INDY Week 5.8.19

RALEIGH 5|8|19

FIELD OF

DREAMS In February, the billionaire who resurrected the Carolina Hurricanes bought a pro football league.

Two months later, it went bust.

BY XANDER PETERS, P. 10

PLUS! OUR EXCLUSIVE INTERVIEW WITH AMERICA’S BEST CHEF, ASHLEY CHRISTENSEN! P. 12

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WHAT WE LEARNED THIS WEEK RALEIGH

VOL. 36, NO. 19

6 In twenty-five years, North Carolina prosecutors brought drug-induced homicide charges seventy-five times.

9 To match Durham’s $95 million affordable housing bond, Raleigh will need to raise a $200,000 home’s property taxes by $25 a year.

10 Carolina Hurricanes owner Tom Dundon pledged $250 million toward the Alliance of American Football. Two months later, he pulled the plug.

12 “To my crew of badasses at AC Restaurants,” says the James Beard Awards’ Outstanding Chef of 2019, “I stand here because of you.”

16 In its first two months, the Triangle’s first cat cafe helped find homes for sixteen cats.

18 There’s something distinctly Midwestern about the seeing-allsides perspective of Son Volt’s new album, Union.

23 There’s still work to do on gender parity in local theater, but a new study finds the Triangle ahead of the national curve.

24 If a woman between the ages of twenty-five and thirty-five has a child, her earnings never recover, according to the workingmother podcast The Double Shift.

DEPARTMENTS 5 News 12 Food 18 Music 21 Arts & Culture 26 What to Do This Week 28 Music Calendar 33 Arts & Culture Calendar

On the cover

PHOTO ILLUSTRATION BY STEVE OLIVA / PHOTO COURTESY OF THE ALLIANCE OF AMERICAN FOOTBALL

We loved Ashley Christensen before the James Beard folks did (see page 12).

PHOTO COURTESY OF GALDONES PHOTOGRAPHY

INDYweek.com | 5.8.19 | 3

RECYCLE THIS PAPER

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backtalk

Forked-Tongue Rhetoric Last week, editor Jeffrey C. Billman waxed angrily about an attempt by Republican lawmakers—and a Democratic helper—to override Governor Cooper’s veto and enact a “cynical” late-term abortion bill into law.

“A bill protecting born-alive babies is ‘cynical’?” asks commenter DazzRat. “Up-isdown Orwellian doublespeak much? I think your worldview is beyond cynical and pandering and in the realm of obscenely cozening. Talk about forked-tongue rhetoric.”

John Martin, meanwhile, takes umbrage at a word he does not like: “Using the F-word, and diminishing the gravity of the matter, does not do true journalism any justice. The fact of the matter is that 77 percent of the population thinks some basic protection is the humane thing to do.”

Not everyone felt that way. “The GOP knows no shame,” writes Ronny Nause. “If they put half as much energy into governing as they do being self-righteous assholes, the state would probably be a better place.”

“Sadly, that will never happen,” adds Chris Howell. “They don’t really care about the people of North Carolina, just staying in power and acting like they have some moral high ground because they pander to the Bible beaters.”

In last week’s paper, Billman also argued that the time had come to impeach Donald Trump, no matter the politics. As you might imagine, this opinion drew thoughtful, wellreasoned responses from the MAGA set.

Take Bill Brasky, who is under the impression that George W. Bush is a progressive icon and—just a guess—has maybe spent a little too much time on InfoWars.

“Leftists are the easiest people on the planet to manipulate,” writes Brasky, who clearly has never been manipulated by anyone. “The Muslims come in a close second.

They will believe anything as long as it is what they want to hear. Let me spell out what is going to happen here for you all. All of your ‘progressive’ heroes who are really just globalist ass-kissers don’t give a shit about your agenda. You are useful idiots who delude yourselves into thinking otherwise. They all are going down. All of them.

Including Hillary, Obama, Bill, George W. Bush, and all of their goons. The CIA will be dismantled once it becomes public knowledge how deep their crimes go.

“It’s going to be fun watching you burn.”

“It will not be safe for you clingers-on to walk down the street. Not only will Trump win in 2020, Republicans will have a supermajority in the House and Senate.

No one will want to associate themselves with what remains of the Democrats. And after the swamp is drained and the criminals are purged, we will ensure you cretins never again get power in the United States of America. You won’t even be able to run in the local dog-catcher elections. For you leftists who pin your miserable existence to globalist bullshit, you are in for a rough time. Buckle up, buttercups. It’s going to be fun watching you burn.”

Hugh Giblin says the politics of impeachment can’t be ignored: “We know and he knows it would not go anywhere. If by some miracle it succeeded, we would have the pious, Machiavellian Mike Pence. And a failed impeachment is sure to embolden Trump and his base. The smart approach is to let Trump get beat, hopefully humiliated, during the 2020 election, when there will also very likely be charges from the U.S. attorney for the Southern District of New York. Let it play out. There is no ‘obligation’ to do something foolish.”

“Impeachment is fundamentally political,” adds Evan. “It is politicians voting on charging another politician for violating government policy. There is no way to separate politics from this issue. No matter how noble our reasons, there will be real-world consequences in proceeding with impeachment hearings. An official congressional record that a bunch of people voted to file some paperwork that will never go anywhere does not fix any real-world problems. It’s comfortable up there on a high horse. Think about those of us stuck in the mud below come 2021.”

Want to see your name in bold? Email us at backtalk@indyweek.com, comment on indyweek.com or our Facebook page, or hit us up on Twitter: @indyweek.

Raleigh Durham | Chapel Hill PUBLISHER EDITORIAL

Susan Harper

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upfront

Keep It Free.

Keep It INDY.

HELP US POWER LOCAL JOURNALISM. JOIN THE INDY PRESS CLUB. BY JEFFREY C. BILLMAN

I

’ve been the INDY’s editor for four years now, but I’ve been working in local journalism for almost two decades, long enough to see the industry turned on its head—and long enough to realize that our business model needs a rethink.

Today, I’m going to ask you to help us begin that journey.

The old model was easy: Businesses bought advertising, and newspapers used their money to fund journalism (and, for the longest time, to generate healthy profits).

It doesn’t work that way anymore. A sizable chunk of that advertising has moved online. Almost 90 percent of those digital dollars have been scooped up by faceless conglomerates like Facebook and Google that couldn’t care less about local communities.

The biggest players, the ones with billionaire backing and a national subscriber list in the millions—The New York Times, The Washington Post—survived this transition just fine. Most everyone else is struggling. Some newspapers have closed; others have cut their staffs to the bone.

As a result, local institutions aren’t getting the kind of scrutiny they did a decade ago.

Local newspapers still have great reporters, but there are fewer and fewer of them, because yesterday’s model simply can’t support enough great journalism today. Without a new model, things will get worse, and we’ll all suffer for it.

The INDY isn’t dying. In print and online, we reach more readers than ever. But we haven’t been immune to market forces. And there’s so much more we want to cover—and in more depth—than we have the capability to do. We feel an obligation to grow, especially as other area media outlets contract.

(Over the past decade, The News & Observer has lost well over half of its newsroom.)

We also want everyone to have access to our work, no matter their income. So we can’t rely on paywalls or subscriptions. For thirty-six years, the INDY has been free, and we intend to keep it that way.

Ultimately, however, great journalism requires resources. That’s where the INDY Press Club comes in—and where we need your help. If you believe the Triangle needs high-quality, fiercely independent journalism now more than ever, I invite you to visit KeepItINDY.com today. With a secure donation—like supporting an NPR station, without the drawing for a trip to Paris— you’ll be

helping to keep fearless watchdog reporting and essential arts and culture coverage viable in the Triangle.

Our goal is to raise $100,000 over the next twelve months. That’s a big ask, and I don’t make it lightly. Lots of other causes deserve your help, too. But I firmly believe that strong local journalism is essential to a thriving community. So maybe don’t think of this as a gift so much as an investment— in your city, in the Triangle, in the state.

Rest assured that this money won’t go to fat-cat shareholders or a faraway corporation. Instead, it will pay for more of what we do best: more reporters and voices, more special projects and investigations.

In return, you’ll receive tangible benefits—access to special events, custom t-shirts, a membership card, that sort of thing. More important, you’ll be supporting a free and independent press—and you’ll have the gratitude of a scrappy handful of overworked, underpaid journalists who want to speak truth to power, tell stories that matter, and make this community better for all of us.

Thanks to you, we should be able to keep at it for another thirty-six years. jbillman@indyweek.com Join the INDY Press Club at KeepItINDY.com.

INDYweek.com | 5.8.19 | 5

indynews

Unintended Consequences

THE LEGISLATURE WANTS TO CHARGE DRUG DEALERS WHOSE BUYERS OVERDOSE AND DIE. ADVOCATES SAY THAT COULD GET MORE PEOPLE KILLED.

BY SARAH WILLETS AND ERIN WILLIAMS

N

orth Carolina legislators want to give prosecutors a new tool to go after big-time drug dealers: new felonies for those who sell drugs to people who die of an overdose. But those who work with users of opioids and other substances covered by the proposal warn it could have unintended—and deadly—consequences.

The House passed its version of the so-called death-by-distribution legislation Monday. (The Senate approved its bill last week, but after the House’s vote, the Senate’s version went back to a committee

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for revisions.) About twenty states have similar laws to charge distributors of fatal drugs with homicide or another felony.

“Bills like this drive up rates of overdose death because it decreases the probability of people reaching out for help in the event of an overdose,” says Virgil Hayes, advocacy and program manager for the North Carolina Harm Reduction Coalition.

The bill would apply to opioids, cocaine, methamphetamine, and depressants. Dealers who sell to people who then die from using them would be charged with a class

C or B2 felony—classes that include second-degree rape and second-degree murder, respectively—depending on their prior record. Class C felonies carry a maximum sentence of just over nineteen years; class B2 felonies, more than forty years.

“I don’t believe we should criminalize the addiction, and this bill does not do that,” bill sponsor Representative Dean Arp said during a recent committee debate. “… But for those people who peddle poison for profit and kill kids, the hand of justice cannot be soft. Justice demands more.”

Death-by-distribution laws date back more than three decades, to the passage of a federal law aimed at preventing drug-related deaths. North Carolina already has a law that allows prosecutors to charge someone with drug-induced homicide, but unlike the new proposal, the existing law requires proving someone acted with malice.

Proponents say that’s too hard a threshold to meet—according to the Health in Justice Action Lab at Northeastern University School of Law, North Carolina prosecutors have brought just seventy-five

drug-induced homicides charges in the twenty-five years since the state law was enacted—and prosecutors need to be able to cast a wider net.

But it’s not clear that the new charges would deter people from using or selling drugs. A 2018 Pew review of forty-eight states found no relationship between drug imprisonment and drug use, drug arrests, and drug-related deaths. According to an analysis by the Drug Policy Alliance, some of the states that have most aggressively sought to charge distributors in buyers’ deaths have also seen overdose rates go up.

“Bills like this drive up rates of overdose deaths.”

In an attempt to address concerns that the bill would deter people from calling 911, lawmakers added an amendment last month exempting from prosecution those who get immunity under the state’s Good Samaritan law. That law protects people who call 911 while they or someone else is overdosing from being prosecuted for the possession of small amounts of drugs.

But neither that provision nor the Good Samaritan law really address the reality of how these drugs are used, Hayes says.

They’re often shared or bought from someone who sells small amounts to support their own habit.

The death-by-distribution bill applies to anyone who “unlawfully sells, or delivers as part of a sale, at least one certain controlled substance” to a user who dies as a result.

At a time as frantic as an overdose, people aren’t going perform “mental calculations” to figure out which laws they have immunity from and which they don’t, Hayes says.

“In reality, I just don’t see the Good Samaritan provision as-is doing much of any good with this bill,” Hayes says.

Critics point to drug-induced homicide prosecutions as a signal of what’s to come if this proposal becomes law. Through a review of news reports from 2000 to 2017, the Health in Justice Action Lab found that, nationally, half of people accused of drug-induced homicide weren’t dealers, but rather a caretaker, relative, friend, or partner of the person who died.

“In addition to not affecting its intended target of high-end traffickers,” Hayes says, “what will end up happening if this law is put into place—we’re going to see more people incarcerated who are struggling with addiction.” backtalk@indyweek.com

news

No Labels

SHELIA HUGGINS WANTS TO MAKE THE FRIENDS OF DURHAM PAC RELEVANT AGAIN

BY SARAH WILLETS

S

ter schools versus public schools, develeventeen years ago, an article in opers versus neighborhoods. She wants the INDY described Friends of DurFriends of Durham to ground its work in ham, one of three major political research and the everyday needs of Duraction committees in the Bull City, as an ham residents, engage new people, and be a “overwhelmingly white” and “conservative” place where members can express differing organization. viewpoints without getting shut down.

Shelia Huggins says she’s not sure those labels were correct back then— and they certainly aren’t now that she’s taken over.

“It was less about conservatism and more about a business-friendly environment,” Huggins says of the Friends’ thirty-year history.

A black woman, attorney, and former city employee and city council candidate, Huggins began chairing Friends of Durham’s board earlier this year. She’s hoping to revamp— and reclaim—the organization’s image. Her vision is for the Friends to be more actively involved in Durham politics, and to provide “a safe space for quality conversations” in a time of intense polarization.

In the past, the organization (via its Facebook page) has called out progressives for “obstructing” affordable housing by demanding it be built on a pricey, downtown Durham lot (the city-owned Shelia Huggins COURTESY OF SHELIA HUGGINS former police department “Everything’s not that political,” she says. headquarters), and responded “Yikes!!!”

“People need jobs. People need medicine— to an INDY endorsement that suggested they don’t care what your label is.”

Mayor Steve Schewel and council members Along with revamping the organization’s Jillian Johnson and Charlie Reece would website and social media, members are takform a progressive bloc. ing a look at their priority issues. PreviousThough Durham is an overwhelmingly ly, the Friends of Durham website listed the Democratic city, Huggins says she wants group’s priorities as schools (not performto get away from partisan labels. She woring well enough), crime (too high), taxes ries that there are people in Durham who (also too high), and race relations (too often are afraid to share their views on issues “injected into politics where it does not facing the city—issues that can get boiled belong”). Under Huggins, those priorities down to diametrically opposed sides: char-

have shifted to schools, crime, governance, and the economy—no race relations.

“We are committed to building bridges of all types in Durham, especially bridges that help us connect and build trusting and respectful relationships among all of the races of people who live in our city,” Huggins says. “Historically, our membership hasn’t always reflected the diversity of our city. We acknowledge that, but we believe wholeheartedly that our commitment to making Durham a great home for all residents has to begin with relationships.”

Lately, the Friends of Durham has been something of a nonentity. The public hasn’t heard much from the organization, and its endorsements haven’t mattered nearly as much as those of the People’s Alliance or the Durham Committee on the Affairs of Black People. (Huggins is a member of both organizations and is also active in the Democratic Party.)

Going forward, that will change, Huggins says—and not just during election season. The group’s members are currently researching a hotly debated request from the Durham Police Department to add seventy-two new officers over the next three years, and plans to put out a position statement on that and more.

“If we’re Durham and we say we’re accepting of people, you should never feel uncomfortable talking about how you feel about an issue that you’re paying for with your public dollars,” Huggins says. “If we’re progressive, let’s break that down and have a conversation about that because I don’t think everybody in Durham is progressing.” backtalk@indyweek.com INDYweek.com | 5.8.19 | 7

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news

Bonding Experience

WILL RALEIGH FOLLOW DURHAM’S LEAD AND GO BIG ON AFFORDABLE HOUSING THIS YEAR?

BY LEIGH TAUSS

I

f affordable housing’s a game, Raleigh is losing.

Every year, the city loses far more affordable units than it can replace; a 2016 study found that Raleigh needs to add another thirty-two thousand to keep up.

Home values that have doubled over the last decade have turned the housing market into a pressure cooker. Meanwhile, gentrification runs wild in Southeast Raleigh, with historically black neighborhoods being devoured by white buyers building luxurious homes on tiny lots, as The New York Times recently noted.

In Durham, which is facing similar issues, Mayor Steve Schewel has proposed a $95 million housing bond, the largest ever in North Carolina—further fueling perceptions that Raleigh isn’t doing enough. With an election looming and affordable housing topping the list of voters’ concerns, the Raleigh City Council is under pressure to do something meaningful to address this burgeoning crisis.

But it’s not clear what that something will be.

The council will hear a presentation from staff Tuesday—after the INDY goes to print—that includes options for what an affordable housing bond referendum might look like. To get the bond on the October ballot, the council needs to make a decision

by June 18, according to housing and neighborhood director Larry Jarvis.

To match Durham’s $95 million bond, Raleigh would need to raise its property tax rate—currently 43.82 cents per $100 of assessed value—by 1.25 cents, or about $25 a year for a $200,000 home.

Complicating matters, on Monday night Wake County’s manager recommended that the Board of Commissioners increase property taxes by 10 percent, mostly to account for $1 billion in school construction, parks, and Wake Tech bonds voters passed last year, but also to bump school funding by $36 million and county operating expenses by slightly less than that.

If commissioners approve the manager’s recommendation, the owner of a $200,000 property in Wake County will add $128 to their tax bill.

For Raleigh homeowners, these hikes would be cumulative.

Jarvis wouldn’t say how big a bond the staff would recommend, though he plans to give the council three options. The money could be used in several ways, including building new affordable rental units, down payment assistance for first-time buyers, and rehabbing properties in low-income neighborhoods.

Ideally, Jarvis says, a $100 million bond could produce about three thousand units, though that depends on the kind of tax credits used for specific projects. Even that scenario, though, would only begin to put a dent in the problem.

or both, and they might get gun shy; then again, a presidential election draws more people to the polls, likely giving the bonds a better chance of passing.

Council members Russ Stephenson and Stef Mendell say they want a bond on the ballot this year for somewhere between $50 million and $100 million. Mendell says she hopes the council can be “bold and ambitious,” while remaining sensitive to the city’s increasing tax burden.

“While we’re trying to build five hundred to six hundred [affordable units] a year, we’re losing about a thousand a year,” Mendell says. “The hole keeps getting bigger,

and we have to do as much as we can to fix that. At the same time, obviously, we have to be careful because there are a lot of people who, with gentrification, their property values have increased and their property taxes have increased.”

No one’s district has been more affected by gentrification than Corey Branch’s, who represents Southeast Raleigh. He wants a $120 million bond.

“The very people we’re trying to help and give opportunity to, we want to make sure we don’t negatively impact,” Branch says.

“So it’s finding that balance.” ltauss@indyweek.com

“ We shouldn’t be looking at just this one tool.”

“We shouldn’t be looking at just this one tool,” Jarvis says. “it really is, across the board, what can we do to increase all housing types, housing choices?”

A majority on the council, however, has seemed reluctant to increase density in neighborhoods, which advocates say would increase the supply of housing and thus help keep prices in check. Instead, the majority is looking to voluntary inclusionary zoning—in other words, asking developers to include affordable units in projects for which they’re seeking more intense zonings—as a way to address the problem.

Another complication is the timing of the bond, Jarvis says. A bond this year would be the only referendum on the ballot. But next year, Raleigh voters could see another school bond or a bond to fund Dix Park, INDYweek.com | 5.8.19 | 9

FIELD OF

objections—he abruptly shut it down, leaving players and coaches in the lurch and vendors owed millions of dollars they’ll likely never see.

“When Mr. Dundon took over,” Polian said in a statement that day, “it was the belief of my co-founder, Charlie Ebersol, and myself that we would finish the season, pay our creditors, and make the necessary adjustments to move forward in a manner that made economic sense for all.

The momentum generated by our players, coaches, and football staff had us well-positioned for future success. Regrettably, we will not have that opportunity.”

DREAMS T

In February, the billionaire who resurrected the Carolina Hurricanes bought a pro football league.

Two months later, it went bust.

BY XANDER PETERS

PHOTO ILLUSTRATION BY STEVE OLIVA / PHOTO COURTESY OF THE ALLIANCE OF AMERICAN FOOTBALL

T

he Alliance of American Football was supposed to be different.

Announced in March 2018, the eight-team developmental spring league was pitched as faster, rougher, and more action-packed than the NFL. What it lacked in marquee talent, it would make up for in excitement: no kickoffs, no onepoint conversions, a shorter play clock, no bullshit rules to protect the quarterback.

It would live somewhere between Sunday football and the arena variety, but not be as schlocky as the short-lived, wrestlinginspired XFL spectacle of the early aughts.

To be sure, the XFL was an inspiration.

One of the AAF’s founders, Charlie Ebersol—the son of former NBC Sports head Dick Ebersol—had directed a documentary on and was fascinated by WWE executive Vince McMahon’s 2001 gridiron stunt, which his father had also helped run. But the other founder, Bill Polian, was a former general manager for the NFL’s Carolina Panthers. The AAF had also picked up some NFL greats as advisers, including future Hall of Fame safety Troy Polamalu.

10 | 5.8.19 | INDYweek.com

The AAF was designed to eventually serve as a pipeline to the NFL. Unlike in college football, the players would be paid: They’d all get the same three-year, $250,000 deal, which would come with an exit clause in case the NFL called. Players would be signed to teams based on the geographic regions in which they played in college, too, so there was also a hometown aesthetic to lure crowds.

The idea was enticing enough to attract some big names. The brand Starter inked a deal to be the official apparel provider. Heisman winner (and NFL flunky) Johnny Manziel signed on to quarterback the Memphis Express, a team coached by Chicago Bears Hall of Famer (and former 49ers head coach) Mike Singletary. One of the biggest gets was Steve Spurrier, the legendary former University of Florida and University of South Carolina coach, who agreed to helm the Orlando Apollos.

More than twenty thousand people packed into the University of Central Florida’s Spectrum Stadium on Saturday, February 9, for the Apollos’ debut. CBS broadcast that game, a 40–6 shellacking in which Apollos QB Garrett Gilbert threw

for 227 yards. Through the first eight weeks of the ten-week regular season, Spurrier’s Apollos dominated, going a league-best 7–1 and clinching a playoff berth.

Week nine never happened. On April 2, fifty-three days after the league’s first snap, and twenty-five days before its champion was supposed to be crowned, the AAF suddenly collapsed. By April 17, facing lawsuits, the league filed for bankruptcy. Players had to pay for their own travel back home.

In hindsight, it’s easy to see the AAF for what it was: a financial game of Jenga teetering on the brink of disaster from the outset. But at the time, its sudden demise took everyone—players, coaches, even the league’s growing fan base—completely by surprise.

A month later, one question remains: Who’s to blame?

One potential culprit: Tom Dundon, a forty-eight-year-old Texas billionaire whose upstart Carolina Hurricanes are currently the toast of the Triangle’s sports world.

In February, Dundon acquired a majority stake in the AAF, pledging to pump $250 million into the league. Less than two months later—over Ebersol and Polian’s

homas Dundon made his mint as the CEO of Santander Consumer USA, a company that sells subprime auto loans to people with poor credit. He left the company in 2015 amid heightened scrutiny from federal regulators—and following a $9.35 million settlement with the Department of Justice over claims that Santander had illegally seized cars from members of the military—pocketing more than $900 million on his way out. (Dundon told The Dallas Morning News that subprime auto loans are different than the subprime mortgages that helped spark the Great Recession because no one expects cars to gain value over their lifetimes.)

After that, he founded Dundon Capital Partners LLC and purchased a thirty-threestory building in downtown Dallas. He’d also acquired a minority stake in Topgolf, a fast-growing, Texas-based chain of what Sports Illustrated describes as “tricked-out recreational driving ranges.”

The Carolina Hurricanes marked Dundon’s first foray into professional sports.

The decision, he says, wasn’t because he loved hockey or had any affinity for North Carolina. Rather, he says, he wanted to own a sports team, he had the means, and the Hurricanes were on the market.

In January 2018, he bought a 61 percent stake in the team—then valued at about $370 million, according to Forbes—from Peter Karmanos Jr., who had purchased the then-Hartford Whalers in 1994 and relocated the franchise three years later, giving Raleigh its first major-league sports team.

The deal requires Dundon to keep the Hurricanes in Raleigh for at least seven years. Even so, he had to immediately beat back rumors that he wanted to relocate the team to Texas.

After all, the Hurricanes were struggling, and there were legitimate questions about whether Raleigh, a midsize city in a region where hockey isn’t a pastime, could support a franchise. The team had the league’s worst attendance, just 11,776 fans a game. Not

coincidentally, they’d gone eight years, soon to be nine, without making the playoffs.

Dundon quickly overhauled the Hurricanes’ front office. Within five months, he had a new general manager and head coach—Rod Brind’Amour, a former Canes center who was a team captain on the 2006 championship squad.

“When you start off, you want to be relevant,” Dundon told the INDY Monday.

“Plenty of teams—the Golden State Warriors a decade ago, the [New England] Patriots when I was growing up—were not a top brand. The goal was to make the Hurricanes’ brand relevant, something people want to watch.”

The 2018–19 Canes were better. As the season wore on, they strung together enough wins to stay in the playoff hunt. Average attendance ticked up, too, by more than two thousand fans per game, helped along in February when a curmudgeonly Canadian commentator labeled the Hurricanes a “bunch of jerks” because he didn’t like their choreographed victory celebrations. The Canes’ marketing department quickly turned that line into a slogan and t-shirt.

In April, the Hurricanes sneaked into the postseason, then defeated the defending Stanley Cup champion Washington Capitals in a double-overtime Game 7 thriller on April 24. After that, the Jerks pasted the New York Islanders in a four-game sweep.

Next up: the Eastern Conference Finals, where they’ll face the Boston Bruins, then maybe a chance at the franchise’s first Stanley Cup since 2006.

“I think you have the right coach and the right players,” Dundon says. “With the kind of effort and preparation—I think you had a chance. We knew we had a chance.”

Regardless of how the season ends, the turnaround has been remarkable. For the first time in recent memory, Raleigh is palpably excited about hockey—and a team much of the city barely knew existed just a few months ago.

Dundon says that, despite the lingering relocation talk, he’s committed to the Triangle: “It’s nothing. I don’t even know where it comes from. The world we live in— people can say what they want to say.”

Of course, the AAF thought he was in it for the long haul, too.

D

undon purchased a majority stake in the AAF in February after an early league funder bailed out. He committed $250 million to the venture, giving the league the appearance of a strong foundation on which to grow.

“There’s a difference between commitment and funding,” Dundon told the media when he took over. “They had the commit-

ments to last a long time, but maybe not the money in the bank. My money is in my bank.

I’m sure of it. … That’s enough money to run this league for a long time. We’re good for many years to come with what I just did.”

As it turns out, however, Dundon had only agreed to float the AAF week to week.

By the end of March, the league had burned through $70 million of his cash, according to media reports—almost all of it on payroll.

Even with him footing that bill, the AAF couldn’t pay its vendors, including at least one stadium it rented for games.

Dundon made a desperation play. He asked the NFL Players Association to let his league share younger NFL players. The NFLPA declined, and Dundon evidently

Tom Dundon

Football, of course, is a violent sport.

Launching a league without an insurer does not seem like a well-considered decision.

It’s possible the AAF made ill-considered decisions—and lacked a viable business plan—because it rushed to get on the field. In January 2018, two months before Ebersol and Polian made their announcement, WWE honcho Vince McMahon said he was going to take another stab at the XFL in 2020. Perhaps they wanted to beat him to the punch.

That’s speculation. But some of these questions might get answered as lawsuits move through the courts. Already, two potentially class-action claims have been filed against the defunct league.

PHOTO BY NIKKI STOUDT, COURTESY OF THE CAROLINA HURRICANES

gave up. As is appropriate in 2019, players learned of his decision on Twitter a few hours before it was official.

Dundon declined to talk about the AAF due to ongoing litigation. So it remains a mystery why he—by all accounts, a savvy investor—didn’t see the league for the train wreck it was from the get-go.

Case in point: Three weeks into the season, the Orlando Apollos had to move their practices to a high school in southern Georgia, about a three-hour drive. This happened because Florida’s workers’ compensation law does not cover athletes, and the AAF hadn’t found an insurance company to cover the entire league. Having the Apollos spend 51 percent of their practice days on Georgia soil allowed the players to claims under Georgia law.

John Swope and Jay Roberson, who worked for the AAF’s Birmingham Iron franchise, filed a federal lawsuit arguing that the league failed to follow the Worker Adjustment and Retraining Notification Act when it issued the nationwide layoffs in April.

In another case, Birmingham punter Colton Schmidt and Orlando linebacker Reggie Northrup argue that they wouldn’t have subjected themselves to “serious risk of physical or damage to [their] health” or “forgone other financial opportunities” had they been aware of the AAF’s shaky financial standing. Their lawsuit also alleges that, by not paying its players for the last two regular season games, the AAF demonstrated that it had entered into contracts in bad faith.

In addition, at least seven creditors have sought more than $1.2 million from the

league. In a bankruptcy filing in late April, AAF parent company Legendary Field Exhibitions told its creditors—to whom it owes more than $48 million—not to bother.

“No property appears to be available to pay creditors,” the filing said, according to a report on the NBC Sports website ProFootballTalk. “Therefore, please do not file a proof of claim now.”

I

n August, as the NFL preseason wore on, Steve Spurrier was excited.

“I think we can put a really good product on the field,” the then newly minted Apollos coach said. “I’m watching all these NFL games right now and half the guys are playin’ in the preseason, they’re gonna get cut, and they’re gonna be wantin’ to play in our league.”

He did put a good product on the field.

The Apollos went undefeated through the first five weeks of the season. Gilbert was the AAF’s best passer, wide receiver Charles Johnson accumulated 45 catches for 687 yards and five touchdowns, and defensive back Keith Reaser recorded three interceptions.

That was good enough to parlay their eight weeks in the AAF into NFL contracts: Gilbert signed with the Cleveland Browns.

Johnson and Reaser have gone to the Philadelphia Eagles and Kansas City Chiefs, respectively. Several other AAF players made a similar jump. The developmental league offered them a second chance to show their stuff.

That wasn’t the case for Apollos tight end Sean Price, who moved his girlfriend and child to Florida from Colorado Springs, where he was an intramural sports director at a military base, to play in the AAF. “I mean, I just felt betrayed,” Price says. “It was a great league. I loved the way the league was set up and all the opportunities that had been given to us. But just to take it away seems very disrespectful, very childish. It seems that they had the funds in place. They just had some upper management issues that nothing to do with the players.”

Price is keeping an eye on the next iteration of the XFL. He’s also considering taking legal action against the AAF. “To just have [the league] dismantled while we’re at a practice like that, it’s crazy,” Price says. “So hopefully this lawsuit, or whoever else, can see it through that what they did was wrong and they should pay out these athletes and coaches for the time, for the contract that they had.” backtalk@indyweek.com A version of this story originally appeared in Orlando Weekly. Additional reporting by Jeffrey C. Billman and Cliff Jenkins.

INDYweek.com | 5.8.19 | 11

TOP CHEF

The INDY’s exclusive interview with Ashley Christensen, who was just awarded the culinary world’s most prestigious prize

BY LAYLA KHOURY-HANOLD

A Ashley Christensen and chef Tom Colicchio at the 2019 James Beard Awards PHOTO COURTESY OF GALDONES PHOTOGRAPHY

INDY: When you were nominated for Outstanding Chef last year, we talked about what it means to be recognized for your leadership. How have you built on that momentum?

ASHLEY CHRISTENSEN: I think the biggest thing that we do is make ourselves available for conversations. We have a network of chefs all over the country, very much so in the South. We talk to each other about things we’re challenged by. We’ve come out of an interesting year, where so many things were opened up about negative things that were happening in the industry. It’s a very longstanding, real part of the business. I am so in love with the fact that we are talking about things. If you’re tired of talking about it, you’re not pushing the conversation forward. And I think that’s what we’re willing to do. We’re willing to have uncomfortable conversations. We’re willing to be vulnerable about the fact that we make mistakes.

12 | 5.8.19 | INDYweek.com

We have to figure out how to solve issues and move forward and take into consideration all of the voices who are a part of what we do.

We’ve talked before about making sure everyone has a seat at the table. Do you think we’ve made progress?

To me, it’s not the theme of the year, it’s the theme of the future. When I talk to my team, I say, “I want to figure out how we can really change the tone of what has been acceptable in this industry for so long. What I need you to understand is that it’s going to be so hard.

We’re asking you to sign up for a job that will never be done.” To do this properly, you can never say, “OK, we checked that box.”

The work is never done in any sense, but I imagine that’s also part of the appeal.

And the draw. We are not one of those companies that looks for perfection. We want to be great every day. If we use the word

shley Christensen has been here before.

Here, as in this building, the Lyric Opera of Chicago, but also here, the James Beard Awards, vying for the culinary world’s biggest prize on its biggest stage. On Monday night, for the second straight year, Raleigh’s best-known restaurateur—the proprietor of Poole’s Diner and Death & Taxes, among others—is one of five finalists for Outstanding Chef, her name among the likes of Marc Vetri of Philadelphia and Corey Lee of San Francisco.

By the time award is announced—last, just after nine—the room was abuzz with nervous energy. When chef Tom Colicchio opens the envelope and calls out Christensen’s name, the opera house erupts with cheers, many emanating from the front rows, where Christensen’s entourage is seated.

“To my crew of badasses at AC Restaurants,” Christensen says in her acceptance speech, “I stand here because of you. I stand here with you. This is your award, all two hundred and seventy of you.” She singles out a few individuals for praise—mentors Andrea Reusing of Lantern and Scott Howell of Nana’s, as well as her fiancée, AC Restaurants executive director Kaitlyn Goalen—and then thanks her hometown. “I’m so proud to call Raleigh my home,” she said. “Thank you to all the amazing small businesses that, like us, took a chance on Raleigh. You truly define our city.”

Two days earlier, I’d caught up with Christensen in Chicago to ask about her thoughts on Raleigh’s restaurant scene, her highly anticipated Poole’side Pies, how she built on last year’s Outstanding Chef nomination, and what winning this year would mean to her and her city.

“perfect” or “the best,” I feel like that just implies a ceiling that I never want my people to be thinking about. One of the saddest things to me is going into a place that I’ve read about for years and feeling like nobody’s looked at it or touched it in a long time, or pushed themselves and asked, how can we be the best version of ourselves today? I love creating food. I love working with cooks on how to produce it. But walking into every space we have, I hold myself accountable now to look around and say, “What needs to change? What needs to evolve to make sure this team works with relevance, intention, and as a part of what pushes us forward?”

You mentioned the word “vulnerable,” and it made me think of the Food & Wine article based on the talk you gave at a Southern Foodways Alliance Symposium. You said, “I had to accept the parts of me that felt weak, vulnerable, or offensive. That

included embracing who I am as a woman— specifically, a gay woman—in a fuller, more realized way.” How has that changed the way that you run your restaurants?

I think that I’m just breathing a little deeper. It was a wonderful thing to be able to say that to the industry. What meant the most to me is that it meant so many different things to so many different people—from a friend who owns a bakery coming up and saying, “We just love that you’re a strong woman who gets to be a role model for our six-year-old daughter,” to a woman who said, “That young girl that you described is my thirteen-year-old daughter, and I now know what I need to do.”

I think [about] the business vulnerability, that from the outside, there’s so much perceived success to this industry. From the time that Poole’s Diner became a multi-unit, which was eight years ago, this year was the first time we made a profit. I would make

twice as much money as an individual if I only had Poole’s right now. And when we made a profit, we made less than 1 percent of our sales.

Our big goal right now is engaging the folks who are working so wonderfully with us; we hope they can stay for as long as they want to stay. But we also want to put great restaurant owners, operators, and managers into the world who will take everything that we’re working on and make sure those things can be shared with the rest of the industry. We want to take our struggles, our challenges, our accomplishments, and we want to amplify it into the industry so that everybody can benefit from it.

Where does Poole’side Pies fit into the landscape?

We’re gleaning some of the sense of Poole’s into that place. But it’s a whole different space, for sure. I love the idea of doing a style—you know pizza, there are so many versions of it. Everyone’s like, “This is what pizza’s supposed to be like.” And that’s seventy versions of something. There’s not a lot of Napoli-style pizza in Raleigh. We’re doing something that’s inspired by that, based on ingredients that we love.

I just want it to be this big, welcoming space that is unique in design. “Pooleside” because it’s next to Poole’s, but we’re going with a swim-club theme to play off that.

I want this kind of snack bar vibe to it, but I want it to also be very serious in the things that we’re focusing on and the ingredients.

“ Is this a place where people are no longer saying, ‘Oh, you work in a restaurant? What are you going to do with the rest of your life?’”

We’re starting to see that in Raleigh too, with people who came up through your company who own or are opening their own places. Where do you think the downtown Raleigh restaurant scene is heading?

I think it’s exploding in a really beautiful way. One of my goals has always been to give people the confidence to take a chance on their dream. If they’ve got a thing they want to do and they love Raleigh, and they believe it’s the right thing to do, I want to be someone who is a steward of that community and helps people understand that they have a place there.

I think it’s become so much more diverse, which I’m so grateful for. We want to show people our restaurants, but now the first thing we do is take them to [Brewery] Bhavana or take them to eat at [Garland]. I’ve always believed that the way you can be most successful in the restaurant business is to extend something to your guests that makes them feel a sense of ownership of your place. I think as a community, we all feel that together. We all have a sense of pride in sharing what each of us are doing with each other’s guests.

When can we look forward to grabbing a pie?

We’re looking at our [certificate of occupancy] being sometime in August. Should be late summer—we’ll call it pre-fall.

What would it mean to you—and to Raleigh—to win Outstanding Chef?

It would mean so many things. I want to be one of the people who, should I have the pleasure of winning that award, to be someone who truly defines that that is a leadership award. That it’s about giving to more than just the places that you own and serve.

I want to be a leader in this industry who inspires others to contribute to the future of the industry. And to really give us the opportunity to honor this work we do in a whole new light.

Last year was a very depressing year [in terms of ] everything that came out, but it was necessary. It was the pivot point that would make this industry a place where people want their children to work. That, to me, is the pivot—is this a place where people are no longer saying, “Oh, you work in a restaurant? What are you going to do with the rest of your life?” I want this industry to be celebrated and respected for the amount of energy that we all put into it. food@indyweek.com INDYweek.com | 5.8.19 | 13

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14 | 5.8.19 | INDYweek.com

indyfood

LIME AND LEMON INDIAN GRILL

FIRST BITE

811 Ninth Street, Durham 919-748-3456, limenlemonnc.com

The Vast Subcontinent

LIME AND LEMON WANTS TO SHOWCASE MORE OF INDIA’S CUISINE THAN AMERICANS ARE USED TO

BY ANDREA RICE

L

imes and lemons are “the same fruit,” Maha Rajmohan says, explaining the thought process behind her new Durham restaurant. “But it tastes entirely different. It’s the same with northern and southern Indian food. Both are unique, but both are very different.”

Lime and Lemon Indian Grill opened last month in the space that longtime Ninth Street standby Dales Indian Cuisine occupied until it closed last year. Like Dales, Lime and Lemon is an Indian spot that won’t set you back a week’s paycheck for dinner. But Lime and Lemon isn’t just another place for chicken tikka masala and saag paneer, the northern Indian dishes Americans are accustomed to. Instead, it’s created a fusion from all over the Indian subcontinent.

The restaurant is owned by six friends who hail from all across India. They live in Cary, have worked in IT, and share a passion for the comfort foods of their homeland— which is, it’s worth noting, a third the size of the U.S. but has four times as many people.

“India is so vast,” says Rajmohan, who co-owns the restaurant with her husband, Raj, and two other couples. “We wanted to introduce something outside of the box, something you don’t get at all the other Indian restaurants.”

Rajmohan and her husband’s families are from Trichy, in southern India. Veena Kumar, who helps manage Lime and Lemon—the other partners kept their fulltime jobs—is from Pune, in western India.

The others emigrated from southern India.

No one—including chef Sengu Arumugam—is from northern India.

What’s the difference?

Northern India boasts tandoori, paneers, masalas, and naan. Vindaloo, a curry-based curry dish common to the north, actually originated in the western state of Goa and, according to Rajmohan, was influenced by the Dutch. Western and southern practices favor coconut gravies over dairy; the food tends to be spicier, as pungent aromas of cardamom, cloves, cinnamon, star

anise, and mace (the deep red outer covering of nutmeg) generate a level of seasoning that might otherwise be offset by the sweetness of dairy. The tropical desert climate of the west produces chikoo fruit, which Arumugam uses to make gulab jamun, a milkbased fried dumpling soaked in a syrup that’s

with anything from avocado to potatoes and spiced chutney to onion and green chile uttapam. Other standouts include the Gobi Manchurian, lightly dusted cauliflower flash-fried and tossed with a zesty special sauce reminiscent of General Tso, and the paneer tikka, salted cottage cheese mari-

Maja Rajmohan, co-owner of Lime and Lemon Indian Grill not excessively sugary—a satisfying bite to cleanse the palate after a big meal.

Like southern Indian cuisine, Lime and Lemon’s menu favors vegetarianism, though some meat items, such as the aromatic goat Chettinad and the Madras chicken biryani, make an appearance. Rice and lentils are primary proteins in the south, yet there’s also a notable Asian influence in both flavor and technique, represented by both the idlis, steamed rice and lentil cakes, and the dosas.

The dosas here are inspired by Chinese spring rolls—thin, crispy crepes stuffed

stylish bar is well-lit, and each spirit has been carefully selected to complement the menu.

The same kind of intentionality goes into Lime and Lemon’s waste-reduction efforts.

You won’t find plastic straws or to-go containers here, only compostable ones.

PHOTO BY ANDREA RICE

nated in yogurt and tandoori spices and smoked in a clay oven until delightfully firm. The goat rogan josh, a fragrant, pleasure-inducing brown curry enhanced by ginger and garlic, converted a goat skeptic and paired nicely with the dark cherry and tobacco notes of a Raimat Tempranillo.

Lime and Lemon is bright and cheerful, accentuated by lime- and lemon-colored high-back chairs and booths that offset dark wooden farm-style tables. The few pieces of artwork that adorn the walls were hand-painted by Rajmohan. The modern,

“We did not want to use any plastic,” Rajmohan says. “Whenever I would order take-out from an Indian restaurant, I would feel bad that the hot curries were put into plastic.”

It’s not just that the plastic doesn’t decompose, but that its toxicity leeches into the food, and then into the body.

“We can all reduce by taking small steps,” she adds. “It costs a lot to use [compostable containers], but you have to give back something to the environment.” arice@indyweek.com INDYweek.com | 5.8.19 | 15

food

CAT TALES CAT CAFÉ

431 West Franklin Street, Chapel Hill cattalescatcafe.com

The Cat’s Meow

AT THE TRIANGLE’S FIRST CAT CAFE, YOU CAN SIP WINE OR HAVE AN IPA. BUT THAT’S NOT WHY YOU CAME. BY ANDREA RICE

S

deep dive EAT • DRINK • SHOP • PLAY

The INDY’s monthly neighborhood guide to all things Triangle

Coming May 29:

CARRBORO For advertising opportunities, contact your ad rep or advertising@indyweek.com 16 | 5.8.19 | INDYweek.com

hortly after six on a Tuesday evening in April, ten young professionals gather at a cafe in Chapel Hill. Led by a teacher from Franklin Street Yoga, they go through the normal array of postures—child’s pose, downward dog, warrior I, cat and cow—like any other yoga session.

The only difference: There are cats everywhere.

This is Cat Tales, a new cat cafe that opened on Valentine’s Day. The class is the second in a soon-to-be-monthly series of cat yoga offerings, appealing to cat people and yoga people alike. (Disclosure: I am the very embodiment of the target demo.)

Most of the time, there’s no yoga. There are prepackaged treats to munch on, like cupcakes from Pittsboro’s Phoenix Bakery, as well as an assortment of coffee, beer, and wine. And there are always cats—and those cats are always looking for a good home.

“We just had our sixteenth adoption about thirty minutes ago,” co-owner and manager Katy Poitras told me during a recent afternoon visit.

The two-story glass-walled building facing Franklin Street is a cat’s paradise.

Sunbeams pour in midday, ideal for an afternoon nap. Cat trees and scratch boxes are dispersed throughout both levels, gifting each creature an opportunity to snooze, snuggle, hide—or whatever strikes their fancy. Plush pillows and blankets in pastel pinks and blues adorn a couple of soft and squishy couches, perfect for kneading and nesting, and, of course, being worshipped by humans.

It’s feline siesta time. Each day, the cafe closes for about an hour to give the cats a break from human visitors, which might account for their cordial behavior.

“People are always pleasantly surprised by how social and friendly the cats are,” Poitras says, as Alistair, a seven-monthold part-Bengal who has already surpassed the size of an average housecat, nuzzles my forearm.

This is Alistair. Do not pick him up.

PHOTO BY ANDREA RICE

Alistair, who does not like to be picked up, enjoys my head scratches and neck rubs. I learn that he’s an enthusiastic swimmer, a trait of his breed; his previous foster parent discovered him paddling around in a bathtub filled with water during Hurricane Florence.

Like the other cats here, Alistair comes from the Goathouse Refuge, a nonprofit no-kill sanctuary in Pittsboro that currently has about three hundred cats in its care. Poitras and co-owner Ilene Speizer partnered with Goathouse to help find cats who’ve been in foster care a permanent home. Cat Tales keeps twelve cats at a time, ranging from seven months to a year old.

When one is adopted, another is on deck.

The cafe’s origins were fortuitous. A year ago, Poitras and Speizer were independently scoping out spaces for cat cafes in Chapel Hill. Their parallel efforts—from talking to the health department and county animal services to reaching out to Goathouse—led

them to the same space, just a day apart, though it wasn’t the location where they eventually ended up. The landlord connected them. They met and decided that, rather than compete, they should work together, with Poitras managing the operation while Speizer, a research professor at UNC’s Gillings School of Global Public Health, would work behind the scenes.

“The community response has been outstanding, supportive, and enthusiastic, way before we even opened,” says Poitras.

From the beginning, Cat Tales, which recommends reservations—yes, you can reserve it for parties—has been consistently booked, especially on weekends.

According to Poitras, it’s the Triangle’s first and only officially licensed cat cafe— and the fourth in the state—for now, anyway.

This fall, Purr Cup Café will open near downtown Raleigh. arice@indyweek.com

INDYweek.com | 5.8.19 | 17

MAY

TH 9 CRIS JACOBS BAND 7p FR 10 DOUGLAS ELEMENTARY

indymusic

SON VOLT

Thursday, May 9, 8 p.m., $25-$28 Haw River Ballroom, Saxapahaw www.hawriverballroom.com

Unite and Conquer

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Son Volt PHOTO COURTESY OF THE ARTISTS

“D

o you want to come do this in my room?” I ask. “Or should we just do a phoner?”

“Let’s do a phoner,” Jay Farrar says. “Keep it old school.”

It’s no coincidence that Farrar, the frontman of Americana mainstay Son Volt, is packing his bags in a hotel room next to mine outside of tiny La Crosse, Wisconsin. A few weeks before, he had hired me to handle the band’s merch sales on its U.S. tour in support of its new album, the politically charged Union. Since then, we’ve been sharing a van bench, lunch menus, and hotel hallways as we slowly make our way through the first leg of the tour.

Offstage, Farrar is quiet—a measured observer of the world around him who prefers listening to talking. Perhaps it’s this facet of his personality that has given his extensive catalog a sense of authenticity lacked by

many of his roots-tinged musical progeny, crafted in the image of Son Volt and Farrar’s legendary alt-country trio, Uncle Tupelo. Plumbing the depths of what it means to be an American with roots in a place as complex and central, both philosophically and geographically, as the Midwest, and how we might find a middle ground between our ever-deepening trenches, Farrar has created an album that echoes the sentiments of an exhausted proletariat.

If I’ve learned anything behind Son Volt’s merch table, it’s that Farrar and his revolving cohort—which currently consists of guitarist Chris Frame, bassist Andrew Duplantis, drummer Mark Patterson, and multi-instrumentalist Mark Spencer— have cultivated a deeply devoted and passionate fanbase that sees itself reflected in Farrar’s tales of the American dream and its attendant struggles.

INDY: There are a lot of political undertones on Union. The title alone invokes the division our country is experiencing.

JAY FARRAR: I sort of see Union as a companion piece to Okemah and the Melody of Riot, which included a lot of topical songwriting. But I’m just drawing inspiration from a lot of what I’m listening to. Folk music, Bob Dylan, Woody Guthrie. It’s commonplace to be writing about what’s going on around you.

It sort of comes with the job to put in the song what you’re observing.

Correct me if I’m wrong, but where you live in St. Louis is a bit purple, politically.

Right. It’s a blue island in a sea of red.

How did that inform the songs you wrote for Union?

It was actually my brother who pointed it out to me that there was a Midwestern

sensibility to the album. Something where I was trying to see all sides. Being in the middle of the country does inform these songs, because you have to see all sides.

Because half the people you know have a different viewpoint, so you just have to find a way to coexist. And ultimately, I think that’s sort of the message of the record.

That’s why it was titled Union. There are so many forces at work trying to divide us that I think more focus needs to be put on what can bring us together.

Is it your response to the hyper-partisanism that’s been bubbling up since the 2000 election?

Yeah, absolutely. There are so many moneymaking forces at work, too. Like media conglomerates, ratings, and advertising dollars that are all built on dividing people, and that just seems wrong.

This is a more rocking iteration of the band than in the past. Was that intentional; was it happenstance?

A lot of it, at this point, is the coalescence of the band over the course of the previous record and this one. So it’s kind of new chemistry with Chris [Frame] on guitar and Mark [Patterson] on drums. We played a lot of shows over the last couple of years, so there’s just a chemistry that comes with that.

How did that chemistry inform making your new album?

It helps to have a rhythm section that’s played together a lot. Patterson and Duplantis are both from Austin. The Austin Wrecking Crew rhythm section. With the previous album, it was more of a skeleton crew. But with Union, it was a chance to really reflect where the band was at after having played so many shows together.

Do you write with the band? Or do you write solo and then take it to the band?

I write solo and then bring it to the band. At that point, it’s kind of whatever goes on in the studio. A lot of the songs, especially ones recorded at mobile locations like the Mother Jones Museum and the Woody Guthrie Center, those were kind of me recording solo with vocal and guitar, then adding elements later. Whereas songs like “Devil May Care” and “Broadsides” were more or less live in the studio with just a few things added.

Are you always writing songs or is it something for which you block out time?

It’s kind of a rolling process, but when I’m aware that I may have a block of time that I can devote to songwriting, I’ll woodshed a bit more. I’ve found over the years that the

“Being in the middle of the country does inform these songs, because you have to see all sides.” writing is most productive when you’re doing a little bit every day. That’s what I did with most of the writing for Union. These songs were written over a three-month period.

You’ve been at this for some time, and I wonder what you’re still learning about yourself as you write these songs and make these records.

I would say that writing from a character perspective, kind of getting into a character’s head, is a kind of songwriting I started experimenting with about ten years ago, but I haven’t done that much of it. This time, there are at least two songs [“Reality Winner” and “The Symbol”] that reflect that kind of songwriting. With “Reality Winner,” I felt like her story was compelling, and the least I could do was to write a song to let others know her story.

That song was inspired by a real person?

Yeah. She spent time in the Army, learned three different languages. After getting out, she was working for an NSA-related agency.

And that was during a time in which the word from the top was that there was no Russian interference in the 2016 election, which was contrary to what all the intelligence agencies were saying. So she did a whistle-blower thing, where she leaked a document that said there was interference and got caught.

As someone who has been doing this for more than thirty years, how do you feel about your place as a cog in the machine of the music industry?

At some point, you just kind of become the last man standing, right? But the catalyst, what has always motivated me, has been to have a creative outlet. You know, I feel lucky to be able to keep doing it. Right now, there’s just a focus on songs from the new album, more so than some of the tours we’ve done in the past. But we’re playing songs from the whole Son Volt catalog, so it’s kind of a representation of Son Volt going back over the years. music@indyweek.com INDYweek.com | 5.8.19 | 19

music

XOXOK EP RELEASE SHOW Saturday, May 11, 8 p.m., free The Station, Carrboro www. stationcarrboro.com

Hello Goodbye

KEENAN JENKINS POLISHES OFF HIS STUDIES AND POLISHES UP HIS MUSIC WITH FIVE SIMPLE LETTERS BY NOAH RAWLINGS

I

Your Week.

Every Wednesday. indyweek.com 20 | 5.8.19 | INDYweek.com

n the acknowledgments section of Keenan Jenkins’s psychology dissertation, a study of how prejudice is confronted in social situations, he thanks the usual suspects—his PhD advisers at UNC-Chapel Hill, his research assistants, his friends and family—and then signs off, “XOXO K,” a five-letter forecast of what was to follow. Even before he finished his dissertation, he was eager to get started on his music in earnest.

Squash the space between the O and the K and you get Jenkins’s musical moniker, XOXOK, the project he’s devoted himself to since graduating three years ago. Now his postgrad efforts have come to fruition with the recent self-release of the Worthy EP, which has a May 11 release show at The Station in Carrboro. XOXOK seems to have skipped the “self-recorded lo-fi” stage where so many independent artists begin. Worthy was recorded at BNB Audio in Chapel Hill and mastered by Nick Petersen of Track & Field studios (perhaps best known for mastering Bon Iver’s For Emma, Forever Ago).

Worthy is a pristine EP of soul-and-jazzinflected alternative rock. Though opener “Nancy, M.D.” begins with Jenkins’s voice crooning as if from a cheap radio, all highend and crackly distortion, resounding drums, echoing background vocals, with shimmering guitar soon cutting cleanly in, forming a lush background against which Jenkins projects his dramatic vocals. And although the songs are structurally simple— both “Mitt” and the title track are essentially based around two chords—they are filled with swoops, crests, and calms that lend the record an exceptional dynamism.

Largely absent from Worthy is the linear (and all-too-common) songwriting technique of progressively introducing instrument after instrument to form a steady crescendo. XOXOK’s songs rise and fall and rise again—not necessarily in that order. The jazzy power pop of “Flaws,” carried by Jenkins’s melodious croon, breaks down into a subdued, atmospheric bridge

XOXOK PHOTO BY SHANNON KELLY PHOTOGRAPHY that gradually builds up and then collapses once more into the gentle ambiance of the interlude “Cluster.”

The fully formed quality of XOXOK’s debut belies the long and winding road leading to it.

Jenkins, who hails from Rocky Mount, had been harboring musical aspirations since his undergraduate dorm room days, also at UNC-Chapel Hill.

“I always thought that every guy and woman in my college dorm who was playing guitar all had some thought of, ‘Oh wow, what if I could do music, like, full time, all the time?’” Jenkins says. “I imagined that everyone felt that way, but that it was just a matter of who was going to really do it or not.”

By 2015, Jenkins had grown weary of his academic trajectory. “I was like, well, music is what I care about, so I’m going to finish [the PhD] as quickly as I can and start trying to perform right now,” he says. If he had previously considered a career in psychology, music now became his primary concern. That year, he began honing his songs and playing solo shows throughout the Triangle, all the while contemplating what (and

who) he would like the studio recordings to sound like. He’s unabashed about his sonic inspirations.

“I’m always trying to make a Jeff Buckley song,” he said. “And I’m failing. But I’m always trying to make something that sounds like he would have done it.” A few days after we spoke, he emailed me a Nick Hakim song he wished he could make.

But despite Jenkins’s honesty about emulating other artists, the five tracks on Worthy are distinct in their own right. The sources of the textures might be traceable—the confident falsetto of Moses Sumney, the smooth riffing of Jeff Buckley—but the songs never veer into mere mimicry. With the EP finally finished and out in the world, after lengthy preparation (some of the lyrics were written years apart), Jenkins has cause to celebrate.

“I’m so proud of this record,” he says. “I’m proud of the work everyone did on it. I’m proud of the work I did on it.” While the name XOXOK may have started as a bittersweet valediction, Worthy is a salutation and a forceful one at that. music@indyweek.com

indyscreen Ring Hollow

TOLKIEN CAREFULLY CONNECTS ALL THE BIOPIC DOTS, BUT WHERE'S THE MAGIC? BY GLENN MCDONALD

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O

biography. The film hews close to the facts, nce a year, usually in the winter, and it’s always interesting to speculate about I find myself rereading something the real-life inspirations of art. But fellow

by J.R.R. Tolkien, the author and Tolkien nerds, be forewarned: As a movielinguist who gifted our species with The Lord going experience, Tolkien is surprisingly of the Rings and its inspirational Middle Earth depressing. Its reductivism is somehow more cosmology. Tolkien’s high-fantasy mythology painful for clearly being so well-intentioned. is good medicine for dark days. The stalwarts prevail through courage and fellowship as evil inevitably devours itself.

It’s comfort reading.

Alas, there’s not much comfort to be had in Tolkien, a handsome but reductive biopic. Directed by Finnish filmTOLKIEN maker Dome  KarukosOpens Friday, May 10 ki, the movie attempts to connect the Nicholas Hoult as J.R.R. Tolkien PHOTO COURTESY OF FOX SEARCHLIGHT dots between But let us be cheerful! The cinematogTolkien’s life and the enduring imagery raphy is lovely, and there’s a quiet beauty and ideas in his fiction. The author was to the scenes of old Oxford in autumn. The famously traumatized by his experiences exploration of linguistics is intriguing; Tolkin World War I—he fought in the bloody ien invented entire languages for Middle Battle of the Somme—and here, we see silEarth, and it’s a thrill to see his sketches of houettes of Nazgûl and Balrogs rising from dwarven runic alphabets—well, a thrill for the shadow and flame of blossoming battleEnglish majors, I suppose. One lively scene field explosions. finds Tolkien drunk in the faculty courtyard, The visual parallels are many and conshouting Elvish insults at the heavens. Any spicuous: Tolkien’s bucolic childhood hamlet orc can tell you, Elvish insults are the best as the Shire, England’s grimy industrial citinsults. They’re infuriating. ies as the mines of Saruman, the cozy pubs In the end, Tolkien is a pretty, proper folly. of Oxford as The Prancing Pony inn. CharIt was doomed from the start, really. The acter equivalents are equally blunt. Tolkien’s magic of Middle Earth is a delicate thing, school chums stand in for Merry and Pippin. and you’ll find more of it in your umpteenth His loyal war lieutenant is even named Sam. rereading of the books than in your first It’s possible that these unsubtle techniques viewing of this film. might be interesting, or maybe even arts@indyweek.com revelatory, to those unfamiliar with Tolkien’s

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What’s My Age Again?

DANCE IS SUPPOSEDLY THE PROVINCE OF THE YOUNG, BUT A NEW DURHAM GROUP DIDN'T GET THE MEMO

BY BYRON WOODS

I

n a downtown Durham rehearsal room, dancer Jonathan Leinbach is carefully guiding Renay Aumiller’s legs, one at a time, through tentative steps forward. After her character reevaluates an embrace that constrains her even as it provides support, Aumiller starts pivoting between intimacy and autonomy, gently yet firmly pushing Leinbach’s chest until he’s prone upon a wooden bench at center stage. Later, Beth Seaton and Niki Juralewicz enter a dance of sisterhood, its boundaries underlined by the brief, indelible moments in which they make contact.

Both works, In Your Dreams and From Away, bear the nuances and cultivated grace of accomplished modern dance; neither would be out of place on the professional stage. Yet in most places, their public performances would be unthinkable in the current culture of contemporary dance.

Why? The silver-haired Leinbach, who danced with legendary choreographer José Limón, is fifty-eight years old, and Juralewicz, who performed in Trisha Brown’s groundbreaking company, is fifty-three.

Seaton is fifty-two. Both are well beyond the age usually associated with dance performance. And though their choreographer, Gerri Houlihan, is well known in Durham— and across the dance world—as a teacher of generations of professionals and the former dean of the American Dance Festival School, she turns seventy-four this year.

In the theater, actors justifiably complain that roles get harder to come by with age. But in dance, the drop-off is even more precipitous, as those even slightly beyond a certain age, agility level, and body type find themselves permanently removed from the stage.

As those body types are erased from ballet, modern, and other dance forms, the stories of the people in those bodies are erased as well.

The ageist aesthetic is reinforced when it convinces dancers and choreographers that if their bodies are no longer at the top form of youth, they should not create or perform in public at all.

22 | 5.8.19 | INDYweek.com

If it can happen to Houlihan, it can happen to anyone. She’d stopped making new choreography more than a decade ago, in large part because she was accustomed to creating

looks contemporary, that looks innovative,” she says. “I wish I could say I intended to cross boundaries and push the envelope. But when I moved to Durham two or three years

BIG RED DANCE PROJECT: AGE IS JUST A NUMBER Saturday, May 11 & Sunday, May 12, various times, $12–$15 PSI Theatre, Durham www.durhamarts.org

Susan Hill, Jo Reynolds Carpenter, April Strickland, Linda Belans, and Antonia Beh PHOTO BY JONATHAN MARKOW

work first in her kitchen, with her own body, but she found she couldn’t access the triple turns and leg extensions in the way she had earlier in life.

“I thought, ‘Well, I can’t be doing that anymore,’ and so I can’t be making work that

ago, I just thought I’d join a book club, delve into my Tai Chi studies, go to lots of movies, and make new friends.”

But teaching a community dance class at ADF Studios sparked an unexpected turnaround. Houlihan recalls wondering if

anyone would show up. A handful did, and in short order, Community Moves became the largest ongoing class at ADF Studios.

Then Houlihan saw Young@Heart on Netflix. The award-winning 2007 documentary captured the performance trajectory of a senior citizens’ chorus in Massachusetts whose covers of Talking Heads, Jimi Hendrix, Sonic Youth, and Coldplay have garnered them accolades and multiple worldwide tours.

“It was an epiphany,” Houlihan says. “I turned to my friend and said, ‘We could do that! There’s so much talent, so many stories, and something very inspiring to me in that room. I think I’d like to choreograph for those people!’”

It helped that many of the students were early professional dance advocates in the area, before the time of the ADF. For decades, many of them had similarly felt locked out of the art form they loved, and they were eager to get back to it.

“I didn’t come to that class to be a role model,” says Linda Belans, formerly the longtime dance critic at The News & Observer. “But we are, in terms of visibility and activism. The body on stage, in and of itself, is radical.”

Neurologist and dancer Glenna Batson concurs. “What’s radical about it is what it does to the audience. They come in with a certain expectation that they’ll be entertained, or told sweet, sentimental stories, and, quite frankly, none of that is going to be there,” she says.

In Age Is Nothing but a Number, the program of works Big Red Dance Project performs three times at PSI Theatre this weekend, the choreography and narratives are challenging, as befits dancers long accustomed to performing the works of modern dance greats, including Limón, Brown, Lar Lubovitch, and Antony Tudor.

“This is not a recital, and these are not your grandmother’s stories—at least, not the ones she ever told you,” Belans says with a laugh. arts@indyweek.com

stage

Fair Plays

It’s this kind of leadership that puts the Triangle ahead of the national curve. The 33 percent of local shows by female playwrights bested the results of a 2018 Dramatists Guild survey, which found that women wrote 29 percent of productions across the United States and 25 percent of productions in the South. The 47 percent of local productions with female directors is well above the national average of 32 percent and the Southern average of 29 percent, according to a survey published by the theatrical website Howlround.

A WOMEN’S THEATRE FESTIVAL STUDY HOLDS HOPE FOR GENDER PARITY BEHIND THE LOCAL DRAMATIC STAGE BY BYRON WOODS

G

ender disparity remains an undeniable fact in local theater. Over the past year, women wrote a third of the plays produced in the area and directed a little less than half.

Still, those numbers mark a dramatic shift for the better from conditions earlier this decade, when male playwrights outnumbered female ones nearly four to one, and women directed just over a third of local productions. This change places the Triangle ahead of national and regional averages for gender parity among playwrights and directors.

Those are the main findings of “By the Numbers,” a demographic survey of local theater companies sponsored by the Women’s Theatre Festival. The results of the wikibased research project were announced on April 18 before a capacity crowd at RTP180, a monthly series in Research Triangle Park.

The survey tracked changes in gender distribution from the two-hundred eighty shows that twelve prominent area companies produced over the four years before the Women’s Theatre Festival began in 2016, to the sixty works the same companies mounted during the 2018-19 season. Researchers gathered data from sources including playbills, theater websites and staff, and online and print news media.

Because not all of the companies surveyed sponsored touring shows or produced children’s theater, the project focused on locally produced adult theater, “to keep apples to apples,” according to WTF founder Ashley Popio. The festival, which is entering its fourth year this summer, added a lot of female-led productions to the area but didn’t consider them in the data set, and Popio doesn’t think it influenced the uptick by itself.

“We’ve experienced the #MeToo movement and the women’s marches in that time,” she says. “Women’s rights have had a renaissance in recent years.” Popio does, however, credit local artistic directors who have worked toward gender parity in their programming and creative staff.

33% LOCAL

29% 25% NATIONAL

SOUTHERN

SHOWS BY FEMALE PLAYWRIGHTS IN THE 2018 SEASON

47% 32% LOCAL

NATIONAL

29% SOUTHERN

SHOWS WITH FEMALE DIRECTORS IN THE 2018 SEASON

(SOURCES: WOMEN’S THEATRE FESTIVAL, DRAMATISTS GUILD, HOWLROUND)

Local companies including Justice Theater Project and Raleigh Little Theatre led the way by staging seasons in which most productions featured women playwrights and directors. Gender parity is “part of a concerted, long-term effort,” according to JTP executive director Melissa Zeph.

“There’s a lot of great women professionals in the area, and, as a company concerned with social justice, it’s always been in the fore of our choices to give a voice to those not being heard,” Zeph says.

Raleigh Little Theatre artistic director Patrick Torres says that gender parity reflects the company’s commitment to diversity and productions that serve underrepresented people.

“As a male artistic director, I realize that some stories are better served by a female perspective,” Torres says. “Choosing women to direct involves me stepping back and seeking out the right people for the shows.”

It’s this kind of leadership that puts the Triangle ahead of the national curve.

The 33 percent of local shows by female playwrights bested the results of a 2018

Dramatists Guild survey, which found that women wrote 29 percent of productions across the United States and 25 percent of productions in the South. The 47 percent of local productions with female directors is well above the national average of 32 percent and the Southern average of 29 percent, according to a survey published by the theatrical website Howlround.

The survey also included Bare Theatre, Burning Coal Theatre Company, Cary Players, Little Green Pig Theatrical Concern, NCSU TheatreFest, NC Theatre, North Raleigh Arts and Creative Theatre, PlayMakers Repertory Company, Theatre in the Park, and Theatre Raleigh. Several notable local companies, including Bulldog Ensemble Theatre, Honest Pint Theatre, Manbites Dog Theater, and Sonorous Road Theatre were not included because they were either founded after the survey’s start in 2012 or had closed before the current season.

Gender disparity remains an undeniable fact in local theater, but parity is starting to look more attainable than ever. arts@indyweek.com

stage

BRIEF

THEY DO NOT KNOW HARLEM: IN COMMUNION WITH JAMES BALDWIN Friday, May 10 & Saturday, May 11, 7:30 p.m., free Rubenstein Arts Center, Durham www.artscenter.duke.edu

Tristan André Parks is an immersive artist, dancer, movement activist, organizer, and storyteller who has an MFA from UNCChapel Hill’s Professional Actor’s Training Program. His performance piece They Do Not Know Harlem is timely in more ways than one: Film lovers and critics are still celebrating the success of Barry Jenkins’s awardwinning adaption of Baldwin’s 1974 novel, If Beale Street Could Talk, and an hour-long conversation between Baldwin and poet Nikki Giovanni in 1971 has been making the rounds on social media. Baldwin is having a moment, but his work is always relevant and resonant, especially for black people living in the United States.

Parks has been researching, developing, and refining They Do Not Know Harlem for nearly a year. Over the past two months, he’s delved deeper into Baldwin’s essays and received audience feedback from workshop performances at NorthStar Church of the Arts and Walltown Children’s Theatre. Now, Parks is excited to introduce new “artistic and technical elements” for his full-length performance this weekend at Duke’s Rubenstein Arts Center, as the pinnacle of his three-week residency at Thomas DeFrantz’s SLIPPAGE Lab. They Do Not Know Harlem is more than a performance. It is, in Parks’s words, “a spiritual workshop.” In contrast to conventional theater, where the audience watches, claps, stands up, and goes home, Parks is “catalyst and conduit for Baldwin” and invokes an Africanist aesthetic of participation and call-and-response.

“I want to disrupt—my objective as selfproducer and creator of this piece is to not tell the audience what to do, but I want there to be room for them to feel as though they have found a place where they can express themselves creatively, spiritually, and metaphysically,” Parks explains, adding, “We all have the power of choice to express ourselves. What better way to do it than through art?”

Parks’s innovative piece will travel through jazz, gospel, blues, and trap. It engages black song and the aesthetics of the black church.

Parks encourages folks to “Come as you are, and we’ll go from there.” If you missed the fundraiser at the Walltown Children’s Theatre, there’s still time to donate at www.gofundme. com/harlemfundraiser. —Jameela F. Dallis INDYweek.com | 5.8.19 | 23

indyetc.

F*CK MOM GUILT! A NIGHT WITH THE DOUBLE SHIFT Tuesday, May 14, 5:30 p.m., $10 suggested The Pinhook, Durham www.thepinhook.com

Labor of Love

A DURHAM JOURNALIST DOCUMENTS WORKING MOTHERHOOD WITHOUT SENTIMENTALITY IN THE DOUBLE SHIFT

BY SARAH EDWARDS

W

hen the journalist Katherine Goldstein became pregnant in 2014, she was on a career

hot streak.

“I was like, nothing’s going to hold me back, everything is going great for me,” she says. Her son was born with health complications, though, and within a few months, she also lost her job—events that threw everything into question for her.

She wondered if she’d failed at being a working mother. Upon being awarded a prestigious journalism fellowship from Harvard, she began to look harder at the discrimination and steep obstacles that working mothers face.

“I’ve come to see that we are not failures,” she says. “America is failing us.”

Enter The Double Shift, Goldstein’s new podcast about being a working mother today. Although the podcast has so far focused on motherhood in America, the international reception proves just how widely resonant the topic is: After only three episodes, the show had been downloaded in all fifty states and in onehundred fifty countries, with international listeners composing 20 percent of the audience. Recent episodes have followed the frontwoman of a punk band, a sex worker in Nevada, and Tiffany Frye, the founder of Nido, a coworking-meetschildcare space in Durham.

Recently, the INDY visited Goldstein at her Durham home, where she had just finished wrapping a second season, parts of which were recorded in the studio she’d constructed in her basement using moving blankets. It works perfectly well, she says, although the drone of lawnmower season has occasioned some recording breaks.

The second season of The Double Shift will be available in the fall; a listening party at the Pinhook this week, “F*ck Mom Guilt,” will include clips from the show, an interview with Goldstein by WUNC’s Anita Rao, and performances by the comedy group Eyes Up Here.

24 | 5.8.19 | INDYweek.com

INDY: What was the impetus of The Double Shift?

KATHERINE GOLDSTEIN: Being a working mother intersects with public policy and healthcare and politics and gender roles— all these complex ways of navigating society—but there’s very little journalism about it. Most media only sees working mothers as either being interested in parenting or a discussion about work-life balance.

All these other issues we face, like discrimination in the workplace and navigating the world as independent people, are almost never talked about, and when they are, it’s usually through op-eds and personal essays, which can be great but generally only give voice to people who have access to writing op-eds and personal essays. I felt like there was a need for more diverse stories and reporting on the rich experiences of working mothers that doesn’t just give mothers advice, which my show doesn’t do, and doesn’t assume that the only thing we care about is our kids.

How did that idea then turn into a podcast?

The origin of the show, I could say, was me becoming a working mother myself. My son was born with some very serious health problems, and he’s doing great now, but it was a very difficult start to the experience of being a mom. And then I lost my job when he was six months old. Both experiences were pretty traumatic and challenged my sense of self. I had been a very successful, hard-charging New York professional. I was convinced that everyone else had the working-mom thing figured out, except for me, and I was personally defective.

But then I started to turn my journalistic lens toward the experience of working mothers. I realized nobody had this all figured out, and everyone felt like failures, and I started to see how much working mothers have stacked against us. There is so much that this country does not do to support us.

It marginalizes us and tells us our experiences don’t matter and that it doesn’t value

Katherine Goldstein PHOTO COURTESY OF THE SUBJECT our work and contributions. How our workplaces are set up, it’s so backward and stuck in the 1960s, when there was one earner who had a full-time stay-at-home spouse. I wanted to do a podcast because I wanted to have a much longer and more involved conversation about these issues.

You’ve mentioned getting some pushback from podcast executives when you were first pitching the show—people had reservations that it would just be one story, over and over, about how being a working mother is hard. How does the podcast counter that narrative?

I feel the show is a great rebuke to that critique. [It] does not hit on a lot of the clichés about working moms—they are totally frazzled, it’s really difficult, nothing can change, they’re just martyrs. I don’t think any of our stories really get to that. All of the women we feature are doing truly extraordinary things that are really challenging the status quo. The woman that is doing the twentyfour-hour daycare is doing it as a profitable, financially sustainable business that is serving this group of people who have been totally overlooked in the childcare crisis. She’s not out in Silicon Valley making an app, and she doesn’t have a PR person pitching me to be on the show, but she’s doing something really important in the national discussion about childcare. I’m very inspired by the women on the show, in that they’re not just adhering to a lot of the tropes—they all work really hard, but none of them fall into the notion that it’s so sad and hard to be a working mom. None of them talk that way about themselves, and we don’t treat them that way.

That episode about the daycare was really interesting. Can you talk about the ways in which the workplace has changed and how this unique daycare reflects new needs?

In the episode, we have an expert from the Center for American Progress who says that a lot of daycares are still set up for people who work banker hours. If you come after five, they charge a dollar a minute. There’s no flexibility. Las Vegas has always been a twenty-four-hour city, but I think we’re seeing the world economy shift to become much more 24/7, and commutes have gotten longer. People have different needs, and the childcare industry just hasn’t caught up yet.

Very few people are thinking outside of the box about it. The main people who use the service [in the episode] are single mothers who go to school all day and work overnight.

Those voices aren’t heard very much in the childcare discussion, and these are some of the hardest-working people on the planet.

Equal Pay Day was last month. What are the statistics around wages and maternity leave like?

Too often, people just present this idea that, for every dollar a man makes, a woman makes seventy-three cents. There’s a lot of wonderment, like, how did this happen? What’s missing from that discussion is that the pay gap is almost 100 percent attributable to motherhood. It’s basically a pay gap between mothers and everyone

else. Of course, there are different levels for women of color and mothers of color, but motherhood is the absolute biggest factor. If a woman has a baby between the ages of twenty-five and thirty-five, basically, their earnings never recover. To me, that’s unacceptable. Men’s earnings actually go up, because people see them as a stable provider.

Two episodes feature women who live in North Carolina. Can you tell me about them, and what they do?

“The Candidate Who Carpools” was about Ashton Clemmons. We’re seeing so many more women running for office and a really exciting amount of diversity. The idea of mothers with young kids running for office is basically a brand-new phenomenon, and that’s why I wanted to tell the story of what that looked like beyond just, “Here’s a cute photo of election night with the kids.” Ashton Clemmons was an amazing subject. When she ran for office, there were no mothers with young children in the North Carolina legislature, and now there are three. If you think about how much our state legislature impacts families and mothers and education and healthcare, we need more mothers’ perspectives in our government.

Tiffany Frye, the executive director [of Nido], has some really exciting and revolutionary ideas about work and childcare. To me, Nido is part of a much larger national trend that is challenging what traditional work and office life looks like. It’s important to tell the story about people who are doing these things on a smaller grassroots level, because it’s not just about big cities or huge companies. What she’s doing is very important in an understated way, and I was very happy to highlight a story in a city that I live in.

Looking toward 2020, what kinds of platforms would you like to see candidates campaign on?

I’m not personally decided on which candidate I’m supporting; it’s very early. But I’m amped that there are so many mothers that are running for president. It changes the dynamic of whose experiences are valued and heard. Family leave is going to be a big issue in 2020, and I’m very excited about Elizabeth Warren’s childcare policy. Whether or not she’s the nominee, the conversation around that is so needed, and I’m hoping that that will get working mothers even more politically engaged and energized. sedwards@indyweek.com

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WHAT TO DO THIS WEEK 5.8–5.15 WHAT TO DO THIS WEEK 5.8–5.15 WHAT TO DO THIS WEEK 5.8–5.15 WHAT TO DO THIS WEEK 5.8–5.15 WHAT TO DO THIS WEEK 5.8–5.15 WHAT TO DO THIS WEEK 5.8–5.15 WHAT TO DO THIS WEEK 5.8–5.15 MONDAY, MAY 13

EDDIE IZZARD: WUNDERBAR

Is Wunderbar going to be the final tour by the transgender actor, marathon runner, and standup comedian Eddie Izzard? First, he hinted on his website that he’d be “go[ing] off for awhile to have a political life” at the end of his current worldwide excursion. Then, two weeks ago, he told the Dutch newspaper De Volkskrant that he’d stand for election as a Labor Party candidate in the next House of Commons election. “My politics will be positive and progressive,” he said. “It is up to us, the people who care about other people, to take care of this world.”

But before that, the sharp-witted surrealist John Cleese once called “the lost Python” has a few choice bits on Trump (“a chicken,” he notes) and the history of Earth. “History is a good subject because it never gets dated,” he has said. “I want to show that it’s constantly repeating itself. And I want to ridicule its stupidity.” —Byron Woods DURHAM PERFORMING ARTS CENTER, DURHAM 8 pm., $55+, www.dpacnc.com

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COURTESY OF DPAC

FRIDAY, MAY 10

SATURDAY, MAY 11

EARTH, WIND & FIRE

HOUSE OF COXX: TWO SHOWS ONE NIGHT

RED HAT AMPITHEATER, RALEIGH | 7 p.m., $30+, www.redhatamphitheater.com

THE PINHOOK, DURHAM | 8:30 p.m., $10, www.thepinhook.com

The story goes that Earth, Wind & Fire was revolutionary trumpeter Miles Davis’s favorite band. Maybe that’s apocryphal, but it makes sense: Like Davis did with jazz, Earth, Wind & Fire broadened the horizons of funk—incorporating jazz, smooth soul, gospel, psychedelia, folk, and African music—before scoring a string of disco and pop hits starting in the midseventies that changed the face of pop music. Maurice White, a jazz drummer who (among many, many other things) backed Ramsey Lewis’s best two records, initially formed Earth, Wind & Fire in Chicago in 1969, but retooled the group a year later after moving to Los Angeles, bringing in brother Verdine and, eventually, singer Philip Bailey and drummer Ralph Johnson to complete the classic lineup. Maurice White died in 2016; Verdine White, Bailey, and Johnson still carry the mantle and play the hits. The group’s musical diaspora is as broad and bright as ever. —Patrick Wall

26 | 5.8.19 | INDYweek.com

Durham’s premier drag family House of Coxx returns for its monthly drag showcase at The Pinhook on Saturday, with a twist. With demand for the House of Coxx at an alltime high, founder Vivica C. Coxx has added an 8:30 all-ages show in addition to the group’s traditional late-night performances. Coxx hopes that this all-ages show will help “people with bedtimes,” particularly children and older folks, have more access to the House of Coxx experience and drag in general. “I think drag as a cultural artform is something children should be experiencing, because it has been based in activism, social justice, and progress,” she told the INDY. Attendees to this early show can expect a family-friendly lineup that’s appropriate for a wide age-range. The later show, at 11:00 p.m., will bring everything that fans of the House of Coxx have come to know and love.

—James Michael Nichols

WEDNESDAY, MAY 15

ELLA MAI

Celebrated as ‘’one of the biggest singles by a breakout female R&B star in the last ten years”

by Rolling Stone, “Boo’d Up” was most people’s first glimpse of prodigious songwriter Ella Mai. In just over four minutes, the Grammy-winning single paints a heady portrait of overwhelming infatuation, elegantly smeared by flurries of drum-machine cowbell and atmospheric gauze from the fingers of production titan DJ Mustard. In the saturated world of heavily stylized, internet-bred R&B, it felt substantial—a defining track powerful enough to survive the desert of trends. Career prospects have always been particularly fraught for female R&B singers, yet Mai’s effortless charm feels particularly primed to succeed in 2019’s personality-driven landscape. Compared to when potential legacy artists like Estelle once fought with labels for years to even release music beyond their one smash hit, the gatekeeping channels seem to be creaking open for charismatic female voices like hers to storm in and build a world. Here’s hoping, because “Boo’d Up” is excellent. —David Ford Smith THE RITZ, RALEIGH | 8 p.m., $33, www.ritzraleigh.com

Ella Mai PHOTO

COURTESTY OF THE ARTIST

WHAT ELSE SHOULD I DO?

BIG RED DANCE PROJECT AT PSI THEATRE (P. 22), F*CK MOM GUILT AT THE PINHOOK (P. 24), PETER GUZZARDI AT FLYLEAF BOOKS (P. 34), LIZZO AT THE RITZ (P. 28), PIECES AT ALAMO DRAFTHOUSE (P. 36), SON VOLT AT HAW RIVER BALLROOM (P. 18), VAUDEVILLE VARIETIES AT THE ARTSCENTER (P. 35), AMY WHITE AT ATTIC 506 (P. 33), XOXOK AT THE STATION (P. 20).

INDYweek.com | 5.8.19 | 27

music 5.8–5.15

LOCAL 506:

Dentist [$8, 9 P.M.]

Jangly Jersey outfit Dentist specializes in sunny and succinct pop-rock featuring surf-sprayed riffs that twist and turn around punchy rhythms. Emily Bornemann’s sing-song melodies and seemingly sweet coos belie the cloud of anxiety that looms over the lyrics of last year’s Night Swimming. The RockNRoll Hifives teems with spirit thanks to its teenage singer and drummer; with their parents as bandmates, they draw on decades of punk, indie, and power pop influences. Winfield joins.

—Spencer Griffith MOTORCO:

PJ Morton

[SOLD OUT, 8 P.M.] Most articles about PJ Morton start by mentioning that he’s the keyboardist for Maroon 5. That might give you the wrong idea about his music.

On his own, Morton is a master of vibrant, magnetic R&B. Some songs recall Stevie Wonder; others are all his own. But everything about his performance is compelling, especially when he’s joined by sisters Jakiya Ayanna and Shaina Aisha, who make up his backing band, The Amours.

—Elizabeth Szypulski

FRIDAY, MAY 10

LIZZO

Lizzo is absolutely inescapable in 2019, and for good reason. A black girl magic, body-positive, self-love inspirational quote come to life, she capitalizes on meme-able moments (see: astrology-forward lyrics, screeds about appropriate emojis to send a potential lover, and those incredible booty-popping flute solo videos). Beyond all this, Lizzo’s a powerhouse of a musician, and on 2019’s Cuz I Love You, her “church with a twerk” sound is on full display. On the standout “Tempo” with Missy Elliott, a descending tone muddles into bassy drums above Lizzo’s gravelly dance instructions. On the title track, she gasps, screams, and hits exquisite high notes that showcase her gospel roots and the afterglow of her 2014 work with Prince. Elsewhere, her sexed-up, strutting lyrics make her an heir apparent for Betty Davis, the original nasty gal of funk. Live, expect sparkly bodysuits, all-girl dance and sound crew The Big Grrrls, and plenty of sing-along time. —Josephine McRobbie

THE RITZ, RALEIGH | 8 p.m., sold out, www.ritzraleigh.com

Lizzo

CAROLINA THEATRE: Night Ranger; $50-$75. 8 p.m.

KINGS: Skeletonwitch, Soft Kill, Wiegedood, Portrayal of Guilt; $15-$18.

8 p.m.

KOKA BOOTH AMPHITHEATRE: Mint Julep Jazz Band; $5. 5:45 p.m.

LOCAL 506: Hey Guy; $8-$10. 8 p.m.

28 | 5.8.19 | INDYweek.com

MOTORCO: Xiu Xiu; $15-$18. 8 p.m.

NEPTUNES PARLOUR: Secret Nudist Friends, Bangzz; $8. 10 p.m.

NIGHTLIGHT: Macula Dog, Marselle, Leisure Knots; $7. 9 p.m.

THE PINHOOK: Mr Twin Sister, Sateen; $12-$14. 8:30 p.m.

POUR HOUSE: Thor, Widow; $17-$20. 8 p.m.

SLIM’S: Void King, Deadly Edibles, Sludgemuffin; $7. 9 p.m.

POUR HOUSE: Local Band Local Beer: State Birds, Ashley Heath & Her Heathens; $5. 9 p.m.

THE WICKED WITCH: Fruit Snack EP Release with Al Riggs, Teenage Flophouse; $10. 8 p.m.

FRI, MAY 10

PHOTO COURTESY OF THE ARTIST

WED, MAY 8

NEPTUNES PARLOUR: Tegucigalpan, Tacoma Park, Paul Swest; $8. 9:30 p.m.

THU, MAY 9 [FREE, 8 P.M.]

(with the Beast), and more straightforward jazz (with his own quartet). His recent album Distillation shows how his brand of jazz can stretch and twist to contain his omnivorous musical taste. —Dan Ruccia

Eric Hirsh remains one of the most versatile pianists in the area, equally adept at salsa grooves (with Orquseta GarDel), jazz-inflected hip hop

BLUE NOTE GRILL: Hubby Jenkins; $10. 7 p.m.

CAT’S CRADLE BACK ROOM: Sound of Ceres, Ian Chang; $10. 8 p.m.

ARCANA:

Eric Hirsh Residency

THE CAVE: Sammy Kay, Brian McGee, Jonny Clousson; $5 suggested. 9 p.m.

GIBSON GIRL VINTAGE: Karl Loftus; free. 6 p.m.

HAW RIVER BALLROOM: Son Volt, Ian Noe; $25-$28.

8 p.m.

LINCOLN THEATRE: Cris Jacobs Band, Laura Reed; $12.

8 p.m.

CAT’S CRADLE: The Score, Lostboycrow, Overstreet; $15. 8 p.m.

CAT’S CRADLE BACK ROOM: Yarn; $12-$15. 8:30 p.m.

THE CAVE:

Open Field [$5, 9 P.M.]

If the name Open Field conjures images of rolling plains and sweeping cinematic vistas, well, so do the tunes. There’s a dustiness embedded deep in the soul of

KOKA BOOTH AMPHITHEATRE (CARY)

SA 9/21 MANDOLIN ORANGE W/MOUNTAIN MAN

SU 5/12

FR 5/10

THE SCORE

ALY AND AJ

PRESSURE TOUR

FR 5/10 THE SCORE W/ LOSTBOYCROW, OVERSTREET

SU 5/12 ALY AND AJ W/ ARMORS ($25/$28) MO 5/13 THE DRUMS W/ TANUKICHAN ($18/$20) TU 5/14 PUP W/ RATBOYS, CASPER SKULLS ($18/$20) SA 5/18 CRANK IT LOUD PRESENTS CITIZEN / KNUCKLE PUCK W/ HUNNY AND OSO OSO ($22/$25)

MO 5/13

THE DRUMS TH 5/16 HENRY JAMISON W/SAINT SISTER ( $15)

CAROLINA THEATRE (DUR)

TU 5/14 THANK YOU

MO 5/20 DESMOND JONES W/THE OBLATIONS

FR 5/24 THE JAPANESE HOUSE W/ART SCHOOL GIRLFRIEND ($18/$20)

TU 5/21 SHAME W/ DISQ ($14)

SA 6/1 ABBEY ROAD LIVE (2 SHOWS- 4 PM & 9 PM)

WE 5/22 GHOST OF PAUL REVERE ($15) TH 5/23 MARTI JONES & DON DIXON W/ J.D. FOSTER ( $15)

FR 7/19 SUMMER SALT W/ DANTE ELEPHANTE, MOTEL RADIO

FR 5/24 SONS OF PARADISE,

MO 7/29 WE WERE PROMISED JETPACKS ‘THESE FOUR WALLS’ 10TH ANNIVERSARY W/ CATHOLIC

SU 6/2 THE DISTILLERS W/ STARCRAWLER($28/$30) FR6/7FRENSHIP W/GLADES ($15/$17) SU 6/9 THE LEMONHEADS, TOMMY STINSON ($25/$28) MO 6/10 GNASH W/ ANNA

CLENENDING

TU 6/18 SEBADOH W/ WAVELESS ($18/$20) TH 6/27 PARACHUTE W/ BILLY RAFFOUL ($20/$23) TU 7/9 YEASAYER W/ STEADY HOLIDAY ($27/$30)

TU 7/16 BILL CALLAHAN ($22/$25) SU 7/21 THE GET UP KIDS W/ GREAT GRANDPA ($22/$26)

AFRICA UNPLUGGED, THE UP & UP ($10)

SA 5/25 VIOLET BELL (FULL BAND) W/ LIBBY RODENBOUGH OF MIPSO AND TATIANA HARGREAVES ($8/$10) TH 5/30 HARDWORKER,

FR 6/7 JACK WILLOW

W/CHRISTIANE AND MKR

TH 8/1 DONAVON FRANKENREITER ($20/$24)

SA 6/8 MATT ANDERSON W/ERIN COSTELLO ($15-$18)

WE 8/7 MENZINGERS W/ THE SIDEKICKS, QUEEN OF JEANS

WE 6/12 EARTH W/HELMS ALEE ($15)

MO 8/19 PEDRO THE LION / MEWITHOUTYOU ($25/$27)

TU 8/27 ELECTRIC HOT TUNA W/ ROB ICKES & TREY HENSLEY ($45/$50) SU 9/15 PENNY & SPARROW

W/CAROLINE SPENCE

MO 9/16 CAT POWER WANDERER TOUR 2019” (ON SALE MAY 10) WE 9/18 TINARIWEN ($30/$33) TU 10/1 MT JOY

ALBUM RELEASE SHOW

TH 6/13 DYLAN LEBLANC W/ ERIN RAE ($12/$15) FR 6/14 EILEN JEWELL ($15/$18) SA 6/15 DANTE HIGH W/ MOLLY SARLE SU 6/16 LOS COAST MO 6/17 CULTURE ABUSE ($15/$18) TH 6/20 JOSH ROUSE ($20) FR 6/21 NIGHT MOVES SA 6/22 MARK LEE (OF THIRD DAY) WE 6/26 KRISTIN HERSH ELECTRIC TRIO ($18/$20)

SU 10/6 BUILT TO SPILL- KEEP IT LIKE A SECRET TOUR ($28/$32)

SU 7/7 WAND W/ DREAMDECAY ($13/$15)

MO 10/7 LUNA PERFORMING

SA 7/13 COLD CREAM, DE()T,

WE 10/23 OH SEES W/PRETTIEST EYES

SU 7/21 TIJUANA PANTHERS AND TOGETHER PANGEA W/ ULTRA Q (ON-SALE: FRIDAY, MAY 10TH)

PENTHOUSE

FR 10/25 STIFF LITTLE FINGERS W/ THE AVENGERS (ON SALE 5/10) SA 11/16 GAELIC STORM

SNEAKERS AWARD

MO 7/22 PRINCE DADDY & THE HYENA W/RETIREMENT PARTY, OBSESSIVES

WE 7/31 GABBY’S WORLD, TH 5/9 SOUND OF CERES,

IAN CHANG

BELLOWS

SA 8/3 DELHI 2 DUBLIN

FR 5/10 YARN

TH 8/8 ANDREW BELLE ($15/ $17)

SA 5/11 JON SHAIN AND FJ VENTRE W/ ROD ABERNETHY ($12/$15)

WE 10/9 ELDER ISLAND

SU 5/12 LAUREN RUTH WARD TU 5/14 DEAF HAVANA

ED CANCEL

WE 5/15 THE SUITCASE JUNKET ($10)

ACTION ($16/$18)

SU 9/15 BLEACHED ($15/$17)

KINGS (R AL) WE 5/29 AN EVENING WITH CHARLIE PARRANDPHIL COOK

WE 6/5 CAROLINE SPENCE

FR 8/16 SIDNEY GISH SA 11/16 THE BLAZERS ‘HOW TO ROCK’ REUNION ARTSCENTER (CARRBORO) TH 6/27 THE SPILL CANVAS BOTTLE OF THE RED TOUR

PRESENTED BY ODYSSEYSTAGE

THE SINGING OUT TOUR 2019 WITH CRYS MATTHEWS AND HEATHER MAE FEATURING JJ JONES AND JOE STEVENS

Get tickets at artscenterlive.org

HOP ALONG ($17/$20)

FR 5/31 THE SH-BOOMS W/ BLOOD RED RIVER ($12)

WE 7/24-SA 7/27 MERGE RECORDS 30 YEAR CELEBRATION

TH 8/8 NEUROSIS W/ BELL WITCH AND DEAF KIDS

TU 7/16

MO 9/30 GENERATIONALS (ON SALE 5/9)

SU 6/2 THE MYSTERY LIGHTS W/ FUTURE PUNX ($12/$14)

SITTING PRETTY: A LIVE RADIO SHOW

Follow us: @artscenterlive • 300-G East Main St., Carrboro, NC

WE 6/12 REMO DRIVE W/ SLOW PULP, SLOW BULLET ($15/$18)

MAGNOLIA COLLECTIVE, CASEYMAGIC

SA 6/1 SOLAR HALOS RECORD RELEASE SHOW W/ MAKE, MOURNING CLOAK

6/1-2

PRESENCE OF WOLVES ($16.50/ $20)

FR 5/31 THE CONNELLS W/ LEISURE MCCORKLE ($20/$25)

TH 5/23 LED ZEPPELIN 2 ($15)

PRESENTED BY METTLESOME

5/18

6/5

SCIENTIST W/KINDO AND IN THE

POPUP BROADWAY (OLIVER!) VAUDEVILLE VARIETIES FAMILY-FRIENDLY TRANSACTORS IMPROV: SUM-SUM-SUMMERTIME NO SHAME THEATRE – CARRBORO

5/18

MOUNTAIN MAN)

SA 5/18 PILE W/ C.H.E.W. ($12/$15) SU 5/19 FILTHY FRIENDS W/ DRESSY BESSY

5/17-19

FR 11/22 AND SA 11/23 (TWO NIGHTS) SYLVAN ESSO "WITH" / PLUS MOLLY SARLE (OF MOTORCO (DUR)

PRESENTED BY METTLESOME

5/16

DPAC (DUR)

FR 5/17 MATTIEL ($10/$12)

VAUDEVILLE VARIETIES

5/11

TH 9/26 JOSH RITTER & THE ROYAL CITY BAND W/ SPECIAL GUEST AMANDA SHIRES

Present this coupon for

Member Admission Price (Not Valid for Special Events, expires 01-20)

919-6-TEASER for directions and information

www.teasersmensclub.com 156 Ramseur St. Durham, NC

WED

5/8

LINCOLN THEATRE (RAL) TU 5/21 TANK AND THE BANGAS W/ADIA VICTORIA ($20/$22)

NORTH CAROLINA MUSEUM OF ART FR 5/17 AN EVENING WITH DAWES

FR 6/14 STEEP CANYON RANGERS WITH CHATHAM RABBITS SA 6/22 TRAMPLED BY TURTLES WITH DEER TICK TU 7/2 COURTNEY BARNETT SA 7/13 ANDREW BIRD WITH SPECIAL GUEST TIFT MERRITT

TU 7/23 BRUCE HORNSBY AND THE NOISEMAKERS/AMOS LEE SA 7/27 JOHN BUTLER W/ TREVOR HALL

TRIO+

WE 8/7 AN EVENING WITH

LYLE LOVETT AND HIS LARGE BAND SA 8/24 OLD CROW MEDICINE SHOW TH 8/29 CHAKA KHAN SA 8/31 MIPSO W/ BUCK MEEK SA 9/14 SNARKY PUPPY WE 9/25 RHIANNON GIDDENS AND FRANCESCO TURRISI RED HAT AMPHITHEATER (RAL)

FR 6/7 LAKE STREET DIVE/

THE WOOD BROTHERS THE RITZ (RAL)

(PRESENTED IN ASSOCIATION W/ LIVENATION)

SA 5/11 SHAKEY GRAVES W/ ILLITERATE LIGHT AND KATE RHUDY MO 6/10 LOCAL NATIVES W/ MIDDLE KIDS

FR 10/11 EXPLOSIONS IN THE SKY 20TH ANNIVERSARY TOUR HAW RIVER BALLROOM TH 5/9 SON VOLT W/ IAN NOE ($25/$28) FR 11/8 BIG

THIEF W/

PALEHOUND ($20/$23)

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

RECENTLY ANNOUNCED:

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THU

5/9

FRI

5/10

XIU XIU MXIU is WeXIU M is We The Sol Kitchen Presents PJ MORTON SO LD OUT Peter Collins TIM HEIDECKER & GREGG TURKINGTON: On Cinema At The Cinema Live with Special Guests - Two Shows!

Early Show at 7 PM

SAT

5/11

MON

5/13 TUE

5/14

THU

5/16

Late Show at 10 PM

BEAR’S DEN Vera Sola

BEAR’S DEN

w/Vera Sola Flash Chorus sings “Call Me Al” by Paul Simon (w/ full band and horn section) and “Gone” by JR JR Cat’s Cradle Presents THANK YOU SCIENTIST Kindo / In the Presence of Wolves 7pm HUSH KIDS (Featuring Jill Andrews & Peter Groenwald) Lydia Luce 10pm Carolina Waves x BD ENT x Bimbe Fest Presents: Indie Mid-Year Music Mixer & Showcase with Krawzbonez (Jooselord/ Jovi Mosconi/ Nunafterhours/ 3AMSOUND/ Precyce Politix/ Blakk Trell). Hosted by K97.5’s Mir.I.am & Brian Dawson

COMING SOON: Flotsam and Jetsam, Superorganism, Hot Mulligan, THAD, Slum Village, Mono, The Connells, Aaron West & The Roaring 20’s, Deicide, Origin, Mark Farina, Remo Drive, Maimouna Youssef, The Crystal Method, Remember Jones, Cavetown, Damien Jurado, She Wants Revenge, Mystery Skulls, Hop Along, Chris Webby, Summer Salt, Dan Baird & Homemade Sin, The Rock*A*Teens, Escape-ism, Myq Kaplan, We Were Promised Jetpacks, Sophomore Slump Fest, Supersuckers, Bleached, Warbringer, Sonata Artica, Nile

Also co-presenting at The Carolina Theatre of Durham: Criminal LIVE SHOW (on Oct 5th)

INDYweek.com | 5.8.19 | 29

ex-Kingsbury Manx guitarist Kenneth Stephenson’s pastoral psychedelia that’s augmented by the Morricone-indebted twang of Stephenson’s guitar and Eric Haugen’s silvery pedal steel. But just like a mescaline bender gone south, things can get weird, too. —Patrick Wall KINGS: Show Me the Body, Symbiote; $12. 9 p.m.

THE KRAKEN: The 8:59’s, The Outboards; 8:30 p.m.

LINCOLN THEATRE: Douglas Elementary Foundation Fundraiser: The Shakedown; $30. 8 p.m.

LOCAL 506: Secrets, Awaken I Am, Constellation Atlas, Played By Kings; $15. 6 p.m.

THE MAYWOOD: Outliar, Divine Treachery, Dark Fire Convoy; $10. 9 p.m.

POUR HOUSE: Con Brio, Emily Musolino Band; $12-$15. 9 p.m.

MEYMANDI CONCERT HALL:

RED HAT AMPHITHEATER: Earth, Wind, & Fire; 7 p.m.

Pink Martini [$75+, 3 P.M ]

There’s something just a bit too much about Pink Martini.

Founded by a pair of Harvard alumni in the mid-1990s to provide soundtracks with an international twist for fundraisers, the band has gone on to collaborate with NPR hosts, the von Trapp siblings, and Rufus Wainwright. It’s somehow fitting that they’re playing three shows that feel a bit like fundraisers with the NC Symphony. —Dan Ruccia

RUBY DELUXE: The Antique Hearts, Miss Christine, Eric Paul; free. 8 p.m.

SCHOOLKIDS RECORDS RALEIGH: Eric Howl Hip-Hop Showcase; 7 p.m.

SHARP NINE GALLERY: Rale Micic Trio; $20. 8 p.m.

SLIM’S: Charlie Paso, Nordista Freeze, Sunset Palette; $5. 8 p.m.

THE STATION: Eyes Like Kites, Rhonda Robichaux, Meaux; donations.

8 p.m.

THE WICKED WITCH: Drag Sounds, Dreamless, Aleatorics; $10.

8:30 p.m.

Chatham Rabbits perform at Saturdays at Saxpahaw on Saturday, May 11.

30 | 5.8.19 | INDYweek.com

SAT, MAY 11 BLUE NOTE GRILL: The Beauty Operators; $8. 8 p.m.

CAT’S CRADLE BACK ROOM: Jon Shain and FJ Ventre, Rod Abernethy; $12-$15. 7:30 p.m.

THE CAVE: The Wiley Fosters, Trash Panda; $5 suggested. 9 p.m.

NIGHTLIGHT: Proto Futuro V; $8.

10 p.m.

THE NIGHT RIDER: Greathumor, Sister, Brother, Lil White Bitch; donations. 8 p.m.

POUR HOUSE: Nashville Pussy, Guitar Wolf, The Turbo A.C.’s; $17-$20.

9 p.m.

THE RITZ:

of lush pop grandeur. Illiterate Light pumps out dynamic indie rock swirled lightly with psychedelics, though their songwriting can’t touch the staying power of Kate Rhudy, who pairs her dazzling pipes with revealing, melancholic reflections. —Spencer Griffith SATURDAYS IN SAXAPAHAW:

LINCOLN THEATRE: The Mantras, Travers Brothership, Trongone Band; $17. 7:30 p.m.

Shakey Graves [$27-$30, 8 P.M.]

Chatham Rabbits

THE MAYWOOD: The Amateurs; $10. 9:30 p.m.

Last year’s Can’t Wake Up found Shakey Graves shifting further away from his oneman-band setup of acoustic guitar and a suitcase thumped by a kick pedal, instead casting his Americana-bent tunes among ambitious backdrops

Husband and wife duo Sarah and Austin McCombie first met at a Mandolin Orange, which is fitting when you consider the stripped-down folk sound they achieve with two voices, a banjo, and an

MEYMANDI CONCERT HALL: N.C. Symphony: Pink Martini; 3 p.m. & 8 p.m.

MOTORCO: Bear’s Den, Vera Sola; $20-$22. 9 p.m.

PHOTO BY ALEX BOERNER

[FREE, 6 P.M.]

THE CAVE: Crystal Bright, Robert Griffin; $5 suggested. 9 p.m.

LOCAL 506: Ceschi, Factor Chandelier, Andy The Doorbum, Zeta; $12-$15. 9 p.m.

MOTORCO: Thank You Scientist, Kindo, In The Presence of Wolves; $17-$20. 8 p.m.

Aly&AJ perform at Cat’s Cradle on Sunday, May 12.

NEPTUNES PARLOUR: Simon Smthng, EBZ the Artist, Jooselord Magnus; $8. 9 p.m.

RED HAT AMPHITHEATER:

THE PINHOOK:

THE WICKED WITCH: Kontravoid; $10. 8 p.m.

[$8-$10, 8 P.M.]

Yes, Bryan Adams is still cutting records: Shine a Light, released in March, is the Canadian singer-songwriter’s fourteenth record of basic feelgood boomer rock. No, you don’t care, because it doesn’t have “Summer of ’69.” Yes, Adams still plays “Summer of ’69” in concert. Yes, Adams has acknowledged the sexual innuendo in the song’s title.

—Patrick Wall

SUN, MAY 12 CAT’S CRADLE:

Aly&AJ

[$25+, 2 P.M.] Since their 2004 debut, sisters Aly & AJ Michalka have reinvented themselves more than a few times, dabbling in the major pop trends that have come their way; their latest iteration is eighties pop by way of Carly Rae. They play with warm, familiar synths and dreamy, bubbly melodies.

It’s all pretty familiar, but their best songs have a restless, bottled-up energy that’s all their own. Armors opens.

—Elizabeth Szypulski CAT’S CRADLE BACK ROOM: Lauren Ruth Ward; $10-$12.

8 p.m.

FLETCHER OPERA THEATER: San Luis de Cerca; 6 p.m.

KINGS: Gnarley Nick EP Release with DJ Manifest Beats, Mosca Flux, Filthy Finesse, Zeus Lee, Nunez, FKBS; $8. 7 p.m.

MEYMANDI CONCERT HALL: Triangle Youth Brass Band; 4 p.m.

The debut EP by NYC’s Choked Up is a high-energy dose of pop-punk that serves as a love letter to those often marginalized by punk scenes.

Cuban-American singer and guitarist Cristy Road, a veteran of queer roadshow collective Sister Spit, notes that the EP documents one of the first times she’s written lyrics in her native Spanish, fortified by the support of a close-knit Latinx music community. The Muslims and Snake Shaming open. —Josephine McRobbie POUR HOUSE:

Garrison Starr [$5.00, 2 P.M.]

This afternoon show is part of the Day Party Series, and features singer/songwriters Garrison Starr and LOLO on their Tennessee Queens Tour.

LOLO is tough to categorize, having done everything from writing for Panic! At the Disco to penning an off-Broadway play, while an Americana streak runs through Starr’s music, but with a decidedly modernist slant. —Jim Allen

SHARP NINE GALLERY

Jenny Scheinman & Allison Miller’s Parlour Game [$25, 7 P.M.]

For a jazz violinist, it’s sometimes hard to escape the shadow of 1930s hot jazz and players like Joe Venuti or Stéphane Grappelli. In Parlour Game, violinist Jenny Scheinmandr, drummer Allison Miller, and co. move in a rootsier direction, replacing overheated virtuosity with simpler melodies and song forms that only occasionally burst out into flashy exuberance. —Dan Ruccia

PHOTO COURTESY OF CATSCRADLE.COM

acoustic guitar. They travel around in an RV with a cat, a dog, and big batch of tunes that overflow with warm, organic vibes. —Jim Allen

Choked Up

THE RITZ: JOHNNYSWIM; $30+.

8 p.m.

Bryan Adams [$20+, 7:30 P.M.]

INDYWEEK.COM

KINGS: Layers of Dignity Fundraiser: Raid the Quarry, Tyler Bradford Wright, Strongman and Co.; $10. 7:30 p.m.

POUR HOUSE: The Sweet Lillies, David Gans; $10-$12. 8 p.m.

FOR OUR COMPLETE COMMUNITY CALENDAR

another huge hook or jagged shards. Ratboys crosses the poignancy and twangy tinges of folk with the vulnerability and crunchy chords of emo.

Toronto indie rockers Casper Skulls are tough to pin down, bounding from noisy slacker anthems to shoegaze shimmers and post-punk jitters. —Spencer Griffith

THE RITZ: Da Baby, Stunna 4 Vegas; $25. 8 p.m.

MON, MAY 13

WED, MAY 15

CAT’S CRADLE: The Drums, Tanukichan; $18-$20. 8:30 p.m.

CAT’S CRADLE BACK ROOM: The Suitcase Junket; $10.

8 p.m.

THE CAVE: Dexter Romweber; $5 suggested. 9 p.m.

THE CAVE: Royal Johnson, Jalapeno; $5 suggested. 9 p.m.

TUE, MAY 14

LOCAL 506: The Go Rounds; $10.

8 p.m.

CAT’S CRADLE

Pup

NIGHTLIGHT: Idiota Civilizzato, Mutant Strain, Mind Dweller, De()t; $10. 9:30 p.m.

Propelled by boundless energy and boatloads of gang vocals, PUP’s wry, cathartic pop-punk makes shout-along participation virtually compulsory and seems perpetually on the verge of exploding either into

THE PINHOOK: Student Health, Colorado, Hey Champ; $7. 8 p.m.

[$18–$20, 8 P.M.]

POUR HOUSE: STIG, The Moon Unit; $7-$10. 9 p.m.

THE RITZ: Ella Mai; 8 p.m.

Garrison Starr performs at the Pour House on Sunday, May 12. PHOTO COURTESY OF CATSCRADLE.COM

SLIM’S: Dover and the Elevators, Sidewalk Furniture; $5. 9 p.m.

INDYweek.com | 5.8.19 | 31

32 | 5.8.19 | INDYweek.com

art

5.8–5.15

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

https://indyweek.com/submit#cals DEADLINE: 5 p.m. each Wednesday for the following Wednesday’s issue.

QUESTIONS? cvillena@indyweek.com

Beyond Despair: An Environmental Call for Art: Work from 33 artists about, including, and referencing the environment. Thru Jun 22.

National Humanities Center, Durham. vaeraleigh.org.

Wim Botha: Stil Life with Discontent: Mixed media.

Additional work on view at 21c Museum Hotel. Thru Aug 4.

NC Museum of Art, Raleigh. ncartmuseum.org.

Bull City Challenge: Group show. Thru May 31. Bull City Art & Frame Co, Durham.

The Colors of the Spring: Paintings and sculptures. Thru May 13. Golden Belt, Durham.

Kathleen Deep: Still: Mixed media and photography. Thru May. The Centerpiece, Raleigh.

Linda Ruth Dickinson: Resonant: Paintings. Thru May 24. The Mahler Fine Art, Raleigh. themahlerfineart.com.

Durham Art Guild Members’ Showcase: Group show. Thru Jun 8. Durham Art Guild, Durham. durhamartguild.org.

Byron Gin & Andy Farkas: Paintings and prints. Thru Jun 1. Adam Cave Fine Art, Raleigh. adamcavefineart.com.

FRIDAY, MAY 10

AMY WHITE: HAPTIC ICONOGRAPHY AND OTHER OFFERINGS Symbols and figures, signs and shapes, row upon row of inscrutable data: Such is the purview of Amy White, a local artist more concerned with what it means to understand than with being immediately understood. White’s new exhibit, Haptic Iconography and Other Offerings—presented by Amanda Barr’s My Room studio at Attic 506, where the exhibit is on view by appointment all month following this public Second Friday reception—is besotted with semiotics, crazy for cuneiform, and consummately cryptic, with a sense that accumulates via volume and repetition instead of by legible logic. At the opening, White, the sole member of The Association of Elemental Aspects, will be present to bestow gifts and maybe explain to you just what the hell is going on here; meanwhile, Acid Rain will present a short video piece by artist Conner Calhoun. Start brushing up on your ancient Akkadian now.

—Brian Howe

ATTIC 506, CHAPEL HILL 6-9 p.m., free, www.facebook.com/pg/Attic506

Process documentation of Haptic Iconography PHOTO COURTESY OF THE ARTIST

OPENING The River Cube Project: Floating conceptual sculpture and research lab. Thu, May 9, 6 p.m. Gregg Museum of Art & Design, Raleigh. gregg.arts.ncsu.edu.

ONGOING 150 Faces of Durham: Photos.

Thru Sep 3. Museum of Durham History, Durham.

All the Pop: Thru Jun 2. Nasher Museum of Art, Durham. nasher.duke.edu.

Keith Allen, Ben Hamburger, Kaidy Lewis, Carolyn Rugen: Thru Jun 8. Artist talk: May 10, 6 p.m. FRANK Gallery, Chapel Hill.

Ancestry of Necessity: Group show. Curator, April Childers.

Thru Aug 24. Reed Bldg, Durham.

Annual Photography Show: Thru Jun 2. West Point on the Eno, Durham.

April Showers, Art Flowers: Group show. Thru May 26. Hillsborough Gallery of Arts, Hillsborough. hillsboroughgallery.com.

Stephen Hayes: Legacy, Legacy, Legacy: Mixed media.

Thru May 19. CAM Raleigh, Raleigh.

Dawn Hummer: By Her Hands: Thru Jun 2. Pleiades Gallery, Durham. pleiadesartdurham.com.

Shib Basu & Peggy Van Arnam: Ink and Chains: Ink and crayon, jewelry. Thru May 28.

Cary Gallery of Artists, Cary. carygalleryofartists.org.

I AM A MAN: Civil Rights Photographs, 1960-1970: Thru May 31. Center for the Study of the American South, Chapel Hill. south.unc.edu.

Best of North Carolina 2019: Various artists and media. Thru May 14. Gallery C, Raleigh. galleryc.net.

John James Audubon: The Birds of America: Ornithological engravings. Thru Dec 31.

NC Museum of Art, Raleigh. ncartmuseum.org.

Jasmine Best: Screened In: Sculptural elements constructed with textiles, fabric, and sewing notions. Thru May 12. CAM Raleigh, Raleigh. camraleigh.org.

Allison Coleman, Gabriella Corter, Angela Lombard: Thru Jun 27. Artspace, Raleigh.

Judy Keene: Numinous: Paintings. Thru May 4. Craven Allen Gallery, Durham.

Jim Kellough: Vine Paintings: Thru Oct 10. Durham Convention Center, Durham. durhamarts.org.

INDYweek.com | 5.8.19 | 33

art

CONT’D

Stacey L. Kirby: The Department of Reflection: Multimedia. Thru Aug 4.

Ackland Art Museum, Chapel Hill. ackland.org.

Left-Handed Liberty: Outsider art. Thru Jun 23. Gregg Museum of Art & Design, Raleigh. gregg. arts.ncsu.edu.

Sean Livingstone & Erica Gimson: From Here to Their: Paintings and cyanotype prints.

Thru May 4. Horse & Buggy Press and Friends, Durham.

The Magic of the Sculptural Jewelry: Jewelry. Thru May 13.

Golden Belt, Durham.

Christian Marclay: Surround Sounds: Synchronized silent video installation. Thru Sep 8. Nasher Museum of Art, Durham. nasher.duke.edu.

Michela Martello: Consequential Stranger: Illustrations. Thru Jun 1.

Artspace, Raleigh.

Chris Musina: Paradise: Paintings. Thru Jun 2.

Oneoneone, Chapel Hill. oneoneone.gallery.

N.C. Artists Exhibition: Juried group show. Thru Jun 9. CAM Raleigh, Raleigh. ralfinearts.org.

Lynne Feiss Necrason: Sylvan Sculptures: Photographs. Thru May 11. Through This Lens, Durham. throughthislens.com.

Oops! Happy Accidents: Art based on accidents. Thru Jun 2.

Pleiades Gallery, Durham.

Susan Harbage Page: Borderlands: Documentary photos and found objects from the US-Mexico border.

Thru Jul 28. Gregg Museum of Art & Design, Raleigh. gregg.arts.ncsu.edu.

Pop América, 1965-1975: Latin American pop art. Thru Jul 21. Nasher Museum of Art, Durham. nasher.duke.edu.

Portraying Power and Identity: A Global Perspective: Thru Jan 31. 21c Museum Hotel, Durham.

21cmuseumhotels.com. [re]ACTION: Artistic renditions inspired by scientific images.

Thru Jun 23. Golden Belt, Durham.

V L Rees: I Love Paris: Paintings.

Thru Jun 29. V L Rees Gallery, Raleigh. vlrees.com. reNautilus: Thru Jul 31. 21c Museum Hotel, Durham.

21cmuseumhotels.com.

Susannah Sayler and Edward Morris: Their World Is Not Our World: Video installation.

Thru Jul 7. NC Museum of Art, Raleigh. ncartmuseum.org.

Cher Shaffer: Art from the Holler: Folk art. Thru May 31.

Alexander Dickson House, Hillsborough.

Katie Shaw: Residency. Thru May 31. Artspace, Raleigh artspacenc.org.

Southern Oracle: We Will Tear the Roof Off: Interactive sculptures. Thru Oct 31. NC Museum of Art, Raleigh. ncartmuseum.org.

Kirsten Stoltmann: I am Sorry: Thru Jul 31. Lump, Raleigh. lumpprojects.org.

Tilden Stone: Southern Surreal: Furniture. Thru Sep 8. Gregg

Museum of Art & Design, Raleigh. gregg.arts.ncsu.edu.

Eun-Kyung Suh: Lost and Preserved: Sculptures. Thru May 31. VAE Raleigh, Raleigh. vaeraleigh.org.

page

Telling Realism: Cabinet of Wonder: Duke University MFA group show. Thru May 17.

Power Plant Gallery, Durham. powerplantgallery.com.

William Paul Thomas: Disrupting Homogeny: Portraits.

End date TBA. Thru Jul 31.

21c Museum Hotel, Durham.

21cmuseumhotels.com.

Cheryl Thurber: Documenting Gravel Springs, Mississippi, in the 1970s: Photos. End date TBA. UNC’s Wilson Special Collections Library, Chapel Hill.

Lien Truong: The Sky is Not Sacred: Multimedia. Thru Jun 22. Artspace, Raleigh.

UNC-Chapel Hill MFA Class of 2019: Sacred Wasteland: Group show with guest curator, William Paul Thomas. Thru May 26. Ackland Art Museum, Chapel Hill. ackland.org.

Christina Ωa Weisner: Explorations: Science sculptures. Thru Jul 28. Gregg Museum of Art & Design, Raleigh. gregg.arts.ncsu.edu.

Where We Find Ourselves: The Photographs of Hugh Mangum, 1897-1922: Thru May 19. Nasher Museum of Art, Durham. nasher.duke.edu.

Within the Frame: Photos.

Thru Jul 7. NC Museum of Art, Raleigh. ncartmuseum.org.

WEDNESDAY, MAY 15

PETER GUZZARDI Chapel Hill resident Peter Guzzardi spent most of the last four decades working on other people’s books as an editor—people like Stephen Hawking, Deepak Chopra, and Douglas Adams. One day, he had an epiphany: All the wisdom he’d gleaned in this work was already to be found in digest form in a movie he’d loved since he was a child, The Wizard of Oz. This is the premise of Guzzardi’s own slim, charming volume Emeralds of Oz: Life Lessons from Over the Rainbow, to be published by HarperCollins next week, timed with the movie’s eightieth birthday. Following Dorothy’s growth curve and applying it to life in general, the book is condensed around “Emeralds of Wisdom” such as “Listen to your longing” and “beware of sticklers for the law—especially when it benefits them.” Think of it as Chicken Soup for the Editorial Soul or All I Really Need to Know I Learned in Galley Proofs.

—Brian Howe

FLYLEAF BOOKS, CHAPEL HILL 7 p.m., free, www.flyleafbooks.com

Peter Guzzardi PHOTO COURTESY OF THE AUTHOR

BILL BURTON 5.8 5.11 5.13 5.14 5.15

Open Discussion Project The Inclusive Economy: How to Bring Wealth to America’s Poor 7pm Michael Matros Slipstone Rill: A Gothic Mystery 2pm Sarah R. Shaber Louise’s Crossing 7pm Grant Llewellyn discusses Biss Plays Beethoven and Watermark 7pm Rob Christensen The Rise and Fall of the Branchhead Boys 7pm www.quailridgebooks.com • 919.828.1588 • North Hills 4209-100 Lassiter Mill Road, Raleigh, NC 27609 CHECK OUT OUR PODCAST: BOOKIN’ w/Jason Jefferies

34 | 5.8.19 | INDYweek.com

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READINGS & SIGNINGS Karen Booth: Novel Tempted

by Scandal. With Piedmont Laureate David Menconi. Wed, May 8, 7 p.m. Flyleaf Books, Chapel Hill. flyleafbooks.com.

Rob Christensen: Political history The Rise and Fall of the Branchhead Boys. Wed, May 15, 7 p.m. Quail Ridge Books, Raleigh. quailridgebooks.com.

Zoketsu Norman Fischer: The World Could Be Otherwise: Imagination and the Bodhisattva Path. Refreshments. Tue, May 14, 7 p.m. Chapel Hill Zen Center, Chapel Hill. chzc.org.

E. Vernon F. Glenn: Thriller Friday Calls. Sun, May 12, 11 a.m.

McIntyre’s Books, Pittsboro. mcintyresbooks.com.

Chika Gujarathi: Children’s storytime. Fri, May 10, 10:30 a.m. McIntyre’s Books, Pittsboro. mcintyresbooks.com.

Brian Panowich: Crime fiction Like Lions. Sat, May 11, 11 a.m.

McIntyre’s Books, Pittsboro. mcintyresbooks.com.

Leonard Pitts: Novel The Last Things You Surrender. Sat, May 11, 2 p.m. McIntyre’s Books, Pittsboro. mcintyresbooks.com.

Sage Rountree & Alexandra DeSiato: Teaching Yoga Beyond the Poses. Tue, May 14, 7 p.m.

Flyleaf Books, Chapel Hill. flyleafbooks.com.

Lynn Sadler & Iris Tillman: Poetry reading. Open mic to follow. Thu, May 9, 7:45 p.m.

Flyleaf Books, Chapel Hill. flyleafbooks.com.

Sarah R Shaber: Mystery novel Louise’s Crossing. Mon, May 13, 7 p.m. Quail Ridge Books, Raleigh. quailridgebooks.com.

Michael Matros Slipstone: Rill: A Gothic Mystery. Sat, May 11, 2 p.m. Quail Ridge Books, Raleigh. quailridgebooks.com.

LECTURES ETC. The Audacity of Space: Artist Heather Hart in conversation with architects Terry Canada, Patricia Harris, and Bob Powell.

Panel discussion follows wine and cheese reception. Fri, May 10, 6 p.m. NC Museum of Art, Raleigh. ncartmuseum.org.

Philip Gerard & Kenneth Robert Janken: Wilmington, Past and Present: Historians in conversation. Mon, May 13, 7 p.m. Flyleaf Books, Chapel Hill. flyleafbooks.com.

Grant Llewellyn: NC Symphony Music Director discusses “Biss Plays Beethoven” and “Watermark.”

Tue, May 14, 7 p.m. Quail Ridge Books, Raleigh. quailridgebooks.com.

Navigating the Plastic Purge: Sustainability panel. Wed, May 15, 6 p.m. Chapel Hill Public Library, Chapel Hill.

stage OPENING

Age Is Just A Number: Big Red Dance Project. May 11: 2 & 7:30 p.m. May 12: 5 p.m.

Durham Arts Council, Durham. durhamarts.org.

Beehive: The 60’s Musical: Theatre Raleigh. Musical. May 8-19. Kennedy Theatre, Raleigh. theatreraleigh.com.

Dance Art Studio: Dance.

May 10-11. Fletcher Opera Theater, Raleigh. dukeenergycenterraleigh.com.

Happy, Thank You, More Please: Live podcast recording. $5. Thu, May 9, 8 p.m. Kings, Raleigh. kingsraleigh.com.

Eddie Izzard: Comedy. Mon, May 13, 8 p.m. Durham Performing Arts Center, Durham. dpacnc.com.

Drew Lynch: May 9-11.

Goodnights, Raleigh. goodnightscomedy.com.

FOR OUR COMPLETE COMMUNITY CALENDAR

INDYWEEK.COM

A Night of Spoken Word: The Heart & Art Series. Mon, May 13, 6 p.m. The Cary Theater, Cary. thecarytheater.com.

Norway: Little Green Pig. Play. Free. 7:30 p.m. May 9-11.

Forest Hills Park, Durham. littlegreenpig.com.

Pinstripe: Burlesque show. $15$20. Sat, May 11, 9 p.m. Kings, Raleigh. kingsraleigh.com.

The Sweet Spot: Burlesque. $10.

Fri, May 10, 7 p.m. The Pinhook, Durham.

They Do Not Know Harlem: In Communion with James Baldwin: Drama. May 10-11.

Rubenstein Arts Center, Durham. when they become us: Dance.

Presented by Jonh Blanco, ShaLeigh Dance Works, and the Ackland Art Museum. Q&A to follow. Fri, May 10, 6:30 p.m.

Ackland Art Museum, Chapel Hill. ackland.org.

SATURDAY, MAY 11

VAUDEVILLE VARIETIES You may not know it, but you’ve seen vaudeville. The Muppet Show’s five-season run lead to syndication immortality and major motion pictures that depicted the chaos behind the scenes of an ever-changing live variety show. “Vaudeville never went away,” says Tristan Yonce, the host and coproducer of Mettlesome’s new show, Vaudeville Varieties.

“It just transformed.” Indeed, ex-Vaudevillians from Charlie Chaplin to Mae West dominated the early years of radio, film, and television. “Now, YouTube and drag shows are vaudeville’s modern equivalents,” Yonce notes. He and Hilary Yonce are reviving the venerable variety-show format starting this week at The ArtsCenter, in a program with fifteen (count ‘em!) acts accompanied by a live band. The show includes a pair of slapstick plumbers, a semi-mentalist billed as “the world’s most medium medium,”, sideshow circus arts, and not one but two all-singing, all-dancing tributes to unlikely vegetables. As with the Carolina weather, if you’re not satisfied, wait ten minutes. That, or join the hecklers.—Byron Woods

THE ARTSCENTER, CARRBORO | 8 p.m., $10, www.artscenterlive.org

Vaudeville Varieties PHOTO ILLUSTRATION BY TRISTAN AND HILLARY YONCE

ONGOING Beautiful: Musical. $35+. Thru May 12. Durham Performing Arts Center, Durham. dpacnc.com.

Church and State: Thru May 12.

North Raleigh Arts & Creative Theatre, Raleigh. nract.org.

The Dance on Widow’s Row: Thru May 12. Burning Coal Theatre at the Murphey School, Raleigh. agapetheatreproject.com.

INDYweek.com | 5.8.19 | 35

screen SPECIAL SHOWINGS

OPENING

Silence Sam: Documentary and panel discussion. Fri, Nov 30, 7 p.m. Full Frame Theater, Durham.

The Hustle—Anne Hathaway and Rebel Wilson lead a woman-centered remake of revenge comedy Dirty Rotten Scoundrels. Rated PG-13.

Altered States: Wed, May 15, 9 p.m. Alamo Drafthouse, Raleigh. drafthouse.com/ raleigh.

Dirty Dancing: Sun, May 12, 11 a.m. & 1:45 p.m.

Alamo Drafthouse, Raleigh. drafthouse.com/raleigh.

DriverX: Documentary. Q&A with Mark Stolaroff to follow.

Fri, May 10, 7 p.m. The Cary Theater, Cary. thecarytheater.com.

Earthrise: Panel discussion with Shannon Morgan (NASA), Jonathan Wiener (Duke University), and Drew Pilant (EPA) to follow. $10. Tue, May 14, 7 p.m.

Carolina Theatre, Durham. carolinatheatre.org.

Have You Seen My Movie?: Documentary. Thu, May 9, 2 p.m. The Cary Theater, Cary. thecarytheater.com.

Indiana Jones and the Temple of Doom: Wed, May 8, 7 p.m.

Alamo Drafthouse, Raleigh. drafthouse.com/raleigh.

Mommie Dearest: Wed, May 8, 9 p.m. Alamo Drafthouse, Raleigh. drafthouse.com/raleigh.

Mother’s Day Film Series: Full schedule online. May 10-12.

Carolina Theatre, Durham. carolinatheatre.org.

Pokémon: Detective Pikachu— The pocket-monster mascot goes live-action and becomes a sleuth, because why the hell not? Rated PG. Poms—Diane Keaton is a cheerleader in this senior-citizen Bring It On. Rated PG-13.

Sunset—Son of Saul Oscar winner László Nemes steps back from the Holocaust to Budapest before World War I. Rated R.  Tolkien—Reviewed on p.

21. Rated PG-13.

N OW P L AY I N G The INDY uses a five-star rating scale. Read reviews of these films at indyweek.com.  Amazing Grace—A dazzling testament to the Queen of Soul at the height of her career. Rated G.  Ask Dr. Ruth— America’s sex therapist gets the same loving documentary treatment as Fred Rogers and Ruth Bader Ginsburg. Not rated.  Captain Marvel—Brie Larson is an intergalactic fighter questioning who she is. Rated PG-13.

Pieces: Tue, May 14, 7:30 p.m.

Alamo Drafthouse, Raleigh. drafthouse.com/raleigh.

½ The Lego Movie 2: The Second Part—Though there’s a live-action subplot, little plastic people and their incessant pop-culture jokes are the soul. Rated PG.

Smooth Talk: Movie Loft. Thu, May 9, 7 p.m.

Shadowbox Studio, Durham. shadowboxstudio.org.

½ Long Shot—The sex jokes and political satire both sag in this Seth Rogen-Charlize Theron rom-com. Rated R.

When All That’s Left is Love: Documentary. Sat, May 11, 11 a.m. NC Museum of History, Raleigh. ncmuseumofhistory.org.

 Us—Jordan Peele’s Get Out follow-up pairs a haunting atmosphere with humor and a chilling call to action. Rated R.

36 | 5.8.19 | INDYweek.com

TUESDAY, MAY 14

PIECES

“It’s exactly what you think it is!” promised the poster for the 1982 horror film Pieces, and you have to give it points for truth in advertising. A glorious relic of slasher films’ heyday, Pieces is often an unintentionally hilarious piece (so to speak) of cinematic sleaze that’s equal parts trash and treasure. The short version of the plot is that, forty years after an opener in which a boy gets disciplined by his mother for assembling a naked-lady jigsaw puzzle, a chainsaw-wielding killer takes out sex-obsessed college students in order to build a life-sized corpse-jigsaw, and it’s up to a former tennis pro turned undercover cop (Lynda Day George) and the unlikeliest campus stud in cinematic history (Ian Sera) to crack the case. The plot, even beyond the logic of how a killer lugs a chainsaw across campus, has more holes than Swiss cheese.

But like many films of its ilk, Pieces is great fun because of its insanity and inanity: As promised, it is “exactly what you think it is.” Thank goodness for that. —Zack Smith

ALAMO DRAFTHOUSE, RALEIGH | 7 :30 p.m., $5, www.drafthouse.com/raleigh

food & drink NC Mead Up: Honeygirl Meadery, GoodRoad CiderWorks, Starrlight Mead, Bee & Bramble, Bull City Ciderworks. $35-$45. Sat, May 11, 1-5 p.m. Bull City Ciderworks, Durham.

Raleigh Raw Block Party: Live music, vendors, bounce house, 3-on-3 basketball tournament, and more. Sat, May 11, 9 a.m.-5 p.m. Raleigh Raw, Raleigh. raleighraw.com.

Thrive NC: More than sixty local restaurants and live entertainment. $30. Thu, May 9, 6-9 p.m.

City Market Raleigh, Raleigh. gothrivenc.com.

indy classifieds employment SENIOR BIOSTATISTICIAN NEEDED - MORRISVILLE PPD Development, L.P. seeks a Senior Biostatistician in Morrisville, NC to oversee statistical aspects in the design and analysis of clinical trials.

MS & 4 yrs. exp. req’d. To apply send resume to global.recruitmentSM@ppdi.com & reference Job ID: 156885

AIRLINES ARE HIRING Get FAA approved hands on Aviation training. Financial aid for qualified students Career placement assistance.

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holistic health TAI CHI Traditional art of meditative movement for health, energy, relaxation, self-defense.

Classes/workshops throughout the Triangle. Magic Tortoise School - Since 1979. Call Jay or Kathleen, 919-968-3936 or www.magictortoise.com

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On Stands Now INDYweek.com | 5.8.19 | 37

9 4 6 7 3 1 8 5 2

crossword If you just can’t wait, check out the current week’s answer key at www.indyweek.com, and click “puzzle pages” at the bottom of our webpage.

7 4

2 9

5 5 2

8 9 7

2 8 9

4 1 7 6 4 5 2

4 1

5 3

4 9 7 8 5

2

2

1 7

9

# 29

7 3

3

8 9

6 3 3

5 4

7 6 8 3 1

5

MEDIUM

su | do | ku

# 30

this week’s puzzle level:

© Puzzles by Pappocom

There is really only one rule to Sudoku: Fill in the game board so that the numbers 1 through 9 occur exactly once in each row, column, and 3x3 box.

The numbers can appear in any order and diagonals are not considered.

Your initial game board will consist of several numbers that are already placed. Those numbers cannot be changed. Your goal is to fill in the empty squares following the simple rule above.

3

2 3 9 1 8 9 2 2 9 4 7 8 4 4 5 2 5 8 7 1 56 4 8 4 5 8 9 9

1

# 31

6 7 8 7 2 6 4 5 1 9 3

# 30

1 7 6 2 3 9 8 5 4

4 8 2 6 1 5 3 9 7

9 5 3 4 7 8 1 2 6

7 4 1 9 5 6 2 3 8

8

6 67 1 9 7 2 6 4 9 95 3 4 9 1 9 8 31 3 8 9 5 4 9 1 3 4 1 7 4 6 3 8

3

6 8 3 7

MEDIUM 1 5 3 8 2 9 6 4 7

9 8 2 7

5

MEDIUM

3 9 5

9

1

9

# 32

2

6 # 57

2 6 9 1 8 3 7 4 5

8 3 5 7 4 2 6 1 9

6 2 4 8 9 1 5 7 3

5 9 8 3 2 7 4 6 1

solution to last week’s puzzle

8 5

38 | 5.8.19 | INDYweek.com

7

# 31

3 1 7 5 6 4 9 8 2

1 6 2 9 5 8 4 3 7 If you just3 can’t 4 9 1 wait, 7 2 6check 5 8 out the current 8 7 5 week’s 6 4 3 answer 9 2 1 5 3 1 4 8 9 2 7 6 key at www.indyweek.com, 9 2 6 3 pages.”

1 7 5 8 4 and click “puzzle “Puzzle Pages.”

7 8 4 5 2 6 3 1 9 Best of luck, 2 9 and 8 7 have 3 4 1 fun!

6 5 6 5 3 8 9 1 7 4 2 www.sudoku.com 4 1 7 2 6 5 8 9 3

3

5.8.19

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Page 8 of 25

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7

1 5

MEDIUM # 32

7 5 4 3 8 2 1 9 6

3 1 8 7 9 6 5 2 4

9 6 2 4 5 1 3 8 7

4 9 7 5 1 8 2 6 3

6 8 1 9 2 3 7 4 5

5 2 3 6 7 4 8 1 9

1 4 6 2 3 7 9 5 8

2 3 5 8 4 9 6 7 1

# 58 8 7 9 1 6 5 4 3 2

CLASSY AT INDYWEEK DOT COM 6

9

30/10/2005

4

6

5 1 8

1

Book your ad • Email amanda: classy@indywEEk.com

8

3

chat

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back page CONTACT AMANDA: CLASSY@INDYWEEK.COM last week’s puzzle

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INDYweek.com | 5.8.19 | 39

HEART-CENTERED

Yoga in Christ, Triangle, NC http://www.meetup.com/Yoga-in-Christ/

DANCE CLASSES IN LINDY HOP, SWING, BLUES

At Carrboro ArtsCenter. Private lessons available.

RICHARD BADU, 919-724-1421, rbadudance@gmail.com

SMOKY MOUNTAIN WHISKEY CRACKERS ® available at: Saxapahaw General Store, Southern Season, New Hope Market, Special Treats, Heart of Carolina

back page

MOVE YOUR BUSINESS AHEAD ™ WWW.EASILYCREATIVE.COM

COMEDY BASED ON SECRETS Hush Hush: Friday’s 9pm 401 W Geer St. thisismettlesome.com/Live

LEARN TAI CHI IN 2019!

Improve balance, flexibility, strength.

New classes start in May and June throughout the Triangle.

Visit www.taoisttaichi.org for details. 919-787-9600

Durham’s Leading Art Supply Store & Classes Formerly known as HappymessART artpostnc.com • 718 Iredell St. • 919.286.9763

IMPROVE THE SOUND OF YOUR VOICE! WWW.LAURECEWESTSTUDIOS.COM

NEW DEADLINE!!!!

Weekly deadline 4pm Friday

classy@indyweek.com

919-286-1916 @hunkydorydurham We buy records.

Now serving dank beer.

CECI N’EST PAS UNE PUBLICITÉ!

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