Riverfront Times, February 28, 2024

FRONT BURNER

MONDAY, FEBRUARY 19. It’s President’s Day, and the snow that blanketed St. Louis over the weekend is melting so fast, you’d think it was spring. Finally, those ghastly houses on Kingshighway just south of I-64 are being demolished, and residents cheer. In Ferguson, however, a terrible house fire kills a mother and all four of her children. Could anything be more awful?

TUESDAY, FEBRUARY 20. Oh yes, something could: Police say the Ferguson house fire was suspicious. Who could want this beautiful family dead? In Jefferson City, the Missourah Senate approves a ballot question aimed at making it harder to amend the state constitution. If approved, it would require a majority of voters in what are now heavily Republican congressional districts — instead of just a majority of voters — to approve citizen-led constitutional amendments. Gotta hand it to the GOP; it’s a sly way to thwart the will of the people City SC wins 2-1 in what is not actually its home opener, even though it’s played at home and is the MLS team’s first game in 2024. Soccer, man.

WEDNESDAY, FEBRUARY 21. It’s sunny and nearly 70 — in February. The Gateway Geyser is shutting down, and with it a million questions about “what’s that

Previously On LAST WEEK IN ST. LOUIS

big water main break over in East St. Louis?” In the Central West End, a man breaks into a Masonic Lodge around 4 a.m., only to be confronted by a resident who shoots him to death. And in Ferguson, that horrible house fire is officially a murder-suicide. Apparently the mother was locked in bitter custody disputes — and chose a terrible way to end her life and that of all four of her children. Awful.

THURSDAY, FEBRUARY 22 AT&T is down across the U.S. and we refuse to give one moment of attention to the conspiracy theories around the outage. It’s AT&T! They’re totally incompetent. Speaking of which, Missouri Attorney General Andrew Bailey’s desperate gambit to keep his name in the headlines, which, like his predecessor, entails threatening suburban school districts, succeeds again. (Do the olds who turn out for elections hate kids so much that this is now a proven strategy?) Bailey’s beef with Webster

5 QUESTIONS for St. Louis booster Royce Hotchkiss

Royce Hotchkiss is an urbanist with a passion for St. Louis and a mission: to walk across the city and prove naysayers wrong about how “dangerous” it is.

On February 20 Hotchkiss set out from his Metro East home with a tube of chapstick, his water bottle and a route. He started at the East Riverfront Metro Station and then walked across Eads Bridge and up Washington Avenue until he got to Kingshighway, where he made his way one block north and continued onto Delmar all the way to Limit Avenue.

Hotchkiss’ three-hour journey blew up on Twitter, garnering more than 8,500 likes and more than 500 retweets. He recently spoke with RFT to share what he learned from his travels. This conversation has been edited for length and clarity.

What made you decide to walk across St. Louis?

I’m in the process of moving over to St. Louis soon, but I live very close and I’m very connected to the city. Basically, my whole life is over there. Also, I think that there’s a lot of particular narratives that get spun about cities, and I wanted to show that the city is not what a lot of people portray it to be. It’s a very organic, positive place with good things going on. I was shocked that it got as much attention as it did.

What do people get wrong about St. Louis?

The city is way, way safer than people seem to think or say. And I really think that there’s no better way to go out and experience it than just walking or biking. I think it’s the best way to really experience the city.

There’s a lot of narratives around not just St. Louis but other cities too, that cities are like war zones. You’re gonna go out and bad things might happen, but that’s by and large not the case.

What did you hear and see along the way?

I thought there were a lot of people just living their lives. There were people on their porches, walking or doing stuff, just living their lives. It was a good experience. And I definitely recommend it. It was very interesting to

Groves is that the district’s strategic plan calls for “increasing the number of qualified applicants of color and increasing our number and percentage in hiring staff of color,” which Bailey assumes must mean quotas. As for Wentzville, the AG continues to meddle in a squabble among school board members because it involves transgender bathroom policy, and lord knows the octogenarian set loves a good fight over access to the loo

FRIDAY, FEBRUARY 23. Alliances crumble at St. Louis City Hall as pressure mounts to do something about reckless drivers. Mayor Tishaura Jones calls a press conference to push for red-light cameras. “We must take immediate and urgent action now,” she says, announcing she’s issued an executive order with accountability measures for police surveillance. “I hope that my actions today … have made the decision much easier for the Board of Alderman to pass Board

see there was a lot of new development. There was some of that in Midtown, but also there were quite a few buildings that had obviously been abandoned at one point that I noticed were being brought back. There was a good amount of construction that was actually going on that I noticed.

What are you taking away from this experience?

I would say that St. Louis is way safer than most people would say it is. But also that there’s a lot that needs to happen in terms of addressing safety in the pedestrian realm — so how people and cars interact, basically.

What should we take from your experience?

Just get out, like ride a bike or go for a walk in the city. It’s great; you’ll see. I probably could have done this in about two hours but it took me closer to three because I stopped to talk to people a few times and I took a detour to go see the library.

Bill 105, the Automated Camera Enforcement Act, which will help to protect the lives of our residents and visitors.” Not so fast, snaps President Megan Green: “Despite repeatedly engaging with the Mayor’s Office on this and many other issues important to the people of St. Louis, a pattern of evading responsibility is emerging. The job of the legislative branch is to debate these issues in a public forum with the community.”

SATURDAY, FEBRUARY 24 Trump thumps Nikki Haley in the state she used to govern, further proof of how batshit the modern Republican party has become. Speaking of thumping, the Blues lose 6-1 in Detroit, but City SC pulls off a 1-1 tie after kicking off their season with a Smino-led block party. (Yes, this really is the season kickoff.)

SUNDAY, FEBRUARY 25. Another gorgeous day and Art Hill fills with picnickers. Alas, the news is bad: Two 20somethings are shot and in critical condition after trying to get into the wrong car after partying in the Grove. And in D.C., an airman sets himself on fire to protest U.S. policy in Gaza. Aaron Bushnell soon dies from his wounds. Some say the world will end in fire. This week, we believe it.

It’s such a wonderful experience to just get out and talk to people, like interact with the city in such an organic way. I don’t think that many of us get the opportunity to do so very often.

—Kallie Cox

Royce Hotchkiss’ walk across St. Louis drew a lot of attention last week. | COURTESY PHOTO

TRAIN WATCH

When: 4:37 p.m. February 4

Where: on some tracks by the river just east of Sidney and Dekalb, Kosciusko

What: an apparently prudish train

What happens if you hump it? Nothing! Vigorous testing yielded no results whatsoever.

On the other hand: Perhaps those tests were their own reward? It’s about the journey, not the destination.

15 SECONDS of FAME REPEAT OFFENDER OF THE WEEK JAY ASHCROFT

Another week, another chance for Nepo Baby Jay Ashcroft to make an ass of himself — and we’ll give this to the guy: Given the opportunity, he seldom misses. This time, the Missouri Secretary of State offered his headline-making gaffe in response to a softball of a question at a candidate forum: How can the state better support its veterans and active duty personnel?

“This isn’t really probably what you want as the answer to your question,” Ashcroft began his answer, not incorrectly, before saying: “I don’t think we ought to say, ‘If you’re in the military we’ll give you this discount, but everybody else has to pay twice as much.’” He added in a sort of falsetto, “I don’t think that’s good government.”

Ashcroft noted that people in his family have served. Then, in the tone of someone speaking about a neighbor’s kitchen remodel, he said of veterans, “I like what they’ve done.”

It is unclear exactly what discounts Ashcroft was referring to — perhaps the fact that Missouri state parks allow those mooching war heroes to camp for $2 less than everyone else? It’s also worth noting that as a young man Ashcroft was “effectively kicked out” of the U.S. Merchant Marine Academy because, in his own words, he “did not apply myself as I should have academically.” So, he’s not only insulting veterans, but staking a bold claim against a perk he was too lazy to earn. How very Jay Ashcroftian.

Jay Ashcroft can’t stop gaffing. | VIA FLICKR/MIZZOU CAFNR

File under “forbidden fruit.” | DANIEL HILL

Coffin Recalls Man Killed in No-Knock Raid

Don Clark Sr.’s family is still waiting for the city to make them whole

BY RYAN KRULL

Seven years ago last week, Don Clark Sr. was asleep in his home in Dutchtown when 17 St. Louis police officers serving a no-knock warrant busted in and opened fire. Nine bullets struck the 63-year-old U.S. Army veteran, killing him.

“It feels like it just happened,” says his son Don Clark Jr. “The day plays in our minds all the time.”

Clark and others showed up with a coffin in front of St. Louis City Hall on February 21. Clark, now 51, says he wants to keep his father’s memory fresh

in city leaders’ minds. They handed out flyers encouraging people to call the City Counselor’s office and “demand justice,” which attorney Jerryl Christmas says means for that office, which represents the city on legal matters, to stop dragging out the suit and compensate the family what they’re owed.

“They got to keep reliving this because we got to keep reliving it in litigation,” he says.

The night of Clark Sr.’s killing, police were serving warrants at three houses on his block of California Avenue. A source had told police they had seen guns and drugs at the three locations. But Clark’s family and the attorneys representing them say that the notion Clark was involved in the drug trade is ludicrous. After his military service, Clark founded his own security company. He was a diabetic who walked with a cane. He had poor eyesight and poor hearing.

According to the lawsuit, the officers didn’t announce that they were law enforcement before ramming down Clark’s door and deploying a diversionary device in the home.

“You didn’t have to do a no-knock warrant to search his house,” Christmas says. “If you would have done any kind of observation and saw that

he was a 60-year-old disabled man, you would know you could come and knock on his door and do a regular search in the daytime.”

A spokesperson for the city said they can’t comment due to the pending litigation.

Clark legally owned a firearm, and police have said they opened fire after someone in the house opened fire first.

Christmas says that “doesn’t make any sense.” Clark’s poor health would have made it impossible for him to retrieve a weapon and open fire in the short time between the police ramming down his door and shooting him.

In the years since Clark’s death, public awareness has grown about noknock warrants, particularly after the 2020 killing of Breonna Taylor in Louisville, Kentucky. A 26-year-old EMT, Taylor was killed by police when they raided her apartment, a raid that multiple witnesses have said was conducted without police announcing themselves. In June of that year, the city of Louisville banned no-knock warrants. Mayor Tishaura Jones followed suit two years later, banning the practice in St. Louis via executive order.

For Clark’s family, however, seven years have gone by and they are still waiting for resolution on the lawsuit

they filed against the city. Rather than settle the case, attorneys for the city have argued unsuccessfully that it should be dismissed from it.

The parties went to mediation, but Christmas says they could not make any progress.

Christmas says he can’t discuss the details of mediation beyond saying, “I’d be too embarrassed to tell what they offered as a settlement to this family. It was an insult.”

Furthermore, Christmas says, the City Counselor’s Office was aware of a St. Louis Metropolitan Police Department internal audit that revealed problems with the Clark no-knock raid, but didn’t disclose it. Details about it later became public via a different case.

“If they’d been honest at the mediation, we could have been done with this by now,” Christmas says.

Christmas says that he wanted the casket at City Hall because the office of City Counselor Sheena Hamilton is inside.

“When do you say that you know that the people that you are dealing with are not right, and say we need to compensate [the family] and close this case out?” says Christmas. “When does the humanity come in?” n

Don Clark Jr. (left) and Tony Green remember Clark’s father outside St. Louis City Hall. The family’s lawsuit is ongoing seven years after Don Clark Sr.’s death. | RYAN KRULL

Vote Defies Mayor’s Warnings

Will supporters of the fire department stick together if Mayor Tishaura Jones vetoes the bill?

BY KALLIE COX

For the past several months, the Board of Aldermen has debated changes to the firefighters pension system that would undo 2013 reforms made to reduce spending. The mayor’s office argues the changes would wreak havoc on the city’s finances.

While the mayor ostensibly counts as allies a majority of the Board of Aldermen, including its president, Board Bill 146, sponsored by Ward 4 Alderman Bret Narayan, passed on February 16 with 11 aye votes and 3 opposed. That should be a veto-proof majority.

This bill would “permit the Firemen’s Retirement System Board of Trustees to also act as St. Louis Firefighter’s Retirement Board Plan of Trustees,” according to its verbiage. In essence, the people overseeing the original pension plan that city firefighters were placed on before 2012 could also oversee the city’s current pension plan.

Mayor Tishaura Jones has vowed to veto this bill, saying it would take away local control of the firefighter pension system and cause costs to skyrocket.

“I am standing firmly against Board Bill 146 as I believe that eliminating the city’s control over these costs will have drastic consequences for our budget,” Jones said in a statement following the bill’s passage.

St. Louis’ Local 73 firefighters union is supportive of the push for pension change, and nearly every time the bill was discussed, firefighters sat before the board.

The union argues that combining the administration of both retirement systems makes the process less complicated for firefighters and reduces investment risks. They also claim the change would save the city money.

“There would be additional savings by investing the assets of both systems in the same investment vehicles,” the union said in an online statement to members. “With a combined portfolio of $600 million, the reduction in management fees would be significant. And when you factor in this aspect, the savings are closer to a million dollars each and every year for the city.”

That Sinking Feeling

Jones argues that the city has saved approximately $10 million per year since switching from the old pension system. These savings provided the city with enough funds to increase firefighter pay by 13 percent.

“Board Bill 146 would likely increase the cost of firefighter pensions to 2013 levels when pensions accounted for more than one third of the budget,” Jones said in her statement.

To put the anticipated additional costs into context, 33 percent of the FY24 Fire Department budget would be $32.8 million — $16 million more than current FY24 fire pension costs, Jones said in a letter to the board ahead of the vote.

That $16 million difference is substantial, considering the annual budget needs for parks ($10.6 million), streets ($9.7 million), traffic and lighting ($11.7 million) and forestry services ($9.2 million), according to Jones.

“To eliminate the reforms and revert back to the old system makes it more than hypothetical that these pension costs would once again take over the city budget,” Jones said. “The city budget is a reflection of hard choices and trade-offs, and if BB 146 becomes law, the city will be forced to anticipate budget cuts to its non-fire pension programs.”

Jones also points out that the bill would take local control of the pensions out of the hands of the city and place it into those of the state legislature.

She cited this part of the bill in her

argument:

“Nothing in the Plan shall allow for an amendment to Chapter 4.18 – Firemen’s Retirement System to be effective without a prior amendment to Chapter 87 of the Revised Statutes of the State of Missouri containing the same language.”

“The city would further be limited in what we are allowed to change about our locally-funded fire pensions by what the state tells us to do–with OUR taxpayers footing the bill,” Jones said.

Jones vetoed a similar plan last year, saying the change would lead to increased costs for taxpayers, according to the St. Louis Post-Dispatch

The bill is one of two firefighter pension bills that has gone before the board in recent months.

The other, Board Bill 144, would allow firefighters who have completed 30 years of service before the age of 55 to retire without seeing their benefits reduced.

“We saw that FRS [the old system] had much higher returns on investments for the people in that system,” Narayan said at the bill’s perfection hearing on February 9. “The firefighters have been very outspoken about their desire to have the decisions made by FRS rather than FRP [the new system]. FRP had one of the worst years in history. They took almost a 20 percent beating a couple years back.”

Narayan called claims that the bill would bankrupt the city false and said it was based on a “slippery slope” ar-

gument.

The bill received some pushback from the board, including Ward 3 Alderman Shane Cohn.

“It’s really flawed logic to move backwards when we are trying to move our city forward,” Cohn said during the board meeting. “We are trying to be responsible stewards of our city’s financial resources here, and I would ask that folks oppose Board Bill 146.”

With more than two-thirds of the board voting to support the bill, Jones is bracing for aldermen to override her veto.

“If my veto is overridden, we will be forced to make cuts in the city’s budget to prepare to accommodate pension costs that the city’s past experience suggests could be as large as $16 million,” Jones said in her statement.

The bill has been delivered to the mayor and is in a 10-day mandatory waiting period awaiting her signature or her veto. After the waiting period she will have an additional 10 days to veto the bill, and if she does, it returns to the board for a vote as a “reconsidered bill,” where it must achieve votes from two-thirds of the Board of Alderman to override the veto.

The Board of Alderman will have 90 days to reconsider the bill.

When asked if the mayor is speaking with individual aldermen about the bill, spokesperson for the mayor Conner Kerrigan told the RFT, “We are working hard to see that the veto that we will issue is sustained.” n

When a sinkhole opened up in the Carondelet neighborhood last week, the city blamed in part an underground water main break. Scary! | ZACHARY LINHARES

MISSOURILAND

Fit to Be Tied

City SC’s chilly season opener wasn’t a win and wasn’t a loss — but St. Louis was still feeling no pain

PHOTOS

BY ZACHARY LINHARES

WORDS

BY SARAH FENSKE

City SC kicked off their 2024 season with a hard-fought 1-1 tie with Real Salt Lake — and for fans at Citypark, the come-from-behind draw was only part of the fun. The MLS team’s block party also brought rapper Smino to Lou Fusz Plaza, along with Budweiser’s famous Clydesdales and a host of revelers from across the metro.

No, it wasn’t warm — it was just 44 degrees at kickoff and got colder from there — but there was enough excitement to keep people on their feet and cheering for St. Louis’ newest professional sports franchise. City SC has dramatically reconfigured the region’s fandom in just a single season, selling out game after game and challenging the city’s reputation as a place where baseball is No. 1. The season opener suggested that the team’s record-setting first season was no fluke, in either the skills on the field or the enthusiasm surrounding it. n

‘This Sort of Thing Won’t Be TolerAted’

St. Louis aims to put slumlords on notice — but the city still has far to go

STORY BY RYAN KRULL

Last month, the City of St. Louis filed suit against a woman who’d been running a series of illegal rooming houses — with 39 houses in the city limits alone. Dara Daugherty and her associates operated in plain sight for years, racking up countless code violations as their properties played host to stabbings, overdoses and even deaths.

While Daugherty may be the most egregious, she is not alone in violating the city’s building codes for years on end. And the suit against her may be the beginning of the end for a number of problematic landlords’ illicit operations — not just hers.

“There are a handful of landlords in the City of St. Louis who know how to make money off this process, make so much money that they don’t care what happens as far as enforcement goes,” says John McLaughlin, a former police officer who is now a program manager with the Nuisance and Problem Properties Unit of the city’s Building Division.

Among the things these landlords don’t seem to care too much about is having warrants out for their arrest. For some, the heat is just the cost of doing business.

Daugherty at one point had 32 warrants out for her arrest. Cuong Q. Tran, another landlord with a large

number of holdings in south St. Louis, currently has a dozen warrants out for his.

“He does nearly the same thing as the Daughertys, other than the fact that he doesn’t rent out boarding houses,” says McLaughlin. “He has a lot of properties. And he pushes the system for the money.”

Ed Ware, who has been with the Building Division for more than 40 years, says that Tran is just one tier above Daugherty. (Which, given the conditions in Daugherty’s properties, isn’t saying much.)

Tran owns at least seven buildings that, combined, contain around 200 apartments in south city, with a roster

PHOTOS BY ZACHARY LINHARES

to the presence of raw garbage to the presence of bed bugs.

Not all CSB complaints lead to building code violations, but a source familiar with Tran’s operation says his holdings have generated multiple violations in the past years, many of which have been referred to municipal court. His apartment building at 4604 Morgan Ford alone has generated more than 10 cases currently in the municipal court system.

of complaints to match. A three-story, 12-unit apartment building on Neosho Street in Bevo Mill has racked up 26 complaints with the Citizens Service Bureau since 2020. A few blocks away, just on the other side of Morgan Ford, a 33-unit apartment building owned by Tran has seen 23 such complaints since 2020. A 64-unit apartment complex near the intersection of Chippewa and Meramec streets has accrued 18 complaints in the same timeframe. Those complaints range from rat infestations

Broadly speaking, when there is a code violation at a property, the Building Division will send a letter to the property owner giving them a certain amount of time to fix the issue. If that doesn’t bring a property into compliance, the case is referred to the city counselor’s office, which files a case against the property owner in municipal court. The property owner gets a summons.

Chris Basler is an attorney who represents Tran and who could not talk about those specific cases against him, though Basler did explain to the RFT how the city’s municipal court system generally handles building code violations.

Basler says that usually by the first court date, whatever is at issue with the property has not been fixed. “It takes a while sometimes with some of the worst properties and you have to

Continued on pg 17

At left, conditions inside apartments owned by Cuong Q. Tran, who faces a dozen arrest warrants.

Dara Daugherty has been accused of being the kingpin of an illegal rooming house operation. | COURTESY SLMPD

BAD LANDLORDS

Continued from pg 15

get a second court date,” he says, adding that typically property owners are allowed a second and third court date, too, to give them more time to remedy the situation.

“It’s pretty workable as long as you’re still making progress on getting it fixed,” says Basler. “And then once you’re done, they will generally issue a fine of some sort and you pay it off.”

Assuming, that is, the property owner shows up to their court date. If that doesn’t happen, the municipal court issues a warrant for their arrest.

But then things can get tricky.

According to the lawsuit filed against her by the city, Daugherty once told a police officer that it was worth spending the occasional night in jail because she was making $40,000 a month from her scheme.

“I’m going to tell you the truth,” McLaughlin says. “It’s just like Dara Daugherty said, ‘I’m just making too much money. I don’t care if I sit in jail for a couple of days or a day. I make too much money doing this.’”

McLaughlin knows firsthand that Daugherty has been arrested due to her municipal warrants. One day he was there when she came to city hall to apply for an occupancy permit.

“Across from my office I look out the door and I see Dara Daugherty and I know that she’s got a bunch of warrants,” he recalls. “So after she applied for the occupancy permit and went back to her property, I called the third district and had her picked up.”

In general, McLaughlin says, someone picked up on this sort of municipal court warrant just does a quick night or two in jail and typically has no problem getting a new court date. “It’s pretty easy to clear those warrants,” he says.

McLaughlin says he doesn’t know if Tran has ever been picked up in a similar fashion. And it’s hard to say how much someone like Tran really feels the heat, despite all the warrants. Basler says that municipal warrants typically don’t see much action on the part of police, particularly in the wake of municipal court reforms that came after the 2014 Ferguson protests.

And a source familiar with the interplay between the Building Division and Courts says that the warrants issued by courts are “soft warrants,” meaning they lack information like the target’s address or date of birth. So, in Tran’s case, even if he were pulled over, the officer wouldn’t even know about the dozen warrants issued by municipal court.

But while some bad landlords have been all too happy to treat warrants as the cost of doing business, both Ware and McLaughlin say the city’s 57-

page lawsuit filed against Daugherty and her associates is going to change things.

Ware says he’s never seen this sort of suit in his long career, that hundreds of work hours went into it and that he expects it will have ripple effects.

Ware and McLaughlin point to Brentwood raiding Daugherty’s property there, as well as the city’s recent action taken against a north city slum-

Oh, Brother

The Daugherty family’s legal troubles just keep getting worse

It’s been a tough few months for the increasingly notorious Daugherty family of St. Louis — but things could get even worse.

Last month, the City of St. Louis filed a lengthy lawsuit against members of the family and their associates, accusing them of running a massive illegal rooming house scheme out of dozens of condemned properties they own in the city.

Following the city’s lawsuit, Brentwood condemned one of Dara Daugherty’s properties there as well. And St. Louis officials have signaled that making legal efforts to seize the family’s properties is certainly on the table.

And now, one of the other people named in the city’s lawsuit, Dack Daugherty, is facing eight felonies in Washington County for allegedly forging signatures in an attempt to steal 106 acres of land in Richwoods from other members of his family.

Dack Daugherty is the brother of Dara Daugherty, the accused ringleader of the rooming house scheme.

“There’s 106 acres down here in the family, from what I’m reading it was split up between all the kids,” says Scott Reed, a captain with the Washington County Sheriff’s Office. “[Dack] decided

lord, as evidence of that ripple.

“It’s definitely going to send a message that this sort of thing won’t be tolerated,” says Ware. “The city of St. Louis is trailblazing this type of enforcement.”

Given that the lawsuit against Daugherty breaks new ground in the city, it’s unclear exactly where it will lead, but when asked what the bigpicture outcomes of the suit could be, McLaughlin tells the RFT, “When we

when he got out of prison, it was all his. And he set about trying to make it all his.”

According to a probable cause statement from the sheriff’s office, the acreage belonged to Charles and Garon Daugherty, and Dack forged paperwork to make it appear as if the couple signed it over to an LLC that Dack controlled on November 1 via a quitclaim deed. However, Charles died in 2000 and Garon passed away five years later, raising questions in the county assessor’s office as to how they could sign real estate documents last year.

On November 8, the assessor contacted the sheriff’s office and charges were filed against Dack Daugherty on January 31. He is facing five felony forgery charges, three felony attempted stealing charges and a misdemeanor for impersonating a notary.

In an interview with a sheriff’s office detective, one person listed as a beneficiary of the property said that they weren’t aware of it being deeded to Dack’s LLC.

Dack Daugherty has a lengthy criminal history, including being sentenced to federal prison in 2007 for taking in more than $1 million from a home-buying scheme that involved altering documents and inflating home appraisals to defraud buyers. In 2014, he pleaded guilty to wire fraud charges after rolling back odometers on cars that were then sold on Craigslist. In 2016 he was sentenced to 15 years in state prison for domestic assault. He appears to have been released from prison last April.

In December, he was arrested for

start talking about taking their properties away from them, when we start talking about seizing assets, when we start talking about looking into taxes and all these types of things, that grabs attention. This is going to be the first of its kind for us. I have not seen us, the City of St. Louis, take an action like this.”

McLaughlin adds, “This is not an easy thing to pull off.” n

shoplifting in Chesterfield, which led a federal judge to revoke Dack’s supervised release. He was sentenced to 10 months in federal prison earlier this month.

According to court filings, a Chesterfield police officer found stolen merchandise in Dack’s car, a vehicle the officer became suspicious of because it was being driven with dealer plates for a dealership in Park Hills, more than 70 miles away.

When questioned about the plates, Dack said that he worked at the dealership, though he did not have his dealer ID with him. The officer’s suspicions only grew when Dack stated “he didn’t know the name of the dealership he reportedly worked for.”

—Ryan Krull

Dack Daugherty has a long criminal record. | COURTESY SLMPD

A photographer who stopped by Tran’s buildings found plenty of evidence of neglect, including a dead rodent.

CALENDAR

BY RIVERFRONT TIMES STAFF

THURSDAY 02/29

What the Hook Gon’ Be?

We’re all hooked on something: phonics, coffee, illicit substances, you name it. But this week, St. Louis art lovers can spend a little time getting hooked on works of the textile variety, thanks to an exhibition at the Green Door Art Gallery (21 North Gore Avenue, Webster Groves), a hidden gem of a fine art space just a block away from the heart of Webster Groves. Hooked on Fibers: The Art of the Stitch features four artists doing impressive things with materials such as wool,

yarns and velvet. The exhibit features rug hooking textile art via Sheri Ahner as well as mixed media fiber art from Ana Sumner, Liz Davidson and Chris Burton. Hooked on Fibers runs through Saturday, March 2. The gallery is open 10 a.m. to 5 pm. Wednesday through Sunday. Admission is free. More info at greendoorartgallery. com/hooked-on-fibers.

In Your Dreams

Don’t look now, but the circus is coming to town — the Circus of Dreams, that is. Through the beginning of March, Infinite Wonder Productions is presenting a brand new circusthemed pop-up experience at Lemmons Restaurant (5800 Gravois Av-

enue) in south city. With showtimes depending on the day, the 90-minute immersive and interactive adventure will offer a transportive experience featuring top-tier performances and a magical carnival atmosphere. The highly Instagrammable pop-up will also feature a mesmerizing starry sky, an illuminated mirror maze, a “wishing well of dreams” and countless more photo opportunities. Of course, no circus is complete without snacks — cotton candy, popcorn and themed cocktails will all be available for purchase. Bring the kids or enjoy the late-night, adults-only show, with admission starting at $30 for GA or $170 for VIP. Tickets and more information are available at infinitewonderproductions.com.

FRIDAY 03/01 Nice Shot

Spanish documentary photographer and visual journalist Griselda San Martin is bringing the stories of the U.S.-Mexico border to St. Louis this week through a lens that focuses on the people and narratives captured in her photography. A new exhibit titled Griselda San Martin: Alternative Perspectives will be on display at Webster University’s Kooyumjian Gallery (8300 Big Bend Boulevard, Webster Groves) through April 4, with San Martin speaking at an opening reception from 5:30 to 7:30 p.m. on Friday, March 1. Her work in the past has focused on the plight of immigrants, inequality, deportation and human rights abuses. Her current projects focus on

“the growing Hispanic community in the United States and the sociopolitical implications of reactionary narratives depicting immigrants and ethnic minorities.” San Martin’s work takes an in-depth look at a side of the story people don’t typically see, challenging assumptions and biases about immigrant communities. The Kooyumjian Gallery is open daily from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m., and admission to the exhibit is free. Details at webster.edu/gallery.

Spring in Your Step

March is at last upon us, and spring is in the air! And you know what that means: The Saint Louis Art Museum’s (1 Fine Arts Drive) annual celebration of flowers and fine art, Art in Bloom, is returning, with a collection of artwork imaginatively interpreted through floral design by some of the region’s most talented florists. Though admission to the museum is always free, some special events require the purchase of tickets. The Art in Bloom Preview Party on Thursday, February 29, kicks off the flower-centered weekend with food, drinks and live music in the Sculpture Hall and will provide an exclusive first viewing of Art in Bloom. Tickets are $175 per person. On Saturday, March 2, Doan Ly, founder and artistic director of a.p. bio floral design and photography studio in New York, will discuss her multidisciplinary practice and demonstrate her creative process in floral design. Tickets are $25 ($10 for members). Also on March 2 is the Flowers After Hours 21-and-older event, a

The 1933 flick Baby Face was considered so racy in its day that it upended the film industry. | POSTER ART

SLAM favorite Art in Bloom returns to the museum this week. | COURTESY PHOTO

WEEK OF FEBRUARY 29-MARCH 6

limited-capacity experience with live music by the Tommy Halloran Trio, cocktails and more. Tickets are $45 ($35 for members). Sunday, March 3, brings Art in Bloom Family Florals, a free event that allows families to explore the wonderful world of pollinators with hands-on art-making in the Sculpture Hall and a scavenger hunt through the galleries. In addition to the floral displays, the special ticketed events, family activities, dining and shopping opportunities, visitors will also have the chance to view the new <i>Matisse and the Sea exhibition. Art in Bloom will run through Sunday, March 3, and the museum will offer exclusive member hours from 8 a.m. to 10 a.m. on all three days of the festival. For a full schedule and more information, visit slam.org/event/artin-bloom-2024.

MONDAY 03/04

Code Comfort

Whether she was conning Henry Fonda in The Lady Eve or setting Fred MacMurray up for murder and insurance fraud in Double Indemnity, Barbara Stanwyck was one tough dame. And to see the full expression of her talent, you’ve simply got to explore her oeuvre before the Motion Picture Production Code — also known as the Hays Code — put a stop to all the sinful stuff. St. Louis’ favorite microcinema, Arkadin Cinema and Bar (5228 Gravois Avenue) is exploring the pre-Code films of the 1930s in a series called Forbidden Cinema, and tonight Baby Face is on the bill. The 1933 noir arrays

Stanwyck in her full glory as an ambitious woman sleeping her way to the top — a film so racy it’s actually blamed with bringing in the stifling Code in the first place. As the movie’s tagline goes, “She climbed the ladder of success — wrong by wrong!” See what all the fuss was about on Monday, March 4, at 7 p.m. (You can also catch a young John Wayne.) Tickets are $7. Full details at arkadincinema.com.

TUESDAY 03/05

Makers’ Mark

For an art form sometimes perceived

as stodgy, opera goes way out of its way to bring in new voices and sharp new talents. There’s no better example of that than Opera Theatre of St. Louis’ New Works Collective, which breaks boundaries with every opera it mounts. Year one of the New Works Collective explored Black queer youth and drag ball culture, “the true story of an Asian American dance band heading to the Supreme Court to fight for the right to call their band The Slants” and a student taking inspiration from groundbreaking Black female inventors — talk about a fascinating cornucopia of stories you did not expect to see in operatic form! The collective is now in its third year,

and to really mix things up this time, they even let the community help decide which operas will get mounted, narrowing the candidates from 130 artists to three. Now you can get a sneak peek at the results of that process at Meet the Makers: An Insiders’ Look at OTSL’s New Works Collective. The free event at the 560 Music Center (560 Trinity Avenue, University City) kicks off at 7 p.m. on Tuesday, March 5. Details at facebook. com/events/1384275208860299. Past Opera Theatre of St. Louis premieres have ended up at the Metropolitan Opera in New York City. Why not say you saw these rising stars’ works here first? n

In her new exhibit at Webster, Griselda San Martin uses her camera to tell stories about the plight of immigrants. | COURTESY PHOTO VIA GRISELDA SAN MARTIN

Opera remains vital in 2024. | MACY WHITE

A Hole Lot of Food

Topgolf’s food and drink offerings give you a reason to swing a club — but beware the injectable donut holes

BY ALEXA BEATTIE

Topgolf

3201 Chouteau Avenue, 314-333-0188. Sun.-Thurs. 9 a.m. to 11 p.m.; Fri.-Sat. 9 a.m. to midnight.

Are we actually going to talk about Topgolf today? I mean, the food there? In case you haven’t seen, a brand new ball ground has risen in Midtown. The lights are on; the “fields” are green

again. I don’t know what the birds are thinking — all that net

Me, I’ve never shared the same sentence with the word “golf,” let alone stood in a pod three floors up and swung a club like a string of spaghetti at a small ball. No, me and golf, me and anything that classifies as a sport, are oil and water.

Speaking of oil, I wondered ahead of time what kind this golf kitchen was using in its food. What was it that was bumping the calorie count as sky high as my ball wasn’t going? Eighteen-hundred-plus calories for guac and chips? Twelve-hundred for the hummus and raw veg plate?? I understood (maybe) 2,200 for the chicken strips, and — more on this later — I understood it for the “Injectable Donut Holes.” Boy, even before I put one of those things in my mouth, I understood that. And I was grateful then for the full-disclosure menu which lists these nutrimental numbers clear as a blue day on the links.

But, already, I was being judgy, coming to conclusions.

“Stop it,” I said to myself. “You might be surprised.”

I was.

For instance, you actually can cobble together a decent meat-free din-

You might need jaws the size of Freddie Mercury’s to bite down on your burger at Topgolf, but it’ll be worth it. | MABEL SUEN

Topgolf’s newish Midtown outpost offers city views. | MABEL SUEN

TOPGOLF

Continued from pg 31

ner at Topgolf. And you won’t starve if you’re vegan or can’t stomach gluten. Credit where it’s due.

Right off the tee, we ordered the Farmhouse Flatbread with a cauliflower crust. I was interested. It’s delicate, pretty-looking: Cherry tomatoes tangled in with arugula over finely minced mushrooms, red onion and a creamy garlic vinaigrette. The twist — and it’s a good one — is that I think the mushrooms may have started out dried. Which means they are intensely and woodsily fungiform

Oddly, this flatbread is only classified as “gf,” not vegetarian. Don’t know what that’s about or where the meat could possibly have been hiding.

Don’t be disappointed when the “Nacho Average Nachos” arrive (is this a sporting term or a warning?). Yes, they look slumped and overheated, but are remarkably lifted by a very solid, very zippy chimichurri and a few thick coins of jalapeño. There are pinto beans in the mix as well. I made a note to try this at home.

There’s simply no replicating the look of Topgolf’s burgers. With these immaculate, food-styled cartoons of our national dish, you can tweeze your brows in the sheen of these buns. But you might need Freddie Mercury’s jaw to bite down. Ours arrived toothpicked with lettuce, tomato and a perfect, glistening tongue of bacon and was satisfyingly charred. That meat was definitely not hiding, but the “secret sauce” was a little coy. (What was it? And where?)

The trio of tacos is offered three ways, but we plumped for a threesome of shrimp, rather than chicken or beef. Where a shrimp is concerned, there’s no quicker way to lose faith in a chef than bouncing down on a rubber bolus. And our faith remained intact.

Someone here knows how to do these tiddlers, and I could imagine the scene back in the kitchen — flames jaggering up the sides of a blistering, sizzling pan; shrimp jumping like hoolies at a football match. There was distinct “authenticity” to these tacos; they are precisely what they are meant to be.

Despite echoes of dystopia as you gaze out from Topgolf into Midtown and the neighborhoods beyond, you can’t fault the view. I mean, who wants rolling hills and trees with leaves (or trees without them)? Who wants real grass and a sweet breeze? This is a city and those are long ago things.

But no one seems to mind. It’s jolly here, if a little strange. Good sportsmanship is all around: boys-nightouts, girls-night-outs and families, and not a plaid pant in sight. The staff could not be nicer.

So, at last, what is to be said about Topgolf’s Injectable Donut Holes? I’ve puzzled a little over this one, and almost come up empty. It’s unlike me; the holes — it’s true — have me stumped.

I know hospital language in a food article isn’t really the thing, but I don’t know where else to go. I mean, how do I not go there when a couple of syringes show up at the table and they’re filled alternately with something that is red, and something that looks yellow and thick. I definitely won’t say ichor tastes better, but I definitely will mention that the stuff in that red tube bore zero resemblance to any jelly I’ve ever come across. As for the goo in the other, if that was Bavarian cream (or anything cream), then I’m chief of surgery at the Mayo Clinic. A rider to all of this could be that

seven pages of booze menu (more if you count the puddingy “Sweet Sips” that sneak in under “Desserts”) might guarantee that by the time these infamous, scorched spherules arrive, you’ll be too snookered to care, let alone get them in your mouth. After all those beverages — all those flashing!! boozy “Golf Bags” that are big enough to be shared but most likely aren’t — you won’t know which is ball and which is hole. And it’s OK. Out there, far out on the Astro Turf, is the best place for either.

Send tips and feedback to Alexa Beattie at abeattie@riverfronttimes.com

Topgolf

Nacho Average Nachos $10 50

Farmhouse Flatbread ����������������������������� $14

Golf Bags (for two) $24

Topgolf’s bar and restaurant offers plenty of light and plenty of booze, with a seven-page menu of drinks alone. | MABEL SUEN

Loaded syringes invite you to inject your doughnut holes with chocolate, raspberry jelly or Bavarian cream.

| MABEL SUEN Shrimp tacos come with avocado salsa, lime crema, pico de gallo and Cotija cheese. | MABEL SUEN

SHORT ORDERS 25

Hip to Be Square

Motor Town Pizza brings Detroit-style pies to Richmond Heights

BY ALEXA BEATTIE

When Covid restrictions forced Revel Kitchen owners Simon and Angelica Lusky to close their doors to foot traffic, it quickly became an issue of survival: How would they keep their healthconscious business afloat? The solution came with a ghost kitchen pizza biz — and some rectangular tin pans. “By using a pan, we could bake pizza in our existing, traditional ovens,” says Angelica Lusky. “And there was hardly any outlay.”

She and Simon, former head chef for the St. Louis Cardinals, started cranking out the four-sided, Detroit-style

pies and the crowd went (lug) nuts.

On the wheels of that enthusiasm, the Luskys have blown out that operation. Motor Town Pizza opened at 8029 Dale Avenue in the Crossing at Richmond Heights in mid-February.

The space, formerly occupied by Vitality Bowls, is cool-looking, motorthemed — sharp as a stripe on a 1960s El Camino. The walls are as red. And yes, the angles of its pies are a crispy 90 degrees.

“The paint picked itself,” Angelica says. “It’s called ‘100 mph.’ That’s kind of how it is around here.”

At the time, a couple of days before opening, she was only talking about kinks, and ironing them out. Considering Revel’s fan base, its finely tuned delivery service and its bright new presence by a major highway, they’re expecting business to be brisk. Who doesn’t love a crusty, cheezy parallelogram with interesting, well-matched ingredients?

The El Dorado, for instance, revs spicy plant-based chorizo with hints of cumin and sweet cuts of pineapple and blistery jalapeno. It’s all the things — crunchy, crusty at its sharp edges, with Chihuahua and smoked provolone cheeses. Gluten-free crust and vegan cheese are available on request. Al-

“This place is the opposite of Revel! No one wants that healthy stuff all the time. This is pizza. Everyone loves pizza.”

though here, where the Luskys expect to be catering to a different crowd, those options may be less of a concern.

“This place is the opposite of Revel!” Angelica says. “No one wants that healthy stuff all the time. This is pizza. Everyone loves pizza.”

And subs. Although Motor Town isn’t allowed to call its subs “subs” because of Firehouse Subs next door. So these are “grinders.” Grinder feels more fitting anyway; these big jalopies somehow bring the gym to mind. But, like she said, her other three Revel Kitchens (Kirkwood, Brentwood and Boca Raton, Florida), have “healthy” covered.

Still, there’s plenty of wholesomeness to be had at Motor Town: The salads are bright and fresh. Nuts & Bolts combines greens, walnuts and cranberries with shaved onions and carrots, and a raspberry vinaigrette. The Kale Mobile is a salad of kale, lemon juice and crispy crumbs. The Red Racer is a cheeseless pizza, just marinara, crunchy garlic and shallots. And one of those grinders — the V-Ate — busts with mushrooms, artichokes, roasted peppers, kale and goat cheese.

But then, it’s back to what seems to be the essence of Motor Town — fullthrottle meat-and-cheesiness, all the tastier, of course, for being “square.’”

All pizzas come in two sizes, and can be made round to order. Smoked chicken wings are also on the menu.

Motor Town Pizza has indoor seating for 26, and room on the patio out front for eight. Soon, once some licensing issues are resolved, the Luskys will serve bottles of wine and mostly local beer in cans.

Motor Town Pizza is open from 11 a.m. to 9 p.m. Sunday to Thursday and 11a.m. to 10 p.m. Friday and Saturday. n This story was originally published by Sauce Magazine.

[FIRST LOOK]

Motor Town Pizza is the brainchild of Revel Kitchen owners Simon and Angelica Lusky. | MICHELLE VOLANSKY

Small Town Livin’

Oak Street Inn & Lounge will have a cafe, restaurant and speakeasy when it opens in Cottleville this spring

BY ANDREW MALO

Cottleville, Missouri, is becoming a hotspot in the St. Louis region; the quaint town of 5,000 has a surprisingly diverse range of dining and drinks. Soon to be added to the options is Oak Street Inn & Lounge (5521 Oak Street), which is opening in a historic building downtown that once housed the general store and post office.

At 12,500 square feet, Oak Street Inn & Lounge will have a rooftop patio, an upscale restaurant on the main level, a speakeasy in the basement, eight hotel rooms and a breakfast cafe. A two-bedroom, two-and-a-half bath penthouse suite will be available on the third floor of the building. The breakfast cafe, Pink Willow, will be independently run. Everything else will be run by Chelsey and Nick Sweeten and Chris and Millie Shreves, owners of the property, and Michelle Branch, general manager. Sweeten and family also own Public School House, an event space in another historic property in Cottleville that frequently hosts pop-up bars.

The rooftop patio, hotel rooms and Pink Willow are slated to open by late March or early April. The other amenities will open shortly after. In order to achieve their vision, the building is

[FIRST LOOK]

News You Can Stews

Soulard hotspot Stews Food & Liquor is a bastion of craft cocktails and Asian-inspired dishes

BY LAUREN HEALEY

There’s a new spot to get Asian cuisine in St. Louis.

Stews Food & Liquor (1862 South 10th Street) opened in mid-January in the space that previously housed the Wood Shack in Soulard, and has already

being completely renovated. They put in a new foundation, lifted the building to create a basement and put an addition on to the main level.

Each aspect of Oak Street Inn & Lounge will have a distinct feel. The rooftop patio will provide picturesque views of the town of Cottleville and handcrafted cocktails. “The sunsets up there are breathtaking,” says Branch. The restaurant on the main floor will be elegant and upscale, modeled after a historic European hotel visited by Sweeten last year. The basement speakeasy will be a classy spot for nightlife, featuring vinyl records, lowlit vibes, cocktails and small bites.

The menu is still to be determined while they search for the perfect chef.

“We’ll give the chef a lot of autonomy and allow them free reign to come up with the menu that fits their spe-

been well received by the community thus far.

“We’ve been blown away by all the love and support we’ve received since opening night,” says co-owner Nate Burrows. “We are excited to build on this and keep showing our love for hospitality.”

The ownership team had initially contemplated offering sandwiches, but chef Brent Petty’s favorite food to cook is Asian, so the other co-owners – Burrows and his wife Kristen “Stew” Leahy – encouraged him to lean into his strengths for their new concept. Plus, “Soulard doesn’t have any Asian places,” as Burrows told Sauce previously.

The succinct menu includes items such as edamame “hummus,” Brussels sprouts, a chopped salad, khao soi, siu mai, lo mein, a pork burger with waffle fries, popcorn chicken with orange, sesame or Gen-

cialty,” Sweeten says.

“The drinks will be European influenced with an American flair. The bartenders will be thoroughly trained to make handcrafted cocktails with homemade syrups and fresh ingredients,” says Branch.

The bar will also have a ripple machine, a beverage-top media printer that can print pictures and messages on the froth of espresso, beer and cocktails.

“Imagine being proposed to on top of an espresso martini,” Branch says.

Oak Street Inn & Lounge will be open to the public for dining and drinks Wednesdays through Saturdays. Sundays through Tuesdays, it will act as a venue for private events, such as birthdays, bridal showers and rehearsals. The rooftop will have space for about 50 people, the restau-

eral Tso’s sauce, and miso ramen.

Burrows, who is Petty’s cousin, helms the bar program, having previously worked at Jack Nolen’s and Cinder House. Look for traditional cocktails such as a martini, Negroni, Moscow Mule, Old-Fashioned, Black Manhattan, frozen Irish coffee and a Paper Plane, along with specialties like a Lychee Gimlet and a tiki-inspired cocktail called Fat Man in a Yellow Suit. You’ll also find beer from local breweries such as 4 Hands Brewing Co. and Urban Chestnut Brewing Co.

Stews is also a new hotspot for industry workers, who receive a 20 percent discount, as food will be available late, including on Mondays when so many restaurants are closed.

“We come from the restaurant industry and want to have a place that industry folks can come, have delicious food and

rant and lounge about 80 people, and the speakeasy about 50 people. They are all available for private rental.

The inspiration for the space comes from a recognized need by Sweeten and her group, as well as a desire to make Cottleville a destination town in the area. The Public School House has been a popular spot for an intimate wedding venue; so popular, in fact, that they were awarded the 2023 A-List Best Wedding Venue of the Year by St. Louis Magazine. By creating another event space in town, they are putting Cottleville on the map for intimate weddings and private event rentals.

“While working in skincare, I saw brides that were in need of smaller spaces. They did not want to have their special day at large, traditional spots. They wanted something intimate and meaningful. That’s when we started Public School House,” says Sweeten.

New to Sweeten is operating a restaurant. Branch, who has more than 15 years of experience managing and operating restaurants and bars in the St. Louis region, was brought in a year ago. She has been shadowing Lisa Berdeaux, general manager, and Melanie Danz, operational manager, of Public School House, and sharing her operational knowledge from working in larger businesses in anticipation of handling general management of Oak Street Inn & Lounge with its multiple dining options, hotel amenities and event operations.

“We want Oak Street to serve not only as a welcoming business for locals to have dinner, cocktails or plan a staycation, but also as a premier destination for visiting tourists,” says Branch.

To stay up to date, follow Oak Street Inn & Lounge on Facebook. n

This story was originally published by Sauce Magazine.

hang out with us,” Burrows says.

The vibe at the 800-square-foot restaurant is fun and whimsical yet a little moody thanks to dim lighting and dark green paint. Between a few bar seats, plus high- and low-top tables, there’s room for 25 guests inside, along with another 25 on the front sidewalk patio. Crowd-pleasing playlists made by friends and family waft through the air over the speakers, and Burrows hopes to one day have a record player for guests to bring their own music.

“I want to use this as a platform to broaden my music horizons,” he says.

Stews Food & Liquor is open from 5 p.m. to midnight Monday through Thursday, 5 p.m. to 1 a.m. Friday, 3 p.m. to 1 a.m. Saturday and is closed on Sunday. n

This story was originally published by Sauce Magazine.

The new endeavor will open in the historic building that formerly housed Cottleville’s general store and post office. | COURTESY PHOTO

Night Time Is the Right Time

Up Late’s second location is now open in the Loop

BY DANIEL HILL

Late-night Loop-dwellers and hungry night owls of all shape and size have much to celebrate this week, as beloved purveyor of after-hours breakfast sandwiches Up Late has finally opened its Delmar location.

The new eatery opened for business last week at 6197 Delmar Boulevard in the space that housed Chicken Out’s Loop location before its closure in October. As with the original Up Late, the Loop spot slings its wares from a takeout window on the side of its building at night, and will serve as a Strange Donuts outpost on weekends during the day.

Nathan Wright, who co-owns Up Late with Jason Bockman, was manning the window on a recent visit. He tells the RFT that there are no plans to utilize the space in the building that served as Chicken Out’s dining area for that purpose — the spot will

[FOOD NEWS]

Comeback Kid

Pizza Head founder Scott Sandler

will open Pizza Via in the Central West End

BY SARAH FENSKE

One of St. Louis’ top pizza makers is getting back in the game.

Scott Sandler — the exacting pizzaiolo who opened, and then sold, Pizzeoli and Pizza Head — will be opening a new pizzeria in the Central West End in early April. Sandler will be opening Pizza Via (4501 Maryland Avenue) in the storefront at the corner of Maryland and Taylor that previously held Cafe Ciao.

In some ways, Pizza Via follows a familiar playbook: a low-key spot with Sandler personally making pies with an exacting focus on quality, from dough to ingredients to a woodfired oven. But there are some key changes. This time, he’ll be cooking with what he calls a wood-fired West Coast-style oven, which does best in the 600-700 degree range (as opposed to the 850-900 degree range in the

be takeout-only, as with the original location. The windows of the building will soon be covered in large neon signs, he added, sure to attract the ravenous late-night hordes leaving concerts at the nearby Pageant and Delmar Hall like moths to a flame.

Up Late’s original location opened in February 2023 and quickly proved

itself a hit, with this publication dubbing it “some of the greatest latenight food in St. Louis” by June. Former RFT Food Critic Cheryl Baehr credited that success to the fact that the space “nails the small details” on what is otherwise straightforward fare, celebrating in particular the inspired inclusion of housemade blackberry jelly and habanero aioli on its

Neapolitan pizza ovens Pizzeoli uses).

And this time, meat will be among the ingredients.

“I’m still vegetarian,” Sandler explains.

“But Pizzeoli and Pizza Head still have

heavy vegetarian and vegan options. This town doesn’t need a third. I don’t know that I’m converting anyone to becoming vegetarian or vegan by having a vegetarian pizza place. We’d just be attracting people

sandwiches.

Additional offerings include street tacos, donuts, beer, coffee, milk and Red Hot Riplets, naturally.

Up Late is open from 8 p.m. to 4 a.m. Thursday through Sunday, and the space will operate as a Strange Donuts location from 7 a.m. to 2 p.m. Friday through Sunday. For more information, visit uplatestl.com. n

who are already there.”

Sandler is still fine-tuning some details, but he initially plans a short menu, likely just four or five pies with some add-on options. He plans to be open four days a week or so at first, likely from 4:30 or 5 p.m. to 9 p.m. or so. Only after he’s up and running and doing well does he plan to seek a liquor license or expand the menu.

He’s been inspired by Lucali, the cultfavorite New York City pizzeria that’s cashonly, BYOB and serves pies made with rolled out dough (instead of the ubiquitous hand-tossed). “I’ve got my recipe down,” he pledges. “It’s a totally different recipe than my other places — fermented two or three days so you get a lot of flavor in the dough.” The rolled dough makes for a thinner crust that’s a bit crispier.

For Sandler, getting back in the pizza game couldn’t be more exciting. After selling Pizza Head, he says, he contemplated other jobs, only to realize pizza had claimed his heart. “Do I really want to pick up and start a new career at this stage of my life when this is what I love to do?” he recalls asking himself.

“Pizza is the only thing that’s exciting me to go to work,” he says. “I’m excited to wake up in the morning. Pizza’s just something — I love being a part of it. And I love serving people.” n

Scott Sandler, who sold Pizza Head in 2017, is now back with a new concept. | SHANNON WEBER

Up Late co-owner Nathan Wright was manning the takeout window on a recent Thursday night. | DANIEL HILL

[HOWDY DOODAT]

REEFERFRONT TIMES

Smoke and Mirrors

Trickster god Ben Zabin bamboozles a St. Louis crowd — and one sober reporter — with a weed-themed magic show

BY DANIEL HILL

When I first learned that a traveling magic show that caters specifically to consumers of marijuana was coming to town, my immediate reaction was one of outrage.

Smokus Pocus, as the act is so dubbed, features the talents of one Ben Zabin, a globe-trotting entertainer in his mid-twenties who grew up in Greenwich, Connecticut. Zabin got into boy wizardry when he was gifted a magic set for Hanukkah at the tender age of 4, and proved so adept at his craft that he was performing publicly by age 10 and being regularly paid for it by the time he reached high school, as detailed in a 2016 profile by the Greenwich Free Press

But that’s where the story takes a dark turn. Zabin’s primary source of income had been performing on cruises and at large events, and both were put on hold when COVID-19 came. In response, Zabin holed up in his lair and hatched a scheme that would come to be Smokus Pocus, a weed-themed magic act that took up residency in Las Vegas in 2021 and saw the gifted young man performing several times a week in the city’s dispensaries.

“It was always an idea on the back burner,” Zabin told Las Vegas Weekly last year. “To me, magic and weed have always seemed to go so great together. It was always fun doing tricks with friends while we were high.”

What Zabin calls “fun,” however, is what some would call cruelty. Here we have a practiced liar — as all magicians are — preying shamelessly upon those who have willfully taken leave of their critical faculties, a slow and stupid bunch rendered infinitely more bamboozlable by their own choices of consumption. Is not attempting to trick a stoner with sleight-of-hand akin to shooting a big fish in a small barrel?

I decided to attend the February 23 St. Louis stop at .Zack totally weed-free. Zabin is used to audiences approaching his work at a marked disadvantage, I figured, but what happens when his skills are put to the test by the sharp mind of a dogged investigative reporter who once hoodwinked multiple elected officials into thinking he was nothing but an innocent frankfurter?

As a control, I decided I should also bring along a stoned associate, so that our experiences could be compared and contrasted. Said associate did not wish to be named in this article, so we’re gonna call her Gordon Meredith Lightfoot Jr., or just Meredith for short.

The first order of business was to procure the necessary supplies for Meredith to achieve the appropriate state of mind, so I approached a budtender at the Swade dispensary on Delmar with a simple but important question.

“What pre-roll would you recommend for a weed-themed magic show?” I asked.

Said budtender came back with an array of options, discussing their pros and cons. We landed on the Grateful Dead-themed Terpwin Station. After inquiring whether one needs a doctorate in order to write for the Riverfront Times (LMAO, no), she sent me on my way with a word of warning for

“How the fuck did he do that?” exclaimed a man near me. I must admit, I wasn’t sure either.

Meredith.

“I would just maybe microdose it,” she cautioned. “Maybe drink a little soda at the same time, make sure you’re drinking water and eating, and it’ll work out fine.”

Upon arrival at .Zack’s parking lot, I neglected to relay any of that warning to Meredith, who fired that bad boy up and started puffing away. Once she was satisfied, we made our way inside, where I ponied up to the bar and ordered a double Jameson, because while I’m serious about the sober aspect of this experiment, I’m not, like, a fanatic about it.

The sold-out show was packed, a capacity theater full of visibly stoned attendees. Meredith and I made our way to our seats, whereupon she declared herself “too high.” And with that, the stage was set.

Zabin came out on stage clad in black pants and a black leather jacket with the sleeves rolled up, his hair pulled back. For one of his first tricks, he brought out a bottle of alcohol and a jar of weed, which he then covered with some silver cylinders. When he lifted the cylinders, the weed and the bottle had switched places. After that, he set down and lifted the cylinders several more times, leaving a new bottle of alcohol behind with each move.

“How the fuck did he do that?” exclaimed a man near me. I must admit, I wasn’t sure either.

For his next illusion, Zabin offered to show us all how a trick was done — an arrogant move made possible only by the fact his audience was working with a handicap. He began showing off a fake egg with a hole in it into which he was able to make a bag of weed disappear, remarking on how some of the people seated on the sides might have been able to spot the illusion even if he hadn’t explained it — not so impressive, if you ask this sober-minded reporter. But then, in a bewildering moment of actual sorcery, he cracked the egg into a glass, which filled with egg white and yolk — no weed to be found. “What is this devilry?” I thought to myself.

The evening continued on in much the same fashion, my heart filling with

A weed-themed magic show should be like shooting fish in a barrel, but our sober observer actually came away impressed — if a bit terrified. | COURTESY PHOTO

increasing dread as it became clear that dark forces beyond my comprehension were at play here. Zabin concealed his true nature through an affable, aww-shucks stoner delivery that was heavy on humor, eliciting plenty of laughter as he bent the very nature of reality to his whims. Bongs miraculously filled with smoke, boxes of mac and cheese defied physics and the whole crowd gasped as Zabin hammered a vape pen into his own nasal cavity. Nothing was as it seemed, and seemingly anything was possible.

The show was also heavy on crowd participation. For a particularly astounding act of prestidigitation, Zabin called upon a man in a backwards red Cardinals hat named Alan, who said he’d been smoking weed for between 24 and 22 years, to take the stage.

“That’s perfect,” Zabin told Alan, “because I needed somebody to come on stage that’s been smoking weed for 24 or 22 years.”

Zabin said that he wanted Alan to see if he could spot the secret to the illusion he was about to perform, inviting him to watch from a close-up vantage point. He then asked Alan to write his name on a tag large enough for everyone in the room to see. Alan was then instructed to place the name tag into a stack of blank ones in Zabin’s hand. Zabin held the stack aloft for a couple moments, then dropped the name tags one by one, proving that the signed one was no longer in the stack. He then reached into the right pocket of his jacket and produced the card, to the crowd’s astonishment.

With the cocksure attitude of a man clearly endowed with supernatural abilities, Zabin once again opted to explain the trick. He said he’d employed a move that magicians call the “diagonal home shift.” He explained that when Alan had dropped his signed name tag into the stack, Zabin had secretly shifted it to his palm.

“Once it was there I then shot the name tag up my arm, up my sleeve, across my god-like chest and into the pocket,” he explained.

There was just one problem with that explanation: Zabin’s sleeves had been rolled up the entire show

Zabin offered to do the trick again, in slow motion, so that Alan would have a better chance at seeing what was happening. He encouraged Alan not to take his eyes off his pocket, and called upon the rest of the audience not to take their eyes off of the stack of name tags. But even at a slower speed it was impossible to ascertain how the illusion was done — a feat explicable

only by true magic. I shuddered at the implications.

By the time I left the hour-long show and stepped into the cool night air, I was convinced I’d been in the presence of some kind of trickster god. I turned to a thoroughly stoned Meredith for her take, sure that in her addled state she’d be even more shaken by what she’d seen than I.

“He had a bunch of hollow bottles that stack up when you grab the cylinders,” she replied, “and he had an egg in his pocket the whole time. Also he just kept the name tag in his hand. The rest of it is lying.”

Her confidence was enough to make me doubt my very premise in this undertaking. Perhaps the consumption of weed does not make people inherently stupid. What if I’m the idiot

here, a Howdy Doodat unable to parse fact from fiction? That’d be a concerning thought.

I swiftly dismissed those concerns, though, and became convinced instead that my companion for the evening was actually a powerful practitioner of dark magic herself. I made my way away from her down the sidewalk, where I spotted Alan leaving the show. In a near-panic, I asked him how he thought the trick he’d participated in was done, hoping that his answer could somehow return me to the reality I once knew.

“I’m gonna be 100 percent with you,” Alan replied. “I don’t know, because I wasn’t even paying attention. I am fucking high and just chilling with it.”

In retrospect, that might have been the way to go. n

Jars of weed and bongs are important props in Ben Zabin’s brand of magic. | COURTESY PHOTO

CULTURE

[OPENINGS]

New Digs

Kahlil Robert Irving reflects on the built world in Archaeologyof the Present, now at the Kemper

BY KASEY NOSS

Humans are strangely fascinated with our own ruins. We gaze upon the artifacts of people who came before us and wonder what life was like for them, our reflections filtered through the lenses of our own lived experiences. In Kahlil Robert Irving’s latest solo exhibition, Archaeology of the Present, the renowned visual artist curates a similar experience, with one major difference: Instead of the ancient past, Irving invites viewers to confront their own epoch.

In the center of the Mildred Lane Kemper Art Museum’s Ebsworth Gallery stands a 2,500-square-foot plywood platform. A wide set of stairs

forms one side of the perimeter, while an Americans with Disabilities Act — compliant ramp lines another — Irving is adamant that “people who navigate space in all ways possible” have access to the experience.

Within the platform lie eight distinct elements — well, some of them lie. Others tower overhead, or perch atop chipwood pedestals at eye level, or sit sunken into the platform itself, enclosed by low railings. The installation resembles an archaeological excavation, where the Doric columns of Pompeii give way to a ceramic industrial pipe or fragment of faux-brick wall and the subterranean gaps reveal not Byzantine mosaics, but stoneware tiles that mimic the asphalt of a city street.

“I’m just reflecting on the built world as an entity, as a place, as a fiction,” Irving says.

“These things tell part of this kind of fragmented story of a space or people or the time,” says Meredith Malone, curator at the Kemper. “I think the whole thing is stunning.”

This is not Irving’s first show at the Kemper. As a graduate student at Washington University’s Sam Fox School of Art and Design, Irving,

alongside 24 classmates, saw his work displayed in the museum’s Ebsworth Gallery as part of its 2017 MFA Thesis Exhibition. His installation featured two large sculptures, a digital Jacquard weaving and three flags — elements that have frequently reappeared in Irving’s subsequent work. In many ways, Irving sees that exhibition, though smaller in scale, as a “precursor” to Archaeology of the Present.

For Irving, the return to Wash U is a cause for celebration, despite his fraught relationship with the Sam Fox School — specifically, with its mostly white faculty.

“A lot of the faculty have their feelings hurt, because they’re all uncomfortable being around me, because they’re afraid of being held accountable for their bad behavior,” says Irving, though he declines to be more specific. “I hope that the exhibition can be as much of a celebration as I’d like it to be. Like, I hope that despite the racist, problematic infrastructure of Washington University’s Sam Fox School, that the faculty can support and appreciate the hard work and determination that I have had to become and be a successful alumni of the University and in the art

world.” (Wash U did not respond to a request seeking comment.)

Irving’s “successful alumni” status is hardly in question. When the Riverfront Times last profiled Irving, in 2016, he was still at Wash U. Since then, Irving has participated in exhibitions at the Gagosian Gallery in London, the New Museum and the Museum of Modern Art, to name a few. You can find him in the permanent collections of institutions like the Carnegie Museum of Art, the RISD Museum and the Whitney Museum of American Art. Irving’s creations have traveled as far as the Riga Porcelain Museum in Latvia and the Foundation for Contemporary Ceramic Art in Hungary, and as close to home as the Contemporary Art Museum St. Louis. Most recently, his work was the subject of the Walker Art Center’s original presentation of Archaeology of the Present in Minneapolis.

On February 23, Irving became the first Wash U alum to have a solo exhibition at the Kemper since its current location opened in 2006. The Kemper presentation coincides with a separate exhibition of Irving’s work that opened last week at the Nerman Museum of

Archaeology of the Present was presented in Minneapolis before making its way to its artist’s hometown of St. Louis. | COURTESY PHOTO

Contemporary Art in Overland Park, Kansas, making Kahlil a rare example of an artist “bookending” the state of Missouri.

“He’s always been incredibly ambitious and really thoughtful in the kind of work that he was producing,” says Malone, who curated the 2017 MFA exhibition. “You can see how hard he works and the vastness of his approach to creative making.”

In some ways, Irving’s approach to making is surprisingly straightforward: “I like making shit. I like making weird shit. I like making new shit,” he declares emphatically when he’s asked where he draws his inspiration from.

At the same time Irving, who describes himself as a “critical person,” has found in his art a powerful vehicle for self-expression and social commentary.

“I’ve always known I had something to say,” Irving says. “Making sculpture and making paintings and making exhibitions has just been one way that has been able to be realized.”

In Archaeology of the Present, Irving says a lot. The city street “as both place and concept” is central to the exhibition and to the artistic ethos of Irving, who grew up and resides in south St. Louis.

“A lot of his work is grounded in his experiences here, in this city, and this social and environmental context,” says Malone. “He’s always thinking about the city street. He’s thinking about that as a public space, but also a place of violence.”

In one work, Flat Smoke [{my heart is and ain’t heavy}|Can we remember MS Green!], ceramic facsimiles of crumbled newspapers litter a floor of jet-black glazed tiles, evocative of the city street. The publications imitated range from historically Black publica-

tions to the St. Louis Post-Dispatch and the New York Times. They relay acts of violence, advertise social gatherings or display graphs of COVID-19 mortality rates.

“Each fragment of the installation, each section of the installation, is just a moment: the moment caught in ecstasy, the moment caught in joy, in mourning,” Irving says. “There are references to specific life experiences or symbols that relate to, that open up the dialogue for many people, or open up space for many people to feel seen or recognized in the work.”

The exhibition welcomes all viewers to reflect on these moments, but not every viewer will feel “seen” in the same way.

“The installation is just the presence of a series of optics to imbue or engage with ideologies,” Irving says. “There’s a bridge that has to be built to address that. To approach that bridge, you already have to be doing the work of dealing with your relationship to white supremacy and violence.”

The Kemper’s presentation of Archaeology of the Present introduces five new works, including a flag and a four-part painting — a relatively new medium for Irving. In tandem with the exhibition, the Kemper Museum Video Gallery is screening seven short films selected by Irving, many of which were created by former fellow MFAs or local St. Louis artists.

“He’s very much interested in bringing people along with him too,” Malone says. n

Archaeology of the Present opened February 23 and will run through July 29. For more information, visit kemperartmuseum.wustl.edu.

Kahlil Robert Irving, in his St. Louis studio, has won national acclaim. | WHITNEY CURTIS/WASH U

MUSIC

Home Sweet Home

How did one of the best Irish bluegrass bands in the world end up living in Soulard?

Thank John D. McGurk’s

BY STEVE LEFTRIDGE

St. Louis has its share of musical claims to fame, and our latest is also one of our greatest: St. Louis is home to one of the top Irish bluegrass bands on the planet.

We’re talking about JigJam, the renowned four-piece band that formed in Ireland in 2012. The band that combines traditional Irish music with American bluegrass; the band that made its Grand Ole Opry debut last March, sharing the stage with Garth Brooks and Steve Earle; the band that plays to uproarious crowds on tours around the U.S. and lands premium spots on some of the country’s biggest festivals, including the Telluride Bluegrass Festival in Colorado and, later this year, Merlefest in North Carolina and Delfest in Maryland.

So what are they doing here? Out of everywhere in the U.S., why would a band of JigJam’s stature within the Irish music community settle in St. Louis? After all, on any list of the most Irish cities in America, St. Louis is nowhere near the top.

The answer is a startlingly simple one: JigJam’s relocation to St. Louis came down to John D. McGurk’s, the celebrated Irish pub in Soulard. “Honestly, it’s mainly because of McGurk’s,” JigJam singer/guitarist Jamie McKeogh tells me. “We’ve been in a lot of Irish bars around the States, and this definitely tops them all, you know? It’s the real deal.”

McKeogh and I are sitting at McGurk’s main bar about an hour before JimJam is set to take the stage on a Thursday night, part of a five-nightper-week residency at the bar that is set to last a full five weeks. As we talk, Johnny “Lucky” McAteer, who has been tending bar at McGurk’s for 30 years, brings me a perfectly poured Guinness, which McKeogh insists on putting on his own tab. McKeogh is tall, handsome and reddish-headed. He is

also unfailingly polite and speaks in a charming Offaly accent; when I ask his age, he says that he is “turty one.”

“The pictures on the wall tell the story, really,” McKeogh says, referring to the framed photographs of Irish musicians that line the walls behind and around the stage at McGurk’s. “I didn’t realize the first time I was here the amount of Irish musicians that have played here. Fellas like Jackie Daly and Joe Burke. You see them all around the walls, and they’ve all spent time here, and after you play here, you realize why.”

Indeed, McGurk’s makes JigJam feel at home. McKeogh and JigJam banjoist Daithi Melia were raised in the town of Tullamore, which McKeogh describes as “your run-of-the-mill small Irish town, slam-bang in the center of Ireland,” best known for its famous export, the whiskey Tullamore Dew. Raised by a music-teacher mother who emphasized traditional Irish music and a father who turned him on to the American classic rock of Bruce Springsteen and the Eagles, McKeogh was blending musical influences early on, playing mandolin and tenor banjo alongside his sister Ciara, a fiddler.

JigJam started in 2012 with the siblings, along with Melia and friends, playing at parties and pubs around Tullamore on weekends, “making a little pocket money playing covers”

while McKeogh was still in high school. Eventually, McKeogh moved to Dublin to study physical therapy at the Royal College of Surgeons in Ireland, keeping the band going by finding fans of traditional music. “Traditional Irish music always has a strong pocket in Ireland,” he says. “The really traditional stuff doesn’t have a massive following, but the following that it does have is very strong, very dedicated.”

After graduating from college, he worked as a physical therapist for four years while still keeping JigJam going, but eventually music took over everything. “The band got busy enough, and I got the opportunity to come over here to the States,” he says. “So I put the PT on the back burner for a while and haven’t really seen it since.”

With some personnel changes — his sister Ciara left the band and Tipperary-born mandolinist and banjoist Gavin Strappe joined on mandolin and tenor banjo — JigJam toured throughout Ireland and the UK and recorded a series of well-received albums that mixed traditional Irish tunes with the band’s own originals. Eventually JigJam crossed the pond, landing stateside in 2015 for its first U.S. tour.

The band made some important discoveries in America. First, they fell in love with American bluegrass music, which they started to work into their

own sound, building on the historical connections between Irish music and bluegrass. “That’s what we discovered when we started putting it all together, that bluegrass started from Irish music really,” says McKeogh. “The Irish immigrated to the States years and years ago, and that helped kind of kick off bluegrass and American folk music.”

Stylistically, the band has adopted many of the techniques of modern bluegrass pickers, which has helped McKeogh’s own guitar-playing evolution. “I look up to all those fast bluegrass guitar players,” he says. “I didn’t grow up playing bluegrass guitar. I grew up playing Irish traditional guitar, mainly as an accompanying instrument, so [bluegrass guitar] is new to me. It’s a different language. But I had the flatpicking aspect from tenor banjo and mandolin, and the last few years I’ve incorporated that technique into guitar. So I’m probably a bit of a hybrid.”

It’s a hybrid that runs throughout JigJam. Melia has mastered Scruggsstyle five-string banjo picking and is as slick and inventive a banjo ace as you are likely to find anywhere on the newgrass scene these days. On the other hand, Strappe is a phenomenal four-string tenor banjo player of Irish traditionalism. On certain songs, both Melia and Strappe will simultaneously play their respective banjos for a truly original melting-pot of styles that the

JigJam’s strategy for conquering the U.S. involves touring from a base in St. Louis — and long residencies at McGurk’s. | ZACHARY LINHARES

band calls “iGrass” for its blend of Irish and bluegrass idioms.

Having been on the bluegrass festival circuit, JigJam has been able to meet and play with jamgrass all-stars like the Infamous Stringdusters, Greensky Bluegrass and others. “We played with Billy Strings and his band out in Colorado,” McKeogh says. “We were able to pick up some tricks from them because we didn’t grow up playing that music. We see what they do, where one song goes on for 10 minutes.”

Still, no matter how much JigJam experiments with progressive bluegrass or extemporaneous jamming, they remain first and foremost an Irish band. “That’s why we still have a job here in the States,” McKeogh laughs, pointing to the universality of Irish music. “Our songs are very much upbeat and feel-good. Our motive is to bring people together for the two hours that they’re at our show and to make sure we can include everybody, and it doesn’t matter if you’ve never even heard Irish music. You can still tap your foot to it no matter what your background is and no matter what your beliefs and views are.”

The other discovery in coming here was the realization that the U.S. was going to be their most fertile market. If anything surprised McKeogh about America, he says, it was “how big of a passport the Irish passport is when you travel around the States. No matter where you go, they’ve all heard of Ireland, and they’ve all heard of Irish music in some shape or form. There’s a lot of Irish culture over here in the States. For a small country, we make quite a bang.”

That bang translated into enough successful American tours that JigJam knew they needed to relocate here to make the U.S. their base of operations. “We’d do our tour and we’d all fly home [to Ireland].

Then we’d do another tour and we’d fly home. If we had a base here, it would make it easier to tour and we could pick up other shows along the way.”

And that’s where McGurk’s came into play. When the band was looking for an American city in which to drop anchor, their friend, Irish banjo player Pio Ryan, suggested McGurk’s. “If we didn’t have a busy enough tour and had a month or two with no gigs, we could set up shop here and do a residency,” he says. “So it made sense for St. Louis to be home base when we weren’t touring.” All three Irishmen now make their homes in Soulard just down the street from McGurk’s, where they play their nightly gigs without any planned setlists, tapping into their vast repertoire of original songs, traditional tunes and a seemingly endless number of covers.

“Audiences have been great here,” McKeogh says. “It’s a bar gig, but at the same time, they are a listening crowd. They want to listen to our own music.” Still, JigJam knows that crowds get younger and rowdier on the weekends, so they modify their sets as they read the room. “If a bachelorette party comes through, and they want ‘Country Roads’ or Taylor Swift, we can give them that, too.”

Sure enough, I caught JigJam again two days after our interview during part of a marathon gig in the midst of Soulard’s big Mardi Gras

celebration. Playing from 11 a.m. to 8 p.m., McKeogh called it “the longest gig I’ve ever played in my life.” Still, the band challenged themselves not to repeat any songs all day. While I was there amid the beads and the beers and the bawdy behavior, I heard JigJam cover everything from Tyler Childers to Fleetwood Mac to Van Morrison.

The move to St. Louis also created the opportunity for another important step in the band’s evolution: the addition of local fiddler Kevin Buckley. As a versatile force on the St. Louis music scene, Buckley is a mainstay of McGurk’s and the leader of the excellent Americana rock band Grace Basement. As a fiddler, he is a natural fit for JigJam. “Kevin has been a breath of fresh air,” McKeogh says. “Musically, personality-wise, he’s been brilliant. The beauty of Kevin is that not only does [our fiddle player] have to be able to play Irish music, they have to be able to play bluegrass and whatever else we throw in. You can find a bunch of great American bluegrass fiddle players, but to find one that plays bluegrass, Irish music and all the other stuff is rare, and Kevin has all those things, which is fantastic.”

JigJam’s first full album after moving to the States — recorded here with Buckley — will be out March 1. Three singles from the record are already out, including a song the band wrote about their new home away from home. “John D. McGurk’s (The Heart-

beat of St. Louis)” is a rousing calland-response number, and its accompanying video was filmed, of course, on location in their favorite pub.

“We’ve been playing the McGurk’s song every night,” McKeogh says. “People have latched onto it already. There’s a call-and-answer part, so the crowd can get involved, and that’s been quite popular for us so far.”

The new album is called Across the Pond, a title that McKeogh says gets to the heart of what JigJam is all about. “It’s the first album that captures what we do as cohesively as possible, in regard to song choices, the writing process, instrumental choices,” he says. “It’s about all the Irish in America, and how they paved the way in the States, making a living and bringing their songs and music and culture, and how the Irish music and bluegrass go hand in hand.

The whole album tells that story.”

JigJam will hit the road for a U.S. tour in March that will culminate in St. Louis with a show on March 29 at Off Broadway, which the band is treating as an album release party. “It will be a celebration of our album, a good representation of what we’ve been doing for the last year,” he says. “It’s going to be a high-energy show, a chance for people to have a few drinks and have a good time and just forget themselves for a few hours.”

In the meantime, if you’re looking for JigJam, you know where you can find them. The Guinness pairs excellently with the iGrass. n

The band is in fine company in Soulard, as this wall of Irish music luminaries at John D. McGurk's makes clear. | ZACHARY LINHARES

Bigger, Louder and Bolder

The epic Dune: Part Two tackles the perils of playing with faith, politics and power

BY ANDREW WYATT

Dune: Part Two

Directed by Denis Villeneuve. Written by Denis Villeneuve and Jon Spaihts, based on the novel by Frank Herbert. Opens March 1.

When it finally touched down in theaters three years ago, the most notable characteristic of Denis Villeneuve’s first Dune film was probably the fact that it existed at all. A properly monumental adaptation of Frank Herbert’s 1965 novel had been something of a cinematic white whale (or worm, if you will), defeating filmmakers as illustrious as David Lynch and Alejandro Jodorowsky. After several decades’ worth of failed and abandoned attempts, Villeneuve (Arrival, Blade Runner 2049) and his collaborators pulled off an impressive achievement, bringing the cherished literary science-fiction tale to life in grandiose and relatively faithful fashion, all without sacrificing that essential blockbuster currency: spectacle.

Dune: Part One proved to be a thrilling and visionary work of epic sci-fi, although it had to shed some of the thematic sophistication of the book to attain such lofty heights. The feature hinted at the source material’s weighty social, religious and ecological themes, but it was generally more focused on introducing the audience to the indelible, neo-feudal universe that Herbert created. The most notable thing about Dune: Part Two, then, is that it brings these themes to the forefront in a way that the first chapter could never quite manage, while also still delivering plenty of visceral action and awestruck world-building.

Picking up almost exactly where the previous feature (somewhat abruptly) left off, Part Two finds exiled-and-presumed-dead noble scion Paul Atreides (Timothée Chalamet) and his mother Lady Jessica

(Rebecca Ferguson) warily accepting the hospitality of the Fremen, the native people of the desert planet Arrakis. Both mother and son quickly find their place in this new world. Paul learns the ways of the Fremen guerilla warriors who sabotage the spice-extraction efforts of Arrakis’ colonizers, the brutal House Harkonnen. Meanwhile, Jessica — a member of the enigmatic witch cabal the Bene Gesserit — assumes an esteemed spiritual role, exploiting the messianic myths of the Fremen and paving the way for her son’s ascendency. This doesn’t sit well with Paul, who is more focused on assimilating with his new allies and winning the affection of the hard-edged fighter Chani (Zendaya). This summary barely scratches the arid surface of Dune: Part Two, which, like its predecessor, is fairly dense with intergalactic politicking and mystic gobbledygook. Villeneuve and co-writer Jon Spaihts approach this material with unflagging gravity, however. Their characters whisper urgently and roar defiantly, treating every moment with life-or-death, cosmic-scale weight. (Javier Bardem’s true-believer Fremen leader Stilgar is the only one who cracks the occasional droll joke.) Fortunately, Villeneuve excels at maintaining this kind of sobriety for two (or three) hours at a time, wooing the viewer with the potency of jaw-dropping sights and bone-rattling sounds. The absurdity of all the arcane

sci-fi nonsense dissolves in the reactive heat of Dune’s epic bulk and overwhelming sensations. By the time the film visits a gladiatorial arena roaring under the monochromatic light of a black sun — complete with ink-blot fireworks — the viewer won’t even notice how silly the characters sound when they say phrases like “Kwisatz Haderach.”

Chalamet rises to the occasion in this second chapter, holding on to Paul’s deep ambivalence while allowing his idealism, arrogance and (eventually) holy zeal to fully emerge. In comparison, Zendaya’s role doesn’t demand as much of her, but Villeneuve’s revisions to the story at least give Chani more to do, lending her relationship with Paul a stronger and more mature sense of tragedy. Amid a gamut of new faces — Florence Pugh, Léa Seydoux and Christopher Walken among them — Austin Butler is the showstopper as the bloodthirsty Harkonnen princeling Feyd-Rautha. It’s no small thing to upstage Sting’s unhinged, weirdly hypersexual take on the character from Lynch’s 1984 film version, but Butler gets there, albeit via a very different route. (Imagine Dracula as an edgelord albino salamander with a knife fetish and you’re halfway there.)

However, where Dune: Part Two truly impresses has less to do with its performances than the film’s facility for balancing blockbuster extrava-

gance and stickier, more cerebral matters. Part One was concerned first and foremost with efficiently introducing an encyclopedia’s worth of people, places and concepts. Consequently, the deeper aspects of Herbert’s story were mostly confined to the film’s characterization of Paul. This new feature, in contrast, tackles the novel’s thorniest themes head-on, illustrating the power of Chosen One tropes, the threat of runaway zealotry and the temptation to believe your own bull plop. Indeed, Dune: Part Two might be the most clear-eyed film about saviors and schisms since Monty Python’s Life of Brian. (Seriously.)

Paul is beset by disturbing visions of a coming holy war that he is desperate to avert, but the future may already be beyond his power to control. Scheming and malignant forces surround him — political, economic and religious — and the foes that want to eliminate him outright somehow seem less dangerous than those who want to wield him as a weapon. Most insidiously, the Bene Gesserit have been manipulating intergalactic politics for centuries, seeding worlds with superstitions and nudging noble genealogies for their own inscrutable ends. Dune: Part Two insists that to use faith and prophecy in these kinds of cynical power games is to play with fire. As more than one character learns to their horror, a controlled burn can become a raging inferno in the blink of an eye. n

Paul (Timothée Chalamet) and Chani (Zendaya) explore their attraction in Dune: Part Two. | WARNER BROS

[REVIEW]

Written in the Stars

Fly captures the hopelessness, and hope, of being a Black man in the United States

BY TINA FARMER

Fly

Written, directed and performed by Joseph L. Edwards. Presented by the Black Rep at the Hotchner Studio Theatre (6445 Forsyth Boulevard) through Sunday, March 10. Showtimes vary, and tickets are $20 to $50. More information at theblackrep.org.

The Black Rep presents the St. Louis premiere of Fly, a oneperformer drama that explores the challenges of being a Black man in the United States at the present time. Written, directed and performed by Joseph L. Edwards, the one-act play takes a deep dive into the reality — the indignities, hostilities and tenuous well-being — of life as a Black man with an honest, often comically tinged tone. At times starkly real and tragic, the play is nonetheless filled with soaring emotions and a

sense of hopeful possibility.

The quickly paced show opens on a Brooklyn rooftop scattered with trash and debris. A Black man walks out onto the flat roof, notices the mess strewn around the space and, after a few short sighs, begins to clean up. As he’s working, he spots several items that he carefully picks up, dusts off and places on the ledge of a skylight before introducing himself to the audience as Fly, the name he’s gone by since his youth. Fly informs us that tonight is a special night, as the stars will align in a way that creates a powerful, uplifting force directed at Black people.

Turning back to his work, Fly shifts to discussing his day, and reflecting on his past, as he slowly cleans the rooftop while creating an altar of sorts around the skylight. We hear the sounds of the neighborhood, in particular, the conversation of a slightly older Black couple from a nearby apartment.

As he speaks, Fly touches on the indignities and challenges facing Black men, mentioning the death of his best childhood friend, who died from medical neglect. What should have been routine appendicitis became a death sentence because the doctors brushed off the young man’s symptoms and pain. We also learn of other men Fly has encountered — some struggling with addiction and homelessness, others victims of violence and some just

trying to survive, much like Fly himself.

Edwards’ performance takes the audience through a gauntlet of emotions with skill and a deft touch. What could easily delve into tragic depression or soapbox proclamations remains relatable and likable, even in the darkest moments. Fly’s stories are filled with visceral details and descriptions of men one might encounter in any city in a way that reveals the hate and prejudice they often receive simply for existing. The performance touches on valid, current topics and travels a range of emotions. Finishing his altar and somehow seeing the stars beyond the city’s lights and noise, Fly embraces the moment in a final fantastic act.

Though the story occasionally meanders a bit, Fly is an engrossing and eye-opening play that builds empathy by encouraging the audience to take a moment to listen and see the humanity around them. Without lecturing or casting aspersions, Edwards’ wellcrafted script reminds us that Black men are not a monolith and we should not be quick to judge. The result is an important lesson delivered through an engaging, surprisingly hopeful story. Without being judgmental or preachy, Fly is a drama that challenges audiences, particularly white audiences, to rethink how we treat the people we encounter, particularly people who may not look like us. n

The Black Rep’s production was written and directed by the same man who stars in it: Joseph L. Edwards. | KESHON CAMPBELL

OUT EVERY NIGHT

Each week, we bring you our picks for the best concerts of the next seven days. To submit your show for consideration, visit https://bit.ly/3bgnwXZ. All events are subject to change, so check with the venue before you head out. Happy showgoing!

THURSDAY 29

AXIS: SOVA: w/ Subtropolis, Boreal Hills 8 p.m., $10-$13. The Sinkhole, 7423 South Broadway, St. Louis, 314-328-2309.

BAILEY ZIMMERMAN: 7:30 p.m., $39.75-$149.75. The Pageant, 6161 Delmar Blvd., St. Louis, 314-726-6161.

COLD WATER CREEK: 7 p.m., $5. Hammerstone’s, 2028 S. 9th St., St. Louis, 314-773-5565.

DANNY CAMPBELL: 7:30 p.m., $20-$25. Jazz St. Louis, 3536 Washington Ave, St. Louis, 314-571-6000.

EMILY WALLACE: 4:30 p.m., free. Broadway Oyster Bar, 736 S. Broadway, St. Louis, 314-621-8811.

JEFF CHAPMANN & JOHN LOGAN: 3 p.m., $5. Hammerstone’s, 2028 S. 9th St., St. Louis, 314-773-5565.

THE LEAP YEAR ACCORDING TO AMBER B.: 6 p.m., $20-$150. BB’s Jazz, Blues & Soups, 700 S. Broadway, St. Louis, 314-436-5222.

LUCERO: w/ Boy Golden 8 p.m., $30. Old Rock House, 1200 S. 7th St., St. Louis, 314-588-0505.

PUBLIC ANNOUNCEMENT: 7:30 p.m., $30-$40. City Winery St. Louis, 3730 Foundry Way, Suite 158, St. Louis, 314-678-5060.

RILEY HOLTZ & THE LOST CAUSE: UNPLUGGED: 7:30 p.m., $12. Blue Strawberry Showroom & Lounge, 364 N Boyle Ave, St. Louis, 314-256-1745.

WILLIAM FITZSIMMONS: 8 p.m., $20. Off Broadway, 3509 Lemp Ave., St. Louis, 314-498-6989.

FRIDAY 1

ADAM GAFFNEY: 4 p.m., $5. Hammerstone’s, 2028 S. 9th St., St. Louis, 314-773-5565.

ATOMIC JUNKSHOT: w/ Truman Kennedy 9 p.m., $10. El Lenador, 3124 Cherokee St., St. Louis, 314-771-2222.

BROADWAY RAVE: 8:30 p.m., $15. Delmar Hall, 6133 Delmar Blvd., St. Louis, 314-726-6161.

BROTHER FRANCIS AND THE SOULTONES: 9 p.m., $12. Broadway Oyster Bar, 736 S. Broadway, St. Louis, 314-621-8811.

DIESEL ISLAND: 7 p.m., free. Das Bevo Biergarten, 4749 Gravois Ave., St. Louis, 314-224-5521.

GOLDBERRY EP RELEASE: 7 p.m., $10. Blueberry Hill - The Duck Room, 6504 Delmar Blvd., University City, 314-727-4444.

HUNTER PEEBLES: 6 p.m., free. Das Bevo Biergarten, 4749 Gravois Ave., St. Louis, 314-224-5521.

JANET EVRA NIGHT 1: w/ Jeff Coffin 7:30 p.m., $30-$35. Jazz St. Louis, 3536 Washington Ave, St. Louis, 314-571-6000.

KEYSHIA COLE: w/ Trey Songz 8 p.m., $72.50$132.50. Chaifetz Arena, 1 S. Compton Ave., St. Louis, 314-977-5000.

KINGDOM BROTHERS: 8 p.m., $5. Hammerstone’s, 2028 S. 9th St., St. Louis, 314-773-5565.

THE MIGHTY PINES: 7 p.m., free. 4 Hands Brewing Co., 1220 S. 8th St., St. Louis, 314-436-1559.

NATE GRAHAM: 7 p.m., free. Yaqui’s on Cherokee, 2728 Cherokee St, St. Louis, 314-400-7712.

PAUL NEIHAUS IV TRIO: 8 p.m., $15. BB’s Jazz, Blues & Soups, 700 S. Broadway, St. Louis, 314-436-5222.

THE PC BAND: 8 p.m., $30-$38. City Winery St. Louis, 3730 Foundry Way, Suite 158, St. Louis, 314-678-5060.

POP ICONS RAVE: 8 p.m., $15. Red Flag, 3040 Locust Street, St. Louis, 314-289-9050.

RED KATE: w/ Fight Back Mountain, Mid Tempo Death March, Man With Rope 8 p.m., $10. The Sinkhole, 7423 South Broadway, St. Louis, 314-328-2309.

ST. LOUIS SHOEGAZE SERIES 1: w/ Future/Modern, Seashine 7 p.m., $5. The Wink! Annex, 4209

[CRITIC’S PICK]

Lucero w/ Boy Golden

8 p.m. Thursday, February 29. Old Rock House, 1200 South Seventh Street. $30. 314-588-0505.

There have been many genre tags applied to Lucero’s music over the years: cowpunk, alt-country, Southern-tinged rock, countrypunk, and on and on. All of those descriptors are more or less accurate, but the truth is, the soulful Memphis band’s sound would smell as sweet no matter the moniker, as a torturously mangled version of the saying goes. Ben Nichols and Co. have been at it for going on three decades now, earning a reputation as one of the hardestworking bands in the business through a relentless touring schedule and a sizable discography mostly self-released through the group’s own label. The band’s latest, last year’s Should’ve Learned by Now, delivers the same reliably twangy working-class

Virginia, St. Louis, 314-337-1288.

STEVEN DEEDS, BLEACH BALTA, PHONY MORON-

EY: 8 p.m., $10. The Heavy Anchor, 5226 Gravois Ave., St. Louis, 314-352-5226.

THAT 1 GUY: 8 p.m., $13-$18. Old Rock House, 1200 S. 7th St., St. Louis, 314-588-0505.

THREE DOG NIGHT: w/ Chris Trapper 7 p.m., $49$89. The Factory, 17105 N Outer 40 Rd, Chesterfield, 314-423-8500.

SATURDAY 2

ALL ROOSTERED UP: noon, free. Broadway Oyster Bar, 736 S. Broadway, St. Louis, 314-621-8811.

CRYSTAL LADY BIRTHDAY BASH: 8 p.m., $10. Blueberry Hill - The Duck Room, 6504 Delmar Blvd., University City, 314-727-4444.

DAVID GOMEZ: 7:30 p.m., $15. Blue Strawberry Showroom & Lounge, 364 N Boyle Ave, St. Louis, 314-256-1745.

DEREK ST. HOLMES: 8 p.m. Red Flag, 3040 Locust Street, St. Louis, 314-289-9050.

GIMME GIMME DISCO: 8:30 p.m., $15. Delmar Hall, 6133 Delmar Blvd., St. Louis, 314-726-6161.

anthems that fans have come to expect over the years, and was a critical hit as well, with Pitchfork awarding it a 7.5 and dubbing it “an endearing, impassioned album about drinking and the many reasons we do it.”

(The publication opted for the simple genre tag of just “rock,” for what it’s worth.) This week’s St. Louis stop is one of many Lucero has graced us with over the years, with the Gateway City serving as a reliable outpost for the band, thanks largely to the efforts of the Twangfest set. Expect a packed and rowdy show.

Good as Gold: Winnipeg’s Boy Golden, the alter ego of Liam Duncan, who previously put in time with the pop-punk act the Middle Coast and whose website describes him as the “founder, minister, and principal songwriter at the Church of Better Daze,” will open the show with a potent mix of blues- and country-tinged tunes.

—Daniel Hill

THE GROOVELINER: 9 p.m., $10. Broadway Oyster Bar, 736 S. Broadway, St. Louis, 314-621-8811.

JANET EVRA NIGHT 2: w/ Jeff Coffin 7:30 p.m., $30-$35. Jazz St. Louis, 3536 Washington Ave, St. Louis, 314-571-6000.

JOE PARK & THE HOT CLUB OF ST. LOUIS: 7 p.m., free. Yaqui’s on Cherokee, 2728 Cherokee St, St. Louis, 314-400-7712.

THE JOHNNIE TAYLOR EXPERIENCE: 6 p.m., $25$45. Backstreet Jazz & Blues, 610 Westport Plaza, Maryland Heights, 314-878-5800.

KARINA RYKMAN: 8 p.m., $18-$21. Central Stage, 3524 Washington Avenue, St. Louis, 314-533-0367.

LIVID: w/ Volition, Socket, Keep 7 p.m., $10. The Sinkhole, 7423 South Broadway, St. Louis, 314-328-2309.

NATE’S MUDPIE HOOTENANNY: 3 p.m., $5. Hammerstone’s, 2028 S. 9th St., St. Louis, 314-773-5565.

PAUL BONN AND THE BLUESMEN: 8 p.m., $5. Hammerstone’s, 2028 S. 9th St., St. Louis, 314-773-5565.

RAY SCOTT: 6 p.m., $20. The Attic Music Bar, 4247 South Kingshighway Blvd., 2nd Floor, St. Louis, 314-376-5313.

SKEET RODGERS: 7 p.m., $15. BB’s Jazz, Blues &

Soups, 700 S. Broadway, St. Louis, 314-436-5222.

SMOKIN’ LION REGGAE NIGHT 1: 11 p.m., $15. BB’s Jazz, Blues & Soups, 700 S. Broadway, St. Louis, 314-436-5222.

WESTERN STATES, NICK GUZMAN AND THE COYOTES: 8 p.m., $10. The Heavy Anchor, 5226 Gravois Ave., St. Louis, 314-352-5226.

SUNDAY 3

BROKEN JUKEBOX: 9 p.m., $9. Broadway Oyster Bar, 736 S. Broadway, St. Louis, 314-621-8811.

BROTHER FRANCIS AND THE SOULTONES: 7 p.m., $10. City Winery St. Louis, 3730 Foundry Way, Suite 158, St. Louis, 314-678-5060.

COLT BALL: 2 p.m., free. Broadway Oyster Bar, 736 S. Broadway, St. Louis, 314-621-8811.

THE DAVE MATTHEWS TRIBUTE BAND: 8:30 p.m., $20. Delmar Hall, 6133 Delmar Blvd., St. Louis, 314-726-6161.

ERIK BROOKS: 8 p.m., $5. Hammerstone’s, 2028 S. 9th St., St. Louis, 314-773-5565.

JAZZU BIG BAND: 6 p.m., $5. Jazz St. Louis, 3536 Washington Ave, St. Louis, 314-571-6000.

JOHN MCVEY BAND: 3 p.m., $5. Hammerstone’s, 2028 S. 9th St., St. Louis, 314-773-5565.

MELVIN TURNAGE BAND: 6 p.m., $15. BB’s Jazz, Blues & Soups, 700 S. Broadway, St. Louis, 314-436-5222.

SHEAFOR AND SIMES: 10 a.m., free. Das Bevo Biergarten, 4749 Gravois Ave., St. Louis, 314-224-5521.

SMOKIN’ LION REGGAE NIGHT 2: 11 p.m., $15. BB’s Jazz, Blues & Soups, 700 S. Broadway, St. Louis, 314-436-5222.

MONDAY 4

EM BEIHOLD: 7:30 p.m., $28.50-$65. Off Broadway, 3509 Lemp Ave., St. Louis, 314-498-6989.

LUISA SIMS: 7:30 p.m., free. Yaqui’s on Cherokee, 2728 Cherokee St, St. Louis, 314-400-7712.

SOULARD BLUES BAND: 9 p.m., $8. Broadway Oyster Bar, 736 S. Broadway, St. Louis, 314-621-8811.

SWALLOW THE RAT: w/ Sole Loan, Sprite 8 p.m., $12. The Sinkhole, 7423 South Broadway, St. Louis, 314-328-2309.

TIM ALBERT AND STOVEHANDLE DAN: w/ Randy 7 p.m., $5. Hammerstone’s, 2028 S. 9th St., St. Louis, 314-773-5565.

TUESDAY 5

DREW LANCE: 4 p.m., free. Broadway Oyster Bar, 736 S. Broadway, St. Louis, 314-621-8811.

KELSY KARTER & THE HEROINES: 8 p.m., $15. Blueberry Hill - The Duck Room, 6504 Delmar Blvd., University City, 314-727-4444.

LEO KOTTKE: 8 p.m., $39-$53. The Sheldon, 3648 Washington Blvd., St. Louis, 314-533-9900.

NAKED MIKE: 7 p.m., $5. Hammerstone’s, 2028 S. 9th St., St. Louis, 314-773-5565.

SKERRYVORE: w/ Cassie and Maggie 7:30 p.m., $22-$28. City Winery St. Louis, 3730 Foundry Way, Suite 158, St. Louis, 314-678-5060.

STEVE BAUER AND MATT RUDOLF: 9 p.m., free. Broadway Oyster Bar, 736 S. Broadway, St. Louis, 314-621-8811.

WATERPARKS: 7 p.m., $39. The Pageant, 6161 Delmar Blvd., St. Louis, 314-726-6161.

WEDNESDAY 6

THE DISAPPEARED: w/ Fight Back Mtn., Family Medicine, Modern Angst 7 p.m., $10. The Sinkhole, 7423 South Broadway, St. Louis, 314-328-2309.

JOE PARK TRIO: 8 p.m., free. Yaqui’s on Cherokee, 2728 Cherokee St, St. Louis, 314-400-7712.

JOHN MCVEY BAND: 7 p.m., $5. Hammerstone’s, 2028 S. 9th St., St. Louis, 314-773-5565.

MARGARET & FRIENDS: 3 p.m., $5. Hammerstone’s, 2028 S. 9th St., St. Louis, 314-773-5565.

RICKY MONTGOMERY: 8 p.m., $25. The Pageant, 6161 Delmar Blvd., St. Louis, 314-726-6161.

RON POPE: w/ Taylor Bickett 6:30 p.m., $35-$45. City Winery St. Louis, 3730 Foundry Way, Suite

Lucero. | VIA 7S MANAGEMENT

158, St. Louis, 314-678-5060.

TERRI LYNE CARRINGTON: 7:30 p.m., $40-$45. Jazz St. Louis, 3536 Washington Ave, St. Louis, 314-571-6000.

VOODOO GRATEFUL DEAD: 9 p.m., $14. Broadway Oyster Bar, 736 S. Broadway, St. Louis, 314-621-8811.

UPCOMING

THE 16TH ANNUAL GATEWAY BLUES FESTIVAL:

Fri., March 29, 8 p.m., $59-$175. Stifel Theatre, 1400 Market St, St. Louis, 314-499-7600.

314 DAY PARTY: Thu., March 14, 8:30 p.m., $10. Pop’s Nightclub, 401 Monsanto Ave., East St. Louis, 618-274-6720.

ADAM ANT: W/ the English Beat, Thu., March 21, 8 p.m., $40-$60. The Pageant, 6161 Delmar Blvd., St. Louis, 314-726-6161.

ALKALINE TRIO: Sun., March 17, 7:30 p.m., $34$50. The Pageant, 6161 Delmar Blvd., St. Louis, 314-726-6161.

ANAÏS RENO NIGHT 1: Fri., March 29, 7:30 p.m., $20. Blue Strawberry Showroom & Lounge, 364 N Boyle Ave, St. Louis, 314-256-1745.

ANAÏS RENO NIGHT 2: Sat., March 30, 7:30 p.m., $20. Blue Strawberry Showroom & Lounge, 364 N Boyle Ave, St. Louis, 314-256-1745.

ARM’S LENGTH: Fri., March 22, 7:30 p.m., $22. Off Broadway, 3509 Lemp Ave., St. Louis, 314-498-6989.

BAILEN: W/ Bel, Tue., March 26, 8 p.m., $25. Off Broadway, 3509 Lemp Ave., St. Louis, 314-498-6989.

BENDIGO FLETCHER: Sat., March 9, 8 p.m., $18. Blueberry Hill - The Duck Room, 6504 Delmar Blvd., University City, 314-727-4444.

BEYOND FM SHOWCASE #6: Sat., March 23, 7:30 p.m., $10. Pop’s Nightclub, 401 Monsanto Ave., East St. Louis, 618-274-6720.

BLACK FLAG: Tue., March 19, 8 p.m. Red Flag, 3040 Locust Street, St. Louis, 314-289-9050.

BOOGIE CHYLD: Sat., March 16, 6 p.m., $6. The Attic Music Bar, 4247 South Kingshighway Blvd., 2nd Floor, St. Louis, 3143765313.

BOOGIE T: Sat., March 23, 8 p.m., $34.50-$49.50. The Factory, 17105 N Outer 40 Rd, Chesterfield, 314-423-8500.

COMBICHRIST: Tue., March 26, 8 p.m. Red Flag, 3040 Locust Street, St. Louis, 314-289-9050.

THE DANDY WARHOLS: Sat., March 16, 8 p.m., $34.50. Delmar Hall, 6133 Delmar Blvd., St. Louis, 314-726-6161.

DECIBEL MAGAZINE TOUR: Sat., March 16, 7 p.m. Red Flag, 3040 Locust Street, St. Louis, 314-289-9050.

DEXTER AND THE MOONROCKS: Fri., March 8, 8 p.m., $20. Delmar Hall, 6133 Delmar Blvd., St. Louis, 314-726-6161.

EARLY EYES: Wed., March 13, 8 p.m., $17. Blueberry Hill - The Duck Room, 6504 Delmar Blvd., University City, 314-727-4444.

ELIADES OCHOA: Sat., March 9, 8 p.m., $35-$45. The Sheldon, 3648 Washington Blvd., St. Louis, 314-533-9900.

THE EMO NIGHT TOUR: Sat., March 23, 8 p.m., $15. The Hawthorn, 2231 Washington Avenue, St. Louis, 314-887-0877.

AN EVENING OF SONGS AND STORIES WITH ASHTON NYTE: Sat., March 9, 7 p.m., free. Webster Groves Public Library, 301 E Lockwood Ave, Webster Groves, 314-961-3784.

FAIR WEATHER FRIENDS: Sat., March 30, 6 p.m., $6. The Attic Music Bar, 4247 South Kingshighway Blvd., 2nd Floor, St. Louis, 314-376-5313.

FLATLAND CAVALRY: W/ Zach Top, Fri., March 8, 8 p.m., $25. The Hawthorn, 2225 Washington Avenue, St. Louis.

FLYING HOUSE: Fri., March 8, 7:30 p.m., $15. Blueberry Hill - The Duck Room, 6504 Delmar Blvd., University City, 314-727-4444.

GUSTER: Fri., March 15, 8 p.m., $36-$56. The Pageant, 6161 Delmar Blvd., St. Louis, 314-726-6161.

HAIL THE SUN & INTERVALS: Sat., March 9, 7 p.m., $25. Delmar Hall, 6133 Delmar Blvd., St. Louis, 314-726-6161.

HALEY HEYNDERICKX & THE WESTERLIES: W/

Keyshia Cole w/ Trey Songz, Jaheim, K. Michelle

8 p.m. Friday, March 1. Chaifetz Arena, 1 South Compton Avenue. $72.50 to $132.50. 314-977-5000.

Keyshia Cole is a woman of many talents, a multi-hyphenate with a slew of movie and television credits to her name in addition to a discography that is packed with classic albums. But it’s the latter for which she could fairly be described as a living legend, with numerous awards and accolades and the title of “Princess of HipHop Soul” bestowed upon her by critics. Blessed with an incredibly powerful and flexible voice that’s as soulful as it is sultry, the gifted soprano has carved out a

Tim Baker, Fri., March 8, 8 p.m., $22. Off Broadway, 3509 Lemp Ave., St. Louis, 314-498-6989.

HARD BOP MESSENGERS: Fri., March 15, 7:30 p.m., $15. Thu., March 21, 7:30 p.m., $15. Blue

Strawberry Showroom & Lounge, 364 N Boyle Ave, St. Louis, 314-256-1745.

IZABEL GRAY: Sat., March 9, 7:30 p.m., $25. Blue

Strawberry Showroom & Lounge, 364 N Boyle Ave, St. Louis, 314-256-1745.

JENNY LEWIS: Sun., March 10, 8 p.m., $35. The Pageant, 6161 Delmar Blvd., St. Louis, 314-726-6161.

JOSH WARD & BRAXTON KEITH: Sat., March 16, 8 p.m., $18. Off Broadway, 3509 Lemp Ave., St. Louis, 314-498-6989.

KIM DRACULA: Mon., March 18, 7:30 p.m., $32.50. Delmar Hall, 6133 Delmar Blvd., St. Louis, 314-726-6161.

KITTY STEADMAN: Thu., March 28, 8 p.m., $18. Blueberry Hill - The Duck Room, 6504 Delmar

considerable name for herself in the R&B world over the years, having worked with everyone from John Legend to Missy Elliott to Juicy J to Diddy throughout her storied career. She’s an expert at delivering songs of empowerment, heartbreak, jealousy and love, citing Mary J. Blige as her greatest musical inspiration and counting Tupac Shakur as an early mentor. Put plainly, Cole is a master of heartfelt babymaking music of the highest order, and it’s a fair bet that St. Louis will see a sudden spike in its population nine months after Friday’s show.

First Things First: Opening the show will be like-minded artists Trey Songz, Jaheim and K. Michelle. None of the above will do anything to stem that tide of newborns, rest assured. —Daniel Hill

Blvd., University City, 314-727-4444.

LEDISI: Sat., March 23, 8 p.m., $37.50-$127.50. Stifel Theatre, 1400 Market St, St. Louis, 314-499-7600.

TINSLEY ELLIS: Thu., March 7, 7:30 p.m., $25$32, 314-678-5060. City Winery St. Louis, 3730 Foundry Way, Suite 158, St. Louis, 314-678-5060.

LIL XAN: Fri., March 15, 6:30 p.m. Red Flag, 3040 Locust Street, St. Louis, 314-289-9050.

LILLY HIATT: Sat., March 9, 8 p.m., $15. Off Broadway, 3509 Lemp Ave., St. Louis, 314-498-6989.

MADI DIAZ: Thu., March 7, 8 p.m., $22. Off Broadway, 3509 Lemp Ave., St. Louis, 314-498-6989.

MARC BROUSSARD: Thu., March 21, 8 p.m., $25. Delmar Hall, 6133 Delmar Blvd., St. Louis, 314-726-6161.

MARIAH THE SCIENTIST: Thu., March 28, 8 p.m., $31.50-$34. Delmar Hall, 6133 Delmar Blvd., St. Louis, 314-726-6161.

MIKE DOUGHTY: Thu., March 21, 8 p.m., $25.

Blueberry Hill - The Duck Room, 6504 Delmar Blvd., University City, 314-727-4444.

MIKE MAINS AND THE BRANCHES: Tue., March

12, 8 p.m., $15. Blueberry Hill - The Duck Room, 6504 Delmar Blvd., University City, 314-727-4444.

MIKE ZITO: Fri., March 22, 8 p.m., $25. Delmar Hall, 6133 Delmar Blvd., St. Louis, 314-726-6161.

MY LIFE WITH THE THRILL KILL KULT: Wed., March

13, 8 p.m., $29.99. Delmar Hall, 6133 Delmar Blvd., St. Louis, 314-726-6161.

OLIVIA RODRIGO: Tue., March 12, 7:30 p.m., $20$195.50. Enterprise Center, 1401 Clark Ave., St. Louis, 314-241-1888.

ONE NIGHT OF QUEEN: Sat., March 16, 8 p.m., $39.50-$79.50. The Factory, 17105 N Outer 40 Rd, Chesterfield, 314-423-8500.

OTOBOKE BEAVER: Tue., March 12, 8 p.m., $25. Delmar Hall, 6133 Delmar Blvd., St. Louis, 314-726-6161.

REIGN IN BLOOD: A TRIBUTE TO SLAYER: Sat., March 16, 8 p.m., $10-$30. Pop’s Nightclub, 401 Monsanto Ave., East St. Louis, 618-274-6720.

RENEE BLAIR: Sat., March 9, 8 p.m., free. Tin Roof St. Louis, 1000 Clark Ave, St. Louis, 314-240-5400.

THE RETRONERDS: Sat., March 23, 6 p.m., $6. The Attic Music Bar, 4247 South Kingshighway Blvd., 2nd Floor, St. Louis, 314-376-5313.

ROLAND LABONTÉ: W/ Two Hands | One Engine, Sat., March 30, 8 p.m., $12. Blueberry Hill - The Duck Room, 6504 Delmar Blvd., University City, 314-727-4444.

SHOOTING STAR: Fri., March 22, 8 p.m., $20-$45. River City Casino & Hotel, 777 River City Casino Blvd., St. Louis, 314-388-7777.

SIERRA HULL: Thu., March 21, 8 p.m., $35-$45. The Sheldon, 3648 Washington Blvd., St. Louis, 314-533-9900.

SIR CHLOE: Fri., March 15, 8 p.m., $18. Blueberry Hill - The Duck Room, 6504 Delmar Blvd., University City, 314-727-4444.

STEVE HACKETT: Tue., April 2, 7:30 p.m., $49.50$84.50. The Factory, 17105 N Outer 40 Rd, Chesterfield, 314-423-8500.

STEVE HACKETT GENESIS REVISITED: Tue., April 2, 7:30 p.m., $49.50. The Factory, 17105 N Outer 40 Rd, Chesterfield, 314-423-8500.

SUN JUNE AND WILD PINK: Sun., March 31, 8 p.m., $20. Blueberry Hill - The Duck Room, 6504 Delmar Blvd., University City, 314-727-4444.

SUPERFUN YEAH YEAH ROCKETSHIP: Sat., March 23, 8 p.m., $15. Blueberry Hill - The Duck Room, 6504 Delmar Blvd., University City, 314-727-4444.

SUPERTASK: Fri., March 22, 7:30 p.m. Red Flag, 3040 Locust Street, St. Louis, 314-289-9050.

TERRY JONES ROGERS: Thu., March 28, 7:30 p.m., $20. Blue Strawberry Showroom & Lounge, 364 N Boyle Ave, St. Louis, 314-256-1745.

THUNDERHEAD: THE RUSH EXPERIENCE: Sat., March 30, 8 p.m., $22.50-$60. The Pageant, 6161 Delmar Blvd., St. Louis, 314-726-6161.

TIM MCGRAW: Fri., March 22, 7 p.m., $35.75$279.50. Enterprise Center, 1401 Clark Ave., St. Louis, 314-241-1888.

TOO MANY ZOOZ: W/ Pell, Tue., March 19, 8 p.m., $23. Delmar Hall, 6133 Delmar Blvd., St. Louis, 314-726-6161.

TOWER OF POWER: Thu., March 14, 7:30 p.m., $49.50-$89.50. The Factory, 17105 N Outer 40 Rd, Chesterfield, 314-423-8500.

UP ALL NIGHT: Fri., March 29, 6 p.m., $6. The Attic Music Bar, 4247 South Kingshighway Blvd., 2nd Floor, St. Louis, 3143765313.

VOODOO ALLMAN BROTHERS BAND: Wed., March 20, 9 p.m., $14. Broadway Oyster Bar, 736 S. Broadway, St. Louis, 314-621-8811.

VOODOO WHO: Sat., March 23, 8 p.m., $20-$25. Delmar Hall, 6133 Delmar Blvd., St. Louis, 314-726-6161.

THE YALE WHIFFENPOOFS: Sun., March 24, 7 p.m., $25. Blue Strawberry Showroom & Lounge, 364 N Boyle Ave, St. Louis, 314-256-1745.

ZEBRA: Sat., March 30, 7:30 p.m., $29.50-$59.50.

The Factory, 17105 N Outer 40 Rd, Chesterfield, 314-423-8500. n

Keyshia Cole. | VIA TICKETMASTER

SAVAGE LOVE

Quickies

BY DAN SAVAGE

1. Best advice on dating without resorting to apps?

Go places, do shit, meet people, fuck ’em.

2. I’m about to visit a gay nudist resort for the first time (although I’ve been to heterosexual nudist resorts in the past). I’ve been bi all my life and am now in my 70s. What should I expect?

Dick if you’re lucky, crabs if you’re not.

3. I’m a heterosexual woman and I don’t like to kiss a guy after he’s gone down on me. Is there something wrong with me? Do most women not mind?

There are places on our own bodies we can’t reach with our tongues. For some of us, making out with someone who just went down on us — someone who just ate our pussy or our ass or sucked our dick — presents us with an opportunity to taste those parts of bodies we would never get to taste otherwise. But opportunity is not obligation. If you don’t want to taste your own pussy or your own ass or your own cock, you don’t have to. Sending someone off to wash their face in the middle of sex would indeed be weird, but wiping someone’s face with the T-shirt you were wearing before you started fucking around can be kinda hot.

4. Once you get tolyamory into everyday use, would you please craft a single gender-neutral word that could replace “sir” and “ma’am”? I’m non-binary and every customer service interaction makes me bristle because the employee who is just being polite — always misgenders me. Can we have one word for all people instead of trying to discern gender in every interaction?

My commie friends think comrade would work: “Your call is very important to us, comrade! Please remain on the line, comrade! Someone will be with you shortly, comrade!” But I think “homo” is a stronger choice. Not “homo” short for homosexual, but “homo” short for homo sapiens: “Welcome to Chili’s, homo. I’ll be your server, homo. What would you like, homo?”

5. I just came out as gay. I’ve always wanted an exclusive relationship, but I don’t think most gay guys are into that. I have accepted that pretty much any future boyfriend will either cheat on me or I will have to agree to an open relationship at some point because that’s what all gay couples do. I’m just looking for advice.

There are gay men out there who want exclusive relationships and you should seek those men out. But in my experience — ahem — it’s almost always the person who insists on monogamy who cheats first. Not always, but almost always. So, in addition to wondering how you’ll react if and/or when your future boyfriend cheats or wants to open the relationship, spend some time thinking through how you’ll handle things if and/or when you wanna open the relationship.

6. My partner and I used to be hot and heavy, but now we’re in a sexless phase, and I’d like to get back to how we used to be. Any tips?

This isn’t a problem you can solve unless your partner wants to solve it. So, talk to your partner, tell them you miss the great sex you used to have together, and ask them if they wanna work on reconnecting. Now, there’s a chance your partner won’t wanna solve this problem — they might not regard being sexless as a problem — but they’ll tell you they wanna work on it because that’s what you wanna hear. Now, sometimes a person tells their partner what they wanna hear because they don’t wanna hurt their feelings or because they’re not ready to have a conversation about the kind of reasonable accommodations that make sexless relationships work, e.g., permission to discreetly get sexual needs met elsewhere.

7. On the one hand, my partner says he loves me, and that should make me feel secure. On the other hand, he’s resistant to phone calls. He has a zillion reasons why he doesn’t like talking on the phone, but they don’t add up. How do I get him to like doing phone calls? And phone sex?

I have the same problem with my boyfriend — only it’s texting he hates, not phone calls. If anyone out there has managed to convert a texter into a caller or vice-versa, drop your advice in the comments, please.

8. Best places to find straight feminist

sex stories to get me revved up?

Have you checked out Dipsea? They advertise on the Lovecast — full disclosure — but they have tons of great feminist erotica and other hot content. And while there’s no shortage of porn and erotica out there for men, gay and otherwise, there’s nothing like Dipsea for us and I’m actually kind of jealous.

9. What do you do when your boyfriend’s dick often smells/tastes like urine and that is not a turn-on for you?

Here’s what you do: You tell your boyfriend his dick stinks and that he’s gonna need to do a better job keeping it clean if he wants you to keep putting it in your mouth. If Paris is worth a mass, as the King of France once said, a blowjob is worth a bath.

10. Is hiring a surrogate to have a baby unethical? I have two kids and can’t physically carry again.

The Pope thinks surrogacy is unethical — so whatever you decide to do, don’t hire that elderly celibate to carry your next baby for you.

11. Why don’t we have better words to describe the complexity of our relationships?

I did my part with monogamish and tolyamorous… and the anime avatar kids on Tumblr came up with demisexual and pansexual and skoliosexual and androphilic and gynephilic and polyamory and polyfidelity and heteronormativity and homonormativity and repronormativity and on and on. There are so many words to describe our relationships these days — including our relationships with ourselves — that I can barely keep up. But before you assume some relationship type or dynamic doesn’t already have a name, spend a little time scrolling through Ace Dad’s Instagram feed — because, man, they have a word for everything.

12. Is there a word for the man who you are the mistress of?

OK, I spent an hour scrolling through Ace Dad’s Instagram feed and I didn’t find the word you’re looking for. For all I know the word is out there somewhere — a word for a married male affair partner — but I wasn’t able to find it. If someone else wants to take a look and/or make a suggestion, the comment thread is open.

13. New to BDSM play. How best to recover from the physical aftereffects?

When kinksters talk about “aftercare,” they’re usually referring to emotional aftercare — some cuddles, some reassurance. But if you’re into physically challenging BDSM (impact play, TT, CBT, punishing bondage), the body needs aftercare too: some ibuprofen, a hot bath, a nice massage.

14. How do I convince my husband to allow my BF to sleep with us in our bedroom?

Your husband is fine with you having a boyfriend but wants your bedroom to remain — at least for now — sacred to you as couple. I don’t think that’s an unreasonable request on his part. A boyfriend is a big ask; our bedroom is just for us is a small one.

15. Anal sex with a condom and then oral sex with the condom off right after is that safe?

It’s safer than a salad bar.

16. Did you buy the mug?

I did.

17. My sister’s world was torn apart this week when her husband of 15 years was arrested for having an affair with a 17-year-old student. They are now separating and who knows if my brotherin-law is going to jail. I want to provide support, but I am out of ideas. I have suggested therapy, STI testing and finding a support group. Any other suggestions would be greatly appreciated.

Therapy, STI testing and support groups are all good and necessary suggestions — but not every suggestion has to be practical. If your sister is getting help, got tested and has some people to talk to who’ve gone through what she’s going through, what she probably needs now are some distractions. So, suggest some shows to binge (Couple to Throuple, True Detective), some things to read (The Palace by Gareth Russell, The Other Significant Others by Rhaina Cohen), and some places to go (cool new restaurants, secluded cabins) that will take your sister’s mind off her troubles.

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