Dig Boston Feb. 4th, 2015

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DIGBOSTON.COM 2.4.15 - 2.11.15

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OBEHI JANICE

BOOK EXCERPT

BOSTON STRONG

ONE WOMAN PLAY

WRITTEN TO INSPIRE

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NEWS TO US FEATURE DEPT. OF COMMERCE

VOL 17 + ISSUE 5

FEBRUARY 4, 2015 - FEBRUARY 11, 2015 EDITORIAL

DEAR READER

NEWS, FEATURES + MEDIA FARM EDITOR Chris Faraone ASSOCIATE MUSIC EDITOR Martín Caballero CONTRIBUTORS Lizzie Havoc, Boston Bastard, Nina Corcoran, Emily Hopkins, Micaela Kimball, Tony McMillen, Scott Murry, Jonathan Riley, Spencer Shannon, Cady Vishniac, Dave Wedge INTERNS Paige Chaplin, Jasmine Ferrell

DESIGN CREATIVE DIRECTOR Tak Toyoshima DESIGNER Brittany Grabowski INTERNS Austin Dickey, Alek Glasrud, Michael Zaia COMICS Tim Chamberlain Brian Connolly Pat Falco Patt Kelley

ADVERTISING ACCOUNT EXECUTIVES Nate Andrews Jesse Weiss FOR ADVERTISING INFORMATION sales@digpublishing.com

BUSINESS PUBLISHER Jeff Lawrence ASSOCIATE PUBLISHER Marc Shepard

Just a quick shout to the Massachusetts state senators who, as we learned in a small story from last week in the Boston Globe, were the lucky recipients of some rather handsome locally sourced sunglasses.

When word came out that Sen. Bryan Joyce was blessed with gold-plated Randolph Engineering aviators, suggested retail price north of $200, I immediately thought: Those lucky bastards. As someone who was also gifted Randolph frames some time back—I was writing about such highend products for a previous employer—I attest that they have been outstanding. And they’ve lasted for years. The senator has good taste.

All that said, I didn’t have to “negotiate with the manufacturers” to secure my sweet deal. Joyce copped his shades for the bulk rate of $74.50 apiece (the price includes monogrammed engravings for all 40 senators, plus seven pairs for his own family, according to the Globe).

Nevertheless, while these shades can take a beating, Randolph shouldn’t. Their goods are designed for fighter pilots, and with plenty of made-in-Mass chutzpah. Mine have been skydiving, swimming, on assignment while chasing sharks, and facedown in a few gutters.

Though somewhat tattered, and missing the rubber bits that keep them on my nose, they’ve helped me keep from having to explain myself on several occasions.

Their quality should come in handy for Beacon Hill’s purveyor of fine eyewear in the aftermath, should there be any.

ARTS + ENTERTAINMENT

EDITOR Dan McCarthy

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BY DAN MCCARTHY @ACUTALPROOF

OFFICE MANAGER John Loftus ADVISOR Joseph B. Darby III

DIGTIONARY

LINUS

COVER ARTIST

Image based on original photo of Obehi Janice by Becca A. Lewis. Read all about Janice’s one woman show FUFU & OREOS on page 20

©2015 DIGPORTLAND IS PUBLISHED WEEKLY BY DIG PORTLAND LLC. NO PART OF THIS PUBLICATION CAN BE REPRODUCED WITHOUT WRITTEN CONSENT. DIG PORTLAND LLC CANNOT BE HELD LIABLE FOR ANY TYPOGRAPHICAL ERRORS. ONE COPY OF DIGPORTLAND IS AVAILABLE FREE TO MAINE RESIDENTS AND VISITORS EACH WEEK. ANYONE REMOVING PAPERS IN BULK WILL BE PROSECUTED ON THEFT CHARGES TO THE FULLEST EXTENT OF THE LAW.

noun /lahy-nuh s/ 1. Name given to a security-blanket-carrying, thumbsucking kid from the classic comic strip Peanuts.

2. Name given to our most recent motherfucking snowstorm, which, combined with the previous storm, has reduced most adults into securityblanket-carrying, thumb-sucking whiners who are seriously considering moving to the equator.

OH, CRUEL WORLD Dear Snow Newb, It’s a hard feat to accomplish, but you’re so utterly, so unbelievably annoying that I have to break out this annual winter cliche just in case you haven’t heard it: Just because you move to a neighborhood with rogue parking rules doesn’t mean that you get to be part of the club. Got it? Not for at least four or five years, when the yuppies take over once and for all. Don’t want to take our words for it? Fine. But it won’t be our keys mangling your pastel Audi. It will be our screwdriver.

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DigBoston, 242 East Berkeley St. 5th Floor Boston, MA 02118 Fax 617.849.5990 Phone 617.426.8942 digboston.com

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ALIEN VS. EDITOR NEWS TO US

The Massachusetts media’s complicated history with UFOs

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In these strange times, an unidentified flying object is more likely to be some geek’s make-it-yourself drone than an extraterrestrial spacecraft. Up until not very long ago though, such simple explanations for sightings weren’t readily available. As newly revealed documents show, many past UFO incidents, including several in Massachusetts, were probably something other than meteors and weather balloons.

The aforementioned files relate to the Air Force’s Project Blue Book, and its investigation of more than 12,000 UFO sightings from 1947 through 1969. Predictably, most cases were easily explained—conventional aircraft, natural phenomena—but 701 remained officially “unidentified.”

The Blue Book files were declassified years ago, but only available on microfilm until January, when they were posted on the Black Vault website of UFO enthusiast John Greenewald, who spent years obtaining them through Freedom of Information Act requests.

After fueling headlines for several days, the files were taken down last week due to usage rights complications.

Luckily for those paranoid Bostonians who smell a cover-up,

the Dig took a look before they disappeared.

We may be the only Massachusetts outlet to have taken significant interest. Greenewald’s database generated national stories, as well as local coverage about sightings elsewhere. With over 100,000 pages to peruse though, many of which were related to the commonwealth, only the Boston Globe seems to have paid any attention, and only for the length of an opinion piece on a single case.

Of course a lot of the Blue Book documents about spacecraft in Mass aren’t very exciting. For example, one report notes 11 Boston area sightings, nine of which “are attributable to an (aircraft) with an advertising banner” … or … “the characteristics of a searchlight or spotlight.”

There’s also a 1964 report from the Town of Shirley in Middlesex County, in which the object is written off as a meteor, and a 1960 report from Wilmington, which has a box checked for “probably balloon.” Many others follow a similar pattern.

A few, however, are much sexier. One describes a 100foot long “flying tube,” white in color, traveling through the air southwest of Boston at 100 miles per hour with “no

sound, trail or exhaust.” The source of the report, an Air Force pilot, “chased [the] object but lost it in overcast.” The government’s conclusion? “Insufficient data.”

Another worthwhile report from Weymouth relates to an incident that inspired major headlines at the time. After waking up to a loud noise one night in 1963, a couple looked out their window and reportedly saw an object that, based on a crude drawing included in the documents, resembled a flying saucer. While this is somewhat unremarkable, a Quincy Patriot-Ledger reporter also allegedly photographed the object. Still, Air Force investigators found “insufficient data for evaluation,” arguing the photo was unreliable, while for some reason neglecting to include a copy in their files.

If you’re looking for pics though, one report included several from a 1952 sighting in Salem. They’re grainy photocopies of black and white images, with scattered spots across the skyline, but they’re better than nothing.

Others, like a 1964 report from Needham, describe the stereotypical UFO (“a fair-sized silver disc-shaped object spinning hovering and manuvering (sic) over the Needham NEWS TO US continued on pg. 6

PHOTO BY CHRIS FARAONE

BY JONATHAN RILEY

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High School”) but nonetheless lack conclusive accompanying evidence.

At their most ominous, a couple Massachusetts UFO tales fell into the mysterious category of remaining “unidentified” after the investigations wrapped. One such report in the Black Vault archive was seen as credible due to the civilian witness’ prior experience as a pilot and satellite observer for NASA. One day in May 1964, said individual (whose name was redacted in the report) claimed to see a “strange elliptical object go across the sky” from a Sears parking lot in Cambridge.

“So we have another unidentified that falls in the general pattern of rapidly flying discs in straight trajectories,” the investigator noted. “Despite the shortness of the observation, consider weight must be given to the excellence of the observer who, in this case, was trained for specific tracking of objects in the sky.”

Probably the most interesting report is one from October 1952. While tracking two jets for research purposes, several members of MIT’s Weather Radar Research Group saw an object, described as a “Flying Saucer,” quickly approaching their planes, before it “suddenly went into a very tight (for the speed) turn to the right, headed back toward Boston and passed directly over our flight.”

The MIT researcher who reported the sighting heard later that day from an officer at Otis Air National Guard Base telling him to keep the information “confidential,” and the next day “had a visit from two men (from the Boston Office of Special Investigations, I believe).” He apparently suspected he might be getting dangerously close to state secrets.

“It seems highly probable that I may be poking into something that is none of my business, but on the other hand, it may be something that the Air Force would like to know about if it doesn’t already,” the researcher wrote.

The government definitely knew some things that the public didn’t know throughout the 1950s. In 2013, documents were finally released confirming the existence of Area 51 in Nevada, and its use in secret spy plane testing by the Air Force and CIA, which explains the base’s place in UFO conspiracy theory culture. (Or at least that’s what they’d like you to believe!) Furthermore, if the flying saucer seen around MIT was part of an earlier round of covert tests, the Air Force investigators didn’t reveal it in their report. They did note, however, that rumors of the sighting were spreading, implying a need to address the matter for public relations reasons. “It was apparent to the undersigned,” wrote the Air Force investigator, “that many people at Massachusetts Institute of Technology are familiar with this sighting and, as a result, an account of it may eventually appear in the newspapers.”

Looks like they didn’t have too much to worry about after all.

BLUNT TRUTH

CONVENTION MENTION

BY DIG STAFF @DIGBOSTON

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Full disclosure: As a chief sponsoring media entity, we’re hardly objective on these matters, and are jumping-out-of-our-skin excited about the coming New England Cannabis Convention. There will be other marijuana summits, no doubt, but to show that NECC planners walk the walk, we thought we’d brag about which of our distinguished friends will tread the green carpet …

On Saturday, February 21, NECC will start with a discussion held by Mickey Martin of the Northeastern Institute of Cannabis (NIC). It’s called “Cultivation for Patients and Caregivers in Massachusetts,” and it’s for anybody motivated to medicate outside of the costly dispensary system. (The same crowd will also want to drop in on Dorian Des Lauriers of ProVerde Labs and Addison DeMoura of Steep Hill Labs, who are teaming up the following day to lecture on quality and specialty strains).

Saturday afternoon, DigBoston News Editor Chris Faraone will moderate a panel with pro-pot Maine State Rep. Diane Russell, Jill Hitchman-Osborn of Seizing Hope, and Chris Goldstein of PhillyNORML and Freedom Leaf Magazine. They’ll touch on lawmaking procedures and policy, and hopefully take digs at prohibitionist goons and fraudulent pols. That’s all followed by a keynote from Becky DeKeuster, director of community and education at Wellness Connection of Maine. Plus an EOD panel on medicinal use with Mike Cann and a cast of contemporary cannabis all-stars.

Sunday starts off tastefully with a “Cooking with Cannabis” event, for which some of the region’s finest marijuana chefs have been recruited. Moving forward, catch a bombshell panel on politics with Cann and activists from Pennsylvania (N.A. Poe) and Mass (Cara Crabb-Burnham of MassCann/NORML, Nicole Snow of Mass Patient Advocacy Alliance). Poe ran for City Council in Philly and wound up helping loosen penalties for pot; anybody who aspires to be some kind of gadfly will want to take notes. As for more serious attendees, Shaleen Title of THC Staffing Group will be on hand recruiting for industry jobs. Don’t take it lightly when we say to get to her panel early. It’s going to be packed.

Before wandering back out into the world, you’ll also get some time with members of the Mass Patient Advocacy Alliance; in addition to explaining the importance of activism in terms that are relatable to everyday Americans, they’ll break down everything you need to know about commonwealth cannabis laws.

Because while the Bay State is finally mature enough to let an event like the NECC happen, there’s still a lot we need to do together to move forward. Our work continues at the Castle in three weeks.

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DEPT. OF COMMERCE

Words from Chomsky on the sad state of international media

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BY MEDIA FARM @MEDIAFARM

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This week we are honored to run an exclusive excerpt from Boston Strong, the book and future movie that readers from around the Hub are chatting about, and for darn good reason. Journalists Casey Sherman and Dave Wedge, the latter a longtime DigBoston contributor, have devoted an inordinate amount of time to the human side of the Boston Marathon bombing story. Their words remind us, especially in the middle of proceedings that cast such an impersonal light on this tragedy, about the people among us for whom every day since the attack has been a trial.

To complement those chapters about the humanity that emerged from the Boylston Street bombing saga, we thought it only right to acknowledge a much less triumphant side, one of a markedly different caliber. We’re talking of course about the United States justice system, the incompetent putzes who are prosecuting Dzhokhar Tsarnaev and investigating the attack, and a lot of the drone reporters covering the saga. One must be able to process disparate thoughts in order to understand how several sides, the alleged terrorist as well as the capital forces against him and the hairdo with the microphone outside the courthouse, are depraved in their own unique ways.

To that end we took the liberty of pulling a short but weighty remark from a recent Noam Chomsky speaking engagement at Lilypad in Inman Square. The event, sponsored by The Baffler, was titled “The Tsarnaev Trial and the Rest of Us,” and featured a discussion with Chomsky and Kade Crockford from the ACLU of Massachusetts Technology for Liberty Project. Though Crockford directly addressed the Marathon bombing, Chomsky mostly riffed through parallels and allegories about comparable moments in modern history. We recommend you view the whole chat on the WGBH Forum Network, but for now here’s one gem that we knew belonged on the Media Farm from the moment Noam said it …

There are quite a lot of interesting cases [in which] the US goes after what it calls “propaganda agencies” and destroys them … Some I saw first-hand … I happened to be, by accident, in Islamabad right at the time when US forces invaded Afghanistan.

Of course all the journalists in the world flocked to Islamabad because that’s the way to get into Afghanistan. If you’ve ever been to a place where a lot of journalists flock together, you’ll know how it works …

There are a couple of hotels, they hang around the hotel bar, have fun, have drinks, talk to each other and so on. And the big joke among the journalists in the Islamabad hotel bar was about the bombing of the Al Jazeera television-radio outfit in Kabul. It had been attacked and destroyed by US missiles. The official story, which all of the journalists reported, was that it was an accident, they were aiming at something else. Everyone in the bar was laughing about how ridiculous this is— of course they targeted the Al Jazeera office and destroyed it, but it’s not the kind of thing you report …

That’s routine.

FREE RADICAL

SUPER BOWLS MATTER

BY EMILY HOPKINS @GENDERPIZZA Hundreds took to the streets of Boston on Sunday to show support a group of millionaires going head-to-head on a field in Arizona. The group did not seem to have any demands or clear messaging, though many donned red, white, and blue to a degree that some might call cultish.

Some of the disruptors blocked traffic throughout the evening. In anticipation for such an action, there was an increased police presence in Kenmore Square and around some of Boston’s major sports bars, from where it is reported that marchers held clandestine meetings. Some roadways were preemptively closed.

In other neighborhoods, illegal deployment of fireworks was widespread, witnesses say. The Boston Police pleaded with revelers to “be respectful” and “stay classy,” but reports say that their requests were not heeded. A property damage estimate is forthcoming.

@MAGOUNSSALOON OLDEMAGOUNSSALOON

THE NEW NORMAL FEATURE

An exclusive excerpt from the new book ‘Boston Strong’

BY CASEY SHERMAN @CASEYSHERMAN123 & DAVE WEDGE @DAVEWEDGE

Dzhokhar Tsarnaev sits in isolation in a small prison cell at the Federal Medical Center in Devens, Massachusetts, forty miles from the finish line on Boylston Street. He is cut off from the outside world. Communicating with other prisoners is strictly forbidden. Sunlight is rare. His only visitors are his sisters, a psychiatrist, and members of his legal team, which includes five attorneys, a team of paralegals, and two investigators.His lawyers are trying to keep him alive and away from lethal injection if and when he is found guilty. Their plan is to argue that he was seduced and manipulated by his older brother, Tamerlan, and that he acted under his “domination and control.” It is a defense the victims find laughable. To muddy the waters even more, his lawyers claim that the FBI had encouraged Tamerlan to become an informant to provide the Bureau with intelligence on Boston’s Chechen and Muslim communities.

Dzhokhar’s lawyers argue that the alleged pressure from the FBI toward Tamerlan to get him to rat on his fellow Muslims may have added to his “increased paranoia and distress.”

Federal prosecutors are looking to expose a different side of Dzhokhar. He was not a manipulated man-child, they argue, but a cold-blooded killer. Prosecutors claim that Tsarnaev has made “detrimental” statements during jailhouse visits with his sisters. This legal Ping-Pong game will continue to go back and forth through his trial. Meanwhile, Dzhokhar sits in his cell, living off meals of chicken and rice and allowed to make only one phone call, write only one letter each week. This is the life of an American teenager—an American teenager accused of killing and maiming his fellow citizens, including a young boy who should be enjoying the fourth grade.

Dzhokhar Tsarnaev is caged, but his victims are free— free to resume their lives in new and different ways. In January, Jeff Bauman and Carlos Arredondo were invited to attend President Obama’s State of the Union Address as special guests of the First Lady. A week later, they were asked to deliver the commencement address at Fisher College in Boston. Such opportunities could not have been imagined before April 15, 2013. The survivors had sacrificed their bodies and their minds, but they had also discovered

“Dzhokhar Tsarnaev is caged, but his victims are free– free to resume their lives in new and different ways.”

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a new strength in the well of their souls. Through their healing, they reclaimed their lives, tackled new challenges, and savored new experiences. Mery Daniel, Heather Abbott, and Adrienne Haslet-Davis found themselves backstage at a Beyoncé concert taking photos with the singing star.

Members of the Collier family, the Richard family, and others were invited to Fenway Park for the 2014 home opener, where they presented World Series rings to the Red Sox. Survivors Colton Kilgore and Sabrina Dello Russo began training for their first Boston Marathon.

Michelle L’Heureux returned to the ski slopes, a place she feared she would never be able to return to. She was nervous but dug deep, thinking to herself that it was time to get back to some of the things she loved. But when the day arrived, she worried about her quad muscles in her injured leg, which hadn’t yet returned to full strength. Would they be strong enough to handle the turns and stops?

Michelle met her best friend Sare Largay at Blue Hills in Milton, Massachusetts. They entered the small lodge, got bundled up, and Michelle strapped into her ski boots for the first time since before she was injured. Ski boots are always stiff the first time you put them on at the beginning of a season, but for Michelle, the feeling was especially foreign—and a bit scary. Carrying their skis, they walked to the lift line, put down their skis, and Michelle snapped in.

It was something she’d done literally thousands of times in her life, but this time, it felt really good. She smiled, albeit a bit anxiously. Overcoming her fears is a personal goal. And skiing this night was one of them.

Getting onto the chairlift is as natural as tying shoes to Michelle. But on this night, she was afraid. She couldn’t bring herself to get onto the chair. Partly she was afraid about her leg, but she was also scared of getting on the rickety, old, metal chairlift. She feared an accident.

It was the same fear she felt in Lyon, France, a month earlier when she got on a Ferris wheel with other survivors.

She thought about the Ferris wheel and how she was scared then, too.

Nothing happened on the Ferris wheel. Nothing is going to happen now, she told herself.

Sare sensed her apprehension and asked the lift operator to slow it down for them. The chair slowly pulled up behind them, Michelle grabbed the rail, sat down, and they were off toward the top of the hill.

Nearing the top, Michelle was afraid to raise the bar, so Sare grabbed her arm, held it tight, and raised the bar.

They skied down the small off-ramp and onto the snow.

Michelle stood at the top for a solid five minutes. She was

terrified. Have I made a mistake? What if my leg gives out?

What if I fall? Her mind was racing.

Michelle started to slide down the hill and made her first turn. It felt awkward, but she had done it hundreds of times before. I can do this, she thought.

She was shaky, but she made each turn, keeping her speed down. She gained confidence along the way. Her leg was definitely feeling weak, so she stopped about halfway down.

She rested a minute and then started up again. As she got toward the end of the short intermediate trail, she started picking up a bit too much speed, her weakened leg resisting her efforts to slow her body down.

She pulled it together, though, and slowed herself down, regaining control. She made it to the bottom. She smiled.

They did six runs that night, and it got easier each time.

Her turns got sharper and she skied a bit more freely each time. But by the final run, Michelle’s leg was sore.

The friends snapped out of their skis and called it a night.

Michelle was exhausted but was also exhilarated that she had returned to doing something she loved. It was another milestone for her as she resumed her “new normal.”

Since that first time back skiing, Michelle realized that she needed to pick up the work on rebuilding her quad muscles.

She started doing wall sits, in which she crouches down with her back against a wall and her knees bent at a right angle.

She also started doing more weight exercises with her legs at the gym—for she had in mind a promise she’d made to her Marathon Day “heroes” that she would run a 5K road race with them the day before the 2014 Boston Marathon.

Michelle, like many survivors, regularly gets together with her heroes. For Michelle, those are Andrew Daly, Joe McMenamy, and Lauren Blanda. All three are friends with a manager at Marathon Sports and were there the day of the bombing to watch the race.

Joe worked at Marathon Sports, while Lauren worked at nearby City Sports. Andrew, a running specialist for Adidas, sells to Marathon Sports. Lauren and Andrew have been dating for years and got engaged in January 2014.

Michelle credits the three with saving her life that day.

As she lay on the floor of Marathon Sports, the three kept her calm while they tore T-shirts off the racks and made tourniquets to stop the bleeding from her gaping wounds.

After EMTs evacuated Michelle, Joe walked away from Marathon Sports covered in her blood. His pants were soaked with it. He, like most there that day, was in shock.

He called his mom and told her the whole experience BOSTON STRONG continued on pg. 10

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BOSTON STRONG continued from pg. 8 had changed him. He now wanted to become a firefighter or an EMT. In February 2014, he took the exam to become a Boston firefighter.

One afternoon in January, Michelle was at the gym walking on the treadmill as usual. She was feeling unusually strong this day and, with her heroes in mind, she decided to try and run for the first time since the bombings.

OK, let’s see what I can do, she said to herself, increasing the speed.

She started to trot. Then she started to jog.

I’m running, she thought to herself. It wasn’t easy, but she felt good. Her goal was to do a mile. Around the seventhtenths mile mark, she started feeling weak. Her knee was aching from the pounding, and her wound was chafing. She wanted to quit.

She was getting annoyed with herself. A year ago, you

could have run a mile, but you just didn’t choose to, she thought to herself. Her anger rising, her thoughts turned to the terrorists.

You have to finish this mile.

She pictured the faces of Dzhokhar and Tamerlan Tsarnaev. It’s something she does regularly, whenever her arm or leg injury is becoming an obstacle. It gives her motivation to finish.

If I finish this mile, I win, she told herself. She then mentally addressed the terrorists directly: You’re not going to win this. You did this to my leg, but I’m going to prove you wrong and I’m going to finish.

She finished the mile. She let out a sigh of exhaustion, turned off the treadmill, and headed for the locker room. She was sore, but she was satisfied.

She won.

Q&A: DAVE WEDGE & CASEY SHERMAN

BY DAN MCCARTHY @ACUTALPROOF & CHRIS FARAONE @FARA1 Boston Strong was much more than a typical book project.

Between deadlines, daily-changing storylines, and the high emotional nature of the topic-at-hand, it was a life-altering undertaking, the combination of humanity and journalistic gusto that make for passionate, genre-defining stories. We’re longtime acquaintances and admirers of Dave Wedge and Casey Sherman, and so they allowed us to prod them with questions of both a personal and professional nature. In all, a phenomenal complement to the book and precursor to the upcoming film of the same name …

Where were you when the Boston Marathon was bombed?

And what were the first things that you thought, that you wrote in your notebook?

DW: I was the Boston Herald’s City Hall reporter and was on my way to a meeting outside the building when I got a call from firefighter friend of mine telling me there were two explosions at the finish line. I at first assumed they were manhole explosions or maybe a substation explosion as had happened not long before the marathon bombings. I was on Morrissey Boulevard in Dorchester and was just starting to head toward Boylston when the firefighter called me back and said the JFK Library was on fire. I looked over toward the library and saw thick, black smoke, so I immediately sped to the library. I stayed there for a few minutes but it quickly became clear no one was hurt and it was likely not connected to what happened at the marathon, so I headed to the finish line.

CS: I was working at the time doing corporate communications in Boston and my office was in the North End. Bombs go off, we clear out, all our employees, and then it’s my decision because I was interested in it, not just as a journalist by trade [or] thinking I was going to write a book about it. I just wanted to see what was happening. So I got down to about [Arlington and Newbury]. I couldn’t really drive anywhere [and] I forget where I dropped my car off. I tried to walk, but it was just a tsunami of people. You could see the smoke, almost smell it to a degree.

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How much material for the book was drawn from previous reporting, and what was the change of pace like in going to writing at book length?

DW: Most of the book is taken from hundreds of hours of interviews Casey and I conducted with survivors, first responders, city leaders like Mayor Menino and Gov. Patrick, witnesses and relatives and friends of those who lost their lives. Good chunks of the chapter on the Watertown shootout were from my first hand observations as I was in the middle of the chaos there that night and remained there until they caught Dzhokhar Tsarnaev. And much of the narrative of what happened there was taken from incredible details provided by Watertown police Chief Ed Deveau.

It was very different from the short pieces I generally wrote for the Herald, but I have written many longer magazine pieces over the years so that served as good training. I had also edited and done some research for

“Our book is about the heroism of the day and the resilience of those impacted by the attacks. Our goal was to focus on finding those incredible stories of survival and recovery and tell the larger story of what happened through that prism.” colleagues’ books in the past, so that helped. But working with Casey helped me immensely to really focus on my writing and tell the story in a direct and compelling way.

Casey is a master storyteller and working with him was a perfect partnership.

Using the title “Boston Strong,” which came to represent so much, seems like a major burden. How did you interpret that weight, and how did you live up to any expectations that may have been out there?

DW: We chose it because the vision for our book fit perfectly with that sentiment. Our book is about the heroism of the day and the resilience of those impacted by the attacks.

Our goal was to focus on finding those incredible stories of survival and recovery and tell the larger story of what happened through that prism. As tragic and sad as what happened here was, the response of the survivors, the regular people who ran in to help those hurt, first responders and our city leaders, particularly Mayor Menino, are the true legacy of that day. I think when people read the book, they’ll understand why we chose that title.

CS: We debated it. We [also] had Patriots Day, you name it, it was thrown out there. But it was just that the more we kept meeting these survivors and seeing how the tragedy had motivated them to do bigger things, things they never

She went home, took some Motrin, and iced her knee.

Surprisingly, she woke up the next morning with no pain. That day, she went back to the gym and ran one and a half miles.

Two weeks later, she and her boyfriend, Brian, who is training to run the marathon again, went to the gym together.

They ran side-by-side on treadmills. After a mile, Michelle told him, “One mile.” She wanted to stop.

“Keep going,” Brian encouraged her.

She got to a mile and a half.

“Keep going,” he said.

Her goal was to make it to two miles. She made it.

“Woo-hoo!” she said, letting out a small yell. People working out turned around and looked at her awkwardly.

She didn’t care. She was another step closer toward being able to run the 5K race with her heroes.

thought possible their whole lives, we kept going back to “strength,” “resilience,” and I said why are we trying to scramble our brains for something to think up when the slogan is already there. And I know we’re going to get people that roll their eyes about the name of the book because they think it’s a marketing ploy and a t-shirt, but to them I’ll just say “read it.”

Is there anything you guys have found to the response of the project or announcement of the film project that the national media have gotten wrong?

CS: More so about the movie project. At first we took heat when it was announced there would be a movie about it, and we were blasted in the press. “It’s too soon, how can anyone make a movie about this?” We knew the angle we were taking, which was this is going to be a story that’s a tribute to the city, and not take away from it. And the stories of heroism and sacrifice that we wrote about and will be portrayed in the movie, people need to see that and need to be inspired by that, because it needs to be a history lesson and again, 20 years from now people will watch the movie on cable as opposed to going back and finding our book.

Granted, Hollywood is Hollywood and some things will be recreated or dramatized just for a movie going audience, but the theme and the core of the book and the movie will be the same, which is making sure people know that it’s not easy. And that the threat will always exist. When we went to France a year ago and were talking to survivors on that trip that were very nervous, because it was a high profile trip, and they believed that “alright, you’ve gathered 100 of us survivors in one spot, is there a terrorist organization out there that will target us?” We didn’t realize how real of a possibility that had been until Charlie Hedbo. So the constant fear of survivors is real, their heads are always on a swivel. Even if a door closes abruptly behind one of them, many of them jump or even literally hit the ground. And you know they’re always going to have that fear. It sickens you.

Are either of you following the trial closely? And if so, are you taking notes, preparing for follow-up reports, a paperback edition, etc.?

DW: We are following the trial closely. We will both be dropping in to observe from time to time and will be doing an epilogue for the next printing.

CS: We have to, because we’ll update the book and we’ll be jumping in and out of the trial during the course of it. Because a lot is still unwritten about it, including the FBI’s role in this case. What we found out was that the relationship between local authorities and the FBI wasn’t as seamless as it was portrayed at the time. There was a lot of distrust between BPD and the FBI. What do you say to yourself before making your first contact with a victim of something as horrific as the bombing of the Boston Marathon?

DW: Honestly, these were some difficult interviews at times. I guess I just tried to put myself in a very calm place before the interviews so I wouldn’t start off like a bull in a china shop and instead could ease into each discussion.

Interviewing folks who lost a limb or limbs or a loved one is never a comfortable topic. But these are amazing people whose outlook - despite what happened to them - remains very positive. That’s inspiring.

NEWS TO US FEATURE DEPT. OF COMMERCE ARTS + ENTERTAINMENT

ATTENTION: BOSTON CONVENTION DATES HAVE CHANGED

TICKETS ON SALE NOW

TO BOSTON’S FIRST CANNABIS INDUSTRY CONVENTION!

$25

GET THEM BEFORE THEY’RE GONE!

2 FULL DAYS OF PROGRAMMING Featuring: · Keynote Speaker Becky DeKeuster, M.Ed. founder of Maine’s largest group of medical marijuana dispensaries.

THIS EVENT will bring together dozens of vendors from every aspect of the Cannabis industry, 2 full days of educational workshops & panels, and thousands of patients, advocates, supporters, educators, and entrepreneurs. There will also be a wide assortment of the best smoking, vaping, storage, and growing accessories available for purchase at the show!

Buy your tickets NOW:

WWW.CANNATICKET.COM

NOTICE:

January Boston Convention dates have been changed to Sat Feb 21 and Sun Feb 22 Tickets purchased for the original dates will be honored for the Feb 21 & 22 shows!

Saturday: noon - 6pm Sunday: 11am-5pm At the Historic Castle at Park Plaza In the Heart of Downtown

· Education: Cultivation for Patients and Caregivers · Politics/Activism Panel · Medical Marijuana as Medicine Education: Cooking with Cannabis · MA Medical Marijuana Law

Presented by

11

DEPT. COMMERCE DRINKS

SWEET AND SOUR

Warm up like you’re at a serious cocktail cavern without leaving the house

BY DIG STAFF @DIGBOSTON This never-ending snow and raw, cold weather is enough to make even you skip going out for a night, just so you can spend an evening at home in comfortable pants flanked by movies, heat, and junk food.

But that doesn’t mean you necessarily have to sacrifice your love of drinking delicious cocktails.

Which, if executed right and with a little effort (c’mon, even you’re not above that), can in some way give you that “at a swanky highbrow drinkery” feeling while you’re really on your lowbrow couch, which may or may not be better off set afire and tossed from a cliff into the ocean.

To wit: Here’s a quick alt-version of the classic sour-family bourbon cocktail, the Derby. Basically, as long as you have some kind of brown liquor at home (spiced rum, bourbon, rye, whiskey … all depends on your preference) you can whip several of these up to maximize their medicinal benefits while minimizing your own effort.

SURF’S UPSIDE DOWN

INGREDIENTS 2oz of rum, bourbon, rye, or whiskey 2 whole lime 4 tablespoons of raw, organic honey mint leaf or lime wedge for garnish PROCEDURE In a small bowl, juice the entire lime by cutting in halves and squeezing until done. Then, add the four tablespoons of raw organic honey. Microwave until the honey has melted fully into a warm, sweet gooey mess.

COMMERCE

ROCK ART

Get ready to climb on video volcanoes and see some local art—with beer

BY DAN MCCARTHY @ACUTALPROOF

DIGBOSTON.C0M

02 04 15 – 02 11 15

12

Jonathan Macleod, curator for this month’s live-art-meets-rock-climbing party, Visualize Somerville, was working at the Artisan’s Asylum after having already been involved in video and visual art for the better part of 12 years when he scored a tour of Brooklyn Boulders and an informal chat session with the venue’s owners before the space opened. His reaction to the scope and scale of the then-forthcoming indoor rock-climbing playland that Brooklyn Boulders boasts was immediate.

“I just said, ‘I NEED to do a project with this place,’” he says. And after two years of planning, the project has moved forward in what Macleod calls “a continuing effort to push the envelope for visual arts in Boston.”

“We tried to do it back in May of last year, and then all the projectors got rained on,” he says. “This is the second rendition. [We’ve had] a lot more time and lead-up for this for preparations, so it’s going to be much bigger.”

Visualize Somerville will transform the Brooklyn Boulders rock-climbing and community space using over 50,000 lumens of projection systems that will immerse the massive faux-walls and cliffs with incredible displays and original animated segments from different local VJs. Which means if you’ve ever wanted to climb a waterfall, a mountain peak, or even a lava flow—in a totally manufactured and two-dimensional way—that will be possible. But besides the novelty of it, Macleod says the idea is to create one-night experience that brings a new dimension to an already amazing community and public activity space.

The party will also spill into the Aeronaut Brewery next door, where 30 works from the local arts talent of Somerville and Boston will be showcased, anything from video installations to paintings, sculptures photography, and performance art.

Between the climbing aspect and the Aeronaut show (yes, they’ll be serving their suds), local DJs will be spinning all night, and there are reportedly local performance acts being approached as well.

“It’s a celebration of visual art,” he says, “by taking two community spaces and throwing a multi-venue event that brings in artists to create different worlds in there.” >> VISUALIZE SOMERVILLE AT BROOKLYN BOULDERS. 12A TYLER ST., SOMERVILLE. FEB 27. $6 VIEW/$25 CLIMB. BROOKLYNBOULDERS.COM/SOMERVILLE/VISUALIZE-SOMERVILLE

Fill a cocktail shaker with ice. Pour in your brown liquor, followed by a few tablespoons of the warm honey-lime mix to taste. Shake well, strain into a cocktail glass over one of the giant spheres of ice. Garnish.

Drink and be warm from the inside out. And especially with the entire procedure taking you no more than about five minutes, you’ll find yourself refilling often, what with these drinks being so delicious. Bonus: If you find you have a cold coming on, or your vocal chords are resembling those of someone who just deep-throated a rhinoceros, the drink has a soothing, medicinal effect which may just work well with your whole “get drunk to stay healthy” mantra.

Which hasn’t exactly worked, but you’re not a quitter, either.

NEWS TO US

HONEST PINT

FEATURE

WEIGHT WATCHING

DEPT. OF COMMERCE

Orange’s first brewery opens this summer

ARTS + ENTERTAINMENT

BY KAREN CINPINSKI @CATSINPJS

13

Fans of Budweiser’s Super Bowl ad which extolled the virtues of macro-beer and mocked all craft beer enthusiasts will be displeased to learn the craft landscape is, at this moment, constantly evolving and growing. The latest proof can be found in Orange, Mass, part of the North Quabbin Region, home to the forthcoming Honest Weight Artisan Beer, the area’s first ever brewery opening to the public in early summer.

Friends Jay Sullivan and Sean Nolan signed a five-year lease for a space within a 100-plus-year-old factory building in Orange Innovation Center and hope to begin brewing this spring.

“For years, we’ve talked about how it would be a dream to work for ourselves and together. Our ideas began to get much more serious over the last year or so,” says Nolan, “The craft brewing industry is continuing to grow and we felt like this was the right time for us to insert our vision into the market, and in a community that we love.”

The owner-brewer duo first met about 10 years ago. Since then, they have built an impressive resume: Sullivan is a graduate of the American Brewers Guild’s Intensive Brewing Science & Engineering program and current head brewer at Cambridge Brewing Company, and Nolan, who completed the Brewing Technology program at the Siebel Institute of Technology/World Brewing Academy, also has a history brewing at Cambridge Brewing Company, along with Idle Hands Craft Ales and Enlightenment Ales.

“We’ve been really fortunate to work with and learn from some amazing folks in the brewing industry and look forward to applying that knowledge in our own direction,” says Nolan.

The 3,000-square-foot industrial space will be equipped with a seven-barrel, 220-gallon production brewery with the capacity to brew 2,500 barrels of suds, although the current plan is to produce and sell just 500 barrels within the first 12 months of operation.

Beers will run the gamut from European-influenced Grisette to hops-forward American-style lagers.

The pair is particularly interested in Brettanomyces fermentation and suds that take more time to perfect, so expect a line of wild yeast styles and worth-the-wait barrel-aged beer.

There’s also a collaboration beer planned with Smuttlabs, a project of Smuttynose Brewing.

Also in the space: a rustic tasting room with a custom-made bar handcrafted from local wood and rigged with up to six draft lines, pouring pints and growlers, and an outdoor patio space and beer garden.

The permitting process started late last week, and construction on the brewery and tasting room will begin in about 30 days, wrapping up by mid-April. Planning for the beer garden will begin shortly thereafter, with the goal of running a fully functional space by end of summer. >> HONEST WEIGHT ARTISAN BEER. 131 W. MAIN ST. UNIT 104, ORANGE, MA. HONESTWEIGHTBEER.COM

REAL FOOD every night TILL ' CLOSE 9 2 H A MP S HIR E S T, CA MB R ID G E , M A | 6 1 7-2 5 0 - 8 4 5 4 | L O R D H O B O.C O M

ARTS ENTERTAINMENT

OH, HEY MAIL DUDE. YOU GOT A PACKAGE FOE ME? WELL I GOT ONE FOR YOU TOO.

14

FRI 2.6

FRI 2.6

SAT 2.7

SAT 2.7

MON 2.9

1v1 Skeeball Tournament

Art by Yasmina Reza/ Staged Reading by Seth Gilliam

MassDiGI Game Challenge

EDGAR ALLAN POE: Master of the Macabre

Purple Rain Listening Party and Live Podcast Recording

A Little Bit Country, a Little Bit Rock ’n’ Roll

get drunk and skee

what is art?

take your video games out of the basement

quoth the raven

praise prince almighty

Lacking drive in your life?

Need a greater purpose to get you through the year?

Competitive skeeball is your answer. Well, not really, but this tourney is in its 11th season, and the organizers know how to host a skee party casual enough for you to be a spectator or contestant. Or just take advantage of the bar specials.

Sometimes you really just want to have a stimulating conversation, but those flanking you lack the intellect. So adopt some new friends and listen in on the staged reading of Reza’s Tony Award-winning play, in which people get feisty over a large white painting. Oh and a guy from The Walking Dead will be there.

An annual pitch competition where the team with the winning video game concept or prototype is showered with prizes, cash, and PR opportunities.

But even if your game doesn’t earn you any glory, there will be mentorship opportunities, educational sessions, and of course, an indie game showcase.

If video games are your calling, this should call loudly to you.

Ever wanted to see Poe in person? Ever realize that he died decades ago? Well if you’re not ready to give up on your dream, come see historian Rob Velella pretend to be Poe as he reads his stories, tells the dirty details of his life, and shares a dark joke or two.

Suggested dress code: dark and gloomy.

Everyone’s favorite Prince album is over 30 years old, so the hosts of Theory For Turntables decided to give the masterpiece the night it richly deserves. It’s part standard listening party, part night of deep, obsessive discussion as the hosts analyze the music and ask all the important questions, like: Why must we all go crazy?

Local bastion of art and hardnosed rock-and-roller Dave Tree will showcase an array of his artwork depicting life on the farm as well as life on the stage, and the places where the two intersect. The exhibit, sponsored by Out Of The Blue Too Gallery in Cambridge, explores lost and found objects, classic Americana imagery, and just-as-classic Tree visionary displays of life, death, and rock.

The Greatest Bar, 262 Friend St., Boston.

7:30pm/21+/Free. skeeboston.com

Carling-Sorenson Theater at Babson College, 231 Forest St., Babson Park.

8pm/all ages/FREE. babson.edu

Microsoft N.E.R.D. Center, 1 Memorial Dr. #1, Cambridge. 2.6 at 9:30am, 2.7 at 5:30pm/13+/FREE. massdigi.org

Gore Place, 52 Gore St., Waltham.

4pm/16+/$15. edgar-allan-poe.bpt.me

Catalyst Comedy Club at Boston Button Factory, 50 Melcher St., Boston. 8pm/ all ages/$5-10, $15 at door. catalystcomedy.com

Middle East Cafe, 472-480 Mass Ave., Cambridge. 7-11pm/all ages/ FREE. mideastoffers.com

tree of americana

PHOTO BY MICHAEL ZAIA

DIGBOSTON.C0M

02 04 15 – 02 11 15

THURS 2.5

15

ARTS + ENTERTAINMENT

DEPT. OF COMMERCE

FEATURE

NEWS TO US

MUSIC

MUSIC

PROTECT YA NECK

GROOVE ME

Please don’t ax Addison Groove

The Drax draw first blood

BY MARTÍN CABALLERO @_EL_CABALLERO

BY MARTÍN CABALLERO @_EL_CABALLERO

We sent some questions via e-mail to UK-based DJ/producer Addison Groove, he of footwork/juke/ DnB/“Footcrab” fame. This is what we got back.

You’ve had a busy year, releasing two albums (Presents James Grieve and Turn Up the Silence) in addition to shows and mixes. Where are you creatively at the moment? What does the last song you’ve made sound like?

It sounds similar to a train hitting a glass wall that’s 17 feet deep. My creativity lies in me taking Valium and coffee; it’s really helping my deteriorating brain.

Why did you decide to follow up with Turn Up the Silence just a few months later?

It was a good idea because one night in a dream Mickey Mouse and Marvin the Martian appeared and told me that I should do it. I think I’d do anything they say. I’m such a slave.

That album features the track “U Been Gone” with the late DJ Rashad. Do you have more unreleased collaborations with him?

Yeah, loads more. They will never come out.

Are there any emerging styles or trends in music now that are exciting to you?

Japanese bassment flute music is my jam. And I can’t forget how much forest floor jungle is going off in my head right now. Maybe I can combine both to get something like Japanese forest flute-jungle ... pure vibe.

CLEAN UP IN FROZEN FOODS “We wanted to put out something that was of high production value, and that is really to the credit of the producer Dean Baltulonis,” says JR. That meant scrapping an entire record they’d already recorded without everyone together in the studio and re-cutting the tracks along with new material. It also meant turning down opportunities to play shows, such was the focus on completing the album since work began last August.

An early listen to tracks from their self-titled debut offers a glimpse of what future live gigs may sound like, and it’s appropriately loud. But also dynamic—Duggan’s voice roils with defiance on “Tomorrow,” rising above the others’ harmonizing while a stomping piano pushes them on. “Say Goodbye” squares up as an unabashed work of ’80s power rock, and does so with such brash charm and zeal that it casts its spell, even if the thought of such things might be groan inducing.

“We just want to push it and see how far it will go, like any other band,” explains JR. “There are certain things that are a mishmash of styles that are sort of interesting, putting punk rock sounds together with some classic rock sounds. It’s not like a big artistic declarative statement; we are working on it one song at a time and we want each song to be great.

We still play songs live that didn’t make it to the record, sound good live but wouldn’t fit in with the rest of the album. It is less by design than people might think.”

God bless you, Draculas.

Will you be bringing an 808 to the Boston show? When did you start using that drum machine for shows?

I used it for a few years till I blew it up due to badly ventilated venues. It’s a bad idea these days to expose the cake 0h eight to the elements after so much use. It is now in retirement, probably with a whiskey bottle next to it laughing at the world.

Have you played Boston before? What was your last experience in the city like?

Yep, was good except for the part where the Red Sox lost and someone tried to ax me.

How do you know when to either place another bet or walk away from the racetrack?

Walking away is for losers. Never give up on your dream.

>> ADDISON GROOVE W/ GIRL UNIT, ALI BERGER, DEV/NULL, AMADEEZY. FRI 2.6. GOOD LIFE, 28 KINGSTON ST., BOSTON. 617.451.2622. 9:30PM/21+/$12.

BRATTLEFILM.ORG. SOUNDCLOUD.COM/ADDISONGROOVE

>> THE DRAX W/ AQUANUTZ, TOWNSHIP, PLANETOID AND PARTY BOIS. SAT 1.7 MIDDLE EAST DOWNSTAIRS, 472 MASS AVE., CAMBRIDGE.617.864.3278. 8PM/18+/$12. FACEBOOK.COM/GODDAMNDRACULAS

MUSIC EVENTS DIGBOSTON.C0M

02 04 15 – 02 11 15

16

THU 2.5

STRANGE INDIE ROCK SEMICIRCLE + WHITE VIOLET + LILITH + PEOPLE LIKE YOU

[O’Brien’s Pub, 3 Harvard Ave., Allston. 8pm/21+/$8. obrienspubboston.com]

V EASY LISTENING JOSHUA RADIN + RACHEL YAMAGATA + CARY BROTHERS

[The Wilbur, 246 Tremont St., Boston. 7:30pm/all ages/$31. thewilbur.com]

FRI 2.6

SPECIAL ACOUSTIC SETS! KEVIN DEVINE + INTO IT OVER IT + LAURA STEVENSON

[The Sinclair, 52 Church St., Cambridge. 7:30pm/all ages /$15. sinclaircambridge.com]

GENTLE FOLK DAMIEN JURADO + CHRISTA GNIADEK

[Brighton Music Hall, 158 Brighton Ave., Allston. 6pm/18+/$13. crossroadspresents.com]

SUN 2.8

WED 2.11

[O’Brien’s Pub, 3 Harvard Ave., Allston. 8pm/21+/$8. obrienspubboston.com]

[Paradise Rock Club, 967 Comm Ave., Boston.

6pm/all ages/$18. crossroadspresents.com]

ALLSTON PUDDING PRESENTS PALM SPRING LIFE + HORSEHANDS + WOLF BLITZER

LOUD DUDE METAL PERIPHERY + NOTHING MORE + WOVENWAR

DRAX PHOTO BY HEATHER MCGRATH | ADDISON GROOVE PHOTO BY ASHES57.

After a year in which they took the Rock ’n’ Roll Rumble title and scored a couple of Boston Music Award nominations, you would expect the Goddamn Draculas’ name to enjoy some deserved recognition. Just maybe not in this way.

“We’ve been kicked off of gigs. We’ve had people say that they will never put us in their publication because of the name,” says JR Roach, drummer in the five-piece band now otherwise known as The Drax. Adopting the nickname makes sense; it would give those offended—too easily, let’s admit— by the name (like the local radio station J.R. says edited out the word “God” on air) an alternative option, and it was what their friends and fans already called the band themselves.

Throw in a spiffy new logo to go with it, and problem solved.

“We thought if people are going to be able to use this petty instrument against us, we’re going to try and turn the tables on them.”

Admittedly, there’s not much anyone could do to slow the band’s momentum since they edged out Petty Morals and Await Rescue at the Rumble Final last April. It was hardly new territory; JR and Chris Duggan (vocals/guitar) had each entered with different bands three times already, while Jeff “Chip” Nicolai (keyboards/vocals), Bice Nathan (bass/vocals), and Dennis Carver (guitar) had once. But the victory proved there was an enthusiastic audience for an LP’s worth of that powerful sound, in which the intimate urgency of Duggan’s raspy vocals intertwines with glorious, chunky arena rock chords. And, maybe more importantly, it gave them some money to make a record.

NEWS TO US FEATURE

Thursday February 5th

THE UPPER CRUST PLUS WATT Rock

CENTRAL SQ. CAMBRIDGE, MA mideastclub.com | zuzubar.com (617) 864-EAST | ticketweb.com

-DOWNSTAIRSFRI 2/6

RUN DMT

MICHAEL SAVANT+SQUNTO SUN 2/7

GODDAMN DRACULAS

AQUANUTZ,TOWNSHIP, PLANETOID

FRI 2/13

Friday February 6th 7PM

HONKY TONK MASQUERADE with Dance Lesson!

Friday February 6th 10PM We Dig FRee FRiDayS PReSenTS

KAT WRIGHT & THE INDOMITABLE SOUL BAND PLUS SOULPaX Female Fronted Soul

Saturday February 7th 7PM

THE FOOLS 80’s Rock

Saturday February 7th 10PM 31-DeRFUL!

A JOHNNY BLAZES & THE PRETTY BOYS BIRTHDAY CELEBRATION PLUS geORge WOODS BanD Soul / Folk-Funk Tuesday February 10th 8PM

7 BAND DRAW SAT 2/19

DOCTOR GRANT’S OPEN MIC FRee Bar-side

17 Holland St., Davis Sq. Somerville (617) 776-2004 Directly on T Red Line at Davis

(OF MY CHEMICAL ROMANCE)

STOOP KIDS

MICK JENKINS & KIRK KNIGHT

Friday February 6th 10PM We Dig Free Fridays presents

KAT WRIGHT & THE INDOMITABLE SOUL BAND PLUS SOULPAX Female Fronted Soul Saturday February 21st 10PM

VINAL PLUS SPECIAL GUESTS COSMIC DUST BUNNIES Jam Band Friday February 27th 10PM We Dig Free Fridays presents

GRASSROOT PLUS JO HENLEY BAND Rock

/mideastclub / @mideastclub @

SUNDAYS

THIRSTY TUESDAYS

DOUBLE TAP

Weekly Gaming Night: The same

Live Resident Band The Night Foxes, Playing everything Old, New & Everything Inbetween

guys who bring you Game Night every week at Good Life bar are now also running a special Sunday night.

21+, NO

21+, NO COVER, 10PM - 1AM

COVER, 6PM 11:30PM

MONDAYS

WEDNESDAYS

MAKKA MONDAY

GEEKS WHO DRINK ELEMENTS

THURSDAYS

Free Trivia Pub Quiz from 7:30PM - 9:30PM

RE:SET WEDNESDAYS

Weekly Dance Party, House, Disco, Techno, Local & International DJ’s

15+ Years of Resident Drum & Bass Bringing some of the worlds biggest DnB DJ’s to Cambridge

19+, 10PM - 2AM

FRIDAYS

SATURDAYS

PRETTY YOUNG THING

BOOM BOOM ROOM

21+, 10PM - 2AM

21+, 10PM - 2AM

80’s Old School & Top 40 Dance hits

THE WELL, THESE WILD PLAINS SAT 2/7

TUES 2/10 - LEEDZ PRESENTS

TUESDAYS

19+, 10PM - 1AM

ALL THEM WITCHES

COIN

THE BEST ENTERTAINMENT IN CAMBRIDGE 7 DAYS A WEEK!

21+, 10PM - 1AM

FRI 2/6

SUN 2/8 - BOWERY PRESENTS

17

14+yrs every Monday night, Bringing Roots, Reggae & Dancehall Tunes

- UPSTAIRS THURS 2/5

LUCRETIA’S DAGGERS

512 Mass. Ave. Central Sq. Cambridge, MA 617-576-6260 phoenixlandingbar.com

17 Holland St., Davis Sq. Somerville (617) 776-2004 Directly on T Red Line at Davis

DEPT. OF COMMERCE

Boston’s Best Irish Pub

featuring John Pizzi, Kelly MacFarland, & Jim McCue

ARTS + ENTERTAINMENT

Wednesday February 4th

BOSTON COMEDY FUNDRAISER FOR BOBBY SEIBEL

80’s, 90’s, 00’s One Hit Wonders

CHECK OUT ALL PHOENIX LANDING NIGHTLY EVENTS AT:

WWW.PHOENIXLANDINGBAR.COM

1/2 PRICED APPS DAILY 5 - 7PM SHOWING THE 6 NATIONS RUGBY TOURNAMENT LIVE STARTING FEB 6

WATCH EVERY SOCCER GAME! LIVE OPENING 7:30am

ENGLISH PREMIER LEAGUE Saturdays & Sundays Every Game shown live in HD on 12 Massive TV’s. We Show All European Soccer including Champions League, Europa League, German, French, Italian & Spanish Leagues.

NFL SUNDAY SPECIAL $4 Drafts, Wing Specials, Happy Hour Priced menu!

FILM

SNOW MORE, THANKS

Battle the elements by way of films, sloth, and Netflix

BY DIG STAFF @DIGSTAFF The weather’s so horrid it makes you want to curl up in a ball and never leave the house again. Or just curl up in a ball and watch a bunch of movies that get you thinking about anything other than the snow. Or both. Below, some choice DigBoston staff picks available for streaming right now on Netflix, which should tide you over until the weather gets better. Or you find a way to move to Mars. It’s warm there.

UNCLE BOONMEE WHO CAN RECALL HIS PAST LIVES

Mon through Wed 11:30 - 10:30

Thurs 11:30 - 11:30 | Fri & Sat 11:30 to 12

dumplingroom.com 907 Main St, Cambridge, Massachusetts 02139 (617) 491-6616

Use this enchanting Thai film about reincarnation to forget about the freezing weather and endless shoveling.

And now that the snow has finally silenced Boston’s drunken Superbowl celebratory yells in our streets, you can hear every muted crunch of a branch beneath someone’s foot in Uncle Boonmee Who Can Recall His Past Lives. Art house films tend to need a little extra attention to be fully understood and appreciated, so consider this a gift from Cannes Film Festival to carry you through to the next storm. NINA CORCORAN

JACK AND THE CUCKOO CLOCK HEART

For those stuck inside with their kid (or someone else’s). Unlike most of the other dreck marketed at younger set, this is a high-water mark. It’s delightfully weird for weirdness’s sake, with gorgeous animation and catchy songs, but no painful attempts to educate, and no sugar-coating the facts of life. Death exists, and the filmmakers haven’t tried to avoid it. - CADY VISHNIAC

THE ARTIST IS PRESENT

Watch this documentary about artist Marina Abramovic’s historic MoMA performance piece, for which she “installed” herself during all business hours of the museum for the three months that her retrospective was in place. Something about the presentation of the woman’s stamina portrayed in the film will make you feel like being stuck inside during a blizzard is child’s play. - EMILY HOPKINS

THE PUNK SINGER

After you’ve been moved by Abramovic’s power, check out this other femmecentered documentary about Bikini Kill frontwoman Kathleen Hanna. Many may know the story of how this riot grrrl helped start a revolution (if not, look it up), but few know the story of why she suddenly disappeared from the limelight entirely.

Her story (and the soundtrack) will get you so pumped that you’ll feel juiced enough to shovel your whole block. In theory,anyway. - EMILY HOPKINS

FILM EVENTS SUN. FEB 8

[Coolidge Corner.

290 Harvard St., Brookline.

Fri. 2.6 + Sat. 2.7. midnight/ R/$11.25. coolidge.org]

[Harvard Film Archive.

24 Quincy St., Harvard Sq., Cambridge. 7pm/PG/$7-11. hcl.harvard.edu/hfa]

[Brattle Theatre.

40 Brattle St., Harvard Sq., Cambridge. 7pm/NR/$11. brattlefilm.org]

ALIENS, ROBOTS, AND TIME TRAVEL BOSTON SCI-FI FILM FESTIVAL

MON. FEB 9

TUES. FEB 10

[Coolidge Corner.

290 Harvard St., Brookline.

7pm/R/$11.25. coolidge.org]

[Coolidge Corner.

290 Harvard St., Brookline. 7pm/NR/$7. bostonopenscreen.com]

@FTER MIDNIGHT RABID

DIGBOSTON.C0M

02 04 15 – 02 11 15

18

DIRECTOR ROBERT GREENE IN PERSON ACTRESS

FRI. FEB 6

[Somerville Theatre.

55 Davis Square, Somerville.

Fri. 2.6-Mon. 2.16 $12.75 per movie,$150 festival pass. bostonscifi.com]

ORSON WELLES LIKES A FRAUD F FOR FAKE

SCIENCE ON THE SCREEN EVIL DEAD II: WITH DR. STEVEN SCHLOZMAN

OPEN MIC NIGHT FOR FILMS OPEN SCREENING

19

ARTS + ENTERTAINMENT

DEPT. OF COMMERCE

FEATURE

NEWS TO US

DIGDEALS

THEATER

OBEHI JANICE

Inspiring belief in the power of voice(s)

BY SPENCER SHANNON @SUSPENCEY

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As actor/writer Obehi Janice makes last-minute adjustments in rehearsals—a week away from the premiere of her forthcoming one-woman show, “FUFU & OREOS”— her ability to fluidly and dramatically transition between characters elicits delighted laughs from the play’s director, Rebecca Bradshaw.

After a few minutes, Bradshaw asks her to run through a scene again. “Father” and “Uncle” sound too similar, so Bradshaw asks Janice to alter her voice and her body language in order to differentiate the two characters more clearly. After a pause, Janice takes it from the top, and out of nowhere, she creates someone completely new. Bradshaw is floored.

“You have so many people in your back pocket!” she exclaims. “That’s crazy! Do you see how crazy that is?”

Janice must have some inkling, since in “FUFU” she portrays almost 30 distinct individuals.

“I don’t think about that, ’cause if I do, I’ll be like, ‘I’m not doing it! It’s not happening!’” Janice says with a laugh.

In 2009, while still in college at Georgetown University, Janice began writing “FUFU & OREOS” after noticing the lack of original plays about Nigerian-American women. “I was just like, ‘I’m gonna write one by myself, and then I’ll make it about myself,’ which is the worst idea ever,” she says, laughing.

Janice speaks with an easy candor and grace, tempered with an endearing brand of modest self-deprecation that charmingly diverts attention away from her radiant talent. While most people would balk at the idea of performing their intimate, personal history onstage, Janice embraces it. And for her, it always had to be this way.

“I believe in the power of voice, and I think that when you’re doing a solo piece, and when it’s good, it really pushes our perception of what it means to be one human being,” Janice says. As for where the wellspring for such a project is found, Janice says it’s a hyper-awareness of her identity, and a clinical depression diagnosis in 2009. “That’s what the inspiration is,” she says. “How [to] find power through words when you’re not speaking, not interacting.”

Bradshaw seconds the idea: “It’s definitely a play about finding your identity and finding your people,” she says. “I definitely hope that it connects with a lot of people who have had similar experiences, because I know that a lot of those people are here, especially in the city, and [theirs are] voices we don’t really hear onstage that often.

We put some stories onstage, but this is a really modern and really contemporary portrayal of a multicultural experience.”

That experience is one in dire need of real representation, and authentic depictions of it are becoming more the norm. For younger audiences who are seeking stories from multicultural playwrights, people who look like them or share their histories, theater is becoming the one place where they can find it with increasing regularity. When a woman of color is onstage, declaring her truth, there is no room for reinterpretation, no space for ambiguity or an excuse for “retelling” within the frame of white recasting—a plight that still befalls so many narratives in television and film.

“Our country is changing. Our country’s consciousness is changing. I think what we’re understanding is that the idea of white normativity is very destructive,” says Janice. “[This] is responding to that.”

And while Janice seems to be no stranger to casually dropping profound statements about the importance of representation (“Theater will die if people who look like me don’t go see it,” she says), her words are nevertheless true. Boston remains a place where diversity is abundant, but getting mainstream stages to produce authentic reflections of that diversity continues to be a challenge. And if the warm reception of Company One’s production of Aditi Kapil’s “Displaced Hindu Gods Trilogy” last year proved anything, it’s that audiences are ready for more.

“What I hope is that people who see my play will write. I just want people like me to write. I want them to be encouraged to make themselves visible,” Janice says passionately. “I actually want you to be a little changed when you leave the theater.

That’s my goal.” >> BRIDGE REP REP PRESENTS: FUFU & OREOS. DEANE HALL, 527 TREMONT ST., BOSTON. FEB 6 - FEB 27. FOR SHOWTIMES AND TICKET PRICES, VISIT BRIDGEREP.WORDPRESS.COM

PHOTO BY BECCA A. LEWIS

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Art as a tool for indigenous empowerment

NEWS TO US ARTS + ENTERTAINMENT

BY SPENCER SHANNON @SUSPENCEY

FEATURE

FOUND IN TRANSLATION

DEPT. OF COMMERCE

ARTS

21 In 2010, the United States became the last country to pledge support to the United Nations Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples, which outlaws discrimination against members of the world’s indigenous population, estimated at 370 million.

It was an important step forward for the human rights movement, and for photographer Dana Gluckstein, it was a personal victory as well. She had partnered with Amnesty International, lobbying President Obama with thousands of letters urging him to reverse the US’s opposition to the document, and used her own art as a tool for empowerment and awareness.

“I feel that indigenous people have a voice that is one of the most profound that we can listen to as a planet,” Gluckstein says.

Now, Gluckstein continues her collaboration with Amnesty International with DIGNITY: Tribes in Translation, an exhibit of 60 images portraying intimate portraits of indigenous subjects, people who are rarely seen but whose continued existence is imperative to preserving our collective history.

The project began in her early twenties when, newly graduated from Stanford and armed with her Hasselblad camera, she began travelling the world and photographing indigenous locals in every location. Gluckstein recalls one of her first trips to Nairobi, where she found that every minute of her waking hours was spent among the people she met.

“I would come back to the camps at night. I was staying in remote places, and the other people there would say to me, ‘What did you see on safari today? What animals?’” she recalls. “And I would look at them like that was crazy! I just didn’t even think about going out on safari. I was wholly interested in people.”

Gluckstein’s passion for the preservation and protection of indigenous peoples has driven her career for the past 30 years. Now, she hopes to use her art to raise awareness again, to urge President Obama to force Indian Health Services to implement standardized sexual assault protocols on reservations. She hopes that the measure will help Native American women access the post-rape care many so desperately need. As it stands now, one in three Native women will be assaulted in their lifetimes.

“There is very important work to be done in this day and age. Our art should count for something,” Gluckstein states. “It’s not enough to be hanging in museums and private collections. It has to open hearts and minds in order for people to be inspired and take action.” >> BOSTON UNIVERSITY ART GALLERY AT THE STONE GALLEY PRESENTS: DIGNITY: TRIBES IN TRANSLATION. 855 COMM AVE., BOSTON. THROUGH 3/29.

FOR MORE INFORMATION VISIT BU.EDU/ART BOOK REVIEW

FANTASY LINK

BY PAIGE CHAPLIN When you curiously crack the spine of Get In Trouble: Stories, the new collection by Northampton-based wordsmith Kelly Link, you’re going to find out a few things. Superheroes sometimes attend conferences at hotels. Butter can be used as a medium for sculpting. Ghosts can simply be people from your past, and Ouija boards probably already know your name. You’re also going to find out that slipstream queen Link doesn’t mess around. There is a considerable amount of the twisted in these fantasy narratives and characters, and there is no absence of raw naiveté and unapologetic humanity.

Link is not afraid of bringing poetry to the surreal, and a sense of groundedness to the unearthly. Consequently, her the people she invents are fearless in their efforts to, well, get themselves in trouble. It’s no surprise that Link has traipsed many a time around the literary cul-de-sac of magical realism, because this book would make any Murakami fan swoon. Or want to bite somebody’s neck. >> KELLY LINK AUTHOR READING. BROOKLINE BOOKSMITH, 279 HARVARD ST., BROOKLINE. MONDAY FEB 16/7PM/FREE. BROOKLINEBOOKSMITH.COM/EVENTS

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SAVAGE LOVE

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02 04 15 – 02 11 15

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My husband and I are a straight couple in our early fifties, and we’ve been married for more than 30 years. We were raised to wait for sex till we got married—this was back in the early ’80s—and we did. Our wedding night was pretty disappointing since neither of us knew what we were doing. He got off, but I didn’t. We both assumed that there was something wrong with me, because he didn’t have any problem coming, right? I figured I was lousy in bed and I was lucky he put up with me. Recently, I got my hands on a vibrator. OH. MY. GOD. There’s nothing wrong with me! Now I think my libido might actually be stronger than his. We have been unable to figure out how to get me to orgasm when we are together. So you can probably see my dilemma. Neither of us has ever been unfaithful, and neither of us is okay with being unfaithful—I know he isn’t. Even though I’m intrigued by the idea, I don’t think I could pull off the lying and deceit required to do it behind his back. I don’t really want a divorce, because it means losing the entire life we’ve built together, which is no small thing.

But when I think about never having good sex in my entire life, I can hardly stand it. What would you do?

Bored in Bed for an Unbearably Long Time If I were in your shoes, if I had suffered through three decades of subjectively lousy sex, if I were staring down the possibility of going to my grave without ever having experienced good-to-great

sex (not even once!), I would cheat on my husband of 30 years.

I would’ve cheated on him already, past tense, a decade or two ago, and probably at regular intervals. (I also would’ve sued all those counselors who failed to suggest buying a vibrator when I complained about my difficulty achieving orgasm.)

But that’s me, BIBFAULT. What should you do? I really couldn’t tell you.

You say you’re not okay with cheating, and I almost believe you—you wouldn’t have written if you weren’t okay with cheating on some level and/or seeking permission to cheat—and cheating would be logistically complicated, given your circumstances, and it would put everything you have with your husband, whom you genuinely love, at risk. So I’m not going to tell you to cheat.

But I will tell you this: You may have an easier time not cheating—an easier time not going out there and actively seeking out sex with other men, an easier time not seizing the first opportunity to cheat that comes your way—if you give yourself permission to cheat if an opportunity to cheat discreetly and with minimal deceit comes along. Telling yourself it will never happen, that you’ll never have good sex, means living in despair, and despair isn’t good for individuals or marriages. But telling yourself that it might happen—but only if the planets have all aligned perfectly (you’re out of town, it’s someone you trust, you won’t have to actively lie)—means living in hope, and hope is good for individuals and marriages.

And knowing that you can cheat when the right opportunity presents itself will make it easier for you to resist cheating—to resist doing something reckless—when the wrong opportunities present themselves.

NEWS TO US FEATURE DEPT. OF COMMERCE ARTS + ENTERTAINMENT

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