Riverfront Times, March 27, 2024

FRONT BURNER

MONDAY, MARCH 18. In north city, the former St. Augustine Catholic Church burns, again, and appears to be a total loss. Also, a Lake of the Ozarks fisherman catches the largest recorded paddlefish in state history — a 164-pound “living dinosaur,” in the words of the Missouri Department of Conservation. Just when you thought it was safe to go back in the water!

TUESDAY, MARCH 19. It’s Illinois’ primary day. While the two old geezers atop the ticket are increasingly inevitabilities, the congressional district that reps much of the Metro East is a nail biter — but Congressman Mike Bost narrowly holds off challenger Darren Bailey. Neither of these guys is much to cheer for, but with Bailey’s biggest endorsement coming from Matt Gaetz, Illinois may well have picked the lesser of two idiots. On this side of the river, Joe Buck’s daughter, Beverly Buck Brennan, puts Harris-Stowe State University on trial for racial and sex discrimi-

Previously On LAST WEEK IN ST. LOUIS

nation and retaliation. The former theater professor says university leaders made her schedule impossible and shouted her down because she’s a white woman

WEDNESDAY, MARCH 20. The Missouri Supreme Court rejects Brian Dorsey’s appeal, clearing the way for his execution next month. After being convicted of a double homicide, Dorsey became a barber in the Potosi Correctional Center and argued that executing a man with an “unblemished record” for 17 years would be cruel and unusual. In this state, however, it’s all too usual. No dice.

THURSDAY, MARCH 21. KDHX takes an

5 QUESTIONS for cotton candy connoisseur Heather Roth

When Heather Roth’s daughter, Margaret, asked to have cotton candy at her sixth birthday party instead of cake, Roth knew she had to make it happen.

“I had to figure out how the hell I was going to make cotton candy,” she says. “That’s basically how Rosie Cheeks and the whole concept of the cart started — by being an experience for her and her friends.”

Roth’s brand new business, Rosie Cheeks Cotton Candy, offers gourmet cotton candy, spun live for party guests or events across the St. Louis metro from a (very cute) cart. Roth offers unique flavors such as Aztec chocolate, chile mango, lemonade or peach. You can even add glitter.

She says she was inspired by her work as a wedding photographer. “I see how much people love experiences, whether it’s somebody making margaritas right there on the spot, or seeing how excited people get with table-side guacamole. You know what I mean? Like, it’s really fun to just add something like this to sparkle at an event.”

We recently caught up with the entrepreneur to learn more about her unusual flavor offerings — and whether there’s such a thing as too much cotton candy. This conversation has been edited for length and clarity.

What’s your earliest memory involving cotton candy?

It was definitely during circuses I grew up with, like Barnum & Bailey. It was always the prepackaged things that were pink and blue.

How much trial and error went into fine-tuning your flavors?

It’s been a whole year, and I’m still learning. It takes me a couple spins to kind of get going. It’s kind of like when you make a pancake and you flip it and it’s not the first one you want to eat. So it’s the same with cotton candy. I’ll start spinning and have to toss that one but my girls are like, “No, we’ll still eat it.” But yeah, it’s fun.

Do you still eat cotton candy for fun even today?

Um, yes. I tried chile mango yesterday. I’ve got some ideas for the future I want to do. I just got to take baby steps on everything. But I do want to prepackage some things, and so I’ve been testing out the length of time it stays fresh. I ended up eating at least five cones of chile mango. It’s really not for kids, my girls did not like it, but it’s definitely for adults. It was a good one.

What’s the difference between your cotton candy and the prepackaged stuff?

One thing that’s making my cotton candy unique is it’s not going to be col-

L in court, as Judge Jason Sengheiser allows a lawsuit filed by critics of station leadership to proceed. Meanwhile, as north county schools grapple with violence, including the brutal Hazelwood East fight that left 16-year-old Kaylee Gain in a coma, McCluer North vows a reset. “You may notice a positive shift as we redouble our efforts in addressing behaviors that disrupt our school community, such as fighting, tardiness, dress code violations, bullying and inappropriate conduct,” Superintendent Joseph Davis said. And with that, Post-Dispatch commentators nominate Davis for governor.

FRIDAY, MARCH 22. The Princess of

Wales finally breaks her silence and drops a video saying she has cancer. Will it stop the online conspiracy theories? Stay tuned. St. Louis’ red-faced rally runner, Daniel Donnelly Jr., pleads guilty in Washington, D.C., to a felony offense of civil disorder after breaching the U.S. Capitol on January 6, 2021. Guess he wasn’t a federal agent after all. Back in St. Louis, Beverly Buck Brennan wins her case against Harris-Stowe — and a $725,000 jury award.

SATURDAY, MARCH 23. A sunny day brings out the spring flowers. Alas, temps dip as the sun drops, just in time for City SC to tie again. Anyone starting to think overtime would be a lot more satisfying? (OK, maybe not in this weather.)

SUNDAY, MARCH 24. It’s Palm Sunday Today we remember the cheering crowds who greeted Jesus upon entry to Jerusalem; less than a week later, everybody was sick of the guy and cheering his execution. Feels a little too relatable, tbh.

orful. It’s going to be free of dyes and horrible chemicals. It’s just pure organic sugar and I’ve got really fun flavors. So it doesn’t have to be, like, blueberry and cherry any more.

How did you come up with the name Rosie Cheeks?

I have a four-year-old and a seven-year-old, and it kind of brings back childhood memories, like when you’re playing out in the sun and the heat and you just never stop for water and your cheeks are so hot because you’re having so much fun outside. The cotton candy just reminded me of a summer time and nostalgic feelings of it and summer vibes.

—Paula Tredway

Heather Roth has taste-tested a lot of cotton candy. | COURTESY ROSIE CHEEKS

Baby steps!

On the bright side: At least this one doesn’t appear to be made out of cardboard.

Do people stop at such unremarkable signs: In this town? What, are you -kid ding?

Are people required to stop at signs that are as normal as this one? Of course they are.

What: a perfectly normal, unremarkable sign

Where: Olive and Beaumont streets, Midtown

When: 5 p.m. February 28

SIGN WATCH

WEEKLY WTF?!

15 SECONDS of FAME PLAGIARIST OF THE WEEK WENDY’S

Last week, fast food juggernaut Wendy’s announced a brand-new offering: the Orange Dreamsicle Frosty. To which St. Louis said, “YAWN.” After all, we’ve been drinking these creamy orange dreams since 1967.

Let’s face it, the Orange Dreamsicle Frosty is a rip-off of the Orange Freeze at Lion’s Choice, which has been on the menu since the St. Louisbased fast-food chain first opened its doors, two years before Dave Thomas (RIP) opened his first Wendy’s. The blend of orange syrup, Lion’s Choice shake mix and creamy custard has long been a fan favorite. Which makes this new Wendy’s menu item a total imposter!

Reached for comment, Lion’s Choice CEO Fred Burmer says, “Imitation is the highest form of flattery.” He adds, “Lion’s Choice has no plans to add Frosties to its menu.” Which, in fast food CEO circles, passes for a sick burn.

St. Louis knows who did it first. |

In all seriousness ... anyone hungry for an Orange Freeze? There are convenient locations where you can get one all over St. Louis (and Kansas City). Ohio-generated imitations need not apply.

AirPods on Street Led to SWAT Raid on Home

A Ferguson family was terrorized when St. Louis County Police showed up at their home with a battering ram

BY RYAN KRULL

Apair of AirPods and what lawyers say was some shoddy police work resulted in an innocent middle-class Ferguson family having their front door smashed in by the St. Louis County SWAT team last May.

Around 6:30 p.m. on May 26, Brittany Shamily was at home with her children, including an infant, when police used a battering ram to bust in her front door. “What the hell is going on?” she screamed, terrified for herself and her family. “I got a three-monthold baby!”

Body camera footage from the scene shows Shamily come to the front door, her hands up, her face a mix of fright and utter confusion at the heavily armed folly making its way from her front porch into her foyer. “Oh my God,” she says.

The SWAT team was looking for guns and other material related to a carjacking that had occurred that morning. Their search didn’t turn up any of that — though it has led to

a lawsuit, filed March 22, that may lead to a better public understanding of how county police make the call of whether to deploy a SWAT team or serve a search warrant in a less menacing manner.

Because in this case, the police clearly made the wrong call.

The carjacking that led to the raid happened about 12 hours prior, 16 miles away, in south St. Louis County.

Around 6 a.m., two brothers were leaving the Waffle House on Telegraph Road when a group of six people pulled up outside the restaurant and carjacked them. Two of the carjackers took off in the brothers’ Dodge Charger while the other four fled the scene in their own vehicles.

St. Louis County Police were summoned to the scene. As part of their investigation, a friend of the carjacked brothers told police that his AirPods were in the stolen car and that he could track them using the “FindMy” application, a feature that lets users locate one Apple device using another.

Police did just that and, according to the lawsuit, the app showed the AirPods to be at Shamily’s house.

There was just one problem.

“FindMy is not that accurate,” says the family’s lawyer, Bevis Schock. “I actually went to my house with my cocounsel and played around with it for an hour. It’s just not that good.”

Yet based on the “FindMy” result, an officer signed an application for a search warrant saying he had reason to believe that “firearms, ammunition, holsters” and other “firearm-related material” were inside.

That evening, police showed up in full combat gear carrying a battering ram.

Shamily’s husband, Lindell Briscoe, was napping in his work truck in the

driveway with two of the couple’s other children when police showed up. They pointed their weapons at him, demanding he get out.

Inside the house, body cam footage shows one of the officers in full SWAT gear pick up the crying three-monthold and carry the baby outside. Shamily asked if she could sit down and was told no.

While the family was detained outside, the SWAT team “ransacked” their house, the lawsuit says. One SWAT team member punched a basketballsized hole in the drywall. Another broke through a drop ceiling. They turned over drawers and left what had been an orderly house in disarray.

After this had gone on for more than half an hour, the AirPods were located — on the street outside the family’s home.

It later came to light that one of Shamily and Briscoe’s daughters saw what was likely the stolen Charger careening through their neighborhood a little before 7 a.m. that day. (The vehicle later crashed on the 1700 block of Foley Drive, about six miles from the family’s home.) It stands to reason that someone in the Charger tossed a pair of stolen AirPods onto the street in the vicinity of the quiet house police later busted into and ransacked.

The family, represented by Schock and Erich Vieth, is suing for damages stemming from embarrassment, unreasonable use of force, loss of liberty and other factors. The lawsuit notes that neither Shamily nor Briscoe had been in any trouble with the law for at least a dozen years prior to the incident. “There was no probable cause for the search warrant and had the affidavit contained complete information, the state court judge would not have approved the warrant,” the suit

alleges.

Schock says the suit also gets at the bigger issue of the county police’s overuse of SWAT teams.

“The way they sort of attack is like a military operation, and we have to examine that as a society,” Schock says. “Is that what we want from our policemen?”

He adds, “There’s real concern that the police are using SWAT teams on so many search warrants.”

The overwhelming force that SWAT teams employ is designed to ensure officer safety, which Schock acknowledges is important. But he says this needs to be balanced by people’s rights against unreasonable searches and seizures.

“We’re not in Afghanistan or Gaza,” he says.

He hopes in the course of the lawsuit to better understand how county police decide when to deploy a SWAT team.

“They probably have some kind of analytic multifactor test and they will fight tooth and nail to have that test not be exposed,” Schock says.

The lawsuit alleges that police should have known right away that Shamily and Briscoe’s house and the people inside it posed no risk to officer safety.

“Any reasonable officer would have promptly known that it was an innocent family’s home and not the sort of place inhabited by drug-crazed criminals,” the suit says.

The day after the errant raid, Briscoe emailed one of the detectives inquiring about the department repairing his broken door. The detective agreed the county would fix it for them

A few months later, the door still busted, the family’s landlord fixed it instead. n

A St. Louis County SWAT team broke down a Ferguson family’s door last May after the FindMy app suggested stolen AirPods from a recent carjacking were inside. They weren’t. | COURTESY OF BEVIS SCHOCK

PAC Targets Lindbergh Schools Race

A tech exec is spending big to push two candidates — as some parents wonder to what end

BY MIKE FITZGERALD

The conservative outrage express is barreling hard toward the school board governing the Lindbergh School District, courtesy of a political action committee run by Martin Bennet, a Des Peres man who is the regional manager of an internet services company that markets to schools.

Direct mail flyers began appearing in the mailboxes of Lindbergh voters last week that were paid for by the St. Louis County Family Association Political Action Committee, which Bennett launched in January.

The flyers promote the candidacies of David Randelman and David Kirschner, who are among the four candidates vying for the two seats on the eight-member board at stake in the April 2 election. Randelman and Kirschner are running on platforms demanding improved test scores and greater fiscal responsibility.

The flyers attack diversity, equity and inclusion, or DEI, programs supposedly being overseen in the Lindbergh School District.

The flyers define DEI as driven by a “huge need to re-educate our white students” and to “make social justice and anti-racism a priority in the district.”

The flyers also claim that the district’s “emphasis on equity was not transparent” and that “academic rigor has declined in the district.”

The St. Louis County Family Association Political Action Committee has so far raised nearly $20,000 in cash — with $10,000 of that sum coming in cash from Bennet, according to Missouri Ethics Commission records.

In addition, Bennet made an $11,279 in-kind contribution to the political action committee, according to the latest MEC report.

Bennet is the regional manager for Common Goal Systems of Elmhurst, Illinois, an internet learning company that markets a wide range of services to public and private schools.

The SLCF PAC has so far spent $6,122 on direct mail, plus $1,939.74 each on the candidacies of Randelman and Kirschner — by far the biggest donations each man has reported receiving, MEC reports show.

In addition, Bennet has made $900 in in-kind contributions to Randelman

Paw-Lickin’ Good

and Kirschner, MEC records show.

Megan Fennell, the mother of two Lindbergh students, raises concerns about the divisive tone of the flyers. But her biggest issue is the potential financial conflict of interest involving Bennet, his company and any business dealings CGS might bring before the Lindbergh School Board.

“The financial gain is my concern,” Fennell says of Bennet. “That a corporation is trying to buy seats on the board.”

Fennell says she’s tried to contact Bennet, Randelman and Kirschner to express her concerns, but none of the three men responded to her questions.

“The silence is pretty aggressive,” she says. “Something’s up, but I don’t know what it is.”

Bennet declined to answer a reporter’s list of emailed questions.

“We are pretty tied up for several weeks due to the election, business schedules, and personal events,” Bennet responded by email. “But, thank you for reaching out and we appreciate our area’s journalists!”

The SLCF PAC is connected to the St. Louis County Family Association, a nonprofit group led by Bennet that has attacked DEI programs across St. Louis County, with a special emphasis on the Kirkwood, Ladue, Mehlville, Rockwood, Lindbergh, Parkway and Webster Groves school districts. The latter three districts were the sites of candidate forums the group sponsored last year.

The Family Association’s website is a veritable theme park of right-wing cul-

The Family Association’s website is a veritable theme park of rightwing culture war issues, with topics including “Gender and Political Indoctrination” and the “Sexualization of Children.”

ture war issues, with topics including “Gender and Political Indoctrination” and the “Sexualization of Children.”

Bennet also started the group Tax Fairly, which fought against a 2020 Kirkwood School District bond issue.

Bennet, in his email, suggested that the RFT review a series of websites his organization has set up dealing with the alleged academic decline in Lindbergh and other school districts and informing parents about “changes to gender.”

Randelman and Kirschner also de-

clined to answer the RFT’s questions.

“Thank you for reaching out to me,” wrote Randelman, 45, an IT professional. “At this time I am extremely busy as we are in the last two weeks of the campaign and work. Perhaps we can catch up after the election, if it is still relevant?”

Kirschner, 62, a retired oil company researcher and former Saint Louis University geology professor, wrote in an email, “I am somewhat surprised that the River Front Times is seeking to write an article so late in the election process…Given my focus on being elected, I will make myself available to you after the election, but not before.”

The other two Lindbergh School Board candidates — Rachel Braaf Koehler and Megan Vedder — have raised $2,737 and $1,994, respectively. Koehler and Vedder have received endorsements from the Lindbergh branch of the National Education Association.

Andrew Tolch, a Lindbergh parent who lives in Randelman’s neighborhood, says it “seems a little sketchy” that Bennet would use a political action committee he had set up to support the school board candidacies “of a different school district from where he’s at. That’s definitely one concern.”

But Tolch’s primary concern is Bennet’s potential financial stake in the April 2 election’s outcome.

“If your biggest donor is trying to sell your school district resources,” Tolch says, “we got a conflict of interest there.” n

Grayland Holmes tempts his dogs with a tasty morsel in Forest Park on March 20. Holmes has brought his dogs to this exact spot on his Wednesday lunch break for years now, celebrating “woof woof Wednesdays” with his best buddies and a bucket of fried chicken. | ZACHARY LINHARES

Wash U Needs to Step Up

It has the biggest footprint in University City — and it’s past time it offered to help

BY JOHN SAMUEL TIEMAN

Ilove Washington University. I grew up in University City. When I was a boy, we used to play football behind Francis Field. I took a music theory class there one summer when I was a teen. I’ve attended innumerable Thurtene Carnivals, innumerable readings and lectures and concerts at Graham Chapel. I met my wife, Phoebe, in Holmes Lounge. I did graduate work there. I love that it looks like a university and not a mall.

When I studied there, my buddies considered me somewhat exotic because I am actually from University City.

Sometimes the university doesn’t feel like a neighbor. Sometimes it feels like we are all just carbon-based lifeforms who share a ZIP code.

Washington University owns about 200 properties in University City. They are our largest landowner. They use our streets, parks, police, fire protection and other services. Yet the university pays not a nickel in property taxes. They’re a nonprofit. That tax burden falls upon those who live here.

Let me be clear. For all our sophistication, we’re just a small Missouri town. Our population is a bit over 34,000 folks. Our residential city property tax rate is 7.7 percent. The money is distributed variously. For example, out of those taxes, 58 percent goes into a separate budget for our schools. Because Wash U is exempted from these taxes, University City loses millions of dollars that would go to our schools, as well as our city, our library and other recipients. Despite the substantial income generated by their properties, the university pays nothing for the municipal services it needs. The homeowner who does pay taxes bears the entire burden.

University City has studied this problem. There are any number of avenues into the future. Legislation at the state level could force Wash U to pay more. I’m certainly not opposed to that.

However, I’m not a person who thinks that much gets done by being adversarial and angry. I prefer to advocate for a vision. I want Washington University to become more like Yale, Brown, Heidelberg. I want our neighbor to become a full community partner.

These other universities have taken

on a variety of cooperative projects and agreements. To name just two, there’s the PILOT program, “payment in lieu of taxes.” There are also programs wherein the university takes over, for example, the upkeep of a park. And there are many other options.

In fairness, Wash U is involved in the community. Take, for example, the Public Art project sponsored by the Municipal Arts and Letters Commission. University students create art that they then display around the city. Now in its fourth decade, this is the oldest cooperative program between a university and its neighboring municipality in the United States. It brought U. City its “Rain Man” and many other sculptures. Students get an audience for their work. This laudable impulse toward cooperation, this is what needs to expand.

Wash U owns the land on Vernon Avenue, land upon which the new firehouse sits. They rent it to U. City for $1 a year. Wash U did initiate a small payment-inkind program, a program that didn’t go very far. There are a number of other reimbursement initiatives. Again, this impulse toward cooperation is laudable. But, taken as a whole, these efforts come nowhere near to replacing the lost tax revenue we experience annually.

I’m a retired teacher. Some time ago, at an international conference, a Japanese educator spoke of his school. He spoke of plans for five years into the future, ten, twenty. I suddenly realized that this guy was talking about plans for 50 years into the future. It’s not very American to think like that, but that doesn’t make it a bad idea. U. City has a comprehensive plan through which we envision our town decades into our future. Washington University could join us in this vision.

“Town and gown” need not be adversarial. It can describe neighbors. U. City is already embedded in Wash U, and Washington University is already embedded in University City. You can’t walk down a street here and not run into someone who graduated from the place, works there, is an adjunct professor of something or another. We will always be joined, well, not exactly “at the hip” but at about Forest Park Parkway.

Washington University has a history of visionaries. Edward Doisy and Arthur Holly Compton both won the Nobel Prize. Pulitzer Prize winner Howard Nemerov lived on Yale Avenue. So let this little essay be both a challenge and an invitation.

Instead of medicine or physics or poetry, let’s envision a neighborhood. Let the prize be a place we all lovingly call home. n

John Samuel Tieman is a widely published poet and essayist. He is an unopposed candidate for the City Council in University City.

12 MISSOURILAND

Rainbow Brite

Holi, the Hindu Festival of Colors, brought big crowds — and glorious spring colors — to Olivette

WORDS AND PHOTOS BY

ZACHARY LINHARES

It was nothing but colors and joy at Stacy Park in Olivette as thousands of people joined together to celebrate Holi on Saturday, March 23. The Hindu Festival of Colors was a riot of color as participants threw sweetly scented powders at each other and danced to popular Bollywood songs.

Local Nepalese and Indian vendors lined the parking lot of the park, selling a variety of Desi cuisines — and of course, it wouldn’t be a celebration in St. Louis without a tent selling Bud Light.

Holi encourages participants to let go of their insecurities and embrace the richness of life. The festival represents eternal love, forgiveness, the start of spring and the victory of good over evil. The joy displayed at the Stacy Park celebration reinforced these tenets: strangers embracing one another and gently smearing color on each other’s faces with the same saying: “Happy Holi.” n

He COuld Play the guitar just like a-ringin’ a bell

A St. Louis musician has a pristine recording of rock & roll legend Chuck Berry in one of his finest sets — and no clear way to share it

BY RYAN KRULL

Thirty-eight years ago, the man who more than anyone else invented rock & roll left it all on a stage in Austin, Texas.

It was April 27, 1986, and Chuck Berry, then 59, was on the final night of a tour that had him headlining a bill of legacy acts that included Chubby Checker, Martha and the Vandellas, the Shirelles and others.

In this era, when Berry was on the road, his typical backing band consisted of “whatever underpaid local rockers the promoter rounded up,” as one biographer put it.

But that night in Austin, Berry was backed by Bo Diddley’s famed bassist Debby Hastings. On drums was St. Louis native Mike Mesey, now 66, who played with Berry everywhere around their shared hometown, from Busch Stadium to Blueberry Hill.

Mesey recalls the Austin crowd being “on fire,” and that instantly galvanized Berry. “It was a perfect storm. He was in

the perfect mood. The crowd just set him off right. He looked back at me, smiled and kicked it in,” Mesey says.

Berry opened with “Roll Over Beethoven” and went right into “School Days.”

“It was like a freight train from song one,” Mesey says. By the end of the 14-song set, Berry was ad-libbing lyrics along with his guitar riffs.

“I love you!” he shouted to the crowd during “Johnny B. Goode,” the show’s penultimate number. “You’re all my rock children!”

The real gem of the night was the closer, a version of “Reelin’ and Rockin’” that went on for more than twelve minutes (the studio version runs about three minutes). The horn section from one of the night’s previous acts came up and started jamming.

The brass players riffed over Berry’s guitar licks. Audience members got on stage and

started dancing.

The technician working the mixing board that night recorded the show. He handed the tape over to the promoter who, about a month later, gave it to Mesey.

“I always say to myself, I think it’s like the greatest rock live version caught on tape of Chuck,” says Mesey.

And now, Mesey is determined to bring that show in Austin to Berry fans across the world — a quest for which he’s spared little effort or expense.

There’s just one problem.

Without the blessing of either Universal Music Group, which owns most of Berry’s recordings, or the Berry estate, it is unclear if Mesey has the right to release the bootleg he’s spent two years toiling over.

Mesey says that between 1986 and 2021, he occasionally retrieved the tape from his home safe to play it for others. Those impromptu audiences were always blown away.

During those decades Mesey enjoyed a robust touring and studio career working with

Continued on pg 18

Michael Mesey has the cassette tape capturing one of Chuck Berry’s standout performances. | ZACHARY LINHARES

CHUCK BERRY

Continued from pg 17

bands such as REO Speedwagon and Head East. Then, at the end of 2021, with COVID causing a lull in Mesey’s schedule, he decided he wanted to do something with the Berry tape.

“I got to thinking, instead of calling somebody and saying, ‘Hey, I want to do this and I want to do that,’ I thought to myself, just get it all completed and get it perfect, then go to everybody and say, ‘It’s finished,’” Mesey says.

It’s a strategy that has yielded an immaculate recording … but one that few people may ever hear.

It took two years and Mesey spending, in his calculation, “six figures” out of his own pocket to bring the bootleg tape’s technical quality up to par with the performance it captures.

The live recording of the show was all captured on one single track on a shoddy cassette. The tempo of the recording started speeding up in places; the keys changed. All that had to be corrected. Working at first in St. Louis and then later at Abbey Road in London, Mesey was able to separate the vocals, guitar, bass and drums into three individual tracks. He then gave the product what he calls a more modern rock mix.

“Rock & roll lovers around the world will just get a blast out of hearing that,” Mesey says.

He has a point. Mesey made several clips of the would-be live album available to the RFT, and his work has clearly paid off. The treble of Berry’s guitar sounds as good as ever and, especially when listening with headphones, the rhythm section is absolutely ripping along behind it. The remixed recording is the embodiment of a whole being greater than the sum of its parts.

“Nobody knows it’s here,” Mesey says. “Nobody knows how good it is.”

Mesey titled the would-be live album Chuck Rocks Live: All My Rock Children and even designed cover art.

But after that, things got tricky, and Mesey needed an engineer of a different sort. He got in touch with Al Watkins, a St. Louis-based attorney with a knack for showing up anywhere that personality, controversy and the legal system collide.

“The thought process here was, ‘How do we get this music out there so it can’t not be heard?’” Watkins says. “Every now and then, the double negative is worthwhile.”

The majority of Berry’s catalog is owned by Universal Music Group, including most of his signature songs he originally recorded in the 1950s for what was then the Chicago-based Chess Records, which form the core of the April 1986 setlist. And that presents some big problems for someone

with a bootleg of his music — even if that person himself is playing on the recording.

“He can release anything he wants,” says Michael Nepple, an attorney with Thompson Coburn with expertise in intellectual property law. “The risk is getting nailed on copyright infringement.”

Nepple stresses he isn’t familiar with the specifics of All My Rock Children. But after learning of the project in broad strokes, Nepple says, “The drummer is going to have a lot of problems if this goes out.”

And the damages could be staggering. Speaking generally, Nepple says individuals whose copyright has been infringed upon can sue for multiple types of damages. One type of legal action would be to recoup any money that someone made off another person’s intellectual property, what is called suing for actual damages.

Then there are statutory damages, which, according to Nepple, can run up to $150,000 per infringing work.

“So if Chuck Berry ripped out 15 songs, the guy could be on the hook for either actual damages or $150,000

times 15,” Nepple says.

For the past year, Mesey and Watkins have been working to get the bootleg album released. Watkins says that they approached Universal Music Group about the project and were told, essentially, thanks but no thanks.

One lever might be to get the Berry

family on board. How could Universal sue if the Berrys were excited by the project — or even stood to benefit from it?

The exact arrangement, if any exists, between the Berry estate and Universal Music Group is not known. But Nepple says it is not unusual for the estate of legacy artists to have struck a deal with entities like Universal wherein the family can give input on what sort of uses the songs can be put to.

But when it comes to getting the blessing of the Berry family, Watkins says it’s unclear who the decisionmaker for the Berry estate is.

“They heard the clips and they loved it,” Mesey says of the family. “They just couldn’t move. I don’t know all the details. But, basically, they just didn’t come back with any kind of [being] able to move forward.”

Gary Pierson, an attorney at Capes Sokol, says he represents Berry’s family and “the entity that controls all rights with respect to his music, likeness and all other intellectual property.” Pierson says the family has declined comment. However, that silence is a response in and of itself.

Paul Berry III says he is worried for Mesey’s mental health. | ZACHARY LINHARES

Mike Mesey played with Chuck Berry everywhere from Blueberry Hill to Busch Stadium. | COURTESY MIKE MESEY

Berry’s career is replete with his work being pilfered by others. Perhaps most famously, in 1963 the Beach Boys wrote new lyrics to Berry’s song “Sweet Little Sixteen” and had a megahit with “Surfin’ U.S.A.” (Berry biographer RJ Smith wrote that Berry likely heard the pilfered smash hit while in prison in Jefferson City. He was later credited as the song’s writer.)

As for others making money off his music, “He didn’t tolerate that at all,” says Wayne Schoeneberg, Berry’s longtime attorney in St. Charles (Schoeneberg is not involved with the estate). “He was very protective of his own intellectual property.”

For 20 years, Schoeneberg helped Berry handle issues related to the rights and the licensing of his music. Schoeneberg says Berry had a good business sense, though at times he would turn down deals, even lucrative ones, if they didn’t feel right.

“He was just a unique individual and had his own way of addressing everything,” Schoeneberg says. “He and I would frequently disagree on approaches, but he was the boss.”

Paul Berry III is the rock & roll star’s great-nephew and also happens to be

running for lieutenant governor. He makes clear that he does not represent the Berry estate, but, speaking directly to this issue, says he is alarmed — in more ways than one — by the idea that someone would spend at least $100,000 of their own money and travel to London to work on a record without getting approval from either of the two entities that own the underlying music.

“From what is being explained, I would really be concerned about whether he may have mental health issues,” Berry III says. “I would definitely want to pray for his health in that regard.”

He adds, “It’s a shame the godfather of rock & roll can’t rest in peace without people pillaging his grave.”

Mesey is hardly the first creative person, musician or otherwise, to spend two years and $100,000 on a project that is hardly a sure thing — only to be called crazy.

And for the record, he says the effort wasn’t always as quixotic as it appears now. He doesn’t want to go into details, but says that for a while he and attorney Watkins were working with an intermediary to the Berry family, until, for reasons that remain opaque, things “hit a wall.”

Mesey is taking it all in stride. Despite the album not even being out in the world, he still says it’s one of the most special things he’s ever done.

The reason he’s talking to the RFT and sharing clips of the work is that he’s hoping that once people get a taste of it, they’ll clamor for more. And if that happens, maybe Berry fans from around the world can will the album into existence.

“I didn’t go into this to do anything else other than to honor Chuck Berry,” he says. “The world needs to hear this. This is a tape like no other ever recorded.” n

Mesey and engineer Sam Maul worked for months at Shock City Studios cleaning up vocal, guitar and drum tracks from the original cassette tape recording. | ZACHARY LINHARES

Mesey’s phone displays a proposed album cover for the recording. | ZACHARY LINHARES

CALENDAR

BY RIVERFRONT TIMES STAFF

THURSDAY 03/28

Off the Top Ropes

The tragic story of the Von Erich family was memorably chronicled in last year’s Zac Efron film The Iron Claw, an A24 production that was a nearuniversal hit among critics upon its release, even being named one of the top 10 films of the year by the National Board of Review. The true story behind the arthouse film is just as gripping as the one on the silver screen, and this week Gateway City Slam is here to tell — and show — you all about it. The slam regularly hosts its Wrestling Night event, which brings free screenings of rare wrestling-related material to the fabulous Arkadin Cinema and Bar (5228 Gravois Avenue). This week’s melange will be about the ups and downs of the wrestling family whose lives were marked by triumph in the ring and marred by tragedy outside it, with promotional material promising footage of some of their greatest matches as well as rare interviews and documentary footage. As with all Gateway City Slam events at Arkadin, admission is free. The bar will be open (and you might need a drink indeed). The show starts at 7 p.m. on Thursday, March 28. More info at arkadincinema.com

FRIDAY 03/29

Res-Erection

Looking to make this year’s Good Friday a Great one? Hoping to spice up the story of the crucifixion of the Christian Messiah with a little skin this holiday season? Well, look no further, because the highlight of the horniest of all holy days (or is it the holiest of all horny days?), St. Louis’ Sexy Jesus Pageant, is back for its second year. Hosted by last year’s Sexy Jesus winner Andrew Genius, this event is truly one of a kind, and aims to entertain the most dedicated of Christ’s disciples by proving the Son of God has it going on. Contestants will compete in a Show Us Your Good Side category, strut the runway in their Sunday best and will undergo an interrogation by a panel of judges for the ominously dubbed Inquisition. It all goes down on Friday, March 29, at Aurora STL (7413 South Broadway). Doors open at 7 p.m. and the fun starts at 8. Tickets are $21.25 and can be purchased at aurorastl.com/tickets/p/sexy-jesus-

pageant. Can’t make it to see Sexy Jesus strut the stage, but still feeling pious? Never fear: The Sacred Sluts will take the stage the next day.

SATURDAY 03/30

Eggheads Welcome

In a less enlightened time, St. Paul bragged about putting childish ways behind him once he hit adulthood. But these days we know better. We color in adult coloring books. We go to adult playgrounds (looking at you, Armory). We even compete in adult Easter egg hunts — like, say, the Adult Easter Egg Hunt at 2nd Shift Brewing (1601 Sublette Avenue) this Saturday, March 30. Beginning at noon, you can join your fellow grown-ups in hunting for brightly colored eggs all over the brewery and its garden, no doubt joined by handsome brewery cat Simon and a few adult beverages. And these eggs aren’t just a diversion from the grave that awaits us all once we shed this mortal coil (hey, we’re adults, remember? Death ain’t all that far away — and unless you join St. Paul in buying into

that whole resurrection-of-the-dead thing, we’re not sure what kind of reprieve you’re banking on). Some of the eggs also contain prizes, from candy to a percentage off your tab to maybe even this entire afternoon being on the house. No children’s egg hunt would ever! The hunt is free, with no tickets required. Details at facebook.com/ events/279310461926675.

Cave Cravings

Before we go any further, let us start with a question: In its own way, is not the entire damn world one big Man Cave Extravaganza? Assuredly the answer is yes. But in this man’s world, the second annual Man Cave Extravaganza that hits Belleville this weekend should be a genuinely fun event that can be enjoyed by all — men, women, or anyone in between — as long as they like beer. Vendors from multiple states will crowd into the Belle Clair Fairgrounds (200 South Belt East, Belleville) with their breweriana, collectibles, lighted signs, decor and more this Saturday, March 30. In other words, there will be thousands of items to choose from to spruce up your home bar, man cave or she shed.

(What’s the non-binary version of this?

Just a cave/shed? Perhaps the way we need designated spaces to comfortably flaunt our genders is indicative of a larger problem? You do you!) Get a neon beer sign for your front window or office. No one cares. Admission is $5 and the festivities run from at 9 a.m. to 2 p.m. for the general public, with early bird access at 7:30 a.m. for $10. Tickets available via Eventbrite.

Bizarre Bazaar

Local weirdos rejoice, for your time is almost here — which is to say, the Show Me Oddities & Collectibles Expo returns to St. Louis this weekend. The convention is always a big hit locally, offering a place for “lovers of the strange, usual and bizarre” to congregate (and shop). This year, the traveling expo is due to set up at the District 9 Machinist Hall (12365 St. Charles Rock Road, Bridgeton) on Saturday, March 30. Inside, art dealers, artists and vendors will be ready and able to supply you with all the weird little things that your heart desires. Think taxidermy, quack medical devices, funeral collectibles, skulls and bones, preserved specimens in

The tragic tale of the Von Erich family was the subject of The Iron Claw last year. The Arkadin’s Wrestling Night explores the true story behind the film. | A24 FILMS

jars and all other manner of the macabre that you can use to prove to guests at your home that you’re a sick little freak. The event kicks off at 9 a.m. and general admission is just $10. For more information, visit facebook.com/ events/7738698196149138.

SUNDAY 03/31

The Three Bs

Delicious breakfast food, carbonated

alcoholic beverages and adorable furry animals? Yes, please. This Easter Sunday, March 31, head to the Bullock (799 Clark Avenue) from 11 a.m. to 2 p.m. for the Bullock’s Brunch, Bubbles and Bunnies Easter extravaganza. An elevated buffet with classic brunch fare, carving stations, a raw bar and sweets will be available for guests to enjoy on the outdoor terrace, as well as unlimited Champagne. Adult tickets are $75 and include the full brunch menu, Champagne, access

WEEK OF MARCH 28-APRIL 3

to a petting zoo, an Easter egg hunt, live music and complimentary parking. Children’s tickets are free and include fruit cups, cinnamon rolls, chocolate chip pancakes and eggs and bacon for brunch, as well as the petting zoo and egg hunt. To reserve your spot visit resy.com.

WEDNESDAY 04/03

Pierce the Vale

Podcast lovers have it easy — you have all the entertainment you could ever want available at just the touch of a screen or a click of a mouse, no need to travel out into the world and run the risk of having to interact with other human beings (perish the thought). But some things are worth leaving

the house for, and one of those things is when one of your favorite podcasts comes to town. So put on some real pants and get ready for Welcome to Night Vale, coming to the Lou this Wednesday, April 3. You need no intro, obviously, but for everyone else, Welcome to Night Vale is a quirky, bimonthly fiction podcast in the form of a community news radio station that reports on the happenings of the not-real town of Night Vale. There are segments about banal topics — weather, local news — but things often veer into the strange, whether that’s the town’s secret police or dark figures in the night sky. Experience it live for yourself at 8 p.m. at the Pageant (6161 Delmar Boulevard). Tickets start at $30 and are available at thepageant.com. n

The Show Me Oddities Expo is a veritable treasure trove for weirdos. | VIA FLICKR/STEVE TERRELL

Expect a lot of this sort of thing at Aurora STL’s Sexy Jesus Pageant. | VIA FLICKR/ANASTASIA PAVLENKO

Welcome to Night Vale explores the strange goings-on in a fictional town. | VIA GROUND CONTROL TOURING

Pie in the Sky

Dogtown bakery Sugaree is back and as deliciously good as ever

What could possibly be wrong with this — a sunny little corner shop in Dogtown selling sweet things on a Friday afternoon? Nothing at all, except that it was mid-February on my visit and the door was wide open. The customers were in Tevas. But never mind climate change, I was in the mood for cake, and for taking some home for tea in the garden.

One step inside, though — and one bite into a ridiculous “chocolate cherry drop” offered as a sample and just waiting for me on a plate near the door — and tea was the least of it. Suddenly, I was thinking tomorrow’s breakfast and tomorrow’s “Elevenzes,” my fellow Brits’ beloved mid-morning snack. I was thinking lunch, thinking snack; thinking dinner and breakfast. And lunch again.

Barely a year after Pat Rutherford-Pettine and Jimmy Pettine closed their Sugaree Baking Company, the business has reopened in the same spot on Tamm Avenue with new owners, Megan and Derrick Cobb. The former owners, who launched Sugaree in 1999, have passed on all old recipes to the Cobbs, who are tweaking them

and bringing new things of their own to the table as well.

Like I said, it was pushing 80 degrees that winter day; there was no rain, no grim mist, but Ireland was nonetheless in the air. Bags of soda bread were on the counter and we were told that some chocolate cupcakes in the display case had been made with a dusky Heavy Riff stout. They were festivelooking — capped with a froth of icing and, of course, emerald sprinkles. Indeed, they had an interesting earthiness, a barrelly dampness. But the icing was lightweight and oddly thin — not stout enough.

I will confess unabashedly to being a fan of soda bread. I’ll even buy it from Schnucks. I love its mystery, its betwixt/ betweenness. It’s a bread! It’s a scone! It’s a rock! But toasted and lashed with something like salted Kerrygold, it can almost always be lifted.

I cut a slice and put it in the toaster, and then wondered a minute later if I’d done things in reverse, put the butter on first The soda bread fizzled in the heat and the kitchen was smelling jammy, feeling cozy with the scent of roasty fruit and sizzled

butter. It was certainly one of the best loaves of its kind I’ve had.

I told myself I was allowed to have Sugaree’s key lime cheesecake for my next breakfast. It had been sitting in the fridge for most of the weekend, and it was small — so dainty in its delicate paper collar. But for its size, that duplicitous little cake — the color of sunshine, and fragrant as a waxy leaf in an Islamorada citrus grove — weighed a wad

“What accounts for it?” I asked Megan Cobb. “Oh, just the usual,” she said.

People who don’t like almond essence may not swoon for the Coconut Chiffon. I don’t and didn’t, though I certainly fell for this one’s looks. It’s the wedding dress of cakes: heart-stoppingly white, seemingly feather-boa’d with shreds of tender coconut. And I also was impressed by the impossibly light cream between its layers. It isn’t the Chiffon’s fault that when cake’s in the house, I want heft. I want to have to ask for help getting it up the aisle. (Sugaree, by the way, sells this beauty whole, and by the slice.)

I’m not mad about fruit pie, but I will

Continued on pg 24

SUGAREE BAKING COMPANY

1242 Tamm Avenue, 314-645-5496. Open Fri.-Sat., 11 a.m.-5 p.m., Sun., 9 a.m.-2 p.m.

Closed Mon.-Thurs.

Sugaree offers an assortment of baked items, some of them savory and many marvelously sweet.

BY ALEXA BEATTIE

PHOTOS BY MABEL SUEN

SUGAREE

Continued from pg 23

scale a craggy peak for meat. My grandmother’s steak and kidney, her steak and Guinness, her chicken and leek, etc., set a high bar and made a hard (and fat) arse of me. Usually, I don’t even bother. But at Sugaree the other day, in the name of “work,” I ordered one. Actually three (they’re small-ish).

I’ll say this: It was the best meat pie I’ve had in recent memory. What was good about it? The crust, for one thing (it shows up elsewhere in a fruity version as well as a pop tart), and its delightfully distinct ingredients for another. I knew it was beef I was eating (shreddy and generously chunked), and I knew the peas were fresh (because they popped), and that the mushrooms came from the woods not the freezer. And I knew I adored the pastry, which managed to be at once delicate and robust. That’s a mean feat. Such was its sublime familiarity, I found myself — as if on strings — rooting through the fridge. Was it a Worcestershire sauce bell that was ringing? And please tell me it wasn’t ketchup I was after? Because, for this pie, either of those would have been an affront. It’s perfect just as it is.

The smallest things on offer at Sugaree are the fig newton and the dog biscuit. Fans of the former may actually be able to tell themselves these wholesome little parcels are the healthier choice. They are rough and wheaty, and would look nice — I pretentiously thought — joined by some bloomy plums and a bit of blue cheese on a charcuterie board. Inside, the fig paste is what Nabisco tries for, but never, ever achieves — soft pastry and an unctuous jam minutely explosive with seeds and wisped with orange. As for that dog biscuit, it’s made with peanut butter and applesauce. Thickcut and almost cakey, it was hard not to pop one in my mouth.

And then … the croissant. “Be still, my heart. Simmer down, my teeth!”

What did they do to these nuts?

Forget all the poncy French ones I’ve had in all the poncy French places; this one has gone down in history, and it was only last month. As for appearance, the David Attenborough in me wants to say it most closely resembles a pangolin. It’s densely scaled — positively packed with almonds which, for once in their life, were juicy rather than dry as a primordial bone. I wondered, as I marveled, if those slivers had been boiled in butter. I’m still puzzling. Darn, I’ll have to go back.

OK, so if scarcity breeds urgency, I admit to feeling urgent. I returned for another couple of single-serve beef pies the following day and was met with some terrible news: Not only

were they sold out, but they wouldn’t have more for a few weeks. “What?!”

Yes, it’s true. Next Friday, I was told, Sugaree would be offering chicken pie; the week after that, crab. So it’s going to feel like Black Friday both those days, at least for me. But full of anticipation and all the Sugaree things I’ve rapidly come to love, I’ll be more than sweet, and it won’t be winter.

Sugaree’s cheesecakes include a New York style, key lime and bitter chocolate chunk.

Sugaree’s Guinness beef pie was the best that critic Alexa Beattie has had in years.

Co-owner Megan Cobb, left, and head baker Christi Rund.

Take the Bait

Esca brings coastal Mediterranean cuisine to the Delmar Maker District

Esca, the new “coastal Mediterranean bar and grill” from Ben Poremba’s Bengelina Hospitality Group, is now open at 5095 Delmar Boulevard in the Delmar Maker District. The restaurant’s menu features meat, seafood and vegetables grilled over charcoal, fresh salads and cold appetizers, classic cocktails, a large amaro selection and a range of indulgent desserts.

Poremba says Esca “doesn’t have a defined cuisine,” but rather is inspired by a variety of Mediterranean cuisines, taking in the western Mediterranean, the French Riviera and “a little bit of Sicily.” The first floor space at the corner of Delmar Boulevard and Academy Avenue was formerly a barber shop, transformed by two years of top-to-bottom renovations into a dining room that instantly ranks among the most appealing in the city. The blush-pink sofas, rugs on wooden floorboards and other wood furnishings give the space a cozy, homey feel,

while the light fixtures and exposed brick add a more urban nuance. It’s a restaurant design for people who love restaurants, from the central server station to the most open of open kitchens. Floor-to-ceiling windows bathe the room in glorious natural light,

Esca boasts an open design and floor-to-ceiling windows that bathe the room in natural light.

BY IAIN SHAW

PHOTOS BY MICHELLE VOLANSKY

Esca’s meat entrees are all grilled over charcoal.

ESCA

Continued from pg 27

while a patio on the side of the building offers additional seating.

For a first visit to the restaurant, Poremba recommends the mortadella, which is sourced from Italy. “We’ve worked hard to find the right kind of mortadella that’s just a fun, easy way of getting the meal started,” he says. Or you might go for the brandade — house salt cod with potato and garlic, served with charred bread. On the salad and appetizer menu, Poremba points to the vitello tonnato (shaved veal with tuna sauce, capers and croutons) or the veal tartare. “These are classical dishes from Piedmont,” he says.

Poremba says Esca’s approach to eating well mirrors the way he cooks for friends at home, with much of the meat, seafood and vegetables grilled over charcoal. The entrees include Amish chicken with herbes de Provence and a chicken jus containing more than a hint of white pepper, prime cuts of beef served with beurre rouge, bone marrow bearnaise or chimichurri, and a whole grilled fish, with the specific selection varying depending on what’s on the market.

Esca’s dessert menu, which includes a traditional tiramisu and a limoncello alternative among other lusciouslooking items, has been a particular focus of Poremba’s attention in the buildup to the launch.

“All I’ve been cooking the last three months is dessert,” he says. “Don’t skimp on dessert.”

This restaurant is the work not just of Poremba himself, but also trusted lieutenants like Bengelina’s wine and service director, Luciano Racca. The drink list here includes a “librarysized” selection of amari, which can be served neat or in classic 1-2-3 spritzes. Bar manager Noah Davidson makes elevated takes on classic cocktails that rely on top-shelf spirits, including a deceptively easy-drinking limoncello sour, a selection of martinis and the Brooklyner (Nikka Coffey grain whiskey, Mancino Secco, Cynar and yellow Chartreuse).

Two drinks in particular stand out. The Clay Pot Negroni is Esca’s take on the signature cocktail created by renowned bartender Giancarlo Mancino, founder of the Mancino vermouth brand. The drink is aged in one of Mancino’s proprietary clay pots, a process that mellows out the Campari’s bitterness and any heat from the alcohol, leaving a perfectly smooth, nuanced and complex drink.

“It’s one of the exclusive things that we have at the bar, and I’m very proud of it,” Poremba says.

Perhaps best of all is the Vieux Carré. Poremba says Doug Auer, co-

SAUCED

owner of Third Degree Glass Factory and one of the driving forces behind the Delmar Maker District’s revitalization of Delmar Boulevard west of Kingshighway Boulevard, challenged him to create a truly outstanding version of the classic New Orleans cocktail. Esca’s version is unconventional, but the result is memorable.

“We’re not stirring it, we’re shaking it. We’re using super high-end cognac, we’re using true Benedictine, and we’re serving it in a frozen glass so that way it stays cold,” Poremba says. “It’s not only a perfect Vieux Carré, but a perfect drink.”

Esca is the first of several restaurants that Poremba will open throughout 2024 in the Delmar Maker District. Still to come are Florentin and the three restaurants he is relocating from their former homes in Botanical Heights: Olio, Elaia and Nixta. With other restaurants recently opened or

soon to open, from Beyond Sweet to Steve’s Hot Dogs, the Fountain on Delmar and Alpha Brewing Co., Poremba is bullish on the future of a stretch of Delmar that has been neglected and overlooked for too long.

PHOTOS BY MICHELLE VOLANSKY

“I’m very proud to be part of this,” he says. “I intentionally wanted to open with a restaurant that could go

anywhere. I intentionally wanted to do something nice and beautiful and quality. … Breaking this barrier is important.” n

Esca is open for dinner on Tuesday through Saturday from 5 p.m. until close, with final reservations at 9 p.m. Reservations are available via Resy.

Esca serves its creamy stracciatella with crusty bread and grapes.

The Clay Pot Negroni is a standout of the restaurant’s cocktail menu.

Smooth Move

Confluence Kombucha has departed the Grove for a new location in Fox Park

BY AMANDA BRETZ

Confluence Kombucha has moved from its now-former location in the Grove to 2501 South Jefferson Avenue Suite 102, in Fox Park. Although there was a soft opening in December, owner William Pauley took his time with the move and the business officially opened in late February.

“We’ve been keeping it kind of low key,” Pauley says of the transition to

the new location.

The Jefferson Avenue space has been home to two other kombucha breweries: KomBlu and Kombae Kombucha. Pauley explains that last year he received a call from the owner of the former resident asking if he would be interested in taking it over.

“When I looked at it, I realized it had all the great bones needed to move Confluence forward,” he says.

The interior features eight taps, with room to grow up to twelve in the future. For now, Pauley plans to utilize the eight taps with seasonal and flagship flavors.

“Most will be seasonal offerings, but some flagships will be mixed in here and there,” he says.

Some of those flagships include ginger-lavender, aronia berry and gold kiwi and hops, a take on an IPA with sweetness from the kiwi that adds a

flavor profile similar to Champagne. Other flagship flavors are lemon, coriander and sea salt, a take on a gose beer, as well as the pineapple palo santo, which has notes similar to a piña colada.

Although Confluence Kombucha offered food at its previous location, no food is served at the new space, as the focus is on kombucha and community.

Due to its proximity to Fox Park, Pauley has leaned into the animal for the decor, and calls the new space Confluence Kombucha at the Fox Den. The interior vibe is more of a personal reflection of Pauley than his previous space, and he says much of what’s inside are items he already owned or repurposed. The 2,000-square-foot space features what Pauley deems a funky, earthy style, from the fox mural painted on one of the walls to the tilework around the taps, as well as a

small tiled mosaic of a leaping fox near the entrance.

There’s also an impossible-to-miss ping-pong table, which is Pauley’s childhood table, at the heart of the space.

“That came over straight from my mom’s basement,” Pauley says with a laugh.

Between counter seats, a handful of chairs and the pew that lines the front window, there’s room for about a dozen guests. The maximum occupancy is around 40 people, and additional tables and seats are available for events, like birthday parties.

Pauley, a self-proclaimed “music freak,” says he brought his record player into the space the night he signed the lease, with the intent that customers will bring their own records in, drink kombucha and stay a while.

“It’s ping-pong, records and kombucha taps. That’s the vibe,” he says. n

Confluence Kombucha’s new Fox Park location leans into the animal that lends the neighborhood its name, with multiple depictions of foxes throughout. | COURTESY PHOTO

Fresh Start

Garden Variety Deli to open in Tower Grove South this spring

BY AMANDA BRETZ

Anew eatery called Garden Variety Deli is on its way to Tower Grove South at 3131 Morgan Ford Road, in the former home of retail establishment Art of Aquaria. Travis Howard, who helped bring Retreat Gastropub, Yellowbelly and Lazy Tiger to life, along with former general manager of Retreat Gastropub Jack McGinn, are bringing the deli to the neighborhood.

At first glance, the eatery’s moniker seems to be a bit tongue in cheek. With a menu centered around locally grown fresh produce and housemade bread, the offerings are sure to be anything but commonplace. In addition to his restaurant experience, McGinn is also a gardener, growing everything from spinach and kale to strawberries and carrots on a third of an acre at his Millstadt, Illinois, home.

Much of the menu will feature produce grown by McGinn, served in various ways throughout the year in order to maximize each harvest — fresh vegetables, pickled and fermented items and spice blends made from dried herbs.

“We’re leaning into the hyper-seasonality of things, so some items will be on menu for a short time, while some items will be

A Whole New Ball Game

Rouge Bistro offers a meatballcentric menu in Midtown

BY ALEXA BEATTIE

Rouge Bistro — the heavily meatballthemed restaurant inspired by the Meatball Shop in New York City — bounced into Midtown last month, claiming a space formerly occupied by Olive Bar at 3037 Olive Street.

Owner Julian Davis has set a dazzling stage. Splashed in bright red paint, industrial-ceilinged and lit like a New York catwalk, Rouge Bistro is a gobsmacker even without the waterfall at the entrance. And it’s huge: 3,700 square feet of dining space with room for more than 300 people, Davis says. With all this red, it would make plenty of sense to plunk for the Meatballs A La Rouge, which are four two-ounce globoids of beef and pork over bucatini pasta with mascarpone, basil and red sauce. But then,

consistent but the ingredients will be interchangeable,” McGinn explains.

One such item will be the BLT, offered year-round, but guests can expect either fermented or roasted preserved tomatoes on the sandwich during winter and freshly sliced tomatoes when they’re in season. Other sandwiches will include locally sourced turkey and roast beef, all of which are likely to be served on housemade sourdough focaccia.

Sides and salads will evolve throughout the seasons, and there will also be a daily soup offering, with a warm variety served in

we are similarly drawn to the orange chicken balls for their accompaniments — kimchifried rice, sunny-side egg, green onions and sesame seeds. And drawn again, to the jerk chicken with fried plantain, coconut rice and peas. Some thought clearly has gone into the architecture of these dishes.

But with so many types of meatball already on the menu, we were intrigued by the sound of a forthcoming Meatball of the Month program. What else can there sensibly be in the meatball world beyond jerk chicken, Alfredo shrimp, Italian turkey, tikka masala, Buffalo chicken, orange chicken, chophouse meatballs and an Impossible meatless ball? But Davis says he knows of “at least 200” more meatball recipes the kitchen will be testing in the months to come. He foresees no problems keeping things interesting.

However, the smiley owner also says he’s meeting some roadblocks in securing a liquor license. It seems the neighbors are wary of the space morphing back to its earlier purpose.

“It was a nightclub and there was trouble,” Davis says.

Indeed, with different levels and spaces, and a rooftop patio with a partial view of the

fall and winter and a cold soup selection in summer. Dessert and pastry offerings will include muffins, cookies, scones and pie.

The building’s interior will strike a balance between honoring the history of the space while weaving in modern touches. There will be some exposed brick and the stamped ceiling is being restored to reveal its original metal veneer, while the countertops will feature clean, modern lines.

“We want to fit into the neighborhood and honor the history of the building, but add components that will feel more modern and new,” says Howard, who is no lon-

ger involved with Retreat after selling it to two long-term employees.

Howard explains that the 1,000-squarefoot interior will be divided in half, with 500 square feet dedicated to the dining area that will seat around 20 guests, and the other half of the space housing the kitchen and prep areas.

There’s also room for a few tables outside, which should add seating for another eight to ten people. But with the building being one block south of Tower Grove Park, the team envisions guests placing lots of to-go orders. n

Arch, it’s easy to see the building in that role. But even though a huge crowd had gathered for a 314 Day celebration on the day we were there, Davis says that isn’t his game.

In addition to meatballs, Rouge Bistro offers 14 twists on chicken wings, including gochujang, bourbon, Sunkist soda and

garlic Parmesan. Salads, tomato soup and grilled cheese, and kimchi-fried rice are also on the menu.

While currently only open for dinner from 5 to 11 p.m. Wednesday through Sunday, Davis said he hopes to open for lunch in the next month. n

Garden Variety Deli will open up in the space on Morgan Ford that previously housed Art of Aquaria. | COURTESY PHOTO VIA TRAVIS HOWARD

Rouge Bistro’s meatball-centric menu is inspired by the Meatball Shop in New York. | ZACHARY LINHARES

REEFERFRONT TIMES

A Matter of Taste

St. Louis-based Good Taste Edibles sets the bar high for rosin gummies

BY ZOE GARCIA

Having spent my formative years as a teenage stoner hiding my highly illegal habit, it’s a breath of (admittedly weedflavored) fresh air to be able to now write about my experiences legally. And so it was in a celebratory fashion that I set out to one of my favorite local dispensaries, NatureMed in south county, to see what goodies they had in store for me for my first cannabis review for the RFT. (Fun fact: This dispensary offers daily specials and deals, including a 20 percent discount on edibles, every Thursday.)

I’d met some members of the Good Taste Edibles team at United We

Brunch, a recent Sauce Magazine/ Riverfront Times event, and my interest was piqued when I saw that NatureMed had some of the company’s solventless rosin gummies in stock. I picked up a 100-milligram pack of Clementine Sativa Gummies with 10 pieces coming in at 10 milligrams of THC each. Upon opening the container and taking a whiff, the herbal aroma of terpenes was evident right away. In no time I was eagerly digging in.

I generally tend to prefer sativa over indica, but I must admit, I often buy whatever is cheapest — normally a hybrid — so I hadn’t had any straight sativa edibles in a while. For my first foray into the Good Taste realm, I took half a gummy — 5 milligrams — about 30 minutes before arriving at a family party. I tried to let the candy dissolve in my mouth for quicker onset, but after the sugar crystal coating dissolved it didn’t seem to be melting very quickly, so I gave in and chomped it down. It had a nice texture with vegetal and citrusy notes and didn’t get stuck in my teeth, as gummies often do.

About 45 minutes later I started to feel that familiar buzz onset: a creeping sensation of euphoria/elation with a side of the giggles, plus some slight

visual enhancement — brightened colors, sharper lines and a few tracers. Others at the party were having a few adult beverages, and I found myself right on their level of merriment and hilarity without taking a sip of alcohol.

I enjoyed this mild-but-definitelynoticeable buzz for a few hours before going on to my next stop, where I had snacks and a cocktail. The drink reignited the buzz onset I’d felt a few hours prior, as well as some pretty intense munchies. I slept very soundly that night, something I frequently have trouble with, and decided to sample the edibles again the following day completely sans booze.

I waited until just before dinner and took another 5 milligrams, which led to the same buzzed feeling as the night prior. I gave my cannafriend, who has a higher edible tolerance than me, two full gummies for a total of 20 milligrams, 5 less than their normal dose. After dinner, we headed to City Museum (a fun place to be baked, to be sure) for an active outing. The 20 milligrams seemed to work for my friend just as well as their usual 25 milligrams from another brand, and we had a fun time giggling and squinting and traipsing

around the giant playground. About three or four hours after I had taken my initial dose, the effects were beginning to diminish, and I decided to take another half-gummy. It probably wasn’t necessary, but it did re-up my high and kept the evening rolling along smoothly, although it also led to another case of munchies (the bane of my existence, sigh). I slept very soundly again that night and even slept in late on Sunday morning, for a grand sleep total of nearly 10 hours — almost unheard of for me.

Overall, I would recommend the Good Taste sativa gummies to a friend. I think the energizing effects were evident, particularly while I was socializing and up and moving around, but the cannabinoid essence of heavy rest came through once I had sat down and settled in for the evening. My only complaint, and not much of one, is that I do prefer a gummy with a texture that will easily melt in the mouth. These aren’t the cheapest gummies, at about $30 for 100 milligrams (mine came in at $28.02 with tax after the 20 percent discount on Thursday), but are a worthy purchase nonetheless, especially if you prefer sativa edibles. n

Good Taste’s Clementine Sativa Gummies offer an uplifting high with energizing effects — while still letting you get a good night’s rest. |

ZOE GARCIA

CULTURE

[ROBOTS]

Take It Outside

Bill Christman’s new art gallery/consignment shop aims to Make the

Loop Weird Again

BY DANIEL HILL

When pondering the beaten down state of St. Louis’ art and music scenes, Bill Christman has a theory on who is to blame: It was those damn Germans.

The city had been founded by the French, the prolific St. Louis artist recounts, before the Germans came along in the 1840s, prior to the Civil War. The newcomers had money, education and skills, and soon they more or less took the town over. The French, he notes, just kind of let ‘em have it.

But while the Germans’ oft-touted efficiency brought considerable growth to the region in the decades that followed, the more laissez-faire attitude of the city’s founders, with their focus on art and music and culture and whimsy, is decidedly more Christman’s speed.

“So my motto is, ‘Make St. Louis French Again,’” Christman says with a laugh.

It’s not that he thinks St. Louis has a dearth of talent — on the contrary, he

knows we have a wealth of gifted artists that call the city home. But he’s of the opinion that St. Louis suffers from low self-esteem, that we think of ourselves as second-rate, that we think if you don’t move away to New York or Chicago or LA, you must be a nobody. His fondest wish, he says, is for that self-assessment to change.

So in the name of being the change he wants to see in the world, Christman is putting his time and money where his mouth is and opening an outsider art gallery and antiques consignment shop in the Delmar Loop, which serves as the catalyst for this afternoon’s meeting with an RFT reporter.

The gallery concept is called the MOFO, or Museum of Fabulous Outsiders, and will occupy one half of 6388 Delmar Boulevard. The consignment shop, dubbed Rio Del Mar, takes up the second half and will be helmed by Christman’s childhood friend Buzz Wall, a photographer and antiques dealer he’s known since grade school.

Wall was actually supposed to be at our meeting today, Christman says, but life got in the way. “Buzz has the best of intentions, but often his love of music and marijuana distracts him,” Christman explains.

Loop regulars have no doubt noticed the curious storefront, situated right next door to Avalon Exchange, as its proprietors have worked to get it up and running. For months now it’s had a hand-painted sign out front that reads Alien Robot Expo, along with various art and ephemera related to mechanical men and extraterrestrials in its windows. Alien Robot Expo

was actually originally going to be the name of the art gallery, Christman says, and the plan had been to display a ton of Area 51-esque souvenirs long collected by one of Christman’s associates, but he scrapped that idea out of fear that some of those smaller items might walk away when the doors opened to the general public. Thus, the name change to MOFO.

There’s still plenty of that type of stuff inside, though — like the row of life-sized robots built out of old ovens and scrap metal and other various stuff the less artistically inclined among us might call “junk.” It’s just more difficult to pilfer. And it’s joined by other oddities including a functioning, handcranked wooden statue of Bob Dylan playing the guitar; a bedazzled portrait of Mark Twain; a huge, carved-wood sculpture depicting a battle between two falling angels; a rack of quirky, vintage clothing with newly embroidered details; and an electric chair that purports to have been the site of John Dillinger’s death (a dubious claim indeed, considering the late bank rob-

ber met his demise in a hail of bullets). The overall vibe is what you’d get if you crossed Joe’s Cafe, which Christman founded, with the City Museum, where Christman’s work is also on display, with Maplewood’s Treasure Aisles Antique Mall.

On the gallery side of the space, Christman plans to display works from local outsider artists — many of them friends whose work Christman admires.

“I call them ‘homegrown unknown,” he says. “Because their work is, to me, quite brilliant, but they don’t get a chance to show, because art in St. Louis is kind of uppity, and I would say if you’re not in that circle — which is a very small circle — you’re an outsider.

So to the extent that St. Louis doesn’t have an outsider art place, this is it.”

Some of the first artists whose work will be on display are Tom Rassieur, a former employee of Christman’s old sign business whose work Christman describes as “goofy, unusual furniture”; Theresa Disney, a folk artist and former student of Christman’s from his past life as an art teacher, who does large paintings on roofing tar paper; Jim Arnitz, who creates elaborate and often site-specific sculptures out of found materials; and painter Jane Mudd, a friend of Christman’s who attended Fontbonne University, which Christman derides as a “podunk school” before offering that the legendary Bob Cassilly

Bill Christman and some of his robot children, who live at his new space in the Loop, which he’s named MOFO. A consignment shop, Rio Del Mar, is also opening on site. | DANIEL HILL

[BIG BLUE ROCKS]

Earthly Odyssey

The Pulitzer’s spring exhibition On Earth explores humans’ relationship to the natural world

BY ANGELO VIDAL

If humankind and Mother Nature are in a long-term relationship, then humans are akin to an emotionally unavailable, exploitative partner who hasn’t planned a date in decades, yet still expects their long-suffering counterpart to put dinner on the table every evening at seven sharp. So often we treat the natural world as a commodity at our disposal rather than a life-sustaining force with which our fate is intertwined.

We’re feeling the effects of our neglect now. Last month, for example, St. Louis saw the warmest February day in recorded history. In this moment, it’s critical that we reflect on our relationship to the Earth — and how our actions shape the land we inhabit — in order to salvage it. The Pulitzer Arts Foundation’s new spring exhibition, On Earth, provides an opportunity to do

was also an alum.

“These people are heroes to me, because they make art and they never get any money or recognition — it’s the sheer devotion,” Christman says.

While Christman is speaking, a woman wanders into the not-yet-open shop’s very open front door. As she bends down to look at some framed art on the wall in the consignment portion of the space, Christman addresses her in a slightly brusque manner.

“Excuse me ma’am, can I help you?” he says.

“Oh sorry, I was just seeing around. Is that OK?” she replies.

“Go ahead,” Christman says. “Just don’t steal anything.”

“Oh I won’t,” she promises.

After a few minutes, the woman asks about the price of a piece that caught her eye.

“Are you rich?” Christman inquires, to which she says she is not. “No one will ever admit to being rich, because then the price just goes up like that,” Christman muses.

After a little haggling the woman leaves empty-handed, saying she has to think about it but she’ll be back. Af-

just that.

On Earth features a labyrinth of immersive videos and films that meditate on the impact of humans’ destructive tendencies, but also celebrate moments of exaltation and empowerment that arise through our connection with the environment. From feelings of joy and reverence to horror at environmental devastation and displacement, each work draws parallels between our treatment of the Earth and the people who inhabit it.

The artist roster pulls from various corners of the globe, spanning Colorado to Lebanon to Brazil and beyond, and includes Ali Cherri, Jeffrey Gibson, Sky Hopinka, Ana Mendieta and Rivane Neuenschwander. Representing perspectives from a diverse range of geographies was intentional and crucial, emphasizes Stephanie Weissberg, curator at the Pulitzer.

“When you’re talking about humans’ relationship to the Earth, it feels very limiting to locate that within a specific country or cultural perspective,” she says. “The show is not about identifying differences between places. In many ways, there is more in common in these videos than there is not.”

Cleverly located in the museum’s lower level, On Earth inspires a sensation of literal and metaphorical proximity to the Earth as visitors descend the Pulitzer’s massive stairway toward the dimly lit, cave-like theater rooms that await them. There, visitors begin their earthly odyssey with Mnemonics

ter she leaves, Christman gives himself a small pat on the back for navigating the interaction in a largely courteous manner.

“Damn near hurts me to be polite to people when actually my temptation is to be rude and mean-spirited,” he laughs. “I’m trying to control it.”

Luckily, Christman still has a little bit of time to get his patter down before the visitors begin arriving steadily. Together, the MOFO and Rio Del Mar are set to open on April 1 — April Fool’s Day. The timing is intentional, Christman says: “That way if we don’t manage to get it open, we can say we were just joking.”

It’s all part of Christman’s bid to make St. Louis in general — and the Loop in particular — more vibrant, more strange, more colorful. More French, some might say.

“I guess the idea is to try to slightly revive the old Loop before it became less — I don’t know, it lost some of its mojo, whatever the heck you call it,” Christman says. “So this is more eccentric, eclectic and probably will fail.”

He pauses for a moment. “But what if it didn’t?” n

of Shape and Reason, a four-minute video crafted by Sky Hopinka, an experimental filmmaker and member of the Ho-Chunk Nation whose work features vibrantly colored imagery, Indigenous perspectives and sites of ancestral significance.

Mnemonics of Shape and Reason begins with a scene filmed from inside a moving car traveling down a remote road in a mountainous desert landscape. The scene quickly transforms, however, as an alternate, upside-down landscape appears and merges with the original. Hopinka effectively blurs the boundaries between natural and man-made environments, pushing back on colonial notions of territory and borders. The next four minutes are a hypnotic and near-psychedelic experience where sky, earth, water and fauna flow together in visually altered fragments. At one point, we see human figures walking amongst the clouds. Through this kaleidoscopic journey, Hopinka underscores the interconnectedness of all living beings, a theme that permeates the exhibition.

Other featured works, such as Ali Cherri’s Of Men and Gods and Mud, foster conversation about environmental catastrophes and population displacement. Set in northern Sudan, the documentary centers brickmakers as they work with mud at a factory near the Merowe Dam. The dam, one of Africa’s largest hydroelectric projects, has resulted in the displacement of more than 50,000 people. Against this backdrop, English and Arabic narrations reference origin myths that describe clay as the primordial material for the human body. By juxtaposing ancient narratives with contemporary realities, Cherri invites reflection on how we interact with life-

giving materials and occasionally harness them for destructive purposes.

In contrast, Jeffrey Gibson’s To Feel Myself Beloved on the Earth highlights social movements and Black and queer empowerment in conjunction with natural environments.

Gibson’s 16-minute video was produced in 2020 amidst the initial stages of the pandemic and civil unrest stemming from systemic violence against Black and queer people. It features solo dancers moving through urban and natural environments, as well as live performances by vocalists and drummers playing rhythms from the African diaspora paired with recordings from a Black Trans Lives march in New York, where Gibson is based. The work addresses painful experiences, but it also emphasizes pride, exuberance and resilience in the face of adversity.

“The show isn’t meant to drill down into the doom of the present moment. It also looks at the balance of the way things are,” says Weissberg. “People are still finding ways to be empowered and celebrate their relationship to the Earth and also use it to imagine new futures.”

On Earth is accompanied by an equally stunning and provocative exhibit on the museum’s main floor. Titled Interwoven, this exhibition showcases the first comprehensive collection spanning Colombian artist Delcy Morelos’ 30-plus-year career. n

Both exhibits will be open at the Pulitzer Arts Foundation (3716 Washington Boulevard) through August 4 and are free to attend. The museum is open 10 a.m. through 5 p.m. Thursday through Sunday. For more info, visit pulitzerarts.org.

On Earth, which opened earlier this month at the Pulitzer, consists of a series of striking short films and videos. | VIRGINIA HAROLD © PULITZER ARTS FOUNDATION

MUSIC

Burn It All Down

All-female Hazmat is challenging St. Louis’ male-dominated music scene — and becoming one of the biggest things in it

BY PAULA TREDWAY

Wait, what was their band called again?” — Hazmat

The members of the allfemale St. Louis-based band Hazmat are angry. They’re mad at men. They’re calling out misogynistic bookers and fans, too.

“Guys are shitty, period, to us,” explains Mal Tockman, better known as Bowie, the band’s drummer. “Especially in the music scene. When we first started they weren’t coming to our shows, and if they did they were eating Chick-fil-A in the back, like, leaving their trash and cornering us.”

“I’m really mad all the time,” says Sara Ahmadian, or Envy, the band’s vocalist.

Hazmat’s ’90s grunge aesthetic isn’t just reflected in its members’ clothes. It’s also evident in their riot grrrl energy and ferocious lyrics.

M-A-N-S-P-L-A-I-N I’m stating my opinion baby, I don’t mean to offend, M-A-N-S-P-L-A-I-N.

“We put out either heartbreak, super confident or really mad, anti-men songs,” adds Bowie. “We were definitely man-haters in the beginning, that was our big thing … we strayed away from that in our album, but our EP was fully revolving around that.”

Hazmat’s EP High School Offender came out in 2022, featuring six songs. The following year, the group followed up with its first full-length album, Pins and Needles, with eight.

The band has created some in-yourface head bangers, with song titles that immediately set the stage for the lyrics that follow: “Mansplain,” “Not Ur Mommy,” “Bad Decisions,” “Reckless Abandon,” “Envy,” “Riot,” “Spider Boy,” “Gluttony,” “20 Missed Calls,” “Diluted,” “Blood” and “Choke.”

They have good reason to be mad — not just at those Chik-fil-A-eating fans, but also at the venues that weren’t quite ready to book a band of

high school girls.

“I feel like in a way it’s definitely gotten better, but only because we’ve begun to prove ourselves a little bit,” explains Envy. “In the beginning it was definitely not fun. It was so hard for us to be taken seriously by venues.”

Hazmat first came together in January 2021, when COVID-19 was still raging and many schools were still virtual. During this time, Envy was a junior at Parkway South High School and Bowie was at Marquette High School.

Envy, now 20, says she started getting more and more into music during COVID, first as a way to fight her boredom. She says she quickly realized she could and should start a band.

“I was just singing covers for fun and then I was like writing to YouTube beats, but I thought about it and I was like, ‘The band scene is pretty big here,’” she says.

That’s when she found Bowie, who

“We started playing in the basement so we’d throw our own basement shows, and then we started playing in the local basement venues,” says Envy. “Our first out-of-basement show was at Tropical Sno” — the shaved ice stand in Ballwin.

As the girls continued to prove themselves in the sexist music industry, they started to book more and more shows. (After three of their original members moved on, Envy and Bowie now rely on a freelance guitarist and bassist to play with them at different shows.)

Even so, it took venues quite some time to get on board.

“[Venues] still kind of don’t [take us seriously],” Bowie says. “But the Dark Room, because we’ve proven that we can sell tickets, was the turning point because we almost sold it out. Then all of a sudden venues were like, ‘Oh OK, maybe.’”

“Our emails to venues were so long,” Envy adds. “We were literally like, ‘Please let us play’ and they did.”

For Bowie, it’s not only the fact that bookers don’t take girls seriously, but particularly teenage girls.

“When we’re like, ‘Hey, please,’ half the time they’re not even gonna email back,” she says.

Though they are still fighting hard to prove themselves to venues, Hazmat has started to find fame on social media, with a following of 3,860 on Instagram and more than 90,000 on TikTok. Being featured in a Spin story on the St. Louis music scene helped — but fame inevitably leads to a backlash.

had been studying music for eight years and attended School of Rock for one. Envy looked on the School of Rock’s Instagram and messaged girls who she thought “looked cool.”

“She stalked me,” says Bowie, now 20, jokingly. “I was gonna just say no and then be done. I played drums but I was on a two-year break at that point, but I was like, ‘I guess I play well enough.’”

“So that’s how I found the original lineup,” explains Envy.

Three more members followed, also recruited via the School of Rock, although eventually Izzy Rutledge, Lily Belknap and Olivia Haley took time off from the band to focus on school and to travel. They came up with their collective name, Hazmat, using a word generator.

Since first forming, the band has played at least 20 shows — starting off in their own basements.

“Outside of playing music people still love to put a target on your back,” Bowie says. “Like we could breathe wrong and we will get attacked for a week. People get over it and then it’ll happen again. You can’t catch a break.”

When first starting out, Envy says she used to get upset over the thoughtless comments, but seeing how far they’ve come in three years has made it all worth it.

M-A-N-S-P-L-A-I-N, teach me how to play a song, I’ll sit here and pretend.

M-A-N-S-P-L-A-I-N, I can really fill a crowd while you play for your friends.

Hazmat’s music boasts mostly alternative-pop beats with a little punk rock featuring raw, emotional lyrics and contagious, upbeat energy.

“I feel like it’s kind of whatever I’m listening to at the moment,” says Envy. “But I’m more influenced by rock music and punk music.”

Envy notes that they tend to remind people of Paramore, Blondie, the Run-

Hazmat drummer Bowie, left, and lead singer Envy, right, are killing it at age 20. | ZACHARY LINHARES

aways, Bikini Kill, Måneskin and Veruca Salt — all of whom inspired the band’s music.

But the band takes its cues from multiple genres and musicians.

“If I’m into indie pop, which I was when I first started music, and that’s where ‘Converse’ came from,” Envy says. “When I joined the band, they listened to a lot of rock, like riot grrrl and things like that, so I started listening to that. You can kind of hear it in ‘Riot,’ ‘Mansplain’ and ‘Not Ur Mommy.’”

Hazmat has now made appearances at the Dark Room, Red Flag, Off Broadway, Ballpark Village and Delmar Hall.

“Taking Back Sunday at Ballpark Village was one of the biggest shows,” Bowie says. “That was like I think the biggest crowd, the biggest stage. It was just so cool.”

“It was just like a really different experience to what we’re used to, because obviously that’s a way professional venue, like everything was run very professionally,” Envy adds. “It was just cool, it made it all feel more real.”

Let me give you a hand never forgive a lying man and push on all the buttons of his masculinity; go ahead and key his car just fuck shit up and raise the bar let him see what it’s like to just be an accessory…

In addition to their work with Hazmat, Envy and Bowie are baristas at a local coffee shop, where fans tend to recognize them from the band.

“I never know how to react because to me, it’s not real,” says Bowie. “I forget that people can access Spotify.”

“I was working and this girl came up to the counter and was like, ‘Are you in Hazmat? I just love your music so much,’” Envy adds. “I don’t really think

that, like, ‘Oh, it’s out there and people listen to it.’ So it’s very satisfying and fulfilling.”

Hazmat was recently tapped to work with St. Louis City SC and the Grammy-nominated rapper Smino on their new music collaboration Homegrown, which will showcase five emerging St. Louis musicians throughout the year. Perks include access to Smino, performance opportunities, artist profiles and inclusion in a Friday night showcase for the kickoff to the music festival Music at the Intersection.

“We get to work together and then play shows, like, before the games or at Music at the Intersection, things like that,” says Envy.

They also hope to start touring in the near future.

“We would really love to, like, not even necessarily our own tour, but just opening for someone, or we want to work on playing out-of-state shows,” Envy says. “Because we feel like we’ve gotten a good amount of success in St. Louis.”

But they still have St. Louis goals, too.

“I want to play different states, like, hop on tour with someone. Bigger venues will be crazy — but I want to play at the Pageant,” Bowie says hopefully.

“That’s a very specific goal of ours!” Envy exclaims. “We want to play at the Pageant, so hopefully we get to.”

Then grab some gasoline, a match or two should keep it clean, let’s burn the damn patriarchy! n

Follow Hazmat’s rise to fame on Instagram (@hazmatstl) or TikTok (@ hazmatstl), and check out their latest hits on Spotify (@hazmat).

Envy, right, with Bowie, dreams of playing the Pageant. | ZACHARY LINHARES

The Lady Was a Tiger

Regina King is terrific in Netflix’s Shirley, which details Shirley Chisholm’s remarkable career

BY CHUCK WILSON

Shirley

Written and directed by John Ridley. Now streaming on Netflix.

The late Shirley Chisholm is having a moment. The first African American woman elected to Congress, and the first woman to run for president of the United States, Chisholm, who died in 2005 at the age of 80, is the inspiration for Shirley, a compelling but dramatically stilted docudrama starring a superb Regina King. The Netflix film continues an unexpected small-screen Chisholm boom, beginning with Uzo Aduba’s vibrant depiction of her in an episode of the Cate Blanchett series Mrs. America and continuing in Hulu’s recent History of the World: Part 2, which finds an exuberant Wanda Sykes starring in a sitcom called Shirley!

Sykes bursts into song as Chisholm attempts to win over delegates at the 1972 Democratic National Convention, an irreverence that isn’t available to King, who must play it straight, per writer-director John Ridley’s determinedly intense reenactment of the convention’s tumultuous behindthe-scenes events. In focusing on Chisholm’s presidential campaign, Ridley, who wrote 12 Years a Slave as well as the brilliant ABC series American Crime, which also starred King, sacrifices the details and range of Chisholm’s life and accomplishments, a choice that makes for a film that often struggles to find the personal in the political.

Shirley opens in 1968, as the 43-year-old New York state assemblywoman is elected to Congress. Each day in her first week, she’s stopped in the rotunda by a Southern congressman. He’s a newcomer too, but can’t resist taunting her with the same observation, “Imagine, you making 42.5 like me.” There’s a world of contempt in the way his voice comes down hard

on “42.5,” but he’s not prepared for Chisholm to answer him with her own sharp enunciation of the number. He slinks away, abased, however briefly. It’s a small moment, but one of the few in the film that offers a chance to see Chisholm squaring off, with her trademark wit and ferocity, against the institutional racism she must have encountered every day of her political life.

In a beat, three years pass and Chisholm has been petitioned to run for president by her constituents, who’ve raised a bit of money to get her started. She assembles a team of advisors, including her stalwart friends Wesley McDonald “Mac” Holder (the late Lance Reddick) and her head of finance, Arthur Hardwick, Jr. (Terrence Howard), as well as a former aide named Robert Gottlieb (Lucas Hedges) who agrees to be her youth coordinator. When she tells him she’s running for president, Gottlieb exclaims, “Right the hell on, Mrs. C.” Not many in power support her — not the Congressional Black Caucus, or the leaders of the women’s rights movement. But on the road, Chisholm

finds adoring crowds among people of color and among college students eligible to vote for the first time. Along the way, she takes on a young protégé, Barbara Lee (Christina Jackson), a Black activist (and future congresswoman) who didn’t believe in voting until she met Chisholm.

In a movie overstuffed with men, Jackson and King spark off one another, and share one of the movie’s best scenes. Lee keeps pressing Chisholm to attend a Black political convention in Gary, Indiana, but Chisholm keeps refusing. Frustrated, Lee demands to know why. “They have made it clear they don’t care what Black women have to say,” says Chisholm. “That’s just how they are.” “They?” Barbara asks. “Men,” Chisholm replies. “Always plottin’ and plannin’.”

This is Ridley’s central theme, just as it was for Chisholm. It’s the endless machinations of powerful and wannabe powerful men, white and Black alike, that will prove to be the undoing of Chisholm’s daring last-minute bid to gain a spot for her platform at the ’72 Democratic National Convention in Miami. The road to that disappoint-

ment, filled as it is with arcane delegate math, is not completely gripping, but there’s beauty in the light that fills King’s face as Chisholm lists all that will be possible if they’re able to influence George McGovern’s administration. Afterward, her voice catches, as if she can’t believe she dared voice her truest dream.

It is in these small gestures that King finds Chisholm, even when it seems as if the screenplay itself is losing touch with her. It’s a deceptively physical performance. Shirley Chisholm walks and sits with her back straight at all times, but late one night, she comes home from the campaign trail to find that her husband (Michael Cherrie) hasn’t thought to leave her any dinner. She pulls a frozen dinner from the freezer and then sits at the kitchen table, too tired to put it in the oven. Leaning right, she takes off her glasses, crosses her leg, leans her head into her chin and falls asleep, a working woman in a plain kitchen, catching rest when she can, just like the women she grew up with, and like those she hopes to represent in the White House. n

As part of her groundbreaking run for president, Shirley Chisholm (Regina King) brings on Arthur Hardwick, Jr. (Terrence Howard) as an advisor. | NETFLIX

What We Do in Secret

New Jewish Theatre’s All My Sons shows the play’s searing power with an all-star cast

BY TINA FARMER

All My Sons

Written by Arthur Miller. Directed by Gary Wayne Barker. Presented by New Jewish Theatre at the Wool Theatre (2 Millstone Campus Drive) through Sunday, April 7. Showtime varies by day, and tickets are $27 to $58. More information at jccstl.com.

Playwright Arthur Miller is considered one of the 20th century’s great American dramatists, and the pointed and heartbreaking All My Sons is arguably his most profound work. Set just after the end of World War II, the drama examines culpability and the true cost of war while raising questions about our collective responsibility to each other. The New Jewish Theatre’s riveting production captures all the tension and searing pain of the story with a naturalistic approach that finds understated grace in an untenable truth.

Joe and Kate Keller are parents to two

sons: Chris, who returned from the war with only psychological scars, and Larry, who went missing in action three years ago and is presumed deceased. Well, by everyone except Kate, who, with every fiber in her body, holds onto the belief that Larry will walk down the street and into their yard any day now. It’s a belief that she needs to cling to in order to keep from crumbling under the weight of her husband’s secret. Joe, a man with an amiable demeanor and fixed perspective, runs a small manufacturing plant in town that provided parts for airplanes during the war — and perhaps did not always behave honorably in that work.

Son Chris begrudgingly works with him; he’s also invited Larry’s longtime girlfriend, Ann Deever, to stay with the family for a visit. They’ve become close and he intends to propose to her. That is, if family secrets, his mother’s insistence that Ann is waiting for Larry and the unexpected arrival of Ann’s brother George don’t force them apart.

The characters are believably flawed and hope unravels with each revelation — some startling, some simply and painfully real.

Jayson Heil captivates as the sensitive, emotionally aware Chris. He’s seen enough of war and holds plenty of questions about his father’s culpability, but he still manages to love both of his parents and want to protect them, as long as it doesn’t ruin his chance at happiness with Ann. Kristen Joy Lintveldt is charming and acquiescing as Ann; she’s clearly in love with Chris.

Kind and considerate, she gently counters the whims of those around her until she’s pushed into a corner, revealing her steely resolve and determined, if slightly desperate, nature. Heil and Lintveldt create chemistry that makes you want to cheer for them despite the circumstances.

Greg Johnston is stubborn, pragmatic and committed to his version of truth as Joe Keller, making his final scene all the more startling and effective. Amy Loui is both tragic and ethereal as the tenderhearted Kate Keller; the reason for her insistence on Larry’s survival is a revelatory and nuanced collapse that resonates with anguish. Joel Moses is appealingly torn as George Deever, his affection for the Keller family conflicting with his father’s truth. Joshua Mayfield and Zahria Moore give Dr. Jim Bayliss and his wife Sue authentic depth of character that adds much to the supporting roles, and Riley Capp, Summer Baer and Shane Rose capably round out the cast, adding a much-needed touch of levity.

Gary Wayne Barker directs with confidence that ensures every moment, each change of emotion and circumstance, is genuine and earned. Strong technical choices and intentional action tie the show together, resulting in a memorable play that resonates with themes distant from today, yet still relevant.

You may want to bring a tissue with you, but you don’t want to miss the effective and compelling All My Sons at New Jewish Theatre. n

Shocking secrets give way to terrible truths in New Jewish Theatre’s production of Arthur Miller’s 1947 classic All My Sons. | JON GITCHOFF

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 28

ANDY COCO’S NOLA FUNK AND R&B REVUE: 7 p.m., $15. BB’s Jazz, Blues & Soups, 700 S. Broadway, St. Louis, 314-436-5222.

THE FRENCH CONNECTION WITH ANDREA JAR-

RETT AND FRIENDS: 6 p.m., $25. World Chess Hall of Fame, 4652 Maryland Ave, St. Louis, 314-367-9243.

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

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

KITTY STEADMAN: 8 p.m., $18. Blueberry HillThe Duck Room, 6504 Delmar Blvd., University City, 314-727-4444.

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

MARIAH THE SCIENTIST: 8 p.m., $31.50-$34. The Pageant, 6161 Delmar Blvd., St. Louis, 314-726-6161.

ST. LOUIS BANJO CLUB: 7:30 p.m., free. Affton Elks Lodge, 6330 Heege Road, Concord, 314-481-6104.

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

FRIDAY 29

THE 16TH ANNUAL GATEWAY BLUES FESTIVAL: 8 p.m., $59-$175. Stifel Theatre, 1400 Market St, St. Louis, 314-499-7600.

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

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

CLOUD MACHINE: w/ Red Sun Sermon, Killer Burke, Down Periscope 7 p.m., $10. Red Flag, 3040 Locust St, St. Louis, MO 63103, St. Louis, 314-714-8678.

DIESEL ISLAND: 7:30 p.m., free. The Frisco Barroom, 8110 Big Bend Blvd., Webster Groves, 314-455-1090.

GENE JACKSON’S POWER PLAY BAND: 8 p.m., $5. Hammerstone’s, 2028 S. 9th St., St. Louis, 314-773-5565.

GUERRILLA THEORY: w/ Chronyx, Native State 7 p.m., $10-$15. Old Rock House, 1200 S. 7th St., St. Louis, 314-588-0505.

JACKKNIFE POWERBOMB: w/ Lousy with Coyotes 8 p.m., $10. The Heavy Anchor, 5226 Gravois Ave., St. Louis, 314-352-5226.

JACOB PEREZ: 7 p.m., free. Evangeline’s, 512 N Euclid Ave, St. Louis, 314-367-3644.

JEREMIAH JOHNSON: 7 p.m., $15. BB’s Jazz, Blues & Soups, 700 S. Broadway, St. Louis, 314-436-5222.

JIGJAM: 8 p.m., $25. Off Broadway, 3509 Lemp Ave., St. Louis, 314-498-6989.

MELANIE FIONA: 9:30 p.m., $48-$68. City Winery St. Louis, 3730 Foundry Way, Suite 158, St. Louis, 314-678-5060.

RYAN KOENIG & FRIENDS: 7 p.m., free. Yaqui’s on Cherokee, 2728 Cherokee St, St. Louis, 314-400-7712.

SWEETIE AND THE TOOTHACHES: 7 p.m., $12. Casa Loma Ballroom, 3354 Iowa Ave, St. Louis, 314-282-2258.

SYSTEM EXCLUSIVE: w/ The Neck, Jenerator Jenkins 8 p.m., $10-$12. The Sinkhole, 7423 South Broadway, St. Louis, 314-328-2309.

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

SATURDAY 30

[CRITIC’S PICK]

Savage Master w/ Screamer, Blood Star, Chemical Dependency

8 p.m. Monday, April 1. The Sinkhole, 7423 South Broadway. $17 to $20. 314-328-2309.

Music is just too complicated nowadays. Everything is split into countless niche genres, each more precious and special than the last, and it seems every artist is convinced that their sound is the most unique, uncategorizable capital-A Art in the world. The average music fan is burdened by an impenetrable tangle of genre tags like hyperpop, chillwave, djent, nerdcore, mumble rap, cowpunk, hipster hop, pornogrind, nightcore, shitgaze, witch house and about a million other microgenres clogging up our ADHD-damaged brains, such that the individual categories are rendered too numerous to even begin to categorize. What we need to do is to go

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

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

AS THE CROWE FLIES: 7:30 p.m., free. The Frisco Barroom, 8110 Big Bend Blvd., Webster Groves, 314-455-1090.

BACKWATER STOMPERS: 7 p.m., free. Evangeline’s, 512 N Euclid Ave, St. Louis, 314-367-3644.

COWBOY MOUTH: 7 p.m., $30. Old Rock House, 1200 S. 7th St., St. Louis, 314-588-0505.

FAIR WEATHER FRIENDS: 6 p.m., $6. The Attic Music Bar, 4247 South Kingshighway Blvd., 2nd Floor, St. Louis, 3143765313.

FREEDOM MAN: w/ Andrew Ryan & the Levee 7 p.m., free. Das Bevo Biergarten, 4749 Gravois Ave., St. Louis, 314-224-5521.

JAKE’S LEG: 9 p.m., $14. Broadway Oyster Bar, 736 S. Broadway, St. Louis, 314-621-8811.

JAY VEE: 9 p.m., free. Yaqui’s on Cherokee, 2728 Cherokee St, St. Louis, 314-400-7712.

KARENOCALYPSE: w/ Stay Sane, Blight Future, RumLuck 8 p.m., $10. The Heavy Anchor, 5226

way, 3509 Lemp Ave., St. Louis, 314-498-6989.

ZEBRA: 7:30 p.m., $29.50-$59.50. The Factory, 17105 N Outer 40 Rd, Chesterfield, 314-423-8500.

SUNDAY 31

2ND DRAFT: 8 p.m., $6. The Attic Music Bar, 4247 South Kingshighway Blvd., 2nd Floor, St. Louis, 314-376-5313.

AN EVENING WITH ALICIA WITT: 7:30 p.m., $25. Blue Strawberry Showroom & Lounge, 364 N Boyle Ave, St. Louis, 314-256-1745.

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

INCOGNITO: 8:30 p.m., $55-$75. City Winery St. Louis, 3730 Foundry Way, Suite 158, St. Louis, 314-678-5060.

JAMES MCMURTY: w/ BettySoo 7 p.m., $35-$45. Off Broadway, 3509 Lemp Ave., St. Louis, 314-498-6989.

MISS JUBILEE & THE YAS YAS BOYS: 11 a.m., free. Evangeline’s, 512 N Euclid Ave, St. Louis, 314-367-3644.

NIXIL: w/ Necrotic Theurgist, Radiator Greys 8 p.m., $12. Platypus, 4501 Manchester Avenue, St. Louis, 314-359-2293.

PAUL BONN AND THE BLUESMEN: 3 p.m., $5. Hammerstone’s, 2028 S. 9th St., St. Louis, 314-773-5565.

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

back to a simpler time, when there was but one genre of music that mattered — heavy fuckin’ metal. Louisville’s Savage Master seems to share this opinion, and for the last decade the band has delivered just that with throwback NWOBHM-style jams as braindead and straightforward as they are infinitely headbangable. Led by the incomparable Stacey Savage, the hooded metal masters that comprise the group give the people what they want: riffs, riffs and more riffs; leather-and-studs outfits; and songs about having sex with the devil. What more could you ask for?

MONDAY 1

FIVE FOR FIGHTING WITH STRING QUARTET: 7:30 p.m., $48-$65. City Winery St. Louis, 3730 Foundry Way, Suite 158, St. Louis, 314-678-5060.

A FRIVOLOUS FIRST: 7:30 p.m., $42. The 560 Music Center, 560 Trinity Ave., University City, 314-421-3600.

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

SAVAGE MASTER: w/ Screamer, Blood Star, Chemical Dependency 8 p.m., $17-$20. The Sinkhole, 7423 South Broadway, St. Louis, 314-328-2309.

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

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

TUESDAY 2

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

EMPEROR X: w/ Ryan Wasoba, Freckles 7:30 p.m., $12-$15. The Sinkhole, 7423 South Broadway, St. Louis, 314-328-2309.

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

—Daniel Hill

No Genres, All Masters: Joining Savage Master at the Sinkhole is Sweden’s Screamer, Utah’s Blood Star and St. Louis’ own Chemical Dependency. To describe these bands’ individual sounds would unfortunately involve the use of genre tags and would thus negate the rest of this writeup, so suffice it to say they’ll all scratch the itch.

Gravois Ave., St. Louis, 314-352-5226.

A NIGHT TO REMEMBER: 7:30 p.m., $10. Pop’s Nightclub, 401 Monsanto Ave., East St. Louis, 618-274-6720.

RICH MCDONOUGH & THE RHYTHM RENEGADES: 8 p.m., $15. BB’s Jazz, Blues & Soups, 700 S. Broadway, St. Louis, 314-436-5222.

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

SAMS/CLAUDE: w/ Ibur/Von Harz, Karbowiak, Sun Castle, Hess/Osborne/Suen 7:30 p.m., $15. CFX, 3221 Oak Hill Ave, St. Louis, 314-773-5300.

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

TAYLOR MADE - A TRIBUTE TO TAYLOR SWIFT: 8 p.m., $25-$30. Delmar Hall, 6133 Delmar Blvd., St. Louis, 314-726-6161.

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

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

VINCENT NEIL EMERSON: 8 p.m., $20. Off Broad-

REMO DRIVE: w/ Wilt, Lobby Boxer 7:30 p.m., $22. Old Rock House, 1200 S. 7th St., St. Louis, 314-588-0505.

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

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

WEDNESDAY 3

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

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

LA LOM: 8 p.m., $20. Blueberry Hill - The Duck Room, 6504 Delmar Blvd., University City, 314-727-4444.

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

MEGHAN KIRK: 7 p.m., $10. Blue Strawberry Showroom & Lounge, 364 N Boyle Ave, St. Louis, 314-256-1745.

ST LOUIS JAZZ CLUB: w/ TJ Muller 7 p.m., free. Evangeline’s, 512 N Euclid Ave, St. Louis, 314-367-3644.

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

Savage Master. | VIA ARTIST BANDCAMP

UPCOMING

AARON LEE TASJAN: Thu., April 18, 8 p.m., $20. Blueberry Hill - The Duck Room, 6504 Delmar Blvd., University City, 314-727-4444.

ALVVAYS: Tue., May 7, 8 p.m., $30-$45. The Pageant, 6161 Delmar Blvd., St. Louis, 314-726-6161.

ARMAND HAMMER + L’RAIN: Sun., April 7, 8 p.m., $25. Off Broadway, 3509 Lemp Ave., St. Louis, 314-498-6989.

THE AVETT BROTHERS: W/ Trampled By Turtles, Sat., Aug. 17, 7 p.m., $55-$99. St. Louis Music Park, 750 Casino Center Dr., Maryland Heights, 314-451-2244.

BETTER LOVERS: Fri., April 19, 7 p.m., $30. Off Broadway, 3509 Lemp Ave., St. Louis, 314-498-6989.

BILLY JOEL & STING: Fri., Sept. 27, 7 p.m., $69.50$424.50. Busch Stadium, 700 Clark Ave, St. Louis, 314-345-9600.

BIT BRIGADE AND GALACTIC EMPIRE: Sat., May 11, 8 p.m., $22. Off Broadway, 3509 Lemp Ave., St. Louis, 314-498-6989.

BRITTANY HOWARD: Fri., April 26, 8 p.m., $46$61. The Pageant, 6161 Delmar Blvd., St. Louis, 314-726-6161.

CAGE THE ELEPHANT: Thu., Sept. 12, 6:30 p.m., $35-$169.50. Hollywood Casino Amphitheatre - St. Louis, MO, 14141 Riverport Dr, Maryland Heights.

CAN YOU FEEL THE PUNK TONIGHT - A PUNK

ROCK CELEBRATION OF DISNEY: Sat., May 11, 8 p.m., $30-$40. The Pageant, 6161 Delmar Blvd., St. Louis, 314-726-6161.

A CELEBRATION OF LIFE FOR LISA MCMICHAEL:

W/ Bruiser Queen, Vallencourt, Sewer Urchin, Devil Baby Freak Show, Sat., June 15, 4:30 p.m., $10. Off Broadway, 3509 Lemp Ave., St. Louis, 314-498-6989.

CHICANO BATMAN: Thu., May 2, 8 p.m., $28-$32. Delmar Hall, 6133 Delmar Blvd., St. Louis, 314-726-6161.

CHRISTIAN MCBRIDE AND INSIDE STRAIGHT: Fri., May 24, 8 p.m., $40-$50. The Sheldon, 3648 Washington Blvd., St. Louis, 314-533-9900.

DAWSON HOLLOW: Thu., April 11, 8 p.m., $12. Blueberry Hill - The Duck Room, 6504 Delmar Blvd., University City, 314-727-4444.

DEERHOOF: Sat., April 6, 8 p.m., $20. Off Broadway, 3509 Lemp Ave., St. Louis, 314-498-6989.

DOYLE: Thu., April 18, 6:30 p.m. Red Flag, 3040 Locust Street, St. Louis, 314-289-9050.

DREW HOLCOMB & THE NEIGHBORS: Fri., April 19, 8 p.m., $25-$275. The Hawthorn, 2225 Washington Avenue, St. Louis. Fri., April 19, 8 p.m., $25. The Hawthorn, 2231 Washington Avenue, St. Louis, 314-887-0877.

EARTH, WIND & FIRE AND CHICAGO: Wed., July 10, 7:30 p.m., $35.50-$499.50. Hollywood Casino Amphitheatre, I-70 & Earth City Expwy., Maryland Heights, 314-298-9944.

EARTHLESS: Wed., April 10, 8 p.m., $22. Off Broadway, 3509 Lemp Ave., St. Louis, 314-498-6989.

FANGIRL FANTASY: TAYLOR SWIFT VS OLIVIA RO-

DRIGO DANCE NIGHT: Fri., April 26, 8 p.m., $18. Blueberry Hill - The Duck Room, 6504 Delmar Blvd., University City, 314-727-4444.

FORGIVING TREE: W/ the Winks, Native State, Redwood, Sat., April 6, 8 p.m., $12. Blueberry Hill - The Duck Room, 6504 Delmar Blvd., University City, 314-727-4444.

GARY CLARK JR: Thu., May 16, 7:30 p.m., $49.50-$99.50. The Factory, 17105 N Outer 40 Rd, Chesterfield, 314-423-8500.

HOT CLUB OF COWTOWN: Fri., April 12, 7:30 p.m., $25. Blue Strawberry Showroom & Lounge, 364 N Boyle Ave, St. Louis, 314-256-1745.

HOT WATER MUSIC: W/ Quicksand, Sun., June 16, 8 p.m., $40. Delmar Hall, 6133 Delmar Blvd., St. Louis, 314-726-6161.

IRON & WINE: Sat., July 6, 8 p.m., $37.50-$47.50. The Pageant, 6161 Delmar Blvd., St. Louis, 314-726-6161.

Emperor X w/ Ryan Wasoba, Freckles

7:30 p.m. Tuesday, April 2. The Sinkhole, 7423 South Broadway. $12 to $15. 314328-2309.

For a guy who lives in Germany, Chad Matheny sure had a lot of St. Louis artists perform on his most recent full-length album. What’s up with that? Well, we’re glad you asked, you useful and entirely rhetorical device you. Matheny, better known in this context as Emperor X, actually has ties to the city that go back more than 15 years, when the Louisville, Kentucky-born, Jacksonville, Florida-bred traveling troubadour took up residence for a time in Edwardsville, in the spare bedroom of local maestro Ryan’s Wasoba’s then-upstart Bird Cloud Recording Studio. Wasoba and Matheny had met through the former’s nowdefunct band So Many Dynamos, and at a crossroads in Matheny’s life he moved across the country to the metro area and actually helped get the studio up and running. It’s no surprise, then, that Matheny tapped Wasoba and Bird Cloud when it came time to record 2022’s The Lakes of Zones B and C, the first new LP in the prolific songwriter’s discography since 2017. And given Wasoba’s wealth of knowledge

JAMES TAYLOR & HIS ALL-STAR BAND: Thu., June 6, 8 p.m., $39.50-$189.50. Hollywood Casino Amphitheatre - St. Louis, MO, 14141 Riverport Dr, Maryland Heights. JANET JACKSON AND NELLY: Fri., June 21, 8 p.m., $39.95-$499.95. Hollywood Casino Amphitheatre, I-70 & Earth City Expwy., Maryland Heights, 314298-9944.

THE JAYHAWKS: Fri., April 19, 8 p.m., $40-$50. The Sheldon, 3648 Washington Blvd., St. Louis, 314-533-9900.

JJ GREY & MOFRO: Sat., April 20, 7:30 p.m., $220. Chesterfield Amphitheater, 631 Veterans Place Drive, Chesterfield.

KAMELOT: Sat., May 4, 7 p.m., $35. Delmar Hall, 6133 Delmar Blvd., St. Louis, 314-726-6161.

THE MOUNTAIN GOATS: Sat., April 20, 8 p.m., $49.50. Delmar Hall, 6133 Delmar Blvd., St. Louis, 314-726-6161.

NOAH KAHAN: Tue., June 4, 8 p.m., $49.50-$345. Hollywood Casino Amphitheatre, I-70 & Earth City Expwy., Maryland Heights, 314-298-9944.

O.A.R.: W/ Fitz and the Tantrums, Wed., Aug. 21, 7 p.m., $25-$125. St. Louis Music Park, 750 Casino Center Dr., Maryland Heights, 314-451-2244.

OUMOU SANGARÉ: Sat., April 13, 8 p.m., $35-$45. The Sheldon, 3648 Washington Blvd., St. Louis, 314-533-9900.

PATTI LABELLE: Sat., May 11, 7 p.m., $59.50$124.50. The Factory, 17105 N Outer 40 Rd, Chesterfield, 314-423-8500.

PHISH: Tue., July 30, 7:30 p.m.; Wed., July 31, 7:30 p.m., $59.50-$105. Chaifetz Arena, 1 S. Compton Ave., St. Louis, 314-977-5000.

P!NK: Sat., Aug. 10, 6:30 p.m., $39.95-$299.95. The Dome at America’s Center, 701 Convention Plaza, St. Louis, 314-342-5201.

PORTUGAL. THE MAN: Mon., May 6, 8 p.m., $41$56. The Pageant, 6161 Delmar Blvd., St. Louis, 314-726-6161.

THE POSTAL SERVICE & DEATH CAB FOR CUTIE: Tue., May 7, 7:30 p.m., $38-$122.75. Chaifetz Arena, 1 S. Compton Ave., St. Louis, 314-977-5000.

QUEENSRYCHE: Sat., April 6, 8 p.m., $40. Delmar Hall, 6133 Delmar Blvd., St. Louis, 314-726-6161.

when it comes to St. Louis’ music scene, it’s also no surprise that he was able to pull in some of the city’s finest to help round the record out, including Cody Henry, Dustin Shrum, Austin Cebulskii, Norm Clayton Kunstel and Emma Tiemann. The result is a charming set of anthemic, eclectic and heady indie folk songs that span the globe while feeling right at home. Given the circumstances, it’s reasonable to assume that Wasoba and Matheny will pull in some of the same names seen above to help bring these songs to life this week, making the St. Louis outing of Emperor X’s current U.S. tour one that’s sure to land in the history books.

Straight From the Horse’s Mouth: With apologies for calling him a horse, we’re gonna let a social media post from Wasoba upon the release of the album tell the tale of what you can expect from it, and from this show: “Check this album out if you are a fan of any of the following: AJJ, The Mountain Goats, smart lyrics, deep cuts on ’70s Billy Joel records, killer hooks, lo-fi indie rock, Sufjan Stevens, science, ever-so-slightly out of tune piano, Jeff Rosenstock, geography, and listening to the long reverb tails from singing in a tunnel.” Sounds good to us.

—Daniel Hill

KHRUANGBIN: Wed., Oct. 2, 8 p.m.; Thu., Oct. 3, 8 p.m., $52.50-$89.50. The Factory, 17105 N Outer 40 Rd, Chesterfield, 314-423-8500.

KING GIZZARD AND THE LIZARD WIZARD: Thu., Sept. 5, 8 p.m., $59.50-$89.50. The Factory, 17105 N Outer 40 Rd, Chesterfield, 314-423-8500.

LAKE STREET DIVE: Tue., July 16, 8 p.m., $30-$75. Centene Community Ice Center, 750 Casino Center Dr, Maryland Heights.

MELISSA ETHERIDGE AND INDIGO GIRLS: Tue., Aug. 13, 7 p.m., $57-$101.50. St. Louis Music Park, 750 Casino Center Dr., Maryland Heights, 314451-2244.

REAL ESTATE: Tue., May 21, 8 p.m., $25. Delmar Hall, 6133 Delmar Blvd., St. Louis, 314-726-6161.

SAMMY HAGAR: W/ Loverboy, Sat., Aug. 31, 7 p.m., $35-$499.50. Hollywood Casino Amphitheatre, I-70 & Earth City Expwy., Maryland Heights, 314-298-9944.

SARAH SHOOK & THE DISARMERS: W/ Sunny War, Sat., April 6, 7 p.m., $18. Club Riveria, 3524 Washington Ave., St. Louis, 314-531-8663.

SEAN CANAN’S VOODOO PLAYERS: VOODOO

UNCLE TUPELO: Sat., April 27, 8 p.m., $25. Blueberry Hill - The Duck Room, 6504 Delmar Blvd., University City, 314-727-4444.

SHANNON AND THE CLAMS: Mon., June 10, 8 p.m., $20-$25. Off Broadway, 3509 Lemp Ave., St. Louis, 314-498-6989.

SILVERSUN PICKUPS: Thu., April 25, 8 p.m., $150. The Hawthorn, 2225 Washington Avenue, St. Louis.

STEVIE NICKS: Tue., May 7, 7 p.m., $54.50-$996. Enterprise Center, 1401 Clark Ave., St. Louis, 314-241-1888.

STIR: Fri., April 12, 8 p.m., $30. Delmar Hall, 6133 Delmar Blvd., St. Louis, 314-726-6161.

SUM 41: Wed., April 24, 7 p.m., $59.50-$69.50. The Factory, 17105 N Outer 40 Rd, Chesterfield, 314-423-8500.

SWANS: Fri., May 10, 8 p.m., $30. Delmar Hall, 6133 Delmar Blvd., St. Louis, 314-726-6161.

TAKING BACK SUNDAY: Sat., June 15, 8 p.m., $35$55. The Pageant, 6161 Delmar Blvd., St. Louis, 314-726-6161.

THE DECEMBERISTS: Fri., May 17, 8 p.m., $42$62. The Pageant, 6161 Delmar Blvd., St. Louis, 314-726-6161.

THIRD EYE BLIND: W/ Yellowcard, Sat., June 29, 7 p.m., $35.75-$109.75. Hollywood Casino Amphitheatre, I-70 & Earth City Expwy., Maryland Heights, 314-298-9944.

THE TOASTERS: Wed., April 24, 8 p.m., $17. Blueberry Hill - The Duck Room, 6504 Delmar Blvd., University City, 314-727-4444.

USHER: Fri., Oct. 25, 8 p.m., $45.50-$295.50. Sat., Oct. 26, 8 p.m., $45.50-$245.50. Enterprise Center, 1401 Clark Ave., St. Louis, 314-241-1888.

VAMPIRE WEEKEND: Thu., July 25, 7 p.m., $39.50-$89.50. Centene Community Ice Center, 750 Casino Center Dr, Maryland Heights.

WAXAHATCHEE: Fri., Aug. 23, 8 p.m., $35-$50. The Pageant, 6161 Delmar Blvd., St. Louis, 314-726-6161. WILLIE NELSON, BOB DYLAN, JOHN MELLENCAMP: Sun., Sept. 8, 3:30 p.m., $29.50-$400. Hollywood Casino Amphitheatre - St. Louis, MO, 14141 Riverport Dr, Maryland Heights. n

Emperor X. | VIA ARTIST BANDCAMP

SAVAGE LOVE

What Counts

BY DAN SAVAGE

I’m involved with a guy who’s married and, yes, I’m a cliché and I know it. I don’t want him to leave his wife. I don’t even want to be involved with him physically and we aren’t doing anything physical. We’ve both been good about maintaining that boundary. But we are very involved emotionally. We like to tell ourselves that we’re not cheating but it’s definitely an emotional affair. I honestly do not want to have sex with him. I look at pictures of him and his wife and kids to remind myself that he has a family, and I don’t want to break up his family. Not that I could just by having sex with him, but you know what I mean. I don’t want to be “the other woman.” My question: Am I endangering his family just by talking to him so much, about absolutely everything (including sexual fantasies we will never act on), and treating each other as soulmates? Perhaps I’m just naïve, but I’ve convinced myself that so long as we abstain from anything physical, we’re OK.

Can’t Have Unavailable Male Partner

I’ve answered a lot of questions like CHUMP’s lately, I realize, but there’s a larger point I’ve been wanting to make, and CHUMP’s question is a good jumping-off point. But my apologies to regular readers who are annoyed to find another question in the column this week — yet another one — from a woman who’s fucking or about to fuck a married man.

Here’s the larger point I wanna make: I believe couples should define sex as broadly as possible and cheating as narrowly as possible. Because when a couple defines sex broadly — when more things count (not just PIV/PIA) — the more sex that couple winds up having and the more varied, interesting and satisfying their sex life winds up being. But the fewer things that same couple counts as cheating — the more narrowly that couple defines cheating — the less likely they are to cheat on each other and, consequently, the less likely they are to break up over an infidelity. To summarize…

Define sex broadly: more and better sex. Define cheating narrowly: more resilient relationships.

Now, I realize these ideas are in conflict. I think sexting with a partner should count as sex but sexting with someone else — in the context of, say,

an online flirtation that was never going to lead to anything physical — shouldn’t count as cheating. But I would argue that the ability to hold two opposed ideas in the mind at the same time and function is not just the sign of a first-rate intelligence, as the great F. Scott Fitzgerald said, but also the sign of the kind of emotional intelligence required to have a successful relationship. (Please note: successful ≠ perfect.)

I do have an agenda: I want imperfect-but-good relationships to survive — none are perfect, some are good — and the more sex the average couple has, the better the average couple’s relationship tends to be. And since the average couple defines cheating as unforgivable, the fewer things that count as cheating, the less likely the average couple is to break up over cheating. Which is why I’ve been on a lonely, one-man crusade against the people — the fucking idiots — out there pushing the “micro-cheating” concept on us. Instead of making relationships more resilient by defining cheating narrowly, these fucking idiots are destroying relationships by adding more things to the list. Staying in touch with an ex? Cheating! Confiding in a friend? Cheating! Following a few thotties or himbos on Instagram? Cheating!

These idiots listing examples of “micro-cheating” and “micro-infidelities” to their socials — most claiming to be relationship experts (there’s no bar exam for “relationship expert”) — are not helping and no one should listen to them. Because instead of encouraging people to define cheating as narrowly as possible and thereby making relationships more resilient, they’re encouraging people to define cheating so broadly that no relationship could ever survive.

Emotional affairs — very broadly defined — always appear on the “microcheating” lists pushed by these homewreckers. And while I hate to concede even an inch to these “micro” idiots, CHUMP, you leave me no choice: You are, indeed, having an emotional affair with this man. If this man and his wife haven’t redefined their relationship as companionate and he isn’t allowed to seek this kind of attention from other women, together you’re cheating his wife out of what’s rightfully hers. And since you’re investing time in this man that you could be investing in finding a guy who isn’t married, wants to fuck you and you feel good about fucking, CHUMP, you’re cheating yourself out of the kind of relationship you want and deserve.

So, if you don’t want to blow up this man’s marriage — if you don’t want to graduate from emotional affair to affair affair — stop talking to him, stop texting with him and stop sharing sexual fantasies with him. Just because you haven’t fucked him yet doesn’t mean you won’t succumb to the temptation. The longer someone plays in traffic, the likelier that person is to get run over. The longer you keep talking with this man and sharing sexual fantasies with this man, the likelier you are to get run through.

If you don’t wanna get run over, don’t play in traffic. If you don’t wanna fuck this married man, CHUMP, stop flirting with him.

I’m a straight cis male. When I’m having sex with my current or past monogamous partners, it will feel really good for a while, but then I’ll plateau. In order to come, I need to call up mental images of me fucking a specific past casual sex partner. (In no way is this past partner someone I’d rather be with.) It just works and works reliably. I’ve tried NOT to do this many times. I’ve tried the obvious — being in the moment and connecting with my partner — and on a few occasions I’ve been able to come without relying on my go-to, but those times are rare. Side note: I do watch porn, not excessively or compulsively, and I am able to come doing so. And sometimes I masturbate about other past experiences that don’t involve this former partner and I am able to come without calling up their mental image. I know there’s nothing wrong with this, but it does feel like a problematic fixation because it’s so specific — and because, at least for a few minutes, I’m disengaged and not present for my current partner. My shame about this issue has gotten better over the years, but it still haunts me. I’ve tried sharing this with a monogamous partner in the past when they could sense I was somewhere else, and this was definitely a bad idea. But the alternative is being stuck in this secret headspace. Please help me out! I surely am not the first listener with this issue.

Can’t Understand My Situation

Is this a problem, CUMS, or is it a superpower? Since you need to access these mental images in order to climax — since you’re not completely in the thrall of whatever physical/ emotional sensations you’re experiencing in the moment — that means you’re able to last exactly as long as your current partner would like you to last. You never come to soon, CUMS,

and you never take too long. You’re in charge of when you call up these mental images of this particular past partner, which means you never hit the point of orgasmic inevitability before you want and, perhaps more importantly, before your partner wants you to. So, maybe instead of feeling bad about this “problem” and trying to fix it on your own or — even worse — informing your current partners of this “problem,” you should 1. accept that this is how your dick works and 2. recognize how beneficial it is for current partners.

I was supposed to see someone. I thought we had a date. We didn’t set a specific meeting place or time; it was more casual than that. I thought we had agreed to keep the evening free for each other, and I figured we’d sort out the specifics later. But he made other plans — dinner with someone else — and told me it was because he didn’t hear from me in time. Now, I thought I’d been clear that I would be in touch after I got home from work on the day we agreed to keep clear with each other. What’s the protocol? Shouldn’t he have said something like, “Hey, I haven’t heard from you, if I don’t hear from you by X time, I’m going to make other plans,” versus just him going and making other plans?

Suddenly Unmade Plans

Do you wanna fuck this guy, SUP? If so, give him the benefit of the doubt, chalk this one missed date up as a misunderstanding and make plans for another night. Because it’s possible — it’s plausible, even — that he was waiting to hear from you and/or thought your plans were tentative and/or didn’t register that you said you’d call him when you got home from work that night. So, make firm, specific and unambiguous plans for another night — ideally, SUP, the kind of plans you could describe to an advice columnist without using, “I thought” or “I figured” or “I supposed,” or all of the above. If he blows you off again, no third chance, no additional benefits of additional doubts.

HUMP! 2024 Part One is now touring the country! To find out when HUMP! is coming to a city near you, go to humpfilmfest.com!

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