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FIRSTSHOT BY ALEX GORDON

Happy Pride, Pittsburgh! Want to win one of the Pride T-shirts shown on this week’s cover? Find our booth at Three Rivers Arts Festival this Sat., June 8 and say, “Happy Pride!” First come, first served. Sizes range up to 3XL. 4

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JUNE 5 -12, 2019 VOLUME 28 + ISSUE 23 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 Designers JOSIE NORTON, JEFF SCHRECKENGOST Events and Sponsorship Manager BLAKE LEWIS Sales Representatives KAITLIN OLIVER, NICK PAGANO Office Coordinator MAGGIE WEAVER Events and Marketing Coordinator BRYER BLUMENSCHEIN 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 SARAH CONNOR, JARED MURPHY, EMILY WOLFE 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. FIRST CLASS MAIL SUBSCRIPTIONS: Available for $175 per year, $95 per half year. No refunds.

COVER PHOTO: JARED WICKERHAM PRIDE T-SHIRT: DESIGNED BY ETNA PRINT CIRCUS SEE STORY ON PAGE 40 MODEL: BRITTNEY CHANTELE, PERFORMING AT PEOPLE’S PRIDE // SISTERSPGH.ORG/PEOPLES-PRIDE

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CP PHOTOS: JARED WICKERHAM

Ciora Thomas, founder and executive director of SisTers PGH

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THE PRIDE ISSUE

SOUL SISTERS BY LISSA BRENNAN // CPCONTRIBUTORS@PGHCITYPAPER.COM

ROM OUTSIDE, the SisTers

PGH community center in Squirrel Hill appears fairly mundane: a typical storefront ofﬁce ﬂanked by a beauty salon and a tiny bridge. Looking through the large window, a table piled high with box lunches is visible. But while they appear normal enough, the lunches serve an important purpose — they’re for anyone who stops in and needs to eat. And while from the sidewalk this building seems commonplace, from the inside, what happens here — and the woman who makes it happen, is exemplary.

centering of trans people and establishing environments that are not only safe and welcoming, but dedicated. “We need a place where we can be us, where our tones aren’t policed, and we can sit within community,” Thomas says from a small desk covered with Post-its, laptops, notes, and work. This location is a beginning, in terms of brick and mortar. But while the street front is new — the center’s grand opening was held at the end of March of this year, the organization has been extant for eight years. Thomas says she was inspired to open SisTers PGH because of her own

selling our bodies to these old white men and not even making enough money to do anything?” So, she took action. She went to rehab, got clean, and began a plan to create support and resources for other trans women. Eight years later, she’s sitting in an ofﬁce where food is plenty, waiting for people in need to come inside and be fed. She also offers clothing, a rest, a place to escape. THOMAS’ JOURNEY includes numerous

side trips that helped her learn how to navigate the structures of LGBTQ activism in Pittsburgh. Following her

“WE NEED A PLACE WHERE WE CAN BE US, WHERE OUR TONES AREN’T POLICED, AND WE CAN SIT WITHIN COMMUNITY.” SisTers PGH is the brainchild of Ciora Thomas: activist, trailblazer, former sex worker, and trans woman on a mission to create safe and welcoming spaces for fellow trans people and fellow people of color, in a city where she herself has often felt unsafe and unwelcome. The organization focuses on advocacy, housing, and visibility, along with the

experiences. As a sex worker without a home, she used to sometimes sleep at Point State Park, alongside other women in similar circumstances. As brief as these rests were, one time she slept for too long and was robbed. “I could have damn well whooped asses, but I sat there and cried,” says Thomas. “Why the fuck do we have to keep going through this? Why are we out here

time in rehab, Thomas worked on a public access television show addressing the Black trans narrative in Pittsburgh. But she says that experience still had many issues. “I found myself being tokenized to the extreme within organizations who would try to get me to go everywhere for free, do everything for free,” says Thomas. “After a while, it started to CONTINUES ON PG. 8

PITTSBURGH CITY PAPER JUNE 5-12, 2019

SOUL SISTERS, CONTINUED FROM PG. 7

Ciora Thomas inside SisTers PGH’s new community center

wear on me because I was doing work for them instead of doing work for me and my community.” As she began to assert what was needed rather than accept what was parceled, she says she received criticism for being difﬁcult to work with. She began to pull away from outside institutions and back into herself. “I started to really home in on my Blackness,” she says. “It was one thing for me to be learning this identity of trans; learning the identity of being a Black woman was yet another experience.” This exploration brought not only an enriched understanding of self, but the ability to move forward from a stance grounded by roots. “It turned me into this person who knew where I lived, knew the law of the land, knew the people in Pittsburgh and how it functioned.” The person she became was one who felt more empowered to strike out on her own, building an organization with a strong focus on intersectionality and a mission to be wholly inclusive and adhere to its principles. Thomas also believes that being present in other community organizations is important, to support efforts and causes.

PGHCITYPAPER.COM

Only open for a few months, SisTers PGH’s community center is still evolving. The next objective is to purchase a house to provide a more reliable source of shelter. More immediate is this weekend’s People’s Pride, ﬁrst founded by SisTers PGH in 2017 after seeing a need for a more inclusionary festival and march in the city.

SISTERS PGH sisterspgh.org

The City of Pittsburgh has also ofﬁcially declared Sun., June 9 as the “3rd Annual People’s Pride Day.” Mayor Bill Peduto’s proclamation reads, “SisTers PGH brings thousands of people together from multiple intersections, including local nonproﬁts, unions, schools, allies, and visitors to celebrate the importance of our trans POC forebears.” Thomas celebrates her recent successes, but doesn’t forget the journey it took to get here. A little less than a decade ago, she was writing it all down in notebooks while in rehab. “I still got one of my old notebooks,” she says. “If I get stuck on something, I go back to it, and I’m OK.”

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PITTSBURGH CITY PAPER JUNE 5-12, 2019

CP PHOTO: JARED WICKERHAM

Richard Parsakian at the public art installation on Ellsworth in Shadyside

.NEWS.

CROSSROADS The story behind Shadyside’s new LGBTQ Pride public art intersection BY RYAN DETO // RYANDETO@PGHCITYPAPER.COM

HE CORNER OF ELLSWORTH and

Maryland Avenues has more significance than meets the eye. In the mid-1990s, when LGBTQ Pride marches in Pittsburgh were small and grassroots, Richard Parsakian and others in the community held a homemade rainbow flag over that intersection. Most of the early Pride marchers in Pittsburgh passed through the Ellsworth corridor, and the area was, and still is to some extent, home to a cluster of LGBTQ-owned businesses, like Parsakian’s Eons Fashion Antique and the bar 5801, as well as other LGBTQfriendly places like Harris Grill. In 2015, after the U.S. Supreme Court ruled that all states must accept same-sex marriage licenses, people flooded into the intersection at Ellsworth and Maryland to celebrate.

Parsakian says the intersection has become like a Freedom Corner for Pittsburgh’s LGBTQ community, referencing the Hill District location that was seminal in Pittsburgh’s fight for civil rights. “I hoisted the flags over the marchers at that intersection. This is sort of like our gayborhood,” says Parsakian. And now the corner has been memorialized with a recently installed public art project to mark its significance. The intersection is filled with a collage of colors and shapes to represent every group of the LGBTQ community and to signify to visitors and Pittsburghers alike the role the area played in the fight for equal rights. “The public art, it is sort of a small thing, but it is the city recognizing that we are a big part of the Pittsburgh community,” says Parsakian. “In terms of

public art, there is no other place in the city that acknowledges the history and struggle of our community.” It all started with a bit of guerrilla art in 2017. That year, two crosswalks at Ellsworth and Maryland were painted with rainbow stripes in honor of Pride. But, according to Pittsburgh City Councilor Erika Strassburger, that paint wasn’t approved by anyone in city government. Even so, the community seemed to embrace it, and the rainbow crosswalks were allowed to stay. Two years later, the paint started to fade, and the Ellsworth corridor community, along with Strassburger, thought it was a good idea to do something more permanent to honor the LGBTQ community. Working with the city’s Public Art Commission, a request for proposals was put out to ﬁnd an artist. Leonardo

Moleiro, a Venezuelan artist who now lives in Los Angeles, was chosen. He created an installation in his classic cubism style to honor the LGBTQ community and commemorate the 1969 Stonewall protests, a series of demonstrations in New York City that are widely considered some of the most important events in the modern LGBTQ rights movement. The result of the public art project is a circular shape that sits in the center of the intersection. That circle is comprised of about two dozen shapes of different colors. The colors pay homage not just to the rainbow flag, but also the transgender flag, and include a nod to people of color within the LGBTQ community, says Moleiro. He says the circle design inside the square was “important to the energy flow” and acts as a way to have the design stand out and draw eyes to the CONTINUES ON PG. 12

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See and hear her art.

SOUND FOR ANDY WARHOL’S KISS LIMITED EDITION LP NOW AVAILABLE In conjunction with the exhibition, a commissioned score, Sound for Andy Warhol’s Kiss, is a limited-edition vinyl double LP. Recorded live in The Warhol theater, the LP features Kim Gordon, Bill Nace, Steve Gunn and John Truscinski. Available at The Warhol Store or via store@warhol.org. Kim Gordon: Lo-Fi Glamour is generously supported by Alexa and Adam Wolman The Andy Warhol Museum receives state arts funding support through a grant from the Pennsylvania Council on the Arts, a state agency funded by the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania; the National Endowment for the Arts, a federal agency and The Heinz Endowments. Further support is provided by the Allegheny Regional Asset District.

Kim Gordon, #ThisisIllegal (detail), 2017, Courtesy of the artist and 303 Gallery, New York

PITTSBURGH CITY PAPER JUNE 5-12, 2019

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prideful colors. “I want to show harmony and balance,” says Moleiro. “With the LGBTQ community, we have to work together to achieve rights for everybody.” But some Pittsburgh artists are perturbed that an LGBTQ artist wasn’t selected for the installation. Julie Mallis and Ginger Brooks Takahashi, both LGBTQ artists, submitted proposals to the city’s Request For Proposal (RFP) process. Mallis says the art commission missed an opportunity. “Let’s not forget the intention of the mural is to acknowledge and celebrate 50 years since the Stonewall Riots,” says Mallis. “The least we can do is make sure the money set forth from District 8 is going back to someone in the LGBTQIA+ community when our rights are constantly attacked and our access to housing, jobs, and healthcare is restricted.” The RFP was publicized in a TribLive article on March 6 and shared on many official Pittsburgh social media accounts, including Pittsburgh City Council District 8, Mayor Bill Peduto, and Peduto’s chief of staff Dan Gilman. Artists looking to submit proposals had four weeks to do so, from March 4 through March 29. Daniel Tobin of the city’s Office of Management and Budget says “all proposals are reviewed and scored by committee based on the criteria that is listed in the specific solicitation.” The committee was made up of representatives from various Pittsburgh city

departments and from Strassburger’s office. Pittsburgh City Paper asked who specifically submitted bids for the installation process, but Tobin said that information could only be revealed through a Right-To-Know request. Strassburger says it would have been ideal for the installation to be completed by a local LGBTQ artist, but there were many limitations that made that harder to achieve, noting the timing of the project to be completed in time for Pride. “They had to get the timing done quickly, and there were a lot of technical requirements for artists, and the expertise of the artists weighed heavily,” says Strassburger. “They had to have the expertise to paint it in a quick time, and experience with the type of paint used.” Strassburger says she is glad the public art marks the area’s importance to Pittsburgh’s LGBTQ community. Eventually, she says a small plaque will also explain to passersby the significance of the art and the neighborhood. But, she says, it serves many functions. The art also acts as a traffic-calming device, so drivers slow down when they are passing through the corridor. Strassburger hopes the installation will also serve as a place-making attraction for the business district, one that will send a welcoming message. “You look back 20 years ago in Pittsburgh, and Walnut and Ellsworth were some of the few night time economies in the city,” says Strassburger. “Now there is a lot more competition. There is Butler

Street and there is the North Shore. Shadyside needs to step up its game.” To Parsakian, this public art recognition means a lot. He is 70 years old and says he has “gone through a lot” in terms of Pittburgh’s changing attitudes and policies toward LGBTQ people. He is very happy this will be a permanent marker on Ellsworth. On June 28, the 50th anniversary of the Stonewall Riots, an unveiling event will be held at the intersection of Ellsworth and Maryland. Parsakian says it will include a DJ and a drag queen performance. The public art will also be covered with one of the ﬂags that used to hang over the intersection during the early Pittsburgh Pride marches. Parsakian feels fortunate that Pittsburgh city government has been so supportive of LGBTQ rights, even as many other municipalities in Pennsylvania lack LGBTQ non-discrimination protections based on sexual orientation and gender identity. Parsakian hopes the event will act as a reminder of how far the community has come and he hopes the permanent public art will be an inspiration on how far the LGBTQ community still has to go to secure equal rights. “The ﬂag will return after 25 years,” says Parsakian. “A lot of people might not know who we lost over the years. It was gay men, it was lesbians, it was trans people of color, it was all of us, it wasn’t just one group. It is very important to hear that history.”

Follow senior writer Ryan Deto on Twitter @RyanDeto

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BY ALEX GORDON // ALEXGORDON@PGHCITYPAPER.COM

ITTSBURGH QUEER History Project

has a great website. The items in its archive, ranging from drag posters to t-shirts from 30 years of queer culture in Pittsburgh, are meticulously organized and easy to engage with. But it’s missing something. There are certain aspects of the materials that get lost when viewed on a screen — the smell and crunch of old paper, the woozy look of 30-year-old videotape. To really connect with the power of the project, you need to go analog. Earlier this month, the project’s founder, Harrison Apple, did just that with the release of a new print magazine called PQHP Magazine. It highlights items from the archives, but goes far beyond that. There’s a page dedicated to videos of drag performances, organized like coupons in a Pennysaver, which can be activated and viewed on your phone through a QR code. There’s an architectural rendering of the defunct Downtown gay bar Pegasus, complete with paper dolls that can be cut out and used to act out a “Pegasus fantasy.” There’s also a coloring book. Apple wanted the magazine to be something readers would “play with without having to be burdened by the archival environment.” “The magazine — and I think this stands for what we think about the

project in general — it’s about pleasure and tactility,” says Apple. PQHP was founded by Apple in 2012 while they were a student at Carnegie Mellon University, as “an oral history and media archive, focusing on LGBT nightlife in Pittsburgh, PA from 1960 to 1990.” The idea came when Apple was helping a friend clean up the space at 6119 Penn Avenue in preparation for its reopening by VIA. They discovered a treasure trove of items left behind from the space’s past life as an afterhours queer bar. This led them to dig into Pittsburgh’s queer history and search for more materials, which was difﬁcult since so many of the stories took place in underground, off the grid clubs (Apple points out that there was a state police raid of an East Liberty gay bar as recently as 1988).

PQHP AT PEOPLE’S PRIDE 7 p.m. Fri., June 7. 5120 Penn Ave., Bloomfield. pittsburghqueerhistory.com

Their collection was shown at Future Tenant Gallery in 2014 with the exhibit Lucky After Dark, named for gay club owner Robert “Lucky” Johns. The exhibit was only up for a month, but Apple — along with PQHP co-director and CMU professor Tim Haggerty, and archivist Dani Stutchel — kept the

project going. The website was launched both as an archive of its collections and as a resource for people who wanted to submit items of their own. As of this month, Apple estimates that they’ve “received, collected, and created tens of thousands of items both physical and digital over the past six years.” In addition to the website, PQHP published a print catalogue for Lucky After Dark to keep the collection accessible after its closing. So when the Greater Pittsburgh Arts Council pitched them a new print magazine for PQHP in fall of 2018, Apple had the experience, skills, and motivation to make a version of the project that could be held in two hands. Or cut up. Or colored in. “It should be something that you’re not too precious with, which is why you cut it up to make paper dolls or color in it, or take out one piece and throw the rest, or use it for a litter box,” says Apple. “I don’t care. The point is that you pick it up and maybe those videos get to do something again.” As of May 28, there were 150 requests and 200 copies had been mailed all over the country. You can request one through a Google form linked on PQHP’s Facebook page, or see some of the collection in person during People’s Pride. You can also request to submit your own items at pittsburghqueerhistory.com.

Follow managing editor Alex Gordon on Twitter @shmalexgordon

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PITTSBURGH CITY PAPER JUNE 5-12, 2019

.GABBY NORMAL.

IT’S OK TO BE GAY! BY GAB BONESSO CPCONTRIBUTORS@PGHCITYPAPER.COM

ALLING ALL allies and future allies!

In my work as a speaker over the past school year advocating pro-kindness, anti-bullying, and mental health awareness across the country, the question that was most asked during and after my assembly program was, “Is it OK to be gay?” I was asked this question in city schools, rural schools, suburban schools, and Catholic schools. I was asked this by kids in elementary schools, middle schools, and high schools. Each time a different student asked this same question, my heart would break. I would quickly conﬁrm it is OK to be gay, but then I would immediately worry that these kids are asking this question because there is no one else in their lives telling them

PHOTO: JOSH VERBANTES

Gab Bonesso

the same thing. LGBTQ youth are more likely to contemplate suicide — almost three times more than heterosexual youth — and are almost ﬁve times more likely to have attempted suicide, according to a 2016 report by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

A startling 40 percent of trans adults reported having attempted suicide, with 92 percent of those surveyed having attempted doing so before the age of 25, according to The Report of the 2015 U.S. Transgender Survey. I mention these devastating statistics because kids who feel this hopeless are

not being told that it’s OK to be gay. Kids who don’t think it’s worth living to see 13 years old are not being told that it’s OK to be gay. You might be reading this right now thinking, “I don’t know any gay kids.” Really? I didn’t know any either until they felt safe to come out of the closet. My best friend in high school came out the summer going into our senior year. He knew he could safely come out to me because I was super open about having a gay brother. He knew it would be OK. I’m writing this column for those of you who have a closeted LGBTQ kid in your family. You might not think it’s OK to be gay right now, but I need you to consider the alternative: A world where your LGBTQ family member felt that it was safer to end their own life than to disappoint you with their true self. Considering that alternative, isn’t it OK to be gay? Isn’t alive and gay better than OK? This month, whether or not you fall under the umbrella of LGBTQ, please celebrate Pride and let everyone in your life know that you think that it is not just OK to be gay, it’s fabulous.

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Follow featured contributor Gab Bonesso on Twitter @gabbonesso

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PUT A PIN IN IT BY AMANDA WALTZ AWALTZ@PGHCITYPAPER.COM

CAME OUT to my mom as pansexual here at a Lady Gaga concert surrounded by rainbows and queens. i told him i might be bi and he sneered. he slowly treated me worse after that. Lesbian Avengers unfurled a ginormous “Dykes Rule” banner from the Cathedral of Learning on National Coming Out Day, c. 1995 These are a few of the Pittsburghcentric stories found on Queering the Map, an interactive online project that allows users to anonymously highlight places where they experienced moments significant to their lives as LGBTQ people. While each pin is different, they all contribute to visualizing the LGBTQ experience around the world. Launched in May 2017 by Montrealbased college student, multidisciplinary designer, and web developer, Lucas LaRochelle – who identifies as queer/ non-binary – Queering the Map has quickly grown from collecting stories in its founder’s native country to being used by LGBTQ people from all over, including in Southwestern Pennsylvania. LaRochelle says the site has received around 67,000 stories in 23 different languages (36,000 are currently live on the map, while over 30,000 are pending approval). LaRochelle sees the site as fulfilling multiple roles by documenting the

Queering the Map screenshot

LGBTQ experience, which they say is “often erased from both the built environment, as well as in institutional archives”; redefining queer spaces beyond places of consumption, like bathhouses, bookstores, and bars; and capturing the full spectrum of LGBTQ life. “Queer life is as exciting as it is terrible as it is boring,” says LaRochelle, adding that the anonymity of Queering the Map encourages the LGBTQ community “to tell our stories in a way that feels meaningful for us.” In Pittsburgh specifically, there are stories about coming out, first times, sexual encounters, and relationships, varying in length from one sentence to multiple paragraphs (LaRochelle says there’s no word count limit, but submissions tend to be short). There are also accounts of experiences, either hostile or friendly, at places of worship

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or schools. Some lament the loss or celebrate the existence of LGBTQ businesses in the city. LaRochelle believes Queering the Map can also help LGBTQ people, especially ones who are isolated or living in fear, feel less alone, and to “resist the narrative that the only space in which queer people exist are in urban centers.” This hits close to home for LaRochelle, who recounts the feeling of seeing a pin in the rural Ontario town where they grew up. “For most of my life … I didn’t know any other openly queer people, and so to see that location, it was an extremely emotional moment,” says LaRochelle. “It was this sort of solidarity, where even though I don’t know that person, I know that they exist and I feel held by their presence.” While the biggest clusters in the region

center around Pittsburgh, dotted throughout are pins in less populated parts of Southwestern Pennsylvania in towns like Greensburg, Sarver, and Ford City. But the path to giving LGBTQ people a geo-centered voice hasn’t exactly been smooth. In February 2018, Queering the Map went dark after spammers attacked the site with a bot that generated pop-ups and pins in support of President Donald Trump. With the help of what LaRochelle calls the “queer coder” community, the site returned in April with a moderator panel to screen for content that contains hate speech, spam, or unsafe material (such as a person’s phone number or address), as well as better safeguards for users’ privacy and security. But with the improvements comes the new challenge of moderating stories in an efﬁcient, timely manner. LaRochelle says they need additional funding and support to create a system able to comb through and approve the “enormous backlog” of stories they received over the past four months alone. LaRochelle says they also weren’t prepared for the amount of emotional labor that comes with managing the site, as many stories detail the trauma or shame many LGBTQ users have experienced. Even so, they plan on making the site more accessible by improving its mobile interface and translating its description outside of English, which, LaRochelle says, would also “disrupt the narrative that queerness is a Western phenomenon.” “I very much see my role now as facilitator of the project, and ﬁguring out how to make it sustainable into the future because of the way in which people are responding to it,” says LaRochelle.

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CATTIVO BY MAGGIE WEAVER MWEAVER@PGHCITYPAPER.COM

ATTIVO HAS BEEN a ﬁxture in

Lawrenceville for 25 years. The bar, which sits camouflaged among rows of houses, is one of the neighborhood’s most beloved and longstanding spots. On weeknights, the dimly-lit space is low-key, a few patrons flitting in and out to play pool or drink beer. When the venue hosts a live show, the two-floor venue opens the basement and explodes with fans. Dance nights celebrate the greats — Beyoncé, Kesha, Lady Gaga — and are unrivaled in the city. This month, the concert venue, dance hall, and bar will celebrate its 26th year, and even after all that time, there’s nothing else like it in the city. On its website, Cattivo states, “We have always fostered an atmosphere that is inclusive, friendly, and diverse.” It’s almost impossible to feel out of place at Cattivo. You can hide in a corner and smoke a cigarette, yell answers to Jeopardy! across the bar, or read a book. Cattivo is committed to their community, whatever that may bring. The first time I visited Cattivo, I spent the majority of my night on the dance floor, busting out my best moves to Beyoncé. This time around, I took a different approach. On a slow Wednesday night, I settled in at the U-shaped bar for a drink and to see what the menu had to offer. Five other patrons were sprinkled around the space (two in a very intense match of pinball), and the local news blared from TVs above. The space reminds me of the bars in bowling alleys — just on the edge of divey with a little bit of nostalgia mixed in. The menu covers all the bar food basics. There’s a long list of assorted fried foods, pizza, and hoagies. It’s spot-on drinking food.

CP PHOTO: JARED MURPHY

Chicken hoagie and a cheese pizza at Cattivo

CATTIVO 146 44th St., Lawrenceville. 412-687-2157 or cattivopgh.com

I started with fried pickles, Cattivo bread bites, and — at the recommendation of CP senior writer Amanda Waltz — provolone sticks, before jumping into a pizza.

The food was nothing fancy or outof-the-box. It was well done, bar bites ﬁt to satisfy cravings. The provolone sticks were crispy and warm, my huge dill pickle spears matched perfectly with a creamy sauce, and the namesake bread bites were little puffs of fried heaven. Cattivo’s pizza, however, took me by surprise. I’d heard whispers that the tucked-away bar served up some

FAVORITE FEATURES: Beef Jerky

U-Shaped Bar

Gold Mine

Need a snack, but don’t feel like waiting? Buy a beef jerky stick from one of Cattivo’s many jars behind the bar.

U-shaped bars are brilliant. It fakes intimacy because you can’t see the people across from you or even the bartender sometimes.

This is one of my favorite “arcade games.” Throwing quarters into a machine to see if mine will push the other ones out will never get old.

of Pittsburgh’s best, but I didn’t believe it until that ﬁrst bite. I ordered a white pizza, a crust covered in basil, garlic, mozzarella, tomatoes, and olive oil. It was perfectly crispy on the bottom, the ballooned outer crust deliciously doughy. A dusting of parmesan from a pizza-shop shaker gave the slices a salty bite. When I walked into Cattivo, I was greeted by three things: a cigarette vending machine, a neon pizza sign, and a paper ﬂyer advertising farm fresh eggs. It was an odd trio, but captured the heart of bar; there was a touch of old Pittsburgh and the up-and-comers of Lawrenceville. Cattivo is a mix of long-standing ‘Burgh traditions, but at the same time, proudly acknowledges “renewed vibrancy” that surrounds them.

•

Follow staff writer Maggie Weaver on Twitter @magweav

PGHCITYPAPER.COM

Thai & Burmese Specialties!

DINING OUT

CP PHOTO: JARED WICKERHAM

SPONSORED LISTINGS FROM CITY PAPER ’S FINE ADVERTISERS

THIS WEEK’S FEATURED RESTAURANT

LEON’S CARIBBEAN 823 E WARRINGTON AVE., ALLENTOWN / 412-431-5366 LEONSCARIBBEAN.COM

Pad Thai

Noodle

4770 Liberty Ave 412.904.1640

padthainoodlepittsburgh.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.

BAJA BAR & GRILL

COLONY CAFE

PAD THAI NOODLE

1366 OLD FREEPORT ROAD, FOX CHAPEL 412-963-0640, WWW.BAJABARGRILL.COM The Baja Bar & Grill is the perfect destination any time of the year for dancing to live bands and taking in great entertainment every weekend. In addition, there’s good food along with amazing views of the Allegheny River and the Fox Chapel Marina.

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.

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.

BEA’S TACO TOWN 633 SMITHFIELD STREET, DOWNTOWN 412-471-8361, WWW.BEATAQUERIA.COM Authentic Mexican cuisine in the heart of Downtown Pittsburgh! Bea Taco Town offers tacos, burritos, enchiladas, quesadillas, and much more all with traditional recipes. Slow cooked meats and fresh vegetables prepared daily will have you coming back to try it all.

THE CAFÉ CARNEGIE 4400 FORBES AVE., OAKLAND 412-622-3225 / THECAFECARNEGIE.COM An excellent dining experience from James Beard Semi-Finalist, Sonja Finn featuring a locally-focused menu, full service dining, and espresso and wine bar.

CARMELLA’S PLATES & PINTS 1908 EAST CARSON STREET, SOUTHSIDE 412-918-1215, CARMELLASPLATESANDPINTS.COM Featuring an upscale ambiance, Carmella’s is located in the heart of South Side, serving a variety of refined comfort cuisine for dinner and brunch. The décor features a lodge-like feel with a wood beamed cathedral ceiling, stained glass and open fireplace. A local purveyor delivers fresh ingredients daily, which are crafted into unique and inventive meals, served alongside a curated cocktail list and comprehensive wine selection.

EIGHTY ACRES 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.

ELIZA HOT METAL BISTRO 331 TECHNOLOGY DRIVE, PITTSBURGH 412-621-1551, ELIZAHOTELINDIGO.COM Set on the site of former iconic iron works, Eliza Furnace, Eliza is an American Bistro exploring classic Pittsburgh flavors, beloved by those that worked the furnaces, combined with the fresh perspective and seasonal sourcing that define what we eat in our region today. Relax with great food, cocktails, and enjoy live entertainment on the rooftop bar.

MERCURIO’S ARTISAN GELATO AND NEAPOLITAN PIZZA 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.

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. They also feature a cocktail menu of tequila-based drinks to pair the perfect margarita with your meal.

PITTSBURGH CITY PAPER JUNE 5-12, 2019

412 Brewery welcomes you to our newest taproom on Pgh’s historic Northside.

Dog-Friendly taproom with outdoor seating, firepits, games and more!

847 WESTERN AVENUE

412BREWS.COM

ANGELIA’S

.ON THE ROCKS.

CRAFT PIZZA & BEER 18 beer rotating tap list Daily food and drink specials New Thursday craft draft happy hours

angeliasitaliangrille.com

DRINK LOCAL BY MAGGIE WEAVER // MWEAVER@PGHCITYPAPER.COM

RIDE WEEKEND kicks off in Pitts-

burgh June 8. For folks heading into the city to celebrate, we’ve compiled a list of some of the ‘Burgh’s best LGBTQ bars. Whether you need a place to relax, mingle, or are simply looking for a partially mapped out bar crawl, these spots hit the mark. If none of the below picks are the right speed, check out one of the many other cozy, friendly spots around the city. Need a tiki-drink? Escape to Hidden Harbor in Squirrel Hill. Can’t decide between coffee and alcohol? Mixtape in Garﬁeld excels at both. Can’t stand still? Run laps around the dance ﬂoor at Belvedere’s Ultra-Dive. Did we miss your favorite place? Let us know!

Blue Moon 5115 BUTLER ST., LAWRENCEVILLE

Blue Moon’s drag shows are some of Pittsburgh’s best. Shows (Wednesdays and Saturdays) are always themed and start at midnight. Get there early for a prime spot.

There’s never a dull moment at the bar, with drag shows, karaoke, and the return of their Italo-disco dance party pop-up, Jellyﬁsh.

5801 Video Lounge & Café 5801 ELLSWORTH AVE., SHADYSIDE

For around 15 years, 5801 has been bringing a three-level party to Shadyside. Dance downstairs, relax in the cozy middle-tier, or get a breath of fresh air on the rooftop bar.

Element 5744 ELLSWORTH AVE., SHADYSIDE

Searching for something a bit more upscale? Look right down the road from 5801 to Element. The bar has everything: dinner, drinks, and drag.

There Ultra Lounge 3701, 931 LIBERTY AVE., DOWNTOWN

In the triad of Downtown gay bars, There Ultra Lounge is the biggest. It’s a relaxed atmosphere with the occasional drag show and great drink specials.

Images 965 LIBERTY AVE., DOWNTOWN

Hot Mass 1139 PENN AVE., STRIP DISTRICT

Hot Mass, a “nightlife cooperative,” is one of Pittsburgh’s hottest late-night spots. It’s a welcoming, open place to drink and dance all night long to music from some of the best DJs in town.

P-Town 4740 BAUM BLVD., EAST LIBERTY

P-Town is a welcoming neighborhood joint that’s been around since 2007.

PGHCITYPAPER.COM

Images is small and almost always packed with a diverse crowd. Go to watch the game, play pool, and for lots and lots of karaoke.

Real Luck Cafe (Lucky’s) 1519 PENN AVE., STRIP DISTRICT

Lucky’s two floors are like different bars. The first floor is divey, smokey, and cash only. But head upstairs and there’s a packed dance floor, male dancers, and go-go boys.

•

PITTSBURGH CITY PAPER JUNE 5-12, 2019

.ART . .

WEAR AND CARE BY SARAH CONNOR // INFO@PGHCITYPAPER.COM

ATCHED ACROSS a brown baseball hat reads the

words “NOT UR QUEER” in scratchy font. The item comes from Sweet Tooth Customization, a project by Pittsburgh artist Stew Frick, who specializes in fashion design and clothing. Frick, who identiﬁes as nonbinary, sees the declaration as a “nice quick, simple expression” of their frustration and anger. “[NOT UR QUEER] is a really good multi-applicational, general expression of self-power and self-control,” says Frick. “The beauty of it is that you can put it on any other kind of identity you want, just saying that you are not other people’s has its own power in its own way.” CONTINUES ON PG. 26

CP PHOTOS: JARED MURPHY

Stew Frick

PGHCITYPAPER.COM

PITTSBURGH CITY PAPER JUNE 5-12, 2019

WEAR AND CARE, CONTINUED FROM PG. 24

A Pittsburgh native born and raised in Coraopolis and now residing near Wilkinsburg, Frick has been creating art through clothing since 2016 and started their business Sweet Tooth in early 2017. Their customizations range from jackets to button-up shirts to hats. Some works feature ﬂoral patterns, prints of the Pittsburgh skyline, or detailed, colorful shapes painted onto the fabric of the clothing. For Frick, honing their queer identity and introducing it into their artwork was empowering. “I’m not like a gay cultural icon or anything like that, I don’t know who the contestants are on Ru Paul’s Drag Race, but I deﬁnitely enjoy displaying queer words so they can feel like our own,” they said. Aside from hats, Frick also works with many local musicians to produce merchandise and clothing. Some of their collaborators include Distant Futures, Benji., and Brittney Chantele (Frick designed the jacket worn by Chantele in her recent shoot with Pittsburgh City Paper). They’ve also had their art featured in events at Three Pigs Collective, The Mr. Roboto Project, and The Bushnell. Frick will also present a solo show in

PGHCITYPAPER.COM

September at BOOM Concepts Gallery for the Unblurred gallery crawl. For Frick, creating wearable art is not just a business, but a way to fulﬁll creative intentions aside from his 9-to-5 job at a road and infrastructure company. After spending some time at Indiana University of Pennsylvania, Frick dropped out to pursue artistic endeavors and has found peace, fulﬁllment, and happiness with their recent accomplishments.

STEW FRICK sweettoothcustomization.com

“My favorite thing about making the clothes is the solitude that it brings,” they said. “There’s a lot going on, and in a lot of ways, I’m very happy that painting and designing are not very social activities. I don’t have to hang out with other people to make the things I love. It’s something that I will always have and don’t have to depend on anyone else for.” It hasn’t been an easy road for Frick, between leaving school and trying to make it in the art industry. But with or without sales, making art is still worth it. “Even if nobody buys my stuff, and

sometimes they don’t, sometimes business isn’t good — when that happens, you can still keep making clothes and wearing them yourself, hanging them up in your room, and it’s something that no one can take away from you,” says Frick. Frick believes that the fashion scene in Pittsburgh is currently lacking, saying that, while are there are plenty of “incredibly creative and talented” local people making and selling clothes, they often get overshadowed by the city’s screen-printing t-shirt businesses. They add that many beautiful alcoves of the Pittsburgh fashion scene also tend to “hide away from the mainstream money and attention.” Ultimately, Frick says their priority is to amplify and build up the Pittsburgh fashion scene. “I want to do shows in other cities, I want to collaborate with other artists in Pittsburgh, I deﬁnitely want to solidify my name in the fashion world here,” they said. “Really, my large, timeless goal would be to try and organize the fashion scene here and build a market and viewer base so that all of the amazing clothing creators here get the shine that we deserve.”

•

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PITTSBURGH CITY PAPER JUNE 5-12, 2019

CP PHOTO: JARED MURPHY

Dr. Stacy Lane

.NEWS.

CENTRAL WELLNESS Meet the doctor behind the North Side’s growing LGBTQ and addiction-therapy health center BY EMILY WOLFE // INFO@PGHCITYPAPER.COM

R. STACY LANE has been ﬁred

from every job she’s ever had. Every time she’s worked somewhere as a doctor, she says, her contract never seemed to get renewed. Usually, she says her employers didn’t like the types of patients she attracted, or they disagreed with the way she practiced. “I was told that I get too involved in people’s social issues,” says Lane. Now, as the director and owner of Central Outreach Wellness Center, Lane is accountable only to her patients, the state of Pennsylvania — “for my license” — and God. And as her own boss, she’s free to address her patients’ social issues head on. The Wellness Center, located in the North Side, offers trans health care, STD testing, and HIV treatment to the underserved populations of Pittsburgh. But it also has psychiatric professionals on staff, and a rack of donated clothing

that patients can take home if need be. According to Lane, Central Outreach has cured over 1,000 patients of hepatitis C since the clinic opened in the summer of 2015. Currently, the clinic and its sister location in Washington, Pa. have over 7,000 patients, including more than 500 who are HIV positive and close to 1,000 transgender patients who come to the clinic for hormone therapy. And the center has grown a lot in the last few years. When Central Outreach ﬁrst opened, Lane treated all the patients herself, but as its numbers have grown, and demands have drawn more of her efforts to the business side, that’s no longer possible. Like the rest of her employees, though, she still dresses casually, in the dark gray Central Outreach “Got Hep C? Get the cure” T-shirt. That’s part of the welcoming environment she wants to maintain at the center, she says.

CENTRAL OUTREACH WELLNESS CENTER 127 Anderson St., North Side. centraloutreach.com

PGHCITYPAPER.COM

“I can’t have anybody who tromps around here in a polyester suit and Easy Spirit shoes,” Lane says. “It doesn’t work here. It’s intimidating to people.” Many of the patients who come to the clinic are recovering addicts or active drug users. Lane tries to treat everyone as she wants to be treated, she says. Her patients are grateful for it. In one glowing testimonial on Central Outreach’s website, an AIDS patient called her “an angel on earth.” “People that are marginalized for any reason, when you take care of them and treat them with dignity and respect, they think I’m the best doctor in the world and they think I’m the smartest doctor in the world,” Lane says. “And I’m not.” At times during her career, Lane says she has felt “marginalized” within the medical community. But her path was never in question — she always knew she wanted to end up treating the kinds of patients she treats now. Growing up in Crafton Heights, she felt the calling as early as high school, when she lost her uncle to AIDS. Hugh Lane had been like a grand-

father to his nieces and nephews, and Lane remembers him as a soft-spoken, Mr. Rogers-like ﬁgure. When Lane was 15, her uncle was checked in to a hospital, telling his family he had lung cancer. They found out the truth when they discovered a bottle of the AIDS medication AZT in his house. Watching him deteriorate and ﬁnally succumb to the disease over the next two years was one of the hardest things she’s ever done, Lane says. “Even at that time, I remember thinking ‘This could happen to anybody. It’s got to be different. It has to change,’” Lane says. Now, Central Outreach is doing its best to make that change. The clinic is growing and shows no signs of stopping. At this point, Lane says, the biggest thing limiting them is physical space. Lane certainly doesn’t plan on leaving anytime soon. “I love it now,” she says. “When I go back and look at life and think about all the shitty things that have happened, all of it is the perfect storm that led me to be able to really pursue my dream.”

•

PHOTO: NJAIMEH NJIE

Bekezela Mguni

.VOICES.

PATH TO LIBERATION BY TERENEH IDIA // CPCONTRIBUTORS@PGHCITYPAPER.COM

“

NE THING at a time, sister.” A

Black male filmmaker said this to me after a screening of his film in the ’90s. I had not appreciated his depiction of women and I told him so as he walked through the crowd, basking in a sea of congratulatory handshakes and high-fives. This mentality has pervaded much of the colonized world for hundreds of years. What we have seen, clearly, is that this strategy does not work. In a white-supremacist patriarchy, Black women and femmes are in a constant precarious position — neither able to check the white or male box, we are often left to celebrate ourselves, alone. However, within this sisterhood there is a unique sustenance that is magical, a deeper understanding of our value and worth. This recognition that we can see what often no one else can see: the essential benefits of listening, supporting, paying, celebrating, and engaging with Black women and femmes. When it is there, it can lift you up over all of the challenges you face, if it is not, there comes a blow that hurts more than anything this world. As cis-hetero Black womanist/feminist myself, Black queer women and femmes have been an essential part of my journey to freedom. In every aspect of my life, I have learned from their art, experiences, and community. I asked my sistah, Bekezela Mguni, to share her thoughts on ways Black women, femmes, and non-binary people can connect and work together to create a path to liberation, I believe our path to freedom is one that all the communities

of Pittsburgh and the world can model to create real equity and justice for all. WE WORK TOGETHER to create a path for liberation by listening to and centering those who have historically been the most marginalized in our communities and by working to understand, and heal our internalized racism, sexism, ableism, heteronormativity, transphobia, and capitalism, so we don’t continue to interact with ourselves and each other in oppressive and violent ways. That means putting down our respectability politics, our internalized shame, our mimicking of white supremacy culture (hoarding power and resources), and the devaluing of Black mothers, Black trans women’s lives, and feminized labor. In a Black Feminist Statement written in 1977 by the Combahee River Collective, our Black Feminist foremothers said that “above all else, our politics initially sprang from the shared belief that Black women are inherently valuable, that our liberation is a necessity not as an adjunct to somebody else’s but because of our need as human persons for autonomy. … Our politics evolve from a healthy love for ourselves, our sisters and our community which allows us to continue our struggle and work.” I believe these words are relevant today, and we can continue to learn from the lives and teachings of radical Black feminists. When Black women (cis, trans, queer, nonconforming) and gender expansive people tell their stories, we are continuously gifted guidance and encouragement to become as free and as self-determined as we can possibly be each day of our lives and understand that our personal freedom is connected to the freedom of the greater collective. That is what I celebrate each day. That is the legacy I am proud to be a part of, feel connected to and fueled by. — Bekezela Mguni

Follow featured contributor Tereneh Idia on Twitter @Tereneh152XX PITTSBURGH CITY PAPER JUNE 5-12, 2019

.MUSIC.

HOMETOWN PRIDE BY JORDAN SNOWDEN // JSNOWDEN@PGHCITYPAPER.COM

PHOTOS: KATHERINE GAINES

Bryce

PGHCITYPAPER.COM

OR POP MUSICIAN BRYCE, his performance at the 2019 Pittsburgh PrideFest is a full-circle moment. Now living in Washington D.C., the ﬁrst experience the Pittsburgh native had with Pride was in his hometown as a child. “My parents took me to see Bernadette Peters at Heinz Hall – which in itself is very gay, but at the time it was not as obvious,” says Bryce. “When we were leaving that concert there was another concert happening in the street downtown, so we stopped to see what it was and it was a bunch of drag queens performing. I think they were doing ‘Lady Marmalade.’ And I loved it, the choreography, the costumes, the fans; and what was even more exciting than me loving it, my parents were having fun, loving it too, which was showing me that they were accepting of LGBTQ people and LGBTQ issues.” Although Bryce didn’t ofﬁcially come out as gay until his senior year of high school, he says he was never really “in the closet.” After graduating in 2011, he moved to D.C. to attend American University. “A nickname they were calling it at the time – AU – was Gay U because there was such a big gay population in the university,” says Bryce. “I think that level of acceptance and level of openness, where I never had to think twice about whether it was OK to be

myself in a space in college, was hugely important. It let me access parts of myself. To be open, to be who I was, and to be able to be dramatic without worrying about anyone saying anything was pertinent in who I am today.” Bryce further explained that the atmosphere found at AU is not exclusive to the school grounds. In D.C., LGBTQ couples are seen everywhere; there are gay bars and neighborhoods. “[It’s] very, very gay,” he says. “I’d say there isn’t anywhere in D.C. that’s not a safe space; we’re pretty much accepted everywhere.” While D.C. allowed Bryce’s personality to flourish, his creative side was hindered. “I was partying and using it as a way to get out of my shell. I was using alcohol as a crutch. The mantra during that time was keep the drinks coming; it doesn’t matter how fucked up I’m getting.” After finishing at AU, Bryce began to realize the toll alcohol was taking on his health and well being and gave up drinking last year. His May, 2019 release “Keep ‘Em Coming” is an introspective look at those earlier days. Another track, “Masc,” is a play on the more gender-specific stereotypes in the

BRYCE AT PITTSBURGH PRIDE Sat., June 8. 12-7 p.m. Andy Warhol Bridge & Fort Duquesne Blvd., Downtown. Free. pittsburghpride.org

gay community. “My early songs were all about partying,” says Bryce. “I don’t know if I would have been able to dig deep into those kind

of themes if I was still worrying about what people thought of my sexuality.” But while Bryce left Pittsburgh for the LGBTQ community in D.C., he’s noticed a

significant change in the local scene. “In some ways, the drag and nightlife in Pittsburgh is a little bit more edgy and exciting than what it was in D.C. at the time in the past few years,” says Bryce. “Because there’s so much more acceptance happening in Pittsburgh compared to previously, it’s fresh and exciting.” When visiting the area last fall, Bryce performed at a local bar. It was the first time he reconnected with his music in Pittsburgh and his upcoming second show is personally monumental. “I performed a little bit in D.C.,” says Bryce, “but Pride is my first big performance. For this to be my first Pride performance, to do my first Pride performance in Pittsburgh, it’s kind of a full-circle moment. I think that that’s really cool and really exciting, and it’s going to be a really special show. We’re going to give you costumes … all of the spectacle. The music is energetic dance pop. It’s going to be a party.” Bryce continues the fun-loving time at Arcade Comedy Theater on Saturday night when he takes part in Donatella: A Queer Variety Show. “We have a full weekend for gay Pride in Pittsburgh,” says Bryce.

•

Follow staff writer Jordan Snowden on Twitter @snowden_jordan

PITTSBURGH CITY PAPER JUNE 5-12, 2019

.DANCE.

FEEL THE RHYTHM BY AMANDA WALTZ AWALTZ@PGHCITYPAPER.COM

ITTSBURGH PARTIERS who iden-

tify as LGBTQ know of places like Tilden and Hot Mass at Club Pittsburgh. But the scene is growing, giving the community more options to hit the dance ﬂoor in a safe, welcoming space.

Jellyfish at P Town 4740 BAUM BLVD., OAKLAND. JELLYFISHPGH.COM

Jellyfish stands out from a lot of dance parties in Pittsburgh – the music veers from the usual bangers and club mixes, giving crowds a generous taste of Italo disco and pop hits from decades past, as well as plenty of New Wave, post-punk, and other genres. It’s also explicitly a “queer dance party” for LGBTQ people. Since launching in 2017, the event has thrived at P Town, a low-key Oakland bar that has served the city’s gay community for over 10 years. There, Jellyfish DJs Adam Shuck, Stephanie Tsong, and Ricky Moslen play to a diverse crowd every month. When the weather warms, they move to the adjacent courtyard, where hungry dancers can buy slices from the neighboring Vocelli pizza place. In a collective statement, Shuck, Tsong, and Moslen say, “Jellyfish is a big creative outlet for each of us. As three queer DJs, the queer element has always been inherent to Jellyfish, and we’ve been super excited by the friendly – and cute – crowd that’s come together around it!” On Fri., June 14, Jellyfish will celebrate its first courtyard disco of the season, which will feature a special set from Naeem of the Pittsburgh house/ techno music collective, DETOUR. They will also appear at The Andy Warhol Museum on June 28 as part of an event for the 50th anniversary of the Stonewall riots.

Pgh Bro Club at Brillobox 4104 PENN AVE., BLOOMFIELD. BRILLOBOXPGH.COM

Things can get a little rowdy at Pgh Bro Club, but it’s never boring. Presented by DJs Ed Um and Dad Time (aka Seth Bickford), Kevin Topolski, and Brian O’Korn, the event has attracted a mostly LGBTQ crowd to Brillobox since its launch nine years ago.

PGHCITYPAPER.COM

PHOTO: SUGAR

Sugar at Cake Pittsburgh

“We started the party because we wanted an alternative to dance parties at [Pittsburgh] gay bars,” says Ed Um. “We wanted to have a more eclectic mix of music … speciﬁcally un-remixed hip-hop and up-and-coming quirky danceable tunes from all over the globe.” The formerly monthly party (Ed Um says they now moved to a semi-monthly schedule) consists of underground tunes and classic house and disco, as well as mainstream pop. “We don’t limit ourselves to any one genre,” says Ed Um. “We mash it all up. We like to play music that will make people dance and jump around, lose their inhibitions, and scream.” It has also been known to showcase appearances from local performers and RuPaul’s Drag Race contestants Alaska Thunderfuck and Sharon Needles.

Make sure to properly bro out at their next event on July 20.

Sugar at Cake Pittsburgh 1900 SMALLMAN ST., STRIP DISTRICT. CAKEPGH.COM

Jesse Ryan worked for Cruze Bar for more than six years before the LGBTQ space shut down due to renovations in the surrounding Strip District. “The city has an amazing assortment of ‘gay bars’ and drag nights, and I think that’s awesome,” says Ryan. “However, we lost our one place that was more of a dance club than a bar to bust a move, with great DJs, amazing atmosphere, and just a place to be true to yourself, whomever you may be in the rainbow spectrum.” So Ryan created Sugar, a monthly “Pride Party” designed to “bring

LGBTQIA+ people together to a special happening where everyone can just get lost in the music, enjoy some great entertainment, and enjoy the beautiful environment.” The event launched in May at Cake Pittsburgh and took over the Strip District nightclub and event space a second time on June 1 with the Pride Kickoff White-Party. Ryan hopes the event will give the community a place to not only have fun but to make new connections and “be true to yourself and who you’re meant to be.” “The rest of society doesn’t necessarily need to seek the shelter of a ‘safe place’ and that’s why a space like Sugar is important,” says Ryan. “Where all are welcome and judgment isn’t tolerated. It doesn’t get much sweeter than that.”

•

PITTSBURGH CITY PAPER JUNE 5-12, 2019

FEATURED ON INK MASTER :ANGELS

PYRAMID

TATTOO & Body Piercing

PYRAMIDTATTOO.COM

BRIDGEVILLE, PA

CP PHOTO: JARED MURPHY

Connor McCanlus

.STAGE.

PRIDE MONTH AT ARCADE COMEDY BY HANNAH LYNN // HLYNN@PGHCITYPAPER.COM

OMEDY CAN FEEL exclusive. It’s a medium where the loudest and most conﬁdent are often given the most visibility and others are left on the sidelines. It’s a ﬁeld that’s been dominated by heterosexual white men for so long that’s it’s even become a joke among heterosexual white men. But June is Pride Month, and this year, it means a month’s worth of Pride comedy

PGHCITYPAPER.COM

shows at Arcade Comedy Theater, including queer-only standup and Golden Girls: Live. Arcade will host Pride-related comedy shows every day for Pride weekend (June 6-9) and every Friday and Saturday for the rest of June. “Pride doesn’t exist in just a single weekend,” says Connor McCanlus, who stepped into the newly created Pride

programming coordinator position at Arcade. McCanlus was brought on this year, because, in previous years at the theater, all the Pride events were stuffed into one weekend. “It doesn’t feel like we’re monetizing on Pride situations. It really feels like we’re celebrating Pride.” There are 16 Pride comedy events throughout the month, ranging from improv to variety show to live podcast.

PHOTO: ARCADE COMEDY THEATER

Golden Girls: Live

ARCADE COMEDY For a full list of Arcade Comedy Theater events during Pride Month, visit arcadecomedytheater.com. 943 Liberty Ave., Downtown.

McCanlus created some performances and helped facilitate others, but as a queer comedian, his running goal throughout the month’s programming was to cast a wider net for those involved in both comedy and Pride celebrations, noting that even within the LGBTQ community, there are plenty of people who don’t feel welcome in traditional Pride events. “I think when we talk about how the scene can get better, a big part of it is the producers of shows need to do better,” says McCanlus. “If I’m looking for people of color who do improv and I’m like, ‘No one’s coming to the jam,’ that doesn’t mean that they don’t exist. It means that I don’t know about them or they don’t know about me. We just haven’t met yet.” One event, Donatella: A Queer Variety Show (June 8), features drag, improv, burlesque, and sketch. Pegasus: Improv Comedy (June 28), created and produced by McCanlus, features improv based on local queer history and centered around Pegasus Lounge, the landmark gay bar that was open for nearly 30 years before closing in 2009. In addition to more scripted or planned shows, the programming includes loosely structured events, like LGBTQ*Bert: Queer Improv Jam (June 21),

where queer performers of any age and experience level are invited to partake in free short and long-form improv jams. Anyone can see the show, but the stage is queer comedy only. “When queer people get to perform together, we perform in a different way, in the same way that whenever you’re surrounded by what you feel is your community, you are different,” says McCanlus. “It’s a safe space for queer people who are interested in comedy to get started.” Part of building out the programming for Pride Month also means making LGBTQ performers feel like they can perform comedy anytime, not just during a designated month. “We’re setting up relationships for future shows because Pride also doesn’t end in June. It’s not like queer folk don’t have a place at Arcade 11 months out of the year,” says McCanlus. The queer improv jam, for example, is an event McCanlus hopes will happen every few months and will help grow the scene. “I use the word ‘community’ a lot but I’m also aware that my idea of community is still only my world and there are so many people I don’t know,” he says. “I hope after this June I know a bunch more.”

•

Pittsburgh City Paper winners Tereneh Idia and Jared Wickerham

Pittsburgh City Paper wins three honors at 2019 Golden Quill awards, including best-in-show for photography Congratulations to staff photographer Jared Wickerham who won two awards: Craft Achievement – Photo Essay and the best-in-show Ed Romano Memorial Award: Photography, selected from all of this year’s winners in photography categories. Contributing writer Tereneh Idia won the award for Excellence in Written Journalism – Columns/Blogs for her Voices column. Golden Quills finalists also included senior writer Ryan Deto, nominated for Excellence in Written Journalism – Business/Technology/Consumer; music writer Jordan Snowden for Excellence in Written Journalism – Arts/Entertainment; and contributing writer Jessie Sage for Excellence in Written Journalism – Columns/Blogs.

Follow staff writer Hannah Lynn on Twitter @hanfranny PITTSBURGH CITY PAPER JUNE 5-12, 2019

FIVE GOOD LGBTQ MOVIES BY HANNAH LYNN HLYNN@PGHCITYPAPER.COM

PHOTO: MAGNOLIA PICTURES

Tangerine

Some are streaming, some are not, but all are worth watching any time of year. It’s Pride Month, however, so here’s a list of them right now. TANGERINE (Hulu) This Christmas dramedy, shot on an iPhone, follows a trans sex worker (Mya Taylor) who just got out of prison as she hunts down her boyfriend, who cheated on her with a cis woman. It’s a dark way to spend the holiday, but the movie also has a scrappy sense of hope. CAROL (Netflix) Therese (Cate Blanchett), an elegant married woman, meets Carol (Rooney Mara), a quiet but ambitious shop clerk, the two form a fast friendship and eventually a passionate relationship. Manhattan was not an easy backdrop for lesbians in the ’50s, but the movie stays away from the usual tragedy of the genre. GRANDMA When a teenage girl gets pregnant, she goes to her Grandma Elle (Lily Tomlin) for abortion funds. But Elle, a lesbian poet grieving the loss of her long-term partner, is broke. The two spend a time driving around trying to collect money from friends, neighbors, and enemies. PARIS IS BURNING (Netflix) The seminal 1990 documentary chronicles the lives of a group of drag queens involved in New York’s Ball Culture. In addition to the mesmerizing fashion, dance, and walks, the movie also explores sexuality, gender, class, race, and other intersecting issues. BEGINNERS Almost immediately after getting diagnosed with terminal cancer, Hal (Christopher Plummer) comes out to his son Oliver (Ewan McGregor). Together, the two grapple with Hal’s newfound home in the queer community, just as his life comes to an end. •

PGHCITYPAPER.COM

PHOTOS: THE MATTRESS FACTORY

Greer Lankton in home movies from the 1970s

.FILM.

GREER LANKTON ON FILM BY HANNAH LYNN // HLYNN@PGHCITYPAPER.COM

RTIST GREER LANKTON’S ﬁnal

work, the dioramic piece It’s .all about ME, Not You, was first exhibited at the Mattress Factory in 1996, just a few months before she died. Since the piece became a permanent fixture at the museum in 2009, the museum has built a kind of shrine around the artist, exhibiting sketches, sculptures, journal entries, and other pieces of her work and life. To give museum-goers a more intimate look at her life, and to celebrate the transgender artist during Pride Month, the Mattress Factory will hold Greer Lankton on Film, an event screening home videos of Lankton in childhood and as a young adult. The collection of 11 films will be on display June 4-9 in the museum’s lobby with a special event on June 6 featuring Margery King, curator of the Greer Lankton Archive Exhibition. The films, made in the mid-’70s, were donated to the Mattress Factory in May 2018 by Lankton’s lifelong friend, Joyce Randall Senechal, who came to visit the museum last year along with some of Lankton’s family to see the archives they’d donated on display. The Super 8 films were digitized, and after

they’re screened this week, Mattress Factory archivist Sarah Hallett hopes to make them viewable for the public online as part of a larger project to digitize Lankton’s archives. The films are short, most of them around or under three minutes and without sound, though the longest is around 15 minutes long with sound. They offer brief glimpses into Lankton’s life and work throughout the years, from early sculpture and stop-motion work to pondering her gender expression and transition, to opening presents on Christmas morning with her family. The clips were not filmed with the intention of public viewing – many of the clips are dark and hazy – but they nonetheless evoke many of the themes found in Lankton’s archive. Many of the films, which are mostly unlabeled, feature dolls in some form or another. Oftentimes, the dolls perform stop-motion ballet, or are contorted into splits, cartwheels, and other acrobatics. Most of the dolls are naked, though some show them undressing, one item of clothing at a time. Some of the films are intriguingly vulgar, like the one that features a doll giving birth to three

GREER LANKTON ON FILM 6 p.m. Thu., June 6. Continues through June 9. The Mattress Factory, 500 Sampsonia Way, North Side. $15-20. mattress.org

armless, legless babies. As is common in Lankton’s work, there is thoughtfulness and sadness but also a weird and surreal humor. In the only film with sound, Lankton talks at length, while putting on her makeup in the mirror, about her feelings on gender and her decision to transition. “I can’t stand being a boy, it’s such a bore,” she says. In the same film, Lankton holds up one of her dolls, this one lightly clothed with a heavy face of makeup, and explains some of her fixation with them. “I realized when I first started making [dolls] that the thing I was doing was making these women, when in reality what I wanted to do was make myself into a woman,” she says. “The dolls just became more and more of a refinement of what I wanted for myself … there’s so much beauty in being a woman that I wanna be. It’s just something I want.” There’s uncanniness to watching someone explain themselves to you so long after they’ve died, and to see their work transition from childhood fun to a fixture in a museum. Lankton likely never imagined that these home movies would be something for public viewing, but they’re a posthumous gift. It’s a joy to hear her talk and see her smile and better know the artist who left so much behind to be admired.

•

.DANCE.

HOEDOWN FOR PRIDE BY HANNAH LYNN HLYNN@PGHCITYPAPER.COM

HE INTERNATIONAL Association of Gay/Lesbian Country Western Dance Clubs (IAGLCWDC) was founded in 1993, with 32 groups in nearly as many cities. But it wasn’t until October 2018 that Pittsburgh got its own LGBTQ-oriented line dancing group, 412Step. Bill Blansett, creator of 412Step, got into the dance genre while living in Madison, Wis., where he danced with the Dairyland Cowboys and Cowgirls. After moving back to his hometown of Pittsburgh a few years ago, Blansett couldn’t ﬁnd a similar group locally, so he started 412Step, which now has a recurring Boot Scootin’ night every Wednesday at Belvedere’s Ultra-Dive and a monthly Steel Town Hoedown at Element. The group does line dancing, waltzing, and two-step, but since it’s an LGBTQ dance group, there’s more freedom in both the dancing and the music. “We welcome anyone to take on the lead or follow role,” says Blansett. “Traditionally, in partner dancing, you’d have the male lead and the female partner follow, but [in] our groups, anyone’s welcome to do anything they like. So it’s just cool

PHOTO: 412STEP

412Step offers a country line dancing space for the LGBTQ community

to be in that environment and be able to take on those roles and learn what it is to lead in a dance or to follow in a dance.” 412Step dances to country music (as is line dancing tradition), like Dolly Parton or Shania Twain, but it also incorporates all kinds of danceable music including pop and disco. No fear for anyone with two left feet – events always have a lesson for a new dance or review

412STEP’S STEEL TOWN HOEDOWN: PRIDE PARTY 7 p.m. Sat., June 8. Element, 5744 Ellsworth Ave., Shadyside. 412step.com

of a previous one. Blansett frequently describes 412Step as a welcoming community, noting that the independence of line dancing, which doesn’t always require a partner, actually makes for a freeing environment. “You’re in a community and you’re dancing to the same music so you’re enjoying it, but you’re able to do that on your own,” says Blansett. “With our groups, it’s not anticipated that you need to show up with a partner. For all our events, we say no partners necessary.” When Blansett attended IAGLCWDC with 412Step last year, he says they

met groups who had been dancing together for 30 years, which he called “inspiring.” 412Step might be young, but it’s already grown fast for a group less than a year old. They haven’t missed a Boot Scootin’ night since its inception and have already begun forming committees to get more organized. The June Hoedown falls during Pride weekend, making it even more of a party. For those who have no experience with this kind of dancing, 412Step offers an open and non-judgmental space. Cowboy boots are not required, but they do make it more fun.

•

PITTSBURGH CITY PAPER JUNE 5-12, 2019

CP PHOTOS: JARED WICKERHAM

Allison Butka and Joyce Swope of Etna Print Circus

.ARTS.

QUEER GEAR BY LISA CUNNINGHAM // LCUNNING@PGHCITYPAPER.COM

HE DAY AFTER President Trump’s

inauguration in January 2017, Allison Butka and Joyce Swope joined hundreds of thousands of protesters in Washington, D.C. for the Women’s March on Washington, carrying a bag of T-shirts with “The whole world is watching” printed on them. “We were just really pissed off,” says Butka, “and we wanted to do something.” They gave the shirts away to fellow marchers and though they included no logo or branding, it was the ﬁrst ofﬁcial shirt produced by Etna Print Circus, the screen-printing shop the couple runs out of their 20-by-22 foot garage.

PGHCITYPAPER.COM

Two years later, their business has grown enough to allow Butka to quit their full-time job last September, and Swope has reduced her hours to one day a week, so both can put all of their energy into the print shop. Swope grew up in Swissvale and Butka is originally from Washington, D.C. Both identify as queer — their products are now branded with “Printed by Flaming Queers at Etna Print Circus” — and Butka is trans. The two embrace and celebrate both their LGBTQ and Pittsburgh identities in their products. The shop’s most popular selling design — “by far,” says Swope — is a shirt that

says, “Yinz is a gender neutral pronoun.” It’s part of their Pride line that include tees printed with “Queer,” “Pro Homo,” and “Fat, Gay, & in the Way.” “The more we do and the more we learn, we found how much identity statements resonate with people, and that was kind of a pleasant surprise,” says Butka. Swope is the artist, and the quieter of the two. She creates the graphics and screen prints the shirts seen on this week’s cover as she speaks; holding a squeegee with both hands, pulling it back and forth, transferring the ink to the fabric. Butka is the one with an eye for type, the voice on social media, and the one who’s

prone to breaking out in excited laughter as they speak about how far the business has come over the past few years. The couple live and work together in Etna, a borough ten minutes from Downtown Pittsburgh on the other side of the Allegheny River. They were unsure, at ﬁrst, how their new neighbors would react to them when they ﬁrst purchased their house in 2015. “We didn’t know what to expect because we are loud, and we are not subtle,” Butka says. One of their tees, she adds, even has “Not Subtle” spelled out in huge capital letters on top of brightly colored tie dye.

One of Etna Print Circus’ screen-printed T-shirts

But something happened that surprised them. Without advertising their services, the borough invited them to participate in the neighborhood’s art tour. They say they had a moment where they had to ask, “Have you been to our website? Have you seen what we’re about?” To their relief, they were told, “Yeah, we all think it’s great.” The borough has since hired them to print signs and tees. They also recently printed political campaign shirts for their neighbor Jessica Semler, who just won the Democratic primary ticket for an Etna Borough Council seat. “We learned a really valuable lesson that all it takes is an invitation, that gesture of reaching out to say, ‘I see you. I want to know what you have to say.’ There’s something really special about that,” says Butka. Owning a business also allows them to turn down jobs that aren’t a good fit, something both say is important to them. Since handing out shirts at the Women’s March, they’ve continued to brainstorm ways they can make a difference. It’s the inspiration behind their Sevenfold Series, where they spend $100 on materials for a shirt and donate the first $700 in profits to a charity. After Melania Trump wore a jacket that said, “I really don’t care. Do u?”, Etna Print Circus printed 28 shirts reading “I really do care. Do u?” and sold them all in four days, raising $700 for RAICES, an organization offering free and low-cost legal services to immigrants and refugees. There are more on the way. In their garage, among cans of ink and piles of

printed shirts, sits a screen waiting to become one of the next Sevenfold prints: “Vaccinated.” “It’s been a goal of mine forever to help the community in some way,” says Swope. This summer, they’ll be selling their merchandise at the Downtown Night Market in Market Square; this week, they’ll be there on Friday night and on Saturday nights the rest of the season. Later this summer, they’ll be vending at Anthrocon for the ﬁrst time. Neither wear fursuits, but they’re both part of the furry community, and Butka brags about Swope’s skills at drawing animals.

ETNA PRINT CIRCUS etnaprintcircus.com

Other future plans for the business include adding even more graphic services, like commissioned logos and illustrations. But, they say, they’re happy in Etna, and everything they talk about still has roots in Pittsburgh. Their dream client? Rick Sebak. And while independent stores like Wildcard in Lawrenceville currently sell some of their shirts, Swope says she really wants people to be able to buy their products at places like the Heinz History Center too. “I never thought, growing up, I wanted to be invested in the community,” Butka says. “I like privacy and independence. I like being able to do what I want. But I also really like, as it turns out, knowing my neighbors and the cool things going around us.”

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Follow editor-in-chief Lisa Cunningham on Twitter @trashyleesuh PITTSBURGH CITY PAPER JUNE 5-12, 2019

SEVEN DAYS OF CONCERTS WALK THE MOON FRIDAY, JUNE 7

The 2014 pop hit “Shut Up and Dance” brought the Ohio alt-rock band Walk the Moon instant success – spending 27 weeks atop Billboard’s Hot Rock Songs chart in 2015 – but the track also brought with it a feeling of uncertainty. The four-member group wondered where to go from there. After choosing to take time off to focus on personal issues – the death of a parent, confronting sexuality, a marriage – Walk The Moon released a new single, “Timebomb” in January, opened for Muse’s 2019 North American Tour, and is now playing its first-ever Pride. The band headlines the opening night of Pride Rocks PGH weekend concerts on Friday, while Toni Braxton also plays her first Pride Sat., June 8. 6 -11:45 p.m. Fort Duquesne Boulevard, Seventh St. $39-148. pittsburghpride.org PHOTO: ANNA LEE

Walk The Moon

FULL LIST ONLINE pghcitypaper.com

THURSDAY JUNE 6

ROCK WEATHERS. Smiling Moose. 6:30 p.m. South Side.

COVERS

DAD’S DAY OFF, DIVE. Howlers. 9 p.m. Bloomfield.

CLASH OF THE DECADES ’90S. Cioppino Restaurant & Cigar Bar. 7 p.m. Strip District.

THE HIGH DEFINITIONS. Gooski’s. 9 p.m. Polish Hill.

DIRTY SHIRLEY. Crafthouse Stage & Grill. 8 p.m. Whitehall.

JAZZ/R&B

HIP HOP/RAP

JEVON RUSHTON DUO. Il Pizzaiolo Cucina Napoletana. 7 p.m. Warrendale.

ARTISTREE. Sugar & Smoke. 8 p.m. Bloomfield. CRUMBZILLA (ALBUM RELEASE). Rex Theater. 6 p.m. South Side.

MULTIPLE GENRES MICHAEL MIRACLES & LOVE EVOLUTION, LEXA TERRESTRIAL, BABY TEETH. Spirit. 9 p.m. Lawrenceville.

ACOUSTIC WEST DEER. Elwood’s Pub. 7:30 p.m. Tarentum. DARYL SHAWN. Scratch Food & Beverage. 8 p.m. Troy Hill. SCOTT BLASEY. Spoonwood Brewing Co. 8 p.m. Bethel Park. PAZ AND UKULELE EDDIE. SouthSide Works. 6 p.m. South Side.

PGHCITYPAPER.COM

SOUL TO SOUL. Jergel’s. 8 p.m. Warrendale.

ROOMFUL OF BLUES. Club Cafe. 8 p.m. South Side. ROGER HUMPHRIES. Wallace’s Whiskey Room. 7 p.m. East Liberty.

POP TC SUPERSTAR. Wolfie’s Pub. 8 p.m. Downtown.

ELECTRONIC JUSTICE YELDHAM. 3577 Studios. 7:30 p.m. Polish Hill.

FOLK/COUNTRY HER LADYSHIP. Tree Pittsburgh. 6 p.m. Lawrenceville. HISS GOLDEN MESSENGER. Mr. Smalls Theatre. 8 p.m. Millvale. PARMALEE. Tequila Cowboy. 7 p.m. North Side. JASON ALDEAN. KeyBank Pavilion. 7:30 p.m. Burgettstown.

FRIDAY JUNE 7 BLUES THE CONTENDERS. Cioppino Restaurant & Cigar Bar. 7 p.m. Strip District.

DJS DJ SAMUEL ANDRES (THE WARM UP). The Goldmark. 7 p.m. Lawrenceville.

JAZZ/FUNK KALETA & SUPER YAMBA BAND. Brillobox. 9 p.m. Bloomfield. RICK MATT TRIO. Wolfie’s Pub. 5 p.m. Downtown. STEVEE WELLONS. Sugar & Smoke. 6 p.m. Bloomfield. GEORGE CLINTON AND THE PARLIAMENT FUNKADELIC. Rivers Casino. 8 p.m. North Side. STEELTOWN HORNS, LYNDSEY SMITH. Enix Brewing. 8 p.m. Homestead.

POP

COUNTRY

TWENTY ONE PILOTS. PPG Paints Arena. 7 p.m. Downtown.

LUKE BRYAN. KeyBank Pavilion. 7 p.m. Burgettstown.

DONNA MISSAL. Rex Theater. 7 p.m. South Side.

MULTIPLE GENRE DEUTSCHTOWN GOES DOWNTOWN. Market Square. 5 p.m. Downtown.

ROCK/METAL SWORN ENEMY (PA. ALBUM RELEASE). Preserving Hardcore. 6 p.m. New Kensington. DEATH CAB FOR CUTIE. Stage AE. 6 p.m. North Side. BRAZILIAN WAX. Howlers. 10 p.m. Bloomfield. LINCOLN DURHAM. Smiling Moose. 6:30 p.m. South Side. COLD WRECKS. Mr. Roboto Project. 7 p.m. Bloomfield. SWORN ENEMY (ALBUM RELEASE). Preserving Hardcore. 6:30 p.m. New Kensington.

DAS, ROSSMAN, POTTER. Wolfie’s Pub. 8 p.m. Downtown.

EGOMYTH. Hambone’s. 9 p.m. Lawrenceville.

THERON BROWN. Metropolitan Club. 7 p.m. Downtown.

THE BABYS. Jergel’s. 8 p.m. Warrendale.

ELECTRONIC

ROGER ROMERO (FERALCAT). Il Pizzaiolo Cucina Napoletana. 8 p.m. Warrendale.

DUBRAISER. Coriander India Grill. 8 p.m. Downtown.

SATURDAY JUNE 8 CLASSICAL MICHAEL WALL. Carnegie Stage. 2 p.m. Carnegie.

JAZZ/BLUES ROGER BARBOUR TRIO. Cioppino Restaurant & Cigar Bar. 7 p.m. Strip District. BENNY BENACK. NOLA On The Square. 8 p.m. Downtown. LISA BLEIL. Il Pizzaiolo Cucina Napoletana. 8 p.m. Warrendale. BOBBY THOMPSON. Market Square. 5 p.m. Downtown.

THE SUN CHAMPS (EP RELEASE). Enix Brewing. 7 p.m. Homestead. THE MOLECULE PARTY. Full Pint Wild Side Pub. 8 p.m. Lawrenceville. KING CATFISH. Black Forge Coffee House. 6:30 p.m. Allentown. RICHARD MARX. Meadows Racetrack & Casino. 8 p.m. Washington. BLACKENED GOTHICA CONCERTA. Smiling Moose. 5 p.m. South Side. VELVEETA. Crafthouse Stage & Grill. 9 p.m. Whitehall.

HIP HOP/R&B LYNDSEY SMITH (FAREWELL SHOW). Hard Rock Cafe. 9 p.m. Station Square.

TINSLEY ELLIS. Moondog’s. 8 p.m. Blawnox.

THE UNDERGROUND (HIP HOP SHOWCASE). Level Up Studios. 7 p.m. Bloomfield.

DJS

COUNTRY/BLUEGRASS

GET DOWN GANG (HOUSE, DISCO). Greame House. 7 p.m. Downtown.

DANNY GOCHNOUR. Club Cafe. 7 p.m. South Side. TIM VITULLO BAND. Wigle Whiskey. 7 p.m. Strip District.

ROCK/PUNK

HUNTY LYTES. Club Cafe. 10 p.m. South Side.

THE BIRD HOUR (ALBUM RELEASE). Howlers. 8:30 p.m. Bloomfield.

FRANK VIEIRA. Jergel’s. 8 p.m. Warrendale.

PHOTO: BIGFREEDIA.COM

BIG FREEDIA

Big Freedia

SUNDAY, JUNE 9

The Queen of Bounce graces Allegheny Commons Park West on Sunday for the third annual People’s Pride. Big Freedia, who ran the New Orleans club scene for over two decades, popularized the vibrant twist on hip hop by bringing bounce music to the mainstream level through collaborations with hitmakers like Beyoncé (“Formation”) and Sia (“Eye of the Needle”). Big Freedia Bounces Back, the New Orleans native’s reality show on Fuse, has further spread the bounce movement documenting the life of a gay choirboy turned bounce rapper. Having played at festivals such as Outside Lands, Fun Fun Fun Fest, and Pittsburgh’s first VIA Festival in 2010, Big Freedia is no stranger to the stage. 3 p.m. West Ohio St., North Side. Free. sisterspgh.org

ACOUSTIC TONY GERMAINE. Bakery Square. 11 a.m. East Liberty.

SUNDAY JUNE 9 ALTERNATIVE/INDIE

MONDAY JUNE 10

FOLK

ROCK

COVERS

COHEED AND CAMBRIA. Stage AE. 5:30 p.m. North Side. THE TALBOTT BROTHERS. Club Cafe. 8 p.m. South Side.

AARON WEST AND THE ROARING TWENTIES. Rex Theater. 7:30 p.m. South Side. SLAM. Jergel’s. 7 p.m. Warrendale.

WEDNESDAY JUNE 12

SPENCER RADCLIFFE, RACHEL LEVY. Babyland. 7:30 p.m. Oakland.

ALTERNATIVE/INDIE

ISABEL TARCSON, NORDISTA FREEZE, TAP SHORTS. 222 Ormsby Ave. 6 p.m. Mount Oliver.

BLUES

ROCK/PUNK

TUESDAY JUNE 11

FUNK FACTORY. Wolfie’s Pub. 7 p.m. Downtown.

ALTERNATIVE/INDIE

WEDNESDAY NIGHT PIZZA PARTY. Pizza Taglio. 8 p.m. East Liberty.

HAWTHORNE HEIGHTS, EMERY. Rex Theater. 6:30 p.m. South Side. ACTION CAMP, UGLY BLONDES. Howlers. 6 p.m. Bloomfield.

THE STOLEN. Smiling Moose. 6:30 p.m. South Side. JIMMY ADLER. Wolfie’s Pub. 6 p.m. Downtown.

FOG LAKE, STRING MACHINE. Mr. Roboto Project. 7 p.m. Bloomfield.

TILE, BAT ZUPPEL. Brillobox. 8 p.m. Bloomfield.

THE HOME TEAM. Smiling Moose. 6:30 p.m. South Side.

SINISTER (DEMO EP RELEASE). Smiling Moose. 7 p.m. South Side.

MARK STRICKLAND TRIO. Katz Plaza. 5 p.m. Downtown.

JAZZ

JAZZ LUCARELLI JAZZ. Rivers Club. 5:30 p.m. Downtown. TANIA GRUBBS. City of Asylum. 7 p.m. North Side.

ELECTRONIC

HIP HOP BLACKBEAR. Roxian Theatre. 7 p.m. McKees Rocks.

ROCK HAPPY. Not My Weekend. Smiling Moose. 6:30 p.m. South Side.

ACOUSTIC

ROCK/METAL

MUDSKIPPERS. Hospitality House. 7:30 p.m. Pittsburgh.

LAST IMPORT. Smiling Moose. 8 p.m. South Side.

THE LEMONHEADS. Mr. Smalls Theatre. 8 p.m. Millvale.

THE VAGRANTS. Baja Bar & Grill. 12 p.m. Fox Chapel.

ONLY FLESH. Black Forge Coffee House. 8 p.m. McKees Rocks.

GHOST HOUNDS. Jergel’s. 8 p.m. Warrendale.

These listings are curated by Pittsburgh City Paper’s music writer Jordan Snowden and include events from our free online listings. Submit yours today at www.pghcitypaper.com/submitevent PITTSBURGH CITY PAPER JUNE 5-12, 2019

.FOR THE WEEK OF JUNE 6

FREE WILL ASTROLOGY BY ROB BREZSNY // INFO@PGHCITYPAPER.COM

CANCER (June 21-July 22): “I think gentleness is one of the most disarmingly and captivatingly attractive qualities there are,” writes poet Nayyirah Waheed. That will be emphatically true about you in the coming weeks, Cancerian. Your poised, deeply felt gentleness will accord you as much power as other people might draw from ferocity and grandeur. Your gentleness will enable you to crumble obstacles and slip past barriers. It will energize you to capitalize on and dissipate chaos. It will win you leverage that you’ll be able to use for months.

LEO (July 23-Aug. 22): Is the Loch Ness monster real? Is there a giant sea serpent that inhabits the waters of Loch Ness in Scotland? Tantalizing hints arise now and then, but no definitive evidence has ever emerged. In 1975, enterprising investigators got the idea to build a realistic-looking papier-mâché companion for Nessie and place it in Loch Ness. They hoped that this “honey trap” would draw the reclusive monster into more public view. Alas, the scheme went awry. (Lady Nessie got damaged when she ran into a jetty.) But it did have some merit. Is there an equivalent approach you might employ to generate more evidence and insight about one of your big mysteries, Leo? What strategies might you experiment with? The time is right to hatch a plan.

VIRGO (Aug. 23-Sept. 22): Earlier in your life, you sometimes wrestled with dilemmas that didn’t deserve so much of your time and energy. They weren’t sufficiently essential to invoke the best use of your intelligence. But over the years, you have ripened in your ability to attract more useful and interesting problems. Almost imperceptibly, you have been growing smarter about recognizing which riddles are worth exploring and which are better left alone. Here’s the really good news: The questions and challenges you face now are among the finest you’ve ever had. You are being afforded prime opportunities to grow in wisdom and effectiveness.

LIBRA (Sept. 23-Oct. 22): How many languages are you fluent it? One? Two? More? I’m sure you already know that gaining the ability to speak more than one

GEMINI (May 21-June 20): Some birds can fly for days without coming down to earth. Alpine swifts are the current record-holders, staying aloft for 200 consecutive days as they chase and feed on insects over West Africa. I propose we make the swift your soul ally for the next three weeks. May it help inspire you to take maximum advantage of the opportunities life will be offering you. You will have extraordinary power to soar over the maddening crowd, gaze at the big picture of your life, and enjoy exceptional amounts of freedom. tongue makes you smarter and more empathetic. It expands your capacity to express yourself vividly and gives you access to many interesting people who think differently from you. I mention this, Libra, because you’re in a phase of your cycle when learning a new language might be easier than usual, as is improving your mastery of a second or third language. If none of that’s feasible for you, I urge you to at least formulate an intention to speak your main language with greater candor and precision — and find other ways to expand your ability to express yourself.

and all that remains is to fill a few unimportant holes.” Planck ignored the bad advice and ultimately went on to win a Nobel Prize in physics for his role in formulating quantum theory. Most of us have had a similar experience: people who’ve tried to convince us to reject our highest calling and strongest dreams. In my view, the coming weeks will be a potent time for you to recover and heal from those deterrents and discouragements in your own past.

SCORPIO (Oct. 23-Nov. 21):

Not all, but many horoscope columns address your ego rather than your soul. They provide useful information for your surface self, but little help for your deep self. If you’ve read my oracles for a while, you know that I aspire to be in the latter category. In that light, you won’t be surprised when I say that the most important thing you can do in the coming weeks is to seek closer communion with your soul; to explore your core truths; to focus on delight, fulfillment, and spiritual meaning far more than on status, power, and wealth. As you attend to your playful work, meditate on this counsel from Capricorn author John O’Donohue: “The geography of your destiny is always clearer to the eye of your soul than to the intentions and needs of your surface mind.”

Here’s Uruguayan writer Eduardo Galeano from The Book of Embraces: “In the River Plate basin we call the heart a ‘bobo,’ a fool. And not because it falls in love. We call it a fool because it works so hard.” I bring this to your attention, Scorpio, because I hope that in the coming weeks, your heart will indeed be a hardworking, wisely foolish bobo. The astrological omens suggest that you will learn what you need to learn and attract the experiences you need to attract if you do just that. Life is giving you a mandate to express daring and diligent actions in behalf of love.

SAGITTARIUS (Nov. 22-Dec. 21): When he was twenty years old, a German student named Max Planck decided he wanted to study physics. His professor at the University of Munich dissuaded him, telling Planck, “In this field, almost everything is already discovered,

CAPRICORN (Dec. 22-Jan. 19):

AQUARIUS (Jan. 20-Feb. 18): Aquarian biochemist Gertrude Belle Elion shared the Nobel Prize in physiology or medicine in 1988. She was instrumental in devising new drugs to treat AIDS and herpes, as well

as a medication to facilitate organ transplants. And yet she accomplished all this without ever earning a PhD or MD, a highly unusual feat. I suspect you may pull off a similar, if slightly less spectacular feat in the coming weeks: getting a reward or blessing despite a lack of formal credentials or official credibility.

PISCES (Feb. 19-March 20): Today, Mumbai is a megacity with 12.5 million people on 233 square miles. But as late as the 18th century, it consisted of seven sparsely populated islands. Over many decades, reclamation projects turned them into a single land mass. I foresee you undertaking a metaphorically comparable project during the coming months. You could knit fragments together into a whole. You have the power to transform separate and dispersed influences into a single, coordinated influence. You could inspire unconnected things to unite in common cause.

ARIES (March 21-April 19): “I don’t think we were ever meant to hear the same song sung exactly the same way more than once in a lifetime,” says poet Linh Dinh. That’s an extreme statement that I can’t agree with. But I understand what he’s driving at. Repeating yourself can be debilitating, even deadening. That includes trying to draw inspiration from the same old sources that have worked for you in the past. In accordance with current astrological omens, I suggest you try to minimize exact repetition in the next two weeks: both in what you express and what you absorb. For further motivation, here’s William S. Burroughs: “Truth may appear only once; it may not be repeatable.”

TAURUS (April 20-May 20): Peter Benchley wrote the bestselling book Jaws, which was later turned into a popular movie. It’s the story of a great white shark that stalks and kills people in a small beach town. Later in his life, the Taurus author was sorry for its influence, which helped legitimize human predation on sharks and led to steep drops in shark populations. To atone, Benchley became an aggressive advocate for shark conservation. If there’s any behavior in your own past that you regret, Taurus, the coming weeks will be a good time to follow Benchley’s lead: correct for your mistakes; make up for your ignorance; do good deeds to balance a time when you acted unconsciously.

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June 5, 2019 - Pittsburgh City Paper

Pittsburgh's leading arts and entertainment newsweekly, focusing on Pittsburgh's PRIDE.

June 5, 2019 - Pittsburgh City Paper

Published on Jun 4, 2019

Pittsburgh's leading arts and entertainment newsweekly, focusing on Pittsburgh's PRIDE.

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