Riverfront Times - August 2, 2017

AUGUST 2–8, 2017 I VOLUME 41 I NUMBER 31 AUGUST 2–8, 2017 I VOLUME 41 I NUMBER 31

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Laugh

Track

Rafe Rafe Williams Williams just just might might be be the the funniest funniest person person in in St. St. Louis Louis

tatio / Union S gust 12 /r u n c h . c o m u A , y a d Satur RFTB

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BY THOMAS CRONE

BY THOMAS CRONE

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THE LEDE

PHOTO BY THEO WELLING

“I served in the army for eight years. I was in the Cavalry Scout reconnaissance army and I fought for everyone’s right to hate me. Having what’s his name do this to my fellow transgender soldiers, airmen and marines is downright hateful. I’m standing up for them.”

—MICHELLE DAYTONA, PHOTOGRAPHED IN THE GROVE AT THE RALLY FOR TRANSGENDER RIGHTS ON JULY 30

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TABLE OF CONTENTS FEATURE

14.

Laugh Track

Rafe Williams just might be the funniest person in St. Louis

Written by

THOMAS CRONE

Cover by

SARA BANNOURA

NEWS

CULTURE

DINING

MUSIC

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23

33

47

The Lede

Calendar

Your friend or neighbor, captured on camera

Seven days worth of great stuff to see and do

9

27

A Long Feud Over Metro

County cops warring with transit staffers is nothing new, writes Doyle Murphy

Film

Matthew Heineman’s new film From Syria, With Truth reveals the citizen journalists fighting back against ISIS

9

28

Caveat Missouri

The NAACP issues a rare travel advisory for those thinking about visiting the Show Me State

Visual Arts

A new gallery show has surprising origins: a series of open houses hosted by the St. Louis Public Schools

10

Mission: Workhouse

Welcome to the Funhouse

Cheryl Baehr loves the carnival of sweets — and those delicious tacos — at the Taco & Ice Cream Joint

41

Side Dish

When opportunity knocks, Brian Hardesty of Guerrilla Street Food jumps right in

43

First Look

MK’s Asian Persuasion brings a taste of Laos to Southampton

43

Bars

Mayor Krewson wants to reduce the population in the city’s minimum security jail. She’ll need the circuit attorney’s help

Goodbye Filling Station, hello Kelso’s

44

Sneak Peek

Sara Graham gets a look at Extra Brut, the new Clayton Champagne bar opening August 4 6

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New Directions

New Pornographers expands its sound with its latest LP, Whiteout Conditions

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Homespun Choir Vandals Dark Glow

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Out Every Night

The best concerts in St. Louis every night of the week

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This Just In

This week’s new concert announcements

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Publisher Chris Keating Editor in Chief Sarah Fenske E D I T O R I A L Arts & Culture Editor Paul Friswold Music Editor Daniel Hill Digital Editor Elizabeth Semko Staff Writers Doyle Murphy, Danny Wicentowski Restaurant Critic Cheryl Baehr Film Critic Robert Hunt Contributing Writers Mike Appelstein, Allison Babka, Sara Graham, Roy Kasten, Jaime Lees, Joseph Hess, Kevin Korinek, Bob McMahon, Nicholas Phillips, Tef Poe, Christian Schaeffer, Mabel Suen, Lauren Milford, Thomas Crone, MaryAnn Johanson, Jenn DeRose Editorial Interns Quinn Wilson, Sara Bannoura, Taylor Vinson, Sabrina Medler

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NEWS

9

Metro vs.

County Feud Has Long History Written by

DOYLE MURPHY

I

n December 2013, a pair of public safety o cers working for Metro wrote emails to their chief to complain about a St. Louis County police o cer. he officers had run a background check the night before on a man caught eeing on a MetroLink latform. hen they learned the man was wanted on nine warrants, they called for their olice artners in the county to arrest him. ut the county co who res onded, cer awon ore, was belligerent, the ublic safety o cers alleged. ore chastised Metro o cer athy u n for running the warrant check and writing a citation. hat’s for us real law enforcement ore said, according to the complaints. ore mocked and berated u n, who had s ent more than twenty years as a city co before oining Metro, throughout the rest of the encounter, she claimed.

It was as if he was doing a lot of chest thum ing for absolutely nothing, she wrote to Metro hief ichard ott. e need to be more ro acti e and eam Metro,’ not us ersus them.

Nearly four years later, “Team Metro seems more of a i e dream than e er. he train line is o erated by i-State e elo ment, which has its own security force of ublic safety o cers many of whom were or still are eace o cers with other olice de artments , as well as the equivalent of 130 full-time security guards contracted through Securitas. In addition, i-State contracts with St. Louis ounty, the city of St. Louis and the St. lair ounty Sheriff in Illinois for olice o cers to atrol the line.

Ideally, all these agencies would Continued on pg 11

The national NAACP has issued a rare travel advisory, warning visitors to Missouri to “know before you go.” | KELLY GLUECK

NAACP Issues Warning About Missouri

T

he NAACP has a message for anyone thinking about traveling to Missouri: Be careful.

At the organization’s national conference in Baltimore last Wednesday, delegates approved a “travel advisory” warning visitors to take caution — a move that the president of the NAACP’s Missouri chapter calls virtually unprecedented.

“It’s very unusual,” says Nimrod “Rod” Chapel Jr., the Missouri president. “It’s the first travel advisory we’ve issued that I’ve been aware of.”

The resolution — which Chapel

says was approved by a vote of delegates with “ringing consensus” — cites a number of actions taken in the state recently, including the passage of H.B. 43, which weakens the state’s anti-discrimination law. The resolution also notes racist acts against students at the state’s flagship university, a black student burned with a hot glue gun in the St. Louis suburbs and the death of Tory Sanders, a Tennessee man who asked law enforcement in rural Missouri for help after getting lost — and ended up dead.

“Whereas the U.S. State Department issues travel advisories to the American people when regions of the world become dangerous to U.S. travelers ... the NAACP issues an advisory to members of protective classes, including people of color, women, riverfronttimes.com

seniors, the LGBT community, those with disabilities or those perceived to have disabilities and religious minorities,” the advisory reads in part.

“This is a travel advisory, not a boycott,” Chapel says. “But people need to be aware of what happens in Missouri. You should know before you go.”

And for those living in the state, Chapel says, it’s a reminder to “be ready” — to understand your rights, to know how to react if challenged by law enforcement, to know who to call for help.

Chapel also notes that the state’s anti-discrimination laws don’t change until August 27.

Anyone who’s experiencing workplace discrimination, he suggests, should seriously think about filing a lawsuit before then.

–Sarah Fenske

AUGUST 2-8, 2017

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DID YOU KNOW: Mayor’s

1.3 MILLION PEOPLE READ

Workhouse Plan Is a Team Effort Written by

DANNY WICENTOWSKI

EACH MONTH

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em orary air conditioning units ha e brought a measure of relief to the St. Louis orkhouse and its inmates, but in the wake of mid- uly’s heatwa e which focused outrage o er the ail’s horrendous conditions Mayor Lyda rewson maintains that her administration is committed to reducing the o ulation held by the -year-old facility. owe er, that goal is unreachable without collaboration between the city and a host of criminal ustice o cials, and articularly ircuit ttorney im ardner. rewson has no direct ower o er who gets sent to the orkhouse or for how long. She can’t sim ly order the release of non- iolent inmates locked u for robation iolations or ad ust bond amounts for people too poor to pay their way out of minor crimes. robation, bond amounts, the s eed of a articular criminal case these areas are influenced by a collection of different actors, including defense attorneys, udges and robation officers. nd the brunt of these res onsibilities con erge inside the o ces of the circuit attorney. n uly the same day that fi e industrial units were deli ered to the orkhouse rewson con ened two meetings with city and state o cials, as well as se eral udges, with the goal of de ising a strategy to shrink the orkhouse’s o ulation and reduce the amount of time inmates s end languishing in its cells. ardner did not attend. either did any re resentati e or rosecutor from the ircuit ttorney’s ce. ccording to the mayor’s o ce, rewson and ardner were su osed to meet riday, but that lan fell through as well. In an email, a s okeswoman for the ircuit ttorney’s ce says that ardner

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Mayor Lyda Krewson would like to reduce the population in the Workhouse. | DANNY WICENTOWSKI had re ious commitments on uly and was not able to attend the meeting, which had been called on short notice. he two arties say they ho e to meet this week.

In an inter iew with RFT riday, rewson stresses that her o erall goal is reduce the o ulation in both the city’s ails. urrently, the orkhouse mostly houses re-trial detainees, including those arrested for robation iolations. he downtown ustice enter, which holds more than inmates, ser es to house sus ects charged with iolent crimes.

I’m starting with the orkhouse because the eo le there generally ha e lesser charges, rewson ex lains. hat includes some inmates locked u on technical robation iolations, such as missing court-ordered check-ins or failing a drug test. aluating which inmates to release, though, will re uire hearings and the in ut from defense attorneys and city rosecutors.

I’m trying to raise the awareness of e eryone in the law enforcement circle who has a role to lay in this, rewson says. nd ardner, she adds, is ob iously a ery im ortant layer in this circle.” side from ardner, other significant layers in that circle did attend rewson’s two uly meetings. ccording to the mayor’s o ce, a morning meeting included ublic Safety irector harlene eeken, ity orrections ommissioner ale lass and a re resentati e from the Missouri

Department of Corrections. Later that day, rewson and her staff met with three city udges to discuss ways to s eed u criminal cases.

I’m not trying to tell them how to do their obs, rewson says. ut we can be a con ener, and we can ask eo le to think differently about what they’re doing and to see whether, through collaboration, we can mo e eo le through the system in a uicker way. ow rewson, the circuit attorney and the arious stakeholders work that out remains to be seen, but in the meantime the mayor’s efforts indicate a shift in her osition on the orkhouse. uring the contentious mayoral rimary election earlier this year, reasurer ishaura ones blasted the city’s olitical establishment for letting the conditions in the orkhouse degrade to at-times barbaric le els. She made shutting down the ail a central art of her latform ultimately, ones lost to rewson in the emocratic rimary by ust otes . rewson ser ed as an alderwoman for nearly a decade before ste ing into the role of mayor, and she concedes that the orkhouse’s roblems aren’t recent by any stretch. ut after a recordsetting heat wa e, a round of rotests and her own further in estigations, rewson now says that she’s con inced something must be done. hen you sit in this chair, she says, referring to the mayor’s o ce, you feel more res onsibility to dig into the issues more n dee ly.

METRO VS. COUNTY Continued from pg 9 work together to kee riders safe. ut emails and documents from iState show that Metro has clashed bitterly with the county, and to a much lesser extent the city and St. Clair. he long-running turf war flared u o er the last week, as St. Louis Post-Dispatch columnist ony Messenger un eiled a bombshell re ort in three arts, accusing county olice o cers of hiding out in a security o ce as criminals terrorize stra -hangers.

Messenger released hotos taken from sur eillance footage that show county o cers co ering u a camera in the security o ce at the orth anley train station at least eight times. ther ictures show as many as a dozen o cers inside the small office. hey seem to be on their hones or talking. wo o cers are seated with their backs to the monitors that show what’s ha ening on the latform.

Messenger also re ealed re orts of officers sho ing miles away for guns, slee ing and filing bogus work logs for atrols that ne er ha ened, all while assengers were left to fend for themsel es. he documents, hotos and ideos were obtained through an o en records re uest to i-State. he Riverfront Times has since re uested, and recei ed, the same materials from the agency.

In the aftermath of Messengers’ stories, the county council has called for an outside in estigation, and olice and go ernment leaders ha e unleashed a war of words and counter-accusations. ince Schoemehl, chair of the ublic safety committee for Bi-State e elo ment, which o ersees the MetroLink, said St. Louis ounty olice hief on elmar should be fired. nough is enough, Schoemehl told ox . It’s now time for St. Louis ounty to do something. hey got a olice board out there. I think they ought to fire him or he should resign. he executi e board of the St. Louis County Police Association, which re resents county o cers, says it’s Metro hief ott who should uit or be fired. nion s okesman abe rocker went on S M on ednesday and ainted ott as a cree , accusing him of using the sur eillance camera and other, ossibly hidden cameras to s y on o cers in the security o ce.

Maybe if ichard ott s ent a little less time trying to look at olice o cers naked in the locker room and handing those ideos o er to the media, maybe what he could do is start sitting down with hief elmar, sitting down with the acting chief of St. Louis city and start sol ing some of these roblems with Metro, rocker told S host Mc raw Milha en. hat was once an ugly, but riate, feud among agencies is now publicly nasty.

It is unfortunate that the focus

has shifted away from the main to ic kee ing the transit riding ublic safe, i-State s okeswoman atti eck said in email when asked about rocker’s statements. ott did not res ond to a re uest for comment.

In an inter iew, county olice chief elmar tells the RFT that finger- ointing among agencies has gotten out of hand. e claims he has information that would be damning to Metro, but says releasing it would only continue the battle.

I’m not going there, elmar

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says, sort of going there. It’s not useful.” e says the de artment’s internal affairs di ision will conduct a full in estigation of the allegations laid out in Messenger’s stories, and elmar will then decide if there was any wrongdoing. he images of officers co ering cameras and re orts of o cers shirking duties are a cause for concern, but Belmar says he needs more information. uick o er iew of the o cers’ numbers, howe er, doesn’t show any e idence Continued on pg 12

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METRO VS. COUNTY Continued from pg 11

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that the county co s assigned to the trains are s ending their days hiding out in the security o ce, he says. elmar oints to statistics that show nearly , calls initiated by those o cers, more than arrests and guns confiscated from eole on the trains and latforms so far this year.

Seizing guns off the line in there’s some work that has to be done there to do that, he says. e also sees a ossible ex lanation for hotos showing as many as a dozen o cers inside the security o ce. It was uly weekend and additional officers were working long shifts for air St. Louis. Sergeants were telling their charges to drink water, eat and get off their feet when they could, elmar says. he chief uestions the way the accusations came out. e says he was at a meeting with ott two weeks ago and wasn’t told about any of the roblems suddenly made public.

My goodness, he could ha e told us that, told me that, either o cially in the meeting or on the side, he says. ne of the roblems, according to elmar, is the camera. e has said it’s an in asion of ri acy, recording the room that o cers working out of the orth anley station use to write re orts, monitor external sureillance cameras, eat, take breaks and change clothes. e robably should ha e said to Metro, ey, listen, you don’t ha e other cameras in the other o ces that monitor rooms such as this. hy is this one necessary, and can we broker an agreement on when this camera gets turned on and doesn’t get turned on ’ elmar says. I think, looking back on it, that would ha e been a reasonable thing for us to do. ut Metro has said the camera is there for a sim le reason ounty in estigators wanted recordings of the inside of the room. It dates back to another issue with ore, the same county o cer accused of dis araging Metro ublic safety o cers in December 2013. our months after the ublic safety officers made their comlaint, in ril , ore charged a man outside the o ce after a erbal disagreement, smashed his hand with a baton and then dragged him inside the security o ce. he initial incident was ca tured by two exterior cameras, but there

was no camera at the time inside the o ce. he man claimed ore s ueezed his broken hand when they were behind closed doors, but the o cer denied it, and a security guard said she didn’t see it ha en. ott told Messenger county inestigators asked for footage from inside the o ce, but there were only external cameras back then. So they installed one to rotect both the county o cers and our o cers. ore was e entually charged with second-degree assault. he case is still ending.

In the records released by i-State, emails going back years show the rift between Metro and the county was nothing new. ounty o cers ha e long regarded the Metro ublic safety o cers sometimes called red shirts as little more than mall cops. rocker, the union re , made the oint clear on S e called for ott to be fired so we can ut somebody in charge of those security guards, because they’re not olice o cers they’re security guards. or his art, ott has been ushing for years to build a commissioned transit olice force instead of the hodge- odge of agencies. his is ty ical of what we ut u with e ery day and another reason our own authority is so critical, he wrote to a i-State o cial in a email about a juvenile robbery susect, who was later released by a county olice o cer. e hire moti ated o cers and in a short amount of time working

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A St. Louis County police officer is caught on camera covering a surveillance camera in December 2015; again, with another officer in July 2017. | COURTESY OF METRO with the county and in some cases the city as well they become frustrated and lose their moti ation, ott wrote.

In com laints about their olice artners, Metro ublic safety o cers and dis atchers re orted wait times of u to two hours for olice to res ond to robberies or other serious calls, sometimes allowing sus ects to walk away. hen o cers did show u , they were often dismissi e of Metro, e en releasing sus ects in some cases, according to Metro’s com laints.

In a o ember incident re orted by Metro, ublic safety o cers detained a sus ect in an alleged car theft. he S ’s owner had ointed them to his stolen ehicle, and the accused thief walked u to the ehicle as they were in estigating. ut when the Metro officers called it in, it took more than an hour for two co s to arri e. hen they did, the county co s told Metro to take off so they could handle it. he Metro o cers say they did as they were told but continued to watch on sur eillance ideo because the sus ect had a history of iolence. ithin ten minutes, the county officers had taken off the man’s handcuffs and turned him loose, according to Metro’s write-u . he two county o cers then listed themsel es out of ser ice for the next two and a half hours, according to the re ort. art of the fight between the county and Metro re ol es around the authorization to write tickets.

Metro had been using a re orting number issued to the county through some ty e of long-running agreement. In an ctober letter signed by elmar and then-St. Louis city olice hief Sam otson, Metro was told that would no longer be allowed. he chiefs also told Metro it didn’t ha e authority for its canine unit or e en to ut red flashing lights on its ehicles. hese ste s were necessary to make sure e eryone was in comliance with state law enforcement standards, according to the letter, but Metro took it as a ower lay. nd Metro o cers’ lack of an authorization number, something issued by the e artment of ustice, has ke t the agency from writing tickets for fare- um ing and other baseline roblems, a situation first re orted by the Post-Dispatch. elmar says he sees Metro as an im ortant art of safety on the trains, but the role he describes is far from what ott and i-State ha e sought.

Metro is well-suited to be a cororate security ad iser for Metro for the benefit of the ridershi , he says. Metro has that ability to look at e ery as ect of safety on the line, from things as basic as rail safety all the way u to crime issues informing the olice what crime issues look like. e says the arrangement could be similar to that of arnes- ewish osital, meren or Monsanto any big o eration with its own security guards. n

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13

Laugh

Track

Rafe Williams just might be the funniest person in St. Louis

L

14

BY THOMAS CRONE

aurie’s Place is an unassum- of his own. Such as: a lengthy take on his former ing bar, grill and music venue roommate, a member of the national table tennis in downtown Edwardsville, so team of Barbados, who only bathed once a week regular as to be special. The joint and who would leave a line of grit in the tub that features two barrooms, and the Williams can describe almost too vividly. one in back has the kind of dark, His regulars cackle a bit and throw in their two windowless charm that makes cents. The scene plays out through the noon lunch you never want to leave on a hour, at which point the spot is all but emptied out, hot summer afternoon. Twice a just as he’s predicted. Williams is clearly at home in week, the man who last year was this place, which might explain why he keeps showdeemed the funniest person in ing up, even though every shift entails a 90-minute St. Louis tends bar here, a long- round-trip drive from his apartment in the city. standing gig he’s held for about But Williams is comfortable in a variety of roles, a dozen years, through countless places, situations, environments. In a world of spelife changes. cialists, he’s a generalist, joyously so.

“Comedy pays my bills,” Rafe There’s standup, of course, but also coursework Williams says. “But this is my taught at the Improv Shop and sketch-writing, too. He insurance money. It helps out when some months podcasts and has written ad copy for St. Louis instituare lean. I’ve kept this job through a lot of traveling, tions including Imo’s and Purina. He’s even working and Laurie’s has always been supportive to my on a show through the aus ices of oolfire Media, a career. It’s a security blanket, and I’m always out St. Louis company with a track record of placing reality of here by six so that I can do all the shows I like.” television with networks. The show is in that delicate Williams seems to have a story about every situ- pre-production stage where no one is permitted to say ation that comes across his path. Listening to him much, though he will allow, “I’ve worked with the comwhile he’s bartending, you sense how the job is pany on other commercial projects and they liked my “complementary,” as he says, to gigging in comedy personality and writing, so we collaborated to create clubs. “You’re training your brain as a comedian: a tele ision conce t. My role is the host and writer.

You have to have a natural inclination to note things The guy behind the bar at Laurie’s? The funny and think on them in a funny way. Comedy comes one? He’s got a lot going on. from observations, and what better place is there to make them?”

At 38, Williams is one of the older guys in St. As he knows most of the people who come through Louis’ coterie of working comedians. The gift that the door — a mix that includes lawyers, tradesmen, comes with that: perspective. Some young comics o ce workers and an occasional roustabout il- won’t ask for advice — you know, ‘cause they’re liams is quick with a quip, playfully jousting with a young. Others will and, when they do, Williams few, taking orders and talking to a reporter with his channels Rich Talarico, a comedy writer known for attention on his customers first. t times, they tell his work with Key and Peele, among others.

Continued on pg 16 a story and he adds a piece, then starts in on a riff RIVERFRONT TIMES AUGUST 2-8, 2017 riverfronttimes.com

Rafe Williams performs at the Improv Shop, where he also teaches and sometimes bartends. | SARA BANNOURA

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RAFE WILLIAMS Continued from pg 15 “When people ask me how to get to the next level,” Williams says, “I just tell them to crush the level you’re at. When you crush the level that you’re at, you’re all of a sudden onto the next. It’s like being on an elevator. There’s no o cial rite of assage. ou ust start doing shows. You get a couple of good breaks. You host. You feature, which is the set in the middle of a show. Then, when you get the opportunity, you start to headline sets in small clubs.”

Right now, Williams is at the point where, he says, “I’ll stop and reflect on a year’s body of work and think, ‘A lot of stuff’s happened.’ Which feels good. Progress is incremental, as it would be in anyone else’s life. I’ve done the East Coast, the South, the Midwest, L .

I’ve gone to New York to work with Improv4Humans and that was a really cool opportunity.

I’m getting to the point where, hopefully, this will be the year to completely transition and schedule enough dates to be on the road for twenty weeks a year. A lot of it is just getting an opportunity, just like in any other business. And when you do, don’t be an asshole. Be easy

to work with, and when you do get the opportunity, deliver.”

It’s a comment that segues naturally into this Hallmark moment: “I really believe that if you open yourself up, that the universe will provide you good things. I know that sounds corny. You have to not worry about ‘when’ or ‘how’ you get it, but do what you love and surround yourself with good people. I think that’s what people miss.”

Williams has faced a few challenges, which have, in turn, provided creative stimuli. For example, he notes during one particularly hilarious on-stage bit that he became a grandfather — early. The son he had as a teenager himself became a dad at an even younger age, thus his status as a “pee-paw” by 36. It’s a part of his act that consistently gets laughs and humanizes Williams instantly.

Drinking was an issue, too, and provided a test of his resolve to perform without it.

“When I quit

drinking and had to do it without alcohol, it was crippling,” he acknowledges. “I did Toastmasters. I did every kind of improv.”

But, he says, it was his decision to stop, in 2011, that allowed him to take his comedy seriously. “You realize that there’s a difference between the lion that’s going to eat you and the lion that’s not. And I think a lot of people aren’t able to make that determination. It’s societal, though. There’s such a deep-seated, innate fear of expressing yourself, which is what so many people feel.”

Feelings? He has them.

In his sets, Williams passes along the perception that he looks like “a meathead.” Letting the audience in on the idea that looks are deceiving, and confirming that he’s anything but that meathead, Williams opens up to his audience about what they’re going to get going forward. Meatheads ty ically don’t come up with self-deprecating phrases like “you have to make failure your vitamin” or thoughtful nuggets like “comedy can be relatable or edgy, but what’s common is that you’re trying to get an involuntary reaction, laughter, out of someone, and you can get to that same end point by taking

very different roads.”

Says Williams, “If you’re an angry-looking man and don’t call that out, it’s all the audience is going to be thinking about.”

The plus side of being a bigger guy, Williams says, is that “I don’t get heckled much. It’s happened, but not a lot.” | SARA BANNOURA

Failure is a topic that Williams addresses again and again, across a handful of conversations, days and situations. He knows the value of it. While no one wants failure as a constant companion, occasional bouts of it can make a performer sharper, less afraid.

“Failure is a huge part of the business,” he says. “When you’re a comedian, the public is your editor.

Continued on pg 18

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RAFE WILLIAMS RAFE ContinuedWILLIAMS from pg 17 Continued from pg 17 You have to fail in front of peoYou have to fail in front of people. You put your work out there ple. You put your work out there and see if there’s universal apand see if there’s universal appeal.” peal.”

His improv training and His improv training and coaching, he says, “make it coaching, he says, “make it easier to riff, to feel more comeasier to riff, to feel more comfortable with an audience, to fortable with an audience, to express a new idea or to play a express a new idea or to play a character onstage.” character onstage.”

Most St. Louis comedians Most St. Louis comedians will choose either improv or will choose either improv or standup, notes comedian Kenny standup, notes comedian Kenny Kinds. Williams does both. “I Kinds. Williams does both. “I think he has done an excellent think he has done an excellent job of incorporating improv into job of incorporating improv into his act, especially in the use of his act, especially in the use of act-outs and characters,” Kinds act-outs and characters,” Kinds observes. “I know that both observes. “I know that both improvisers and comics pretty improvisers and comics pretty much stick to one side or the much stick to one side or the other, but he has seemed to find other, but he has seemed to find a successful niche in working in a successful niche in working in both mediums.” both mediums.”

When it comes to improv, When it comes to improv, Williams works with a team at Williams works with a team at the Improv Shop that has a repthe Improv Shop that has a reputation of excellence. They’re utation of excellence. They’re the oldest house team at the Imthe oldest house team at the Improv Shop, and they’re called prov Shop, and they’re called Burnside.

Burnside.

“When you complete train“When you complete training at the shop, you are eligible ing at the shop, you are eligible to audition for a house team, to audition for a house team, which performs ‘the Harold’ which performs ‘the Harold’ form of improv,” he explains. form of improv,” he explains.

That’s a signature structure of That’s a signature structure of longform improv developed by longform improv developed by pioneers Del Close and Charna pioneers Del Close and Charna Halpern. While the Harold is Halpern. While the Harold is respected by performers of the respected by performers of the craft — and remains a marvel craft — and remains a marvel to watch when executed well to watch when executed well — it’s largely a discipline that — it’s largely a discipline that lives and breathes only in small lives and breathes only in small circles. It’s most appreciated, circles. It’s most appreciated, perhaps, by the practitioners perhaps, by the practitioners themselves. themselves.

The team members all audiThe team members all auditioned together three years ago, tioned together three years ago, back when the Improv Shop back when the Improv Shop found its first brick-and-mortar found its first brick-and-mortar home in the Central West End. home in the Central West End. “Everyone on that team is “Everyone on that team is highly talented and has superb highly talented and has superb comedic acumen,” Williams comedic acumen,” Williams says. “They’re fucking killers says. “They’re fucking killers on stage. We play physical and on stage. We play physical and hard in terms of improv and hard in terms of improv and follow the fun with reckless follow the fun with reckless abandon. abandon.

“We are out there walking “We are out there walking a tightrope together in front a tightrope together in front of a live audience and success of a live audience and success and failure has to have group and failure has to have group

ownership. I believe the most ownership. I believe the most important ingredient for sucimportant ingredient for successful improv is assembling cessful improv is assembling a team that authentically ena team that authentically enjoys each other’s company. We joys each other’s company. We hang out and are good friends hang out and are good friends off stage. There is a real kinship off stage. There is a real kinship and trust that cannot be manuand trust that cannot be manufactured.” factured.”

Williams also coaches anWilliams also coaches another house team, this one other house team, this one called Scottie. “They are a fancalled Scottie. “They are a fantastic group, as well,” he says. tastic group, as well,” he says.

“Coaching them has made me a “Coaching them has made me a better player and a better perbetter player and a better person.” son.”

But nothing compares to the But nothing compares to the thrill of being there alone on thrill of being there alone on stage. “I was a standup comic stage. “I was a standup comic first. It’s like my baby, my firstfirst. It’s like my baby, my firstborn. People ask if you have a born. People ask if you have a favorite kid, right? Well, I like favorite kid, right? Well, I like sketch, I like improv. But with sketch, I like improv. But with standup, I’m the editor, I’m the standup, I’m the editor, I’m the producer. In every other outlet, producer. In every other outlet, you have to collaborate a little you have to collaborate a little bit. But the purest form of my bit. But the purest form of my communication is standup and communication is standup and I can’t see not doing it.”

I can’t see not doing it.”

Burnside, the improv group that Burnside, the improv group that Williams performs with, has been Williams performs with, has been together three years. “There is together three years. “There is a real kinship and a trust that a real kinship and a trust that cannot be manufactured,” he cannot be manufactured,” he says. | SARA BANNOURA says. | SARA BANNOURA

Conversely, Williams believes Conversely, Williams believes that some comedians avoid imthat some comedians avoid improv because of their inability to prov because of their inability to let go of control, to be faced with let go of control, to be faced with the possibility that their efforts the possibility that their efforts in a collaborative setting may in a collaborative setting may yield the laughs to someone else. yield the laughs to someone else.

“Improv will make you a better “Improv will make you a better comedian, as you have to think comedian, as you have to think on your feet and step into and on your feet and step into and out of character,” Williams says. out of character,” Williams says.

“The sense you get is a little bit of “The sense you get is a little bit of artistic payoff. I think everyone artistic payoff. I think everyone is capable of being funny in their is capable of being funny in their own right. And in improv, you own right. And in improv, you don’t have to try to be funny, you don’t have to try to be funny, you have to be trustful. Trust yourself have to be trustful. Trust yourself and your instincts. Trust your and your instincts. Trust your scene partners. You have to say scene partners. You have to say ‘yes,’ seeing the good in people ‘yes,’ seeing the good in people and saying ‘yes’ to ideas. Getting and saying ‘yes’ to ideas. Getting on stage and doing it will only on stage and doing it will only provide truth.” provide truth.”

That truth can often be found That truth can often be found in the open mics that are pepin the open mics that are peppered through clubs across St. pered through clubs across St. Louis, be they the full-time comLouis, be they the full-time comedy clubs like Hey Guys, Helium edy clubs like Hey Guys, Helium

or the Funny Bone, or the more or the Funny Bone, or the more raucous, anything-can-happen, raucous, anything-can-happen, “bar mic” variety, like the one “bar mic” variety, like the one held at the Crow’s Nest every held at the Crow’s Nest every Wednesday.

Wednesday.

On July 26, Williams attends On July 26, Williams attends the bar’s Wild Card Wednesday the bar’s Wild Card Wednesday and signs up for the sixth slot and signs up for the sixth slot on a night that features just shy on a night that features just shy of twenty comics. Starting at of twenty comics. Starting at 10:30 p.m., the night’s late start 10:30 p.m., the night’s late start often attracts folks who have often attracts folks who have been drinking, whether they’re been drinking, whether they’re there for comedy or simply walk there for comedy or simply walk into the performance. Before into the performance. Before Williams takes the stage, guest Williams takes the stage, guest host Yale Hollander reads jokes host Yale Hollander reads jokes penned by an elderly friend-ofpenned by an elderly friend-ofa-relative who wants to break a-relative who wants to break into comedy writing; these jokes into comedy writing; these jokes bomb, but intentionally and bomb, but intentionally and spectacularly. Then soft-spoken spectacularly. Then soft-spoken youngster Katie Davis, summeryoungster Katie Davis, summering in St. Louis before heading to ing in St. Louis before heading to college, delivers some brand new college, delivers some brand new one-liners, in a voice just above a one-liners, in a voice just above a whisper, and Ken Warner deals whisper, and Ken Warner deals in his customary, highly amusin his customary, highly amusing patter of self-deprecation and ing patter of self-deprecation and

tales of romantic awkwardness. tales of romantic awkwardness.

By the time Williams hits the By the time Williams hits the tiny, fold-out stage, the back of tiny, fold-out stage, the back of the room is at full-tilt, voices the room is at full-tilt, voices rising. The comics in the front rising. The comics in the front are nearly drowned out by the are nearly drowned out by the increasing volume in this busy, increasing volume in this busy, high-ceilinged room. high-ceilinged room.

Not content to concede a thing, Not content to concede a thing, Williams raises his own voice, Williams raises his own voice, fixes his gaze on the back of the fixes his gaze on the back of the room and rattles off some materoom and rattles off some material he’s been flashing recently, rial he’s been flashing recently, scoring with an amusing riff on scoring with an amusing riff on his gun-crazy, crime-obsessed his gun-crazy, crime-obsessed country cousins. country cousins.

Before the show, Steve Raines, Before the show, Steve Raines, Williams’ partner in the podcast Williams’ partner in the podcast The Other Side of the Tracks, The Other Side of the Tracks, stopped by; together, they stopped by; together, they cracked jokes and asked actual, cracked jokes and asked actual, intentional questions of all those intentional questions of all those who visited their table. Pre-set, who visited their table. Pre-set, Williams was as reserved as a Williams was as reserved as a church mouse. church mouse.

But when his time on the mic But when his time on the mic comes, he shreds, his personality comes, he shreds, his personality shining, jokes unfolding, a bit of shining, jokes unfolding, a bit of ad-libbing thrown in for good ad-libbing thrown in for good

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measure. He riffs about having measure. He riffs about having sleep apnea and casual sex. He sleep apnea and casual sex. He jokes about trying to sky-dive as jokes about trying to sky-dive as a plus-sized male. He talks about a plus-sized male. He talks about President Trump handling enviPresident Trump handling environmental policy the way Wilronmental policy the way Williams handles his student loans. liams handles his student loans.

He kills.

He kills.

Williams notes, rightly, that in Williams notes, rightly, that in comedy “a lot of sports analogies comedy “a lot of sports analogies get mixed in. You crushed. You get mixed in. You crushed. You killed. You bombed.” killed. You bombed.”

On this night, he might just On this night, he might just touch on another sports analogy, touch on another sports analogy, in that he grinded: against the inin that he grinded: against the indifference of the audience in the difference of the audience in the back, well into their own night back, well into their own night of non-comedic fun; against of non-comedic fun; against the familiarity of the faces up the familiarity of the faces up front, many of them knowing his front, many of them knowing his punchlines and “tags”; against punchlines and “tags”; against the material itself, which he’s the material itself, which he’s constantly refining, with a word constantly refining, with a word changing here or a pause given changing here or a pause given an extra beat there. He grinds it an extra beat there. He grinds it out, and that’s just one of many out, and that’s just one of many things that his contemporaries things that his contemporaries dig about Rafe Williams. dig about Rafe Williams.

“It’s the dojo,” Williams says “It’s the dojo,” Williams says Continued on pg 20 Continued on pg 20

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RAFE WILLIAMS Continued from pg 19

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of open mic culture. “It’s where you learn to punch, where you learn to kick. So that when there’s a real fight, you know how to perform.

Or at least how to stay alive.

I’ve bombed more than my fair share, because everyone has a different perception of comedy.”

In 2016, Rafe Williams competed in the Funniest Person in St. Louis contest, hosted by Helium Comedy Club’s then-new location at the Saint Louis Galleria.

The contest, which ran for a full month, drew 100 contestants, all vying for the $1,200 grand prize and a title that simply sounds incredible. Who wouldn’t want to be the funniest person in the city?

In the end, Williams won, earning the title for a oneyear reign. It also means you host the next year’s competition, which he did just a few

weeks back. Nathan Orton now holds the title, though in fairness to both men, Williams didn’t get a chance to defend it. Being last year’s winner means that instead you host, with Williams delivering his own material during breaks in the action.

He’s earned the respect of his peers. Chris Cyr simply calls him “a monster.”

“I think he is one of the few people who instinctively understands what it means to be a professional artist,” Cyr says. “A lot of comics, and performers in general, work really hard on their craft and wait for the world to notice them.

Rafe worked really hard to develop a strong library of jokes to pull from, put all of that into a well-structured set that still gives him room to improv when he wants, and audiences love him. But then he’s also really good at putting himself out there to meet people, contact clubs, and do all of the other work necessary to create opportu-

nities that will allow him to do this as a living.”

If not a monster, comedian Brian Mc owell finds illiams to be close kin — “a beast.”

“Frankly, I’m very jealous of Rafe Williams, and wish I had his prospects for success,” he says. “He’s probably the most energetic and audience-pleasing comic on the scene right now.” He adds, “Rafe isn’t afraid to be silly. That gets the audience on his side, and makes him extremely di cult for any local comedian to follow.”

Says Jonathan Venegoni, “Rafe is one of those guys that I liked from the first time I saw him at rt ar.

Not only is he a great guy and super lovable, he is very thoughtful and insightful. These traits naturally come out in his act. I also love just hearing him speak. He has a great speaking voice. ... Rafe is one of those people that comedy — at least stand-up comedy — came easily to.”

The thought of moving, well, it’s struck Williams, of course. So many opportunities exist in other cities. But there’s so much here, as well. Like his multiple roles at the Improv Shop (where he also

bartends on occasion), as well as his home away from home at Laurie’s Place.

There’s also his son, Drake, and granddaughter, Brooklyn, as well as his girlfriend Tina Dybal, herself finding a footing in St. Louis comedy circles.

“I love her very much and she is a great human and comic,” Williams says. “It is a good place to be in, both professionally and personally, to have someone supportive in your corner who loves you and completely understands the compulsion, struggles, triumphs and tragedies of following your crazy dream. She’s the best.”

Soft-spoken, incisive and possessing some serious introspection about life and work, Williams is at an interesting career point.

Multi le aths are continuing to emerge, though all of the signposts still point back to his current home — a couple of afternoons a week at Laurie’s, Mondays at the Improv Shop, a night or two at Helium or at the various “dojos.” All of these places, together, inform his life and art. He wants to make it here and

maybe drag a few talented knuckleheads along with him.

“We build talent here, then hemorrhage it to the coasts,” he says.

“Sometime you have to leave for the sake of your career. But I hope that’s changing. They’re still there, the gatekeepers, but they’re not as important as they used to be.”

And just as he’s doing so, he wants his contemporaries to do something, too.

“You can go out and make stuff,” he suggests. “Keep going out and making stuff. Get all of it out of your system.” n

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Rafe Williams at work coaching the improv team Scottie. | SARA BANNOURA

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CALENDAR

WEEK OF AUGUST 2-9

Ellie Schwetye, left, and Rachel Tibbetts will alternate playing the leads in Slightly Askew Theatre Ensemble’s The Color of August. | JOEY RUMPELL

BY PAUL FRISWOLD

THURSDAY 08/03 Ragtime E.L. Doctorow’s novel Ragtime is about three of the many Americas that existed at the start of the twentieth century. There are the immigrants, as ersonified by the Jewish man Tateh and his daughter; the black Americans, here 300 years and still on the outside of everything, represented by the musician Coalhouse and his girl, Sarah; and there are the established, comfortable families, in this case temporarily headed by Mother while her husband participates in a scientific expedition.

What do these three strands of society have in common? Not much, but over time they can — and will — weave together and form a new image of America. The musical version of Ragtime, adapted by Terrence McNally, Stephen Flaherty and Lynn Ahrens, sets the story in the framework of the American art form, revealing the faith and courage required to pursue a new life. Stray Dog Theatre closes its current season with Ragtime. Performances are at 8 p.m. Thursday to Saturday (August 3 to 19) at the Tower Grove Abbey (2336 Tennessee Avenue; www.straydogtheatre. org). There are additional shows at 8 p.m. Wednesday, August 16, and at 2 p.m. Saturday, August 19.

Tickets are $20 to $25.

FRIDAY 08/04 Out on Broadway New Line Theatre’s sporadically produced musical revue Out on Broadway returns for only the third time in 21 years with Out on Broadway: The Third Coming.

It’s an exceptionally simple set-up: ou take fi e male singers, gi e them a pianist as accompaniment, and let them loose to tell their stories — the loves, losses and lives of five gay men — through the songs of musicals such as Kinky Boots, Heathers, Hamilton and The Book of Mormon. This lucky third production comes with the added riverfronttimes.com

bonus of “Hope,” a brand-new song from Jason Robert Brown (composer of The Last Five Years and Parade, among many others), which will open the show. Come for some old favorites and get a couple new surprises as well. Out on Broadway: The Third Coming is performed at 8 p.m. Thursday through Saturday (August 3 to 19) at the Marcelle Theatre (3310 Samuel Shepard Drive; www.newlinetheatre.com). Tickets are $15 to $25.

Is He Dead?

Jean-François Millet is a mid-nineteenth century painter whose work just doesn’t sell. But while

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CALENDAR Continued from pg 23

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he has no food, he does have a circle of pals — a German, an Irishman and an American — who convince Millet that his work would become exceedingly collectible if he were to die. And so Jean-François dies, leaving his “twin sister” Daisy to manage his estate and rake in the francs.

This solution brings more complications to “Daisy’s” life, as JeanFrançois’ landlord and his former creditor both attempt to pursue a relationship with Daisy. Mark Twain’s farcical play Is He Dead? lay unpublished for more than a century because it was both lackluster and dull. It’s been punched up by the supremely funny David Ives and now has a new lease on life. St. Louis Shakespeare opens its 33rd season with Is He Dead?

Performances are at 8 p.m. Friday and Saturday and 2 p.m. Sunday (August 4 to 13) at the Ivory Theatre (7622 Michigan Avenue; www.stlshakespeare.org). There is one additional performance at 7:30 p.m. Thursday, August 10.

Tickets are $18 to $20.

SATURDAY 08/05 ScratchFest 3 Tom Huck’s Printbangerz Ball is a biannual celebration of the printmaker’s art, with open studios, classes and hobnobbing taking place for a week at Huck’s Evil Prints (1931 Washington Avenue; www.evilprints.com/printbangerzball). The week culminates in the third annual ScratchFest, a onenight art show/dance party that commemorates the life of local musician and artist Bob Reuter.

The big draw is all the affordably priced, hand-printed art that will fill the eady oom Manchester Avenue) from 6 p.m to midnight on Saturday, August 5.

Prices start at $50 for all prints, which are all made by established and emerging printmakers such as Sean Starwars, Cannonball Press, Julia Curran and Carlos Hernandez. The dancing music is provided by Alley Ghost and the Amazing Hancock Bros., as well as Bob Reuter’s legendary collection of vinyl delights. Admission to ScratchFest is free, but don’t be a cheapskate; buy stuff while you’re there.

SLLAW XIV: The Royal Rumble The women of the St. Louis Lady Arm Wrestlers (SLLAW, and don’t you forget it) are mad, bad and dangerous to know. The group grafts the performance element of professional wrestling onto the quiet and deeply intimate art of arm wrestling. What gets spun out the other end makes the Sylvester Stallone movie Over the Top seem like a documentary. SLLAW is theatrical, competitive and supremely feminine — it takes strength to be a woman in this world, and these hand-grapplers have that in spades.

Tonight SLLAW presents its Royal Rumble at 9 p.m. at the Heavy Anchor (5226 Gravois Avenue; www. theheavyanchor.com). Admission is $7, and all proceeds go to NARAL Pro-Choice Missouri.

Moonlight Ramble The Moonlight Ramble is now in its 54th year, and the nocturnal bike ride though the streets of the city is still going strong. The actual route remains a secret until late in the game, but rest assured you’ll see a whole new St. Louis as the city is illuminated by the full moon. This year’s ride begins at the intersection of Eighth and Cerre streets (Busch Stadium parking lot C; www. moonlightramble.com), which will be open for the pre-ride festivities, including cycling vendors and live music, at 9 p.m. Saturday, August 5.

The course opens at 12:01 a.m. (technically Sunday morning), and you’ll have a choice of routes: either the 9.5-mile run, or the 18.5-mile course.

It’s not a race, so just have fun out there, and remember, helmets are required for all riders. Registration is $10 for youth riders (up to age sixteen) and $25 for adults.

MONDAY 08/07 Donald Ray Pollock Donald Ray Pollock first made a splash with his debut collection of linked stories, Knockemstiff, which chronicled the dark and weird strivers who populate the grimmer corners of the Midwest. His new novel The Heavenly Table is about

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The women of SLLAW throw down in a Royal Rumble this Saturday. | STEVE TRUESDELL two families in 1917 America. One is headed by tough borderlands farmer Pearl Jewett. When he is suddenly dispossessed of his land, his three sons are of a mind to get even through criminal means. The Fiddler family lose everything to a con artist, and at their lowest point sort of crash into the Jewetts, who are on the run and well on their way to criminal immortality. Pollock reads from and signs copies of the heavily praised The Heavenly Table at 7 p.m. tonight at St. Louis County Library Headquarters (1640 South Lindbergh Boulevard, Frontenac; www.slcl.org). Admission is free, and copies of Pollock’s novels will be sold on-site by Subterranean Books.

TUESDAY 08/08 Newsies The Muny closes its landmark 99th season of musical theatre with its first-ever production of Disney’s Newsies. It’s a story about the newsboys who sell the daily papers on the streets of late nineteenth century New York. When Joseph Pulitzer, publisher of the New York World, decides to raise the price the newsboys pay for their papers and cut into their earnings, the scrappy newsies decide to fight back the only way they can: They’ll unionize and go on strike.

Can a handful of determined workers actually fight back against the oppression of the greedy corporate executives and win? They can if they sing and dance hard enough. Newsies is performed at 8:15 p.m. Monday through Sunday (August 7 to 13) at the Muny in Forest Park (www.muny. org). Tickets are $15 to $95.

WEDNESDAY 08/09 The Color of August Maria and Laura have known each other for most of their lives, but they have been apart for the last few years. In the interim Maria’s art career has taken off, and she’s married well. Laura is struggling to get by, professionally and emotionally. But it wasn’t that long ago that the two were bound together, emotionally, physically and creatively. What happened in the past that makes this current meeting more of a cautious interrogation and stand-off than a happy reunion? Paloma Pedrero’s The Color of August is a psychological investigation of two women who once shared a life — but now can barely share the same room. Slightly Askew Theatre Ensemble presents The Color of August at 8 p.m. Wednesday through Saturday (August 9 to 19) at the Chapel (6238 Alexander Drive; www.slightlyoff.org). Tickets are $15 to $20.

Planning an event, exhibiting your art or putting on a play? Let us know and we’ll include it in the calendar section or publish a listing on our website — for free! Send details via e-mail (calendar@riverfronttimes.com), fax (314-754-6416) or mail (6358 Delmar Boulevard, Suite 300, St. Louis, MO 63130, attn: Calendar). Include the date, time, price, contact information and location (including ZIP code). Please submit information three weeks prior to the date of your event. No telephone submissions will be accepted.

Find more events online at www.riverfronttimes.com.

INVITES YOU AND A GUEST TO MONDAY, AUGUST 7 7:00 P.M. PLEASE VISIT WBTICKETS.COM AND ENTER THE CODE MLlut91597 TO DOWNLOAD YOUR COMPLIMENTARY PASSES! RATED R FOR HORROR VIOLENCE AND TERROR. Please note: Passes are limited and will be distributed on a first come, first served basis while supplies last. No phone calls, please. Limit one pass per person. Each pass admits two. Seating is not guaranteed. Arrive early. Theater is not responsible for overbooking. This screening will be monitored for unauthorized recording. By attending, you agree not to bring any audio or video recording device into the theater (audio recording devices for credentialed press excepted) and consent to a physical search of your belongings and person. Any attempted use of recording devices will result in immediate removal from the theater, forfeiture, and may subject you to criminal and civil liability. Please allow additional time for heightened security. You can assist us by leaving all nonessential bags at home or in your vehicle.

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PLEASE VISIT GOFOBO.COM AND ENTER THE CODE aeMFX88330 TO DOWNLOAD YOUR COMPLIMENTARY PASSES! THIS FILM HAS BEEN RATED PG FOR ACTION AND SOME RUDE HUMOR. Sponsors and their dependents are not eligible to receive a prize. The screening will take place on 8/5 in St. Louis. Supplies are limited. No admittance once screening has begun. All federal, state and local regulations apply. A recipient of prizes assumes any and all risks related to use of prize, and accepts any restrictions required by prize provider. Open Road, Allied-THA, Gofobo, Riverfront Times, The National Wildlife Federation and their affiliates accept no responsibility or liability in connection with any loss or accident incurred in connection with use of prizes. Prizes cannot be exchanged, transferred or redeemed for cash, in whole or in part. Not responsible if, for any reason, winner is unable to use his/her prize in whole or in part. Not responsible for lost, delayed or misdirected entries. All federal, state and local taxes are the responsibility of the winner. Void where prohibited by law. NO PURCHASE NECESSARY. NO PHONE CALLS!

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FILM

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One of the RBSS members fighting for change at home. | PHOTO COURTESY OF AMAZON STUDIOS/A&E INDIEFILMS/IFC FILMS [REVIEW]

From Syria, With Truth Matthew Heineman’s new film reveals the citizen journalists fighting back against ISIS Written by

ROBERT HUNT City of Ghosts

Directed by Matthew Heineman. Starring Abu Bakr Al-Baghdadi, Hamoud, Hussam, Naji Jerf and Mohamad. Opens Friday, August 4, at the Landmark Tivoli Theatre.

A

lthough we hear news of turmoil in the Middle East and of the jihadist militants known as ISIS every day, the details can easily get lost in a blur of unfamiliar geography and confusing factionalism. Matthew Heineman’s owerful new film City of Ghosts helps to contextualize the crisis by focusing on one concentrated area of the overall political tension, a small group of Syrian refugees who have created an underground news network to report on events in their occupied city.

During the 2013 Arab Spring

movement, a civil war erupted Syria.

The next year, the city of Raqqa was occupied by ISIS, which began a campaign of terror, torturing or executing their opponents and keeping tight controls over citizens.

Communication with the outside world was restricted: Satellite dishes were banned and internet use was confined to ublic locations where it could be monitored.

City of Ghosts follows the efforts of a group of Syrians who challenged ISIS’ rule by establishing the group “Raqqa is Being Slaughtered Silently,” using their website (www. raqqa-sl.com/en/) to report on violence in the city. Their work quickly came under attack by ISIS, and many of their members were tortured or murdered for their reporting. Heineman’s film follows a small number of RBSS members who have taken refuge in Germany, living in hiding as they continue to tell Raqqa’s story to the rest of the world.

It’s a timely portrait of politics and resistance in the digital age, an unlikely combination of recycled online content balanced with the kind of courageous feet-on-theground journalism that Heineman gave us in Cartel Land, his 2015 film about the Mexican drug wars.

There’s no narration, no outside voice providing dates and facts. It’s up to the viewer to connect the dots. uriously, a film that fre uently consists of young men in drab

lodgings watching online videos on their phones and laptops nonetheless becomes a more genuinely suspenseful post-Cold War thriller than any Jason Bourne movie. Even footage of seemingly mundane events like Syrian rotesters osting anti-ISIS fliers on a wall in the dead of night becomes genuinely gripping. The clandestine video captures the excitement and the sense of danger in their act of defiance.

One assumes that by consenting to be filmed, the RBSS members shown in City of Ghosts are abandoning their anonymity, an act which also becomes part of the drama on screen. In one segment, a man almost casually reveals that he’s been the subject of online death threats; ironically, he’s more nervous about having to speak to the German police than he is about the threats.

Another scene in which the group greets a newly arrived colleague encapsulates the very modernity that ISIS is determined to repress, which even the RBSS seem to treat with ambivalence. (Despite their Star Wars t-shirts, the RBSS show only mild interest in Western culture and tell the newcomer that he’ll be amused at the roundthe-clock drunkenness he’ll see.) eineman films the grou walking through snow-covered city streets, quietly conveying the sense of their riverfronttimes.com

homelessness, the alienation of arriving in a world so far removed from the one they’ve lost.

As the film widens its scope from the occupation of Raqqa to the personal stories of the RBSS members, it takes a slightly morose turn. Although City of Ghosts shows the commitment and courage of the group, it also shows their emotional struggles. One harrowing moment shows two members obsessively rewatching an ISIS video of their father being executed. (It goes without saying that much of the footage in City of Ghosts is disturbing.)

Another, near the end, shows one member nodding off in a chair, a visual reminder of the enormity of the burden they carry and the sheer exhaustion of their existence. nd ust as the film mo es from the political to the personal, it also expands from the events in Raqqa to the world, showing the backlash against refugees in Europe and the expansion of ISIS-inspired terrorism to Berlin, Paris and even Orlando.

Throughout the film, Heineman shows the viewer the big picture of global events, but helps make them make sense by providing a human connection. City of Ghosts doesn’t offer simple answers to the troubles in Raqqa, the refugee crisis in Europe or the dangers of terrorism, but it does give a clear look at the human lives that can’t always be seen behind the headlines. n

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THE ARTS

[PHOTOGRAPHY]

They Found Art in Abandoned Schools Writteny by

SABRINA MEDLER

I

n the spring of 2015, the St. Louis Public School District launched open houses for approximately 30 abandoned and destroyedbeyond-repair schools, in the hopes that potential buyers would be interested in repurposing the buildings. Though some of the schools have since been bought

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and redeveloped, the tours have an unexpected outcome: a new gallery show opening in Brentwood.

Empty Halls, Silent Classrooms, which will open at the Refind Room (2525 South Brentwood Boulevard, Brentwood) August 11, has been curated by Jane Linders. Herself a photographer, Linders heard about the open houses and decided to check them out in person.

“I’ve always liked and been interested in the stillness of abandoned places and things that are run down,” Linders says. “I find them compelling, beautiful and unexpected. When these schools opened up to tour, it was a natural fit for me because I like to hotograph decay anyway. So this is a little dream come true for me.”

The schools, which have been out of service since around the mid-2000s, had been looted and vandalized. In many cases, thieves removed the copper wiring out of the buildings, leading to leakage and further damage. The biggest

AUGUST 2-8, 2017

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flaw with them, according to St. Louis Public Schools’ Director of Real Estate Walker Gaffney, is that they were not properly secured.

In the past, Gaffney says, closing a school was as simple as “locking it up and walking away.” This caused long-term damage with the pipes, heating and cooling systems and electricity.

Upon wandering through school after school in 2015, Linders started noticing familiar faces. Apparently, other photographers were also interested in these neglected century-old schools. Through word of mouth, social media and a photo assignment/sharing site called Photo Flood St. Louis, an ad hoc group of photographers started connecting through their interest in capturing the schools’ “beautiful chaos.”

Though the purpose of the open houses was obviously not to inspire local photographers, the real estate agents had no problem with the influx of artists. he artists added

“a recurring cast of friendly faces to the tours,” Gaffney says.

Linders agrees. “In some roundabout way,” she says, “I think we helped.” By bringing artistry to the cracked walls, peeled paint and broken glass, Linders and the other photographers gave these run-down schools a new image.

“I think that’s the overall message, that something desolate can be beautiful,” Linders says. “Amidst all the chaos and all the destruction you see, it almost feels like you’re in nature or seeing a beautiful scene.”

After the season of open houses, however, the photographers packed up their lenses and tripods and left the schools behind. That is until this May, when several incidents inspired Linders to revisit her photos.

First, Linders took a tour of Soulard’s Lafayette School led by the Landmarks Association of St. Louis.

The building, originally designed

by William Ittner nearly a century ago and abandoned since 2004, had been in shambles when Linders

Photos on display in Empty Halls, Silent Classrooms include, far left, “My Old School” by Jane Linders, left, “Marble Staircase” by Ann Chartrand, top, “The Boardroom,” by V. Elly Smith and bottom, “No Loitering,” by Jackie Johnson. The show opens August 11 at the Refind Room. | ALL PHOTOS COURTESY OF JANE LINDERS photographed it two years prior.

Now, it has been transformed into top-notch, market-rate apartments.

The following weekend Linders ran into a former co-worker from Mallinckrodt Pharmaceuticals, where she used to work as a lab technician.

“We both found our jobs profoundly boring and soul-sucking and used to talk incessantly about what we both really wanted to do,” Linders says. fter her co-worker fulfilled his dream of opening a gallery, Linders knew it was time to get working on her own.

“I pitched him the idea of exhibiting the collection of decayed school photos and he loved the idea,” Linders says. “It was fate.”

Over the next few months, Linders contacted some of the other photographers she had seen on the school tours. Now, she’s collected for-sale pieces from eight artists.

She hopes to add even more before the opening reception August 11.

Linders purposefully timed the exhibit with back-to-school season, and she chose the Refind Room, a store that collects and resells high-quality furniture, because it echoes the theme of her exhibit.

“I liked this idea of things getting a new life,” Linders says. “While these schools are not purposeful for being schools anymore, that doesn’t mean they should be knocked down. Just like grandma’s couch — just because I don’t need it anymore, someone else will love

it.” So far, ten properties have been bought to be repurposed as apartments, community centers, warehouses and affordable houses.

However, new legislation could threaten the buildings’ continued redevelopment. Governor Greitens’ newly commissioned Governor’s Committee on Simple, Fair and Low axes may influence the selling of the properties, according to Gaffney, since Greitens is considering rolling back historic preservation tax credits.

“The rehabilitations are more expensive per square foot than new construction and rely on historic preservation tax credits to be economically feasible,” Gaffney says.

“Governor Greitens has created a commission that is recommending drastic changes to the Missouri riverfronttimes.com

preservation credit that, if enacted, will be very destabilizing to the historic (including schools) repurposing community.”

Linders also expressed apprehension about the state of the buildings and their futures. Though Linders’ original inspiration was a love of hotogra hing decay, the finished exhibit is about much more.

“What starts out as one thing — ‘Oh, I just want to take pretty pictures’ — ends up raising questions,” Linders says. “The city of St. Louis was once a thriving community full of kids and schools. You start wondering: Where did all the teachers go? Where are all the children?

What are we doing to our cities?”

The show runs through September 8. n

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Blackberry and cucumber ice cream make the perfect exclamation point for a meal that begins with tacos and burritos. | MABEL SUEN [REVIEW]

Welcome to the Funhouse The only thing more delightful than tacos: tacos and ice cream Written by

CHERYL BAEHR The Taco & Ice Cream Joint

2738 Cherokee Street, 314-224-5799. Mon.Sat. 11 a.m.-10 p.m.; Sun. 11 a.m.-7 p.m.

W

atching my three-year-old’s head spin as she tried to take in the full extent of the sweet offerings at the Taco & Ice Cream Joint, I couldn’t

help but recall Benicio Del Toro and Johnny Depp walking into the Circus Circus casino in Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas. Granted, theirs was a mescaline-induced trip and this was sugar, but the duo’s mix of overstimulation and awe can’t be far off from what kids experience upon stepping into this temple of sweet excess.

You don’t have to be a child to be left dizzy by this carnival of a taqueria and dessert shop. What had been a long-abandoned department store in the heart of Cherokee Street has been turned into a massive, Technicolor restaurant that makes Willy Wonka’s chocolate factory look subdued. n ice cream counter, outfitted in neon pink signage, runs the entire length of a very deep space, overflowing with flavors both traditional and un-: candies, sprinkles, bacon, exotic fruit and anything else you could imagine for toppings. Popsicles with hunks

of fresh fruit, wa e cones coated in sugary glaze and a chocolate fountain that seems to run just for the spectacle of it sit behind the glass, along with, on two of my visits, a woman hand-dipping bananas in molten fudge because ... why not?

Many of us would be dumbfounded by a scene like this, but for the Rico family, which owns the Taco and Ice Cream Joint, it reminds them of home. After moving to the United States from Mexico when they were in their twenties, Salvador and Judith Rico worked odd jobs in the restaurant business before opening a small supermarket thirteen years ago. Over time, what started as nothing more than a little hallway grew into El Morelia Supermercado, a large grocery store and butcher shop located in Bridgeton.

Around 2010, the family — which also includes son Salvador Jr. and daughter Karen — decided riverfronttimes.com

to open a small taco stand inside the market. t first, they ser ed only a few varieties, but as word spread, the Ricos expanded their offerings. Eventually, they put in a full-fledged kitchen to accommodate the demand.

The success of the market’s taqueria gave the Ricos the idea to open a restaurant, though they wanted to do more than just savory food. When they longed for the over-the-top sweet shops they enjoyed back in Mexico, they had to drive all the way to Chicago. hy not bring those fla ors a little closer to St. Louis? That idea initiated a search for a location, and when they came across the long-abandoned storefront on Cherokee, they knew they had their spot.

Though the dessert line is what strikes you upon entry, the savory menu is every bit as worthy. On any given day, the restaurant has

AUGUST 2-8, 2017

Continued on pg 35

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TACOS & ICE CREAM Continued from pg 33 approximately fifteen different taco fillings, all ser ed la carte and completely undressed. This presentation allows diners to choose their own accoutrements from a salsa bar that offers everything from pickled onions, cilantro and ico de gallo to fiery mango salsas and a i uant cauliflower and onion relish similar to giardiniera. On both the taqueria side and the dessert one, you can pick a base and pile on the toppings to your heart’s content.

Use them sparingly, however, lest you cover up the positively succulent meat coming out of this kitchen. Tender carnitas drip with rendered pork fat — nothing but a pinch of salt dares to stand in the way of this porcine bliss. The place may peddle in excess, but it’s the purity of flavor and fork-tender texture that makes this offering so pleasurable.

Cochinita pibil is carnitas’ luscious cousin. Made with shredded pork thigh, the meat is steeped in citrus and has a slightly richer flavor and texture. As luxurious as this meat is, it seems tough compared to the cabeza, or beef head.

“Tender” does not do this meat justice; it’s the consistency of meat butter and has a delicate, pot roast fla or.

Cecina, or strips of beef, on the other hand, are intentionally chewy. Chile-rubbed and air-dried, the meat is like a Mexican-spiced jerky, a good choice if you are looking for a firmer, more steaklike filling. ther o tions include a straightforward pineapple and pork al pastor and a rather mild chorizo (this is where the hot sauce from that condiment bar is suggested).

Tacos are not the only way to

Treats include frozen bananas and paletas, with flavors including lime, mango, strawberry and mangonada. | MABEL SUEN enjoy these meats. The burritos are monstrous enough that one could easily feed three people.

You’re allowed to choose up to fi e to ings to go inside, including pinto or black beans, cilantro or brown rice, guacamole, sour cream, cheese, grilled veggies and salsa. At some point they devolve into an amalgam of indiscriminate fla ors, albeit a leasurable one.

Just refrain from ordering one on the first date it’s im ossible to kee from making a mess.

Though the Taco & Ice Cream Joint closes by 10 p.m. on week-

ends, its “Cherokee Street Nachos” seem designed to appeal to the area’s post-bar crowd. Like the burrito, there is a lot going on with this dish — heaps of carnitas, sour cream, pico de gallo, beans, guacamole, cheese and jalapeños — though that sort of excess is in keeping with the restaurant’s spirit. Sober, and with a table of fewer than six people, it’s a little much, even if my 22-year-old self understands the appeal to the inebriated set.

If the thought of a Mexican version of a Philly cheesesteak

all you can eat

High Quality, Fresh Ingredients.

Continued on pg 36

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TACOS & ICE CREAM Continued from pg 35

NOW OPEN! E DWA R D S V I L L E LO CATI O N

222 E. PARK STREET EDWARDSVILLE, IL 62025

Owner Salvador Rico Jr. samples the sweet stuff. | MABEL SUEN

Jilly’s Cupcake Bar & Café

Jilly’s Ice Cream Bar

8509 DELMAR BLVD. 314-993-5455

20 STEPS TO THE LEFT OF CUPCAKE BAR (JUST AROUND THE CORNER)

J I L LYS C U P CAK E BAR. C OM

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N OW HIRIN G D ELM AR LO CATION! 36

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AUGUST 2-8, 2017

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dessert may seem like an impossible undertaking, though it would be a shame to miss out on Taco & Ice Cream Joint’s post-dinner treats. Mr. Rico makes every last fla or of ice cream himself, and the options are nearly endless — rose, avocado, bacon, mango and bubblegum, to name just a few.

The chocolate de abuelita is not to be missed if you are a fan of cinnamon and chile-spiked Mexican hot chocolate, nor is the excellent blackberry, which uses the juice to fla or the cream and whole ieces of the fruit for texture.

If ice cream seems too heavy, o sicles in fla ors of lime, mango and strawberry — also housemade — are excellent palate refreshers.

For something a bit more exotic, opt for the mangonada. Made from mangoes, lime, chiles, tamarind and chamoy sauce (a sour and salty fruit-based condiment), this complex mix of sweet, tart, spicy and savory is a traditional Mexican delight.

Actually, that’s the best way to describe the Taco & Ice Cream Joint

If you’re a fan of cinnamon and chile-spiked Mexican hot chocolate, the chocolate de abuelita ice cream is not to be missed.

— a traditional Mexican delight, and one with so much to offer it’s a feast for all the senses. And though those senses will no doubt be overloaded after the ico family is finished with you, you’ll be happy you hung on and enjoyed the ride. n The Taco & Ice Cream Joint

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SHORT ORDERS

41

[SIDE DISH]

The Chef Who Jumped Right In Written by

CHERYL BAEHR

W

hile many eight-year-olds can be found playing video games or running around outside with friends as dinner time approaches, the young Brian Hardesty was in the kitchen.

“When I was a child, my mother and grandmother taught me the fundamentals of cooking — how to make pizza dough, how to make sauce and put together salads,” explains the chef of Guerrilla Street Food (3559 Arsenal Street, 314-5291328). “As time went by, I’d mastered those recipes, so when it was pizza night at the Hardesty household, I was the one who got to make dinner for the family.”

Though he knew he loved cooking, the acclaimed chef didn’t get serious about his career plans until he was in his early twenties. Having passed on college after high school, Hardesty took stock of his skills and realized that food just might be his calling. “I asked myself, ‘What do I know how to do?’” he says. “I knew how to cook, so I just jumped right in.”

Instead of heading off to culinary school, Hardesty opted instead to get hands-on training. e took his first restaurant job as a dishwasher at Italian Kitchen, a St. Charles eatery, and worked his way up to kitchen manager within a month. Though the job came with big responsibilities, it also exposed his limitations.

“I knew that if I wanted to do more I needed to learn more,” Hardesty explains. “So I just slowly learned a little here and there, teaching myself how to make stocks or to use my knives. I tried to capitalize on where I worked — in a sense, the places I worked paid for my education.”

Brian Hardesty learned about Filipino cuisine from his friend (and now business partner at Guerrilla Street Food) Joel Crespo. | SARA BANNOURA Hardesty worked at a few popular restaurants — Harvest, Winslow’s Home — before opportunity came knocking. He’d heard that Terrene, a respected restaurant in the Central West End, needed an executive chef, so he sat down with the owner and pled his case. “I told him, ‘Look, I’ve never been an executive chef, but I have the ambition and personality and skills to deliver what you want,’” says Hardesty. “I told him that I felt I could make the place special. He agreed.”

During his time at Terrene (and later Element), Hardesty made a name for himself, but it was an acquaintance he made off the job who set his destiny in motion. Through mutual friends, he was introduced to Joel Crespo, and the pair instantly clicked over skateboarding, music and, most importantly, food. Hardesty would host Crespo at Terrene, cooking elaborate tasting menus where he would let his creativity shine.

The dinners sparked an ongoing

conversation about food and the possibility of someday opening their own restaurant — something the pair realized they would have a difficult time doing because of the up-front expense. They began talking about the popularity of food trucks on the West Coast and how the idea was overdue in St. Louis.

Why not go that route?

Over the course of talking about the idea they began seeing a few trucks pop up locally and realized that they could no longer wait.

Hardesty left Terrene, Crespo left his job in the mortuary business, and the pair set off to make their mark. The only problem: They needed to figure out what kind of food to do. “We thought burgers or tacos or whatever, but we didn’t want to do what everyone else was doing,” Hardesty recalls. “I told Joel, ‘Dude, you’re Filipino and every time you share any Filipino food with me I love it. Let me teach myself and let’s do it.’”

That was 2009. Today, Filipino riverfronttimes.com

food is one of the hottest culinary styles around and their concept, Guerrilla Street Food, is one of the city’s most popular spots, with a south city brick and mortar location, another on the way in the Grove and also a smaller operation serving a more limited menu inside 2nd Shift Brewing.

Still, Hardesty can’t help but think back to the early days when he and Crespo were just two guys taking a chance. “That’s how we got the name,” Hardesty explains. “It was just the two of us guys going up against big corporate places, punk rock style.”

Hardesty took a break from preparing non-traditional Filipino fare to share his thoughts on the St. Louis restaurant scene, his love of food history and why you’ll never see margarine in his kitchen.

What is one thing people don’t know about you that you wish they did?

AUGUST 2-8, 2017

Continued on pg 44

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Grea , e l p o e P y , FunFood,HappyFPuenopFoloed,Happ nFood,HappyPneFoopolde,,HFaauptnpDFyroPoiendok,pHsla!ep,GpryePaetoDprlien,ks! u F e r G GreatDrinks!GreatDrinGkrse!atDrinks! , FunFood,HappyPPEeOoPpLyleeP•eGoRpElAeT, DRINKS! UN FOODFu•nHFAoPoPdY,Happ ! s k n i r D t a e r G ! s k n i r D t a e r G

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[FIRST LOOK]

A Taste of Laos in South City Written by

M

K Vongnarath began cooking when he was just six years old and living in Laos. Every morning, he and his mother would get up at 6 a.m. to prepare food for the Buddhist monks who lived at the nearby monastery.

They’d serve them breakfast, and then turn around and prepare lunch a few hours later. “It wasn’t a business,” Vongnarath explains.

“It was a donation — an offering.”

Now, Vongnarath’s days start later, but not all that much. After running the successful food truck MK’s Rolls and Wraps, the chef decided it was time for a brick and mortar. e o ened his first restaurant, MK’s Asian Persuasion (6417 Hampton Avenue), in Southampton in late June.

Vongnarath emigrated to St. Louis from Laos, by way of Thailand, in 1981 when he was thirteen. After graduating high school he got a job as a freight driver, but he could not shake the feeling that he wanted to get into professional cooking. He began his food truck in 2015, but quickly realized that he wanted a more traditional storefront. When the space on Hampton came available he jumped on

tDrinks!

CHERYL BAEHR

it and got to work converting the restaurant into the Asian fusion restaurant of his dreams.

Maya Vongnarath, Vongnarath’s daughter, also works at the restaurant with her sister, Lisa. She makes plain that this is not a traditional Laotian or Thai restaurant. “We can do that, but everyone has their own tastes, so we wanted to do fusion,” she explains. She points to one of the restaurant’s signature dishes, the spicy steak, as evidence of their non-traditional approach to cooking traditional dishes. “We cook the steak here, but traditionally the meat is served raw,” she notes. “But my dad can do things traditionally, too, if someone wants that.”

In addition to the spicy steak, look for dishes like make-your-own pad thai, with a variety of different protein types and toppings. The same Thai noodle staple can be stuffed into a wrap for a graband-go option.

MK’s Asian Persuasion also serves appetizers, including spring rolls and egg rolls, as well as beef, vegetarian or seafood pho, and gang phet creamy coconut curry with your choice of protein and potatoes.

MK is open Tuesday through Thursday from 11 a.m. to 9 p.m. and Fridays and Saturdays from 11 a.m. until midnight. On those weekend nights, the restaurant sections off a corner of the dining room for karaoke, though Vongnarath insists it’s his cooking that makes the restaurant stand apart from the rest — a skill he picked up at the urging of his mother.

“My mom always said that if you can cook, you will never go hungry,” he smiles. Now, his Southampton neighbors will have no reason n to go hungry either.

p p a H , d uF nFoo F i r D t a Gre

FunFo

MK’s Asian Persuasion brings southeast Asian cuisine to Southampton. | CHERYL BAEHR

GREAT DRINKS

n Monday, the Filling Station (1924 Pestalozzi Street, 314-772106 main st. • edwardsville, il 106 main st. • edwardsville, edwardsvil 9533) closed its doors after severst. il• 618.307.4830 mast.in• edwardsville, 6main 10 www.clevelandheath.com 618.307.4830 106 main st.

• edwardsville, 106 main st. il • edwardsville, 106 il al decades in Benton Park.

618.307.48il30 618.307.4830 www.clevelandheath.com 618.307.4830 618.307.4830 But don’t cry for the venerable www.clevelandheath.com neighwww.clevelandheath.com www.clevelandheath.com www.clevelandheath.c borhood bar: It reopened again the very 106 main st. • edwardsville, il 618.307.4830 106 main st. • edwardsville, il next day. The only difference is that, as 618.307.4830 of August 1, the bar is officially underwww.clevelandheath.com www.clevelandheath.com new ownership — and on its way to a new identity as Kelso’s.

The duo behind the new concept, Kelsey Jenkins and Jim Kelso, both live in Benton Park. Last month, Kelso purchased the Filling Station from its owner of nineteen years, Colleen O’Connor (Kelso is the sole owner; Jenkins is the managing partner). After a going-away party for the old concept on Saturday, July 29, they’ve jumped feetfirst into the bar’s new era.

As Kelso’s, they intend to keep the same schedule as before — open at 6 a.m. daily, with hours through 1:30 a.m.

618-307-4830 every night but Sunday.

WWW.CLEVELANDHEALTH.COM Like the Filling Station, Kelso’s will be a 106 N. MAIN | EDWARDSVILLE, IL neighborhood bar. They describe few big changes beyond better maximizing the big yard. “It’s basically two lots,” Jenkins says. “We want to make more use of that space.” That will almost certainly mean cornhole, and perhaps also volleyball or bocce. “We want a place for drinking and being active versus just sitting and having a drink.”

Despite the similar sound to their names, the two have very different backgrounds. Kelso spent 22 years as a pilot in the U.S. Navy, including a stint at Scott Air Force Base. After retirement six years ago, he returned to the area and dabbled in helping out with rehab projects in Benton Park.

It’s there he met Jenkins, a Sikeston native and 2016 Mizzou grad. She’d been keeping busy with freelance creative design and consulting, branding and website design. When she heard BUY ONE SCOOP Kelso was interested in acquiring the GET ONE FREE! Filling Station, she volunteered her serEXPIR ES 7-26 -1 7 vices. Now they’re a partnership.

The pair says they will take their cues EVERYTHING’S ONLY ONE DOLLAR! GENERAL TSO CHICKEN from the neighborhood.

K U N G PA O C H I C K E N “Neither one of us has much experiBLACK PEPPER CHICKEN ence in the industry,” Kelso acknowledgSICHUAN BEEF es. “If you have ideas, we’re interested in GARLIC STRING BEAN DOUBLE COOKED PORK hearing you out.”

CRAB RAGOON He adds, “People should come down EGG ROLL here and check it out. It’s a great neighDOLLAR FRIED RICE borhood with a lot of great places to AND MORE! hang out. Soulard gets most of the press, W E U P DAT E O U R M E N U EVERY OTHER WEEK! but Benton Park is a great little place.”

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BRIAN HARDESTY Continued from pg 41

[SNEAK PEEK]

Coming to Clayton: Oysters and Bubbly Written by

SARA GRAHAM

C

layton club-goers might remember 16 South Bemiston for the dramatic entrance offered by the previous tenant, Area 14 — a late-night club extension of Tani Sushi.

But the sushi spot has moved to Forsyth, Area 14 is done, and the space is now home to Extra Brut, a unique Champagne and oyster concept that will open its doors this Friday, August 4. he bar, the first of its kind for St. Louis, champions the exploration of Champagne. A hefty selection of nearly 50 bottles of various sparkling wines will be available, with nightly by-the-glass options as well.

Extra Brut is the brainchild of Whitney VinZant, also the owner of Louie’s Wine Dive next door.

Says VinZant, “We are around wine a lot. We think wine, we taste wine on a daily basis. Coming back to something clean and crisp like Champagne has always been a joy.

And when you learn about the hard work that goes into each bottle, the challenging fermentation process and the people who work with it, you understand that it’s a truly unique product. It’s fairly unknown in the Midwest and St. Louis.”

Patrick Olds, a partner in the venture who also serves as the sommelier at Louie’s Wine Dive, says, “We wanted to offer a diverse selection from France and around the world.”

Prices range from $42 to $600 a bottle. This is not a place to get drunk, but to savor. There are no spirits here, no beer — just bubbles, as far as the eye can see. Chef Tim Adams has put together a pairing menu featuring oysters six ways. aw oysters will be flown in daily from the East, West and Gulf coasts.

Charbroiled oysters are topped with cheese and a creole borde-

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RIVERFRONT TIMES

Extra Brut offers nearly 50 bottles of bubbly ... and a posh 19th century look. | SARA GRAHAM laise sauce, while “Oysters Kathryn” are baked and stuffed with spinach, cream, garlic, shallot and armesan and finished with ernod. “Bienville Oysters” are baked and topped with shrimp, bacon, crimini mushrooms, garlic, thyme and green onion. Also available on the small plate menu is a goat cheese crostini, aged prosciutto with fruit and a shrimp cocktail.

Once boasting a club vibe, the space has been completely transformed into a modern spin on 19th century French architectural style.

AUGUST 2-8, 2017

riverfronttimes.com

The long hallway has been brightened up with crystal sconces and whitewashed brick and lined with Champagne bottle riddling racks.

A 100-year-old wrought iron gate from Hungary opens at the end to welcome guests into the bar and lounge. A raw aesthetic of exposed brick and concrete, iron piping and industrial-style light fixtures is married with cool white marble and a polished white oak bar.

The bar will be open on Friday and Saturday nights only from 6 n p.m. to 1 p.m.

I am really into food history. I love to know where my ingredients come from and so it’s natural for me to want to know where certain dishes and recipes come from as well. There is usually a great story behind e ery significant reci e out there, and I need to know about them all!

What daily ritual is non-negotiable for you?

A daily ritual for me is to wake up, give hugs and kisses to my wife and kids, water the garden, play with the dogs, then begin my work day.

If you could have any superpower, what would it be?

I would like the power of invulnerability. Useful in the kitchen.

What is something missing in the local food, wine or cocktail scene that you’d like to see?

I would like to see more countries’ cuisine represented and supported in our city. We do have a decent amount of countries represented but there are a lot that have little to no presence. I would like to see that change.

Who is your St. Louis food crush?

Chef Michael Miller [Kounter Kulture]. He’s one of the most talented people in the city.

Who’s the one person to watch right now in the St. Louis dining scene?

Chef Josh Poletti [Basso] is my choice for whom to watch. He is at the top of his game and he is on the move. Look out!

Which ingredient is most representative of your personality?

An egg. I am versatile, essential and good for you.

If you weren’t working in the restaurant business, what would you be doing?

If I wasn’t in the restaurant business, I would be an explorer.

Name an ingredient never allowed in your kitchen.

Margarine. Gross.

What is your after-work hangout?

2nd Shift Brewing. Great people, great beer, and it’s a laidback place.

What’s your food or beverage guilty pleasure?

White Knight Diner cheeseburgers … also all other cheeseburgers.

What would be your last meal on earth?

Family dinner at my parents’ table, surrounded by my loved ones with whatever my mom felt like n making.

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10/20 TIMEFLIES

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thepageant.com // 6161 delmar blvd. / St. Louis, MO 63112 // 314.726.6161

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RIVERFRONT TIMES

AUGUST 2-8, 2017

riverfronttimes.com

MUSIC

47

A.C. Newman, center, has been expertly steering the New Pornographers since the band’s inception in 2000. | PHOTO BY JENNY JIMENEZ [PREVIEW]

New Directions New Pornographers expands its sound with its latest LP, Whiteout Conditions Written by

BOB MCMAHON New Pornographers

8 p.m. Sunday, August 13. Delmar Hall, 6133 Delmar Boulevard. $30. 314-726-6161.

A

t this point, the members of the New Pornographers are power-pop royalty. The Canadian juggernaut, which plays Delmar Hall on August 13, released its seventh straight

collection of critically acclaimed indie pop, Whiteout Conditions, in April, continuing a winning streak that began in 2000 with Mass Romantic. On that album the band established its maximalist attack, stacking soaring harmonies atop layers of glowing keyboards, buzzing synths, chugging guitars and even occasional strings — and its sound has only grown larger as more musicians joined its ranks.

Nearly all of these grand productions start with an idea by A.C. Newman, the band’s founder, principal songwriter and general captain.

“At the heart of it, when I’m writing songs it’s a very solitary thing,” he tells the RFT. “Even when we have the song recorded, sometimes I’m just sitting by myself in the studio just trying to figure out what do we have to do. Just messing around, trying to figure out how to arrange the song so it sounds the way I want

it to sound.”

That isn’t to say Newman dictates every part.

“I’ll just tell people to play,” he explains. “I’ll tell Kathryn [Calder, keyboardist and singer], ‘Sing something cool, some harmonies should be at the end, sing something cool.’ Often something’s added that really makes the song.”

Managing all the moving parts can be tricky, but Newman always finds a way to cultivate the cacophony into a song with forward momentum. The many bright hooks of early classics such as “The Laws Have Changed” and “Use It” mesh perfectly, earning these colorful mini-masterpieces of pop-rock a permanent place in New Pornographers’ sets.

Whiteout Conditions exerts a tighter control on its melodies and pushes them along at a motorik rhythm. Describing the style as “bubblegum krautrock,” Newman says the group riverfronttimes.com

came upon the style organically when working on the demo for what would become leadoff song “Play Money.”

“I didn’t really think super hard about it,” he says. “We just thought, ‘This sounds cool, let’s keep going down this road.”

The new album also furthers New Pornographers’ foray into electronic textures, which began with previous release Brill Bruisers. Newman’s recent preference for keyboards over guitars is evident in the quantized synth lines and percussion loops that adorn most songs. The studio is also used as an instrument, most prominently on “Second Sleep,” where vocals are sampled, chopped up and stitched together in a way that intentionally lets the seams show.

“I love in this new age where it’s so easy just to manipulate keyboards, it’s so easy to just play with sound,” Newman says.

AUGUST 2-8, 2017

Continued on pg 51

RIVERFRONT TIMES

47

c o n c e r t c a l e n d a r

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314.775.0775 48

RIVERFRONT TIMES

AUGUST 2-8, 2017

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RIVERFRONT TIMES

49

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NEW PORNOGRAPHERS Continued from pg 47 Referring to this process as “jamming in a strange way,” Newman found inspiration in cutting up riffs, experimenting with arpeggiators and trying to find sounds that inspire you or make you think of a melody.”

Before jamming in a strange way with a computer, Newman jammed in the regular sense with his band, which had a slightly different makeup this time around.

Dan Bejar, who normally contributes three songs to each New Pornographers album, was busy with his main project Destroyer and didn’t feel he had any songs stylistically appropriate for what would become Whiteout Conditions. In addition, this album marked the first time drummer Joe Seiders recorded with the band (he joined the group during the Brill Bruisers tour in 2014).

W h i l e t h e w i l y B e j a r ’s songwriting is missed, his absence didn’t affect Newman’s work. “It’s like I’ve been telling people: ‘You want to hear what this album would sound like if Dan was on it? Well, it would be this album plus three more songs,’” Newman says. Seiders’ presence had more of an effect. “Previously, there was more of like, ‘I’m the drummer and I’m in charge of drums,’ and on this one there was definitely a lot more back and forth.” Seiders’ willingness to collaborate extended to playing alongside drum loops, which New Pornographers hadn’t done before.

Running parallel to his band’s sonic evolution is Newman’s darker lyrical direction. “High Ticket Attractions” outlines his anxiety over the Trump presidency, “Whiteout Conditions” describes a depressive episode and multiple songs mention cons and twisting rules. These themes purposefully stand in sharp contrast to the major key melodies and radiant vocals.

“I think I write these songs to make myself feel better,” Newman says, while noting that he’s always viewed pop music as an escape. “Musically, everything about the melody and the feel is there just to be uplifting. But the message behind it is, I’m trying to be uplifting, but there are things I’m fighting. lot of it is about a battle to get out of a bad place.”

Judging by his Twitter musings,

“I think I write these songs to make myself feel better. There are things I’m fighting. A lot of it is about a battle to get out of a bad place.”

Newman seems to be winning this battle. Although littered with passionate, sometimes angry political posts, Newman’s feed is full of wry wit and facetious commentary (he pretended his son was devastated when children’s musician a ob ected to his band’s name). His trollish tendencies can make it tough to decipher when he’s being serious; when ressed for clarification, Newman says his tweets criticizing New Pornographers’ album The Electric Version are a case of “doing it just to be a dick.”

“What I love about Twitter is it’s such a weird one-way throwaway thing,” he says. “You can just joke around on Twitter and if nobody thinks it’s funny, nobody pays attention and you just continue on.”

Newman and company, meanwhile, continue on the road with a tour that seems to hit every city this year. The lineup will look different from the last time New Pornographers played in St. Louis in 2014. Like Bejar, vocalist Neko Case has her own projects to attend to, and has dropped off this leg of the tour. However, after two years of touring with New Pornographers, violinist and singer Simi Stone has “become essentially a permanent member,” which has expanded the number of songs the band can take on the road.

For his part, Newman looks forward to one local constant: “As long as I get to check out the n Walk of Fame, I’m good.”

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2001 Menard (corner of Menard & Allen) 314-833-6686 Facebook: dukesinsoulard riverfronttimes.com

AUGUST 2-8, 2017

RIVERFRONT TIMES

51

52

HOMESPUN

C H OI R VA N DA LS Dark Glow choirvandals.bandcamp.com

Choir Vandals

7 p.m. Sunday, August 6. The Firebird, 2706 Olive Street.

Sold out. 314-535-0353.

L

ike a lot of young bands, Choir Vandals rose from the ashes of several even younger bands — groups such as Strangers Now, Best Friends and Forever Young that had shared bills at DIY basement shows and venues like the Firebird and Fubar. When singer and guitarist Austin McCutchen found himself without a band, he looked to some regulars from a few newly dissolved groups to form the tuneful and sturdy indie rock quartet.

“After Best Friends had stopped, I just kept writing to kill some time, so I had about fi e songs, the rough drafts of them. That’s when I started reaching out to the guys. I started with Wil [McCarthy, drummer] — I didn’t know of anyone else playing songs at the time,” he says.

The pair eventually brought in fellow ex-Best Friend Josh Cameron on bass and McCutchen’s boyhood friend Micah Kelleher on guitar. McCutchen’s intentions at the time were clear: “I wanted to record and go on tour.” e has gotten his wish with the band’s first fulllength, Dark Glow, released last month on Animal Style Records. The band decamped to Nashville to record this LP, and celebrated the release by taking an opening slot on a two-week tour with British emo band Moose Blood. (The stint ends with a show at the Firebird on Sunday, August 6.)

For a band that dutifully released an EP or two every year its first release was in the fall of , the jump to committing to a twelve-song LP felt both logical and necessary. “I think we were all ready to do a full-length. EPs are cool and useful in the beginning of a band — it serves as a little teaser for the band,” says McCutchen. “But we realized we had grown as musicians and we were ready to make the next step.”

On Dark Glow, Choir Vandals channels a kind of laconic tunefulness with songs that feel tossed-off, yet motor along with precision. On “The Gardener,” McCutchen’s voice recalls the Strokes’ Julian Casablancas at his most marble-mouthed, but the interplay between the guitars adds levity; dark-tinted downstrokes are matched by crystalline pings that wind their way through the song.

That two-headed guitar approach is the most compelling aspect of the band’s sound. Its roots come from the long-standing relationship between McCutchen and Kelleher, who have been friends since they were twelve.

“Early on he caught onto the style I was writing in, and he took hold of that and would push me if I was straying too far out from that direction,” McCutchen says of elleher. nce I get the structure to its final stage, Micah and I will spend hours going over the

52

RIVERFRONT TIMES

AUGUST 2-8, 2017

riverfronttimes.com

guitars. e’ll ust am to it ’til we find something we like. It’s definitely more of a artnershi , but at the same time we’re pushing each other to make it better.”

He adds, “Having ten other songs that sound the way they do, I had guidelines already set.”

Some of those guidelines were influenced by McCutchen’s listening habits; he found himself looking back to some late-’ s college rock sta les the stately, crisp production of Spoon’s Girls Can Tell, the candy-coated weirdo-pop of the Apples in Stereo. If those elements are less overt on Dark Glow, they inform the aims of a band that can write dependable and memorable indie rock songs with the benefit of the genre’s -year history.

But rather than rely on four-track demos or basement recordings, Choir Vandals took the opportunity to record this LP in Nashville with producer Tate Mercer. It was a step outside of McCutchen’s home recordings, where he often tinkers with a song ad infinitum. It was actually relaxed but also ery nerve-wracking at the same time,” he recalls. “By the last day everybody was so anxious to have it done and see how it turned out.”

Choir Vandals released Dark Glow in the middle of July and immediately hit the road. Speaking a week before the tour launched, McCutchen cops to having some nerves about hitting the road after a long absence, but says he’s looking forward playing larger club dates.

“It is a little intimidating since we haven’t been on the road and waiting for the record to come out,” he says. “So, I’m still excited, but it is nerve-wracking — the first show back will be in front of , eo le.

–Christian Schaeffer Want your CD to be considered for a review in this space?

Send music c/o Riverfront Times, Attn: Homespun, 6358 Delmar Boulevard, Suite 200, St. Louis, Missouri, 63130.

Email music@riverfronttimes.com for more information.

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53

54

OUT EVERY NIGHT

THURSDAY 3

Joywave, Bob Moses 6 p.m., TBA. Hollywood

DANITA MUMPHARD TRIBUTE TO WHITNEY HOUS-

$10-$15. The Firebird, 2706 Olive St., St. Louis,

BILLY BARNETT BAND: 7 p.m., $5. BB’s Jazz, Blues

Casino Amphitheatre, I-70 & Earth City Expwy.,

TON: 7 p.m., $12-$15. Jacoby Arts Center, 627 E.

314-535-0353.

& Soups, 700 S. Broadway, St. Louis, 314-436-

Maryland Heights, 314-298-9944.

Broadway, Alton, 618-462-5222.

STARFIRE FESTIVAL: A TRIBUTE TO JERRY GARCIA:

FOXYGEN: w/ Twin Peaks 3 p.m., $20-$23. Off

7 p.m., $10-$13. Atomic Cowboy, 4140 Manches-

Broadway, 3509 Lemp Ave., St. Louis, 314-773-

ter Ave, St. Louis, 314-775-0775.

5222.

DIARRHEA PLANET: 8 p.m., $15. Off Broadway,

SATURDAY 5

3509 Lemp Ave., St. Louis, 314-773-3363.

BACKPACKS AND DUFFLE BAGS: w/ DJ Pharaoh 8

3363.

FLOWTONE: w/ Orphan Welles, Tyler Samuels,

p.m., $10-$13. 2720 Cherokee Performing Arts

THE GREEN MCDONOUGH BAND: 6 p.m., free.

SUNDAY 6

Phuzz, The Fade 7 p.m., $8-$10. The Firebird,

Center, 2720 Cherokee St, St. Louis, 314-276-

Howard’s in Soulard, 2732 S 13th St, St. Louis,

GENESIS JAZZ PROJECT: 5 p.m., $10. BB’s Jazz,

2706 Olive St., St. Louis, 314-535-0353.

2700.

314-349-2850.

Blues & Soups, 700 S. Broadway, St. Louis, 314-

IRON MIKE NORTON: 10 p.m., $5. BB’s Jazz, Blues

BOO BOO DAVIS & THE BUMBLE BEE TRIO: 10 p.m.,

IVAS JOHN BAND: 7 p.m., $5. BB’s Jazz, Blues &

436-5222.

& Soups, 700 S. Broadway, St. Louis, 314-436-

$5. BB’s Jazz, Blues & Soups, 700 S. Broadway,

Soups, 700 S. Broadway, St. Louis, 314-436-5222.

JIDENNA: 8 p.m., $20-$23. The Ready Room, 4195

5222.

St. Louis, 314-436-5222.

KUNG FU CAVEMAN: 9 p.m., free. Nightshift Bar

Manchester Ave, St. Louis, 314-833-3929.

KIM MASSIE: 10:30 p.m., $10. Beale on Broad-

BOYS OF SUMMER TOUR: 1 p.m., $25-$29. The

& Grill, 3979 Mexico Road, St. Peters, 636-441-

LOVE JONES “THE BAND”: 9 p.m., $10. BB’s Jazz,

way, 701 S. Broadway, St. Louis, 314-621-7880.

Firebird, 2706 Olive St., St. Louis, 314-535-0353.

8300.

Blues & Soups, 700 S. Broadway, St. Louis, 314-

MARTY MORRISON TRIO: 9:30 p.m., free. The

‘BURBS MUSIC & ARTS FESTIVAL: w/ Virtual Riot,

MARIA BAMFORD: w/ Jackie Kashian 8 p.m., $30-

436-5222.

Dark Room, 3610 Grandel Square inside Gran-

Barely Alive, Dubloadz, Blaqout 2 p.m., $20-$25.

$50. The Pageant, 6161 Delmar Blvd., St. Louis,

PEEWEE SALOON: 2 p.m., free. Howard’s in Sou-

314-726-6161.

lard, 2732 S 13th St, St. Louis, 314-349-2850.

MARVIN F. COCKRELL & FOCUS 13TH ANNUAL

SABELLA: 7 p.m., $10. Fubar, 3108 Locust St, St.

del Theatre, St. Louis, 314-776-9550.

hesterfield m hitheater,

SCHOOL OF ROCK ALL-STARS: 7 p.m., $10. Old

ri e, hesterfield.

eterans lace

Rock House, 1200 S. 7th St., St. Louis, 314-588-

CAVO: 8 p.m., $15. Delmar Hall, 6133 Delmar

SMOOTH JAZZ CONCERT: CHAMPAGNE ON ICE:

Louis, 314-289-9050.

0505.

Blvd., St. Louis, 314-726-6161.

7 p.m., $35. Grandel Theatre, 3610 Grandel

SON VOLT: 3 p.m., $22. Off Broadway, 3509 Lemp

SCOTT COOPER & LEE OWEN: 8 p.m., $7-$10. The

CHRIS STAPLETON: w/ Margo Price, Brent Cobb

Square, St. Louis, 314-534-1834.

Ave., St. Louis, 314-773-3363.

Bootleg, 4140 Manchester Ave., St. Louis, 314-

7 p.m., $30.75-$70.75. Hollywood Casino Am-

PRETTY GIRLS LIKE TRAP MUSIC: 8 p.m., $10-$15.

SOUL REUNION: 10:30 p.m., $7. Beale on Broad-

775-0775.

phitheatre, I-70 & Earth City Expwy., Maryland

Fubar, 3108 Locust St, St. Louis, 314-289-9050.

way, 701 S. Broadway, St. Louis, 314-621-7880.

TONI SAPUTO: 7:30 p.m., $10-$12. The Stage at

Heights, 314-298-9944.

RETRO CHAMP: w/ T- Dubz, Major Music 8 p.m.,

TOBIN SPROUT: w/ Elf Power, The Astounds 8

KDHX, 3524 Washington Ave, St. Louis, 314-925-

p.m., $13-$15. Blueberry Hill - The Duck Room,

7543, ext. 815.

6504 Delmar Blvd., University City, 314-727-

[CRITIC’S PICK]

TYLER STOKES: 6 p.m., free. Howard’s in Soulard, 2732 S 13th St, St. Louis, 314-349-2850.

4444.

VQM BLACK CARPET AFFAIR: w/ Mine Enemies Fall, Enslaved By Fear, Love the Hate, Conquest,

FRIDAY 4

Maximus, Skinbound 5:30 p.m., $10. Fubar, 3108 Locust St, St. Louis, 314-289-9050.

BEGRIME EXEMIOUS: 8 p.m., $8-$10. Fubar, 3108 Locust St, St. Louis, 314-289-9050.

BLUES CITY SWING: 7 p.m., free. Hwy 61

MONDAY 7

Roadhouse and Kitchen, 34 S Old Orchard Ave,

BY THE THOUSANDS: w/ Earth Groans, Terra-

Webster Groves, 314-968-0061.

form, This Is Me Breathing 6 p.m., $10. The

BOBBY BONES & THE RAGING IDIOTS CLASS OF

Firebird, 2706 Olive St., St. Louis, 314-535-0353.

2017: w/ Bailey Bryan, Jackie Lee, Aubrie Sell-

SOULARD BLUES BAND: 9 p.m., $5. Broadway

ers 8 p.m., $25-$30. Delmar Hall, 6133 Delmar

Oyster Bar, 736 S. Broadway, St. Louis, 314-621-

Blvd., St. Louis, 314-726-6161.

8811.

BUD SUMMERS: 8 p.m., $12. The Stage at KDHX,

THIRD SIGHT BAND: 8 p.m., $10. BB’s Jazz, Blues

3524 Washington Ave, St. Louis, 314-925-7543,

& Soups, 700 S. Broadway, St. Louis, 314-436-

ext. 815.

5222.

FASTER PUSSYCAT: 8 p.m., $20. The Ready Room, 4195 Manchester Ave, St. Louis, 314-833-3929.

Chris Stapleton. | PHOTO VIA WME ENTERTAINMENT

FLEA BITTEN DAWGS: 6 p.m., free. Howard’s in Soulard, 2732 S 13th St, St. Louis, 314-349-2850.

GEM OWLZ: w/ Chrisfrmkro, Zado, pinkcaravan!,

Chris Stapleton

Nicholas Louis, Anwar 8 p.m., $15-$20. The

7 p.m. Saturday, August 5.

Firebird, 2706 Olive St., St. Louis, 314-535-0353.

JD MCPHERSON: 8 p.m., $22-$35. Off Broadway, 3509 Lemp Ave., St. Louis, 314-773-3363.

JOCELYN & CHRIS ARNDT: 8 p.m., $10-$12. Old Rock House, 1200 S. 7th St., St. Louis, 314-5880505.

JOEY OSCAR PROJECT: 7 p.m., $15. BB’s Jazz, Blues & Soups, 700 S. Broadway, St. Louis, 314436-5222.

LUCKY DUTCH: 10 p.m., $10. BB’s Jazz, Blues & Soups, 700 S. Broadway, St. Louis, 314-436-5222.

RAW EARTH: 8 p.m., free. The Abbey, 6500 W. Main St., Belleville, 618-398-3176.

WIDE AWAKE: w/ In My Silence 6 p.m., $10-$12.

Fubar, 3108 Locust St, St. Louis, 314-289-9050.

YOUNG THE GIANT: w/ Cold War Kids, K.Flay,

54

RIVERFRONT TIMES

Hollywood Casino Amphitheatre, 14141 Riverport Drive, Maryland Height. $30 to $180. 314-2989944.

Chris Stapleton is as far from bro-country as Taylor Swift is from Emmylou Harris, but he owes that scourge a round or seven. After proving his musical chops in bluegrass powerhouse the Steeldrivers and establishing himself as one of Nashville’s most reliable songwriters — King Bro Luke Bryan even scored a hit with the Stapleton-penned “Drink a Beer” — the coalminer’s son tapped

AUGUST 2-8, 2017

riverfronttimes.com

TUESDAY 8 A DAY TO REMEMBER: w/ Wage War 8 p.m., $34.50-$40. The Pageant, 6161 Delmar Blvd., St.

into the nation’s latent thirst for a star who didn’t look or sing like an asshole at a Georgia State frat party. Stapleton may seem like an unlikely country hero, but the bluesy Southern soul of his music and the harrowing wail of his baritone voice have proven, against all current trends, irresistible.

Get Your Lawn Seats Early: Openers Margo Price and Brent Cobb are both rising outsider stars in a honky-tonk sky Stapleton has helped clear. This triple bill is a true country megaticket.

—Roy Kasten

Louis, 314-726-6161.

JAMAICA LIVE TUESDAYS: w/ Ital K, Mr. Roots, DJ Witz, $5/$10. Elmo’s Love Lounge, 7828 Olive Blvd, University City, 314-282-5561.

KIM MASSIE: 10:30 p.m., $10. Beale on Broadway, 701 S. Broadway, St. Louis, 314-621-7880.

ST. LOUIS SOCIAL CLUB: 8 p.m., $5. BB’s Jazz, Blues & Soups, 700 S. Broadway, St. Louis, 314436-5222.

WEDNESDAY 9 BIG RICH MCDONOUGH & RHYTHM RENEGADES: 9 p.m., $5. BB’s Jazz, Blues & Soups, 700 S. Broadway, St. Louis, 314-436-5222.

BOB “BUMBLE BEE” KAMOSKE: 8 p.m. Beale on Broadway, 701 S. Broadway, St. Louis, 314-6217880.

KHAOTIKA: w/ Wormreich, Ruines Ov Abaddon,

[CRITIC’S PICK]

Nikki Lane. | PHOTO VIA NEW WEST RECORDS

Jidenna

Rapper, singer and producer Jidenna is a man of many talents, wrapped in a snazzy three-piece suit. His Harlem Renaissance-era fashion sense makes for a striking figure in a genre for which t-shirts and basketball shorts frequently serve as stage attire. Even more striking is his remarkable versatility. Over the course of the fourteen tracks that comprise his excellent debut LP, February’s The Chief, Jidenna hopscotches deftly across genres, from his masterful storytelling over the Africa-inspired rhythms of opener “A

Bull’s Tale” to his post-war crooning on “Bambi” to the positively trunk-rattling ferocity of standout “Long Live the Chief” (his best-known track, thanks to some prominent placing on Netflix’s Luke Cage series). Jidenna his still relatively new on the scene, but rising fast — as of this writing, his performance in St. Louis is one of the few on his current tour that hasn’t yet sold out.

Catch him while you can.

To the Nines: Jidenna explains his fashion choices rather succinctly on “Long Live the Chief”: “Now they say, ‘Jidenna why you dressing so classic?’

I don’t want my best-dressed day in a casket.” Makes sense! —Daniel Hill

Ahzidal 7 p.m., $12. Fubar, 3108 Locust St, St.

CAJUN COWBOY COOKOUT: W/ Rebirth Brass

Louis, 314-289-9050.

Band, Dumpstaphunk, Fri., Sept. 1, 7 p.m., $20-

MAJOR & THE MONBACKS: 7 p.m., $10-$12. Old

$25. Atomic Cowboy Pavilion, 4140 Manchester

Rock House, 1200 S. 7th St., St. Louis, 314-588-

Avenue, St. Louis, 314-775-0775.

0505.

THE CALIFORNIA HONEYDROPS: Sun., Oct. 1, 7

RASPUTINA: 8 p.m., $17-$20. Off Broadway, 3509

p.m., $17. Atomic Cowboy Pavilion, 4140 Man-

Lemp Ave., St. Louis, 314-773-3363.

chester Avenue, St. Louis, 314-775-0775.

WEDNESDAY NIGHT JAZZ CRAWL: 5 p.m. contin-

CHALI 2NA & KRAFTY KUTS: W/ DJ Mahf & Vth-

ues through Dec. 27, free. The Stage at KDHX,

om, Thu., Aug. 17, 7 p.m., $13. Atomic Cowboy

3524 Washington Ave, St. Louis, 314-925-7543,

Pavilion, 4140 Manchester Avenue, St. Louis,

ext. 815.

314-775-0775.

8 p.m. Sunday, August 6.

The Ready Room, 4195 Manchester Avenue. $20 to $23. 314-833-3929.

THIS JUST IN

COWBOY MOUTH: Fri., Nov. 17, 8 p.m.; Sat., Nov. 18, 8 p.m., $20-$35. Old Rock House, 1200 S. 7th

(HED) P. E.: Sun., Nov. 19, 7 p.m., $16-$20. Fubar,

St., St. Louis, 314-588-0505, oldrockhouse.com.

3108 Locust St, St. Louis, 314-289-9050, fubarstl.

CRYWOLF: Fri., Sept. 29, 9 p.m., $12-$65. The

com.

Ready Room, 4195 Manchester Ave, St. Louis,

BUNGLER: Tue., Sept. 12, 7 p.m., $10. Fubar,

314-833-3929, thereadyroom.com.

3108 Locust St, St. Louis, 314-289-9050, fubarstl.

JIM BRICKMAN: Sun., Nov. 26, 3 p.m., $35-$75.

com.

BIKES WELCOME

FOLLOW US ON FACEBOOK: GOODTIMES.PATIO.BAR

200 N. MAIN, DUPO, ILLINOIS

Continued on pg 56

riverfronttimes.com

AUGUST 2-8, 2017

RIVERFRONT TIMES

55

THIS JUST IN Continued from pg 55 [CRITIC’S PICK]

music

Nikki Lane. | PHOTO VIA NEW WEST RECORDS

Nikki Lane

On the opening track of this year’s Highway Queen, Nikki Lane posits that it takes 700,000 rednecks to get to the top. She’s talking about the machinations of the music business in her home base of Nashville — the mass-appeal market for shiny country music — but Lane is more interested in channeling the queens and kings of outlaw country to forge her own path.

Son Volt’s Jay Farrar has long since

eschewed any interest in adhering to country’s dictums, alt- or otherwise, and this year’s Notes of Blue finds the band digging back into its Crazy Horse-style roots after a loving detour into honky-tonk traditions. Both acts share the outdoor stage on the final day of this year’s Open Highway Music Festival, which takes place on the grounds of Off Broadway.

Highwaymen and Women: Local roots-rock acts the Vondrukes and the Sleepy Rubies start the mid-afternoon festivities.

—Christian Schaeffer

Blanche M Touhill Performing Arts Center, 1

SOCIAL REPOSE: W/ Hotel Books, The Funeral Por-

University Dr at Natural Bridge Road, Norman-

trait, Wed., Oct. 25, 7 p.m., $15-$18. Fubar, 3108

dy, 314-516-4949, touhill.org.

Locust St, St. Louis, 314-289-9050, fubarstl.com.

JOYNER LUCAS: Fri., Oct. 6, 8 p.m., $14-$50.

STABBING WESTWARD: Thu., Sept. 28, 7 p.m.,

Fubar, 3108 Locust St, St. Louis, 314-289-9050,

$20-$22. Fubar, 3108 Locust St, St. Louis, 314-

fubarstl.com.

289-9050, fubarstl.com.

KARAN CASEY AND MAURA O’CONNELL: Sat., Nov.

SWINGIN’ UTTERS: Tue., Nov. 7, 8 p.m., $13-$15.

11, 8 p.m., $25. Blanche M Touhill Performing

Blueberry Hill - The Duck Room, 6504 Delmar

Arts Center, 1 University Dr at Natural Bridge

Blvd., University City, 314-727-4444, blueberry-

Road, Normandy, 314-516-4949, touhill.org.

hill.com.

MASON JENNINGS: Sat., Nov. 11, 8 p.m., $20-

TAIKOZA: Sat., March 24, 8 p.m., $25. Blanche M

$22.50. Blueberry Hill - The Duck Room, 6504

Touhill Performing Arts Center, 1 University Dr

Delmar Blvd., University City, 314-727-4444,

at Natural Bridge Road, Normandy, 314-516-

blueberryhill.com.

4949, touhill.org.

OUR LADY PEACE: Fri., Nov. 3, 8 p.m., $30-$35.

TERA MELOS: W/ Speedy Ortiz, Wed., Oct. 25, 7

Delmar Hall, 6133 Delmar Blvd., St. Louis, 314-

p.m., $15. The Firebird, 2706 Olive St., St. Louis,

3 p.m. Sunday, August 6.

Off Broadway, 3509 Lemp Avenue. $25. 314-7733363.

read more at RIVERFRONTTIMES.COM

726-6161, delmarhall.com.

56

RIVERFRONT TIMES

AUGUST 2-8, 2017

riverfronttimes.com

-

-

, firebirdstl.com.

PRIMUS: Sun., Nov. 5, 8 p.m., $32-$52. Peabody

THEORY OF A DEADMAN: Wed., Oct. 4, 8 p.m., $28-

Opera House, 1400 Market St, St. Louis, 314-

$30. Delmar Hall, 6133 Delmar Blvd., St. Louis,

241-1888, peabodyoperahouse.com.

314-726-6161, delmarhall.com.

PUNDERDOME: Sat., Oct. 28, 8 p.m., $15-$18.

TRAPT: Wed., Aug. 23, 8 p.m., $15-$20. Old Rock

Delmar Hall, 6133 Delmar Blvd., St. Louis, 314-

House, 1200 S. 7th St., St. Louis, 314-588-0505,

726-6161, delmarhall.com.

oldrockhouse.com.

SHOCK CITY STUDIOS GRAND OPENING: Sat.,

WATERPARKS: W/ As It Is, Chapel, Sleep On It,

Aug. 26, 1 p.m., free. Shock City Studios, 2200

Tue., Nov. 21, 6 p.m., $16.50-$20. Delmar Hall,

Gravois, St. Louis, 314-771-3099, shockcitystu-

6133 Delmar Blvd., St. Louis, 314-726-6161,

dios.com.

delmarhall.com.

SAVAGE LOVE CROSSED DRESSERS

BY DAN SAVAGE Hey, Dan: My wife has been seriously ill for three years, and I have been her sole caregiver. The doctors here weren’t getting the job done, so we made the difficult decision for her to move 2,000 miles away to start over and be near her family. She offered me a “hall pass” with two rules: (1) It couldn’t be anyone I worked with and (2) she didn’t want to know about it. I started to consider using it after she moved, but I didn’t want to just find some random person on Tinder. You see, I am a cross-dresser.

So instead of paying for a traditional escort, I found someone who would dress me, do my makeup, go out to dinner with me, but no sex. We met three times. However, one time I did hire a trans woman who dressed me and we did have sex. Obviously, I had to lie at times about where I was when I was using my hall pass, but I considered it a white lie to meet Rule No. 2. But my wife flew home unannounced to get her things (with her ex-husband along to help) and found my clothes out and quickly got out of me what I had done.

She was beyond pissed. She says I had a hall pass for sex but not cross-dressing.

She belittled me for the cross-dressing and said the sex was supposed to be a one-and-done thing. My questions: Did I violate the hall pass? Was I wrong to cross-dress?

Dude Relishing Erotic Sexcapades Suddenly Entertaining Divorce Your wife went home to get well and “start over.” And it sounds like she got well at least well enough to fly

and started over with her ex-husband.

I don’t think you were wrong to cross-dress, SS , and if you iolated that hall ass, it was only because your soon-to-be-ex-wife didn’t share all the rules with you until after you used it. It looks like a setu to me. our soon-to-be-ex-wife ga e you permission to fuck someone else — permission that came with rules that were disclosed and secret bylaws and codicils that were not — because, consciously or subconsciously, she wanted to catch you doing it wrong. ecause now she can di orce you with a clear conscience, since she’s not to blame for the s lit you and your dick and your dresses are to blame. ou might want to brace yourself for some hardcore blaming and kink-shaming, DRESSED, and for the ery real ossibility she’ll out you as a cheat and a cross-dresser to family and friends. ut howe er the di orce lays out, at least you’ll soon be free to find a artner you don’t ha e to hide your cross-dressing from.

Hey, Dan: I’m a 22-year-old nonbinary person and I’m debating whether to come out to my father as nonbinary.

I tried to come out to him at eighteen back when I thought I was “only” a hetero-leaning bi cross-dresser. He did not take the news well. Today we don’t talk about it, and I think he pretends it never happened. I’m wanting to move toward living in a less-gender-conforming way and am considering making a second attempt. Pros: not feeling like I’m hiding who I am, maybe I get him off my back about kids, being able to be out on Facebook. Cons: screaming matches, strong possibility of being disowned and losing the modest amount of financial support

I get from him, small possibility of him telling my mom (they’re divorced). Any advice?

One Foot Out hat’s more im ortant to you, , li ing authentically or li ing off your dad If being your authentic self means gi ing u the money he sends you and you don’t des erately need his money, the choice is ob ious. ut if his money is all that stands between you and gender-nonconforming homelessness, you might want to think through your o tions, the risks and the rewards, before going nonbinary o cial on acebook.

Hey, Dan: I’m a 25-year-old man who is mostly interested in women but I like to mess around with men sometimes. I also love wearing high heels and makeup — not to “pass,” but just because I love it. Most women seem to be instantly turned off by these two things. I usually do very well with women, but they bolt when I tell them, and some have been quite hurtful. My family is very understanding about the high heels and my sexuality — even my father — but the average woman doesn’t seem to like it when I do something that they deem “theirs.” Which is so unfair. Women can do anything they please — wear pants if they like, have same-sex experiences — but I must submit or face the life of an outcast. Any advice on how to deal with this while also dealing with the bitterness and envy I feel?

Enraging Gender And Double Standards Let’s start with those feelings of en y, shall we? While it’s true that women can wear pantsuits without causing alarm, and while it’s also true that women can have same-sex experiences

57

without freaking out the men in their lives, women’s choices and their bodies are sub ected to much more scrutiny, control and violence than our male bodies are, EGADS. Until politicians legislate against your right to control your own body, you can note the few areas where women en oy more latitude than men, but you aren’t allowed to bitch about them. nd this should ut your ain in perspective: According to a new report from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, more than half the women murdered in the United States e ery year ercent are killed by their husbands, boyfriends, or exes.

It sucks to be dum ed for your sexual orientation or gender expression, I know. ut none of your exes ha e stalked and murdered you.

Now the good news: There are women out there who dig men in high heels, there are women out there into bi guys, and there is a significant overlap between those two groups of women. If you succumb to bitterness at your young age because you’ e been dum ed a few times, you’re going to scare off the women who are genuinely attracted to guys like you. he women who bolted did you a ainful fa or, and you should be grateful. ecause with those average women out of your life, S, you’re free to go find an above-average woman who wants an abo e-a erage guy like you. ro-ti You’re likelier to find those women at a fetish arty or club, or ia a kink social-media site or dating website.

Good luck.

mail@savagelove.net @fakedansavage on Twitter ITMFA.org

STREAK’S CORNER • by Bob Stretch

riverfronttimes.com

AUGUST 2-8, 2017

RIVERFRONT TIMES

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120 Drivers/Delivery/Courier

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A BC/Check er Cab Co CA LL N OW 3 14 -72 5 -9 5 5 0 167 Restaurants/Hotels/Clubs

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riverfronttimes.com

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AUGUST 2-8, 2017

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Unless otherwise limited, prices are good through Tuesday following publication date. Installed price offers are for product purchased from Audio Express installed in factory-ready locations. Custom work at added cost. Kits, antennas and cables additional. Added charges for shop supplies and environmental disposal where mandated. Illustrations similar. Video pictures may be simulated. Not responsible for typographic errors. Savings off MSRP or our original sales price, may include install savings. Intermediate markdowns may have been taken. Details, conditions and restrictions of manufacturer promotional offers at respective websites. Price match applies to new, non-promotional items from authorized sellers; excludes “shopping cart” or other hidden specials. © 2017, Audio Express.

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