2018 14 issue 14 Creative Loafing Charlotte

CLCLT.COM | MAY 24 - MAY 30, 2018 VOL. 32, NO. 14

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Jay Garrigan and the Eyebrows will host a listening party for their debut album, ‘Volume,’ at Tip Top Daily Market on Thursday, May 24.

We put out weekly 8

NEWS&CULTURE WAITING IN THE WINGS Local doctors feel the crunch as beds for psychiatric treatment decrease nationwide

BY RYAN PITKIN 7 EDITOR’S NOTE BY MARK KEMP 10 THE BLOTTER BY RYAN PITKIN 11 NEWS OF THE WEIRD

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FOOD&DRINK LAST HOUSE STANDING How one of Fourth Ward’s oldest buildings keeps the neighborhood’s history alive

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TOP 10 THINGS TO DO THIS WEEK

MUSIC WHO’S THAT GUY You’ve heard Anthony Smith’s name and seen his face for years. But who is That Guy Smitty?

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ARTS&ENTERTAINMENT SMELLS LIKE TEEN SPIRIT‘Spring Awakening’ characters are confused and abused, but with unmistakable talent

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NEWS

EDITOR’S NOTE

THE PEOPLE, TOGETHER Sexual harassment cases can’t stop at #MeToo — they must become #NowUs WHEN WE READ ABOUT a #MeToo

figure out how we can work together, support story, our initial reaction may depend on each other and help make the arts community our relationship with the accuser or victim. a safer environment for everyone.

My post was a dismal failure — in part, That’s why a #MeToo story must ultimately I believe, because I used NPR platitudes like transform into a #NowUs story.

What can we do to stop sexual harassment? “healing” and “teachable moment,” failing to Last week, Creative Loafing published a acknowledge the very real anger this case had cover story on a local woman who chose brought to the surface in our community.

In discussing the story with a friend over to come forward with sexual harassment allegations against a well-known Charlotte the weekend, I realized how tremendously artist and studio owner. We knew the story selfish and destructive sexual harassment would elicit responses, and we knew that is — not just for the victim, but for all many of those responses would be emotional. involved. When someone sexually harasses Perhaps naively, we did not expect the levels another human being and that human being of vitriol we’ve seen on social media over the shares their #MeToo story, the impact of the past few days among people in the different story does not stop with the two individuals camps, pointing fingers at one another rather directly involved. There’s a ripple effect.

It extends to the friends and family than engaging in productive conversations members of the person sharing about sexual harassment. their story. Those friends and I say “perhaps naively,” because family members are angry in the wake of some of the more and hurt. They may ask high-profile, national #MeToo themselves, “Why didn’t I scandals — particularly see the signs?” “How can those involving ostensibly I comfort my friend?” progressive politicians like It extends to those former representatives Al who love the person Franken and John Conyers accused of harassment.

— we saw similar fingerThey may ask themselves, pointing on social media.

“How did I not see this After reports that Conyers behavior in my friend?” “Did had made repeated sexual MARK KEMP I see it and brush it aside?” advances to staff members, his Their initial reactions may be to friend, House Minority Leader rationalize the friend’s behavior or Nancy Pelosi, went on Meet the Press and initially failed to clearly stand behind Conyers’ pick apart the #MeToo story itself, in an accusers. Instead, she defended his political attempt to try and find stability in a world that career, calling him an “icon in our country” has been rocked by an incident they weren’t and tacitly dismissing the women who had expecting to hear about.

The power of the #MeToo movement is come forward by asking, “Who are they?”

The pushback against Pelosi was strong that it has created a layer of digital distance and swift. While some of her Democratic between people that allows for a public colleagues offered measured criticism of discourse in which those who have been Pelosi’s tone-deafness, many commenters on sexually violated can feel they are not alone in their experiences. The hashtag is a bonding social media were vicious.

On Creative Loafing’s social media pages mechanism, showing there are millions who following last week’s story, there was some understand, first hand, the weight of sexual healthy discussion, but far too many friends violations. By putting a #MeToo hashtag on of both the accuser and the person implicated social media, we validate the experiences of ripped each other apart rather than talking others who have been traumatized.

But that layer of distance also allows space productively about the elephant in the room: for us to criticize one another without having sexual harassment.

In an attempt to ameliorate the situation, to talk to each other directly. And that’s I posted a message to CL’s Facebook page why this conversation cannot stop with the that read, in part, “Our cover story this #MeToo hashtag alone. When the hashtag is week on sexual harassment allegations has removed and the story in the feed transforms stirred anger and ill feelings throughout into real people, the ripple effect it’s created Charlotte’s arts community. We have seen has the potential either hurt more people or calls on social media for boycotts of local arts to offer us productive ways to work together, businesses. We think this is unfortunate and in person, to change a culture that has unnecessary.” I then reported that CL is in the allowed sexual violations to make the #MeToo process of organizing a public forum for the narrative a trending topic in the first place. #MeToo must become #NowUs. What can arts community to come together and discuss issues of sexual harassment, face to face, to we all do together to end this vicious cycle?

MKEMP@CLCLT.COM

CLCLT.COM | MAY. 24 - MAY. 30, 2018 | 7

NEWS

FEATURE

WAITING IN THE WINGS Local doctors feel the crunch as beds for psychiatric treatment decrease nationwide

BY RYAN PITKIN

B

EFORE RETIRING IN 2016, former Carolinas Medical Center physician Kathryn, who asked not to be identified for this story, had noticed a heartbreaking trend happening in the emergency department where she worked.

Mental health patients were being brought in and left in the emergency areas for weeks or sometimes months while they waited for a bed to become available at a nearby psychiatric facility.

Kathryn would check on each patient, but there wasn’t much more she could do.

“My heart out went out to them,” she said. “I felt helpless to do much for them.”

The problem was not with Carolinas HealthCare System, which has since changed its name to Atrium Health, but part of a larger issue happening around the country. As mental health care becomes deinstitutionalized, the number of inpatient facilities in North Carolina and around the United States has dropped dramatically, making it harder for patients to get care.

Many patients struggling with mental illness end up in jails or in emergency departments with physicians not trained to treat psychiatric cases.

Over the past five years, however, Atrium Health has implemented programs, both in local emergency departments and primary care practices, that have put a significant dent in the increased demand for psychiatric beds and rising lengths of emergency stays. It has implemented a bedplacement program and used telepsychiatry to help more patients. Now, others plan to implement their own programs.

The decline of psychiatric facilities is not a new trend. The number of facilities in the United States has been decreasing since it peaked in 1955. Between that time and 2016, the number plummeted 97 percent, according to the Treatment Advocacy Center.

In North Carolina, the last patients left Dorothea Dix Hospital in Raleigh in 2012, in the final chapter of an iconic mental health facility that had opened in 1856.

The decreasing number of beds now puts patients and others at risk, according to TAC. “Without access to hospital care, acutely ill individuals deteriorate, families and caregivers buckle under stress,” TAC states on its website. “ERs fill with acutely 8 | MAY. 24 - MAY. 30, 2018 | CLCLT.COM

The amount of available beds for inpatient psychiatric care in the United States decreased by 97 percent in a 60-year period.

PHOTO BY SIRAPHOL

a residential transition facility for patients leaving inpatient care, space is limited and can be expensive. And that is another issue that greatly affects accessibility to mental health care in Charlotte, accoding to Rogers.

She said she would like to see insurance companies begin to view mental health as they do physical health.

“There definitely is a disparity between how we treat mental health as opposed to physical health,” Rogers said. “And where we need to get is where we treat mental health exactly as we would a physical health disorder.”

The financial strain is not just on the part of patients, however.

For Rwenshaun Miller, founder and executive director of Eustress, Inc., whom Creative Loafing profiled two weeks ago as part of our Mental Health Awareness Month coverage, losing the last 100 beds at Dorothea Dix was indicative of what he sees as a larger reluctance by the state to spend money on mental health care.

“They’re shutting down these mental health facilities and trying to redirect funds,” Miller said. “I don’t know where the funds are going, but people are not any healthier.

So where are these people going to go?

They’re either going to go to the ER or they’re going to go to jail.”

Gov. Roy Cooper’s proposed budget for the coming fiscal year, released earlier this month, includes $11 million to staff the newly completed Broughton Hospital, a psychiatric facility in Morganton, and $3.2 million to fund a transitional program that helps people being discharged from psychiatric facilities.

State Republicans, a majority in the General Assembly, have rejected the governor’s proposed budget and called it “an unserious attempt to score political points in an election year.”

BRANDY HAMILTON was diagnosed with

Atrium Health runs the only emergency department specifically for psychiatric PHOTO BY RYAN PITKIN care in the region. ill patients waiting for a bed to open and difficult to navigate,” she said. “A lot of what police and fire responders find themselves we battle is just trying to help people find increasingly diverted to mental health calls.” the resources they need. We don’t have the TAC also points out that not just capacity to do everything we would want to do emergency departments are feeling the pinch. with a more robust navigation system. How In 2014, 10 times more people were diagnosed do we help people get to the place they need?” with serious mental illness in prisons or jails The ideal solution, according to Rogers, than in state mental health facilities. would be a center where patients and loved For Cathy Rogers, executive director of ones could find all the answers in one spot, Mental Health America of Central Carolinas, similar to a Family Justice Center, which a Charlotte-based mental health advocacy serves as a one-stop shop for dealing with and education organization, problems arise domestic violence, but in this case, for mental not only from lack of beds, but also lack of health issues. knowledge on how to get available help.

The inpatient bed shortage is exacerbated, Rogers said most of the calls her Rogers said, by the fact that many people who organization fields are from family members already are patients in the few remainingand loved ones of patients who don’t know facilities in Charlotte may be ready to be where to go. “We don’t have the facilities that discharged, but don’t have a plan to transition are needed to take care of the people who need back into society. While the HopeWay the help. The whole mental health system is Foundation in south Charlotte operates as

bipolar disorder in 2010. She has struggled with mental health both in jail and in local hospitals. In an earlier article on mental health in Charlotte, Hamilton shared her experience suffering through episodes — or meltdowns, as she referred to them — in the Mecklenburg County Jail. Hamilton was placed in solitary confinement after her episodes, and in a local hospital after she was given Prozac by physicians who weren’t aware of her diagnosis.

Hamilton, who said she has been uninsured for most of her adult life, told CL she would like to see more accessible psychiatric care in Charlotte.

“The mountain to climb is like endless,” Hamilton said. “We have the clinics where you can get birth control real quick … You can get a Mirena, all these other things that have harsh side effects. Why can’t you just go get counseling?”

This year, Miller plans to bring a clinic to Charlotte just like the one Hamilton hopes for. With Eustress, Miller aims to open a “mental health triage” that will be accessible to anyone, regardless of their insurance status. He plans to begin with a small space by the end of the year and then continue to grow as time goes on.

Miller said he hopes his triage center can not only serve as a one-stop counseling center like the one Hamilton described, but

A technician speaks with a doctor in the Atrium Behavioral Health Charlotte emergency department. also operate as a center that helps patients and their families navigate the mental health treatment community, like the one Rogers suggested.

“The goal is to really translate awareness into action — not just talk about it, but actually do something about it,” Miller said.

“For people to get that help that they actually need so that they are able to figure out where to go, but also be able to coordinate it. Right now, we won’t be able to take on a whole bunch of people, but we’ve got to start somewhere.”

At Atrium Health, that work has already started, and it’s been getting results.

While Atrium runs the Charlotte area’s only mental health emergency department, and has done so for 20 years, the two programs it launched over the last five years have been successful in fighting back against the rising demand for beds and the pressure put on emergency departments being flooded with mental health patients.

According to Atrium officials, the average length of stay for an emergency department patient with a primary psychiatric diagnosis has been cut from 45 hours to 17.5 hours in the last four years, thanks in large part to the bed placement program launched by Atrium’s Behavioral Health department.

The idea behind the bed placement program was seemingly simple: create a database of all the beds statewide under Atrium’s care so that staff members can easily find an empty bed when it’s needed.

According to Dr. James Rachal, medical director of Atrium’s Behavioral Health department, the problem isn’t always a lack of available beds, but where to find them.

“When you’re talking about bed shortages, sometimes that’s the inability to actually find a bed, which leads to people being in the hospitals longer,” Rachal said.

“Once we determine that a patient does need inpatient, a psychiatrist uses the bed placement system, and he’s able to locate a bed somewhere in the North Carolina region,” Rachal said. “While we may have full beds

PHOTO COURTESY OF ATRIUM HEALTH

in Charlotte, there may be an empty bed in Gastonia, for example, and so we’re able to say, ‘OK, let’s place the patient there.’ So that way we’re really efficiently using all the beds we have, as opposed to letting some beds go open, which happens if you don’t have a system like that.”

The other program launched by Atrium, called Behavioral Health Integration, works not in the emergency departments but in local primary care practices. It aims to help stem the need for emergency services by more effectively treating patients before it reaches the point of hospitalization.

Through the BHI program, Atrium uses telepsychiatry, connecting patients with psychiatrists over video from their primary care physician’s office. The psychiatrist is able to assess the patient and recommend prescriptions to the physician. Atrium is currently hosting the BHI program in 27 local primary care practices, including six pediatric offices.

Rachal aims to keep growing the program, and hopes the use of telepsychiatry can help reach patients in rural areas, where he said many people suffering from mental illness are less likely to seek help, or to help them find it if they do seek it.

“We’d like to be everywhere, and I think that’s a critical piece [of solving the bed shortage issue],” Rachal said. “The more that depression and different mental illnesses are handled in the primary care clinics, the more effectively they’re going to be treated, and the less they’re going to need hospitalization.”

Atrium also recently added 66 more beds to its Behavioral Health campus in Davidson, an almost unheard of increase at a time when beds are decreasing so rapidly.

But that increase is the exception, not the rule. So preventative measures like Atrium’s BHI program may be the future of psychiatric care. And in the end, deinstitutionalization can only be seen as a positive if there’s no one left who needs the institutions.

RPITKIN@CLCLT.COM

CLCLT.COM | MAY. 24 - MAY. 30, 2018 | 9

NEWS

BLOTTER

BY SOPHIE WHISNANT

NOT ALPHA MEN Two suspects were accused of shoplifting from the Last Place on Earth Pet Shop on North Tryon Street last week for stealing the last thing on Earth you’d expect. The men entered the store together at about 11:30 a.m. and immediately began displaying fishy behavior. The men ended up shoplifting a single pet, a beta fish worth $20. We hope they are taking care of Bubbles, but we can’t help but be concerned that their plan is to enter him into a fish-fighting ring, if those do exist.

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GARBAGE MAN A man in uptown

Charlotte tried to escape the EpiCentre with a stolen bottle of vodka, but was taken down before he could make it far. According to the report, the man entered the storage area at Rooftop 210 with a garbage bag and placed $1,440 worth of Grey Goose bottles inside before trying to leave. A witness challenged the suspect in an attempt to get the goods back, but the bottles were destroyed in the process. Police tried to handcuff the suspect and he managed to break away, but on a second attempt he was successfully detained.

Our advice: Go for the Burnett’s next time and nobody will even care to stop partying long enough to tackle you.

QUITE A RIDE In an unrelated incident, a man successfully made a daring escape from the EpiCentre last week, only to be arrested later after video of his antics went viral. The video, shot by 92.7 The Block radio host Chewy, shows the man sliding down a wet awning meant to cover an escalator below. When the man reaches the bottom, he slams into the hood of a white SUV before getting up and flexing for the crowd. Chewy told local news sources that the man came up to him and asked, “Do you want to see something crazy?” The suspect was later identified, arrested and charged with damage to property for breaking the car’s windshield.

ALLITERATIVE ASSHOLES A little bit of fake news could end up in a showdown between the doughnut and sandwich industry. An unknown suspect successfully trolled the Dunkin’ Donuts on Harris Corners Parkway by claiming to be the owner of a nearby Jimmy John’s in need of money to pay a delivery driver. The lie led to the faux Jimmy John’s mastermind gaining $75 and lifelong trust issues between the two fastfood empires.

SPARED A man came home to his Becton Park house in east Charlotte last week, got out of his car, took his keys inside and entered his home — a typical ending to the

day. Five minutes later, he left his house and stepped outside, ready to continue that normal day. Unfortunately for him, that normalcy came to an end when he saw his own car driving away down the street. The suspect must have found the spare key that he later told police he kept taped to the rear view mirror. You know, the one visible through the windshield?

SMASH BROTHERS If you’re ever feeling

angry at the existence of plants, this might be a crime that resonates with you. At the Revolution Park Sports Academy on Remount Road, unknown suspects flipped three concrete planters, destroying the various plants inside. The suspects also threw rocks at someone’s car window and unsuccessfully tried to pry out the passenger side door with some kind of tool. The seemingly angry vandals weren’t actually able to gain entry to the victim’s car, but did do $800 in damage.

CHILD’S PLAY A possible first step for

the police investigating a car break-in could be visiting the local Dave & Busters, as the suspect is surely hanging out there as we speak, talking shit to kids and beating high scores. Two vehicles were broken into on Michaw Court last week, but only one car had the goods. The suspect stole a $10 Dave & Buster’s game card out of one unlocked Toyota RAV4. The other car, also unlocked, had been sifted through but nothing was reported missing.

ROLL THE DICE The victim of a robbery

on Central Avenue in east Charlotte last week turned to police to report his loss, but investigating officers soon found that he had been taken in a whole other way. According to the report, the man tried to file a report for larceny, stating that he had lost $530 during a robbery, and even fingered the suspect who stole it. Further investigation found that the two men had just been gambling all night, and the original “suspect” had just been winning too much for his friend to sit back and take it. In the end, both were cited for gambling, while the sore loser also faced a charge of filing a false police report.

SURPRISE! An accident on Craighead Road

last week left one man with a much bigger problem than just the $2,000 in damages to his Ford F-150. According to the report, the other man involved with the collision jumped out of his car and robbed him at gunpoint after the crash, stealing an iPhone, North Carolina ID and $1,200 in cash — all 20s.

After the theft, the suspect got back in his car and drove off without providing any contact information, leaving the victim out of his belongings and out of insurance money.

All stories are pulled from police reports at CMPD headquarters. Suspects are innocent until proven guilty.

NEWS

NEWS OF THE WEIRD

BOLD In the fashionable Denver suburb

of Castle Rock, Colorado, the motto might be “If the house is rockin’, DO come knockin’!” Residents on Avery Way are in a tizzy about the Thunderstorm Play Palace, a 7,500-square-foot home where, neighbors told KDVR-TV, the owner invites swinging couples and singles to gather for wild sex parties.

Invitees must make a “donation” ($70 for couples and single men, $20 for single women), and the parties include drinks, snacks and potluck dishes. “One had four crockpots,” said a neighbor, “showing up like they’re going to a Bunko party or something.”

On the invitation, guests were asked to bring their own condoms and show respect for the “new furniture.” The host is a married father of three who feels harassed by the neighborhood, but he counters that he’s taken steps to be discreet, including installing soundproofing and making sure “there are no open areas.”

But neighbors claim they hear “disturbing sounds” coming from the house. “You can hear people doing what they’re doing,” one resident told reporters. Castle Rock Police say the man is not breaking the law because he’s only taking donations, and the activities are contained to his home.

DO NOT CLIMB! The Black Panther isn’t

feeling the love in South Korea lately. The Walt Disney Co. sent two statues of the superhero to Busan to celebrate Marvel Studios’ filming along Korea’s southern coast.

But on March 17, according to The Korea Herald, a 32-year-old drunk man was arrested after he vandalized the statue in the Gwangbok-ro shopping district, and on April 21, the statue near Gwangalli Beach was toppled and part of its head broken off. An official from the Korea Film Council thought someone had probably tried to climb the statue, despite numerous off-limits signs.

TRY NEW THINGS Police officers in the German town of Neustadt were called to an apartment building on April 25 after reports of screaming led neighbors to suspect domestic violence, the Daily Mail reported.

Instead, they found a couple receiving instruction in the Japanese art of Shibari erotic bondage from the apartment’s tenant. (“Shibari” translates as “the beauty of tight binding.”)

In a statement titled “Fifty Shades of Neustadt,” police reported the couple were “well and in a good mood,” even asking the officers if they’d like to join in, but they had to decline.

WHEN THEY COME FOR YOU In the seaside village of Lytham St Annes, England, Douglas Cholmondley Travis, an 88-year-old member of the local Neighborhood Watch, was on patrol Oct. 10, 2017, when he and an 87-year-old watch colleague noticed a

van turning into Lytham Park Cemetery.

Regarding the vehicle as suspicious, they began taking pictures of it until Antony James, driver of the van, there only to visit family graves, grew angry and stopped, according to Metro News.

James got out of his van to confront Travis, causing a panic, according to defense attorney Robert Castle, that resulted in James being knocked down by the Neighborhood Watch vehicle and Travis charged for reckless driving and assault. “This is all terribly sad,” Castle told Blackpool Magistrates Court in late April, as his client is “one of the eyes and ears of the police.” Travis was fined 40 pounds plus court costs.

LOOK-ALIKES Dolores Leis, 64, of Nanton

in Galicia, Spain, is a modest wife and potato farmer. But thanks to the internet, she has found fame as “Trump’s Galician sister.” The Associated Press reports that a journalist researching farming posted a photo of Leis at her farm on Instagram, and the striking resemblance between her and the U.S. president caught the attention of the web. “I say that it must be because of the color of the hair,” Leis told La Voz de Galicia on April 24.

She added that she’s not overwhelmed by the sudden attention because, unlike her doppelganger, she doesn’t use a mobile phone and isn’t much interested in online chatter. “I look at everything that my daughters show me, but it never stung my curiosity to have (a phone),” she said.

MISGUIDED Greyhound Bus passengers

were frustrated on April 19 after their trip to New York was delayed by mechanical trouble and navigational challenges. The ride started in Cleveland, where the scheduled departure time was 2:30 a.m., passengers told WEWSTV, but the bus didn’t leave until 6 a.m. After crossing into Pennsylvania, the bus turned around, and the driver explained he was returning to Cleveland because of mechanical difficulties.

However, the driver missed Cleveland and drove all the way to Toledo before realizing the mistake and heading back to Cleveland.

“We were on this bus for seven hours just going in a circle,” said passenger Morgan Staley.

BATH SNACKS II On April 4, a homeowner in the Longton area of Stoke-on-Trent, England, returned home to discover a man bathing in his tub and enjoying a cup of Oxo (broth), according to the BBC. When police arrived, the 36-year-old naked man tried to flee but was caught and arrested. The homeowner complained: “He ate me crisps, had five rounds of corned beef and sauce, ate a jar of pickles, had two ice creams and a can of Coke.”

WHAT’S IN A NAME? A Planet Fitness

customer in Saginaw Township, Michigan, was alarmed April 15 to find a Wi-Fi network named “remote detonator” while searching for an available connection. The gym manager evacuated the building and called police, who brought in a bomb-sniffing dog and declared the facility safe after a three-hour shutdown.

Saginaw Township Police Chief Donald Pussehl told MLive.com that people often choose odd names for their Wi-Fi networks, adding that one on his own street is called “FBI surveillance van.”

CRIME REPORT In October 1981, Stephen Michael Paris escaped from the Jess Dunn Correctional Center in Muskogee,

Oklahoma, where he had been serving a nine-year sentence for drug possession and distribution. Using the name Stephen Chavez, Paris managed to evade authorities until April 12, when investigators tracked him down, thanks to his mother’s obituary, at an office in Houston where he was working. Now 58 years old, Paris was mentioned in his mother’s tribute, using his alias, the Associated Press reported, and after confirming his identity with fingerprints, the U.S. Marshals Service returned him to custody.

NEW WORLD ORDER Jaywalkers, beware:

The city of Daye, in Hubei province China, has installed water sprayers and an electronic screen at a crosswalk to stop people from crossing on a red light. Five pylons were placed along the road April 16, China Daily reported, three of which identify offenders using sensors and then spray them with water vapor. Other pylons “photograph people crossing against red lights,” explained Wan Xinqiang of the Daye public security bureau, and “a large electronic screen at the intersection will instantly display their photos. ... If the equipment works well, we will utilize it throughout the city.”

COPYRIGHT 2017 ANDREWS MCMEEL SYNDICATION

Account Sales Representative Womack Publishing, is seeking a creative Account Sales Representative for several newspapers in North Carolina to promote and market the business community through our products in print and online. A college degree is preferred but not required.

A good work ethic, positive attitude and willingness to be part of a team will be an important consideration in selecting a candidate for this position.

If you enjoy meeting people, this may be the perfect opportunity for you. Womack Publishing offers a competitive salary and a full benefit program. Womack Publishing is a family owned, growing multimedia company that publishes 19 regional newspapers.

Please send your resume to: Ron Cox, Human Resource Manager, P.O. Box 111, 30 N. Main Street, Chatham VA or to rcox@womackpublishing.com

BATH SNACKS Evelyn Washington, 29, broke then crawled through a window in a Monroe, Louisiana, home on April 17, then settled into a warm bath with a bag of Cheetos and a large plate of food within reach on the toilet lid.

The Fort Worth Star-Telegram reported that when the homeowner returned from work around 5 p.m., she called police, who removed Washington to the Ouachita Correctional Center, where she told them “an unknown male told her to break into the victims’ residence.”

CLCLT.COM | MAY. 24 - MAY. 30, 2018 | 11

FOOD

FEATURE

MCNINCH HOUSE Tuesday-Saturday, 6:30-11:30 p.m.; 511 N. Church St.; tinyurl.com/ McNinchHouseCLT

LAST HOUSE STANDING How one of Fourth Ward’s oldest buildings keeps history alive

BY VANESSA INFANZON

W

ALK THROUGH FOURTH

Ward in Uptown and it’s easy to imagine a Charlotte from 100 years ago. The old homes with wide front porches, wavy glass and interesting architectural features give us a glimpse into our city’s history.

One, in particular, has withstood the test of time — a test that in Fourth Ward has proven harder than others. The neigborhood evolved from a flourishing pre-automobile mill town at the turn of the century to the medical center of Charlotte in the early 1900s. The area was then devestated during the Depression, and later became a majority black neighborhood due to white flight.

Residents remained prideful of Fourth Ward for decades, but entering the 1970s, it became blighted, and eventually it was all but abandoned. A group of neighborhood advocates led a rejuvenation effort in the ’70s, trucking in historic homes from around the state to match the ones that were still standing.

Only a few structures have witnessed all the changes Fourth Ward has gone through, and one of those is the McNinch House on Church Street.

Built in 1892, the McNinch House’s gardens, inviting porch and Queen Annestyle architecture entice a passerby to stop and look. It may seem an impossible luxury to go inside and see the original woodwork and fireplaces, and listen to the stories about the house. But it’s not. In 1989, Charlotte native Ellen Davis opened the house as the McNinch House Restaurant after 10 years of renovations.

“I always wanted a restaurant and I always wanted an old house,” Davis said. “So here I am. I saw this house through rosecolored glasses and envisioned a fine-dining experience in a quiet, candlelit atmosphere for my guests to enjoy.”

Davis brought that vision to fruition, and McNinch House Restaurant now provides exquisite fine dining in one of Charlotte’s historical landmarks, but with an atmosphere and relaxed vibe that may not always be associated with such an upscale venue.

BEFORE DAVIS BOUGHT the McNinch

House in 1978, it was home to Samuel S. McNinch and his family, who had lived there since 1907. The McNinch family was active politically — the senior McNinch was mayor of Charlotte from 1905 to 1907; 12 | MAY. 24 - MAY. 30, 2018 | CLCLT.COM

Anthony Wesley has been at the restaurant for 16 years.

The woodwork in McNinch House is original to the house and designed by Victorian craftsman Karl Bitter, who also worked on the Biltmore Estate in Asheville.

A gold-framed mirror sits prominently in the center dining room. It came from the Selwyn Hotel, which was at the corner of Trade and Tryon streets, close to where Charlotte Marriott Center City is located.

When the hotel was scheduled for demolition, prominent Charlotte residents were able to take pieces from the building as gifts. “This mirror happened to be in the lobby of that hotel,” Wesley said. “It’s a perfect fit. It looks like it came with the house.”

ALL PHOTOS BY VANESSA INFANZON The McNinch House has seen many changes in the Fourth Ward neighborhood. his son, Samuel S. McNinch, Jr., served as details Captain James Jack’s courageous, county commissioner for six years, and the but often forgotten journey from Charlotte senior McNinch’s brother, Frank McNinch, to Philadelphia in 1775. He was carrying was mayor of Charlotte from 1917 to 1920.

Mecklenburg County’s set of Resolves and Julia McNinch, the daughter of McNinch, the Mecklenburg Declaration, documents Sr., hosted troops from west Charlotte’s Camp associated with Meck Dec Day and the Greene during World War I. If she meant to beginning of the American Revolution. A attract a suitor, her idea worked. She married sculpture of Captain Jack on his horse is at a Navy man, 1st Lt. John K. Slear from 100 North Kings Drive.

Pennsylvania, in 1920. She went on to be an attorney in Washington, D.C. Mementos from THE MCNINCH HOUSE is about 6,000 the soldiers and events hosted at the house are square feet with several sets of large pocket on display in Charlotte-Mecklenburg Library’s doors separating what were the sitting room, “Mecklenburg County and the Great War library and dining room, which now serve (1917-1919),” an exhibit on the third floor of as the restaurant’s dining rooms. The house has 10 coal-burning fireplaces, still with the Main Library through November 11.

According to the restaurant’s wine director, the original ceramic tiles. Chandeliers, once Anthony Wesley, three U.S. presidents — operated by gas or candles, have been adapted William Howard Taft, Teddy Roosevelt and for electricity.

Wesley has worked at McNinch House Woodrow Wilson — were guests at the McNinch House. Historical records verify Restaurant for 16 years and shares the that President Taft’s visit coincided with the history as if it’s his own, the pride in his voice May 20, 1909, celebration of Mecklenburg coming through in each story he tells. “When County’s declaration of independence — the Vanderbilts visited here, they were so impressed with all the detailed woodwork,” known as Meck Dec Day. Mary Groom McNinch, Frank McNinch’s Wesley said. “They contracted the folks to daughter, wrote “Ride of Captain Jack,” which come over to do the interior of the Biltmore.”

THE MCNINCH HOUSE Restaurant feels a little like a museum with its black-andwhite photos, oil paintings, large furniture and dark drapes. Once settled in, the staff sets the tone for a warm and comfortable atmosphere. There’s no pretension here — even if one might assume there would be.

Tables are decorated with colorful cloth napkins and decorative crystal and china.

Staff set each table differently, according to their own color preferences. Wesley has a well-thought-out opinion about which set of china goes best with the lavender napkins.

When I visited, he all but scoffed at the choice made at one table. It’s all in good fun.

Chef Matthew Shepard trained at Johnson & Wales University in Charlotte and has been at the McNinch House for three years. He takes pride in his gardens, which are filled with tomatoes, sage, cabbage, apples, cucumbers and squash.

Every year, the gardens produce more than the chef can use. During the summer, a basket of extra tomatoes, squash and cucumbers are left on the gate for people to take for free.

The McNinch House Restaurant is only open for dinner from Tuesday through Sunday. Reservations may be made between 6 and 7:30 p.m. only. There is one seating

FREE STUFF!

CLCLT.COM/CHARLOTTE/FREESTUFF

The atmosphere is low-key despite the high-end decorations (below). Save room for the chocolate cream pie (above). per table unless it’s a special holiday such as Valentine’s Day. This means you have the table for the entire evening.

The menu includes an opening course with options such as crab cakes with Louisiana-style remoulade and an English pea soup with potato guafrette, buttermilk crème Fraiche and a crabmango salad. Main courses feature the rosemary and Dijon crusted rack of New Zealand lamb — a recipe that hasn’t changed since Davis first opened the restaurant — and duck, quail, filet and seafood dishes. Chocolate cream pie, lemon meringue pie and deconstructed German black forest cake make the dessert list. A coffee program is available to diners.

Each course may be accompanied by a wine. Wesley takes care choosing, knowing that the suggestion of a wine with a specific meat may not always be correct — the sauces and spices in the dish are the primary players.

“It’s not the protein that determines the wine,” Wesley said. “[The meat] plays a secondary role.”

If Wesley notices an untouched glass of wine, he’ll find another style of wine for the guest. He knows wine is as much about

personal preference as it is finding a balance with the food’s ingredients.

A dinner at McNinch House Restaurant is a splurge, for sure — the five-, six- or seven-course options range from $95 to $159 per person, with an additional cost for wine pairings. Impress a business associate with the Chef’s Table, an opportunity to hear Shepard give details on ingredients and thoughts behind his creations.

But let’s be honest: If you’re a Creative Loafing reader, you’re not trying to dish out that kind of dough. Consider wine and cheese on a Tuesday or Wednesday evening from 4 to 6 p.m. on the porch or in the front gardens. Staff members set up tables with umbrellas and serve wine by the glass, $10 to $18, or by the bottle, $42 to $100. Cheese plates are $18 and served with three kinds of North Carolina cheeses, house-made crackers and crostini, house-made jam and honey. No reservations needed, just the way we like it.

If you’re lucky, Wesley will join you on the porch to share a story or two about the McNinch House. There’s plenty of them to tell.

BACKTALK@CLCLT.COM CLCLT.COM | MAY. 24 - MAY. 30, 2018 | 13

THURSDAY

24

THE EYEBROWS ‘VOLUME’ LISTENING PARTY

THURSDAY

24

THINGS TO DO

TOP TEN

Bishop Briggs SATURDAY

PHOTO COURTESY OF THE FILLMORE

FRIDAY

25

SATURDAY

26

‘REVENGE’

BISHOP BRIGGS

EMO NIGHT

What: The Eyebrows planned to release their long-awaited debut album, Volume, on Friday, but a last-minute promotion deal led to digital distribution being pushed back until August. No worries: The record will still be available at all their upcoming shows. The sounds on Volume range from pop rock on “Red Dress” to menacing keys behind frustrated lyrics on “Avocado.” Hit this listening party or catch them the following night at the Visulite Theatre.

What: The Back Alley Film Series gets a new hangout and VisArt Video gets to show off its new in-store screening room with this French rape revenge thriller. The plot — a degraded woman turns the tables on her male chauvinist attackers — could come from a vintage grind house feature like Abel Ferrara’s Ms. 45, but director Coralie Fargeat flips the script — and twists the knife — by adopting a #MeToo viewpoint while drawing on the tropes of contemporary French horror.

What: Balancing goth with gospel, singer-songwriter Bishop Briggs made a splash with her dark and soulful single “Wild Horses.”

“The River,” another dose of pop, trip-hop and electronic beats, consolidated her commercial gains.

The British-born sensation’s show is sold out, so you might want to venture next door and catch Ledisi’s set at the Fillmore. The R&B and jazz singer’s soulful songs can shade even darker than Briggs’ — Ledisi’s “Papa Loved to Love Me” tackles incest and abuse.

What: Never mind the Pistols, here’s Panic! at the Disco.

Who knew when punk rock’s confessional, self-conscious kid brother came moping onto the music scene in the late ’80s that the genre would have such staying power? If this music was the rage when you were in high school, now you can listen to it in an actual bar instead of your parents’ basement.

C’mon, let Fall Out Boy and My Chemical Romance make your mascara run, and get that fragile heart on your sleeve pumping.

When: 7-9 p.m.

Where: Tip Top Daily Market, 2902 The Plaza More: Free. the-eyebrows.com

When: 7:30 p.m.

Where: VisArt Video, 3401 Eastway Dr. More: $3.50-$6.50. visartvideo.net

When: 8 p.m.

Where: The Underground, 820 Hamilton St. More: Sold Out. fillmorenc.com

When: 8 p.m.

Where: Skylark Social Club, 2131 Central Ave More: Free. skylarksocialclub.com

Check CLCLT.com on May 17 for episode 43 of our podcast.

We’re not quite sure who will be dropping by yet, but we don’t have wack guests, so give us a listen. check out Local Vibes now on spotify!

14 | MAY. 24 - MAY. 30, 2018 | CLCLT.COM

SATURDAY

26

WILLIE NELSON’S OUTLAW FESTIVAL What: Country doesn’t get any better than the music of 85-yearold veteran legend Willie Nelson — or current younger country maverick Sturgill Simpson. Both of them — along with outlaw new waver-turned-early-punk-country crossover artist Elvis Costello, bluegrass rockers Old Crow Medicine Show and others — will show fans of crappy pop-country what country music really is.

Florida Georgia Line fans stay clear.

When: 3:30 p.m.

Where: PNC Music Pavilion, 707 Pavilion Blvd.

More: $23 and up. musicpavilioncharlotte.com

Willie Nelson SATURDAY

Clever Girls TUESDAY

NEWS ARTS FOOD MUSIC ODDS

Big Boi WEDNESDAY PHOTO BY DAVID MCLISTER

SATURDAY

26

PHOTO COURTESY OF BIG BOI

SUNDAY

27

TUESDAY

29

PHOTO BY LUKE AWTRY

WEDNESDAY

WEDNESDAY

30

30

TECH N9NE

COCA-COLA 600

CLEVER GIRLS

BIG BOI

PURLIE VICTORIOUS

What: Tech N9ne, the mastermind behind Strange Music, Inc., has been running things in the indie hip-hop game for a decade, so it only makes sense for him to join the craft beer game with the new release of his Boulevard Brewing collabo Bou Lou, based on his “Caribou Lou” single. He just better hope the coconut and pineapple brew doesn’t live up to the title of another one of his recent singles, “Don’t Nobody Want None.” Either way, the dude can rap, but you knew that, so show up.

What: We’re sure the Coca-Cola 600 has major ramifications for the NASCAR season. There must be a close points race happening or a heartfelt story of an up-andcoming driver who deserves our attention. But we’re just going to be honest with you: We attend for the all-day shitshow that includes miles-long stretches of tailgating, incomparable people-watching and a BYOB party in the stands. Just steer clear of the folks who still think the Confederate flag is cool.

What: Luck, the new album from the Burlington, Vermont, quartet Clever Girls, is a worthy follow-up to the 2017 Loose Tooth EP, and the addition of bassist Tobias Sullivan to what was then a trio has proved to create a more filled-out sound for a more filled-out full abum.

Guitarist and vocalist Diane Jean has a way of suddenly switching tones that’s reminiscent of SleaterKinney’s Corin Tucker and could be called manic if it weren’t so beautifully carried out. Also look for local band Joules to open.

What: On May 12, Atlanta legend Big Boi joined up with longtime OutKast partner Andre 3000 to help Big Boi’s son, Andre “Bamboo” Patton II, celebrate his high school graudation. The two flicked it up for Instagram.

In the meantime, Big Boi will continue touring his newest album, Boomiverse, but we couldn’t help but look at those pictures longingly, wishing he could just tell 3000 to make the drive up 85 for his upcoming Charlotte show for a surprise reunion.

What: Come for the character names, stay for another Rory Sheriff masterpiece. Purlie Victorious follows a traveling preacher of the same name as he returns to his small Georgia town during the Jim Crow era to emanicipate the cotton pickers left behind on the oppressive Ol’ Cap’n Cochipee’s plantation. To do so, he’ll need the assistance of Lutiebelle Gussie Mae Jenkins to save the Big Bethel church and take what he and his family are owed.

When: 8 p.m.

Where: The Milestone, 3400 Tuckaseegee Road More: $5-7. themilestone.club

When: 7 p.m.

Where: The Fillmore, 820 Hamilton St. More: $25. fillmorenc.com

When: 7:30 p.m.

Where: The Fillmore, 820 Hamilton St. More: $25. fillmorenc.com

When: 6 p.m.

Where: Charlotte Motor Speedway, 5555 Concord Pkwy. S More: $49 and up. charlottemotorspeedway.com

When: 7:30 p.m., runs through June 9 Where: Duke Energy Theater, 345 N. College St. More: $28. blumenthalarts.org

We joined up with heavy hitters on The Charlotte Podcast, The Comedy Zone Podcast, Cheers Charlotte Radio and The Yelp Charlotte Podcast to show what CLT has to offer in the audio realm. Be sure to check out our new squad at queencitypodcastnetwork.com.

CLCLT.COM | MAY. 24 - MAY. 30, 2018 | 15

16 | MAY. 24 - MAY. 30, 2018 | CLCLT.COM

CLCLT.COM | MAY. 24 - MAY. 30, 2018 | 17

MUSIC

COVERSTORY

THAT GUY SMITTY 9 p.m.-1 a.m. June 1. Common Market, 2007 Commonwealth Ave. Free. commonmarketisgood.com 10 p.m.-2 a.m. June 2. 240 North, 204 N. Tryon St. Free. 204north.com

WHO’S THAT GUY? You’ve heard Anthony Smith’s name and seen his face for years. But who is That Guy Smitty?

BY MARK KEMP

H

E WAS JUST ANOTHER

guy in March of 1996. That’s when Anthony “Smitty” Smith took a road trip with a friend from Charlotte to Winston-Salem to attend an early Beyond rave featuring the Florida-based electronic trio Rabbit in the Moon.

It had been two years since Smitty returned home from England, where he was stationed during the latter part of his sevenyear stint in the U.S. Air Force. While there, he experienced the waning years of the acid jazz movement at London clubs like the legendary Wag in Soho.

He was there when Jamiroquai dropped their classic first album Emergency on Planet Earth. He was there when Bjork discovered electronics, left the Sugarcubes and went solo on Debut. He saw Incognito, 808 State and the big, Jamaican-inspired U.K. sound systems of the era like Soul II Soul. He was there for the infancy of Massive Attack’s trip-hop scene to the west in Bristol.

Those were heady times for Smitty, and he was looking to get fired up again back home. On that Saturday night, Rabbit in the Moon was performing in an upper-level space at the Millennium Center, a dilapidated, 90-year-old post office being restored for use as a ballroom and performance venue. But it was in the lower-level space that Smitty saw the performance that would change his life.

“They had a basement, and Mark Farina was playing down there,” Smitty remembers.

Farina, the San Francisco-by-way-ofChicago DJ, had just released his first house mix album Seasons One, as well as the initial set in his now-famous downtempo series Mushroom Jazz. “I saw him play and it blew my mind what he was doing with records,” Smitty remembers. “He was the first person I’d ever seen where I said to myself, ‘Man, that dude is an artist.’ He wasn’t just matching beats and stuff — he was remixing on the fly, he was taking this record and that record and creating a whole ’nother bed of music in between.

“It wasn’t like hip-hop, where you’re just cutting and scratching to a record,” Smitty continues. “He was doing this deep mixing where, at certain periods, both records were on for minutes at a time.”

Smitty shakes his head and lets out an audible sigh. He’s sitting at a picnic table outside Birdsong Brewing Co. on North 18 | MAY. 24 - MAY. 30, 2018 | CLCLT.COM

That Guy Smitty is in control at the controls earlier this year at Petra’s.

Davidson Street, talking about the old days of electronic dance music in Charlotte, while behind him the fuzzy guitar intro to the Beatles’ “Revolution” buzzes across the patio. Smitty, who’s been spinning records in Charlotte as That Guy Smitty now for more than two decades, had an epiphany that night in Winston-Salem.

“I was like, ‘That’s what I want to do. If I can get to be half as good as this guy right here, I’ll be all right.’”

TWENTY-TWO YEARS and a gazillion

DJ sets later, That Guy Smitty is one of the last of the old-school, analog DJs still standing in Charlotte. Sure, a number of great DJs from the city’s early-‘90s house-music heyday continue spinning today, but Smitty’s commitment to adventurous music remains as steadfast as it was the night he first saw Farina play. And Smitty’s seen Farino play many times since. Just last month, That Guy Smitty opened for Farina at a sold-out Crown Station show in NoDa. “He was my hero,” Smitty says, “and now I’ve gotten to play with him like five times over the years.”

These days, you’ll find That Guy Smitty behind the turntables at Common Market, where he’s held down a regular spot on the first and third Fridays of each month for the past 13 years. More recently, he’s begun playing the second Friday of each month at Camp North End. And he spins for events

PHOTO BY NONIE ANTONE

at places ranging from Morehead Tavern to the big Charlotte museums and other institutions. Beginning in June, That Guy Smitty will be doing a new Saturday residency at 204 North on North Tryon Street.

At his residencies, Smitty says, he plays exactly what he wants to play, with no regard for whatever hits are on the radio at any given time. He likes to call what he does “eclectic mixes of really good music for your ear holes.”

That Guy Smitty is also a part of the trio Muchacho, along with Jason Herring and Jason Cooper — a group with no leader, he says. “We just creatively keep each other in check, but there’s no real boss, we’re not a band — there’s no lead singer, nothing like that. We’re a collective,” Smitty says. “The three of us just get together in a room and hopefully music happens.”

Younger DJs in Charlotte say they’ve been heavily inspired by That Guy Smitty. “He’s basically my DJ godfather,” Justin “Aswell” Blackwood, the ringmaster of the popular Monday night Knocturnal parties at Snug Harbor, says. “I’ve known him since I was a little kid. He literally calls me his little brother.”

Older DJs in Charlotte say they respect Smitty’s commitment to quality music over shifting commercial whims. Veteran DJ Andy Kastanas, owner the legendary, now-shuttered Uptown house-music club Mythos, helped kick-start Smitty’s career.

When Kastanas was still spinning at an

earlier legendary club, Park Elevator, he gave Smitty his first crate of vinyl to spin. “It was downtempo stuff that I couldn’t really use, but good stuff,” Kastanas says. “And with that crate, he created a unique set and sound for himself.”

It is that kind of mutual respect among DJs that has long fueled a creative dance music culture in Charlotte, but recently Smitty has been concerned that competition — not the healthy kind, but the destructive kind that involves artists trash-talking each other — is threatening the local DJ scene.

In April, Smitty posted a challenge to other DJs and promoters on his Facebook page that read, in part, “This shit needs to stop.

We need to do better for ourselves, and [for] the community that wants to support us. If you’re dope, you’re dope. Period. Nobody can take that away from you. Talking badly about the next guy won’t make you any better.”

That post got 13 shares, an “amen” from Justin Aswell, and a lengthy string of other comments and GIFs from local DJs, promoters, rock musicians and fans. Smitty says he brought up the topic on social media because, “I’m kind of neutral on the scene.

I’m not in any particular crew of DJs, nor do I hold any allegiances to any particular set of musical folks or locations. I’m like the hired gun at all these places — I go in, play my set, and roll out.”

He’d like to see younger musicians take up the banner of unity on the DJ scene.

“I think somebody who’s currently vested in the culture should be encouraging it — somebody who’s got a lot more time ahead of them than behind them. They’re the ones who need to pull this thing together — to mediate and to bring cohesion within the scene,” he says. “And there’s a couple of cats out there who are trying to do that.”

He laughs. “I mean, I’m gonna be 50 this year,” he says. “Most of the people who come out specifically to see me play have to get babysitters. They know me from 25 years of spinning records in Charlotte. So I’m just here to offer my observations on the situation at hand.”

That Guy Smitty may be from another dance-music era, but he has plenty of millennial fans, largely because he’s a fixture at hotspots like Common Market, and one of the friendliest guys you’ll ever meet.

“A lot of DJs, young cats, come to my shows, and they get inspired by me and by what I do — my technical abilities and my skill,” Smitty says. “They come to my shows to hear classic hip-hop, funk, R&B and rock ’n’ roll all blended together. So these younger cats take what they need from me and then go and apply it to their trap sets or whatever.

They’re inspired by me, but they’re not necessarily looking to me for direction.” He pauses and laughs. “I mean, they still wanna hear Lil Uzi Vert.”

ANTHONY SMITH WAS BORN in 1968 — more than a quarter-century before Lil Uzi Vert was even a sparkle in his parents’ eyes — in Charlotte’s Grier Town, since rebranded as Grier Heights. He grew up around the music his parents, aunts and uncles danced to. And though he was inspired by their old Motown, funk and disco records, Smitty preferred the house music and burgeoning hip-hop coming out of Chicago and New York.

“By the time I got to junior high school we’d moved out of the hood and into Shannon Park, which at the time was a very middle-class neighborhood,” Smitty remembers. “I was the only black boy-kid in my neighborhood at the time.”

He attended what was then Cochrane Junior High School (now Middle School) and later bused to West Charlotte High. By the mid-1980s, hip-hop was entering its golden age, with Run-DMC changing the game on records like King of Rock and Raising Hell.

That was the music that made Smitty want to dig deeper into the sounds of his own generation.

“So I can respect younger cats wanting to hear the music they like, because your music is your music. I was the same way,” Smitty says. “My music — the music I discovered on my own — were artists from the first wave of what was the alternative, new wave and hip-hop scenes of the late ’70s and early ’80s. House music, the music that happened during my lifetime — Frankie Knuckles, all those guys from Chicago — and then Derrick May, Juan Atkins — all those guys from Detroit — and then Afrika Bambaataa’s eletrofunk. All that was my stuff. That stuff wasn’t my parents’ music.”

By his teen years, Smitty had developed a serious vinyl habit. “I always loved collecting records,” he says. “I had a lot of handeddown records from my aunts and uncles, and there were a lot of great record stores in Charlotte back then.” When he graduated in 1987, Smitty enlisted in the Air Force and went overseas. During that period, hip-hop was well into its golden age in the U.S., and Smitty kept up with it, listening to Public Enemy, Eric B. and Rakim and A Tribe Called Quest. By the time he got to England in the early 1990s, different sounds were mixing it up all across that country, from Manchester in the north, Bristol in the south and of course, London.

“I was buying underground records in the U.K. all the time,” he says. “Even the record store on the Air Force base was great.”

He saw concerts by U.S. acts — Lenny Kravitz at Brixton Academy, Prince at Wembley Stadium — but spent most of his time at the Wag. “That was the place to hear underground house and techno music, and upstairs was dancehall,” Smitty remembers.

“I was there when Shabba Ranks and Shaggy first came out, and Buju Banton — all those dudes were huge over there. And in rock, you had the Inspiral Carpets, you had the Soup Dragons, you had the Happy Mondays. The U.K. was a lot of fun back then. It was such a great time for music.”

When Smitty got out of the Air Force in 1994 and came home, Charlotte seemed dull by comparison. He’d go see Kastanas spin at Park Elevator, got a job bartending at Tutto

Anthony Smith just out of basic training at 19.

PHOTO BY MARK KEMP

Smitty relaxes on the patio at Birdsong.

‘I SAT DOWN ON THE LIVING ROOM FLOOR OF MY GIRLFRIEND’S HOUSE WHILE SHE PAINTED, AND I TAUGHT MYSELF HOW TO MIX RECORDS.” THAT GUY SMITTY Mondo, but generally laid low. “Nobody was playing the soulful, deep house that I’d been hearing over in the U.K.,” Smitty says. “It seemed like everybody was playing trance and progressive stuff, and I was like, ‘Man, that shit just doesn’t have any soul.’”

AFTER THAT HAZY NIGHT seeing Mark

Farina at the rave in Winston-Salem, Smitty was on a mission. The following Monday, he got himself a pair of Technics 1200 turntables at a pawn shop and a Vestax 05 mixer from a friend. Then he began to practice.

“I sat down on the living room floor of my girlfriend’s house while she painted,” he says, “and I taught myself how to mix records.”

With the crate of records Kastanas gave him, Smitty proceeded to learn how to mix both house and downtempo stuff — just like

Farino had done at the Millennium Center.

“I was like, ‘I’m gonna do what he does, because both [house and downtempo music] was very soulful’ — he was playing really soulful, groovy house — a lot of jazz loops, a lot of soul stuff — as well as some really dope downtempo, like underground hip-hop and downtempo soul, which is sort of like the end of acid jazz, when acid jazz started getting more hip-hoppy.”

By then, Smitty was working at a little punk dive in NoDa called Fat City. When the club’s owner decided to open a dance club called Ling Ling Palace, Smitty was tapped as DJ. He brought along two friends to back him up for his debut performance, because he didn’t yet have enough music for a full night.

“Ling Ling was very underground. It didn’t even get started until around 11 at night

PHOTO COURTESY OF THAT GUY SMITTY

and it went on to some ungodly time in the morning,” Smitty remembers. He laughs.

“Man, I saw things that I shall never repeat,” he says. “But it was cool. I would just sit there and smoke a joint and DJ at the same time.”

That gig landed him spots at Tutto Mondo and later Tonic. “By then I had enough records to make it a whole night. I’d expanded my record collection exponentially,” he says. It was at Tonic that he began to make a name for himself as That Guy Smitty. “I’d called myself that before, but that’s when I sort of became known,” he says. “And I put on some legendary sets there. That was the place that fit me. Everything about that place made me want to be as classy and as good as I possibly could be, and it was fucking great, man.”

In 1999, Smitty got a job as an audio architect at Muzak, where he would work until 2007, and then continue working as an independent contractor until 2013. It taught him the value of branding, and today he’s adamant about correctly branding his DJ moniker. When Creative Loafing once referred to him as DJ Smitty, he fired back at us: “I go by DJ That Guy Smitty. The DJ part is optional. The That Guy part isn’t.”

By the late ‘90s, Kastanas was asking Smitty to open shows for him at Mythos.

“Andy’s the one who always told me, ‘You can do this.’ And he told me, ‘If you get good enough, I’ll give you a gig at my club.’ He kept his word. I was a resident at Mythos for three years,” Smitty says. “I would play from 9 to midnight and then Andy would come on.”

From there, Smitty went to Liquid Lounge and then HOM, where he performed wild sets of totally original mixes in a little downstairs lounge. “I was the resident DJ down there. It was all mine,” he says. “I literally ruled that place. That was my spot.”

But by the mid-2000s, things were changing on Charlotte’s electronic dance scene. More and more people were flooding into the city’s new, revitalized Uptown, and those folks wanted to hear the hits. DJing in Uptown clubs got boring. Besides, Smitty was by then married to his longtime wife Christy, with whom he’s had three beautiful kids, Logan, 16, Dylan, 13 and Ella, 10. His priorities had shifted.

“The music and scene just sort of died,” Smitty says. “Everybody started pandering, trying to get into the [then-new] Epicentre CLCLT.COM | MAY. 24 - MAY. 30, 2018 | 19

PHOTO COURTESY OF THAT GUY SMITTY

A long-haired Smitty in 1996. develop that kind of an ear nowadays because everything’s quantized to the beat,” he says.

“It’s all hit-driven and it’s all mechanical and they all have sync buttons and shit. I feel blessed to have come up in an era when you had to have records and you had to be able to figure out how to piece things together on something that’s analog, you know, it’s living and breathing. You got drift, you got live drummers, you got this, that and the other, and you have to keep all those things in sync.”

He laughs. “The worst thing that can happen to you as a DJ is for someone to look up at the booth and be like, ‘What the fuck was that?’”

These days, Smitty is sometimes that person. “Yeah, I do that. I look at somebody

That Guy Smitty gets real behind the wheels of steel at Dance in the Park 2017. and Music Factory, but they had to conform.

They were telling DJs to take requests.”

Smitty wasn’t interested in that. “I’m a nonconformist by nature. I’m ex-military, so I promised myself when I got out of the military that I would never put myself in a situation where I had to follow anybody else’s orders but mine and God’s,” he says. “So when the market died for house music, I segued my skill set to what I’m doing now.”

THAT GUY SMITTY began his process of

reinvention in 2005, spinning at Common Market in Plaza Midwood, and then later at breweries. “When I started playing in breweries, nobody was trying to play in breweries,” he says. “And when I started playing in restaurants and lounges, nobody was doing that.”

He doesn’t fault his fellow early house DJs for playing Uptown gigs. “There’s still a lot of really good DJs over there getting down, but they’re playing shitty music,” Smitty says.

“And I understand why. They did what they had to do to be able to bring home a check, so they play Top 40 and they get paid well to do it. If you go down to the Epicentre right now, there’s still 600 or 700 kids in the place, so you can make $400 or $500 a night spinning.”

Smitty sighs. “That’s just not what I want to do,” he says. “There may not be a lot of money in playing at Common Market, but 20 | MAY. 24 - MAY. 30, 2018 | CLCLT.COM

PHOTO BY NONIE ANTONE

it’s a lot of fun, and I get treated well there.

I get to do whatever I want to do. I’ve known [owner] Blake Barnes since the ’80s. He’s one of the oldest relationships I have in this town.”

Lots of current fans of That Guy Smitty don’t even know about his past as a house music king in Charlotte. “There are people who have heard me play for 10 years and freak out when they hear me play house music now,” he says, and laughs. “I’m like, ‘Dude, that’s what I was known for — for years!’”

The minor-key chord progression of the Animals’ version of “House of the Rising Sun” begins playing just as the light rain on Birdsong’s patio threatens to become a downpour. Smitty’s eyes, framed by a “Silver Fox” fishing cap and his own, slivery beard, have taken on a pensive stare behind his black-frame glasses as he reflects nostalgically on his long career as a DJ in Charlotte.

“Mixing records came naturally to me from the beginning,” he says, and motions to the music coming from the sound system. “I could hear a song away from my turntables and know exactly how I would mix it. I still do that now. It’s a background process that just happens. It’s like multitasking. I already know sonically where I would put in something, and how I would put in something else.”

He feels sad for DJs today who came up in the post-vinyl era. “A lot of people don’t

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That Guy Smitty at Fire and Ice in 2008. on a controller and I go, ‘Holy crap, that mix is horrible,’” he says. “And then I’m like, ‘How the hell are you doing horrible mixes with all the advantages you have these days? You have all that shit and you’re still fucking up.”

You don’t often hear That Guy Smitty fuck up. Even the legendary Kastanas says Smitty’s one of the best DJs Charlotte’s ever produced.

“He has matured into a masterful programmer that is in full control of his room at all times,” Kastanas says. “His music selection is infectious, and his transitions flawless. What I’ve always said about him is that he can mix oil and water, and if Smitty can’t make you dance, you’re either deaf or dead.”

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CLCLT.COM | MAY. 24 - MAY. 30, 2018 | 21

MUSIC

SOUNDBOARD MAY 24 BLUES/ROOTS/INTERNATIONAL Archaic Agenda (RiRa Irish Pub)

CLASSICAL/JAZZ/SMOOTH Opera Carolina: I Dream (Knight Theater)

COUNTRY/FOLK Shane Smith & The Saints (Evening Muse)

DJ/ELECTRONIC Le Bang (Snug Harbor)

HIP-HOP/SOUL/R&B Al Holliday & The East Side Rhythm Band (U.S. National Whitewater Center)

POP/ROCK Carmen Tate Solo Acoustic (Eddie’s on Lake Norman, Mooresville) Open Mic for Musicians (Crown Station Coffeehouse and Pub) Open Mic at Studio 13 (Studio 13, Cornelius) Caroline Keller Band (Tin Roof) The Eyebrows (Tip Top Daily Market) Jettison 5 (JackBeagle’s) Karaoke (Hattie’s Tap & Tavern) Kerry Brooks (Comet Grill) Lost in Society (Milestone) Shana Blake and Friends (Smokey Joe’s Cafe)

MAY 25 BLUES/ROOTS/INTERNATIONAL

Rock the Ride Friday (Charlotte Trolley Powerhouse Museum) Summer Concert Series (Blakeney Shopping Center, Charlotte) Waccamaw Getaway Music Festival: Ben Miller Band, Todd Nance & Friends, Bloodkin, Southern Belles, Urban Soil, Jahman Brahman, Groove Fetish, Dubtown Cosmonauts, ESP (Bucksport Marina, Conway) Walter Finley (Boardwalk Billy’s, UNCC) Battle Axe, Death of August, Fear Until Fury, Lunacy Rain (The Rabbit Hole) Bishop Briggs (The Underground) Davidson Local (Summit Coffee Co., Davidson) Heroes At Last (RiRa Irish Pub) Jay Taylor (Tin Roof) Luthi and The Go Rounds (Evening Muse) Matthew Sweet, The Eyebrows (Visulite Theatre) Moses Jones (Smokey Joe’s Cafe) Nu Sound Music Showcase (Hattie’s Tap & Tavern) Skamorial Day Weekender Night1: Stuck Lucky, Sibannac, The Not Likelys, Aloha Broha!

(Milestone) Snug 600: Green Fiend, Biggins, Boo Hag, Volk (Snug Harbor) Super Happy Fun Time Party (JackBeagle’s) Trashcan Sinatras (Evening Muse)

MAY 26 BLUES/ROOTS/INTERNATIONAL

Guy Marshall (U.S. National Whitewater Center)

Archaic Agenda (Hattie’s Tap & Tavern) The Reverend Shawn Amos (Evening Muse)

CLASSICAL/JAZZ/SMOOTH

COUNTRY/FOLK

Jazzy Fridays (Freshwaters Restaurant, Charlotte) Opera Carolina: I Dream (Knight Theater)

COUNTRY/FOLK The Lenny Federal Band (Comet Grill)

DJ/ELECTRONIC DJ Ragoza (RiRa Irish Pub) Mirror Moves - 80’s Dance Party! (Petra’s) Silent Disco (Rooftop 210)

HIP-HOP/SOUL/R&B Leslie and Friends Trio (Mickey & Mooch, Arboretum) Ledisi, Melanie Fiona, Tweet (The Fillmore)

22 | MAY. 24 - MAY. 30, 2018 | CLCLT.COM

POP/ROCK

Carnegie Tradition - Tribute to Flatt & Scruggs (Sylvia Theatre, York) Outlaw Music Festival: Willie Nelson, Sturgill Simpson, Brandi Carlile, Old Crow Medicine Show, Mitchell Lee (PNC Music Pavilion)

DJ/ELECTRONIC DJ Red (RiRa Irish Pub) Su CASA: Jasiatic, Carlton H. (Petra’s) Tilted DJ Saturdays (Tilted Kilt Pub & Eatery)

HIP-HOP/SOUL/R&B Lyricist’s Lounge (Upscale Lounge & Restaurant) Ruby Velle and the Soulphonics (U.S. National Whitewater Center) Tech N9ne, Krizz Kaliko, Just Juice, Joey Cool,

MUSIC

SOUNDBOARD King ISO, Stitchy C (The Fillmore)

POP/ROCK Austin McNeill (Boardwalk Billy’s, UNCC) Summer Concert Series: (Blakeney Shopping Center) Waccamaw Getaway Music Festival: Ben Miller Band, Todd Nance & Friends, Bloodkin, Southern Belles, Urban Soil, Jahman Brahman, Groove Fetish, Dubtown Cosmonauts, ESP (Bucksport Marina, Conway) Armory (Tin Roof) Dayton, Beth Sierra (JackBeagle’s) Enrage Against The Machine, Fish Out of Water (The Music Yard) Matty McRee Band (RiRa Irish Pub) Mick Spreitzer and the Antique Babies (Summit Coffee Co., Davidson) Mike Ramsey, Aaron Burdett, Emily Sage (Neighborhood Theatre) Poor Blue (Smokey Joe’s Cafe) Skamorial Day Weekender Night 2: Corporate Fandango, Control This!, Madd Hatters, The Duppies (Milestone) Snug 600: Lil Skritt, Deion Reverie, The Local Odyssey (Snug Harbor) The Trio (Heist Brewery)

MAY 27 BLUES/ROOTS/INTERNATIONAL Eva Ayllón (McGlohon Theater)

DJ/ELECTRONIC DJ Karz (Tin Roof) Bone Snugs-N-Harmony (Snug Harbor) More Fyah - Grown & Sexy Vibes (Crown Station Coffeehouse and Pub)

POP/ROCK Waccamaw Getaway Music Festival: Ben Miller Band, Todd Nance & Friends, Bloodkin, Southern Belles, Urban Soil, Jahman Brahman, Groove Fetish, Dubtown Cosmonauts, ESP (Bucksport Marina, Conway) Ancient Cities (The Rabbit Hole) Den of Wolves, Vices & Vessels, Sang Sarah, BrokenTestimony (Milestone) The Mannish Boys (Evening Muse) Memorial Day Celebration: Mandolin Orange, The Artisanals (U.S. National Whitewater Center) Omari and The Hellhounds (Comet Grill) Redleg Husky (Free Range Brewing Company)

5/25 MATTHEW SWEET 5/31 Justin Townes Earle 6/9 NIGHT RIOTS 6/13 THE HIP ABDUCTION 6/16 TOWN MOUNTAIN 6/21 AMERICAN AQUARIUM 6/29 HAYES CARLL 7/19 ROOSEVELTS 7/20 JGBCB 7/21 JUPITER COYOTE 7/23 FANTASTIC NEGRITO 7/25 THE SHEEPDOGS 8/5 LYDIA 8/11 NATALIE PRASS 8/17 RED BARCHETTA A Tribute to RUSH 9/11 JOSEPH 9/19 NOAH GUNDERSEN 9/28 CAAMP 10/2 MT. JOY

Sunday Music Bingo (Hattie’s Tap & Tavern) Thirsty Horses (Tin Roof)

MAY 28 CLASSICAL/JAZZ/SMOOTH Jazz Jam (Crown Station Coffeehouse and Pub)

HIP-HOP/SOUL/R&B #MFGD Open Mic (Apostrophe Lounge) Knocturnal (Snug Harbor)

POP/ROCK Jamorah (Smokey Joe’s Cafe) Music Bingo (Tin Roof) Music Trivia (Hattie’s Tap & Tavern) Open Mic with Lisa De Novo (Legion Brewing)

Cyclops Bar: Modern Heritage Weekly Mix Tape (Snug Harbor)

COUNTRY/FOLK Open Mic/Open Jam (Comet Grill)

POP/ROCK Bald Brotherhood (RiRa Irish Pub) May Residency: The Wormholes, Apples & Airplanes, Little Blue Fish, Akita (Snug Harbor) Open House & Karaoke (Sylvia Theatre, York) Open Mic (JackBeagle’s) SondorBlue, Wanderwild, The Brook & the Bluff (Evening Muse) Songwriter Open Mic @ Petra’s (Petra’s)

MAY 29 HIP-HOP/SOUL/R&B Eclectic Soul Tuesdays - RnB & Poetry (Apostrophe Lounge) Uptown Unplugged with Lionnir (Tin Roof) Soul Station (Crown Station Coffeehouse and Pub)

COUNTRY/FOLK Red Rockin’ Chair (Comet Grill)

POP/ROCK Boomchld, Lala Specific, Lofidels (Snug Harbor) The Order of Elijah, Upon A Broken Throne (The Rabbit Hole) Youth in a Roman Field, Brad Cole (Evening Muse) Open Jam with the Smokin’ Js (Smokey Joe’s Cafe) Open Mic hosted by Jarrid and Allen of Pursey Kerns (The Kilted Buffalo, Huntersville)

MAY 30 BLUES/ROOTS/INTERNATIONAL Dirty Heads (Charlotte Metro Credit Union Amphitheatre)

HIP-HOP/SOUL/R&B Big Boi (The Underground) Free Hookah Wednesdays Ladies Night (Kabob House, Persian Cuisine)

DJ/ELECTRONIC Karaoke with DJ Alex Smith (Petra’s)

CLCLT.COM | MAY. 24 - MAY. 30, 2018 | 23

ARTS

FEATURE

SMELLS LIKE TEEN SPIRIT ‘Spring Awakening’ characters are confused and abused, but with unmistakable talent

BY PERRY TANNENBAUM

F

OR MORE THAN A century, the playwright Frank Wedekind was best remembered as the creator of the character Lulu, the libertine protagonist in two of his erotically charged dramas, Earth Spirit (1895) and Pandora’s Box (1904). In 1937, Alban Berg combined the two works into one Lulu, an opera that stands as one of the sexiest of the 20th century.

Then came 2006.

Wedekind’s notoriety was refueled for a new millennium when Steven Sater adapted the German’s first script, Spring Awakening, for an off-Broadway production. If Lulu was risqué and amoral, Spring Awakening was angry, raw and a bit shocking — teen chaos rather than salon decadence. The score, composed and orchestrated by singersongwriter Duncan Sheik, certainly wasn’t opera. It was a wicked mix of sensuous, anguished ballads like “Touch Me” and “The Word of Your Body,” juxtaposed with raging frenetic rockers like “The Bitch of Living,” “My Junk” and “Totally Fucked.”

Schoolkids stood up rebelliously on their desks, dancing and stomping catatonically.

Vilifying parents and teachers. Ecstatically screwing just before intermission. Even liberal newspapers had to tiptoe around the song titles, lyrics and actions.

The production was an instant sensation, picking up an armful of awards for the Atlantic Theatre Company before going on to Broadway that same year. Eleven Tony nominations and eight Tony Awards were added to the haul, including Best Musical.

Somehow the Victorian repression, the withholding of sex education and the perils of unprotected sex, backstreet abortions and teen suicide of Wedekind’s 1891 script had leapfrogged into the 21st century in a theatrical triumph — with no mealymouthed concessions whatsoever to the older generation.

Underscoring the generic, unsympathetic nature of Wedekind’s adult characters, all 14 were portrayed by one male and one female actor. It was not merely a tragedy of starcrossed lovers. It was an explosively presented nightmare of what can go wrong when adults refuse to discuss sex with their children.

And now this scorching musical hits Charlotte on Friday, May 25, barreling into our community theater for a three-week 24 | MAY. 24 - MAY. 30, 2018 | CLCLT.COM

“WE HAVE NO TREPIDATION ABOUT ‘SPRING AWAKENING’ BEING A BRIDGE TOO FAR.” RON LAW, EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR, THEATRE CHARLOTTE

run, thanks to Theatre Charlotte. The run includes three Sunday matinees and two Saturday performances on June 1 at 8 and 11:30 p.m. Somebody at Theatre Charlotte’s Queens Road barn believes they’re going to sell a whole bunch of tickets. Nobody seems worried that we may experience a repeat of the Angels in America uproar that rocked the city in 1996, with aftershocks that ultimately capsized Charlotte Repertory Theatre in 2003.

“We have no trepidation about Spring Awakening being a bridge too far,” Theatre Charlotte executive director Ron Law says.

“Many young performers and audience members have lobbied for it, and it has always performed strongly in our show selection survey.”

Touring versions of the show came here in 2010 and 2011, but of course, these weren’t shows with local artists funded by local dollars. The feeling was, even then, that the city had changed and audiences had matured since the Angels debacle. But there is likely another factor at work. Theatre Charlotte has better prepped its audience than Charlotte Rep had.

Oleanna, Falsettos and Miss Evers’ Boys were as far as Rep pushed the envelope before fielding Angels in America, playwright Tony Kushner’s gay fantasia. At 501 Queens Road, Theatre Charlotte has pushed further in more

recent years with its more diverse audience, bringing The Full Monty, Rent, Hair and La Cage aux Folles. One way or another, the unholy trinity — nudity, foul language and homosexuality — have all been addressed.

“All those shows were huge box office successes for Theatre Charlotte, with little pushback,” Law reports. “For this show, we even offered season ticket buyers the opportunity to buy a package that did not include Spring Awakening. A very small number took us up on this.”

Caution was not altogether thrown to the winds in scheduling this potential powder keg. Some niceties were also observed on the production end, beginning with auditions for the roles of the kids crossing the threshold of puberty. Nobody was allowed to audition unless he or she would be 18 on opening night. “There were many disappointed 15 and 16 year olds who love the show and couldn’t audition,” Law says.

Most of the teens who did audition were savvy theater students, Law says. Some have participated in Theatre Charlotte’s youthoriented summer stock productions and others have been groomed in the robust theater programs of Charlotte’s local high schools.

Nominated for the prestigious Blumey Awards for high school musicals across metro Charlotte, three of the major players in

Spring Awakening are so accomplished they put a major crimp in director Billy Ensley’s rehearsal schedule.

Three seniors at Northwest School of the Arts, Renée Rapp (Best Actress), Liam Pearce (Best Actor) and Maya Sistruck (Best Supporting Actress), all earned Blumey Award nominations for their work in the school’s presentation of Big Fish, which is nominated for Best Musical honors. As finalists, the three were spirited away to Belk Theater, rehearsing for multiple segments of last Sunday night’s award ceremonies, where they performed individually and together.

Rapp first landed a role at Theatre Charlotte when she was 10, transferring to Northwest her junior year. She praises fellow actors Pearce and Sistruck. “They are both truly such talented and good-hearted human beings,” she says.

“Working amongst them all these years has helped me grow as a performer, [and] watching the dedication they put into what they do. We have so much love amongst the three of us that even in this especially stressful time with the Blumeys, Spring Awakening and graduation, they make every day and every rehearsal feel like a celebration for me.”

As Wendla Bergmann, Rapp launches the horrific scenario of Spring Awakening when she asks her mom how babies are made and gets a bogus answer. The only teen around

Renée Rapp performs at the Blumey Awards on May 20. she took home best actress for her role in ‘Big Fish.’

‘Spring Awakening’ cast members: Morgan Wakefield (from left), Emily Roy, Renée Rapp, Maya Sistruck and Jocelyn Cabaniss. who seems to have the lowdown is Melchior Gabor, a voracious reader who quietly shares the news with his shy neurotic bestie, Moritz Steifel — with explicit illustrations and written descriptions. But the atheistic, amoral Melchior does not share the facts of life with Wendla before he deflowers and impregnates her.

Dire consequences all around.

“Melchior has many layers to him,” says Pearce of the charismatic troublemaker.

“He clearly wants to experience all of these activities he has read about but may not necessarily be ready to deal with the aftermath of what they may lead to. While he is extremely intelligent, he is still a teenager who has not completely grasped all of the knowledge he needs to be a functioning adult in society.”

PHOTO COURTESY OF BLUMENTHAL PERFORMING ARTS

PHOTO BY CHRIS TIMMONS

Pearce isn’t altogether sure why he landed this plum role, but he has worked with Ensley — and choreographer Lisa Blanton — before at Theatre Charlotte in Jesus Christ Superstar.

Ensley saw Pearce as a clear choice at his auditions, both as a singer and an actor.

“Melchior needed to be a double-threat actor/singer, who could understand the commanding ‘big man on campus’ ego and the broken-hearted lover,” Ensley says.

The character Matha Bessell, in love with the misfit Moritz and abused by her father, takes us to other dark regions of Wedekind’s story. “I always thought that her character arc was one of the strongest and most complex of the girls in the show, and I thought it’d be a wonderful challenge for me to take on,” Suskind says of the character. “As for being nominated for Blumeys, it was quite nice to

Rapp and Liam Pearce (left) as their characters in ‘Spring Awakening.’

Pearce performs at The Blumeys. be able to link up our busy schedules and have a little ‘buddy’ looking out for any missed rehearsals or information. We were always on the same page.”

All three actors are on the same page about delving into their troubled teen characters.

They give props to director Ensley, with Rapp offering the most detailed insights.

“I have heard countless people tell me how amazing working with Billy is,” Rapp says of Ensley. “But it wasn’t until I had a oneon-one with him that I truly understood the depth of what they meant. He puts his heart into this production, 100 percent, and that is so evident and inspiring for me.

“We sat and talked about myself and my character, and he really helped me break down what this show will mean,” Rapp continues.

“His direction is unmatchable. He works and

PHOTO BY CHRIS TIMMONS

PHOTO COURTESY OF BLUMENTHAL PERFORMING ARTS

‘SPRING AWAKENING’ $28; May 25-June 10, times vary; Eloise Macdonald Playhouse, 501 Queens Road. theatrecharlotte.org

tweaks things with such a specific eye, and I absolutely love it.”

Update: Renée Rapp took honors for Best Actress at the Blumey Awards on Sunday, winning a trip to Broadway with Ethan Holtzman from Charlotte Latin School for a chance at the national Jimmy Award on June 25. Ceremonies will be rebroadcast on WTVI on May 29 at 8:00pm.

BACKTALK@CLCLT.COM

CLCLT.COM | MAY. 24 - MAY. 30, 2018 | 25

ENDS

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late, and we settled in without any issues at A FEW WEEKS AGO, I shared with my a two-person table. readers the lofty goal of trying a different We took a long breath from the menu restaurant for date night at least once a week.

Well, if you follow my @omgclt_ Instagram and, in usual fashion, decided to start with account and check out my OMGNOMS the easier-to-digest cocktail menu. The highlights, you’ll see that the boo and I have Haymaker Punch: bourbon, lemon, apple, been doing a pretty good job whittling down ginger, shrub and cider ($12). Harvest Spritz: the list of the newest — and I would argue aperol, amaro montenegro, cava and orange best — additions to the Q.C. dining scene. peel ($10). At least that part was easy.

Shortly after that article, my guy When it came to food, the task wasn’t suggested going to Haymaker Restaurant in quite as simple. The waitress, who was uptown Charlotte beneath Ascent Uptown almost too attentive (if you can even really Apartments across from Romare Bearden get annoyed by that), had to come back to Park. I’ll be honest, I’m an all-day grazer. I our table a few times before we were ready don’t eat a lot in one sitting but if you add to just choose already. up how much I’m eating throughout the However, we finally settled day, I guarantee it beats how much my boyfriend eats. upon three small plates and a Not to mention, he dessert that we’d share: crispy prefers eating dinner late at pork belly with sorghum night while I prefer eating glaze, field pea succotash, around 6 p.m. So you Benton’s bacon, roasted can imagine, #hangry onion broth and peanuts attitudes have taken hold ($14); crispy fingerling way more often than he potatoes with fresno aioli would like. And I have ($6); roasted asparagus to apologize for what I’ve with romesco, fried egg said when I was hangry AERIN SPRUILL and herb croutons ($10); more than I’m proud to say. followed up by whipped ricotta Luckily, however, neither cheesecake with lemon curd and of us were super hungry when it came time for our reservation at 8:30 thyme crumble. p.m. I was thankful for the fact we didn’t And in case you’re wondering, yes, we have too much of an appetite when I looked were full. First of all, fingerling potatoes will at the prices of the items on the large plates always fill you up and the aioli was delicious. (balling on a budget). Especially considering Let’s be real, I’m no food critic, but I we end up sharing a few small plates at other know how to balance my hunger, taste and restaurants and being super full. wallet all at the same damn time. If ever I checked out the menus beforehand as someone wanted me to try every item on I always do. And the first thing I welcomed their menu, trust I’d still be able to make was the slogan: Make hay while the sun sound judgments on taste to share with shines. Then I read that their specialty is picky eaters like myself. farm-fresh fare — prepared by Chef William To top it off, Haymaker serves breakfast Dissen and Chef de Cuisines Ashley Quick — every day of the week and brunch from 10 and fine cocktails. Combine that with a focus on food sourced from nearby, and you’ve sold a.m. to 2:30 p.m. on Saturday and Sunday. me on a tasty experience with a deliberate (Make sure you check out the featured conscience (I say this while arguing the true biscuit of the day before brunch.) meaning of farm-to-table, *sighs* blame my Given Charlotte’s iffy food scene when women’s studies background). compared to neighbors like Asheville in the When we walked in, the first thing I past, Haymaker has most likely cemented its noticed was the rustic-meets-modern decor, place in the Q.C. If I were you, I’d try it out the bright lighting and the spacious concept. the next time you’re planning a date night The space extends upward for two stories and secure your reservation via OpenTable adding to the open feel (and additional ahead of time. (Broke folk beware: there’s a seating space), especially when the entire $6 loaf of bread you can order before your front of the restaurant is comprised of meal. I’d put that toward your entree unless windows. you’re just in the mood for yeast.)

The hostess was ready to invite us to our table, even though we were a few minutes BACKTALK@CLCLT.COM

ENDS

FeeLing Lonely?

CROSSWORD

EIGHT LOW NOTES ACROSS

1 Snakebite treaters 9 Roomy rides 15 Slowly, in music 20 Tie in a race 21 Actress Wilde of “House” 22 -- now and then 23 Taft’s foreign policy 25 Jacket-and-tie affairs 26 Look from a villain 27 Word after lo or chow 28 Non-U.S. gas brand 30 Use a recliner, e.g.

31 Forward, as a message with a hashtag 34 Grand Prix racing 37 A doc prescribes it 40 Imbiber’s hwy. offense 41 Half-diameters 43 He voiced Carl in “Up” 44 Bachelor suitable for marriage, say 48 Licoricelike herbs 49 Novelist Ira 50 Margaret Mitchell’s plantation 51 African nation 53 -- Trapp family 54 Three-card game 56 Some book blurbs 57 Apollo program org.

61 The girl 62 Elderly Smurf 63 Shifting of responsibility to another 66 Co. name abbr.

67 Golf rarity 68 PayPal funds, e.g.

70 Lead-in to skeleton 71 Egg mass 72 Edible soft-shell mollusk 75 Burning liquid 76 Bowl over 77 Hens and heifers 78 War group 79 Bakery treats 81 Mom’s treatment 82 Volkswagen family car 85 Moore or Lovato 86 Use profanity 88 Very strong 91 Late 19th-century political group 95 De-creasing workers 97 Gallery stand 98 Laugh half

99 Mao -- -tung 100 Brand of flavored balms in tubes 102 Tower atop a mosque 105 Hack (off) 106 Kitchen lure 107 Actress Olin 108 Day of song 112 Beat poet Ginsberg 114 University SSE of Spokane 119 V-formation fliers 120 Medieval balladeer, maybe 121 French folk song 122 Snaky curves 123 Perplexes 124 Eellike fish

DOWN

1 Tosses in 2 Sign light 3 Narration 4 Lazy type 5 Partook of 6 Always, to Donne 7 “Too cool!”

8 “Once upon -- ...”

9 Gem in a ring 10 North Carolina university 11 Not so bright 12 Gardner of “Mogambo” 13 Less nasty 14 Bully’s words of authority 15 Block-filled theme park 16 Entertainer Gabor 17 Wrestling holds 18 New hire 19 Pearl makers 24 Eyes closely 29 African nation 32 Bath fixture 33 Wheaton of “Stand by Me” 34 Fruit that’s often dried 35 Like OPEC nations 36 Koreans and Laotians 37 Ott of baseball 38 High-school junior’s grade 39 Person with an exspouse 42 Crime scene material 45 -- mill (bar)

46 Sicilian volcano 47 “Star Wars” creature 52 Feature 54 Royal staff 55 “Faust” and others 56 Greyhound transport 58 Signal to pilots 59 Treaded winter vehicles 60 1940s film critic James 61 Cobra sound 62 Actress Dawber 63 “Pow!” 64 Pivot point 65 Put turf over 68 Graceful street liner 69 Coral island 73 Some poplars 74 Cliff rock 75 Solo often in Italian 79 Slum abodes 80 Moseying 81 Old carrier 83 Tentacled reef dwellers 84 Fine violin 85 -- Moines 86 Hits the gas 87 Dark loaf 88 Rob violently 89 Twins’ rivals 90 Overturns 92 Attention 93 Part of a dance move 94 Prefix with plop or flop 96 Glowers 101 Frank topper 103 Of birth 104 Redcap at work, often 107 Speech therapy topic 109 $20/day, say 110 Really small 111 Uses eyes 113 Suffix with 29-Down 115 Actor/comic Gilliam 116 “That guy!”

117 Suffix with pay or plug 118 Moniker, in France

graB Your copy today

SOLUTION FOUND ON P. 30.

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ENDS

SAVAGE LOVE

CHECK YOUR CRED Reader wonders if she’s a “bad lesbian”

BY DAN SAVAGE I’m a cis woman and recently came out as a lesbian after identifying as bisexual for three years. After having sexual encounters with men and women, I finally admitted to myself that I am gay.

Now that I’m finally out, I don’t want to do anything that would make me feel like denying it again. My question is, am I a bad lesbian if I sleep with a guy? I’m currently working 50 hours a week and going to school. I don’t have time for a relationship, and finding casual hookups with women is difficult. A male friend I know and trust recently propositioned me. At first I said no, but now I’m rethinking it. Sex with men doesn’t compare at all to sex with women for me.

On a scale of 1 to 10, it’s definitely in the below 5 range. But my mind says, “It’s still sex!” and I would enjoy it to a point. But I worry that doing this would call my sexuality into question. I feel like I’d definitely have to hide this from my friends. And if I feel guilty enough to hide it, maybe I shouldn’t do it? Finally identifying as a lesbian was like breathing out for me. I feel way more like myself and am way happier now. But I worry that even being willing to consider this makes me seem bi. I guess I’m looking for permission and absolution. Would this make me a “bad” lesbian? Or would it mean I should identify as bi?

GIRL ASKING YOU

I’ve often been accused of having a pro-dicksitting bias, GAY, so I decided to recuse myself and pass your question on to a couple of lesbians.

“She is way too concerned with labels,” said Lesbian #1. “I used to slip on a dick once every few years — before I quit drinking tequila — and that didn’t make me any less of a raging, homo-romantic dyke. And if her friends give that much of a fuck about who she bones, she

needs friends with more interesting hobbies.”

“I don’t think there is anything wrong with her or any lesbian wanting to sleep with a guy,” said Lesbian #2. “I wouldn’t sleep with a guy, but I do agree that women trying to casually hook up with other women is much more difficult than men with men or even men with women. Women instantly want to be your long-term partner after one hookup — the U-Haul jokes are fucking real. But if identifying as something is important to her, I think identifying as queer might be a better option for now rather than struggling to figure out if she is only bi or only lesbian and only those forever.”

PERSON EXASPERATES ENTHUSIAST

I like watersports, and I The advice I gave a different heard about a guy in a reader about dealing with a rural area who holds guest horning in on the action piss parties in his at an orgy applies in your case: backyard. I found a “Even kind and decent people mailing list for those can be terrible about taking interested in piss hints — especially when doing play, and it wasn’t so means getting cut out of a long before he posted drunken fuckfest. So don’t hint, about one of these DAN SAVAGE tell. There’s no rule of etiquette parties. People on the that can paper over the discomfort list talk a big game, but and awkwardness of that moment, no one else has stepped up so you’ll just have to power through it.” to host something, including Swap out “drunken fuckfest” for “drenchin’ me. (I would, but four neighbors look into my backyard.) The host has very piss scene,” and the advice works — up to a simple rules for who can attend: You have point, PEE, because the person in your case to identify as a guy and wear masculine who needs telling, not hinting, isn’t one of attire. I get to the party and there were the guests, he’s the host. (And he sounds like about four guys and the host. I had a a gracious host. I mean, drinks, towels, and good time. The host had plenty of drinks canapés* at a piss party? Swank.) But your out, towels, chairs, canopies and candles host’s behavior sounds genuinely annoying. to ward off the mosquitos. I’ve been Hosting a sex party doesn’t give someone the back a couple times. Everyone is friendly right to insert himself into someone else’s enough and there’s the right amount scene, and stupid jokes have the power to kill of perversion. So what’s the problem? the mood and murder the boners.

So what do you do?

The host. He’s loud and annoying. He Well, you could send your host an e-mail insists on putting classical music on

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(it doesn’t set the mood very well). He tells the same lame jokes every time he’s pissing on someone. He will complain that people say they’re coming and don’t show. If you are having a moment with someone, he will invariably horn in on the action. Without being rude, I’ve tried to make it clear that we are not looking for company, but he doesn’t take the hint. It’s his party, and props to him for hosting it — but it takes the fun out of it when the host doesn’t know when to back off. I’ve gotten to the point where it’s not worth the effort to go. Do I just get over it, or say something privately?

10809 Southern Loop Blvd Suite 10, Charlotte 28134 980-335-0193

or give him a call. Thank him for the invite, let him know you appreciate the effort he goes to (such delicious canapés!), and then tell him why some people say they’re coming and don’t show: You’re too loud, your music is awful, you have a bad habit of horning in on the action, and you need to learn some new jokes to tell when you’re pissing on someone (or, better yet, not tell any jokes at all). But I don’t think ticking off a list of his shortcomings is going to get you anywhere other than crossed off the invite list to future parties.

So why not make your own piss party?

You don’t need a big backyard — I mean, presumably your place has a tub. Supplement your tub with a couple of kiddie pools on top of some plastic tarp laid down on the living room or basement floor. Ask your guests to keep it in the tub, pool, or on the tarp. You get to choose the guys, you get to select the music and,as host, you can lay down the law about making jokes and horning in on the action: Both are forbidden, and joke-telling horner-inners will be asked to pull up their pants and leave.

One last thought: If you have it in you to invest some time in getting to know this guy — if you treat him like a human being — you might be able to draw him out on something that clearly frustrates him: guys who say they’re coming to the party but don’t show. If he seems genuinely baffled, PEE, that’s your opening to ask if he’d like some constructive feedback. If he says yes, you can very gently run through your list of ways to improve his parties: no jokes, better music and a “no horning in” rule for all (not just for him). *Yes, I know: There were canopies at the party, not canapés — tents, not hors d’oeuvres.

But I read it as canapés at first, and the mental image of piss players daintily eating canapés between scenes was so much more entertaining than the mental image of piss players huddling under canopies that I stuck with my original reading.

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LILLY SPA

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SOLUTION TO THIS WEEK'S PUZZLE

ARIES (March 21 to

April 19) An apparent act of injustice might turn out to be either an error in judgment or just plain stupidity. So calm down and cool off, and let the explanations roll out.

TAURUS (April 20 to

HALF HOUR FREE

May 20) It’s upsetting when someone you trusted might have failed you. But with new opportunities ahead, you’ll soon be too busy to feel even a wee bit sorry for yourself.

GEMINI (May 21 to

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June 20) A sense of uncertainty could be a good reason to change your position on an important matter.

Someone close might try to talk you out of it, but it’s your decision to make.

CANCER (June 21 to July

22) Being too zealous in pursuing your goal could create some resistance.

Try to be more mindful of what you ask people to do, and they’ll be more likely to do it.

LEO (July 23 to August 22) Things change as you go from being ignored to being Lionized once again. This is a good time to reintroduce those previously rejected ideas to a more receptive audience.

VIRGO (August 23 to

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September 22) Someone new in your life creates both anticipation as well as anxiety. Avoid the potential for misunderstandings by watching what you say and how you say it.

LIBRA (September 23

to October 22) Watch your budget so that you don’t overspend now and have less to invest when the time is right later on. Arrange to share your weekend with someone special.

SCORPIO (October 23

to November 21) The temptation to involve yourself in a friend’s or family member’s personal problems is laudable. But get the facts before you make a firm commitment.

SAGITTARIUS (November 22 to December 21) You might be upset by some of your critics.

But most of your associates continue to keep the faith in your ability to get the job done, and done well.

CAPRICORN (December

22 to January 19) You’ve reached an important point in your ongoing pursuit of your goals. You might now want to consider letting someone you trust join you on your journey.

AQUARIUS (January 20 to February 18) You’ve been going through a spate of uncertainty involving people you care for. But it might be time to take a stand on a position you feel sure you can defend.

PISCES (February 19

to March 20) Treading water keeps you busy, but it won’t get you where you need to go.

Time to stop making excuses and to start moving ahead toward your goals.

BORN THIS WEEK You see life as both creative and pragmatic. You would not only be a fine artist, but also a successful one.

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