2 October 28-November 10, 2026 | metrotimes.com
metrotimes.com | October 28-November 10, 2026 3
4 October 28-November 10, 2026 | metrotimes.com
metrotimes.com | October 28-November 10, 2026 5
VOL. 46 | NO. 27 | OCTOBER 28-NOVEMBER 10, 2026
News & Views
EDITORIAL Editor in Chief - Steve Neavling
Feedback ............................. 10 Lions Column ....................... 15
LET’S GO LIONS & RED WINGS! VISIT US ON GAME DAY
Advertising Executive - Jessica Smith
One Mile from Stadiums/Minutes from QLine Book Your Parties: theoldmiamibarevents@gmail.com
WE ARE OPEN ON ALL HOLIDAYS Thurs 10/29
Fri 11/06
WATCH PARTY ON THE PATIO! AMERICAN HORROR STORY
FALSE HARBOR/REMNOSE/NEIGHBOR DOG
9PM/NO COVER
Fri 10/30
DEVIL’S NIGHT @ THE OLD MIAMI HOST JAMIE MOSSHART
FEAT. THE HOURLIES/SIMULATION/ ROSE ST GERMAIN/FROGMAN TAROT READINGS BY MIRIAM VUKICH COMEDIANS SKIPPY ROSE/ STEVE WIDZINSKI/JOHN MAHAR AND COSTUME CONTEST DOORS@9PM/$10COVER
Sat 10/31
PINK 50’S HALLOWEEN BASH 6
FEAT. THE PINK 50’S/ WOLF BITE/FEAR OF THEM PRIZES FOR BEST COSTUMES! (PROG ROCK/GARAGE ROCK/ ALT ROCK) DOORS@9P/$5COVER
Sun 11/01
NFL GAMEDAY (HOME) DETROIT LIONS VS MINNESOTA VIKINGS WATCH THE GAME ON OUR BIG SCREENS! 1PM KICKOFF
Mon 11/02
FREE POOL ALL DAY Tues 11/03
ELECTION DAY DRINK SPECIAL! SHOW US YOUR “I VOTED” STICKER HAPPY BIRTHDAY, NIK PETREW! Thurs 11/05
HAPPY BIRTHDAY, ERIC LEMMON!
CREATIVE SERVICES
Cover Story
Creative Director - Haimanti Germain
Youmacon ............................. 18
SEATBELTS/NUKE & THE NIGHTSHIFT/ SLUMLORD RADIO
(POWER POP/HIGH ENERGY HORROR ROCK’N’ROLL) DOORS@9P/$5COVER
Sun 11/08
NFL GAMEDAY (AWAY) DETROIT LIONS VS MIAMI DOLPHINS
Ferndale, MI 48220 metrotimes.com
Culture Bites ..................................... 21
GOT A STORY TIP OR FEEDBACK? (Note our new email address!)
Music ................................... 25
tips@detroitmetrotimes.com
Savage Love ........................ 27 GET SOCIAL:
WATCH THE GAME ON OUR BIG SCREENS! 4:25PM KICKOFF
@metrotimes
HAPPY BIRTHDAY, GENA VERAJON! Mon 11/09
DETROIT DISTRIBUTION
FREE POOL ALL DAY
Detroit Metro Times is available free of charge,
Coming Up:
11/11 VETERANS DAY 11/13 FOUL MOUTH 11/20 NARRAGANSETT XXXMAS OFFICE PARTY 11/21 DIVAS VS DIVAS (MONTHLY DANCE PARTY) 11/25 DJ SKEEZ & FRIENDS 11/26 OPEN ON THANKSGIVING 11/27 MARSHALL LUNA BLUE/ QUEEN JAYNE/LÜCID 12/05 ANGIE HARTLEY & THE BOYS 12/11 BMCC4 JAMBOREE 12/18 DUDE/MERCURY DRIVE/ TRAVIS HARRETT 12/19 PINK 50’S CHRISTMAS SPECTACULAR 12/24 OPEN ON XMAS EVE 12/25 OPEN ON XMAS DAY 12/26 A VERY KRAMPUS CHRISTMAS SPECIAL
limited to one copy per reader.
Verified Audit Member
BIG LOU HOLDINGS Chief Executive Officer - Chris Keating
National Advertising - Voice Media Group
On the cover:
1-888-278-9866
Photo provided by Youmacon
vmgadvertising.com
OLD MIAMI T-SHIRTS & HOODIES ON SALE NOW!
RIP DPO Printed on recycled paper Printed By
6 October 28-November 10, 2026 | metrotimes.com
DETROIT METRO TIMES P.O. Box 20734
(INDIE PSYCH ROCK/INDIE FOLK ROCK/ GARAGE) DOORS@9P/$5COVER
Sat 11/07
ADVERTISING
248-620-2990
Copyright: The entire contents of the Detroit Metro Times are copyright by Big Lou Holdings, LLC. Reproduction in whole or in part without written permission of the publisher is prohibited. The publisher does not assume any liability for unsolicited manuscripts, materials, or other content. Any submission must include a stamped, self-addressed envelope. All editorial, advertising, and business correspondence should be mailed to the address listed below. Prior written permission must be granted to Metro Times for additional copies. Metro Times may be distributed only by Metro Times’ authorized distributors and independent contractors. Subscriptions are available by mail inside the U.S. for six months at $80 and a yearly subscription for $150. Include check or money order payable to: Metro Times Subscriptions, P.O. Box 20734, Ferndale, MI, 48220. (Please note: Third Class subscription copies are usually received 3-5 days after publication date in the Detroit area.) Most back issues obtainable for $7 prepaid by mail. See metrotimes.comfir more information.
metrotimes.com | October 28-November 10, 2026 7
8 October 28-November 10, 2026 | metrotimes.com
metrotimes.com | October 28-November 10, 2026 9
NEWS & VIEWS Feedback Readers respond to U.S. Senate candidate Mike Rogers numerously lying about his opponent Abdul El-Sayed. “Fear is their only policy.” – Dave Belch, Facebook “Vote blue to take our country back and end this nightmare.” – @Paddywack17, Instagram “Mike ‘Pinocchio’ Rogers emulates donald.” – @Patton6606Chuck, X
10 October 28-November 10, 2026 | metrotimes.com
run for office where decisions can impact generations.” – @jmkzworx, Instagram “Lots of false ads on TV right now thanks to Mike Rogers. It should be illegal to lie in campaign ads.” – @Beyoncefan0, X “I’m not a Democrat, but I’d rather that than what’s happening now.” – @hikeandbikemi, Instagram “Fuck off metro times. Deport all Muslims.” – @Try_Havoc, X
“Get out and vote, People!!! Show Mike Rogers the door.” – Douglas Hall, Facebook
“Muslims and the far left working hand in hand to destroy the US. Eventually, they will throw gays off rooftops. Suicidal empathy.” – Ross James Willey, X
“Some men lose their ethics as they age. Mike Rogers isn’t alone, but he should not
Have an opinion? Sound off: tips@detroitmetrotimes.com.
metrotimes.com | October 28-November 10, 2026 11
12 October 28-November 10, 2026 | metrotimes.com
metrotimes.com | October 28-November 10, 2026 13
14 October 28-November 10, 2026 | metrotimes.com
NEWS & VIEWS The Lions: Dan Campbell versus the pretty boy
The Lions and Packers rivalry pits two very different versions of the modern NFL coach against each other by Joel Walkowski Gibbs, St. Brown, LaPorta, & Jamo.
Detroit possesses a rare amount of firepower. Some Sundays the spotlight gets passed around like a flea flicker and the best comparison for this offense becomes a supergroup like the Traveling Wilburys instead of another team’s skill positions. Still, the most electrifying moment never comes on the field. That distinction is reserved for Dan Campbell’s locker room speeches. It has become mainstream practice for NFL teams to post their coaches addressing the team on social media. Campbell helped solidify the practice. The only way I’d anticipate an Instagram post more would be if the Rizzler tried bungee jumping. Lions fans — outside of the 97.1 payroll — love Dan Campbell. That has much to do with how he speaks as how the team performs. His orations are a meatheaded hybrid of entertainment and inspiration that are pep talks to my team but also to me navigating my life. This practice started in 2021 when I was embracing recovery. Dan waxing poetic about building from the ground up was what I needed to hear. The team has improved and I’ve stayed sober but Dan stays in my ear like a redfaced, creatine-laden angel. A 45-21 win over the Cardinals was a refreshing return to form but Campbell used his postgame address to speak on human potential and the burden that comes with talent. “Don’t ever accept less than what you are capable of as a human being.” This alone would be the best possible quote to receive as a grown man on Instagram, but Campbell continued: “And some of you when you become husbands, some of you aren’t fathers, don’t accept less than that either.” It may seem silly or trite but hearing this advice in this context made me pause, considering how I can be a better partner to my girlfriend and son to my mother. I don’t think seeing Ben Johnson shirtless would rouse the same reflections. Campbell finished by dedicating a game ball to Lions radio announcer Dan Miller following the passing of Miller’s wife, Cindy. “Dan is salt of the earth,” Campbell said, fighting back emotion. “We love you, Dan.”
It was a beautiful moment. A brawny leader of men singling out a member of the broadcast team during a time of grief. This level of care is the patrician leadership this franchise has lacked and an inspiring departure from Matt Patricia scolding reporters for poor posture. Emotional intelligence is Campbell’s signature. Not many head coaches acknowledge learning care and encouragement from their mothers but Campbell openly discusses it. Leading with emotional vulnerability is a good practice anywhere but downright revelatory in the NFL’s toxic landscape. Men struggle with emotions and to see Campbell consistently lead with his is reassuring. There’s a reason why he’s one of the few coaches whose fanbase dons his jersey on game day. He makes us feel seen. Dan Campbell might not be the best coach in the NFL but he has an argument for best character. The emotionally intelligent Hercules who is aggressive on fourth down as a gesture of trust. He’s like Ted Lasso if it was only broadcast on TVs at the gym. I’ll always root for the guy. Sure, I want him to win a Super Bowl but I’d also like him to avoid lines at Secretary of State and never spill during Victory Monday coffee runs with Holly. This affection for Campbell looms over the most important stretch of the season. The next two home games against divisional opponents will impact the season’s trajectory and serve as a referendum one way or another. I want the team to win but I’d love to see Dan validated. The team’s 3-2 record is decent but ultimately meaningless in a ruthlessly good NFC North. This division is unique in not just quality but the degree to which head coaches serve as the faces of their respective franchises. Of all the storylines surrounding Sunday’s game, the character juxtaposition between Campbell and Green Bay Packers head coach Matt LaFleur might be the most compelling. LaFleur is a slick offensive genius, who inherited a team ready to contend, and has come painfully close to getting them over the hump. He’s someone who would be tremendously easy to root against if not for the complicated realization that he’s one of us.
Don Campbell is the Detroit Lions head coach. ALL-PRO REELS / WIKIMEDIA COMMONS / CC BY-SA 2.0
Matt LaFleur is a local football legend. This guy has been in more small Michigan towns than the Cornish pasty. The Mt. Pleasant native was nurtured by the Central Michigan football program before playing receiver at Western Michigan and quarterback at Saginaw Valley State before starting his coaching career at Northern Michigan. I want to disregard him but can’t. I am programmed to hate anyone on the Packers. They are lucky frontrunners who succeed because of referees but how much can I revile a guy who knows the taste of Superman Ice Cream and has a favorite Great Lake? It’s always surprising to remember that LaFleur is a Michigander because he’s, well, pretty. Seven years into his tenure, LaFleur is known as much for his meticulously groomed haircut as any signature win. It’s talked about during games and is the polar opposite of how Dan Campbell is revered — a coach praised for how he looks rather than how he makes people feel. The facts remain. LaFleur is a very good coach. His teams have consistently won. New quarterback? Severe shortages on the offensive line? None of it matters. LaFleur’s team will be in the playoffs. Even the biggest indictments have little to do with LaFleur’s coaching. He’s struggled with anger. Incidents like screaming at officials, berating Kingsley Enagbare and clashing with fans at Ford Field show a coach who needs to control himself as much as his offense. These events combine with LaFleur’s good looks to give him an antagonist’s branding. When his teams lose in January — as has become the norm for the Packers and their casual fanbase — it doesn’t come off as a team falling short as much as a bully receiving his comeuppance. These are just suspicions and casual observations but on Oct. 4th, with the Packers seemingly headed for their first bad season since I was in diapers, former
Green Bay Packer Kurt Benkert called out his former coach for a series of red flags. LaFleur allegedly made the quarterback room take off custom novelty T-shirts praising his good looks, criticized a player’s beloved jacket and bristled at losing arcade games at Dave & Buster’s. This is one former player’s account, and none of the alleged personality offenses are particularly damning. But it’s hard to imagine Dan Campbell making any of these supposed faux pas. I have no idea who is the better coach but I know who I’d rather drink a strong coffee with. This game’s contrast is nearly as compelling as its stakes. Campbell and LaFleur represent two very different versions of the modern NFL head coach. One looks like he was engineered in a laboratory to embody traditional masculinity while the other looks like he sells expensive watches. It’s an interesting inversion of expectations. Campbell is the bruiser whose biggest muscle is his heart. LaFleur is the pretty boy who can’t take a joke but can scheme open a wide receiver. One makes toughness look like the ability to express yourself. The other, fairly or not, sometimes pursues the opposite. Football has long been a breeding ground for toxic masculinity, a place where men treat vulnerability like a torn ACL. Campbell is a welcome departure from that tradition. He cries, he hugs, he tells people he loves them and all of it makes him seem like more of a man. Emotional intelligence doesn’t stop a pass rush and a good haircut doesn’t prevent a fourth-quarter collapse. Scoreboards determine winners and these games become referendums on people we admire and values we hold. That being the case, I really, really want to see Dan Campbell prevail over Matt LaFleur. On Sunday, I don’t just want Campbell to beat LaFleur. I want the big, red-faced guy with the bigger heart to win one for the sensitive dudes.
metrotimes.com | October 28-November 10, 2026 15
16 October 28-November 10, 2026 | metrotimes.com
metrotimes.com | October 28-November 10, 2026 17
Halloween weekend, downtown Detroit will belong to the cosplayers. Youmacon returns to Huntington Place with thousands of anime fans, gamers, artists, and some seriously elaborate costumes. Huntington Place will fill with anime characters, superheroes, villains, video-game icons, elaborate handmade costumes, and people who have been planning what they’re going to wear for months. Youmacon, Michigan’s largest anime convention, returns to downtown Detroit through Sunday, Nov. 1, bringing with it one of the more colorful annual invasions of the city. About 14,000 people attended last year, and organizers expect another huge crowd for a weekend devoted to anime, gaming, cosplay, music, art, and Japanese pop culture. And this year, the calendar worked out almost too perfectly because Saturday is Halloween. For a convention where dressing up is already one of the biggest attractions, Halloween falling in the middle of Youmacon weekend gives people one more excuse to go big. This year’s
theme, appropriately enough, is “Spirits & Shadows.” But calling Youmacon a costume convention doesn’t really capture what the event has become since it launched in 2005. For four days, it’s basically a temporary city of fandom. Gamers can disappear into tournaments and free play. Collectors hunt for merchandise. Artists sell prints, clothing, crafts, and original work. Fans line up to meet voice actors. Cosplayers schedule photoshoots and compare costumes they spent weeks or months making. There are concerts, panels, workshops, fashion shows, tabletop games, meetups, and late-night events. And plenty of people come simply because they want to spend a weekend surrounded by thousands of others who care about the same things they do. “Youmacon is a celebration of creativity, culture, and connection. But it’s so much more than a convention, it’s a community,” Youmacon chairman Eric Gaiser said. “For four days, attendees have the opportunity to connect with
18 October 28-November 10, 2026 | metrotimes.com
other people who share their interests, discover new artists and creators, celebrate their favorite fandoms and experience everything Youmacon and Detroit have to offer.” Cosplay remains one of Youmacon’s biggest draws and certainly its most visible one. Throughout the weekend, Huntington Place becomes a parade of characters who ordinarily have no business occupying the same universe, much less the same convention center. Some attendees will show up in costumes bought online a few weeks ago. Others will arrive in projects that required sewing, sculpting, painting, wigs, makeup, and electronics. The result is part convention, part performance, and part fashion show. Youmacon scheduled its Senpai Squad Rave and International Cosplay Competition for Saturday, traditionally one of the convention’s busiest days. The weekend also includes the Otaku Cabaret on Friday, an expanded adults-only section, a larger gaming hall, and the return of Japanese voice actors. The sprawling vendor hall and Artist
Alley will feature hundreds of vendors, artists, creators, and independent makers selling collectibles, fandom merchandise, handmade items, and original artwork. Gaming gets another major chunk of the convention, with video games, arcade games, tabletop games, tournaments, and free-play opportunities throughout the weekend. Then there are the panels and workshops covering anime, manga, gaming, cosplay, crafting, and Japanese pop culture, along with dedicated meetups for fans of particular shows, games, characters, and other interests. That’s because fandom can get extremely specific. It isn’t simply liking anime. It might mean loving one character from one series, collecting one particular kind of figure, spending hundreds of hours mastering a game, or devoting half a year to reproducing a costume that appeared onscreen for 30 seconds. At Youmacon, chances are pretty good somebody else cares about it too. That sense of community extends beyond fandom this year. Youmacon is offering free weekend
badges to Detroit police officers, firefighters, EMTs, and other eligible first responders, who can claim admission at the door with valid identification. The convention is also continuing its annual Charity Ball and partnership with Extra Life, the Children’s Miracle Network Hospitals fundraising program. This year’s beneficiary is Corewell Health Children’s in Royal Oak. Organizers say Youmacon has donated more than $20,000, along with toys and merchandise, over the past two years. It will also participate in a cultural exchange with the Consulate General of Japan in Detroit and Ikebana International. By Saturday, thousands of people in costumes will be moving through Huntington Place while downtown Detroit goes through its own Halloween weekend outside. For once, the person walking down Washington Boulevard dressed like an anime villain may be the least surprising thing you see. Youmacon runs Thursday, Oct. 29 through Sunday, Nov. 1 at Huntington Place, 1 Washington Blvd., Detroit. Weekend and single-day badges are available, with discounted admission for children and free admission for children younger than 5.
Youmacon brings thousands of cosplayers and anime fans to downtown Detroit this Halloween weekend.
COURTESY OF YOUMACON
metrotimes.com | October 28-November 10, 2026 19
20 October 28-November 10, 2026 | metrotimes.com
Stoli’s is bringing smash burgers and late-night eats to West Bloomfield
BITES
The new restaurant from Prime Concepts Detroit will also serve carbonara, mortadella sandwiches, weekend brunch, and a late-night menu.
A new restaurant serving smash
Aurora Italiana’s La Dolce È Italiana Halloween party takes inspiration from the excess of late-’90s Milan. COURTESY OF AURORA ITALIANA
Aurora Italiana goes full ’90s Italian glamour for Halloween
Halloween in Commerce
welcome. The restaurant is promising a night where dinner gradually turns into the party, with pasta on the tables, martinis at the bar, a photographer playing paparazzi, and a live band performing ’90s hits while guests eat. The whole thing leans heavily into the period’s unapologetic glamour, when, as Aurora puts it, “more was always more.” Doors open at 7 p.m. at Aurora Italiana’s Commerce Township restaurant, 2323 Union Lake Rd. Tickets are $100
per person, prepaid, plus 6% sales tax and 20% gratuity. Drinks will be available from a cash bar, and reservations can accommodate parties of up to 20 people. And, because no night devoted to Italian excess would be complete without a little Sophia Loren, the restaurant is invoking one of the screen legend’s most famous lines: “Everything you see, I owe to spaghetti.” La Dolce È Italiana takes place Friday, Oct. 30, at Aurora Italiana, 2323 Union Lake Rd., Commerce Township. Doors open at 7 p.m. Tickets are $100 per person, plus tax and gratuity. Reservations are available through Aurora Italiana and OpenTable. — By Steve Neavling
A Milford brewery is throwing a free Halloween rock ’n’ roll bash
Ball on Friday, Oct. 30, with four acts taking over the Milford venue. The lineup includes Coffin Jockeys with The Caskettes, Funderbird, Hot Ugly, and DJ BroBri. Doors open at 6 p.m., and the music starts at 7 p.m. Costumes aren’t required, but considering there’s a costume contest, showing up in your everyday clothes feels like leaving money on the table. The night will also include door prizes and other Halloween-themed shenanigans. Admission is free, though donations will be accepted at the door to
support Milford Independent Cinema. Proceeds from a silent auction will also benefit the nonprofit movie theater. The instructions from organizers are refreshingly simple: Show up thirsty, ready to rock, and dressed to impress. The Devil’s Ball runs from 6 p.m. Friday, Oct. 30, at The Warehouse at River’s Edge Brewing Co., 125 S. Main St., Milford; bands begin at 7 p.m.; free admission; donations encouraged. — By Steve Neavling
La Dolce È Italiana in Commerce Township promises fashionweek looks, live music, and a dinner that turns into a party.
Township is going back to 1999, when sunglasses were enormous, leopard print was practically a neutral, and subtlety was hardly the point. Aurora Italiana is hosting La Dolce È Italiana on Friday, Oct. 30, a Halloween dinner party inspired by the supermodel-era excess of late’90s Milan. Guests are encouraged to arrive dressed for fashion week, with leopard, gold, baroque prints, big hair, and oversized shades all
The Devil’s Ball brings live bands, costumes, prizes, and plenty of mischief to The Warehouse.
Milford is getting into the Halloween spirit with a free night of live music, costumes, prizes, and plenty of mischief. The Warehouse at River’s Edge Brewing Co. is hosting The Devil’s
burgers, carbonara, and late-night comfort food is coming to West Bloomfield this fall. Stoli’s is preparing to open this fall at 6203 Orchard Lake Rd., the latest restaurant from Prime Concepts Detroit, the group behind Sexy Steak, NARA Sushi & Hibachi Steakhouse, Aurora Italiana, and several other metro Detroit restaurants. The restaurant is named after Stolion “Stoli” Liti, Prime Concepts Detroit’s managing partner and director of operations. Inspired in part by Liti’s European background, the concept borrows from Italian trattorias, French bistros, and Spanish tascas, with an emphasis on comfort food and a casual neighborhood atmosphere. The menu will include a Stoli Double Smash Cheeseburger, carbonara, and a mortadella sandwich with mornay sauce, along with halal options. The restaurant says it will use organic poultry, grass-fed Prime beef, and no seed oils. “I’ve been trying to convince Stoli to do this for years,” said Joe Barbat, chairman and CEO of Barbat Holdings and Prime Concepts Detroit. “He’s the most naturally gifted hospitality professional I’ve ever worked with. It’s who he is, not a job he does. His background, where he comes from, the way he makes a room feel: I like to call him Mr. Hospitality because he is the best in the business. I wanted a restaurant built around that. It took a lot of convincing, but we’re here, and I couldn’t be happier that he’s the name and face behind our first Stoli’s.” The roughly 80-seat dining room will also feature a lounge, bar, pool tables, and dart boards, with plans for trivia nights, pool leagues, and other events. A 50-seat patio will open seasonally. Stoli’s plans to serve lunch and dinner seven days a week, along with weekend brunch. On Friday and Saturday nights, the restaurant will switch over to what it calls “XIII Hour,” a limited late-night menu available from 10:30 p.m. until close featuring burgers, fries, French dip, and other comfort-food combos. “Hospitality has always been about making people feel like they’re exactly where they’re supposed to be, and that’s the spirit behind Stoli’s,” Liti said. “To have a restaurant carry my name is an incredible honor, but more importantly, it’s a reflection of the relationships we’ve built with our guests over the years.” Prime Concepts Detroit has not yet announced an opening date or reservation details, saying more information will be released in the coming weeks. — By Steve Neavling
metrotimes.com | October 28-November 10, 2026 21
22 October 28-November 10, 2026 | metrotimes.com
metrotimes.com | October 28-November 10, 2026 23
24 October 28-November 10, 2026 | metrotimes.com
MUSIC This Week in Local Music: Halloween gigs, new releases, and a little noise
Jeff Milo returns to Metro Times with a weekly guide to the new songs, records, artists, and shows worth knowing around Detroit and Michigan. By Jeff Milo Hey, thanks for checking out this column. I’ve been writing for the Metro Times, on and off, for a decade and a half, covering almost exclusively local music. I’ve been ‘off’ for a bit, but clearly I’m back to being ‘on’ again. When I’m not writing for these pages, you can also hear me on WDET for a weekly radio show called MI Local, where I strive to platform the best new music coming out of Detroit and across Michigan. Going forward, here in the Metro Times, I’ll do my best to round up some of the most interesting new releases from artists across the region for you, dear reader, and run down some upcoming live performances you should consider for your evening’s entertainment.
Mirror Mask The sweetest spooky six-piece in town is making two appearances in the week ahead, but one of them’s already sold out. Mirror Mask delivers swooningly dark, danceable, electro-splashed garage-pop that evokes the gobliny glee of being enveloped in a swath of strangely romantic fog. And it’s inside this shoegazy spell they cast, where you can find yourself invariably twirling, dissociating, or gently (and not-so gently) head-banging, depending on the song.
Upcoming shows: Friday, Oct. 30 at El Club, Mirror Mask are performing at the Theatre Bizarre Retrospectacle, which is already sold out! Didn’t get a ticket? Download their singles on Bandcamp, anyway! Thursday, Nov. 5 at Long Play Detroit, Mirror Mask will open for a tour kickoff party for the noise/art-rock outfit Credit Card, alongside Clawfoot, and 800cc. Doors at 7pm / $15
Halloween at Outer Limits Lounge This bar is on the “outer limits” of Hamtramck, right at that town’s eastern border with Detroit. And while it’s certainly not the only spot in town throwing shindigs on Halloween weekend, it holds high potential for providing you one of your more memorable experiences, if only for the clientele alone. This is where you can encounter some of the most charming and scrappiest up-and-coming groups around the scene, mixed in with some savvy and salty veterans. But, of course, this Friday and Saturday, you’ll be seeing them all in costume, as cover bands, embodying iconic groups like Joy Division, The Stooges, and Chuck Berry, but also Local H, Adam Ant, and Pavement.
Maddy Ringo brings a fresh voice to Detroit folk.
Songwriter Open Mic at The Ghost Light – Tuesday, Nov. 3 Do I know who’s going to be performing next Tuesday? No, but that’s the point. And it’s probably a better way to spend your evening, compared with enduring all of the exhaustive election night coverage. Two particular reasons I’m recommending the Open Mic at the Ghost Light are that it’s another effective way to meet the local music scene — several talented and established artists from around the area tend to stop in and put their names in the hat, but on top of that, it’s just one of the many things we can do to sustain a local music scene: try to visit, as frequently as you can, all of the local venues, particularly smaller capacity spots like Ghost Light.
Rogue Satellites Rogue Satellites are the electro-rock duo comprised of Lisa Poszywak and Jaye Allen Thomas, blending vibes of darkwave, drone, and goth with catchy as hell hooks that warmly meld the dulcet to the dissonant. They also love to write and release Halloween-inspired tunes, and have been doing so every year for the last several spooky seasons, capped off this month with their latest, “Total Gore.” Check them out on Bandcamp and then mark your calendars for Friday, Nov. 6th, when they’ll perform at the Eastern Market Brewery with Duende and Eck!
The Johnstonsons – Hard II Impossible
Rouge Satellites find beauty in the noise.
COURTESY OF ROGUE SATELLITES
The Johnstonsons are a dark and dashing synth-punk fusion duo featuring John River and Stonny Moon, and this week, they’re releasing their new album, Hard II
JEREMIAH LUNDE
Impossible (check it out on Bandcamp). New Wave never died, but it’s definitely getting some revitalized kicks from these cool crooners who create nimble and noir-tinged dance-ballads perfect for soundtracking your late-night autumn drives. Catch their release party at Small’s Bar in Hamtramck on Saturday, Nov. 7th.
Maddy Ringo – “Shelter” Maddy Ringo is an incredible up-andcoming Americana singer/songwriter, who just graduated college after balancing studies with the tedious work of building out a music career. Soulful, syrupy vocals and wise-and-weary lyrics beyond her comparatively young years that hit like poignant poetry over rich, resonant acoustic guitars. It may be fall, but her music will take you back to the warm sunshine-soaked vibes of summer instantaneously. Look for her latest, “Shelter,” wherever you stream or download your music.
Callie Simon – “Demo 26” Callie Simon is a noise-rock instrumentalist, primarily on guitar, and she just released a new 3-song EP of gloriously gritty demos. I’ve been obsessed with one of Simon’s new songs, “Next-Wave Rider,” with its chugging/punchy riffs and sweet growly modulations that swerve and jerk into delightfully noisy yowls. Simon performs pretty regularly around the scene but also works as a guitar repair technician and sound engineer, which is rad. There is another set of demos available to download on Simon’s Bandcamp, released in the late summer of ‘25, check that one out too at calliesimon.bandcamp.com.
metrotimes.com | October 28-November 10, 2026 25
26 October 28-November 10, 2026 | metrotimes.com
metrotimes.com | October 28-November 10, 2026 27
28 October 28-November 10, 2026 | metrotimes.com
CULTURE Savage Love Mouths Shut by Dan Savage
Q: I think I’ve developed a crush on
my wife’s ex. I’m in my forties and my wife is older than me. We’ve been together for fifteen years. We are both women. Before we dated each other, we dated men exclusively. She has told me a lot about her ex before me. They were together for six years and lived together, so he came up a lot. I was really insecure at the beginning of our relationship and felt really jealous of him. As time went on, I became more secure in our relationship and I stopped thinking about him. They never spoke while we dated. That is until about two of years ago, when he called out of the blue to say he was in town and asked if she wanted to meet up for dinner. We already had dinner plans so I told her to ask him to join us. The dinner was pretty awkward, as you could tell he was nervous. He cried at least once and kept asking us if we were happy in our relationship. He shared that night that he and his wife were in couples counseling for the second time. My initial reaction was to be put off by him and the whole experience — too much sharing — and I could still sense sexual tension between him and my wife. She wants nothing to do with him. However, recently I’ve been thinking about him and have realized I think he’s hot. I know he has a big dick. I would love to sleep with him but I don’t even know what he thinks of me from that one dinner. My wife has always said that I could open up our relationship if I wanted to sleep with someone else. She’s not interested in sleeping with anyone else but would be fine with me doing it as long as we discussed it first. However, I’m not sure she meant that she’d give her blessing for me to sleep with her ex. My questions: 1. What do I even do here? 2. Should I just leave it as a fantasy? 3. Should I bring it up to her? 4. Should I contact him? 5. Have I finally lost my mind? —Thinking Really Intensely About Novel Group Love Experience
A: 1. Keep your mouth shut. 2. Yes, you should. 3. No, you should not. 4. Abso-fucking-lutely not. 5. Sounds like it.
Crushes are a kind of madness and we’ve all been there — we’ve all lost our minds, some of us way more than once — and I honestly don’t think someone who’s never had an obsessive, all-consuming, wildly inappropriate crush can really say they’ve lived. While it sounds like this crush took a long time to bubble up (you only met your wife’s ex once, and that was two years ago), this guy has loomed large in your psychosexual imagination for a very long time. Just as you’re not the first person to lose their mind like this, you aren’t the first person whose jealousy transubstantiated to lust. (Yes, yes: We see you, aromantic people, and you are valid! But even if you’ve never had a mad crush on someone, you’ve surely had a crush on something. Cinnamon rolls? Weighted blankets? Percussion massagers?) And while it might help this dude to know your relationship isn’t perfect either — his ex’s partner has struggled with obsessive jealousy and now has a crazy-making crush on someone else — I can’t see how it would help him to know he was the focus of your obsessive jealousy and is currently the focus of your obsessive crush. As for the sexual tension you perceived between your wife and her ex, TRIANGLE, that sounds like projection. After all, you’re the one who wants to fuck this guy, not your wife, who says she wants nothing to do with her ex. And, I’m sorry, but there’s no way for you to act on your desire to fuck this guy — which, again, sounds like an eroticized fear — without getting your wife involved. Luckily for you, TRIANGLE, crushes are almost always a temporary insanity. Like the jealousy that came before it, this obsession shall pass. Pray on it, masturbate about it, wait it out. P.S. I’m such a contrarian that I can’t even resist contradicting myself: If you absolutely, positively can’t resist bringing up the subject of fucking her hung ex with the wife, you could claim to have had an erotic dream about her ex and see how she reacts. Try to be neutral, bemused, and matter-of-fact when you mention your dream. (Don’t make the mistake I detailed in my response to Q6 here!) If the wife reacts with horror, drop it forever. If she sighs and says that she sometimes misses
the sex and/or that big dick of his, you could continue to discuss him (maybe have one or two more dreams to goose the convo along) and see where it ultimately goes. But follow her lead, TRIANGLE, and be prepared to pivot to praying on it, masturbating about it, and waiting it out.
Q: My 11-year-old granddaughter has discovered masturbation. She is in fullon puberty and she has her period but is very much emotionally a child. She uses the family percussion massager for self-stimulation and keeps it in her bed. No one is particularly concerned about the self-stim, but I am concerned about her use of the massager. It is not delicate stimulation and seems designed for back and shoulder massage. My question is, could it be harmful used on her genitalia? I’m thinking her delicate female parts may end up completely desensitized especially since it is used frequently. My daughter-in-law seems unconcerned and my son steers clear of that topic. What do the experts say? —Too Much Intensity A: I’m no expert, TMI, but lots of
adults have told me about all the crazy things they used to self-stimulate when they first began exploring their bodies as kids, and almost all report growing up to be sexually healthy adults with fully functional/sensate genitalia. Maybe survivorship bias is at play here — I haven’t spoken to anyone who didn’t survive putting his dick in a vacuum cleaner hose at age eleven, what with them being dead and all — but I’ve heard so many crazy stories, from men and women alike, and I’ve always asked the obvious follow-up question: “Are you okay now?” (If someone tells me they used the family blender as a sex toy, I’m allowed to ask as many follow-up questions as I want.) And very few reported lasting trauma and/or loss of sensation on account of the banister railings, blenders, rolling pins, washing machines, cucumbers, personal massagers, etc., etc., etc., they experimented with as kids. But I imagine more would’ve reported lasting trauma if their grandmother knew how they were masturbating and decided it was her job to intervene. Also potentially traumatizing: their grandmothers writing to sex-advice columnists about the precise stage of puberty they’re in (full-on is the most serious stage!), whether they were having periods, what the experts might say, etc.
Here’s what you do: Say your piece to her parents — that’s a grandmother’s right — and then slowly disappear into the bushes. Worst-case scenario, your granddaughter grows up to be one of the many adult women out there who need the kind of powerful stimulation only a vibrator can provide in order to climax. Since there’s no way of knowing what percentage of those women conditioned themselves to need those powerful sensations during childhood explorations and what percentage would’ve needed those powerful sensations regardless, TMI, your best course of action is to stay out of it. P.S. So, it was a woman who confided in me about sneaking into the kitchen at night when she was a teenager and swiping the blender — just the base, not the pitcher — and taking it to her room, where she would plug it in, turn it on high, and press the side of it between her legs over her sweats. Her mother found the blender in her bed on more than one occasion, and never once asked what she was doing with it… because her mother knew. This is anecdote and not data, I realize, but this woman told me she’s fine now, thanks, she doesn’t require a blender in order to come, and her mother eventually left a vibrator — still in the box — under her pillow. P.P.S. I hope your daughter-in-law, despite seeming unconcerned, is being proactive about talking to her daughter about sexual health, letting her know that it’s normal for kids her age to explore their own bodies in private, and talking to her about consent and how no one else should be touching her body that way. If she’s doing all that, your DIL is doing great. Once you’ve verified the above, you could — one last time — express your concerns about your granddaughter using “the family percussion massager” to explore and then add: “Maybe you could leave a gentler vibrator designed for self-pleasure somewhere she can find it or put a Hitachi Magic Wand ‘personal massager’ on the same shelf where you keep that percussion monster. And now I’ll butt out!”
Q: I’m a bisexual, 28-year-old man
in a monogamous relationship with a 26-year-old woman. We’ve been dating for four years. My partner knows I’m bi and is fine with me using solo exploration to get that out, but recently, solo exploration isn’t cutting it anymore. I feel a very strong urge to be with a man again that at times verges on overpowering. My partner is not comfortable
metrotimes.com | October 28-November 10, 2026 29
Savage Love Cont'd:
the sex and/or that big dick of his, you Here’s what you do: SaySERVICES your piece to could continue to discuss him (mayher parents — that’s a grandmother’s be have one or two more dreams to right — and then slowlyHOME disappear into IMPROVEMENT LOCAL goose the convoBUSINESS along) and see where APARTMENTS the bushes. Worst-caseBATH scenario, your & SHOWER FOR RENT FIELD MANAGER UPDATES it ultimately goes. But follow her lead,Near WSU, granddaughter grows up to be one of DMC, DIA Plymouth, MI. Leads the in as little as ONE DAY! Affordable TRIANGLE, and be prepared to pivot the many adult women out there who 1 bedroom $900, 2 bed $1,200 prices - No payments for 18 months! homologation engg bus. Call Peabody Management Lifetime warranty & professional to praying on it, masturbating about it, need the kind of powerful stimulation w/in North America, incl P&L installs. Senior & Military Discounts 313-319-3001 and waiting it out.driving growth, only a vibrator can provide inCall order to responsibility, available. 1-866-370-2939 & operational mgmt. Manages climax. Since there’s no way of knowa team of Engineers & Techn’l SERVICES ing what percentage of those women ADULT Experts to ensure granddaughter the implmtn Q: My 11-year-old has conditioned themselves to need those of corporate processes, She IT is in fulldiscovered masturbation. GIRLS SEXTING MASSAGE powerful sensations during childhood tools, & techn’l reqmts rltd 313-257-4379 on puberty and she has her period but RELAXING explorations and what percentage Worn socks, panties, to applicable accreditation is very much emotionally a child. SheNURU MASSAGE thigh-highs. 18+ stds, while maintaining strong would’ve needed those powerful sensaforfor the quarantine must not be uses the family percussion massager expertise in techn’l, regulatory, regardless, sick. Musttions be clean and wear TMI, your best course self-stimulation keeps it in her bed. & qlty domains.and Oversees testing mask. Outcalls only incalls are stay at out of it. of action is to in accordance w/ EC/ No oneactivities is particularly concerned about your cost Hey I’m here to help. P.S. So, it was a woman who confided ECE regulations, conducting This is Candy melt in your mouth the self-stim, but I am concerned about in me about sneaking into the kitchen so try my massages they’re sweet factory inspections & Conformityher use of the massager. It is not delias can be!!! (734) 596-1376 at night when she was a teenager and of-Production audits based on cate stimulation and seems designed ISO 9001, dvlpg test strategies swiping the blender — just the base, for back andinterpreting shoulder &massage. & plans, applying My not the pitcher — and taking it to question is, could harmful used on regulatory stds,it&be generating her room, where she would plug it in, test reportsI’m & reviewing techn’l her genitalia? thinking her delicate turn it on high, and press the side of it Resp qlty AUTOMOTIVE femaledocumentation. parts may end upforcompletely between her legs over her sweats. Her mgmt, incl defining & monitoring desensitized especially since it is usedCARS FOR KIDS qlty metrics, ensuring compliance mother found the blender in her bed frequently. My daughter-in-law seems DONATIONS w/ health, safety, & envrmt’l on more than one occasion, and never unconcerned and my son steers clear DONATE of YOUR VEHICLE practices, & leading internal once asked what she was doing with to fund the search for missing that topic. Whataudit do the experts say? & external activities, it… because her mother knew. This is children. FAST FREE PICKUP. incl ownership of corrective & Intensity —Too Much 24 hour response. Running or anecdote and not data, I realize, but preventive actions. Bachelor’s not. Maximum Tax Deduction this woman told me she’s fine now, Deg in Mechanical Engg or and No Emission Test Required! Automotive Engg (or foreign thanks, she doesn’t require a blender in A: I’m no expert, TMI, but lots of Call 24/7: 877-266-0681. equiv) told & 5 yrsme of rltd exp w/ adults have about all the crazy order to come, and her mother evenautomotive homologation engg tually left a vibrator — still in the box things they used to self-stimulate reqd, incl regulatory compliance when they first began exploring their — under her pillow. w/ ISO17020, ISO17025, & EC/ bodies as kids, and almost all report P.P.S. I hope your daughter-in-law, UN-ECE. Domestic & int’l travel to affiliate customer healthy sites growing up offices to be &sexually despite seeming unconcerned, is being approximately 55% of time. adultsreqd with fully functional/sensate proactive about talking to her daughter Email resumes TUV Rheinland bias genitalia. Maybetosurvivorship about sexual health, letting her know of North America, Inc., Attn: is at play here — I haven’t spoken to that it’s normal for kids her age to excareers@us.tuv.com. anyone who didn’t survive putting his plore their own bodies in private, and dick in a vacuum cleaner hose at age talking to her about consent and how SERVICES eleven, what with them being dead no one else should be touching her and all — but I’ve heard so many crazy HOME IMPROVEMENT body that way. If she’s doing all that, stories, from menPAY andFOR women alike, your DIL is doing great. Once you’ve NEVER and I’ve COVERED always asked the obvious folHOME verified the above, you could — one REPAIR “Are AGAIN! low-up question: you okay now?” last time — express your concerns Complete Care Home Warranty (If someone tellsMAJOR me they used the about your granddaughter using “the COVERS ALL SYSTEMS APPLIANCES. 30 DAY familyAND blender as a sex toy,RISK I’m allowed family percussion massager” to exFREE. $200.00 OFF + 2 FREE to ask asMonths! many 1-877-434-4845 follow-up questions as plore and then add: “Maybe you could I want.) And very few reported lasting leave a gentler vibrator designed for trauma and/or loss of sensation on self-pleasure somewhere she can find it account of the banister railings, blend- or put a Hitachi Magic Wand ‘personal ers, rolling pins, washing machines, massager’ on the same shelf where you cucumbers, personal massagers, etc., keep that percussion monster. And etc., etc., they experimented with as now I’ll butt out!” kids. But I imagine more would’ve reported lasting trauma if their grandmother Q : I’m a bisexual, 28-year-old man knew how they were masturbating and in a monogamous relationship with a 26-year-old woman. We’ve been dating decided it was her job to intervene. for four years. My partner knows I’m bi Also potentially traumatizing: their and is fine with me using solo exploragrandmothers writing to sex-advice tion to get that out, but recently, solo columnists about the precise stage of exploration isn’t cutting it anymore. I puberty they’re in (full-on is the most serious stage!), whether they were hav- feel a very strong urge to be with a man again that at times verges on overpowing periods, what the experts might say, etc. ering. My partner is not comfortable
EMPLOYMENT
RENT
SERVICES
30 October 28-November 10, 2026 | metrotimes.com
with an open relationship of any kind. I don’t want to cheat and lose a good relationship, but I’m also not sure how long I can hold out against these urges. Any advice is greatly appreciated! —Boy Is Getting Usual Yearnings
A: It’s not my place, as a gay man, to
tell a bisexual guy how he should experience or describe his own bisexuality — your bisexuality is yours to experience and describe — but letters like yours put me in an awkward position. It’s similar to the position I find myself in when I get letters from lesbians who occasionally fuck with men. When I respond to questions from self-identified lesbians who sometimes fuck with men, BIGUY, I get angry letters from lesbians who don’t fuck with men. There are already way btoo many straight guys out there who refuse to take “lesbian” for an answer, these angry lesbians tell me, and seeing letters to advice columns from lesbian-identified women who fuck with men encourages these guys to keep hitting on lesbians; it could even cause guys who have been taking “lesbian” for an answer to stop. Being a lesbian is hard enough, these angry (and absolutely right to be angry!) lesbians tell me, without me running letters that seem to confirm a dangerous and damaging stereotype about lesbians: they’re just women who haven’t had the right dick yet. The problem of men who refuse to take “lesbian” for an answer is so great that even lesbians who do fuck with men have written in to tell me I shouldn’t run letters from other lesbians like them. For the record: We should all operate under the assumption that lesbians do not wanna fuck cis men — the overwhelming majority fucking don’t — just like we should all operate under the assumption that bisexual guys are every bit as capable of honoring monogamous commitments as straight guys (only okay at monogamy) and gay guys (no better at monogamy but way better at ENM). The idea that bisexual guys can’t be monogamous — the belief that bisexual guys in monogamous relationships with women eventually cheat because the urge to get with a man will become overwhelming — is a biphobic stereotype that does real harm to bisexual guys who wanna date women. There was just a poll that found (once again) that only 20% of women will date bisexual men. When asked why they won’t date bisexual men, the most cited answer was the fear that a bisexual
guy would inevitably cheat on them to get with another man. So, yeah, the belief that bisexual guys can’t be monogamous is a biphobic stereotype that harms bi men by drastically shrinking their pool of potential partners and by incentivizing remaining closeted. And how you frame your problem — you’ve been monogamous for four years but you don’t think you can keep this up because you miss dick so much — would seem to confirm this stereotype. You do not respresent all bisexual men, of course, just as the lesbian women who fuck with men (and send me letters about it) do not represent all lesbians. But confirmation bias is a big factor here, BIGUY, and there are women out there who will read your letter and feel like their hunch/prejudice about bisexual guys — they can’t be monogamous — is correct and they should keep avoiding bisexual men. So, maybe instead of essentially saying, “I want to open this relationship because I’m bisexual miss fucking men so much,” you could say something specific to you: “I know now that I shouldn’t make monogamous commitments because I won’t be able to honor them over the long term, so I’m either gonna have to do the difficult work of revising the commitment I’ve already made or I’m going to have to end this relationship and not make monogamous commitments in the future.” You’re young, BIGUY, and there’s no shame in learning you aren’t cut out for monogamy in your twenties. I learned the same lesson about myself when I was your age: I made monogamous commitments in my twenties that I couldn’t keep. The problem wasn’t that gay men can’t be monogamous, but that I couldn’t be monogamous. It doesn’t sound like you can be monogamous either — which is also fine, BIGUY, but that’s a fact about you specifically and not bisexual guys generally. P.S. Ask to open your relationship. If she breaks up with you, it’s probably for the best. Got problems? Yes, you do! Email your question for the column to mailbox@ savage.love! Or record your question for the Savage Lovecast at savage.love/askdan! Podcasts, columns and more at Savage.Love
metrotimes.com | October 28-November 10, 2026 31
32 October 28-November 10, 2026 | metrotimes.com