Dig Boston Feb. 25th, 2015

DIGBOSTON.COM 2.25.15 - 3.4.15

INTERVIEW

WYATT CENAC ON #DEFLATEGATE, SNOWY BOSTON, AND JOHN OLIVER

WINTER NIGHTLIFE PARTIES, BARS, AND A MIDDLE FINGER TO THE SNOW

NEWS

HARVARD

GOES TO COURT DEFENDS POLLUTION

FILM

DAVID CRONENBERG MAPS TO THE STARS

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NEWS TO US FEATURE DEPT. OF COMMERCE

VOL 17 + ISSUE 8

FEBRUARY 25, 2015 - MARCH 4, 2015

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

DESIGN CREATIVE DIRECTOR Tak Toyoshima DESIGNER Brittany Grabowski INTERNS Elise Cameron, 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

DEAR READER In the past week, I learned a few things.

Reebok is rebooting its Pump sneakers. JNCO Jeans, unbelievably, are coming back, once again proving The Onion to be the grand prophet of The Idiocracy. And the police department in Harlan Kentucky issued a fake all-points-bulletin for the immediate arrest of one of the characters from Disney’s Frozen, due to the fact that their weather has averaged around 33 degrees.

And while at the first-ever New England Cannabis Convention this past weekend, I also learned that the region is ready for alternative medications for pain, suffering, and discomfort in the form of medical marijuana. The packed house was filled with knowledgeable and curious attendees, and panel discussions involving politicians, local activist mothers, authors, fighters, and doctors. The question of whether or not legal cannabis would be a viable alternative to opiates is no longer about whether or not the science and support is there. It is. And a fraction of that enthusiasm was on full display at the Castle at the Park Plaza for two days, with several standing-room only panels, and even an impromptu speech given by veteran Boston sportscaster Bob Lobel, who has become a legal cannabis supporter from his own chronic pain.

If nothing else, Lobel’s championing the cause will likely recast the gazes of residents over the age of 40 away from generalized views of the movement (largely fueled by ignorance and social stigma), and into one that merits a legitimate discussion.

Then again, old habits die hard.

ARTS + ENTERTAINMENT

EDITORIAL

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BY DAN MCCARTHY @ACUTALPROOF

OFFICE MANAGER John Loftus

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

ON THE COVER

Wyatt Cenac will be taking the stage at Johnny D’s in Davis Square this week. He tells us his thoughts on Black History Month, the Daily Show, and the Patriots. Page 12 for a whole lot more.

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

DIGTIONARY

SUPERINTENDENTIOUS noun so͞ op(ə)r(ə)nˈtendənt-shəs

1. A fixed final outcome masquerading as a community-based process by which the people of a city have influence over their new leader of public schools.

OH, CRUEL WORLD To every dipshit who wants the winter Olympics here, Take a GOOD look around you today as you commute to & from work but imagine it is now 2024 and there’s an additional 2+ million people milling about aimlessly on our bus/ rail system.

I’ll give you a minute to drink this calamity in & ponder it fully... Still sound like a good idea to you?

Yeah, that’s what I thought. Now take those 2024 Olympic games in shove ‘em far & wide!

ILLUSTRATION BY ELISE CAMERON

ADVISOR Joseph B. Darby III

NEWS US

OK, EVERYONE SAY, “IF WE DON’T REDUCE OUR CARBON FOOTPRINT THE PLANET WILL GO INTO A DEEP FREEEEEZE!”

THE OTHER STORM FRONT NEWS TO US

Harvard in court, a rally for Cape Wind, and fossil fuel chicanery on campus

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It’s fun to bitch and blow hot wind about the Earth’s imminent doom. We lament at work. In traffic while listening to NPR. With friends over dinner and drinks. And yet most of us do no more to help curb climate change than Christian Evangelicals do to hold back the Rapture. Other than writing an occasional column about fossil fuel fuckery (and coining that alliterative phrase), I’m hardly any holier.

And so it comforts me to see the best and brightest pushing for a better future, and pushing where it hurts.

Since there are several noble efforts underway, I’ll start with the one involving members of the Harvard Climate Justice Coalition who, as they wrote in an accusatory oped last November, are demanding their university “stop profiting from the destruction of the earth’s climate and that it divest its holdings in gas, oil, and coal companies.”

Sounds reasonable enough, and so I have been following the group’s ambitious lawsuit against their own Harvard Corporation for “violating commitments under its charter as well as its charitable duty to operate in the public interest … by financially supporting the most dangerous industrial activities in the history of the planet.”

Harsh words, sure, but someone has to throw some punches. Last time I checked, not a lot of musclebound macho men or even too many movie badasses are crusading for climate justice. Instead, in this battle the warriors are often students, a handful of whom slugged it out last week against attorneys for Harvard, who motioned

to dismiss pending claims against the school.

After going over their arguments in the cold marble corridor of Suffolk County Superior Court, the plaintiffs—an alliance plucked from Harvard College and the schools of law and engineering—sat in a row of chairs before the judge.

More than a dozen of their comrades watched from pews in the rear gallery, a few sporting bandanas on their biceps in displays of solidarity. As the plaintiffs made their cases to the bench, eviscerating Harvard for its negligent greed, their classmates smiled proudly; some barely restrained themselves from cheering as one student dropped zinger after zinger highlighting his school’s shortsightedness: “Allston campus will be flooded in the next century.”

With his shellacked cartoon hair and smug grimace, the Harvard Corporation’s defense attorney, an alumnus of the law school, conducted himself in a manner that one might expect of somebody with his task and appearance. In claiming that the school’s investments should be free from scrutiny, he managed to peg the plaintiffs as presumptuous for attempting to “represent all future generations,” to insult students who requested deadline leniency after rallying with Black Lives Matter protesters last year, and to insult past student divestment campaigns tied to holdings in Darfur and South Africa.

Harvard’s lawyer also pitched some seemingly solid arguments. His major gripe: If students who oppose pollution can force divestments, then what’s to stop

another group of Crimsons, or activists at any institution, from bringing a similar action on grounds that some other industry is evil? Otherwise, Harvard is essentially, boorishly, arguing that, so long as there’s no fraud, negligence, or criminal behavior involved, they’re allowed to conduct business with whomever they wish (which is actually a ridiculous notion if one considers the number of illegal acts that Big Energy commits in any given minute). It’s a position common among libertarians and four-year-olds.

I understand why Harvard’s childish stance may be legally tenable, but it sure does make the university look asinine. It’s obvious why this case deserves judicial attention: There is a fucking crisis looming, and despite their counsel’s request that such matters remain on campus and out of the courts, the hogs who now hold Harvard’s handbag are likely to keep fueling the disaster ’til the Head of the Charles course passes Charlie’s Kitchen. And just earlier this week Massachusetts Senator Ed Markey made a stink about the university’s embarrassing credentials on the academic side, which are apparent in its relationship with a favorite researcher among climate change deniers who coincidentally pockets mucho pesos from polluters.

Ivy Leaguers aren’t alone in the trenches. This Saturday, February 28, Better Future Project and a coalition of other groups that give a damn, many of them powered by young people, will bring their attempt to save Cape Wind STORM FRONT continued on pg. 6

PHOTO BY CHRIS FARAONE

BY CHRIS FARAONE @FARA1

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NEWS TO US

STORM FRONT continued from pg. 4

A NEW ROAST EACH WEEK!

SUNDAY

ROAST

to Boston Common for a 1pm rally. On that front, the reprehensible National Grid has decided to invest in new natural gas pipelines in the commonwealth, and has simultaneously slashed wind contracts. It’s as ugly as it sounds, Koch Industries involvement and all. Despite the positive lip service paid to renewable energy, decision makers, including lawmakers and companies in Mass, are motoring in the other direction.

None of which is meant as a guilt trip for readers. As an alternative publication, we’re simply tasked with covering stories that are largely ignored by top-down influencers at big outlets, and the shadows of the media are often occupied by organizers, scientists, and activists who sacrifice on our behalves. As for the showdown in Cambridge, still in its preliminary stages whether the current claims survive Suffolk Superior or not, Harvard clout attracts significant attention, but students on that front will need more than headlines to set precedents.

Very few people have enough spare resources or energy to represent humanity in court against Goliath, or even to attend environmental rallies. At the very least though, it’s time to lose our voices propping those in the arena.

BLUNT TRUTH

MOMENT OF TRUTH

BY CHRIS FARAONE @FARA1

With all fixings & trimmings 5PM TILL GONE

OLDEMAGOUNSSALOON.COM 518 MEDFORD ST. SOMERVILLE

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I’ve been to nearly a dozen MassCann Freedom Rally events, had a blast at all of them, and have even spoke at a few of their annual galas. I’ve also been to marijuana forums in some other cities, plus I’ve participated in more college lectures and symposiums than I can count. They’ve all been valuable in one way or another; the Freedom Rally in particular along the lines of spurring activism. But the first-ever New England Cannabis Convention, held this past weekend in the Hub, was another cup of herbal tea altogether. And I’m not just saying that because my colleagues at the Dig set the spectacle.

In the relatively intimate setting of the Castle at Park Plaza, it was clear how far the Massachusetts cannabis community has come since its strictly underground years. There’s still a significant black market element, and thankfully the people who have been involved with cultivation in the past are powering medicinal efforts, but the counterculture has officially connected with the mainstream. Parents. Healers.

Grandparents. Caregivers for folks with any number of ailments. For two straight days they sat and shuffled side by side, sharing tips and teaching one another.

My experience was magical from the beginning. Regular Blunt Truth columnist Mike Cann approached me like a friend in high school delivering breaking gossip: “Do you see who’s walking right there behind you?!? Right over there!”

“Huh?” I figured he was talking about one of the industry icons. Perhaps legendary Bay State activist and caregiver Bill Downing, who was standing 10 feet away in a booth, surrounded by inquiring minds. “No.” Mike was determined to shock me. And then he did. “It’s Bob Lobel. Like, Bob Lobel from television!”

I’m not much of a sports fan, but you don’t have to be a Fenway Faithful to be well acquainted with Lobel, who for generations was the face of Boston sports. He’s a father figure—the public trusts and adores him—so his presence in the hall was awfully significant. As the broadcast icon said to a packed crowd after we lured him for an interview—you heard that right, we got Bob Lobel to join us for a panel about medical grass—he’s the last person anybody ever expected to be sitting up there. Like a lot of other attendees though, Lobel, who suffers from pain stemming from spinal stenosis, thinks highly enough of pot to flank the movement.

At this moment in time, marijuana culture in the commonwealth appears to be reaching more and more of the 99 percent, and probably a few plutocrats too. Listening to experts speak on panels about everything from strain-testing to legalization seemed to be a learning experience for all, novices and pros alike. We joked, we nerded out and discussed policy, we had joint-rolling competitions every hour on the hour. Stay tuned: We’ll be posting lots of content on DigBoston.com over the coming weeks.

Finally, it goes without saying that we shouldn’t need such a convention.

Marijuana should be legal in the first place, and doctors should have been prescribing buds for years. That said, we have what we’ve been given, which at this juncture in Mass is a community force intense enough to take these issues seriously, since lawmakers won’t bother. With the likes of Bob Lobel backing the cause, it’s only a matter of time before we have a canna con at Fenway.

VIDEO CAPTURE COURTESY MIKE CANN

617-776-2600

NEWS TO US

MEDIA FARM

FEATURE

40 ACRES AND SOME FUEL

DEPT. OF COMMERCE

The case for reparations for Boston cab drivers

ARTS + ENTERTAINMENT

BY MEDIA FARM @MEDIAFARM

7 Unless you fell asleep and froze to death while waiting for a train over the past month, chances are you noticed that the war between traditional taxis and their new-school competitors has reached Ludicrous Speed. From aldermanic and council hearings in several cities to drivers spitting at each other, it’s like we’re getting driven around by gang bangers.

All things considered, it’s no surprise the media is amplifying animosity, cheering on the yellow-taxi-versus-Lyft squabble like mixed martial arts fans. In case you missed the harbinger of coming animosity in the Boston Globe last month, a group of taxi owners is suing the City of Boston to regulate services like Uber and Lyft. Which brings us to our point …

We’re certain that we speak for everybody who’s ever tried to call a car around here when we say that we have little sympathy for Boston cab companies. It’s like that “You Had One Job” meme; all they’ve ever had to do was answer the phone, tell us how long to wait, then arrive sometime within that frame. But that’s not how it’s ever worked in the Hub; instead, you call, they lie, and you wind up missing your dinner, flight, appointment, etc.

Here’s the thing though: It’s not really the fault of drivers that our taxis suck so badly. As we learned in detail from a Globe Spotlight series on the industry that dropped two whole years ago but seems to have been tragically forgotten, the problem is a broken system that has been allowed to mire in misery. Just a few things learned from their investigation: • The city allowed one man, Edward J. Tutunjian of Boston Cab, to gain control over 20 percent of all taxis in Boston. That’s more than 1,800 medallions.

• The city also silently watched as said medallions fetched several hundred thousand bucks apiece on a secondary market, thus allowing public licenses to become valuable commodities.

• On top of everything else, hackney regulators were complicit in maintaining a toxic status quo that left drivers screwed and passengers in danger.

With cabbies now asking the court “to force ride-hailing services to be subject to the same regulations their operations face,” we have a better idea for columnists and talking heads to get behind. How about reparations for workers and proprietors who were swindled and cheated? Boston was derelict in its duty to protect them all these years; as such, they should cover the cost of moving longtime drivers, as well as law-abiding small potatoes independent licensees, over to services like Lyft and Uber. Tax and regulate the piss out of them, sure, but first let’s melt down the medallion system.

FREE RADICAL

THE KIDS STILL AREN’T ALL RIGHT The first thing I ever wrote for DigBoston, way back in 2012, was an editorial titled, “The Kids Are Not All Right.” I was angry, frustrated in my own closet, and had just attended a fundraiser for GLAAD, which was organizing an anti-bullying campaign for LGBTQ children. It upset me how the youngest members of our queer parade were being subjected, even at school, to blatant cruelty. And now, two-and-a-half years later, it seems society has yet to change enough. LGBT kids still make up a disproportionate percentage homeless youth. Trans teens still commit suicide at alarming rates, sometimes leaving behind blog posts for family members to find.

My heart aches for them all, not just because they’re young, but because they are vulnerable. In that way, we’re all children in this patchwork queer family. But some of us are in more danger than others. Barely a single week goes by without the tragic murder of a trans person of color, many of them black trans women. We need progress, now. It might get better, but not on its own.

ILLUSTRATION BY ALEK GLASRUD

BY EMILY HOPKINS @GENDERPIZZA

WIN TER NIG HTL IFE GUI DE In the cold, blackened center of the thing you used to call a heart,

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there once resided a burning, unquenchable fire that sought food, drink, wine, and song on a regular basis. However, the winter of 2015 has proven to be a worthy foe, and as such you may have found yourself cooped up a whole hell of a lot more than usual. So with this being the Winter Nightlife issue, we’ve decided to present to you a hearty spread of ways to party on a school night—be it some blizzard-y deal at a great local restaurant (most of which need everyone’s help right now), after-work enticements, music, art, poetry, or just dancing to dulcet tones that only the 1990s could produce.

There’s even a selection of restaurant and bar openings you should have on the radar (hint: One involves ramen). Think of it as a snapshot of what Sunday-Thursday has in store for you between now and the spring solstice on March 20, a time period that may later be referred to as “The Great Melt.”

-Dan McCarthy, editor DigBoston

PARTYING ON A SCHOOL NIGHT

POETRY DOUBLE FEATURE What:

Cantab Poetry Slam When: Every Wednesday at 8pm What:

Lizard Lounge Poetry Slam and Jam

BY DAN MCCARTHY, PAIGE CHAPLIN, AND MARTÍN CABALLERO What:

Breakfast for Dinner

When: First Monday of March, April, May at 6-9pm Allston diner The Breakfast Club believes morning is just a state of mind, and they’ll prove it by opening up at 6pm with special seasonally themed four-course prix fixe menus ($35), starting with Irish coffee milkshakes, Bailey’s French toast and Lucky Charms parfaits for St. Paddy’s.

Where: The Breakfast Club, 270 Western Ave., Brighton. 617-783-1212. $35. thebreakfastclubboston.com What:

Get Sanctified at Great Scott

When: Wednesday 3.11 at 9pm You know the story: Talented musician builds a local buzz, plays Boston Calling, earns acclaim, and promptly moves to Brooklyn.

DigBoston staff fave St. Nothing is about at step four right now, which means seeing him in Allston (with Mini Dresses) and pillorying him with compliments and reasons to stay should be top of your to-do list.

Where: Great Scott, 1222 Comm Ave., Allston.

617-566-9014. $10. greatscottboston.com What:

Anything Goes with Amanda Palmer

What:

Funk-Jazz as Monday Medication

When: Mondays at 8pm Name a way to deal with Mondays and we’ve tried it: booze, refined sugars, refusing to get out of bed for the whole day.

Maybe we’ve been going about it all wrong, considering The Funky ABs get down with some requisitely funky jazz at Beat Hotel on the first school night of every week.

Where: Beat Hotel, 13 Brattle St., Cambridge.

617-499-0001. No cover. beathotel.com What:

Wednesday Wax Session

When: Every second Wednesday One hand holds a cocktail while the other thumbs through stacks of previously loved vinyl until it stops at a good-condition copy of a white label 12” that you’ve been looking for for months. This is creative digging in style—with a performance from Bearstronaut on 3.11 to boot—at Good Life.

Where: Good Life, 28 Kingston St., Boston.

617-451-2622. No cover. goodlifebar.com What:

Oh Snap! ’90s Dance Party

When: Thursday 2.26 and 3.5 at 7pm Oneproblem with speakeasies is that most of them tend to have a glaring lack of Amanda Palmer. Cuisine en Locale has admirably stepped up to address this oftoverlooked issue with a two-night event that promises “an intimate evening of song and cheer” led by the Dresden Doll herself.

Where: Cuisine en Locale, 156 Highland St., Somerville. 617-285-0167. $25. cuisineenlocale.com

When: Every Thursday, 10pm-2am For those of you who dwell in the past or crave some regular nostalgia: Zuzu’s ’90s DJ dance parties are now happening every thirsty Thursday into the wee hours of the morn. Dance off all the comfort carbs you’ve consumed during the blizzards, or just get reacquainted with some of your beloved ’90s jams.

Where: Zuzu, 474 Mass Ave., Cambridge.

617-864-3278. $5. zuzubar.com

When: Every Sunday at 7:30pm The true definition of a slam: getting drunk while judging angry breakup poems on a scale of 1 to 10. While spoken word doesn’t inherently deserve such silly scrutiny, slams are wildly entertaining. And if unleashing your inner Langston Hughes or Sylvia Plath appeals to you, there are lengthy open mics at both venues.

Where: Lizard Lounge, 1667 Mass Ave., Cambridge. 21+.617-547-0759. $7. poetryjam.com Where: Cantab Lounge, 738 Mass Ave., Cambridge. 18+. 617-354-2685. $3-5. cantab-lounge.com What:

Pastoral Blizzard Deals

When: Nightly at 4:30-7:30pm, ends Friday 2.27 No surprise that the snow and the underfunded MBTA have made rush hour extra hellish for everyone lately. Since MBTA service is limited for the next month, Pastoral has lovingly extended their Rush Hour Special—$12 for a margherita pizza and a beer. Winter is on its way out, but there’s still time to treat yourself to some comfort eating.

Where: Pastoral, 345 Congress St., Boston.

617-345-0005. $12. pastoralfortpoint.com

SCHOOL NIGHT continued on pg. 10

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WINTER NIGHTLIFE GUIDE SCHOOL NIGHT continued from pg. 8 What:

Industry Night

What:

Clash of the Cover Kings

When: Every Sunday at 7pm A cover band can be a gamble (like when they start to play “Wonderwall” ... ) From now on, Sundays at Bill’s Bar will be dedicated to local cover bands, but here’s the kicker: They compete against each other and you vote for the winner. Keep the weekend alive with a few drinks and a battle between Led Zeppelin and Queen homage acts.

Where: Bill’s Bar, 5 Lansdowne St., Boston.

617-247-1222. $5. billsbarboston.com

FORK YOU

Charlestown, meet Brewer’s Fork.

BY KAREN CINPINSKI @CATSINPJS Nestled between two iconic Boston landmarks—Bunker Hill and the Tobin Bridge—the Brewer’s Fork, the much-anticipated Charlestown beer-and-pizza-focused operation from owners John Paine (Les Zygomates, Moody’s Delicatessen) and Michael Cooney (Kingfish Hall, The Publick House) opens this Friday for dinner. This is a good thing.

Paine and Cooney had been on the hunt for a standalone building that would have space for an outdoor beer garden, and were lucky to find the rundown former dry cleaners spae on Craigslist. In Cooney’s opinion, the location is an underserved area, and he believes the concept of Brewer’s Fork will do really well there. “I’m excited to bring something new to Charlestown,” he says, “There are a ton of people who seem very excited by our program, and I want to deliver our high-quality service and menus to the neighborhood.”

Exposed brick walls, wooden ceiling beams, and banquettes constructed out of discarded wine corks bring a rustic, polished neighborhood-joint vibe to the 2,100-square-foot space that will eventually feature a 25-seat shaded patio. The 16-seat granite-topped bar is rigged with 30 draft lines and stocked with a substantial selection of bottles and cans, and it basically begs for bellying up and trying everything in the house.

On the debut menu, handwritten on black painted exposed brick, you can expect ever-rotating varieties from local breweries like Trillium out of Fort Point, and New England gems like Maine’s Allagash. Also, Colorado’s Great Divide Brewing, and California-based Green Flash and Lost Abbey. You’ll want to keep an eye out for some choice rarities, such as a small-batch golden, funky sour Cooney procured from Framingham’s Jack’s Abby (this beer alone is worth stopping by for.)

Obscure brews from Germany (ask for: Schlenkerla Oak Smoke Doppelbock) and Belgium (try: De la Senne Taras Boulba) will be available, but if you want to get snobby about it (and you should), ask about their reserved list of cellared brews, and Cooney even says there will always be at least two ciders on draft. Currently on deck: an extraordinary small-batch wild sour-cider mixture concocted

by OEC (Ordinem Eccentrici Coctores) in Connecticut, plus hometown favorite Downeast Cider’s flagship apple booze created right in Charlestown. Basically, your inner beer geek is covered.

And since no good beer bar should be without proper pairing, the team has carefully curated their beer selection to match the sensible menu. Think: Amped up pub fodder and smoky, wood-roasted fare courtesy of a massive, custom-built wood-fire oven, which will be best enjoyed by tucking yourself into a booth and devouring the fennel sausage pizza with pickled peppers.

After all the snow, Charlestown, and you, deserve this. >> THE BREWER’S FORK. OPENS FRIDAY 2/27. 7 MOULTON ST., CHARLESTOWN. 617-337-5703. BREWERSFORK.COM

OPENINGS

A few spots to have on your radar now, and a couple more to keep there for when they open.

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Spot: SANTOUKA RAMEN Hood: Harvard Square The Japanese chain’s first Boston location, touting ramen steeped in broth that’s simmered for 20 hours. It opened, then closed for unexpected renovations briefly, and then reopened. Happy ramen-ing.

1 Bow St., Cambridge.

617-945-1460. santouka. co.jp/en

Spot: MOONSHINE 152 Hood: Southie Chef/owner Asia Mei brings Korean fare and street food together for a new staple of Southie late night eats, with nosh-ables like tater tot Chinese sausage poutine, dirty fried rice, and spicy grilled pig’s ear. Nothing rounds out a night at the bars like pig’s ear.

152 Dorchester Ave., Boston. 617-269-1003. moonshine152.com

Spot: Spot: Spot: COMING COMING INTERNAL MATTER LOYAL NINE TOWNSMAN SOON! SOON! Hood: Fort Point Hood: East Hood: Downtown Brand new oneCambridge A “New Englandman-show spot in the Shellfish and locally style brasserie” run Channel that’s just sourced farm-to-table

by Matt and Kate getting off the ground. goodness will be adding Jennings focusing on For now, you and your a needed dose of charm local sourcing and hangovers can go for to East Cambridge via artisanal foods with the cappucinos and egg in-house fermented killer cheeses, 10-seat and cheese sandwiches veggies, partnership with crudo bar for ceviches in the morning, and in local farms, and even and oysters, and both a few weeks they’ll be plates and mugs made in-house charcuterie morphing into a wine by the owners. According and special creations by bar at night to bring on a to them, opening “before Waltham’s New England fresh hangover. Balance. the bud of spring.”

Charcuterie. Slated 35 Channel Center St., 660 Cambridge March opening.

Boston. 857-233-5873.

St., Cambridge.

120 Kingston St., internalmatter.com facebook.com/ Boston. 617-993-0750. loyalnineeastcambridge townsmanboston.com

BREWER’S FORK PHOTOS BY MICHAEL ZAIA

When: Every Monday at 8pm-12am Mondays usually suck, especially in winter.

Luckily, The Merchant wants to give you a few good reasons to venture out into the sub-zero temperatures. Here they are: $1 oysters, $3 PBRs, $4 High Lifes, and $5 Fernet.

Half-priced chef’s choice apps are also thrown into the mix for some good latenight eats.

Where: The Merchant, 60 Franklin St., Boston. 617-482-6060. themerchantboston.com

CENTRAL SQ. CAMBRIDGE, MA

SMALL PLATES

mideastclub.com | zuzubar.com (617) 864-EAST | ticketweb.com

JAMAICAN PEPPER SHRIMP:

-DOWNSTAIRS-

BAHAMIAN CONCH FRITTERS:

Spicy shrimp crusty bread Spiced citrus aioli dipping sauce

SAT 2/28

Pastry stuffed with seasoned pork / mango habanero dipping sauce

PIDGEONS PLAYING PING PONG STRANGE MACHINES, MOTHER TON WED 3/4 - EMBRACE PRESENTS: METRIK, ETHERWOOD, NU:TONE, LENORE, HOSTED BY: DYNAMITE MC FRI 3/6 - CROSSROADS PRESENTS:

TEEN SAT 3/7 - LEEDZ PRESENTS:

PETE ROCK & SLUM VILLAGE - UPSTAIRS FRI 2/27

GREEN JELLY SUN 3/1 - BOWERY PRESENTS:

EMPANADA:

FRESH SEAFOOD CEVICHE:

Marinated in citrus / onion / red pepper / Fresh cilantro

BBQ JERK CHICKEN:

Wood smoked split chicken with traditional jerk seasonings

SPICY GOAT STEW:

Vegetable coconut curry broth

CARIBBEAN TILAPIA:

Wrapped in banana leaf / roasted mango butter

SIDES

Rice & beans / Mac & cheese / Grilled avocado / Rum glazed plantains

PAIN KILLER COCKTAIL:

SUNFLOWER BEAN WED 3/4 - BOWERY PRESENTS:

JEFF ROWE, JASON BENNETT THURS 3/5

Pusser’s Rum / fresh squeezed OJ /cream of coconut / pineapple juice / nutmeg

@MAGOUNSSALOON OLDEMAGOUNSSALOON

MILK

RAVI SHAVI, CRUSHED OUT, BLINDERS

FRI 3/6

TWINSMITH (SADDLECREEK)

/mideastclub /zuzubar @mideastclub @zuzubar

NEWS TO US FEATURE

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THURS 2/26 - LEEDZ PRESENTS:

LIL DURK

DEPT. OF COMMERCE

WEDNESDAYS MARCH 4TH- 25TH 5-11pm

ARTS + ENTERTAINMENT

CARIBBEAN DREAMING

518 Medford St Somerville

magounssaloon.com|617 - 7 76 - 2 6 0 0

WINTER NIGHTLIFE GUIDE WEDNESDAY FEBRUARY 25TH

STEVE RILEY & THE MAMOU PLAYBOYS CALJUN

THURSDAY FEBRUARY 26TH

BILL BLUMENREICH PRESENTS

WYATT CENAC COMEDY

FRIDAY FEBRUARY 27TH 7:30PM

BOSTON COMEDY FESTIVAL PRESENTS

TED ALEXANDRO FRIDAY FEBRUARY 27TH 10PM

WE DIG FREE FRIDAYS PRESENTS GRASSROOT PLUS

JO HENLEY BAND ROCK

SATURDAY FEBRUARY 28TH 7PM

ROY SLUDGE ROCKABILLY

SATURDAY FEBRUARY 28TH 10PM

JESSE DEE PLUS JULIE RHODES & DJ EASY ED SOUL

- UPCOMING FRI 3/6: JOAN OSBORNE ACOUSTIC DUO FEATURING KEITH COTTON - LOVE AND HATE TOUR TUE 3/10: ANDY MCKEE ACOUSTIC GUITAR PHENOM FRI 3/20: THE SMITHEREENS ROCK

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

UN-QUIET WYATT

Wyatt Cenac on snowy Boston, Black History Month, and the toughness of John Oliver

BY DAN MCCARTHY @ACUTALPROOF There’s a good chance you first came across Brooklyn-based writer, stand-up comedian, and actor Wyatt Cenac during his tenure as a correspondent for The Daily Show with Jon Stewart. What you may not know is that he spent time in the trenches writing for the Mike Judge’s King of the Hill television series, has produced a film, and has a starring role in David Cross’s first film, Hits, which premiered at the Sundance Film Festival earlier this year. We caught up with him in advance of his upcoming show at Johnny D’s to talk snowy Boston, Black History Month, Tom Brady, and the potential fisticuffs toughness of John Oliver.

Have you played Somerville before?

I was actually at Johnny D’s a few years back, had a fun time.

Somerville’s been called the hipster central “Brooklyn” of Boston …

Really? Wow, I had no idea. The last time I stayed there I was at the business hotel by the water, and there was nothing about that the felt like Brooklyn to me.

Are you ready for the snowy nightmare that is Boston right now?

I’ll be honest, I was listening to the radio today and they were talking to people in the Boston area about all the snow, and I remember saying maybe we should cancel these shows, as well as everything that’s going on in New England. Until maybe May.

DIGBOSTON.C0M

02 25 15 – 03 04 15

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They have resorted to using prison labor to try to get the public transit functional again.

Somebody mentioned that to me. I was pretty surprised that is not something that has been happening before, like all the time.

They were saying how inmates make like 20 cents an hour and just given how much politicians talk about needing to cut budgets and save money, I’m kinda surprised that there hasn’t been some argument to just give all public jobs to inmates. [For comedic value] I long for the day when I hear someone on talk radio say, “Look at how much money we’re saving.”

What was it like working with fellow stand-up David Cross as a film director for Hits?

It was a lot of fun. I’m a fan of David’s so for him to ask me to be in the film, I was really honored. I’ve always been an admirer of him as a comedian, and so for him to ask me to do this, I was very honored.

I remember a great routine in one of your specials about how you don’t use the “n-word” in which you note how it wouldn’t exactly fit into the daily conversation at a regular day job. How do you go about doing those kinds of jokes without accidentally pandering to the 40-plus white male crowd that might laugh for the wrong reason, as if you’re joining them in mocking young black males?

Well I think on some level, for me, I try and go at it from a place of empathy and with that joke I, I never saw it as a harsh critique of people who say “nigger,” and I also am the first to admit that I said it a lot. I used it in daily conversation and when I was younger and I don’t do it any more. Every now and again I might say it but it’s not a thing I really use, or I don’t yell, “What are you doing nigger?”

There’s always a risk telling any joke. Are people laughing for the same reasons that I think it’s funny? People are always going to get offended or people are always going to misinterpret, unless you can go in and actually rewire everyone’s brains, you’re never going to know how each person takes something. But the hope is that, with a joke like that, I try and talk about it from my experience so it’s less about, “Oh let’s make fun of that person over there who says something that is weird,” as much as it’s like, “This is a thing that I used to do a lot of and I had to stop doing it because it’s hard to work a job that way.”

Your Twitter feed had a rash of slams and jokes about the Nike Black History Month (BHM) Collection of sneakers.

They’ve been doing it for awhile, and it’s definitely strange that they claim that the money goes to charity, but it goes into a thing called a “donor [advised] fund,” and it’s just a portion of the proceeds. With a donor [advised] fund, that money hasn’t actually gone to a charity, it just sits, and there’s no timetable in which it has to be used, so there’s something very odd about selling this notion of “We’re trying to honor Civil Rights leaders and the heart of history with these sneakers and we’re going to donate money to organizations” when they’re not donating the money. It also just feels like it’s just a weird way to profit off some of the more sensitive issues in this country’s history, because, just the fact that it’s black history, even though [it’s] American history, for whatever reason we separate it from the [overall] narrative of American history. While I’m glad on some level there is a Black History Month, nobody in this country takes it seriously. The nightly news doesn’t dedicate a segment of their programming to talk about a moment UN-QUIET WYATT continued on pg. 14

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ARTS + ENTERTAINMENT

DEPT. OF COMMERCE

FEATURE

NEWS TO US

WINTER NIGHTLIFE GUIDE UN-QUIET WYATT continued from pg. 12 in black history. No one is on the radio or television on a daily basis educating people on things in American history that they did not learn the other 11 months of the year. To make a profit off of it and then do nothing of note with that profit, just like claiming that they are going to, to me that seems subpar, but also par for the course.

Boston vs. NYC crowds. Go. I’ve nothing but nice things to say about Boston crowds. I have nothing but terrible things to say about your sports teams.

So you had a problem with #deflategate and all that?

That whole team, I have a problem with. I think what truly bothered me about the Patriots on the whole Deflategate and everything is that as a team they seem like [they’re] the embodiment of white privilege team-ing. “Tom Brady is the greatest human being and the greatest quarterback ever.” Forget about the part that he might be a deadbeat dad, and any other player who has a kid out of wedlock, oh we talk shit about them, but Tom Brady does it and it’s, “No, he’s right to leave his girlfriend and [first-born] kid for a supermodel; there’s nothing wrong with that.” He’s the golden boy, even though he kinda seems like [at] the birth of his career he may have been a beneficiary of a great [team] system. That [system] might also be cheating, but arguments can be made that he might just be a really good system quarterback.

Aren’t there two other quarterbacks that came out of that system that had amazing games with the Patriots? And one of them just didn’t do as well anywhere else. I feel like there’s some data there that would suggest, “Oh yeah maybe he’s not as golden of a golden boy.” Then there’s Gronk, who goes on national television and jokes about getting into a fight, and people are just like, “Oh that’s just Gronk being Gronk,” but Richard Sherman was just passionately talking about a game and not even—not even injuring anyone— and people are like, “He’s a thug.”

“I’ve nothing but nice things to say about Boston crowds. I have nothing but terrible things to say about your sports teams. ”

If John Stewart were a piece of furniture what would he be?

I don’t know, and that’s a strange question. Partially from the aspect of talking about a Jewish person as furniture … there’s not a good history with that.

What I can say is that for the past 17 years he’s been a reliable voice and source for entertainment to help people see the weirdness of the world around them, and I’m sure that he will be missed. I’m very grateful to have been a part of his journey.

Who would you rather have your back in a fight? John Oliver or Larry Wilmore?

I’m gonna say Oliver because I’ve known him longer than I’ve known Larry. He is someone I talk to on a regular basis and we spend a lot of time with each other. If we were in a fight like the old ’60s Batman TV show, we might be able to do some of those choreographed moves. You know, where one person kinda bends over and the other person rolls over their back to kick somebody. Also Oliver broke his nose [working] on his first [Daily Show] field piece, and had to [finish]. I feel like there’s a toughness there. That’s the toughness in a nasty business that I respect.

REAL FOOD every night TILL ' CLOSE DIGBOSTON.C0M

02 25 15 – 03 04 15

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9 2 H A MP S HIR E S T, CA M B 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

>> WYATT CENAC AT JOHNNY D’S UPTOWN. 17 HOLLAND ST., SOMERVILLE. 617-776-2004.

THURS 2/26. 8:45PM/$22/21+. JOHNNYDS.COM

WINTER NIGHTLIFE GADGETRY BACtrac Go Keychain Digital Breathalyzer

Because all this partying on school nights (literal and figurative) will leave you a) drinking a lot more, and b) possibly having to drive after having been out drinking a lot more, maybe do yourself and the caravan filled with a family returning to the suburbs at night a favor and keep one of these on your keychain.

It detects blood alcohol content from 0.00-0.40%, gives accurate results in under 30 seconds, and fits in your pocket. It may help save you from getting a DUI, or just from having to pull a bloody pair of children’s shoes from the grill of your car the next morning. Don’t drink and drive, asshole. $29.99. Available at thinkgeek.com/product/210a

15

ARTS + ENTERTAINMENT

DEPT. OF COMMERCE

FEATURE

NEWS TO US

ARTS ENTERTAINMENT

DIGBOSTON.C0M

02 25 15 – 03 04 15

16

WED 2.25

WED 2.25

FRI 2.27

FRI 2.27

FRI 2.27

SAT 2.28

To Hip-Hop, With Love

Art on the Marquee Opening Reception

Tigerman WOAH Record Release Party

The Nightcap: A Connect 4 Tourney

SubCult Cinema: EvilRoboMax 2

WTF Queerlesque!!

Chapter 2

the wondertwins are back

like las vegas,but art

free tacos

childhood pastime-ing

moped. knights.

and everything in-between

This is an exclusive, onenight-only performance.

Let that intrigue sink in for a minute. Coming back for the first time since last summer, Billy and Bobby McClain bring their three-part ode to AfricanAmerican entertainment.

With a soundtrack featuring Busta Rhymes and Sammy Davis Jr., they’ll perform everything from mime to tap to vaudeville. Oh and the robot too, because why not?

Are you someone who drives by all those flashing digital signs and wonders why these people don’t get more creative than “OPEN” blinking infinitely? Well, these local artists will shut you up. This is round 13 of Art on the Marquee and artists including Dennis Miller and Lina Maria Giraldo will be presenting their latest digital masterpieces. Just be careful not to stare at the art too long.

Between Tigerman WOAH! releasing their new EP, Up South Vol. 111, These Wild Plains’ new album, and the kickoff for the #road2sxsw tour, there are plenty of reasons to get drunk and celebrate, even without the tacos. Come soak in all the good vibes as Dirty Bangs, The Mallett Brothers Band, These Wild Plains and Tigerman WOAH! all perform.

If you don’t go, you’re a disappointment to society.

There’s nothing like taking something completely innocent and thrusting it into an adult context. This isn’t the Connect Four you played at Thanksgivings with your cousin; this is a serious game of strategy, and this tournament will determine who can boast to be the best. If we’ve intimidated you, good. But also still go because it’s for charity and you should.

SubCult is like the Masonic Lodge of Boston cinema.

Super secret. Super mysterious. Usually they keep their screenings more on the private side, but for one double feature they’ll be kind enough to let us little people in. Take this rare opportunity to see the Mike Pecci short Moped Knights and a unique cut of Evil Dead 2, Robocop, and Mad Max 2. That combination alone should be enough to convince you.

It’s burlesque but with a little more flavor. Local “queerdo” Allix Mortis is bringing back this night of vaudeville, drag, and all-arts fringe with a new cast of artists for the season. Join in as they comment on politics, gender, and pop culture with all the feathers and pasties you could ever desire. Just try not to feel bad about your own humdrum name when performers like Butch Sassidy and Foxy Squire come onstage.

OBERON. 2 Arrow St., Cambridge. 8pm/$10-20 americanrepertorytheater. org

Boston Convention & Exhibition Center. 415 Summer St., Boston. 6pm/ FREE. artonthemarquee.com

Cuisine En Locale. 156 Highland Ave., Somerville.

8pm/21+/. cuisineenlocale. com

District Hall. 75 Northern Ave., Boston. 8pm/21+/$10. districthallboston.com

Coolidge Corner Theatre.

290 Harvard St., Brookline.

Midnight/$11.25. subcultcinema.com

The Midway Cafe. 3496 Washington St., Jamaica Plain. 9pm/21+/$10. midwaycafe.com

ILLUSTRATION FOR SUBCULT CINEMA’S MOPED KNIGHTS BY DEREK RING

?.

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ARTS + ENTERTAINMENT

DEPT. OF COMMERCE

FEATURE

NEWS TO US

MUSIC

MUSIC

’RILLEX-N-EFFECT

BURY ME, MITSKI Lugging a piano no more

Hundred Waters turn EDM into an oasis

BY PAIGE CHAPLIN @PAIGECHAPLIN

BY NINA CORCORAN @NINA_CORCORAN

Before you make assumptions and lump singersongwriter, multi-instrumentalist, and allaround badass babe Mitski into the category of tortured-soul Dylan wannabes, know that she is anything but. Written by a woman who’s risen above the pretentious murk of modern-day folk, her November release Bury Me at Makeout Creek (named after a line Milhouse uttered The Simpsons) embodies the psyche’s messy side, luring lovers of gritty and vulnerable songs to the land of milk and honey.

Emerging from the hazy Brooklyn DIY scene, Mitski tells us herself, via email, that she wanted Bury Me to tell the truth. “I realized I would never be what people want me to be,” she writes. “[That] seems to be the theme of the album. I’m angrily refusing, but only because I tried for so long to be accepted. I’m heartbroken, acting strong.”

While most of the chord progressions are left in the hands of her guitarist, she wrote the entire album on her own guitar, a foreign instrument for her, picking it up at the same time she got to writing. “I wanted to be able to play shows without lugging around a piano,” she says.

She bravely fronts her band, wields a bass, and sings her guts out.

Of her recent solo tour, she tells us it was exhausting in ways she didn’t anticipate, and soft moments on the record complement the full-band noise in spite of the fact that, according to her, those moments generally aren’t what venues want.

“When a big crowd comes to the show just to get drunk and ignore you while you pour your heart out, it can feel pretty bad,” she says.

Those experiences made her want to become a better musician who can “take those big waves in stride,” and now she plans to tour with Hundred Waters and Screaming Females.

As to whether she’ll learn to ride the ups and downs of working, she recently tweeted: “I count 45 people who expressly want to see me eat shit. I write down 45 ways I will be of use to the world, and then I head to work.”

A SNEAK PEEK AT THE GENDER-BENDING, HIGH-FASHION REMAKE OF LORD OF THE RINGS Florida is full of many things, among them armies of retirees, bath-salts-fueled news headlines, and loads of electronic dance music. When it comes to the Floridian music scene, few bands create a defined sound that challenges those sunny vibes and glowstick outfits. Indie rock act Hundred Waters, however, has done exactly that. They occupy a place falling in a quiet nook somewhere between electronic and folk, and much of their uniqueness rides on singer Nicole Miglis’ clean, hushed vocals.

“We had the internet,” drummer Zach Tetreault says over the phone from a rest stop in Idaho, in regards to how they found their niche. “We’re not like much music. Sometimes we feel ostracized. But ultimately we have full creative control.”

The four-piece caught a lucky wave right from the start.

In 2012, Skrillex’s manager caught their first SXSW show and sent their debut record to Skrillex, then the dubstep giant began posting their music on his pages. Next thing they knew, he invited them to play on tour alongside Diplo and Grimes. “We were blown away,” says Tetreault. “We had offers from labels you think we would make more sense with, but we were intrigued by the whole situation. Sonny is the sweetest person ever and immediately embraced us with hugs on that tour. We became close friends right off the bat.

He’s not our boss. He’s our friend.”

Their sound drips with some of the cleanest production recorded to date. Naturally, it’s hard not to get too obsessed with minute additions. “The way we work on things allows for an infinite amount of possibilities of where it can go and how it can develop,” says Tetreault. “There’s no end to what you can do. The hardest part is finding that time where you

have to let go and call it done.”

Last year, they dropped The Moon Rang Like a Bell and saw breakout success all over again. Their hypnotic blend of electronic synth and deep bass contrasts with Miglis’ vocals effortlessly. With a new set of personal lyrics, she creates an intimacy with the listener.

“Because a lot of this was written in cars, on days off, while we were moving, they feature vocals I could remember and record when given the chance. The environment to layer wasn’t there,” says Miglis. Despite that, the songs are sung with undeniable heart—and with that comes the risk of being too personal. “On the first record, I was more self-conscious and shrouded lyrics in floored language and symbols. I wasn’t comfortable being super personal yet because I wasn’t comfortable in a band. It was hard emotionally. Now I’m beginning to feel more comfortable being transparent.”

She sings with a mystical tone that haunts you long after the song has ended. As fate had it, that’s what landed them their first commercial gig: a primetime Superbowl Coca-Cola ad.

Someone on the campaign heard “Show Me Love” and was convinced it would be the perfect fit. They were right.

“They asked us to try things, to make it build and swell more, but the vocals are almost exactly the same,” Tetreault says.

“It’s our first commercial bit and it was all surprisingly chill.”

Unfortunately, a lifetime supply of Coca-Cola wasn’t in their end of the bargain.

“We realized that when at a diner recently,” he laughs.

“But next time we know to ask for it.”

>> MITSKI W/ HUNDRED WATERS. SAT 2.28. THE SINCLAIR, 52 CHURCH ST., CAMBRIDGE. 617.547.5200. 8PM/18+/$15.

MITSKI.BANDCAMP.COM

>> HUNDRED WATERS W/ MITSKI. SAT 2.28. THE SINCLAIR, 52 CHURCH ST., CAMBRIDGE. 617.547.5200. 8PM/18+/$15.

SINCLAIRCAMBRIDGE.COM

MUSIC EVENTS DIGBOSTON.C0M

02 25 15 – 03 04 15

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WED 2.25

WESTERN MASS ROCKERS AND THE KIDS + THE SUN PARADE + TAN VAMPIRES

[Great Scott, 1222 Comm Ave., Allston. 9pm/18+/ $10. greatscottboston.com]

JESSIE’S GIRL RICK SPRINGFIELD + WALTHAM

[House of Blues, 15 Lansdowne St., Boston, 7pm/all ages/$29. houseofblues.com]

FRI 2.27

SWEET ALT ROCK JULIANA HATFIELD THREE + JENNY DEE AND THE DEELINQUENTS

[The Sinclair, 52 Church St., Cambridge. 8pm/18+/$20. sinclaircambridge.com]

SAT 2.28

MON 3.2

WED 3.4

[Brighton Music Hall, 158 Brighton Ave., Allston. 6pm/all ages/$12. crossroadspresents.com]

[Passim, 47 Palmer St., Cambridge. 8pm/all ages/$15. passim.org]

[House of Blues, 15 Lansdowne St., Boston, 7pm/all ages/$27. houseofblues.com]

FINAL PERFORMANCES EVER HOSTAGE CALM

FRENCH ACCORDIONISTS MUSETTE EXPLOSION

TAKE ME 2 CHURCH ALREADY HOZIER + GEORGE EZRA

NEWS TO US FEATURE DEPT. OF COMMERCE

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

ARTS + ENTERTAINMENT

Boston’s Best Irish Pub

19

THE BEST ENTERTAINMENT IN CAMBRIDGE 7 DAYS A WEEK!

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SUNDAYS

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Weekly Gaming Night: The same

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

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COVER, 6PM 11:30PM

MONDAYS

WEDNESDAYS

MAKKA MONDAY

GEEKS WHO DRINK ELEMENTS

14+yrs every Monday night, Bringing Roots, Reggae & Dancehall Tunes 21+, 10PM - 1AM

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

19+, 10PM - 1AM

FRIDAYS

SATURDAYS

PRETTY YOUNG THING

BOOM BOOM ROOM

21+, 10PM - 2AM

21+, 10PM - 2AM

80’s Old School & Top 40 Dance hits

80’s, 90’s, 00’s One Hit Wonders

CHECK OUT ALL PHOENIX LANDING NIGHTLY EVENTS AT:

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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

CRONENBERGIAN

The auteur’s new effort diagnoses a Hollywood disease

BY JAKE MULLIGAN @_JAKEMULLIGAN

Wednesday FEB 25th 8pm

OPEN MIC NIGHT

DJs: Host: Zach Cohen & Featured Artist: Rocco D’Angelo Genres: Anything and Everything!

No Cover | Downstairs | 18+ Thursday FEB 26th 10pm

ALL GOOD

DJs: Thaddeus Jeffries, PFranchize, Eastman Genres: Hip-Hop, Reggae, Caribbean, R&B, Party Jams No Cover | Downstairs | 21+ Friday FEB 27th 10pm

BOOTIE BOSTON

Upstairs DJs: Spencer4Hire, McFly, Tom Boates Everybody, Jabulani Genres: Mashups Downstairs DJs: The Black Madonna, Alfredo, Brenden Wesley Genres: House, Techno, Disco $10 | 21+ Saturday FEB 28th 10pm

FRESH

PRODUCE

Friday February 27th 10PM

We Dig Free Fridays presents

GRASSROOT PLUS JO HENLEY BAND Rock

Friday March 6th 10PM

We Dig Free Friday presents

SIRSY PLUS LIVE NUDE GIRLS Indie Rock

Friday March 27th 10PM

DIGBOSTON.C0M

02 25 15 – 03 04 15

20

We Dig Free Friday presents

SEGUE PLUS ROLLING NECTAR Rock / Jam-Funk

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

DJs: Whookid, Knife, Tommee, Doze Genres: Hip Hop, Reggae, Party Jams, Trap, Trill $10 | Upstairs & Downstairs | 21+ Tuesday MARCH 3rd 6pm

GAME NIGHT Free | Downstairs 18+ until 10pm

Julianne Moore sits on the toilet, expelling violently, with verbal accoutrements accompanying each movement. She’s a washed-up B-lister in Maps to the Stars, a Hollywood satire perverse enough to earn midnight movie status (it opens this weekend at the Coolidge, at the witching hour). She’s skewered alongside the rest of the ensemble: a limo driver (Robert Pattinson), an assistant (Mia Wasikowska), a new-age massage therapist (John Cusack), and a fresh-from-rehab Justin Bieber analog (Evan Bird), all of whom would happily slash one another’s throats for a role in the next major franchise movie. When Moore exits that bathroom, she turns to Wasikowska and exclaims disbelief at the odor. There’s the whole movie, at first glance. This is the shit Hollywood leaves behind—doesn’t it smell bad?

Maps is directed by David Cronenberg, who’s so distinctive that his name has become an adjective. In the most superficial sense, to be Cronenbergian is to be a genre film that mines horror or tension from alterations of the body. (For examples, see his early films—primarily Videodrome and The Fly.) Just last month, the director of the upcoming Fantastic Four reboot promised his take on the material would be “Cronenbergian.” Even the superhero-movie-industrial complex steals from him.

If terrifying protrusions were all that Cronenberg’s art amounted to though, we wouldn’t have canonized him. He digs through the viscera, to the ideas resting beneath the imagery of his “body horror” movies. His latest films concerned people transformed mentally—by capital (Cosmopolis), psychoanalysis (A Dangerous Method), and crime (Eastern Promises).

The disease spreading through Maps isn’t Hollywood solipsism—that’d be too simple. But on the page, this is an oh-no-they-didn’t shock comedy: Moore’s actress thinks about converting to Scientology “as a career move.” Bird’s Bieber clone vapidly talks to Make-A-Wish kids about free swag. Most characters are eventually revealed to be part of one sprawling incestuous clan—a dig at Hollywood nepotism that’s so blatant it can hardly be called subtext. They’re our TMZ superstars, and they’re the logical end result of a culture that values the off-screen antics of famous artists more than it does the art itself.

But Cronenberg doesn’t let us laugh. He keeps actors separated, rarely letting them stand next to each other within a frame, giving the dialogue an intentionally stilted quality. Even when Cusack is massaging Moore, he composes images so that we barely see the two of them joined together. Most comedies let their actors play off one another, but Cronenberg goes out of his way to do the opposite. Scenes that are ostensibly funny become absurdly disconcerting instead. Everyone’s isolation becomes the focus, rather than the tabloid-worthy drug scandals and the trades-worthy casting rumors. With each character’s vision blinded by ego, there’s no redemption through love or art to be found. And so an industry satire becomes a surreal tragedy about the physical effects of mental disfigurement. It becomes a David Cronenberg film. >> MAPS TO THE STARS AT THE COOLIDGE CORNER THEATRE. FRI 2/27, SAT 2/28.

SPECIAL EVENT SCREENING ON 2/28/ AT 2PM, WITH DIRECTOR Q&A SESSION (VIA SKYPE) FOLLOWING SCREENING. FOR SHOWTIMES AND TICKETS VISIT COOLIDGE.ORG

FILM EVENTS SAT 2.28

VIDDY THIS HORROR SHOW A CLOCKWORK ORANGE

[Museum of Fine Arts.

465 Huntington Ave., Boston. 11:00am/PG/$9-11. mfa.org]

BOGIE GOES BOATING THE AFRICAN QUEEN

[Harvard Film Archive.

24 Quincy St., Harvard Sq., Cambridge. 9pm/NR/$7-9. hcl.harvard.edu/hfa]

LOVE ME TENDER WILD AT HEART

[Brattle Theatre. 40 Brattle St., Harvard Sq., Cambridge.

4:30, 9:30pm/R/$9-11. brattlefilm.org]

FEMINIST DOC, ’66-’71 SHE’S BEAUTIFUL WHEN SHE’S ANGRY

[Coolidge Corner.

290 Harvard St., Brookline.

Sat 2.28 + Sun. 3.1. 2pm/ NR/$11.25. coolidge.org]

MON. 3.2

JOHN FORD’S WAR EPIC FOUR SONS

[Harvard Film Archive.

24 Quincy St., Harvard Sq., Cambridge. 7pm/NR/$7-9. hcl.harvard.edu/hfa]

SILENT FILMS WITH LIVE MUSIC UPSTREAM and THE ADVENTURER

[Coolidge Corner.

290 Harvard St., Brookline.

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

NEWS TO US

THEATER

FEATURE

IN THE SPIRIT

DEPT. OF COMMERCE

Mediums, séances, and the fallacy of coincidences

ARTS + ENTERTAINMENT

BY SPENCER SHANNON @SUSPENCEY

21

To playwright and former food critic Mat Schaffer, there are no coincidences.

Even if it involves a seemingly meaningless tumble on Boston’s perpetually present ice, resulting in a morning trip to the ER, two stitches, and an impressive black eye.

“Signs happen around me all the time,” Schaffer says. “For example, I’m laying in a hospital bed in the emergency room after my fall. The doctor says, ‘Hold up your right hand. I’m going to give you a tetanus shot.’ After about two minutes, I turn my head to the doctor and say, ‘Can I put my hand down now?’ and the technician said, ‘Simon says!’” he exclaims.

The connection here is that the play that Schaffer has spent the past 20 years bringing to the stage, Simon Says, bears the very same name as that mentioned in the innocuous exchange with the technician. According to him, it’s one of many instances over the course of his life affirming that which he (and many others) holds to be true: Everything happens in our lives for a reason.

“I believe that in a weird way, I sort of channeled this play, that it came through me,” he explains. “I say that because it’s a lot smarter than I am. There’s a line in the play: ‘Omens surround us all if you are open and aware.’ A lot of people are not, or are sort of freaked out by [the idea of] it.”

Born out of Schaffer’s lifelong fascination with the paranormal, the performance is directly inspired by his research into the lives of famed 20th-century mediums Edgar Cayce and Jane Roberts. Cayce slipped into thousands of trances in his time, and claimed a voice would speak through him to solve everything from medical problems and to modern mysteries (see: how the Egyptians built the pyramids).

Additionally, Roberts claimed to have channeled a spirit who dictated a number of books to her husband, using Roberts as his mouthpiece.

“I’ve always thought that the concept of someone channeling was inherently dramatic,” Schaffer says.

Simon Says tells the story of a young psychic named James, who possesses the ability to channel Simon, an omniscient being offering wisdom from beyond. It seeks to explore the intersection of science and spirituality, and to portray that which cannot be explained.

Above all, Schaffer says, he strives for authenticity. A Marlborough-based mentalist named Christopher Grace is helping produce the special effects, and an actual medium will be available during a talk-back after the Thursday night performance to help people get in touch with deceased relatives.

“I wanted to do it in a way that people who do this sort of thing found that I would be treating them with great respect,” he says. “People who have read it who identify as psychics or mediums have been impressed that I was able to present them in a way that is truly representative of what they do.”

Audiences, as well, have been impressed and moved by the play, especially those who have recently lost a loved one. Schaffer says Simon Says has served as a method of helping audiences deal with their grief in a positive way, and has sparked important conversations and thoughtful examinations of who they are, and the direction in which life is taking them.

“I think that people are often looking for meaning in a world where it’s often difficult to believe there is some,” Schaffer says. “Everybody’s got their own path, and their own right to believe or not believe. I just hope it sparks curiosity.”

And yet, he adds, the play has never given him reason to doubt.

“Twenty years ago, after a reading of the play, the woman who organized it called me up crying. She just had her cards read by a psychic named James, who lived around the corner from me. The psychic in my play is named James,” Schaffer says.

“I’d never met him before. [So] I went to his house. He came downstairs and he said to me, ‘Who’s Bill?’ and I went, ‘My father.’ And he said, ‘He’s not the writer, you’re the writer, but his spirit is really strong around you and protects you.’ My dad was dead.”

No coincidences, indeed. >> LITTLE SEER PRODUCTIONS PRESENTS: SIMON SAYS. BCA PLAZA THEATRE, 527 TREMONT ST., BOSTON. THROUGH 3/14. FOR SHOWTIMES AND TICKET PRICES, VISIT SIMONSAYSTHEPLAY.COM OR BOSTONTHEATRESCENE.COM

PHOTOS BY ANTHONY PHAM

THERE ARE NO SICK DAYS IN THEATER

ARTS

POST ART

Denise Price is leading collaborative art to the mailbox

BY SPENCER SHANNON @SUSPENCEY

WE LIKE OUR PACKAGE HANDLED WITH CARE

DIGBOSTON.C0M

02 25 15 – 03 04 15

22

Judging by a broad overview of her resume, Denise D. Price is a fine archetype of the Boston businesswoman. She’s combined her MBA in international business and bootstrap savvy while running a Cambridge-based real estate company called ePlace, leveraging all her abilities while studying and working with her true passion: paper.

While she considers herself a self-taught paper engineer, Price has also trained in the paper arts for years in Boston, including at the famed North Bennet Street School and at MassArt, and earlier this winter she published The Freedom Trail Pop Up Book, the first pop-up celebrating Boston’s rich history.

“Everybody who touches it, especially Bostonians, are almost moved by the fact that it’s something more permanent,” Price says of her book’s appeal. “I think that people are moving back towards paper.”

And that’s where the idea for her new internationally collaborative crowd-sourced project, Art via Post, began. She put out an open call to illustrators, calligraphers, paper artists, graffiti artists, and stencilers, welcoming all to simply use envelopes as canvases and then mail the results to her. Soon, she was receiving envelope art of every stripe from all over the world.

“The things that would show up in the PO box were gifts from people who expected nothing in return. It’s truly humbling,” she says.

The envelopes varied from simple drawings done in marker to a cloth pouch secured with Velcro that unfolded into a quilt when opened and held a single note of encouragement inside. One was even crafted entirely from wood by local timber sculptor John Magnan.

“My letter cannot be opened,” Magnan explained in a note to Price, “but the layers themselves are content, bearing witness to two years in the life of a maple tree that once lived. All the curves and ripples are memories of the tree as it grew. And of course, our familiar envelopes are made of paper, which comes from trees, so we seem to have come full circle.”

The collection, now on exhibit at the Armory in Somerville, speaks to that idea of returning to our roots, of finding comfort and solidity in a manner technology sometimes cannot provide, in the familiar weight of paper.

Price, fascinated with the level of detail in the works she received, asked some of the artists why they poured so much of themselves into work they might in fact never see again.

“They wanted the person receiving the mail to feel special,” she says. “They also did it for the people that handled the mail—for the many people who actually touched a parcel going from, say, Germany to Boston, and who paused at that moment just to take a look at it.” >> ART VIA POST. ARTS AT THE ARMORY CAFE 191 HIGHLAND AVE., SOMERVILLE. THROUGH FEB. 28. 8AM-8PM/ALL AGES/FREE. ARTSATTHEARMORY.ORG

NEWS TO US

WHAT'S FOR BREAKFAST

BY PATT KELLEY WHATS4BREAKFAST.COM

ARTS + ENTERTAINMENT

DEPT. OF COMMERCE

FEATURE

SECRET ASIAN MAN

BY TAK TOYOSHIMA @TAKTOYOSHIMA

23

THE STRIP BAR

BY PAT FALCO ILLFALCO.COM

OUR VALUED CUSTOMERS

BY TIM CHAMBERLAIN OURVC.NET

SAVAGE LOVE

SICK AND EASY

BY DAN SAVAGE @FAKEDANSAVAGE I’m a 33-year-old man in a monogamous relationship with a 32-year-old woman for eight months. In the beginning, she was really passionate and required sex all the time. But I noticed that she was the first woman I was ever with who didn’t like to give pleasure with normal sex, by which I mean vaginal intercourse.

Instead, she was only interested in sex that directly pleasured her. She didn’t think about my pleasure while I satisfied her with cunnilingus or helped her to masturbate herself. After six months, I was losing interest, so I asked her why it was like this. After that talk, I had to leave for work, and after a month, we met again. Her sexual desire for me had disappeared, while my desire for her had only grown. My two questions: (1) Does she have another man? (2) Is our relationship over? Please let me know what you think.

Too High Too Low 1. I couldn’t tell you.

2. Looks that way. And if the genders were reversed—if you were a woman dating a man who didn’t care about your pleasure and only wanted blowjobs and help jacking off—no one would hesitate to tell you that your lover was selfish and that this relationship needed to end.

I’m a high school sophomore. I’m a mostly closeted gay, having come out only to some of my friends, but my best friend was the first one I told. I’ve had a crush on him since sixth grade. Sometimes he acts very gay with me: He’s stroked my hair and leaned on my shoulder, some light rubbing of feet, etc., usually with me reciprocating. Most of this was before he knew I was gay. But just a month ago, at a sleepover, we had to share a bed, and basically the entire night I was the closest I have ever been to a non–family member. Yet he continues to protest that he is straight. My question: Do you think he is gay or at least questioning?

Crushing On Bestie Your best friend could be gay, COB, or he could be one of those New Model Straight Boys, aka a straight boy so secure in his heterosexuality that he’s comfortable with what the sex researchers call “homosocial intimacy,” e.g., leaning on a male friend’s shoulder, stroking a male friend’s hair, rubbing a male friend’s feet (a form of homosocial contact that this homo isn’t comfortable with), etc.

If your friend is gay, COB, he may not have come out yet for all sorts of reasons (he’s not ready, his parents might freak, he’s not sure if he’s gay or bi or what). Or your friend may know he’s gay but hasn’t come out to you because he knows how you feel about him (crush since sixth grade) and he doesn’t feel the same way about you (he likes you only as a friend). So he tells you he’s straight to spare your feelings, COB, because then the rejection isn’t so personal.

But only your friend knows what he is for sure, and right now he says he’s straight. Respect his sexual identity, COB, just as he respects yours—sleepovers and homosocial intimacy notwithstanding.