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PARTIES 1 BASEMENT BURGER BAR 1326 BRUSH STREET DETROIT, MI 48226

18 DETROITER BAR 655 BEAUBIEN ST. (313) 963-3355

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3 BERT’S MARKETPLACE 2727 RUSSELL ST,

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KT M N TER S A E

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OPENING DAY THURSDAY, MARCH 29 metrotimes.com

| March 28-April 3, 2018

WHAT MAKES DETROIT TICK? HOW DOES THE MOTOR CITY WORK? It’s time to gear up for the BEST OF DETROIT issue, where you tell us what you think makes this area great. Once again, we take the back seat and give you a chance to sound off on all things Detroit — from the hottest restaurants to the best local brands and more. Voting runs through March 31, and winners will be named in Metro Times’ BEST OF DETROIT issue on April 25.

COM I N G A P R I L 2 5 CAST YOUR VOTES BY TO BE A PART OF BEST OF DETROIT, CALL YOUR ACCOUNT EXECUTIVE AT (313) 961-4060

THIS SATURDAY!! M E T R O T I M E S . C O M / B E S T O F2 0 1 8 METROTIMES.COM

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metrotimes.com

| March 28-April 3, 2018

Vol. 38 | Issue 25 | March 28-April 3, 2018

News & Views News..................................... 10 Politics & Prejudices............ 14 Stir It Up............................... 18

Feature Reassessing the Tigers....... 24 A chat with a lifetime Tigers superfan............................... 26 Opening Day parties........... 30

Food Review: Le Banh Mi............ 32

Publisher - Chris Keating Associate Publisher - Jim Cohen Editor in Chief - Lee DeVito

EDITORIAL Managing Editor - Alysa Zavala-Offman Senior Editor - Michael Jackman Staff Writer - Violet Ikonomova Dining Editor - Tom Perkins Music and Listings Editor - Jerilyn Jordan Contributing Editors - Larry Gabriel, Jack Lessenberry Copy Editor - Sonia Khaleel Editorial Interns - Mallary Becker, Malak Silmi, Anthony Spak, Miriam Marini, Jack Nissen Contributors - Sean Bieri, Doug Coombe, Kahn Santori Davison, Mike Ferdinande, Cal Garrison, Curt Guyette, Mike Pfeiffer, Dontae Rockymore, Dan Savage, Sara Barron, Jane Slaughter

ADVERTISING Associate Publisher - Jim Cohen Regional Sales Director - Danielle Smith-Elliott Senior Multimedia Account Executive Jeff Nutter Multimedia Account Executive Jessica Frey Account Manager, Classifieds - Josh Cohen

BUSINESS/OPERATIONS

Five essential QLine restaurants........................... 36

What’s Going On................ 38 Fast Forward........................ 44

Business Manager - Holly Rhodes Controller - Kristy Dotson

CREATIVE SERVICES Art Director - Eric Millikin Graphic Designers - Paul Martinez, Haimanti Germain

CIRCULATION Circulation Manager - Annie O’Brien

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Music SubRosa................................ 46 Dessa.................................... 48 Holly Bernt Band.................. 50

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The Detroit Metro Times is published every week by Euclid Media Group

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metrotimes.com

| March 28-April 3, 2018

COMEDY LEGENDS COMING SOON

LEWIS BLACK APRIL 7

JAY & SILENT BOB GET OLD PRESENTED BY FREEP FILM FESTIVAL

APRIL 10

8 March 28-April 3, 2018 | metrotimes.com

BILL MURRAY, JAN VOGLER AND FRIENDS: NEW WORLDS APRIL 18

on sale friday:

coming soon concert calendar: 3/29 – justine skye @ the Shelter w/ trevor jackson, kayla brianna

3/30 – fozzy @ the Shelter w/ through fire, santa cruz, dark sky choir limited tickets available

4/5 – dashboard confessional w/ beach slang limited tickets available

june 12 gin wigmore st. andrew’s

june 29 nick lowe & st. andrew’s los straightjackets

4/7 – thirdstory @ the shelter 4/8 – janine & the mixtape @ the shelter 4/13 – the garden @ the shelter w/ tijuana panthers

coming soon:

4/14 – moose blood w/ lydia and mccafferty 4/15 – tauk @ the shelter 4/16 –Mansionair, mikky ekko, nombe siriusxm advanced placement tour @ the shelter

apr. 3

st. andrew’s

andy grammer

apr. 4

the shelter

acacia strain

w/ left behind, downswing, short leash

4/19 – injury reserve @ the shelter 4/20 – hurray for the riff raff & waxahatchee 4/21 – rick astley 4/22 – brian fallon & the howling weather w/ caitlin rose

4/25 – moneybagg yo @ the shelter 4/26 – dumbfoundead @ the shelter 4/28 – king krule 4/29 – vinyl theatre @ the shelter w/ the catching

apr. 7

saved by the 90s

st. andrew’s the ultimate 90s party!

apr. 12 cradle of filth st. andrew’s w/ uncured

5/2 – smokepurpp 5/4 – emo night brooklyn: detroit 5/4 – h20 @ the shelter

metrotimes.com

| March 28-April 3, 2018

NEWS & VIEWS Taken for a ride Michigan State Fairgrounds deal leaves Detroit picking up developer’s tab By Violet Ikonomova

As the region buzzes with excite-

ment over the prospect that the long idling Michigan State Fairgrounds site will soon be returned to productive use, some Detroit residents are charging that the deal leaves city taxpayers footing the bill for a developer that failed to fulfill its promises. Under the terms of the agreement announced last week, the city of Detroit will buy the bulk of the site from the Michigan Land Bank Fast Track Authority at a rate of almost twice what’s to be paid by the private developer buying a smaller portion of the site. Detroit is to purchase 142 acres of the old fairgrounds for $7 million, while Magic Plus, LLC — the developer that’s been under contract to do something with the land for the past five years — will buy the remaining 16 acres of prime Woodward Avenue frontage for $472,000, based on a previously agreed upon rate. That’s a cost of $49,300 per acre for Detroit, and $29,500 per acre for Magic Plus. The Land Bank says the inflated cost for the city is the result of years of additional maintenance that had to be done on the site due to continued delays by Magic Plus, LLC. The preliminary agreement that had Magic Plus buying the full parcel for $4.65 million was struck in late 2013 with plans for the company to fulfill a series of requirements by the end of 2015 so construction could start shortly thereafter. But Magic Plus delayed the process for years — forcing the state to extend the agreement seven times as it paid about a million a year to maintain the land for possible development. Since that initial 2015 deadline, the state has paid more than $2.3 million to maintain the site — and it now plans to have Detroit pick up the cost. “This just smacks of a sweetheart deal between the state and Magic Plus,” says Frank Hammer with the Greenacres

The City of Detroit is to buy the bulk of the old state fairgrounds at a rate of $49,300 per acre.

Woodward Civic Association, a group representing the neighborhood across from the site. “The taxpayers are the ones left paying the tab for delays that were caused by the developer.” Michigan Land Bank Fast Track Authority director Josh Burgett acknowledges the agency had the right to cancel the deal with Magic Plus as a result of the delays, or to force the company to pay to cover the cost of maintenance, but elected to do neither. “With them still having an interest in developing a portion of the property, it was important for us to honor that and not look to cancel the agreement or to cancel that with a price increment,” Burgett says, referring to the cost of maintenance. He says the Land Bank opted to let Magic Plus keep the 2013 rate for the land because it saw the company’s failure to meet deadlines as a result of the complexity of the project. The company’s plan to, in the end, only buy a small portion of the land also played into the decision, he says. “A development on that size of property is tough enough as it is, then add in two administrations within the city, environmental challenges on the site, historical significance, passion from community members — and that’s all part of what made this such a challenging project,” Burgett says. “If we were sitting here today and Magic Plus was still looking to develop the whole property, we would be looking to get that price increment.”

10 March 28-April 3, 2018 | metrotimes.com

But some community members aren’t satisfied with that explanation. “It’s another example of the long-standing tradition where Detroiters defray the cost of doing business for corporations,” Green Acres resident David Blake says. “Detroit’s paying a little more, they’re paying a little less — bottom line is, we’re paying to help out [Magic Plus principal] Joel Ferguson.” Magic Plus, LLC is a development firm that includes Earvin “Magic” Johnson, Detroit entrepreneur Marvin Beatty, and developer and Michigan State University trustee Joel Ferguson. Beatty is a principal behind the fairgrounds-adjacent shopping complex anchored by Meijer. Ferguson most recently made headlines for saying MSU had more going on than “just this Nassar thing” and laughing off the prospect of an NCAA investigation into the gymnastics doctor’s accused molestation of dozens of girls and women. Johnson has little to do with the day-today operations of the firm, according to Ferguson. During a Thursday phone interview, Ferguson inaccurately stated the company had met all of the terms of its agreement with the state. He also would not acknowledge that he’s getting a sweeter deal than the city, falsely saying, “[We’re] going to be paying the same price the city is paying.” “I’m not going to get in an argument with people who don’t know what they’re talking about,” he said, referring to concerned taxpayers. “The city’s getting a fair

COURTESY CITY OF DETROIT

price.” He added, “I don’t think about what someone else is paying. I only care about the checks I’m writing.” The city would not address concerns that it’s on the hook for a developer’s inaction. “Our deal with the state is completely separate from the Magic Plus deal with the state,” David Williams, a senior adviser for the Planning, Housing & Development team, said via email. “Our deal is fair and is based on a recent appraisal of the land.” Ferguson says Magic Plus’ plans for the site changed last year when Michigan and Detroit were looking to lure Taiwanese electronics maker FoxConn. It was then that he says the city expressed an interest in repurposing the site for light industrial use, with an eye toward job creation. Magic Plus’ initial proposal for the site, outlined in bid documents submitted in 2012, included restaurants and retail along Eight Mile Road, residential development along State Fair Road, and retail and office space along Woodward Avenue, according to Crain’s Detroit Business. The city, by contrast, has said it hopes the site will house at least one business that can employ up to 2,000 Detroiters. Detroit’s plan to buy most of the fairgrounds for $7 million requires additional approval from city council. news@metrotimes.com @violetikon

metrotimes.com

| March 28-April 3, 2018

NEWS & VIEWS A brutal takedown Detroit police commander kept quiet after violent altercation that left man on life support By Violet Ikonomova

A Detroit police commander

involved in a violent altercation that left a restaurant patron unresponsive in the hospital failed to disclose the incident and was not authorized to be moonlighting as a security guard, Detroit Police Chief James Craig says. Commander Timothy Leach was working off duty as a bouncer at Ottava Via in Corktown during the March 11 St. Patrick’s Day Parade when he confronted a possibly intoxicated Michael Karpovich and took him to the ground. The incident landed Karpovich in the hospital, where he is on a ventilator with multiple skull fractures and a bilateral brain contusion, according to his lawyer. “There’s no indication that Commander Leach notified any member of this department immediately following this incident,” Craig said. Before a March 20 news conference, DPD had offered little information on the incident that occurred nine days earlier. Craig said officers weren’t aware a member of the Detroit Police Department was involved in the March 11 incident until several days later. Two officers who responded to a 9-1-1 call the day of the parade said they were told by a security guard at Ottava Via that Karpovich was injured in a slip-andfall, Craig said. The company providing security for the restaurant belonged to Leach. Once it became clear that Karpovich’s injuries were the result of an assault, detectives pulled surveillance video from the restaurant and discovered that a police commander had used force on the 41-year-old restaurant patron. Craig said the commander’s failure to report the incident “brought significant discredit to this department.” “Command officers are held to a much higher standard than a police officer,” he said. “Command officers know better, and should know better, because they adjudicate matters involving force.” Craig said he had demoted Leach to the rank of lieutenant for failing

to report the use of force. Leach is suspended with pay pending the result of an investigation. Craig opted not to request that the Board of Police Commissioners withhold Leach’s pay, citing the lack of charges in the case. Craig stopped short of calling what happened a cover-up. It’s unclear whether he was at Ottava Via when responding officers stopped by to look into what happened. Another officer who Craig said was working security at the bar against department policy also did not report what happened, though he may not have known. That officer is facing disciplinary action for working in an unauthorized capacity, Craig said. The chief could not say whether Leach’s use of force was proper or improper based on his review of surveillance video. An investigation is underway to determine that, he said. During the news conference, a shocking account of what happened emerged from a WXYZ-TV reporter who said he had spoken with an eye witness: “He saw two bouncers dragging Mike, the victim, from the back of the bar to the front entrance to take him out, Mike was in no position to defend himself against two of them, one was Leach,” said reporter Jim Kiertzner. “Leach grabbed Mike by his shirt under his chin, pushed him, Mike stumbled backward but caught his balance — then Leach forcibly shoved him causing him to fall to the ground.” “This witness says that Mike’s feet actually became airborne,” Kiertzner went on. “This witness says you could feel Mike’s head hit the ground. Leach then tried to drag Mike’s lifeless body out of the bar. Police were yelling at Leach to stop, he did stop, left, went to the back of the bar and continued to work the back gate like nothing happened. Witness says he was disgusted and mortified.” Kiertzner said the witness followed up last Monday with a call to the Third Precinct to relay what happened, but never heard back.

12 March 28-April 3, 2018 | metrotimes.com

Detroit Police Chief James Craig.

Leach is now the subject of an internal probe and a separate criminal investigation. The Homicide Task Force, which includes DPD and Michigan State Police officers, is handling the latter investigation. The results of the criminal investigation are expected within two weeks. Craig said Leach’s security company has in the past been authorized for offduty work, but that the authorization expired. Craig said that, regardless of that status, he generally does not approve officers to work in bars or taverns. Leach was promoted to commander by Craig in 2016, according to a report by The Detroit Free Press. In 2014, he came under fire as a captain for reportedly telling officers they had to meet ticketing quotas. According to The Detroit News, an order with his name

SCREENGRAB

typed at the bottom and issued to the 11th precinct read, “Every scout car is required to make three (3) traffic stops per shift and issue six (6) tickets.” The News reports an investigation by Craig found Leach’s name had been added to the order in error. Leach was named in a document released internally in 2016 detailing race relations within the DPD, and described as the “only African-American Commander ... reported to be abusive in tone and tenor and on one occasion calling an African-American male officer the N-word.” The report by the Committee on Race and Equality relied on interviews with dozens of officers throughout the department. news@metrotimes.com @ violetikon

metrotimes.com

| March 28-April 3, 2018

NEWS & VIEWS Politics & Prejudices

Fighting for our right to know By Jack Lessenberry

Here’s one of those truths that

ought to be self-evident: In this democracy, governments — federal, state, and local — are our governments. They belong to “We the people,” after all. We elect those who run them, and fund their salaries and everything they do. That means, or should mean, that we have a right to see what they are up to. Today’s politicians don’t always believe that. Arlan Meekhof, the thuggish state senate majority leader, has systematically killed any attempt to expand the public’s right to know, just as he has with every effort to make voting easier. “You guys are the only people who care about this,” he sneered at a reporter who asked him why he wouldn’t even allow a vote on expanding the Freedom of Information Act. Meekhof doesn’t even pretend to care about democracy. Once, politicians of both parties knew how important it was. That was never more utterly clear than in the aftermath of the Watergate scandal of the early 1970s. President Richard Nixon had declared himself essentially above the law; tried obsessively to hide what government did from its citizens, and actually once said, “It’s not illegal if the president does it.” After he was driven out of there, both federal and state governments went to work enacting a series of “sunshine laws” designed to make governments truly open for inspection by those who they are designed to serve — us. To help do that, the lawmakers of that day gave us a very important tool: The Freedom of Information Act, or FOIA. Every state and the federal government passed some version of FOIA laws. In Michigan, anyone, whether a journalist or a barista, can write to any government and ask to see any records, salary information — anything. The government legally is supposed to reply within five to 10 business days, and then get you the information. Those framing those laws thought that in some cases, it would be fine to charge the citizens reasonable copying fees. There was also agreement that certain information ought to be private, such as personnel matters and medical records. Military secrets also don’t have to be released under FOIA, for obvious reasons. But everything else should be

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public information… except some of those in power don’t think so. Consequently, they do everything they can to avoid complying. Last year, Sarah Cwiek, a reporter for Michigan Radio in Ann Arbor, sent Macomb County a FOIA request asking for, as she put it, “a bunch of information about the county jail,” such as how many people have been booked into it, and what sort of crimes they were charged with. Macomb replied that it would take three months to dig up that information, that they don’t compile statistics that way, and that they would charge $631,000 for making copies, etc. Their claim was, as she learned, bullshit. “This is all information they’re supposed to provide to the U.S. Department of Justice,” she later told another reporter. In the end, she found that much of what she wanted had already been published in the Macomb sheriff’s annual report. They just didn’t want to do anything to help the press, or inform the public. That’s a fairly amusing example, but the ability of government to suppress the public’s right to know became far more ominous with the Flint water crisis. Most states make their legislators’ records and emails, etc., accessible to the public under FOIA laws. Not Michigan. Every other state except Massachusetts makes their governor’s communications subject to public scrutiny. Not us. This was painfully apparent when the Flint water crisis blew up, and the question became, “What did Rick Snyder know and when did he know it?” Though people who saw him every day

metrotimes.com

| March 28-April 3, 2018

NEWS & VIEWS Every other state except Massachusetts makes their governor’s communications subject to public scrutiny. Not us. were clearly talking about how awful the water was for months, they and he claim they’d never told him about it. Snyder eventually did release what he said were all the relevant communications on the subject — but we have no way of knowing, since we don’t have legal access to his records. Then suddenly, in April 2016, we learned that a mysterious outbreak of Legionnaires’ Disease had killed a dozen people in Flint in 2014 and 2015, during the same time as the people were being given bad water from the Flint River. We were asked to believe the governor knew nothing about that either until just before the state went public with the information — even though other records show his key aides, again, had been discussing it. That was too much for even the members of the Michigan House of Representatives, who a year ago unanimously passed a ten-bill package that would have opened the legislature and governor’s communications to FOIA inspection. Meekhof, who has no more interest in democracy than in higher education, wouldn’t even let the Senate vote on it. But times may be changing. Meekhof, of whom fellow Republican Candice Miller once said, “Term limits can’t come fast enough for some people,” will be gone forever in January, except to scuttle around Lansing’s dark places as a lobbyist. And State Rep. Gary Glenn of Bay County’s Williams Township, commonly ranked as the most conservative Michigan legislator, has introduced a new bill that would force governments to produce any documents subject to FOIA within 60 days. Currently, while officials have to respond to requests, there’s no legal deadline for turning over the material. When I ask Glenn whether he thought Meekhof would kill his bill too, he admitted that was a possibility. But in that case, he was sure that someone would reintroduce it next year. “I think the next governor, whatever party they’re from, will be open to signing” bills that expand our right to know, he says. For perhaps the first time ever,

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I hope Gary Glenn is right.

Shot from Hell:

Brian Ellison, the wannabee Libertarian candidate for the U.S. Senate, has managed to get himself a lot of free press attention with one screamingly crazy idea. Ellison, who tried for years to become a cop (no one would hire him, it seems) is now a “construction estimator” for a Royal Oak firm, and although he says he hates government, wants a senator’s salary. And he has a signature issue: He wants people to donate money to buy homeless people shotguns to defend themselves. “We’ll work through a firearms dealer and get the background checks done and get them outfitted with an inexpensive shotgun and a handful of shells,” he said. The 40-year-old Ellison, who says he doesn’t support any restrictions on gun ownership, including for the mentally ill, thinks this would make the homeless safer. He also thinks the survivors of the high school shooting in Parkland who are speaking out against guns in schools are ignorant children who are “being used as pawns” by lobbying groups. Well, anyone who has spent time with the homeless could tell you that it would be hard to come up with a worse public policy idea, but then, we are living in an age of lunatics. Yet there may be hope in the fact that Ellison can’t seem to get enough signatures to get on the ballot; that GoFundMe twice shut down his effort to raise money for shotguns and — perhaps especially — that despite his claim to have been “consistently scoring at the top of exams and oral interviews,” nobody would give this character a job as a cop. I don’t want to even think about what might happen if anyone were to challenge his figures on a construction project.

letters@metrotimes.com @metrotimes

metrotimes.com

| March 28-April 3, 2018

NEWS & VIEWS Stir It Up

The truth about Martin Luther King Jr. By Larry Gabriel

“We’ve basically solved

the case, telling people how it happened and why it happened,” says Dr. William Pepper. The case is the murder of progressive activist Martin Luther King Jr., and Pepper is talking about the contents of his 2016 book, The Plot to Kill King (Skyhorse Publishing). He’ll be discussing the subject Wednesday, April 4 at the Charles H. Wright Museum of African American History as part of observances marking the 50th anniversary of MLK Jr.’s death. Local attorney Carl R. Edwards will moderate the discussion. A lawyer and writer, Pepper started working with King in the year before his death. Once convinced of the accused man’s innocence, he served as a lawyer for James Earl Ray, the reputed shooter of King. In the late 1990s he argued the civil wrongful death suit King Family vs. Loyd Jowers and other unknown co-conspirators. Loyd Jowers , owner of a restaurant near the motel where King was assasinated, testified that a group he called the Dixie Mafia, along with the U.S. government, conspired to kill King. Jowers testified in a deposition that he hired Memphis police Lieutenant Earl Clark to shoot King. The jury decision was in favor of the King family. All of this and more is painstakingly detailed in The Plot to Kill King. “It was very hard to solve,” says Pepper. “It required a lot of patience and perseverance. People, when they get close to deathbeds, want to say things truthfully that they have never said before — and we were in that situation.” There is a lot more to the story. Pepper says that Andrew Young was also a target that day. And probably most incendiary is the reporting that shows King did not die from a gunshot wound to his face. Pepper creates a death scene in the hospital emergency room straight out of some kind of gothic horror nightmare. “Martin Luther King was not killed the way the world thinks he was killed,” Pepper says. “He wasn’t killed by the shot.” As medical personnel worked on

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King in the emergency room, Dr. Breen Bland, the head of neurosurgery at St. Joseph Hospital in Memphis, entered with two suited men. He is reported to have said, “Stop working on that nigger and let him die. Now get out of here, get out of here all of you.” Pepper says a surgical nurse told him the men then spit on King. Then Bland put a pillow over King’s face and smothered him. He was killed in the hospital and the murder was covered up. Ray was an unwitting scapegoat who was set up. Regarding his guilty plea? Pepper says Ray was told he would be killed if he didn’t plead guilty. That all became public in 2016, although it was not widely reported on in the press. But now, 50 years later, what lessons do we take from this? All of the culprits are dead or well beyond the reach of the law. At least the truth is out. Furthermore, especially in the political and social climate we are currently in, it give progressives a look at what we’re really up against. “Because of the involvement of government we can learn that, at the end of the day, actions that government takes when they can’t control the actions of an individual who is a threat to the established order, they use assassination as a last resort,” Pepper says. “We have to be aware of that. Leaders of anti-government causes have to be keenly aware of that. They need to establish for themselves what is the red line that if they cross it they will be subjecting themselves and their family

metrotimes.com

| March 28-April 3, 2018

NEWS & VIEWS King was about building coalitions between oppressed peoples. And that’s where he crossed the line. to serious harm.” To dig into this subject matter is to take the lid off a lot of things. The official legend of the nonviolent King who was a civil rights movement leader at the time, led the March on Washington, and had a “dream” conveniently limits his scope. Over time, King’s activism led him to become a stone cold progressive. When assassinated, King had turned against the war in Vietnam, supported labor activism, and had begun work on the Poor People’s Campaign. Helping to get the Civil Rights Act passed in 1964 and the Voting Rights Act passed in 1965 was not enough. King recognized that the pain was being spread far and wide. His activism moving forward wasn’t just for black people; it was going to be for everybody. He was about building coalitions between oppressed peoples. And that’s where he crossed the line. Fighting for the civil rights of black people was dangerous enough. Fighting for the civil rights of all people and threatening to build a winning coalition? Well, that was just too much. So he was killed. “If we’re not unified we will not have the revolution that is required to completely restore social justice and human values,” Pepper says. At this moment the disunity in the United States is at a crisis point. Donald Trump exploited it to reach the presidency by spewing hatred against immigrants, Mexicans, Muslims, women, black people, NATO, China, North Korea, and more. He courted violence at home and abroad. It’s clear that Pepper is correct when he says that those in power are willing to kill oppressed people that they can’t control. It’s happening all over the world right now. The Plot to Kill King lecture takes place at 6 p.m. on Wednesday, April 4 at the Charles H. Wright Museum of African American History, 315 E. Warren Ave., Detroit; for more information call 313-494-5800; thewright.org.

Healing and unity: A faith-

based commemoration of Kings’ life and legacy will be presented on April 3 at the Greater Grace Temple. Actor

March 28-April 28-April 3, 3, 2018 2018 || metrotimes.com metrotimes.com 20 March

Barry Scott, musician Mike Ellison, producer Sanchez Harley, local clergy, and a 250-voice choir will present a selection of prayers, music, and spoken word that captures the spirit of the movement then and now, along with excerpts of King’s speeches. Martin’s Prayer: A Call for Healing & Unity takes place 7-9 p.m. on Tuesday, April 3, at Greater Grace Temple, 23500 W. Seven Mile Rd., Detroit; for more information call 313-494-5800; tinyurl. com/y78tadxk.

Mass incarceration and immigrants: Wayne Law’s chap-

ter of the National Lawyers Guild will focus on another aspect of that struggle on April 3 at the Wayne State University Law School. “Exposing the Intersection of Immigrant Detention and Mass Incarceration” will be discussed by panelists Ruby Robinson of the Michigan Immigrant Rights Center, Nadine Yousif of CODE Legal Aid, Maria Ibarra-Frayre of Washtenaw Interfaith Coalition for Immigrant Rights, and Rachel Lerman, a student volunteer at the CARA Family Detention Pro Bono Project. Professor Sabrina Balgamwalla, director of the Asylum and Immigration Clinic, will moderate the panel. “The United States has 5 percent of the world population and we hold 25 percent of the inmates,” says Lerman, who organized the panel. “This costs a huge amount of money, and the effect on communities is devastating.” Mass incarceration seems to be part of the strategy to control unwanted peoples. If you can’t just kill them, then lock them up. The United States maintains the largest immigration detention infrastructure in the world, detaining approximately 380,000 to 442,000 persons per year.

The Intersection of Immigrant Detention & Mass Incarceration Anniversary of Dr. Martin Luther King’s Assassination takes place at 7 p.m., on Tuesday, April 3, Wayne State University Law School, Room 242, 471 W. Palmer St., Detroit; food provided; for more information see nlg.org/wami.

letters@metrotimes.com @gumbogabe

metrotimes.com

| March 28-April 3, 2018

22 March 28-April 3, 2018 | metrotimes.com

WHAT MAKES DETROIT TICK? HOW DOES THE MOTOR CITY WORK?

It’s time to gear up for the BEST OF DETROIT issue, where you tell us what you think makes this town great. Once again, we take the back seat and give you a chance to sound off on all things Detroit — from the hottest restaurants to the best local brands and more. Voting runs through March 31, and winners will be named in Metro Times’ BEST OF DETROIT issue on April 25.

COMING APRIL 25 TO BE A PART OF BEST OF DETROIT, CALL YOUR ACCOUNT EXECUTIVE AT (313) 961-4060

METROTIMES.COM metrotimes.com

| March 28-April 3, 2018

FEATURE

Reassessing the Tigers

Could the Tigers be for sale, or will the Ilitches keep it in the family? By Stuart Shea

Even though they are not

expected to contend for the AL Central crown, the upcoming 2018 campaign will be critical for the Detroit Tigers. Following the death of Mike Ilitch in early 2017, the Tigers listed, sagged, and collapsed into last place in the AL Central. This is, for now, Christopher Ilitch’s team, and with a new manager and a boatload of shiny new prospects, the Tigers are hoping to revive a club that captured division titles from 2011 to 2014 but has finished fifth for two of the last three years. Are the Tigers thinking of “tanking,” as has become the current custom of aging teams hoping to rebuild quickly? If so, what does it mean for the future? The last two teams to win the World

Series, the Houston Astros and Chicago Cubs, are widely believed to have “tanked” — shedding veteran salaries and deliberately fielding truly uncompetitive teams while amassing impressive prospects. Even the Royals struggled the year before taking the 2015 world championship. So while traditional powers — the Yankees, Dodgers, Red Sox, Cardinals — remain strong, quickly ascending clubs have provided a new blueprint. The 2013-14 Cubs and 2018 Tigers are in some ways similar: Midwestern teams in cities with large white suburban and outstate populations who post excellent TV ratings even in tough times. The Astros’ regional sports network (RSN) however, crumbled a few years ago, forging a new network much less lucrative than what the Astros had expected.

24 March 28-April 3, 2018 | metrotimes.com

MT ILLUSTRATION FROM PHOTO BY HARSHLIGHT FLICKR CC

Like the Cubs under president of baseball operations Theo Epstein, the Tigers under general manager Al Avila have made big strides in addressing the team’s thin talent base and obsolete baseball operations department. The hiring of former Twins manager Ron Gardenhire, a high-profile skipper with a successful record, can be viewed as assuring fans that the Tigers are not fully into tanking, as Avila last year moved to ramp up the team’s analytics department and replace veterans with younger talent. The Detroit system has improved quickly in a short time. Baseball America rated the Tigers’ system 20th best in MLB in 2018, a big improvement from the 26th out of 30 ranking a year ago. The Tigers’ organization has been ranked by BA in the bottom six every year since 2007 (except for 22nd in 2012). What changed? Last summer’s acquisition of three prospects from the Astros in exchange for Justin Verlander, who helped Houston capture the 2017

World Series as Detroit happily contemplated the return of their 34-year-old ace: center fielder Daz Cameron, pitcher Franklin Perez, and catcher Jake Rogers. All three need development, but give the bedraggled Bengals hope. Rogers is a highceiling defender with bat potential while Perez is the club’s top mound prospect. In addition, Detroit shipped Justin Wilson and Alex Avila to the Cubs last July, acquiring Jeimer Candelario — 2018’s projected starting third baseman — and shortstop prospect Isaac Paredes. While it’s unlikely Candelario approaches his .330 average in 27 lateseason games with Detroit, he’s valuable. With Candelario pushing Nick Castellanos to the outfield, the club’s defense should improve. But as they stand, the Tigers have shaky pitching and deficient on-base skills. Their biggest hope for the year may be if Jordan Zimmermann

rebounds enough to be tradeable. But as the Tigers rebuild, who will sign the paychecks? Will Chris Ilitch actually sell the club that his father purchased in 1992? Ilitch has stated that he intends to keep the club — invoking his own love for baseball and his interest in continuing the family stewardship — but rumors arose following the family patriarch’s passing. And anytime anything in Detroit is even putatively for sale, billionaire Dan Gilbert’s name is immediately raised. Is Gilbert interested in the Tigers? It’s not easy to scrape up enough money to buy a franchise that Forbes valued last season at $1.2 billion, but Gilbert could. He already owns a huge portfolio in the city, and plenty of starry-eyed dreamers would invest with him. Another candidate is Tom Gores, owner of the Pistons, who moved his NBA club into the new Little Caesars Arena. Gores has built a house in Detroit — possibly to raise his profile in Michigan after many years in Los Angeles — and, according to both The Free Press and Spiroavenue.com, Gores and Mike Ilitch met before the latter’s passing and expressed interest in a deal. Frank Beckmann of WJR also reported last year that Gores was involved. The Tigers are owned by a family trust set up by Mike and Marian Ilitch to shield their children from estate tax bills. It is believed that some in the family want to sell, but so far Chris has held firm. Should the team be sold, there will probably be a substantial tax bill, but likely significantly less than the nearly $500 million that it could be otherwise. If Chris Ilitch, the team’s sole trustee, sells, it might be good to do so soon. The franchise will be attractive to a prospective new owner in the near future for several reasons. For one, the payroll, now down to $122 million, will be greatly reduced when Victor Martinez’ contract is done after 2018 and Zimmerman’s comes off the books after 2021. (Those two alone will cost $43 million in 2018.) The earliest Detroit can get out from Miguel Cabrera’s albatross of a deal is 2023. Two, the club is economizing, going into 2018 with a slate of unproven and inexpensive talent geared toward holding down future expenses. And three, the club’s 10-year deal with Fox Sports Detroit, reported to be worth $500 million or more, is expected to expire after 2021. Despite the team’s poor performance, Michigan fans in large numbers continue to tune in. The Tigers rated sixth in MLB local TV ratings last season, a slow but understandable decline from their first-place ratings of 2012 and 2013.

In the upcoming cable negotiations, the Tigers will clearly command a much larger deal from FSD, as the value of 183 days of local content a year continues to grow. The one area of caution here is how bad the Tigers can get. “As a team whose ratings are likely to ebb, the amount of money (the Tigers) stand to make off a partner RSN will take a hit,” says Chuck Hildebrandt, director of the SABR (Society of American Baseball Research) Baseball and the Media Committee. “TV contracts are supposed to look far afield and not take current team performance too seriously, (but) terrible ratings during tanking seasons play a huge part in the leverage of each side.” Given this, the time could be right for the Tigers to consider their own regional sports network in the mold of the Yankees, Mets, and Dodgers. The Cubs are rumored to be considering an RSN as well. A plan to launch a Tigers network is more credible if the Ilitches do not sell, as launching an RSN without an NBA or NHL team paired with an MLB team is difficult. Unless, of course, Ilitch sells to Gores, who already has in the Pistons a partner for the Tigers. Details of the Pistons’ and Wings’ deals with FSD are sketchy, but both are rumored to end this year and reported to be worth half of the Tigers’ rights — fair considering that baseball has twice as many games. Cable systems in Michigan would line up for a network even with Ilitch owning the Red Wings, as his family and Gores now do plenty of business together. Should Gores buy the Tigers, he would likely want the Red Wings included in the RSN. Contrarily, though, only threatening to sell could help Ilitch get better terms for both his baseball and hockey franchises from FSD. And this, ultimately, may be the answer to our question. “Despite the rumor mill hype, I don’t see the Ilitches selling,” says Detroit baseball analyst Gary Gillette, former chair of SABR’s Business of Baseball committee. “They have a good deal, are smart operators, and know how to maximize their profits.” This may not be a great year to follow the Tigers, unless you’re hoping for comebacks from V-Mart and Miggy in your fantasy league, but the unfolding story of the Tigers, the Ilitch family, and the structure of Detroit sports will provide plenty of material to chew on all summer. letters@metrotimes.com @metrotimes

metrotimes.com

| March 28-April 3, 2018

FEATURE

Thick and thin

ERIC MILLIKIN

Lifetime Tiger fandom, security netting, and high hopes every spring with Jimmy Doom By Michael Jackman

There are approximately

95 billion rocky worlds in the Milky Way galaxy — and by all appearances Jimmy Doom was lucky enough to be born on the one with his favorite baseball team: the Detroit Tigers. “I was fucking born in New York,” he says, wiping up the bar at Kelly’s in Hamtramck at the beginning of his evening shift. “My mom went to college on the East Coast, was living out there when I was conceived and when I was born. It would have been really easy for me to go,. ‘I’m a Yankees guy.’” He says he’s heard people hang their

fandom on even more slender circumstances. Doom says, “I’ll be like, ‘Why are you all about the Mariners, dude?’ And it’s like, ‘Oh, my girlfriend got a partial scholarship to the University of Seattle,’ or some crap, you know?” Instead, Doom has spent decades living out that fan loyalty. It also doesn’t hurt that he has many years of life experience, coming down to Corktown for the St. Patrick’s Day parade, and getting married at Holy Trinity. It’s in his family: He brags about a picture of his Uncle Herbie at Tigers spring training in Texas in 1916.

26 March 28-April 3, 2018 | metrotimes.com

“I never really strayed in baseball,” Doom says. “I had a really ugly dalliance with the Pittsburgh Steelers in their heyday. But I’ve rooted for the Tigers since I was first cognizant of them in ’72.” He recalls the gritty pleasures of the old ballpark at Trumbull and Michigan avenues, such as pissing in a trough of ice. “To this day I don’t see what’s wrong with that,” he says. “It works. Do you need your own little private porcelain thing? Do you enjoy urinating more because it’s sparkling white?” He remembers the sizable bleachers section, where beach balls were tossed from person

to person, with great clouds of smoke wafting up from the seats (“strictly Marlboro” Doom says with a laugh). When he was underage, he says, “they’d have me ‘crotch’ the pint. … These weren’t TSA patdowns. Later, I got a mohawk and looked like the kind of guy who’d be bringing in something.” That’s when a female friend put it in her bag — in her tampon box. Not one of the all-male security guards would fuss with the package. “You’re not going to get any guy in America to open it,” she had told him. The memories keep pouring forth:

metrotimes.com

| March 28-April 3, 2018

FEATURE “Fans now don’t get this, but the overhangs at Tiger Stadium. Bleacher creatures would have extended conversations with center fielder Chet Lemon. They would hang over the bleachers and talk back and forth with him. You had some blue-collar types that might not be the most liberal, but their favorite person in the world was probably Chet Lemon.” The entertainment at a Tigers game often included fights. “Were there fights?” Doom asks. “Yeah, but there were more at the Silverdome for the Lions games.” And yet, mention bench-clearing brawls and he pulls out his cell phone to show he was there for the most recent donnybrook in August 2017. Doom has felt the ever-present possibility of violence since Oakland Athletics’ Bert Campaneris threw his bat at Tiger pitcher Lerrin LaGrow in 1972. “It was unprecedented,” Doom recalls. “It was a huge big deal. Oh, my god, this guy tried to decapitate a pitcher with a bat. My normally even-keeled grandfather was out of the chair and hollering: ‘That guy should be in jail.’ The Tiger passion: There it was.” Is there anything that could make him turn his back on the Tigers? The question stops him cold for a moment, but he brings up the “enhanced netting system” going in at Comerica Park. The rigging will extend down the baselines to first and third, ostensibly to protect people from being injured by flying balls and bats. The unspoken reason for this change seems crystal clear to Doom: Too many people are on their phones, not paying attention. “And you know what they said?” Doom asks. “They said the nets are invisible. Who invented the nets? Stan Lee?” To Doom, the little bit of additional safety we gain isn’t worth losing the magic of actually grabbing a ball that falls into the stands. “Anybody with kids can tell you,” he says, “even if your kid wasn’t necessarily a sports or a baseball fan, the idea that they might get a ball that was actually in play in a Major League game was really enticing to them.” But even this fresh heresy isn’t enough to sour Doom on the team. Heck, even the team’s dismal prospects aren’t enough to sour him. Longtime, loyal fans get philosophical about droughts. “You know, it’s cyclical,” he says. “Growing up, I heard from my uncles about how great ’68 was. Then it’s ’75 and Sparky Anderson and the Big Red

28 March March 28-April 28-April 3, 3, 2018 2018 || metrotimes.com metrotimes.com 28

Machine are killing them. Then Detroit gets Sparky and then ’84 was my ’68. In ’87 they showed a little promise, and then in the 2000s they made it back, they didn’t win but another generation got a feel for that. I didn’t think their decline was going to be so precipitous. You know there’s going to be downtime. But I didn’t like the fire sale. I didn’t think they got enough in return for the star players. But am I going to give up on it entirely? No. Because I know seven years from now, they could be right back in.” Not that Doom dwells on it, but the over-under coming out of Las Vegas augurs ill for the Tigers. The team’s predicted total wins are, Doom says, “the third-lowest total in the Major Leagues.” “This year is going to be very difficult,” Doom says. “This year is going to be like your kid getting sent home from school for pot for the first time. You knew it was a possibility, it’s not the end of the world, but it’s still aggravating as fuck.” But Doom sees some silver linings. He sees in Gardenhire an old-school vibe he calls “that baseball-is-my-life thing.” Maybe he’s the guy who can get the most out of the team like Sparky Anderson did. Even so, Doom says, it’s going to be three or four years. Then again, if all Doom cared about was winning, he’d be a Yankees fan. “If you go to enough games, you never know what’s going to happen,” he says. “You’re going to see some great victories. The game can go 24 innings. In a 162-game season, I know I’m going to have some fun. I know I’m going to leave frustrated sometimes.” But that’s all part of being a fan. Every spring, anything is possible. And even those who say they’ve sworn off the sport aren’t immune to the appeal of possibility. Doom says: “Anybody who says, ‘Forget the Tigers! They traded my favorite player. I don’t care about the Tigers!’ — those people are going to have their fucking toes pressed to the edge of the parade when the Tigers win the Series again. You know they are. They’re not going to go, ‘No I didn’t care. I took up anal crocheting, and I’m going to be at the Anal Crocheting Autumn Nationals at Omaha at the same time as the Tigers World Series parade.’ Fuck you. No, you’re not. You’re just annoyed. You want to take a break, you want a trial separation. You’ll be back.” letters@metrotimes.com @metrotimes

metrotimes.com

| March 28-April 3, 2018

FEATURE

The Old Shillelagh.

JARED PATTERSON

Play ball!

A selection of Opening Day parties By MT staff

97.1 The Ticket Opening Day Block Party

Starts at 10 a.m.; Grand Circus Park; 248-327-2900; 971Theticket.com; no cover.

Beacon Park Opening Day tailgate. Starts at 9 a.m.; 1903 Grand River Ave., Detroit; 313-962-0101; facebook. com/beaconparkdetroit; no cover.

Cheli’s Chili Bar Starts at 7 a.m.; 47 E. Adams Ave., Detroit; 313-961-1700; Cover increases from $5 to $20 throughout the day.

Detroit Home Opener Festival

Firebird Tavern Photo booth, ice luges, and DJ. Starts at 8 a.m.; 419 Monroe Ave.; 313782-4189; firebirdtavern.com; $5 cover.

Founders Taproom First annual Opening Day celebration. Starts at 10 a.m.; 456 Charlotte St., Detroit; 313-335-3440; no cover.

Harry’s Tents, live music, DJ. Starts at 7 a.m.; 2482 Clifford St., Detroit; 313-964-1575; harrysbarandgrill. com; no cover.

Bookies Bar & Grille

Heated tents, live music, hot dog eating contest, DJ, and more. Starts at 9 a.m.; 440 Madison Ave., Detroit; 855-536-5433; detroithomeopener.com; Tickets are $15 and $25 VIP.

Starts at 7 a.m.; 2208 Cass Ave., Detroit; 313-962-0319; bookiesbar.com; $25 cover.

The Elwood Bar & Grill

Jumbo’s

Brass Rail Pizza Bar

Tailgate party with live music. Starts at 8 a.m.; 300 E. Adams Ave., Detroit; 313-962-2337; $5 cover.

Free hot dogs. Starts at 11 a.m.; 3736 3rd Ave., Detroit; 313-831-8949; no cover.

Fillmore

Little Ceasars Arena

WRIF will broadcast live with Dave and Chuck the Freak. Starts at 7 a.m.; 2115 Woodward Ave., Detroit; 313-961-5451; wrif.com; free.

Jack Daniel’s Season Opening Celebration. From 8 a.m. to 4 p.m.; 2645 Woodward Ave., Detroit; 313-471-7000;

Starts at 8 a.m.; 18 W. Adams Ave., Detroit; 313-964-0782; brassraildetroit. com; cover is $20.

Brigg’s Starts at 8 a.m.; 519 E. Jefferson Ave., Detroit; 313-656-4820; no cover.

30 March 28-April 3, 2018 | metrotimes.com

Hockeytown Cafe Starts at 8 a.m.; 2301 Woodward Ave. Detroit; 313-471-3400; hockeytowncafe. com; $10 cover.

olympiaentertainment.com; no cover.

Majestic Theatre Complex Starts at 11 a.m; 4120 Woodward Ave., Detroit; 313-833-9700; majesticdetroit. com; no cover.

Nemo’s Live music by the Polish Muslims. Starts at 8:30 a.m.; 1384 Michigan Ave., Detroit; 313-965-3180; $5 cover.

Old Shillelagh Heated tents, DJs, free shuttle to Comerica Park. Starts at 7 a.m.; 349 Monroe St.; 313964-0007; oldshillelagh.com; cover.

PJ’s Lager House Live music from the Seatbelts. Starts at 9 a.m.; 1254 Michigan Ave., Detroit; 313-961-4668; pjslagerhouse. com; no cover.

Town Pump Tavern Sarts at 7 a.m.; 100 W. Montcalm St., Detroit; 313-961-1929; $20 cover.

letters@metrotimes.com @metrotimes

metrotimes.com

| March 28-April 3, 2018

FOOD Deeper into Vietnam By Tom Perkins

Le Banh Mi’s small space on

Dequindre Road just north of 12 Mile is always a Vietnamese sandwich shop in name, if not in practice. A few years ago I dropped by for a banh mi, and though the sign out front still read “Le Banh Mi,” a guy inside informed me that the soup du jour was no longer pho — he was preparing puchero and other Filipino dishes. Though my Filipino meal was delicious, I didn’t return for more than a year, and by that time the Filipino folks were gone, and pho once again filled the cauldron. Through the transitions, the sign always read “Le Banh Mi.” OK. But just as some restaurant locations appear cursed, the shop at 29141 Dequindre seems to be blessed — I’ve never witnessed a second-rate meal roll out of its kitchen. The specialties in this incarnation are the banh mi — the Vietnamese sandwich invented as a product of the country’s French colonial rule — as well as smoothies, milk tea, and desserts. However, some of the best eating here is found not on the menu, but in the premade “grab ’n’ go” items sitting on the counter. It can be a challenge figuring out exactly what you’re grabbing as the nice old lady and other two folks who run Le Banh Mi speak next to no English. (There’s actually a complaint on Yelp about the shop owners not speaking enough English. While it’s a barrier, maybe go to KFC if that’s going to be such an issue that you feel compelled to give them a negative review.) But the owner did communicate that she’s from the central Vietnamese city of Hue, and she says she makes her food the way you’ll find it there. While an explanation of some of the dishes would be helpful, it’s not essential — everything looks appealing. There doesn’t appear to be much of a pattern to what’s available, though it’s often items that are rare or otherwise impossible to find in metro Detroit. That includes the banh bot loc, a colorful dish of what are essentially clear dumplings holding salty pork and

TOM PERKINS

Banh bot loc from Le Banh Mi.

shrimp. Hot, bright red chili peppers that provide a sharp bite are mixed in the dish with crunchy green onions and fried shallots, and each bite should be dipped in and enhanced with a sweet nuoc cham sauce. Also off the counter is the xoi man, which could be described as a deconstructed banh mi. A pile of sticky, glutinous rice arrives under slices of Chinese pork that are like sweet hits of pepperoni. That’s accompanied by a tangle of pork floss, a small bundle of green onions, and salty, white tabs of pork called cha lua that look like pieces of tofu. Individually, there’s enough funk in each ingredient to stop some Americanized palates in their tracks, but each working in concert makes the xoi man quite tasty. Two other regulars on the counter are the banh chung and banh gio. These are colloquially known as Vietnamese tamales or dumplings, and the banh chung is a hefty brick of sticky rice and mung bean encasing a nugget of crumbled, peppery pork. A fragrant, deep green banana leaf holds the whole package together while imparting a tealike flavor in the rice and mung. The black pepper bite is heavy, but works wonderfully with the salty dish. The similar banh gio is more dumpling-like, consisting of a dough made of flour, starch, and broth. Like its cousin,

32 March 28-April 3, 2018 | metrotimes.com

salty and peppery pork crumbles are encased in the banh gio, along with mushrooms and shallots, though the shape is more pyramid-like than bricklike. Both are priced to move and fill at $2.95 each. On the menu, the place to start at Le Banh Mi is probably the banh mi. Though all were solid, far and away the best is the thit nuong, or grilled pork with a flavor driven by lemongrass and garlic. All sandwiches also hold big sprigs of cilantro, crunchy pickled carrot shreds, cucumber slabs, jalapeños, pickled daikon, and mayo. Another solid option is the sardine banh mi, which consists of small fish hunks in a garlic-tomato-chili sauce that — if you like sardines — is a must. If you’re not ordering the grilled pork dac biet or sardines, then the slightly more mellow meatball banh mi is the better option. Despite the language barrier, the woman who runs Le Banh Mi urged me to try bun bo hue, a specialty in her hometown. And her version of it hangs with others in metro Detroit, though it’s slightly less spicy. That could be a good thing if you’re new to the soup, which can be intimidating with its broth of swirling deep reds produced by coagulated pig blood, pig knuckles, and sate, a chili and garlic oil that is responsible for much of its bite. But that isn’t to say it’s a bowl of fire. The

Le Banh Mi 29141 Dequindre Rd., Madison Heights 248-439-0888 9 a.m. to 9 p.m. Tuesday through Sunday, closed Monday Entrees: $2-$9

flavor of all that blood works well with the garlic, oil, and lemony base, as well as accompanyies the pile of fresh basil, mint, and cabbage. Le Banh Mi’s drinks and desserts are sort of interchangeable. Something like the red bean shake — azaki bean mixed with sugar, condensed milk, ice, and tapioca pearls — will satisfy a sweet tooth, and ditto for the milk tea, which is super sweet iced black tea served with tapioca pearls. If you must flirt with diabetes, try the sam bo luong, a sweet, cold Vietnamese and Chinese soup made with a sugary broth, gingko nuts, seaweed, mung beans, black dates, pearl barley, longans, and more. The che nuoc is similar, but perhaps a better, smoother version with azaki beans. If dessert soup isn’t your thing, try the che bap, a Vietnamese sweet corn pudding mixed with sweet coconut milk. eat@metrotimes.com @metrotimes

metrotimes.com

| March 28-April 3, 2018

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metrotimes.com

| March 28-April 3, 2018

FOOD No sad sausage for you

Avoid the opening day party vortex at these 5 essential restaurants By Tom Perkins

Ballpark fare is what it is: stadi-

um food, mostly made by the not-so-exciting chefs at institutional food giants like Aramark. That means on opening day at Comerica Park, you’ll want to fill up for the long, debaucherous haul outside of the stadium. Of course, standing in long lines for a sad sausage in the opening day party vortex isn’t much better than eating stadium fare. Fortunately, we have the QLine, which will easily and comfortably cart you to and from the madness around Comerica Park. And you, savvy reader with a sophisticated palate, are at an advantage, because you know that it’ll be way easier and cheaper to park up Woodward and take the QLine to the stadium instead of squeezing into one of Mr. I’s overpriced lots — and the QLine runs by dozens of interesting eateries. No sad sausage for you. Here’s a list of the restaurants we feel are among the best, and worth a visit on opening day.

Rock City Eatery 4216 Woodward Ave., Detroit; 313-2653729; rockcityeatery.com There are few chefs who consistently work at the level of Rock City’s Nikita Sanches, who created one of the city’s most interesting vibes, and his always solid dishes are inspired by a range of cuisines. That means you’ll find everything on the menu from the basic but delicious mac and cheese (cavatappi and aged cheddar cheese sauce in a baked parmesan cheese bowl) to Korean hot pot (slow roasted pork, shrimp, homemade kimchi, noodles, rice cake, and spicy beef stock) to chicken enchiladas (grilled corn salsa, black bean sauce, lime crema, radishes, avocado, cilantro) to a finer half-pound cheeseburger and lamb burger. On the beer side, Rock City holds one of the

Cheeseburger from Rock City Eatery.

area’s best selections, with everything from the standards to hard-to-find beer nerd bottles. The full bar also offers a range of craft cocktails like the Devil is Dead (Bushmills Red Bush Irish Whiskey, Applejack, lemon, and housemade ginger and cinnamon grenadine). Rock City is closed for lunch, so make this a post-game stop.

The Block 3919 Woodward Ave., Detroit; 313-8320892; theblockdet.com If you’re looking for pregame finger foods, there’s hardly a better option than the Block’s chicken wings. These are large, meaty bones that are among Detroit’s best, and come tossed in Buffalo, barbecue, or sweet chili sauces. Korean-style sticky ribs made with peanuts, scallions, and apple slaw is another solid option, as are chicken quesadillas for the simpler palates in the opening-day gang. Beyond that, the Block developed an interesting burger roster and offers sandwiches like the buttermilk chicken (crispy fried chicken breast topped with gruyere cheese, sliced pickles, remoulade, and lettuce all on a country bun) or the salmon BLT (pan seared salmon, bacon, lettuce, tomato, and citrus aioli on cranberry walnut bread). In the

36 March 28-April 3, 2018 | metrotimes.com

TOM PERKINS

booze department, find everything on draft from Jolly Pumpkin Bam Bière to PBR, and cocktails perfect for pregame priming, like the Absolut Kamikaze (Absolut, lime juice, orange liqueur, and lime juice).

HopCat 4265 Woodward Ave., Detroit; 313769-8828; hopcat.com/detroit One of 14 HopCat locations statewide is along the QLine, so if you prefer the familiar, this is the place for you. The brewpub sits at the QLine’s Canfield stop. It offers 130 taps and its kitchen cranks out the hits like crack fries and one of the city’s more respectable burgers, which are priced to move at $5 during happy hour.

Chartreuse 15 E. Kirby St., Detroit; 313-818-3915; chartreusekc.com Want to get fancy before or after the game? Here’s your spot. The sophisticated Midtown space just north of the Detroit Institute of Arts trades in new American fare made with fresh, local ingredients. Yes, it seems there are quite a few restaurants employing that formula these days, but chef Doug Hewitt’s Chartreuse is among the best. He doesn’t post a menu online because

dishes change daily based on ingredient availability, but you’ll find plates like spare ribs (served with raw potato seaweed salad, togarashi, soy mirin glaze, and cilantro) or lamb poke (mango, avocado, cilantro, sea salt, sweet chili, and potato chips). Chartreuse’s booze selections include a short list of craft beers, aperitifs, and cocktails anchored by chartreuse.

Grand Trunk Pub 612 Woodward Ave., Detroit; 313-9613043; grandtrunk.pub The restaurant offers a fine selection of burgers and well-assembled sandwiches like the Finnigan (grilled chicken breast topped with fresh mozzarella, baby spinach, and tomato-basil aioli on Golden Wheat Bakery olive bread) or the Grand Trunk Pub Reuben (Wigley’s corned beef, dry rubbed turkey breast, whitefish, or veggie burger with the Poet Stout Kraut, Guggisberg Swiss, and “1000 Russians Dressing” on Golden Wheat Bakery Rye). It also holds one of the better finger food selections along the QLine with fried pickles, guacamole, and more.

letters@metrotimes.com @metrotimes

metrotimes.com

| March 28-April 3, 2018

THIS WEEK

What’s Going On

A week’s worth of things to do and places to do them By MT staff Justin Timberlake.

THURSDAY, 3/29 Kerry Myers @ Duderstadt Center

RYAN MCGINLEY

THURSDAY, 3/29 Talladega Nights: The Ballad of Ricky Bobby

THURSDAY, 3/29

FRI, 3/30 & SAT, 3/31

Drake Night

The Sound of Music

@ Blind Pig

@ Fox Theatre

MUSIC Starting from the bottom only means something when you’re looking down from the tip-top. When Aubrey “Drake” Graham first rolled into our hearts as the wheelchair-bound basketball star on Degrassi: The Next Generation, who would have thought he would become the chart-dominating rapper and "6 God"/"Champagne Papi" we’ve come to worship. Welcome to the house of “Hotline Bling” — Dante Lasalle and DJ Graffiti will serve up a night of Drake hits, mixes, and features so you can pull out your best Drake memes, moves, and cry faces.

MUSICAL A nun turned nanny and a whole mess of Nazis is, surprisingly, not a set up for some totally politically incorrect joke. In fact, it’s the backbone of one of the most beloved musicals of all time. For over 50 years, Rodgers and Hammerstein’s The Sound of Music has charmed audiences with its timeless message of tolerance and infectious musical standards. The heartwarming tale features a widowed father and his enchanting (and musically gifted) children who find a friend in governess Maria, all of whom decide to flee Austria because Nazis ruin everything.

Doors open at 9:30 p.m.; 208 S. First St., Ann Arbor; 734-9968555; blindpigmusic.com; Event is free before 10 p.m., $5 after.

Performance begins at 7:30 p.m. Friday, March 30 and 3 p.m. and 8 p.m. on Saturday, March 31; 2211 Woodward Ave., Detroit; 313-4713200; 313presents.com; Tickets are $30-$70.

@ Michigan Theater

TALK Human trafficking, juvenile life sentences without parole, and Alzheimer’s and dementia in prison are among the topics journalist Kerry Myers has tackled during his career. Myers, who was sentenced to life without parole in 1990 in the Louisiana State Penitentiary, was recruited to be a writer for the prison’s news magazine The Angolite. He later would become editor, and steered the publication to become a resource for criminal justice and law programs. Meyers was issued parole in 2016 and has since remained a journalist and pursued criminal justice reform in Louisiana. His discussion will accompany the 23rd Annual Exhibition of Art by Michigan Prisoners.

Event begins at 7 p.m.; 2281 Bonisteel Blvd., Ann Arbor; 734763-3266; dc.umich.edu; Event is free and open to the public.

FILM “If you’re not first, you’re last.” This is one of many nuggets of wisdom nestled in the classic and forever quotable Nascar comedy, Talladega Nights: The Ballad of Ricky Bobby. Will Ferrell and John C. Reilly star as racing besties turned wife-stealing enemies. Name a more iconic duo. Go ahead, we'll wait. Add Sacha Baron Cohen to the mix as the flamboyantly French Formula One racer, Jean Girard, and what you have is a high-octane laugh fest that will have you yelling “shake and bake” for no damn reason.

Screening begins at 9:30 p.m.; 603 E. Liberty St., Ann Arbor; 734668-8397; michtheater.org; Tickets are $10 and $8 for students.

38 March 28-April 3, 2018 | metrotimes.com

The Sound of Music.

SATURDAY, 3/31 Detroit Gatsby Dark Faerie Tale Masquerade

JEREMY DANIEL AND MATTHEW MURPHY

SATURDAY, 3/31

MONDAY, 4/2

Of Montreal

Justin Timberlake

@ The Crofoot

@ Little Caesars Arena

MUSIC If you didn’t post Of Montreal lyrics in your Myspace bulletin, can you even say you were into indie in the circa mid-2000s? From Sylvia Plath to David Bowie, Of Montreal founder Kevin Barnes’ (also known as Georgie Fruit) spectrum of influences is as dizzying as his dance-worthy malaise. As if Of Montreal’s ambition were in question, 2018 marks the release of White is Relic/ Irrealis Mood, the band’s 15th studio record in 22 years. Pioneers of glitch pop, which is devoid of traditional structure or hooks, Of Montreal paved the way for lovers of theatrical glam.

MUSIC Everyone’s favorite heartthrob from the 2000s has since grown into a rugged family man — and we are totally here for it. Justin Timberlake reemerges every couple of years with a new aesthetic and some infectious earworm — a “SexyBack” here, a “Can’t Stop the Feeling” there. J.T. returns with 2018’s Man of the Woods — an ax-wielding blend of sophisticated funk, pop, and Americana. Timberlake might be pushing 40 years old but he’s still busting the Top 40 and satiating thirsty hearts everywhere.

@ Belle Isle Casino

GALA This is not your typical bedtime story because, as it turns out, not all fairy tales end with “happily ever after.” Fantasy and fundraising come to a head at the Detroit Gatsby: Dark Faerie Tale Masquerade. In support of Activate Detroit Potential, a nonprofit that provides skills training, employment, and holistic support services for at-risk women in Detroit, the Dark Faerie Tale Masquerade promises an enchanting and immersive evening of theatrical decadence and lore for adults. Dress up, explore enchanted worlds, and interact with characters while partaking in the many storybook approved mystical and magical offerings.

Event begins at 8 p.m.; 1 Casino Way, Detroit; 313-821-9844; belleisleconservancy.org; Tickets start at $130.

Doors open at 7 p.m.; 1 South Saginaw, Pontiac; 248-858-9333; thecrofoot.com; Tickets are $15$18.

Doors open at 7:30 p.m.; 2645 Woodward Ave., Detroit; 313-4717000; 313presents.com; Tickets start at $54.50. calendar@metrotimes.com @metrotimes

metrotimes.com

| March March28-April 28-April3, 3,2018 2018

THIS WEEK MUSIC Wednesday, March 28 Chris Speed Trio 8 p.m.; Cliff Bell’s, 2030 Park Ave., Detroit; $20.

Heartthrob Chassis 9 p.m.; Outer Limits Lounge, 5507 Caniff St., Hamtramck; $5.

The Continuum: A Concert by Mike Ellison 7 p.m.; Charles H. Wright Museum of African American History, 315 E. Warren Ave., Detroit; free.

Jeff Cuny Trio 5:30 p.m.; Cliff Bell’s, 2030 Park Ave., Detroit; no cover.

Iced Earth 6:30 p.m.; Saint Andrew’s Hall, 431 E. Congress St., Detroit; $28.

Party Thieves & Ricky Remedy 9:30 p.m.; Elektricity Nightclub, 15 S. Saginaw St., Pontiac; $12.50, free with RSVP before 11 p.m.

Made in Michigan Music Fest 9 p.m.; Blind Pig, 208 S. First St., Ann Arbor; $10-$15. The Sugar Bombs 8 p.m.; Trixie’s, 2656 Carpenter Ave., Hamtramck; $5.

Thursday, March 29 Buckethead 7 p.m.; Token Lounge, 28949 Joy Rd., Westland; $25-$25. Field Report 8 p.m.; The Ark, 316 S. Main St., Ann Arbor; $15. Forever Came Calling 6 p.m.; The Pike Room, 1 S. Saginaw St., Pontiac; $13-$15. Gang of Youths 7 p.m.; The Loving Touch, 22634 Woodward Ave., Ferndale; $15. Justine Skye 6 p.m.; The Shelter, 431 E. Congress St., Detroit; Starting at $15. Keyshia Cole 8 p.m.; Sound Board, 2901 Grand River Ave., Detroit; $45+. Nobunny 8 p.m.; Outer Limits Lounge, 5507 Caniff St., Hamtramck; $14. Paul Carey Group 4 p.m.; Cliff Bell’s, 2030 Park Ave., Detroit; no cover. Shopping 8 p.m.; Marble Bar, 1501 Holden St., Detroit; $10. Twiddle 7:30 p.m.; El Club, 4114 W. Vernor Hwy., Detroit; $18-$75. Wild Women: Video shoot and concert 8 p.m.; Small’s Bar, 10339 Conant, Hamtramck; no cover.

Friday, March 30 Billie Eilish 8 p.m.; El Club, 4114 W. Vernor Hwy., Detroit; $18. Carjack/the Dropout/Junk Food Junkies 10 p.m.; Ghost Light, 2314 Caniff St., Hamtramck; $8. Dale Grisa Group 9 p.m.; Cliff Bell’s, 2030 Park Ave., Detroit; $10.

40 March March28-April 28-April3,3,2018 2018 | |metrotimes.com metrotimes.com 40

Front Country 8 p.m.; Otus Supply, 345 E. Nine Mile Rd., Ferndale; $12.

The Octopus album release show 9 p.m.; Small’s Bar, 10339 Conant St., Hamtramck; $5-$10.

Peace Frog: A Tribute to The Doors 8 p.m.; Magic Bag, 22920 Woodward Ave., Ferndale; $15. Stone Clover 9 p.m.; Blind Pig, 208 S. First St., Ann Arbor; $10. The Suicide Magnets 9 p.m.; Trixie’s, 2656 Carpenter Ave., Hamtramck; $7. Sweet 7 p.m.; Token Lounge, 28949 Joy Rd., Westland; $20-$35. The War and Treaty 8 p.m.; The Ark, 316 S. Main St., Ann Arbor; $25. Xylouris White 7 p.m.; Trinosophes, 1464 Gratiot Ave., Detroit;

Saturday, March 31 Banners 7 p.m.; The Pike Room, 1 S. Saginaw St., Pontiac; $13-$15. The Black Angels and the Black Lips 7:30 p.m.; Majestic Theatre, 4140 Woodward Ave., Detroit; $25-$30. Cast Iron Cornbread 8 p.m.; Trixie’s, 2656 Carpenter Ave., Hamtramck; $5. Chick Corea 8 p.m.; Hill Auditorium, 825 N. University Ave., Ann Arbor; $20-$80. Choir Boy 8 p.m.; Outer Limits Lounge, 5507 Caniff St., Hamtramck; $12. Colter Wall 8 p.m.; El Club, 4114 W. Vernor Hwy., Detroit; $15. Darkred 8 p.m.; PJ’s Lager House, 1254 Michigan Ave., Detroit; $8. Drake Night 9:30 p.m.; Blind Pig, 208 S. First St., Ann Arbor; The Evan Mercer Trio 6 p.m.; Cliff Bell’s, 2030 Park Ave., Detroit; no cover.

Fozzy 6 p.m.; The Shelter, 431 E. Congress St., Detroit; $20.

Jazz at Lincoln Center Orchestra with Chick Corea 8 p.m.; Hill Auditorium, 825 N. University, Ann Arbor; $20-$80.

Froggy Fresh 7 p.m.; Ant Hall, 2320 Caniff St., Hamtramck; $15-$18.

Max Amini 7 p.m.; The Ark, 316 S. Main St., Ann Arbor; $39-$65.

thursday 3/29

dj mac diesel $5.00 cover

thursday 3/29

twiddle

wsg: sun tribe (at el club)

friday 3/30

front country + fauxgrass + back forty saturday 3/31

tosha owens & holly bernt band (co-album release show)

thursday 4/5

the claudettes

wsg: strangeheart friday 4/6

wild child

wsg: the wild reeds thursday 4/12

george porter jr The War and Treaty, Friday, March 30 at The Ark.

Of Montreal 7 p.m.; The Crofoot Ballroom, 1 S. Saginaw St., Pontiac; $10-$12. Olin Clark 9:30 p.m.; Cliff Bell’s, 2030 Park Ave., Detroit; $18. Pat Benatar and Neil Giraldo 8 p.m.; MGM Grand Detroit, 1777 Third St., Detroit; $49+. Rockabilly Devils and Gruesome Twosome 9 p.m.; Kelly’s Bar, 2403 Holbrook Ave., Hamtramck; $5. Sleep 8:30 p.m.; The Fillmore, 2115 Woodward Ave., Detroit; $25+. Tosha Owens 8 p.m.; Otus Supply, 345 E. Nine Mile Rd., Ferndale; $15-$25. Troy Gregory/ The Idiot Kids/ Cosmic Light Shapes 9 p.m.; Ghost Light, 2314 Caniff St., Hamtramck; $7.

Wolf Alice 6 p.m.; The Shelter, 431 E. Congress St., Detroit; $20.

Sunday, April 1 Dessa 8 p.m.; El Club, 4114 W. Vernor Hwy., Detroit; $20. Insane Clown Posse 7 p.m.; The Fillmore, 2115 Woodward Ave., Detroit; $25-$50. Jarrod Champion 11:30 am-2:30 p.m.; Cliff Bell’s, 2030 Park Ave., Detroit; Free.

Monday, April 2 Justin Timberlake 7:30 p.m.; Little Caesars Arena, 2645 Woodward Ave., Detroit; $54.50-$140. Marc Mellits 8 p.m.; El Club, 4114 W. Vernor Hwy., Detroit; $10. Terra Lightfoot 8 p.m.; The Ark,

from the meters friday 4/13

ben miller band

COURTESY PHOTO

w/ ryan dilaha and the miracle men saturday 4/14

316 S. Main St., Ann Arbor; $10.

Tuesday, April 3 Alexis Lombre 8 p.m.; Cliff Bell’s, 2030 Park Ave., Detroit; no cover.

broccoli samurai

Andy Grammer 7 p.m.; Saint Andrew’s Hall, 431 E. Congress St., Detroit; $30-$199.

wsg: chirp

Crumb and Combo Chimbita 7 p.m.; The Pike Room, 1 S. Saginaw St., Pontiac; $10-$12. Cut Copy 7 p.m.; Majestic Theatre, 4140 Woodward Ave., Detroit; $25-$30.

FOR TICKETS & DINNER RESERVATIONS

VISIT OTUSSUPPLY.COM

Dead Meadow 7 p.m.; Marble Bar, 1501 Holden St., Detroit; $13$15. The English Beat 8 p.m.; The Ark, 316 S. Main St., Ann Arbor; $35.

metrotimes.com

345 E 9 MILE RD

FERNDALE, MI 48220

| March March28-April 28-April3,3,2018 2018

The

Old

Miami

THIS WEEK

OUR PATIO NIGHTLY BONFIRES ON

WEDNESDAY, MAR 28TH ~ HAPPY BIRTHDAY SHEILA TEQUILA! ~ THURSDAY, MAR 29TH TIGERS OPENING DAY! FRIDAY, MAR 30TH KARANJI’S SOULWATER AND DIVINE PROVIDENCE (SOUL/FUSION) DOORS @9 SATURDAY, MAR 31ST MISTY LOVE W/ PHIL HALE & DERRIK BARTEL (JAZZ) DOORS @9 SUNDAY, APRIL 1ST HAPPY EASTER! MONDAY, APRIL 2ND FREE POOL FRIDAY APRIL 6TH BLUECOLLAR GENTLEMEN MONTHLY HIP-HOP SATURDAY APRIL 7TH DARK RED & BMG SATURDAY APRIL 14TH NOTHING ELEGANT MONTHLY DANCE PARTY

Al Held: Luminous Constructs – Paintings and Watercolors on view at David Klein Gallery Detroit.

Timeflies 7 p.m.; The Crofoot Ballroom, 1 S. Saginaw St., Pontiac; $20-$25.

THEATER The Sound of Music Thursday 7:30 p.m.; The Whiting, 1241 E. Kearsley St., Flint; $33-$68; 810-237-7333; www. thewhiting.com. The Sound of Music 7:30 p.m.; Fox Theatre, 2211 Woodward Ave., Detroit; $30-$70.

COMEDY All-Star Showdown Fridays, Saturdays, 8 & 10 p.m.; Go Comedy! Improv Theater, 261 E. Nine Mile Rd., Ferndale; $15-$18; 248-327-0575.

FRIDAY APRIL 20TH BAT, EEL, SNAFU & SHROUD

Derek Richards Thursday 7:30 p.m., Friday 7:15 p.m. and Saturday 7 & 9:30 p.m.; Mark Ridley’s Comedy Castle, 310 S. Troy St., Royal Oak; $18; 248-5429900; comedycastle.com.

OPEN EVERY DAY INCLUDING HOLIDAYS INSTAGRAM & FACEBOOK: THEOLDMIAMI CALL US FOR BOOKING! 313-831-3830

Itty Bits Wednesday 9 p.m.; Go Comedy! Improv Theater, 261 E. Nine Mile Rd., Ferndale; $10; 248-327-0575.

The Old Miami

Mitch & Matt Present Something Rad Thursday and Friday; Go Comedy! Improv Theater, 261 E. Nine Mile Rd.,

3930 Cass • Cass Corridor • 313-831-3830

March28-April 28-April3,3,2018 2018 | |metrotimes.com metrotimes.com 42 March

Ferndale; $10; 248-327-0575; $10-$15. Pandemonia Fridays, 10 p.m.; Go Comedy! Improv Theater, 261 E. Nine Mile Rd., Ferndale; $15; 248-327-0575. Sunday Buffet Sundays, 7 p.m.; Go Comedy! Improv Theater, 261 E. Nine Mile Rd., Ferndale; $10; 248-327-0575. Warning Signs Wednesday 8 p.m.; Go Comedy! Improv Theater, 261 E. Nine Mile Rd., Ferndale; $10; 248-3270575.

FILM Chavez Ravine Saturday 2 p.m.; Detroit Film Theatre, Detroit Institute of Arts, 5200 Woodward Ave., Detroit; 313-833-2323. Legend of The Mountain Friday 7 p.m., Saturday 7 p.m. and Sunday April 1, 2 p.m.; Detroit Film Theatre, Detroit Institute of Arts, 5200 Woodward Ave., Detroit; 313-833-2323; $7.50-$9.50. Sixteen Candles Friday midnight and Saturday midnight; Main Art Theatre, 118 N. Main St., Royal Oak; $7; (248) 263-2111.

ART 23rd Annual Exhibition of Art by Michigan Prisoners Mondays-

ROBERT HENSLEIGH

Sundays.; The Duderstadt Center, 2281 Bonisteel Blvd., Ann Arbor; free. Purged art by Nancy Rodwan Through April 14; Annex Gallery, 333 Midland, Highland Park; free. Al Held: Luminous Constructs: Paintings and Watercolors Through April 28; David Klein Gallery, 163 Townsend St., Birmingham; 248433-3700. Romare Bearden Through March 31; N’Namdi Center For Contemporary Art, 52 E. Forest Avenue, Detroit; free; 313-831-8700; nnamdicenter.org. Leonard’s Salvator Mundi: Journey from Anonymity to Fame Tuesday April 3, 6 p.m.; Flint Institute of Arts, 1120 E. Kearsley St., Flint; free. Penny Stamps: Brian Selznick Thursday, March 29, 5:10 p.m.; Michigan Theater, 603 E. Liberty St., Ann Arbor; free; 734-668-8480. Play Ball: Baseball at the DIA Starts Thursday, March 29, 10 a.m.; Detroit Institute of Arts, 5200 Woodward Ave., Detroit; 313-833-7900. Through Sept. 16. calendar@metrotimes.com @metrotimes

metrotimes.com

| March 28-April 3, 2018

Fast Forward Panic! at the Disco Little Caesars Arena, July 14

Nick Jonas Meadow Brook Amphitheater, April 14, 7 p.m., $25+

Sam Smith Little Caesars Arena, June 22, 8 p.m., $35+

Bill Murray, Jan Vogler & Friends The Fillmore, April 18, 7 p.m., $45+

Outlaw Music Festival with Willie Nelson DTE Energy Music Theatre, June 24, 6 p.m.; $25.50+

Modest Mouse The Fillmore, May 2 and 3, 6:30 p.m., $42.50+

Harry Styles Little Caesars Arena, June 26, 8 p.m., $99.50+

Dr. Dog Majestic Theatre, May 4, 8 p.m., $30

Paramore and Foster the People DTE Energy Music Theatre, June 29, 7 p.m., $25.50+

Daryl Hall & John Oates Little Caesars Arena, May 20, 7 p.m., $41.50+ Vance Joy Fox Theatre, May 22, 7:30 p.m., $25.50+ Maria Bamford Royal Oak Music Theatre, May 25, 7 p.m., $29.50+ Dave Matthews Band DTE Energy Music Theatre, June 6, 8 p.m., $41.50+ Paul Simon DTE Energy Music Theatre, June 10, 8 p.m., $35+ Thirty Seconds to Mars DTE Energy Music Theatre, June 12, 6 p.m.; $25.50+ Kendrick Lamar with SZA DTE Energy Music Theatre, June 13, 7:30 p.m., $84+

Jethro Tull Freedom Hill, July 1, 7:30 p.m., $26+ STYX, Joan Jett, and Tesla DTE Energy Music Theatre, July 6, 7 p.m., $25.50+ Beck Fox Theatre, July 6, 8 p.m., $35+ Arcade Fire DTE Energy Music Theatre, July 7, 6:30 p.m., $39.50+ Evanescence and Lindsey Stirling DTE Energy Music Theatre, July 9, 7 p.m., $21+ Rob Zombie and Marilyn Manson DTE Energy Music Theatre, July 11, 7 p.m., $25.50+ Pixies & Weezer DTE Energy Music Theatre, July 13, 7:30 p.m., $70+

Okkervil River El Club, June 13, 8 p.m., $20

Barenaked Ladies DTE Energy Music Theatre, July 14, 7 p.m., $21+

Shania Twain Little Caesars Arena, June 15, 7:30 p.m., $49.95+

Panic! at the Disco Little Caesars Arena, July 14, 7 p.m., $29.75+

Whoopi Goldberg Sound Board, June 15, 8 p.m., $57+

Foreigner DTE Energy Music Theatre, July 15, 7 p.m., $21+

Jack Johnson DTE Energy Music Theatre, June 15, 7:30 p.m.; $31+

Kesha & Macklemore DTE Energy Music Theatre, July 18, 7 p.m., $26.50+

44 March 28-April 3, 2018 | metrotimes.com

metrotimes.com

| March 28-April 3, 2018

MUSIC

Rebecca Vernon.

JUSTINE MURPHY

A study in sonic antipodes

SubRosa’s sludge doom is desolation tinged with delicacy By Ana Gavrilovska

In darkness there is light.

In expression there is power. In agony there is deafening release. The experimental sludge doom of Salt Lake City’s SubRosa combines all of these things in its haunting, harrowing music, which is decidedly metal, but the kind that leaves room for supple sounds to augment the heaviness. This is due in no small part to the eerie ambience of not one but two violins that buoy the crushing volume of the other instruments. This supernatural contrast is what gives SubRosa their singular effervescence within the

swampy world of doom they call home. SubRosa is Rebecca Vernon (guitar, vocals), Sarah Pendleton (violin, vocals), Kim Pack (violin, vocals), Andy Patterson (drums), and Kory Quist (bass). The band’s most recent release is last year’s Subdued: Live At Roadburn 2017, its first live album. Recorded at the international heavy music festival in Roadburn, this set presents another side of their brutal music, offering a different take on emotional intensity with stripped down versions of their songs. 2016’s For This We Fought the Battle

46 March 28-April 3, 2018 | metrotimes.com

of Ages is the band’s most recent studio album, a moving, layered work that is operatic in concept if not literal sound. Arguably the band’s most ambitious record yet, the album is based on the 1920s dystopian Russian novel We by Yevgeny Zamyatin. Sociopolitical issues are a common lyrical thread in SubRosa’s music, so it makes perfect sense that the band would find such stark inspiration in a novel that describes a world of conformity in a totalitarian state under mass surveillance. SubRosa was actually intending to go on a break this year – but then “stoner

doom” emissaries Sleep invited them on tour, which is what brings the band to Detroit this week. In anticipation of what is sure to be the kind of show felt in the depth of one’s bones for days to come, we spoke with bandleader, guitarist, and vocalist Rebecca Vernon about the happy accident that inspired the band’s particular sound, the differences between the power of music and that of words, and more.

Metro Times: The most recent

album was inspired by the novel We. Can you tell us where that came from?

Rebecca Vernon: Sci-fi,

horror, and post-apocalyptic literature are my favorite genres. I’ve loved them ever since I was 10, when I was reading Helen Hoke and Goosebumps, then onto Stephen King and on from there. Whenever my family would go to video stores I’d get horror movies. I was just always into it. So I read We on a friend’s recommendation a couple years ago. As soon as I read it, I felt like this book encapsulates so much of the philosophies I’ve had my whole life. It states them so clearly and so much better than I ever could have and so I thought while I was reading it that I’ve got to write the next album about this book. So we did.

MT: The violins are so important to

what gives SubRosa that special sorrowful sound. Can you tell us a little bit about how the violins ended up in this brutal music?

Vernon: Well, that’s what I asked myself when the band first started. I wanted to start a really heavy band for three years or so, just very brutal. Sarah [Pendleton] and I were very good friends and she was learning violin at the time and wanted to be in the band. I was like, “Well... OK, I guess,” you know, kind of worried that it would water down the brutality of the band. Of course it turned out to be the best accident that befell us because the violins evoke the hidden emotion behind the riffs and are able to bring this whole layer that wouldn’t be there otherwise. MT: Can you describe the evolution of SubRosa?

Vernon:

We started out just barely knowing what we were doing, following our instincts and making what sounded like heavy folk music with violin. Then we got exposed to more and more underground metal and doom metal. Our tastes started changing, morphing, and transforming. We started taking on more influences and also realizing that the sky’s the limit in the underground metal world. You can really do whatever you want. You start to hear the doom metal elements on our second album, Strega. We really entered a second phase with No Help for the Mighty Ones and More Constant than the Gods, [our next two albums]. For This We Fought the Battle of Ages is an evolution of that change, elaborating on it further and progressing it as far as we could take it. I don’t know what the next step is, musically, for SubRosa. We took [that sound] as far as we could on Battle. We’ll see where we go from here.

MT: What is something from outside of music that has an influence on it for you?

Vernon: Literature in general, not

just We. I’ve always loved reading more than anything. I love language, I love words. I take a lot of care with the lyrics. They’re very, very important to me, how words communicate different feelings, evoke different images and emotions. Sometimes the lyrics can seem really simple but that can betray the hours and hours I put into selecting just those exact words for the part.

MT: The songs definitely feel like stories.

Vernon: Exactly. I was just thinking about the power of language and lyrics and not saying something directly but saying it more obliquely. The right word can convey seven different layers of meaning instead of one. MT: You’ve said “Music is the most powerful art form.” Can you elaborate on that? Vernon: All art is really powerful. Art

changes the world, everything from visual art to film and dance and opera and literature. But there’s something about music that goes into the hidden chambers of emotions, that bypasses language. Visual art can do that as well but for some reason I just feel that music can do what no other art form can. For the most part, people can pick up on the unspoken things that someone is trying to say through music. It’s incredible. I believe that music is the closest to the language of the soul, the language of emotions rendered sonically. It’s like the emotions are brought into the physical world and expressed physically. That’s the best way I know how to describe it.

MT: It adds another dimension to feeling.

Vernon: It can make you feel things you have never felt before. Literature is also amazing but sometimes language can be so complicated because there are symbols. Words are symbols for physical things and music just bypasses all that. It doesn’t have to go through the step of being a symbol first. It just goes straight through all that. SubRosa play with Sleep on Saturday, March 31 at the Fillmore Detroit, 2115 Woodward Ave., Detroit; 313-961-5451; thefillmoredetroit.com; Doors at 8:30 p.m.; Tickets start at $25. letters@metrotimes.com @metrotimes

metrotimes.com metrotimes.com | | March March28-April 28-April3, 3,2018 2018

MUSIC

Dessa.

BILL PHELPS

Rapper Dessa tried to heal her heart with science ...and then wrote an album about it By Sara Barron

Dessa — the Minneapolis-based

poet, rapper, and songwriter born Margret Wander — can now add “scientist” to her long list of talents. The 36-yearold hip-hop artist turned to the scientific method in the creative process leading up to her latest album, Chime. After trying and failing to deal with heartbreak for nearly 12 years, Dessa thought that if she could pinpoint the part of her brain that made her fall in love, she might be able to fall out of it. Working with a professor and brain imaging expert at the University of Minnesota, Dessa underwent a series of tests involving looking at two photos — one of her ex and the other of a platonic male friend — while inside an fMRI machine. The results showed that certain parts of Dessa’s brain — the anterior cingulate,

the ventral tegmental area, and the caudate — lit up only when she was looking at her ex and not her friend.The goal was to use this newfound awareness to train her brain to behave the way she wanted it to instead of the way it was — obsessive and heartbroken. “I didn’t lobotomize myself,” she says. “I wasn’t trying to unnaturally inhibit an emotional response. I was trying to train my brain like you train a muscle at the gym, so that you can move it freely the way you want it to.” Dessa would watch her brain waves in real time and try to get them to behave differently. She says the method — known as “neurofeedback” — didn’t cure her completely, but it helped. The next time she saw her ex, she says she still had the same feelings of love, attraction, and

48 March 28-April 3, 2018 | metrotimes.com

sadness, but they weren’t as intense or compulsive. This “falling out of love” experiment and the brutal 12 years of mourning that preceded it are central themes in Dessa’s latest album release, Chime. “Velodrome,” a track sung mostly in the style of spoken-word and accompanied by swells of heart-wrenching strings. Opening with the line, “I don’t believe my will’s quite free/ I’m half machine, at least, half steam,” Dessa starts to dissect whether or not humans have any control over who they love. For Dessa, the velodrome, an oval shaped cycle-racing track, symbolizes the seemingly never-ending cycle of breakup and heartbreak that she experienced in her last relationship. “It took forever to end, years and years,” Dessa explains. “Part of it was chemistry,

part of it was that it was so volatile, it was really up and down and never settled. … There was nothing to acclimate to, so it stayed fresh for years.” But Chime’s sole purpose is not to dwell on an infinite undulating romance or ponder life’s unanswerable questions. Dessa also makes room for cheeky, power-infused rap interludes like, “Shrimp” and “5 out of 6,” where she flaunts her innate proclivity for metaphor and sharp-tongued delivery. At times, it’s hard to believe that the bold, self-assured woman who raps “I’m here to file my report as the vixen as the wolfpack/ Tell patient zero he can have his rib back” on “Fire Drills,” is the same person singing about powerlessness in the face of love on “Boy Crazy.” However, this emotional elasticity is what makes Dessa human — and, thus, relatable. Dessa will perform on Sunday, April 1 at El Club; 4114 W. Vernor Hwy., Detroit; 313-279-7382; elclubdetroit.com; Doors ar 8 p.m.; Tickets are $20. letters@metrotimes.com @metrotimes

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| March 28-April 3, 2018

MUSIC

Holly Bernt Band.

ANDREW MILLER

Bringing the Badlands to Detroit

Detroit-based Americana group Holly Bernt Band release debut record By Sara Barron

Holly Bernt didn’t hear her

first “secular” song until she was 13 years old. Raised in a strict Seventh-day Adventist household, Bernt says hymns and worship songs were all she knew until her big brother smuggled a Goo Goo Dolls record into the house and played her “Black Balloon.” “That was the first time I listened to something that wasn’t about Jesus,” says Bernt. From then on, her musical horizons widened, but the inherent melodic sensibility that comes with being raised in the church stayed with her. Nearly 18 years later, Bernt is set to release her first record with the Holly Bernt Band, Lightning on the Vine, which merges her deep roots in gospel music with a love of blues and the wisdom of someone who is on the outside looking in. For this record, Bernt was joined by Jimmy Dixon (guitar, organ) and Max Bauhof (drums) who both own and operate Homestead Studios, the studio where Lightning was recorded. Bernt met Dixon and Bauhof when she

was recording a solo project, Dakota Winters, and the musical connection was instant. She says she was going in a different direction than the band members she was working with at the time, and was able to bring her newer songs to Dixon and Bauhof. Thus, the Holly Bernt Band was born. While Bernt handled most of the lyric and melody writing, the band says the songwriting process was collaborative, with a majority of the songs coming to fruition spontaneously in the studio. “Holly has this knack for coming up with a vocal melody almost immediately which helps so much when it comes to writing,” says Dixon of the songwriting process. Bernt’s melody lines are unmistakably gospel driven, but also carry strong, soulful western and blues influences — making for a sonic palette that is reminiscent of the smokey, vast landscape of the Badlands, where Bernt spent the majority of her childhood. Because of her parents’ ties to the church, Bernt spent much of her life moving around the country — Califor-

50 March 28-April 3, 2018 | metrotimes.com

nia, Minnesota, West Virginia, South Dakota, and Oregon — before landing in Michigan in 2006. Despite leaving pieces of herself in all of these states, Bernt feels most connected to South Dakota. “Musically, I’m very nostalgic about it,” says Bernt. “I can think right off the bat of four songs on this record that are directly linked to growing up in the Black Hills.” One of these songs is “Penny on the Tracks,” a love letter to Bernt’s younger sister. Bernt, who is 10 years her sister’s senior, wrote the song through a reflective, almost motherly, lens, urging her sister not to make the same mistakes she did. “There are some songs, like that song, that you write and they open this gateway and you’ll be depressed for weeks,” says Bernt. “Watching her go through the same things I went through was hard, and I wished I could do it for her.” But not all of Bernt’s songs are as gorgeously heart-wrenching. The record is full of blues-infused tracks like “There Ain’t No Love Here,” a timely track lamenting the state of the world we live

in. “I think I’ve lost it a thousand times/ I think I’ve lost it a million times/ But lately, when I turn on the news/ I lose my mind,” Bernt sings in her hazy, rapturous vocals. The musical arrangements throughout the record reveal a strong blues influence in all three band members, including the occasional organ solo and old-school bass lines. Overall, the album is a timeless rock ’n’ roll record with a deep reverence for the gritty and honest R&B and soul music that Detroit was built on. The band will release Lightning on the Vine on CD and all streaming services on March 31. Holly Bernt will perform a record release show for Lightning on the Vine on Saturday, March 31 at the Parliament Room at Otus Supply; 345 E. Nine Mile Road, Ferndale; 248-291-6160; otussupply.com; Doors at 8 p.m.; Tickets for the show are $15 presale and $25 presale with a CD. letters@metrotimes.com @metrotimes

metrotimes.com

| March 28-April 3, 2018

CULTURE

Detroit Tigers 1968 World Champions ball, pen and ink on leather by artist George Sosnak.

On the ball

Why the DIA’s new baseball exhibition isn’t quite out of left field By Lee DeVito

The Detroit Institute of

Arts will pay homage to the Tigers with Play Ball: Baseball at the DIA , a rarefor-the-museum exhibition featuring baseball cards, folk art, and other works of art inspired by America’s national pastime. But as DIA curator Nancy Barr points out, while a sports-themed exhibition might be somewhat anomalous for the museum’s programming, it really isn’t when you think about it. The cards are lithograph prints. A press release for the exhibition compares the museum to the ancient Greek Olympics, which featured the arts alongside feats of athleticism. And then there’s the matter not of artistic merit but of city spirit — this year marks the 50th anniversary of the Tigers’ 1968 World Series championship. “I’ve been excited about working on (the exhibition),” says Barr, who works as a photography curator and head of the museum’s Prints, Drawings and Photographs department. “I was a 1968 fan. And it was nice for me to get out from under my photography hat for a

little while and do something a little bit out of the box — not that it’s really that out of the box.” What is perhaps a bit out of the box for the museum is the source of much of the exhibition’s items. The baseball card collections come not from the archives of another museum but from the private collection of E. Powell Miller, a Rochester-based attorney and superfan who pitched the baseball card exhibition to the museum. Miller’s trove is rare; according to the Professional Sports Authenticator database, his collection of T206 “White Border” cards — 524 cards released by the American Tobacco Company between 1909 and 1911 — is ranked the thirdbest in the entire world. It includes the highly sought Honus Wagner card, widely regarded as the world’s most rare baseball card, with only about 60 known to exist. Miller says he was “the typical kid who collected cards” — until they all got thrown out one day. Years later, as a successful attorney, he decided to get back

52 March 28-April 3, 2018 | metrotimes.com

into collecting — and go all the way. “I thought the cards were beautiful,” he says. “It really triggered my competitive nature to see if I could slay the monster and somehow get them all, and get them in really good condition.” And it was that competitive spirit that piqued the interest of DIA director Salvador Salort-Pons. “I remember I told him the Met in New York City has an exhibit of baseball cards, and I believe that my set is better than the Met’s,” he says. “I said, ‘If you wanted to exhibit it, we could beat the Met... and I’d like the Tigers to beat the Yankees.’” Miller also sees no reason why the cards shouldn’t be exhibited in an art museum. “If you look at the cards, these are artistic,” he says. “These are lithographs. They were handmade. They have really beautiful colors.” In addition to Miller’s T206 collection, the exhibition will also feature other Tigers memorabilia, including Tigers baseball cards, folk art baseballs by artist George Sosnak, and an autographed bat from Tigers right fielder Al Kaline. The exhibition is rounded out by two baseball-themed works from the museum’s permanent collection, which include the 1993 large-scale painting Hard Ball III by Robert Moskowitz and a new acquisition by the Guatemala-based artist Dario Escobar, who created an installation of Detroit Tigers baseball bats in the shape of the city’s skyline.

COURTESY PHOTO

The exhibition is just one timed to coincide with the Tiger’s 1968 World Series win; The Year of the Tiger: 1968 opens at the nearby Detroit Historical Museum on April 20. And the DIA will soon host another pop culture-themed exhibition with Star Wars and the Power of Costume, which opens at the museum on May 20. “This whole idea of accessibility and opening up — museums that had a highbrow, clubby, elitist reputation for such a long time,” Barr says of the baseball and Star Wars exhibits. “That’s a really difficult thing to tackle, and there’s no real model for how to do it.” “(Salort-Pons) just felt the door was open to try something new and bring in something new and interesting for everyone, to kind of break down some barriers here,” she says. “Museums have all kinds of cultural barriers. But we find when people come once, they’re hooked.” Play Ball: Baseball at the DIA opens on Thursday, March 29 at the Detroit Institute of Arts, 5200 Woodward Ave., Detroit; 313-833-7900; dia.org; General admission is free for Wayne, Oakland, and Macomb county residents and members; $14 for adults, $9 for seniors, $8 for college students, and $6 for ages 6–17; Exhibition runs through Sept. 16. letters@metrotimes.com @metrotimes

metrotimes.com

| March 28-April 3, 2018

CULTURE

Claire Foy stars as Sawyer Valentini in Steven Soderbergh’s Unsane.

Psycho thriller By MaryAnn Johanson

Director Steven Soderbergh announced his retirement in

2013, stating that he was frustrated with Hollywood, its focus on huge, (supposedly) safe blockbusters, and the subsequent squeezing out of smaller, more challenging films. He also said at the time that he felt that “movies don’t matter anymore” as cultural touchstones. He unretired last year to give us the middling Logan Lucky, a blah imitation of his own Ocean’s Eleven; if that movie was intended to make us nostalgic for those smaller films that the studios aren’t interested in backing anymore, it failed. But Soderbergh may have found his groove again — or, rather, a new groove for a new movie environment — with the unusually unsettling psychological thriller Unsane. As a piece of craft, Unsane is a smack in the face to what Hollywood has become in recent years, bloated with megabudget action fantasies full of impossible monsters and superheroes that demand armies of CGI grunts. Using off-the-shelf iPhones, apps, lenses, and drones, Soderbergh — who served

as his own cinematographer, as he often does — shot the film mostly in one location, with a small cast and an almost impossibly tiny crew. They prepared not so much in secret as under the radar, because that’s easy to do — it’s almost inevitable — with such a small production footprint. Unsane’s budget? A measly $1.5 million... which is almost the same dollar amount as Soderbergh’s very first film, Sex, Lies, and Videotape, almost 30 years ago. And that was considered lowbudget then. Not that it’s like Soderbergh whipped his cellphone out of his pocket and made a movie off the cuff. If you didn’t know Unsane wasn’t shot in a more traditional manner, you’d never guess it from looking at what ended up on the big screen. The movie does have a rough, edgy energy, one that is perfect for its story, but it is, I suspect, at least as much a result of the freedom that comes with not having a big corporation breathing down your neck as what kind of gear was used. (The quick-anddirty filmmaking extends to the script, by Jonathan Bernstein and James Greer,

54 March 28-April 3, 2018 | metrotimes.com

COURTESY PHOTO

which was written in 10 days, and serves as a smack to the often overly massaged, endlessly reworked studio scripts that end up having to credit half a dozen writers, or more.) Still, the dull colors and that certain video flatness to the photography only underscore the plight of office worker Sawyer Valentini (an amazing Claire Foy), who goes for a brief consultation with a therapist and ends up accidentally signing a form submitting herself to a “voluntarily” 24-hour commitment at a mental hospital. (Always read what you’re signing! Though how many of us really do?) Her horror, once she realizes what has happened, and her inability to get anyone in charge to listen to her, to see that this is all a terrible mistake, is the stuff of bureaucracy-gone-mad, the medicalization of perfectly healthy anxieties and distresses, and the deficits of mental health care system we’ve seen before: Unsane! It’s Brazil meets One Flew Over the Cuckoo’s Nest! But the film puts a terrific — in all senses of the word — feminist twist on the familiar tropes of these overlapping genres by framing its story from a woman’s perspective, and from this particular woman’s perspective. For, you see, the issues that brought her to the therapist in the first place is that she is on the run from a stalker, and she’s having

Unsane Rated R Runtime: 98 minutes trouble coping with the stress of that. His face seems to pop up everywhere; like, suddenly, on the random stranger she brings home for a one-night stand. And, then — as her 24 hours in the psych ward get extended to a week — she suddenly starts seeing his face on one of the nurses (Joshua Leonard). Is it really him? Everyone in the hospital denies that he’s anyone but a carefully vetted psychiatric nurse, and definitely not her stalker. Are they lying, and if so, why would they do that? Is this place making her crazy? It all becomes a horrifying metaphor for how women are not believed, how we are derided as crazy, how we gaslight ourselves into doubting the evidence of our own experience when we are subjected to harassment and abuse by men. The monsters here are all too real, all too banal, and all the more disturbing for it. If this is the future — or at least part of the future — of movies, we’re on a good path. letters@metrotimes.com @metrotimes

metrotimes.com

| March 28-April 3, 2018

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metrotimes.com

| March 28-April 3, 2018

CULTURE Q:

I’m in a D/s relationship. I’m not submissive around the clock, but my partner owns my cock. We’ve purchased several male chastity devices, but I can pretty easily get my cock out of them. My partner did some investigating and learned that the only effective devices work with a Prince Albert piercing — a ring through the head of the penis that locks into the device, preventing the sub from pulling his cock out. My partner now wants me to get a PA. I don’t want to get my cock pierced and I’ve said so, but I haven’t safe-worded on it. I would very reluctantly do it to please her. My partner made an appointment for a piercing three months from now, on our second anniversary. She told me that we can cancel it if I can find an effective chastity device that doesn’t require a piercing. Do you or any of your contacts in the fetish world know of any devices that are inescapable? — Piercing Appendage Unnecessarily Scares Eager Sub

“I’ve never come across a standard male chastity device I couldn’t pull out of,” says Ruffled Sheets, “so PAUSES’ partner has obviously researched regular chastity devices well.” Sheets is an IT consultant who lives in the United Kingdom with his partner of 15 years. Male chastity devices have fascinated him for more than two decades and, as of this writing, he owns 37 different kinds of cock cages. His partner frequently keeps his cock locked up for weeks or months at a time — and if there were such a thing as a commercially available male chastity device that was inescapable, Sheets would know about it. “However, all is not lost,” says Sheets. “Piercing is one of two ways to ensure the penis cannot escape. The other is a full chastity belt. Now, full belts aren’t without their drawbacks — they are generally more expensive, are harder to conceal under clothes, and take longer to get used to, especially at night. But they are secure. I have three custom-fitted chastity belts and, once properly fitted, they’re inescapable.” Sheets’ chastity belts were made for him by Behind Barz (behindbarz.co.uk) and Fancy Steel (fancysteel.com.au). But if most commercially available male chastity devices aren’t inescapable, what’s the point? Why would a person bother to wear one? “You can only partially escape,” says Sheets. “It’s possible to pull out the penis but not remove the device,” which is anchored around the balls and base of the shaft. “And a partially removed device is awkward and uncomfortable.” For many male subs and their Doms,

58 March March28-April 28-April3, 3,2018 2018 | | metrotimes.com metrotimes.com

Savage Love

the symbolism of a male chastity device is what matters most, not its inescapability. And as with other forms of sex play and most aspects of healthy relationships, the honor system makes it work. “As in any negotiated relationship, you can cheat,” says Sheets. “But why cheat? They’re easy to keep on if you’re genuinely interested in submitting.” Fun fact: Locking a guy’s cock in an inescapable device doesn’t prevent him from coming. “A device can be locked in place with a belt or a piercing, but orgasms are still possible,” says Sheets. “I’ve yet to discover any kind of device that can prevent the wearer from achieving orgasm if he’s holding a powerful wand massager against it, especially after weeks without coming.” So if your Dominant is locking up your cock to prevent you from coming, PAUSES, she’ll also need to lock up her vibrators. There are two other things Sheets wanted you to be aware of as you begin to explore male chastity, PAUSES. “Lots of men are shy about being submissive,” says Sheets, “so they’ll say things like ‘I’m normally dominant in real life,’ kind of like PAUSES opened his letter by saying he isn’t submissive ‘around the clock.’ I just wanted to make sure he understood that chastity is a long-term game. For most of us in chastity devices, it’s a 24/7 affair — literally around the clock.” If you said you weren’t submissive around the clock because you didn’t want to admit that you are, in fact, submissive around the clock, PAUSES, chastity play won’t be a problem. But if you meant it — if you’re not capable of remaining in a submissive headspace for more than a few hours — you’ll need to ask your partner, before the padlock clicks shut, just how long she intends to keep your cock locked up. “Being locked also has another side effect that you wouldn’t perhaps anticipate,” Sheets adds. “Whenever you become turned on, you feel your cage or belt against your penis. It can be anything from a gentle reminder to a vice-like grip, depending on your arousal level. And whenever this happens, your mind automatically turns to your key holder, even if they’re not around.” Ruffled Sheets blogs at ruffledsheets. com, where he reviews male chastity devices and other sex toys. Follow him on Twitter @ruffledsheets.

My girlfriend of four months has unofficially moved in with me. We began as a long-distance thing; I live in New York City and she lived in the Deep South. What began as her visiting me for the holidays ended up with her staying with me indefi-

By Dan Savage

nitely. She comes from a very poor family, and going back home means sleeping in her grandma’s living room. Things are going well, but we are moving fast. I’m not sure how I feel about this. On one hand, I’m loving it and loving her. On the other hand, I feel like she could be using me. She has found part-time work. She hasn’t pitched in for rent — I also have a roommate — but she has pitched in for groceries. Do I ask her for rent money? Do I send her back to her grandma’s place? I don’t know what to do because I feel like I am housing a refugee. — She’s Here Indefinitely Now

Instead of ending things now to protect yourself from retroactively feeling shitty about this relationship if it ends at some point in the future, SHIN, you should have a convo with your girlfriend about rent, reality, and roommates. Tell her that it can’t go on like this indefinitely — living in your apartment rent-free — as it’s unfair to your roommate and that kind of support is too much to expect from someone she’s been seeing for only four months. Tell her you appreciate the ways she’s kicking in now — helping with groceries — but eventually she’ll need to start kicking in on rent too, and then set a realistic date for her to start paying rent. You should also encourage her to think about getting her own place. Not because you want to stop seeing her — you’re loving it and loving her — but because a premature commitment (and cohabitating is a commitment) can sabotage a relationship. You also don’t want her to feel so dependent on you that she can’t end things if she needs to. You want her to be with you because she wants to be with you, not because she’s trapped.

You ran a letter from a man whose wife wouldn’t let him spank her. I’m a woman whose husband won’t spank me. I found a man like WISHOTK, and we meet up for spanking sessions. Neither of our spouses know. It’s only spanking, no sex. How bad should I feel? —Really Erotic Dalliances But, Um, Married

Very bad. In fact, REDBUM, I think you should be spanked for getting spanked behind your husband’s back — then spanked again for getting spanked for getting spanked behind your husband’s back. And then spanked some more. On the Lovecast, the urologist is IN: savagelovecast.com. mail@savagelove.net @fakedansavage

metrotimes.com

| March 28-April 3, 2018

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metrotimes.com

| March 28-April 3, 2018

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| March 28-April 3, 2018

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metrotimes.com

| March 28-April 3, 2018

Horoscopes

CULTURE ARIES: March 21 – April 20

You have had it up to here with more than one thing. If it’s time to move on, don’t hesitate. In some cases systematic issues are tying you up to the point where, for the time being, you have to stay right where you are. An upcoming trip is about to turn what could be just a day at the beach into a magical mystery tour. If that is the case, keep your mind open and tune your heart to the messages that come from within. Nothing is too far-fetched. By or before the end of the month, you could be looking at a whole new story, and be filled with enough courage to blow this clambake. TAURUS: April 21 – May 20

The “stuff” that has turned your life inside out has just transformed it into a scenario that no one could have foreseen. I don’t know how this feels to you, but it looks like so many chickens have come home to roost that your life is in a tailspin. The idea that there may be tons of heartache associated with some of this goes with the territory. In and around all of that, something beautiful is being healed. As long as you continue to keep your highest good and your higher power at the forefront of all of your choices, the light you carry will heal and redeem everything. GEMINI: May 21 – June 20

How you got this far is a good question. If you weren’t so good at being ahead of the curb you would have gone off the rails a long time ago. Don’t get too comfortable because there are more tests and challenges on the way. Your allies are few and far between, but the ones who have run this gauntlet and are still kicking will be there for you all the way. Fate has a number of other tricks up its sleeve. How that unfolds is unpredictable. In situations where people become capable of anything, all you can do is rely upon what’s true for you and pay attention to the signs. CANCER: June 21 – July 20

The deep desire to get to the bottom of things has you looking for ways to transcend whatever your issues might be. Depending on where you are at, this could involve anything from a little time out, to deeper needs to consult with healers and therapists of various sorts. As you begin to face the music, more than you bargained for is bound to surface. If others have a problem with this it’s because the changes that are unfolding in you are bound to require them to change too. Whatever the story is, radical forces will call you to follow your heart regardless of where it takes you.

66 March 28-April 3, 2018 | metrotimes.com

By Cal Garrison

LEO: July 21 – Aug. 20

Everything is on the line. On some level you feel this and know that it’s time to make a stand, or a choice, and decide to go this way or that. Your current situation could easily pave the way for an opening to your deeper purpose, but your ties to the past have fooled many of you into thinking that you need to cling to people and things that your spirit has outgrown. Getting beyond the illusion that calls you to try to keep everything just the way it is, or the way that it used to be, is the kicker right now. Open your heart to the thought that there is more to life than this. VIRGO: Aug. 21 – Sept. 20

You are teetering on the edge of a move. One way or another it looks like it’s time to shut the door on the past and begin to lay the foundation for a whole new framework for your life. The last seven years have prepared you for this. What has evolved out of that story was never meant to be an end in itself. The bigger picture includes things that have yet to unfold. As much as you feel yourself well prepared for anything, at this point it will behoove you to let go of the notion that you had it all figured out, and come to the realization that anything can happen, from here on out. LIBRA: Sept. 21 – Oct. 20

You have a lot on your mind. The need to reckon with it battles with the need to keep up appearances. Part of life involves knowing how to fall apart gracefully. As you plow through the wreckage of the past many things are bound to change, including your attitude toward who you thought you were and who you are now. Some of you are out of the woods. Others are in the thick of it. The trick, no matter where you’re at, is to stay abreast of the truth and remain grateful for whatever it took to get you this far. The road is wide open — take a deep breath and keep going. SCORPIO: Oct. 21 – Nov. 20

The idea that you can’t go back is laced with the fact that there’s nothing to go back to. Staying put would seem to be an option, but the truth is, you’ve had it with all of this and have bigger fish to fry. If you thought you could rustle up some feedback or support from those who have always been there for you, guess again. The only option left to you is the one that’s begging you to throw caution to the wind and take a flying leap into the great void. There is no certainty here. God and all the angels that watch over you are waiting to see if you trust life enough to go for it.

SAGITTARIUS: Nov. 21 – Dec. 20

The fact that the truth is about to whack you up the side of the head will give you a chance to see how much of it you can tolerate. As far as others go? It’s at the point where you have nothing to say about their choices. Those of you who have wrestled with your demons are accustomed to plumbing the heart of darkness and facing the truth head on. Those of you who have made it easy for yourself to trip over the hard stuff, have another thing coming. Dealing with seeing what you don’t want to see, and hearing what you don’t want to hear, are on top of the stack this week. CAPRICORN: Dec. 21 - Jan. 20

You are torn between needing to keep it together and wishing you could walk off the set. How you decide to approach things is totally up to you. In some cases, the desire to drop everything needs to be overridden with enough common sense to keep towing the line until it’s 100 percent safe to light the fuse and let things explode. Those of you who worry about keeping up appearances are sure to be having a tougher time than those of you who are fresh out of pretense. With a whiff of a need to hang in there, be wary of beating dead horses when there’s no need to keep on keeping on. AQUARIUS: Jan. 21 – Feb. 20

This could be a big week. There are times when things matter more than others, and so much is on top of the stack that things could bubble over into gifts that you didn’t see coming. Any chance to leave town could open doors that will put you in just the right coordinates to hook up with whatever’s next. It will strengthen you to be well-prepared for whatever the situation calls for. You never know who’s going to be there when it’s your turn to shine. Things are definitely on the line, so leave nothing to chance and show up with a smile on your face and your dime ready. PISCES: Feb. 21 – March 20

What’s in the way is an illusion. For some, it’s your beliefs that strap you to the same old thing. For others it’s people that are the main issue. At this point the ability to step out of the box far enough to grok the fact that no matter what the problem is, it’s all in your mind, is where it’s at. Don’t let anything stand in the way. Moving in a whole new direction is calling you to drop the reins of fear and conformity long enough to just go for it. It’s for sure that much is bound to fall by the wayside, but life is about growth and change, so prune off the dead wood and keep growing.

metrotimes.com

| March 28-April 3, 2018