Fort Worth Weekly // June 2-8, 2021

June 2-8, 2021 FREE fwweekly.com

Watching Luka go off may be great, but for the Mavs to go any further, some D will be required.

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J A C K S B O R O

FEATURE Whistleblower complaints and office emails reveal the Tarrant Appraisal District (TAD) hates transparency for a reason.

BY EDWARD BROWN

EIGHT DAY8 A WEEK It’s Pride Month, y’all, so saddle up.

BY JENNIFER BOVEE

EATS & DRINKS Guapo Taco is here with new Mexican flavors for your taco-hole.

BY EDWARD BROWN

MUSIC Along with TRND Fest Saturday, local stages will abound with sound.

BY ANTHONY MARIANI

JUNE JUNE

THU 3 KZPS BIKE NIGHT THU 3 HENDRIX KZPS BIKE NIGHT FOREVER FOREVER HENDRIX FRI 4 BACK IN BLACK / 4 CASE BACK IN NIGHT BLACK / BASKET THUFRI 3 KZPS BIKE BASKET CASE SAT 5 KING FOREVER GEORGE / HENDRIX FRI 4 INGEORGE BLACK 5YOAKAM KING // LOCAL THUSAT 3 BACK KZPS BIKE NIGHT BASKET LOCALCASE YOAKAM HENDRIX SAT10 SUBURBAN 5 FOREVER KINGCOWBOY GEORGE / THU YOAKAM THU LOCAL 10 SUBURBAN COWBOY FRI 11 CRUED & TATTOOED / FRI FRI 4 BACK IN BLACK / 11 CRUED & TATTOOED & SINNERS COWBOY / THU SAINTS 10 SUBURBAN SAINTS & SINNERS BASKET CASE FRI 11 CRUED & TATTOOED / SAT 12 THE VELCRO PYGMIES SAT SAINTS 12 THE VELCRO PYGMIES & SINNERS SAT 5 KING GEORGE / SAT 12 THE VELCRO PYGMIES THU 17THU XES WHISKEY 17 XES YOAKAM WHISKEY LOCAL FRI 18FRI METAL SHOP THU 17 XES WHISKEY 18 METAL SHOP SAT AARON FRI19SAT 18 METAL SHOP 19COPELAND’S AARON COPELAND’S BASHCOPELAND’S THU 10 SUBURBAN COWBOY SAT BIRTHDAY 19 AARON BIRTHDAY BASH RODNEY SMITH BANDBASH BIRTHDAY RODNEY SMITH BAND

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FO R T WO R T H W E E K LY

JUNE 2-8, 2021

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Number 9

J une 2-8, 2021

INSIDE Texas Republicans are the best at getting rid of stuff.

By E.R. Bills

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A TAD Opaque

The Tarrant Appraisal District has been acting like it has something to hide.

By Edward Brown

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Lee Newquist, Publisher Bob Niehoff, General Manager Ryan Burger, Art Director Jim Erickson, Circulation Director Edward Brown, Staff Writer

Manic Mavs

Taylor Provost, Proofreader

A little bit of defense could help topple the Clippers.

By Bo Jacksboro

Anthony Mariani, Editor

Michael Newquist, Regional Sales Director Jennifer Bovee, Marketing Director Stacey Hammons, Senior Account Executive

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Julie Strehl, Account Executive Tony Diaz, Account Executive Wyatt Newquist, Digital Coordinator

The Yellow Destroyer

Clintastic, Brand Ambassador

With his new duo, singersongwriter Matthew Broyles tackles the giant elephant in the room of the mind.

By Patrick Higgins

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Rene Gomez.

Aborting Common Sense, Decency

STAFF

Cover illustration by Ryan Burger

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Metro

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N&D Feature Stuff Eats & Drinks

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Static . . . . . . . . . . 4

ADW . . . . . . . . .15

Music

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DISTRIBUTION Fort Worth Weekly is available free of charge in the Metroplex, limited to one copy per reader. Additional copies of Fort Worth Weekly may be purchased for $1.00 each, payable at the Fort Worth Weekly office in advance. Fort Worth Weekly may be distributed only by Fort Worth Weekly’s authorized independent contractors or Fort Worth Weekly’s authorized distributors. No person may, without prior written permission of Fort Worth Weekly, take more than one copy of any Fort Worth Weekly issue. If you’re interested in being a distribution point for Fort Worth Weekly, please contact Will Turner at 817-321-9788.

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METROPOLIS

The electricity deliverer is not blaming the winter storm for proposed rate increases — for now.

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S T A T I C

Completely unashamed by the optics, Oncor has requested a rate hike with a total statewide price tag of $98 million. The move follows a crippling winter storm

Static It’s ironic that Texas Republicans are so committed to abolishing abortion.

Abortion is their primary modus operandi.

Abortion is basically their chief reason for being.

Every election season, Republicans try to abort voting rights, especially for Texans of a different complexion. And for as much weeping and gnashing of teeth that Republicans do about late-term abortion, they would gleefully abort the results of the last presidential election. An inordinate number of Texas Republicans tried on Jan. 6. They can’t help themselves.

While the United States of America was established by the descendants of immigrants, the Republic of Texas was largely founded by actual immigrants. The only two native Texans who signed the Texas Declaration of Independence were Jose Francisco Ruiz and Jose Antonio Navarro, so besides the original founders without Spanish surnames, Republicans are fierce opponents of immigration and naturalization. Republicans would abort immigration altogether if they could, but in recent years, they’ve had to settle for separating immigrant children from their parents and placing them in cages along our border. It’s sad, but at least the victims are brown.

Texas Republicans aren’t real keen on persons of color in general — immigrant or no — unless they’re carrying a football, which brings to mind another white conservative conundrum. It’s difficult for Texas Republicans to think highly of themselves and their forebears if the facts about Texas independence and the count-

FO R T WO R T H W E E K LY

JUNE 2-8, 2021

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The Party of “Abortion” in Texas

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in February that caused massive power outages and left as many as 4 million Texans in the dark at some point.

At least 151 people died, according to the Texas Department of State Health Services.

Three people in Tarrant County were part of the death toll. Some of the Texans who lost their lives literally froze to death as their power went out for days or longer as historic single-digit and below-zero temperatures swept across the state. As a result, lawsuits are underway.

Those of us fortunate enough to have electricity for the entire storm sat in fear that the lights would snap off at any moment.

The debacle was described as the worst power outage in Texas history, an event that has drawn scrutiny from the U.S. House Committee on Oversight and Reform and the Senate Energy and Natural Resources committee.

less atrocities committed against persons of color are widely propagated. Truth-telling, therefore, must be aborted. It’s a constant priority. But — to their tremendous benefit — the only thing more powerful than white fragility in Texas these days is conservative white political agility.

When Texas Republicans aren’t obsessing over ways to disenfranchise persons of color, they go after women. Texas Republicans have a perpetual Viagracharged hard-on for aborting women’s reproductive rights and also fight against fair pay for Texas women. It’s no wonder there are fewer and fewer Republican babies around.

And there’s the real rub.

White women have the most abortions. If women of color were the largest demographic utilizing birth control or terminating their pregnancies, Texas Republicans would make birth control and abortion kits available at every Whataburger drive-thru in the state.

I’m not trying to be funny. There’s no reason to mince words. Their record is clear.

Texas Republicans initially aborted the insurance exchange clause of Obamacare to poison the proverbial well. It denied millions of folks affordable health care and, ultimately, killed Texans just to score political points. More recently, Texas Republicans aborted the right to protest Big Oil and regularly abort clean air and water measures, poisoning millions of Texans, destroying animal habitats, and restricting access to precious natural resources. And Texas Republicans are currently working to abort reasonable gun control efforts, abort real reforms of the Texas power grid (which killed dozens of Texans during the ice storm in February), and abort the homeless (instead of mitigating the conditions that create them).

Oh, and they get away with all this because Republicans aborted the FCC Fairness Doctrine back in 1987, ushering in

Across North Texas, various city councils, including Fort Worth’s, have ceremoniously rejected Oncor’s rate hike request, as they typically do every year. Oncor annually files for a so-called Distribution Cost Recovery Factor (DCRF) to cover costs.

City-hired attorneys and consultants are on standby and ready to work to block the utility company’s rate increase, if needed. In a resolution, Fort Worth City Council called Oncor’s rate increase “unreasonable.”

When contacted to elaborate, the city stated in an email that it had no official response at this time.

Meanwhile, Oncor representatives have been making the rounds at area city council meetings, giving their “we had to drop a load” speech because they were told to by the Electric Reliability Council of Texas (ERCOT), an entity that operates the electric grid and manages the deregulated market for 75% of Texas. Oncor

Cour tesy Wikipedia

Oncor Wants More

Aborting stuff is in the average Texas politician’s DNA.

a media environment where a propaganda machine like Fox News can brainwash conservative voters, convincing them to self-abort theretofore long-standing notions of honesty, conscience, and human decency.

In a word, Texas Republicans are more of a miscarriage than an abortion — of justice, of intellect, of forethought, and of reasonable governance, but abortion is the means by which they simultaneously make Texas a laughingstock and a menace. — E.R. Bills Award-winning Texas writer E.R. Bills is the author of Texas Oblivion: Mysteri-

ous Disappearances, Escapes and Cover-Ups (History Press 2021), The 1910 Slocum Massacre: An Act of Genocide in East Texas (History Press 2013), and The San Marcos 10: An Antiwar Protest in Texas (History Press 2019).

This editorial reflects the opinions of the author and not necessarily the Fort Worth Weekly. The Weekly welcomes all manner of political submissions. They will be edited for clarity and factuality. Please email Editor Anthony Mariani at anthony@fwweekly.com.

The Weekly welcomes all manner of political submissions. They will be edited for clarity and factuality. Please email Editor Anthony Mariani at anthony@ fwweekly.com.

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FO R T WO R T H W E E K LY

tion customers counts as of the end of 2020. Oncor is talking specifically about the $860 million it dumped into new investments in that time period.

In an email response, Oncor stated part of the money was used for transformers, capacitors, and meters required to meet load growth requirements. Other work included replacing and upgrading substation and distribution facilities.

Additionally, computer hardware and software were updated.

As far as the storm goes, Oncor points to costs of “approximately $90 million in operation and maintenance restoration costs.”

As with any major storm, Oncor said, they will “seek recovery of these costs in a future rate proceeding.”

In addition, Oncor “incurred approximately $12 million in capital expenditures and will seek recovery of these capital expenditures in future tracker filings.”

That means that while Oncor isn’t blaming the storm for rate increases now, it will be blaming it for them soon.

Additionally, some electrical providers have filed for bankruptcy or transitioned customers to other providers. Oncor has deemed that charges it is owed from these companies are uncollectible and will be recovered through another “future rate proceeding.”

So now we come to the real question. How much will the current rate increase cost on the average electric bill? A typical residential customer, using 1,300 kWh per month, will see an increase of $1.35 per month. That represents a 2.8% increase over current Oncor delivery, or “wires,” charges, according to the company.

Oncor is not solely responsible for everything that happened during the storm, and the company has been apologetic and is filled with promises of better communication with customers. According to its website, Oncor’s role is “ensuring Texans have safe, reliable energy when and where they need it.”

The company also notes it works closely with the Public Utility Commission and ERCOT to determine needs and make sure our energy infrastructure keeps pace with capacity.

Ultimately, Texas residents and businesses will be asked to pay for the overall lack of preparation and the handling of the storm emergency. Since February, the public has heard little if any details of the exact improvements that are being made. Given the overall optics, maybe even a penny increase would be, as the city called it, “unreasonable.” l

Featuring:

has reiterated that it is just the deliverer of electricity, not the seller. Anyone following along since February has already heard the explanation that leaving the state’s overtaxed electrical grid going full steam during the storm would have caused a complete blackout, something that would have taken weeks or months to repair.

But cities have faced backlash from residents who were angry about announcements of “rolling” blackouts only to go without power for days while their neighbors did not suffer the same fate.

On social media, people complained about the Dallas and Fort Worth skylines, and TCU’s campus, being lit up like Las Vegas.

How exactly neighborhoods are chosen for an outage and the timing of it is “proprietary information,” according to Oncor.

City councils have publicly asked tough questions of Oncor’s reps, at times questioning the logic of the utility company’s defense. Would a new and nifty app improve communication during a severe storm? Sound the buzzer. Not if cell towers are down during an outage.

Does Oncor’s rate increase stand a chance? It could. The Texas Public Utilities Commission makes the final decision, and that is expected to happen sometime in late July or early August.

This is the same agency that touts the ability of Texans to choose from either fixed rate or variable plans. Built into the commission’s wording about electricity plans is the following: “If you choose a plan with a fixed rate, your price per kWh will not change during your contract period except for changes in Transmission and Distribution fees, changes in ERCOT, the Texas electric grid, or Texas Regional Entity administrative fees, or changes resulting from federal, state or local laws that impose fees beyond your REP’s control. This may help your household budgeting, but if market prices fall you may have to wait until your contract ends to enjoy a lower price.”

Following the storm, a public outcry echoed across the state when some customers on variable plans were hit with astronomical bills reaching into the hundreds and in some cases thousands of dollars. Some customers who had automatic payment withdrawals set up with Griddy Energy had their bank accounts emptied. One family received a whopping $10,000 electric bill.

Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton ordered Griddy, one of the biggest offenders, to cancel more than $29 million in charges, and the company went bankrupt.

Oncor, however, isn’t doing too bad.

In a three-month period that ended March 31, 2021, the $2.2 billion company reported a net income of $168 million, compared to net income of $131 million in the first quarter of 2020.

Still, Oncor said in a rambling May 5 press release that the rate increase it is seeking has nothing to do with the storm. Its investments to serve distribu-

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3

Every Thursday from 7pm to 9pm, play Music Bingo at Cowtown Thursday Brewing Company (301 E Belknap St, Fort Worth, 817-489-5800).

This event combines the classic game of bingo with famous tunes throughout the decades.

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From 3pm to 2am, go back in time at the newly opened McFly’s Friday Neighborhood Pub (6104 LTJG Barnett Rd, Fort Worth, 817-7448272). This Back to the Future-themed bar has an 8,000-square-foot patio and lots of drink specials. Why go tonight specifically? At some point in the evening, actress Claudia Wells, who plays Jennifer in the film franchise, will be stopping in to see the mural in her likeness on the ladies’ restroom door. To see what else is happening at the bar — past, present, and future — go to Facebook.com/ McFlysPub.

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It’s

Christmas

JUNE 2-8, 2021

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McFly’s owner Casey Smith welcomes Claudia Wells from the Back to the Future franchise to check out her likeness on the ladies’ room wall and maybe enjoy a few tunes, drink specials, and noshes on Friday.

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At 9am-5pm Sat and 10am-4pm today, you can buy, sell, trade, and Sunday browse for new and used guns, plus ammo, books, coins, hunting gear, knives, medals, swords, and even museum-quality memorabilia at the Lone Star Gun Show at Will Rogers Memorial Center (3401 W Lancaster Av, Fort Worth,

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New York artist Sean Kenney’s Nature Connects — built with Monday Lego bricks to showcase humanity’s relationship with nature — is open thru Sun, Aug 1, at the Botanical Research Institute of Texas at the Fort Worth Botanic Garden (1700 University Dr, Fort Worth, 817-332-4441). This exhibit featuring the topics of planting gardens, protecting animals’ habitats, and showcasing orchids is free to view with the price of your $12 garden admission at FWBG.org.

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Every Tuesday in Jun and Jul from 7pm to 9:30pm, head to Wayne Ferguson Tuesday Plaza (150 W Church St, Lewisville, 972-219-3401) for the City of Lewisville’s annual free concert series Sounds of Lewisville. This week, hear Madonna tribute Primadonna with We Bop. To see the full schedule of artists, visit SoundsofLewisville.com.

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Every Wednesday from 2pm to 5pm, visit West Wednesday Side Farmers Market (8700 Chapin Rd, Fort Worth, 817-718-2636) to do some shopping and nab a bite from local food truck vendors. The locally grown and handmade items available for purchase include biscuits, bread, gift items, honey, jams, jellies, jewelry, and smoked meats.

By Jennifer Bovee

COME SEE SANTA!

Vacations or Staycations

in November!

DOGGIE DAYCARE

6th Annual It’s Christmas Market Expo in Arlington

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Cour tesy Facebook

NIGHT&DAY

From 3pm to 11pm, head to Wild Acre Brewing Company (1734 E El Paso Saturday St, Ste 190, Fort Worth, 817-882-9453) for TRND Fest featuring Sarah & The Sundays, Emma Oliver, Ronnie Heart, Megan Elaine, Roane, Joseph Neville & The Moms of Delaware, and many other musical acts in various genres. Tickets are $30-75 plus fees at TRNDFest.com.

817-392-7469). Tickets are $9 at the door.

Children under 12 years old get in free.

For more info, visit LoneStarGunShows. com.

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L

etters from the Tarrant Appraisal District (TAD) are met with dread these days.

With property values on the rise — local home values have increased 74% since 2011, according to TAD — the governmental group that appraises properties and awards exemptions is often tasked with telling homeowners they need to cough up an extra several hundred or even thousands of dollars year after year.

A little more than 200 TAD staffers handle accounting and billing for property owners within 70 Tarrant County jurisdictions. While district staffers require accurate documentation and transparency from local taxpayers, TAD leadership is often far less open about disclosing internal communications or

whistleblower complaints. The Tarrant County District Attorney’s office recently blocked email requests we made that sought communications from the county’s current tax assessor-collector.

Wendy Burgess came to our attention last December when a confidential source disclosed his concerns over a December TAD board meeting that Burgess sought to derail in favor of a prominent national law firm (“Keeping Tabs on TAD,” Jan. 6).

TAD’s five-member board was preparing to potentially award a contract to Planobased Tyler Technologies to end the misuse of homestead exemptions in Tarrant County, which are property tax freezes often afforded to seniors and the families of deceased persons. Burgess interjected on behalf of Linebarger Goggin Blair &

Sampson, one of three companies that submitted bids for the contract, and the resulting fiasco of a meeting prompted the five board members to place the entire procurement process on indefinite hold in January (“Homestead Review on Indefinite Hold,” Jan. 20). Burgess did not respond to our media inquiries at the time.

Given Linebarger’s well-documented history of attempting to influence local elections — often successfully — through generous campaign contributions, including $17,000 in recent donations to Burgess, we requested relevant communications between Burgess and Linebarger. The local DA successfully withheld documents deemed exempt due to attorney-client privileges, but

the emails that were released describe cozy relations between Burgess and Linebarger employees leading up to the December 2020 board meeting.

One year before that meeting, Burgess emailed office staffers about an upcoming holiday party organized by Linebarger.

“Good afternoon Tax Family!”

Burgess wrote. “I know you are very excited about the party being thrown for us by our collection attorneys Linebarger Goggin Blair & Sampson tomorrow. They are very good to us each year in hosting a party to kick off the holiday season.

The event starts promptly at 5:30 with Linebarger Partner Steve Meeks speaking to us promptly at 5:45.”

Burgess scheduled lunch meetings

fwweekly.com

S T A T I C

JUNE 2-8, 2021

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Home values in Fort Worth have increased 74% since 2011, according to TAD.

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A whistleblower complaint and recently released emails offer a rare glimpse into the inner workings of Tarrant County’s mysterious appraisal district.

Cour tesy of iStock

Shining a Light on TAD

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fwweekly.com FO R T WO R T H W E E K LY

JUNE 2-8, 2021 8

Edward Brown

with Linebarger staff in March 2020, September 2019, and May 2019, according to emails we read, and Linebarger hosted 215 TAD employees at Joe T. Garcia’s on May 15, 2019.

TAD’s contracts over the years have been lucrative for law firms.

A December 2018 communication between lawyer Catherine Alder, who does not work for Linebarger, and TAD shows that, at the time, she billed $32,370 monthly for “litigation and legal advisor legal services.” Her contract at the time allowed for further billing at $200 an hour for “certain additional litigation.”

The annual tally ($388,440) for a nonstaff lawyer significantly exceeds what many full-time municipal lawyers earn.

For example, Fort Worth’s city attorney Sarah Fullenwider is paid $271,000 a year for her expansive services.

In an email, a TAD spokesperson told us that TAD “has no annual retainer agreement or any other similar arrangement for advance, up-front payments of any kind to any law firm or attorney. In 2020 and 2021, TAD had ongoing legal services agreements with eight law firms. The Tarrant Appraisal District has no annual retainer agreement or any other similar arrangement for advance, up-front payments of any kind to any law firm or attorney. As has been TAD’s policy and practice for many years, all payments to all law firms and attorneys for legal services of any kind are included in 2020 and 2021 budgets approved by TAD’s Board of Directors on August 23, 2019 and August 14, 2020, respectively.”

Like Fort Worth school district’s board of trustees and Fort Worth City Council, TAD’s board votes annually to approve budgets that are prepared ahead of time by staff members. Those up or down votes generally do not accommodate the examination of individual items like law firm expenses.

“No contract with Catherine Alder has ever been provided to this board” for approval, said TAD board member Gary Losada recently.

Even with Alder on contract, TAD leadership hired an outside group, the Irving-based Walsh Gallegos law firm, to file suit against the state attorney general’s office in an unsuccessful bid to prevent the release of a whistleblower letter to Daniel “Joe” Bennett, a TAD watchdog who unsuccessfully ran for TAD’s board four years ago.

The litigation sought to overturn an AG ruling that required TAD to release the whistleblower complaint, according to court documents we reviewed. The suit came at a taxpayer cost of at least $15,000, according to billing documents from the time, and ultimately failed.

The complaint, which Bennett shared with the Weekly, describes a culture at TAD that, as recently as four years

Joe Bennett believes that the whistleblower complaints originated at TAD’s main office in Northeast Fort Worth.

ago, encouraged misleading the public about internal software problems at the appraisal district.

The efforts to decrease transparency in 2018 continue to define culture at TAD, Bennett told us.

When Tarrant County residents “get their bill, and it says Chief Appraiser Jeff Law, it is important to know who you are dealing with and who is guiding the district,” Bennett said.

Bennett began following TAD in 2016 when he was denied a hearing from the Tarrant Appraisal Review Board, the 70-member appointed group that hears property owner protests and approves or denies those disputes during meetings at TAD’s headquarters in Northeast Fort Worth.

When Bennett was “denied a hearing that year,” he recalled, he thought to himself, “ ‘There are a lot of issues’ ” at TAD. TAD board members are appointed by taxing units like local school districts and municipalities, and those votes are weighed heavily in favor of large groups, meaning that the Fort Worth and Arlington school districts are effectively guaranteed representation on the board following every two-year election. During his bid for office, Bennett said he spoke with around 40 taxing entities to raise awareness of his concerns over TAD management and to bolster his chances of earning one of the five board seats.

Bennett was nominated by the City of White Settlement but ultimately lost his 2017 bid.

“While I’m doing all this, I get a package in the mail,” Bennett recalled.

“I paid no attention to it at the time. A couple of weeks later, I opened it, and it is from a whistleblower. I kept getting whistleblower letters. I received nine of them.”

Bennett noticed that one of the letters was filed with the Texas Department of Licensing and Registration (TDLR), which has an enforcement division that reviews consumer complaints about violations of state laws or rules. He was able to obtain the whistleblower letters from TDLR, but TAD refused to release the same whistleblower documents Bennett was initially given highly redacted copies. On July 25, 2018, the AG ruled that TAD must release unredacted copies of the whistleblower documents that Bennet had requested on May 3, 2018.

TAD’s response? Representing TAD, Walsh Gallegos filed suit against the AG on April 10 of that year.

The litigation continued until Dec. 7, when the appraisal district dropped the suit “without prejudice,” meaning the district reserved the right to litigate for the withholding of the documents in the future. Bennett said he does not know why the suit was dropped, but he has a theory. He had told the AG he was going to attend the depositions and planned on questioning TAD leaders about every line of the whistleblower complaint, he said.

Bennett provided us with the 23-page document that is on file at TDLR under complaint #PTP20180003980. Bennett said he does not know the names of the individual or group of TAD employees who penned the whistleblower letter, and we were unable to ascertain their identities.

The document describes allegedly inappropriate relationships among TAD employees, descriptions of open TAD positions that were not posted publicly, workplace sexual harassment committed by male staffers, and accusations that one TAD leader lied to a state senate panel about the failed rollout of a then-new software system, Aumentum, in late 2014.

Problems related to the software were tied to drastic over- and undervaluations of property taxes.

“We have overcome our delays, and we are back on schedule with the software, and it is working well with no issues going into 2016,” Law told the Texas Senate Select Committee on Property Tax on April 27, 2016. By December of that year, Law told the Star-Telegram that TAD could have done a better job of communicating software problems related to the botched rollout of the program.

The whistleblower alleges that “Aumentum’s software was so bad in 2015 that TAD knew they were unable to have [protest] hearings in normal expected numbers.”

Law did not reply to our request for comment on his 2016 public statements.

“Employees are terrified of Jeff Law,” the whistleblower alleges in one

Cour tesy of Wendy Burgess

JUNE 2-8, 2021

TAD’s current director of information systems who directed a “services support” group in May 2016, to not tell property owners that “we are having system issues.

Remember, keep TAD business our business.”

On numerous occasions, the whistleblower complaint reads, “employees have been told to NOT tell the public the truth about the software problems. This is the administrative directive — to lie to employees and encourage them to lie to the public and taxing units.”

TAD board member Losada, who was not a source of documents for this story, told us the whistleblower letters contain a lot of damning stuff.

Last year, Losada urged TAD’s five board members to review the documents in full, which they did during a closed executive session.

“They decided to leave it alone,” he said. “I have a problem with that. I don’t know who [the whistleblowers] are. TAD leaders have tried to find out who the whistleblower is, and I hope it would not be to enact retribution. It appears like

FO R T WO R T H W E E K LY

13-page complaint that was released to TDLR. “The culture at TAD is to not say anything bad, even if it is the truth. TAD has NO third-party reporting system for ethics complaints, employee suggestions, or safety concerns. TAD is the poster child for how not to run an appraisal district.”

In an email, a TAD spokesperson told us that “TAD’s software service provider has completed, at no additional charge to TAD, its obligations to address to TAD’s satisfaction the deficiencies TAD had identified in the software. The action by the board of directors at its January 15, 2021 board meeting constituted acceptance of those changes and the software itself. The service provider has continued to work with TAD on additional deliverables, including those outlined in a list of items that address additional needs of the district. Those additional deliverables are not primary business needs [but] may fairly be described as enhancements, and they are being provided as part of Maintenance and Support obligations under the original contract.”

The whistleblower complaint contains an email by Donna Perlick,

fwweekly.com

The emails that the Tarrant County District Attorney’s office released recently paint a picture of an appraisal district that has a cozy relationship with the Linebarger law firm.

9

Edward Brown

there is a lot of intimidation that goes on at TAD.” In mid-May, Losada sought to have TAD’s contracts with law firms brought to an up-or-down vote before the board.

Despite his request, the item was not placed on the May board meeting agenda as an action item, meaning it could not be voted on. Losada said that decision, made by TAD staff, appeared to be yet another delaying tactic. A review of TAD’s law firm contracts is scheduled for debate during the upcoming TAD board meeting on Thursday at 9 a.m. via a teleconference call that can be accessed by dialing 1-844-992-4726 and using the access code 182-314-9906.

“I’m not saying [lawyer Alder] is not doing a good job,” Losada said in May. “This is not a personal attack on her quality of work. This is strictly an out-ofcontrol spending agreement that I have a problem with and hope the board will see the same way in May. This kind of goodol’-boy or, in this case, good-ol’-gal kinda stuff has to stop. This is a misuse of public money. I feel that we are not being good stewards of property taxpayers’ taxes if we just let something like this go on. This review has been slow-peddled for over a year, which is what the staff does when they don’t want something revealed.” l

Tarrant County residents can protest their property tax bills by visiting TAD’s main office and speaking to the Tarrant Appraisal Review Board.

FO R T WO R T H W E E K LY

JUNE 2-8, 2021

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THE EAGLE HAS LANDED

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817-349-9387 WWW.EAGLESPOINTSAGINAW.COM Coming from 820, exit Saginaw- Main exit towards Saginaw.

About 2 miles down we are located in a shopping center on the left.

B O

J A C K S B O R O

I often picture Mavs superstar forward Luka Dončić decked out in a velour tracksuit opened just enough at the top so the imposing gold chains tangled in his nest of disheveled chest hair peek out of his wife-beater T-shirt. Is he going to shoot a porno today? Maybe. But before he gets double-teamed in the sheets, he’s off to earn a triple-double on the real hardwood. (Read that last sentence aloud with funk music playing in the background.)

Speaking of porn metaphors, if the Mavs want to win their best-of-seven playoff series against the Clippers, they should take note of what happened at the four-minute mark of the Brazzers scene when teacher Nicole Aniston joined student Riley Reed for a double-team of their own. In other words, Luka can’t finish this alone.

In a series eerily reminiscent of the Mavs’ 2006 finals showing against the Heat — the hometown team went up two games and led comfortably in the third before piss streamed down their collective legs as they watched four consecutive games slip through their fingers — the Fightin’ Mark Cubans are struggling to find someone (anyone) who can step up on either side of the floor. After Dallas went up 2-0, the series is now tied.

The Mavs entered this contest as unquestioned underdogs. Despite an entire offseason of trying to improve the defense, the team finished 22nd overall in the league. The Celtics are the only playoff team that fared worse on that end of the floor. The Clippers boasted the secondranked offense in the league based on overall efficiency, so this was always going to be a struggle.

In the Mavs’ two wins, the dudes in blue played characteristically horrible

Cour tesy of Facebook

B Y

Until he gets some help, it’s the Luka show from here on out.

defense, but Tim Hardaway Jr. led a cast of prime Splash Brothers cosplayers who covered for Dallas’ ¡Olé! -style defense.

When the hot shooting cooled, the Mavs had no response. Jalen Brunson, Hardaway, Maxi Kleber, and Josh Richardson all combined to shoot 5-of-26 from the field in the Game 4 loss Sunday.

None of the Mavs’ three best players — Luka, Hardaway, and Kristaps Porziņģis — are capable defenders. In the regular season, the Mavericks posted a 127.2 defensive rating with all three on the floor, which ranked them at the bottom of the league (second percentile). Four games against the Clippers have confirmed that it’s not possible to build a competent defense around this trio.

Though Porziņģis looked springy and energetic on D in last season’s bubble, this year’s version of the unicorn looks like he’s constantly holding in a giant poo. He was the worst Maverick on defense based on the on/off numbers all season. The team allowed +5.6 points more per 100 possessions when he was on the floor.

It’s obvious how little respect the Clippers have for him. The bad guys drive on him at every opportunity — 31% of the Clippers’ shots are at the rim, and they make 73% percent of them. That’s not good, and it’s not just me who thinks so.

Parse this quote from Clippers star forward Paul George on how his team is able to penetrate the interior of the Mavs’ defense.

“Mainly just attacking,” he said.

“They don’t have a rim protector, so just try to get there and put pressure at the basket.”

Burn.

The playoffs have not only exposed Porziņģis on defense. They also have proven that his offensive game isn’t built for this tilt. It’s hard to outscore a team like the Clippers when your second star is averaging 15.3 points and four rebounds on 47% shooting.

Porziņģis’ inability to score against the smaller defenders in the post is a big reason why the Clippers can play small lineups that score at will. Dallas has to work too hard to get the big Latvian

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The Mavs phenom can’t take on the Clippers all by himself — unless he does.

JUNE 2-8, 2021

Luka Porn

FO R T WO R T H W E E K LY

STUFF

going — in the first four games, 91% of his makes were assisted. For comparison, George was assisted on 30% of his shots, Kawhi Leonard on 49%, and Dončić on 6%. The Clippers have two stars who can make a bucket when things get tough, and the Mavericks have one. Dončić has looked like the best player in the series.

However, the gap between the second stars — George and Porziņģis — appears just too big.

In the first two games, Dorian Finney-Smith was playing at a level we’ve only seen in spurts. Having squeezed every drop of spurt out of his frame like a near-empty tube of toothpaste, the 3-and-D wing has apparently exhausted his supply of both 3 and D. The Mavs’ best on-the-ball defender has looked every bit of a turnstyle on defense over the past two games, allowing Clipper all-world forward Leonard his choice of humiliating shots for his next poster series. To be fair, Leonard is probably the best player in basketball.

Media darling Jalen Brunson is supposed to be the Mavs’ primary nonSlovenian ball handler. While he’s scored some in crucial minutes, he hasn’t looked to pass much — and he’s a bigger defensive liability than even Hardaway.

It’s clear the Mavericks can’t hang with George and Leonard on the defensive end, the role players have regressed to their human forms, and Porziņģis is basically post-accident Shawn Bradley. Now what?

Based on all of the adjustments head coach Rick Carlisle has made so far, he clearly sees outscoring the Clippers as the best way to win the series. Although the circumstances were different, it’s the same strategy the Mavericks employed last year when these two teams met in the playoffs.

Carlisle can’t fix this defense, but he can sit Porziņģis and sub in Wille CauleyStein. Sticking Richardson on Paul George might help out in small doses. I’m not sure what, if anything, the team can do about Leonard. The defense effectively trapped him in the first two games, but then he apparently remembered how to pass out of a double-team. He’s been balling out at MJ levels ever since.

The biggest question for the series now is Luka’s health. He was clearly bothered by a pinched nerve in his neck in Game 4, and that likely contributed to his missing all of his free throws. Two days off should help. Game 5 is 9 p.m. Wednesday.

There may not be a Nicole Aniston on this team, but Luka can’t take on the Clippers by himself — he’s not Sasha Grey. The role-players have to recapture some of the magic they were feeling in the opening games, and Carlisle is going to have to make some tough decisions about the unicorn. l

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B R O W N

Edward Brown

At Guapo Taco recently, Chef Angel Fuentes described the Mexico street tacobased concept he developed over the past few months but did not plan to put into action. It’s not uncommon for chefs to daydream about creating new menus, he said.

Located inside the former home of Mariachi’s Dine-in, Guapo Taco would have remained a passing dream if Fuentes and Mariachi’s Dine-in owner Ashley

The Three Amigos offers a kaleidoscope of Mexican flavors.

FIRST BLUE ZONES APPROVED THAI RESTAURANTS IN FW!

Chef Angel Fuentes said the secret to his mild-flavored lamb is “slow-cooking.”

corn, shredded carrots, and other veggies that added a nice crunch to the grilled chicken. A creamy avocado cilantro sauce topped off the goodies. The Latin Lover was a blend of crunchy bits of cauliflower, sliced bell peppers, and pickled red onions with tender slow-cooked pork.

The jumbo entree was topped with Cotija cheese and cilantro for a rich amalgam of flavors. The borracho, or “drunken” taco, could be a great way to sober up if you make the short walk from nearby Martin House Brewing Company or TUB Bar. Fuentes recommends al pastor as the protein. I took his advice. The spicy blend of habanero and pineapple seasonings, blended with roasted corn, chopped veggies, and a guajillo chile-infused crema, was delightfully spicy.

Fuentes was an early peddler of birria tacos, the crunchy crimson treats that hail from the Mexican state of Jalisco. Rather than rehash Mariachi’s Dine-in’s popular beef version, Fuentes is serving lamb, among other protein options. Grilled with a mild white cheese and served with a rich consommé sauce for dipping, the meat was only mildly gamey, which is no small feat since I typically avoid lamb, goat, and

“Best Thai Food” – FW Weekly Critics Choice 2015, 2017 & 2019 4630 SW Loop 820 | Fort Worth• 817-731-0455 order online for pickup Thaiselectrestaurant.com

other proteins that can have a funky flavor if not prepared properly. Fuentes said the secret is “slow-cooking.”

The gordita, packed with pico de gallo, Cotija cheese, barbacoa, and beans, was light and refreshing, and the elote, made with a homemade three-cheese sauce and topped with spicy hot Takis, was both delicious and highly Instagrammable due to the appetizer’s picture-perfect presentation.

For now, Guapo Taco has one vegan option: a burger. Fuentes said he plans to expand meat- and dairy-free options over the coming months in addition to rotating specials. While the new taqueria occupies the former home of Mariachi’s Dine-in, visitors should expect a wholly different experience from the chef who popularized birria tacos among locals early on into that 2020 craze.

“I would tell people that Mariachi’s is delicious, and I would recommend trying it” at their new location, he said. “Go check them out. I created a good menu there. When you come to Guapo Taco, it’s totally different flavors. I didn’t have to change, but I did try to change all of the flavors. This is totally different.” l

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– FW Weekly Critics Thai Kitchen & Bar Choice 2016 – FW Weekly 411 W. Magnolia Ave readers Fort Worth • 817-984-1800 Choice 2017, order online for pickup at Spicedfw.com 2019 & 2020

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Guapo Taco, 301 S Sylvania Av, FW. 682-9669645. 11am-9pm Tue-Sat. All major credit cards accepted.

JUNE 2-8, 2021

The former head chef at Mariachi’s Dine-in has launched a new concept.

FO R T WO R T H W E E K LY

Guapo Taco Lands

Miller hadn’t recently parted ways just as Mariachi’s was about to move from its original home in a Riverside gas station to a new brick-and-mortar location at 5724 Locke Ave. that is now open. Without going into specifics about the business breakup, Fuentes said he and Miller are both in a good place, personally and professionally.

“I want us both to be happy,” Fuentes said. “Now, I have an opportunity to build Guapo Taco. We all have to move forward.

I believe all are happy right now.”

Fuentes dug deep and found an entirely new palette of flavors that still reflect his roots in Monterrey, Mexico, as well as neighboring regions of our southern neighbor. Tacos remain the main draw at Guapo Taco, and Fuentes said he is working to slowly rebuild his vegan offerings — something Mariachi’s Dine-in was locally renowned for.

Guapo Taco is big on “flavors and colors,” Fuentes said. “That’s what Guapo Taco has to offer to the community: good, tasty food that’s different.”

Fuentes cooked up several dishes to highlight the new culinary offerings. The Tres Amigos — the Guapo Taco, Latin Lover, and borracho — came served on toasted corn tortillas. All were larger than what typically passes for street tacos.

The Guapo held pickled cabbage, roasted

Edward Brown

EATS & drinks

Guapo Taco Elote ........................................................$5 Birria tacos .............................................. $12 Gordita ..................................................... $4.25 Tres Amigos ............................................$12

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2524 White Settlement Road Fort Worth • 817-265-3973

Pride Month Is Here In honor of June as Pride Month, there are some great events happening around town.

For the next two weeks, I’ll be looping you in on Pride with this space. To that end, here are some eats, drinks, and drag to check out.

4.) At noon Sun, Jun 13, Urban Cowboy hosts the Glamazon Prime Drag Brunch.

Tickets are $10-25 at Eventbrite.com.

Bring three donation items for Safe Haven of Tarrant County and receive a free pitcher of mimosas.

5.) At 9:30pm Fri, Jun 18, Crystal Methyd, the star of RuPaul’s Drag Race Season 12, will do a meet-and-greet at the Urban Cowboy. Then at 11pm, Denali will return with the cast of The Sh*t Show for another performance.

6.) At 9pm Sat, Jun 19, Urban Cowboy hosts the Millennial Drag Show and HipHop Night. Stay tuned for details.

7.) The Urban Cowboy won’t be the only source of Pride activity. At 10:30pm FriSat, the recently reopened 1851 Club (931 W Division St, Arlington, 817-642-5554) is kicking off Pride Month with host Kiana Lee and DJ Michael. On Fri, there will be performances by Kristi Onassis Davenport, Lady Monroe, and Nia Courtland. On Sat, featured performers include Candi Carroll, Layson Cavalli, and Salem Moon. Both nights are free to attend. Call to reserve a table.

8.) At 10am Sat, Jun 12, the OutFW Field Day & Picnic will take place at the Trinity Park Duck Pond (2200 Trinity Park Dr, Fort Worth, 682-707-5663). Games include an obstacle course, spoon races, tug-owar, water balloon toss, and more, plus there will be a dunking booth featuring favorite drag queens and bar owners. Team registration is $10 at Eventbrite.com.

To submit your Pride Month events or any other fun things to do, email Jennifer@ fwweekly.com.

By Jennifer Bovee

eekniGHT speCials WMonday - Thursday

117 S Main St • Fort Worth

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3.) At 9pm Sat, Jun 12, mosey on back to the Urban Cowboy for a meet-and-greet with Denali Foxx, the star of RuPaul’s Drag Race Season 13. Denali will hit the stage with the cast of The Sh*t Show at 11pm.

In celebration of Pride Month, Denali Foxx from RuPaul’s Drag Race will perform at the Urban Cowboy.

THe Tokyo HoT Tub

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JUNE 2-8, 2021

2.) At 9pm Fri, Jun 11, the Urban Cowboy will be the site of Bleach’s Birthday Bash.

Save your COVID-19/Trump jokes for later.

Happy Hour Mon - Fri

Dollar Off Beers | $8 Drink of the Day

FO R T WO R T H W E E K LY

1.) At 8:30pm Mon at the Urban Cowboy, The Coven show hosted by Salem Moon is bringing several styles of drag to the stage digitally and in person. Performers include Kolby Jack Davenport, Miss Venom, and Mocha McVentil. There is also a 10-minute digital intermission featuring select drag artists. To watch virtually, go to the Urban Cowboy page on Facebook or visit Twitch.TV/SalemMoonDrag.

ry Tues $2 oFF eve

Cour tesy RuPaul’s Drag Race

In Fort Worth, most of the action will take place at the Urban Cowboy Saloon (2620 E Lancaster Av, 682-707-5663), your home base for all LGBTQ+ happenings through June.

D R I NeK of th Month

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CrossTown

COME ON IN!

Sounds Destination Decibel:

Josh Weathers

The Texas Gentleman

7/30: Billy Bob’s Texas (Fort Worth TX).

As national tours are still not quite a thing — at least not this summer — (thanks, pandemic), many of your favorite local artists are filling their schedules with local and regional shows.

Hit the local watering hole or hit the highway and show your support. I just told you why, now here’s the who, when, and where.

Meach Pango

6/3: Sam’s Burger Joint (San Antonio TX). 6/5: ACL Live (Austin TX). 7/2: The Ride Festival (Telluride CO). 9/4: Levitt Pavilion (Arlington TX).

Summer Shows

Fort Worth | 612 University A Full-Service Seafood Restaurant

Danni & Kris 6/30: Boomerjack’s Grill (Fort Worth TX). 6/24: The Adolphus (Dallas TX). 5/29: 6/27: The Post at River East (Fort Worth TX). 6/2: Yardbird Southern Table (Dallas TX). 6/4 & 6/6: The Rustic (Dallas TX). 6/26: Wild Acre Brewing (Fort Worth TX).

Dustin Massey

L AT E N I G H T G R U B FEATURING

6/10: The Rustic (Dallas TX).

6/11: Tulips (Fort Worth TX).

6/12: Pacific Yard House (Conroe TX).

Frio Trio 6/4: Dr Jekyll’s Beer Lab (Pantego TX).

Mothership RippleFest Texas 2021 (New Braunfels TX). 8/20: Psycho Fest (Las Vegas NV).

The Old 97s 6/5: Food Truck Championship (Graham TX). 6/17 & 6/25: Alive From Lower Greenville Live Stream, Part 1 and 2 (Online).

6/25 & 6/26: ACL Live (Austin TX).

Quaker City Night Hawks 6/18: Gruene Hall (New Braunfels TX). 7/3: Wild Acre Brewing (Fort Worth TX). 7/24: Vol. Summer Fest (Pasadena TX). 8/15: 3rd & Lindsley (Nashville TN).

Squeezebox Bandits

The Toadies 6/10: Vaden Todd Lewis (solo) at Legacy Hall (Plano TX). 8/28: Bat Fest (Austin TX).

Van Darien 6/5: Fuzzy’s Tacos (Midlothian TX). 6/6: Sidesaddle Saloon (Fort Worth TX). 6/13: Fred’s Texas Cafe (Fort Worth TX).

7/10: Parker County Peach Festival (Weatherford TX).

Vandoliers 6/5: Ambers’s (Tahlequah, OK). 6/24: Henry County Fair (Cambridge IL). 6/25: Summer Solstice Indie Music Fest (Online). 6/26: Bourbon Theatre (Lincoln NE). 7/25: Tulips FW. Where is your band headed? Submit info to Jennifer@fwweekly.com.

6/29: The Blue Light Live (Lubbock TX). 7/31: Del Norte Tacos (Godley TX)

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24/7?

BOTH LOCATIONS OPEN DAILY! Fort Worth: 1509 S University 817-336-0311 (24hrs) Burleson: 225 E Renfro 817-989-9090 (6a-10p)

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FO R T WO R T H W E E K LY

JUNE 2-8, 2021

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APPETIZERS • BREAKFAST BURGERS • COFFEE • CREPES DUTCH BABIES • ENTREES PANCAKES & WAFFLES SANDWICHES • SKILLETS

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7/9: Three Links (Dallas TX).

Want to get away? The Old 97s are playing in Graham, TX this weekend.

7PM9PM

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Charlie Bassham & the All-Star Blues Band

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Tim Burt Memorial Celebration

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2736 W 6th St

JUNE 2-8, 2021

Matt Castillo

FO R T WO R T H W E E K LY

THU

with Playtown 7PM10PM and Big Mike

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BLUES JAM

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On their new concept album, the transatlantic songwriting duo Ah Pook the Destroyer unveils a cautionary tale of cult of personality and its resultant insanity.

P A T R I C K

H I G G I N S

For most of us, the events that unfolded at the U.S. Capitol on Jan. 6 elicited a mix of shock and horror. The breach of the “halls of democracy” by frenzied conspiracy theorists and self-described “militia” types was undoubtedly a giant institutional security failure, but the insurrection also highlights a separate fundamental failure: that of our current media ecosystem. It lays bare the vulnerability of a system that can not only allow but also perpetuate such a ceaseless campaign of misinformation, one that, perhaps inevitably, can culminate in a massive break from reality, resulting in such a brazen attack on our democratic institutions.

Like many, singer-songwriter Matthew Broyles watched the chaos play out on TV and was motivated to respond somehow.

“What can I do?” the Fort Worthian recalled asking himself. “We’re locked down in a pandemic with a maniac

HearSay

JUNE 2-8, 2021

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FO R T WO R T H W E E K LY

Shows of the Week

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Tim Burt was a sweetheart of a man, and he worked his ass off behind the scenes at Lola’s to make it the institution that it is.

In celebration of his life that ended way too short recently, Lola’s Trailer Park (2735 W 5th St, 817-759-9100) will host a jam 2-5pm Sun. “Tim loved to sit around with his friends and jam,” the online invitation says, “so if you want to bring a guitar, or a drum, or a kazoo, a maraca, a washboard, or anything that will make a musical noise … we’ll have [a] jam to remember all the great nights Tim spent all night jamming with his friends at his house.” No cover, but bring your foldin’ money for some cold,

Broyles: “If you’re being honest and telling a story that’s compelling, it doesn’t really matter if it’s cool.”

to the golden crisp of an early ’90s alt-rock concept album.

“I think there’s something about being committed to your weirdness,” Broyles said about the interesting musical corners Ah Pook resides in. “There’s something about it that’s attractive to certain people. It’s certainly attractive to me. I’m relentlessly drawn to that.”

Allowing that Ah Pook’s sound isn’t necessarily “what the kids are listening to these days,” Broyles feels the album chronicles a tale they need to hear and can derive something from all the same.

“If you’re being honest and telling a story that’s compelling, it doesn’t really matter if it’s cool,” he said. “There are times in history where you just kind of have to say, ‘This is where we’re at.’ If the people who do hear it get it or have some idea that comes from it, I think that’s worth something. I’m not saying anything about trying to change people’s minds but just to crystalize it. There’s a lot of people who know shit’s fucked up but don’t know how to say it. To have someone say, ‘Thank you for saying that. I feel that way but haven’t been able to put it in words’ — those are the best compliments I can get about anything I put out.” l

his legions of reality-divorced followers are too obvious to ignore. With today’s media environment, especially with social media, a modern-day Haster can spread his madness practically instantaneously and ubiquitously.

With Shapera living for the last decade in Serbia, The King in Yellow was recorded remotely by file sharing between the two over the last handful of months.

“The fun thing about [the longdistance working relationship] is that he’s in a different time zone,” Broyles said, “so I can send him something before I go to bed at night and then wake up in the morning, and he’s already sent the parts he’s added on top.”

The music acts as a soothing lullaby to accompany the story’s tragic descent into madness. Elements of acoustic folk, prog, art, and even rock opera (a forté of Shapera’s) blend into a soft bed behind the narrative that is simultaneously both calming and unsettling. The juxtaposition behind the music and the lyrical content works to highlight the inherent contradiction of insanity. Imagine Pink Floyd’s The Final Cut run through a Midnight Oil funnel, coated with a light egg-wash of Cat Stevens, and then baked

frosty beverages. Cheers, Tim. I miss our My Driving, and Slowboat will bring the ragey political talks and your kindness. rock Friday. And “The Jet Noise” is not a typo. It’s the same band from Josh & The That takes care of Sunday, but the action Jet Noise sans Josh, who split last year, in town gets started on Thursday. At which means The Jet Noise is a bass-and9pm at Magnolia Motor Lounge (3005 drum duo. As opposed to “drum ’n’ bass.”

Morton St, 817-332-3344), the rowdy Which it most certainly is not, at least Buffalo Ruckus takes the stage, preceded according to the former band’s tuneage by singer-songwriter Ryan Glenn. Tickets and a new vid of the duo on Fakebook. are $12-100 and can be found at Amplitix. Cover is $7. com/mml/21472. On the other side of And at 7pm Sat, garage rockers town, MASS (1002 S Main St, 682-707- Bruce Magnus will release two singles off 7774) welcomes The Robot Bonfire, The their upcoming album, Spare Beans. Red Infamists, and King Clam. Doors open at Admirals and Denver Williams will open.

7. Tickets are $5 in advance at Prekindle. Tickets are $7 in advance at Prekindle. com/promo/id/531433527711668520. com/promo/id/531433527704403952 or 10 bucks at the door. — Anthony Mariani For the weekend proper, MASS is shaping up as the place to be. The Jet Noise, How’s Contact HearSay at anthony@fwweekly.com.

Cour tesy Facebook

Kings of Madness

Rene Gomez.

MUSIC

president and a bunch of zombies outside trying or inadvertently bringing the world down. You find yourself in that moment and think, ‘Well, I have to do something.’

And the only tool I have at my disposal is music. I have words and I have music, and that’s all I’ve got.”

His response comes in the form of The King in Yellow. Released Monday, it is the sophomore album by Ah Pook the Destroyer, Broyles’ transatlantic collaboration with Serbia-based composer Paul Shapera. Through 11 tracks, the duo trade songs to recount a story about a devious monarch who purposefully lures his followers into madness. The tale weaves threads of modern Trumpism and the associated loony QAnon conspiracy theory with elements of a fable from 19thcentury literature.

“I was just thinking I was going to make a political record because this shit is freaking me out,” Broyles said. “It was Paul who suggested, ‘What if we give it a supernatural element and make it a little more spooky?’ And I think that was the right way to go. He’s a little more oblique about it, and I’m a little more direct, and betwixt us we kind of find the right balance.”

Literary influence has been a common feature for Ah Pook the Destroyer. The duo’s bizarre name itself is derived from a spoken-word piece by famed beat poet and drug enthusiast William S. Burroughs which warns of the coming of an imagined destructive deity named Ah Pook. The King in Yellow borrows from 19th-century author Robert W. Chambers’ short story collection of the same name and leans into the mythos created therein, with its mystical, hallucinatory elements that share commonalities with the work of H.P. Lovecraft (whose own story was the inspiration behind Ah Pook’s debut album, The Silver Key, in 2012). Haster, a prophetic character, uses the performance of a play to drive those in attendance crazy.

The parallels between this mythological figure and the former reality star that recently befouled the Oval Office with

Bruce Magnus will release two new singles Saturday at MASS.

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