1817dig

DIGBOSTON.COM 4.28.16 - 5.5.16

ARTS

WE’RE GONNA DIE

OBEHI JANICE AT OBERON

NEWS

VERIZON’S UNION FIGHT CAN YOU HEAR THEM NOW?

MUSIC

PAX EAST

THE SOUNDTRACK!

IFFB FILM

THE INDEPENDENT FILM FESTIVAL BOSTON WILL KICK YOUR ASS

速

2

4.28.16 - 5.5.16

|

DIGBOSTON.COM

HEADLINING THIS WEEK! Adam Ray Thurs-Sat

VOL 18 + ISSUE 17

APRIL 28, 2016 - MAY 5, 2016 EDITORIAL

DEAR READER

EDITOR + PUBLISHER Jeff lawrence

Most of our arts coverage can be found in its usual place this week, but the film section has moved up a few pages and expanded quite a bit to make room for our guide to the 2016 Independent Film Festival Boston—which as you read this paper is going down at one or more of the area’s historic movie palaces (the Somerville Theatre, Coolidge Corner Theatre, and Brattle Theatre are all playing host). It’s an annual event that the whole staff has come to appreciate with more than 100 films programmed across the festival’s eight days. That means something for every taste, whether you’re a righteous political muckraker or a well-studied music buff.

We got a jump on this year’s program, and you’ll find our hot takes (fresh from the printers!) inside.

We were most taken by two gonzo documentaries (one is investigative and the other is observational) about very American fetishists (the first is about a one-percenter with a thing for tickling and the other is about Anthony Weiner). We’ve also got the goods on a handful of other festival selections, as well as the lowdown on the parties and panels happening throughout the week. Further reports from the field will be filed at digboston.com, so stay tuned and tune in often. Consider our guide and reports as a gift to the industrious moviegoer. And if you see us—at a party, or at a panel, or just waiting to get into a movie—then flag us down and recommend a movie right back at us. You’d be returning our favor, and we’d appreciate that!

ASSOCIATE MUSIC EDITOR Nina Corcoran ASSOCIATE FILM EDITOR Jake Mulligan ASSOCIATE ARTS EDITOR Christopher Ehlers COPY EDITOR Mitchell Dewar CONTRIBUTING EDITORS Emily Hopkins, Jason Pramas CONTRIBUTORS Nate Boroyan, Renan Fontes, Bill Hayduke, Emily Hopkins, Micaela Kimball, Jason Pramas, Dave Wedge INTERNS Becca DeGregorio, Anna Marketti

DESIGN CREATIVE DIRECTOR Tak Toyoshima INTERN Alina MacLean COMICS Tim Chamberlain Pat Falco Patt Kelley

ADVERTISING FOR ADVERTISING INFORMATION sales@digpublishing.com

BUSINESS ASSOCIATE PUBLISHER Marc Shepard SENIOR ACCOUNT MANAGER Jesse Weiss ADVISOR Joseph B. Darby III DigBoston, 242 East Berkeley St. 5th Floor Boston, MA 02118 Fax 617.849.5990 Phone 617.426.8942 digboston.com

ON THE COVER The Independent Film Festival Boston takes over this week. On the cover is a shot from Miss Me: The Artful Vandal screening this week!

©2016 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.

The Heat

Laffenhaus Sat @ 1 PM Boston’s only improv + beer festival

Nikki Glaser May 6+7

JAKE MULLIGAN - FILM EDITOR, DigBoston

Not Safe with Nikki Glaser, Inside Amy Schumer

Owen Benjamin May 13+14

OH, CRUEL WORLD Dear Woman with Interior Decorator, I know quite a bit about spoiled, shitty people like you who employ obnoxious interior decorators.

Nevertheless, it’s a freaking trip to actually see you in action, at a coffee shop in Back Bay consulting with the woman who you pay to hang trendy garbage around your house.

Do you ever stop to think, There’s nothing more ridiculous than paying somebody to recommend paint colors to you, and yet that is exactly what I’m paying this asshole to do right now? I’ve seen you at the same coffee shop before, and I’m thinking about angling for us to become friends. With any luck, you’ll invite me to your spectacular home, and I will have the perfect opportunity to lift the back of your toilet and turd in the tank.

Staten Island Summer, Comedy Central Presents

Alonzo Bodden May 19-21 2 Showtime Specials, WINNER of Last Comic Standing

Jim Florentine May 26+28 VH1’s That Metal Show, Inside Amy Schumer ILLUSTRATION BY ALINA MACLEAN

NEWS + FEATURES EDITOR Chris Faraone

617.72.LAUGH | laughboston.com 425 Summer Street at the Westin Hotel in Boston’s Seaport District NEWS TO US

FEATURE

DEPT. OF COMMERCE

ARTS + ENTERTAINMENT

3

STRIKE MATTERS NEWS TO US

Verizon’s union employees fight for the future of the American working class

BY JASON PRAMAS @JASONPRAMAS From the St. James Avenue side of Copley Square last Thursday afternoon, passers-by could be forgiven for wondering what the group of 300 people in red T-shirts opposite them was cheering about. If they were told that they were seeing the front lines of a desperate battle for the future of the American working class, they wouldn’t believe it. But the Communications Workers of America and International Brotherhood of Electrical Workers members and their families did not turn out for a nice day in the sun. They were there to fight.

The general public may be aware that 39,000 unionized Verizon workers (out of a total of 178,000) have been out on strike—including many here in Boston. But the vast majority of onlookers don’t understand the stakes.

Verizon (officially Verizon Communications, Inc.) is no ordinary company. Rather it’s a vast telecommunications conglomerate that has benefited hugely from government tax breaks, subsidies, and a favorable regulatory climate since it was created in 2000 out of the merger of Bell Atlantic (which had only recently merged with fellow “Baby Bell” NYNEX) and GTE. It has two major businesses: its traditional wireline service, based on the old copper wire phone system and the newer fiber optic FiOS service (weirdly coming soon to Boston six years after Verizon said it would stopping building it out in any new cities). That’s where virtually all 4

4.28.16 - 5.5.16

|

DIGBOSTON.COM

of the company’s 39,000 unionized workers are employed.

Then it has Verizon Wireless—which was originally a joint venture of Bell Atlantic and the British telecom Vodafone, bought outright by Verizon in 2014. Only a handful of its wireless employees are currently unionized.

Basically, Verizon leadership wants to focus on its extremely profitable wireless division and cut back its wireline service. The numbers show why. According to Fortune magazine, “Wireless now brings in the vast majority of the company’s sales and profits. Last year, for example, the wireless unit brought in revenue of $91.7 billion, up 5% from a year earlier, and an operating profit of nearly $30 billion. The older wireline unit, which also includes wired video and Internet service, brought in revenue of only $37.7 billion, a 2% decline from the year before, and an operating profit of just $2.2 billion.”

Unfortunately, Verizon—like so many companies these days (our “new Boston neighbors” at General Electric spring to mind)—is a world class tax dodger and loves soaking the government for free handouts. According to the nonprofit Citizens for Tax Justice, between 2008 and 2013, the corporation made over $42 billion in profits, received a $732 million tax break (an effective federal tax rate of -2 percent), and paid almost $1.3 billion in state taxes (an effective state tax rate of 3 percent). In the same period, it made almost $4 billion in foreign profits and paid $274 million in taxes (an effective foreign tax rate

of 7 percent). And this year? In the first quarter of 2016, Verizon has made $4.31 billion in profits.

According to the nonprofit Good Jobs First, Verizon has also received about $149 million in state and federal subsidies. Free money. And about $1.5 billion in federal loans, loan guarantees, and bailout assistance. Almost free money.

The nonprofit Americans for Tax Fairness adds: “Verizon also reported $1.9 billion in accumulated offshore profits in 2012, on which it paid no U.S. income taxes …

Verizon raked in $956 million in federal contracts in 2011, according to the federal government. It also recently landed a new nine-year government-wide contract worth up to $5 billion to provide communications services and equipment to federal agencies.”

So Verizon is filthy rich with help from its friends in the government. Just like its predecessor, AT&T, in the days of “natural monopoly” before its 1984 breakup into regional Baby Bells. Unlike the old AT&T, though, Verizon is not interested in putting up with a unionized workforce in exchange for what are approaching monopoly profits in markets it and the handful of other remaining telecoms dominate. It has eliminated thousands of unionized jobs since 2000. How many? There were 85,000 unionized Verizon workers on strike in that year. There are 39,000 now. Do the math.

This brings us to the central issue of the strike.

Verizon wants to convert lots of decent jobs—unionized and ununionized—to contract jobs. Many of them abroad. Union leaders recently told CNN Money: “Verizon has outsourced 5,000 jobs to workers in Mexico, the Philippines, and the Dominican Republic.” The company is also “hiring more low-wage, non-union contractors.”

Increasing wages, minimizing out-of-pocket health costs, preserving job security, keeping traditional pensions, and stopping forced out-of-state work transfers are all very important issues, too. And certainly worthy of more discussion in these pages. But, as ever, contingent work is a dagger pointed at the throat of organized labor.

According to Computerworld, the Trade Adjustment Assistance forms that workers losing their jobs due to outsourcing file with the US Department of Labor show that offshoring jobs is indeed proceeding apace at Verizon—despite management denials.

Once jobs have left the US, it’s highly unlikely they’re coming back. And if it’s hard for unions to organize units like Verizon Wireless now, it’s nearly impossible to organize workers transnationally. Similarly, once “regular” full-time jobs with benefits have been replaced with lousy part-time, contract and other contingent jobs, it’s very difficult to convert them back. And it’s extremely difficult to organize contingent workers into unions or other types of labor organizations.

That is why this strike matters to all American workers. If well organized and militant union members at Verizon—who have gone on strike against the company and its predecessors in 1983, 1986, 1989, 1998, 2000, 2004, 2011 and now—can’t stop the outsourcing and destruction of decent jobs, unorganized workers spread across the planet in industries like telecommunications will find the task insurmountable.

Yet that’s where we’re heading. The end of traditional labor unions. The end of decent jobs. The war of all against all. This is where latter day capitalism is taking us.

Unless we help good unions like CWA and IBEW win this strike, and start expanding the labor movement again.

This isn’t about “the dignity of labor,” as the Boston Globe would have it. It’s about class war. Working people didn’t start it. But we sure as hell had better finish it. Before it finishes us.

PHOTO BY JASON PRAMAS

NEWS US

©2016 Goose Island Beer Co., Goose Four Star Pils Lager Beer, Chicago, IL, Baldwinsville, NY & Fort Collins, CO | Enjoy responsibly.

T:9.5 in

T:12.25 in

NEWS TO US

FEATURE

DEPT. OF COMMERCE

ARTS + ENTERTAINMENT

5

TOKIN’ TRUTH

OLDE MAGOUNʼS SALOON PRESENTS:

THE MONTH IN MARIJUANA MADNESS

PLEASURE

& PAIN

With legalization looming, lawmaker lunacy hits fever pitch

WEDNESDAYS MAY 4TH-25TH 5-11PM

ONCE Lounge & Ballroom 156 Highland Ave. ONCEsomerville.com

EL DIABLO SHRIMP COCKTAIL

w/ Sangus & Grue | $15 adv/$18 dos | Doors @ 8pm |

WICKED WINGS

4/30 Michale Graves

6 Grilled jumbo shrimp/Aji Amarillo Salsa/Jicama Grilled/Thai hot chili peppers/garlic/ ginger/cilantro/Daikon

RING OF FIRE SHRIMP & GRITS

Pan Seared shrimp & andouille Sausage/ Spicy Cajun Gravy/ cheese grits

SMOKEN’ DEATH BONES

Smoked pork ribs/ Ghost Pepper BBQ Sauce/ Pickled Watermelon

GREAT BALLS OF FIRE

Moroccan lamb meatballs/ harissa sauce/ Grilled Pita Bread

VOODOO JAMBALAYA

4/27 ABSU on tour from TX 4/28 The Blue Ribbons 4/29 Jaggery Album Release Show 4/29 Question Box DJ Night w/ Diablogato, 138, The Martians, & You Scoundrel | $10 adv/$15 dos | Doors @ 8pm | 5/2 Jennifer Greer 5/5 Resonance 5/7 Fruit Bats & Horse Feathers Locavore tacos done right every Monday night 5-10pm in the ONCE Lounge Presented by Cuisine en Locale

www.enlocale.com 617-285-0167 NOW BOOKING PARTY & WEDDING CATERING

GOT AN EVENT? LIST IT.

Shrimp /Chicken/ Andouille sausage/Short grain Rice/Holy Trinity/ Creole Sauce

BEEF TACO

Shredded/ Guacamole/cojita cheese/chipotle sauce/Pico de Gallo/Pickled Onions

POT AU CRÈME

Chocolate & chipotle pudding with ginger wafers

@MAGOUNSSALOON OLDEMAGOUNSSALOON

518 Medford St. Somerville

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

4.28.16 - 5.5.16

|

DIGBOSTON.COM

Use our self-serve listings page to get your event online TODAY!

digboston.com/listings e offer a free asi listing as ell as enhanced and premium listings to really get you noti e

BY MIKE CRAWFORD @MIKECANNBOSTON Not a single day went by in April when some government official or media fool didn’t move to block access to cannabis. With a ballot referendum on legalization coming in just under half a year, the reefer madness never seems to end—from Boston Mayor Marty Walsh teaming with Gov. Charlie Baker and House Speaker Robert DeLeo to oppose the Campaign to Regulate Marijuana Like Alcohol (CRMLA), to the Town of Norwood playing games with dispensary applicants, to more lies from the Lowell Sun, to state Treasurer Deb Goldberg preemptively plotting to ban home cultivation and stall implementation if Commonwealth voters approve legal weed.

How did we get to this point? In part, it’s because some of the current leading prohibitionists forging the narrative have had unsubstantiated hangups for years. In 2008, Walsh, then a state representative, spoke in opposition to marijuana decriminalization. Walsh then went on to claim that cannabis leads to mental institutions, jail, and death. Like a lot of others, he’s wrong on the facts, and also on the wrong side of history: that November, nearly two-thirds of Massachusetts voters ignored the campaign against decrim and pulled in favor of a binding initiative making possession of less than one ounce a non-criminal offense. Four years later, in 2012, Walsh led the campaign against medical marijuana and again suffered a loss (reform won with 63 percent of the vote).

Back to the most absurd spate of state marijuana prohibition chirping in memory—even more egregious than the aforementioned obstructions. Earlier this month, with the press on extra-sympathetic mode in the lead-up to One Boston Day and the anniversary of the bombing of the Boston Marathon, Walsh and Baker announced their newly formed Campaign For A Safe and Healthy Massachusetts in opposition to the November legalization question. They may have expected there to be little public response given the timing. They were wrong.

Instead, rhetoric is swirling. The Boston media covers for political propaganda. Even worse, they piggyback inaccuracies rooted in ancient taboos, offering scathing rants along with news pieces built on false premises—like one in which the Globe, in typical kiss-the-Chamber of Commerce’s ass fashion, asked business giants who have nothing whatsoever to do with legal pot about their thoughts on the subject. Written from the gut, these contributions to the conversation are ironically gutless, one and all. Questionable “facts” go unchecked, comments about grass being a gateway drug leading to detox fly inconsequentially. All while the clear hypocrisy of Baker and Walsh supporting increased access to alcohol while campaigning against cannabis, instead of being highlighted by journalists and radio talkers, gets thrown back in the faces of activists who dared to lampoon the actions of these opportunists as amounting to, “Our Health Policy: Drink More Alcohol.”

In the end, most of the city’s remarkable hacks (many of whom probably burned in college) sided with sentimentality, allowing Walsh to play the victim; a well-known recovering alcoholic, the mayor’s team of flacks successfully deflected complaints about his behavior by chastising his critics for their line of attack. Nevermind that every outlet in Boston ran the BakerWalsh booze meme, or that the idea behind it is truer than anything coming from CRMLA opponents. Senior Baker Advisor Tim Buckley even used the opportunity to broadcast on Twitter his true feelings about cannabis advocates: “Tasteless photo shop jobs - pretty much what you’d expect from a few guys looking to get rich selling drug laced lollipops.” Walsh used the opening to charge that CRMLA backers have yet to identify any good reasons for legalization. Once again, the press ate shit. For a prime example, look no further than the Herald op-ed, “Weed War Gets Wacky.”

Luckily, the case for cannabis has been made—by advocates including us as well as the voting public—and will be further strengthened in November. Even readers of the Globe, Herald, and Sun are hammering reporters in their respective comment sections. To parrot CRMLA campaign manager Will Luzier, who recently quoted infamous former Boston Mayor James Michael Curley on The Young Jurks, “Every knock, a boost.” Nevertheless, Luzier also noted something else that Curley would have likely stressed above the rest, “We’re going to win—just as long as we get people out to vote.”

THEM

US

There are a million ticketing services out there. So how is our’s any different?

We are the only ones who include:

FREE PRINT ADVERTISING FREE ONLINE ADVERTISING FREE E-MAIL BLASTS FREE CALENDAR LISTING

Please contact marc@digpublishing.com for a whole lot more information.

NEWS TO US

FEATURE

DEPT. OF COMMERCE

ARTS + ENTERTAINMENT

7

APPARENT HORIZON

tomorrow exchange buy * sell*trade

AUSTERITY BUDGET: PT 2 The lowlights of the Mass House Ways and Means Committee FY 2017 state budget proposal

BY JASON PRAMAS @JASONPRAMAS Time for a look at the latest act of the Commonwealth’s annual fiscal circus: the House Ways and Means Committee (HWMC) FY 2017 budget proposal.

As with the governor’s FY 2017 proposal three months back, I’m simply going to give readers a taste of the worst proposed cuts culled from the ever-helpful analytical reports that the Mass Budget and Policy Center (MBPC) releases at each stage of the budget process. If you’d like to check out all the details - and I highly recommend that you do—you can find the latest MBPC budget report at www. massbudget.org.

Beyond the outright reductions I review below, most other programs are slated to be level-funded or given slight increases—both of which amount to further cuts by failing to keep up with inflation. Meaning that if the HWMC budget proposal is enacted, our state’s financial situation will continue its downward spiral. Unless the Mass political establishment finally does the right thing and raises taxes on corporations and the rich to properly fund state government again. And that isn’t happening without a grassroots mass movement that hasn’t materialized yet.

The main bright spot in the HWMC proposal is a modest increase in funding for local public schools. According to MBPC: “The proposal both directly increases Chapter 70 funding (state aid to local school districts) by more than the Governor recommended and funds a reserve account that can supplement Chapter 70 aid for districts that were adversely affected by changes in the ways the state counts low-income students.” Which is nice, but not enough—especially with hundreds of millions of state K-12 education dollars being regularly dumped on charter schools.

Otherwise, there’s potentially good news for a few other programs—like the State Police getting a whopping $20.6 million increase (7.8 percent) to add new troopers to their ranks. Joy. But overall, the HWMC proposal will slash the budgets of a large number of vital social programs in a time of continuing economic crisis. Read on for some of the disquieting particulars:

BuffaloExchange.com

OLDE MAGOUNʼS SALOON PRESENTS:

MEAT

LOAF MONDAYS Different meatloaf every Monday with two sides.

518 Medford St. Somerville 617-776-2600 magounssaloon.com 8

4.28.16 - 5.5.16

|

DIGBOSTON.COM

Environment & Recreation The FY 2017 HWMC budget proposal would cut $16.1 million (7.6 percent) from current FY 2016 levels. Leaving $196.7 million. A .6 percent larger cut than the Governor’s proposal. Specific hits include gutting the Department of Environmental Protection with a very nasty cut of $4.4 million (15 percent) from current FY 2016 levels.

Housing Funds for affordable housing, and shelter and services to homeless people. The FY 2017 HWMC budget proposal would cut $46.5 million (9.51 percent) from current FY 2016 levels. For a total of $442.3 million. A 4.96 percent larger cut than the governor’s proposal.

Transitional Assistance This program used to be called welfare in (slightly) more honest times. It provides short-term help for poor individuals and families. The FY 2017 HWMC budget proposal would cut $27.2 million (3.9 percent) from current FY 2016 levels. For a total of $666.6 million. This represents a reduction of 35.9 percent since FY 2001 in inflation-adjusted dollars.

Other Human Services A grab bag of programs in various areas—notably support for veterans. For example, the FY 2017 HWMC budget proposal would cut veterans’ services (including the Soldiers’ Homes) $4.6 million from current FY 2016 levels. For a total of $146.1 million. That’s $1.9 million less than the governor’s proposal.

Economic Development Funds for programs that, among other things, help unemployed people find work.

The FY 2017 HWMC budget proposal would cut $26.7 million (17.5 percent) from current FY 2016 levels. This includes painful cuts to: the One-Stop Career Centers that serve unemployed people (a $525,491 cut from both current FY 2016 levels and the Governor’s FY 2017 proposal—for a total of only $4 million), YouthWorks (formerly Summer Jobs Program for At-Risk Youth, a 23.1 percent cut from current FY 2016 levels, and a 21.7 percent cut from the governor’s proposal), and the Workforce Competitiveness Trust Fund that provides training for unemployed workers that got zero funding - while the governor’s proposal would increase FY 2017 funding $2.2 million from last year’s levels for a total of $4 million.

Apparent Horizon is syndicated by the Boston Institute for Nonprofit Journalism.

Jason Pramas is BINJ’s network director.

COPYRIGHT 2016 JASON PRAMAS. LICENSED FOR USE BY THE BOSTON INSTITUTE FOR NONPROFIT JOURNALISM AND MEDIA OUTLETS IN ITS NETWORK.

ALLSTON: 180 Harvard Av. (Green Line @ Harvard) • 617-779-7901 SOMERVILLE: 238 Elm St. (Red Line @ Davis Square) • 617-629-5383

Easter Rising Centenary Party April 24th, 12PM The Rising Bar 1172 Cambridge St Inman Square's Newest Neighborhood Establishment

✓ Live Irish Music with Tony Giblin and Friends ✓ Toast with Glendalough Irish Whiskey ✓ Proper Chicken Fillet Rolls ✓ A Full Day of Craic agus Ceoil!

Cork Boston GAA Jersey Unveiling

Guinness Glass Engraving

www.TheRisingBar.com

Reading of the Proclamation

Tel: (617) 714-4130

Certified Beer Sniffers 9 2 H A M P 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

NEWS TO US

FEATURE

DEPT. OF COMMERCE

ARTS + ENTERTAINMENT

9

Tickled

Documentary Feature Journalist David Farrier stumbles upon a mysterious tickling competition online and as he delves deeper comes up against fierce resistance.

IFF YOU BELIEVE IT

FEATURE

This year’s Independent Film Festival Boston is filled with weird fiction and weirder nonfiction, from ticklers to a “Weiner”

BY JAKE MULLIGAN The 14th annual Independent Film Festival Boston— which began earlier this week and runs through next Wednesday—is the only cinema event in this city that legitimately overwhelms you with options.

This year the festival boasts more than 25 narrative features, almost 40 nonfiction features, and about 50 short films, with the screenings spread out across four different locations (the Brattle Theatre, the Somerville Theatre, the Coolidge Corner Theatre, and UMass Boston). A number of those screenings will be accompanied by question-and-answer sessions populated by cast members, directors, producers, editors, or other crew. A selection of panels will take other stages simultaneously on topics like “Acting and Casting in Boston” and “Diversity and Inclusion in the Golden Age of Docs.” And after all that are the afterparties. Every year this festival has a tagline, seen on the posters, programs, and bumper videos. In 2016, it’s “Make it yours”—and you’ll have to. Even if the MBTA ran perfectly, you’d only be able to catch a fraction of this lineup.

10

4.28.16 - 5.5.16

|

DIGBOSTON.COM

Therefore any suggestions I make about a “running theme” would only be indicative of the small percentage of films I’ve already seen. In last week’s issue we lauded the punk-club-under-siege horror movie Green Room—a movie I first saw at a screening hosted by IFFBoston!—for its dedication to regional and formal specificity. And the movies you see at the festival are all marked by the same characteristic, despite the fact that they’re born of various different markets. Some are wellbudgeted films with notable actors; others are local productions that were scripted and shot on spare change. Some are well-distributed documentaries on nationally recognized subjects; others are shot on streets you’ve never heard of. But almost every film represents what we’ve come to call a “deep dive.”

One profiles anthropologists dedicated to studying the effects of climate change on coastal lifestyles.

Another dramatizes the conflicts that ensue when a sought-after Brooklyn storefront space comes up for lease. A local entry documents the struggles of

recently released ex-convicts in Lowell and Lawrence as they spiral in and out of their own respective substance addictions. Spend enough time skipping between theaters this week and you’ll leave knowing significantly more about a few topics that you’re probably already thinking about.

We’ve spent the past week previewing a handful of films that are programmed at the festival, so consider the capsules below as an incomplete guide to the offerings. We’ll be at IFFB this whole week, too, and will be filing reports to digboston.com along the way.

Of the films we’ve seen thus far, two standouts best exemplify the programming’s dedication to unique works of storytelling: Both are nonfiction features characterized by outlandish, Strangelove-ian twists of fate. One of them has a real-life car chase leading to a mild-mannered disagreement. The other one has the line “We’re executing the McDonald’s plan” delivered in a gravely serious tone of voice. Neither film is particularly revolutionary in an aesthetic sense. But since real life is weirder than fiction, they’re blessed

Weiner

Documentary Feature An examination of disgraced New York Congressman Anthony Weiner’s mayoral campaign and the landscape of today’s political landscape.

with comic scenarios that even the most eccentric screenwriter wouldn’t generate.

On that note, let’s talk about Anthony Weiner.

You may remember him as “Carlos Danger.” That was the name he used in chat rooms dedicated to digital hookups. He was a Democratic congressman in New York—he was and still is married to Huma Abedin, who currently serves as the vice chairwoman of Hillary Clinton’s presidential campaign—who resigned after getting caught up in a sexting scandal. Then he attempted a comeback by running for mayor of New York City in 2013. Along the way, he made two mistakes.

The first mistake was not knowing that additional photographs from his online life would inevitably leak out. The second mistake was allowing a documentary crew full access to his life for the entirety of the campaign. Co-director Josh Kriegman will present the resulting film at IFFBoston. Obviously, it’s called Weiner.

Like a dick pic from an unwanted suitor, it’s a discomforting experience. The mayoral campaign begins in earnest, with Weiner’s opponents drawing indignant boos whenever they stoop to talking about his past woes. But then there’s new controversies to contend with in the form of nude photographs and sexually explicit text conversations, all leaked to a press that’s starving for more scandal. Filmmakers Kriegman and Elyse Steinberg get up in Weiner’s face whenever his offices and vans empty out, asking him deliberately reactionary questions (“Did you ever think it would be this bad?”) designed to provoke intensely pained reactions (they push him so far that he questions the integrity of their so-called “fly-on-thewall” filmmaking approach, and rightfully so). Weiner’s only public response is to let things hang even lower.

He doubles down on his campaigning persona, leading

ethnic celebrations and gay pride parades; cut to a young man energetically chanting “Weiner!” while he repeatedly points to his penis with the same rhythm.

That all makes this a real-world election comedy, with cosmically ordained coincidences that’d make a screenwriter dream—the digitally philandering Weiner had his wedding overseen by none other than Bill Clinton. Musically backed montages and clips of unrelentingly vicious political commentary bake it all into a form that’s both poppy and caustic, like The Candidate with an uglier star (then Weiner compares himself to Bulworth, to clinch the connection). The climax features an ostensibly serious political figure being chased through a fast food restaurant by a parttime adult-film actress he’d scorned via telephone.

They say that politics have gotten too silly to satirize.

Here’s the proof.

Weiner isn’t the only nonfiction film at IFFB that accomplishes the difficult task of matching the absurdity inherent in the daily news. In Tickled, a New Zealand-based culture journalist (co-director David Farrier) finds a competitive tickling league online (attached videos typically feature teenage boys in athletic gear gang-tickling a strapped-down peer) and decides to make it his next subject. He’s quickly resisted by Jane O’Brien Media, the weirdly faceless producer of the videos, who responds with goofily homophobic rants (“little gay kiwis”) and surprisingly well-advised legal threats. Farrier’s ensuing investigation dictates the form of the movie, with first-person aesthetics (voiceover, direct address, and documentations of Farrier’s own communications) taking us along for the trip (which takes him to our country and also to numerous courtrooms).

What Farrier discovers is a nationwide conspiracy of

NEWS TO US

Pynchonian proportions. It’s as labyrinthian as the author’s Lot 49, with the truth hidden behind highvalue business contracts and real estate ownership papers, turning the whole investigation into a silly little thing with a harrowing aftertaste. And it’s all orchestrated by a sadistic rich white person who has Wall Street connections, because real life can be more symbolic than fiction, too. As with Weiner, you could skip the movie, research the adjacent legal cases, and obtain all the same information that’s provided onscreen. But then you’d only have the misery—you’d miss out on the fun of discovering it.

>> INDEPENDENT FILM FESTIVAL BOSTON 2016. 4.2 —5.4. AT THE SOMERVILLE THEATRE, BRATTLE THEATRE, COOLIDGE CORNER THEATRE, AND UMASS BOSTON. TICKETS TO INDIVIDUAL FILMS ARE $11—20, DEPENDING ON SEATING AND SCREENING. FOR BADGES, MEMBERSHIPS, SCHEDULE, AND TICKETS, VISIT IFFBOSTON.COM >> WEINER SCREENS ON MON 5.2. SOMERVILLE THEATRE, SCREEN 5. 7PM. RATED R. OPENS AT THE KENDALL SQUARE CINEMA ON 5. 27. CO-DIRECTOR JOSH KRIEGMAN IS EXPECTED TO ATTEND. >> TICKLED ALSO SCREENS ON MON 5.2. SOMERVILLE THEATRE, SCREEN 4. 7:15PM. NOT RATED.

FEATURE

DEPT. OF COMMERCE

ARTS + ENTERTAINMENT

11

FICTION

ALWAYS SHINE

When Anna (Mackenzie Davis) calls her friend Beth (Caitlin FitzGerald) a “horrible” person, she makes sure to pronounce it with an emphasis on “whore.” They’re both actresses—the big-eyed and soft-featured Beth gets so much work that she’s done 10 nude scenes in two years, while the more angularly beautiful Anna struggles to find even unpaid work in student shorts—on an anxiety-laden holiday outside Hollywood. Horror-cinema flash cuts suggest that there’s more than jealousy brewing in Beth’s brain, and then the movie obliges that aesthetic by following her into Repulsion/Persona territory, via a final movement centered around threatening home fronts and psychological identity swapping. Director Sophia Takal utilizes offscreen space (characters are constantly refused the right to be looked at) and discussions of movie-industry sexism (everyone’s obsessed with nude scenes, though Takal pointedly declines to give us one of her own) to reorient the bloodshed as being the result of ruthless industry practices. Cineastes will recognize it as a work that exists within an auteurspecific tradition, the “women locked in a remote location while going crazy” subgenre—that includes the two aforementioned movies, 3 Women, Images, Interiors and last year’s Queen of Earth (which also featured Lawrence Michael Levine, who serves as both actor and screenwriter on Always Shine). Takal’s addition is to take the madness out of the abstract and into the specifics of her own industry: the way that a casting director is more interested in a woman’s body than in her voice or the way that commercial arts boil a female identity down to a hairstyle and breasts. The “vacation home for furious females” setup is well-tread ground; Takal’s subtext-heavy picture tries to figure out why.

FRI 4.29. SOMERVILLE THEATRE. 7PM. NOT RATED. DIRECTOR SOPHIA TAKAL IS EXPECTED TO ATTEND.

TRANSPECOS

The emptied-out expanse of the Mexican line becomes the setting for a modern-western-slash-morality-play, with border politics filling the vast spaces between people. Patrolman Lou Hobbs (Clifton Collins Jr) is the hatwearing white man prone to using words like “wetback.” Benjamin Davis (Johnny Simmons) is the double agent being paid to wave drug traffickers past the stop signs. And Lance Flores (Gabriel Luna) just wants to do his job, which becomes rather difficult when one of his partners is shooting at the other one. Director Greg Kwedar is seduced by the lusciousness of the setting, often resting his camera far enough back to capture the landscapes resting miles away (it renders his leads as bit players in a war they can’t hope to comprehend, which is exactly what they are). Kwedar’s also seduced by a sense of literary romanticism: His world is one where blood remains on a man’s hands permanently (for symbolism’s sake) and where even bigots get romantically minded last words (on man’s relationship to nature, with diction cribbed from Hemingway). He might be searching for truth, but what he finds is aching poetry.

SAT 4.30. SOMERVILLE THEATRE. 7:15PM. NOT RATED. DIRECTOR GREG KWEDAR AND PRODUCER NANCY SCHAFER ARE EXPECTED TO ATTEND.

THE BLACKCOAT’S DAUGHTER

Another movie about 3 Women, if you’ll indulge the wordplay: First-time director Osgood Perkins has fashioned his own film about crazed women in enclosed spaces and fractured it into a trio of timelines. Each is a swirl of visually distressing recollections: crashed cars, inescapable captivity, snowy tundras, and principal’s offices. The girls are Joan, Rose, and Kat (Emma Roberts, Lucy Boynton, and Kiernan Shipka), the location is the Bramford School (girls only), and they all seem desperate to escape whatever demon is lurking in the basement (along with whatever’s lurking in their minds). Perkins’ nonlinear structure allows him to do the dreamscape thing; if there’s a developed mythology behind his pseudo-Satanist narrative, then it’s been deliberately clouded by his character’s flash-edited traumas. Perkins’ whole movie is told in whispers and harsh winds, which befits his chosen themes. The subject is abandonment, so the enemy is whatever atmosphere remains behind.

SAT 4.30. BRATTLE THEATRE. 10:30PM. RATED R.

LITTLE MEN

Ira Sach’s last two films play like human-scale horror: The victims are interpersonal relationships, and the villain is the real estate market. In Love is Strange, it was a recently married gay couple that got separated by an insurmountable rent. And in Little Men, it’s two teenage boys who get priced out of their own friendship.

13-year-old Jake (Theo Taplitz) and his family (Greg Kinnear, Jennifer Ehle) move from Manhattan to Brooklyn after his grandfather (unseen) passes away. They’ve inherited rights to the building he owned, which includes a storefront area (resting, quite symbolically, below their new living space) operated by single mother Leonore (Paulina Garcia) with her son Tony (Michael Barbieri). The two boys quickly branch away from the upstairs/ downstairs metaphor to foster an atypically unguarded friendship, one that’s brokered on a shared interest in art and a shared awkwardness with women. Then Leonore’s formerly minimized rent is suddenly much closer to the market standard—Jake’s family triples the cost she’s been paying—and the boys are right back where they started (alone). He skirts around melodrama wherever it arises—reading between the lines suggests that Jake’s grandfather might be Tony’s father, but the text itself never even acknowledges that possibility. Instead the director prefers just to observe the way these wounds fester (when the characters cry, it’s alone) and then heal (when they recover, it’s typically with a hug and in a group). Sachs is a rare filmmaker—deft enough to manage a complex scenario without letting it suffocate his subject.

TUE 5.3. COOLIDGE CORNER THEATRE. 7PM. NOT RATED. DIRECTOR IRA SACHS IS EXPECTED TO BE IN ATTENDANCE.

18

4.21.16 - 4.28.16

|

DIGBOSTON.COM

MADE SPRING SALE

MAY 1-7, 2016 10AM-7PM DAILY, TOWER BUILDING LOBBY 621 Huntington Ave, Boston, MA 02115 MassArt.edu/springsale Purchase unique, quality artwork created by MassArt students and alumni.

Homemade items range from glass, ceramics and oil painting to jewelry and more. springsale@massart.edu | 617.879.7710 Digital illustration by Julia Dudley-Kramer, BFA Illustration ’17, www.behance.net/juliadudleykramer

NEWS TO US

FEATURE

DEPT. OF COMMERCE

ARTS + ENTERTAINMENT

19

NON-FICTION

PRESENTING PRINCESS SHAW

Israeli artist Kutiman creates his work by mashing up the audio tracks of various Youtube clips into meticulously sound-edited symphonies. Normally each instrument plays its fair share. Then he finds Samantha Montgomery Shaw—an African-American woman living and working in New Orleans, with neon-red hair, braces, a strong face, and numerous Youtube videos that start with lines like, “Hello, lovers.” But after her schtick, she performs a capella songs she wrote herself, and they provide Kutiman with his latest muse. The movie makes the decision not to disclose the relationship between Kutiman and director Ido Haar, but it seems to go like this: after Kutiman began working on an extended project to create musical backing for Shaw’s performances, Haar traveled to New Orleans and documented Shaw (under false pretenses) in her day-to-day life (working at a nursing home, then performing to empty clubs on open mic night, eventually moving to Atlanta, where she renews attempts to come to terms with past traumas) until her existence is rewritten by her inclusion in the artist’s latest work (which results in her performing halfway around the world). Haar’s primary idea is to structure his whole film like a trip down a Youtube link-hole: Formats and forms mingle together at a rapid pace, with at-home footage of Kutiman and archival film of his exhibitions mixing democratically with Shaw’s documented life and her uploaded videos. The payoff, of course, is the intersection—when Shaw-the-performer and Shaw-the-person get to share a cathartic moment of success. One of the last clips we see suggests that her life went back to its troubled normalcy after the experience with Kutiman. You leave wishing that Haar would’ve stuck around to find out.

FRI 4.29. SOMERVILLE THEATRE. 9:30PM. NOT RATED.

LO AND BEHOLD: REVERIES OF THE CONNECTED WORLD

Werner Herzog considers the internet as an expansion of man’s consciousness in ten delineated chapters, from “The Glory of the Net” (scientific and technological advancement) to “The Dark Side” (which considers traumatic levels of trolling) to “The End of the Net” (when it happens, his experts suggest, most of us will die right off).

Maybe it looks like investigative journalism—the director interviews innumerable experts and luminaries from the world of information technology, and they provide insightful comments on all of the subjects he broaches—but it’s all filtered through his famously Herzogian mindset. He sees the internet as an outlet for the human spirit at both its bravest and barest, and therefore he thinks in terms of “most”: He wants to show you the biggest threats within cybersecurity (maybe we’re in a cyberwar already), the greatest hackers working today (he interviews Kevin Mitnik in search of tall tales), or the humans most endangered by a digital culture (a trip to disconnected farmland reveals a collective of people allergic to radiation caused by cell phone towers).

One section considers the coming proliferation of actual robots, with footage depicting humanoid machines plastered with sponsorship stickers from Amazon and Shell. You might expect corporate intrigue, or at least corporate criticism, but Herzog barely cares to ask that question. He’s not interested in the financial structures that advance cultural digitization. He’s more fascinated by the places we end up once these structures inevitably fail out. You might ask if artificial intelligence has the capacity to upend world economies. He considers things more lyrically: “Does the internet dream of itself?”

SAT 4.30. BRATTLE THEATRE. 5PM. NOT RATED.

THE ANTHROPOLOGIST

It opens with clips of a woman pulling home movies out of a shelter. And for most of the runtime, that’s what The Anthropologist’s three directors provide: a halfway-natural look at the lives of a family on the move. Their subject is anthropologist Susie Crate (she’s focused on the effect of climate change on traditionalist cultures) and her teenaged daughter Katie (who agrees with her Mom’s politics but often seems annoyed by her work); the former takes the latter along for every field trip, be it Siberia, Peru, or the South Pacific for Christmas.

Intersecting those clips are interview segments with Mary Catherine Bateson, daughter of famed mid-century anthropologist Margaret Mead. She has tenure, and so she digresses as she sees fit: At one point she speaks about the science of psychological change, and later she pontificates about how cool it is that President Obama’s mother was an anthropologist. Three generations of interconnected women give their take on the work that defines their lives, while the three directors try to create a sense of cultural exchange between their varied eras: On the soundtrack is a cover of “The Times They Are A-Changin’,” then it’s “Don’t You Forget About Me,” and after that it’s EDM. SUN 5.1. SOMERVILLE THEATRE. 5:15PM. NOT RATED.

BEYOND THE WALL

The statistics that open Beyond the Wall might not be surprising, but they ought to startle you anyway. Of the 9 million people released from US jails each year, 75 percent have a history of substance abuse problems. And 95 percent of that 75 percent will relapse once they’re out. In profiling Louie Diaz—a substance abuse counselor and reentry specialist who does work at the Middlesex House of Corrections and dedicates his life to aiding struggling ex-convicts in Massachusetts’ Merrimack Valley—Beyond the Wall introduces us to a few such men.

The filmmaking spans across roughly three years, and it skews wherever it likes, from direct-address interview to fly-on-the-wall footage to contextual text on screen. But in the meantime it creates a detailed portrait of local subcultures, including the barbershop scene in Lawrence and Lowell or the halfway houses spread across the subregion. As a narrative, it’s a tragedy: Relapses occur without notice, supportive structures as provided by the state appear nonexistent, and when death comes, it’s an expected guest. An unofficial and unintentional companion piece to Lost Lives in Lowell—which has an anniversary screening at IFFBoston this year at the Brattle on May 4—Beyond the Wall serves as a document of peers we’ve already forgotten.

SUN 5.1. SOMERVILLE THEATRE. 7:30PM. NOT RATED. DIRECTOR BESTOR CRAM, DIRECTOR JENNY PHILLIPS, AND WRITER/EDITOR ANDY KUKURA ARE EXPECTED TO BE IN ATTENDANCE.

14

4.28.16 - 5.5.16

|

DIGBOSTON.COM

Cycles 128 107 Brimbal Ave, Beverly, MA 01915 www.cycles128.com

NEWS TO US

FEATURE

DEPT. OF COMMERCE

ARTS + ENTERTAINMENT

13

ARTS ENTERTAINMENT

DIMEL RIVAS IS THIS SPRING’S MASSART EXPERIMENTAL ILLUSTRATION WINNER! SPECIAL THANKS TO BOB MALONEY AND HIS ENTIRE CLASS FOR THE GREAT SUBMISSIONS! “THE SPANIARD TRADITION IN WELCOMING THE SPRING TIME REVOLVES AROUND THE LAS FALLAS PARADE. A PARADE IN WHICH WHIMSICAL SCULPTURES, FANTASY FLOATS AND CARICATURE COMMENTARY ON POPULAR EVENTS IS CELEBRATED AND DISCARDED OF IN A GRAND BOND FIRE. I DECIDED TO USE THIS CELEBRATION TO INSPIRE MY OWN CARICATURE COMMENTARY ON THE EVER POPULAR 2016 ELECTIONS.”

2016 INDEPENDENT FILM FESTIVAL BOSTON PICKS AND PARTIES WED 4.27

FRI 4.29

SAT 4.30

SUN 5.1

WED 5.4

OPENING NIGHT PARTY

CRAIG ROBINSON STARS IN CHAD HARTIGAN’S

DIRECTOR JEFF GRACE PRESENTS

A MASSACHUSETTS FAMILY IS PROFILED

DIRECTOR CLEA DUVALL PRESENTS CLOSING NIGHT FILM

THE ORLEANS RESTAURANT. 65 HOLLAND ST., SOMERVILLE. 9:30PM.

[Somerville Theatre.

7:30pm.]

-INDIVIDUAL TICKETS AVAILABLE AT IFFBOSTON. ORG. RUSH LINES WILL FORM FOR SOLD-OUT FILMS PRIOR TO START TIME.

MORRIS FROM AMERICA

WEEKEND KICKOFF PARTY WAGAMAMA. 57 JFK ST., CAMBRIDGE. 10:30PM.

16

4.28.16 - 5.5.16

|

DIGBOSTON.COM

FOLK HERO & FUNNY GUY

[Somerville Theatre. 7pm.]

AWARDS PARTY TASTY BURGER. 40 JFK ST., CAMBRIDGE. 10PM.

IN THE GUYS NEXT DOOR

[Somerville Theatre.

2:15pm.]

TAIKA WAITITI’S NEW COMEDY

HUNT FOR THE WILDERPEOPLE [Brattle Theatre. 6pm.]

THE INTERVENTION [Coolidge Corner Theatre.

7:30pm.]

CLOSING NIGHT PARTY OSAKA JAPANESE SUSHI & STEAK HOUSE. 14 GREEN ST., BROOKLINE. 10PM.

ILLUSTRATION BY DIMEL RIVAS

There’s so much going on at the IFFB that we dedicated our Dig This Picks to the parties and additional screenings we couldn’t cover elsewhere.

A couple of things to remember: -ENTRANCE TO IFFB PARTIES REQUIRES FESTIVAL BADGE.

NEWS TO US

FEATURE

DEPT. OF COMMERCE

ARTS + ENTERTAINMENT

15

MUSIC

MUSIC

SCOREBOARD RESULTS

RAMA LAMA DING DONG

The best music we heard at PAX East

Why Kids Like You & Me is throwing a festival based of silliness and support

BY NINA CORCORAN @NINA_CORCORAN This weekend saw PAX East take over Boston once again, ushering cosplay creatures and cave-dwelling nerds into the streets to try demos of new games that will soon be playable. What the videogame convention doesn’t boast is the selection of top tier music inside of the games. Don’t worry, though. We did some snooping to find the best music from games you’ll soon fall in love with.

Independent Out fall of 2016 Night In The Woods sees you—a cute, angsty cat—drop out of college to find life back home isn’t exactly as you left it. It’s full of dark comedy laced with meditative freedom, a style very much mirrored in its music. Alec Holowka and Scott Benson let muted xylophone plod along while light backing drums give feeling to an Animal Crossingstyle adventure.

HAUNTED: HALLOWEEN ’85

Retrotainment Games Out now A brand-new game for the NES with modern 8-bit tunes? Yes please.

HAUNTED: Halloween ’85 is all the classic NES goodness rolled into skittering, high-pitched, melodychasing themes that stick in your head long after you’re done punching aliens and beating down bats.

GONNER

Raw Fury Games Out later in 2016 Finally, faint background music worth remembering. GoNNER boasts minimalist music with percussionheavy beats, lightly beaten bongos, and electronic blips somewhere between Thom Yorke and Tim Hecker.

Thankfully the characters are twice as cute as the sounds.

PYRE

Supergiant Games Out in 2017 Like the rest of Supergiant Games’ releases, Pyre sees a nontraditional approach to scoring. Songs take form in the shape of radio hits more than ambient background noise, this time roping in everything from mandolin to midi keys and the adventurous instruments that lie in between.

SHE REMEMBERED CATERPILLARS

Jumpsuit Entertainment Out fall of 2016 Work your way through puzzles on love, loss, and holding on in She Remembered Caterpillars while colors split, divide, and combine. The game’s childlike design comes to life with a soundtrack that sounds like a baby street-performing.

There are tinny taps, twinkling melodies, and humming bass that give the feeling of a forest lit by moonlight.

MIMPI

Crescent Moon Games Out now Mimpi opts for natural background sounds during gameplay, but the adorable protagonist gets a tail-wagworthy title screen theme that molds trip-hop with Middle Eastern themes.

Show it to your bro over the holidays and he would be surprised to find out it soundtracks a game with a fluffy white pup as its hero (cape and all).

>> KIDS LIKE YOU & ME’S RAMA LAMA DING DONG. THU-SAT 4.28-4.30. MIDDLE EAST UPSTAIRS, 472 MASS. AVE., CAMBRIDGE. 3PM/18+/$8-$14.

MIDEASTOFFERS.COM

READ MORE, INCLUDING QUOTES WITH SEVERAL OF THE COMPOSERS, ON DIGBOSTON.COM

MUSIC EVENTS FRI 4.29

ROCK INTO THE WEEKEND BARONESS

[Royale, 279 Tremont St., Boston. 6pm/18+/$25. boweryboston.com]

18

4.28.16 - 5.5.16

|

SAT 4.30

CRY, JAM, CRY, REPEAT. MOTHERS + PALM + VUNDABAR

[Great Scott, 1222 Comm. Ave., Boston. 9pm/21+/$12. boweryboston.com]

DIGBOSTON.COM

SUN 5.1

SUNDAY NIGHT STACKED BILL LAURA STEVENSON + CRYING + CHRIS FARREN +SACCHARINE

[Great Scott, 1222 Comm. Ave., Boston.

8:30pm/18+/$12. boweryboston.com]

Sometimes kids have a more grounded understanding of the world than we give them credit for.

Though they’re no longer children, Chris DeCarlo and Glen Maganzini—the founders behind music blog Kids Like You and Me—fell into that category as their website began to blow up. A coy name nodding to punk act the Black Lips soon embodied what their future life would hold: a deep love of their own music scene and the friendships that would bloom from it as a result.

It’s been seven years since they created the blog, and DeCarlo and Maganzini are throwing an equally lightheartedly named festival to celebrate: Rama Lama Ding Dong.

The three-day festival sees rock, punk, and indie pop take over Club Bohemia on April 28 and the Middle East Upstairs on April 29 and 30, ideally fostering a similar level of camaraderie and inclusion amongst musicians and festivalgoers as Boston’s music scene showed the duo.

The stacked lineup boasts old-time favorites (Kal Marks, the Barbazons, Nice Guys, Littlefoot) and up-and-comers (Electric Street Queens, Future Spa, Gordon Gritty, Mike Mountain) with equal excitement. What else do you expect?

For a blog that cultivates genuine talent with passion at its heart, bringing musicians to the stage who uphold those same traits is the only option. Best of all, each night only costs $8, $12, and $14 respectively.

So where does the festival name come from exactly? It’s an homage to the doowop sound they love so much and the silly spirit that bubbles up from that music. If it’s anything to go off of, Rama Lama Ding Dong and its name will keep you smiling all night long for three nights in a row. The only thing that will flip that curve down to a frown is missing the fest altogether.

TUE 5.3

WED 5.4

[The Sinclair, 52 Church St., Cambridge. 8pm/18+/$25. boweryboston.com]

[House of Blues, 15 Lansdowne St., Boston.

7pm/all ages/$25. livenation.com]

NO-SHED ELECTRO-ROCK SUPER FURRY ANIMALS

CASH FOR GOLD SANTIGOLD

WED 5.4

OUGHT NOT MISS OUT OUGHT + PRIESTS + URSULA

[The Sinclair, 52 Church St., Cambridge. 8pm/all ages/$15. boweryboston. com]

POSTER ART BY MELANIE BERNIER

NIGHT IN THE WOODS

BY NINA CORCORAN @NINA_CORCORAN

THU 4/28 - LEEDZ PRESENTS

FREDDIE GIBBS

FRI 4/29 - CRUSH PRESENTS STINGRAY BODY ART | TATTOO BY ALASTAIR

TERRAVITA / BARE

SAT 4/30 - BOWERY PRESENTS

JAI WOLF

TUES 5/3 - LEEDZ PRESENTS

ODDISEE

THU 5/5 - BOWERY PRESENTS

BORN RUFFIANS / ON AND ON

MONDAYS

INDUSTRY

WHEN YOU GIVE, YOU GET!

deals GIVE YOUR FRIENDS & FAMILY GIFT CARDS TO THE BEST RESTAURANTS, BARS, SHOPS, & SERVICES IN TOWN

AND YOU’LL ONLY PAY HALF PRICE! GO TO DIGBOSTON.COM/DEALS TO SEE OUR COMPLETE INVENTORY!

FRI 5/6 - LEEDZ PRESENTS:

DEL THE FUNKY HOMOSAPIEN

NIGHT LIVE MUSIC @ 9PM

THU 4/28 - ILLEGALLY BLIND PRES.

JULIANNA BARWICK

25% OFF DINNER

NAT BALDWIN (DIRTY PROJECTORS) FRI 4/29 KLYAM: DAY 1

MENU

THE MONSIEURS

SAT 4/30 RAMA LAMA DING DONG: DAY 2

GUERILLA TOSS THE BARBAZONS

WITH CONCERT TICKET FROM MIDDLE EAST

UPSTAIRS OR DOWNSTAIRS

MON 5/2 - LEEDZ PRESENTS

PLAN YOUR GRADUATION PARTY WITH ZUZU!

WEDS 5/4 COMMUNION BOSTON FT.

JARED EVAN

BASECAMP TRIBE SOCIETY

SPACE AVAILABLE FOR PRIVATE PARTIES CALL TODAY FOR $300 OFF RESERVATIONS AT ZUZUDINING.COM

THU 5/5 - 10:30PM - LEEDZ PRES.

474 MASSACHUSETTS AVE CENTRAL SQ., CAMBRIDGE 617-864-3278 NEWS TO US

FEATURE

DEPT. OF COMMERCE

MR. LIF

ARTS + ENTERTAINMENT

17

ARTS

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

MONDAYS

TUESDAYS

WEDNESDAYS

MAKKA MONDAY

TWOOSDAY

GEEKS WHO DRINK

19+, 8PM DOORS, $5

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

FEB 9

CROSSWALK ANARCHY, ALLBE

FEB 16

ALLBE, JUICE

WEDNESDAYS

Weekly Dance Party, House, Disco, Techno, Local & International DJ’s 19+, 10PM - 1AM

SATURDAYS

ELEMENTS

PRETTY YOUNG THING

BOOM BOOM ROOM

80’s, 90’s, 00’s One Hit Wonders 21+, 10PM - 2AM

THE BEST ENTERTAINMENT IN CAMBRIDGE 7 DAYS A WEEK!

1/2 PRICED APPS DAILY 5 - 7PM RUGBY WORLD CUP SHOWN LIVE, STARTING ON SEPTEMBER 17TH WATCH EVERY SOCCER GAME! VOTED BOSTON’S BEST SOCCER BAR ENGLISH PREMIER LEAGUE

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

CHECK OUT ALL PHOENIX LANDING NIGHTLY EVENTS AT:

WWW.PHOENIXLANDINGBAR.COM

20

4.21.16 - 4.28.16

|

DIGBOSTON.COM

BY CHRISTOPHER EHLERS @_CHRISEHLERS

RE:SET

FRIDAYS

80’s Old School & Top 40 Dance hits 21+, 10PM - 2AM

Obehi Janice stars in We’re Gonna Die at OBERON

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

THURSDAYS 15+ Years of Resident Drum & Bass Bringing some of the worlds biggest DnB DJ’s to Cambridge 19+, 10PM - 2AM

BORN TO DIE

“Prince just died, so I’m really emotional,” said Obehi Janice at the start of our recent phone interview, which occurred shortly after the news of Prince’s death began to circulate.

Janice is starring in the New England Premiere of Young Jean Lee’s We’re Gonna Die, part monologue, part indie-rock cabaret show about the one thing that we all have in common: death. Playing at Club OBERON through April 29, We’re Gonna Die is a co-production between Company One Theatre and the American Repertory Theater. Following the run at OBERON, We’re Gonna Die can be seen May 14 at Zumix in East Boston, May 18 at AS220 in Providence, and May 20 at Luna Theater at Mill No. 5 in Lowell. Additional dates may be announced shortly.

Lee’s collection of stories and songs centers on the isolation and loneliness that comes with being human. Most affectingly, in an eleven o’clock revelation of sorts, Lee touches on the idea of specialness: “I believe, deep down, with all my heart, that I deserve to be immune not only from loneliness and tragedy, but also from aging, sickness, and death,” she writes. “But I’m not special. I’m a person.

And when you’re a person, all kinds of really terrible things can happen to you.”

It was oddly fitting, then, that my conversation with Janice about We’re Gonna Die took place on the day that Prince died. If people like Prince and David Bowie aren’t immune, then that doesn’t leave very much hope for the rest of us.

The show is as much a celebration of life as it is about the inevitable end that awaits us all and the surprising amount of comfort that comes from knowing that we’re all in this together. The Singer, as the star of the show is called, is played with impossible charm and megawatt zest by Janice and is joined by a tight four-piece band.

“I think that the question she’s asking is one that we don’t want to talk about in the theater,” said Janice, who had been a huge fan of Lee’s work long before We’re Gonna Die came along. “We’re all temporary, and she’s asking those hard questions about why we are all here. People feel brokenness and loneliness a lot. I feel like the show is a release,” she said.

Director Shawn LaCount, co-founder and artistic director of Company One, has been interested in Lee and We’re Gonna Die for a couple of years now (the show premiered in 2011 at Joe’s Pub). “I think the questions that she’s asking and the form in which she creates is some of the most interesting and forward-moving theater of our generation,” said LaCount.

There is definitely a connection that happens at the end of We’re Gonna Die. At the end of the show’s bizarre, beautiful finale, in which the title song gives way to a joyous, quirky dance break, the audience is invited to join in on the chant-y refrain of “We’re Gonna Die.” An abrupt blackout ends the song, but the communal, shared experience stays with you long after. And good luck getting the song out of your head.

“It’s not about me, this is about everybody,” said Janice. “At the end, the audience is like, ‘What was that? We just did that together.’” >> WE’RE GONNA DIE. RUNS THROUGH 4.29 AT OBERON, 2 ARROW ST., CAMBRIDGE. COMPANYONE.ORG

PHOTO BY EVGENIA ELISEEVA

Boston’s Best Irish Pub

Use our self-serve listings page to get your event online TODAY!

digboston.com/listings

NEWS TO US

FEATURE

DEPT. OF COMMERCE

ARTS + ENTERTAINMENT

21

SAVAGE LOVE

SERIAL CHEATER

WHAT'S FOR BREAKFAST

BY PATT KELLEY WHATS4BREAKFAST.COM

BY DAN SAVAGE @FAKEDANSAVAGE | MAIL@SAVAGELOVE.NET I have a friend who is getting married. She’s cheated on every guy she’s been with, including her last three husbands. This will be her fourth marriage. I’m sure she’s fed the new guy a million reasons why her first three marriages didn’t work out. She’s obviously a sex fiend, but she’s not kinky. And here’s the punch line: I found her fiancé’s profile on Fetlife, and he has some hardcore fetishes—even by my standards! I’m sure his kinks are going unexplored within their relationship/engagement and that they will go unexplored once they’re married, as my friend has been horrified during discussions of my attendance at BDSM events. I know your rule is generally to “stay the fuck out of it,” but I have a rule that goes like this: “I would like to know that the person I’m dating is a serial cheater who’s probably after me for my money.” So do I warn the guy?

Fucked Regarding Imperiling Ensuing Nuptials, Dan Mind your own business, FRIEND, and do so with a clear conscience—because these two sound perfect for each other. He’s on Fetlife looking for someone to diaper him, and she’s probably cheating on him already. If your friend is still a dishonest, lying, heartbreaking cheat—if she’s still making monogamous commitments she cannot keep—why stop her from marrying a man who is already cheating on her or is likely to cheat on her shortly after the wedding? To gently paraphrase William Shakespeare: “Let thee not to the marriage of true minds admit impediments.”

Watching these two walk down the aisle will be like watching two drunk drivers speed around a closed racetrack. Maybe they’ll crash, maybe they won’t; maybe they’ll die in a fire, maybe they’ll get out alive. But so long as no one else is gonna get hurt, why risk your own neck trying to pull these fuckers over?

On the Lovecast, a cavalcade of sex-toy questions: savagelovecast.com.

THE STRANGERER

BY PAT FALCO ILLFALCO.COM

22

4.21.16 - 4.28.16

|

DIGBOSTON.COM

OUR VALUED CUSTOMERS

BY TIM CHAMBERLAIN OURVC.NET

NEWS TO US

FEATURE

DEPT. OF COMMERCE

ARTS + ENTERTAINMENT

23

BOWERY BOSTON

For show announcements, giveaways, contests, and more, follow us on:

WWW.BOWERYBOSTON.COM • • • • LIVE MUSIC IN AND AROUND BOSTON • • • •

ROYALE 279 Tremont St. Boston, MA • royaleboston.com/concerts M. WARD W/ NAF

W/ A DEAD FOREST INDEX

W/ BJ BA RH A M

SATURDAY, MAY 7

TUESDAY, MAY 10

FRIDAY, MAY 13

W/ YOUTH CODE

THIS FRIDAY! APRIL 29

THIS SUNDAY! MAY 1

THURSDAY, MAY 5

ON SALE FRIDAY AT NOON!

THE

gregory alan isakov and the ghost orchestra

W / L AN Y

JAYHAWKS

SECOND SHOW ADDED DUE TO DEMAND - 6/17 SOLD OUT

MONDAY, JUNE 13

WEDNESDAY, JUNE 15

52 Church St. Cambridge, MA

SATURDAY, JUNE 18

MONDAY, JUNE 20

THU, FRI & SAT APRIL 28, 29 & 30

you won’t “Revolutionaries” Record Release

WEDNESDAY, MAY 4

BERN/HOFT

W/ BOSCO

SUNDAY, MAY 1

W/ PRIESTS, URSULA TUESDAY, MAY 3

THURSDAY, MAY 12

TUESDAY, MAY 10

MONDAY, MAY 2

w/ Alpenglow Jocelyn Mackenzie

FRIDAY, MAY 6

MONDAY, MAY 9

W/ THE MURLOCS, DOUG TUTTLE

W/ THE STATIC DYNAMIC, CMB, SYMBION PROJECT

FRIDAY, MAY 13

SATURDAY, MAY 14

FREEZEPOP

W/ HEY MARSEILLES

W/ JONNY P

W/ G RE AT C A E S A R

THURSDAY, JUNE 23

y U NA

W/ AQUEOUS (THU), HAYLEY JANE & THE PRIMATES (FRI), STRANGE MACHINES (SAT)

sinclaircambridge.com

AND THE SHUTTERBUGS

WEDNESDAY, JUNE 22

W/ POTTY MOUTH, DYKE DRAMA, THE FATAL FLAW

W/ DE LUX (L I VE) SUNDAY, MAY 15

DOWN IN HEAVEN TOUR W/ NE-HI, JIMMY WHISPERS

MONDAY, MAY 16

WEDNESDAY, MAY 18

THURSDAY, MAY 19 ON SALE NOW!

W/ LESPECIAL

FRIDAY, MAY 20

W / J O HN CO N G L E TO N & THE N I G HTY N I T E FRIDAY, APRIL 29

FRIDAYS AT 7PM!

‘s S GA E TH

TUESDAY, JUNE 21

Mothers

SUNDAY, MAY 1

W/ PALM, VUNDABAR

W/ CAROLINE ROSE W/ CRYING, CHRIS FARREN (OF FAKE PROBLEMS), SACCHARINE

SATURDAY, APRIL 30

1222 Comm. Ave. Allston, MA greatscottboston.com

SUNDAY, MAY 22

SATURDAY, MAY 21

CHARMING LIARS

THURSDAY, MAY 5

W/ ROZES

W/ BLACK BEACH, PUCKER UP

WEDNESDAY, MAY 4

ASTRONAUTALIS

ON SALE FRIDAY AT NOON!

W/ COVEY

SUNDAY, MAY 8

TUESDAY, MAY 10

ON SALE NOW!

ON SALE NOW!

ETERNALS

W/ CESCHI AND FACTOR CHANDELIER FRIDAY, MAY 13

TUESDAY, MAY 3

(ALBUM RELEASE) W/ DIRTY BANDS, ABADABAD MONDAY, JUNE 6

SATURDAY, JUNE 25

TUESDAY, JULY 19

≠ 5/6 & 5/7 FOR ADAM: A BENEFIT FOR DOG DAYS ADOPTION EVENTS INC ≠ 5/12 HALLELUJAH THE HILLS ≠ 5/14 PLANTS AND ANIMALS ≠ 5/15 NEW MADRID ≠ 5/16 GWENNO ≠ 5/17 THE COWARD FLOWERS ≠ 5/19 VERITE ≠ 5/20 ISLANDS ≠ 5/22 WEAKENED FRIENDS ≠ 5/23 LE ROXY PRO

OTHER SHOWS AROUND TOWN:

W/ SHELLEY SKIDMORE, GREG BATES

FRI. APRIL 29 RED ROOM AT CAFE 939

ON AN ON THURS. MAY 5 MIDDLE EAST DOWN

JOSEPH W/ LIZA ANNE

RESCHEDULED FROM 4/23 GREAT SCOTT

THURSDAY, MAY 5 MIDDLE EAST UP

Tickets for Royale, The Sinclair, and Great Scott can be purchased online at Ticketmaster.com or by phone at (800) 745-3000.

No fee tickets available at The Sinclair box office Wednesdays - Saturdays 12:00 - 7:00PM

ELEANOR FRIEDBERGER

ON SALE FRIDAY AT NOON!

W/ ICEWATER, SOFT PYRAMIDS

W/ COMPUTER MAGIC

FRIDAY, MAY 6 MIDDLE EAST UP

THURS. JUNE 2 MIDDLE EAST DOWN

FOR MORE INFORMATION AND A COMPLETE LIST OF SHOWS, VISIT BOWERYBOSTON.COM