.

Stan Greenberg. The chairman and CEO of Greenberg Quinlan Rosner Research has served as a polling adviser to many world leaders.

Clinton School of Public Service, 6 p.m., free.

1200 President Clinton Ave. 501-683-5239. www. clintonschool.uasys.edu.

SPORTS

Horse racing. Oaklawn, through April 13: 1:30 p.m. Saturday post time is 1 p.m. except for April 14, which is noon. 2705 Central Ave., Hot Springs. 501-623-4411. www.oaklawn.com.

BOOKS

Elie Wiesel. The Nobel winner and author of “Night” will lecture and sign copies of his books.

Walton Arts Center, 6 p.m., free. 495 W. Dickson St., Fayetteville. 479-443-5600.

THURSDAY, MARCH 8

MUSIC

Benefit for The American Cancer Society.

Featuring Aaron Owens, Big Shane Thornton, Luke Williams, Ryan Couron and DJ Taylor.

Shooter’s Sports Bar & Grill, 8 p.m., $5. 9500 I-30. 501-565-4003. www.shooterslittlerock.com.

Blackberry Smoke. 18-and-older show.

Revolution, 8:30 p.m., $12 adv., $15 d.o.s. 300 President Clinton Ave. 501-823-0090. revroom. com.

Brian Nahlen and Nick Devlin. The Afterthought, 8 p.m., free. 2721 Kavanaugh Blvd. 501-6631196. www.afterthoughtbar.com.

Covershot (headliner), Brian Ramsey (happy hour). Cajun’s Wharf, 5 and 9 p.m., $5 after 8:30 p.m. 2400 Cantrell Road. 501-375-5351. www. cajunswharf.com.

D-Mite and Tho-d Studios Showcase.

Cornerstone Pub & Grill, March 8, 8:30 p.m.; March 22, 8:30 p.m. 314 Main St., NLR. 501374-1782. cstonepub.com.

“Inferno.” DJs play pop, electro, house and more, plus drink specials and $1 cover before 11 p.m. Sway, 9 p.m. 412 Louisiana. 501-907-2582.

Jim Dickerson. Sonny Williams’ Steak Room, 7 p.m. 500 President Clinton Ave. 501-324-2999. www.sonnywilliamssteakroom.com.

John Michael Vance. Thirst n’ Howl, 8 p.m., free. 14710 Cantrell Road. 501-379-8189. www. thirst-n-howl.com.

Karaoke. Zack’s Place, 8 p.m. 1400 S. University Ave. 501-664-6444. www.zacks-place.com.

Live at Laman: The Blue Fiddle Band. Laman Library, 7 p.m., free. 2801 Orange St., NLR. 501758-1720. www.lamanlibrary.org.

Militia. Thirst n’ Howl, 8 p.m., free. 14710 Cantrell Road. 501-379-8189. www.thirst-n-howl.com.

Mysaline.com Freedom of Speech Rally & Benefit. Including KARN’s Dave Elswick, Angry Patrick, Michael Shipp and Exit One Eleven.

Denton’s Trotline, 2 and 7 p.m. 2150 Congo Road, Benton. 501-315-1717.

Peelander-Z, Electric Eel Shock, Booyah! Dad. Maxine’s, 8 p.m., $8 adv., $10 door. 700 Central Ave., Hot Springs. maxinespub.com.

Port Arthur Band. Parrot Beach Cafe, 9 p.m.

9611 MacArthur Drive, NLR. 771-2994.

Sarah Hughes Trio. White Water Tavern, 9:30 p.m., $5. 2500 W. 7th. 501-375-8400. www.whitewatertavern.com.

The Spring Standards, Catskill Kids. 18-andolder show Stickyz Rock ‘n’ Roll Chicken Shack, 9 p.m., $6. 107 Commerce St. 501-372-7707. www.stickyfingerz.com.

Ted Ludwig Trio. Capital Bar and Grill, 5 p.m., free. 111 Markham St. 501-374-7474. www.capitalhotel.com/CBG. Toad, Crankbait, Lost Coves. Downtown Music Hall, 8 p.m., $5. 211 W. Capitol. 501-376-1819. downtownmusichall.com.

Tragikly White. West End Smokehouse and Tavern, 10 p.m., $5. 215 N. Shackleford. 501-2247665. www.westendsmokehouse.net.

COMEDY

Tony Tone, Matt Holt, Sam Norton. The Loony Bin, through March 9, 8 p.m.; March 9, 10:30 p.m.; March 10, 7, 9 and 11 p.m., $7-$10. 10301 N. Rodney Parham Road. 501-228-5555. www. loonybincomedy.com.

EVENTS

Sports Science. Learn about the role of physics in sports. Museum of Discovery, March 8-10, 9 a.m.-5 p.m., $8-$10, free for members. 500 Clinton Ave. 396-7050. www.amod.org.

FILM

Winthrop Rockefeller Institute Film Forum.

Includes a variety of panels and workshops with Robert Walden, Lea Thompson, Howard Deutch, Joan Darling, Sandra Seacat, Bill Svanoe, Fred Roos, Craig Renaud and surprise guests. Winthrop Rockefeller Institute, March 8-11, $35-$750. 1 Rockefeller Drive, Morrilton.

501-727-6257. www.uawri.org.

LECTURES

Rich Demillo. The Director of the Center for 21st Century Universities at Georgia Institute of Technology, Demillo will discuss his book “Abelard to Apple: The Fate of American Colleges and Universities.” Clinton School of Public Service, 6 p.m., free. 1200 President Clinton Ave. 501-683-5239. www.clintonschool. uasys.edu.

SPORTS

Arkansas State High School Basketball Championships. Summit Arena. 134 Convention Blvd., Hot Springs. 501-620-5001. www.summitarena.org.

Horse racing. See March 7.

BENEFITS

2012 Shine a Light on Literacy fundraiser.

Governor’s Mansion, 6 p.m., $40 single, $75 couple. 1800 Center St. 501-372-7323. www. literacylittlerock.org/.

FRIDAY, MARCH 9

MUSIC

Bobby Bare Jr., Goodtime Ramblers, First Baptist Chemical. Juanita’s, 9 p.m., $12 adv., $15 d.o.s. 614 President Clinton Ave. 501-3721228. www.juanitas.com.

Crash Meadows. West End Smokehouse and Tavern, 10 p.m., $5. 215 N. Shackleford. 501-2247665. www.westendsmokehouse.net.

DJ Epic. Flying DD, 9 p.m. 4601 S. University.

501-773-9990. flyingdd.com.

DJ Silky Slim. Top 40 and dance music. Sway, 9 p.m., $5. 412 Louisiana. 501-907-2582.

“The Flow Fridays.” Twelve Modern Lounge, 8 p.m. 1900 W. Third St. Hungrytown. Faulkner County Library, 7 p.m., free. 1900 Tyler St., Conway. 501-327-7482. www. fcl.org.

Jim Mills (headliner), Richie Johnson (happy hour). Cajun’s Wharf, 5 and 9 p.m., $5 after 8:30 p.m. 2400 Cantrell Road. 501-375-5351. www. cajunswharf.com.

Jimbo Mathus and the Tri-State Coalition.

White Water Tavern, 10 p.m., $10. 2500 W. 7th.

501-375-8400. www.whitewatertavern.com.

Jonathan Tyler and the Northern Lights, Starroy. Stickyz Rock ‘n’ Roll Chicken Shack, 9 p.m., $10 adv., $12 d.o.s. 107 Commerce St. 501-372-7707. www.stickyfingerz.com.

Lovedrug, Kingsdown, CatchingYourClouds.

Downtown Music Hall, 7 p.m., $10 adv., $12 door. 211 W. Capitol. 501-376-1819. downtownmusichall.com.

Masters of Masters in the Hall. Final concert of the season from the Arkansas Chamber Singers.

Includes works by Arvo Part, Bach and more.

St. James United Methodist Church, 7:30 p.m., $10-$18. 321 Pleasant Valley Drive. 501-3771121. www.stjames-umc.org.

Mr. Lucky. Shooter’s Sports Bar & Grill, 9 p.m., $5. 9500 I-30. 501-565-4003. www.shooterslittlerock.com.

OTR. Denton’s Trotline, 9 p.m. 2150 Congo Road, Benton. 501-315-1717.

Outernational, The Bootheel, Ezra Lbs. Maxine’s, 8 p.m. 700 Central Ave., Hot Springs. maxinespub.com.

Sean Austin. Flying Saucer, 9 p.m., $3. 323 President Clinton Ave. 501-372-7468. www. beerknurd.com/stores/littlerock.

Shannon Boshears Band. The Afterthought, 9

p.m., $7. 2721 Kavanaugh Blvd. 501-663-1196. www.afterthoughtbar.com.

Shawn G. Cornerstone Pub & Grill, 8 p.m. 314 Main St., NLR. 501-374-1782. cstonepub.com.

Ted Ludwig Trio. Capital Bar and Grill, 9 p.m., free. 111 Markham St. 501-374-7474. www.capitalhotel.com/CBG. Zodiac: The Wobble Edition. 18-and-older show featuring Hulk, Durden, Sniq, Germz, MC Kreepa, Columbus. Revolution, 9 p.m., $10 adv., $13 d.o.s. 300 President Clinton Ave. 501-823-0090. revroom.com.

COMEDY

Jeff Dunham. Verizon Arena, 8 p.m., $44. 1 Alltel Arena Way, NLR. 501-975-9001. verizonarena.com.

Tony Tone, Matt Holt, Sam Norton. The Loony Bin, through March 9, 8 p.m.; March 9, 10:30 p.m.; March 10, 7, 9 and 11 p.m., $7-$10. 10301 N. Rodney Parham Road. 501-228-5555. www. loonybincomedy.com.

DANCE

Ballet Arkansas presents Beyond Category.

Wildwood Park for the Performing Arts, March 9-10, 8 p.m.; March 11, 2 p.m., $20-$25. 20919 Denny Road. 800-595-4849.

EVENTS

LGBTQ/SGL Youth and Young Adult Group.

Diverse Youth for Social Change is a group for LGBTQ/SGL and straight ally youth and young adults age 14 to 23. For more information, call 244-9690 or search “DYSC” on Facebook. 800 Scott St., 6:30 p.m. 800 Scott St. Sports Science. Learn about the role of physics in sports. Museum of Discovery, through March 10, 9 a.m.-5 p.m., $8-$10, free for members. 500 Clinton Ave. 396-7050. www.amod.org.

FILM

Winthrop Rockefeller Institute Film Forum.

See March 8.

LECTURES

Luma Mufleh. The founder of the Fugees Family will discuss the nonprofits work to help child survivors of war by using soccer to provide support and structure. Clinton School of Public Service, 12 p.m., free. 1200 President Clinton Ave. 501683-5239. www.clintonschool.uasys.edu.

SPORTS

Arkansas State High School Basketball Championships. See March 8.

Horse racing. See March 7.

BENEFITS

2012 Starlight Gala. Includes performance from country group Rascal Flatts, food and drinks, silent and live auctions and more. John Q. Hammons Convention Center, 6 p.m., $200.

3303 Pinnacle Hills Pkwy., Rogers. 479-7952417, ext. 311.

Lucie’s Place fundraiser. Benefit for the LGBT homeless shelter with silent auction for artwork, hors d’oeuvres and drinks. St. Michael’s Episcopal Church, 7 p.m., $25 single, $45 couple. 12415 Cantrell Rd. 501-764-0237.

United Way’s Jeans & Bling. Includes live and silent auctions, heavy hors d’ oeuvres and music from Mayday by Midnight. The Ford Theater, 7 p.m., $30 adv., $40 door. 1020 Front St., Conway.

501-358-1755. thefordtheater.com.

BOOKS

Spring Book Sale. Faulkner County Library, 6 p.m. 1900 Tyler St., Conway. 501-327-7482. www.fcl.org.

SATURDAY, MARCH 10

MUSIC

2 Chainz, Derrty DJ Deja Blu, Idris. Tickets available at Sophisticated Urban and Ugly Mike’s. Clear Channel Metroplex, $25 general, $75 VIP. 10800 Colonel Glenn Road. 500952-6029.

Alize. West End Smokehouse and Tavern, 10 p.m., $5. 215 N. Shackleford. 501-224-7665. www.westendsmokehouse.net.

Benefit for Merryman Family. Including Four on the Floor and Blind Mary. Flying DD, 9 p.m.

4601 S. University. 501-773-9990. flyingdd.com.

Casey Donahew Band, Matt Stell & The Crashers. 18-and-older show. Revolution, 9 p.m., $15. 300 President Clinton Ave. 501-8230090. revroom.com.

Corrossion of Conformity, Torche, Valient Thorr. Downtown Music Hall, 6:30 p.m., $15 adv., $18 d.o.s. 211 W. Capitol. 501-376-1819. downtownmusichall.com.

Crash Meadows (headliner), Andy Tanas (happy hour). Cajun’s Wharf, 5 and 9 p.m., $5 after 8:30 p.m. 2400 Cantrell Road. 501-3755351. www.cajunswharf.com.

DJs Steve, Crawll, Jared and Jacob. Discovery Nightclub, 9 p.m., $10. 1021 Jessie Road. 501664-4784. www.latenightdisco.com.

El Ten Eleven, Girlfriends, The Sound of the Mountain. Maxine’s, 8 p.m., $5 adv., $7 door.

700 Central Ave., Hot Springs. maxinespub. com.

John David Band. The Afterthought, 9 p.m., $7. 2721 Kavanaugh Blvd. 501-663-1196. www. afterthoughtbar.com.

Karaoke at Khalil’s. Khalil’s Pub, 7 p.m. 110 S. Shackleford Road. 501-224-0224. www.khalilspub.com.

“KISS Saturdays” with DJs Deja Blu, Greyhound and Silky Slim. Sway, 10 p.m.

412 Louisiana. 501-907-2582.

Lance Lopez, Wes Jeans, Luke Williams.

Denton’s Trotline, 9 p.m. 2150 Congo Road, Benton. 501-315-1717.

Shannon McClung. Flying Saucer, 9 p.m., $3.

323 President Clinton Ave. 501-372-7468. www. beerknurd.com/stores/littlerock.

Shelley Martin Quartet. Maxine’s, 5:30 p.m., $5.

700 Central Ave., Hot Springs. maxinespub.com.

Symphony of Northwest Arkansas.

Collaborative performance with the Fayetteville Jazz Collective includes classical and jazz hits.

Walton Arts Center, 7:30 p.m., $25-$45. 495 W. Dickson St., Fayetteville. 479-443-5600.

Ted Ludwig Trio. Capital Bar and Grill, 9 p.m., free. 111 Markham St. 501-374-7474. www. capitalhotel.com/CBG. Turnpike Troubadours. 18-and-older show.

Stickyz Rock ‘n’ Roll Chicken Shack, 9 p.m., $10. 107 Commerce St. 501-372-7707. www. stickyfingerz.com.

UCA Percussion Festival. University of Central Arkansas, 12 p.m. 201 Donaghey Ave., Conway. www.uca.edu.

White Chocolate. Thirst n’ Howl, 9 p.m., free.

14710 Cantrell Road. 501-379-8189. www.thirstn-howl.com.

Whitehorse, Elise Davis. Juanita’s, 8:30 p.m., $8 adv., $10 d.o.s. 614 President Clinton Ave. 501-372-1228. www.juanitas.com.

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AFTER DARK, CONT. Woodsman, Swimming. The Lightbulb Club, 9 p.m., $3. 21 N. Block Ave., Fayetteville. 479444-6100.

Zac Brown Band. Verizon Arena, 7 p.m., $34$65. 1 Alltel Arena Way, NLR. 501-975-9001. verizonarena.com.

COMEDY

Tony Tone, Matt Holt, Sam Norton. The Loony Bin, 7, 9 and 11 p.m., $7-$10. 10301 N. Rodney Parham Road. 501-228-5555. www.loonybincomedy.com.

DANCE

Ballet Arkansas presents Beyond Category.

Wildwood Park for the Performing Arts, through March 10, 8 p.m.; March 11, 2 p.m., $20-$25.

20919 Denny Road. 800-595-4849.

EVENTS

Falun Gong meditation. Allsopp Park, 9 a.m., free. Cantrell & Cedar Hill Roads.

Saturday Programs at the Old State House Museum. Includes games, presentations and more family friendly events. Old State House Museum, through March 31: 10 a.m.-4:30 p.m., free. 500 Clinton Ave. 501-324-9685. www.oldstatehouse.com.

Sports Science. Learn about the role of physics in sports. Museum of Discovery, 9 a.m. p.m., $8-$10, free for members. 500 Clinton Ave. 396-7050. www.amod.org.

FILM

Winthrop Rockefeller Institute Film Forum.

See March 8.

SPORTS

13th annual Girls of Promise-UALR Conference. Keynote speaker is Dr. Paula Tkac, Vice President and Senior Economist at the Federal Reserve Bank of Atlanta. Includes local female professionals working in science, technology, engineering and math fields and other guests. UALR, 8:30 a.m.:30 p.m. 2801 S. University Ave. 501-244-9740.

Arkansas State High School Basketball Championships. See March 8.

Horse racing. See March 7.

Spa City Six-hour Mountain Bike Race and Du It in the Dirt Trail Run. Bike riders from all over America participate in this U.S. Cycling Ultra Endurance National Race Calendar event. Cedar Glades Park. Cedar

Glades Road, Hot Springs. 870-246-6686.

BENEFITS

6th Annual Bard Ball: “The Taming of the Brew.” Benefit for Arkansas Shakespeare Theatre includes beers from local brewers, food from Starving Artist Cafe and entertainment. Argenta Community Theater, 7 p.m., $75. 405 Main St., NLR. 501-450-3165. www. arkshakes.com.

CLASSES

Museum School Workshop: More Pysanky: Ukrainian-Style Ostrich Eggs. Pysanky is the ancient Ukrainian art of decorating eggs, using beeswax and multiple dye baths. Arkansas Arts Center, March 10-11, 9 a.m., $143-$179. 501 E. 9th St. 501-372-4000. www.arkarts.com..

KIDS

“Tail Waggin’ Tutors” Therapy Dog Reading Program. Program is designed to help children practice their reading skills in a relaxed atmosphere with therapy dogs. Laman Library, free. 2801 Orange St., NLR. 501-687-1061. www. lamanlibrary.org.

SUNDAY, MARCH 11

MUSIC

SANDI PATTY WITH GUESTS

LARNELLE HARRIS, 4HIM WAYNE WATSON & CLAY CROSSE

El Ten Eleven. The Lightbulb Club, 9 p.m., $5.

21 N. Block Ave., Fayetteville. 479-444-6100.

Heaven’s to Betsy, Morlee, Ellison’s Cage, My Red & Blue. Juanita’s, 7 p.m., $8 adv., $10 d.o.s. 614 President Clinton Ave. 501-372-1228. www.juanitas.com.

Karaoke. Shorty Small’s, 6-9 p.m. 1475 Hogan Lane, Conway. 501-764-0604. www.shortysmalls.com.

Karaoke with DJ Sara. Hardrider Bar & Grill, 7 p.m., free. 6613 John Harden Drive, Cabot.

501-982-1939 .

Karma to Burn, Truckfighters, Lo-Pan. Downtown Music Hall, 8 p.m., $8. 211 W. Capitol. 501-376-1819. downtownmusichall. com.

Neon Indian, Purity Ring. All-ages show.

Revolution, 8:30 p.m., $12 adv., $15 d.o.s. 300 President Clinton Ave. 501-823-0090. revroom. com.

Pine Bluff Symphony Orchestra: “An Afternoon at the Opera.” Pine Bluff Convention Center, 4 p.m. 500 E. 8th Ave., Pine Bluff.

Some Dark Holler, Lauderdale, The District Attorneys. 18-and-older show. Stickyz Rock ‘n’ Roll Chicken Shack, 8:30 p.m., $5. 107 Commerce St. 501-372-7707. www.stickyfingerz.com.

Sunday Jazz Brunch with Ted Ludwig and Joe Cripps. Vieux Carre, 11 a.m. 2721 Kavanaugh Blvd. 501-663-1196. www.vieuxcarrecafe.com.

Truckfighters, The Midnight Ghost Train, Lo-Pan. Downtown Music Hall, 8 p.m., $8. 211 W. Capitol. 501-376-1819. downtownmusichall. com.

COMEDY

Carlos Mencia. UARK Bowl, 7 p.m., $5-$7. 644 W. Dickson St., Fayetteville. 479-301-2030. www. uarkballroom.com.

Craig Robinson. Reynolds Performance Hall, UCA, 8 p.m., $10-$20. 350 S. Donaghey, Conway.

DANCE

Ballet Arkansas presents Beyond Category.

Wildwood Park for the Performing Arts, 2 p.m., $20-$25. 20919 Denny Road. 800-595-4849.

FILM

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ARKANSAS TIMES

Winthrop Rockefeller Institute Film Forum.

See March 8.

AFTER DARK, CONT.

LECTURES

Fine Arts Club of Arkansas Program: The Art of Venice. Presented by Executive Director Todd Herman, Ph.D., $35 for lecture and buffet dinner. Arkansas Arts Center, 6 p.m., $10.

501 E. 9th St. 501-372-4000. www.arkarts.com.

FILM

Horse racing. See March 7.

Reel Classics With The Rep Presents: “The Wiz.” Screening of the film and discussion with The Rep’s costume designer Rafael Castanera, with a sneak-peek at some of the costume sketches for The Rep’s upcoming production of “The Wiz.” Laman Library, 6 p.m., free. 2801 Orange St., NLR. 501-758-1720. www.lamanlibrary.org.

CLASSES

SPORTS

SPORTS

Museum School Workshop: More Pysanky: Ukrainian-Style Ostrich Eggs. See March 10.

MONDAY, MARCH 12

MUSIC

Barry McVinney. The Afterthought, 8 p.m., free.

2721 Kavanaugh Blvd. 501-663-1196. www. afterthoughtbar.com.

Glossary, Two Cow Garage. White Water Tavern, 9:30 p.m. 2500 W. 7th. 501-375-8400. www.whitewatertavern.com.

Karaoke. Thirst n’ Howl, 8:30 p.m. 14710 Cantrell Road. 501-379-8189. www.thirst-n-howl.com.

Reptar. 18-and-older show. Stickyz Rock ‘n’ Roll Chicken Shack, 9 p.m., $10. 107 Commerce St. 501-372-7707. www.stickyfingerz.com.

Rwake, Nachtmystium, Zoroaster, The Atlas Moth, Snakedriver. Downtown Music Hall, 8 p.m., $10. 211 W. Capitol. 501-376-1819. downtownmusichall.com.

Touch, Grateful Dead Tribute. Stickyz Rock ‘n’ Roll Chicken Shack, 8 p.m., $5. 107 Commerce St. 501-372-7707. www.stickyfingerz.com.

Traditional Irish Music Session. Khalil’s Pub, Fourth and second Monday of every month, 7 p.m. 110 S. Shackleford Road. 501-224-0224. www.khalilspub.com.

Horse racing. See March 7.

CLASSES

Finding Family Facts. Rhonda Stewart teaches this genealogy research class for beginners.

Arkansas Studies Institute, second Monday of every month, 3:30 p.m. 401 President Clinton Ave. 501-320-5700 . www.butlercenter.org.

TUESDAY, MARCH 13

MUSIC

Jeff Long. Khalil’s Pub, 6 p.m. 110 S. Shackleford Road. 501-224-0224. www.khalilspub.com.

Jim Dickerson. Sonny Williams’ Steak Room, 7 p.m. 500 President Clinton Ave. 501-324-2999. www.sonnywilliamssteakroom.com.

Karaoke Night. Cornerstone Pub & Grill, 8 p.m.

314 Main St., NLR. 501-374-1782. cstonepub. com.

Karaoke Tuesday. Prost, 8 p.m., free. 120 Ottenheimer. 501-244-9550.

Karaoke with Big John Miller. Denton’s Trotline, 8 p.m. 2150 Congo Road, Benton. 501-315-1717.

Karoke with Debbit T.. Thirst n’ Howl, March 13, 8 p.m.; March 20, 8 p.m.; March 27, 8 p.m., free. 14710 Cantrell Road. 501-379-8189. www. thirst-n-howl.com.

Louis Logic. All-ages show. Stickyz Rock ‘n’ Roll Chicken Shack, 9 p.m., $10 adv., $12 d.o.s. 107 Commerce St. 501-372-7707. www.stickyfingerz.com.

Lucious Spiller Band. Copeland’s, 6-9 p.m. 2602 S. Shackleford Road. 501-312-1616. www.copelandsofneworleans.com.

The Monastics, Quadkiller, BJ Lewis Group.

Juanita’s, 8 p.m., $8 adv., $10 d.o.s. 614 President Clinton Ave. 501-372-1228. www.juanitas.com.

Music Across America: Quapaw Quartet.

Interactive demo from the Rockefeller Quartet will ask students to demonstrate the physical and emotional effects different types of music has on the body. First Presbyterian Church, North Little Rock, 6 p.m. Fourth and Maple, NLR. Orgy, One-Eyed Doll. 18-and-older show.

Revolution, 8:30 p.m., $16 adv., $20 d.o.s. 300 President Clinton Ave. 501-823-0090. revroom. com.

Ricky David Tripp. Ferneau, 5:30 p.m. 2601 Kavanaugh Blvd. 501-603-9208. www.ferneaurestaurant.com.

Triple Cobra, Brian Martin. Maxine’s, 8 p.m., free. 700 Central Ave., Hot Springs. maxinespub.com.

Tuesday Jam Session with Carl Mouton. The Afterthought, 8 p.m., free. 2721 Kavanaugh Blvd. 501-663-1196. www.afterthoughtbar.com.

Workout. White Water Tavern, 10 p.m. 2500 W. 7th. 501-375-8400. www.whitewatertavern.com.

DANCE

“Latin Night.” Revolution, 7 p.m., $5 regular, $7 under 21. 300 President Clinton Ave. 501-8230090. www.revroom.com.

EVENTS

Tales from the South. Authors tell true stories; schedule available on website. Dinner served

5-6:30 p.m., show at 7 p.m. Call for reservations.

Starving Artist Cafe, 5 p.m. 411 N. Main St., NLR. 501-372-7976. www.starvingartistcafe.net.

Trivia Bowl. Flying Saucer, 8:30 p.m. 323 President Clinton Ave. 501-372-7468. www. beerknurd.com/stores/littlerock.

FILM

“Cool Hand Luke.” Market Street Cinema, 7 p.m., $5. 1521 Merrill Drive. 501-312-8900. www. marketstreetcinema.net.

“Shoot the Piano Player.” Hendrix College, 7 p.m. 1600 Washington Ave., Conway. www. hendrix.edu.

LECTURES

Susan Piedmont-Palladino. The professor of architecture at Virginia Tech’s WashingtonAlexandria Architecture Center and curator at the National Building Museum will give a lecture titled “Intelligent Cities.” Clinton School of Public Service, 6 p.m., free. 1200 President Clinton Ave. 501-683-5239. www.clintonschool. uasys.edu.

SPORTS

Arkansas Razorbacks African American Athletes: Honoring Women Athletes. Mosaic Templars Cultural Center, 11 a.m., free. 501 W. 9th St. 501-376-4602. www.mosaictemplarscenter.com.

Horse racing. See March 7.

BOOKS

Family Night: A Seuss Celebration!. Dress as your favorite Dr. Seuss character and listen to stories, play games and have refreshments.

Laman Library, 6:45 p.m., free. 2801 Orange St., NLR. 501-758-1720. www.lamanlibrary.org.

CONTINUED ON PAGE 34

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MUSIC REVIEW

AFTER DARK, CONT.

KIDS

Wiggle Worms: “Sink or Float.” Weekly program designed specifically for pre-K children. Museum of Discovery, 10 a.m., $8-$10, free for members.

500 Clinton Ave. 396-7050. www.amod.org.

BRIAN CHILSON

THIS WEEK IN THEATER

Jimmy Buffett

March 1, Verizon Arena

BY KELLEY BASS

I

t’s good to be Jimmy Buffett. He’s got his own brand of beer, Landshark. And his own bar/restaurant chain, tequila brand and Sirius-XM radio channel, all named Margaritaville.

He doesn’t have to work that hard. He played 33 concerts last year and has played or announced only 17 this year. And when he decides to come to North Little Rock, the concert sells out seats in 90 minutes — the norm wherever he plays. All that with only one Top 10 pop hit (you know the one).

Not to mention his business attire is long shorts, a T-shirt and no shoes. And he commutes in a Dassault Falcon Jet 900 — a sweet ride he picked up in Little Rock a while back.

A good friend once astutely pointed out that Jimmy Buffett sells much more than music — he sells a lifestyle. It’s a lifestyle many ache to pursue — azure waters, lapping surf, an endless supply of cold beverages, a sweet boat, zero cares and a meeting-free calendar. And he’s marketed the components of the lifestyle so well — from the booze to the clubs to the merchandise that promotes all of the above.

That astute friend is Keith Sykes, the Memphis music legend who once played in Buffett’s band, made a handsome sum of money when Buffett included two of his compositions on “Son of a Son of a Sailor” and was Buffett’s co-writer on the popular standard, “Volcano.” So his opinions carry some weight, particularly since Buffettfacilitated checks still arrive in his mailbox.

Perhaps the best thing about being Jimmy Buffett, aside from all the money, is that his fans worship him. His concerts are a coronation, not an examination of whether or not he’s on his game that night.

So it was March 1, when Buffett and his extraordinary 12-piece backing band —including Arkie-deluxe Mike Utley, his band leader and keyboard player for 30 34

MARCH 7, 2012

ARKANSAS TIMES

years or so — were absolutely the toasts of the town, if not the state.

The question was whether the biggest party was inside or outside Verizon Arena.

From the huge Ben E. Keith tailgate on the grass outside Dickey-Stephens Park to the west to the jam-packed RV park craziness that stretched to the Clinton Bridge to the east, North Little Rock was alive like it’s rarely — if ever — been. The parties started the night before, and by 5 p.m. March 1 it was truly electric, thanks in part to the sunny 70-degree weather.

And then there was the concert, which in no way could or did disappoint the adoring 16,161 who undoubtedly felt lucky to have gotten the chance to pay up to $150 or so (counting fees) for the privilege.

Many of Buffett’s songs are fun, semithrowaway numbers, like “Cheeseburger in Paradise,” “Volcano,” “License to Chill” and the Alan Jackson duet, “It’s 5 O’Clock Somewhere” (which neither wrote), all among the 27-song, two-hour-plus set.

But there’s some real meat to others, from the self-realization of culpability that comes out as “Margaritaville” progresses to the reflective “Son of a Son of a Sailor” and “Changes in Latitudes, Changes in Attitudes” to perhaps the most thoughtful Buffett classic, “A Pirate Looks at Forty,” to the pining-for-you love song, “Come Monday,” which started it all back in 1974 with the Nashville-insisted, overproduced, orchestrated sound that is so anti-Buffett. All were well performed and enthusiastically received.

Winding down the show, Buffett revisited a couple of his better-known concert covers. “Southern Cross,” by Crosby, Stills and Nash, completed the main set.

Van Morrison’s classic “Brown-Eyed Girl” closed the first encore, with the rollicking “Fins” sandwiched between. The second encore was “Lovely Cruise,” another cover that is lyrically apropos for a closing number, particularly for a nautically themed artist: “I’m sorry it’s ending. Oh it’s sad, but it’s true. Honey, it’s been a lovely cruise.”

Indeed it had.

Arkansas Arts Center Children’s Theatre: “If You Take a Mouse to School”. Arkansas Arts Center, through March 25: Fri., 7 p.m.; Sat., 3 p.m.; Sun., 2 p.m., $11-$14. 501 E. 9th St. 501372-4000. www.arkarts.com.

Arkansas Arts Center Children’s Theatre Summer Theatre Academy auditions. Open to actors ages 10-18. The academy will be held June 18–July 27. Tuition is $750 for six-week academy and $450 for three-week workshop.

Arkansas Arts Center, Sat., March 10, 4:30 p.m.; Sat., April 14, 4:30 p.m.; Sat., May 5, 5 p.m. 501 E. 9th St. 501-372-4000. www.arkarts.com.

“Branson on the Road.” Includes country, bluegrass, rockabilly, gospel and comedy. Murry’s Dinner Playhouse, Tue., March 13, 6 p.m.; Wed., March 14, 11 a.m. and 6 p.m., $15-$33. 6323 Col. Glenn Road. 501-562-3131. murrysdinnerplayhouse.com.

“In the Heights.” Tony-winning musical about a multi-generational, vibrant Latino community in New York City. Walton Arts Center, Thu., March 8, 7 p.m.; Fri., March 9, 8 p.m., $39-$49. 495 W. Dickson St., Fayetteville. 479-443-5600.

“The Miracle Worker.” The story of Annie Sullivan, and her student Helen Keller. The Weekend Theater, through March 24: Fri., Sat., 7:30 p.m., $12-$16. 1001 W. 7th St. 501-374-3761. www.weekendtheater.org.

“The Odd Couple.” An updated, female version of Neil Simon’s classic. All times are for dinner. Curtain is later. Murry’s Dinner Playhouse, through March 10: Tue.-Sun., 6 p.m., $15-$33.

6323 Col. Glenn Road. 501-562-3131. murrysdinnerplayhouse.com.

“We All Hear Voices.” Jack is a talented cook who has a dark secret: he hears voices in his head. As word of his talent grows, so too does business at the small-town diner where he works. But will the owner’s gambling and womanizing threaten a good thing? Based on a book by Arkansas doctor and playwright Sam Taggart. The Public Theatre, through March 11: Fri., Sat., 7:30 p.m.; Sun., 2 p.m., $12-$14.

616 Center St. 501-374-7529. www.thepublictheatre.com.

“The Wiz.” The 1970s Broadway hit re-imagines “The Wizard of Oz” as a Motown musical.

Arkansas Repertory Theatre, through April 1: Wed., Thu., 7 p.m.; Fri., Sat., 8 p.m.; Sun., 2 and 7 p.m., $30-$60. 601 Main St. 501-378-0405. www.therep.org.

“Young Frankenstein.” Broadway musical adaptation of Mel Brooks classic 1974 comedy “Young Frankenstein.” Robinson Center Music Hall, through March 8, 7:30 p.m., $23-$61.

Markham and Broadway. www.littlerockmeetings.com/conv-centers/robinson. A musical adaptation of the Mel Brooks classic. Perot Theatre, Fri., March 9, 7:30 p.m. 321 W. Fourth St., Texarkana. www.trahc.org.

GALLERIES, MUSEUMS

NEW EXHIBITIONS, EVENTS

ASHLEY ANN’S, 1419 Main St.: Jewelry, painted floor examples, open 5-8 p.m. March 9, 2nd Friday Art Night. ashleyannevents.com.

BUTLER CENTER GALLERIES, Arkansas Studies Institute: “Making a Place: The Jewish Experience in Arkansas,” opening reception 5-8 p.m. March 9, 2nd Friday Art Night, show through June 23, main gallery; “Arkansas Masters: Prints from the CALS Collection,” work

by AJ Smith, Warren Criswell, Elsie and Louis

Freund, John Paul Caldwell and others, mezzanine gallery, through March; National Museum of Women in the Arts’ “Women to Watch,” atrium gallery, through April 28. 9 a.m.-6 p.m.

Mon.-Sat. 320-5790.

CANTRELL GALLERY, 8206 Cantrell Road: “Structures,” recent paintings by Daniel Coston, opens with reception 6-8 p.m. March 9, show through April 28. 10 a.m.-5 p.m. Mon.Sat. 224-1335.

COURTYARD MARRIOTT, 521 President Clinton Ave.: Works by the ArtGroup Maumelle, 5-8 p.m. March 9, 2nd Friday Art Night. 975-9800.

HISTORIC ARKANSAS MUSEUM, 200 E. Third St.: Open 5-8 p.m. March 10, 2nd Friday Art Night, with music by the Smittle Band and wine tasting; “Bryan Massey and Tom Richard: Utilizing Experiences and Myth,” through May 6; “Doug Stowe: The Making of My Small Cabinets,” through July 8; “Found-FiredFormed: Sarah May Leflar, Donna Uptigrove and Amber Uptigrove,” extended through April 8; “Reel to Real: ‘Gone with the Wind’ and the Civil War in Arkansas,” artifacts from the Shaw-Tumblin collection, through April 30.

9 a.m.-5 p.m. Mon.-Sat., 1-5 p.m. Sun. 324-9351.

OLD STATE HOUSE MUSEUM, 300 W. Markham: Open 5-8 p.m. March 10, 2nd Friday Art Night; “Things You Need to Hear: Memories of Growing up in Arkansas from 1890 to 1980,” oral histories about community, family, work, school and leisure; “An Enduring Union: Arkansas and the Civil War,” through March 11.

9 a.m.-5 p.m. Mon.-Sat., 1-5 p.m. Sun. 324-9685.

GREEN CORNER STORE, 1423 Main St.: Recycled art, open 5-8 p.m. March 9, 2nd Friday Art Night. 374-1111.

STUDIOMAIN, 1423 Main St.: “The History of Our Downtown,” 5-8 p.m. March 9, 2nd Friday Art Night. www.studio-main.org.

BENTONVILLE NORTHWEST ARKANSAS COMMUNITY COLLEGE, One College Drive: “I thought I would find you here,” collaboration by Megan Chapman and Stewart Bremner, through April, Peterson Auditorium, Shewmaker Global Business Development Center. 479-636-9222.

CONWAY UNIVERSITY OF CENTRAL ARKANSAS: 22nd “Arkansas College Art History Symposium,” with lecture by Virginia Tech’s Kevin Concannon on Yoko Ono, March 8-9, Art Lecture Hall, McCastlain 143; 2012 “Student Competitive Exhibition,” March 7-28, Baum Gallery, reception 5-7 p.m. March 9. 10 a.m.-5 p.m. Mon.Wed. and Fri., 10 a.m.-7 p.m. Tue. 501-450-5793.

FAYETTEVILLE LITTLE BREAD CO., 116 N. Block Ave.: Association of Ceramic Enthusiasts Delicious Thursday event, student-made bowls for sale for $15.

UNIVERSITY OF ARKANSAS, Fine Arts Center: Baxter Knowlton, paintings, hallway gallery, March 12-April 13; “Small Models for Huge Failures,” large-format digital photography by Brian Giniewski, main gallery, through March 14, reception 5:30 p.m. March 13; tintype portraits by Keliy Anderson-Staley, through March 8, hallway cases; cast bronze, drawings, prints

by Christian Batteau, through March 8, hallway cases. 9 a.m.-5:30 p.m. Mon.-Fri., 2-5 Sun. 479-575-7987.

JACKSONVILLE JACKSONVILLE COMMUNITY CENTER, 5 Municipal Drive: “A Night at the USO,” fundraiser dinner and auction for the Jacksonville Museum of Military History, 5:30 p.m. March 10, $30. 501-241-1943.

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MOVIE LISTINGS

MARCH 9-10

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An inspiring worship service featuring the music of the rock band U2 that expresses the power of God by taking action and making a difference in the world around us.

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MAN ON MARS: Taylor Kitsch, right, and Lynn Collins star in “John Carter,” about an Earth man with amazing powers who has to fight big monsters on Mars to save everyone.

Market Street Cinema times at or after 9 p.m. are for Friday and Saturday only. Rave times are valid for Friday and Saturday only. Lakewood 8 and Movies 10 showings were not available as of press deadline. Find up-to-date listings at arktimes.com.

NEW MOVIES Exit Strategy (PG-13) – Jameel Saleem gets more than he bargained for when he moves in with his new girlfriend. Rave: 12:25, 2:35, 5:00, 7:10, 9:20, 11:40.

John Carter (PG-13) – “Braveheart” goes to Avatarnia, based on the Edgar Rice Burroughs novel. Breckenridge: 1:00, 4:00, 7:00, 10:00 (3D).

Rave: 10:30 a.m., 12:15, 3:20, 5:15, 6:30, 9:45, 11:45 (2D), 10:00 a.m., 1:10, 2:10, 4:15, 7:30, 8:30, 10:45, 12:15 (3D). Riverdale: 11:05 a.m., 1:50, 4:35, 7:20, 10:05.

Pina (PG) – A 3D film of the dance ensemble Tanztheater Wuppertal Pina Bausch from director Wim Wenders. Market Street: 2:00, 4:15, 7:15, 9:15.

Silent House (R) – Elizabeth Olson gets locked in her family’s lake house then some terror happens. Breckenridge: 1:35, 4:35, 7:20, 9:45. Rave: 11:45 a.m., 2:30, 5:40, 8:10, 10:40, 11:45.

Thin Ice (R) – Snowbound murder comedy starring Greg Kinnear, Alan Arkin, Billy Crudup and Lea Thompson. Market Street: 2:15, 4:25, 6:45, 9:00.

A Thousand Words (PG-13) – Eddie Murphy becomes magically connected to a tree that loses one leaf for every word he says, and they’ll both die if all the leaves fall off, so he has to not talk. Breckenridge: 1:20, 4:15, 7:10, 9:25. Rave: 11:15 a.m., 2:00, 4:30, 7:25, 10:00, 11:45.

RETURNING THIS WEEK Act of Valor (R) – This action thriller stars reallife U.S. Navy SEALs. Breckenridge: 1:05, 4:05 (open-captioned), 7:05, 9:50. Rave: 10:20 a.m., 1:20, 4:20, 7:20, 10:20, 12:15. Riverdale: 11:40 a.m., 2:05, 4:35, 7:10, 9:45.

Albert Nobbs (R) – Some capital-“A” Acting from Glenn Close, who portrays a woman who must live as a man in stifling 19th century Ireland.

Market Street: 1:45, 6:45.

The Artist (PG-13) – This meta-homage to the black-and-white silent films of yore concerns a silent film star whose career is jeopardized by the advent of talkies. With Jean Dujardin.

Market Street: 2:00, 4:20, 7:00, 9:15. Rave:

10:55 a.m.

Big Miracle (PG) – Drew Barrymore and John Krasinski rescue a family of noble gray whales from the encroaching Arctic ice. Riverdale: 11:35 a.m., 2:00, 4:20, 6:50, 9:25.

Chronicle (PG-13) – A trio of teen-agers gain mysterious superpowers from a meteorite, but will they use their newfound abilities wisely?

Rave: 1:15, 6:40.

Ghost Rider: Spirit of Vengeance (PG-13) – Starring Nicolas Cage in a reprisal of his role as Marvel’s Ghost Rider. Also starring Idris “Stringer Bell” Elba. Rave: 11:25 a.m., 2:25, 5:25, 8:25, 11:25 (3D).

Gone (PG-13) – Scary psychological suspensethriller starring the always freaked-out looking Amanda Seyfried as she tracks a kidnapper.

Riverdale: 11:10 a.m., 1:15, 3:20, 5:25, 7:35, 9:55.

The Iron Lady (PG-13) – Has Meryl Streep ever been bad in a movie? This movie about Margaret Thatcher hasn’t gotten very good reviews, but apparently Streep’s performance redeems it. Riverdale: 11:10 a.m., 1:55, 4:30, 7:05, 9:40.

Journey 2: The Mysterious Island (PG) – When you were watching “Land of the Lost,” did you find yourself wishing they’d cast The Rock instead of Will Farrell? Well, here you go. Breckenridge: 1:25, 7:25 (3D). Rave: 10:05 a.m., 12:50, 3:40, 7:05, 9:50 (3D).

The Lorax (PG) – A 3D CGI adaptation of Dr. Seuss’ classic tale. Breckenridge: 4:50, 9:40 (2D), 1:30, 7:30 (3D). Rave: 10:00 a.m., noon, 1:45, 2:45, 4:15, 5:20, 6:45, 7:45, 9:15, 10:15 (2D), 11:30 a.m., 12:45, 2:15, 3:15, 4:45, 5:45, 7:15, 8:15, 9:35, 11:00 (3D). Riverdale: 11:25 a.m., 1:30, 3:35, 5:40, 7:45, 9:50.

My Week with Marilyn (R) – Starring Michelle Williams as Marilyn Monroe circa 1956. Market Street: 4:15, 9:15.

Project X (R) – Millennial brats throw a rager that gets out of hand, from producer Todd Phillips of “The Hangover” and “Hated: G.G. Allin and The Murder Junkies” renown. Breckenridge: 1:15, 4:10, 7:15, 9:35. Rave: 10:10 a.m., 12:35, 3:00, 5:30, 8:00, 10:30, 11:45. Riverdale: 11:30 a.m., 1:30, 3:25, 5:30, 7:30, 9:30.

Red Tails (PG-13) – The story of the AfricanAmerican WWII pilots of the Tuskegee training program. With Cuba Gooding Jr. Riverdale: 7:00, 9:35.

Safe House (R) – Aka, “Doesn’t Denzel Washington Make a Scary Bad Guy?”

Breckenridge: 1:10, 4:20, 7:25, 9:55. Rave: 11:35 a.m., 2:35, 5:35, 8:35, 11:35. Riverdale: 11:20 a.m., 1:45, 4:15, 6:55, 9:50.

The Secret World of Arrietty (G) – Animated tale about a family of tiny fairies who must survive the challenges and dangers of the suburban garden in which they dwell. Riverdale: 11:15 a.m., 1:40, 4:05.

A Separation (PG-13) – Oscar-winning Iranian drama about the dissolution of a marriage of an upper middle class couple. Market Street: 1:45, 4:00, 7:00, 9:15.

This Means War (PG-13) – Tension, and deadly pranks, escalate between two beefy CIA dudes who discover they’re both dating Reese Witherspoon. One of the dudes is somehow British. Breckenridge: 4:25, 9:50. Rave: 10:45 a.m., 1:30, 4:55, 7:40, 10:50.

Tyler Perry’s Good Deeds (PG-13) – Worlds collide for a successful businessman who meets a down-on-her-luck single mom who cleans the office building where he works. Breckenridge: 1:40, 4:40, 7:35, 10:05. Rave: 10:15 a.m., 1:00, 4:00, 7:00, 10:05. Riverdale: 11:00 a.m., 1:40, 4:15, 6:40, 9:05.

The Vow (PG-13) – Something sad and beautiful and sadly beautiful happens to the sad, beautiful Rachel McAdams and the former male stripper Channing Tatum. Breckenridge: 1:45, 4:45, 7:40, 10:10. Rave: 10:35 a.m., 3:30, 9:05.

Wanderlust (R) – Paul Rudd and Jennifer Aniston play a stressed-out yuppie couple who stumble upon a nudist colony. Breckenridge: 1:05, 3:50, 6:50, 9:30.

Woman in Black (R) – Man, now they’ve got that Harry Potter dude starring in horror movies about creepy old castles haunted by old-lady ghosts. Breckenridge: 1:45, 4:30, 6:45, 9:35.

Chenal 9 IMAX Theatre: 17825 Chenal Parkway, 821-2616, www.dtmovies.com.

Cinemark Movies 10: 4188 E. McCain Blvd., 945-7400, www.cinemark.com.

Cinematown Riverdale 10: Riverdale Shopping Center, 296-9955, www.riverdale10.com.

Lakewood 8: 2939 Lakewood Village Drive, 7585354, www.fandango.com.

Market Street Cinema: 1521 Merrill Drive, 312-8900, www.marketstreetcinema.net.

Rave Colonel Glenn 18: 18 Colonel Glenn Plaza, 687-0499, www.ravemotionpictures.com.

Regal Breckenridge Village 12: 1-430 and Rodney Parham, 224-0990, www.fandango.com.

MOVIE REVIEW

‘A SEPARATION’: Leila Hatami and Peyman Moadi star.

Deserving of all praise Oscar winner ‘A Separation’ a tense drama.

BY SAM EIFLING

“A

Separation,” the flawlessly conceived Iranian film just honored with the Oscar as the best foreign-language movie of the year, reveals itself in deliberate and graceful motions throughout. But first, a divorce hearing.

Simin (the striking Leila Hatami) sits before an unseen judge to state her case for leaving Nader (Peyman Moadi), at her side.

After years of trying, they received visas allowing the family to move abroad. She hopes her daughter can grow up under different conditions (she doesn’t specify what about Iran vexes her, even when the judge presses). Meanwhile, Nader refuses to leave his father, who is stricken with Alzheimer’s. They argue. The judge waves them off, saying their problems don’t warrant divorce.

Simin moves out to live with her parents, and with that a chain of small events is triggered. Without her in the house, Nader has to hire a caregiver for the ailing father. He settles on Razieh, a young mother with wide eyes, a delightful young daughter and a baby bump beneath her flowing garments. She is devout; when Nader’s father soils himself, the caregiver places a phone call to ask a religious authority whether undressing and cleaning him would constitute a sin. She’s also overwhelmed. Squeezed by her lengthy commute, household chores, watching her daughter and keeping tabs on the wandering old man, she makes a mistake — and from there, more and greater problems mount. Her husband, a fiery, indebted cobbler played by Shahab Hosseini, comes to the fore, and clashes with Nader.

Made for a half-million bucks last year by writer/director Asghar Farhadi, and released to gushing worldwide acclaim, the Persian-language “A Separation” must by this point be straining under its plaudits.

It breaks the template of lauded international hits; it doesn’t take place during war-

time, or in some distant historical epoch.

Its settings are, by any stretch, mundane — cramped courtrooms, an ample apartment, the occasional other office or home or car. The families depicted are neither prominent nor politically important. This is, at its heart, a family drama, albeit one rendered with the precision and craftsmanship of an espionage thriller. The dialogue and editing, both uncommonly taut, tease out the story gently while concealing the force they’re building. The questions of who knew what when, and how, take on an urgency rarely seen in films about feuds. Even at more than two hours, this is tight moviemaking at its finest. Whatever “A Separation” has won, it has earned.

No small part of its power comes from its performances, which are brilliant across the board. The ensemble turns out to have an unlikely linchpin in the 11-year-old daughter at the center of Simin and Nader’s conflict. As both mother and father prove capable of shady judgment and petty power plays, Termeh (Sarina Farhadi) is dragged through their every misstep. American audiences are accustomed to seeing children play the part of the rope in divorce tug-of-wars, at least since “Kramer v. Kramer” was named Best Picture in 1979. That was the same year the Islamic revolution made Iran a perpetual foil to the United States, at turns an enemy, at turns a target. The higher promise of “A Separation” is not just in its adroitness as a story, but as a cultural sample of a country that Americans speak blithely of nuking. Modern Iran is surely no less conflicted than the America of the late ’70s, and just as social forces pressed upon the Kramers, so do economics, religion and politics mold the characters of “A Separation.” But in this glimpse of modern Iran, the families are so instantly recognizable and engaging that borders evaporate.

This is Axis of Evil cinema to render that phrase blessedly absurd.

Bard Ball 2012:

Bard lovers and brew lovers unite!

Argenta Community Theatre will be transformed into a lantern-lit beer garden at this annual benefit for Arkansas Shakespeare Theatre. Join us as we share an evening of beer tasting, hearty appetizers from Starving Artist Cafe, and revelry. You’ll also be treated to Broadway Star Lawrence Hamilton’s exquisite vocal stylings as he sings from Big River, the infectious live folk/jazz/rock/pop tunes of Don’t Stop Please, and musings on Huck Finn from Porter Prize-Winning poet Greg Brownderville. Warwick Sabin, publisher of the Oxford American, will serve as Master of Ceremonies.

No one under 21 years old admitted. ID’s will be checked at the door.

$75 each cocktail attire

Tickets www.arkshakes.com lizp@uca.edu • 501-450-3165 or PK’s in downtown Conway

Saturday, March 10 Argenta Community Theater 405 Main Street North Little Rock, Arkansas

Event Sponsors

Fermentables & Homegrown Hobbies www.arktimes.com

MARCH 7, 2012

37

Dining

BELLY UP Check out the Times’ food blog, Eat Arkansas arktimes.com

AFTER THE SUCCESS of the Main Street Food Truck Festival last year, the Downtown Little Rock Partnership is organizing a regular event, Main Street Food Truck Fridays, scheduled to kick off Friday, April 13. The DLRP hopes to have two to four trucks each week on the corner of Main Street and Capitol Avenue, with different trucks rotating into the space weekly. The weekly line-up will aim for diversity, DLRP executive director Sharon Priest said. Assuming the weekly event goes well, it will continue through the Main Street Food Truck Festival in October.

The DLRP has contacted all registered food trucks in the city, Priest said. So far four have agreed to participate: Haute Wheels, Green Cuisine, Christian’s Take Out Too and Hot Dog Mike. Other trucks interested in participating can contact the DLRP at 375-0121.

Asked about pushback from downtown brick and mortar restaurants, Priest said so far she’d heard complaints from two, but said she thought the food trucks would bring everyone new customers. “I think [restaurants] will find a pick-up in foot traffic. There’ll be people coming to an area they’re not use to going to. Ultimately, it will bring them more business.”

Angel Galloway, with the Rep, suggested reinvigorating Main Street by allowing food trucks to park along it in the 2010 edition of our Big Ideas issue.

DINING CAPSULES

AMERICAN

4 SQUARE CAFE AND GIFTS Vegetarian salads, soups, wraps and paninis and a daily selection of desserts. 405 President Clinton Ave. No alcohol, All CC. $-$$.

501-244-2622. L daily. D Mon.-Sat. ARGENTA MARKET The Argenta District’s neighborhood grocery store offers a deli featuring a daily selection of big sandwiches along with fresh fish and meats and salads. 521 N. Main St. NLR. Beer, Wine, All CC. $-$$. 501-379-9980. L daily, D Mon.-Sat., B Sat., BR Sun. ASHLEY’S The premier fine dining restaurant in Little Rock marries Southern traditionalism and haute cuisine. 111 W. Markham St. Full bar, All CC. $$$. 501-3747474. BLD Mon.-Sat. BR Sun. BRAVE NEW RESTAURANT The food’s great, portions huge, prices reasonable.

2300 Cottondale Lane. Full bar, All CC. $$-$$$. 501-663-2677. LD Mon.-Fri. D Sat. BURGER MAMA’S Big burgers and oversized onion rings headline the menu.

10721 Kanis Road. Full bar, All CC. $-$$.

CONTINUED ON PAGE 40

38

MARCH 7, 2012

ARKANSAS TIMES

BRIAN CHILSON

WHAT’S COOKIN’

OPA!: Culinary District’s Greek salad.

Grounds for Gourmands Combo lunch/kitchen store Culinary District worth a trip.

T

he Culinary District Coffee Bar in Hot Springs has been around since 2009, but maybe you’ve never happened upon it. Just blocks from Bathhouse Row and across the street from the Garland County Courthouse, the shop is centrally located but far enough from Central Avenue to feel a tad isolated. Or maybe you did see the black-and-white striped awning and wandered in, but were so distracted by shiny new chef toys throughout the large retail section that you failed to notice the modest lunch cafe in the front right corner.

But Culinary District, which also operates as a large retail space that serves as a cooking store, gourmet market and commercial kitchen supplier, is worth seeking out for lunch. When we visited on two separate occasions (close to the 3 p.m. cafe shut-down), the coffee bar and the adjoining store were slow, with a few customers leisurely browsing the spatulas and stockpots. Perhaps there’s a bustling lunch crowd closer to noon, but we preferred the cozy quiet to savor the inexpensive comfort-food staples that are dressed up with gourmet ingredients.

During one visit, we sampled the tuna salad ($5.95 on a salad or sandwich).

“Ellen’s Famous” tuna, named for the District’s serious foodie and menu consultant Ellen McCabe, was light — not bogged down with an overdose of mayo — and added celery for a satisfying crunch. The accompanying salad was a fresh mix of greens, slivered almonds and dried cranberries, and topped with a zesty dressing. The house-made vinaigrette is an imaginative blend made with orange juice, balsamic vinegar, Dijon mustard, honey and a few other secret ingredients.

We also polished off a large, square slab of quiche filled with soft onions, roasted red peppers, and gruyere and goat cheeses ($5.95). Though satisfying, the Phyllo crust disappeared underneath the dish’s vibrant flavors, and we missed quiche’s

Culinary District 510 Ouachita Ave. Hot Springs 501-624-2665

QUICK BITE When Les and Diana Surfas renovated the Hamp Williams Building, they also carved out an outdoor space at the back of the store. The “Savannah-style” courtyard, complete with fountain and a covered pavilion area, is now the spot for cooking classes and events hosted by the Culinary District. Coming up on March 10, the executive chef/owner of 1620 Restaurant, Evette Brady, shares recipes for a Southern Sunday brunch, and on March 24, Cathy Kincaid from Blue Cake Co. leads a cookie-decorating workshop. Call 501-624-2665 for reservations.

HOURS 9 a.m. to 6 p.m. Tuesday through Saturday (store), 9 a.m. to 3 p.m. Tuesday through Saturday (coffee bar), 11 a.m.-3 p.m. (lunch).

OTHER INFO Credit cards accepted, no alcohol.

usual hearty crust.

But one bite into our next adventure, a grilled cheese sandwich ($5.95), and we were won over. Aptly named the “Ultimate Cheese Sandwich,” this rich and gooey delight was indeed ultimate. First, the bread — the white slices were buttery, with a nice, crisp edge, but chewy towards the center. In another word: perfect. What took this simple comfort food to the level of “ultimate?” The middle: Aged white cheddar, French melting cheese and — wait for it — blue cheese mayo. Predictably, the pungent blue cheese dominated, but bites of cheddar were just as rave-worthy — and the reason we’ll be heading back next time we’re in town.

Still to try: a cranberry pecan chicken salad sandwich ($5.95), a bratwurst with sauerkraut ($4.95), a tasty-looking Greek salad ($5.95) and the soup of the day

($5.95), which comes with a side salad.

The treats aren’t limited to the cafe either. Tasting samples abound in the market that sells gourmet cheeses, olive oils, pastas imported from Italy, wines and more. We picked up a gratis cup of housemade granola, packed with ingredients like rolled oats, pepitas, sesame seeds, Arkansas honey, dried apricots and more, and couldn’t resist buying a bag. The fresh, gourmet ingredients are the secret to the cafe’s dishes, says manager Becky Newell, and are sourced locally as often as possible.

The Culinary District opened in Hot Springs in 2009 after much work from California couple Les and Diana Surfas, the owners of the Surfas Group and a similar concept eatery in Cali. The two bought and restored the 1920 Hamp Williams Building at 500-510 Ouachita Avenue, and rent much of the 56,000 square-foot space to other tenants. The history of the building is still evident and emphasized in the store. In the left storefront window, a 1929 Pontiac rests — the car was stored in the Hamp Williams Building for over 70 years before the Surfases bought it. Local photos and stories are shared on the wall, some about the hardware store, and later a Ford dealership, that once resided in the space.

You’ll want to take some time to wander through the relics, as well as the merchandise for sale. Baker’s racks are filled with red tumblers emblazoned with razorbacks, tortilla warmers, cupcake papers, boot beer mugs, whisks, chef aprons and a million other things you will convince yourself your kitchen needs. In the back, you’ll find the equipment for commercial kitchens: fryers, huge ranges and fridges, pizza “peels” for wood-fired ovens, nifty restaurant-style syrup jars, popcorn paraphernalia, and more and more. You may get lost, but remember that grilled cheese and find your way back to the Coffee Bar. You won’t regret it.

BRIAN CHILSON

Information in our restaurant capsules reflects the opinions of the newspaper staff and its reviewers. The newspaper accepts no advertising or other considerations in exchange for reviews, which are conducted anonymously. We invite the opinions of readers who think we are in error.

B Breakfast L Lunch D Dinner $ Inexpensive (under $8/person) $$ Moderate ($8-$20/person) $$$ Expensive (over $20/person) CC Accepts credit cards

text

A niche fish market

M ex To G o to

90210

Gary McCoy imports North Sea delicacy.

For A Chance To Win A $25 Gift Card

BY JOHN LOVETT

A

rkansas foodies may take pride in knowing their state is home to one of the largest importers of maatjes in the United States. Gary McCoy of College Station began importing the little fish from Europe two years ago and now he has practically taken over the niche market.

Maatjes, pronounced “mah-chess,” means virginal fish. They are caught before spawning as they swim up from the cold North Sea depths where they have been feeding on plankton. Marine Stewardship Counsel and Dutch laws allow for these fish to be caught only three weeks of the year beginning in May, to sustain the breeding population.

McCoy will be out on the fishing boats this year to document the annual catch.

His business, NorthSeaHerring.com, handles between two and three metric tons of the fish a year. He first tried the Dutch herring in the mid-1980s as an Air Force serviceman stationed in the Netherlands. He went back for another, and another, and hasn’t stopped. He delivers in downtown Little Rock.

McCoy’s fish, which are processed in Europe, don’t come stuffed in a jar or a can. They come flash-frozen and vacuum-sealed in individual packs, and they taste like something between salmon and a salty oyster. Sushi bars in the U.S. sometimes offer them on the menu, McCoy said.

Surprisingly, the two children that I tested the fish on (ages 6 and 8) were receptive and gobbled them all up. But McCoy said a lot of Americans are wary of the fact that the fish is uncooked.

Instead, it’s preserved by what’s called the gibbing process, a method credited to a 14th-century Dutch fisherman. It involves taking part of the gullet out, but leaving the liver and pancreas in for the brine-soak phase. Because the fish retains enzymes this way, eating the fish uncooked is a healthier option to frying or baking.

It’s also a lot easier. There is no preparation time other than thawing. Since they are small, it doesn’t take very long.

And, if you happen to thaw out more than you need, they’ll keep in the fridge for a long time. I ate one that I’d left in

Join Us Via social Media to Get saVinGs, specials & More!

13924 Cantrell Rd.

Little Rock • 501-217-0700

11406 W. Markham St.

Mex-To-Go • 501-217-0647

4511 Camp Robinson Rd.

North Little Rock • 501-771-1604

1524 W. Main St.

Jacksonville • 501-982-0533

1135 Skyline Dr.

Conway • 501-205-1985

Kids eat free on Thursday at dine-in locations

mexicochiquito.net

GIBBED: Not cooked.

the fridge for three weeks after thawing and it was still good. McCoy said the same about one he’d left in the fridge for two months.

Maatjes pair well with a sharp cheese and something crunchy, like Melba toast, to balance the texture and natural oils of the fish. They’re also good with a Heineken.

Most of McCoy’s orders have been from Northern states, he said. (He’s even had trouble getting some of his own family members and friends to try it.)

In late April, McCoy will be at Queen Wilhelmina Tulip Park in San Francisco sharing his herring with thousands of people as part of the United States’ largest Queen’s Day Festival to honor the queen of the Netherlands’ birthday.

The festival organizers ordered 1,400 herring from McCoy. Maatjes cost about $35 for a package of 10. While that may seem steep at first, keep in mind that even if you were to fly to Amsterdam you would still pay $3 American for one fish from a street vendor. With the Euro exchange rate at 35 percent higher than the dollar, it is surprising McCoy has been able to reel them in at this cost.

Because the fish is so new to Arkansas — and rare for America in general — the herring are not easy to find in grocery stores. For now find them at www. northseaherring.com. McCoy has a toll free number at 855-622-8537.

t e f f Bu

• GREAT FOOD • GREAT SERVICE • GREAT EXPERIENCE Buffet & Lunch Mon-Sat 11-3:30 • aduLtS $7.95 chiLdren (3-5) $3.50 (6-10) $5 dinner Mon-Sat 4-9:30 • aduLtS $7.95 chiLdren (3-5) $3.50 (6-10) $5 Sunday aLL day $7.95 • SeniorS 60+ 10% diScount • Party rooM avaiLaBL e Shackleford Crossing Center • Interstate 430 2604 South Shackleford, Suite G Little Rock, AR 72205 • (501) 224-8100 www.arktimes.com

MARCH 7, 2012

39

CROSSWORD

DINING CAPSULES, CONT.

EDITED BY WILL SHORTZ When this puzzle is completed, the 10 cir-cled letters, read from top to bottom, will spell a name associated with 39-Across.

Across 1 *Peddle 5 Prefix with “mom” in 2009 news 9 Bay State sch.

14 Tommie of the Miracle Mets 15 *Christmas carol starter 16 Soil enricher 17 Gorillas and others 19 Manhattan’s ___ Place 20 “No joke!”

22 *Storied also-ran 23 January 1 sound 26 Intersecteda 27 Grapefruit choice 29 *Managed ___ 31 Coeur d’___ 33 Vietnam-era protest org.

34 Meriting a “Q.E.D.”

37 Article in rap titles 39 Classic novel of 1,000+ pages … or a hint to the word ladder formed by the answers to the starred clues 42 Columnist Hentoff 43 Earring shape 46 45 ___ 49 Contrarian’s retort 51 *Center 52 Brown in the funnies 54 Best Buy buys 57 “___ who?”

58 *Place to moor 59 “Give me an example!”

62 Oscar winner Tatum 64 “You’re fired!” speaker, informally

ANSWER TO PREVIOUS PUZZLE S W I G I O N A G O S P S T E U N O S A R A A M E N T K R E L A U D I N N E YEW I T G E N R E S T E T O O

B L ELM U E R R B A B R E M E G S E N E E R T

L O B A T E S I C C O I M S T E L E E R I S N M E N I O S S FIR S T E G A S T Y

S H E L D U S P I L N G E E

W A B ASH

A M O E B L A I E S Z I T R S H E P O A C A I D K D I O E A N

M I L L A R D N O S H I N G

D A L I S

G U S T S E

68 Slowly, on a score 69 *Valentine sentiment 70 “___ it my way” 71 Test for quality 72 River of Flanders 73 *Chocolate brand Down Broomstick rider Cabinet dept.

Elfin New Zealand parrots 5 Midway Airport alternative 6 Napoleonic leader?

7 Palm product 8 “Why not?!”

9 Thurman of “In Bloom” 10 Overly romantic 11 Places for rites 12 Wrote for an orchestra 13 Tatters 18 Pro ___ (for now) 21 Drink brewed naturally 23 Angel dust 24 Item in a thole 25 Ship’s christening spot 28 Joy of “The View” 30 Olympic skating champion Lysacek 32 Resulted in 35 Run out of town on ___ 36 Drives home, as runs 1 2 3 4

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Puzzle by Elizabeth C. Gorski

38 “Back in Black” band 40 Personal bugaboo 41 Bow-toting god 44 Prospector’s find 45 Brand of movable collectibles 46 Soda brand since 1905

47 7-Down and others 48 Whizzes

50 Without muss or fuss

53 Ranch in “Giant” 55 Java or C++ whiz

56 Hostess ___ Balls

60 Units now called siemens 61 Queen Wheat City of Oklahoma 63 Myrna of film 65 Hubbub 66 Tyler of “Jersey Girl” 67 Presidential monogram

For answers, call 1-900-285-5656, $1.49 a minute; or, with a credit card, 1-800-814-5554.

Annual subscriptions are available for the best of Sunday crosswords from the last 50 years: 1-888-7-ACROSS. AT&T users: Text NYTX to 386 to download puzzles, or visit nytimes.com/mobilexword for more information.

Online subscriptions: Today’s puzzle and more than 2,000 past puzzles, nytimes.com/crosswords ($39.95 a year).

Share tips: nytimes.com/wordplay.

Crosswords for young solvers: nytimes.com/learning/xwords.

THIS MODERN WORLD

501-225-2495. LD daily.

CAPITAL BAR AND GRILL Big hearty sandwiches, daily lunch specials and fine evening dining all rolled up into one at this landing spot downtown. 111 Markham St. Full bar, All CC. $$-$$$. 501-374-7474. LD daily.

CATFISH HOLE Downhome place for well-cooked catfish and tasty hushpuppies. 603 E. Spriggs. NLR. Beer, All CC. $-$$. 501-758-3516.

D Tue.-Sat. CHEEBURGER CHEEBURGER Premium black Angus cheeseburgers, with five different sizes, and nine cheese options. 11525 Cantrell Rd. No alcohol, All CC. $$. 501-490-2433. LD daily.

CIAO BACI The focus is on fine dining, though tapas are also available.

605 N. Beechwood St. Full bar, All CC. $$$. 501-603-0238. D Mon.-Sat. CRAZEE’S COOL CAFE Good burgers, daily plate specials and bar food.

7626 Cantrell Road. Full bar, All CC. $-$$. 501-221-9696. LD Mon.-Sat. DOE’S EAT PLACE A skid-row dive turned power brokers’ watering hole with huge steaks, great tamales and broiled shrimp, and killer burgers at lunch. 1023 W. Markham St. Full bar, All CC. $$-$$$. 501-376-1195.

LD Mon.-Fri., D Sat. EJ’S EATS AND DRINKS The friendly neighborhood hoagie shop downtown serves at a handful of tables and by delivery. 523 Center St. Full bar, All CC. $-$$. 501-666-3700. LD Mon.-Fri. FLYING FISH The fried seafood is fresh and crunchy and there are plenty of raw, boiled and grilled offerings, too. The hamburgers are a hit, too.

511 President Clinton Ave. Beer, Wine, All CC. $$. 501-375-3474. LD daily.

HOMER’S Great vegetables, huge yeast rolls and killer cobblers. 2001 E. Roosevelt Road. No alcohol, All CC. $-$$. 501-374-1400. BL Mon.-Fri. THE HOUSE A comfortable gastropub in Hillcrest, where you’ll find traditional fare like burgers and fish and chips alongside Thai green curry and gumbo. 722 N. Palm St. Beer, Wine, All CC. $$-$$$. 501-663-4501.

D daily, BR and L Sat.-Sun. JIMMY’S SERIOUS SANDWICHES Consistently fine sandwiches, side orders and desserts for 30 years. 5116 W. Markham St. No alcohol, All CC. $-$$. 501-666-3354. L Mon.-Sat. KRAZY MIKE’S Po’Boys, catfish and shrimp and other fishes, fried chicken wings and all the expected sides. 200 N. Bowman Road. Beer, All CC. $$. 501-907-6453. LD daily.

LOCA LUNA Grilled meats, seafood and pasta dishes that never stray far from country roots. 3519 Old Cantrell Rd. Full bar, All CC. $$-$$$.

501-663-4666. L Sun.-Fri., D daily.

MILFORD TRACK Healthy and tasty are the key words at this deli/grill that serves breakfast and lunch. 10809 Executive Center Drive, Searcy Building. No alcohol, All CC. $-$$. 501-223-2257. BL Mon.-Sat. OYSTER BAR Gumbo, red beans and rice (all you can eat on Mondays), peel-and-eat shrimp, oysters on the half shell, addictive po’boys. 3003 W. Markham St. Beer, Wine, All CC. $-$$. 501-666-7100. LD Mon.-Sat. SALUT BISTRO This bistro/late-night hangout does upscale Italian for dinner and pub grub until the wee hours.1501 N. University. Full bar, All CC. $$-$$$. 501-660-4200. L Mon.-Fri., D Tue.-Sat. SBIP’S RESTAURANT Casual fine dining with sandwich and salads on its lunch menu. Sunday brunch, too. Try the Cro Que Monsieur sandwich or the weekend prime ribs. 700 E. Ninth St. Full bar, All CC. $$-$$$.

501-372-7247. LD Mon.-Sat. BR Sun. SONNY WILLIAMS’ STEAK ROOM Steaks, chicken and seafood in a wonderful setting in the River Market. 500 President Clinton Ave. Full bar, All CC. $$$. 501-324-2999. D Mon.-Sat. TERRI-LYNN’S BAR-B-Q AND DELI High-quality meats served on large sandwiches and good tamales served with chili or without (the better bargain). 10102 N. Rodney Parham Road. No alcohol, All CC. $-$$.

501-227-6371. LD Tue.-Sat. (10:30 a.m.-6 p.m.)

ASIAN

HANAROO SUSHI BAR With an expansive menu, featuring largely Japanese fare. 205 W. Capitol Ave. Beer, Wine, All CC. $$. 501-301-7900.

L Mon.-Fri., D Mon.-Sat. LEMONGRASS ASIA BISTRO Fairly solid Thai bistro. Try the Tom Kha Kai and white wine alligator. 4629 E. McCain Blvd. NLR. Beer, Wine, All CC. 501-945-4638. LD Mon.-Sun. PHO THANH MY It says “Vietnamese noodle soup” on the sign out front, and that’s what you should order. 302 N. Shackleford Road. No alcohol, All CC. $$. 501-312-7498.

SHOGUN JAPANESE STEAKHOUSE The chefs will dazzle you, as will the variety of tasty stir-fry combinations and the sushi bar. Usually crowded at night. 2815 Cantrell Road. Full bar, All CC. $$-$$$. 501-6667070. D daily.

TOKYO HOUSE Defying stereotypes, this Japanese buffet serves up a broad range of fresh, slightly exotic fare — grilled calamari, octopus salad, dozens of varieties of fresh sushi — as well as more standard shrimp and steak options. 11 Shackleford Drive. Beer, Wine, All CC. $$-$$$. 501-219-4286. LD daily.

WASABI Downtown sushi and Japanese cuisine. For lunch, there’s quick and hearty sushi samplers. 101 Main St. Full bar, All CC. $-$$. 501-3740777. L Mon.-Fri., D Mon.-Sat.

40

MARCH 7, 2012

ARKANSAS TIMES

DINING CAPSULES, CONT.

BARBECUE

CHIP’S BARBECUE Tasty, if a little pricey, barbecue piled high on sandwiches generously doused with the original tangy sauce or one of five other sauces. Better known for the incredible family recipe pies and cheesecakes, which come tall and wide. 9801 W. Markham St. No alcohol, All CC. $-$$. 501-225-4346. LD Mon.-Sat. DIXIE PIG Pig salad is tough to beat. It comes with loads of chopped pork atop crisp iceberg, doused with that wonderful vinegar-based sauce. The sandwiches are basic, and the sweet, thick sauce is fine. Serving Little Rock since 1923. 900 West 35th St. NLR. No alcohol, All CC. $-$$. 501-753-9650. LD Mon.-Sat.

EUROPEAN / ETHNIC

ARABICA HOOKAH CAFE Kebabs and salads along with just about any sort of Middle Eastern fare you might want. Halal butcher on duty. 3400 S. University Ave. No alcohol, All CC. $-$$. 501-379-8011. LD daily.

CREGEEN’S IRISH PUB Irish-themed pub.

Specialties include fish ‘n’ chips and Guinness beef stew. 301 Main St. NLR. Full bar, All CC. $$. 501-376-7468. LD daily.

ISTANBUL MEDITERRANEAN CUISINE This Turkish eatery offers decent kebabs and great starters. 11525 Cantrell Road. No alcohol, All CC. $$-$$$. 501-223-9332. LD daily.

LEO’S GREEK CASTLE Wonderful Mediterranean food — gyro sandwiches or platters, falafel and tabouleh. 2925 Kavanaugh Blvd. No alcohol, All CC. $-$$. 501-666-7414.

BLD daily.

ITALIAN

CAFE PREGO Dependable entrees of pasta, pork, seafood, steak and the like, plus great sauces, fresh mixed greens and delicious dressings, crisp-crunchy-cold gazpacho and tempting desserts in a comfy bistro setting.

5510 Kavanaugh Blvd. Full bar, All CC. $$-$$$.

501-663-5355. LD Mon.-Fri., D Sat. CIAO The fine pasta and seafood dishes, ambiance and overall charm combine to make it a relaxing, enjoyable, affordable choice. 405 W. Seventh St. Full bar, All CC. $$. 501-372-0238.

L Mon.-Fri., D Thu.-Sat. ZAFFINO’S BY NORI A high-quality Italian dining experience. Pastas, entrees (don’t miss the veal marsala) and salads are all outstanding. 2001 E. Kiehl Ave. NLR. Beer, Wine, All CC. 501-834-7530. D Tue.-Sat.

50% OFF 2ND ENTREE *

WITH PURCHASE OF FULL ENTRÉe Half off least expensive entrée

Breakfast • Lunch • Dinner Dine in • Take Out • Patio • full Bar Mon. -Fri. 10-10 • Sat. 9-10 Sun. 9-9

400 President Clinton Ave. (In the River Market)

Hours: 8 am 5:30 pm Mon - Sat 501-280-9888 372-6637 6820 Cantrell • 9am -10 pm The BesT AuThenTic MexicAn seAfood in Town Full Bar • Take out • Dine in For Gourmet Seafood lovers 501-868-8822 Monday • Friday: 10-10 • 18321 Cantrell Rd. • Hwy. 10 Saturday: 9-10 • Sunday: 9-9

*Must present coupon. One per party.

Not valid with any other offers. Offer Expires 3/31/12.

12 Award Winning Fresh, Healthy Flavors And 50+ Toppings Corner Of Cantrell Blvd. And Chenonceau (Next To NYPD Pizza) 501.868.8194

Celebrating a century of Girl Scouting and empowering girls of today and tomorrow!

March 10, 2012 – April 1, 2012

This special exhibition honors the 100 year anniversary of Girl Scouts by sharing the rich traditions of scouting with unique artifacts, vintage uniforms, and photos on display, representing every decade since the 1910s.

LATINO

BROWNING’S MEXICAN GRILL Some holdover items in name only but recast fresher and tastier. Large menu with some hits and some misses. 5805 Kavanaugh Blvd. Full bar, All CC. $-$$. 501-663-9956. LD daily.

COTIJA’S Massive menu of tasty lunch and dinner specials, the familiar white cheese dip and sweet red and fiery-hot green salsas, and friendly service. 406 S. Louisiana St. Full bar, All CC. $$. 501-244-0733. L Mon.-Sat. LA REGIONAL Delicacies from all across the Spanish-speaking world (try the El Salvadorian papusas, they’re great). Bring your Spanish/English dictionary. 7414 Baseline Road. No alcohol, All CC. $-$$.

501-565-4440. BLD daily.

TAQUERIA KARINA AND CAFE A real Mexican neighborhood cantina from the owners, to freshly baked pan dulce, to Mexican-bottled Cokes, to first-rate guacamole, to inexpensive tacos, burritos, quesadillas and a broad selection of Mexican-style seafood. 5309 W. 65th St. Beer, No CC. $.

501-562-3951. LD Tue.-Thu.

1200 President Clinton Avenue • Little Rock, Arkansas 72201 501-374-4242 • clintonpresidentialcenter.org www.arktimes.com

MARCH 7, 2012

41

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Evolve owners Greg Rudkin (left) and Josh Davis continue to offer contemporary styles for men at their sleek new location.

Location, A Location, Location Men’s fashion purveyor Evolve opens shop in a new Cantrell Road storefront

BY BLAIR TIDWELL PHOTOGRAPHY BY BRIAN CHILSON

new hotspot recently opened on Cantrell Road.

The sleek gray outside is matched indoors with a corrugated tin bar and painted concrete floor. Customers can hang out on barstools and watch TV, usually tuned into ESPN, or check out the old record covers and vintage issues of Rolling Stone that line the walls.

This isn’t a sleek bar; it’s the brandnew location of contemporary menswear store Evolve, conceptualized by owners Greg Rudkin and Josh Davis.

After five-and-a-half years in their original space in Midtowne Shopping Plaza, Rudkin and Davis decided to move the successful business to a more visible location on one of Little Rock’s busiest streets—Cantrell Road. The new stand-alone building offers the same square footage as the previous locale, but gave the owners a chance to update the vibe from a modern warehouse into a man-cave boutique. Rudkin, who designed much of the space himself, wanted the store to reflect the contemContinued on page 44

➥ Bath junkies will be seeing a new line of artisan body salts and scrubs around local shops. Little Rock artist and jewelry and architectural designer Jeri Warlick recently launched her LOVE & LIGHT line, which includes eight different blends of salts and scrubs. The scrumptious goodies will be sold at Box Turtle, The Green Corner Store, Shoppes on Woodlawn and more. ➥ Last month we gave you plenty of inspiration and ideas on how to freshen up your home for spring, but we keep finding more fun products to love. Case in point: VESTA’S new line of graphic pillows that make a statement. The black, white and red throw pillows are emblazoned with cheeky suggestions like “Let’s Make Out.” Our favorite is a handgun shooting hearts with a comicbook inspired “Bang!” ➥ Speaking of spring, B. BARNETT has been busy lining up a packed schedule of trunk shows showcasing the newest spring fashions. Up first for the month is a two-day event on March 8 and 9 featuring Shalini, known for luxurious silk womenswear. ➥ Cravings ahead. Boxed mac & cheese just won’t do after you’ve sampled the new gourmet-to-go macaroni from KITCHEN CO. Taste-test the comfort food staple at the line’s launch party from noon-4 p.m. March 10. ➥ MAC COSMETICS, known for flashy, fun makeup and bold celebrity ad campaigns, announced a limited-edition collaboration with Arkansas native Beth Ditto, to hit stores in June. The style icon and singer in the indie rock band Gossip joins MAC’s fashion-forward ranks of uber-cool collaborators and spokeswomen, which includes the likes of Lady Gaga, Hello Kitty, Cyndi Lauper, Nicki Minaj, Shirley Manson, and others. ➥ Another former Arkansan HELEN GURLEY BROWN and her late husband David Brown made news recently when Brown donated a chunk of change to both the Columbia Graduate School of Journalism and Stanford’s School of Engineering to create an Institute for Media Innovation. The editor-in-chief of COSMOPOLITAN for 32 years (from 1965 to 1996), Gurley Brown, gifted a cool $30 million to the institutions. ➥ Correction: Last week we encouraged those looking to revamp their kitchens to check out the goods at INSIDE EFFECTS, though we mistakenly called the company by the wrong name. Inside Effects also recently launched a blog and newsletter that sends home inspiration ideas right to your inbox. In this week’s blog they delivered stunning ideas for cozy outdoor fireplaces and gorgeous custom kitchen cabinets. Sign up at inside-effects.com.

ADVERTISING SUPPLEMENT TO ARKANSAS TIMES

MARCH 7, 2012

43

G-Star Denim is a new spring line for Evolve that includes jackets, denim and wovens.

Customers can find men’s clothing lines like Georg Roth, Alternative Apparel, AG, Ben Sherman, Joe’s Jeans and more.

porary, fashion-forward clothing they offer. But his most important goal was creating an atmosphere that really appealed to men.

“Going into the new store we wanted guys to walk in and feel comfortable enough to shop,” Rudkin says. “On average, many guys are not shoppers like women are. Women will pile up in the car every day and go window shopping. When we go, we walk in with a mission. So we wanted the store to have that feeling of comfort, but we also wanted them to look around and know they are in a store like no other in Little Rock.”

Rudkin achieved a masculine atmosphere with streamlined details like pipe-style metal racking for hanging merchandise and dark, wooden shelves for folded items. Urban touches define the upstairs loft, including an eye-catching stoplight and walk/don’t walk signs.

But most important to Rudkin and Davis’ comfortable environment is their personalized cus44

MARCH 7, 2012

ADVERTISING SUPPLEMENT TO ARKANSAS TIMES

Evolve’s vintage collection, featuring boots, wovens, vests and more, is housed in an upstairs loft area.

tomer service. “We’re very low-key; we’re not high-pressure sales people,” Rudkin says. “Josh and I work the business every day. We want to know our customers and that alone makes them comfortable. They know they’re going to walk in and see a friendly face.”

As for their clothing, loyal customers can expect to find the same contemporary style and sleek fits as before, yet everything currently in the store is brand-new for spring and summer. The shop already has a funky selection of swimwear from Penguin, as well as items from G-Star, a popular new line Rudkin and Davis just picked up this season. They’ll also continue to carry mainstays like comfy tees from American Apparel, shorts, pants, blazers and suits from Ben Sherman, denim from Hudson Jeans, AG Jeans and Joe’s Jeans, plus much more. Their popular and affordable vintage selection, sourced from markets in Los Angeles, is housed in the comfy loft area.

Evolve also carries products from local designers, including t-shirt line Mascot Madhouse which gives love to some of the nation’s kookiest high school and college mascots. The Conway Wampus Cat started it all (the founder is a graduate of Conway High), and the six-legged creature is just one of the logos printed on soft, vintage-feel tees. Customers also love one-of-a-kind, hand-blown glass jewelry crafted by Pine Bluff resident James Hayes.

The store is currently open, so drop in to survey the updated look and duds. Then, mark your calendar for the grand opening on Friday, March 30, when the Little Rock Chamber of Commerce hosts a ribbon-cutting ceremony. Evolve will also celebrate the grand opening weekend with several designers presenting trunk shows on March 30 and 31.

Evolve is located at 6800 Cantrell Road. Hours are 10 a.m.-8 p.m. Monday-Saturday and noon-6 p.m. Sunday. You can also visit Evolve online at shoplikeaman.net.

Chewy’s Top 5

BY BLAIR TIDWELL PHOTOGRAPHY BY BRIAN CHILSON

shop dogs (n.) A feature profiling our canine friends in retail. (Not just limited to dogs. Other species—cats, canaries, lizards—appear here, too.)

Going to work with Scott and Brooke every day Staring contests

Chewing on cardboard boxes

Begging for human food at lunch time

Playing with his donut toy Rock City Wraps and Big Impressions 1823 S. Scott St. 501-301-9031 rockcitywraps.com bigimpressions.biz

Chewy ready to go to work at Big Impressions and Rock City Wraps in downtown Little Rock.

Comedic canine Chewy cheers his co-workers at Rock City Wraps and Big Impressions with silly antics

C

hewy takes his work at joint companies Rock City Wraps and Big Impressions seriously.

Business owner Scott Wallace, along with co-worker and partner Brooke Bettoney, bring their two-year-old English bulldog to work every day. As soon as the stout pup trots through the door, he makes the rounds through the warehouse. He sniffs around to make sure everything is in place, along the way greeting his buddies as they manufacture advertising wraps for vehicles, billboards and even buildings (their latest larger-than-life project is to wrap the Arkansas Children’s Hospital).

But Chewy isn’t really a guard dog. “There is a misconception of the breed,” Bettoney laments. “They look so intimidating. You remember those old Tom and Jerry cartoons where the bulldogs are the bullies? They always make bulldogs mean, but that is completely opposite of his personality.”

Chewy is a natural jokester who provides constant comic relief for the staff. Within a month of his arrival, Wallace and Bettoney say the whole morale of the shop changed. “If someone is getting frustrated, we turn our heads and Chewy is usually there doing something funny. He entertains us; he’s our little break in the middle of the day,” Bettoney says.

He comes by his humorous role honestly, as Bettoney named him after comedian Chelsea Handler’s sidekick

Chuy Bravo. “Chelsea Handler is one of my favorite comedians. When I got Chewy as a puppy, he was short and fat like her assistant on her show Chelsea Lately,” she explains.

But his name is also appropriate in other ways: his penchant for chewing on cardboard boxes around the shop, for instance. “He’s like an ant,” Wallace says. “He’ll take a box ten times as big as him—some of these boxes are five feet long!—and he’ll drag it back to his little nest and shred it to pieces.”

And his whine is reminiscent of yet another famous Chewie: Chewbacca from Star Wars. When Chewy discovers an empty pizza box on a table just out of his reach, he is on a mission. His whimper—a pitch-perfect impression of Chewbacca’s warbling voice—is a last resort after realizing that he’s just too short to snag the box. His other tactic is staring. “He is a staring contest champion,” Bettoney says, laughing, after Chewy’s whimpers die down and he resumes gazing wistfully at the box.

“He can sit and stare at something for hours.”

Chewy also has a knack for greeting everyone who walks into the building.

His cushy bed is situated right up front within view of both the office workstations and the front door. “He’s very laid back. His favorite thing is just to walk around and be doted on by everyone.

He loves attention,” Bettoney says. And repeat customers love attention from

Chewy, too, often snapping pictures with his expressive face, complete with an adorable underbite and perfectly droopy cheeks. Because of his popularity, Wallace and Bettoney are considering tacking up all the photos to a wall in the office, as well as posting them on the business websites. We can only imagine the loveable bulldog will be pleased with the promotion to Rock City Wraps’ and Big Impressions’ official spokesdog.

2616 Kavanaugh Blvd. • Little Rock 501.661.1167 www.shopboxturtle.com

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MARCH 7, 2012

45

Sluts galore

E

ve was the first slut, according to the blowhard EIB gospel. Adam was more an innocent bystander who got lured into it, because it really is hard to resist and not for long is self-control a match for concupiscence. Her sluttery got them thrown out of paradise, and all the problems we have today can be traced back to that 6,000-years-ago trauma — the deficit, unemployment, Obamacare, climate change, toxic loans, impiousness, obesity, addiction, testicular shrinkage from steroid abuse.

Samson was a good early example of how yielding to sluttery can lay you low.

Melt your eyeballs and literally bring the house down on you. His slut’s name was Delilah, which means “nasty” in the original Philistine.

Ol’ Bathsheba (“slut who needs to hit the shower”) gave her a sluttish run for the money, however.

Jezebel was a slut, of course. Her name in the ancient tongue meant “without co-habitation” or “Where is the Prince?” which are sort of roundabout ways of saying slut.

Ruth and Naomi were sluts but kept it well hid, like Roselyn and her mother-inlaw Lillian of a later time.

Helen of Troy was — presumably still

is — the highest ranking member of the Slut Pantheon.

Even higher than the slut with the snake torso and BOB snakes for hair — LANCASTER slut imagery harking back to the phallic Tempter that beslutted Eve out in the garden that time.

Cleopatra’s purple yacht was also just a metaphor for slut.

Remember the scene from Tacitus when the emperor Claudius’ wife Val got into an all-night sluttery contest with imperial Rome’s most famous harlot — and won! The sore loser concluding that the empress’s insides must’ve been made out of old shoe leather.

Ah, those were the days — when men were men and sluts all had pencil-sharpeners that before you could get the Land ob Cotton phrase in “Dixie” whistled could grind down a proud No. 2 to one of those dinky stubs you keep your golf score with.

The Virgin Mary — all right, but even conceding that, how explain the J.C. siblings except as slutty afterfruit?

Or I guess they’d be his half-siblings.

Joan of Arc was a slut, albeit hers was a monumental waste, exuded away in a

kind of spiritual ecstasy that did nobody else any good.

“Witchcraft” was just another name for the sluttishness that nubile slut/witches (“slitches”?) were hanged for in olde Massachusetts, gibbeted and maimed for sport by the blowhards of their time, the dour wigged tightasses citing Exodus 22:18 and Deuteronomy 25:11-12 as enabling authority for this godawful manner of getting long-dry and lonesome appendages off.

If not Pocahontas, Abigail Adams is the first name on the blowhard list of notable American sluts. She won the distinction not for her willingness, eagerness even, to put out, or to keep that fetching possibility ever adangle, which is the slut forte, but for her unwillingness to meantime do what Archie Bunker would later call stifling.

Stifling in this context means hauling up when your mind starts to wander above your genito-urinary tract, into the scrubbed air of higher ratiocination where only pricks are allowed to mull birth-control policy. Sluts who intrude there are every one of them seen as Paula Jones. Not as a Paula Jones type. As PJ her very own trailer-musty gum-smacking self.

Hard to imagine Emily Dickinson as a slut but I guess she was, at least in the blowlard EIB view of sluts run amok. Indira Gandhi. Mother Teresa. Bee Taylor. Golda Meir. Grandma Moses. Amelia Earhart.

Sluts one and all, hardly distinguishable one from the other.

In this big fat idiot view, half the race are sluts and it’s the task of the other half to not let them forget it. Afflict them with penis envy. Always the aspirin between the knees. Abstinence-only them till Hell Fire dries up all the mucosae. Cagney a grapefruit half in the puss as needed. Imus them in the collective as nappy-headed ho’s. Catholicize them into duggary or Mormonize them into the seraglio maze; Southern Baptist them into eventual submission under an inevitable teeny weenie who morphs forth as the Mammoth Cod in his Mitty fancies during drawn-out altar calls.

It might be more than half the race that you’re sluttifying if you agreed to include on your blowhard list a sampler of specially deserving Friends of Dorothy, and you might ordinarily consider doing that, despite the pudendal quality or suggestion that squishes up the hateful s-word in the customary blowhard usage. But the current contretemps excludes men categorically, not out of misterogyny, but because it’s essentially a stupid dust-up over the alleged promiscuous effect on the culture from the easy availability of effective oral contraceptives.

It’s not right that men are only bit players in the birth-control operetta but it’s a fact. They don’t lay ova, the slut’s first and defining task. So only women can be sluts, and in the so-called thinking of Rush Limbaugh and his kidney, all of them are.

ARKANSAS TIMES CLASSIFIEDS Arkansas Times Flipside Advertise your business or event here for as little as

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MENTAL HEALTH PROFESSIONAL Little Rock Community Mental Health Center has an immediate opening for a fulltime Mental Health Professional to work as a team member serving persons with serious and persistent mental illness. Services to be provided will include individual therapy, group therapy, triage, assessment, and advocacy. Applicants must have a Masters Degree from an accredited graduate program and Arkansas licensure as a Mental Health Professional in Psychology, Social Work, Counseling, or Nursing.

Clinical experience in behavioral health preferred.

To Apply: Send your resume via fax: 501-686-9618 Email to: human.resources@lrcmhc.com Postal service or in person at Little Rock Community Mental Health Center, Inc., 4400 Shuffield Drive, Little Rock, AR 72205

46 7,MARCH 7, 2012 ARKANSAS TIMES 2012 ARKANSAS TIMES 46 March

Employment Agricultural Equipment Operator-5 temp positions10 months; job to begin 4/10/12 through 2/10/13Duties: to operate tractors with cutting of hay fields, fluffing, raking, bailing, and storing of the hay. $9.30 per hour; 40+ hours per week; 3 months experience in job offered required. All work tools provided. Housing and transportation provided to workers who can not reasonably return to their permanent residence at the end of the work day; subsistence expenses to the worksite will be provided by the employer upon completion of 50% of the work contract, or earlier, if appropriate; _ hours guaranteed in a work day during contract. Employment offered

by Mr. Money of Leesville, L.L.C. dba: Plantation Farms located in Alexandria, LA. Qualified applicants may call employer for interview (318) 443-9143 or may apply for this position at their nearest State Workforce Agency using job order # 407554.

For more info regarding your nearest SWA you may call (501) 682-7719.

Farm Equipment Operator/Field Workers-21 temporary positions; approx 9_ months; Duties: to operate tractors in the fields during the preparation, planting and maintenance of the crop before, during and after the harvesting season. $9.30 per hour; 40+ hours per week ; Job to begin on 4/6/12 through 1/15/13. 3 months experienced required in sugar cane farming. All work tools provided. Housing and transportation provided to workers who can not reasonably return to their permanent residence at the end of the work day; subsistence expenses to the worksite will be provided by the employer upon completion of 50% of the work contract, or earlier, if appropriate; _ guaranteed of contract. Employment offered by Adeline Enterprises, L.L.C. located in Jeanerette, LA. Qualified applicants may call employer for interview (337) 276-5503 or may apply for this position at their nearest State Workforce Agency using job order # 408149. For more info regarding your nearest SWA you may call (501) 682-771 Farm Equipment Operators-4 temp positions; 10 months; job to begin 4/15/12 and end on 2/15/13Duties: to operate tractors in the fields during the preparations, planting and maintenance of the crop before, during and after the harvesting season. $9.30 per hour; 40+ hours per week; 3 months experience inSoybean and Rice farming. All work tools provided. Housing and transportation provided to workers who can not reasonably return to their permanent residence at the end of the work day; subsistence expenses to the worksite will be provided by the employer upon completion of 50% of the work contract, or earlier, if appropriate;_ hours guaranteed in a work day during contract. Employment offered by Michael Dwain Buller Farms located in Port Barre, LA. Qualified applicants may fax resumes to Dwain Buller at 318-838-2268 or apply during normal business hours. Applicants may apply for this position at their nearest State Workforce Agency using job order # 407550. For more info regarding your nearest SWA you may call (501) 682-7719.

Business Opportunities EARN $400 WEEKLY! Assemble products from home. For FREE information send SASE: Home Assembly-ARA, P.O. Box 450 New Britain, CT 06050-0450

Appliances Williams Appliances Washers/ Dryers, and Stoves $100+.

Refridgerators $200+ NLR area, call 501-753-6636

Miscellaneous MEET local SINGLES in YOUR area!

Women receive a FREE lifetime membership! Gentlemen receive FREE 30 min trial. Fall in love OR FLIRT NOW 800-295-0972 SWF Seeking Someone to Spoil Me \endash 25, blonde I’m a clean, young sexy girl seeking a generous older man for some adult fun. I can host in a safe, discreet place. Only contact me if you’ re serious. Check out my profile and photos at www.

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Building Materials Must Sell (Ltd.) Will deal 24x36, 39x57, 60x100 40 yr paint (Steel Bldgs) Pro-Rated freight to site Erection Avail.

Source# 1OM tel:866-609-4321

Classes/Workshops Chinese Class: Learn the language and catch the opportunities in China.

University professor teaches Chinese at all levels. Call 501-410-6681 (Code ATO)

Legal Notices PUBLIC NOTICE TEXT FM Translator Station K288EZ. First Ventures Capital Partners, Inc. hereby gives public notice that on February 1, 2012 it filed an application with the Federal Communications Commission seeking to renew its license to operate FM translator Station K288EZ, which is located at and serves Little Rock, AR. The Station is licensed to operate on Channel 288 with 0.01 kW of effective radiated power. The Station engages in the re-broadcasting of Station KANX, Sheridan, AR and 91.1 MHz. Individuals who wish to advise the FCC of facts relating to our renewal of license application and to whether this Station has operated in the public interest should file comments and petitions with the Commission by May 1, 2012. Further information concerning the FCC’ s broadcast license renewal process may be obtained from the FCC, Washington, D. C. 20554, www.fcc.gov.

Automotive CASH FOR CARS: Any Car/Truck.

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l % tai 75 Re ff O Saturday, March 10th • 8am-1pm Additional 25% Off on all pottery!

Prima Outlet Sale

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Every Tuesday Mornings 6-9 AM Starting January 10 thru March 27, 2012 Play “GET THAT GAS”

LISTEN AT 7:10 AM....BE MY NUMBER 8 CALLER KNOW THE PHRASE THAT PAYS....

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Macximize

Traditional Chinese Medicine for the Treatment of Food Allergies

• Aid in choosing the right Mac for you and your budget • iMac, MacBook, iPad, iPhone • Troubleshooting • Wireless internet & backup

Arkansas Children’s Hospital is currently enrolling volunteers 12-45 years of age for a nine month research study that will determine the effectiveness of Chinese herbs for the treatment of food allergy. All study related visits and laboratory test are provided at no cost. Compensation will be provided.

For more information, please call:

• Data Recovery • Hardware Installs • Hard drive installation & memory expansion • Organize photos, music, movies & email

Call Cindy Greene - Satisfaction Always Guaranteed

Lynn at (501)364-1726

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Arkansas Children’s Hospital

1 Children’s Way. Little Rock, AR 72202 Stacie Jones, MD, Principal Investigator

cindy@movingtomac.com • 501-681-5855

for a Cause

Presents.....

A benefit for Jacquie and Kristi....

Jacquie and Kristi are two wonderful people in the GLBT community who recently lost everything in a robbery. So please, bring whatever you have to the benefit - household items, clothing, etc. We will have a van ready to take items.

With performances by Miss Christie Lynn, Miss Diamond Rose, Miss Liberty Galore, Miss Alotta Cummings, Miss Lisa Laws, Miss Montana Reed, Dusty West, Justin Case, Jeff Germany, and many more!

It’s going to be a rousing night of fun for a good cause!

307 West 7th Street, Little Rock

Thursday, March 8th • 9pm - 11pm $6 at the door • Doors open at 7pm.

Renegades for a Cause is a group of friends dedicated to helping members of the GLBT community in any way we can. If you know anyone who could use our help, please feel free to talk to one of us. We’re easy to spot, we’re the good looking ones in the crowd. LOL Or feel free to find us on Facebook.

Avoid becoming a burden on your loved ones.

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Learn to get more from your Mac at home or office.

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09/09/2011

ARKANSAS TIMES Advertising sales, The Arkansas Times/El Latino has one position open in Advertising Sales. If you have sales experience and enjoy the exciting and crazy world of advertising then we’d like to talk to you. In addition to our popular weekly issue, we also publish our “over the top” website and blogs. Annually we have special focus issues that cover everything from education, careers and dining. What does all this translate to? A high income potential for a hard working advertising executive. We have fun, but we work hard. Bilingual English/Spanish is a plus but not necessary.

Please send your resume and cover letter to Luis Garciarossi luis@arktimes.com EOE www.arktimes.com March 7, 2012 47

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