Arkansas Times - June 29, 2017 by Arkansas Times

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COMMENT

Look to Kansas The grand austerity experiment of the once great state of Kansas has finally collapsed. The Republican dominated state legislature of Kansas passed a bill to reinstate some previous taxes in an effort to raise $1.2 billion in two years, but Kansas Gov. Sam Brownback vetoed the bill, which forced the legislature to override the veto. The Kansas state budget already faced a whopping $900 million shortfall over the next two years, according to CNN reports. Can this kind of Republican madness occur in Arkansas?

The mainstream media may not have caught on yet, but there are two factors driving the Kansas fiscal calamity. The first factor is the Republican lack of will to cut Republican spending. Austerity cannot work until everybody cuts spending. The second is the Koch factor. The infamous king makers, the Koch brothers, are headquartered on 37th Street in Wichita, Kan., which makes Kansas the veritable ground zero for austere Republican directives. A better analogy is that the Kochs have created a black hole in Wichita, which is destroying all common sense in the surrounding red states and swallowing up

Arkansas. For instance, just five months ago, President Obama left our nation and Arkansas with low unemployment and a booming economy. Governor Hutchinson and his General Assembly of Koch zombies cannot even fund a highway bill. Hey, Toto! We’re in Kansas! Gene Mason Jacksonville

never rely on the intelligence of American voters, Ernie. One of his supporters once enthusiastically told Adlai Stevenson, in the 1956 campaign against Ike Eisenhower, “Mr. Stevenson you have the support of every thinking American.” To which, he calmly replied, “That’s not enough, ma’am. I need a majority.” plainjim

From the web in response to Ernest Dumas’ June 22 column, “Obamascare”:

From the web in response to the June 26 Arkansas Blog post “Supreme Court orders Arkansas to stop birth certificate discrimination”:

As H.L. Mencken once observed, in somewhat different terms, one should

Another big win for Attorney General Leslie Rutledge, heh heh. HillcrestArky Is there anything in the Obergefell decision that would treat same sex married couples any different than the protected classes of the Civil Rights Act? If not, an overturning of the Colorado baker decision would relegate all protected classes equally vulnerable to discrimination on the grounds of sincerely held beliefs. Not just LGBT people, but also blacks and Jews and women. Woolworth’s could then say that blacks at their lunch counters offends their religious beliefs, and the entire Civil Rights Act would be moot. Rutrow

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While, of course, celebrating this and all other decisions favoring gay rights, I do wonder if we may need a parallel system to track strictly genetic origins. Otherwise aren’t sperm and egg donation going to make true ancestry tracking problematic? When the doc asks if there’s a history of heart disease in your family, you kinda need to know where your genes came from. JB We’re reaching the point that DNA can identify medical conditions better than personal/family history. Especially when, and it’s true, ancestral history may not be what it seems. Just saying. Vanessa From the web in response to the June 23 Arkansas Blog post, “Little Rock to sell $90 million in bonds to build Southwest High School, do other work”: Excellent explainer on the difference between the failed bond extension and this method of financing the school construction, but coming on the heels of the vote, it’s hard not to see this as a calculated FU by Key to the voters of the district. tsallernarng

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WEEK THAT WAS

$33 billion tax cut to the top 400 US households Stat of the week The nonpartisan Center on Budget and Policy Priorities estimates that, in the House Republican bill to replace Obamacare, which is largely mirrored in the newly unveiled Senate GOP’s Better Care Reconciliation Act, the 400 top income households in the U.S. would receive $33 billion in tax cuts between 2019 and 2028. That sum is equal to the bill’s proposed savings by ending Medicaid expansion in four states — Alaska, Arkansas, West Virginia and Nevada.

Next: lawsuit A 6-foot-tall Ten Commandments monument was installed outside the state Capitol on Tuesday. Sen. Jason Rapert (R-Conway), the evangelist who sponsored legislation to enable it, was on hand to preen before the cameras. He insisted the monument — paid for with private contributions — will withstand the legal challenge promised by the ACLU and others to state promotion of religion on the Capitol grounds. He rests his case on Texas’ similar monument — a relic from a movie decades ago that had become so enshrined and essentially invisible that the courts allowed it to stand when a challenge was raised many years later. More recently, courts ordered removal of a monument in Oklahoma.

New plan to pay for LRSD facilities State Education Commissioner Johnny Key has approved a plan by Little Rock School District Superintendent Michael Poore to raise $90 million through second-lien bonds to build the proposed new high school in Southwest Little Rock and pay for other facility improvements, including roof and heat/air repairs. Since the LRSD was taken over two years ago by the state for low test scores at a handful of its 48 schools, Key has served as the school board. Second-lien bonds do not require voter approval; they are repaid with surplus debt millage. That’s currently some $27 million in excess of the 6

JUNE 29, 2017

ARKANSAS TIMES

amount necessary for current bond payments, but it would come at the expense of operational funds, which likely means budget cuts somewhere else. On May 9, LRSD voters overwhelmingly defeated a proposal to extend 12.4 mills in debt for 14 years to allow a $200 million bond sale to pay for various district improvements and build a high school.

Griffen rules new juvenile sentencing law unconstitutional Pulaski County Circuit Judge Wendell Griffen ruled last week that a 2017 law addressing sentencing of juvenile killers was unconstitutional. He said the law unconstitutionally took sentencing out of the hands of a jury by setting a mandatory life sentence for capital murder, first-degree murder and treason, with a possibility of parole after 25 years for first-degree murder and 30 years for capital murder. The law was an effort to amend Arkansas law to comport with a U.S. Supreme Court ruling that held life without parole sentences unconstitutional for juvenile offenders 17 and younger. Since that Supreme Court decision, the Arkansas Supreme Court has begun

hearing cases from people sentenced to life as juveniles. It has held that they should receive sentencing hearings and be given a chance to present evidence about age, the nature of the crime and other issues and given a sentence within the range for Class Y felonies. The legislature failed in its effort to create “age appropriate sentencing standards,” Griffen ruled. The right to a jury trial includes jury sentencing, he said. “The issue of sentencing is not determined by the General Assembly. The General Assembly only determines the range of punishment for given sentences.” The mandatory sentence in the 2017 law deprives defendants of the ability to present mitigating evidence on sentencing, Griffen said. The so-called Fair Sentencing of Minors Act doesn’t pass constitutional muster because “it denies individualized sentencing,” according to Griffen. Griffen also said the law encroached on separation of powers. The state argued that the law provides parole hearings at which defendants can offer mitigating evidence. But Griffen said parole hearings are not sentencing hearings. They are a condition of release subsequent to sentencing, he said. He said the legislature overstepped its authority because parole is an executive branch function.

Bathroom bill revived The Senate Judiciary Committee voted last week to have interim hearings on a bathroom bill by Sen. Linda Collins-Smith (R-Pocahontas). The bill is an effort to prohibit transgender people from using facilities that match their identity. It’s mean stuff, and the intervention of Governor Hutchinson and his nephew, Sen. Jeremy Hutchinson (R-Little Rock), kept it off the statute books in 2017. But the enemies of transgender people haven’t quit fighting, with a recent victory in Texas to their credit. They are red hot to continue pursuit of a nonexistent problem in Arkansas and will at least have some hearings before the next regular legislative session. (In theory, only budget matters may be discussed at the 2018 assembly.) If we’re lucky, a Republican challenger will defeat Collins-Smith in the 2018 primary. Corrections: In Gene Lyons’ June 22 column, “Megyn vs. Alex,” he mistakenly wrote that the Sandy Hook massacre happened in 2015. It was in 2012. The June 22 Arkansas Reporter, “Two suits challenge new abortion laws,” mistakenly referred to a 48-day waiting period for those seeking an abortion, rather than a 48-hour period.

OPINION

Double-talk

couple of instances of doublespeak cropped up in Little Rock over the weekend.

for new services — police, fire, street and other expensive investments AT CITY HALL: A proposal to require — that new sprawl energy efficiency testing for new homes demands. MAX built in Little Rock was withdrawn from Mayor Mark BRANTLEY Stodola, a benefiLittle Rock City Board consideration. maxbrantley@arktimes.com City Manager Bruce Moore said more ciary of the busidiscussion was needed. Do tell. The mea- ness community in his runs for mayor, sure had been delayed several times. is nothing if not sensitive to the real It’s pretty simple. These tests are estate lobby. He wouldn’t endorse this being required in many places, includ- ordinance. But, note that the proposal came from ing Fayetteville, because homes without leaky windows, doors and ductwork the Mayor’s Sustainability Council. Yes, it are more energy efficient. They save was his own agency’s effort to make this money over time. They reduce demand a greener city. The news of the backslidon energy generation (in Arkansas, we ing came while Stodola was in Miami for are still dependent on polluting coal). a meeting of the nation’s mayors, where But, the testing and tightening work many vowed to pick up the ball dropped could add $800 to $2,000 to the cost of a by Donald Trump when he repudiated U.S. home. The powerful real estate lobby made participation in the Paris climate accord. it clear it doesn’t like this. This is the same Was it only three weeks ago that lobby that has resisted impact fees on new Stodola trumpeted his joining a “maydevelopment in Little Rock, thus leaving ors climate agreement”? It said, in part: the city short of the revenue necessary “We will continue to lead. We are

Gun politics

“Y

ou came through for me, and I am going to come through for you.” Despite that promise by President Trump at the National Rifle Association’s annual convention in April, the days ahead are going to produce challenges for the gun rights lobby. While no one should doubt the NRA’s long-term health, the landscape of gun politics in the United States is changing in a direction that will force significant strategic shifts for the gun lobby. And, the organization’s stumbled reaction to the verdict in the Philando Castile case June 16 shows that it is not fully prepared for this new era. The Obama era was extraordinarily successful for the gun rights lobby. Despite overwhelming public support for modest reforms to control access to guns nationally, the GOP-controlled Congress resisted President Obama’s calls to pass a bill that would have would have closed the gun-show and internet-sales loopholes in existing background check policy even after a series of mass shootings, including the late 2012 elementary school assault in Newtown, Conn. Moreover, in the 2010 McDonald decision, the U.S. Supreme Court ruled that an individual’s right to bear arms found in the Sec-

ond Amendment applied also to regulations passed by states and localities. But, the real success for the NRA JAY and allied orgaBARTH nizations came at the state level, where the organization succeeded in passing law upon law that expanded gun rights across the country. In a piece I co-authored with Gary Reich published recently in Social Science Quarterly, fears that President Obama threatened gun rights drove those state-level dynamics. Specifically, gun and ammunition purchases popped up dramatically across the nation in sync with the 2008 and 2012 Obama victories. However, they did not increase evenly; in some states, including Arkansas, there were dramatic increases and in others new purchases stayed relatively flat. It was in those states where upticks in gun purchases occurred that gun liberalization efforts in states were most likely to succeed. Employing effective grassroots and social media networks and messaging that highlighted the threat to guns created by the Obama administration, the NRA was able to capitalize on concerns

increasing investments in renewable energy and energy efficiency. We will buy and create more demand for electric cars and trucks. We will increase our efforts to cut greenhouse gas emissions, create a clean energy economy, and stand for environmental justice.” That is, unless, Little Rock realtors object. LITTLE ROCK SCHOOLS: State Education Commissioner Johnny Key, who functions as the Little Rock School Board under state takeover, held an unannounced, unattended “school board” meeting Thursday afternoon to approve $92 million in borrowing through second-lien bonds (not supported by pledged taxes) to raise money for a new Southwest Little Rock high school and some other roofing and HVAC repair. News leaked out Friday night. I don’t object to the idea. I echoed Baker Kurrus during the recently defeated $600 million construction millage extension election in saying that second-lien bonds and budget cuts could sustain the high school and other important work while waiting to see if the charter school explosion supported by Key was going to fur-

ther decimate enrollment and perhaps even change the geographic shape of the district during the 14-year tax extension. Superintendent Mike Poore, Key and even Governor Hutchinson made it sound like the tax extension vote was the district’s only viable lifeline. That was then. Poore told a reporter for the Arkansas Democrat-Gazette last week (apparently before even the state Board of Education knew of the plan) that not only could this get the first important work done, the city might have enough excess revenue from construction millage that it could pay for these bonds without cutting operating expenses. This suggests to me that somebody was crying wolf before the election. Poore also tried hard to pre-spin this story with the friendly D-G before it got in skeptical hands. In Little Rock’s current undemocratic state, a “school board” can meet in secret and sign off on $92 million in borrowing without any public discussion about how the money is to be spent and how the budget will accommodate it. This is no way to run a school district supported by tax dollars. It’s past time for the state Board of Education to give Little Rock its school district back.

among gun enthusiasts of a new and onerous regime of firearms restrictions in those states as the rush of firearms and ammunitions sales provided fertile ground for the NRA to influence subsequent state legislation. In such friendly environs, the organization’s state-level spending produced expanded gun rights. The NRA was fully prepared for a Hillary Clinton presidency. If Clinton had won in November, the dynamic experienced during the Obama years would have continued to play out with Clinton easing into the Obama role of constant threat to gun rights. Like most, however, the gun rights movement was surprised by the Trump victory. The patterns surrounding the prior two presidential elections reversed and gun sales have dropped since the election of a man who said after his victory, “The gun rights community can breathe again.” (In the first three months of 2017, sales dropped by 14 percent compared to a year earlier.) Interestingly, though, there is some evidence gun sales have popped up among another group: African-Americans. While demographic data is not regularly collected on gun purchasers, sales did increase in heavily black states and anecdotal evidence from gun storeowners notes a rise in African-American shoppers. Moreover, the National African American Gun Association, which

formed in 2015, has more than doubled its membership since the election. (To be sure, with fewer than 20,000 members, the NAAGA remains tiny compared to the NRA’s millions of members.) Despite clear efforts to reach out to persons of color starting in 2013 with targeted advertising, the NRA is challenged in turning these new gun owners into activists. Thus, the heightened success of NAAGA. The NRA’s “no comment” reaction to the innocent verdict in the trial of the St. Paul policeman who shot Philando Castile, a concealed-carry permit holder, shows the difficulty the group has in fully embracing diverse gun owners. Certainly, as the debate on guns on campus in the Arkansas legislature last year showed, the politics of guns has not gone away entirely in the states. Moreover, the NRA remains a potent force in stymying gun control efforts because of its institutional advantages in the political arena. Since the group became politicized in the late 1970s, it has also shown an impressive adaptability to changing dynamics and it will figure out how to play offense in this new landscape. But, in the short run, the demise of the Obama threat and the increasing diversity of new gun owners creates very real challenges for the NRA as it attempts to achieve its ultimate goals on expanding gun access across the country.

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arktimes.com JUNE 29, 2017

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ARKANSAS TIMES

Blaming Obama

couple of months ago, on May 10, President Trump invited two Russian diplomats into the White House to celebrate his firing of FBI Director James Comey. Having boasted on national TV that he’d removed Comey as a means of relieving pressure from the “fake news” investigation of Russian interference in the 2016 presidential election, Trump greeted Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov and Ambassador Sergey Kislyak like old friends. Although U.S. news media weren’t allowed into the Oval Office, the Russian news agency TASS published photos of the three men smiling broadly, backslapping and shaking hands. That’s how American reporters learned of the controversial Kislyak’s presence. The White House neglected to mention it, presumably because his clandestine talks with fired National Security Director Michael Flynn lay at the heart of the FBI probe. Lavrov even made heavy-handed jokes about Russian meddling, expressing mock surprise at Comey’s firing and observing sarcastically that it must be “humiliating for the American people to realize the Russian Federation is controlling the situation in the United States.” The episode struck me at the time as an astonishing gesture of contempt, if completely in keeping with Trump’s furious denials that Russian skullduggery had anything to do with his election. In her Salon column, Heather Digby Parton compiled a short list of the president’s Twitter posts on the subject. According to Trump, the FBI investigation has been dismissed as a “Witch Hunt!”, a “a total hoax,” “an excuse used by the Democrats as justification for losing the election” and so on. We’ve all heard it 50 times. If he’s been consistent about nothing else, Trump’s been consistent about that: Vladimir Putin’s spies had no role whatsoever in his mighty victory. That is, until last week. Following The Washington Post’s publication of a highly detailed blockbuster about what the Obama administration knew about “President Vladimir Putin’s direct involvement” in the conspiracy to damage Hillary Clinton and make him president, Trump came up with a whole new story: Yes, Russian cyberhackers and spies interfered directly in an American presidential election — but it was all Barack Obama’s fault.

“Just out,” the president tweeted, “The Obama Administration knew far in advance of GENE November 8th LYONS about election meddling by Russia. Did nothing about it. WHY?” Trump soon came up with an answer: “The reason that President Obama did NOTHING about Russia after being notified by the CIA of meddling is that he expected Clinton would win … and did not want to ‘rock the boat.’ He didn’t ‘choke,’ he colluded or obstructed, and it did the Dems and Crooked Hillary no good.” It’s almost hysterically false — the Obama administration made repeated attempts to inform the voting public about Russian interference, most explicitly, as bad luck would have it, on Oct. 8, 2016, the day Trump’s boasts about grabbing women’s genitals first aired — but there’s a half-truth there, too. President Obama did, indeed, “choke,” as one anonymous administration official told Post reporters, and we’re all paying the price. As happened more than once during his presidency, Obama appears to have over-thought the situation to the point of paralysis — pursing the will-o’-thewisp of patriotic bipartisanship long after it had become obvious that not only Trump, but key Republican leaders had long since put party above country. Could anybody be surprised that Sen. Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.), for example, would stonewall any effort to inform voters that a hostile foreign power was brazenly taking Trump’s side in the election? In effect, congressional Republicans had chosen Putin over Hillary Clinton. By August, let us recall, Trump himself was not only openly urging Russian hackers to search for Clinton’s emails — barefaced collusion — but predicting that the election was going to be rigged against him. Obama could have done in August what he did after the election in December: hit Russia with sanctions, expelled Russian diplomats. But he reportedly feared that without GOP support, any vigorous action could easily backfire. “Obama’s approach,” sources told the Post, “often seemed reducible to a single imperative: Don’t make things worse. ...” Instead, Kislyak and Lavrov yukking it up in the Oval Office happened.

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THE OBSERVER NOTES ON THE PASSING SCENE

The intern

he Observer has an honest-to-God intern this summer, a bright young stargazer we’ve known since she wasn’t bigger than a minute, wrapped in swaddling clothes, but who has now grown into a young woman of good sense and purpose right before our very eyes. Yours Truly has haunted these halls that long, Dear Reader. As someone who has avoided the burden of command our entire life, The Observer is trying not to let the power of this intern thing go to our head, keeping to a minimum our orders that she fetch our no-whip soy lattes and egg white omelets, and resisting the urge to bounce a cell phone off her head in a rage just because our lovey hangs up on us, like some spoiled Hollywood B-lister. One nice thing about having an intern is that while it’s hotter than a griddle outside, we can send our minty fresh go-getter out with her notebook and pencil to do a little Observing. It’s good to be king. Last week, the shreds of tropical storm Cindy swirling up from the Gulf of Mexico like terlet paper in a stopped-up bowl, we grandiosely ordered her across the street to the American Taekwondo Association convention, which had filled the canyons around the Fortress of Employment with martial artists for days. Here’s what she came back with: Competitors traveled all the way from South America, South Korea, India, Europe and New Jersey. It’s estimated representatives of over 30 countries came. People spoke to each other and seemed civil enough. I saw one security guard the whole time. That’s eight fewer than I see at school. How does an Asian fighting style bring so many different people together, and yet Arkansas can barely desegregate? To be perfectly honest, I imagined the competitors would be intense fighting machines without much else going on, but I was wrong. The first group I ran into was all instructors: a chemical engineer, a special-education teacher, a former SWAT Team member and a lawyer. The lawyer runs a nonprofit called Team Pride. It raises money to get at-risk

kids into taekwondo. I never saw learning to fight as a way to help out kids from violent situations, but they seem to be on to something. I found two boys who had issues with social anxiety and depression as teenagers. They said taekwondo gave them confidence and the ability to overcome. I heard the same story from many other kids and parents. A group of parents whose kids all went to the same ATA school sat in a corner while their kids got ready for competition. I couldn’t believe they came all the way down from Maryland to spend a week eating to-go pizza and sitting on the floor just to let their elementary school-age children compete. Turns out they spend five to six nights a week together while the kids practice, so it’s not a stretch. The ATA convention was also fertile eavesdropping ground for our young deputy, who also sent along several of her favorite overheards, which will probably tell you much more about why people take up taekwondo than any Observational musing would:

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“I popped her knee out 39 years ago, and we still talk.” “I had social anxiety as a kid, but once I kicked a person in the head, I really felt good.” “I started when I was 15 and now I’m 65. I didn’t want to die without trying martial arts. I was a world champion in 2004.” “I’m always sticking my house key in the school door and school key in my house door.” “I stepped off the curb to cross the street and bowed before I walked out.” “You can find a stick almost anywhere.” “This is the only sport where you beat the mess out of someone, then hug it out.” Reading that, The Observer thinks: Wouldn’t it be nice if we could all do that? Occasionally just whup the butter out of someone and then shake hands and go for a beer? Violence is never the answer, but sometimes … wouldn’t some very controlled violence be nice? Like our young deputy said: Maybe they’re on to something there. arktimes.com JUNE 29, 2017

Arkansas Reporter

THE

Beyond repeal The proposed Medicaid cuts in the new U.S. Senate bill could impact coverage for 400,000 Arkansas children. BY BENJAMIN HARDY ARKANSAS NONPROFIT NEWS NETWORK

JUNE 29, 2017

ARKANSAS TIMES

The Senate bill would reshape Medicaid in two ways. First, beginning in 2021, it would phase out the Medicaid expansion created by the ACA, which provides coverage to low-income adults. Approximately 300,000 Arkansans are

COURTESY JULIE KAUFFMAN

n June 22, Republicans in the U.S. Senate introduced a longawaited bill to replace the Affordable Care Act, the health care law often referred to as Obamacare. The Better Care Reconciliation Act would rework the ACA’s subsidies for individual insurance policies, cut taxes for higherincome households, end the mandate that individuals have insurance, and allow states to opt out of ACA requirements that insurance policies include benefits such as mental health and maternity coverage. It would also put an end to the enhanced funding rate that made it possible to expand Medicaid to cover some 14.4 million low-income adults nationwide. But the Senate bill, like similar legislation passed by the U.S. House of Representatives in May, would also institute major cuts to the traditional Medicaid program, potentially affecting coverage for millions of children, elderly people and disabled adults nationwide. In Arkansas, 30 percent of the state’s population — about 912,000 people — were enrolled in some form of Medicaid in March 2017, according to data from the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services. That figure includes enrollment in the Children’s Health Insurance Program, or CHIP, which together with Medicaid pays for ARKids A and B. Marquita Little, health policy director at Arkansas Advocates for Children and Families, said the Senate bill “goes well beyond the political promise of repealing Obamacare. It restructures Medicaid funding. And so, it really is a U-turn on the promise that the federal government has always made to states — that Medicaid would be funded through a state-federal partnership.” (Arkansas Advocates for Children and Families has contributed funding to the Arkansas Nonprofit News Network.)

become law. Parents like Julie Kauffman of Mountain Home are anxiously watching developments in Washington and wondering how the proposed cuts would translate to Arkansas. Kauffman’s daughter, Olive, suffers from cerebral palsy that resulted from viral encephalitis that developed 12 days after she was born. After the infant was airlifted to Arkansas Children’s Hospital, Kauffman and her husband were told their private Blue Cross policy would pay for less than half of the helicopter ride, leaving them on the hook for $7,000. “That was kind of our first introduction to, ‘Oh, our health insurance doesn’t cover what our child needs,’ ” Kauffman

NOW OR NEVER: Julie Kauffman says the changes in health insurance are “terrifying” for her 3-year-old, Olive, who has cerebral palsey.

now enrolled in Arkansas Works, the program funded by the Medicaid expansion. Second, the Senate bill would cap federal spending on the rest of Medicaid, which existed long before the ACA’s expansion and which is composed of programs such as ARKids. Rather than Medicaid paying for patients’ medical care on an open-ended basis, as is now the case, the federal government would disburse funds to states in lump sums, either on a per capita basis or through block grants. The Congressional Budget Office projects 22 million people would lose coverage if the Senate bill

said. The financial office at the hospital told the parents they should get Olive on Medicaid. “I thought, ‘We have health insurance, this is ridiculous. We don’t need Medicaid.’ Two helicopter rides later, and thousands and thousands and thousands of dollars later, we desperately need Medicaid.” Now 3 years old, Olive’s condition requires periodic visits to specialists at the Cerebral Palsy Center at St. Louis Children’s Hospital, plus regular speech, occupational and physical therapy sessions at a clinic in Mountain Home. She now spends nine hours in therapy per

week. “What Blue Cross covers for her and therapy, she maxes out every year in February. That’s when Medicaid picks up the rest of her tally,” Kauffman said. It’s especially crucial that Olive receive intensive therapy at a young age, Kauffman explained, to maximize her chances of developing the skills necessary to lead a more independent life. “It’s now or never. I mean, we have to do it now. She’s 30 pounds. She doesn’t have head control. She can’t sit up and feed herself. She’s nonverbal. She’s, you know, total care, and unless we get as much bang for our buck now, what does her future look like?” On July 1, a new rule from the Arkansas Department of Human Services, which administers Medicaid in Arkansas, will limit the number of billable minutes of speech, occupational and physical therapy a beneficiary may receive each week without special authorization. The cap is 90 minutes for each category — about half what Olive receives right now. DHS said in a September legal notice that the change is estimated to save the Arkansas Medicaid budget $56.2 million annually. Kauffman said she will seek DHS approval to keep paying for the additional therapy hours, but she’s concerned about the future. “What’s happening in the state alone, along with what’s coming down from the federal level — it’s just terrifying.” Kauffman said her biggest concerns about the Senate bill “are the cuts and the block grants. If it comes down to a block grant system where the federal government gives each state a set amount of dollars, how is that going to be disbursed from child to child? I don’t know how they would even begin to figure that out. My kid is expensive, and that’s not her fault. … I understand the thought process that Medicaid cannot sustain at the rate that it’s going. But there are also a lot of kids in my daughter’s situation who didn’t ask for this. They need as much help as they can possibly get, and in a perfect world her private insurance would cover what she needs — but it just doesn’t.” Olive previously was on ARKids but now has Medicaid coverage through Supplemental Security Income (SSI) Disability. “Because my husband and I are both self-employed and our income fluctuates, she qualifies for SSI at the

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moment — but that could change at any moment,” Kauffman said. She is a subcontractor for a medical billing company; her husband owns a furniture company, where she also works part time. Although their daughter receives substantial government benefits, the couple also ends up devoting much of their household income to her care as well, from specialized equipment to travel costs to St. Louis to therapy that must be paid for out-of-pocket. For the self-employed, time away from home is time spent not working — an additional drain on family resources. “We’re fortunate to have grandparents who chip in when they can and relatives who help out as needed, but, for the most part, we’re just doing the best we can do to get by,” she said. “We could have $10 million and it still wouldn’t be enough.” APPROXIMATELY 400,000 KIDS in Arkansas are on Medicaid — about half the children in the state. Only a small percentage have medical needs as pronounced as Olive’s. Nonetheless, Marquita Little said, reductions to federal Medicaid spending proposed by the Senate bill would be “devastating to our medical system in Arkansas. “Our overall impression is that it’s still a dangerous bill for kids, for our most vulnerable populations … [including] seniors, people with disabilities. By capping funding on traditional Medicaid, we would basically be reducing funding that we have in place for those populations. ... So what that means for Arkansas is that we would be forced to make some tough decisions about how we absorb those cuts. You either have to reduce what you actually cover, or you have to reduce payments that we’re making to providers.” Having a child who requires such specialized care has changed her perception of Medicaid and those who benefit from the program, Kauffman said. “The biggest thing is that Medicaid helps so many more people than just what everybody assumes… . You know, people who don’t want to go out and find a job and take care of themselves. Medicaid is so much more than that. So I think it’s just this misconception … and I was guilty of that. But now I know how needed it is.”

THE

BIG PICTURE

INCONSEQUENTIAL NEWS QUIZ: LET MADELINE STAY! EDITION Play at home with your cat! 1) There was a ruckus recently at Park Plaza Mall. What, according to police, was the issue?

A) Somebody at Romancing the Stone shattered a plaster statue of Kali, thus angering the goddess, who turned everyone in the store into a writhing pile of eels. B) The salespeople at Teavana took “pushy” to the next level when they pulled knives and forced random passersby to try the goddam chamomile mint blend, or else. C) A woman allegedly tried to steal a portable stripper pole and bit a worker who tried to stop her. D) An employee with Build-A-Bear Workshop finally got fed up and told “all you grown-ass weirdos here to buy yourself a stuffed animal” to leave the store.

2) Yahoo News recently reported on an incident that happened in March at the state Capitol that resulted in the Capitol Police being called in. What, according to the story, was the issue? A) Sen. Jason Rapert (R-Merkin Gap) became enraged when he learned workers had installed the new Ten Commandments monument on the Capitol lawn with Velcro instead of cement, to speed up the process when it is inevitably ordered removed by the federal courts. B) After Sen. Linda Collins-Smith (R-Pocahontas) and local activist Rae Nelson met in a ladies restroom, Nelson told the senator — who was then in the process of trying to push through a “bathroom bill” that would have forced transgender people to use the restroom for their birth gender — “I am a black trans woman and we are in the bathroom together and you survived.” C) A lovesick janitor popped the lock on the roof and painted “Marry me, Miley Cyrus!” in 6-foot-tall letters on the Capitol dome. D) Governor Hutchinson finally resorted to “tough love” in his quest to stop Secretary of State Mark Martin from peeing in the Arkansas Senate coat closet.

3) A patron of the Ashdown Community Library in Little River County was recently sent packing and told never to return. Who was it, and what was the issue? A) Juvenile delinquent Tommy Perche, who hides in the stacks and shouts “**** it!” every time a librarian tells someone to “Shhhhhh … .” B) Mildred Bell, a local crank who insists on trying to force her own hyper-narrow view of morality on others based on her favorite book, which features a talking snake, a magical apple and a guy singlehandedly building a wooden cruise ship, all in chapter one. C) All 23 members of the Ashdown “Fifty Shades of Grey” fan club, who keep getting in arguments over who is most in need of a good spanking. D) Madeline the Library Cat, who lived part time at the library, but was told she had to go because some patrons have feline allergies.

4) Little Rock was recently the scene of a crime that shocked even the larceny-numbed residents of the capital city. What happened? A) Almighty God’s Harley-Davidson was stolen near Third and Chester streets after the Lord came down to try to sort out just what the hell we all think we’re doing down here. B) Investigators determined the state Capitol was secretly stripped of all brass doorknobs, copper pipes and wiring by members of the Legislature before they returned to their various hamlets, caves and secluded hollers. C) An employee of the University of Arkansas for Medical Sciences was robbed at gunpoint while inside the hospital. D) A new report from the Little Rock city manager’s office shows that homeless people have been greedily stealing breathable oxygen that could have potentially been used by a tourist visiting Riverfront Park.

5) Little Rock movie theater Riverdale 10 recently made a post to its Facebook page that raised some eyebrows about the motive for the posting. What was the post? A) It revealed that its “luxury seating” is actually just 25 secondhand couches bought at area Goodwill stores. B) A link to a news report about a recent shooting in the parking lot of the theater’s crosstown rival Cinemark Colonel Glenn 18, which left a bystander wounded in the leg. C) Its popcorn is now available with butter, salt and blue supermeth sprinkles. D) An apology for a recent accidental screening of the first 12 minutes of the “erotic” film “Weiner Woman.” ANSWERS: C, B, D, C, B

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FOUR QUARTER: The Argenta bar serves liquor and food until the wee hours, and has music, too.

High spirits Our guide to the drinking life in Little Rock. PHOTOS BY BRIAN CHILSON

ive, watering hole, saloon, tavern, speakeasy, roadhouse, pub, ultralounge or plain ol’ bar — however you say it, there’s a good

chance you’ve spent a memorable evening or two at a fine purveyor of liquid courage. Bars are spaces unlike any other, existing not for the sustenance of our bodies or the sale of material goods, but only for recreation, relaxation and the unique sensation caused by fermentation, that holy, microscopic intercourse of sugar and yeast that turns wheat, fruit, grapes, hops or barley into alcohol and questionable decisions. They say America was planned in a bar, the Founding Fathers diving deep enough into their cups that they came up with liberty in their teeth. If so, it’s fitting. We’re a nation that loves arktimes.com JUNE 29, 2017

HIGH SPIRITS, CONT.

a drink, our dalliance with Prohibition and longer affair with Baptist teetotalling notwithstanding. What follows is our survey of many of the bars, pubs and taverns in Central Arkansas, resulting from the Arkansas Times staff doing the hard work of boozing it up on the company dime during work hours. We made that sacrifice for you, Dear Reader. From the dimmest dive to the swankiest lounge, if you’re into public drinking in service of a good time, there’s something here for you. 109 & CO. It’s been several years, but some of our friends still haven’t gotten the memo: 109 & Co., on the first block of Main Street and formerly known as Maduro, isn’t a cigar bar anymore. It’s a comfy, nonsmoking lounge with a broad list of classic cocktails. (Bonus points: It’s right around the corner from Arkansas Times HQ.) If you like mezcal like we like mezcal, try the El Cantante ($11), made with Del Maguey Vida Mezcal, D’Aristi and Damiana liqueurs, fresh lime juice and Angostura orange bitters, and served neat in a martini glass. 109 Main St., 3743710, 109andcompany.com. 610 CENTER. Hospitality is the watchword at this downtown spot — and that’s not only because it’s a bar with a predominately LGBTQ patronage that extends an attitude of inclusiveness to all. The first time you go, you’re likely to leave knowing at least one of the owners by name; the second time you go, chances are good one of the tremendously handsome bartenders will remember exactly what you ordered the first time. Monday night is trivia night (friendly, not cutthroat), smoking is allowed, and the full menu offers hearty snacks, like the Mac & Cheese Bites. A wide wine selection, too. 610 Center St., 374-4678, 610center.com. BAJA GRILL Opened in May 2014, Baja Grill is a fave for those looking to take a day trip to Jimmy Buffett’s favorite place. It features big house margaritas and 10 different specialty versions of the beachy drink, all available either frozen or on the rocks. They’re especially a steal during Baja Grill’s Margarita Mondays special, with house margaritas setting you back only 4 bucks (!) all day, while specialty margaritas are $2 off. Five beers on tap and tons of cans and bottles for those who aren’t into that frozen concoction that helps you hang on. 5923 Kavanaugh Blvd., Little Rock, 722-8920, eatbajagrill. com BAR LOUIE Tucked in the corner of a shopping center, Bar Louie is adorned with big-screen TVs and serves plenty of martinis. The go-to is the Diva — 10 bucks normally, but bumped down to $5.25 during happy hours 4-7 p.m. weekdays. It’s made of SKYY Pineapple, PAMA liqueur and a pomegranate syrup and topped with fresh cut pineapple. 11525 Cantrell Road, 228-0444, barlouie.com. BEAR’S DEN PIZZA Fondly nicknamed 14

JUNE 29, 2017

ARKANSAS TIMES

the “Dirty Den,” Bear’s Den Pizza sits across the street from the University of Central Arkansas in Conway. Server Chynna Stipe says, sure, they get their fair share of college students, “but also UCA professors, parents visiting the school and Conway residents. We have a ton of regulars.” Stipe says the recent of arrival of Flyway Brewery’s Bluewing Berry Wheat has been a smash hit and, predictably, happy hour prices — well

with an umbrella. Try it during happy hour from 4-7 p.m. Monday through Thursday and during reverse happy hour from 9 p.m.-midnight Friday and Saturday. 307 N. University Ave., Suite 100, 379-8715; 17809 Chenal Parkway, 821-1515. bigorangeburgers.com. BIG WHISKEY’S The signature drink here is the Big Coconut: Parrot Bay rum, Cathead Vodka, pineapple, orange and cranberry juice. That’ll cost you $7.50, just short of those Eight Pieces, as the parrot says. But beer is more popular. Get a buck off draft beers and $2 off well drinks and wine between 4 p.m. and 6 p.m. 225 E. Markham St., 324-2449, www. bigwhiskeyslittlerock.com. BOULEVARD BISTRO A casual, comfortable, family-oriented spot with an excellent

ries his namesake, known to most as Gio, is carrying the torch, and directed us to bartender Jeff Jackson for a tour of the family business’ booze offerings. Jackson notes that the handcrafted methods in the kitchen extend to the bar, too — Bruno’s offers a house-made limoncello, which you can enjoy chilled in a brandy snifter after dinner ($6) or in one of the restaurant’s popular warm weather drinks, the lemon drop martini ($10). There’s Peroni beer, of course ($5.69), and an Italian margarita, a mixture of tequila, amaretto, triple sec and house-made sweet and sour syrup. For sweltering summer days, there are peach and strawberry Bellinis, a blend of fruit puree and Prosecco. 310 Main St., No. 101, 372-7866, brunoslittleitaly.com.

A LITTLE ROCK CLASSIC: The Play-De-Do at Cajun’s Wharf.

MARBLE BAR, THE STAR: At Raduno in SoMa.

drinks for $2 and domestic beers for $1 from 9-11 p.m. nightly — lure in budgetconstrained collegians. Favorite drink: The “Bear Bomb,” a potent mix of R&R Canadian Whiskey, peach schnapps and Red Bull. 235 Farris Road, Conway, 3285556, bearsdenpizza.net. BIG ORANGE You surely know all about the food at this burger-and-fry stalwart, but don’t sleep on Big O’s bar program. In addition to keeping a diverse and always changing lineup of beers on tap, the cocktail crews at the Midtowne and Promenade locations are always whipping up inventive and delicious creations. The latest specialty, created by bartenders Jacob Jones and Luiggi Uzcategui, is called Devil’s Advocate and features Plantation O.F.T.D. Rum, Lunazul Blanco Tequila, Madeira fortified wine, Creme de Cacao, pineapple and lemon juice, Angostura bitters and Copper & Kings Absinthe. Naturally, it comes in a tiki mug

BUFFALO WILD WINGS You know the drill: Wangs! Zillions of TVs tuned to all the sports contests! Booze! You will perhaps be unsurprised to learn that Buffalo Wild Wings, at least at the Cantrell Road location (there are BWWs in Bryant and Sherwood, too) sells more domestic beer than anything else, but it’s got cocktails, too. They include the Buffalo Zoo (’cuz it’s wild!) made with rum, vodka, bourbon, peach schnapps and orange and pineapple juice. 14800 Cantrell Road, 868-5279, buffalowildwings.com. BY THE GLASS The vinous-oriented can choose from between 60 to 70 wines on the By the Glass board. Favorites change by season; in summer, New Zealand sauvignon blancs and pinot noirs are favorites. The tapas, such as the smoked salmon appetizer, pair well with any wine, proprietor Susan Crosby says, and all the wines are good: “If it’s on our board, we like it.” 5713 Kavanaugh Blvd., 663-9463,

menu, Boulevard Bistro has a full bar. There are eight beers on tap, with several local craft brews represented, and wine in pretty much every variety your vino-loving heart could desire, as well as specialty drinks. 1920 N. Grant St., Little Rock, 663-5949. BREWSTER’S 2 Out front, Brewster’s 2 cafe lauds its catfish — as it should— but the drinks are a lure, too. In a family-friendly atmosphere, you can cool off with a Heat Wave — grenadine, gin, vodka and tequila — for $8. On the nonalcoholic side, the frozen lemonades are just about as refreshing as a drink can be. 2725 S. Arch St., 301-7728. BRUNO’S LITTLE ITALY This Italian eatery’s home in the Creative Corridor may be new, but the mostaccioli and the merriment within can be traced back to the early 20th century arrival of Giovanni Bruno on American shores. Thanks, Old Country! The grandson who car-

btgbar.com. CACHE RESTAURANT AND LOUNGE Robby Wellborn, one of the first employees at the high-class watering hole Cache, has spent half his life as a bartender, working from Texas to Florida, where he’s seen it all and done half of it. Still, Wellborn was momentarily stumped when a woman came in just after the restaurant opened and told the tale of a spicy/sweet version of the ubiquitous margarita she’d had while on vacation. “I don’t know if it was in Mexico, but it was definitely [at] a salsa bar. I was like, ‘I’ve got all that here.’ I put it together.” Thus the Cache-exclusive cocktail that has come to be known as The Roberita was born. Featuring topshelf tequila, fresh jalapenos and juice, minced cilantro, fresh-squeezed lime

juice, house-made simple syrup and other primo ingredients, word of mouth has transformed the unique drink from a one-off experiment to a sort of secret menu item that Wellborn can whip up on demand. For those who don’t mind a little heat, it could easily become addictive, the bite of the jalapeno marrying perfectly with the tart lime, the earthy cilantro, the tequila burn and the sweet base to produce a drink that’s muy caliente. 425 President Clinton Ave., Little Rock, 850-0265, cachelittlerock.com. CAPITAL BAR & GRILL Since it reopened in 2007 after the Capital Hotel’s $24 million renovation, the Capital Bar has been the standard by which other cocktail bars in Central Arkansas are measured. Head bartender Tim Stramel has been on staff since just before the relaunch. The bar’s philosophy is straightforward, Stramel says: “We try to do the classics. We always use fresh juice and premium spirits

and try to do ’em right.” The Debutante (vodka, St-Germain, lime juice, grapefruit bitters and basil) and the Seersucker (CBG’s spin on the Sazerac), have been among the bar’s best sellers for years, but Stramel reports that on an average weekend night, nearly every table will have at least one brass mug carrying a Moscow Mule (vodka, ginger beer and lime juice) or one of the CBG’s many variations. When the weather is nice, take your drink to the hotel’s veranda and watch the downtown revelers go by. The state’s finest jazz trio, the Ted Ludwig Trio, plays from 7-10 p.m. Thursday through Saturday. It’s also hard to go wrong with food here. 111 W. Markham St., 370-7013, capitalbarandgrill.com. CAJUN’S Served in a large mason jar you can keep (with the Cajun’s logo etched into it), Cajun’s Play De Do is a twist on New Orleans’ Hurricane. There’s light rum, dark rum, pineapple juice, orange juice and grenadine for only $8.50 with an orange and lime wedge to boot. If you go weekdays during happy hour (4:30-7 p.m.) you can knock a dollar off the price. 2400 Cantrell Road, 375-5351, cajunswharf.com. CAÑON GRILL. This Kavanaugh mainstay’s been serving up standard Mexican fare in Hillcrest since 1998: cold beer and margaritas. It’s got Dos Equis and Flyway Brewery’s Bluewing Berry Wheat on tap, as well as the usual domestic suspects. For something with a higher ABV, there’s the classic lime margarita or a blue margarita, which manager Krista Belote calls “a little less tart, but a lot stronger,” or the Margarita Meltdown, a classic lime with a shot of raspberry, melon, peach, amaretto or orange liqueur poured on top. Happy hour lasts all day Saturday and Sunday. 2811 Kavanaugh Blvd., 6642068, canongrill.net. CLUB SWAY. Club Sway owner/operator Jason Wiest didn’t hesitate when asked what the most popular drink at this vibrant downtown drag mecca was. “Red Bull and vodka, far and away,” he said. After all, you’ll need the energy; Sway’s bombastic monthly parties and drag shows are high-energy affairs, and that Red Bull may well be what keeps you shaking your ass on Sway’s multi-tiered dance floor far into the night. If energy drinks aren’t your style, try the “Sway Me” ($8), which Wiest says is “kind of our answer when people say, ‘Make me something fruity!’ ” Or try the bright green “Liquid Marijuana,” a dizzying blend of Midori, spiced rum, blue curacao and pineapple juice. If you make it to Sway on Saturday’s Latin nights, you can pick up a creamy shot of Rum Chata, a spiced rum liqueur that’s well on its

way to becoming the new Fireball. 412 S. Louisiana St., 777-5428, clubsway.com. COPPER GRILL A rosé sangria on Copper Grill’s spacious patio, camped out in the sort of luxurious patio furniture your rich friends have out by their pool, on the outskirts of the River Market district? We’ll take it. Or if the sun is still blazing, Copper has comfy chairs and a sleek bar inside, too. Plus, a wine list that’s gotten acclaim from Wine Spectator. 300 E. Third St., 375-3333, coppergrilllr.com CIAO BACI A casual fine dining restaurant in a converted Craftsman-style house in Hillcrest, Ciao Baci’s wraparound porch is one of the finest places to drink a cocktail in the summer months. Grab a Naughty Lemonade and some tasty bar snacks on a Wednesday, when it’s happy hour all day. Excellent wine list, too. 605 Beechwood St., 603-0238, ciaobaci.org. CORE PUBLIC HOUSE Core brews its own up in Springdale, so that’s what this little storefront bar in Argenta — with its ping pong table and foosball table and lowlight, old-fashioned ambiance — serves. Most popular beer: Arkansas Red Ale. The hard cider is a good seller, too. FYI: The walls are hung with art by members of the Latino Art Project. 411 Main St., NLR, 372-1390, @corepubargenta. CRAZEE’S CAFE On Cantrell since 1997,

H NIGHTLY SPECIALS H MONDAYS

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Happy Hour Drafts & Wells all night. $6.95 Grilled Chicken Club

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HIGH SPIRITS, CONT. Crazee’s is another of the blink-andyou’ll-miss-it places that have cultivated a loyal clientele as a quiet spot to catch a meal with a drink after a long workday. It has a full bar, but mostly serves wine and suds, with four brews on tap. The regulars keep coming back to what owner Linda Houff calls “the kind of place where everybody blends in.” Her motto: If it ain’t broke, don’t fix it. 7626 Cantrell Road, Little Rock, 221-9696. CREGEEN’S For the heat of summer, the Irish pub is going South Seas with the Bikini Bottom: a layered beer with Ace pineapple cider on the bottom and Guinness up top. No coddin’! 301 Main St., 376-7468, cregeens.com. CRUSH WINE BAR On a hot Friday night, the proprietor of this friendly, low-lit little hole in the wall will offer you a “cold glass of Argenta’s best tap water,” help you select a wine from his broad menu and suggest the best tapas to go with. There is great variety in labels and prices; you might enjoy a glass of Cline Old Vines Zinfandel from California or a New Zealand Sauvignon Blanc for a reasonable $7 or order a bottle of Silver Oak Cabernet for $120. The back garden, planted in grape vines, will set the mood. 318 N. Main St., NLR, 374-9463, @crushwinelr. DAMGOODE RIVER MARKET Try one of the local mini-pizza empire’s three Damgoode Brews staples — Red Ribbon Golden Ale, Arkansas Amber and Damgoode Pale Ale — along with a rotation of specials at the River Market brewpub (and the other Damgoode locations). The deck is highly coveted during concerts at the First Security Amphitheatre. 500 President Clinton Ave., 664-2239, damgoodepies. DEL FRISCO’S GRILLE This national chain can seat 30 at its bar and there are “quite a few regulars,” bartender Shannon Newcomb says. Those who imbibe split between beer and booze; a favorite of the latter is the VIP, which is a vodka infused [with] pineapple martini. Here’s the recipe: Cut up a gold pineapple and soak in Clementine vodka for 14 days, strain through cheesecloth, serve. “I tell people it is dangerously delicious,” Newcomb says. Showoffs can order an ounce and a half of Macallan 25 single malt whiskey for $155. Promenade at Chenal, 448-2631, delfriscosgrille.com. DISCOVERY Little Rock’s legendary, 40-plus-year-old LGBT club — known affectionately as simply “Disco” — has trended toward an inclusive “alternative club” clientele in recent years, with drink specials, dancing and drag shows in three big rooms in a cavernous warehouse space in Riverdale. With one of the city’s vanishingly rare 5 a.m. club permits, it’s 16

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great for drinking with friends until the dawn’s early light. 1021 Jessie Road, Little Rock, 6644784, latenightdisco. com. DIZZY’S GYPSY BISTRO One of the friendliest restaurants in the River Market district, Dizzy’s has quirky decor and carefully constructed dishes that pair well with their equally quirky slate of signature cocktails: For example, limoncello martinis, basil and orange mojitos, and a drink called the “Big Menage a Trois Chill,” made with red wine, blueberries and Bing cherries. Two dozen beers, a 30-label slate of owner Darla Huie’s favorite wines (available by the bottle or glass), plus a small selection of sherries and ports mean there’s something for anyone in the mood to drink. There’s covered street-side dining for people-watching, too. 200 River Market Ave., 375-3500, dizzysgypsybistro.net. DUGAN’S PUB Part of the area’s three-leaf clover of Irish bars — along with Cregeen’s and Hibernia — Dugan’s understandably sells a lot of Guinness and Jameson’s, but is no slouch on the craft beer, wine and mixed-drink front. Try its Irish Mule, an Emerald Isle take on the more familiar Moscow variety, with Irish whiskey instead of vodka. The peoplewatching at Third and Rock ain’t bad, either, and the large street-corner patio is dog friendly, so you can get sloshed with your best friend. 401 E. Third St., 244-0542, duganspublr.com. ELECTRIC COWBOY Electric Cowboy sounds like a fantasy invented by a middle-school boy, but it’s real. It’s open until about 5 a.m. Beer can be pretty cheap: It’s usually between $1 and $2, depending on the night’s special. The main thing is to know what to do after you’ve had a few: dance, dance, dance. 9515 I-30, 562-6000, electriccowboy.com/littlerock. ENVY NIGHTCLUB The name changed several years back, but the nightclub formerly known as Elevations maintained a longtime formula: big dance floor, Saturday night “sexy dress” contests and hours that stretch to the early morning. 7200 Col. Glenn Road, 569-9113, @envy. littlerock ERNIE BIGGS Sing along to songs you know with people from near and far. 327 President Clinton Ave., 372-4782, erniebiggs. com. THE FADED ROSE I asked a guy at The Faded Rose bar about how long he’d been drinking there and he laughed a bit. “I’ve been a regular so long I can’t remember,” he said. This isn’t the type of bar where you come for a specialty

SIP AND SLIDE: Line dancers at the Electric Cowboy (above), and the frozen margaritas from Baja Grill.

drink; it’s for folks who know what they want and trust the longtime bartenders to make it right. It’s also a place where it won’t be long before it’s your regular haunt: “You can become a regular after two visits,” said Jay Jennings, an editor at Oxford American magazine who was helping a reporter get to know the place. Jennings used to come here with Charles Portis, the legendary writer based in Little Rock, and chat about mostly anything but writing. He pointed out an Englishman’s towel behind the bar that a patron used to stretch out as if he were in a pub. On the bar are two small gold plaques to commemorate where two former regulars used to sit (you’d get up if you saw them coming). There are $7-$8 drinks, like rye whiskey (for the “refined palate,” the manager told me) and a good wine selection. During happy hour on Monday, most folks were drinking bottled domestics for about $3. 1619 Rebsamen Park Road, 663-9734, thefadedrose.com FLYING SAUCER DRAUGHT EMPORIUM. The River Market’s longest wall o’ beer boasts 75 beers on tap and around 150 more brews in bottles, general manager Jason Davenport told us. We asked him if there was anything on tap that might be hard to find elsewhere. “That’s probably half the wall,” he answered. He should know, too — Davenport’s been working there for nine years, enough time to have accrued three wall saucers with his name on them, designating that he’s tasted over 600 beers there as part of the Emporium’s “UFO Club.” So what are people drinking this summer? “A lot of people are drinking seasonally, so that means wheat beers, Berliner Weisses, Gose.” The chain, with locations in Missouri, Tennessee, Texas and the Carolinas, has been in Little Rock since 1998. 323 President Clinton Ave., 372-8032, beerknurd.com. FLYWAY BREWING This popular North Little Rock brewery and tasting room does all sorts of styles right, but it’s increasingly known for its Bluewing Berry Wheat, an American wheat with blueberries added after fermentation. Since Flyway introduced it as a seasonal, it’s been far and away the brewery’s biggest seller. Now it’s being canned and widely distributed in Central Arkansas. 314 Maple St., NLR, 812-3192, flywaybrewing.com THE FOLD BOTANAS & BAR The bar at The Fold is meant to conjure up a relaxing day on a Caribbean beach: Sun, sand, blue ocean, bay scallops and a watermelon mojito or a strawberry-infused margarita. Another cocktail tips its hat to international waters: The Francophone, which is a combination of cucumber sake, gin, lime juice and agave, served in a

glass gift-wrapped in the funny papers and garnished with a flower and a lime. That’s not all! The Fold also has a drink named after a bartender’s three-legged dog: The Three Paws Tippin. The TPT — vodka, lemon juice, agave and Aperol — is served in a tulip glass and topped with gummy bears. “We try not to take ourselves too seriously,” bartender Rob Armstrong says. There are beers on tap here, of course, including local brews, “but we’re a tequila/mezcal bar at heart,” Armstrong said. 3501 Old Cantrell Road, 916-9706, thefoldlr.com FOUR QUARTER BAR The still newish Argenta watering hole hits all the right notes, with an understated but classic decor, scads of local beers on tap (plus Pabst and other commercial faves), shuffleboard, dominos, a copper-topped bar that looks like it’s been there since Hector was a pup and a cozy patio out back that seats 25. Four Quarter has become a fixture of the Argenta live music scene, with an eclectic mix of bands appearing Thursday through Saturday nights. Bar manager Jimmy Young said the place is also a favorite for those seeking latenight eats, with both booze and food served until last call at 1:30 a.m. 415 Main St., North Little Rock, 313-4704, fourquarterbar.com. FOX AND HOUND With 27 draft beers between $3.75 and $7, Fox and Hound is a solid place for lubricated game-watching. If it’s on a Tuesday, you’re in for a real treat: Drafts are just $2 and there’s karaoke. If you’re looking for something more, consider the Kryptonite Margarita, served in a giant martini glass for $5 during happy hour. It’s Cuervo Gold tequila, triple sec, pineapple juice, sweet and sour mix and Midori liqueur. 2800 Lakewood Village Drive, 753-8300, foxandhound.com. GRUMPY’S TOO A classic neighborhood bar and grill hidden off the well-trod path, Grumpy’s Too features pool, darts and shuffleboard, plus a nice selection of one-of-a-kind cocktails, including the

Little Rock Old Fashioned, made with Rock Town rye; the Beggar’s Market, made with Maker’s Mark, pale ale and maple syrup; and a Bloody Mary made of hot-pepper-infused-vodka with Jamaican jerk spice on the rim. Old faves like the Moscow Mule and rum swizzle are here, too. Dine on salads, appetizers, burgers, sandwiches and flatbreads. 801 Green Mountain Drive, 225-3768, grumpystoo.com. GUSANO’S A popular River Market district pizza place that does big bar business, too, especially when there’s a big game or UFC fight on. Its big sellers are local brews like Lost Forty and Diamond Bear. 313 President Clinton Ave., 374-1441, gusanospizza.net. HEIGHTS TACO AND TAMALE CO. Get some chips and Ark-Mex-style cheese dip and a frozen margarita or mojito and watch the Kavanaugh crowd from the patio bar. Or mix it up with a new spin on an old favorite: The HT&TEA features bourbon mixed with the restaurant’s house-made tesote, a blend of black tea, juice, mint and honey. It’s like a boozy sweet tea. 5805 Kavanaugh Blvd., 313-4848, facebook.com/heightstaco. HERITAGE GRILLE STEAK AND FIN This bar next to the lobby restaurant (not to be confused with the private lounge for Marriott Silver Elite members) gets its customers mostly from hotel guests in the evening, but the general public stops in around lunch. The specialty drinks include the popular Heritage Mule (Crown Royal, orange bitters, ginger beer and fresh lime) and the aptly named La Petite Roche, which, thanks to its mixture of Bacardi, Capt. Morgan and Myers rums with a splash of pineapple juice and grenadine, may get you a little stoned. You can nosh at the bar. Little Rock Marriott, 3 Statehouse Plaza, 399-8000, heritagegrillelittle rock.com. HIBERNIA IRISH TAVERN Buried in a nondescript strip mall alongside a Goodwill outlet and an adult toy and lingerie

store, Hibernia Irish Tavern is a dive-bar gem of a place. Dark, cozy and quiet, it is reportedly the only Irish tavern in the state run by a born-and-bred Irishman: Gerry Ward, who came to Arkansas via New York after bidding the Emerald Isle goodbye in search of greener pastures. Not just a place to get a Guinness, Hibernia has distinguished itself over the last three years as one of the primary incubators for new standup comics in the area, with its weekly Thursday night comedy open mic night. Started by the late Little Rock comic Billy the Pirate and now hosted by comedian Paul Hodge, Hibernia’s open mic draws over a dozen would-be comedians to the stage every week, with skill levels ranging from the outright terrible to ready-for-prime time. Longtime Hibernia waitress Sarah Garber says, “One of the comedians calls us the ‘Comic Gym.’ It’s a place where you can work out, try new material, and then maybe move on to The Loony Bin and some of the other, bigger venues.” Signup is promptly at 7:45 p.m., with the show starting at 8 and running until the last rimshot. If comedy isn’t your thing, the bar also hosts a weekly singer/songwriter open mic night on Tuesday nights. 9700 N. Rodney Parham Road, Little Rock, 246-4340, hiberniairishtavern.com. HILLCREST FOUNTAIN Drinking at the Fountain — whether in the fresh breeze of the outdoor porch with its patented view of the Kroger parking lot or in the smoky pool hall up front — is not about special drinks. It’s mostly about good people, behind and in front of the bar, bartender Richard Dean says. But, the beer and wine can be sneakily enjoyable. Consider a $7 glass of Calcu Rosé or a $5 SweetWater Blueberry Wheat. Or, just kick back with those friends and grab a Miller Lite for $3.50. 2809 Kavanaugh Blvd., @thehillcrestfountain. JIMMY DOYLE’S COUNTRY CLUB At the bar, a reporter turned down a cigarette offered by a truck driver from Austin

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HIGH SPIRITS, CONT.

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ARKANSAS TIMES

who, smiling, said he was not a longtime patron — this was his first time at Jimmy Doyle’s — but he wished he were. There’s a truck stop next to the bar, so this could be a common sentiment of visitors to one of the last real honky tonks. “In the peak years, some 20 years ago,” wrote former Times reporter Will Stephenson in his profile of the place and its owner, Jimmy Doyle, “they say you had to show up early to even get in the door.” But, a group walked in on a Saturday with ease and went to one of quite a few empty tables right at the edge of the dance floor. The wood-paneled dance floor was almost empty; a few couples were spinning together. The men in cowboy hats moved with a controlled grace. “Friday nights are for karaoke, Saturdays are for the house band. There are no other nights,” as Stephenson wrote. The specialty, the bartender Dwight says, is the OH MY GOD shot: Parrot Bay, Bacardi 151, grenadine and cranberry and pineapple juices. It’s pink, smooth and fun. He made it by accident, served it, and a woman liked it so much she shouted, “OH MY GOD, that’s good!” 11800 Maybelline Road, 945-9042, cash only. JOUBERT’S Guinness is on tap at Joubert’s, $4 at night and $3.50 with the sun out. While you drink, you can admire the mural of bears in love (really, really in love). Folks are friendly and there are usually some sports on the TV, making it a nice spot for a beer after a long day. 7303 Kanis Road, 664-9953. KHALIL’S It’s the near-picture perfect corner bar where everybody knows your name, smack in the heart of West Little Rock, featuring cozy pub decor, flaming hearths in the winter, high-backed chairs and a well-attended karaoke scene on the weekends. Don’t forget to throw a leg over the handlebar-mustacheshaped teeter-totter, which has likely given more drunk folks a ride over the years than that ex you hate. 110 S. Shackleford Road, 224-0224, khalilspub.com KINGS LIVE MUSIC Kings has become known for its diverse music lineup and emphasis on local bands and songwriters, and the booze selection stays close to home, too. Kings keeps a stash of Rocktown Distillery goods on the shelf — the Rocktown basil, mandarin orange and grapefruit vodkas, as well as the Apple Pie Moonshine, which you can get for $4 a shot. Kings employee Brittany Labat reports the bar has been selling a lot of Flyway’s Bluewing Berry Wheat these days, with the Diamond Bear Pale Ale and Lost Forty Love Honey Bock as close runners-up. 1020 Front St., Conway, 205-8512, kingslivemusic.com. LA TERRAZA RUM AND LOUNGE The

perfect spot for those who love them some rum, La Terraza features 20 different types of the sugarcane-based spirit, with different varieties available for tastings in flights of three or five. Befitting its signature liquor, La Terraza is best known for standout mojitos, offering several variations on the sweet and minty cocktail. 3000 Kavanaugh Blvd., Suite No. 202, 251-8261. LOCAL LIME If you’ve tried the house margarita, regularly heralded by Arkansas Times readers in our annual Toast of the Town poll, and run through mezcal and tequila flights, and sipped a Mexican Mule or Pisco Sour (all on separate visits, of course), the brain trust at Local Lime recommends the Gin in Bloom, made with Uncle Val’s Botanical Gin, elderflower liqueur, house-made lavender simple syrup and lemon. 17809 Chenal Parkway, 448-2226, locallimetaco.com. LOST FORTY BREWING Look for the state’s largest brewery to continue to expand its year-round and seasonal offerings as it keeps growing. We’ve got our fingers crossed that its Snake Party Double IPA makes the jump to year-round rotation soon. In the meantime, stock up: It was just rereleased this week. It’s double dry hopped, double IPA brewed and dry hopped with citrusy Azacca hops. Pick some up after you grab a beer and some tasty pub-grub in the cavernous East Village taproom. 501 Byrd St., 3197275, lostfortybrewing.com. MAXINE’S The former brothel on Hot Springs’ Bathhouse Row that’s become known for its killer live music lineup, redlight vibe and enormous menu, is essentially a “bourbon bar,” bartender Tercero Munoz says: “We have about four times as much bourbon as anything else.” Locals also come in for the craft beer selection, much of which comes from Spa City locals Bubba Brews and Superior Bathhouse Brewery. Maxine’s offers a special Sunday brunch from noon to 5 p.m., and the Bloody Marys are a mere $5. If you’d rather drink your Sunday dinner, fork over an extra 3 bucks and get the Bloody Mary “loaded.” “There’s literally a garden on it,” Munoz said: A skewer balanced along the two ends of the glass rim comes stacked with olives, cheese, pepperoni, pickled okra, pickles, pearl onions, a piece of bacon and a small slice of pizza on the end. 700 Central Ave., Hot Springs, 321-0909, maxineslive.com. MELLOW MUSHROOM With 40 beers on draft and another 35 bottled, including most all of the local and regional brews you’d want, this pizza chain is a reliable West Little Rock watering hole, with great pizza, too. 16103 Chenal Parkway, 3799157, mellowmushroom.com.

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IT DOESN’T HAVE TO BE A BAR CHIPOTLE At Little Rock’s watering holes, everybody may know your name, but no one cares that you’re drinking, unless you are on the floor. But order an overpriced Patron tequila margarita at Chipotle for $7 and watch, in awe, as the clientele judges you (bonus points if you get one in the afternoon). As St. Augustine said of his infatuation with pears, “[It] pleased us all the more because it was forbidden.” Sweet transgression; oh sin, for sin’s sake. 100 S. University Ave, 404-2557. DICKEY-STEPHENS PARK Some folks go for the baseball, others because they like to drink outdoors. But to most of us, the call of “cold beer” and the sound of cracking bats is music to our ears. The beer garden has draft beer; local brews are available on the concourse as well. 400 W. Broadway St., NLR, 6641555. LEO’S GREEK CASTLE It’s rare you get to report cost in

the range of cents, but here goes: 75-cent PBR’s are served at Leo’s. This tiny Greek eatery is not a typical place to drink, but why not? Maybe you’ll be like Socrates, said to be able to “drink any quantity of wine and not be at all nearer being drunk.” Or if the Pabst catches up with you, maybe folks will say: “Will you have a very drunken man as a companion of your revels?” Either way works at Leo’s. 2925 Kavanaugh Blvd, 666-7414. PROFESSOR BOWL If it’s been a minute since you hit the lanes, here’s an extra incentive to step back out: Professor Bowl has a list of craft beers to rival any in town. That’ll help all those gutter balls go down easier. 901 Towne Oaks Drive, 224-9040, home. professorbowlwest.com. RIVERDALE 10 In an age of movies on your phone, going to the cinema can be a dip into pure luxury. Especially around Little Rock, where the Riverdale 10 and

other movie houses have tried to attract customers with big reclining leather seats. So, really go for it and get a beer or some wine. You’ll pay $7 for a 12-ounce beer ($10.75 for a 22-ounce). The wines are $7.50. Is that overpriced? Yes; it’s a movie theater. Honestly, it will help to be a little tipsy to get through the new “Transformers” movie. 2600 Cantrell Road, 296-9955, riverdale10.com TAQUERIA GUADALAJARA The micheladas at Taqueria Guadalajara — Clamato juice mixed with your beer of choice and spices — come in giant steins with Tajín seasoning around the rim. The micheladas are strong and the stein’s size is no joke: I’ve never been able to finish an entire drink in less than an hour’s meal. Best to enjoy this refreshing gulp with the cheap, cheap eats of the taqueria, on a long summer afternoon. 3813 Camp Robinson Road, 753-9991.

MIKE’S CAFE Enter Mike’s Cafe and you might think you’re in a nightclub. The foyer’s got everything a club entrance usually does: a little window where you’d show some beefed-up bruiser your ID, a liquor license taped to the wall. But don’t stop and wait to be seated. Push on and enter the full glory of Mike’s, with its white-curtained stage, where after 8 p.m. there will be a full-on light show and maybe someone singing karaoke. A neon-yellow board lists menu items and says “Well Come to Mike’s Cafe.” You’ve arrived: It’s not a nightclub or a surrealist painting or even a hipster dive bar. It’s just a solid Vietnamese restaurant with $3 Singha Gold and Tsingtao beers. Drink away, enter the void. 5501 Asher Ave., 562-1515. NORTH BAR Snee Dismang will mix you North Bar’s favorite drink: a combo of Grey Goose vodka and mango and pomegranate juice, a.k.a. the Park Hill martini. That’s the favorite; No. 2 is the Blueberry Lemon Drop, a blueberrymuddled vodka martini. The bar, which opened five months ago, has just added eight beer taps, bringing the total to 16. North Bar is proud of its culinary abilities, too: Check out the very tall fried chicken sandwich. 3812 John F. Kennedy Blvd., NLR, 420-1117, @501northbar. THE OHIO CLUB On Hot Springs’ famous Bathhouse Row since 1905, the building that houses The Ohio Club has been many things over the years — including, reportedly, a casino and brothel. But most enduringly, it’s been a bar. Even during Prohibition, says Ohio Club owner Mike Pettey, the joint housed a semiclandestine speakeasy frequented by mafiosi and baseball greats come down for spring training. The place still has that

classic speakeasy feel today. Its 15 sorts of suds on tap are heavy on Arkansasmade offerings, including a brew called Madden’s No. 1 from the Superior Bathhouse Brewery and named after famous mob boss Owney Madden. Nightly mu-

A BREW NAMED FOR A MOB BOSS: Brooks Brown presents a Madden No. 1, brewed by Hot Springs’ Superior Bathhouse Brewery.

sic year-round encourages Ohio Club patrons to rouge their knees and roll their stockings down, and all that jazz. Bonus: Pettey says try the Reuben sandwich, which he claims is the best in the nation. A bold claim, but then again, Hot Springs is built on ’em. 336 Central Ave., Hot Springs, 627-0702, theohioclub.com. OLD CHICAGO PIZZA AND TAPROOM An anomaly in once-dry-as-a-powderhouse Conway, Old Chicago is a temple of beers, with one of the broadest selec-

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COME VISIT WITH YOUR FAVORITE BARTENDERS 17815 Chenal Parkway • The Promenade At Chenal 501-830-2100 • www.thetavernsportsgrill.com Dine-in, Carry Out and Full Catering M-F 11am-2am, Sat 11am-1am, Sun 11am-Midnight 20

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tions of liquid bread between Little Rock and Fayetteville. It brings in artisan craft brews from as far away as Memphis, and rotates in at least a dozen new varieties at least twice a month to keep things interesting. 1010 Main St., Conway, 329-

6262, oldchicago.com/locations/Conway. ONE ELEVEN The Capital Hotel’s fine dining restaurant just unveiled a new cocktail menu. Head bartender Loic Lautredou predicts the new Thyme Basil Martini will be the big seller. “It’s very floral for the summer, very refreshing, with a not-toosweet finish,” he reports. 111 W. Markham St., 370-7011, onelevenatthecapital.com. THE OYSTER BAR This downhome eatery serves up just enough beer and wine to whet a whistle otherwise employed in lapping up gumbo or chowing down on a po’boy: On the beer side, it’s Lost Forty and Diamond Bear local brews, beers on draft and bottled ales. The black and tan — Bass Pale Ale and Guinness stout — is a favorite. There are six wines: three whites, three reds. 3003 W. Markham St., 666-7100, lroysterbar.com. THE PANTRY (11401 N. RODNEY PARHAM ROAD) AND THE PANTRY CREST (722 N. PALM ST.) David Timberlake (no relation to Justin, he says), who bartends at both of Tomas Bohm’s successful Czech/German restaurants, sees a difference in the West Little Rock crowd and the Hillcrest crowd. “Honestly, people are a bit apt to drink and stay longer,” consuming spirits, in Hillcrest; he thinks that’s because Hillcrest is a walking neighborhood, so folks can just stagger home on foot. The West Little Rock customers, an older group, drink more wine. The favored drink is the Old Fashioned; folks in Hillcrest also really like the mules: The Moscow made with

vodka, the Tennessee with bourbon and the Mexican with tequila. Another popular drink is the Negroni (equal parts gin, Campari and sweet vermouth) and the Boulevardier variation, which uses whiskey. Both restaurants have a separate bar area; Timberlake said, “We keep food and drink prices reasonable.” Happy hours are 4 p.m. to 6 p.m. and 10 p.m. to close. 353-1875 in WLR; 725-4945 in Hillcrest. littlerockpantry.com. PETIT & KEET The gourmand who enjoys a great meal at Petit & Keet will be tempted by the specialty cocktails from the huge bar, like the Smoking Gun, a blend of mezcal, pineapple juice and agave simple syrup. For Sonic soft drink aficianados, there is the surprising Cherry Limeade Mule, a blend of sweet, pucker and fizz. Enjoy on the patio or in the sleek dining room. 1620 Market St., 319-7676, @ petitandkeet. PIZZA D’ACTION PBR is $1.50. At this point, you should have put down the paper and headed over to the lovingly smoked-filled and above-ground cavern for a drink and a random conversation. If it’s Wednesday, grab a $3 Fireball shot with new friends or old. 2915 W. Markham St., 666-5403. THE PIZZERIA General manager and bartender Dillon Garcia is obsessed with craft cocktails, and he’s got a tattoo of a martini on his arm to prove it. At only 25, he’s also got a handful of mixology awards and a side business, Arkansas Mixology Associates, where he consults with bars around the state. But most nights you’ll find him at this Heights hotspot, mixing up classic cocktails — his Old Fashioned was excellent last time we were in — and dreaming up his own creations. Late night, 10-11 p.m. Tuesday through Thursday and 11 p.m.-midnight Friday and Saturday, is a particularly good time to drop in. It’s reverse happy hour and cocktails, featuring a high-end well (Jim Beam Black, Bombay Sapphire Gin, etc.), for only $5. 4910 Kavanaugh Blvd., 551-1388, facebook. com/pizzeriasantaluciaLR. PROST The calmer, loungy cousin to Willy D’s and Deep, two bars that are connected to Prost via a hallway and stairs. With a strong beer menu and plenty of TVs. 322 President Clinton Blvd. THE RAB While the bar side of things at The RAB doesn’t sound like it’s going to set the world on fire, with the standard foreign and domestic beers on tap and bartenders willing to whip up a cocktail or mixed drink, there is a draw: pool. A classic bar/pool hall that draws everyone from college kids to retirees, The RAB features eight competition-grade Diamond Billiard pool tables, and hosts both league nights and a weekly 8-ball tournament on Friday that attracts up to

serving better than bar food all night long 7/1 Black Oak Arkansas 7/2 Doug Dicharry 7/6 Nick Brumley 7/7 Goodfoot 7/8 MotherFunkShip 7/13 Okilly Dokilly 7/14 Brian Nahlen Band 7/15 Mike Dillon Band 7/21 Magnolia Brown 7/22 ClusterPluck

Open until 2am every night! 415 Main St North Little Rock • (501) 313-4704 • fourquarterbar.com

Little Rock’s Most Award-Winning Restaurant 1619 REBSAMEN RD. 501.663.9734 thefadedrose.com

Little Rock’s Down Home Neighborhood Bar Join us for live music, good times and more! (501) 375-8400 2500 W 7th St • Little Rock, AR 72205 www.whitewatertavern.com arktimes.com JUNE 29, 2017

HIGH SPIRITS, CONT. 40 competitors, according to bartender Flip Tindall. If pool isn’t your thing, there are 12 TVs, and you can always spend your time drinkin’ if you feel behind the eight ball. 408 Hwy. 65 N, Conway, 336-8484 RADUNO Is there a better Little Rock bar — like the actual bar top — than Raduno’s marble counter? We haven’t found it. Like the cool stone, the SoMa spot’s new cocktail menu is a summertime dream. We were particularly taken by the Hummingbird (vodka, honey, lavender syrup and lemon juice) and will be back for Summer in SoMa (gin, grapefruit liqueur and watermelon juice) and a spin on the Pimm’s Cup. 1318 Main St., 374-7476, radunolr.com. REBEL KETTLE Complimentary popcorn, a new outdoor stage, tasty Cajun-tinged pub grub and 16 beers on tap — what more could you want from your local brewpub? The blonde ale Working Glass Hero is a good starting place for newbies; it’s long been the brewery’s best seller. The week of the Fourth of July, look out for the rerelease of the hugely popular Summer Jam, a raspberry sour saison. Every week, head brewer and co-owner John Lee is cooking up something new. 822 E. Sixth St., 374-2791, rebelkettle.com. REVOLUTION REV ROOM knows how to name drinks: The bar menu includes a “Latin Kiss,” a “Fuzzy Thing” and something called “Dirty Juan Pedro’s Bloody Buddy.” There are over a dozen types of tequila, and you can supercharge your drinks with a “fruit fusion” puree — lemon basil, blackberry tangerine, pineapple vanilla bean, watermelon mint or mango chili Sriracha. 823-0090, 300 President Clinton Ave., revroom.com. RISTORANTE CAPEO To match its top-notch fine dining menu, Ristorante Capeo’s wine list features over 125 labels, most by the bottle or glass, with prices ranging from cheap enough for Thursday night dinner to once-a-year special occasion rare. There’s beer and a full bar, too. 425 Main St., North Little Rock, 376-3463, capeo.us. ROCKY’S CORNER A good place to drink off the sting of a losing streak at Oaklawn Racing & Gaming across the street — or buy a round if your horse comes in — Rocky’s Corner bills itself as a family-friendly joint that’s not afraid to have some fun. On tap are over a dozen beers and signature mixed drinks, including the Cannella ($7.50), featuring spiced rum, butterscotch schnapps, Kahlua and half and half, which bartender Andrew Carney swears tastes like “a cinnamon roll in a glass.” 2600 Central Ave., Hot Springs, 624-0199, rockyscornerhotsprings.com SAMANTHA’S TAP ROOM & WOOD GRILL As the name implies, Samantha’s is tap happy, with at least 10 wines and 23 beers on tap, including Arkansas craft brews from Core, 22

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Bubba Brews, Diamond Bear, Flyway, Lost Forty, Ozark, Rebel Kettle and Stone’s Throw. The fanciest wine: Witchery Reserve blend ($65 a bottle). The strongest brew: Rebel Kettle’s Alphaholic (8.5 percent alcohol). Favorite mixed drinks: The blood orange and basil margarita and the White Linen (cucumber-infused vodka and St-Germain elderflower liqueur). 322 Main St., 379-8019, samstap.com. SILK’S AT OAKLAWN At Silk’s you can order beer by the yard. That is, you can order a 96-ounce draft beer — advertised as two yards worth — for $21. Or you can go for the more tame 20-ounce drafts,

honey, orange, lemon, lime and mint — is a crowd favorite. 1304 Main St., 244-9660, southonmain.com. SOUTHERN TABLE In July, when winemaker Margie Raimondo opens her “board and bites” restaurant in the space where cheesemaker Kent Walker once held forth, she’ll be serving her own and other small farm wines and local beers, including brews from Lost Forty and Flyway. She’ll also offer a Brewed Mary (a Bloody Mary made with beer instead of vodka), a seasonal sangria and sparkling wine cocktails. If you want to stay virgin, try Raimondo’s special tea. All will pair with her boards

A FULL MEAL: The Loaded Bloody Mary at Maxine’s in Hot Springs.

domestics at $4.25 and crafts at $5.50. All are a good bet. 2705 Central Ave., Hot Springs, 623-4411, oaklawn.com. SO RESTAURANT-BAR What is so special about So? The Hillcrest stalwart “definitely has the best wine list in town,” bartender Justin Butler boasts. It’s also got Butler’s colleague Veo Tyson, perennial winner or finalist as the best bartender in Little Rock in the Arkansas Times’ annual Toast of the Town. Killer bar menu, too: BBQ chicharrones; a bacon, egg and cheese; Alaskan King Crab? Yes, please. 3610 Kavanaugh Blvd. 663-1464. sorestaurantbar.com SOUTH ON MAIN Bar manager Sarah Harrington, who spent a good amount of time working closely with former bar manager David Burnette before he took off for Ciao Baci, has mixed up some sparkling summer cocktail offerings: The Evening in Missoula — a blend of vodka, herbal tea,

cker, sort of like an adult Orange Julius. It’ll run you $5 during happy hour and $6 regularly. July’s Beer of the Month selection ($3.50 per pint) is the Lagunitas Pilsner, and you’ll also find the Lagunitas IPA, Fat Tire, Diamond Bear Pale Ale, SweetWater 420, Lost Forty Honey Bock, Stella Artois and Flyway Brewery Bluewing Berry Wheat on tap. 107 River Market Ave., 3727707, stickyz.com. STONE’S THROW BREWING Amadeus Vienna Lager is the beloved Ninth Street brewery’s best seller, and you’ll find it, along with Common Sense California Common and Shamus Oatmeal Stout,

ALWAYS A DEAL: Cheap PBR at White Water Tavern.

of cheese and charcuterie and various tapas supplied by local farmer’s markets. Think “shared menu type of environment,” Raimondo said, for shared fun among friends. 323 Cross St., 379-9111, southerntablefoods.com. SPECTATORS Spectators wears the neighborhood vibe with ease. But unlike many neighborhood joints, it does so without being too small to fit in even a block’s worth of friends. Over spacious tables and among a mid-life-crisis-level garage sale of items on the wall, enjoy an Arkansasbased beer on tap for only $5. This is a place to come after work and stay like you’re home. 1012 W. 34th St., NLR, 7910990, spectatorsgrillandpub.com. STICKYZ ROCK ’N’ ROLL CHICKEN SHACK. This River Market district staple makes chicken its bread and butter, so the standout cocktail here is the Frozen Motherclu-

on tap year-round along with a rotating cider selection and three seasonals that change every three months. 4402 E. Ninth St., 501-244-9154, stonesthrowbeer.com. TABLE 28 Table 28 has the elevated feel without the price. During happy hour (46:30 p.m. weekdays), swing by for $5 wine, $2 domestic beers and the well-known cucumber martini for $9. The cucumber gin is made in-house and mixed with elderflower liqueur, a little lemon juice and champagne. 1501 Merrill Drive. (attached to the Burgundy Hotel), 224-2828, theburgundyhotel.com. TACO MAMA The house margarita is definitely the ticket at Taco Mama, head bartender Holli Faulknor reports. Why? “There’s not a bottle of sweet and sour in the house. All of our margaritas are made with fresh-squeezed juices,” Faulknor says. Get ’em on the rocks or frozen. We

can vouch for Faulknor’s estimation; Taco Mama’s margarita was an obvious fan favorite at the Arkansas Times Margarita Festival. From 3 p.m. to 6 p.m. weekdays, all drinks and appetizers are a dollar off. 1209 Malvern Ave., Hot Springs, 624-6262, tacomama.net. THE TAVERN SPORTS GRILL A craft-beer oasis in far West Little Rock, The Tavern features 16 beers on tap. Most of the biggest names in local craft brewing are represented, including Core, Flyway, Lost Forty and others. Try a few with the applewood-smoked chicken wings, which owner Ryan Brown said have won national

awards, including a spot on USA Today’s list of the best wings in the nation. 17815 Chenal Parkway, Little Rock, 830-2100, thetavernsportsgrill.com TC’S MIDTOWN GRILL There aren’t many bars where you might be served by Alfred, Lord Tennyson’s sixth great-grandson, but TC’s is one. Or at least that’s what barkeep Nathan Tennyson says. TC’s Tennyson creates a different kind of poetry, like his “Sex with the Bartender” and “Loudmouth Bitch” drinks. Seems like he’s aiming for the female market with his concoctions of Watermelon Pucker plus a banana liqueur, orange juice and a Tropical Red Bull (“Sex”) and coconut rum, peach schnapps, pineapple and orange juices and grenadine (“Bitch”). More patrons of this smoking bar are going for beers, Tennyson said, including locals Lost Forty, Rebel Kettle, Flyway and Diamond Bear.

Restaurant servers get a special membership that reduces the prices of drinks at this private club. TC’s is also known for its hamburgers. 1611 E. Oak St., Conway, 205-0576, tcsmidtown.com. THIRST N’ HOWL Let yourself relax with an Absolute Stress Reliever for $8 at Thirst N’ Howl. It’s got Absolut vodka, Peachtree liqueur, Malibu and Myers rum, and orange, pineapple and cranberry juices. Drink it and bob your head to the local live music — a West Little Rock version of transcendental meditation. 14710 Cantrell Road, 379-8189, thirst-n-howl.com. TOWN PUMP About 10 minutes before the doors opened for lunch at 11 a.m. on a Friday morning, regulars were leaning on the wall outside waiting to get into this Riverdale dive. Bartender and server Sydney Daniels, who’s been there four years, knew them all by name, and feigned surprise when one of them asked to see a menu. “You don’t know it already?” she chided. Daniels pointed out some patron favorites from the beer list, which boasts over 37 brews in cans or bottles and Lagunitas IPA, Angry Orchard, Lost Forty Honey Bock, Shiner Bock, Dos Equis and, of course, Bud Light, on tap. “Tuesday is karaoke night,” she said, “so our $3 well drinks are popular. And the SweetWater beers are popular right now. They’re out of Atlanta.” She produced two plastic containers from under the bar. “$2 Jello shots all the time. Right now, we have lemon and strawberry.” In summer months, she said, people turn to cocktails with Tito’s and Deep Eddy vodkas with grapefruit juice or lemonade. She mixed a small sample of something called “Red Tea,” a bright pink blend of Jameson, peach schnapps and cranberry juice. “It tastes like Kool-Aid,” she said, and it does. It’s dangerously easy to drink, and even as a sip, probably a bad idea before noon. The regulars seemed to agree; they paired their burgers with a sensible Pabst Blue Ribbon. 663-9802. 1321 Rebsamen Park Road. U.S. PIZZA If you enjoy sitting on a patio and drinking, you probably already know this: U.S. Pizza has some of the best happy hour specials around. At all locations, select drafts are $2 on Tuesday and $2.50 on Thursday. On Saturday and Sunday,

Bloody Marys are $3, mimosas are $2 and champagne buckets with a carafe of orange juice are just $7.49. Brunch runs 10 a.m. to 2:30 p.m. Many locations all over Central Arkansas. uspizzaco.net. VINO’S BREWPUB What do you get at a brewpub? Brew, of course. Vino’s four mainstays are Firehouse Pale Ale, Pinnacle IPA, Six Bridges Cream Ale and Lazy Boy Stout, but brewer Hunter Tackett has got a batch of Rainbow Wheat coming on for the summer. Vino’s also sells beer by the growler. Oh, yes, you can get a glass of wine here, too. 823 W. Seventh St., 375-8466, vinosbrewpub.com. THE WATER BUFFALO TAPROOM While many homebrewers long to see the name of their beloved custom suds on a tap handle in a real bar somewhere, it’s rare for those dreams to come true: It’s a costly leap from stovetop to commercial brewing. Rare doesn’t mean never, however, as proven by the offerings at The Water Buffalo’s taproom. The Water Buffalo, which started out as a beer and winemaking supplies store, opened a taproom in October 2016, allowing customers to both buy craft beer and the goodies to make their own in one stop. Among the 16 beers (and one root beer) on offer, there are also brews by what he calls the cooperative: a unique-in-theregion arrangement in which four former Water Buffalo customers have, through an agreement with Buffalo Brewing Co., effectively gone pro. Since he sells the supplies, Nolen Buffalo knows who is making good homebrew and winning brewing contests. The four homebrewers are now distributing commercially under the Buffalo Brewing Co. name. But don’t go rushing down to the Water Buffalo with a growler of your favorite sure-fire recipe under your arm, hoping to make the team. Buffalo said the cooperative’s roster is full right now, though he’s likely to extend invitations to more homebrewers in the future. 106 S. Rodney Parham Road, 725-5296, thewaterbuffalo.com. WEST END SMOKEHOUSE & TAVERN A relaxed and comfortable place to meet and greet in West Little Rock — or to catch a game on one of its 50 televisions — West End features a big (and cheap) selection of over 50 beers, heavy

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on well-known foreigns and domestics. Rounding out the menu are 10 wines by the bottle or glass, plus a half-dozen signature cocktails (none over $7.50) and another half-dozen cocktails built around the Red Bull energy drink, for when you want both up and down in the same glass. 215 N. Shackleford Road, 224-7665, westendsmokehouse.net. WHITE WATER TAVERN The best damn bar anywhere does not do cocktails more complicated than whiskey and Coke. There’s no blender and, as far as anyone can remember, there never has been. After Matt White and Sean Hughes and others bought the bar 10 years ago, the bar sold something like 400 percent more Jameson than it had before they took over. “Maybe because we’re getting old,” White, 34, says of his cohort. “But people don’t drink Jameson like they used to.” Fireball has become a go-to. Go figure. But forever and ever, the best-selling drink and the one we always turn to when we’re stomping along to live music is Pabst Blue Ribbon: It’s only $1.50 — among the best regular beer deals in town. 2500 W. Seventh St., 3758400, whitewatertavern.com. WILLY D’S Another longtime River Market piano bar (the other is Ernie Biggs), where locals and tourists congregate to get sloppy and sing. Bonus points: The nightclub Deep is in the basement. 322 President Clinton Ave., 244-9550, willydspianobar.com. ZIN URBAN Wine flights, three half-glasses providing a few tastes of this specialty spot for between $12-$16, are the trick at Zin Urban. The Call Me a Cab — a trio of Cabernets — is a favorite, but ask the bartender, who should be full of good suggestions. 300 River Market Ave., 2464876, zinlr.com. ZACK’S PLACE Another local haunt whose bar side caters to those looking for a classic neighborhood feel, Zack’s has been open since 1988, and features a full bar plus 14 beers on tap, heavy on domestic brews like Bud and Bud Light, plus a nice selection of dark beers. Drink up while watching any of 25 TVs, going Minnesota Fats on one of the three pool tables or throwing bullseyes on one of the five dartboards. 1400 S. University Ave., 664-6444, @zacksplace. ZAZA We’ve long made stops at ZAZA just to get a scoop of impossibly creamy gelato on a hot summer night. Now there’s a new attraction: the F’Rosé (frozen rosé wine). The grown-up slushy will be available at the Conway and Heights locations through the summer. Beer and wine and margaritas are here, too. 5600 Kavanaugh Blvd., 661-9292; 1050 Ellis Ave., Conway. zazapizzaandsalad.com. arktimes.com JUNE 29, 2017

Arts Entertainment AND

HERE’S A QUARTER A look at Little Rock’s jukeboxes. BY GLEN HOOKS

lmost 25 years ago, I picked the wrong jukebox song (“Why Would You Eat Your Grits Anyplace Else?”) at a Little Rock Waffle House. The waitress stared me down menacingly and said, “I’ve been here 11 years. See that cook? He’s been here 13 years. Never. Play. That. Song. Again.” I chuckled, but she wasn’t kidding. I love everything about a jukebox. The surprise of stumbling upon one. The ritual of paying and choosing. Even saying the word “jukebox” is a delight; the word is one of those rare compounds that reveals its own definition. Somewhere between the j and the x is the slyly whispered promise: “Pssst … here’s a box that’ll make you dance, kids. Feed it money.” Jukeboxes pulsate with both potential and peril, and their rarity in 2017 gives them an air of times past; kids today don’t know the accidental joy of exploring a total stranger’s musical collection, of entering an unfamiliar diner or bar and flip-flipping through the choices. They don’t know the flirty gamble of giving a new date one of your crisp American dollars and asking her to pick something out as an early taste test to see whether or not she’s your particular brand of hot sauce. Little Rock has several magical jukeboxes that are snapshots of a spot’s personality. The Sims Barbecue loca24

JUNE 29, 2017

ARKANSAS TIMES

tion at 2405 Broadway Ave. boasts an older Rowe AMI Starlight model, packed with classic blues, soul and R&B favorites. (For those of us who frequented the long-gone Sims location at 33rd and Arch, this is the exact same machine we knew and loved.) A waitress tells me that the most-played artists are Johnnie Taylor, B.B. King and Luther Vandross, but she finds herself most frequently playing a “Blues Is Alright” compilation to keep things fresh. Bonus: While the jukebox was pay-activated at the old location, all selections are free here on Broadway. Over my plate of chicken, beans and potato salad, I spend the silence in between tracks listening to what Sims is like without the music. The barbecue is still delicious. The waitresses are still friendly. But without Z.Z. Hill or Bobby Bland growling in the background, this place would be missing an ingredient nearly as essential as the brown sugar in the Sims sauce. Over at the White Water Tavern (2500 W. Seventh St.), the jukebox offerings lean more toward Americana, alt-country and classic punk. Live music is in the DNA of the late-night scene here, as is loyalty, and the stickered-up Rowe AMI Encore machine boasts a fantastic collection of bands that have played at WWT over the years, plus a healthy helping of those

ROCK CANDY

‘MUDDY WATERS FOREVER’: The jukebox at the White Water Tavern is stocked with cuts from Nina Simone, Jimbo Mathus and The Salty Dogs.

Check out the Times’ A&E blog arktimes.com

BRIAN CHILSON

A&E NEWS who have influenced them. You’ll find local acts like Kevin Kerby and The Moving Front sharing space with the likes of Townes Van Zandt, Buddy Guy and The Pogues. True to its dive bar roots, a wrinkled dollar bill and a press of the jukebox’s “POPULAR” button cues up a double shot of BachmanTurner Overdrive (“Blue Collar”) and Thin Lizzy (“Jailbreak”). When asked about her favorite choices, happy hour bartender Marianne Taylor wastes no time. “Amy Garland, Amy’s husband’s band The Salty Dogs, Billy Joe Shaver, Al Green. … I play some Lucinda Williams for sure.” It’s a perfect answer for a White Water Tavern denizen, and variations abound. The regulars are true fans and the playlist reflects that. Proprietor Matt White leans toward choices like Jimbo Mathus, R.L. Burnside and Nina Simone. “Jukeboxes are romantic,” he said, “and getting harder and harder to find. I personally chose and helped to load every record in the box. We are honestly long overdue for some updates, always want to reflect a broad overview of the music that we love, particularly the greats rooted out of the American South. I love having great records from local artists and touring acts that play here as well.” As for replacing his 10-year-old Encore? White isn’t having any of that. “We’ve gotten countless offers to have an internet jukebox installed, but I guarantee you that will never happen as long as I’m around. Muddy Waters forever; Nickelback never.” The tiny Lassis Inn (518 E. 27th St.) is a Little Rock institution known chiefly for a few things: irresistible fried fish, tiny tables, a fantastic jukebox and — maddeningly — the NO DANCING signs on its dining room walls. Frankly, it’s like they’re setting us up for failure. The menu is just one page: fish steaks, catfish filets, big bone buffalo and sides — but the jukebox has always been a flat-out hot list for soul and blues. You want Charlie Wilson? Got it. Feeling a little heartsick? Cue up some B.B. King. Did somebody do somebody wrong? Tyrone Davis has you covered. But wait a minute. What’s this? The Lassis Inn jukebox has gone digital?

Yep. Parked right there in the Lassis dining room, there’s a shiny new TouchTunes model, just smirking and acting like it owns the place. What gives? Owner Elihue Washington Jr. misses the old jukebox, which had to be replaced due to electrical problems, but says the new system is catching on. According to Washington, “Friday and Saturday evening crowds use the jukebox the most. It’s not uncommon for someone to drop $20 in the box, sit down, have some drinks and laughs with their friends.” The new box is leased by Lassis and connected to the internet with thousands of songs available to patrons, but even with the entire world at our fingertips, Johnnie Taylor’s “Just Because” still reigns here. Washington pops in a few credits, and soon the small dining room is filled with the sweet intonations of Albert King’s “I’ll Play The Blues For You.” Even from an internet jukebox, King’s promises spill over and mix into the aroma of catfish and okra, and, yep, all is still right with this tiny corner of our world. Changes do come, sure enough. For real music heads, modern times are incredible. We can hop onto a computer and listen to radio stations from around the world. We can order up almost any song, almost anytime. If we hear a song, a phone app can “listen” and tell me what song I’m hearing. If I want to interact with my favorite artist, I can use social media and stand a decent shot of having an actual conversation with her. Whether internet jukeboxes are an inevitable solution or just the 2017 version of those shortlived televisions that had slots for both DVD and VHS, here’s hoping that I can always happily discover a glowing box in a tavern’s darkened corner where, for the cost of a few bucks, share some coded secrets with everyone in the room who might be paying attention. Communicating is hard enough, folks. Don’t make me do it without sending out some impassioned lyrics as air cover. David Cook also contributed to this article.

SHORTLY BEFORE THE Arkansas Times went to press, Midtown Billiards announced it would delay its reopening festivities (scheduled for Friday at 3 p.m.), citing the absence of a city inspector to give the rebuild a seal of approval. THE TOURING 12-PIECE, Grammy Awardwinning Tedeschi Trucks Band, led by spouses Susan Tedeschi and Derek Trucks, will include a stop at Robinson Center. Greyhounds, an Austin duo, opens the concert, 7 p.m. Sunday, Sept. 17. Tickets range $30-$80, and can be purchased starting Friday, June 30, from Ticketmaster or by calling 800-745-3000. THE WALTON ARTS CENTER announced the programming for its 2017-18 season earlier this week. The WAC Broadway Series features productions of Rodgers & Hammerstein’s “The King and I,” Oct. 3-8; Irving Berlin’s “White Christmas,” Nov. 7-12; Gary Barlow and Eliot Kennedy’s “Finding Neverland,” Dec. 19-23; John Kander and Fred Ebbs’ “Cabaret,” Jan. 19-21; George and Ira Gershwin’s “An American in Paris,” Feb. 6-11; Jonathan Larson’s “Rent,” March 2-4; Douglas McGrath’s “Beautiful: The Carole King Musical,” April 24-29; and Rodgers & Hammerstein’s “The Sound of Music,” May 15-20. The WAC’s 10x10 Arts Series features Ballet Arkansas’s “Emergence,” Oct. 13; contemporary dance ensemble Cas Public’s “Symphonie Dramatique,” Oct. 26; a cappella ensemble Voces8, Dec. 3; a concert from Béla Fleck and Brooklyn Rider, Jan. 17; The Triplets of Belleville Cine-Concert, Feb. 1; the Pasadena Roof Orchestra, Feb. 24; Aquila Theatre Co.’s production of “Sense and Sensibility,” March 8; the Dublin Guitar Quartet, March 9; “Flow,” a “yoga-inspired” piano concert from Ravé Mehta, May 24; and the Artosphere Festival Orchestra 10x10 Concert, June 19. The comedy series, LOL @ WAC, includes performances from David Sedaris, Oct. 24, and Robert Earl Keen, Dec. 13. The American Music Series brings shows from the Taj Mahal and Keb’ Mo’ Band, Sept. 19; ukelele virtuoso Jake Shimabukuro, Oct. 18; country star LeAnn Rimes, Dec. 12; and the Charlie Daniels Band, May 10. The Starlight Jazz Club Series features performances from The Huntertones, Oct. 14; trumpeter/vocalist Bria Skonberg, Nov. 10; the Latin Jazz All Stars, featuring Steve Turre and Nestor Torres, Dec. 8; Donny McCaslin, Feb. 10; vocalist Alicia Olatuja, March 2; and trombonist Conrad Herwig, April 28. For a full list of events or early access to tickets through the WAC’s subscription program, visit waltonartscenter.org.

Follow Rock Candy on Twitter: @RockCandies

arktimes.com JUNE 29, 2017

THE

TO-DO

LIST

BY STEPHANIE SMITTLE

THURSDAY 6/29

SCIENCE AFTER DARK: PYRO SCIENCE

6 p.m. Museum of Discovery. Free-$5.

If there’s one thing Hollywood does a fine job at teaching us summer after summer, it’s that explosions are fun to watch. There are all sorts of them, too — ones

that flare up on the sun, manmade nuclear explosions, explosions from boiling liquid’s expanding vapor (think: pressure cooker nightmare) and volcanic eruptions. Eucalyptus trees can even up and explode during a bushfire; the oils in the trees are highly flammable, so a spark from a wildfire can wreak serious havoc.

The Museum of Discovery is breaking down all things pyrotechnic at this week’s “Science After Dark,” so you can join in the throngs of buzzed adults wandering around in a museum uttering “whoa” and “what the hell?” There will be Damgoode Pizza, cocktails, wine and Stone’s Throw beer for sale, and the museum’s staff will

probably blow some things up for your amusement and general enlightenment. After you’ve paid due reverence to fiery explosions (which have, after all, given us bottle rockets, sparklers and Michael Bay movies), you can see the rest of the place; admission gets you into all museum galleries and exhibits.

FRESH LIES: Austin musician Mobley gives a free show at Maxine’s Thursday night.

THURSDAY 6/29

MOBLEY

9 p.m. Maxine’s, Hot Springs. Free.

Austin-based Anthony Watkins II, known on stage as Mobley, is big in Mexico. His single “Swoon” went over wildly there. Mobley attributed this in part to the fact that his drummer, Alfredo Rios, is from Monterrey, but to be fair, it’s also just super fun listening. The video is a single shot of Mobley’s head underwater, the surface level gradually receding over the course of the two minutes and 45 seconds, ending with Mobley’s (inaudible) gasps

JUNE 29, 2017

ARKANSAS TIMES

and sputters. “The goal in making ‘Swoon,’ ” he said in an interview with Afropunk Magazine, “was to capture the feelings of anxiety, isolation and suffocation that are, for too many, a part of the experience of being a black person in this country. Like a lot of people, I was stunned by the murder of Eric Garner,” who died while police held him in a chokehold in New York in 2014, “but what terrified and spurred me to action was the overwhelming, collective sigh of indifference with which it was greeted by a large portion of the country. In the making of the music and the video, Garner’s

dying words, ‘I can’t breathe,’ were never far from my mind.” Mobley’s got pipes for miles and often performs solo, sliding his way around the stage to a self-designed light show and cycling through three or four instruments in the span of a song. It’s synth-driven, peppered with countermelodies and electronic accents courtesy of laptops and an Akai drum machine. What to call it? Mobley talked a little about genre in between songs at an Audiotree session. “R&B is kind of a problematic genre label because it’s so racialized. It’s really amazing what a segregated indus-

try music is, and what the color of the skin of a performer does to the way people hear music. ... Listeners can decide for themselves.I’ve been places and played [“Tell Me”] and had it called rap, which makes no sense.” He’s touring as a oneman band in support of his newest EP, “Some Other Country,” and his forthcoming full-length album, “Fresh Lies,” both of which use the love song as a conceit, “thinking of it as being a metaphorical conversation between myself and America as lovers, as people in a relationship — a dysfunctional relationship,” as he told Austin Monthly.

IN BRIEF

THURSDAY 6/29 The Funky Butt Brass Band performs at the Music & Medicine fundraiser for the Oxford American magazine, 6 p.m., $100. New Orleans sextet Flow Tribe blends second-line brass and Cuban percussion for a show at Stickyz Rock ’n’ Roll Chicken Shack, 8 p.m., $8-$10. The women of Central Arkansas Roller Derby and Girls Rollin’ in the South host Arkie Pub Trivia at Stone’s Throw Brewing, 6:30 p.m., free. Buh Jones performs at The Tavern Sports Grill, 7:30 p.m., free. The smilingest bluesman in town, Trey Johnson, entertains at the White Water Tavern, 9 p.m. Vocalist Broderick Daniels performs at The Joint Theatre & Coffeehouse, 7:30 p.m., $10-$15. Brian Ramsey performs for happy hour at Cajun’s Wharf, 5:30 p.m., free, and Mayday By Midnight takes the stage at 9 p.m., $5. Paul Sammons plays for the dinner crowd at Dizzy’s Gypsy Bistro, 6 p.m. Dearborn, Mich., comedian Scott White appears at The Loony Bin, 7:30 p.m. Thu.-Sat., $8-$12. Chris DeClerk plays at Ya Ya’s Euro Bistro, 6 p.m., free.

FRIDAY 6/30 PITCHER ON A MISSION: Tyler Herb, selected to represent the Arkansas Travelers at the Texas League’s All-Star game, pitched six scoreless innings last Sunday in a 7-0 shutout against the Springfield Cardinals. The Travs face off against the San Antonio Missions this weekend.

THURSDAY 6/29-SATURDAY 7/1

ARKANSAS TRAVELERS VS. SAN ANTONIO MISSIONS

7:10 p.m. Thu.-Fri., 6:10 p.m. Sat. Dickey-Stephens Park. $7-$13.

The baseball season at DickeyStephens Park is just past its midway point, and it’s been a pivotal one, logistically speaking. For one thing, the park has extended the safety netting — that mesh stuff that protects fans from getting knocked in the head by a stray ball (or that keeps you from nabbing a foul ball

in your glove from the bleachers, depending on how you look at it) — to the ends of the dugouts. More notably, though, the Travs broke up with their longtime Major League affiliate, the Los Angeles Angels, and started going steady with the Seattle Mariners — only the Travs’ second affiliate change in half a century, and one both teams hope to leverage in developing AA-level players for the big time. In a doubleheader last week (a twin bill to make up for the Father’s Day game that got

rained out), the Northwest Arkansas Naturals overtook the Travs — the team’s fifth consecutive loss. But who knows? Maybe the fireworks show set to blast away at game’s end on Friday will inspire, or maybe the six Travelers chosen to represent Little Rock at the Texas League’s annual All-Star game (June 27) will pull the team through with a win. On Saturday night, the first 1,000 fans in the gate will score a Travs golf towel.

FRIDAY 6/30

DAVE ROSEN BIG BAND

7 p.m. Ron Robinson Theater. Free.

It’s a shame the aisles at the Ron Robinson Theater aren’t just a tad wider. Chances are good, after all, that patrons attending the Arkansas Sounds concert there Friday night might be predisposed to use them for a Lindy hop or the jitterbug, or just to sway a little during the slow jams — “Bye Bye Blackbird,”

for one. Dave Rosen, the trumpeter and bandleader at the helm of the David Rosen Septet and its outsized correlate, the Dave Rosen Big Band, is the son of Rosen Music founder Marty Rosen. The Rosens have been a mainstay of music shops in Little Rock since 1955; as Arkansas Sounds curator John Miller noted before the big band’s 2014 concert, “Dave Rosen joined his father at the

store in 1972 and continues the Rosen music tradition to this day.” The band was a 17-piece for that concert — 18 if you count the moments when Rosen stopped conducting long enough to take a bar or eight on the trumpet. If you’ve never caught Rosen’s trumpet swing, saxophonists Matt Dickson and Dave Williams II or the rest of the band, swing by for this one.

Reggae band The Wailers take the stage at the Rev Room, 9:30 p.m., $16-$20. Charlotte Taylor gives a free show at The Tavern Sports Grill, 7:30 p.m. Doug Duffey’s 11-piece soul outfit Louisiana Soul Revival lands at the White Water Tavern, 9 p.m. Triniti Nightclub crowns a Mr. and Miss for the annual Gay Pride Pageant, midnight. DeFrance brings its no-frills Southern rock set to Four Quarter Bar, 10 p.m., $7. Katmandu takes the stage at Cajun’s, 9 p.m., $5. Nerd Eye Blind performs at West End Smokehouse, 10 p.m., $7. The Lobby Bar features comedians Willow Wheeler, Lisa Michaels, Robyn Adair, Jay Jackson, Cole Bradley and Gene Berry for the LOL Comedy Showcase, 8 p.m., $10-$15. Vino’s hosts an early heavy rock show with Wisconsin’s Pangaea, Kentucky’s Softspoken and Surface & Breathe, 7 p.m., $7. Magnolia Brown brings the party to Kings Live Music in Conway, with an opening set from Justin Teal Morgan, 8:30 p.m., $5. Jet 420 returns to Thirst N’ Howl with special guests Elixir, 8:30 p.m., $5. Ryan Sauders performs at Ya Ya’s Euro Bistro, 6 p.m., free. Yakov Smirnoff is still at it, and he brings his comedy to Hot Springs’ Five Star Dinner Theatre through Monday, 5 p.m. dinner, 6 p.m. show, $22-$50. Moxie plays at Oaklawn Racing & Gaming’s Silks Bar & Grill, Hot Springs, 10 p.m. Fri.-Sat., free. Psychedelic Velocity gives a show at Markham Street Grill & Pub, 8:30 p.m., free.

SATURDAY 7/1 Lynyrd Skynyrd lands at Magic Springs’ Timberwood Amphitheater with Johnny Van Zant at the microphone, 8 p.m., $48$65. Adam Faucett & The Tall Grass share a bill with Yellow Cuss of Lexington, Ky., at the White Water Tavern, 9:30 p.m. Black

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arktimes.com JUNE 29, 2017

THE

TO-DO

LIST

BY STEPHANIE SMITTLE

FRIDAY 6/30

GINSU WIVES, BROTHER ANDY AND HIS BIG DAMN MOUTH

9 p.m. Maxine’s, Hot Springs. $5.

VENGEFUL ASCENSION: New Orleans death metal pioneers Goatwhore land at Vino’s Friday night with Anciients, Venomous Maximus and local sludge rockers Sumokem.

FRIDAY 6/30

GOATWHORE

8 p.m. Vino’s Brewpub. $10.

Now here is a band that knows how to give some accurate signals to its potential audience with its name. I mean, if your catalogue of lyrics includes the phrase “like blood and fire in the sacred chalice of Satan I hail the blood-stained horns, the goat of a thousand young,” then you had better not be called Ben Falgoust & the Bourbon Street Revivalists, right? The New Orleans band hardly needs to signal, though — they’ve been ripping out death metal odes to horned beasts and severed limbs since the late-’90s, and last Friday’s release, “Vengeful Ascension,” will not depart from that formula. As Loudwire notes, though, the band’s latest does experiment with some downtempo segments and drum intros, trying to mimic its live sound by putting its live sound engineer, Jarrett Pritchard, in the producer’s chair in lieu of

JUNE 29, 2017

ARKANSAS TIMES

longtime producer Erik Rutan. “The whole idea of a ‘Vengeful Ascension,’ ” frontman Falgoust noted, “is built on being at the bottom, working your way to the top, and realizing along the way that there’s other facets to the journey aside from just pure retribution. Within negativity there can exist a positive angle as well.” And working one’s way up from the bottom, Falgoust told the blog Toilet Ov Hell last year, is actually a pretty American idea. “If you look at it, there are a lot of positive things in Satanism. Satan and the Antichrist is very much the antihero. He was cast from heaven into hell and he has to fight his way back up. ... The funniest thing about it is that Satanism is basically the idea of America. You wanted to be free and you fought this war to be free.” Goatwhore is joined by Vancouver’s Anciients, Houston’s Venomous Maximus and local sludge rockers Sumokem.

Here are four examples of times when cueing up Ginsu Wives’ “Hospital Vibes” is a terrible idea: if you are alone in the woods late at night; if you are alone and have just watched “Seven,” “Saw” or “Silence of the Lambs”; if you have consumed any hallucinogens; if you are on a first date. That record — the band’s latest — and its predecessor “Sex Symbol” are simultaneously sexy and terrifying, the kind of stuff I imagine is eternally playing in the hallways of secret underground fetish clubs. Or the basement laboratories of serial killers. Here’s the good news, though: It’s super fun to hear live. Danceable, even. As far as I can tell, that danceability and some well-earned reverence from the Central Arkansas music community (and, OK, also a penchant for cover art featuring animal heads

dissociated from their original bodies) are all that this Friday night bill has in common. Despite Brother Andy’s (Andy Warr) claim in a 2010 interview with the Arkansas Times that he is “just trying to write songs and make them sound like ‘Master of Puppets’ as much as possible,” Warr’s a chameleon, backed by two guys he’s been playing with forever. They’re capable of crafting everything from desert ballads (“Coyote Love Song”) to sludgy, foreboding anthems (“Mona’s Song”) to raunchy rockers (“Rot Gut Redemption”) and uptempo romps (“Big Ass Blue Piano”). There are lyrical references to smoking ice, riverboat culture and dirty deeds in baptistries, and you can best prepare yourself for all that by checking out the band’s video for “Shit to Face,” which looks like what might happen if a reality show teamed up Sid and Marty Krofft with the creators of Showbiz Pizza and asked them to make a three-minute music video with $50 and a box of Jell-O.

FRIDAY 6/30

PERFORMANCE LAB: BRENT GREEN AND SAM GREEN

8 p.m. Walker Landing, Crystal Bridges Museum of American Art. Free.

As any performer who’s attempted to synchronize two pieces of media

will attest, the potential for something to go disastrously awry is great, so the result is thrilling to behold. Self-taught animator Brent Green and Academy Award–nominated filmmaker Sam Green (no relation) are taking the pairing of film and live music a half-step further with this

IN BRIEF

performance at Crystal Bridges, in which they, as well as an onstage band — Brendan Canty (Fugazi) on drums and guitar, James Canty (The Nation of Ulysses) on guitar, Becky Foon (Thee Silver Mt. Zion Memorial Orchestra) on cello and Kate Ryan on drums and live sound effects — make “live cinema.” It’s a mash-up of live sounds, narration and music with photos, interview

clips and short bits of footage that Sam and Brent created and will string together into cohesive pieces right in front of the audience. The production appeared at the Brooklyn Academy of Music’s 2016 New Waves Art Festival, and this time around they’re taking it outdoors to the museum’s waterside Walker Landing.

QC:

Live: 1.875" x 5.25"

CW: CD: AD:

Trim: 2.125" x 5.5" Bleed: none"

Oaklawn opens up its infield for Spa Blast, featuring live music from “Pump: A Tribute to Aerosmith,” fireworks, a petting zoo, kids zone and more, Hot Springs, 5 p.m., free.

TUESDAY 7/4 The Arkansas Symphony Orchestra lands at the First Security Amphitheatre for the 34th annual Pops on the River, 3 p.m., free. Or, catch the 9:30 p.m. fireworks display, which you can see from the Little Rock Marriott’s Grand Ballroom Terrace for the benefit of Easter Seals Arkansas, $5-$25; Maumelle’s Lake Willastein Park, where there’s a set from TJ Ashley & The Backroad, free; or the Arkansas Inland Maritime Museum’s watch party on the north shore, $5-$10.

The Big Dam Horns descend on a reopened Midtown Billiards, 2 a.m., $5. Boston metal band Carnivora shares a bill with Southern California’s Fissure and locals All Is At An End and Splattered in Traffic, 7 p.m., The Parlor, 4603 E. Broadway St., NLR, $5. Rev Room hosts the Family Affair 2017 Karaoke Contest, 7 p.m., $5-$15. Multiinstrumentalist Doug Dicharry, formerly of The Ben Miller Band, gives a show at Four Quarter Bar, 8 p.m. Ernie Biggs hosts Darril Harp Edwards and DJ Nick Hud for Reggae Sundays, 10 p.m., $10-$15.

MONDAY 7/3

IN REAL TIME: Animator Sam Green and filmmaker Brent Green team up with member of Fugazi and The Nation of Ulysses to create “live cinema” at Crystal Bridges Museum this Friday.

AE:

Closing Date: 5/26/17

Publication: ARkansas Times

PM:

SUNDAY 7/2

PO:

Job/Order #: 294997 Operator: cs

sing and dance in the white night clubs but weren’t allowed to stand flat-footed and talk to white folks, which is what a 7 p.m. Mosaic Templars Cultural Center. $40. comic does.” Gregory got a job at the ChiWhether it’s his stubbornness or cago Playboy Club, and he’s been pushing the strict health food diet he’s been on buttons (and going to jail for it) ever since. for years, the legendary comedian and He spoke for two hours in Selma, Ala., as activist Dick Gregory has been poking part of the 1963 Freedom Day voter regisand prodding the establishment since tration drive, marched to the U.S. Capitol 1961. Gregory’s all over YouTube, riffin 1978 with Gloria Steinem and Betty ing on everything Friedan to push for the from “Get Out” to the Equal Rights Amendment, and went on a Bill Cosby scandal to hunger strike in TehPrince’s death. The night Hugh Hefner ran to try and negotiate hostage releases during watched him from the front row at Chicago’s the Iran hostage crisis of black-owned Roberts 1980. The man’s a masShow Bar, Gregory was ter of speaking truth to turning out punchlines STAND UP: Legendary activist power, cracking jokes about utterly serious like, “Last time I was and comedian Dick Gregory down South I walked appears Friday night at Mosaic things and demanding Templars Cultural Center with into this restaurant comedian Nate Williams. due parity from people and this white waitress in positions of authorcame up to me and said, ity, as he famously did ‘We don’t serve colored people here.’ I by refusing to appear on “The Jack Paar said, ‘That’s all right. I don’t eat colored Tonight Show” until he was offered to people. Bring me a whole fried chicken.’ come and chat in the chair on-air, as ” White people loved it, which was pretty was the custom for white comedians. He groundbreaking for that time, as Gregreturns to Little Rock for a show with ory pointed out in an interview with the England (Lonoke County) native and Huffington Post in 2013. “Blacks could comedian Nate Williams.

Brand: Bud Summer Item #: PBW2017071

DICK GREGORY AND NATE WILLIAMS

PURSUING OUR DREAM SINCE 1876.

MUST INITIAL FOR APPROVAL

FRIDAY 6/30

Oak Arkansas returns to Four Quarter PRINT Bar, with Framing the Red, 10 p.m., $25. Klubhouse descends on the back room at Vino’s with DJ and producer Yuni Wa at the helm; Chimp Chimp Chimp opens, 9 p.m., $10. Over 300 gallons of glow paint gets released for Paintdrop, a dance party at the Clear Channel Metroplex, 10 p.m., $20-$60. Joshua Stewart plays a free show at Ya Ya Euro Bistro, 6 p.m., free. The John Calvin Brewer Band unplugs for an acoustic set at Oaklawn’s Pops Lounge, Hot Springs, 6 p.m., free. The On Call Band, The Rodney Block Collective, DJ Greyhound, DJ Nick Hud and comedian Jeremiah “JJ” Williamson entertain for the annual Firefighters All White Affair, 8 p.m., Little Rock Marriott, $28. Tragikly White brings its party set to Rev Room, 9:30 p.m., $10. The Woodpeckers perform at Cajun’s, 9 p.m., $5. Jamie Lou & The Hullabaloo join The Grief Brothers for a show at Kings Live Music, Conway, 8:30 p.m., $5. The Muddlestuds and Orange Star High share a bill at TC’s Midtown Grill in Conway, 9 p.m., $5. The Stuart Baer Blues Band performs at The Tavern Sports Grill, 7:30 p.m., free.

A few tips to keep us all safe while enjoying the River Trail! When preparing to pass others, speak an audible warning in advance. Always pass on the left side, while leaving two feet of clearance. Cyclists and skaters should travel at safe and appropriate speeds. Keep an eye on your children at all times. Keep pets on a short leash and under control at all times. Always clean up after your pets.

s Cy cli st s a lwa yet wea r th e ir h e lm s!

WEDNESDAY 7/5 Movies in the Park hosts a screening of the Will Ferrell comedy “Daddy’s Home,” 8:30 p.m., free. Parker Francis plays a show at Dizzy’s, 6 p.m., free.

Look for more etiquette and safety tips at arkansasrivertrail.org

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HOT SPRINGS HAPPENINGS juLY 2017 Hot Springs visit hotsprings.org For a complete calendar of events

ALL SUMMER LONG MID-AMERICA MUSEUM PRESENTS

MINDBENDER MANSION Enter into the puzzling and perplexing world of Mindbender Mansion, a quirky place full of brainteasers, puzzles and interactive challenges designed to strengthen problem solving skills and exercise the brain power of thinkers of all ages. Perfect for multi-generational family bonding, corporate team building and small group comradery! For more information please call 501.767.3461 or visit midamericamuseum.org.

EVERY THURSDAY IN JULY MOVIES AT THE MARKET

Join us every Thursday evening at sundown during the month of June for Movies at the Market. Bring the family, bring a blanket, bring a chair, pack a picnic basket and enjoy a free movie under the stars. Visit hotsprings.org to see the movie lineup.

THROUGH JULY 28 SCIENCE SUMMER CAMP 2017 AT THE

MID-AMERICA MUSEUM Each week of the month, the Mid-America Museum welcomes budding scientists ages 6-12, to explore a different field of scientific discovery, from technology to astronomy. For the full schedule, visit midamericamuseum.org.

COMEDY ALL MONTH FIVE STAR THEATRE HOSTS YAKOV

SMIRNOFF AND SCOTT DAVIS For a full schedule of performances, visit thefivestartheatre.com.

JULY 1 CUTWELL 4KIDS AT THE MAURICE BATHHOUSE

Cutwell 4 Kids is hosting a chance for children to express themselves artistically with a new program hosted the first Saturday of each month. Children of all ages are invited to come from 2-4 p.m. and join in the fun by painting and

JULY 1 LYNYRD SKYNYRD AT

MAGIC SPRINGS Skynyrd reunites for a full-scale tour with Johnny Van Zant on lead vocals. Gates to Timberwood Amphitheater open at 6 p.m., and the show starts at 8 p.m. Your paid park admission or season ticket gets you into this concert for free. Bring lawn chairs or a blanket and enjoy the show under the stars.

30 JUNE 29, 2017 ARKANSAS TIMES 30 JUNE 29, 2017 ARKANSAS TIMES

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creating. Materials will be provided. For more information, contact Anthony Tidwell at 214.497.3715.

and reservations are required. Call or register online at garvangardens.org.

JULY 2 STARDUST BIG BAND DANCE AT THE ARLINGTON Join some of the best ballroom dancers in Arkansas and surrounding states at this monthly dance evening. The music starts at 3 p.m.; admission is $10 (free for students K-12). For more information call 501.767.5482 or visit stardustband.net.

JULY 8 TESLA FEST AT MID-AMERICA SCIENCE MUSEUM Mid-America Science Museum will once again be celebrating the birth of Nikola Tesla with the 2nd Annual Tesla Fest! Join educators for an entire day devoted to the science of Nicola Tesla and watch a very special Tesla Show featuring the man himself! Learn more at midamericamuseum.org.

JULY 2 $10,000 HULAPALOOZA! POWER PARTY AT

OAKLAWN Join the fun from 1 to 4 p.m., 5 to 8 p.m. and 9 p.m. to midnight, as Oaklawn hosts the HulaPalooza Power Party. Win $150 in free play every 10 minutes! There will also be $2 domestic drafts from 5 p.m. to midnight in the game room and a $4.99 summer buffet from 5 to 10 p.m. in Lagniappe’s. For full entry details visit oaklawn.com

JULY 3 SPA BLAST AT OAKLAWN

Oaklawn kicks off an exciting month with Spa Blast presented by Budweiser. The family-friendly event, which begins at 4 p.m., will conclude with a fireworks show that follows a free concert. There will also be a petting zoo, gigantic Kids Zone and Middleton Misting Tent. For more information visit oaklawn.com.

JULY 6 ICE CREAM AND BEER PAIRINGS WITH STONE’S

THROW BREWING AND LOBLOLLY CREAMERY AT GARVAN GARDENS Beat the heat at Garvan Gardens this July with a doubleheader of Arkansas flavor. From 6-8 p.m., Little Rock favorites Stone’s Throw Brewing and Loblolly Creamery team up to show your taste buds a good time! Tickets are $30 for members, $45 for non-members

JULY 8 BRETT MICHAELS AT MAGIC SPRINGS Brett Michaels is an American singer-songwriter and musician, who gained fame as the lead singer of the glam metal band Poison. Gates to Timberwood Amphitheater open at 6:00 p.m., and the show starts at 8 p.m. Your paid park admission or season ticket gets you into this concert for free. Bring lawn chairs or a blanket and enjoy the show under the stars. JULY 11 FAIRY AND WIZARDS TEA AT GARVAN WOOD-

LAND GARDENS Children are the honored guests at this popular summertime tea. Scones, finger sandwiches and desserts are all served in the style of an English tea. Fairy or wizards costumes are encouraged for this fantasy-filled afternoon, and Garvan Gardens’ own “Tea Fairy” entertains with a short lesson in tea etiquette, followed by stories to delight the young fairies in attendance. Tickets are $28 for members, $33 for non-members, $12 for children 12 and under, and reservations are required. Call or register online at garvangardens.org.

JULY 14-15 QUILTFEST 2017 AT THE HOT SPRINGS CON-

VENTION CENTER, EXHIBIT HALL A Quiltfest is a mecca for quilters of all skill levels and quilt lovers alike. In addition to quilt exhibits (over 200 quilts will be on display), 20 plus vendors will offer a wide variety of quilting and sewing merchandise, and there will be a boutique of handmade goods. Admission is $7, and children under 12 get in free.

JULY 22 MARSHALL TUCKER BAND AT MAGIC SPRINGS The Marshall Tucker Band is an American Southern rock/ country rock band originally from Spartanburg, South Carolina. The band’s blend of rock, r&b, jazz, country and gospel helped establish the Southern rock genre in the early 1970s. The show starts at 8 p.m. Your paid park admission or season ticket gets you into this concert for free. Bring lawn chairs or a blanket and enjoy the show under the stars.

FIREWORKS!

July

Wondering what the big nights are for pyrotechnic spectacle this Independence Day? Read on and look skyward for a jaw-dropping patriotic display.

JULY 1

On Lake Hamilton, the launch location is the east side of Highway 7 at the first Highway 7 bridge (directly opposite from the Clarion Hotel). On Lake Ouachita, the launch location is Brady Mountain Resort.

4:14 p.m. Sunday, Magic Springs Water and Theme Park

JULY 2

Fireworks extravaganza at Magic Springs

JULY 3

Fireworks finale at Oaklawn’s Spa Blast

JULY 4

HulaPalooza! JULY 2

On Lake Ouachita, the launch location is Mountain Harbor Resort (starts at 9:30).

�� drawing from � p.m. - midnight and food and drink specials from � - �� p.m.

JULY 28 KENNY LOGGINS AT THE FINISH

Spa Blast

SPLASHES. SCREAMS OF JOY. SPF 50.

Free family-friendly event in the Oaklawn inﬁeld featuring the best ﬁreworks display in the region!

f ind t his place.

LINE THEATER Kenny Loggins will take the stage at Oaklawn’s 2017 Finish Line Theater. This performer’s four-decade-plus career has brought him from the top of the charts to the toast of the Grammys. He’s had smash hits on Hollywood’s favorite soundtracks, rocked worldwide stages and found his way into audiences’ hearts while bringing his smooth, beautiful voice to platinum albums of a stunning variety of genres. Ticket prices are $55 and $65, and they go on sale Tuesday, July 11 at 9 a.m. Doors will open at 6 p.m.; show time is 7 p.m. Tickets will be available online at www.oaklawn. com or by calling 501-623-4411 ex. 340.

JULY 29 SABRINA CARPENTER AT MAGIC

SPRINGS Carpenter released her debut album “Eyes Wide Open” at the age of 15; it featured singles “Eyes Wide Open” and “We’ll Be the Stars.” Her sophomore album, “EVOLution,” includes the catchy track “Thumbs.” Gates to Timberwood Amphitheater open at 6:00 p.m., and the show starts at 8:00 p.m. Your paid park admission or season ticket gets you into this concert for free. Bring lawn chairs or a blanket and enjoy the show under the stars. magicsprings.com

Check out these venues for great live music all summer long in Spa City THE BIG CHILL (501) 624-5185 BOOGIE’S BAR & GRILL (501) 624-5455 BOOT SCOOTERS (501) 627-0505 CROSSWALK BAR & GRILL (501) 624-9192

DOC & MAGGIE’S (501) 525-1616 THE EXCHANGE (501) 624-9463 FAT JACKS (501) 623-5225 MAXINE’S LIVE (501) 321-0909 THE OHIO CLUB (501) 627-0702

JULY 3

Kenny Loggins JULY 28

(tickets on sale July 11)

Weekly Events WEDNESDAY Humpday Karaoke with Chucky D

THURSDAY Live Team Trivia by Challenge Entertainment

Friday Friday Night Live, Karaoke with DJ Double C

Saturday Saturday Unplugged, featuring your favorite local bands unplugged

OAKLAWN.COM

HotSprings.org. 1-888-SPA-CITY. ADVERTISING SUPPLEMENT www.arktimes.com JUNE 29, 2017 31 arktimes.com JUNE 29, 2017 31

Live Music Calendar SUNDAYS, WEEKLY

JULY 7

JULY 14

Karaoke with Chucky D, The Big Chill

Jazz at the Ohio Club presents the ATM Trio, with a special guest each week

Friday Night Live Karaoke with DJ Double C, 7-10 p.m., Pop’s Lounge, Oaklawn VEGAS Verdes, sm Wolf, tvveeds, 9 p.m., Maxine’s Hwy 124, 10 p.m. –2 a.m., Silks Bar and Grill, Oaklawn Docfell & Co., 6:30-9:30 p.m., Rolando’s

Friday Night Live Karaoke with DJ Double C, 7-10 p.m., Pop’s Lounge, Oaklawn Earl and Them, The Big Chill Moxie, 9 p.m., Maxine’s Nerd Eye Blind, 10 p.m. –2 a.m., Silks Bar and Grill, Oaklawn Ryan Sauders, 6:30-9:30 p.m., Rolando’s

JULY 1

JULY 8

John Calvin Brewer Band Unplugged, 6-10 p.m., Pop’s Lounge, Oaklawn Lynyrd Skynyrd in the Magic Springs Concert Series, 8 p.m., Magic Springs Moxie, 10 p.m.-2 a.m., Silks Bar and Grill, Oaklawn Ryan Sauders, 6:30-9:30 p.m., Rolando’s

Brett Michaels in the Magic Springs Concert Series, 8 p.m., Magic Springs Wesley Pruitt Band, The Big Chill Hwy 124, 10 p.m. –2 a.m., Silks Bar and Grill, Oaklawn Docfell & Co., 6:30-9:30 p.m., Rolando’s

TUESDAYS, WEEKLY Grayson Goff Band, The Big Chill

THURSDAYS, WEEKLY

JULY 2 Stardust Big Band Dance, 3-6 p.m., Crystal Ballroom, Arlington Hotel Moxie, 9 p.m.-1 a.m. Pop’s Lounge, Oaklawn Jeff Hartzell, 6-9 p.m., Rolando’s

JULY 3 Moxie, 9:15 p.m.-1:15 a.m., Silks Bar and Grill, Oaklawn

JULY 5 Spa City Blues Society Jam, 8 p.m.,The Big Chill

JULY 9 Greasy Tree, 9 p.m., Maxine’s Docfell & Co., 6-9 p.m., Rolando’s

JULY 10 “A Journey Across the USA”by the Hot Springs Concert Band, 6:30 p.m., free admission, Whittington Park

JULY 15 Stars Go Dim in the Magic Springs Concert Series, 7 p.m., Magic Springs For King and Country in the Magic Springs Concert Series, 8 p.m., Magic Springs Earl and Them, The Big Chill Hwy 124 Unplugged, 9 p.m.-1 a.m., Pop’s Lounge, Oaklawn Nerd Eye Blind Unplugged, 10 p.m. –2 a.m., Silks Bar and Grill, Oaklawn Ryan Sauders, 6:30-9:30 p.m., Rolando’s

JULY 16 Jeff Hartzell, 6-9 p.m., Rolando’s

JULY 19

JULY 12

Spa City Blues Society Jam, 8 p.m.,The Big Chill

Lightnin’ Lee Langdon, The Big Chill Mountain Sprout and Dance Monkey Dance, 9 p.m., Maxine’s

JULY 20

JULY 6

JULY 13

Dave Almond, The Big Chill Jeff Hartzell, 6:30-9:30 p.m., Rolando’s

Tara & Brent, The Big Chill Jeff Hartzell, 6:30-9:30 p.m., Rolando’s

John French, The Big Chill Jeff Hartzell, 6:30-9:30 p.m., Rolando’s

Friday Night Live Karaoke with DJ Double C, 7-10 p.m., Pop’s Lounge, Oaklawn Moxie, The Big Chill Mister Lucky, 10 p.m. –2 a.m., Silks Bar and Grill, Oaklawn Aaron Balentine, 6:30-9:30 p.m., Rolando’s

JULY 22 Brain Mullen Unplugged, 6-10 p.m., Pop’s Lounge, Oaklawn Marshall Tucker Band in the Magic Springs Concert Series, 7 p.m., Magic Springs Mercy’s Bridge (gospel), Hickory Hill Park, 7 p.m. Travis Tritt in the Magic Springs Concert Series, 8 p.m., Magic Springs Moxie, The Big Chill Mister Lucky, 10 p.m. –2 a.m., Silks Bar and Grill, Oaklawn Ryan Sauders, 6:30-9:30 p.m., Rolando’s

JULY 23

Coming Sept. 22-24: Spa-Con 2017 Save money, buy early. Be frugal. Plan ahead! Celebrity appearances will include the actors who played Audrey Horne and Laura Palmer in the Twin Peaks series. Spa-Con “early bird” weekend passes are $25. The price will increase to $35 on Sep. 22nd. #spacon

Grayson Goff Band, The Big Chill John Calvin Brewer Band, 10 p.m.-2 a.m., Silks Bar and Grill, Oaklawn Aaron Balentine, 6:30-9:30 p.m., Rolando’s

Jeff Hartzell, 6-9 p.m., Rolando’s

JULY 29

JULY 26

Susan Erwin, 6-10 p.m., Pop’s Lounge, Oaklawn Sabrina Carpenter in the Magic Springs Concert Series, 8 p.m., Magic Springs Grayson Goff Band, The Big Chill John Calvin Brewer Band, 10 p.m.-2 a.m., Silks Bar and Grill, Oaklawn Rick McKean, 6:30-9:30 p.m., Rolando’s

Lightnin’ Lee Langdon, The Big Chill

JULY 27 Girls with Guitars, The Big Chill Jeff Hartzell, 6:30-9:30 p.m., Rolando’s

JULY 21

JULY 28

Steve Hudelson and the Arkansas Jazz Experience, 6-8 p.m., Whittington Place

Friday Night Live Karaoke with DJ Double C, 7-10 p.m., Pop’s Lounge, Oaklawn

JULY 30 Jeff Hartzell, 6-9 p.m., Rolando’s

PRACTICE MAKES PERFECT AT NEW CHI ST. VINCENT SIMULATION LAB

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ractice makes perfect” is an old cliche that holds true in every discipline, including medicine. At CHI St. Vincent, ensuring that clinicians have the best training is a priority. CHI St. Vincent recently debuted a newly expanded simulation lab to equip healthcare professionals with the resources they need for training. The new simulation lab at CHI St. Vincent Infirmary provides additional capacity to train medical professionals from all CHI St. Vincent hospitals and clinics on how to continue to improve quality in patient interactions. The expanded lab more than doubles the size of the former training space used to simulate lifelike medical scenarios with male, female and infant mannequins. The new lab features three patient rooms where nurses and other medical practitioners can undergo a training experience as realistic as possible. “Medical professionals must be technically skilled and prepared to respond to a patient’s changing needs, and the simulation lab sharpens those skills for our nurses and students,”CHI St. Vincent CEO Chad Aduddell. “This expansion gives us additional capacity for education, a priority at CHI St. Vincent, which helps ensure that we provide the best patient care possible to our community. We are especially thankful to those corporations and individuals who have donated to the CHI St. Vincent Foundation because those gifts made this expansion possible.” The computer-controlled, interactive man-

A nurse demonstrates how “Hope” and “Grace” are used for training nurses at CHI St. Vincent’s new simulation lab. “Hope” and “Grace” are mother-andchild mannequins used to simulate lifelike medical scenarios. nequins in the sim lab can replicate a variety of medical conditions. Because the expanded lab now features closed-circuit video and twoway mirrors, nurse educators can more easily monitor and instruct those using the sim lab. The patient rooms and furnishings include intricate details that aid in teaching nurses how to avoid potential obstacles when handling patients who are fall risks, for instance. The lab’s expansion was made possible by sponsorships and gifts to the CHI St. Vincent Foundation through fundraisers like the foundation’s annual golf classic and IV Party. With the support of the Blue and You Foundation, which provided funding for the mannequins through grants to the CHI St. Vincent Foundation, the new lab will be an essential teaching and training tool for years to come.

MOVIE REVIEW

‘AMAZING OPPORTUNITY’: T.J. Miller departs “Silicon Valley” in favor of other gigs.

Adieu, ‘Silicon Valley’ Hello HBO, for T.J. Miller. BY SAM EIFLING

he season finale of “Silicon Valley” just wound down with T.J. Miller’s blowhard stoner/investor Erlich Bachman opium-blissed out on a pile of pillows in a Tibetan rug shop. Judging by the interviews Miller has been giving lately, that’s quite likely where the series leaves Erlich for its duration. Scheduling shoots around his other gigs — voice and film acting, stand-up comedy — had simply worn him out, and his single-note character, no matter how popular, wasn’t doing it for him anymore. He told HBO he’d be walking after this season, the show’s fourth. “People joke about it, but I’m the hardest-working man in show business, maybe,” Miller said in an interview with The Hollywood Reporter. “So they were like, ‘Let’s make this easier for both of us.’ And I was like, ‘I think this is an amazing opportunity.’ ” For fans of the show, it’s a shame to see Erlich fade off into a haze of blue smoke. Last year the show was nominated for an Emmy for its casting, and Miller was an indelible part of the ensemble’s chemistry. He argues, though, that he didn’t feel the character was advancing (this is true; in fact all of Season 4 felt like frenetic marching in place for “Silicon Valley”). Moreover, Miller felt that as a comedian first and an actor second, he simply wasn’t funny enough. This

is, of course, up to him as an artist, and an artist looking to get paid. No coincidence, perhaps, that just days before the “Silicon Valley” finale, HBO debuted his hour-long comedy special “Meticulously Ridiculous,” filmed in his hometown of Denver during his standup tour of the same name. If you’re into Miller, it’s certainly worth a watch. It’d be hard to come away from it, though, and think, “Wow, there’s a guy who should definitely quit his day job.” Shaggy, bow-tied, red-sneakered and wearing a too-big suit that he keeps drenched — dude simply loves pouring water onto his face — Miller laconically veers through jokes that tilt physical, absurdist, observational or simply slapstick. And while it’s all amusing enough, he never hits that supreme level of funny that lets you lose your train of thought, lets you forget yourself. It feels like one of the cleverest guys you know came over a bit blazed and started riffing. “When I am very, very high, I speak very formally, so as if to appear not to be high,” Miller says at one point. “But I speak so formally that no one would ever talk like that unless they were very, very high.” He then launches into a story about getting so high at a motel that when he calls the desk to complain about the TV he speaks in this self-outing elevated

diction … and then gets trapped in a time loop during a silence with the clerk, when he can’t figure out whose turn it is to speak. It sounds like a plausible lived moment for Miller, or for Erlich, whose constant bluster always papered over his abiding insecurities. It would be funny enough as a quick aside over beers. In a full set, it arrives as a storytelling trap that Miller falls into occasionally: a decent setup that leaves no ladder to take the

merely amusing to the sublime. Comedy is hard as hell in the era of Twitter, when all the good jokes are made and disseminated at ludicrous speed, and when joke thieves will snatch up a pithy line and repackage it to greater effect (or at least fame) just as quickly. Miller the comic feels like a pre-internet creation with a few of Reddit’s shower thoughts sprinkled in. (“Pets are actually friend-slaves” is an observation that launches into a bit that hits the right mix of unnerving and silly.) But Miller’s character on “Silicon Valley” was a fantastic creation for an internet era of unvarnished bullshitting and low-tech hustling to obscure the fact that no one really knows what the hell is going on. Erlich served as a foil to the Type-A blizzard of finance and deal-making and networks and robots — the everyman who assures the audience that so much of the intelligence is, in fact, artificial. Post“Silicon Valley,” Miller is still an everyman, but one who, it turns out, might be best served if he finds another structure to hold him, another pack of squares to deflate. If you’re raging against a machine, it turns out an actual machine is nice to have around.

SUNDAY, SEPTEMBER 17 ROBINSON PERFORMANCE HALL LITTLE ROCK

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arktimes.com JUNE 29, 2017

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OXFORD AMERICAN AND SOUTH ON MAIN present JULY 7, 2017

LITTLE TYBEE

SOUTH ON MAIN IS EXCITED TO WELCOME LITTLE TYBEE TO THE STAGE! SHOW BEGINS AT 9 PM WITH A $10 COVER. CALL (501) 244-9660 TO RESERVE A TABLE.

JUNE 29

Rebel Kettle hosts its first 4:30 THURSDAY of the summer with three fun fruity selections – Day Dreamcicle, orange wheat; P. Whipped, pineapple ale; and A Salt and Splattery watermelon gose. Join the party at 4:30 p.m.

JULY

Food, Music, Entertainment and everything else that’s

JUNE 30

A longtime Little Rock establishment reopens on Friday night. MIDTOWN BILLIARD’S GRAND REOPENING PARTY starts at 3 p.m. and lasts til 3 a.m. Choose from two ticket options - 3 p.m.- 8 p.m. $22 or 8 p.m.-3 a.m. $27. Tickets available at CentralArkansasTickets.com.

Legendary rock band BLACK OAK ARKANSAS headlines a show at Four Quarter Bar with special guests Flaming the Red. Tickets are $27 and available online at CentralArkansasTickets. com.

SISTER HAZEL performs live at CenterStage at Choctaw Casino in Pocola, Okla., at 8 p.m. Tickets are $29 and available through Ticketmaster at 800-745-3000 or ticketmaster.com.

THROUGH JULY 8

In its 34th year, POPS ON THE RIVER is a free community event and the largest Fourth of July event in the state. The event has expanded to include more fireworks than ever and more activities such as kids activities, vendors, food trucks and more. It takes place at the First Security Amphitheater with live music by the Arkansas Symphony Orchestra. n EASTER SEALS FIREWORKS FRENZY at the Marriott is the best place to watch the fireworks on the river. Tickets are available at CentralArkansasTickets. com and are $25 for adults and $5 for kids with food and fun 4th of July activities. The event is from 8-10 p.m. and benefits Easterseals Arkansas.

It’s TERROR TUESDAYS at the Ron Robinson Theater with $2 screenings of classic horror films. This month, it’s Dementia 13 (July 11), House on Haunted Hill (July 18) and Attack of the Giant Leeches (July 25). Films begin at 6 p.m. For more info, visit www.cals.org/ ronrobinson/index.html.

JULY 1

JUNE 30

JULY 4

JULY 11-JULY 25

FUN!

Murry’s Dinner Playhouse presents SOUTHERN CROSSROADS, a funny and touching show set in the midst of the Great Depression. It follows a family of traveling singers as they persevere to bring entertainment to the locals in an old fashioned high spirited jamboree. For tickets and show times, visit www. murrysdp.com.

JULY 12-AUG 26

Murry’s Dinner Playhouse presents the WIZARD OF OZ. There is no place like home as the greatest family musical of all time comes to the Murry’s stage. Travel down the yellow brick road with Dorothy, Toto, and their friends the Cowardly Lion, Tin Man, and Scarecrow featuring all the classic songs you love. For tickets and show times, visit www. murrysdp.com.

JULY 13

Wildwood Park presents the FOURTH WALL, hybrid arts ensemble, in concert at 7:30 p.m. as part of its WAMA Wildwood Academy of Music and Arts Festival. For more info, visit www. wildwoodpark.org.

JULY 14

2ND FRIDAY ART NIGHT takes place in downtown Little Rock. Galleries and shops stay open late with light snacks and beverages to enjoy. The trolley runs for free.

JULY 15

JULY 8

The Ron Robinson Theater hosts a free screening of BEE MOVIE at 1 p.m.

SURVIVOR performs live at CenterStage at Choctaw Casino in Pocola, Okla., at 8 p.m. Tickets are $24 and on sale now through Ticketmaster at 800-7453000 or ticketmaster.com.

MARK YOUR CALENDARS: THE SOUTHERN TABLE opens in mid-July and serves a tapas style array of “boards and bites” with assorted house made cheeses, seasonal fruit, cured meat, breads and more. It’s located at 323 S. Cross in the former Kent Walker location.

THROUGH JULY 9

THE ARKANSAS SHAKESPEARE THEATER presents its summer season at UCA in Conway with performances of Julius Caesar, Taming of the Shrew, Love’s Labour Lost and Music Man. For a complete schedule of events and tickets, visit www. arkshakes.com.

JULY 19

JULY 11

MY VIETNAM YOUR IRAQ (2011) is this month’s pick for Movies at MacArthur. The free screening begins at 6:30 p.m. and includes popcorn and beverages. n Riverdale 10 screens the classic BEETLEJUICE (1988) at 7 p.m. Enjoy a glass of wine or cold beer in the most comfortable seats in town. For current show times, visit www.riverdale10.com.

A NIGHT AT THE THEATER: SWEET CHARITY takes place at Argenta Community Theater. This is a summer fundraising preview show for the theater. Tickets are $50 and available online at CentralArkansasTickets.com.

JULY 31-AUG 4

Wildwood Park hosts its WILDKIDS COOK SUMMER CAMP where campers will receive hands-on cooking skills. To enroll your wild one, visit www. wildwoodpark.org.

CENTRALARKANSASTICKETS.COM can sell tickets for your business, event venue or non-profit event. ArkansasTimes local ticketing site!

AUG 3

TIM MCGRAW and FAITH HILL return to Verizon Arena on Thursday, August 3, on their Soul 2 Soul Tour. Tickets are on sale now. For more info, visit www. verizonarena.com.

AUG 23-SEPT 10

THE HEART IS A LONELY HUNTER, based on the novel by Carson McCullers, is brought to the Arkansas Repertory Theatre’s stage. This haunting Southern drama tells the story of a handful of misfits from a 1930s Georgia mill town. For tickets and show times, visit www.therep.org.

JUNE 29, 2017

ARKANSAS TIMES

SEPT 17

Grammy Award winning TEDESCHI TRUCKS BAND performs their joy-filled blast of blues, rock and soul at Robinson Center Music Hall on Sunday, Sept. 17 at 7 p.m. Tickets are on sale now at ticketmaster.com.

DON’T MISS HOT SPRINGS HAPPENINGS ON PAGE 30!

ALSO IN THE ARTS, CONT.

Theatre

“Annie.” The Weekend Theater’s production of the Tony Award-winning musical. 7:30 p.m. Thu.-Sat., 2:30 p.m. Sun., through July 16. $16-$20. 1001 W. 7th St. 501-374-3761. “The Pervert and the Pentecostal.” The Main Thing’s summer musical comedy. 8 p.m. Fri.-Sat., through Sept. 1. $24. The Joint Theater & Coffeehouse. 301 Main St., NLR. 501-372-0205. “Southern Crossroads.” Murry’s Dinner Playhouse presents the Depression-era revue. 7:30 p.m. Tue.-Sat., dinner at 6 p.m.; 12:45 p.m. and 6:45 p.m. Sun., dinner at 11 a.m. and 5:30 p.m., through July 8. $15-$37. 6323 Colonel Glenn Road. 501-562-3131. “Julius Caesar.” Arkansas Shakespeare Theatre’s retelling of the bard’s classic, performed with on-stage seating. 7:30 p.m. June 30, 2 p.m. July 2, Reynolds Performance Hall, University of Central Arkansas, Conway. $25-$32. arkshakes.com/tickets. 501-450-3265. “Taming of the Shrew.” Arkansas Shakespeare Theatre’s retelling of the bard’s classic, performed with on-stage seating. 2 p.m. June 29, 10 a.m. June 30, 2 p.m. July 4, Reynolds Performance Hall, University of Central Arkansas, Conway. $10. arkshakes.com/tickets. 501-450-3265. “The Music Man.” Arkansas Shakespeare Theatre’s take on the Meredith Willson musical, performed with on-stage seating. 2 p.m. and 7:30 p.m. July 1, 2 p.m. and 7:30 p.m. July 5, Reynolds Performance Hall, University of Central Arkansas, Conway. $25-$32. arkshakes.com/tickets. 501-450-3265. “Love’s Labours Lost.” Arkansas Shakespeare Theatre’s retelling of the bard’s classic, performed outdoors. 7:30 p.m. June 29, 7:30 p.m. July 2, University of Central Arkansas, lawn in front of McAlister Hall, Conway (patrons are encouraged to bring chairs or blankets). $15 suggested donation. arkshakes. com/tickets. 501-450-3265. “Comedy Yet Magic: An Evening with Scott Davis.” A 90-minute family production from Five Star Dinner Theatre. 7 p.m. dinner, 8 p.m. curtain time Wed., Fri.-Sat., through Aug. 9. $17-$38. 701 Central Ave., Hot Springs. 501318-1600.

CALL FOR ARTISTS

The Arkansas Arts Council is accepting applications from artists wishing to work with teachers and students in schools or afterschool and summer programs. The deadline to apply to join the Arts in Education Artist Roster is July 7. For more information, go to www.arkansasarts.org or call 501-324-9769.

FINE ART, HISTORY EXHIBITS MAJOR VENUES ARKANSAS ARTS CENTER, MacArthur Park: 59th annual “Delta Exhibition,” through Aug. 27; “56th Young Arkansas Artists Exhibition,” through July 23; “Drawing on History: National Drawing Invitational Retrospective,” works from the permanent collection, through Sept. 24. 9 a.m.-5 p.m. Tue.-Fri., 10 a.m.-5 p.m. Sat., 11 a.m.-5 p.m. Sun. 3724000. ARTS & SCIENCE CENTER FOR SOUTHEAST ARKANSAS, 701 S. Main St., Pine Bluff: “Color in Space: The Art of Justin Bryant,” through Sept. 9; “Rhythm, Rhymes and Young Artists of the Delta,” through July 8; “Resilience,” printmaking by Emma Amos, Vivian Browne, Camille Billops, Margaret Burroughs, Elizabeth Catlett, Barbara JonesHogu, Samella Lewis, and Rosalind Jeffries, through July 8. 10 a.m.-5 p.m. Tue.-Fri., 1-4 p.m. Sat. 870-536-3375. BUTLER CENTER GALLERIES, Arkansas Studies Institute, 401 President Clinton Ave.: “Sammy Peters: Then and Now,” abstract

paintings, through Aug. 26; “Historic Bridges of Arkansas,” photographs by Maxine Payne, through Aug. 26; “The American Red Cross in Arkansas,” artifacts covering 100 years, through July 1. 9 a.m.-6 p.m. Mon.-Sat. 3205790. CENTRAL HIGH SCHOOL MUSEUM VISITOR CENTER, Bates and Park: Exhibits on the 1957 desegregation of Central and the civil rights movement. 9 a.m.-4:30 p.m. daily. 374-1957. CLINTON PRESIDENTIAL CENTER: “Xtreme Bugs,” animatronic insects, through July 23; permanent exhibits on the Clinton administration. 9 a.m.-5 p.m. Mon.-Sat., 1-5 p.m. Sun., $10 adults, $8 seniors, retired military and college students, $6 youth 6-17, free to active military and children under 6. CRYSTAL BRIDGES MUSEUM OF AMERI-

CAN ART, One Museum Way, Bentonville: “Chihuly: In the Gallery and in the Forest,” works by the glass artist Dale Chihuly, through Aug. 14, $20, ticket required (tickets. crystalbridges.org); “Animal Meet Human,” 16 works, including Adonna Khare’s 40-footlong pencil drawing, “Elephants,” and Helen Frankenthaler’s “The Bullfight,” through Oct. 30; “Not to Scale: Highlights from the Fly’s Eye Dome Archive,” drawings and models of Buckminster Fuller’s geodesic dome, June 30-March 2018; “Roy Lichtenstein in Focus,” five large works, through July; American masterworks spanning four centuries in the permanent collection. 11 a.m.-6 p.m. Mon., Thu.; 11 a.m.-9 p.m. Wed., Fri.; 10 a.m.-6 p.m. Sat.-Sun., closed Tue. 479418-5700. ESSE PURSE MUSEUM & STORE, 1510 S.

Main St.: “Take Your Purse With You: The Reimagined Work of Katherine Strause,” paintings, through Aug. 27; “What’s Inside: A Century of Women and Handbags,” permanent exhibit. 11 a.m.-4 p.m. Tue.-Sat., 11 a.m.-3 p.m. Sun. $10, $8 for students, seniors and military. 916-9022. FORT SMITH REGIONAL ART MUSEUM, 1601 Rogers Ave.: “Carlos Luna,” mixed-media on wood, paintings and Jacquard tapestries, through Sept. 18; “K. Nelson Harper: Lasting Impressions,” art of the letterpress, through Sept. 3. 11 a.m.-6 p.m. Tue.-Sat., 1-5 p.m. Sun. 479-784-2787. HISTORIC ARKANSAS MUSEUM, 200 E. 3rd St.: “Gordon and Wenonah Fay Holl: Collecting a Legacy,” through Feb. 4, 2018; “Traces Remain,” installation by Dawn Holder and works on paper by Melissa Cowper-Smith,

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Dining WHAT’S COOKIN’

LA HACIENDA, 3024 Cantrell Road, has reopened after a six-month remodeling job. The Ark-Mex restaurant says it’s still in the “soft opening” phase and will host a grand reopening in a couple of weeks. Ignacio Alvarez and his brothers opened Little Rock’s La Hacienda in 1996 (they opened their first restaurant in Hot Springs in 1990); in addition to its new digs, there will be new food and drink specials soon. The Alvarez family has closed its to-go restaurant at 7706 Cantrell (formerly The Hop), but a new Mexican restaurant has opened there. IF YOU ARE a beef jerky lover, you might want to note on your calendar that on July 1, the Beef Jerky Outlet will open in Hot Springs, at 231 Central Ave., next to the Arlington Hotel. Besides beef jerky, the store will sell kangaroo, alligator, venison and elk jerky, gourmet snacks, spices, rubs and more. The grand opening runs through the Fourth of July; a ribbon cutting ceremony is slated for 10 a.m. July 6. The Beef Jerky Outlet is owned by Paul Fry and Justin McClendon, who also own the Beef Jerky Outlet in the Outlets of Little Rock. FERRY CHOW, the chef at Wasabi Bar, Sushi and Grill at 101 Main St., has filed for a mixed drink permit for a new restaurant, Ninja Bar Sushi and Grill, at 5501 Ranch Drive. The new restaurant will apparently be part of the Ninja Sushi and Grill buffet chain out of Arlington, Texas. HELEN WYRICK HAS applied for a mixed drink permit for Gigi’s Soul Cafe and Lounge, which will take the place of Nashville Bar and Grill at 10840 Maumelle Blvd. Gigi’s is remodeling the space and will reopen July 28 to serve soul food and barbecue and host jazz and soul acts at night. Co-owner Andrea Wyrick Moore posted an article from the North Little Rock Times on the Gigi’s Facebook page in which she is quoted as saying “Gigi’s will NOT resemble Nashville in any way, shape or form. … The feel of the place will be old school rhythm and blues and jazz bar and restaurant.” The Memphis Soul Review will perform at the reopening.

JUNE 29, 2017

ARKANSAS TIMES

Give us mo’ momo Katmandu Momo serves up crave-worthy Nepalese dumplings.

ince Saroja Shrestha and her husband, Kyler Nordeck, started the Katmandu Momo food truck in 2014, we’ve been following it around Little Rock and on social media in pursuit of our momo fix. What’s a momo, you ask? It’s a type of steamed South Asian dumpling, popular in Nepal, Tibet, Bhutan and parts of India, and Katmandu Momo’s version is addictive. Shrestha grew up in Katmandu, Nepal, and first came to the U.S. to attend Henderson State University in Arkadelphia. She stuck around Arkansas after college and met and married Nordeck. Shrestha enjoyed cooking, got acclaim from friends when she made momos and had a business administration degree, so she and Nordeck decided to open a food truck. After three years of success as a mobile eatery, they opened up shop in a corner stall of the River Market’s Ottenheimer Hall earlier this year. The food truck remains in operation around town, but, man, oh man, are we glad to have a fixed location to get our fix of Nepalese deliciousness. For those new to Katmandu Momo’s cuisine, you’re in luck: The options are few and all tasty. The steamed momos come filled with beef, chicken or veggies. They’re roundish, creased together with a swirl on top (Shrestha assembles each momo). All the fillings Follow Eat Arkansas on Twitter: @EatArkansas

are marinated in spices that may be somewhat familiar — cumin, coriander, turmeric — along with fresh garlic and ginger, but together, taste unlike anything we’ve tried before. They come with achar sauce, which is thin and tomato-based with hints of sesame oil and a slow heat. Dump the momos thoroughly in the achar sauce and lean all the way over your to-go container — the momos are juicy and, if you’re not careful, you’ll get splattered. We’ve had all varieties many times. They’re all excellent, but we prefer the crunch of the veggie, which have a stewed-like quality, and apparently we’re not alone. Nordeck says it’s hard for Shrestha to make enough

Katmandu Momo

Ottenheimer Hall 400 President Clinton Ave. 351-4169 facebook.com/katmandumomo Quick bite Katmandu Momo’s regular special is chicken chow mein, a smoky tangle of spaghetti mixed with blackened pieces of chicken and green pepper and covered with garam masala and other spices. It’s a massive portion and, like everything else, delicious. You can get a veggie variety, too. Hours 10:30 a.m. to 6 p.m. Monday through Saturday. Other info Credit cards accepted, no alcohol.

MOMOS AND MORE: Katmandu Momo’s meat and vegetable dumplings with achar sauce are matched with crunchy spring rolls, jasmine fried rice and (right) chicken chow mein.

veggie to satisfy the demand. The veggie momos are also vegan, as are all three of the sides. The longgrain jasmine fried rice was buttery and golden (we suspect there’s a healthy seasoning of turmeric, saffron or both), with a wonderfully uneven toasted quality. It was like paella rice, but without the crunch. If the aloo dum, or spicy potato salad, was on a chain restaurant menu, it’d have a little hot pepper symbol next to it to warn the capsaicin-averse. It’s spiced liberally with fennel, cumin, green onion and cilantro, and enough heat to make the crunchy, mild spring roll a nice go-between. You can get large portions of each of the sides for $4, or get them as part of a combo. It’s $8.99 for 10 momos, eight momos and a side or six momos and two sides.

BELLY UP

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JUNE 29–JULY 9

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