INDY Week 2.21.18 by INDY

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15,118 DAYS

Ronnie Long has spent four decades behind bars for a rape he says he didn’t commit. His supporters say he got a raw deal— and there’s reason to think they’re right. By Erica Hellerstein, p.8

NCDOT TO HOLD PUBLIC MEETINGS AND A FORMAL DESIGN PUBLIC HEARING FOR THE COMPLETE 540 – TRIANGLE EXPRESSWAY SOUTHEAST EXTENSION PROJECT TIP Project Nos. R-2721, R-2828, & R-2829 The N.C. Department of Transportation will hold three public meetings (open house format) and one formal design public hearing regarding the proposed Complete 540 project. The public meetings will be held on February 20, 21 and 22. The formal hearing will be held on February 22, following the public meeting. The Complete 540 project would extend the Triangle Expressway from the N.C. 55 Bypass in Apex to U.S. 64/U.S. 264 (I-495) in Knightdale, completing the 540 Outer Loop around the greater Raleigh area. NCDOT, in cooperation with the Federal Highway Administration (FHWA), has approved the Complete 540 Final Environmental Impact Statement (EIS). This document contains an explanation of the Preferred Alternative location and a summary of its impacts. The public meetings and formal public hearing provide an opportunity for the public to make formal comments that will be included in the project record. The three public meetings and one hearing are scheduled at the following times and locations: • Tuesday, February 20, 2018 Holly Springs High School Cafeteria 5329 Cass Holt Road, Holly Springs 27540 Public Meeting: 6 – 8 p.m. Note: no formal presentation on this date

• Wednesday, February 21, 2018 Barwell Road Community Center 5857 Barwell Park Drive, Raleigh 27610 Public Meeting: 6 – 8 p.m. Note: no formal presentation on this date

• Thursday, February 22, 2018 Wake Tech Community College Southern Wake Campus, Building L 9101 Fayetteville Road, Raleigh 27603 Public Meeting: 4 - 6:30 p.m., Hearing: 7 p.m. Note: This hearing presentation will be streamed live. See project website, noted below, for details.

NCDOT representatives will be available at the public meetings to answer questions and receive comments regarding the design of the Complete 540 project. The opportunity to provide verbal comments and/or submit written comments and questions will be provided. Interested citizens may attend at any time during the above hours. The formal design public hearing will include an explanation of the Preferred Alternative as well as land acquisition and relocation procedures. Citizens will have the opportunity to comment. The presentation and comments will be recorded and a written transcript will be prepared. Copies of the Final EIS and maps showing design details of the Preferred Alternative are available for review at the following locations, through February 22: • NCDOT District Office – Wake County, 4009 District Dr., Raleigh • Capital Area Metropolitan Planning Organization, 421 Fayetteville Street, Suite 203, Raleigh • Holly Springs Department of Planning & Zoning, 128 South Main Street, Holly Springs • Fuquay-Varina Planning Department, 401 Old Honeycutt Road, Fuquay-Varina • Garner Planning Department, 900 Seventh Avenue, Garner • Clayton Planning Department, 111 East Second Street, Clayton • Knightdale Planning Department, 950 Steeple Square Court, Knightdale The Final EIS and maps are also be available for review on the project website at www.ncdot.gov/complete540. For additional information, please contact Jamille Robbins, NCDOT Public Involvement & Community Studies Group Leader, at 1598 Mail Service Center, Raleigh, N.C. 27699-1598. You may also contact the project team through our toll-free hotline at 1-800- 554-7849, or via email at complete540@ncdot.gov. In addition, comments may be submitted electronically using the project’s website or NCDOT’s “PublicInput” site: ncdot.publicinput.com/complete_540. Comments may be submitted through March 23, 2018. NCDOT will provide auxiliary aids and services under the Americans with Disabilities Act for disabled persons who want to participate in these meetings. Anyone requiring special services should contact Robbins as early as possible so that arrangements can be made. Interpretive services will be provided at each meeting. Persons who speak Spanish and do not speak English, or have a limited ability to read, speak or understand English, may receive interpretive services upon request prior to the hearing by calling 1-800- 481-6494. Aquellas personas que hablan español y no hablan inglés, o tienen limitaciones para leer, hablar o entender inglés, podrían recibir servicios de interpretación si los solicitan antes de la reunión llamando al 1-800- 481-6494. 2 | 2.21.18 | INDYweek.com

WHAT WE LEARNED THIS WEEK VOL. 35, NO. 8 DEPARTMENTS

6 The fare-free Bull City Connector could soon disappear.

6 News 16 Food

7 The defendants are arguing that there’s nothing illegal about tearing down a Confederate monument, but that’s not why the DA’s office went zero-for-three this week.

25 Music 28 Arts & Culture 30 What to Do This Week

8 The cops hid evidence from Ronnie Long’s defense team, but courts have ruled that it wouldn’t have changed the jury’s mind.

33 Music Calendar 36 Arts & Culture Calendar

16 Durham Mayor Steve Schewel can cook— and he can take the heat. 26 Activists in the civil rights movement used music written by enslaved African Americans as a tool against oppression. 29 Black Panther demonstrates the box-office power of black creators—and of the black dollar.

Ashleigh Long visits her husband, Ronnie, in the Albemarle Correctional Institution (see page 8). PHOTO BY CAITLIN PENNA

On the cover ILLUSTRATION BY STEVE OLIVA

INDYweek.com | 2.21.18 | 3

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backtalk

College Rag

Child report linking North Carolina’s failure Last week, we published a Valentine’s Day to expand Medicaid with its stubbornly high love letter to our home, “28 Reasons We infant-death rate, Sarah-Kathryn Bryan Love the Triangle Right Now.” Commenter writes: “A critical point this article misses, NicoleinNY says it made her question her and which would not be incompatible with decision to move the Triangle: “My husband Medicaid expansion, is that abortion is a and I are moving to the Triangle this year, and crucially important part of women’s health I feel like my realtor made a mistake sending care that North Carolina state law impedes this piece to us. Does anyone actually take an patients’ access to. Patronizing and factually article seriously once phrases like ‘woke AF’ inaccurate mandatory counseling before an and ‘toxic masculinity’ are thrown around? abortion is one of the myriad ways state law This whole thing reads like a college rag. interferes with people’s ability to obtain nec“We have been looking in Cary. We are essary health care. Medicaid for Pregnant both professionals in our early-to-midWomen currently does not cover any cost thirties. My husband is a libertarian and associated with an abortion, which for many I’m liberal with increasingly more modwomen can be extremely burdensome. erate leanings as the poles keep growing “Access to family planning decreases more extreme. We had also looked at Austin, infant mortality and helps people meet their another blue beacon in a sea of red, but they financial and personal goals. Furthermore, didn’t seem so busy with patting themselves the medical risks associated with abortion on the back for their political leanings.” are much less than those associated with In response, Paolo Sharazi warns that pregnancy. Including comprehensive aborhis corner of the Triangle has become tion care services in Med“oppressive”: “Durham icaid for Pregnant Women (where I live) used to be a ultimately create conpleasant, ideologically “Moral poverty would ditions for people to have tolerant, and liberal town. safe pregnancies when they It has become—at least in is the root are ready and able to have its older neighborhoods—a cause.” them.” politically (and therefore Terrence Duff, howevsocially) oppressive place to er, says the Carolina Cares live unless you subscribe to bill to expand Medicaid “is nothing more some of the nuttier and dreamier tenets of the than income redistribution. Nothing in this SJW left. The INDY reflects these values— bill will help the underlying problem. The celebrating destruction of public property by path to drugs, alcohol, and obesity started in ‘anti-fascists’ is an example. So much better government-daddy families over two gento tear down an obnoxious statue by mob erations ago. As with any problem, you must than to bring the matter up for a vote (in know the root cause before you can solve it. which case the statue would have certainly Moral poverty is the root cause, and all the been removed legally). Other examples of money in the world can’t fix that. SJW fervor, PC banalities, and the hypocrisy “The numbers I could find are from about of the elites who control the city are too five years ago. Wake County had twelve numerous to mention. Most of the in-town thousand-plus births and five thousandresidents of Durham apply political litmus plus abortions a year. Using your chart, tests to those whom they meet and live in that would put both fetal and infant deaths hilariously stereotypical bubbles of likearound seventy-plus each in Wake County a minded and ‘right-thinking’ people.” year. Wow! Compare that 140 or so deaths to “SJW,” of course, is a pejorative term for abortion murders of 5,000, and it is clear you “social justice warriors.” As for Sharazi’s have the wrong priorities.” suggestion that the city or county could have voted to remove the Confederate Want to see your name in bold? Email us at monument, that’s simply not true. State backtalk@indyweek.com, comment on our law prohibits municipalities from removing Facebook page or indyweek.com, or hit us up such monuments without state approval. on Twitter: @indyweek. Regarding last week’s story about an NC INDYweek.com | 2.21.18 | 5

indynews

THE BULL CITY CONNECTOR COULD BE ELIMINATED. WILL DURHAM SAVE IT?

THE D CONFE

End of the Road BY SARAH WILLETS

n Thursday, the Durham City Council will hear about a proposed revamp of Durham’s bus system that might not include a free bus service like the Bull City Connector. GoDurham, the agency that operates Durham buses, is reviewing its entire system as part of a five-year plan. It will present a recommendation drafted after two rounds of public input. While the recommendation fits within the city’s budget for the system, its major service changes require council approval. GoDurham says the proposal offers more frequent, direct, and simplified service, adding 9.3 miles of fifteen-minute all-day service. But it doesn’t include a fare-free route, and getting across downtown would require changing buses at Durham Station. For any GoDurham route to be fare-free, the city council will have to find more money to support it. In the past, the city has covered about two-thirds of the $1.1 million annual bill for the BCC, with Duke University contributing the other third. However, this fiscal year, the university cut its funding in half, to $175,000, after finding it could better serve students and faculty by operating its own shuttles between campus and downtown. And beginning this summer, the university will no longer fund the BCC at all. Preserving and improving the BCC has been a sticking point since 2015, when several stops were eliminated (notably Durham Station, which had been the busiest stop on the line but also made it hard to keep a frequent, on-time schedule) and others were added near Duke. The Durham Human Relations Commission and SpiritHouse have pushed for the BCC—or something like it—to not only be maintained as a free service but also expand to serve more of east Durham and N.C. Central. In 2015, 52 percent of BCC riders earned less than $15,000 per year, and 57 percent were African American. Most used the service to get to work or school, as well as appointments at the VA and Duke Hospital. 6 | 2.21.18 | INDYweek.com

Some routes in east Durham would alsoBY SAR be amended. Route 2B would be eliminated, and route 3C would be restructured to stop at The Village shopping center and ix travel along Taylor and Driver streets to Sh the intersection of Angier and Alston aveag nues. There, riders can connect to expandtook part ed Route 12 options connecting downtown, monumen Hillside High School, Southpoint, and RTP. administr The proposal also adds “on-demand people w zones,” where—if additional resources are but also i allocated—taxi, Uber, or Lyft fares would In Novem be subsidized. Morookian says agreements dropped a would have to be reached with providers to people. In ensure there would be enough drivers in saw their the on-demand zones. And t The proposal places one such zone over was unab part of Northeast Central Durham, from defendan Wellons Village to Southern High School, with the a south to Sherron Road. Another onJudge demand zone would be served by GoDuragainst D ham shuttles. The area, near RTP, was and foun previously served by shuttles, so the carhad faced pooling service could use existing stops. defacing p A ten-year plan proposes additional ondeface pu demand zones. After eigh Morookian says the drafting process will to call it continue after Thursday; with an almost five other entirely new city council, it’s possible the “This i agency will come before the body again monumen to answer questions. GoDurham will take crime,” Ji more public input and conduct a required The p “disparate impacts analysis” to evaluate videos o the effects of the changes on minority and although low-income populations once route changcell-phon es are firmed up. sheriff’s d “A lot of the passengers are concerned to suppo when these changes will take place,” defendan Morookian says. “I want people to underthe monu stand we are doing outreach now to see if Ameshia this is even something people would be OK about org with. But before we do anything, we would One vid go out for another round of outreach, letwho hap ting people know what’s coming.” was held You can view the proposed supremac changes by route and take a survey at the week GoDurhamTransit.org. her son swillets@indyweek.com

FILE PHOTO BY ALEX BOERNER

But BCC ridership is relatively low (numbers declined after the 2015 changes), and public input indicates that what most people like about the service is that it’s free—not the route itself, says transit planner Mary Kate Morookian. In 2016, the BCC’s average weekday ridership was 1,299, compared with 3,291 on the popular route 3. “If a lot of people aren’t riding it even though it’s fare-free, that should be a flag to a planner that something is wrong with the routing and something is wrong with the service,” Morookian says. Not stopping at Durham Station makes it harder for BCC riders to transfer to other routes, Morookian adds. The proposal tries to address this by keeping BCC stops while splitting the route at Durham Station. Under the proposal, three buses would serve the current BCC stops, stopping every fifteen minutes as opposed to every seventeen minutes now. Route 2 would use BCC stops from Durham Station to Alston Avenue before continuing on to Brier Creek. Route 12 would be tweaked to use the same BCC stops downtown, rather than traveling

on N.C. 147 as it does now. Route 11 would use BCC stops from Duke and the VA hospital to Durham Station. In developing their recommendation, GoDurham staffers were instructed to stay within the constraints of current funding. But at the request of the city, the agency is looking at what it would take to make the entire bus system free or offer some other fare-free service. “We had to consider the resources for each and every route, and that includes the Bull City Connector,” Morookian says. “We do not take it lightly that the Bull City Connector is fare-free. We know that’s going to be an issue to some folks. If that’s going to go away, we want to make sure the changes are of high value.” The draft proposal increases frequency overall, particularly for stops at Southpoint, a popular park-and-ride spot, and Brier Creek, where riders can connect to Raleigh routes. There would also be more frequent stops at N.C. Central during weekdays and more service from east Durham to RTP and Southpoint.

news

Swing and a Miss

THE DURHAM DA’S OFFICE GOES 0-FOR-3 ON CONFEDERATE MONUMENT PROSECUTIONS. BETTER LUCK NEXT TIME? BY SARAH WILLETS

ix months ago, the Durham County Sheriff ’s Office announced an aggressive pursuit of protesters who took part in dismantling a Confederate monument in front of the county administration building, charging twelve people with not only damaging the statue but also inciting a riot, which is a felony. In November, the District Attorney’s Office dropped all charges against three of those people. In January, the remaining defendants saw their felony charges dropped. And then, on Monday, the state was unable to prove that the first three defendants to go to trial had anything to do with the actual crime. Judge Fred Battaglia dismissed cases against Dante Strobino and Peter Gilbert and found Raul Jimenez not guilty. They had faced charges of injury to real property, defacing public property, and conspiracy to deface public property, all misdemeanors. After eight hours in court, Battaglia decided to call it a day and hear cases against the five other defendants on April 2. “This is a reminder that tearing down monuments to white supremacy is not a crime,” Jimenez said. The prosecution presented just two videos of the August 14 incident— although probably dozens exist between cell-phone footage and video taken by sheriff’s deputies. Neither clip was enough to support witness testimony that the defendants had participated in damaging the monument or the argument prosecutor Ameshia Cooper made that “this is a case about organized destruction.” One video was taken by Stacy Murphy, who happened upon the rally—which was held in response to a violent white supremacist gathering in Charlottesville the weekend before—while driving with her son on Main Street. But the video

used in court wasn’t Murphy’s original footage, but rather a version published by The Washington Post that may or may not have been edited, raising questions about whether it could be entered as evidence. The second video was taken by Ed Miller, the county’s security manager, who went to the county building to monitor the protest and started filming on his phone when he saw a ladder part the crowd.

“Tearing down monuments to white supremacy is not a crime.” Miller identified Gilbert in the video and stills pulled from it, but Battaglia disagreed. “I don’t identify the defendant in the video. I don’t identify the defendant in this picture because I don’t have facial recognition,” he said. A photo taken of the driver of a limousine with a ladder on top that deputies followed after the statue went down was similarly unhelpful. According to testimony from Lieutenant John Pinner, the vehicle was registered to Elena Everett, another defendant. A deputy took a photo of the person driving the limo, whom Pinner identified as Everett. “I couldn’t see the face. ... I’m not even sure I could make out it was a vehicle. Most of it was dark,” Battaglia said.

The prosecution tried to link Gilbert and Strobino to that ladder, and in turn to Everett, to show they had conspired to topple the statue. But again, Battaglia didn’t bite, saying it hadn’t been established that Everett was part of a plot to destroy property. “You can’t have conspiracy to commit an act after the act was committed. I don’t know if this is the same ladder. I don’t know if the person was there,” Battaglia said. “All I have is a ladder.” Defense attorney Scott Holmes questioned whether the witnesses’ identification of defendants in the videos was credible, especially since they had never met the defendants in person. The point was dramatically illustrated when Miller, answering a question from Holmes, said he didn’t think Cooper resembled another woman in the room, whom Holmes later identified as her twin sister. Holmes also argued that the statue’s presence violated the Thirteenth and Fourteenth Amendments and a state law that prohibits using public buildings to advocate for the overthrow of the government, as the Confederacy did in trying to secede. “We’re not here about a monument. We’re here about government hate speech,” he said. But Battaglia made it clear his decisions were based on whether he had seen enough evidence that the defendants took part in damaging the monument, not whether destroying the monument was justified. “Where does one draw the line?” Battaglia asked before finding Jimenez not guilty. “Is it a subjective line in the sand? Is it based on emotion? Those are the issues of our day. The issue in this case is whether or not this defendant is guilty or not of this charge.” swillets@indyweek.com

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INDYweek.com | 2.21.18 | 7

Ronnie Long has spent four decades behind bars for a rape he says he didn’t commit. His supporters say he got a raw deal—and there’s reason to think they’re right. STORY BY ERICA HELLERSTEIN PHOTOS BY CAITLIN PENNA

he morning of August 18, 2014, greeted Ashleigh Ward with a blast of sticky summer heat. She was excited. She was getting married. Nobody she knew approved of the wedding, but she didn’t care. She slipped into a white sundress with navy stripes—$3.49 from Goodwill—and shiny black peep-toe heels. Her long, bright blonde hair fell around her shoulders. She dabbed her lips with light pink gloss. Then she drove herself to the wedding venue, some forty-five minutes from her home outside Chapel Hill. Inside, the man she would marry was waiting in a cream-colored button-down and freshly pressed khakis.

Ward pulled up to her destination, on East McNeill Street in Lillington, and waited under a carport. She tried not to sweat. A woman came to retrieve her, guiding her into the chapel, where the chaplain and her fiancé awaited. Neither of them had family members or friends there, but she noticed a few spectators wander over to watch the ceremony, lingering as the two read their vows. Their interest was understandable. After all, it was an unlikely setting for an unlikely wedding: twenty-nine-year-old Ashleigh Ward and fifty-nine-year-old Ronnie Long, North Carolina Department of Correction inmate 0247905. Ronnie Long holds hands with his wife, Ashleigh.

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shleigh stamped that number as close to her heart as she could get it—under her left breast. She did it, she says, because she fell in love with Long when he was “just a number to the state.” Just above that, scrawled across her chest in cursive, she tattooed the three words that changed her life: “Free Ronnie Long.” Her husband is serving two life sentences for a crime he says he didn’t commit, and he has been for decades. On October 1, 1976, Long was convicted of raping a wealthy woman in Concord. He was twenty-one, black, and the son of a concrete contractor. The victim, fifty-four, was white and the well-heeled widow of a former executive at Cannon Mills, a major employer in the area. (She has since died.) The trial roiled an already polarized city in a racially tense era. In an affidavit, Long’s former attorney recalled a courtroom split by race, with blacks on one side and whites on the other. When the guilty verdict was read, Long’s mother, Elizabeth, fainted. A riot nearly broke out in the courthouse; police carrying mace and nightsticks cleared the room. “Klan-style justice struck again on the night of October 1,” declared a flyer distributed after the verdict. The prosecution’s case rested primarily on the victim’s eyewitness identification of Long. During the trial, she expressed absolute certainty that he’d assaulted her. “I’ll never forget it as long as I live,” she told the court. But Long has always maintained his innocence, and his supporters say his trial was a sham. They point out that the victim’s first identification of Long was highly unusual and didn’t involve a typical lineup. Then, prior to the trial, the Cabarrus County sheriff personally vetted the jury pool, according to court records, striking the names of jurors he believed to be unqualified with a red pen. The resulting jury was all-white. Three of the jurors were employed by Cannon Mills, and a fourth was married to someone who worked there. Decades after the trial, Long’s attorneys learned that physical evidence was withheld from his defense team; that evidence— including a list of items from the crime scene sent to the State Bureau of Investigation for testing, none of which produced a match to Long—is exculpatory, they say. In an interview, Long calls the conviction a “modernized lynching, sanctioned by law.” His sister, Lynda, calls it “coldblooded.” His mother, now eighty-six, says thinking about it drives her crazy. She prays for her son every night and hopes she’ll live long enough to see his release. That could still happen.

Throughout the 15,118 days since his conviction (as of publication), state courts have denied Long’s appeals, arguing that the withheld evidence wouldn’t have changed the trial’s outcome. But lately, there’s been movement in his favor. In 2016, Long’s legal team filed a habeas corpus petition with the Middle District Court of North Carolina, asking the court to vacate Long’s conviction or grant him a new trial on the grounds that the state violated Long’s constitutional rights. The court dismissed that petition in 2017, but Long’s attorneys appealed. In October, the Fourth Circuit Court of Appeals reversed the dismissal and sent the petition back to the district court. The district court judge, Catherine Eagles, could dismiss the petition again, but she could also vacate the conviction or order a new hearing. The possibility of a new outcome looms over Long’s family. His mother hopes the court will grant him a reprieve this time around. “But you never know,” she says. “He’s been in there so long. My husband died; he thought he was gonna live to see him get out. That’s all he wanted. He said every day, ‘I want to live to see Ronnie get out of there.’”

ong lingers in the visitation center of the Albemarle Correctional Institution on a cool afternoon in December. He’s in khakis, white sneakers, and a beige button-down shirt. His head is shaved smooth, and he wears glasses. His baritone voice has a gravelly edge. It’s just before Christmas, and the harshly lit visitation center is decorated appropriately. Long, grim-faced, stands under a banner tacked onto the room’s white walls. “Tis the season for joy,” it reads, in green block letters. He clasps a manila envelope filled with legal files and asks about the drive to Albemarle, about two hours southwest of Raleigh, where he’s been locked up for the past year. He moves into a boxy interview room nearby, places his folder on the desk, and settles into a chair. Before everything changed four decades ago, Long says, he had a fairly typical life. He was born in Charlotte but grew up in Concord with his seven brothers and sisters. His father was a member of the Freemasons and a concrete contractor. In school, Long followed in his footsteps, taking masonry courses and learning how to set stone. He also played sports—basketball, baseball, and football—at Concord City High School. “I was just your average teenager,” he says. Even so, Long knew there were places he couldn’t go. The city was segregated, he says. “They let you know you can’t come this way. You can’t live up here, you can’t come this far.” INDYweek.com | 2.21.18 | 9

Long, who grew up in a politically minded household, was keenly aware of this reality. His dad, he says, was the vice president of an organization called the Southern Conference Educational Fund. He recalls standing in front of mills as a kid, passing out leaflets urging workers to unionize. Occasionally, his political consciousness got the best of him. He describes an encounter with two white police officers when he was about nineteen. They stopped him while he was walking through a predominantly white neighborhood and asked why he was out. “Why am I out?” he replied. “Isn’t this America? I don’t have the right to be on this sidewalk?” The officers handcuffed him and hauled him downtown. These racial dynamics form a key part of Long’s conviction, his supporters argue. His case, they say, cannot be understood

the kitchen to the den. Then she felt someone grab her from behind. She screamed. “Shut your damn mouth!” the man hissed. He threw her to the floor. The victim told police the assailant tore off her clothes, pressed a knife to her throat, and threatened to kill her. He told her he had only fifteen minutes and his friends were waiting for him outside. Then he raped her. Whenever she tried to move, he slammed her head on the ground. At trial, she testified that she was panicked during the attack— “so frightened” she “couldn’t stand it.” The phone rang, startling the attacker. He gathered his things and left through the front door. The victim fled. Her neighbor heard a loud beating on her back door and saw the victim standing there, naked.

“He’s been in there so long. My husband died; he thought he was gonna live to see him get out. That’s all he wanted.” without staring into the ugliest parts of North Carolina’s past. One of those supporters is Joel Harlow, a self-described conservative who stumbled upon Long’s case one day while commenting on a Facebook post and grew to become one of his strongest advocates. “I am an East Texas conservative, beer drinking, gun loving, banker, rancher, cattleman that is so right-wing I make Ted Cruz look like Bernie Sanders,” he told the INDY in an email. He added in all caps: “If I, with all the built-in biases that I have because of my background, can see his innocence, why can no one else?” Harlow doesn’t hesitate to ascribe racism to Long’s plight. “I’ll put it this way,” he says. “If this would have happened five years earlier, he wouldn’t have had a trial. He would have been hanging from a tree.”

s told in police reports and trial transcripts, the rape took place on Sunday, April 25, 1976, around 9:45 p.m. Earlier, the victim had gone to church and the post office. She spent the evening sewing, making phone calls, and getting ready to go to the beach with friends the following day. Around 9:30, she took out hamburger meat to defrost and put broccoli on the stove; when it was ready, she made her way from

10 | 2.21.18 | INDYweek.com

The neighbor’s husband called the police; they arrived at about ten. According to the initial incident report, the victim said she’d been attacked by a black man wearing a leather jacket, a beanie, and possibly gloves. She described him as having slim hips, a slender build, and an occasionally soft-spoken voice. She elaborated on her attacker’s appearance during the trial, telling the court he had a complexion that was “yellow-looking” and “just not totally black. Not like, you know, a blue-black, black man.” (Long and his supporters point out that he has a dark complexion.) The victim was rushed to the emergency room of the Cabarrus Memorial Hospital. There, she was examined by a doctor who, according to medical records, followed existing rape protocols and collected biological evidence, including pubic hair and fluids. With the victim in the hospital, police officers investigated the crime scene. Van Isenhour, a detective with the Concord Police Department, arrived at the victim’s home around 10:30, according to his testimony. He photographed the house and began collecting evidence. He searched for fingerprints and, the following morning, lifted a latent shoeprint from a column near the porch, which the attacker had presumably climbed to break into the house. Isenhour also collected latent fin-

Ronnie Long, inmate 0247905 gerprints, carpet samples, suspect hair, and paint samples, as well as pieces of the victim’s clothing and partially burned matches, and later brought them to the SBI office in Raleigh for examination. At the hospital, Sergeant David Taylor presented the victim with a photographic lineup of thirteen possible suspects; they were all black men, age twenty to thirty. Long was not among them, and the victim couldn’t identify anyone from the photo array. Ten days later, Taylor and Lieutenant George Vogler stopped by the victim’s house and asked her to come with them to the district court on the morning of May 10. They wanted her to observe everyone in the courtroom in case her assailant was there. “She was told that the person who committed the offense could or could not be in court on that day, and that she was not going to court for the specific reason of picking out a person that was in the courtroom,” Taylor testified. They told the victim to wear a disguise. So, five days later—and fifteen days after the crime—when the officers picked her up and brought her to court, she had on a blue pantsuit, a red wig, and glasses. The victim’s neighbor accompanied her. The two sat in the left side of gallery, as the officers surveyed them from the jury box.

Long was seated in the middle of the gallery. He was in court to resolve a misdemeanor charge for trespassing in a public park, which he received after a judge suspended him from the area for getting into a scuffle. (See sidebar, page 13.) The victim later recalled about thirty-five to fifty people in the courtroom, and about a dozen African Americans. She waited there, alert, for more than an hour. Finally, the judge called Long to come forward. The victim alerted her neighbor: “That’s the one,” she whispered. After she identified Long, the officers asked her about her level of confidence. “There is no doubt in my mind,” she told them. “Absolutely no doubt.” They brought her to the police station, where they once again showed her a photo lineup of suspects. Long was in this one, and she selected his photo. Asked at the trial if anything distinctive about the suspect’s clothing grabbed her attention, she noted Long’s coat. “It was the jacket,” she said, referring to Long, who was the only person in the lineup wearing a leather coat. “It was the identical, one identical to it. It was a leather jacket.” During the trial, the victim demurred when the judge asked her if it was possible that the officers asked her to pick Long.

“They could have,” she replied, “but I don’t know, I don’t remember finding out, even finding out that when, what his name was really.” This method of identification is highly concerning to criminal justice and misidentification experts. They point out that the victim, in the courtroom with her possible assailant, was placed in a stressful and potentially retraumatizing environment, and that by the time she identified Long, more than two weeks had passed since the attack. Moreover, eyewitness identifications across racial lines—for example, a white woman identifying a black man—are particularly prone to error. Jennifer Soble, a senior attorney for Harvard’s Fair Punishment Project, which advocates for criminal justice reform, says the identification was “plainly illegal.” Soble points to the police officers’ suggestion that the assailant could be in the courtroom, which could signal the victim that they already have a suspect in mind or have insider knowledge about the case. “Identification procedures should never reveal which individual, if anyone, law enforcement already suspects,” she says. “Because when the law enforcement agent suggests that a particular person is a suspect, that suggestion can subconscious-

ly direct the witness toward that suspect, even if the witness would never have picked that person using a proper identification procedure.” Karen Newirth, a staff attorney at the Innocence Project, agrees that Long’s identification was improper. She adds that the leather jacket Long was wearing when he was identified was significant and could have subconsciously influenced the victim. “What we know about how memory works and how people make identifications is, this isn’t happening on a conscious level,” Newirth says. “It’s happening on an unconscious level. The social-science researchers would say the only procedure that has any forensic value to tell us something about the likelihood that the suspect is in fact the person who committed the crime is the first procedure, and the first procedure should be a nonsuggestive procedure. He was not in the first photo lineup.” When Long was in the courthouse, he had no idea he was a suspect in a rape case. After his misdemeanor charge was dismissed, he drove to his home in Concord, where he lived with his parents. A few hours later, Taylor and Officer Marshall Lee came knocking. Long was taken into state custody that evening. He would never go home again. INDYweek.com | 2.21.18 | 11

fficers Lee, Taylor, and Ludwig stopped by Long’s home on May 10, 1976, the day the victim identified him. From there, the accounts of Long and the police officers begin to diverge. At trial, Long testified that the officers told him he needed to return to the station to straighten out the trespassing charge. Taylor, meanwhile, testified that Long wasn’t given a reason; instead, they just asked him to “come by” the police department, and Long agreed. While they were talking, Long testified, his father approached the officers, asking if he needed to accompany his son to the station or provide him with an attorney. The officers, according to Long and his father, told him he did not. “They say it’ll only take about ten or fifteen minutes,” his father testified. “He’ll be right back.” Long hadn’t been told that he was suspected of rape. That came soon after, though. Long arrived at the police station at about 6:45 p.m. There, he was read his rights and told he was a suspect. Long says he was stunned. Here again, the stories take separate paths. The officers said they asked Long for consent to search his mom’s car, which he drove to the station. They later acknowledged that they did not obtain a search warrant but said they did not need one, as Long agreed to the search. Long, meanwhile, testified that Vogler asked him to empty his pockets on the table, took his car keys without providing an explanation, and then went downstairs. Long said they never asked permission to search the car, nor did he give it. Either way, the police searched Long’s car. There, they testified, they found a pair of gloves in the sun visor, matchbooks, and a beanie in the front seat. Long admits that the gloves were his, but he’s always said that the beanie wasn’t—and that it wasn’t in the car. During the trial, several witnesses, including Long’s dad, said they’d never seen the hat on Long. After searching the car, the officers took Long to the office of the magistrate, who drew up warrants for his arrest. Even then, Long says, he wasn’t truly aware of how serious things had become. “Ain’t no way in the world they could do this to me!” he thought. He would soon find out how wrong he was.

t trial, Long’s defense rested on his alibi. His attorneys called several witnesses who testified that they’d seen him on the day of the assault. Long’s then-girlfriend—and the mother of his two-year-old child—said that he called her just after 9 p.m. and spoke to her for about forty-five minutes, ending the call 12 | 2.21.18 | INDYweek.com

mony of [the victim] and [the victim] alone, with no other evidence whatsoever, that would have been sufficient for you to consider this matter directly on the charges as they are now up here.” The jury agreed. On October 1, 1976, Long was convicted and sentenced to two concurrent life sentences. When the guilty verdict was read, pandemonium broke out in the courtroom. “Whites cheered; blacks jeered and cried in outrage,” his former defense attorney, James Fuller, later testified. Later that night, Long rode with two white sheriff’s deputies to Raleigh’s Central Prison. He sat in the car, heavily restrained, as Daryl Hall’s “She’s Gone” played softly on the radio. He thought about the woman he was dating and his uncertain life ahead. He gazed out the window and wondered, Man, what have I gotten myself into? As the car inched toward the prison, Long took in his surroundings. He felt like he was looking at an odd, twisted castle out of a Frankenstein movie—“old walls with these big old stones, church windows with the bars and pigeons flying in and out.” One of the deputies, Long remembers, told him to look to his left at his new home. “He said, ‘Nigga, you won’t be back. You think you tough? They gonna show you what tough is behind these walls.’”

A Long talks to Ashleigh inside the Albemarle Correctional Institution. at about 9:45, the time the victim said the attack took place. Long’s mother also recalled interacting with him during that time frame. She told the court that Long came home at about 8:30, then went upstairs to his room. Just after nine, she said, Long, who was on the phone with his girlfriend, said his son was on the phone. Long’s mother picked up and talked to her grandson for about five or ten minutes; when she hung up, she testified, Long stayed on the line. He came downstairs at about 10:25 and told her he was on his way to a party in Charlotte. She told the court that there was no way anyone could have gotten out of the windows in Long’s room; she also said she would have seen him if he’d come downstairs before she saw him at 10:30.

Hospital records indicated that the victim fought off her attacker—even bending back her fingernails while trying to scratch him—but witnesses testified that Long was unscathed when they saw him later that night, saying they saw no scratches, bruises, or blood on his body. In his closing argument, the prosecutor referred to the footprint left at the crime scene. Whoever it belonged to, he said, was responsible for the attack. But he admitted that the shoes that made the mark couldn’t definitively be tied to Long. During the trial, an SBI officer who examined the footprints testified that he couldn’t say for certain that Long’s shoes made the prints—just that they “could have.” Nevertheless, the prosecutor argued that if “we had simply presented to you the testi-

fter Long’s conviction, Concord bubbled over with fury. The next day, hundreds of protesters descended on the city’s downtown, staging a demonstration in front of the courthouse. For days, fifty police officers in full riot gear stationed themselves at a nearby park. The police chief warned protesters that violence would be met with force. Long’s case garnered widespread attention even before the verdict. Two months before his sentencing, three hundred people rallied in support of Long in front of the courthouse. A handful of speakers denounced his arrest. “We’re gonna let them rich folks that run this town know they’re gonna free Ronnie Long,” one declared. “We’re gonna let this Klansman judge get an idea. … We’re gonna start dealing with all these racists.” According to newspaper clippings and other documents, the all-white jury was a major point of contention. “Long’s story was over before the judge entered the courtroom,” reads a “Free Ronnie Long” flyer distributed by the Southern Conference Educational Fund. “Of the fortynine people summoned for jury duty, only four were Black. Defense challenges against the jury pool, admittedly selected by the sheriff who arbitrarily removed all ‘undesirables’ from the jury list, were rejected by the judge. The handful of Blacks were dismissed

and an all-white jury selected, half of them associated with Cannon Mills. Was this a jury of Ronnie’s peers?” Meanwhile, Long, in prison, assumed he’d be out in a matter of years—five, perhaps, until he proved his innocence. But five years bled into ten, ten to fifteen, fifteen to twenty. Long spent his twenties in prison, his thirties, his forties, his fifties, now his sixties. During that time, his grandmother, two sisters, and father all passed away. His mother says she’s “just waiting on Ronnie to get out. God let me live to see him get out of there.” For years, Long filed appeals and argued his innocence, to no avail. But his case got a boost in 2005, after the UNC Innocence Project took up his defense and filed a motion to preserve evidence in Cabarrus County Superior Court. The court ordered the district

found. The NorthEast Medical Center told the court that the hospital did not have any remaining evidence and that it had turned everything over to the Concord police in 1976. In 2007, Long’s attorneys filed another motion to preserve evidence, this time to UNC Hospitals, which at the time of the crime conducted blood tests. In response, the attorneys learned that the system had no records in Long’s or the victim’s name. “I think the test results on the jacket would have been absolute dynamite for a trial attorney who knew what he or she was doing back in 1976,” said one of Long’s attorneys at a 2008 hearing. “And in fact it probably, it could well have been the most critical piece of evidence in the case, because without the test we tried to argue, and it’s hard to argue when you don’t have the test result.”

department’s report did not provide any information about the scope of the database—whether it was local, statewide, or national.) In response, Long asked for the commission’s file on the case, but the district attorney’s office objected, and the commission declined to provide the file. When Long found out about the new evidence, he was floored. “I wish I had known this in seventy-six,” he says. “Lawd, I wish I had known this in seventy-six.” Despite this new evidence, Long’s case didn’t make much headway in the courts. His earlier appeals, which argued that his lawyers’ failure to challenge the jury-selection process constituted ineffective counsel, went nowhere. After obtaining new evidence in 2005, Long tried to get a new

“Why am I still behind these bars? What have I got to do to prove that I’m not the man that y’all are looking for? I’m tired. Forty-two years. I mean, what do you want from me?” attorney’s office, as well as the SBI and Concord Police Department, to find and preserve physical evidence in the case and hand over all related test results and reports to the defense. The court also ordered NorthEast Medical Center—formerly Cabarrus Memorial Hospital, where the victim was examined—to turn over biological evidence. The police department located a file from Detective Isenhour that contained a list of items he collected from the crime scene and then brought to the SBI. The SBI located a file with the test results. None of the items taken from the crime scene showed a match to Long. For example, the SBI compared a sample of Long’s hair to a hair found at the crime scene. They didn’t match. The leather jacket, gloves, and beanie were tested for paint and carpet fibers. No dice. A comparison of matches found at the crime scene to matchbooks taken from Long’s car didn’t turn up anything, either. The existence of that SBI file was never disclosed to Long’s defense attorneys before his trial. Indeed, when Isenhour took the stand and was asked about the items he brought to the SBI, he said he had only taken Long’s shoes and shoe impressions. Moreover, the defense was never told about the existence of a rape kit that the police department obtained. It, too, never came up at trial—and now it’s nowhere to be

A private investigator who worked with Long’s defense team said he was “stunned” to learn that nearly all of the physical evidence in the case had been sent to the SBI for testing, and the results linked none of it to Long. At that hearing, the original prosecutor did something unusual: he testified for the defense, saying he had no recollection of seeing Isenhour’s or the SBI’s reports. If he’d seen them, he said, he would have turned them over to the defense. He also said he did not know about the swabs or samples taken from the victim at the hospital, and if he had known about them, he would have sought further testing. That wasn’t all that came to light. In 2015, the North Carolina Innocence Inquiry Commission, a state agency that investigates inmates’ innocence claims, found latent fingerprints collected from the crime scene by the Concord police. According to a May 12, 1976, report by Isenhour, nearly seventy fingerprints had been collected from the crime scene and repeatedly checked against suspects. But the cops weren’t able to find a match. The commission asked the Concord police to run the fingerprint lifts through a fingerprint identification system. In 2015, the police department issued a one-page report concluding that the search returned “no possible contributors.” (The police

trial, but the Cabarrus County Superior Court ruled that the new items wouldn’t have changed the jury’s mind. Long’s defense team appealed to the N.C. Supreme Court. In 2011, the court deadlocked 3–3 on a decision to reverse the superior court’s ruling. The split affirmed the status quo, and the lower court’s order remained in place. That’s when Long’s case moved to federal court. In 2016, his lawyers filed a habeas petition with the Middle District Court of North Carolina. But the court dismissed the case on the basis that Long had not litigated the new fingerprint evidence in state court. Long’s team appealed to the Fourth Circuit Court, and in October, the court agreed with Long, sending the petition back to the district court, where it is today. Long’s attorneys are asking to have his conviction vacated, but they’re aware that anything could happen—including another dismissal, which they would then appeal again. As for Long, he says his hopes are simple: he just wants the judge ruling on the petition to “apply the law.” “If she applies the law, then I’ll walk up out of here,” he says. “Why am I still behind these bars? What have I got to do to prove that I’m not the man that y’all are looking for? I’m tired. Forty-two years. I mean, what do you want from me? What do you want?”

Why Ronnie?

There’s one vexing question that permeates this story: How did the police zero in on Ronnie Long in the first place? After all, they seem to have had someone in mind when they asked the victim to come to the courthouse and see if she spotted her rapist. If that someone was Long—if it wasn’t a coincidence that he happened to be there when the victim was—then why did police have their eyes on him? That question goes unanswered in the legal documents. But there is a plausible explanation. It never came up in Long’s trial and only emerged years later as a filing from the DA’s office. In July 1975, Long’s social security card was found at the scene of a rape in Washington, D.C. Long says his wallet was stolen several days before the incident. He wasn’t indicted because he wasn’t identified by the victim and two witnesses. The Concord Police Department had records of this incident because the D.C. police had contacted the local cops for a photo of Long when his social security card was retrieved. It’s possible, then, that when detectives were trying to find their rapist, they recalled this incident. Jamie Lau, Long’s attorney with the Duke Wrongful Convictions Clinic, says that Long “likely became a suspect in Concord because of an earlier, unrelated investigation in D.C., where he was ultimately cleared as the perpetrator.” INDYweek.com | 2.21.18 | 13

few years ago, Long’s personal life took an unexpected turn. In 2013, he received a letter from a stranger. Long opened the envelope, sent from a woman named Ashleigh Ward, and began reading the note, dated July 28. She’d come across his case, she wrote, and wanted to help. Ashleigh, now a petite thirty-two-yearold living in Durham, was studying criminal justice and criminology at the University of North Carolina at Charlotte (she later dropped out to pursue Long’s case fulltime). She included her phone number in case he was willing to talk. When she mentioned that she was white, Long paused. He wondered if he should even bother. But Long sent her a letter, and the two struck up a correspondence. Their first phone call was quick. Ashleigh found him fun to talk to. She insisted on helping him, whether he agreed to it or not. Ashleigh says she felt his innocence deep in her gut. “That’s all it’s ever been. The guy didn’t do it,” she says. “Even when he drives me nuts, it’s like, ‘free Ronnie Long.’” The couple’s first in-person visit came about two months after she dropped the letter in the mail: October 3, 2013. Ashleigh drove three hours from Concord, where she was living, to the Harnett Correctional Institution in Lillington. They took a photo of the visit. His expression is haunting: no smile, and a stare that cuts straight into the camera. They kept up their correspondence, and Ashleigh, a few months later, realized she was developing feelings for Long. It dawned on her on a Saturday afternoon in the winter. She was in a McDonald’s, using the free wi-fi to work on Long’s case, and her phone rang: it was him on the other line. “I think I’m falling in love with you and it’s weird!” she blurted out. Long laughed. “I’m like, the old man had some game, I guess,” she says. She suggested they get married. Long was hesitant. Nobody supported the idea— not their families or Long’s attorneys. But they decided to do it anyway. They submitted a request to Harnett, which then selected a wedding date for them: August 18, 2014. The ceremony was at 10:30 a.m. They needed two witnesses; Ashleigh’s friends couldn’t make it, so they used an inmate and his counselor. The couple read their vows and kissed. Then Long surprised her with their song: “If You Know Like I Know,” by Teddy Pendergrass. The next day, Ashleigh Ward became Ashleigh Long. 14 | 2.21.18 | INDYweek.com

Ronnie and Ashleigh Long

oel Harlow, the Texan, has a plan for when Long gets out. He’s going to hop on a plane to North Carolina and treat him to a steak and a beer. And then, if Long agrees, the two will fly back to Texas. Harlow’s eighty-four-year-old father, who writes and calls Long in prison regularly, will introduce himself. The three will go to church together. For Long to get that steak and beer, though, the chips have to fall just right. The courts have to decide that all of the evidence amassed since 2005 entitles him to a new hearing, even though, for a decade, they’ve been unwilling to do that. If Long is one day exonerated, he’ll join an ever-growing club. According to data from the University of Michigan’s National Registry of Exonerations, 2,155 people have been wrongfully convicted and later exonerated since 1989, adding up to a total of 18,881 years lost. In North Carolina, sixty people have been exonerated during that time. Taken across racial lines, the data is starker. African Americans comprise about 13 percent of the U.S. population but account for nearly 50 percent of all wrongful convictions. An African American behind bars for sexual assault is three-and-a-half times more likely to be innocent than a white sexual-assault convict, according to the registry.

In half of all sexual-assault exonerations due to eyewitness misidentification, black men were convicted of raping white women. In a 2017 report, the registry concluded that the major cause of this disparity boils down to white victims misidentifying black defendants: “One of the oldest and most consistent findings of systematic studies of eyewitness identification is that white Americans are much more likely to mistake one black person for another than to mistakenly identify members of their own race.” It’s happened before in North Carolina. In 1984, a man broke into the apartment of a twenty-two-year-old college student, Jennifer Thompson, and sexually assaulted her. Thompson later picked Ronald Cotton, a black man, as her attacker in a photo and in-person lineup. Cotton was convicted and sentenced to life in prison. A decade later, however, DNA evidence cleared him; testing revealed that a different man, Bobby Poole, had committed the assault. Thompson apologized to Cotton after he was exonerated, and the two eventually became friends, even traveling the country together to raise awareness about the pitfalls of eyewitness identifications. When she identified Cotton, Thompson was certain she’d gotten it right. The mind,

she says, is a powerful thing. It can convince itself of false memories. “For most of us crime survivors, who pick somebody out of a lineup and then are given confirmation, you can never regain your original memory,” she says. “It’s just gone. It’s wiped out of your memory bank. Every rape survivor I’ve talked to, when it’s led to a wrongful conviction, they will tell you that they can’t get the face of the wrongfully accused person out of their head. It was years after Ronald was exonerated, I couldn’t untangle Ronald’s face from my nightmare. I knew he was innocent, but I had no memory of Bobby Poole. You can’t do it. It’s now a completely new memory.” Thompson adds: “As it relates to Ronnie, it’s time for the system to do the right thing.” Today, Long is still inmate 0247905. His mother is still alive. Ashleigh still visits him every week. Harlow and his father are still waiting to take him to church in Texas. Long says he’s about to run out of energy, but he’s not done yet. “You got to be strong,” he says. “You got to be strong in order to come through here. Because if you fail, then they done defeated you. Your best weapon is to come through this.” ehellerstein@indyweek.com

NCDOT TO HOLD PUBLIC MEETING MARCH 1 FOR PROPOSED TEN TEN ROAD WIDENING FROM APEX PEAKWAY TO KILDAIRE FARM ROAD IN WAKE COUNTY TIP No. U-5825 The N. C. Department of Transportation will hold a public meeting in March regarding the proposed widening of Ten Ten Road from Apex Peakway to Kildaire Farm Road. The project is needed to address delay and congestion present along the corridor. The public meeting will be held Thursday March 1, 2018 between 4 and 7 p.m. at The Summit Church located at 3000 Lufkin Road in Apex. At the meeting, maps of the proposed alternatives will be presented. Project team members will be available to discuss the project, answer questions, and provide feedback. Written comments or questions may be submitted at the meeting or via mail/email by March 15, 2018. Please note no formal presentation will be made. Maps can be viewed or downloaded as they come available online on the NCDOT Public Meetings Website: https://www.ncdot.gov/projects/publicmeetings/.

YOUR WEEK. EVERY WEDNESDAY. FOOD • NEWS • ARTS • MUSIC

Additionally, maps and additional information may be viewed and comments or questions may be submitted by visiting NCDOT’s public Engagement Platform site for the project at: https://ncdot.publicinput.com/tenten_apexcary. Persons with additional questions may contact Zahid Baloch, PE, NCDOT Division 5 Senior Project Engineer at (919) 707-6012 or by email at zbaloch@ncdot.gov. NCDOT will provide auxiliary aids and services under the Americans with Disabilities Act for disabled persons who wish to participate in this meeting. Anyone requiring special services should contact Diane Wilson, Environmental Analysis Unit via email at pdwilson1@ncdot.gov or by phone (919) 707-6073 as early as possible so that arrangements can be made. Aquellas personas que hablan español y no hablan inglés, o tienen limitaciones para leer, hablar o entender inglés, podrían recibir servicios de interpretación si los solicitan antes de la reunión llamando al 1-800-481-6494 INDYWEEK.COM INDYweek.com | 2.21.18 | 15

indyfood

LUNCH BREAK

M KOKKO

311 Holland Street, Suite B, Durham 919-908-9332

Open Table

MAYOR STEVE SCHEWEL BREAKS FOR RAMEN AND A CONVERSATION ABOUT SHARED PROSPERITY BY VICTORIA BOULOUBASIS

hen the bowl of ramen arrives at M Kokko, Durham Mayor Steve Schewel hustles to grab his cell phone from his pocket before the steam— and the dramatic visual effect—evaporates. “I like to take pictures of food to send to my kids,” he says. “That’s like our main way of communicating. My boys, they’re busy. But if I send them pictures, they’ll be like, oh wow! I’ll send it to them now. Maybe they’ll respond by the time we’re done.” As a candidate, Schewel published an op-ed in the Herald-Sun just weeks before last year’s election detailing his plans for dealing with hunger in Durham. Fifty thousand people in the city are food insecure, and 20 percent of its citizens live in poverty. Last week, in his first State of the City address, Schewel brought it up again, issuing a call for a food security summit within the next year. He hopes the city will soon hire its first food coordinator. “A way we can begin to share prosperity in Durham is to attack the issue of food insecurity,” he says. Over a lunch at M Kokko (his first visit) we discussed his shared prosperity model as it relates Durham’s most enticing trend: its food scene. Schewel helps inaugurate our Lunch Break series, where we take a Triangle public figure out to lunch of their choice, for a conversation about anything related to food. For the record, Schewel did not let us pay for his meal. We split the wings. INDY: What excites you about the way our food scene is celebrated? STEVE SCHEWEL: I’m just stunned some times at the recognition we get for it. It’s deserved. I could eat out every night and be super happy. What do you see as both good and challenging about it? The good thing is all the places I like to eat. It’s incredible. Like, being here today, the cultural expression that these restaurants 16 | 2.21.18 | INDYweek.com

represent is phenomenal. And just the attention to quality. This is a niche full of serious chefs [and] this amazing appreciation for food in our city. It’s not just great restaurants. People are crazy for it and proud of it. One thing that is the most problematic: wages. I admire people like Grub or Cocoa Cinnamon, Monuts, places that are paying the living wage and have committed to it. But I know that’s very difficult for a lot of places. Sometimes people are making a choice between wages and the ingredients they want. Is there any way the city can help alleviate that dilemma for business owners? If it was just the restaurant business, maybe we could. But we’re in a big global economy. Our ability to affect wages is not very high. So, we’re prohibited by the legislature to require a minimum wage higher than seven dollars and twenty-five cents. The other downside is related, and it’s the problem that not everyone can share it. We have this incredible food culture, and twenty percent of people in our city could never dream of coming to a restaurant like this. There are many people of color and immigrants who want to start a food business, but they feel it’s impossible because of the lack of financial backing. When laying out your plans for the food summit, is business ownership a part of the equation? Because efforts to support economic development may not be reaching folks who have the culinary skills, experience, and talent but don’t have a certification. Exactly. I think that’s not just true in food but in many areas of our economy. I think about it in terms of contracting, but you’re making me realize it’s also true in terms of food. We’re doing a new city economic development plan. One of the things I talked about is shared prosperity. How do you bring in minority- and women-owned businesses into the prosperity we’re all sharing? How do we create businesses out of the skills we

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Durham Mayor Steve Schewel tries M Kokko’s ramen.

PHOTO BY VICTORIA BOULOUBASIS

How doe grant stru It’s got to our econo is workin shared pr housing t involve p interest r up by the ers confi top loss f to privat ing to com housing. don’t wan accepting

have, with access to capital and expertise in financing and marketing? That’s got to be a big part of our plan. In terms of restaurants and food businesses, it’s the same. I’m encouraged by a mayor thinking about food as an issue. It’s so intersectional, and we can start solving a lot of problems if we think through it. I agree. It’s so basic, so fundamental. We can make a difference. I’m not an expert on this. If you ask me about affordable housing, I know a ton. I’ve been working on it every day for the last six years. My knowledge about food insecurity and other related food problems is something that I’m trying to get educated about from my friends who do work on this every day. But I also know that for housing to work, to make our schools better, to make sure everybody’s got a great park and a trail near them—those things are going to contribute to food security. And being able to have a good job and a good wage. All those things matter.

people to do that. And I think we’ll be able to raise fifteen or twenty million dollars to do that for affordable housing. We need to be thinking about similar kinds of models for minority business development—not particularly restaurants, but it could be restaurants. Do you think that model is malleable enough to be shaped into restaurant development? I think it’s harder, because when you’re building affordable housing and you’re taking a risk on it, the housing is collateral. And if things go bad, you’ve got the housing. If things go bad in a restaurant, you’ve got the forks, you know what I mean? It’s a really good way to think about it. If we can get private financial institutions to make a commitment, the city could provide top loss. This is not a program that our staff has proposed to us yet, but I’m anxious to hear their ideas about how we’re going to help provide capital. And that’s just one idea.

“There’s no shortage of people who want to open restaurants in Durham. The main danger is people being priced out.” How do we create a vision that goes beyond what already exists? I’m thinking about business development and giving people who are in need a chance to participate— and a sense of ownership, if they want it. Because that’s what’s bringing folks here. This creative force of restaurant work is the economic vitality of the city in many ways. It is. That’s the key for people who want to be in business and can’t. It’s usually access to capital, and we need to think about that. And it’s not just for restaurants, I want to stress that. It’s for minority- and womanowned businesses in general. How does that happen? Is it through a grant structure or private funders? It’s got to be private capital. Once we have our economic development plan—our staff is working on that now; it’s based on the shared prosperity model. We’re creating a housing trust fund, for example, that will involve private capital loaned out at low interest rates and risk capital that’s put up by the city. That gives the private lenders confidence. The city will provide the top loss funds, [which] mitigates the risk to private lenders so they’re more willing to come into something like affordable housing. They want to be helpful, but they don’t want to lose their money. By the city accepting the top loss, it makes it easier for

Where else do you like to eat? I’ll tell you some of my favorites. Where I love to go at nine o’clock and just sit at the bar with my wife: Gocciolina. It’s very friendly, the food is great. I get the carbonara and it’s nine dollars. It’s just fabulous. We drink the house carafe, which is cheap. You can’t go wrong with an Italian house carafe. It’s delicious. I love Gocciolina, I love the mood, I love how sort of relaxed it is. I love Scratch, so I’m really bummed out now that it’s closing [downtown]. I walk right across from City Hall once a week, at least. So this month, I’m going practically every day. I love Toast. I feel like my hometown place is Watts Grocery. It’s in my neighborhood, I can walk there, it’s very comfortable, the food is delish. There are so many, I’m just scratching the surface. Oh, and Johnson’s Barbecue on [N.C. Highway 98]. Ribs are Thursday night. I tell you what I really like: I love Suman’s Indian Cuisine on Monday nights at Fullsteam. I took cooking lessons from Suman. I can cook a few of her dishes. Really? What do you like to cook? You know, chicken tikka masala. Chana masala. Saag paneer. I cook a lot. I’ve been cooking less since I’ve been mayor. vbouloubasis@indyweek.com INDYweek.com | 2.21.18 | 17

food Food for All

DESPITE THE FEDERAL GOVERNMENT’S MURKY PLANS FOR FOOD SECURITY, LOCAL FOOD COUNCILS ARE TACKLING HUNGER ISSUES HEAD-ON BY AMANDA ABRAMS

s the Trump administration reconsiders the federal government’s longtime commitment to alleviate hunger through food stamps, Wake County has taken up the issue through local policy. Over the last three years, key stakeholders in a range of fields have developed a plan for addressing hunger in the county. And now they’re poised to seriously move forward. Many of the community groups pursued their own initiatives along the way. But on February 5, Wake County commissioners finally—and formally—approved the plan, setting the stage for the county government to address key policy and funding priorities. From a layperson’s perspective, it’s all kind of wonky. Hunger, of course, is “food insecurity,” and the many paths by which food is produced and distributed are through the local “food system.” There are councils and networks and working groups, strategies and actions and indicators. But at heart, this process helps us understand why 132,000 Wake County residents don’t have enough to eat. In a way, it’s a testament to the power of local food councils, which have been on the upswing in North Carolina since 2012; the state now boasts thirty-three of them, more than any state except California. These are intentionally cross-sector groups that allow community members to examine their local food systems and economies. “They don’t necessarily create new programs, but get folks from different perspectives to help create practices, policies, and procedures that allow the food system to work better,” says Abbey Piner, who heads Community Food Strategies, a nonprofit that works with food councils across the state. So the councils, for example, might look at zoning changes that allow local residents to grow and then sell their own food. 18 | 2.21.18 | INDYweek.com

In Wake County, the process began almost four years ago, when the Capital Area Food Network, a food council, formed. In 2015, policymakers in Wake County—including Commissioner Matt Calabria—had established a Food Security Workgroup to look at what schools were doing to address hunger in kids. Workgroup members quickly found, though, that the issue went way beyond schools. “School-based strategies are vital but will never be sufficient,” says Katherine Williams, director of Wake County’s cooperative extension office and a leader throughout the process. “If we really wanted to look at how we could address this ongoing problem in our community, I knew we’d have to broaden our approach and engage all parts of the community and all sectors of the food system.” The Capital Area Food Network, meanwhile, had little legal or political clout, but was engaged with a wide range of actors and resources throughout the community—nonprofits, social service groups, urban farmers, food banks, health care groups. Eventually the two groups began working together, and, after a June 2016 summit, the county commissioners allocated funding for a comprehensive plan examining food security in the county. “It’s not just about putting food into hungry people’s hands; it’s more about why people go to a food pantry in the first place, what’s the quality of food there, what’s the household like that might need assistance,” says Erin White, whose company, Community Food Lab, was under contract by the county to develop and write the plan. White, the founder of several innovative food-related initiatives in Wake and Durham counties, helped start the Capital Area Food Network. Thinking big—and collaboratively—is one of his hallmarks.

ILLUSTRATION BY CHRISTOPHER WILLIAMS

“We designed a plan with a lot of community engagement,” she says. “Through lots of research, we developed a comprehensive approach that looks at education, the economy, networks, and food production locally.” The end result is forty-one action items that can lead to a more prosperous, satisfied community in Wake County. They include things like increasing the number of food pantries at public schools, advocating for broader options for food stamp redemption, increasing meal delivery to low-income seniors, and pushing for a voluntary living wage among private sector businesses. Wake County has four full-time Americorps VISTA members who focus on food security, as well as a small army of dedicated volunteers. The school system has established a school garden coordinator, community gardens throughout the county have been mapped, and a survey of food pantries is underway. But the pace should pick up considerably later this month; Wake County has funded a full-time food security program manager to coordinate implementation of the plan, and the new hire, Sydney Klein, will start February 26.

County commissioners say they’re squarely behind the effort. “This is an amazing comprehensive food-security plan,” said commission chairwoman Jessica Holmes at the February 5 meeting. “I’m proud of how people-centric we are.” The county’s recent adoption of the plan means that some of the bigger policy and funding recommendations should get some attention. Commissioners have particularly focused on making a portion of Walnut Hill, a four-hundred-acre preserve in Wake County that the Triangle Land Conservancy is establishing, available to farmers who otherwise lack access to land and using some of that space for agricultural education. They’re also interested in partnering with the community action agency Passage Home to establish a site where southeast Raleigh residents can take culinary training classes, utilize a shareduse kitchen, and work in a nearby garden. Taken as a whole, it’s an impressive local effort. If the federal government steps back from efforts like poverty and hunger alleviation, local governments have to step in. And that’s exactly what they’re doing. food@indyweek.com

deep dive

EAT

BEASLEY’S CHICKEN + HONEY

EAT • DRINK • SHOP • PLAY

DOWNTOWN RALEIGH

aleigh isn’t just the second-largest city in North Carolina; it’s also the fastest-growing—164 new people every week. And nowhere is that onslaught of growth more pronounced than in its downtown, which houses not just the state’s government, a trove of world-class bars and restaurants, and an ever-increasing array of skyscrapers, but also a young and vibrant population, many of whom work for the tech giants and start-ups—Citrix, Red Hat—that call Raleigh home. All of this growth has produced an inevitable culture clash: Raleigh, not so long ago, was a sleepy small town; it’s quickly becoming a big city.

237 SOUTH WILMINGTON STREET; 919-322-0127 AC-RESTAURANTS.COM/BEASLEYS Beasley’s gives Southern classics new life. From the bustling, community-style dining tables to the mouth-watering chicken and waffles to the chicken pot pie with milk gravy and cornmeal pastry crust, Beasley’s only adds to Ashley Christensen’s reputation as one of Raleigh’s top chefs.

BENNY CAPITALE’S

121 FAYETTEVILLE STREET, #110; 919-239-4173; BENNYSVA.COM/BENNYCAPITALES Cure your drunk munchies with late-night pizza by the slice, courtesy of this Virginiabased chain.

BIDA MANDA

222 SOUTH BLOUNT STREET; 919-829-9999; BIDAMANDA.COM If authentic Laotian food is your thing— or even if it isn’t—head to Bida Manda immediately, arguably the best bang for your buck in downtown Raleigh. From the Stir-Fry Cashew Ginger Chicken to the Pad Thai, the Sea Bass Mok to the Duck Larb, brotherand-sister team Vansana and Vanvisa Nolintha offer an authentic and inventive take on Laotian cuisine, borrowing from their parents’ recipes and using local ingredients.

BIG ED’S CITY MARKET

220 WOLFE STREET; 919-836-9909; BIGEDSCITYMARKET.COM If you’re in the mood for some stick-to-yourribs home cooking, look no further. Stay with the breakfast menu: country ham biscuits, red-eye gravy on grits, fried catfish with hotcakes.

MUST

PHOTO BY ALEX BOERNER

BREWERY BHAVANA

218 SOUTH BLOUNT STREET; 919-829-9998; BREWERYBHAVANA.COM

Brewery Bhavana is one of Raleigh’s best new restaurants—in 2017, Bon Appétit recently named it the #10 Best New Restaurant in America —but it’s so much more than that. It’s also a brewery and a bookstore and a flower shop. Cofounded by the Nolintha siblings, the minds behind the terrific Bida Manda next door, and head brewer Patrick Woodson, the menu is dim-sum-driven but runs a good twenty pages between the food, beer and cocktails, and flowers, which you can have delivered to your table. You could get lost in the dumplings or the Peking duck—the duck takes three days to prepare, by the way—but make room for the excellent Chamomile IPA, too.

BOULTED BREAD

614 WEST SOUTH STREET; 919-999-3984; BOULTEDBREAD.COM With heirloom grains and a passion for the art of bread, the team at Boulted has gained acclaim. Boulted Bread also offers a rotating pastry selection made from locally sourced ingredients.

CENTRO

106 SOUTH WILMINGTON STREET; 919-835-3593; CENTRORALEIGH.COM There’s a good reason Centro gets packed in such a hurry come lunchtime. High-quality at a reasonable price, it’s one of the better Mexican options downtown.

CHUCK’S

237 SOUTH WILMINGTON STREET; 919-322-0126; AC-RESTAURANTS.COM/CHUCKS Some days, you just need a burger. On those days, you go to Chuck’s. While you’re at it, throw in a spiked dark chocolate cake milkshake.

CLYDE COOPER’S BARBEQUE

327 SOUTH WILMINGTON STREET; 919-832-7614; CLYDECOOPERSBBQ.COM Clyde Cooper’s has been in business since 1938, serving some of the best slow-cooked pork, Brunswick stew, fried chicken, and banana pudding in the South.

CRAWFORD AND SON

618 NORTH PERSON STREET; 919-307-4647; CRAWFORDANDSONRESTAURANT.COM This high-dollar casual spot prides itself on creativity and purposeful ingredients, featuring entrees like pork cheeks with white cheddar grits, melted peppers, and sorghum vinegar.

DEATH & TAXES

105 WEST HARGETT STREET; 984-242-0218; AC-RESTAURANTS.COM/DEATH-TAXES It’s not going to be cheap—in fact, it’s going to cost a good chunk of your paycheck— but Ashley Christensen’s eatery delivers on your investment in every possible way: dry-age short rib meatballs, marrow bones, charcuterie, and, oh God, the Tres Leches Cake.

FICTION KITCHEN

428 SOUTH DAWSON STREET; 919-831-4177; THEFICTIONKITCHEN.COM North Carolina isn’t known for being especially vegetarian-friendly. But on Dawson Street lies one of the best vegetarian restaurants in the United States, bar none. This may be sacrilegious to purists, but we maintain that the Eastern NC Style BBQ Pulled “Pork,” shredded soy drenched in apple cider vinegar, is as good as any barbecue in the state.

FRANK’S PIZZA AND RESTAURANT

2030 NEW BERN AVENUE; 919-231-8990; FRANKSPIZZAINRALEIGH.COM If you’re looking for classic, massive Sicilian slices, this is your place.

2.21.18 • SPECIAL ADVERTISING SECTION • 19

235 S Salisbury Street • Downtown Raleigh

PHOTO BY MIKKEL PAIGE

GARLAND

14 WEST MARTIN STREET; 919-833-6886; GARLANDRALEIGH.COM Garland opened in 2013 as the companion eatery to the nearby Kings nightclub and Neptunes bar and arcade. But it quickly took on a life of its own. It’s Asian fusion— though you’ll also get some Latin American influences—served mostly in small plates. The rice bowl, with either pork or tofu, is a perennial favorite. But we keep coming back for the Shift Drink, Garland’s take on an Old Fashioned, with Bulleit Rye, Cardamaro, and orange peel.

GRINGO A GO GO

sandwiches. During the day, head downstairs to Linus & Pepper’s, an excellent sandwich shop run by the same folks.

LUCETTEGRACE

235 SOUTH SALISBURY STREET; 919-307-4950; LUCETTEGRACE.COM Whether you’re in the mood for a sweet treat or a savory lunch, lucettegrace covers all the bases. Pastry chef/owner Daniel Benjamin has spent fifteen years in the business, perfecting pastries that range from colorful macarons to baklava croissants that blend traditional French cuisines with contemporary flair.

100 NORTH PERSON STREET; 919-977-1438; GRINGORALEIGH.COM Gringo’s take on Mexican is up there with the best in Raleigh. For vegetarians, they also offer mock chicken and beef options.

JACK’S SEAFOOD AND SOUL FOOD

1516 NEW BERN AVENUE; 919-755-1551; FACEBOOK.COM/JACKSNEWBERN As the name suggests, Jack’s specializes in soul food and seafood like catfish, flounder, tilapia, and special oyster and scallop dinners on Thursday through Sunday.

JOSE & SONS

327 WEST DAVIE STREET, #102; 919-755-0556; JOSEANDSONS.COM Drawing on both their Mexican heritage and the traditions of the South, where they grew up, Jose and Sons’ owners Charlie and Hector Ibarra have created an acclaimed fusion restaurant that, in just four years, has become a local favorite. The Street Corner Corn on the Cob, with lime-infused Duke’s mayo and queso fresco, is a good example of the many things they do right.

LEE’S KITCHEN

1100 NORTH RALEIGH BOULEVARD; 919-521-5957; LEESKITCHENJAMAICAN.COM Lee’s is a soul food/Jamaican spot with staples of both cuisines, including jerk chicken, baby back ribs, macaroni and cheese, and collard greens.

LEVEL UP

126 SOUTH SALISBURY STREET; 919-833-3866; THELOCALICON.COM/LINUS-PEPPERS Level Up is a bar and retro arcade that also takes pride in its kitchen, which offers a range of bar-type appetizers and 20 • SPECIAL ADVERTISING SECTION • 2.21.18

PHOTO BY JUSTIN COOK

MOFU SHOPPE

321 SOUTH BLOUNT STREET; 919-301-8465; MOFUSHOPPE.COM Earlier this year, the owners of the awardwinning Pho Nomenal Dumpling Truck opened a brick-and-mortar. At Mofu Shoppe, you find culinary decadence with seasonal availability. Check out their menu to see what is currently being served.

MOONLIGHT PIZZA COMPANY

615 WEST MORGAN STREET; 919-755-9133; MOONLIGHTPIZZA.COM Moonlight offers pies for just about everyone, showcasing local ingredients and a selection of well-chosen specialty pies (try the Harvest Moon). Whether it’s family night, date night, or dinner-with-the-dog night, the patio is an ideal place to kick back.

THE PIT

328 WEST DAVIE STREET; 919-890-4500; THEPIT-RALEIGH.COM The whole-hog cooking concept is on full display at The Pit, a restaurant dedicated to showcasing eastern North Carolina barbecue in all its vinegary glory.

POOLE’S DOWNTOWN DINER 426 SOUTH MCDOWELL STREET; 919-832-4477; AC-RESTAURANTS.COM/POOLES With a decade under its belt, the original Ashley Christensen restaurant is still on top of its game. Named after an old-timey pie shop that once occupied Poole’s address, Poole’s Diner continues the tradition of American comfort food with a modern twist and seasonal sensibilities.

ST. ROCH FINE OYSTERS + BAR

223 SOUTH WILMINGTON STREET; 919-332-0359; STROCHRALEIGH.COM Serving fresh oysters and North Carolina seafood with a hint of Cajun and a ton of attitude, St. Roch also has a fine cocktail and wine list. Dollar oysters on Tuesdays.

French-American bistro serving lunch & dinner 200 E Martin Street · Downtown Raleigh

THE STATION AT PERSON STREET

701 NORTH PERSON STREET; 919-977-1567; STATIONRALEIGH.COM Nestled on the brink of historic Oakwood, The Station offers favorites like sloppy joes and fresh vegetarian options like the portobello caprese.

TAVERNA AGORA

326 HILLSBOROUGH STREET; 919-881-8333; TAVERNAAGORA.COM Taverna Agora embodies freshness, from delicious traditional Greek food to creative takes on cocktails.

TROPHY BREWING AND PIZZA

827 WEST MORGAN STREET; 919-803-4849; TROPHYBREWING.COM It might be overshadowed by its newer, pizza-less sibling on Maywood Avenue, but the original Trophy is still one of the best spots to grab a beer and a pie in Raleigh.

927 West Morgan Street

Located in City Market Downtown Raleigh

Downtown Raleigh

TROPHY TABLE + TAP

PHOTO BY JEREMY M. LANGE

THE REMEDY DINER

927 WEST MORGAN STREET; 919-835-3553; THEREMEDYDINER.COM When you’re recovering from a long Saturday night, there’s no better remedy than, well, Remedy. There‘s plenty for meat-eaters and vegans alike: for the veg-heads, the Under the Volcano mock buffalo chicken sandwich is one of the best in the city.

ROYALE

200 EAST MARTIN STREET; 919-977-3043; ROYALERALEIGH.COM Earlier this year, the INDY declared Royale the Triangle’s best new restaurant. Royale aims to make French food fun and accessible, from the Foie Mousse to the Moules Frites, the Royale Burger to the Sweet Corn Custard.

225 SOUTH WILMINGTON STREET; 919-0424-7817; TROPHYBREWING.COM/TAP-TABLE The newest Trophy offering, in the space that used to house Busy Bee Cafe, features rotisserie chicken and tacos, but you’ll want to spend some time with the sides: red beans and rice, fingerling potatoes with a paprikasherry vinaigrette, succotash with okra and beans.

327 Blake St

919.832.6567

Downtown Raleigh

VIRGIL’S ORIGINAL TAQUERIA

126 SOUTH SALISBURY STREET; 919-833-3866; THELOCALICON.COM/VIRGILS-TACOS A traditional taqueria with a small menu, Virgil’s makes tacos that run the gamut from the standard carne asada to the fried avocado.

YELLOW DOG BREAD CO.

219 EAST FRANKLIN STREET; 984-232-0291; YELLOWDOGBREAD.COM Everyone loves a classic blueberry scone, but Yellow Dog goes above and beyond with tasty treats like blueberries and peaches in rye crust and miniature king cakes for Mardi Gras. 2.21.18 • SPECIAL ADVERTISING SECTION • 21

DRINK

ARCHITECT BAR & SOCIAL HOUSE

108½ HARGETT STREET; ARCHITECTBAR.COM The Architect Bar is a fine bar in which to spend an evening, but what you really want to do is locate its tiny, dimly lit speakeasy, The Green Light, where you’ll find something to sate every cocktail connoisseur.

BOXCAR BAR AND ARCADE

Award winning craft brewery and tasting room in the Warehouse District of Downtown Raleigh. 319We're W DAVIE ST as DOWNTOWN RALEIGH CRANKARMBREWING.COM passionate about cycling as we are about beer!

319 W. Davie St. Raleigh, NC 27601

www.crankarmbrewing.com

330 WEST DAVIE STREET; 919-803-2796; THEBOXCARBAR.COM Make sure you go early—with great drinks and games, there’s almost always a line on Friday and Saturday nights. (Also, they do $1 mimosas and $2 doubles on Sundays.)

CAPITAL CITY TAVERN

112 FAYETTEVILLE STREET; 919-907-1121; CAPITALCITYTAVERN.COM Killer cocktails and beer define this Raleigh gem. Order a Thyme Is Money—a mix of Broker’s gin, Aperol, lemon juice, thymeinfused simple syrup, and orange bitters.

COGLIN’S

226 FAYETTEVILLE STREET; 919-794-7304; COGLINS.COM A throwback to the eighties and nineties, Coglin’s has everything from game night to karaoke. Go with friends and split a fishbowl, a massive drink that has been bringing people together for years.

CRANK ARM BREWING

319 WEST DAVIE STREET; 919-324-3529; CRANKARMBREWING.COM Crank Arm is a staple of both the Warehouse District and Raleigh’s bike community. You won’t win the Tour de France after a couple of Rickshaw IPAs, but there’s always time to do that later.

FOUNDATION

213 FAYETTEVILLE STREET; 919-896-6016; FOUNDATIONNC.COM The first thing you need to know about Foundation is that its bourbon selection is crazy good. The second thing is that the cocktails are crazy good, too. Our pick: the Captain Howard’s, with bourbon, peanuts, cola syrup, and lime.

FOX LIQUOR BAR

237 SOUTH WILMINGTON STREET; 919-322-0128; AC-RESTAURANTS.COM/FOX Another Ashley Christensen joint, Fox is known for both its innovative cocktails, like the Tequila Honeysuckle, and its takes on old standbys, like the Tom Collins. 22 • SPECIAL ADVERTISING SECTION • 2.21.18

ISAAC HUNTER’S TAVERN

414 FAYETTEVILLE STREET; ISAACHUNTERS.COM Named for the original Isaac Hunter’s Tavern— where eighteenth-century lawmakers decided to make the land we now know as Raleigh the state capital, reportedly after a night of heavy boozing—this watering hole aims to be downtown’s neighborhood bar.

KINGS/NEPTUNES

14 WEST MARTIN STREET; 919-833-1091 AND 919-896-7063; KINGSRALEIGH.COM AND NEPTUNESPARLOUR.COM Two of Raleigh’s best music venues and bars, Kings (upstairs) and Neptunes (downstairs) both offer great beers and mixed drinks with various styles of music.

PADDY O’BEERS

121 FAYETTEVILLE STREET; 919-838-0040; PADDYOBEERS.COM Whether you’re looking for a drink or an entire keg, Paddy’s has you covered. This bottle shop/bar offers a solid draft lineup that changes regularly and kegs for whatever event you might be throwing. The big draw, as the name suggests—sound it out—is the sidewalk patio.

PERSON STREET BAR

805 NORTH PERSON STREET; 919-977-5953; PERSON-STREET.COM Located at the far end of Person Street, the bar offers innovative cocktails and one of the best patios in Raleigh.

RUBY DELUXE

414 FAYETTEVILLE STREET; RUBYDELUXERALEIGH.COM Ruby bills itself as a “bar for bar lovers,” which seems like an accurate-enough description. The cocktails are that rare combination of excellent and affordable, and Ruby also has a robust drag and dance-party scene.

SLIM’S

227 SOUTH WILMINGTON STREET; 919-833-6557; SLIMSRALEIGH.COM Slim’s is probably the best dive bar in Raleigh, and despite how cramped it gets, it’s also one of the best spots in Raleigh to catch small touring acts.

STATE OF BEER

401-A HILLSBOROUGH STREET; 919-546-9116; STATEOF.BEER State of Beer has an excellent selection of craft beers from all over and serves up delicious deli sandwiches.

ERN

TASTY BEVERAGE COMPANY

327 WEST DAVIE STREET; 919-828-2789; s Tavern— TASTYBEVERAGECO.COM s decided If you’re looking to meet up with friends on a eigh Saturday afternoon, grab a great craft beer, ght of and then take a sixer from halfway across ms to be the country home with you, you can’t go

wrong with Tasty.

TROPHY BREWING AND TAPROOM

656 MAYWOOD AVENUE; 919-803-1333; TROPHYBREWING.COM and bars, South of downtown, this out-of-the-way wnstairs) taproom features twelve of Trophy’s brews inks with on tap, plus an outdoor patio that draws some of the best food trucks around. If they have it, get the Double Death Spiral IPA.

SHOP

r an . This ineup whatever ig draw, t—is the

reet, the one of the

ers,” gh PHOTO BY CHRISTOPHER WILLIAMS are able, and DECO RALEIGH nce-party 19 WEST HARGETT STREET; 919-828-5484; DECORALEIGH.COM Pam Blondin’s Deco is one of the most colorful shopping locations around. Boasting T; pottery, prints, cards, jewelry, textiles, and OM T-shirts from more than sixty local artists, Deco brings joy and light to downtown. in t gets, it’s h to catch EDGE OF URGE 215 EAST FRANKLIN STREET, #110; 919-827-4000; EDGEOFURGE.COM The second location of Edge of Urge—the first is in Wilmington—has become the go-to spot for unique gifts, clothes, and art. From cutesy dresses to cheeky handmade jewelry, tion Edge of Urge provides something for those es up who march to the beat of their own drum.

FATHER AND SON

302 S. WEST STREET; 919-832-3030; INSTAGRAM.COM/FATHERANDSONRALEIGH Opening soon at their new location, Father and Son proves that antiquing isn’t just for your grandma. It specializes in mid-century furniture and decor but also dabbles in vintage clothing—anything from quirky outfits to funky rainbow moon boots.

HOUSE OF SWANK

315 SOUTH BLOODWORTH STREET; 919-413-7339; HOUSEOFSWANKCLOTHING.COM John Pugh—aka Johnny Swank—boasts that House of Swank’s mission is to produce the “raddest” North Carolina-themed gear ever.

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LOGAN’S ONE STOP GARDEN SHOP

707 SEMART DRIVE; 919-828-5337; LOGANTRD.COM The family-owned Logan’s has been around since 1965 and is now on its third generation of management. Logan’s offers a seemingly unending supply of shrubs, perennials, houseplants, and even fountains.

OAK CITY CYCLING PROJECT

212 EAST FRANKLIN STREET; 919-436-0527; OAKCITYCYCLING.COM As Raleigh aims to become more bikefriendly—we’ll have a bike share pretty soon, don’t ya know—the city’s bicyclists need more places to not only buy bikes but also to maintain them. Oak City Cycling is a local, independent shop focused on increasing bicycle ridership and fostering a bicycling community. It sells and services bikes and hosts bike rides on the first Sunday and third Thursday of the month.

indy week’s bar + beverage magazine on stands march 28 reserve by february 23 Contact your ad rep or advertising@indyweek.com

RALEIGH DENIM WORKSHOP + CURATORY

319 WEST MARTIN STREET; 919-917-8969; RALEIGHDENIMWORKSHOP.COM Each pair of jeans is made in the on-site workshop. You can’t get ’em at Target, and you might not be able to afford ’em, but if you can, the quality is unmatched.

RALEIGH PROVISIONS

107 EAST DAVIE STREET; 984-233-5600; RALEIGHPROVISIONS.COM Bittersweet owner Kim Hammer opened Raleigh Provisions earlier this year as downtown’s micro grocery store—but more than that, as a celebration of and introduction to some of Hammer’s favorite local products.

indy week’s bar + beverage magazine on stands march 28 • reserve by february 23 Contact your ad rep or advertising@indyweek.com

Contact your ad rep or advertising@indyweek.com 2.21.18 • SPECIAL ADVERTISING SECTION • 23

MORE FROM OUR ADVERTISERS DECHEN COLLECTIONS

CITY MARKET, 307 BLAKE STREET; 919-899-6817; DECHENCOLLECTIONS.COM Tibetan singing bowls and prayer beads, hand crafted silver jewelry, meditation cushions, cd’s, Hindu and Buddhist books, sculpture, and other objects of delight wait to be discovered in this tranquil City Market shop. Good chance you’ll meet the shop’s lovely owner, Dechen... and you will be so glad you did.

PLAY

STITCH & HOLLY AIKEN BAGS

ARTSPACE

20 EAST HARGETT STREET; 919-833-8770; HOLLYAIKEN.COM Known to be indestructible and always in style, Holly Aiken bags are a staple for Raleigh natives.

THIEVES MARKET MALL

4111 NEW BERN AVENUE; 919-212-2100; THIEVESMARKETNC.WORDPRESS.COM If you’re looking for a new dresser but don’t want to spend a ton of money, Thieves Market might have what you need. It features used and antique furniture as well as clothes, jewelry, and general decor.

THE DESIGN GALLERY SALON

CITY MARKET, 327 BLAKE STREET; 919-832-6567; DESIGNGALLERYSALON.COM These gals got game. As soon as you walk in, you feel their good vibes in non-pretentious, laid-back, fun and professional boutique salon. Their talented Sassoon trained snippists specialize in geometric cutting techniques, color theory, latest color techniques, and systematic listening which helps lasso unrestrained manes. The Design Gallery Salon is conveniently located in City Market Downtown Raleigh….yep, with lots of parking!

PAT PRICE SENIOR LOAN OFFICER

MOVEMENT MORTGAGE, LLC; 4700 FALLS OF NEUSE ROAD; 919-260-8013 2017 NCHFA Lender of the Year. Pat Price is a UNC graduate (Class of 2001). Fun fact: he worked the late shift at WXYC in the late 90’s. Pat has lived in the Triangle now for 21 years and nothing makes him happier than helping people achieve the “American Dream,” at the best terms possible.

RESIDENCE INN RALEIGH DOWNTOWN

616 SOUTH SALISBURY STREET; 919-856-0017; MARRIOTT.COM Residence Inn by Marriott Raleigh Downtown provides the ideal place to stay in the heart of Raleigh. Located within the Central Business District and adjacent to the Raleigh Convention Center, they offer spacious suites, with full kitchens available. 24 • SPECIAL ADVERTISING SECTION • 2.21.18

201 EAST DAVIE STREET; 919-821-2787; ARTSPACENC.ORG Artspace aims to open the door for the creative process through exhibitions, classes, and workspaces for artists. Whether you want to ponder someone else’s work or learn how to create your own masterpiece, this is a good place to start.

BURNING COAL THEATRE COMPANY

VIDERI CHOCOLATE FACTORY

327 WEST DAVIE STREET; 919-755-5053; VIDERICHOCOLATEFACTORY.COM Whether you’re a Willy Wonka fanatic or you simply understand that nothing beats good chocolate, welcome to your new home.

UMSTEAD DRIVE; 919-996-3285; RALEIGHNC.GOV The Dorothea Dix Park is 306 acres of land surrounded by neighborhoods, schools, and even a university, all just moments away from downtown. Dix Park, which the city purchased from the state in 2015, is undergoing a transition into the destination park that Raleigh needs.

HISTORIC CITY MARKET

224 POLK STREET; 919-834-4001; BURNINGCOAL.ORG One of Raleigh’s leading nonprofit, independent theater companies, Burning Coal specializes in contemporary theater staged with frugal but professional production values.

215 WOLFE STREET; 984-232-8661; HISTORICCITYMARKET.COM City Market is known for its history, shops, and nighttime twinkling lights. Every Thursday through Saturday, City Market Produce fills the streets with affordable fruits and veggies, and on First Fridays the market is filled with artists and music.

CAM RALEIGH

LIONS PARK

409 WEST MARTIN STREET; 919-261-5920; CAMRALEIGH.ORG CAM Raleigh (that’s short for Contemporary Art Museum of Raleigh) is a collaboration between the College of Design at N.C. State and a private organization founded in 1983 as the City Museum of Contemporary Art. It brings an energetic blend of edgy contemporary art and community-focused exhibits to the Warehouse District. PHOTO BY CAITLIN PENNA

DOROTHEA DIX PARK

CHAVIS PARK

505 MARTIN LUTHER KING JR. BOULEVARD; 919-831-6989; RALEIGHNC.GOV Chavis Park is one of the city’s most historic parks. Before African Americans were able to step inside Pullen Park, Chavis Park served as a community space; the carousel, purchased in 1937, was renovated a few years ago.

516 DENNIS AVENUE; 919-996-4726; RALEIGHNC.GOV A forty-one-acre park and community center, Lions is home to Capital City BMX, indoor and outdoor basketball courts, eight tennis courts, and a picnic shelter that fits up to a hundred people.

MARBLES KIDS MUSEUM

201 EAST HARGETT STREET; 919-834-4040; MARBLESKIDSMUSEUM.ORG If your kid loves hands-on activities—and what kid doesn’t—Marbles is here to help. Exhibits like Moneypalooza introduce kids to saving and spending money, and IdeaWorks taps into children’s creativity to get them thinking about how to design and create structures, vehicles, simple machines, and everyday products. Its IMAX theater is a huge draw.

NEXT DEEP DIVE: MARCH 21ST

CHAPEL HILL

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indymusic

CALEB CAUDLE

Saturday, Feb. 24, 8 p.m., $10–$12 Cat’s Cradle, Carrboro www.catscradle.com

Alive and Well

SUPERCHUNK AND S.E. WARD STAY SHARP, WHILE CALEB CAUDLE OFFERS THOUGHTFUL FOLK ROCK Noting the resemblance of a rootsy Carolina singersongwriter to Ryan Adams is awfully easy, but for Caleb Caudle, it’s awfully appropriate. Raised in Winston-Salem, Caudle has cited Whiskeytown as his gateway from punk to country. Early in his solo career, his songs occasionally featured harmonies from Caitlin Cary. But CRUSHED COINS while Caudle’s previous CORNELIUS CHAPEL RECORDS work was derived from  Whiskeytown’s twang, his latest full-length, Crushed Coins, sounds more like a lost album from Adams’s Cardinals catalog. Once again working with longtime collaborator Jon Ashley—who has engineered albums for The War on Drugs and Hiss Golden Messenger—Caudle’s songs are painted with an expanded sonic palette. Megan McCormick’s varied, imaginative electric guitar textures often highlight the arrangements, with refined touches of cello and keys providing lush support alongside doses of fiddle and pedal steel. Crushed Coins is nothing if not consistent. Each of the eleven tracks has a solid hook, though there’s no single standout among them. This suggests that Caudle designed the album to slowly worm its way into memory with its lyrical rewards as much as its melodic merits. Fortunately, Caudle has a way with words that’ll resonate whether one shares his Southern upbringing or his familiarity with the big city. He juxtaposes the enormity and anonymity a metropolis can provide in “NYC in the Rain” (“If there’s a lady more lonely/I don’t know her name”) against the rural imagery of “Headlights” (“Cicadas are just singing like a choir”) on back-to-back cuts. Caudle is most relatable when he infuses his warm voice with a romanticism that’s alternately hopeful and bittersweet. Take the winning couplet from “Stack of Tomorrows” (“Stacking up tomorrows with you/until my last days are through”) and fast-forward to the heartbreaking “Six Feet from the Flowers,” in which the narrator aches for the partner that passed before him. “I will wear your favorite shirt/And bring your dancing shoes/I’m just waiting on the day/That I can be there, too,” Caudle sings. The pain in his voice channels the experiences and emotions of a much older, wiser family member rather than a single influential songwriter. —Spencer Griffith

CALEB CAUDLE

Conventional wisdom holds that veteran bands tend to mellow out and lose the fire in their bellies as they make more records. Superchunk has done exactly the opposite. Beginning with the release of 2010’s freewheeling Majesty Shredding, the quartet has become more galvanizing and outspoken. WHAT A TIME TO BE ALIVE Accordingly, What a MERGE RECORDS Time to Be Alive is an eco1/2 nomical, no-frills encapsulation of the infuriating times in which we live. There are no keyboards or elaborate arrangements, just heaps of distortion-lacquered, melodic punk and power-pop tunes. Highlights encompass warp-speed hardcore (the Hüsker Dü-esque burst “Clouds Of Hate”), and boisterous, thrashing rock on “Dead Photographers” and the title track. Yet What a Time to Be Alive also makes space for intricate vocal details. “Erasure” boasts subtle harmonic shading from Stephin Merritt and Waxahatchee’s Katie Crutchfield, and on “Bad Choices,” Mac McCaughan’s clipped singing falls in lockstep with lashing guitars and precise rhythms on the song’s pointed, emphatic chorus. Although What a Time to Be Alive alludes to hot-button issues (gerrymandering, draining the swamp, oppressive policies), its lyrics aren’t explicitly political. About as direct as it gets is “I Got Cut,” which features the couplet “Family planning/Free Chelsea Manning” and the exclamation “All these old men won’t die too soon.” This thematic flexibility frees up McCaughan to offer trenchant societal observations—the electrifying fuzzbomb “Reagan Youth” is oblique commentary on the return of eighties conservative thinking—or survival techniques. “Lost My Brain” is about escaping the overwhelming news cycle for the sake of those around you, while “Bad Choices” tells people they should leave the house and “meet your weird neighbors once in awhile.” Thankfully, while What a Time to Be Alive is often angry and oozes frustration—and the title can certainly be read as sardonic or celebratory—it’s not a cynical record. There’s an undercurrent of solidarity beneath this exasperation that’s unifying, even exhilarating. What a Time to Be Alive ends up feeling completely life-affirming. —Annie Zaleski

SUPERCHUNK

The Triangle has never been short on talented singer-songwriters, and in the past four years, Chapel Hill’s S.E. Ward has thrown her hat into the ring. She’s released a handful of songs, but her latest project, Leaving, is her most focused and strongest yet. Leaving is the followup to Ward’s 2016 EP, LEAVING GoodBye, which featured BULL CITY RECORDS three meandering, intiPRESENTS mate tracks that recalled 1/2 both Sharon Van Etten’s poignant reflections and the haunting resonance of Angel Olsen’s “Unfucktheworld.” But on Leaving, Ward benefits from a full band, which lets her more effectively render multiple moods across the EP’s taut twenty minutes. “False Flag” rings true to its title as it opens the EP. With a tightly strummed guitar riff and a heavy kickdrum beat, it briefly sounds like paint-by-numbers rock meant to sell Subarus. But Ward quickly veers in another direction as her band bursts through and she sings about not giving a damn about her country. It’s a welcome and clever surprise “High and Mighty” is an ambling, dreamy track that, at first, sounds like a leftover cut from GoodBye. But Ward frames her bilingual vocals in Spanish and English with jagged, droney guitar parts that throw her drifting voice into sharp relief. Ward’s singing stays distant for the duration of Leaving, which draws you into each tune. Powered by a rolling bass line and heavy drums, “Nights Out” feels heavily inspired by shoegaze, but “Untitled,” the EP’s closing track, is perhaps the most straightforward indie-rock number of the set. Its touches of synth lend the song the slightest edge of eighties nostalgia. Ward ends the song with a refrain of “I forgive myself, I forgive you,” which makes for a tender and touching finish. Leaving seems to follow the George Costanza rule of ending on a high note, and it works for Ward just fine. She proves she’s got plenty of intriguing approaches in her back pocket, but leaves you wanting more. —Allison Hussey

S.E. WARD

INDYweek.com | 2.21.18 | 25

F E B R UARY

FR 23 EMANCIPATOR ENSEMBLE 8p SA 24 WEEKEND EXCURSION 7p

music

VOICES OF FREEDOM: MUSIC OF THE CIVIL RIGHTS MOVEMENT Sunday, Feb. 25, 3 p.m., free UNC’s Friday Center, Chapel Hill www.fridaycenter.unc.edu

SU FEB 25 • 7P

ERIC JOHNSON W/ ARIELLE WE 28 RAILROAD EARTH 7p MAR C H

FR 2 SA 3 SU 4 SA 10 SU 11 TH 15 FR 16 SA 17 WE 21

JAZZ IS PHSH 8p LOTUS 8p J.J. GREY AND MOFRO BOWIE BALL 8p KELLY HOLLAND MEMORIAL 4:30p JOHN KADLECIK BAND 7:30p J RODDY WALSTON & THE BUSINESS ID 8p NEW POLITICS W/DREAMERS AND THE WRECKS

TH 22 THE CRYSTAL METHOD 8p FR 23 COSMIC CHARLIE PLAYS “EUROPE 72” 8p

SA 24 RIPE 8p SU 25 BIG K.R.I.T & TY DOLLA SIGN @ TU 27 TH 29 FR 30 SA 31

THE RITZ 8p

BETTY WHO JGBCB 7:30p THE BREAKFAST CLUB 7p DELTA RAE 7p

The Gospel Truth

CO M I N G S O O N

4/5 4/6 4/7 4/12

EVERYONE ORCHESTRA 7p RUNAWAY GIN (PHISH TRIB.) 9p DAVID ALLAN COE 7p SLIM WEDNESDAY

ARMED WITH AN EARTH-SHATTERING VOICE, MARY D. WILLIAMS CONNECTS SPIRITUAL TRADITIONS WITH ACADEMIC SCHOLARSHIP

FT. JOJO HERMAN 7p

4/14 THE SOUL PSYCHEDLIQUE & 4/17 4/18 4/19 4/22 4/26 4/28 4/30 5/2 5/4 5/8 5/9 5/10 5/12 5/17 5/26 6/2 6/7 6/9 7/7

LOVE TRIBE 8p TY SEGALL 7p GHOST LIGHT 7p OLD 97’S 7p ANDERSON EAST 7p ZACH DEPUTY

W/ COME BACK ALICE 7:30 p

PIGEONS PLAYING PING PONG THE CALIFORNIA HONEYDROPS BLUE OCTOBER 7p CARBON LEAF 7p AN EVENING WITH BUCKETHEAD 7p MISTERWIVES 7p BILLY STRINGS 7p JUPITER COYOTE 7p STEELDRIVERS 7p JAKE MILLER 8p WHISKY MYERS 7p TASH SULTANA 7p RECKLESS KELLY 8p INTERSTELLAR OVERDRIVE W/ ABACAB 7:30p

ADV. TICKETS @ LINCOLNTHEATRE.COM & SCHOOLKIDS RECORDS ALL SHOWS ALL AGES

126 E. Cabarrus St.• 919-821-4111 www.lincolntheatre.com 26 | 2.21.18 | INDYweek.com

BY ALLISON HUSSEY

Mary D. Willliams PHOTO BY ALVIN WILLIAMS/BRIGHT LITE PRODUCTIONS

t doesn’t matter what your spiritual or religious alignment is, whether you believe in heaven, hell, or some vast nothingness: Mary D. Williams will rattle you to your core as soon as she starts singing. Her preferred oeuvre is African-American spirituals, songs like “Oh Freedom,” “Meetin at the Building,” “This Little Light of Mine,” and “We Shall Not Be Moved.” Enslaved people wrote many of these songs as a means of communication and comfort. During the Civil Rights movement, they once again became an important piece of armor against oppression. Williams’s powerful contralto needs no amplification; she can floor you from across an auditorium as she sings about faith and freedom.

But Williams shares her gift with an extra twist: her music is a balm, but she backs it up with history lessons about the origins of her songs. The result is a necessary immersive educational experience. Williams’s path to being a professor and performer is as unique as her current occupation. She grew up in Garner, steeped in traditional African-American spiritual music at church and at home. Her father sang in a group called The Dependable Quintet, and her family spent their Sunday afternoons following him to performances after church. When Williams was a fourteen-year-old student at East Garner Middle School, a teacher busted her for goofing off singing in

the hallway. But she also quickly recruited Williams to the school’s choral program. Her teacher taught her to sing Italian opera in a soprano—Williams couldn’t read music, so she learned songs by ear, one note at a time, as her teacher played the piano. But in the gospel choir at church, Williams could sing however she wanted. “I don’t want to sound like the original artist. I want my own interpretation in a particular song, how I interpret it emotionally, and I want you to have that experience with me,” Williams says. Though music was a constant presence in her life, it wasn’t Williams’s main gig for many years. After turning down a scholarship at Brevard University to stay close to

advertising@indyweek.com her family during a tumultuous period, Williams worked at Hudson Belk and, later, the Department of Social Services. She got married and started a family, singing wherever she was invited. “Singing was my salvation, in terms of my relationship with Christ, my relationship in church, my marriage,” Williams says. “It was a way of me being counseled because of lyrics of songs that touched me. It was a way of me exposing myself on several levels.” Williams got plenty of invitations—not through any agent, manager, or publicist, but all via word of mouth. Naturally, more and more folks took notice of Williams’s tremendous voice. She met international gospel stars like Yolanda Adams and Kirk Franklin and appeared multiple times as a featured new artist on BET’s long-running Bobby Jones Gospel program. But she kept encountering the same question as her star rose: Why didn’t she sing contemporary gospel? Williams says that newer gospel never sat well with her. It didn’t fit her vocal style, and she didn’t feel the same deep emotional connection to it that she did with her favorite spirituals. Around 2005, Williams recalls, she was invited to open an author’s lecture with a short performance. She picked up a copy of the author’s book and quickly recognized several of the songs mentioned in the text—it would be an easy gig, she remembers thinking. The book was Blood Done Sign My Name, the award-winning historical autobiography by Timothy Tyson. After Tyson finished his lecture, he asked Williams to keep in touch; she gave him her phone number. Soon, Tyson was inviting her to join him at more of his lectures. The two hit it off, and Williams suddenly realized that she’d found her niche. “That’s when I found my place, as far as my voice not just being an instrument of entertainment,” she says. “It became a tool of academia. It became a principal partner in content coupled with artistry.” Williams and Tyson worked together to develop a formal course called The South in Black and White, which they’ve taught together at Duke for over a decade. The course is essentially a history of racism and activism in the South, covering slavery and continuing through the Civil Rights movement and beyond. Williams uses music to add cultural context to lessons, as well as to highlight how music shaped social change in the United States. As singer-scholar Bernice Johnson Reagon wrote in the introduction to her 2001 book, If You Don’t Go, Don’t Hinder Me: The African American Sacred Song Tradition, spiritual songs written by enslaved people were often about physically leaving a place and heading elsewhere: to Biblical

promised lands like Jordan and Canaan or literally for the North or Canada. The songs were passed down orally through churches for generations. As the Civil Rights movement took shape, the old songs began to have new applications. “When that same song transitioned and was applied to the Civil Rights movement, it was talking about change in social situations. They’re not going anywhere,” Williams says. “The music was a force to be reckoned with. It embodied a group of people that were in the same situation at the same time, and the music strengthened that community.” As they were among enslaved people fighting for freedom from bondage, songs were rallying points, affirmations, and consolations for those fighting racial oppression a century later. At training sessions held by the NAACP, The Congress of Racial Equity, and the Southern Christian Leadership Conference, participants learned these songs as an important tool of resistance. When she teaches, Williams opens each class with singing, encouraging students to stand and join in. It’s a crucial part of her praxis as an educator. It’s a learning experience, but it also makes for a smooth segue into difficult conversations about the South’s violent racial history. “We wanted the students to not just hear the text, but we wanted them to experience it. What we really worked to do was to allow that music to rush over them,” Williams says. As Williams continued to build her stature in academia, she realized that she wanted to formally equip herself with the tools of the trade. Though she knew the history of all of the music she was singing, she wanted to get her official ticket into academic circles. She enrolled at UNC-Chapel Hill, earning a degree in American studies with a double minor in history and the African-American diaspora in 2015. She’s now working on earning a master’s degree in the school’s folklore program. “I want to be heard as a scholar. I don’t want to be heard as just this black girl that came out of the church, and now she’s over here at Duke,” Williams explains. “I need that ticket to show you that there’s more to me than the voice, and that there’s scholarship that is tied to what I’m singing and talking to you about.” Williams says that, as long as there are injustices in the world, the songs she sings and their attendant lessons will stay relevant. Civil rights activist Ella Baker once said that those who believe in freedom cannot rest until it comes, which Reagon adapted into “Ella’s Song” for Sweet Honey in the Rock. For Williams’s part, she’ll keep singing and shining her light wherever she goes. ahussey@indyweek.com

Contact your ad rep or advertising@indyweek.com

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indystage

Spin Control

GOB SQUAD: REVOLUTION NOW!

Friday, Feb. 23 & Saturday, Feb. 24, 8 p.m., $20 Current ArtSpace & Studio, Chapel Hill www.carolinaperformingarts.org

ind

IF MICKEY ROONEY, JUDY GARLAND, AND HOWARD ZINN TOOK OVER A PUBLIC-ACCESS CHANNEL, IT MIGHT LOOK LIKE GOB SQUAD’S REVOLUTION NOW! BY BYRON WOODS

T Your week. Every Wednesday.

INDYWEEK.COM 28 | 2.21.18 | INDYweek.com

he revolution will not be televised, as Gil-Scott Heron said. Revolution Now!, however, will. But don’t check your cable listings. This Friday and Saturday, sometime after 8 p.m., the happening will be broadcast—though perhaps “narrowcast” would be a more apt term—to a single twoway TV monitor just off Franklin Street in Chapel Hill. Well, one has to start somewhere. For Gob Squad, a performance-art collective based in Berlin, the transmission of their live performance from inside Current, Carolina Performing Arts’ new space, is what company member Simon Will calls “the first step in inciting an uprising … or at least rehearsing one so we can be ready when the time comes.” For twenty-four years, the seven-member collective has been mixing theater with media to radically rethink the relationships and boundaries between art, artists, and audiences. The group’s projects have ranged from staged productions and interactive live films to what they call “urban interventions.” Revolution Now! qualifies as one of the latter. It’s a chaotic, engaging, and funny work in which the company takes audience participation to the extreme. The premise is that Gob Squad has seized control of the performance space and isn’t going to leave until the world shows that it can change direction. The members solicit content from the audience, developing a collective message to the world in the form of a live underground TV show. Props and musical instruments are distributed throughout the room. Visitors are cast in reenactments of revolutionary moments from history, and after very little rehearsal, the show goes live. If Mickey Rooney, Judy Garland, and Howard Zinn raided a public-access channel studio, the results might have looked a lot like this. Gob Squad avoids works with a single meaning or agenda. “There’s as many revolutions in the room as there are people,”

t d become a flashpoint for demonstrations. We U made the show with this in mind.” Disney. D Revolution Now! looks at how electronicof the Sta media changes social movements and hownow own our identities change when we’re in a col-about Mi lective circumstance. As the group stagedall over o the work in subsequent years, revolution-the Marv ary movements from the Arab Spring toevaporate Ukraine and Brexit became an ongoing fac-Black Pan tor in world news. The United States had thegreatest s Occupy movement and candidates for public With office calling for “political revolution.” Chadwick “It’s surprising how quickly in the lastWakanda seven years the world has changed,” Willstar since observes. “Revolution Now! has a differentvillainous kind of value now than when it was con-by Jorda ceived. Revolutionary language is very pow-Coogler, erful, but it’s slippery. It can exist withoutand -exec content or context and can be colonized by asoundtrac very different ideology. When someone says,that it w I am for the people, it’s potentially an emptyand top a phrase. Which people? Why?” already b arts@indyweek.comIt's revolu

Gob Squad PHOTO BY JEAN-PHILIPPE OFFORD, CARTEL PHOTOS Will says. “We tend to be a prism.” But Revolution Now! was originally created in response to an issue our region has also faced in recent years: unchecked development.

“There’s as many revolutions in the room as there are people.” When Gob Squad was commissioned to create a new work at Berlin’s People’s Theater in 2010, the area around it was undergoing rapid gentrification after the city’s rent-control laws were changed, leading to protests in the square where the theater is located. “Over the last hundred years, the square had been occupied by Communists, fascists, and other factions,” Will says. “Again it had

indyscreen

BLACK PANTHER 

Now playing

screen

BRIEF

1945

½ OPENING FRIDAY, FEB. 23

PHOTO COURTESY OF LENKE SZILAGYI/MENEMSHA FILMS

Hero’s Welcome

AT LAST, MARVEL HIRES BLACK PEOPLE TO MAKE A BLACK COMIC-BOOK BLOCKBUSTER. THE RESULT IS SO GOOD YOU’LL EVEN ROOT FOR THE VILLAIN.

t first, I was worried about the direction of the Marvel Cinematic Universe after it was acquired by Disney. Disappointed by the progression of the Star Wars franchise (which is also now owned by Disney), I had reservations about Mickey Mouse’s fingerprints getting all over one of the most royal heroes in the Marvel universe. But my reservations evaporated during the first ten minutes of Black Panther, without a doubt one of the greatest superhero movies of all time. With a star-studded cast—including Chadwick Boseman as T’Challa, the king of Wakanda and Marvel’s first black superhero star since Blade, and Michael B. Jordan as the villainous Erik Killmonger—and directed by Jordan’s frequent collaborator, Ryan Coogler, Black Panther is so well-written and -executed (not to mention the brilliant soundtrack headed by Kendrick Lamar) that it will surely keep breaking records and top all previous Marvel movies. (It has already broken Marvel’s presale records.) It's revolutionary on so many levels.

BY KEVIN J. ROWSEY II

ILLUSTRATION BY CHRISTOPHER WILLIAMS

Most important for the Marvel universe, it introduces Wakanda, a fictional, technologically advanced African nation that had previously been hidden in plain sight. Wakanda is an abundant source of vibranium, the alien metal used to make Captain America’s shield and the Winter Soldier’s arm, the resource sought by Avengers villain Ultron and used to help synthesize Vision into being. This all shows that Wakanda has major significance in the world Marvel and Disney are creating. While it helps connect the dots between Captain America: Civil War and the upcoming Avengers: Infinity War, Black Panther is also a game-changing standalone movie, with Afrofuturist elements that turn traditional Hollywood on its head. Wakanda is one of the most advanced nations on earth. Leading the technological revolution, T’Challa’s sixteen-year-old sister, Shuri (Letitia Wright), makes Tony Stark look like your grandpa learning about Facebook. Wakanda’s most powerful warriors are women. We quickly realize

how T’Challa would be nothing without his loyal warriors and Queen Mother. (God bless you, Angela Bassett.) Black Panther represents an encouraging trend in cinema. With a majority black cast, it portrays black people and culture from a place of power and self-reliance, not as slaves, the help, or the winners of a state championship. It shows what black writers, actors, and characters can do when given the opportunity to take center stage. (It will also show the power of the black dollar at the box office.) I left feeling empowered and excited for what’s to come for T’Challa and the Marvel Cinematic Universe. The movie was so good that, even though I fully support the heroes in the world of Marvel, I was vexed to find myself also rooting for Killmonger. Jordan gives a top-tier villain performance, rivaling Magneto and Loki. If Halle Berry gets a call for one of the sequels, this might be the greatest franchise established in our lifetime. Wakanda forever! arts@indyweek.com

A few months after V-E Day, outside a small Hungarian village, two strangers disembark from a train that pours sinister black smoke into the sweltering summer sky. Dressed in somber black suits, the men hire a cart to transport two steamer trunks into the village. Their arrival and the rumored contents of their cart trigger a panic in the village. In conspiratorial whispers, the news spreads: “The Jews have returned.” Director Ferenc Török’s 1945, based on the short story “Homecoming” by Gábor T. Szántó, is a grim parable about guilt and the wages of sin. Filmed in dramatic, highcontrast black-and-white, it borrows tropes from classic Hollywood Westerns to tell a story that moves through darker territories. A quick bit of history helps: during and after World War II, many rural villagers in occupied Europe profited from the deportation of their Jewish neighbors. Ownership of all those homes and storefronts had to eventually change hands. Self-appointed local officials had a vested interest in this system. But sometimes, the Jews returned. The film unfolds over one afternoon, and the story has the dark, elegant efficiency of a fable—the old and scary type. The villagers clearly share a terrible secret, and each reacts differently to the arrival of the strangers. The mayor scrambles to destroy incriminating paperwork. His wife numbs her guilt with morphine. Only the town drunk seems prepared to face the truth. Török’s furtive camera peers through curtains and around fence posts. Small objects take on terrible significance: a property deed, a child’s shoe. Spare, haunting music adds tension and complexity to carefully arranged visual compositions. When the purpose of the strangers’ visit is finally revealed, it’s devastating. This is cinematic storytelling at its finest, and 1945 is one of the best films of the year. —Glenn McDonald INDYweek.com | 2.21.18 | 29

WHAT TO 2.21–2.28 DO THIS WEEK

FRIDAY, FEBRUARY 23

MIDTOWN DICKENS

THURSDAY, FEBRUARY 22– SATURDAY, MARCH 10

THE MOORS

The reunion of one of Durham’s favorite aughties bands has our hearts aflutter. Led by Kym Register and Catherine Edgerton, Midtown Dickens, for a few sweet years, was one of the Triangle’s most endearing folk-rock acts. They quietly played their last show at the Haw River Ballroom in late 2012 and officially announced an “indefinite hiatus” in early 2013. In the years since, all the band’s members have stayed busy. Register has built The Pinhook into one of the Triangle’s top clubs and started a new band, Loamlands, which also features Midtown Dickens’ Will Hackney on guitar. Edgerton, meanwhile, has developed her creative voice as a visual artist, while Jonathan Henderson has focused on his work with Diali Cissokho & Kaira Ba. The band says this reunion is a one-off gig (it benefits Durham For All), but here’s hoping it’s not. Dunums, The Wigg Report, and Charles Latham open. —Allison Hussey

Brontë sisters fans and detractors alike, take note: in The Moors, a high-spirited young governess named Emilie ventures to a house of secrets in the forbidding British lowlands after its master, Branwell, offers her longterm employment and implies the possibility of long-term companionship as well. But upon Emilie’s arrival, Branwell and his offspring are missing, and his sister, the secretive, sinister spinster Agatha, is in charge, keeping a very tight leash on her strangely young-at-heart sister and the house’s sole servant. Instead of getting the hell out of there, Emilie becomes ensnared in a web of intrigue. Think you know the rest of the story? Consider this: playwright Jen Silverman is interested in playing with the tropes of melodrama and Gothic romance, reimagining the world the Brontës created, in critic Jesse Greene’s words, as “a wilderness in which the savagery of the environment produces savage heroines.” —Byron Woods

ALKHAWF (THE FEAR)

MANBITES DOG THEATER, DURHAM Various times, $10–$20, www.manbitesdogtheater.org

THE FRUIT, DURHAM | 8 p.m., $15–$22, www.durhamfruit.com

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THE PINHOOK, DURHAM | 9 p.m., $10, www.thepinhook.com

FRIDAY, FEBRUARY 23–SUNDAY, FEBRUARY 25 Choreographer Courtney Owen-Muir had been frightened before, of course. But a traumatic experience two years ago made her understand for the first time what fear could do to the human form. “I couldn’t even tell my feet to move,” she recalls. “It genuinely took over my entire body.” That sparked a series of candid conversations with the eight performers in her OM Grown Dancers company and an unconventional inquiry into how fears manifest in our bodies and lives. In this multimedia work, one by one, each dancer enters a small onstage chamber in which their fears live. As the other performers play characters representing the fear, we watch live video of the dancer’s encounter with it inside the box. Autumn Nicholas created the music; the evening opens with 2017 piece Collateral Existence and I Move Because It Moves Me, the first public performance by Owen-Muir’s new company of teenage dancers. —Byron Woods

Midtown Dickens PHOTO BY D.L. ANDERSON SATURDAY, FEBRUARY 24

GEORGE CLINTON

If you’re not already a fan of George Clinton, a forefather of funk and leader of one of the greatest American bands of all time, Parliament Funkadelic—well, we might not be able to help you. Now seventy-six, the eccentric and electrifying Clinton doesn’t go quite as hard as he did at P-Funk’s peak, but he’s still a master at leading a boisterous evening. His shows tend to be freewheeling affairs where songs bleed into each other, and it works thanks in large part to a groovy, impeccable backing band that deftly follows along. And even though the Holy Mothership has been retired to the Museum of African American History and Culture in Washington, D.C., Clinton and company can still beam down plenty of blues-busting fun. It’s a good thing this gig is in a standing room—it’s far easier cut loose without any pesky chairs in the way. —Allison Hussey THE RITZ, RALEIGH 8 p.m., $30, www.ritzraleigh.com

Assassins PHOTOS BY AREON MOBASHER FRIDAY, FEBRUARY 23–SUNDAY, MARCH 11

ASSASSINS

It’s not so hard to imagine what might compel a person to decide an American president needs to be wiped from the face of the earth at any cost. In fact, these days, it’s easier than ever—much easier than it was in 1990, during a first Bush administration that looks in hindsight like a sweet dream of moderation and unity, when Stephen Sondheim and John Weidman took up the inner lives of successful or attempted presidential terminators in the musical Assassins. In a chipper revue format, we meet John Wilkes Booth, Lee Harvey Oswald, John Hinckley, and more—plus, they meet one another, as do styles of popular music from their respective eras. The result is a hilarious pastiche of murderous ineptitude and derring-do among ideologues who sought to bend the shape of history and, regardless of the outcome, were inarguably bent by it in turn. —Brian Howe THEATRE IN THE PARK, RALEIGH | Various times, $20–$30, www.theatreinthepark.com

WHAT ELSE SHOULD I DO?

BEDLAM AT THE RUBY (P. 38), CALEB CAUDLE AT CAT’S CRADLE BACK ROOM (P. 25), FATTITUDE AT MISSION VALLEY CINEMA (P. 40), GOB SQUAD AT CURRENT (P. 28), SOLIDARY & SOLITARY AT THE NASHER (P. 36), SAM STEPHENSON AT THE DURHAM HOTEL (P. 40), MARY D. WILLIAMS AT UNC’S FRIDAY CENTER (P. 26) INDYweek.com | 2.21.18 | 31

SA 2/24 2/21 PEDRO THE LION W/ MARIE/LEPANTO ($22) 2/22 LIGHTS W/CHASE ATLANTIC, DCF ($20/$23)

YOUR WEEK. EVERY WEDNESDAY.

PEDRO THE LION

TH 2/22 @CAT’S CRADLE BACK ROOM

2/26 POPUP CHORUS CRANBERRIES, U2, CURE SONGS ($8/$13) 3/1 QUINN XCII LD W/ CHELSEA CUTLER SO OUT

3/3 ABBEY ROAD LIVE! 2 SHOWS: 4 PM FAMILY MATINEE, 8:30 PM LATE SHOW ($10/$13) 3/6 WALLOWS W/FIELD MEDIC ($15) 3/7 LP W/ NOAH KAHAN ($22/$25) 3/9 SENSES FAIL W/ REGGIE AND THE FULL EFFECT, HAVE MERCY, HOUSEHOLD 3/10 TRIBUTE TO DOLORES O'RIORDAN, WITH MUSIC OF THE CRANBERRIES PERFORMED BY LOCAL ARTISTS INCLUDING SKYLAR GUDASZ, MEMBERS OF BLUE CACTUS & MORE! 3/13 J BOOG W/JESSE ROYAL, ETANA ($20) 3/16 DIALI CISSOKHO & KAIRA BA AND THE OLD CEREMONY ($10/$12) 3/21 MOOSE BLOOD W/ LYDIA, MCCAFFERTY ($18/$22) 3/23 of MONTREAL W/ MEGA BOG ($17) 3/24 TIMEFLIES: TOO MUCH TO DREAM TOUR ($25) 3/28 CRANK IT LOUD PRESENTS: OUR LAST NIGHT W/ I THE MIGHTY, DON BROCO, JULE VERA 3/30CIGARETTES AFTER SEX ($20/$23) 4/2 CRANK IT LOUD PRESENTS: UDO DIRKSCHNEIDER

LARRY CAMPBELL & TERESA WILLIAMS TH 2/22

LIGHTS

5/10 WYE OAK ($16/$18) 5/12 NORTH MISSISSIPPI ALLSTARS ($20/$23) 5/18DAVID BROMBERG (SEATEDSHOW) 5/19 NEW FOUND GLORY W/ BAYSIDE, THE MOVIELIFE, WILLIAM RYAN KEY ($25/$29) 5/21 OKKERVIL RIVER W/ BENJAMIN LAZAR DAVIS ($18/$20)

WE 3/7

3/24 URBAN SOIL 3/25 STEVE GUNN W/ NATHAN BOWLES ($15/$17) 3/26 S CAREY W/ GORDI, XOXOK ($15)

5/25PETER HOOK & THE LIGHT ($28/$31)

3/30 MOVEMENTS W/CAN’T SWIM, SUPER WHATEVR, GLEEMER ($13/$15)

6/19 STEPHEN MALKMUS & THE JICKS ($20/$23)

3/31 STOP LIGHT OBSERVATIONS ($10/$12)

6/21 MANCHESTER ORCHESTRA ($23 /$28; ON SALE 2/23)

4/1 nothing, nowhere. W/ SHINIGAMI, LIL LOTUS, JAY VEE ($13/$15)

6/23 THE FEELIES ($20/$23)

CAT'S CRADLE BACK ROOM

2/22 LARRY CAMPBELL & TERESA WILLIAMS W/ JON SHAIN 2/23 DRAG QUEENS ARE COMING (DRAG SHOW) $10 2/24 CALEB CAUDLE ALBUM RELEASE SHOW W/ JAKE XERXES FUSSELL ($10/$12) 2/27 DIET CIG W/ GREAT GRANDPA, THE SPOOK SCHOOL

4/4 DYLAN LEBLANC AND THE ARTISANALS ($10/$12)

3/3 AN EVENING WITH SOLD COWBOY JUNKIES OUT 3/21 NEIL HILBORN ($15/$20)

4/10 MESSTHETICS W/THE BRONZED CHORUS ($10)

LOCAL 506 (CHAPEL HILL)

4/12 MO LOWDA & THE HUMBLE ($10/ $15 FOR 2 TIX)

4/7 HILLMATIC 2018 FT. BRAND NUBIAN, RAPPER BIG POOH, DJ FLASH ($20 ADV/ $25 DAY OF)

3/5 KOLARS W/ ESCONDIDO ($12)

4/23 DURAND JONES & THE INDICATIONS ($13/$15)

4/16 WOLF ALICE W/ THE BIG PINK ($18/$20) 4/18 DR DOG ($27.50/ $30) 4/20 SUSTO ($12/$15) 4/21 YUNG GRAVY 4/22 JOEY BADA$$ W/ BUDDY AND BOOGIE ($26) 4/24 THE MAINE W/THE TECHNICOLORS ($23/$25) 4/27 SUPERCHUNK W/ROCK*A*TEENS ($16/$18) 4/28 THE AFGHAN WHIGS AND BUILT TO SPILL W/ ED HARCOURT ($35) 5/4 BLACK REBEL MOTORCYCLE CLUB W/PETE INTERNATIONAL AIRPORT ($25/$28)

3/8 PRONOUN AND MICHAEL NAU & THE MIGHTY THREAD (COTTON JONES) 3/9 VUNDABAR W/ RATBOYS, GHOSTT BLLONDE ($10/$12) 3/10 JON STICKLEY TRIO ($10/$12) 3/13 JESSICA LEA MAYFIELD W/ T HARDY MORRIS ($15) 3/14 BREW DAVIS W/THE HIGH TOP BOYS ($10/$12) 3/16 KYLE PETTY W/ DAVID CHILDERS ($20) 3/17 THE BAD CHECKS AND DEX ROMWEBER

4/14 HARDWORKER W / RUN COME SEE, RACHEL KIEL ($8/$10) 4/19 WEAVES W/ STEF CHURA ($10/$12)

4/26 PATRICK SWEANY ($12/ $15)

5/5 ROLLLING BLACKOUTS COASTAL FEVER ($10/$12) THE RITZ (RAL)

4/7 RAINBOW KITTEN SURPRISE

SOLD OUT

5/9 NATHANIEL RATELIFF & THE NIGHT SWEATS W/ LUKASLD NELSON & PROMISE OF THE REAL SO OUT 5/13 OH WONDER 5/15 TRAMPLED BY TURTLES W/ HISS GOLDEN MESSENGER 610: TASH SULTANA KINGS (RAL)

4/27 DEAD HORSES AND FRONT COUNTRY ($14)

3/30 SORORITY NOISE W/ REMO DRIVE, JELANI SEI ($17/$20)

4/28 LOMA W/ JESS WILLIAMSON ($12/ $14)

4/5 THE MESSTHETICS W/ MOTHERFUCKER, PATOIS COUNSELORS ($10/$12)

5/5 THE COLLECTION W/ THE PINKERTON RAID 5/10 FRANKIE COSMOS W/ FLORIST AND LALA LALA 5/19 AMERICAN PLEASURE CLUB (FKA TEEN SUICIDE) W/ SPECIAL EXPLOSION ($13/$15 ) 5/20 ICEAGE ($14/$16) 6/3 SUNFLOWER BEAN (ON SALE 2/23)

RED HAT AMPHITHEATRE (RAL)

5/3 FLEET FOXES HAW RIVER BALLROOM

3/3 BRETT DENNEN W/ DEAN LEWIS ($22/$26) 3/23 GODSPEED YOU! BLACK LD EMPEROR W/KGD SO OUT 4/20 JEFF TWEEDY -- SOLO

SOLD OUT

6/5 POST ANIMAL ($12/$14; ON SALE 2/23)

5/12 TANK AND THE BANGAS W/ SWEET CRUDE ($16/$18)

3/18 MEN I TRUST ($10/$12)

CAROLINA THEATRE (DUR)

NORTH CAROLINA MUSEUM OF ART

3/19 BORN RUFFIANS W/ FLEECE

3/24 LUCIUS W/ETHAN GRUSKA

6/8 FIRST AID KIT W/ JADE BIRD

3/20 SHAME / SNAIL MAIL W/ SPECIAL GUEST BAT FANGS ($12)

MOTORCO (DUR)

3/3: ELLIS DYSON & THE SHAMBLES W/ BOOM UNIT BRASS BAND ( $10/$12)

3/21 COURTNEY MARIE ANDREWS W/ MAT DORRIEN ($12/$14)

4/2 TWIN PEAKS W/ THE DISTRICTS

5/8 BAHAMAS ($16/$18)

3/22 MARTI JONES & DON DIXON ($15- SEATED SHOW)

4/11 WAXAHATCHEE AND HURRAY LD FOR THE RIFF RAFF SO OUT

5/9 PANDA BEAR W/ GEOLOGIST ($22/$25)

3/23 KYLE CRAFT

5/7 MELVINS ($20/$22)

4/20 GREG BROWN ($28/$30)

4/6 RAINBOW KITTEN SURPRISE

4/13 TYRONE WELLS W/ GABE DIXON ($15)

4/17 THANK YOU SCIENTIST ($15)

4/14 DUMBFOUNDEAD: THE YIKES! TOUR ($18/$22)

BRETT DENNEN

4/7 JPHONO1 AND THE CHEVRONS W/SHELLES, HECTORINA, AND HONEY DUCHESS ($6/ $8)

3/3 TAN AND SOBER GENTLEMEN W/ TUATHA DEA, CODDLE CREEK ($9)

4/12 JUKEBOX THE GHOST W/ THE GREETING COMMITTEE ($17/$20)

SA 3/3 @HAW RIVER BALLROOM

ARTSCENTER (CARRBORO)

4/6 SARAH SHOOK & THE DISARMERS W/ SPIDER BAGS ($12/ $14)

3/7 SONREAL W/ DAVIE AND NANCE ($15/$17)

DIET CIG

4/6 GRIFFIN HOUSE

3/1 MARK HOLLAND’S BLUES EXPERIENCE W/ THE 8:59’S AND RADAR’S CLOWNS OF SEDATION ($10)

3/6 ELLIOT ROOT W/ COMMON DEER ($8/$10)

TU 2/27 @CAT’S CRADLE BACK ROOM

4/5 THAT 1 GUY ( $15)

4/3 ROGUE WAVE PERFORMING ASLEEP AT HEAVEN'S GATE ($17/$20)

4/10 AND 4/11 YO LA TENGO ($22/$24)

CATSCRADLE.COM ★ 919.967.9053 ★ 300 E. MAIN STREET ★ CARRBORO

**Asterisks denote advance tickets @ schoolkids records in raleigh, cd alley in chapel hill order tix online at ticketfly.com ★ we serve carolina brewery beer on tap! ★ we are a non-smoking club

32 | 2.21.18 | INDYweek.com

ANDREA GIBSON

2/24 ANDREA GIBSON W/CHASTITY BROWN ($18/$21)

3/2 JOYWAVE W/SASHA SLOAN, KOPPS ($15/$17) MUSIC•NEWS•ARTS•FOOD INDYWEEK.COM

WE 2/21

5/5 ALVVAYS W/ FRANKIE ROSE

SOLD OUT

5/7 HOP ALONG W/SAINTSENECA ($15/$17) 6/3 POND W/ FASCINATOR ($15)

6/23 MANDOLIN ORANGE 8/18 VOODOO THREAUXDOWN FEATURING TROMBONE SHORTY & ORLEANS AVENUE WITH GALACTIC, PRESERVATION HALL JAZZ BAND, NEW BREED BRASS BAND WITH SPECIAL GUESTS CYRIL NEVILLE, WALTER WOLFMAN WASHINGTON NORTH CHARLESTON PAC (CHARLESTON, SC)

2/25 STEVE MARTIN & MARTIN SHORT W/ THE STEEP CANYON RANGERS AND JEFF BABKO

music 2.21 – 2.28

FOR OUR COMPLETE COMMUNITY CALENDAR WWW.INDYWEEK.COM

WED, FEB 21 2ND WIND: Yeaux Katz; 7-9 p.m., free. BLUE NOTE GRILL: Jamie McLean Band; 8 p.m., $10. CAT’S CRADLE: Pedro the Lion, Marie/Lepanto; 8 p.m., $20–$22. THE CAVE: Al Riggs Residency; 9 p.m., $5. FLETCHER OPERA THEATER: Postmodern Jukebox; 8 p.m., $67–$188. HUMBLE PIE: Peter Lamb & the Wolves; 8:30 p.m. IRREGARDLESS: The Holland Bros.; 6:30 p.m. LOCAL 506: Flor, Handsome Ghost; 9 p.m., $12–$15. POUR HOUSE: Love and Valor; 8 p.m., $7–$10. RUBY DELUXE: Goth Night: DJ Bela Lugosi’s Dad; 10 p.m.

THU, FEB 22 2ND WIND: 2 fer; 7:30-9 p.m. ARCANA: Danny Grewen Residency: The Oblations with the Dinosaur Horns, Grewen and Griffin; 8 p.m. CAT’S CRADLE: Lights, Chase Atlantic, DCF; 8 p.m., $20–$23. CAT’S CRADLE BACK ROOM:

Larry Campbell & Teresa Williams [$17–$20/8 P.M.]

Larry Campbell & Teresa Williams perform Thursday night at Cat’s Cradle Back Room. PHOTO BY GREGG ROTH

Former Levon Helm bandleader Larry Campbell and Teresa Williams, his wife, sing with such conviction and soul that you can tell that their music is part of their lifeline. They’ve been married for thirty-one years and have often performed together, but only made records fairly recently: 2015’s Larry Campbell and Teresa Williams and 2017’s Contraband Love. Their music conveys the gradual grinding away of hope and dreams brought on by hard times and subsistence living. Doing that without being maudlin or trite is quite a feat, and Campbell and Williams do it flawlessly. Their voices blend in world-weary country harmony that touches the heart and reveals tattered but indomitable souls. Jon Shain opens. —Grant Britt INDYweek.com | 2.21.18 | 33

FLETCHER OPERA THEATER:

THE CAVE: UVB-76, Pow Pow Family Band, The Veldt, Disqo Volante; 9 p.m., $5. DUKE COFFEEHOUSE: Wailin Storms, Vincas, Night Battles; 8:30 p.m., $5, free with Duke ID.

Jerron “Blind Boy” Paxton [$29–$31/7:30 P.M.]

Jerron “Blind Boy” Paxton is in his late twenties, but the music he plays is much, much older. He focuses on the blues and other strains of American roots music from the first half of the twentieth century, and he plays them with such skill and care that it can feel like you’ve stepped through the spacetime continuum for a spell. He’s got an easygoing charm to his playing, but beyond that, he’s steeped in the history of his music. Try to keep up as he hops between banjo, fiddle, and guitar, leading a fun and relaxed musical journey. —Allison Hussey

LOCAL 506: Heckdang, The Weak Days, Paperback; 8 p.m., $10. THE MAYWOOD: Suppressive Fire, Black Mass, Led to the Grave, Old Codger; 8:30 p.m., $8. POUR HOUSE: Local Band Local Beer: Mega Colossus, Henbrain, Witchtit; 8 p.m., $3–$5.

FRI, FEB 23 618 BISTRO: Randy Reed; 7-9:30 p.m. BLUE NOTE GRILL: Duke Street Dogs; 6-8 p.m., free. THE BULLPEN: Cool John Ferguson; 8:30 p.m.

KINGS:

Big Business

DEEP SOUTH: Console Command; Goodbye, Titan; War In The Pocket; 7 p.m., $5. DUKE ENERGY CENTER FOR THE PERFORMING ARTS: N.C. Symphony: Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets in Concert; 7:30 p.m., $50–$81.

SA 2/24

[$12–$14/9 P.M.]

Jerron “Blind Boy” Paxton performs Friday at Fletcher Opera Theater. PHOTO BY BILL STEBER

IRA KNIGHT PRESENTS:

SA 2/24

THE MAN’S GUIDE TO WRITING LOVE LETTERS A MIDSUMMER NIGHT’S DREAM

TH 3/1

VIEUX FARKA TOURÉ

(PRESENTED BY PLAYMAKERS) FREE SHOW

FR 3/2 KAKI KING: THE NECK IS A BRIDGE TO THE BODY SA 3/3 CAT’S CRADLE PRESENTS COWBOY JUNKIES TH 3/8

THE FREDERICK DOUGLASS SPEAKING TOUR FEAT. NATHAN RICHARDSON

TH 2/22

CHARLIE CHAPLIN’S THE KID –

FR 2/23

PRESENTED BY ORANGE COUNTY ARTS COMMISSION SA 3/10

LIVE FILM RE-SCORING BY TIM CARLESS

FR 3/16 THE ARTSCENTER PRESENTS: NED FERM TU 3/20 OMAR SOSA & SECKOU KEITA: TRANSPARENT WATER FR 3/23 KEN WALDMAN AND THE WILD MEN FEAT. RILEY BAUGUS FR 3/30

WE 2/21

THE REUNION TOUR: CRIS WILLIAMSON - BARBARA HIGBIE - TERESA TRULL

Find out More at

ArtsCenterLive.org

SA 2/24 SU 2/25 TU 2/27

BLUE WED: JAMIE MCLEAN BAND CD RELEASE PARTY BILLY WALTON BAND DUKE STREET DOGS FFAF: THE GROOVYNATORS SUTTER’S GOLD STREAK UNPLUGGED TRAIN OF THOUGHT: TOMMY HARTLEY, JASON BARKER, AND KEN SMITH TUESDAY BLUES JAM WITH CLARK STERN

8P $10 8PM $8 6-8PM 9PM 8P $10 5-7PM 8PM

300-G East Main St., Carrboro, NC Find us on Social Media: @ArtsCenterLive

GUITAR LESSONS Beginner, Intermediate, Advanced - all ages

GURU GUITARS 5221 Hillsborough St, Raleigh, NC 27606 (919) 833-6607 www.guruguitarshop.com 34 | 2.21.18 | INDYweek.com

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Big Businessmen Jared Warren, who plays bass, and Coady Willis, who drums, moonlight as the rhythm section for doom-grunge gods The Melvins. Like The

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Melvins, Big Business revels in slow, sludgy sounds, bludgeoning ear drums with burly overdriven bass riffs, busy drumming and surly harmonies. But Warren and Willis are comfortable outside metal’s ambit, as indebted to power pop and psychedelic rock as they are to sludge and doom. Underpinned by Warren’s octave-pedal-generated wall of sound, 2016’s Command Your Weather is heavy as hell but wreathed with hooks and filigrees, weaving a richly detailed tapestry of sound that constantly transcends its spartan foundation. Buildings and Solar Halos open. —Patrick Wall NIGHTLIGHT:

Sarah Louise & Tashi Dorji [$12/9 P.M.]

Chapel Hill’s Nightlight—the Rosemary Street hub for oddities from old-time music to disco dance parties and noise sets—is truly one of a kind. Beginning this weekend, the club marks fifteen years in business with a five-show celebration that covers all of the venue’s unique programming proclivities. Night one features guitar greats Sarah Louise and Tashi Dorji, who both hail from around Asheville. Louise’s approach draws from Appalachian folk traditions, while also inspired by more contemporary drone music. Dorji, meanwhile, follows a more freeform, experimental path. When they combine forces, they’re bound to come up with something unforgettable. The evening starts with an improvised set from Christensen, Crowmeat, Westerlund, and Toll, followed by music and poetry from Michelle Dove and Brian Howe. (Disclosure: Brian Howe is the managing arts and culture editor at the INDY.) —Allison Hussey THE PINHOOK: Midtown Dickens, DUNUMS, The Wigg Report, Charles Latham; 9 p.m., $10. See page 30.

SAT, FEB 24 THE BULLPEN: Harvey Dalton Arnold & Abe Reid; 8:30 p.m. THE CARY THEATER: TwentySecond Annual African-American Celebration; 11 a.m.-5 p.m. CAT’S CRADLE (BACK ROOM): Caleb Caudle, Jake Xerxes Fussell; 8 p.m., $10–$12. See page 25. THE CAVE: Joe Cat, Juliana Finch; 9 p.m., $5. DUKE’S BALDWIN AUDITORIUM: Duke University Wind Symphony; 8 p.m., free. DUKE’S NELSON MUSIC ROOM: Shai Wosner: Schubert’s Last Sonatas; 8 p.m., $28. DUKE COFFEEHOUSE: Drag Sounds, Sunny Slopes, North By North, Poor Pie; 9 p.m., $5, free with Duke ID. DUKE ENERGY CENTER FOR THE PERFORMING ARTS: N.C. Symphony: Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets in Concert; 7:30 p.m., $50–$81. IMURJ: Becca Rae, Ryan Dunson, Carrie Marshall; 8 p.m., $14–$16. THE KRAKEN: The River Otters, Barrett Brooks, Breadfoot; 9 p.m. LOCAL 506: Harms Way, Ringworm, Vein, Queensway; 6:30 p.m., $15. THE MAYWOOD:

Blatant Disarray [$10/9 P.M.]

Though it likely deafened some during its heyday in the early eighties, thrash metal certainly didn’t fall on deaf ears. Much ado has been made in the metal world about an ongoing thrash revival, but revivalist tendencies are usually best served without winks, played as if the era being revived had never ended. Raleigh’s Blatant Disarray exudes the energy and excitement of Big Four thrash, riding Metallica’s writhing lightning and spicing it up by splicing into it Mastodon’s axe-wielding weirdness. —Patrick Wall MYSTERY BREWING PUBLIC HOUSE: Safar, Bjørn Davis, The Wiley Fosters; 8 p.m. NCSU’S STEWART THEATRE: Somi; 5 & 8 p.m., $8–$31.

POUR HOUSE: Roots of a Rebellion, TreeHouse, Sons of Paradise; 8 p.m., $8–$10.

NIGHTLIGHT: Further Reductions, DJ Speculator, Sponge Bath, Chucha; 10 p.m., $10.

SHARP NINE GALLERY: Shana Tucker; 8 p.m., $10–$20.

THE PINHOOK: Jennifer Vanilla, Hannah Hiaasen; 6:30 p.m., $7. PRIVXTE: Queen Plz, Ancient Lakes, Bitchcraft, Thefacesblur; 10 p.m., $7.

SLIM’S: The Veldt, Volk; 9 p.m., $5.

POUR HOUSE: Benefit for Susan Stephens: Karbuncle, Hank Sinatra, Richard Bacchus & The Luckiest Girls, Corvette Summer; 1 p.m.

LOCAL 506: Oak House, Noise Lights; 8 p.m., $10.

POUR HOUSE, SLIM’S, AND KINGS:

NIGHTLIGHT: Dwight Hawkins and the Piedmont Highballers, Ali Dineen, Feral Foster; 8 p.m., $10.

[$8/9 P.M.]

THE PINHOOK: The Veldt, Morning Bells; 9 p.m., $10.

Sidewalk Slam

Maybe you’ve been too bummed out by the weather or the world at large to get out of the house and enjoy a rock show recently. That’s okay! On Saturday, you can get a full day of make-up music via the second Sidewalk Slam, a mini-festival held between three venues in downtown Raleigh. Lonnie Walker, No One Mind, and Arson Daily headline The Pour House, while Echo Courts, Bangzz, and The Dead Beadrooms reign at Slim’s. Down the block at Kings, you can find Naked Gods, Happy Abandon, and Fruit Snack. A portion of the proceeds benefits Southeast Raleigh Promise, a community organization committed to correcting historic underdevelopment and underinvestment in Southeast Raleigh. —Allison Hussey SHARP NINE GALLERY: Aaron Matson Nontet; 8 p.m., $10–$20. THE STATION:

XTALS

[$7–$9/9 P.M.] In 2016, Austin Jacobs, also known by his stage name XTALS (pronounced “crystals”) was making beats in his dorm room at N.C. State. But since then, he’s elevated himself to the forefront of Raleigh’s beatmaking scene, released an EP with over two hundred thousand streams on SoundCloud, and had his music played by Mad Decent’s JSTJR at Coachella 2017. As XTALS, Jacobs makes melodic bass music that ebbs and flows with outstanding sound design and brings listeners to unexpected drops that eradicate the usual structures of electronic music. Lavier, Mister, Antihero, and Dylux share the stage. —Charles Morse

SUN, FEB 25 DEEP SOUTH: Live & Loud Weekly; 9 p.m., $3. DUKE’S NELSON MUSIC ROOM: Shai Wosner: Schubert’s Last Sonatas; 3 p.m., $28.

LONDON BRIDGE PUB: Q Soul; 2 p.m., free.

POUR HOUSE: Cosmic Superheroes, Gretchen & the Pickpockets; 1 p.m. Show Me What You Got Talent Competition; 8 p.m., $10. THE RITZ:

Fetty Wap [$35/8 P.M.]

Three years in rapper years might as well be ten. For Fetty Wap, his explosion onto the national stage in 2015 granted him enough momentum to keep his fans’ attention, utilizing an aggressive touring schedule and a mixtape series called For My Fans. His third and final release in the series brings more of the same Auto Tuned melodic rapping that made him famous, as well as features from his Remy Boy crew. —Charles Morse UNC’S FRIDAY CENTER: Voices of Freedom: Music and the Civil Rights Movement; 3 p.m., free. See page 26. WEST END WINE BARDURHAM: Eric Meyer, Noah Sager & Friends; 4-6 p.m., free.

MON, FEB 26 CAT’S CRADLE: Pop Up Chorus; 7 p.m., $8–$13.

on an airplane, wrapping them in arrangements that vacillate between loungey and big-band jazz. On some level, the songs are palatable, catchy, and inoffensively pleasant. At the same time, though, for all their pep and attempted razzledazzle, Logan’s songs feel eerily hollow, like an uncanny valley android dedicated to haphazardly reviving wellloved styles. —Allison Hussey RUBY DELUXE: DJ Lord Redbyrd; 10 p.m.

TUE, FEB 27 CAT’S CRADLE (BACK ROOM): Diet Cig, Great Grandpa, The Spook School; 8 p.m., $13–$15. POUR HOUSE: Balkun Brothers, Blue Footed Boobies; 8 p.m., $10. SHARP NINE GALLERY: NCJRO; 8 p.m., $10–$20.

WED, FEB 28 2ND WIND: Yeaux Katz; 7-9 p.m., free. BLUE NOTE GRILL: Blue Wednesday; 8 p.m. HUMBLE PIE: Sidecar Social Club; 8:30 p.m., free.

IMBIBE: Grewen and Griffin; 7-10 p.m., free. MOTORCO:

Aubrey Logan [$12–$15/8 P.M.]

Aubrey Logan’s work has a surprisingly specific appeal. The thirty-year-old singer and trombone player leveraged her prowess to earn a spot as an American Idol finalist in 2009, and sometimes performs with Postmodern Jukebox—an ensemble that takes pop songs and makes them “classy” by way of arranging them like midcentury jazz numbers. She uses her big voice to deliver earnest, mildly clever platitudes about having a pity party or crying

Aubrey Logan performs Monday at Motorco. PHOTO COURTESY OF THE ARTIST

INDYweek.com | 2.21.18 | 35

art

2.21 – 2.28

submit! Got something for our calendar? Submit the details at:

posting.indyweek.com/indyweek/Events/AddEvent DEADLINE: 5 p.m. each Wednesday for the following Wednesday’s issue.

OPENING THURSDAY, FEBRUARY 22

SOLIDARY & SOLITARY: THE JOYNER/GIUFFRIDA COLLECTION

The most famed names in postwar abstract art— Mondrian, de Kooning, Pollock, Rothko—had very different ways of pushing painting past representation. They also had something in common: all were white. Of course, it isn’t that African Americans weren’t making vital contributions to the course of art history; it’s that the white male canon-makers didn’t as readily embrace them. This touring exhibit at the Nasher is a spectacular corrective, highlighting the African-diaspora abstract artists who refined this new way of seeing. They range from mid-twentieth-century Abstract Expressionist Norman Lewis to contemporary iconoclasts such as Theaster Gates and Mark Bradford, whose twentyfive-foot-tall sculpture anchors the exhibit. It opens Thursday evening with five poets from the Carolina African American Writers’ Collective reading haiku in response to the works. —Brian Howe

NASHER MUSEUM OF ART, DURHAM 7 p.m., free, www.nasher.duke.edu 36 | 2.21.18 | INDYweek.com

Above: “Afternoon” (1969) by Norman Lewis Below: “After Glow” (1972) by Sam Gilliam COURTESY OF THE NASHER

SPECIAL Between Dirt and EVENT Sky: North Carolina sculptor Thomas Sayre (you might have caught his exhibit White Gold at CAM Raleigh in 2016) is nationally renowned for his large-scale outdoor sculptures, but you can get a more intimate look in this small gallery show, featuring mixed-media works inspired by the cotton fields and farm buildings of the rural South as well as Sayre’s iconic earthcasts. Feb 24-Apr 21. Reception: Sat, Feb 24, 5-7 p.m. Craven Allen Gallery, Durham. www.cravenallengallery.com. —Brian Howe SPECIAL Elijah Pruitt: Works EVENT in acrylic. Reception: Fri, Feb 23, 7-9 p.m. Gallery 71, Hillsborough. www.gallery71nc.com. SPECIAL Red Summer: EVENT Wendell A. White’s large prints combining contemporary landscape portraits and historic newspaper accounts. Feb 21-Jun 2. Reception: Wed, Feb 21, 6-8 p.m. Duke Campus: Center for Documentary Studies, Durham. www.cdsporch.org. SPECIAL Carley Zarzeka: EVENT MFA thesis exhibition. Thru Mar 2. Reception: Thu, Mar 1, 5-7 p.m. UNC Campus: Hanes Art Center, Chapel Hill. art.unc.edu.

ONGOING LAST Acadia, The CHANCE Badlands and Other National Parks: Photography of U.S. national parks. Thru Feb 25. Nature Art Gallery, Raleigh. www.naturalsciences.org. America Wants: Photography by Owens Daniels. Thru Mar 8. Durham Arts Council, Durham. www.durhamarts.org. American Red Cross: Healing the Warrior’s Heart through Art: Thru Apr 1. NC Museum of History, Raleigh. www.ncmuseumofhistory.org.

Analog Art in a Digital World: Sculpture by Joe Coates. Thru Mar 10. Durham Art Guild, Durham. durhamartguild.org. Art to Live By: Paintings by Michael Banks. Thru Apr 22. Alexander Dickson House, Hillsborough. www.historichillsborough.org. As·sem·blage: Ceramic sculpture by Raleigh artist Rosalie Midyette. Thru Mar 31. Claymakers, Durham. www.claymakers.com. Behind the Eyes: Art as Therapy: Paintings by David Underwood and mosaics by Alyssa Draffin. Thru Mar 10. The Scrap Exchange, Durham. www.scrapexchange.org. Business as Usual: This is big all around—the largest exhibit ever mounted of large-scale sculptures by a large-looming North Carolina artist. Bob Trotman delights the eye and dazzles the mind with satirical figures from the world of big business, wrought with a master craftsperson’s panache. Some of the works include motorized mechanisms that are triggered by motion sensors, implicating the viewer in the vast, mysterious whir of late capitalism, but even the stationary sculptures are so charged with life that you might think you glimpse them moving in the corner of your eye. Thru Jul 1. Gregg Musuem of Art & Design, Raleigh. gregg.arts.ncsu.edu. —Brian Howe C o a s t s c a p e s: Coastal landscape paintings by Nancy Hughes Miller. Thru Apr 2. Liquid State, Raleigh. www.liquidstateraleigh.com. Austin Caskie: Artspace satellite exhibition. 3-D models. Thru Mar 31. HQ Raleigh, Raleigh. Colors of Latin America: Paintings by Yholima VargasPedroza. Thru Mar 26. Durham Arts Council, Durham. www.durhamarts.org. Contemporary South ‘18: Artists from the South. Thru Mar 24. VAE Raleigh, Raleigh. www.visualartexchange.org.

LAST Definition of Metal: CHANCE Tom Dawson, Al Frega, Joe Galas, Jackie McLeod, and Renee Leverty. Thru Feb 25. Pleiades Gallery, Durham. www.PleiadesArtDurham.com. LAST Desire is Covetous: CHANCE Paintings by Linwood Hart. Thru Feb 28. Joe Van Gogh, Durham. joevangogh.com. Distance: Works using São Paulo’s subway system and trips as main subject. Thru Mar 10. ANCHORLIGHT, Raleigh. www.anchorlightraleigh.com. Electric Avenue: Pleiades artists. Thru Mar 31. Pleiades Gallery, Durham. PleiadesArtDurham.com. LAST Folk Art in the CHANCE Library: Bailey Jack, Eric Legge, Irene Tison, Cher Shaffer, Michael Banks. Thru Feb 25. Orange County Main Library, Hillsborough. www.co.orange.nc.us/library. LAST Fred Good and CHANCE Friends: Exhibition by Triangle Visual Artists in memory of Fred Good. Thru Feb 28. The ArtsCenter, Carrboro. artscenterlive.org.

Hotel Theory: Around the time he stepped away from his twenty-year tenure as founding director of Raleigh gallery Lump, Bill Thelen struck out for an artist residency in a hotel in Oaxaca. He brought two books with him, Huysmans’s decadent Against Nature and Wayne Koestenbaum’s Hotel Theory, an experimental philosophy of hotel life. The result is Thelen’s own Hotel Theory. Consisting of drawings, collages, wall paintings, and a new fiber piece, the exhibit tracks an artist “immersed in the colors and textures of the Oaxacan landscape and facing middle age” as he observes the lines of history, place, and personal identity from a rented room, a space (like middle age) that, in its nowhere-ness, offers fresh vantages. Thru Jun 1. 21c Museum Hotel, Durham. www.21cmuseumhotels.com/ durham. —Brian Howe Louis C. Tiffany: Art and Innovation from the Wester Collection: Stained glass windows, vases, lamps. Thru Mar 4. NC Museum of History, Raleigh. ncmuseumofhistory.org.

William Goodson Mangum: Paintings. Thru Mar 30. Lee Hansley Gallery, Raleigh. leehansleygallery.com. LAST Peter Marín: CHANCE Paintings. Thru Feb 25. Horace Williams House, Chapel Hill. chapelhillpreservation.com. SPECIAL MC Hues Iris Art EVENT Alumnae Exhibition: Thru Mar 11. Reception: Tue, Feb 27, 5:30-7:30 p.m. Meredith College: GaddyHamrick Art Center, Raleigh. www.meredith.edu. LAST Mike’s Attic: CHANCE Partnership with Mike’s Art Truck. Self-taught artists. Thru Feb 28. Durham Technical Community College (Orange County Campus), Hillsborough. www.durhamtech. edu/orangecountycampus.htm.

Re(f)use: Triangle Book Arts Group. Thru Mar 3. Artspace, Raleigh. www.artspacenc.org. RESOLUTE: Mixed media paintings by Antuco Chicaiza. Thru Mar 8. Durham Arts Council, Durham. www.durhamarts.org. SPECIAL The Ridge: A EVENT Journey of Durham History in Vintage Postcards: Vintage postcards from the collection of John Schelp. Thru Feb 28. Artist talk: Sat, Feb 24, 1 p.m. Horse & Buggy Press and Friends, Durham. horseandbuggypress.com. LAST The Seizing of Joy: CHANCE Mixed media by Jane Cheek. Thru Feb 28. The ArtsCenter, Carrboro. www.artscenterlive.org.

Modern Japanese Shin-Hanga and Sosaku-Hanga Prints: Woodblock prints. Thru Mar 8. Gallery C, Raleigh. galleryc.net.

Sentience: Paintings and drawings by Adam Cohen. Thru May 25. National Humanities Center, Durham. nationalhumanitiescenter.org.

Painted Medicine: A Ceremony of Color: Ashley Spero. Thru Apr 12. Durham Convention Center, Durham. durhamconventioncenter.com.

Shades of Goldfish: Celia Gray, Charles Chace, and Meg Stein. Thru Mar 2. SPECTRE Arts, Durham. www.spectrearts.org.

The Shape of Fashion: Dress trends from 1800s to 1900s. Thru May 6. NC Museum of History, Raleigh. www.ncmuseumofhistory.org. Step Right Up: Sculpture by Patrick Dougherty. Thru Aug 31. Ackland Art Museum, Chapel Hill. www.ackland.org. The SuperNatural: We’ve lost sight of the seams, once considered inviolable, between nature, technology, and commerce. The SuperNatural explores how we see and shape the contours of our planet as the physical refuse of the industrial age shades into the digital refuse of the present. The show includes a generative digital video by Tabor Robak, a virtual reality installation by Jakob Kudsk Steensen, and photos by Lars Jan, among many others. Brooklyn artist Chris Doyle created “Dreams of Infinite Luster,” a digital animation. In it, “All the elements are rendered in gold, the color of lucre—the product, engine, and goal of capitalism.” Is a luxury hotel an odd site for post-capitalist critique? Sure. But, as we’ve said, what seams?

Thru Jul 1. 21c Museum Hotel, Durham. www.21cmuseumhotels. com/durham. —Brian Howe Matt Tomko: Thru Mar 1. Bull City Art & Frame Co, Durham. bullcityartandframecompany. com. The Way Things Can Happen: Multimedia work about nuclear war by Erin Johnson. Thru Mar 3. Power Plant Gallery, Durham. www.powerplantgallery.com. The Woman Who Made Snow: Photography by Anna Exum Snow. Thru Mar 31. Durham History Hub, Durham. museumofdurhamhistory.org. Youth in Focus: Photographic quilts by the Corner Teen Center. Thru May 15. Carrboro Branch Library, Carrboro. www.co.orange.nc.us/library/ carrboro. Jinxiu Alice Zhao: Chinese brush paintings. Thru Apr 12. ERUUF Art Gallery, Durham. www.eruuf.org.

FOR OUR COMPLETE COMMUNITY CALENDAR WWW.INDYWEEK.COM

INDYweek.com | 2.21.18 | 37

stage

Bedlam PHOTO COURTESY OF DUKE PERFORMANCES WEDNESDAY, FEBRUARY 21–SUNDAY, FEBRUARY 25

BEDLAM

A generation ago, a group called Actors from the London Stage made waves (and established a base of operations at UNC-Chapel Hill) by presenting breathtaking, kinetic productions of A Midsummer Night’s Dream, The Tempest, and other Shakespeare plays. With only five actors. On an otherwise empty stage. But the New York-based company Bedlam topped that in 2012 with its daring inaugural production of George Bernard Shaw’s Saint Joan, in which four actors held an off-off Broadway stage for three-and-a-half hours, playing more than twenty-five characters and garnering rave reviews. The next year, the same quartet took on Hamlet. Ben Brantlee praised the “clarity, precision, and blissful good sense” of both productions, which will be performed in rotating repertory at Duke Performances. —Byron Woods

VON DER HEYDEN STUDIO THEATER, DURHAM

Various times, $10–$28, www.dukeperformances.com

OPENING

INDY WEEK’S BAR + BEVERAGE ON STANDS MARCH 28

RESERVE BY FEBRUARY 23 CONTACT YOUR AD REP OR ADVERTISING@INDYWEEK.COM 38 | 2.21.18 | INDYweek.com

Assassins: Musical by Stephen Sondheim. $20-$30. 7:30 p.m. Fri-Sun/3 p.m. Sun. Thru Mar 11. Theatre In The Park, Raleigh. www.theatreinthepark.com. Bedlam Theater: George Bernard Shaw’s Saint Joan. $20$28. Wed, Feb 21, 7 p.m. & Sat, Feb 24, 2 p.m. — Shakespeare’s Hamlet. Thu, Feb 22 & Sat, Feb 24, 7 p.m./Sun, Feb 25, 2 p.m. Rubenstein Arts Center - von der Heyden Studio Theater, Durham. Henry Cho: Stand-up comedy. $30. Fri, Feb 23, 7:30 p.m. Temple Theatre, Sanford. www.templeshows.com. Drag Queens are Coming!: Naomi Dix, Stormie Daie, Ben Ether, and Margaret Snatcher $10. Fri, Feb 23, 10 p.m. Cat’s Cradle, Carrboro. www.catscradle.com. Hairspray: Musical. $27. Feb 21-24, 7:30 p.m./Feb. 25, 2 p.m. NCSU Campus: Stewart Theatre, Raleigh. theatre.arts.ncsu.edu.

THE Man’s Guide To Writing Love Letters: Is SEX the only thing on a Man’s mind?: Ira Knight’s solo play exploring the inspirational power of love. $10. Sat, Feb 24, 8 p.m. The ArtsCenter, Carrboro. www.artscenterlive.org. A Midsummer Night’s Dream: Presented by PlayMakers Repertory Company. Sat, Feb 24, 7:30 p.m. The ArtsCenter, Carrboro. artscenterlive.org. The Moors: Play by Jen Silverman. $12-$20. 8:15 p.m. Feb 22-Mar 10. Manbites Dog Theater, Durham. www.manbitesdogtheater.org. Othello: Directed by Leo Egger. $10. 7:30 p.m. Feb 22-24/3 & 7:30 p.m. Feb 24. Durham School of the Arts, Durham. www.dsa.dpsnc.net.

ONGOING Aliens, Immigrants and Other Evildoers: While a woman sings a Gregorian hymn, a man walks onstage, struggling under the weight of a red wooden cross. Nine one-dollar bills are tacked

along its crossbar. He wears an all but featureless mask with a paper label attached above the forehead. The label bears one word: “ALIEN.” From this vivid opening, veteran solo performance artist José TorresTama launches a sharp-toothed interrogation of American culture’s historic love, hatred, and exploitation of immigrants. There is a shamanic note in Torres-Tama’s performances as he effortlessly shifts among characters to evoke a broad, deep, humane perspective on a divisive political issue. Wed, Feb 21, 7 p.m. UNC Campus: Historic Playmakers Theatre, Chapel Hill. —Byron Woods Anything Goes Late Show: Saturdays, 10:30 p.m. Goodnights Comedy Club, Raleigh. goodnightscomedy.com. LAST Bad Jews: Play by CHANCE Joshua Harmon. $10-$18. Thru Feb 25. The Levin Jewish Community Center, Durham. abigwigproduction. brownpapertickets.com.

½ The Christians: Is Christianity predicated on coercion, punishment, and fear? If you remove those elements, is anything left? Those are the pointed questions Lucas Hnath probes in his controversial oneact drama. It’s Sunday morning in an American megachurch whose earnest, charismatic leader, Pastor Paul (Joey Collins), is about to spring his new vision of the gospel on his congregation, his board of directors, and his wife. Well, it worked for Moses. But then, he had two impressive visual aids: tablets with commandments etched by the hand of God. All Paul has is a handful of receipts from a pastor’s convention at the Orlando Marriott to affirm his new belief that there is neither a literal devil nor a literal hell. When Joshua (Alex Givens), a younger, more conservative associate pastor, challenges him mid-service, Paul calmly deconstructs the scriptures Joshua offers to support the premise of eternal damnation. Paul’s conflicts with his wife and his congregants point to the irreducible distance between visionaries and their followers and the vanity of a spiritual egoist determined to stagemanage revelations to maximize their impact and minimize risk. $15+. Thru Mar 12. PlayMakers Repertory Company, Chapel Hill. www.playmakersrep.org. —Byron Woods Eyes Up Here Comedy Showcase: Mary Kate Morookian, Brett Williams, Kathleen McDonald, Lauren Faber, and more. Hosted by Erin

Terry. $5. Wed, Feb 21, 8:30 p.m. The Pinhook, Durham. www.thepinhook.com. Gidion’s Knot: The ancient Greeks knew that grief can transform us into something other than ourselves: something noble, disfigured, or monstrous. Gidion’s Knot playwright Johnna Adams knows it, too. At the end of a school day, a teacher in a sunny fifth-grade classroom is still trying to cope with the death of her troubled student, Gidion. Then his mother shows up for a parent-teacher conference that had been scheduled before the student’s death. Gidion’s mother now has a very different agenda for the meeting. She pursues it, calmly and methodically, in a merciless, ever-escalating war of nerves. Lakeisha Coffey and Shannon Malone star in Bartlett Theater’s season opener, directed by Bryan Conger. $15–$25. Thru March 4. Durham Arts Council, Durham. durhamarts.org. —Byron Woods The Harry Show: Ages 18+. Improv host leads potentially risque games with audience volunteers. $10. Fridays & Saturdays, 10 p.m. ComedyWorx, Raleigh. www.comedyworx.com. Hush Hush: Audience confession comedy show. Wednesdays, 8 p.m. Thru Apr 25. Fullsteam, Durham. thisismettlesome.com. LAST Little Shop of CHANCE Horrors: “Feed me, Seymour!” It’s one of those references you probably recognize even if you don’t know where it comes from. But

you’ll never forget it after you see Raleigh Little Theatre’s production of Little Shop of Horrors, the musical based on Roger Corman’s cult movie about a nebbishy florist who accidentally grows a maneating, doo-wop-singing plantmonster and names it Audrey II after his unrequited crush. $15-$28. Thru Feb 25. Raleigh Little Theatre, Raleigh. www.raleighlittletheatre.org. —Brian Howe ½ Moliere’s Tartuffe: Compared to The Christians, with which it’s in rotating repertory at PlayMakers, David Ball’s adaptation of Molière’s consummate spiritual hypocrite, Tartuffe, is a light comic soufflé whose absurdity is only heightened by the distinctively Seussian poetic rhythm employed whenever the title character speaks. As such, Joey Collins’s Tartuffe comes off as something like a sanctimonious Cat in the Hat, albeit one wholly disinterested in cleaning up the mess he makes. Shanelle Nicole Leonard shines as Dorine, the outspoken maid to Orgon (Ray Dooley), the patriarch deceived by the unctuous Tartuffe. Brandon Haynes’s rewarding paroxysms of frustration as Damis, Orgon’s son, elicit laughter. Adam Poole and April Mae Davis take quarrelling lovers Valere and Mariane for a rewarding spin, while family friend Cleante (Rishan Dhamija) tries in vain to restore sense to this addled house. Thru Mar 12. PlayMakers Repertory Company, Chapel Hill. playmakersrep.org. —Byron Woods

food 5 Senses 5 Course Wine Dinner: Primal Food & Spirits and Fess Parker Winery fundraiser to benefit The CARE Project. $75. Wed, Feb 28, 6-9 p.m. Primal Food & Spirits, Durham. primalfoodandspirits.com. Dish! Exploring Life Through Food: Orange Literacy’s eleventh-annual Writers for Readers event, featuring Jessica Harris (My Soul Looks Back: A Memoir), Andrea Reusing (Cooking in the Moment: A Year of Seasonal Recipes), Bill Smith (Seasoned in the South), Kim Sunee (Everyday Korean), and

Helping our readers plan their summer activities! Contact your ad rep or advertising@indyweek.com

BILL BURTON ATTORNEY AT LAW Un c o n t e s t e d Di vo rc e Bu s i n e s s L a w UNCONTESTED In c o r p o r a t i o n / L LC / DIVORCE Pa r t n e r s h i p MUSIC BUSINESS LAW Wi l l s INCORPORATION/LLC WILLS C o l l e c t i o n s SEPARATION AGREEMENTS Mu s i c

moderator Randall Kenan (The Carolina Table). $100. Thu, Feb 22, 6 p.m. Kenan Stadium, Chapel Hill. North Carolina Japanese Exchange Foundation Sushi Fundraiser: Percentage of profits goes to the foundation, which sends about ten N.C. high school students to Japan each summer. Wed, Feb 28, 11:30 a.m.-9:30 p.m. Akai Hana Japanese Restaurant, Carrboro. www.akaihana.com. Pop-Up Cider Brunch: Cider brunch. Two-course paired prixfixe menu. $20. Sun, Feb 25, noon-2 p.m.

Cedar Grove Blueberry Farm, Cedar Grove. cedargroveblueberry.com. Second Saturday 2018 Kickoff: Local beer, snacks, and planning for 2018 Second Saturday season. $10-$25. Wed, Feb 21, 6-7:30 p.m. Trophy Brewing and Taproom, Raleigh. Tell About the South: A “Proper” Southern Luncheon with Kimberly Kyser: Southern luncheon with the author of Ticket, a modern etiquette book. Free with RSVP. Thu, Feb 22, 12:30-1:30 p.m. Love House and Hutchins Forum, Chapel Hill.

967-6159

(919) 967-6159

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screen TUESDAY, FEBRUARY 27

SPECIAL SHOWINGS Hedwig & The Angry Inch: Thu, Feb 22, 8 p.m. The Pinhook, Durham. www.thepinhook.com. The Gentleman Bank Robber: The Life Story of Rita Bo Brown: Wed, Feb 28, 8 p.m. The Pinhook, Durham. www.thepinhook.com. Is Genesis History?: Documentary presented by Fathom Events. $10-$15. Thu, Feb 22, 7 p.m. North Hills Stadium, Raleigh. Night Tide: The Move Loft. Thu, Feb 22, 7 p.m. Shadowbox Studio, Durham. www.shadowboxstudio.org. Straws: Documentary by Linda Booker about problems related to straws and other single-use plastic pollution. Thu, Feb 22, 6 p.m. Durham Arts Council, Durham. www.durhamarts.org. The Wiz: WPU and Alamo Drafthouse Cinema present The Wiz movie party featuring audience participation, costumes, games, and prizes. Thu, Feb 22, 7:30 p.m. William Peace University: Kenan Recital Hall, Raleigh. www.peace.edu.

OPENING ½ 1945—Reviewed on p. 29. Unrated. Annihilation—Natalie Portman plays a biologist on an expedition in an environmental disaster zone in the film version of Jeff VanderMeer’s visionary novel. Rated R. Every Day—A teenage girl falls in love with a spirit who occupies a different body each day in this adaptation of David Levithan’s YA romance novel. Rated PG-13. Game Night—In this dark comedy, a group of friends (including Jason Bateman and Rachel McAdams) find their game night turning into a real murder mystery. Rated R. Happy End—Austrian auteur Michael Haneke sets his latest bourgeoisie-indicting drama against the backdrop of the European refugee crisis. Rated R. 40 | 2.21.18 | INDYweek.com

N OW P L AY I N G The INDY uses a five-star rating scale. Read reviews of these films at indyweek.com.  Black Panther— Reviewed on p. 29. Rated PG-13. ½ Call Me By Your Name—If you can accept how walled off from the larger context of LGBTQ history it is, then this love story is nearly perfect. Rated R.  Coco—This Day of the Dead-themed animated fantasy has one of Pixar’s richest worlds and weakest stories. Rated PG. ½ Darkest Hour— This Churchill biopic is bright and slight, but Gary Oldman turns in a tour de force performance as the UK’s iconic wartime prime minister. Rated PG-13.  Film Stars Don’t Die in Liverpool—Annette Bening plays mid-twentieth-century Hollywood star Gloria Grahame in the last months of her life. Rated R.  I, Tonya—This kinetic, sympathetic biopic of a disgraced figure skater borrows liberally from Scorsese. Rated R.  Jumanji: Welcome to the Jungle—You’d need an awful lot of nineties nostalgia to see this reboot as anything but a utterly generic jungle adventure. Rated PG-13.  Lady Bird—Greta Gerwig’s nostalgic coming-ofage debut as a writer-director is winning and alert to class but falters on race. Rated R.  Molly’s Game—You either dig Aaron Sorkin’s talkative style or you don’t, and he really lets it rip in this directorial debut about the high-stakes world of L.A.’s underground poker scene. Rated R. ½ The Post— Spielberg’s film about The Washington Post and the Pentagon Papers is a filmmaking master class and an ode to the free press. Rated PG-13.

 The Shape of Water—For better and worse, Guillermo del Toro’s fable of the love between a mute janitor and a strange undersea creature is like a children’s book for adults, beautiful but morally simplistic. Rated R. ½ Three Billboards Outside Ebbing, Missouri— Maybe the Coen brothers could have pulled it off, but Martin McDonagh has tonal problems with the weighty themes and discordant plot of this vengeful-mother tale. Rated R.

FATTITUDE

The idea that “popular culture fosters fat prejudice” should be more self-evident than controversial. But, as the Daily Mail reported, when Lindsey Averill launched a crowdfunding campaign for Fattitude in 2014, she began to receive not just tasteless trolls but also anonymous murder and rape threats. They didn’t deter her and co-director Viridiana Lieberman from finishing the documentary, a wide-ranging look at how larger people are openly reviled by everyone from Hollywood screenwriters and employers to doctors, in a culture where people cry crocodile tears about the health of others to mask what is really their own repulsion. “Fattitude’s “Fattitude ultimate goal is to change the national conversation about body image so that it focuses not only on issues of self-acceptance, but also on legitimate questions of systemic cultural prejudice,” Averill says. She and Lieberman will be present for a Q and A after this Raleigh screening, which benefits Girls Rock NC. —Brian Howe

MISSION VALLEY CINEMA, RALEIGH

page WEDNESDAY, FEBRUARY 28

SAM STEPHENSON W. Eugene Smith was a highly influential and selfmythologizing photo essayist, most famously at Life magazine in the midtwentieth century. But Durhamites might be most familiar with his photos of jazz musicians from The Jazz Loft Project, which was headed by Sam Stephenson at Duke’s Center for Documentary Studies. Now Stephenson returns with another Smith-based book, Gene Smith’s Sink, a biography for which Stephenson traced Smith’s footsteps around the country and profiled people he orbited, from Tennessee Williams to Stan Brakhage. Stephenson, who uses his idol’s custom-made darkroom sink as a writing desk, celebrates the book’s release at the Durham Hotel in conversation with novelist Allan Gurganus, followed by a short film derived from the book by Jem Cohen. —Brian Howe

THE DURHAM HOTEL, DURHAM 7 p.m., free, www.thedurham.com

7 p.m., $25, www.fattitudethemovie.com

READINGS & SIGNINGS Black History, Black Futures: Poetry by Howard Craft, Fred Joiner, Crystal Simone Smith, and Gideon Young. Wed, Feb 21, 6 p.m. Orange County Main Library, Hillsborough. www.co.orange.nc.us/library. James Chappel: Catholic Modern: The Challenge of Totalitarianism and the Remaking of the Church. Mon, Feb 26, 7 p.m. Regulator Bookshop, Durham. www. regulatorbookshop.com. John Kessel: Pride and Prometheus. Thu, Feb 22, 7 p.m. Regulator Bookshop, Durham. www.regulatorbookshop.com. Cheston Knapp: Up Up, Down Down. In conversation with Wells Tower. Wed, Feb 28, 7 p.m. Regulator Bookshop, Durham. www.regulatorbookshop.com. Michael McFee: Appointed Rounds. Thu, Feb 22, 7 p.m. Flyleaf Books, Chapel Hill. www.flyleafbooks.com. Sam Stephenson: Gene Smith’s Sink. In conversation with Allan Gurganus, with a short film based on the book by Jem Cohen. Wed, Feb 28, 6 p.m.

The Durham Hotel, Durham. thedurham.com/. Thrillers! An Evening with John Grisham and John Hart: Moderated by D.G. Martin, host of UNC-TV’s North Carolina Bookwatch. $30+. Fri, Feb 23, 7:30 p.m. Meymandi Concert Hall, Raleigh. dukeenergycenterraleigh.com.

LECTURES ETC. William Ferris: The Storied South: Voices of Writers and Artists: Lecture based on interviews with Southern artists and thinkers. Fri, Feb 23, 11 a.m. Expand Church, Chapel Hill. Giving the Page-Walker a New Life: The Friends of PageWalker Preservation Series Sesquicentennial Celebration featuring Norma Burns and Myrick Howard. Tue, Feb 27, 7:30 p.m. Page-Walker Arts & History Center, Cary. www.friendsofpagewalker.org. Lectures in Art History: Mary Jo Arnoldi, Smithsonian Institution: Contemporary Monuments in Bamako, Mali: Materializing a National Narrative. Tue, Feb 27, 5:30 p.m. UNC Campus: Hanes Art Center, Chapel Hill. art.unc.edu.

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