March 6, 2019 - Pittsburgh City Paper

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PITTSBURGH CITY PAPER MARCH 6-13, 2019

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FIRSTSHOT

BY JARED MURPHY

650 Smithfield Street, Suite 2200 Pittsburgh, PA 15222 412.316.3342 / FAX: 412.316.3388 E-MAIL info@pghcitypaper.com

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MARCH 6-13, 2019 VOLUME 28 + ISSUE 10 Editor-In-Chief LISA CUNNINGHAM Associate Publisher JUSTIN MATASE Director of Operations KEVIN SHEPHERD Managing Editor ALEX GORDON Senior Writers RYAN DETO, AMANDA WALTZ Staff Writers HANNAH LYNN, JORDAN SNOWDEN Photographer/Videographer JARED WICKERHAM Digital Media Manager JOSH OSWALD Editorial Designer ABBIE ADAMS Graphic Designer JEFF SCHRECKENGOST Marketing and Promotions Coordinator CONNOR MARSHMAN Senior Sales Representative BLAKE LEWIS Sales Representatives KAITLIN OLIVER, NICK PAGANO Office Coordinator MAGGIE WEAVER Advertising Sales Assistant TAYLOR PASQUARELLI Circulation Manager JEFF ENGBARTH Featured Contributors REGE BEHE, GAB BONESSO, LISSA BRENNAN, LYNN CULLEN, TERENEH IDIA, CHARLES ROSENBLUM, JESSIE SAGE, STEVE SUCATO Interns JANINE FAUST, XIOLA JENSEN, JARED MURPHY Office Administrator RODNEY REGAN National Advertising Representative VMG ADVERTISING 1.888.278.9866 OR 1.212.475.2529 Publisher EAGLE MEDIA CORP.

GENERAL POLICIES: Contents copyrighted 2019 by Eagle Media Corp. All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced without written permission of the publisher. The opinions expressed in Pittsburgh City Paper are those of the author and not necessarily of Eagle Media Corp. LETTER POLICY: Letters, faxes or e-mails must be signed and include town and daytime phone number for confirmation. We may edit for length and clarity. DISTRIBUTION: Pittsburgh City Paper is published weekly by Eagle Media Corp. and is available free of charge at select distribution locations. One copy per reader; copies of past issues may be purchased for $3.00 each, payable in advance to Pittsburgh City Paper.

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PITTSBURGH CITY PAPER MARCH 6-13, 2019

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Darlene Harris in her office CP PHOTOS: JARED WICKERHAM

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THE BIG STORY

ONE-WOMAN SHOW

BY KIM LYONS // INFO@PGHCITYPAPER.COM

A

S THE MAY primary approaches, Pittsburgh

City Councilor Darlene Harris is buffing her image as a contrarian who pushes back on Mayor Bill Peduto’s agenda.

Her role as the antagonist in many city council debates and her unorthodoxy has garnered Harris support, and even her opponents say she gets things done for constituents, albeit often a narrow subset of District 1 residents.

“I’m not what your everyday politician would be, someone who takes the job for the money,” Harris says.

“I took the job to serve the people and I think I’m serving them well.” She adds that she frequently puts in 80 hours a week at work. “You need to care about the people, sincerely care.”

council, but the last couple of years, particularly right before she decided to run for mayor, there’s been a lot of distractions, and she has focused primarily on political bickering back and forth with the administration and other council members.”

Quincy Kofi Swatson, another contender for the District 1 seat, says Harris does connect with her constituents, but on a limited scale. “She is responsive to the small, tiny issues there,” he says, likening them to “cat in the tree” issues that affect a small number of people.

The larger problem with Harris’ governing style, Swanson says, is that residents in District 1 have become accustomed to receiving subpar services.

“A common theme I’m seeing in communities that are marginalized is the interpretation that city resources

“I’M NOT WHAT YOUR EVERYDAY POLITICIAN WOULD BE.” Harris says her proudest accomplishment on city council was “getting the pensions done” when she was council president in 2010. The city prevented a state takeover of its ballooning pension fund by allocating money from a parking tax to get the pension fund to a 50 percent threshold. But it’s been some time since Harris introduced a significant piece of legislation; instead she handles things like trash complaints and other constituents’ concerns via her social media presence or through phone calls, she says.

Harris’ opponents in the May primary say her style of public service is becoming a detriment to the district’s future. Harris’ brand of politics, which they say is focused on the micro-issues, doesn’t look enough at the bigger picture.

“Really, it’s about the level of services that folks are getting, or not getting, from the city, and being listened to,” says Chris Rosselot, a former aide to U.S. Sen. Bob Casey challenging Harris for the District 1 seat. “She has the reputation of being an independent thinker on

are scarce, because the track record of the resources they have is indicative of the resources that are out there,” Swanson says. “You are getting an unfair share of the resources, and part of that process means people being told ‘you should be thankful and grateful for what you get.’”

With a record number of women running for president and a new class of women in politics, how does a longtime politician like Darlene Harris fit into this woman-powered mindset?

“It’s harder for women because they’re expected to take on more,” she said, adding she has her eye on a few of the female up-and-comers (she declined to say who, however). But she says taking on extra work is a role she’s always embraced. “I try to do as much as I can, and I do think I have a motherly touch.”

Few local politicians in Pittsburgh — with the possible exception of Peduto — are as polarizing as Harris, who has served 13 years on city council and, before that, for eight years on the Pittsburgh Public School CONTINUES ON PG. 8

PITTSBURGH CITY PAPER MARCH 6-13, 2019

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ONE-WOMAN SHOW, CONTINUED FROM PG. 7

board. In her last re-election campaign to council in 2015, Harris eked out a primary win with 47 percent of the vote. This time around, Harris is facing primary challenges from Rosselot, Swanson, and Bobby Wilson, who’s running for the seat a third time.

On Friday, Harris announced she won’t comply with a city law requiring candidates to file monthly campaign finance reports. Her attorney says the campaign finance rule in question is “illegal” because it pre-empts state campaign finance rules.

Harris’ adversarial relationship with Peduto has long been a dominating feature of her political identity. Examples of Harris supporting Peduto-backed legislation are few and far between, but it has happened. For instance, Harris voiced support for a proposal by the Peduto administration to raise the mandatory retirement age for city police officers to 70 (she voted for the measure which passed in a 6-0 vote last February).

“I think with this [mayor], it’s a little unusual compared to the [other] mayors I worked with. All the other mayors were here in Pittsburgh and knew what was going on. I think he’s on the road more than he’s in Pittsburgh,” she says.

When pressed about whether she

thinks Peduto’s travel hasn’t benefited Pittsburgh, Harris digs in. “We’ve raised the profile with every mayor we’ve had.”

When asked if she and the mayor share any common ground, she says there might be some, but fails to specify.

Even when prodded that maybe she and Peduto can become friends and grab an after-work drink, Harris bristles.

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“Well, I don’t drink,” she says, adding, “He’s not here enough to get a cup of coffee with.”

Peduto’s spokesperson Tim McNulty says Harris is merely repeating herself when criticizing the mayor.

“This is a tired complaint,” says McNulty, “which could only be worse if it somehow incorporated bike lanes.”

Both Swanson and Rosselot say they aren’t running “anti-Darlene” campaigns, but Wilson makes it plain: “I’m running against Darlene Harris,” he says. While he acknowledges that Harris does connect with constituents, he says it’s time for a change in District 1.

“At the end of the day, people want to know if you’re going to listen to them, whether it’s someone in the Mexican War Streets, or MarshallShadeland. There could be a lot of progress, whether it’s getting the Garden Theater done or affordable housing.

The North Side has a lot of need and we need to fill the gap and make sure these projects are done.”

For her part, Harris does not seem overly worried about any of the contenders to her seat. She said she’s readily available via telephone to any of her constituents, and says her pitch is simple: “I’ve been involved in the community for at least 45 years, I come to the community with issues that are going to come up, and I never vote for just me, it’s ‘we.’”

Asked what her first priority will be if she’s reelected, the biggest issue affecting the future of District 1, Harris takes a long pause. “I haven’t really thought that far ahead.”

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CONVERSION BAN

BY RYAN DETO // RYANDETO@PGHCITYPAPER.COM

I

N 2016, PITTSBURGH was the first municipality in Pennsylvania to ban the practice of conversion therapy on minors, and now Allegheny County could be next.

Conversion therapy is a psychological or spiritual intervention used in an attempt to change a person’s sexual orientation from queer to straight. The practice has been condemned by LGBTQ advocates, and has been found to have dangerous psychological effects on those subjected to it.

Allegheny County councilors Paul Klein (D-Squirrel Hill) and John DeFazio (D-Shaler) introduced a conversion therapy ban for minors at a March 5 county council meeting. If passed, Allegheny County will join a handful other Pennsylvania municipalities to enact penalties against conversion therapy practitioners. Allegheny County could have the first countywide ban in the state, besides Philadelphia, which is technically a city-county.

“This practice is not based in science and is a cruel practice that has harmed far too many young people,” says DeFazio.

“Hopefully, we’ll be able to get the votes to pass this quickly.”

Allegheny County’s proposed legislation appears to have a broader scope than that of Pittsburgh. The city defines “mental health professional” as someone “licensed, certified or registered under the laws of the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania” to provide mental health services.

Allegheny County defines mental health professionals as merely any individual who provides mental health services.

The proposed ordinance prohibits conversion therapy on minors, regardless of

whether the mental health providers are compensated for services or receive any form of remuneration for their services.

The county bill is being introduced into Division 5 of the county code, which is responsible for enforcing public-health related rules like air quality, elderly care, and HIV reporting. The proposed ordinance doesn’t lay out a specific punishment.

Pittsburgh’s ordinance doesn’t include specific punishment either, but the city’s law is enforced through the general ordinance violation fine of $300. A district judge will administer the violations.

Banning conversion therapy on minors has become law in several states, such as California, Illinois, and New Jersey, but it’s still legal in much of Pennsylvania and Allegheny County.

Amie Downs, spokesperson for Allegheny County Executive Rich Fitzgerald, notes that Fitzgerald has stated publicly his support for a conversion therapy ban, but he will review the ordinance after Council votes prior to any signature, like any other legislation.

The Steel City Stonewall Democrats, the region’s largest pro-LGBTQ political organization, has been working with county council on a conversion therapy ban bill and is taking the introduction as a win.

“At a time when LGBTQ+ youth are at a higher risk of depression, suicide attempts, substance abuse, and homelessness, it’s long past due to pass this commonsense measure and ensure none of our neighbors are being subjected to cruelty that deprives them of their basic human rights,” reads a statement on the Steel City Stonewall Democrats’ Facebook page.

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CP PHOTO: JOHN COLOMBO

Chris Kohan inside The Healing Center in Monroeville

.NEWS.

KUSH PUSH What does the medical-cannabis community think of Pennsylvania’s new push for recreational marijuana?

BY RYAN DETO // RYANDETO@PGHCITYPAPER.COM

P

ENNSYLVANIA GOT ITS FIRST medical marijuana

facility about one year ago. Since then, the patient lists have grown, and with the exception of some minor hiccups with oversupply, the dispensaries have rolled out with relative ease.

Now many seem ready to bring recreational marijuana to the Commonwealth. According to a 2017 Franklin & Marshall Poll, 59 percent of Pennsylvanians support recreational marijuana. In Dec. 2018, Gov. Tom Wolf changed his previous stance and tweeted the state should “take a serious and honest look at recreational marijuana.” He even dispatched his Lt. Gov. John Fetterman on a 67

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county listening tour to spread the word.

State Rep. Jake Wheatley (D-Hill District) introduced recreational marijuana to the state legislature in February. “For too long we have allowed myths and ignorance to prevent a realistic and thoughtful discussion regarding the legalization of adult-use cannabis,” Wheatley said at a press conference, as reported by Philly Voice. “In 2016, we passed a law allowing medical cannabis in Pennsylvania. That law was the right step, the first step, but we need to do more.”

But what do the people who grow, facilitate, and provide Pennsylvania’s medical marijuana think?

Are they ready for a push for legal Kush? Pittsburgh City Paper spoke to two Pennsylvania dispensary operators, and their feelings ranged from optimistic to apprehensive. And it might take more than popular opinion to bring all about the new recreationalmarijuana train.

Grassroots Cannabis is a marijuana-dispensary company that operates recreational and medical dispensaries in Illinois, Maryland, Nevada, Ohio, North Dakota, and Pennsylvania.

Grassroots spokesperson Mahja Sulemanjee says the company is in support of Pennsylvania’s push for recreational marijuana. She gives kudos

to Wheatley’s bill, which on top of legalizing cannabis for adults over 21, would also expunge criminal records and exonerate people incarcerated for marijuana offenses, as well as siphon funds to boost affordable housing and relieve student debt.

“What they are proposing in the bill is really phenomenal,” says Sulemanjee.

“It is a win for a lot of people.”

She says Grassroots’ experience with both medical and recreational markets has shown that there is little difference between the two. Sulemanjee says the biggest difference is the scope of customers.

“I don’t think there will be much change on our part,” says Sulemanjee of recreational marijuana being legalized in Pennsylvania. “We will just see a lot more folks coming in. From a dispensary side, it is really all about the scale.”

Sulemanjee isn’t sure how quickly legal marijuana will become realized, but she commends the transparency of the push so far.

“I think comparably, the lieutenant governor’s listening tour is going to mean a lot to make this bill,” says Sulemanjee.

“I haven’t seen any other state take that

approach. It’s really a feather in the cap.”

Chris Kohan of The Healing Center also commends Fetterman for the listening tour. He says the state still has a lot to learn about marijuana. Kohan said during the push for medical marijuana, he once had a state senator ask him, “Will a child use a bong?”

He is in support of recreational marijuana in Pennsylvania, in theory, but Kohan lacks confidence the state legislature will move a bill anytime soon.

He reminds people that Pennsylvania’s medical marijuana bill had many roadblocks. For years, the bill was held because House Speaker Mike Turzai (RMarshall) would continually place the bill in a committee with a chair who was vocally anti-marijuana. Only after former state House majority leader Dave Reed (R-Indiana) forced the bill out of that committee did the bill see progress.

“Nothing gets called for a vote in this

state unless there are four Republicans that say yes,” says Kohan.

Kohan says his medical dispensary business has run smoothly and successfully so far. The Healing Center, which has dispensaries in Monroeville and Washington, Pa., with a Cranberry location under construction, has served 7,000 patients since late June 2018, according to Kohan.

“Over 80 percent of patients respond very positively,” says Kohan. “The positive vibe is really something. It’s better than I expected.”

Because the medical rollout was successful, and considering the control that anti-marijuana Republicans have in the state legislature, Kohan is more in favor of expanding the medical market.

He thinks more conditions, like anxiety and depression, can be added to the medical marijuana law as a way to reach more patients.

“I truly believe the Republican contingency is for the expansion of the medical market,” says Kohan. “Pennsylvania largely did a phenomenal job with implementing medical marijuana. We have a lot of patients already in this program.

We have had a lot of movement.”

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Follow senior writer Ryan Deto on Twitter @RyanDeto

PITTSBURGH CITY PAPER MARCH 6-13, 2019

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.VOICES.

OLD WHITE DUDES

BY TERENEH IDIA CPCONTRIBUTORS@PGHCITYPAPER.COM

O

LD WHITE DUDE.” Is it a monolith or a myth? Is it a state of mind, stereotype, or club?

“Old White Dude.”

Each word is up for interpretation.

Depending on who you ask, “old” can mean 30 or 70. “White” is also up for grabs since we know that the meaning shifts but, in most cases, “whiteness” seems to mean of European descent. The “dude” part we’ll say means those who identify as male or masculine.

However, my fascination with the term “old white dude” is not with the words so much as who uses the term. From my observation, it is mainly people who are arguably “old white dudes” or at least “white dudes.” From Twitter to talking IRL, it is most often white men talking about these “old white dudes.” Why? Now you’ll hear me say “Black woman” or “old Black women” in reference — and reverence — to the force of beauty and nature that is the Black woman. But it feels like when a white man says “Old White Dude,” it is not a compliment. It’s complicated. The term can mean more than one thing, and can change depending on the motivation of the person saying it.

“

I believe that these white men are saying it for my benefit. Not me individually, but for the benefit of the majority of the world, those who are not white men.

They are saying it in the white liberal way of saying, “I am not the problem, because I know what the problem is: old white dudes.”

The second usage is generally to

provide context for white supremacist, racist, homophobic, transphobic, misogynistic, and/or general MAGA behavior. As if there is an appropriate age to be a believer in the white supremacist patriarchy. This is always fascinating because the global majority — people who are not white and not male — understand that white supremacist patriarchal behavior

comes at any and every age.

Then there is a third meaning, which is very connected to the second.

“Old white dude” as absolution. As in, well he cannot help it, he is an “old white man.” Also, and maybe more to the point: “There is nothing I can do about it.

He is my: boss, friend, brother, husband, father, uncle, neighbor, co-worker, or he is me ...”

This absolution does double duty. First for the “old white man” because he doesn’t know any better and second for the “woke white man” because he has no control over how someone else feels.

But he’s Woke White, so it’s all good.

How convenient.

The Woke White moves from embarrassment and guilt to smugness and exoneration all with one phrase: “old white dude.”

However, in 2019, going into 2020 in the 21st century on this here Planet Earth, any of the above white supremacist, racist, homophobic, transphobic, misogynistic, and general MAGA behavior is a choice. No age, no location, nor gender gives anyone a “free pass.”

So before a “woke white dude” spends time distancing himself from the “old white dude,” he could: 1. Pause and consider what he is specifically doing to dismantle the white supremacist patriarchy. 2. When the opportunity presents itself (more often then you could imagine) do something constructive as in “see something (racist/misogynist/ homophobic), say something” model.

3. Use you privilege and power as a white man to change micro and macro systems for equity and justice for all.

•

Follow featured contributor Tereneh Idia on Twitter @Tereneh152XX

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.FOOD.

PITTSBURGH PARADISE

BY MAGGIE WEAVER MWEAVER@PGHCITYPAPER.COM

M

USA CARIBBEAN/CAJUN FARE

provides something of a get.away without leaving the city.

The Beechview restaurant is hidden in plain sight, treating Broadway Avenue to island-inspired food inside a deceptively plain brick building.

Owner Kenrick Cheong is from Galveston, Texas on the Gulf Coast. His parents hail from the Caribbean and Cheong’s relationship to both Cajun and Caribbean cuisine is clear in every dish. Plates are simple but assembled thoughtfully.

Musa provides a respite from the flood of industrial modern gastropubs, going for comfort rather than trend.

Musa knows what it is and plays to those strengths. It’s a rainbow of pop-art posters, empty Red Stripe bottles, colored lights, surfboards, and palm trees. Bright chalkboards quip fitting puns, like “wash your palms” or the classic “don’t worry, be happy.”

The menu was concise and captivating.

I didn’t just want to taste everything, I needed to. But, for the sake of my stomach and the kitchen’s sanity, I settled on a few things: gumbo, plantain chips, wings, and West Indies curry.

My plantain chips were crisp and thin, not drenched in frying oil. A light sprinkle of salt complemented the tart sweetness. It was the sauce, a handcrafted chimichurri kicking with garlic, that put the dish over the top.

Musa’s gumbo was sensational. The base, a dark roux, was so perfectly spiced I couldn’t discern the blend. Flavors were deep and layered over each other, reaching some kind of gumbo nirvana.

A decadent sauce drew me to wings, though the vague “Cajon joojoo” name didn’t do it justice. The wings contend

CP PHOTO: MAGGIE WEAVER

West Indies curry with seafood

for best in the ‘Burgh, freshly fried and piping hot. They were the type of wings that made me forget I had sauce on my face, my shirt, and all over the table. I refused to put them down.

The West Indies curry was, according to our server, just like his grandmother’s.

Curry, paired with roti and rice, was

MUSA CARIBBEAN/CAJUN FARE

2318 Broadway Ave., Beechview. 412-207-2733 or musa-restaurant.business.site

intensely earthy and savory, not sweet like a Thai or Indian curry. It featured fresh, plump shrimp, so fresh I expected a boat to pull out of the parking

FAVORITE FEATURES:

18

Feathers

Plantains

Rotating Menu

Musa knows that it’s never a bad time for a boa. The bar is decked out with bright feathers, adorning the tops of rum bottles with flair.

Stacks of plantains block the chef’s view to the dining room, diminishing as the night goes on.

Every few weeks, dishes are added and taken away. So make sure to grab favorites before they’re gone.

PGHCITYPAPER.COM

lot. The roti — a circular, pressed, panfried croissant — dazzled me.

If Musa didn’t already have my affection, they won me over with dessert.

It was a simple, house-made brown sugar and bourbon custard served plain in a mug. The custard was like velvet, the caramel and nutty sugar coexisting beautifully.

There is no match for Musa.

Pittsburgh, you can find paradise right outside your front door. It’s time to go taste.

•

Follow staff writer Maggie Weaver on Twitter @magweav

Family Owned and Operated

AUTHENTIC & FRESH Franchise Opportunities Available.

Visit our website for more details.

5523 Walnut Street • Shadyside • 412-621-6220

mercuriosgelatopizza.com CP PHOTO: MAGGIE WEAVER

Three spiced rums from Wigle Whiskey

.ROCKS.

$9 Lunch Special

THE NEW WHISKEY

(DINE IN & PICK UP ONLY! DELIVERY & OTHER OFFERS EXCLUDED.)

EVERY DAY!

BY MAGGIE WEAVER // MWEAVER@PGHCITYPAPER.COM

R

Pad Thai Noodle

UM IS THE NEW WHISKEY. Forget

Captain Morgan and Bacardi — it’s not college anymore — this rum is for sipping, not chugging.

Thanks to a trio of Pittsburgh distilleries, Wigle Whiskey, Maggie’s Farm Rum, and Kingfly Spirits, rum is headlining the next spirit obsession.

Each distillery takes a unique refining approach. It’s the diverse spice bill that sets regional rum apart from its commercial relatives. Pittsburgh’s distilling triad focuses on intentional flavor, rising above the typical over-sugared party spirit.

WIGLE WHISKEY 2401 SMALLMAN ST., STRIP DISTRICT. TUE.-SAT., 10 A.M.- 6 P.M.; SUN., 10 A.M.-4 P.M.; MON., 11 A.M.6 P.M. 412-224-2827 OR WIGLEWHISKEY.COM

Wigle Whiskey has branched into whiskey’s sibling spirit for three spiced rums: Landlocked, Landlocked Spiced & Oaked, and Landlocked Oaked.

Landlocked starts with a “molasseswine,” the basic fermentation of baking molasses. After the first distillation, it’s macerated with a variety of spices, including orange peel and cocoa nibs.

The final touch is buckwheat honey (the base of pre-2017 Landlocked).

Wigle’s spiced rum leans to the sweeter side, thanks to its syrupy start. The rum works well in a cocktail, bold flavors adding a punch. Landlocked is rich and robust, the perfect fit for a Dark and Stormy.

KINGFLY SPIRITS 2613 SMALLMAN ST., STRIP DISTRICT. WED.-FRI., 5-11 P.M.; SAT., 11 A.M.-11 P.M.; SUN., 12-4 P.M. 412-392-8928 OR KINGFLYSPIRITS.COM

Blake Ragghianti of Kingfly Spirits started

refining his spiced rum in 2012. Before landing on the now award-winning spirit, Bliss 1895, he tested over 150 iterations.

Ragghianti treats rum like gin, tincturing each spice individually before the final mix and three-year age. The spirit spends time in barrels formerly used to age wine and bourbon, endowing it with a tannic hit associated with dry, red wine.

For consistency, Ragghianti practices the solera method, used frequently in Nicaragua. Barrels of young rum are blended with a portion of their predecessors, keeping each batch connected to Kingfly’s very first bottling.

Bliss 1895 is spice-forward, warm, and refined with a nutty sugar. The taste is sensational, a true marriage between raw, fresh materials. Ragghianti prefers it bare, served neat just like a whiskey.

STUDENT & MEDICAL SPECIAL W/ ID CARD

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MAGGIE’S FARM RUM 3212A SMALLMAN ST., STRIP DISTRICT. WED.-FRI., 11 A.M.- 10 P.M., SAT., 12-10 P.M.; SUN., 12-6 P.M. 412-709-6480 OR MAGGIESFARMRUM.COM

About five years ago, Maggie’s Farm Rum debuted its first spirit, an unaged white rum. A few months later, using the young rum as a base, Tim Russell and his team bottled a spiced rum.

Maggie’s Farm spiced rum (the world’s highest-rated in rums submitted to The Spirit Journal) infuses the signature turbinado sugar-rum base with a long list of spices, holding to the distillery’s allnatural mindset. There are no added sugars, extracts, or artificial flavors, each sip fragrant, dry, and balanced.

Russell drinks his spiced rum in a simple sour, mixing the spirit with freshsqueezed lemon juice and sugar.

•

PITTSBURGH CITY PAPER MARCH 6-13, 2019

19

OPEN 11AM-4PM

DINING OUT

CP PHOTO: JARED WICKERHAM

SPONSORED LISTINGS FROM CITY PAPER ’S FINE ADVERTISERS

THIS WEEK’S FEATURED RESTAURANT

THE CAFÉ CARNEGIE 4400 FORBES AVE., OAKLAND 412-622-3225 THECAFECARNEGIE.COM

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An excellent dining experience from James Beard Semi-Finalist, Sonja Finn featuring a locally-focused menu, full service dining, and espresso and wine bar.

TACOS • CHIMICHANGAS BURRITOS • ENCHILADAS 633 SMITHFIELD ST. PG H , PA 1 5222 4 1 2 .4 7 1 . 83 6 1

BAR LOUIE

330 N. SHORE DRIVE, NORTH SIDE (412-500-7530) AND 244 W BRIDGE ST., HOMESTEAD (412-462-6400) / BARLOUIE.COM We’re your neighborhood bar, where you can kick back and be the real you, with the help of an amazing staff, great music, handcrafted martinisand cocktails, local and regional drafts, incredible wines and a huge selection of bar bites, snacks, burgers, flatbreads and sandwiches. Come in after work, before the game, late night at night, or any time you need a quick bite or a night out with friends. Bar Louie. Less obligations.

More libations.

BROAD STREET BISTRO

1025 BROAD ST., NORTH VERSAILLES 412-829-2911 / BROADSTBISTRO.COM Broad Street Bistro is a neighborhood restaurant offering daily specials.

ALL food is prepared fresh and made to order. It is family friendly with a special kids’ menu.

The best gifts are edible.

1910 New Texas Rd. Pittsburgh, PA 15239 724.519.7304 EightyAcresKitchen.com 20

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FULL PINT WILD SIDE TAP ROOM

5310 BUTLER ST., LAWRENCEVILLE 412-408-3083 / FULLPINTBREWING.COM Full Pint Wild Side Taproom is Full Pint Brewing company’s Lawrenceville location and features a full service bar, huge sandwiches and half-priced happy hour. Open 4 p.m.-midnight, Mon.-Fri., and noon–midnight on Saturday. Check us out on Facebook for upcoming shows and events.

LEON’S CARIBBEAN

823 E WARRINGTON AVE., ALLENTOWN 412-431-5366 / LEONSCARIBBEAN.COM Family owned and operated since December 2014. Here at Leon’s, we take pride in our recipes and quality of dishes. Simple menu with all the traditional dishes! Leon Sr. has been a chef for 30+ years, mastering the taste everyone has grown to love and can only get at Leon’s.

COLONY CAFE

MERCURIO’S ARTISAN GELATO AND NEAPOLITAN PIZZA

EIGHTY ACRES

5523 WALNUT ST., SHADYSIDE 412-621-6220 / MERCURIOSGELATOPIZZA.COM Authentic Neapolitan pizza, artisan gelato, and an inviting atmosphere are just a small part of what helps create your experience at Mercurio’s Gelato and Pizza in Pittsburgh. It’s not your standard pizza shop; in fact, this isn’t a “pizza shop” at all.

1125 PENN AVE., STRIP DISTRICT 412-586-4850 / COLONYCAFEPGH.COM Whether stopping in for a weekday lunch, an afternoon latte or after-work drinks with friends, Colony Cafe offers delicious house-made bistro fare in a stylish Downtown space.

1910 NEW TEXAS ROAD, MONROEVILLE/PLUM 724-519-7304 / EIGHTYACRESKITCHEN.COM Eighty Acres Kitchen & Bar offers a refined, modern approach to contemporary American cuisine with a strong emphasis on local, farm-totable products.

PAD THAI NOODLE

4770 LIBERTY AVE, BLOOMFIELD 412-904-1640 / PADTHAINOODLEPITTSBURGH.COM This new café in Bloomfield features Thai and Burmese specialties. Standards like Pad Thai and Coconut Curry Noodle

are sure to please. But don’t miss out on the Ono Kyowsway featuring egg noodle sautéed with coconut chicken, cilantro and curry sauce.

SAGA HIBACHI

201 SOUTH HILLS VILLAGE MALL, BETHEL PARK 412-835-8888 / SAGAHIBACHI.COM Saga in the South Hills is now under new management. Stop in for exciting table-side preparations and the famous shrimp sauce. Or sit in the sushi-bar area for the freshest sushi experience, with both traditional preparations and contemporary variations.

SUPERIOR MOTORS

1211 BRADDOCK AVE., BRADDOCK 412-271-1022 / SUPERIORMOTORS15104.COM Thoughtfully prepared food, drawing inspiration from Braddock, its people, its history and its perseverance.

The cuisine best represents the eclectic style which has become a trademark of Chef Kevin Sousa. Fine dining in an old Chevy dealership with an eclectic, farm-to-table menu and a community focus.

TOTOPO MEXICAN KITCHEN AND BAR

660 WASHINGTON ROAD, MT. LEBANON 412-668-0773 / TOTOPOMEX.COM Totopo is a vibrant celebration of the culture and cuisine of Mexico, with a focus on the diverse foods served in the country. From Oaxacan tamales enveloped in banana leaves to the savory fish tacos of Baja California, you will experience the authentic flavor and freshness in every bite. We also feature a cocktail menu of tequila-based drinks to pair the perfect margarita with your meal.

PITTSBURGH CITY PAPER MARCH 6-13, 2019

21

Advantage card nails > Flashlight nails >

.ART T. .

NAILED IT

BY HANNAH LYNN // HLYNN@PGHCITYPAPER.COM

T

HERE IS SOMETHING powerful and durable about decorated

nails. When painted, they can hold a color for days or weeks.

Unlike makeup, they can withstand showers, sleep, rain, and work. When affixed, fake nails are a plastic power-play.

Everyone else now knows you are more skilled because even reaching into a purse for keys requires some level of dexterity.

Joselyn McDonald, creator of press-on nail company Digits Nails, has always loved the specific sound that comes with fake nails.

“A woman typing with long nails on a keyboard is the best, most powerful sound in the world,” says McDonald. There is something retroglamour-working-woman about them, like Dolly Parton clacking away on a typewriter with her long pink talons in 9 to 5.

McDonald has a master’s degree from Carnegie Mellon University’s Human Computer Interactions Institute. She works as a technology researcher and designer, but created Digits Nails last November as a way to make a product that she could control from start to finish.

The result is a collection of fruit-colored jelly-style nails, so named for their translucent resemblance to jelly sandals. Unlike acrylic nails, which are usually done in a salon and combine a monomer liquid with a polymer powder to form a paste sculpted onto the nails, press-on nails can easily and affordably be done at home.

Currently, she designs the nails herself and sends them out to a manufacturer, but the ultimate goal is to open a manufacturing studio in Pittsburgh and use recycled materials for the nails. >>

22

PGHCITYPAPER.COM

ConnectCard nails ^

JOSELYN MCDONALD TRANSFORMS DECORATED NAILS INTO BUS PASSES, CREDIT CARDS, EVEN A GIANT EAGLE ADVANTAGE CARD. In addition to selling moderately-priced, reusable nails, McDonald experiments with Digits Nail Technologies, the research and development side of the project. She affixes various RFID tags (small tags that hold data) to nails, including a bus pass, credit card, and Giant Eagle Advantage card, each with Digits Nails colored to coordinate with the hue of its accessory.

McDonald felt there was a gap in the “stuck in time” press-on nail market, which largely consists of squared French tips sold at drugstores. But she also felt a lack of feminine design in the tech world.

When she recently presented her nail technologies at Community Processing Day, an event at CMU, McDonald loaded the presentation onto a USB drive attached to her nail. The others have been tested too; the Advantage Card scanned by a surprised cashier, the bus pass swiped in front of a confused driver.

“I’m trying to explore playful, humorous, femme-forward interactions with technology, but I really do think from a usability standpoint, the concept of having interactions embedded in your nails are also useful,” says McDonald.

Nail technology might seem zany in contrast to the sleek, serious, and masculine technological advances that we’re used to. McDonald notes that much of technology has evolved to make people work faster and make life more efficient (smart phones, smart refrigerators, smart buttons that order toilet paper). Not coincidentally, technology is a field notoriously dominated by men, where it is difficult for

women to even enter the room, let alone get novations a seat at the table. Technological innovations ators and often reflect the sexism of its creators on as to are designed without consideration em. how women might interact with them.

McDonald offers the example of VR prodhout conucts, which are often designed without soning of sideration for the size or spatial reasoning e Oculus women. Consequently, tools like the ea when Rift fit worse and cause more nausea hrew out used by women. Amazon recently threw an employee recruiting algorithm because ndidates. it showed a bias against women candidates.

Twitter co-founder/CEO Jack Dorsey recently xpecting said he and his team “weren’t expecting any of the abuse and harassment” that has ompany’s become common on the site (the company’s leadership is 70 percent men). ng place, “I think nails are one interesting but there’s a ton of other things we could potentially be leveraging that are seen as being ecessarily associated with groups that don’t necessarily hnology,” get to control the development of technology,” says McDonald.

Her creations are the antithesis in a field riousness dominated by men, focused on seriousness ed at the and efficiency. After getting enraged tech world’s latest goblin Billy McFarland mentary, while watching a Fyre Festival documentary, anslucent McDonald decided to rename the translucent orange nails she was about to launch as FYRE_ les going FEST Orange, with 10 percent of sales ahamian to the GoFundMe set up for the Bahamian workers who lost the most in the debacle. ergy and “I feel like that Billy fellow’s energy Digits Nails are like, exact opposite energies,” she jokes.

McDonald’s past projects have included any that co-founding Blink Blink, a company or young designs creative STEM toolkits for girls, researching how to laser-cut reusable m neckpads, and designing an alarm d with a lace that goes off when touched corresponding ring. ns remiThese are the kind of inventions n Totally niscent of the early-2000s cartoon h school Spies!, which featured three high al spies. girls who doubled as international Their weapons were always a modified ium drill version of teen girl staples: titanium ant, laser heel boots, a data-processor pendant, he loved lipstick. McDonald remembered she etwork a the show so much she wrote the network letter when it stopped airing. out how “I love this idea of thinking about beauty and technology are thiss underrd really explored space that might afford rtunities interesting, fruitful, inclusive opportunities nald. to engage in the world,” says McDonald. ere, they The ideas have always been there, just need to be taken seriously.

< Joselyn McDonald CP PHOTO: JARED MURPHY

•

Follow staff writer Hannah Lynn on Twitter @hanfranny PITTSBURGH CITY PAPER MARCH 6-13, 2019

23

Q&A: RACHAEL LIPPINCOTT

.FILM.

JFILM FINDS

BY HANNAH LYNN HLYNN@PGHCITYPAPER.COM

BY CP STAFF INFO@PGHCITYPAPER.COM

F

PHOTO: ALYSON DERRICK

Rachael Lippincott, author of Five Feet Apart

After graduating from the University of Pittsburgh in 2017, author Rachael Lippincott got an opportunity to adapt the screenplay for upcoming film Five Feet Apart, a love story centered on a teenager with cystic fibrosis, into a novel. The book has now been on the New York Times bestseller list for 12 weeks, and the movie will be in theaters on March 15.

Lippincott will also appear at Bookish in the ‘Burgh, a teen book festival part of the Pittsburgh Humanities Festival, on March 23.

WHAT WERE CHANGES YOU MADE IN ADAPTING THE SCREENPLAY? The biggest thing was probably that the screenplay is pretty much told from Stella’s point of view, who’s one of the main characters. Going into the book, my editor had this idea to do dual POV between Stella and Will. It was a lot of adding his backstory and making that come out on the page.

DID YOU DO A LOT OF RESEARCH INTO CYSTIC FIBROSIS? When I first got it, the screenplay had been through numerous additions and each one [CF advocate Claire Wineland] had looked at. I was on YouTube constantly learning about different things, like wearing the AffloVest, and just trying to learn as much as I could. On top of that, my drafts were vetted by a CF advisor that actually worked on the film, so that was an interesting process.

DO YOU FEEL LIKE THERE’S A GROWING YOUNG ADULT SCENE IN PITTSBURGH? Absolutely. I think [Bookish in the ‘Burgh] is one of the coolest things they could be doing right now. I think bringing in this component is just kind of putting Pittsburgh on the map in a really new way.

This interview has been edited and condensed for clarity. Read the complete interview online at pghcitypaper.com

24

PGHCITYPAPER.COM

OR 26 YEARS, the JFilm Festival has featured a curated lineup of Jewish documentaries, dramas, comedies, and everything in between that highlight the diversity of the Jewish experience around the world. This year’s films travel to Hungary, Israel, Ethiopia, Canada, Brazil, and more. Check out some highlights, which cover Sephardic Jews fighting for political representation, Ethiopian Jews struggling for legitimacy, and Hasidic women trying to become EMTs.

PHOTO: ABRAMORAMA

Documentary 93 Queen follows ultra-orthodox women creating an all-female ambulance corps in Brooklyn.

The Passengers

BY HANNAH LYNN

A common debate that has sprung up along with the rising threat of white nationalism is whether or not Jewish people are white. The question itself is already misguided, implying that all Jews have white skin. The Passengers tells the plight of the Jewish population in Ethiopia, which, at the time of the documentary, numbered around 9,000. They want to immigrate to what they feel is their true home but are denied by a government that doesn’t see them as real Jews, presumably because of their skin color.

The Passengers follows two young men, Demoz and Gezi, as they travel to the U.S. to make a case to various Jewish organizations, hoping to spread awareness about their struggles. The film focuses mainly on Demoz and Gezi’s journey but fails to address their plight to the fullest extent. It’s complicated to support their move to Israel, while also having mixed feelings about Israel in the first place. While it falls short in some areas, it still provides an interesting look into a rarely heard community.

5:30 p.m. Fri., March 15. Southside Works Cinema, 425 Cinema Drive, South Side. $6-12. filmpittsburgh.com

93 Queen

BY HANNAH LYNN

In the Hasidic Jewish community of Borough Park, Brooklyn, the predominantly male, Orthodox Hatzalah responds to medical emergencies. Recognizing that many women don’t want their modesty violated by strange men, lawyer Rachel

JFILM FESTIVAL March 7-17. Times and locations vary. filmpittsburgh.org/pages/jfilm

Freier attempts to start Ezras Nashim, an all-female EMS service. The documentary follows the tenacious Freier as she fights for Nashim’s right to exist, battling traditionalists who don’t think women should do such work, all while also upholding dated traditions, like not allowing single women to work as EMTs. Director Paula Eiselt has spoken about the difficulties in getting the film made because no one wanted to fund a movie about Orthodoxy that wasn’t critical of how it “oppresses women.” The female subjects are devoutly, proudly religious, while also wanting the right to provide EMS services. Freier makes it clear that she’s not a feminist, but acknowledges she’s able to do what she does because of feminism. “You can’t, in one sentence, narrow me down to a few specific words,” she says. 7 p.m. Tue., March 12. Jewish Community center, 5738 Forbes Ave., Squirrel Hill. $6-12. filmpittsburgh.org and 5:30 p.m. Wed., March 13. Southside Works Cinema, 425 Cinema Drive, South Side. $6-12. filmpittsburgh.org

The Unorthodox

BY ALEX GORDON

After his daughter is expelled from school on vague, questionable charges, Yakov Cohen (Shuli Rand) demands answers. They’re not easy to come by.

The first teacher directs him to another,

who sends him to another, who leads him to the principal, a process which sees Cohen storming down the hallways with a growing group of wary teachers in tow.

These are the kinetic, funny, charismatic opening scenes of The Unorthodox, an Israeli film directed by Elian Malka. That momentum never wavers.

It becomes subtly clear that Cohen’s daughter was kicked out because of her Sephardic background in a majority Ashkenazi community. (The distinction is basically that Sephardic Jews descend from the Middle East and Northern Africa, whereas Ashkenazi Jews come from Europe. Put more simply, Sephardic Jews have darker skin.) From there, The Unorthodox follows Cohen and a group of fellow Sephardim as they work to establish their own political party. Most of the film is a re-telling of Cohen’s tirade through the school writ a bit larger, charging through Jerusalem from office to office requesting and/ or demanding political support as his cohorts struggle to keep pace.

Beyond the general charm of the performers and story based on true events, director Elian Malka succeeds with The Unorthodox by keeping the mission clear and simple. There’s little excess in sentimentality here, which allows the story to shine on its own merit. JFilm Opening Night. 7 p.m. Thu., March 7. Southside Works Cinema, 425 Cinema Drive, South Side. $25-85. filmpittsburgh.com

•

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WED., MARCH 20 AMITVA KUMAR 7 P.M. CITY OF ASYLUM NORTH SIDE. Free event. 412-435-1110 or trustarts.org.

WED., MARCH 20 LIBERTY MAGIC: LEE TERBOSIC 7:30 P.M. LIBERTY AVENUE DOWNTOWN. $40-65. 412-456-6666 or trustarts.org.

March 9: Park Harrison Hills MarchPark 16: Boyce

WED., MARCH 20 GARY CLARK JR. 8 P.M. BENEDUM CENTER DOWNTOWN. $43.75-165.75.

412-456-6666 or trustarts.org.

THU., MARCH 21 CARRIE MAE WEEMS & CLAUDIA RANKINE 7 P.M. CARNEGIE LIBRARY LECTURE HALL OAKLAND. Free event (registration required). 412-456-6666 or trustarts.org.

THU., MARCH 21 MIKE TRAMP & JOHN CORABI 7:30 P.M. CRAFTHOUSE SOUTH HILLS. $12-18. 412-653-2695 or ticketfly.com.

With special guests Steve Hawk & 11:05.

THU., MARCH 21 THE ALKAHOLIKS 8 P.M. FOXTAIL SOUTH SIDE. Over-21 event. $18-20. 412-651-4713 or ticketfly. com. With special guests Billy Pilgrim & Jon Quest.

FRI., MARCH 22 KATHLEEN MADIGAN 7:30 P.M. THE PALACE THEATRE Greensburg. $29.75-45.75. 724-836-8000 or thepalacetheatre.org.

FRI., MARCH 22 KEVIN KWAN 8 P.M. BYHAM THEATER DOWNTOWN. $25-100. 412-456-6666 or trustarts.org.

FRI., MARCH 22 BRIT FLOYD 8 P.M. BENEDUM CENTER DOWNTOWN. $44.25-164.25.

412-456-6666 or trustarts.org.

TUE., MARCH 26 TAPE FACE

Details & regius/speci strationalevents at alleghenycounty.

CARNEGIE OF HOMESTEAD MUSIC HALL MUNHALL

FRI., MARCH 22 BIG BAD VOODOO DADDY

WARRENDALE. $25-50. 724-799-8333 or ticketfly.com.

8 P.M. CARNEGIE OF HOMESTEAD MUSIC HALL MUNHALL. All-ages event. $29-49.

412-462-3444 or ticketfly.com. With special guest Neon Swing X-perience.

SUN., MARCH 24 BUCKCHERRY

FRI., MARCH 22 KINKY FRIEDMAN & DALE WATSON 8:30 P.M. HARD ROCK CAFE STATION SQUARE. $18-20. 412-481-ROCK or ticketfly.com. With special guests Andy Gregg & Bryan McQuaid.

FRI., MARCH 22 MIKE.QUU 10 P.M. GREER CABARET THEATER DOWNTOWN. Over-21 event. $21.25.

412-456-6666 or trustarts.org.

SAT., MARCH 23 D-JAM 2019 DOORS OPEN AT 7 P.M. REX THEATER SOUTH SIDE. Over-21 event. $20.

412-381-1681 or greyareaprod.com.

SAT., MARCH 23 DONNIE IRIS & THE CRUISERS 8 P.M. JERGEL’S RHYTHM GRILLE

7:30 P.M. JERGEL’S RHYTHM GRILLE WARRENDALE. $28-45.

724-799-8333 or ticketfly.com. With special guests Joyous Wolf & Paul Benson.

Polar Bear

Pond Skim

MON., MARCH 25 RUBE GOLDBERG: THE WORLD OF HILARIOUS INVENTION! 10 a.m. CHILDREN’S MUSEUM OF PITTSBURGH North Side. $13-16.

412-322-5058 or pittsburghkids.org.

TUE., MARCH 26 SPRING NATURE WALK & TALK WITH A PARK NATURALIST 6:30 P.M. NORTH PARK LATODAMI NATURE CENTER NORTH PARK. All-ages event. Free event (registration required). Alleghenycounty.us/parkprograms.

TUE., MARCH 26 TAPE FACE 7:30 P.M. CARNEGIE OF HOMESTEAD MUSIC HALL MUNHALL. All-ages event. $30-125. 412-462-3444 or ticketfly.com.

FOR UPCOMING ALLEGHENY COUNTY PARKS EVENTS, LOG ONTO WWW.ALLEGHENYPARKS.COM

Boyce Park Ski Slopes Sunday, March 10, 2-4:30 pm All participants must have valid lift ticket Grilled food & Hop Farm craft beer for purchase!

Info at alleghenycounty.us/specialevents PITTSBURGH CITY PAPER MARCH 6-13, 2019

25

CP PHOTO: JARED MURPHY

Brahctopus

.MUSIC.

PSYCHEDELIC TURN

BY JORDAN SNOWDEN // JSNOWDEN@PGHCITYPAPER.COM

P

SYCHEDELIC JAM-BAND Brahctopus’ album release party and live laser show at the Carnegie Science Center sold out in 53 minutes. When the tickets went on sale on Jan. 25, it was two weeks before the seven-piece band’s first full-length album, Mothership, was even available to stream.

“Watching it was pretty intense,” says Ethan Kovalcik, Brahctopus ukulele player and lead vocalist. “It was like a countdown almost. ‘50 seats left, now there’s 10 seats left!’ It just all happened so fast; it was very exhilarating.”

For those unaccustomed to Pittsburgh’s jam-band scene, it may seem like the group just popped up, made an album, and sold out a show. But Brahctopus formed in 2015 and has been steadily building up its following ever since.

“Even though this was our first official album that’s on iTunes and Spotify and all that, there was an EP before,” says Travis Butler, Brahctopus’ drummer who joined the group in 2017. “We

consider [Mothership] the debut album, but we had a pretty decent fanbase to let this out into.”

Along with stellar promotion tactics — considering Facebook algorithms, selecting the best time to post, etc. — Brahctopus credits the sold-out show to that solid group of supporters and the local jam-band community. Kovalcik explained that Brahctopus and other groups in the genre have “a very tight-knit group of fans that are constantly growing.

[The jam band scene] in Pittsburgh is this industry that’s starting to boom right now. There’s so many great musicians in Pittsburgh that it’s unreal, and the whole scene is thriving on that right now.”

Initially, Brahctopus stuck to reggaerock. But with the addition of Butler, keyboardist Austin Ostiguy, and guitarist John Wilcox, Brahctopus’ member count went from four to seven, and the sound shifted.

“It’s what naturally happened with the people that were added,” says

Butler. “We kind of transformed this reggae-rock band into a psychedelic jamrock experience.”

BRAHCTOPUS AFTER PARTY WITH RAINBOW ENDS & THE MOAT RATS

Sat., March 9. 9 p.m.-1 a.m. Howlers, 4509 Liberty Ave., Bloomfield. brahctopus.com

Traces of the Brahctopus’ reggae roots can be heard on Mothership.

“Don’t Be Late,” the third track on the album, is the first song Brahctopus ever recorded and the only song on both Mothership and Keepin’ It Squiggly With Brahctopus, the original EP. The fifth and sixth tracks, “High Society” and “Just Believe,” respectively, were also written in the early phases of the group. But all three songs were adapted to fit the new seven-piece lineup.

“We had songs from the EP initially,”

Follow staff writer Jordan Snowden on Twitter @snowden_jordan

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says Butler. “But with the new personel, it didn’t really match who we were anymore and it would be kind of deceiving to the audience to throw them on there. [Mothership] was more toward representing who we wanted to be in the future.”

The resulting eight-track album, engineered and produced by Butler, dropped Feb. 8. It’s a trippy, harmonicallyrich odyssey, mixing strains of reggae, funk, psychedelic, and rock.

For those who were not able to get tickets to the release show, a friend of the band, Todd Schmersal of Crooked Snout Games, created a Brahctopus-themed video game, Enter the Mothership, available on its website. There is also an album-release show afterparty at Howlers on Sat., March 9.

“We won’t be playing,” says Butler.

“But maybe you’ll see somebody jump up on stage and feature with one of those bands. We’re going to be cutting loose, celebrating with all of our fans.”

•

Who is the most badass woman in Pittsburgh history?

.VOICES. OICES.

GAB AROUND ‘TAHN

BY GAB BONESSO // CPCONTRIBUTORS@PGHCTYPAPER.COM CONTRIBUTORS@PGHCTYPAPER.COM

In honor of Women’s History story Month, I decided n Pittsburgh with my pal to walk through Downtown dom Pittsburghers think Cassi Bruno to see who random con in Pittsburgh history. is the most badass female icon

ALEX, FOREST HILLS “Sophie Masloff. She was cool. She was the first woman mayor. I gotta go with Sophie.”

GAB: Interestingly, she was my choice too. I once did a commercial with her and after she filmed her scene, she split with all the bagels from Kraft Service. Only an icon can do that.

We wandered over to Market Square where I saw a guy skateboarding and God, I love skateboarding.

CODY, LAWRENCEVILLE “Brittney Chantele.

She’s a local hip-hop artist, and she’s totally badass.“

Next up was a woman who was so fixated on thinking of a good answer that she never answered my first question: “What’s your name?”

ANONYMOUS, BRADDOCK “Betty Cruz.”

GAB: I’m ashamed to say this, “Who?” ANONYMOUS: “She worked with Mayor Peduto creating initiatives for our city. She does a lot for immigration. She’s amazing.”

GAB: I Googled her and now I want to change

PHOTO: ACTION CAMP

#MUSICMONDAY

Action Camp

my answer to Betty Cruz too.

So who do yinz think is the most badass female icon in Pittsburgh History? Rachel Carson? Elsie Hillman? Sally Wiggin?

I’m Gab and until next time, maybe I’ll see you around ‘tahn!

Every Monday, Jordan Snowden wraps up the weekend in local and national music news. Check out this week’s updates on Bilal Abbey, Action Camp, livefromthecity, and more at pghcitypaper.com

Follow featured contributor Gab Bonesso on Twitter @gabbonesso PITTSBURGH CITY PAPER MARCH 6-13, 2019

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as being self-conscious, not wanting to admit not knowing. But we create a very safe space with our group because it’s really small. They’re very good at asking questions if they don’t understand something. If you’re hanging out with a piece of art, they’ll ask, “Why would an artist choose to make that decision?”

They ask questions that make me think about the arts.

.ART . .

BACKSTAGE

BY LISSA BRENNAN CPCONTRIBUTORS@PGHCITYPAPER.COM

NAME: Mattie Cannon, Bloomfield WORK: Teen Art Cooperative Coordinator, Mattress Factory

DO YOU THINK THEIR APPROACH AND PARTICIPATION HERE VARIES FROM WHAT IT WOULD BE IN GRADED CLASSWORK? This is by choice. They have to want to be here, and they’re ready to go. They’re so interested in art, and they want to spend time in the installations, learn about the artists, share their knowledge.

WHAT DO YOU DO? I run all of the teen programs for the museum. That includes the Teen Arts Cooperative program, which is the most commitment intensive, with weekly attendance for several months; additionally, the summer workshop series; a youth arts educators network I’m working on starting; and a brand-new, as-yet-unnamed street squad, which is a social media hangout.

WHAT DO THEY DO WHEN THEY’RE HERE? We run the gamut. There are in-house days — planning, building for upcoming events. They’re working on a zine.

Teaching artists come in for workshops.

If they talk about something specific they’re interested in, I’ll find someone who does that to meet with them and teach. They collaborate with artists. We take field trips to creative spaces. They absorb information through the program, get to know it, learn how to lead a tour, and share the information that they love about the artwork with other teens within our space.

HOW DID YOU GET HERE? I went to the Pennsylvania Governor’s School for the Arts for a summer program, and then attended the College of Wooster for Studio Arts. I started working here right after graduation in 2014. I’ve been involved with the Teen Arts Cooperative program for four years and running it for two.

DID ATTENDING AN ARTS-ORIENTED INSTITUTION FOR HIGH SCHOOL INFLUENCE YOUR WORKING WITH HIGH SCHOOL KIDS AS AN ADULT? That had an impact on me felt throughout my life. It helped me know I can work in the arts. I saw it exemplified in all these different ways. I worked with caring adults that had conversations with me that were very open and honest, so I came into the arts with realistic expectations.

WHAT DO YOU LIKE THE MOST? THE TEENS. I love hanging out with them. I could be having the crummiest week and the worst day and then Thursday afternoon rolls around, immediately I feel better. They’re so smart and give me so much hope for everything. They

PHOTO: MATTRESS FACTORY

Mattie Cannon

have brilliant ideas and are grounded in reality and inspiring, and it’s incredible to be around them.

HOW DO TEENS APPROACH THE ARTS DIFFERENTLY THAN ADULTS? Adults want to know they already know.

You kind of have to represent things in a way that allows them to feel like, “Yeah, I know that already.” Teens are more willing to stretch their brains.

THEY’RE NOT TOO COOL FOR SCHOOL? Before this program, I thought of teens

WHAT IS THE MOST FULFILLING THING ABOUT YOUR JOB? I get to still hang out with the alums and see where they end up, and that’s really important to me. One now works alongside one of the teaching artists that came in while she was here. I set up an apprenticeship with her when I knew she was graduating, so she’s making great life connections.

Alums will serve as the new planning committee for the summer workshop series as well.

I look forward to getting to see the impact after they graduate the program, in 10 years or 15 years.

•

ONLINE EXTRA

MEET LIZ FELIX, WYEP’S NEW EVENING MIX HOST After saying goodbye to longtime WYEP evening host Cindy Howes, the public radio station announced last week the position will be filled on April 1 by Liz Felix, a radio programmer and host with 15 years of experience. Her favorite current record? “I learned about Pittsburgh rapper Benji. on WYEP when they had him in the studio a few weeks ago, and I’ve had Smile, You’re Alive! on repeat since then.” Read more in our full interview at pghcitypaper.com.

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PGHCITYPAPER.COM

MARCH 2 – 24, 2019 “When an ‘Odd Couple’ story shifts toward ‘Breaking Bad’” — LA TIMES

PHOTO: MATT POLK

Jerreme Rodriguez, J. Alex Noble, and Drew Leigh Williams in The Double Threat Trio

.STAGE.

THE DOUBLE-THREAT

BY HANNAH LYNN // HLYNN@PGHCITYPAPER.COM

W

HAT COULD BE more threat-

ening for an artist than to be in the midst of another artist with more talent? It’s a fear that plagues amateur and accomplished artists alike.

The characters in The Double-Threat Trio grapple with this envy as performers coming to terms with their shortcomings.

The musical, which had its world premiere with the CLO Cabaret at the Greer Cabaret Theater, is written by New York composer and lyricist Adam Overett.

Nina (Drew Leigh Williams) sings but can’t act, Jamison (J. Alex Noble) can act but can’t dance, and Kenny (Jerreme Rodriguez) can dance but, you guessed it, can’t sing. When the three meet at a failed audition (with a sign reading “Seeking TRIPLE-THREATS!!”), they realize there’s potential for success if the three of them join forces. They seek guidance from flamboyant playwright/director/ producer/choreographer Millicent (Audra Qualley, understudy for Michelle Duffy).

After years of self-exile from theater, Millicent is ready to put on her masterpiece, Oed!, a musical comedy adaptation of the story of Oedipus. Her play is terrible (obviously), but the actors don’t realize it until showtime because they’re too caught up trying to conquer their weaknesses.

As the crew moves through play rehearsals, each performer has a moment of clarity on how to improve the skill they’re missing. But when the premiere date gets moved up, they have to scramble.

The end result is a true comedy of errors, making the already absurd premise of Oed! even more over-the-top. Props include a gold-painted plunger, a teddy bear with its eyes gouged out, and Crocs.

As a premise, the concept of three performers who are good at one skill and bad at another is pretty flimsy. There are plenty of successful actors who can act but not sing, but also, most people who are great in one area of performing can be taught an acceptable level of skill in another. It’s a bit hard to believe Nina, Jamison, and Kenny as performers who can’t act, dance, or sing, respectively, considering the actors themselves are so clearly adept at all three.

TAMARA TUNIE and LAURIE KLATSCHER in

THE ROOMMATE JEN SILVERMAN DIRECTED BY REGINALD L. DOUGLAS BY

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THE DOUBLE-THREAT TRIO

Continues through April 28. Greer Cabaret Theater, 655 Penn Ave., Downtown. $31.25-59.75. pittsburghclo.culturaldistrict.org

For their part, all the actors commit to their roles and give it their all, belting songs and feigning terrible line delivery when needed. Qualley has the work of juggling several accents and characters, as Millicent literally wears many hats, changing personas for each of her many jobs: the choreographer is loud and sassy, the writer shy and self-conscious, the director British. It makes for several twodimensional, stereotypical characters instead of one complete one, but Qualley was still entertaining, shifting roles with impressive agility. Williams was another standout, with a strong voice and solid comedic timing.

The show’s story starts off a little plain, but as it goes on, the chaos builds into a whirlwind of nonsensical costumes, props, and mishaps. But as a whole, the script lacks enough punch to make it a triple-threat.

•

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PITTSBURGH CITY PAPER MARCH 6-13, 2019

29

.DANCE.

WRITTEN IN INK

BY AMANDA WALTZ AWALTZ@PGHCITYPAPER.COM

T

HERE ARE NO TUTUS, leotards,

or ballet buns in the Camille A. Brown & Dancers (CABD) production of ink. Instead, dancers wear untucked, button-down shirts, cargo shorts, tank tops, and yoga pants, all meant to designate their roles as everyday people on the street. By staying grounded in reality, the new dance theater show at the August Wilson Cultural Center (March 9-10) explores how small interactions and relationships contribute to Black empowerment. “[Brown] wanted people to feel like they could see themselves on stage,” says ink dancer Juel D. Lane. “She wanted us to see our brilliance for who we are as a people, as a community. So the choice to have costumes that are very pedestrian sheds light on ‘this is who we are and where we’ve been.’”

Lane has worked with Brown — a prolific choreographer, dancer, director, and educator — since they met in the early 2000s as students at the University of North Carolina School of the Arts. That includes dancing with CABD in the previous two installments leading up to ink, the final in a trilogy he describes as dealing with Black identity.

The first show, the award-winning Mr. TOL E. RAncE, uses dance, as well as comedy, animation, and theater, to explore the history of Black performers and addresses forms of “modern-day minstrelsy.” Lane says the following BLACK GIRL: Linguistic Play tackles the stereotype of “the angry Black female” to provide a more nuanced, celebratory portrait of Black womanhood.

Inspired by the quote “I see Black people as superheroes because we keep rising,” taken from the 2012 book Question Bridge: Black Males, ink examines, as one press release puts it, “the culture of Black life that is often appropriated, rewritten, or silenced.” Lane believes that the show allows them to reclaim, in a joyful, affirmative way, the narrative of how Black people have been portrayed in the media.

PHOTO: CHRISTOPHER DUGGAN

Camille A. Brown & Dancers in ink

CAMILLE A. BROWN & DANCERS PRESENT INK

Sat., March 9-Sun., March 10. August Wilson Cultural Center. 980 Liberty Ave., Downtown. $10-65. trustarts.org

“When we step out on the stage, it always feels like home and it feels like we are carrying so many stories from our community and it’s allowed us to be so free and vulnerable in that space,” says Lane, adding that the general camaraderie of CABD helps further drive the story. “One of the things is we also care about each other, and so we like to perform together. When I have the opportunity to be on stage and I look to

my right, there’s somebody that I really care about.”

The seven CABD dancers are joined on stage by four musicians providing live musical accompaniment that blends blues, hip-hop, jazz, and swing.

The choice goes against the tradition of exiling musicians to the pit, where they remain largely unseen.

“In terms of bringing dance to the community … a lot of times we put musicians in the periphery,” says Lane.

“And I think it’s very powerful because when we’re telling these stories, they’re part of that journey as well. It was important to [Brown] that everyone saw them.”

The show reflects the current mission of the Pittsburgh Dance Council and the

Follow senior writer Amanda Waltz on Twitter @AWaltzCP

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PGHCITYPAPER.COM

Pittsburgh Cultural Trust to showcase the artistic accomplishments of female choreographers, broaden the Pittsburgh dance landscape, and present diverse programming for dance audiences. As part of that, Lane hopes ink sparks a dialogue around urgent issues.

“The beautiful thing that Camille does is she creates a safe space where it’s okay for people to have conversations, especially when we’re dealing with identity and race,” he says. “In order for us to progress, and in order for us to make change, we have to be in a space where we’re able to speak our truths, but also be there to understand, ‘OK, this is your journey-how does this relate to mine?’”

•

PHOTO: JEFFREY JAMES SMEE

Riparian

.MUSIC.

DEATH GRIND

BY EDWARD BANCHS // INFO@PGHCITYPAPER.COM

N

OBODY LIKES to pigeonhole their

music into a single genre, but if forced to, Louis Snyder of Riparian would call it “atmospheric death grind.” Hearing the first two tracks from the upcoming self-titled EP, that description makes sense. The music fuses death metal, speed, and some odder, more experimental characteristics to create something smart and unexpected.

Less than a year old, Riparian’s lineup is rounded out by guitarist Dan Martin, bassist Brooks Griswold, vocalist Rob Grisly, and drummer Nick Tupi. They performed for the first time in July 2018 after solidifying the lineup with the addition of Martin, whom Snyder feels only enhanced the band’s music and writing.

“It’s really cool working with somebody that has almost a different way of thinking when it comes to the fret board,” he says.

Though still early in its career, Riparian has already caught the interest of Grimoire, an independent heavy metal label with an international reach.

Brooks worked with the label before, having released a record with them with his previous band Wrought Iron.

Grimoire co-founder Noel Mueller says signing Riparian was an easy decision. He was immediately on board after hearing a demo of “The Nuclear Unclear,” the EP’s opening track, adding that he enjoyed the way the band blended “death metal and sludge.”

The band trekked to Towson, Md. last September to record with Mueller at his Tiny Castle studio. They completed the record in just two days.

“I actually never recorded with a

live band before. So, while drums were playing, guitars were going as well; everybody was playing at the same time except for vocals,” says Snyder, who adds that portions of the vocals were finalized locally at Mr. Smalls.

The resulting self-titled EP is fantastic, weaving melodic centerpieces around blasting aggression. Encased by a rather impressive vocal performance that 310346_4.75_x_4.75.indd will surely excite extreme metal fans, Riparian have set the bar high for themselves on this impressive debut.

1

2/27/19 8:39

RIPARIAN EP RELEASE SHOW

WITH POST MORTAL POSSESSION, ENFILAD, AND PAGAN YOUTH 7 p.m. Sat., March 9. Get Hip Records, 1800 Columbus Ave., North Side. riparianpgh.bandcamp.com

With the release Riparian is excited to introduce their music beyond Pittsburgh’s metal scene. “We are going to do our best to get out of town to play some shows … We’re hoping to go up to New York [and] Maryland,” says Snyder. “[It] would be cool to do some shows with other Grimoire bands. I feel we can gather up the time to do the shows to do what we got to do,” adds Martin.

Accompanied by masterful artwork

by Garfield-based artist Jason Angst, Riparian’s self-titled debut comes out March 1.

“I think this is something that’s going to stick with people. I’m very proud of the work that we put into it,” says Snyder.

•

PITTSBURGH CITY PAPER MARCH 6-13, 2019

31

.ART REVIEW.

CONSUMER GOODS

BY LISA CUNNINGHAM LCUNNING@PGHCITYPAPER.COM

K

NEEL AND PRAY at the altar of Chanel No. 5.

Stunning luxurious stained glass windows bearing the names of designer perfume and clothing brands hang on a wall at the very back of Pittsburgh Glass Center’s Hodge Gallery. Before the Chanel and Louis Vuitton windows sit two altars and two church pews. On adjoining walls, neon signs light up with vibrant messages of “PRAY” and “REPENT;” underneath, there’s a lineup of nine designer bibles, all made of kiln-formed glass.

It’s the work of Indiana’s Slate Grove, one of six artists from around the world whose glasswork is displayed in Material World, a bold new exhibit commenting on “consumerism, luxury, obsession, and materialism.”

Lean in closer and you’ll find that inside of Grove’s beautiful Versace, Gucci, and Givenchy branded covers, his bibles are nothing but empty, transparent glass. Don’t judge a book by its cover; but, with such beautiful glasswork, how can you not?

From the moment you enter the gallery, you’re surrounded by material goods that consume so many of us. In the entrance sits Morgan Peterson’s “Once Upon a Crime, The American Epidemic,” an alarming, oversized drug scene with a startlingly large blown glass needle, an Oxycontin prescription bottle, and a steel spoon, set on top of mirrored flooring. At first, it appears that the drug scene itself is the only commentary. But beneath the spoon lies an extra large American Express card, and on it, a name: Martin Shkreli, the former hedge fund manager who drastically raised the price of antiparasitic drug Daraprim for personal gain.

On a podium a few steps away sits Peterson’s “Designer Drugs,” a Chanel logo gracing the top of glass-blown pills and a razor blade, each imprinted with the trademark grooves of a Chanel purse.

Designer purses are a theme throughout this exhibit, which, apart from Shkreli, seems to primarily critique the stereotypical superficial purchases of women more than men.

PHOTO: COURTESY OF THE ARTIST

Joseph Cavalieri’s “Barbie Descending the Staircase”

Korean artist Hyesook Choi’s “Treasure Your Inner Beauty,” for instance, is a set of small core-cast colorful glass balloons, each with a clear item set inside the orbs. Through the air bubbles, if you lean in close enough, you’ll see something new in each: a woman’s face, a tube of lipstick, and yes, a designer purse.

The artwork is intriguing and having to get up close to appreciate it only makes it more engaging. But would it be too hard for at least one artist to design a glass mustache comb?

Glass, however, is the perfect medium for a show centering on materialistic possessions. One can’t help but recognize the fragility of the pieces when exploring the exhibit, and how easily each could break. For one, Canadian artists Karina Guévin and Cédric Ginart’s flameworked glass pieces, with intricate joyful characters that must be seen in person to fully

appreciate, stand tall on podiums in the center of the room. Viewers during the opening tiptoed around them, often afraid to get too close.

MATERIAL WORLD

Continues through May 12. 10 a.m.7 p.m. Mon.-Thu.; 10 a.m.-4 p.m. Fri.-Sun. Pittsburgh Glass Center, 5472 Penn Ave., Friendship. $5 suggested donation. pittsburghglasscenter.org

Then, when you do move in to get a closer look at the pieces throughout the gallery, it’s quite jarring to see your own face staring up at you in the reflections of the glass, suddenly making you part of the exhibit. Busted! You too are a consumer, on display.

One standout in the show is New York City artist Joseph Cavalieri’s hand-

Follow editor-in-chief Lisa Cunningham on Twitter @trashyleesuh

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PGHCITYPAPER.COM

painted stained glass artwork, taking well-known pop-culture references like Barbie dolls and Alice in Wonderland and sets them in a modern landscape. In “Smokin Alice,” the girl balances a cigarette in one hand and a leash holding four texting white rabbits in the other.

In “Barbie Descending the Staircase,” Cavalieri has the thin doll grasping a Fritos bag. In an exhibit commenting on consumerism, it’s a reminder that even those of us without wealth can also be subjected to guilty pleasures.

Or maybe it just says that Barbie is underfed and hungry. Either way, the piece is quite lovely, and the doll’s face at being spotted holding the bag of corn chips is how I felt when leaving the exhibit: exposed, vulnerable, and wishing I could afford the $1,800 price tag to take that piece home with me.

Like I said, busted.

•

GET IN THE GROOVE

BY AMANDA WALTZ AWALTZ@PGHCITYPAPER.COM

A little over 10 years ago, when I was a struggling, twentysomething club rat paying for drinks with a nearly maxed out credit card, I became frustrated with the lack of information about dance parties in Pittsburgh. So I schlepped my crappy laptop to the Bloomfield Crazy Mocha (they had free Wi-Fi and I had just enough loose change for a coffee), where I signed onto Myspace and created Grooveline, a page dedicated to tracking every dance event in the city. Every week, I would update it, even going as far as emailing venues to ask about cover fees and guest DJs. This went on for a few unemployed months, until a new job and the fall of Myspace put an end to my little venture.

Who could have foreseen that this sad little Mypace page would be reborn into something print-worthy? A product of what I would consider my one and only true hobby (clubbing), Pittsburgh Grooveline serves as a resource for anyone looking for the best EDM, pop hits, techno, and retro dance nights, as well as afterparties and DJ shows. Look for it every Thursday on pghcitypaper.com, just in time for the weekend.

Do you have a dance event you’d like to promote? Email awaltz@pghcitypaper.com. •

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PHOTOS: PITTTRANSFORMED.COM

An artist’s rendering of the transformed airport plaza

.ARCHITECTURE.

MIXED MESSAGING

BY CHARLES ROSENBLUM // CPCONTRIBUTORS@PGHCITYPAPER.COM

T

HE ALLEGHENY County Airport

Authority debuted the program design concept for its new terminal on Feb. 20 with an emphasis on NaTeCo – in the press release, in the promotional video, in various comments from designers and clients.

The question is not what the word means. It’s a condensation of Nature, Technology, and Community, which the Airport Authority’s marketing processes have determined to be the essence of Pittsburgh, (though the terms might apply similarly to many other places).

The real mystery is why, at the moment of presenting an admirable airport design with notable international pedigree, the Airport Authority is

34

PGHCITYPAPER.COM

muddying its achievement with insistently local marketing-speak that doesn’t suit the current state of the project.

This is not the first time this has happened.

When the Authority unveiled a conceptual design in 2017, local characteristics were similarly touted, even though what they had was a preliminary planning diagram without a complete design team to produce the actual architecture. Indeed, that scheme has been unceremoniously discarded.

Part of the good news is that the Authority went through an apparently thorough and conscientious architect selection process, something they should have done before debuting any building

renderings. They received proposals from 11 teams, then sought further information from a shortlist of four teams.

The team that was selected, announced in July 2018, includes architects Gensler and engineers HDR, with Luis Vidal + Architects as consultants producing conceptual designs. The group has some local connections but is more notable for international experience.

While Gensler, with 46 offices worldwide, is known in Pittsburgh for the Tower at PNC Plaza, its airport design group produced Korea’s Incheon International Airport as its showcase design and has completed numerous aviation projects at small regional airfields and major international hubs. HDR is an

Omaha-based engineering firm with over 10,000 employees in 200 offices, including one in Pittsburgh. While boasting experience on Pittsburgh’s own Greenfield Bridge, HDR has completed projects at Honolulu International Airport and Terminal 1 at Fort LauderdaleHollywood International Airport. HDR aviation director Bill Peduzzi is a lifelong Pittsburgher.

Especially relevant to the project’s visual character is Luis Vidal + Architects. Madrid-based with several international offices, Vidal’s firm has no promoted Pittsburgh connection, but that hardly seems to hurt its qualifications. The firm designed Terminal 2 at London’s Heathrow Airport and Vidal

PHOTO: HOFFMANN MURTAUGH

An artist’s rendering of the transformed airport’s departure area

himself worked on Terminal 4 project at Madrid-Barajas Airport in Spain, by Estudio Lamela & Rogers Stirk Harbour + Partners. Vidal’s firm has several airport projects in design or nearing completion. Notable among them is the Zaragoza Airport, a small regional airport commissioned as a result of a winning competition design in 2005.

Zaragoza seems like a smaller scale precedent to the current Pittsburgh proposal, with regularly undulating ribbons of roof in rhythmic offsets to each other, creating blade-like clerestory openings and suggesting a landscape of rolling hills. The general motif, which also appears in a few developing Vidal projects, is well-suited to hilly Western Pennsylvania, but it is necessarily enlarged in scale for the current scheme. Awardwinning Heathrow 2 is suitable in scale compared to Pittsburgh, but it’s a bit too buttoned-down in its regular profile.

Madrid-Barajas is beautiful, but maybe a bit too sensual and curvaceous for straightforward Western Pennsylvania.

So the current scheme anticipates better-engineered construction than the original Zaragoza scheme–broader, airier spans, with less of a nuts and bolts sensibility. Pittsburgh’s columns branch out toward the tops to become more tree-like, reiterating nature with formal directness. Perhaps Gensler, adapting from its proposal for an airport in Mexico City, believes that Pittsburgh’s roofs can be more ribbon-like than the metal framed counterparts at Zaragoza.

Months-long design processes of complex buildings are far more complicated than a few image comparisons.

Force-feeding a local message on a project in a moment of exciting global relevance seems like a marketing error for a project whose considerable complexities seem to be in technically and artistically capable hands.

THIS WEEK IN FOOD AND DRINK Every Friday, Maggie Weaver posts food and drink news. Don’t miss her story this week on Rick Sebak and Wholey’s Market teaming up for the Sea-Back Shrimp Burger at pghcitypaper.com

THE ALLEGHENY COUNTY AIRPORT AUTHORITY PRESENTS A CONFUSED MESSAGE WITH ITS DESIGN CONCEPT FOR ITS NEW TERMINAL. Giving the terminal a flavor of Pittsburgh is eminently possible, but the architectural decisions on things such as views and outdoor spaces are further down the Gantt chart from where we are now. Decisions such as selection of vendors and the all-important public art will have an especially resonant effect on local identity.

When those issues reach their phases of peak relevance, we can only hope that they are marketed with more sympathy and insight than the international architecture has received at this highly relevant but oddly underappreciated stage.

•

Follow contributing writer Charles Rosenblum on Twitter @CharlzR PITTSBURGH CITY PAPER MARCH 6-13, 2019

35

.FOR THE WEEK OF MARCH 7.

FREE WILL ASTROLOGY

BY ROB BREZSNY // INFO@PGHCITYPAPER.COM

ARIES (March 21-April 19): Genius inventor Thomas Edison rebelled against sleep, which he regarded as wasteful.

He tried to limit his time in bed to four hours per night so he would have more time to work during his waking hours. Genius scientist Albert Einstein had a different approach. He preferred ten hours of sleep per night, and liked to steal naps during the day, too. In my astrological opinion, Aries, you’re in a phase when it makes more sense to imitate Einstein than Edison. Important learning and transformation are happening in your dreams. Give your nightly adventures maximum opportunity to work their magic in your behalf.

TAURUS (April 20-May 20): The Danish flag has a red background emblazoned with an asymmetrical white cross.

It was a national symbol of power as early as the fourteenth century and may have first emerged during a critical military struggle that established the Danish empire in 1219. No other country in the world has a flag with such an ancient origin. But if Denmark’s Prime Minister Lars Løkke Rasmussen, who’s a Taurus, came to me and asked me for advice, I would urge him to break with custom and design a new flag—maybe something with a spiral rainbow or a psychedelic tree. I’ll suggest an even more expansive idea to you, Taurus: create fresh traditions in every area of your life!

GEMINI (May 21-June 20): On June 7, 1988, Gemini musician Bob Dylan launched what has come to be known as the Never Ending Tour. It’s still going. In the past 30+ years, he has performed almost 3,000 shows on every continent except Antarctica. In 2018 alone, at the age of 77, he did 84 gigs.

He’s living proof that not every Gemini is flaky and averse to commitment. Even if you yourself have flirted with flightiness in the past, I doubt you will do so in the next five weeks.

On the contrary. I expect you’ll be a paragon of persistence, doggedness, and stamina.

CANCER (June 21-July 22): The otters at a marine park in Miura City, Japan are friendly to human visitors. There are holes in the glass walls of their enclosures through which they reach out to shake people’s hands

PISCES (Feb. 19-March 20):

Who was the model for Leonardo da Vinci’s iconic painting Mona Lisa? Many scholars think it was Italian noblewoman Lisa del Giocondo. Leonardo wanted her to feel comfortable during the long hours she sat for him, so he hired musicians to play for her and people with mellifluous voices to read her stories. He built a musical fountain for her to gaze upon and a white Persian cat to cuddle. If it were within my power, I would arrange something similar for you in the coming weeks. Why? Because I’d love to see you be calmed and soothed for a concentrated period of time; to feel perfectly at ease, at home in the world, surrounded by beautiful influences you love. In my opinion, you need and deserve such a break from the everyday frenzy.

how you do that as you also try to heed your rule that information is power.

SAGITTARIUS (Nov. 22-Dec. 21): Sagittarian actress and producer Deborra-Lee Furness has been married to megastar actor Hugh Jackman for 23 years. Their wedding rings are inscribed with a motto that blends Sanskrit and English, “Om paramar to the mainamar.”

Hugh and Deborah-Lee say it means “we dedicate our union to a greater source.” In resonance with current astrological omens, I invite you to engage in a similar gesture with an important person in your life. Now is a marvelous time to deepen and sanctify your relationship by pledging yourselves to a higher purpose or beautiful collaboration or sublime mutual quest.

CAPRICORN (Dec. 22-Jan. 19): with their webbed paws. I think you need experiences akin to that in the coming weeks.

Your mental and spiritual health will thrive to the degree that you seek closer contact with animals. It’s a favorable time to nurture your instinctual intelligence and absorb influences from the natural world. For extra credit, tune in to and celebrate your own animal qualities.

LEO (July 23-Aug. 22): Between 1977 and 1992, civil war raged in Mozambique. Combatants planted thousands of land mines that have remained dangerous long after the conflict ended. In recent years, a new ally has emerged in the quest to address the problem: rats that are trained to find the hidden explosives so that human colleagues can defuse them. The expert sniffers don’t weigh enough to detonate the mines, so they’re ideal to play the role of saviors. I foresee a metaphorically comparable development in your future, Leo. You’ll get help and support from a surprising or seemingly unlikely source.

VIRGO (Aug. 23-Sept. 22): Imagine a stairway that leads nowhere; as you ascend, you realize that at the top is not a door or a hallway, but a wall. I suspect that lately you may have been dealing with a metaphorical version of an anomaly like this. But I also predict that in the coming weeks some magic will transpire that will change everything. It’s like you’ll find a

button on the wall that when pushed opens a previously imperceptible door. Somehow, you’ll gain entrance through an apparent obstruction.

LIBRA (Sept. 23-Oct. 22): Not all of the classic works of great literature are entertaining. According to one survey of editors, writers, and librarians, Goethe’s Faust, Melville’s Moby Dick, and Cervantes’ Don Quixote are among the most boring masterpieces ever written. But most experts agree that they’re still valuable to read. In that spirit, and in accordance with astrological omens, I urge you to commune with other dull but meaningful things. Seek out low-key but rich offerings. Be aware that unexciting people and situations may offer clues and catalysts that you need.

SCORPIO (Oct. 23-Nov. 21): Many of you Scorpios regard secrecy as a skill worth cultivating. It serves your urge to gather and manage power. You’re aware that information is a valuable commodity, so you guard it carefully and share it sparingly. This predilection sometimes makes you seem understated, even shy. Your hesitancy to express too much of your knowledge and feelings may influence people to underestimate the intensity that seethes within you. Having said all that, I’ll now predict that you’ll show the world who you are with more dazzle and flamboyance in the coming weeks. It’ll be interesting to see

In 1997, a supercomputer named Deep Blue won six chess matches against Chess Grand Master Gary Kasparov. In 2016, an Artificial Intelligence called AlphaGo squared off against human champion Lee Sodol in a best-of-five series of the Chinese board game Go. AlphaGo crushed Sodol, four games to one. But there is at least one cerebral game in which human intelligence still reigns supreme: the card game known as bridge.

No AI has as yet beat the best bridge players. I bring this to your attention, Capricorn, because I am sure that in the coming weeks, no AI could out-think and out-strategize you as you navigate your way through life’s tests and challenges.

You’ll be smarter than ever. P.S.: I’m guessing your acumen will be extra soulful, as well.

AQUARIUS (Jan. 20-Feb. 18): At regular intervals, a hot stream of boiling water shoots up out of the earth and into the sky in Wyoming’s Yellowstone National Park.

It’s a geyser called Old Faithful. The steamy surge can reach a height of 185 feet and last for five minutes. When white settlers first discovered this natural phenomenon in the nineteenth century, some of them used it as a laundry. Between blasts, they’d place their dirty clothes in Old Faithful’s aperture. When the scalding flare erupted, it provided all the necessary cleansing. I’d love to see you attempt a metaphorically similar feat, Aquarius: harness a natural force for a practical purpose, or a primal power for an earthy task.

GO TO REALASTROLOGY.COM TO CHECK OUT ROB BREZSNY’S EXPANDED WEEKLY AUDIO HOROSCOPES AND DAILY TEXT-MESSAGE HOROSCOPES. THE AUDIO HOROSCOPES ARE ALSO AVAILABLE BY PHONE AT 1-877-873-4888 OR 1-900-950-7700

Pittsburgh’s lone liberal talkshow host for 30+ years Listen live every weekday at 10 a.m. at lynncullen.pghcitypaper.com 36

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FEATURED ON INK MASTER :ANGELS

PYRAMID

TATTOO & Body Piercing

PHOTO: JEROME A. JONES II

kidmental

.MUSIC.

PYRAMIDTATTOO.COM

THIS SONG IS ABOUT YOU

BRIDGEVILLE, PA

BY JORDAN SNOWDEN // JSNOWDEN@PGHCITYPAPER.COM

I

N A DIGITAL AGE where “hellos” are barely exchanged in elevators, and heads hardly move to acknowledge a person sitting catty-corner on the bus, Jerome A. Jones, aka kidmental, is using music to connect people through personalized theme songs.

As a delivery truck driver, Jones meets ntil he all kinds of people. But it wasn’t until tomers started talking to his customers that he had a realization.

“I asked someone what they did,” says Jones. “I was like w much ‘Wow that’s crazy,’ … how all the different people that I ct each deliver to, how we all affect ’t even other. Sometimes we don’t nected realize that we’re all connected in some strange way, in a more intimate way.” equests Jones began taking requests online for theme songs. He has estioninterested parties fill out a questionnaire, then he reads it over before getting on the road to deliver.

“When I study, I always make it y mom into a song,” says Jones. “My did that to me. So, when I’m riding, I’m mulling it in my head, singing a little tune, and then one thing hits.”

While customized songs may seem like an odd way to bring people together, the music allows for two unique thought

processes to happen. One, a person relates to the song because they have encountered someone with a different job or experience, allowing them to see a different viewpoint. Or two, a person relates because they have/had the job or have experienced what the song is about.

KIDMENTAL.COM “I think the lunch lady [song] really stuck out to me because everybody’s had a lunch lady,” says Jones. “[And] people

have come to me like, ‘Hey I was a nurse’s aid once, that song got me.’”

Jones has four theme song options available: personal, “a whimsical song about what you do and experience on a day to day basis;” keepsake, “a memento for someone you m miss or to celebrate a milestone in the life of another;” crew/ squad, “a song that fully expresses the epitome of your friendship;” and busin business/brand, “a song jing that puts your (not jingle) o the map.” brand on Aft After Jones offered ma me a personal to make them song, I filled out theme f the form detailing a typica day working for typical Pittsbu Pittsburgh City Paper.

About a week later, P editorial team the CP a gathered around managing editor Alex G Gordon’s desk for party a listening party.

Starting with Jones beatboxing and a looping, “Oh, wow” background chorus (my signature catchphrase), everyone immediately started bobbing along to the song. While the track was for me, the lyrics detail the life of a journalist, capturing each one of our attention, and bringing us together through a personalized tune.

•

The Children of

She

The religion was founded in the fall of 2018.

The members are devoted to She. She is our savior and loving yourself is the basis of the religion.

Service will be held every Sunday at 1 p.m. at 3208 Camp Street Pittsburgh PA 15219 For more information contact Jaineil Mattox at jmattox0@gmail.com

PITTSBURGH CITY PAPER MARCH 6-13, 2019

37

.LITERATURE.

SOUND ARGUMENT

BY REGE BEHE CPCONTRIBUTORS@PGHCITYPAPER.COM

T

HERE’S A LINE in Valeria Luiselli’s new novel, Lost Children Archive (Knopf), in which a 10-year-old boy asks his parents what they were like at his age.

When Luiselli is asked what she was like at 10, she laughs, surprised by the question. How many of us retain clear memories of that age beyond our immediate desires and needs?

Luiselli does, noting that 1994 was “a very interesting moment in the world and I was in the middle of historical events and crossfires,” she says. It was the year the North American Free Trade Agreement was signed. In her native Mexico, the Zapatista Army of National Liberation declared war against the Mexican government and a presidential candidate, Luis Donaldo Colosio, was assassinated. Luiselli’s mother joined the Zapatista movement, and her father took her to South Africa, where she witnessed Nelson Mandela’s election as president.

“It was my year of coming of age into the political world,” says Luiselli, who appears March 11 at Carnegie Music Hall in Oakland as a guest of Pittsburgh Arts & Lectures Ten Evenings series. “I began to understand the world politically for the first time at the same time my father and my mother separated.”

Lost Children Archive reflects Luiselli’s ongoing interest in politics and global concerns, but it’s not an overtly political novel. Nor is it typical in any way, as Luiselli takes the timeworn road novel and burnishes it into a gleaming new form. A man and a woman, married with children by former partners, embark on a cross-country trip from New York to the Southwest. The woman hopes to create an audio documentary about migrant children; the man seeks to make a similar type of documentary about the ghosts of Apache Indians.

While most stories rely on concrete images for descriptive color, the author uses the sounds of urban landscapes, travel, wildlife, and conversations.

“It was definitely a challenge,” Luiselli says of her use of sound. “But it was also

PHOTO: ALFREDO PELCASTRE

Valeria Luiselli

PITTSBURGH ARTS & LECTURES TEN EVENINGS PRESENTS VALERIE LUISELLI 7:30 p.m. Mon., March 11. Carnegie Music Hall, 4400 Forbes Ave., Oakland.

412-622-8866 or pittsburghlectures.org

a great mental space to be in terms of where to situate myself in order to create absolute hearing. Whenever I sat down to work, I was immersed in the sounds of it.”

Those sounds are enhanced by what’s missing from the novel. The characters are never named, and there are few, if any, physical descriptions of them. Combine that with the lack of concrete details in Lost Children Archive, and at times the book takes on the feel of a ghost story, the story suggesting elements that may or not be there.

Luiselli compares this book to her first novel, Faces in the Crowd, which “was written from a place of things ending, a sensation of a world that is about to end,” she says. “Which is also true of Lost Children Archive. It’s a novel written with a kind of nostalgia of the present.”

Midway through the novel, the narration switches from the perspective of the woman to the boy. Throughout the first half of the book, he has been taking photos with a Polaroid camera, his first few attempts revealing nothing until he becomes more adept at using the device.

It’s as if the world becomes more in focus as he crosses the country, but Luiselli says it is more a commentary on how the world can be viewed and documented.

“When you have a camera – and I don’t mean on a phone, a different kind of camera – a Leica or any kind of actual camera, as well as when you have a tape recorder or any other kind of recording device, you listen to the world differently,” Luiselli says. “It puts you in a space of more thoughtful, more active observation.”

Follow featured contributor Rege Behe on Twitter @RegeBehe_exPTR

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PGHCITYPAPER.COM

•

BETWEEN THE LINES Poet Ilya Kaminsky lost most of his hearing during childhood when a case of the mumps was misdiagnosed as a cold.

A native of Odessa, Ukraine when it was part of Soviet Union, Kaminsky will read from his latest poetry collection, Deaf Republic, on March 7 at the Carnegie Library Lecture Hall in Oakland. Kaminsky honors include the Milton Center’s Award for Excellence in Writing, the Florence Kahn Memorial Award, and Poetry magazine’s Levinson Prize.

The reading starts at 7 p.m.

412-622-8866 or carnegielibrary.org/event/ poets-aloud-ilya-kaminsky

PHOTO: HEATHER MULL

Jessie Wray Goodman and Ken Bolden in Mumburger

.STAGE.

RARE REQUEST

BY ALEX GORDON // ALEXGORDON@PGHCITYPAPER.COM

C

REMATION IS FOR the forgettable.

If you really want to leave a mark after you’re gone, have your flesh ground into patties and served as hamburgers to the bereaved.

That’s more or less the idea of Mumburger, Sarah Kosar’s surreal, genuine, lovely play getting its American premiere at off the WALL’s Carnegie Theater this month. A mom dies in a car accident and leaves behind a will stipulating that her body be burger-fied and delivered to her widower, Hugh, and daughter, Tiffany, for consumption.

The premise provokes plenty of questions for both the audience and the characters — who did the butchering? Why burgers? Not the least of which is the fact that the family was/is vegan, and the late mother was the fiercest vegan of the three. In the note that accompanies the bag of soggy, thawing meat delivered to Hugh’s apartment, she explains that, in terms of overall carbon footprint, consuming a dead human body is actually the best for the environment. Not sure if that holds up, but the logic that guides Mumburger isn’t exactly a straight line.

As the story unfolds and Hugh (Ken Bolden) and Tiffany (Jessie Wray Goodman) grapple with the oddness of this request, their uneasy dynamic comes into focus. He’s sweet, a little dopey and awkward, entering a “liking too many of daughter’s Facebook posts” phase as the play opens. Tiffany is a talented spokenword artist, which he calls “rapping.”

She’s grown tired of his stilted efforts to

hang out with her, which are genuine and good-intentioned, though it’s clear he knows little-to-nothing about her life.

Does she still have that waitressing job?

Hugh’s not sure.

MUMBURGER

Continues through March 16. off the WALL’s Carnegie Stage, 25 W. Main St., Carnegie. $5-35. insideoffthewall.com

And so they bicker and patter around the set of Hugh’s apartment in London (Kosar is originally from Butler County, and now lives in the U.K., where Mumburger premiered in 2016). It’s not particularly big, but stage manager Heidi Nagle and director Robyn Parrish somehow create considerable space out of it. When the play opens, Tiffany is furiously typing on a laptop under a duvet as Hugh sits on the other side of the room playing with an iPad. It’s a quiet, unassuming visual, but it cleverly telegraphs their troubled dynamic without putting too fine a point on it.

Mumburger is packed with similarly well-crafted details. Without getting too much into the “alternative meat” storyline, what’s left is an intimate, well-acted exploration of grief and family. Everything from the sound design (Shannon Knapp) to the props (Kim Crawford) have a way of grounding this elaborate, strange story in reality, and it works.

You might even forget about that bag of human meat thawing in the fridge.

Follow managing editor Alex Gordon on Twitter @shmalexgordon

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39

CALENDAR MARCH 7-13

PHOTO: LAURA SLOVESKO

^ Fri., March 8: In The Time of the Butterflies

THURSDAY MARCH 7

meant for those who support journalism and are interested in producing it. 11 a.m.

305 Wood St., Downtown. Free and open to the public. facebook.com/PointParkCMI

EVENT

TATTOO

Every so often, a journalist picks up on a major scoop and makes a sundae out of it. The Press Club of Western Pennsylvania and Point Park’s Center for Media Innovation are hosting a panel of local journalists who will answer questions about how they helped produce award-winning podcasts, investigative reports, and more. Panelists include Rick Earle of WPXI-TV, Lauren Silver (formerly of WPXI-TV), Steve Mellon and Ashley Murray of Pittsburgh Post-Gazette, and Julia Fraser of Pittsburgh Quarterly, all 2018 Golden Quill recipients. The event is

40

PGHCITYPAPER.COM

If you’ve ever wanted to get a tattoo or piercing at Station Square’s riverview Sheraton Hotel, you’re in luck. This weekend, the annual Pittsburgh Bleed Black and Gold Tattoo Expo returns for its third year, featuring local talent as well as stars of Paramount Network’s Ink Master and Tattoo Nightmares. Piercings and tattoos are available on-site for those over 18, and the weekend includes pin-up contests and live entertainment.

6 p.m. Continues through Sun., March 10. Sheraton Pittsburgh Hotel at Station Square, 300 W. Station Square

Drive, Station Square. Multiple ticket tiers. Tickets only sold at door. pittsburghtattooexpo.com

MUSIC

Rafiq Bhatia’s music refuses to sit still.

Drawing from Turkish mosque prayer calls, sound collages by Flying Lotus, Jimi Hendrix concert videos, East African archaeological sites, and the death of Trayvon Martin, Bhatia’s music effortlessly blends jazz, rock, acoustic, and electronic with touches of Indian and American musical influences. Traveling with his latest release, Breaking English, Bhatia puts on a live multimedia performance with Ian Chang on drums and Jackson Hill on bass and synthesizers. 8 p.m. The Andy Warhol Museum, 117 Sandusky St., North Side. $15-$20. warhol.org

FRIDAY

MARCH 8 CONFERENCE

Ladies’ day out has reached its peak with the Rising Women Conference 2019.

Created by The Wild Rose Collective, this one-day event celebrates and connects womxn from various industries, ages, and communities for a day of inspirational speeches, performances, and more. This year’s event, held at the Ace Hotel, will feature activists, entrepreneurs, and artists ranging from the Second Lady of Pennsylvania Gisele Fetterman to self-love coach Ta’lor Pinkston. A maker faire will host the works of more than 20 female artisans for sale throughout the afternoon

PHOTO: TODD ROSENBERG

^ Fri., March 8: “The Damnation of Faust”

and evening. 8:30 a.m.-7 p.m. 120 S. Whitfield St., East Liberty. General admission $149. thewildroseco.com/ rising-women-conference

STRIKE

If the last two years have taught America anything, it’s that women are fed up and taking power into their own hands. Just look at the historic number of women elected to Congress. And they are not even close to being finished. In Downtown Pittsburgh, women will take to the streets as part of the International Women’s Strike to combat sexual assault and expand abortion access, Medicare for All, equal pay, and a $15 minimum wage, as well as affordable-housing measures, increasing taxes on the rich, and decriminalizing sex work. Locally, they will focus on alleged abuse violations of women and trans women at the Allegheny County Jail. It’s all about the intersection of feminism and standing up for the 99 percent. 4-6 p.m. 414 Grant St., Downtown. Free. (Facebook search “Pittsburgh International Women’s Strike”)

STAGE

“See you in hell.” Most orchestras would shy away from marketing materials equating two and a half hours of symphonic music with torture. Not Pittsburgh Symphony! It has been broadening its scope in recent years, with edgier shows that attract less traditional audiences. In this case, hell refers to Hector Berlioz’s “The Damnation of Faust,” an epic tale of depression, love, and murder. The rarely-staged performance combines the dramatic score with the Mendelssohn Choir of Pittsburgh and a cast of soloists, conducted

by Manfred Honeck. The only torture ^ Thu., March 7: Rafiq Bhatia PHOTO: ZENITH RICHARDS

involved will be you kicking yourself if you miss this show. 8 p.m. Also 2:30 p.m., Sun., March 10. Heinz Hall, 600 Penn Ave., Downtown. $21-98. pittsburghsymphony.org

STAGE

Celebrate the true story of four courageous sisters fighting a dictator with Prime Stage Theatre’s In The Time of the Butterflies. The play, written by Caridad Svich based on the novel by Julia Alvarez, follows Minerva, Maria, Teresa and Pátria Mirabal (the Butterflies) in their fight against the brutal Dominican Republican president Rafael Trujillo, who was responsible for 20,000-30,000 deaths of his own people. This powerful story has already been memorialized in film, non-fiction, and historical fiction; now experience it in the immediacy of

Pittsburgh’s New Hazlett Theatre. 8 p.m.

Continues through Sun., March 17. 6 Allegheny Square East, North Side. $25, with discounts available. primestage.com

SATURDAY MARCH 9 OPERA

Experience opera on a budget during Pittsburgh Opera’s latest Brown Bag concert. Take a lunch break and enjoy a selection of Italian greats, including a performance of “Bella figlia dell’amore,” the famous quartet from Rigoletto.

Also featured is a preview of Pittsburgh Opera’s upcoming production of Giacomo Puccini’s La bohème, a sweeping story about four impoverished artists in 1830s Paris noted for its timeless combination of comedy, romance, and tragedy. The show will run from March 30-April 7 at the Benedum Center. 11:30 a.m.

2425 Liberty Ave., Strip District. Free. pittsburghopera.org CONTINUES ON PG. 42

PITTSBURGH CITY PAPER MARCH 6-13, 2019

41

CALENDAR, CONTINUED FROM PG. 41

7 DAYS

OF CONCERTS

BY JORDAN SNOWDEN JSNOWDEN@PGHCITYPAPER.COM

PHOTO: EBBA ÅGREN

Summer Heart

THURSDAY ClockworkDJ, Moemaw Naedon, Choo Jackson, DJ ADMC 9 p.m. Spirit Lodge, Lawrenceville. spiritpgh.com

FRIDAY The Blue Stones 6:30 p.m. The Smiling Moose, South Side. smiling-moose.com ^ Sat., March 9: Pittsburgh Opera Brown Bag concert

SATURDAY Summer Heart 8 p.m. Cattivo, Lawrenceville. cattivopgh.com

SUNDAY Conan Neutron & Secret Friends, Night Vapor, Five Foot Arm 8 p.m. Howlers, Bloomfield. howlerspittsburgh.com

MONDAY Ann Hampton Callaway, Amanda McBroom 7 p.m. and 9:30 p.m. Greer Cabaret Theater, Downtown. trustarts.org

TUESDAY Peter Case, Zack Keim 7 p.m. Club Cafe, South Side. clubcafelive.com

WEDNESDAY Jessica Lee, Mark Strickland 7 p.m. City of Asylum, North Side. alphabetcity.org

FULL CONCERT LISTINGS ONLINE

AT PGHCITYPAPER.COM 42

PGHCITYPAPER.COM

FOOD

The Food Truck a Palooza is exactly what it sounds like: an all-day eating extravaganza. Head to the Monroeville Convention Center for this massive festival, featuring more than 30 of Western Pa.’s best food trucks. Of course, it wouldn’t be complete without a contest, so make sure to cast your vote for Pittsburgh’s Choice.

12-5 p.m. 209 Mall Plaza Blvd., Monroeville. $10-15. goodtastepittsburgh.com

MAGIC

Magic is usually all fun and games, but in Justin Willman’s Magic for Humans on Netflix, he uses magic to investigate humanity’s fears, guilt, curiosity, and how it unites us all.

Making spiders appear from phones, pulling stand-up umbrellas out of manila envelopes, guessing someone’s ice cream topping and spitting it out of his mouth — when watching the show, it’s hard to believe that no camera tricks were used. But now fans can see it live when Willman brings his Magic in Real Life tour to Carnegie Library Music Hall. 7 p.m. 510 E. 10th Ave., Homestead. $32. librarymusichall.com

PARTY

On Feb. 27, alt-indie booking collective, Don’t Let the Scene Go Down on Me! turned 12. And on March 1, it just so happens that music blog The Grey Estates turns six. So, the two are throwing a joint

birthday party at The Mr. Roboto Project, and everyone’s invited! Biitchseat is coming up from Ohio to perform, along with local rock/punk bands The Zells and Rue, with Steph from The Lopez DJing in between sets. Presents not required.

7 p.m. 5106 Penn Ave., Bloomfield. $10. therobotoproject.com

Black Cat Market, where adorable, adoptable cats and kitties will be hanging out, looking for a home. A portion of ticket sales from every Cat Video Fest show goes directly to Humane Animal Rescue and Frankie’s Friends. Yay, cats! Times vary. 4115 Butler St., Lawrenceville. $8-$10. rowhousecinema.com

SUNDAY

BOOKS

MARCH 10 FILM

Cats Cats Cats Cats Cats. OK, cat lovers, now that I have your attention, Cat Video Fest is returning to Row House Cinema.

That means 70-80 minutes of the funniest,, cutest, and craziest cat videos, selected from thousands of submissions. The world-traveling festival starts on Sunday with a kickoff, featuring Frankie’s Friends Cat Rescue and

An evil criminal boss named Kalidas is hellbent on acquiring India’s arsenal of nuclear weapons in the hope of delegitimizing its government and plummeting the continent into civil war.

Twin siblings Alex and Jason, one ninja, and an “elite ex commando” are all who stand between Kalidas and his plans for nuclear catastrophe. That’s the pitch for Blood Bath, a new novel from Ray Rao. The writer currently lives in Pittsburgh but went to school at the Armed Forces Medical College in India and has worked as a professor and physician there, as well as in England, Japan and the U.S. Seems like a solid resume to write a novel about international intrigue. Rao discusses Blood Bath at Mystery Lovers Bookshop, where copies are available for purchase. 11 a.m.

Mystery Lovers Bookshop, 514 River Blvd., Oakmont. Free. mysterylovers.com

FUNDRAISER

The annual Empty Bowls dinner returns to Rodef Shalom Congregation to raise awareness of hunger in the Pittsburgh

PHOTO: VINCE VENTURA

^ Sun., March 10: Mythburgh

region. Revolving around a simple meal of bread and soups from local restaurants, the event will benefit Greater Pittsburgh Community Food Bank and Just Harvest, two organizations working to provide food and other services to vulnerable families. It also features artisan pottery for guests to take home, children’s activities, and an auction selling artwork and celebrity-autographed bowls.

1-3:30 p.m. and 4-6 p.m. 4905 Fifth Ave., Oakland. $20/$25 at the door. $10 children 3-12. rodefshalom.org

District One City Council during a meet-and-greet at BJ Event Center.

Presented by Proactive Citizens, an independent organization of progressive District One Democrats, the event features incumbent Darlene Harris, Chris Rosselot, Quincy Kofi Swatson, and Bobby Wilson as they offer their visions for the district, which includes many neighborhoods throughout the North Side. Guests will also have a chance to ask questions and engage with the candidates. 6:30-8:30 p.m.

1439 Woods Run Ave., North Side. Free. facebook.com/proactivecitizens

STORYTELLING

What makes Pittsburgh truly “Pittsburgh?”

Find out from stories at Mythburgh, a live theatre tale-telling at Brillobox.

Playwrights adapt real stories from real Pittsburghers into plays and online content.

It’s bound to showcase the weird, creepy, epic, and uniquely-’Burgh experiences that connect us all. 2 p.m. Brillobox, 4104 Penn Ave., Garfield. $5. 12peers.org

TUESDAY MARCH 12 TOWNHALL

SUNDAY

MARCH 10 FILM

Roberta Grossman and Nancy Spielberg’s film Who Will Write Our History follows a group of people fighting the Nazis in Poland in 1940. But instead of guns and bullet powder, this collection of journalists, scholars, and citizens uses writing and education to take aim at the Nazis’ insidious propaganda machine. The film, screening one time at Southside Works Cinema, mixes archival footage, dramatic reenactments, and interviews, and features voice acting from Adrien Brody and Joan Allen. 7:30 p.m. 425 Cinema Drive, South Side. $12. filmpittsburgh.org

^ Sun., March 10: Miss Steel City Comedy Queen

COMEDY/DRAG

There Ultra Lounge searches for the funniest and most fabulous drag performer in Pittsburgh during its Miss Steel City Comedy Queen pageant. During this event, one contestant will win the opportunity to represent Pittsburgh at the National Miss Comedy Queen Pageant in Orlando, Florida. But first, they have to strut their stuff during an interview, talent show, an outrageous evening gown portion, and more. Potential contestants should enter early to take advantage of the special $50 entrance

fee. Email Nicholas James Robert Rohr (mr.james.robert.rohr@gmail.com) or National Miss Comedy Queen 2018 Dixie Surewood (dixiesurewood@gmail.com) for more information. 9 p.m. 931 Liberty Ave., Downtown. facebook.com/THEREUltra

MONDAY MARCH 11 POLITICS

Get to know the candidates running in the upcoming Democratic primary for

Pittsburgh has a serious shortage of affordable housing — the city’s rapidly changing East End in particular.

Pittsburgh District Judge Mik Pappas will moderate this community forum at the Bloomfield-Garfield Community Center in collaboration with Pennsylvanians for Modern Courts. They plan to provide the East End community the chance to share their perspectives on the local housing market and hear from attorneys, stakeholders, and other experts. Topics to be discussed include legal issues that come up in Landlord-Tenant cases, housingrelated initiatives underway at the state and local level, and how landlords can be incentivized to participate in affordable-housing programs. 6 p.m.

113 North Pacific Ave., Bloomfield. Free and open to the public. Free childcare available. facebook.com/CourtReform •

PITTSBURGH CITY PAPER MARCH 6-13, 2019

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PITTSBURGH CITY PAPER

CLASSIFIEDS FOR INFORMATION ON HOW TO PLACE A CLASSIFIEDS ADVERTISEMENT, CALL 412-316-3342 HELP WANTED

NAME CHANGE

NAME CHANGE

WANTED! 36 PEOPLE

IN The Court of Common Pleas of Allegheny County, Pennsylvania: No. GD-19-90, In re petition of Rupinder Singh parent and legal guardian of Rupinder Singh, Baljit Kaur, Prabjodh Singh, and Nishan Singh for change of name to Rupinder Singh Bhangal, Baljit Kaur Bhangal, Prabjodh Singh Bhangal, and Nishan Singh Bhangal. To all persons interested: Notice is hereby given that an order of said Court authorized the ďŹ ling of said petition and ďŹ xed the 29th day of March, 2019, at 9:45 a.m., as the time and the Motions Room, City-County Building, Pittsburgh, PA, as the place for a hearing, when and where all persons may show cause, if any they have, why said name should not be changed as prayed for

IN The Court of Common Pleas of Allegheny County, Pennsylvania: No. GD-19-2762, In re petition of Jennifer Knupfer & Colin Zack parent and legal guardian of Carter William Knupfer for change of name to Carter William Zack.To all persons interested: Notice is hereby given that an order of said Court authorized the ďŹ ling of said petition and ďŹ xed the 26th day of March, 2019, at 9:45 a.m., as the time and the Motions Room, City-County Building, Pittsburgh, PA, as the place for a hearing, when and where all persons may show cause, if any they have, why said name should not be changed as prayed for

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OFFICIAL ADVERTISEMENT

THE BOARD OF PUBLIC EDUCATION OF THE SCHOOL DISTRICT OF PITTSBURGH Sealed proposals shall be deposited at the Administration Building, Room 251, 341 South Bellefield Avenue, Pittsburgh, Pa., 15213, on March 19, 2019, until 2:00 P.M., local prevailing time for: PGH. ALLDERDICE HIGH SCHOOL

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We are an equal rights and opportunity school district.

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WICKED GAME

BY BRENDAN EMMETT QUIGLEY // WWW.BRENDANEMMETTQUIGLEY.COM

ACROSS

1. “Let’s Put Smart To Work” sloganeer 4. Barbecue leftovers 9. 7” measurements 13. Piece of shit 14. Hwy. through the Twin Cities 15. Carrier with the frequent flier program Matmid 16. Option : Mac :: ___ : PC 17. Defend Erykah on the court with two players?

19. “You’re a card” 21. ___ diavolo sauce 22. Static cling generating machine 23. Forbidden dance done by first-year law students?

26. Stat for a clean-up hitter 27. Inspector in Elizabeth George mysteries 31. The S of “iOS” 33. Deal with a fly 37. “First ___ harm” 38. Consciously accept unplesantries, and an alternate title for this puzzle 41. Ten C’s 42. Cream of the crop 43. Kin of equi44. Reacts to a depressor 46. Refund issuer

48. “Arabian Nights” hero’s levies?

54. Tribal head 57. Rock producer who self-describes himself as a “non-musician” 58. Puzzle maker Birnholz 59. Youngster in the New Mexico caverns?

62. “Trial of the Century” judge 63. Locket shape 64. Cartoon character who’s a member of the Space Cub Troop 65. Promising letters?

66. Racketeer’s break them 67. V travelers 68. CD accrual

11. Created 12. Talk drunkenly 18. Swirling water 20. Priest’s vestment 24. “Double Dare” host Koshy 25. Omega opposite 28. French king nicknamed “the Desired” 29. RSVP cards, e.g.

30. Strawberry Fields benefactor Ono 31. Locks into place 32. Jewish males’ grp.

34. Corporate raider Carl 35. Lab in the basement?

36. Western native 39. Quarterback Wilson and point

guard Westbrook 40. Give off 45. Opens up a window, say 47. “Insecure” star Issa 49. “If ___ Street Could Talk” 50. Conductor Previn 51. Martial arts studios 52. Use, as paper plates 53. Tapir prominence 54. Invasive species subj.

55. Hot rock 56. Neither win nor lose 60. Seek help 61. Pastrami bread LAST WEEK’S ANSWERS

DOWN

1. It borders Canada for only 45 miles 2. Marc of T. Rex 3. Child with clinging issues 4. Ben Carson’s agcy.

5. 1-Down’s home, briefly 6. ___ und Drang 7. Sticky lunch?

8. TV show Cypress Hill and Rage Against The Machine are banned from for life 9. Gives a new name and logo, say 10. Recess activity

PITTSBURGH CITY PAPER MARCH 6-13, 2019

45

PEEPSHOW A sex and social justice column

BY JESSIE SAGE // PEEPSHOWCAST@GMAIL.COM

T

HERE WERE NO curb ramps in

Clark Matthews’ neighborhood outside Harrisburg when he was growing up. Because he uses a wheelchair, this severely limited his mobility, restricting his access and in some cases, forcing him into unsafe situations. The day the curb cuts were installed in his community, his life changed drastically.

“I could now seamlessly integrate into society,” says Matthews, adding that “growing up with a disability gave me a keen appreciation for the difference that accessibility makes.”

After going to film school, becoming active in disability rights, and organizing with groups such as ADAPT, Matthews became particularly moved to marry his interests, by focusing on accessible media.

GLAAD has reported 20 percent of the population have a disability, yet only 2 percent of the characters on television are disabled.

“The more media I absorbed, the more I started to wonder, ‘Whose stories do we tell, and who gets to tell these stories?’” says Matthews.

What Matthews didn’t anticipate is that his quest to create accessible media would lead him to make a porn film.

When fellow activist and classically trained dancer Mia Gimp came to him and proposed disability porn, his first response was, “I have no experience, and we have no money.” But Gimp was

A still from Krutch

insistent, and the more the two talked about the noticeable lack of authentic representations of disabled women in pornography, the more they wanted to do it. Together, they created the award-winning short Krutch.

Putting a visibly disabled woman on screen, and, moreover, having Gimp star in a film that centers her own sexuality and pleasure opens up broader representations. But the issue of accessibility proved wider reaching than Matthews’ original question of “Whose stories do we tell?” As the short started to pick up attention on the porn festival circuit (where I first encountered and fell in love with the film), another question of accessibility

arose: “Who gets to hear and see these stories?” Deaf and blind people were being excluded, so they decided to caption and transcribe the film.

Captioning for the deaf and audio narration for the blind are becoming more common in mainstream media.

Doing this in porn, however, presents its own set of challenges. Tobi Hill-Meyer, director of Doing it Ourselves: The Trans Women Porn Project, says that in porn, there are a lot of verbalizations that are more than just words. She says, “Sure you could just write ‘[moans continue]’ but it becomes an art in itself to caption the distinctions between all of the ‘oohs’ and ‘aahs,’ and things like ‘oh god, OH GOD, OH G—Aaaawd.’”

Erin DeWard, a voice actor and audiobook narrator, wrote and performed the audio narration for Krutch. “Audio narration is an interesting art form for an actor,” says DeWard. “You need to match your vocal quality and your pacing to the media so that you become part of it.”

This is never truer than when working with erotic content. She says, “This was [Matthews and Gimp’s] movie, I wanted to match their rhythm and tone. The movie is clearly an orgasm. It has to have that urgency as the sexual tension builds. It has to have the resolving at the end.”

While tricky, providing captioning and narration for porn is of profound political importance.

“Our puritanical American society tends to desexualize, infantilize, and otherize folks with disabilities,” says DeWard.

Making porn accessible is a way of taking the sexuality of disabled folks seriously.

“If we know how to make things accessible to most people, that should be the default,” says Matthews. While there are no laws stating that films, particularly porn, need to be accessible, Matthews points out, “Being ADA compliant only sets the legal minimum where you aren’t technically violating someone’s civil liberties. As artists, we should aim higher.”

•

JESSIE SAGE IS CO-HOST OF THE PEEPSHOW PODCAST AT PEEPSHOWPODCAST.COM. HER COLUMN PEEPSHOW IS EXCLUSIVE TO PITTSBURGH CITY PAPER. FOLLOW HER ON TWITTER @PEEP_CAST. HAVE A SEX QUESTION YOU’RE TOO AFRAID TO ASK YOUR FRIENDS? ASK JESSIE! EMAIL INFO@PGHCITYPAPER.COM. QUESTIONS MAY BE CONSIDERED FOR AN UPCOMING COLUMN.

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