May 11, 2017 Print Edition

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Is Paul Ryan Really a Moderate?

The Speaker’s radical agenda is bad for our health Taste of the South at Doc’s ... page 12

‘Only We Know Best -At The Town Hall Meeting’ ... page 18

Samantha Fish Looks to the Past on Her New Album ... page 32

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::NEWS&VIEWS FEATURES | POLLS | TAKING LIBERTIES | EXPRESSO

IS PAUL RYAN REALLY A MODERATE? The Speaker’s radical agenda is bad for our health ::BY DAVE OBEY

ave Obey is a former member of the United States House of Representatives, who represented Wisconsin’s 7th congressional district (Northwest Wisconsin) from 1969 to 2011. He was chair of the powerful House Appropriations Committee and was one of the most respected members of Congress by both his Democratic and Republican colleagues. Obey shares his thoughts on current Speaker of the House Paul Ryan exclusively with readers of the Shepherd Express.

“It isn’t what we don’t know that gives us trouble; it’s what we know that ain’t so.” So said the American philosopher Mark Twain. Nowhere is that more in evidence than in America’s effort to figure out what is wrong with Washington—particularly the U.S. Congress.

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In the days following the stunning—and to some of us alarming—election of Donald Trump, much of the national press held up hope that Trump’s reckless and chaotic action could, to some degree, be moderated and made more coherent by House Speaker Paul Ryan. Ryan has been portrayed as “more moderate,” an “intellectual,” a “policy wonk,” steeped in the knowledge of the legislative process. It needs to be fully understood that Ryan in reality is quite different.

In fact, Ryan is an intellectually rigid, romantic ideologue masquerading as a moderate and pragmatic legislator.

That fact is the key to understanding why the GOP health care legislation he is trying to pass is such a political and policy mess. This is just the most recent example of his constant political and policy overreaching that has marked his legislative career.

Who else but a hopelessly romantic academic could believe that it was either good politics or good policy to try to force through his party caucus and the House of Representatives a scheme that would have stripped health security from more than 20 million Americans, chiseled consumers on cov-

erage and produced (especially for older Americans) higher insurance premiums and higher out-of-pocket copayments for a product that was supported in public opinion polls by less than 20% of Americans.

Now, please understand. Paul Ryan is a nice man.

I respect him. He has a nice demeanor. He does not degrade the nation’s political dialogue the way Trump does. I know, because I served with him in Congress for more than a decade. But the product he is selling would produce results as cruel as they are chaotic.

And health care repeal has not been the only subject on which Ryan’s policy recommendations have produced negative and painful results. It is also true for the budgets he has tried to push through Congress during the many years he chaired the Budget Committee before he became Speaker of the House.

For at least a decade, he has been the driving force behind the House budgets that produced gridlock and at least one government shutdown and created pressure that has made the country less fair and the economy less strong. How did that happen?

To understand that, it is necessary to understand how the congressional budget process works. In the House, two committees have the primary responsibility to deal with spending: the Budget Committee, which Ryan chaired when the GOP was in the majority, and the Appropriations Committee, which I chaired when Democrats were in control.

Consideration of budget matters begins when the Budget Committee reports to the House a budget resolution which establishes targets for the size of the deficit or surplus, revenue levels and overall total spending levels. Those targets are loosely based on nonbinding assumptions about how those targets can be achieved.

But the Budget Committee does not have to negotiate the thousands of compromises that are necessary to produce actually binding, program by program, decisions. Within the overall ceilings established in the budget resolution, that job is the responsibility of the Appropriations Committee on the spending side of the budget and the Ways and Means Committee on the revenue side.

In other words, the Budget Committee can carry out its budget-cutting mission by flying at 30,000 feet, but the Ways and Means and Appropriations Committees must slug it out, specific cut by specific cut, in ground-level budget combat. That means it is easier to pass the budget resolution than it is the 12 appropriations bills that must follow because it contains only general instructions for making budget choices.

When the Appropriations Committee then has to present Congress with a long list of specific decisions and specific program cuts that are necessary to fit within the targets in the budget resolution, is where the rubber hits the road. When the Appropriations Committee brings to the House floor the bills that translate those general spending cuts into specific, programby-program actions and cuts, surprised members who had supported the original budget resolution would often say, “You mean you want me to vote to cut that?

No way; you’re out of your mind!” That has happened year after year because the Budget Committee under Ryan has overreached. It has been able to pass the original budget resolution because cuts were vague

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and non-specific. But, when the Appropriations Committee tried to implement the budget resolution, gridlock was born.

For several years in a row, Ryan pushed budget resolutions that on paper seemed to make enough room with spending cuts and questionable economic assumptions to free up room for Ryan’s treasured tax cuts for America’s highest-income people. Over the last three decades, we have seen the largest transfer of income up the economic scale into the pockets of the top 1% in the history of the universe. But that has not been enough for Ryan. He wanted even more. But when they saw the specific cuts required by the budget resolution, significant numbers of members began to back off. They recognized that Ryan’s budgets were not so much real budgets; they were in fact ideological, wish-list press releases that, in reality, simply did not allow Congress to match what the public wanted by way of national priorities.

It turned out that Americans really did not want to slash Pell Grants and other student aid programs that help kids from working families go to college. They did not want to short sheet transportation programs, food stamps or medical research on diseases such as stroke, Parkinson’s or Lou Gehrig’s disease. They did not want to hurt middle-class families who need Medicaid to pay for nursing home costs when grandma has had a stroke. Ryan’s approach in pushing his preferred policy choices to the limit in his budget resolutions showed the same thing that his health repeal bill had revealed. Far from being a moderating influence on Trump, Ryan showed that, on economic issues, he was more ideological and more determined to shred the nation’s safety

net than Trump is. And therein lies the irony.

Trump began his campaign by attacking the establishment of his own party. The irony of his election is that he will now be used as the instrument by which that same GOP establishment, led by Ryan, will seek to impose the Ayn Rand Darwinist “Survival of the Fittest” agenda that it has dreamed of for decades. Certainly, on economic issues, Ryan is no moderate who will save the nation’s safety net from Trump; in fact, it may be just the opposite.

All of this means that we are left with two realities about Paul Ryan.

In setting the nation’s budget priorities, at least during the campaign, Trump said he would protect Social Security, Medicare and Medicaid—the three pillars of economic justice for the middle class and the poor. In contrast, Ryan has indicated just the opposite.

Over the years, he has made it clear that he is an economic romantic who has an idealized view of the benign impact that the economic marketplace can have on the vulnerable in our society. He apparently believes that the more that the recipients of Social Security, Medicare and Medicaid are reliant on the tender mercies of the marketplace, the better off the vulnerable among us will be.

On health care, during the campaign, Trump promised that everyone would be covered at far cheaper prices. But before long, Trump was hijacked by Ryan and his congressional allies who produced a product that did just the opposite.

So, bottom line? Ryan as a moderate?

Sorry, but the only thing moderate about Paul Ryan is his demeanor!

Comment at shepherdexpress.com.

Ryan’s approach in pushing his preferred policy choices to the limit in his budget resolutions showed the same thing that his health repeal bill had revealed. Far from being a moderating influence on Trump, Ryan showed that, on economic issues, he was more ideological and more determined to shred the nation’s safety net than Trump is.

And therein lies the irony.

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NEWS&VIEWS::FEATURE

Milwaukee County Pension Déjà Vu Fake crisis and real chaos threatens the livelihood of retirees ::BY DENNIS HUGHES

C

ounty Executive Chris Abele has taken another page from Donald Trump’s playbook by manufacturing a crisis to distract from his own ongoing issues.

These issues began when Abele’s Director of Retirement Plan Services (RPS) Marian Ninneman was essentially forced to resign, despite her solid reputation for improving the quality and accuracy of the pension system. These issues continued when County Supervisor Sheldon Wasserman successfully championed a study to consider transferring Milwaukee County’s Employees’ Retirement System (ERS) to the State of Wisconsin’s retirement system, which is run quite well. It was then accelerated again when interim RPS Director Amy Pechacek resurrected pension errors that were apparently resolved years ago. The Abele administration then repackaged this information into evidence of ERS’ volatility today.

These moves created a “crisis” to justify Abele’s boldest action yet—to use the unilateral contracting authority no one knew he had to target disabled retirees and the surviving families of deceased retirees.

What’s With the 2012 Audit?

When a 2012 county audit revealed significant pension errors caused by his predecessor as county executive, Scott Walker, Abele immediately took responsibility for reforming ERS. He credited Ninneman for discovering many of the errors, but publicly questioned the Pension Board’s private auditor, Baker Tilly, for its 2010 and 2011 audit reports, which found no material errors.

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The errors identified in the 2012 audit formed the basis of the 2014 IRS voluntary correction plan (VCP) that was somehow supposedly hidden from the County Executive and the County Board, as well as the public, until January 2017. By keeping the report hidden, the Abele administration officials empowered the Pension Board and RPS to set up debt collection plans with individual retirees affected by the errors without County Board intervention or public outcry.

The pension errors within the VCP included both underpayments and overpayments.

Underpayments were resolved by reimbursing affected retirees and adjusting future payments. Overpayments were resolved by cuts to future pension payments or through direct debt collection.

RPS and the Pension Board were able to move forward, correcting payment mistakes without requesting funding from the County Board, because Milwaukee County exceeded its required pension fund contributions by $400 million over the last decade.

This added a “tremendous layer of security” to the fund, according to RPS actuary Buck Consulting. That surplus is a result of the proceeds of pension obligation bonds (POB) issued by Scott Walker in 2009. A wise refinancing decision in 2013 by the County Comptroller’s office increased the projected value of the POB. The POB proceeds have been used to reimburse any underpayments and the full amount of overpayments sought in debt collection actions. The underpayments and overpayment reimbursements are essentially prepaid, as explained by Abele in

2012 when he stated that $300,000 worth of underpayments would come at no cost to Milwaukee County.

The 2017 Audit Under Ninneman, RPS continually reviewed past pension calculations and discovered numerous small individual errors. After the 2014 IRS plan was uncovered in January 2017, Abele’s response was much different than his statements when the errors in the hidden VCP were first revealed in 2012.

In 2012, Abele credited Ninneman for doggedly identifying and correcting pension errors that were overlooked by county auditors. In 2017, Abele forced her to resign amid the “scandal,” which was based on the 2012 errors she discovered.

Former County Supervisor Gerry Broderick praised Ninneman’s work and criticized the county executive’s decision, saying that she “excelled in her role as RPS Director and was particularly diligent in correcting flaws in that system that had gone undiscovered for decades, right up until Mr. Abele threw her under the bus. Her departure is a sad loss to our county government.”

As early as January 2016, Ninneman recommended that the Pension Board seek an “impartial third party” to audit the pension system. However, in March 2017, the Abele administration in their usual practice to avoid competitive bidding, entered into a no-bid contract with Baker Tilly, the current ERS auditor that had been scolded by Abele in 2012.

The Baker Tilly contract is worth up to $640,000 and includes whopping $120 per hour fees for clerical work. The County Board did not review or authorize the contract. The Pension Board had no authority to enter into a professional services contract without the transparent RFP process required

by Milwaukee ordinances. This did not occur. Instead, Abele utilized a novel interpretation of his county property sale powers to unilaterally enter into the no-bid contract with Baker Tilly.

Coincidently, Corporation Counsel Margaret Daun provided an opinion to the County Board in March, which explains that the law that provides Abele with broad authority over county property sales also empowers him to unilaterally enter into professional services contracts related to ERS for any amount or purpose without legislative approval unless the agreement is for a term beyond one year.

The Baker Tilly contract terms make it clear that interim RPS Director, Amy Pechacek, is targeting two categories of retirees, disabled pensioners and the surviving families of deceased retirees. A total of 570 unidentified pensioners are being targeted; 94% of those retirees earned their pension due to either disability or the death of a family member.

The Big Mistakes The Pension Board’s private actuary, Buck Consultants, was apparently responsible for the two largest pension errors during

Ninneman’s tenure. In both 2013 and 2014 the firm missed a routine cost of living adjustment (COLA) in its actuarial valuations, which reduced Milwaukee County’s annual required contribution by approximately $20 million total in its 2015 and 2016 budgets.

The first COLA mistake occurred in May 2013. It seems unlikely that Buck Consultants would have simply forgotten a routine COLA adjustment at that time because only months earlier, in February 2013, the firm was sued by the City of Providence, R.I., for similarly forgetting COLA adjustments for an entire year.

It’s even more questionable that Buck Consulting attempted to limit its contractual liability to $1 million in October 2013. After continued negotiations with Ninneman, Buck ultimately refused to accept another contract with Milwaukee County as of February 2014 unless RPS agreed to its liability cap. RPS accepted Buck’s terms on a monthto-month basis. Curiously, the second COLA mistake occurred in April 2014.

Buck Consulting’s errors had the effect of expanding the revenue available in the 2015 and 2016 County Budgets by approximately $20 million. Since hundreds of millions worth of POB proceeds are available to cover that required contribution shortfall, there is no additional cost to the county because payments are already made in the form of POB debt service, which will cost taxpayers over $33 million annually until 2023.

At an April 13 meeting before the County Board Finance Committee, Benefits Director Matt Hanchek proposed what was essentially a three-year $300,000 pool of cash for Buck Consulting. The resolution was extremely vague and included minimal information on Buck Consulting’s duties under the contract.

Hanchek began his comments to the committee by requesting that his proposal be rejected due to “unfortunate timing.” Although it is implied that he was referring to the ongoing pension issues or Abele’s manufactured pension crisis, it is probably more likely that the rejection was recommended due to the recent revelations about Abele’s contracting authority, which empower his administration to ignore legislative oversight for most County contracts.

A Reasonable Solution?

Just as Milwaukee County can utilize pension obligation bond proceeds to refund underpayment errors, reimburse overpayments targeted for debt collection and fix actuarial mistakes at no additional taxpayer cost, a fair solution would be for the county to forgive all past pension overpayments based on the errors caused by its staff.

Despite Abele’s authoritarian powers, the County Board remains the policymaker for the ERS pension fund. The board can vote to repeal its 2007 overpayment resolution and replace it with a humane policy demonstrating respect for the livelihoods of disabled retirees, the families of deceased workers and all pensioners in Milwaukee County.

Comment at shepherdexpress.com.

SHEPHERD EXPRESS

NEWS&VIEWS::SAVINGOURDEMOCRACY ( MAY 11 - MAY 17, 2017 )

E

ach week, the Shepherd Express will serve as a clearinghouse for any and all activities in the greater Milwaukee area that peacefully push back against discriminatory, reactionary or authoritarian actions and policies of the Trump administration and other activities that promote social justice. We will publicize and promote actions, demonstrations, planning meetings, teach-ins, party-building meetings, drinking/discussion get-togethers or any other actions that are directed toward fighting back to preserve our liberal democratic system.

Friday, May 12

Breaking the Transportation Funding Gridlock, 9:30-11:30 a.m., 1451 Renaissance Place (1451 N. Prospect Ave.)

The Democratic Party’s Business Advisory Committee will hold a forum on the transportation funding gridlock. The forum will be moderated by UW-Milwaukee Economics Professor Emeritus William Holahan and is an opportunity to listen to three varying viewpoints on the transportation funding issue.

This Land was Made for You and Me: ACLU of WI Fundraiser, 6-10 p.m., Brenner Brewing Company (706 S. Fifth St.)

At this fundraiser for the ACLU of Wisconsin, a $30 ticket gets you two beers, food from Hamburger Mary’s, entrance to a trivia contest, art from Milwaukee-based artists and much more. Also, the proceeds from every beer bought will go to the ACLU.

Saturday, May 13

Peace Action Wisconsin: Stand for Peace, noon-1 p.m. @ Corner of Bluemound Road and Hawley Avenue

Every Saturday, from noon-1 p.m., concerned citizens join with Peace Action Wisconsin to protest war. Signs will be provided for those who need them. Protesters are encouraged to stick around for conversation and coffee afterwards.

Where is the Love?, 12-4 p.m., Lincoln Park Pavilion (1301 W. Hampton Ave.)

This event, hosted by the Milwaukee Police District Five and Seven and Sojourner Family Peace Center, sets out to bring awareness to domestic violence, as well as provide information and resources to strengthen and empower attending families.

Wednesday, May 17

Refuel the Resistance, 5-8 p.m., Bounce Milwaukee (2801 S. Fifth Court) Every Wednesday, Bounce Milwaukee offers a space to organize, as well as a free drink to anyone who brings evidence of resistance in the past week, including protest signs, an email to an elected official or a selfie at the capital.

To submit to this column, please send a brief description of your action, including date and time, to savingourdemocracy@ shepex.com. Together, we can fight to minimize the damage that this administration has planned for our great country.

NEWS&VIEWS::POLL

You Don’t Think David Clarke is Fit For a Federal Government Position Last week we asked if, considering his record as Milwaukee County sheriff, David Clarke deserves to be promoted to a position in the federal government. You said: n Yes: 18% n No: 82%

What Do You Say?

Last week House Republicans narrowly passed a health care bill, which will now be taken up by the Senate. Will Republicans succeed in repealing and replacing Obamacare? n Yes n No Vote online at shepherdexpress.com. We’ll publish the results of this poll in next week’s issue.

SHEPHERD EXPRESS

M AY 1 1 , 2 0 1 7 | 9

::TAKINGLIBERTIES

Wisconsin’s Most Shameful, Embarrassing Election

::BY JOEL MCNALLY

I

f all the decent people in Wisconsin who believe in honest, good government were asked to name the most shameful, embarrassing election in their state’s recent history, most of them would name that big one in November.

It was certainly humiliating for a once progressive state to vote for an openly bigoted, unqualified, unprincipled, charlatan president. But the dominance of presidential elections causes far too many people to ignore crucial elections closer to home.

Wisconsin’s biggest, most shameful recent embarrassment was a statewide election a month ago in which few people even bothered to vote. There was no reason since the only candidate was a brazenly corrupt state Supreme Court justice who ran unopposed.

It was the re-election of Supreme Court Justice Annette Ziegler, an openly unethical member of the equally unethical five-justice right-wing majority that makes Wisconsin’s court one of the most corrupt in the nation.

That might seem like an extreme statement, but Ziegler proved it two weeks later. She voted once again with the majority against creating any ethical standards for the court requiring justices to recuse themselves from cases involving their own financial sponsors who contribute millions of dollars to elect them to the court.

Having an ethical state Supreme Court really shouldn’t be a partisan issue. Both Republicans and Democrats should want courts to have integrity and apply the law equally and honestly. Why do I hear snickering?

The statewide petition calling upon the state court to adopt clear ethical standards regarding conflicts of interest was certainly bipartisan. It came from 54 retired state judges, both Republicans and Democrats, including two former state Supreme Court justices Janine Geske and Louis Butler. Not only did the corrupt majority summarily dismiss the petition 5-2 without a public hearing, but Ziegler herself demonstrated her profound ignorance of both ethics and the law by declaring it would be unconstitutional for the court to set any ethical standards for itself.

“The petitioners here have asked us to do something that does not comport with the Constitution as I view it,” Ziegler said. That may accurately reflect Ziegler’s own twisted view of the Constitution, but the most recent U.S. Supreme Court decision on ethical conflicts that financially corrupt state courts established exactly the opposite.

In the 2009 West Virginia case of Caperton v. Massey, the Supreme Court ruled a state justice had to recuse himself from a case involving the chief executive of a coal company who contributed $3 million to that justice’s election.

‘Bias Demeans Reputation and Integrity of Court’ “The appearance of bias demeans the reputation and integrity of not just one jurist, but of the larger institution of which he or she is a part,” the court said. “Both the appearance and reality of impartial justice are necessary to the public legitimacy of judicial pronouncements and thus to the rule of law itself.”

Since that 2009 decision, several state courts around the country have strengthened their ethical standards.

The corrupt majority on Wisconsin’s court—Ziegler, 10 | M AY 1 1 , 2 0 1 7

Michael Gableman, Pat Roggensack and then Justice David Prosser—did just the opposite. In 2010, they adopted an explicit rule declaring political contributions from any party to a case, no matter how enormous they might be, would not require Wisconsin justices to ethically recuse themselves.

That rule paid off big time for Wisconsin Club for Growth and Wisconsin Manufacturers & Commerce in 2015 when those four justices killed a statewide John Doe investigation into suspected illegal coordination of anonymous “dark money” from those lobbying organizations with Republican Gov. Scott Walker’s campaign.

Of course, buying decisions from the Wisconsin Supreme Court isn’t cheap. Those two groups contributed nearly $10 million to the campaigns of the four majority justices. Prosser is retired now. But Walker replaced him and the late Patrick Crooks with appointees Rebecca Bradley, since elected on her own, and Daniel Kelly, both former presidents of the Milwaukee chapter of the right-wing Federalist Society.

There is absolutely no requirement that politically conservative justices be corrupt. It’s just become a habit these days. Bradley and Kelly immediately created a new five-member majority opposed to the court following any ethical standards of recusing themselves from cases in which they have glaring conflicts of interest.

You know, like receiving millions of dollars in campaign contributions from one side.

The most depressing part about Ziegler running unopposed in April was it seemed Wisconsin had given up on ever restoring judicial integrity to its Supreme Court.

It’s encouraging that Madison attorney Tim Burns, who chairs the American Bar Association committee on impartial courts, has already announced his candidacy against the sleazy Gableman in 2018.

The only way to reverse the corrupt imbalance on Wisconsin’s Supreme Court—or the Republican majority in Congress dishonestly promising health care for all as it votes to destroy it—is one candidate at a time. That means fielding strong candidates and voting in every election, especially in lower-turnout, non-presidential years.

Comment at shepherdexpress.com. n

The only way to reverse the corrupt imbalance on Wisconsin’s Supreme Court— or the Republican majority in Congress dishonestly promising health care for all as it votes to destroy it —is one candidate at a time.

::ISSUEOFTHEWEEK

Now Abele Sees Himself As a Job Training Expert

T

he Milwaukee-area employment situation has a long way to go to get itself back to the days when Milwaukee was the leading manufacturing city in America and manufacturing was the main source for solid, wellpaying jobs. Besides the city’s Department of City Development and the Wisconsin Housing and Economic Development Authority, another entity that has done a very good job on the employment creation front has been Employ Milwaukee, the local job training program funded by federal job training dollars.

The federal job training dollars from the federal Workforce Innovation and Opportunity Act (WIOA), comes through the state and then through the local Workforce Development Areas, which can be a geographic area composed of a county or a group of counties. Several years ago, then Gov. Jim Doyle shifted the job training dollars from Milwaukee County to the City of Milwaukee as the coordinator of the job training dollars. The City of Milwaukee created the entity, Employ Milwaukee, to administer the program, and it has done a very efficient and effective job with those training dollars. Now, completely out of left field, Chris Abele has petitioned Gov. Scott Walker to shift the job training dollars to some entity under him. There are many problems with Abele’s request including the fact that the federal law, WIOA, directs the states to retain the local entities currently administering the monies as long as they are performing successfully.

Abele Doesn’t Know What He Doesn’t Know

Besides the direction from the federal law, there are many other problems with this effort by Abele. First of all, Abele has absolutely no experience in the field of employment and training. Apparently he has never had a job that wasn’t purchased with his father’s money whether it was the family foundation he ran or the elections he won with the help of out-of-town consultants who were paid with literally millions of his father’s dollars. Second, he has basically messed up almost everything he has ever tried to run. Just look at his record as county executive. Those who have worked closely with him blame his massive insecurity which prevents him from being an effective manager. Third, he has not been able to follow through and complete his own training. After a couple of efforts at different colleges, he was never able to successfully complete a degree and it certainly wasn’t for lack of money. Follow through and successful completion of a job training program is essential for the participants in these job training programs to have any chance at getting a solid job with middle-class wages. Abele is a terrible role model. Finally, his dubious approach to this power grab is another example of some serious character flaws.

Other than his desire to have more power, there is no justifiable reason to shift this program from the purview of the city to Abele’s control. Employ Milwaukee is working. People who need this training are getting it and are getting jobs. Given the way other entities Abele has tried to manage have fared, an Abele takeover of the jobs training program would likely bring disruptions and a drop in quality that beneficiaries simply don’t need. Abele has made terrible decisions because he didn’t know what he didn’t know and was too insecure to listen and learn from those who do know. Employed individuals trying to get training to get their lives back on track should not be hurt because Abele wants a new toy. People’s futures are not for you to play with, Mr. Abele. The Shepherd strongly believes that you don’t try to fix something that isn’t broken and Employ Milwaukee is not broken.

Comment at shepherdexpress.com. n

SHEPHERD EXPRESS

::OFFTHECUFF

PASSING THE BATON TO MILWAUKEE YOUTH

Off the Cuff with Urban Underground’s Sharlen Moore ::BY KEITH SCHUBERT

herman Elementary, Morris Middle School, Rufus King High School and the University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee. That was Sharlen Moore’s educational track. Clearly, she knows Milwaukee. So, it only fits that she co-founded and is currently the executive director of one of Milwaukee’s tenured community organizations, Urban Underground.

Sharlen Moore caught the civic engagement bug early in her life working for the YMCA on North and Teutonia avenues where she and her friends started Teen Achievers, a program run by teens for teens.

That is where she discovered the satisfaction of helping others and working with her peers and young people. Once she graduated high school, she and her now husband, Reggie Moore, co-founded Urban Underground.

Founded on a bold premise that young people have the power and the talents to change this world—all they need is a platform and the guidance to do so. As Moore explains, “as adults, it is our job to give them support and guidance and to love and nurture their development so they can grow into the gifts they were meant to be.”

What was the process like starting Urban Underground?

A lot of the elders in our community remember Capital Court, which had a movie theater, a bowling alley and skating rinks— things for young people to do. No one had to drive far out to the suburbs to get to any of these things. Everything was here in the community.

During that late-’90s period when those things were being pulled away is when we decided to start Urban Underground. As creative as our young people are, they said if the city is going to give us anything to do we are going to figure it out ourselves. That’s when the cruising controversy really sparked. That was our first initial big campaign. Addressing publicly what young people needed.

Any challenges?

We were two young adults looking to start this organization, and we had much opposition starting out. Even when it came to our name, people told us no one would even fund us with the name Urban Underground. Many organizations viewed us as a threat that would mess with their funding and things like that. A lot of them didn’t want to partner or collaborate with us. There are more nonprofits in Milwaukee than many other cities in the country, and it is a dog eat dog world with nonprofits here.

Eventually, we got a grant from Potawatomi Community Foundation to help start the organization. At the time, we did not have full nonprofit status though, so Paul Schmitz, who was the CEO of Public Allies at the time, graciously agreed to be our fiscal sponsor.

Him sponsoring us allowed us to get that grant and provided the necessary support that helped us build our infrastructure for the first five years before we moved out on our own.

Explain the need for UU. Many times, the people that are the most impacted in communities are the ones typically left out of those conversations, and that is what’s happening to young people.

SHEPHERD EXPRESS

We talk about nurturing and providing mentorship and guidance for youth that have a vision and the heart to say “I want to do something.” Few adults immediately reach out and say, “I got you, what do you need? What can I show you? What can I teach you?”

When people are teenagers is when they need more intense services and more leadership opportunities. Much of the time the funding tends to slack off, people want to put money into early adolescents, which is fantastic because we need that, but we also need a multilayered approach. We are also funneling funding into programs that are going to meet the needs of teens because they need a little bit more.

What we see right now, the violence, the crime—that is because we are not meeting the needs of our young people. Simply, when we begin on a large scale to meet young people’s needs, you will see a shift in how they behave and how they act.

What’s one thing you want to tell the readers of the Shepherd Express?

Don’t write young people off. People hear a lot of things in the media and how the media portrays youth is unfair. They focus on all the deficits going on in our community, and we hear all the negative stuff, but those are only a few. We do not hear the hundreds of stories about young people who are stepping up in their communities, that are going to college, that have written books and are looking to change the world. Or even young people who are volunteering for their communities, helping their families, working and studying. Those are the stories that we do not hear because it does not sell papers.

Also, think about where they [the Shepherd’s readers] fit in all of this. What role can they play? Can they volunteer for an organization? Can they provide any monetary resources? Do they have specific talents to teach the young people? Their time, their talent and their resources are the things I want them to think about.

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::DININGOUT

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FEATURE | SHORT ORDER | EAT/DRINK

Doc’s Commerce Smokehouse

TASTE OF THE SOUTH AT DOC’S ::BY JOHN JAHN

you can order up to 50—are deliciously flash-fried and served with a thick, rich bleu moke. Spice. Time. Those are the three must-have incheese dipping sauce. Also available are fried pickles—house dills in a light batter gredients to meat preparation—at least according to served with a barbecue ranch sauce.

Brent Brashier, founder of the Doc’s Smokehouse resThe main courses are a carnivore’s delight: pulled pork, beef brisket, chicken, taurants, a growing presence in the Midwest. “We never turkey, ribs, Usinger’s sausage, or a combination of two or three of the above. For a sauce meat in the kitchen,” Brashier continues. “And while larger group, there’s a sampler platter that offers heaps of them all and, if you have we have some great regional sauces on the table, we hope an herbivore at your table, Doc’s even has a “Shami” vegetarian platter. All main you will try the meat on its own—to taste the love and care courses come with a choice of two sides and include house dill pickles and white with which it has been prepared.” bread.

This is precisely one of the strengths of this restauSandwiches made with Doc’s smoked meats (or veggies) and house or Caesar rant’s new Downtown Milwaukee location. You don’t salads are available, as well as dessert (peanut butter or lemon icebox pie). As for have to worry about ordering a meat item only to imbibing, well, Doc’s does not skimp by any means; among the many cocktails, regret that the barbecue sauce that infuses it is too whiskeys and wines are some 64 beers and other drinks available on tap. spicy, too sweet or just too abundant. While the My meal included those wonderful, meaty, crispy and meats arrive sans sauce, they juicy smoked wings and the brisket platter with mac ’n’ nevertheless have been dry cheese and Brunswick stew for sides, all cooled with a rubbed with Doc’s own selection Doc’s Commerce chilled glass of Leinenkugel’s Summer Shandy. The brisket of spices and smoked to perfection.

Smokehouse was melt-in-your-mouth tender and flavorful, with that Once in front of you, how you dive into 754 N. Fourth St. lovely, blackened crust of dry-rubbed goodness along the them is totally up to you. “In keeping with Southern tradiedges. I sampled this meat on its own and with some of tion, we smoke exclusively with hickory,” Brashier explains; 414-935-2029 | $$ each of the sauces on the table—each of which brings but such care has a cost, too: “Everything we smoke takes docsbbq.net/milwaukee out different aspects of the meat. The sides were likewise lots of time, and unfortunately when we run out, we are out Handicapped access: Yes scrumptious and plentiful. It’s clear you won’t leave Doc’s for the day.”

CC, FB, the least bit hungry.

Appetizers at Doc’s include some items likely new to our Hours: M-Th 11 a.m.-11 p.m., Doc’s original location is in Dyer, Ind. Ours is their second city. There’s LA Caviar (“LA” meaning Lower Alabama)— F-Sa 11 a.m.-12 a.m., location. Soon, another opens in Mokena, Ill. There’s a sucblack-eyed peas, sweet peppers, cilantro and balsamic cess story here; thankfully, Milwaukee’s now part of it. marinade served with saltines. Smoked wings—of which Su 11 a.m.-10 p.m.

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Bakehouse Bistro’s Changing Menu of Potpies, Sandwiches and More ::BY DAVID LUHRSSEN

C

udahy Burgers’ owner Jay Mulloy chose to serve his hamburgers on buns from Milwaukee’s Wild Flour bakeries. He liked those buns so much that he decided to enter into a partnership at Wild Flour’s home base and build a bistro around the bakery.

Bakehouse Bistro (2800 W. Lincoln Ave.) is a hybrid operation. The dough still rises every morning in the Wild Four bakery, operating from the back of the storefront complete with its century-old brick oven. Up front is Mulloy’s counter-service bistro with an intriguing menu, a few tables and a railed-in patio with outdoor

seats. “The idea behind it?” says Mulloy. “Wild Flour makes the best bread in the world, so why not build great sandwiches on it?”

And yes, you can still buy loaves of Wild Flour olive-rosemary bread, cranberry-walnut bread, five-cheese bread and other selections at the Lincoln Avenue location.

The Bistro’s sandwiches include such staples as grilled cheese and chicken and tuna salad along with la torta carnitas with slow cooked pork on a bun. But the Bistro also uses that great Wild Flour dough for something less common in Milwaukee: potpies. As with much of the menu, there are anchor potpies and a changing cast of guest stars. One anchor is the hearty chicken potpie with peas, carrots, potatoes and chunks of chicken breast. A recent visit found a pair of tasty specials: a Moroccan lamb pie with couscous and tender pieces of roasted lamb; and an African peanut pie with yams, carrots, roast chicken thigh, okra, a spritz of white wine and Ethiopian seasoning.

Similarly, the soups will always include chicken dumpling and a 13-spice jambalaya made with four kinds of peppers and Klement’s sausage. But there will always be specials such as the white bean salsa verde with cilantro, wine and jalapeños. The specials will often be spontaneous creations, decisions made “the morning of, depending on what’s fresh at the market that day,” Mulloy explains.

With its tiled floor and leaded glass windows, the Bakehouse Bistro is a modestly elegant setting for eating in. However, take outs are encouraged. Buy a loaf of bread and carry it home along with a freshly baked potpie.

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ucked among the sparkling bottle service, thumping electronic dance music and neon lights of its neighbors sits one of Milwaukee’s oldest buildings. This structure, originally built in 1858 by billiard table maker William Weber, currently houses Phoenix Cocktail Club, an upscale cocktail lounge inspired by a nostalgic fever dream of kung fu movies, the Wu-Tang Clan, early 2000s NBA players, The Shining and early 1900s high society. Not to mention a love of high-quality craft cocktails and worldly comfort food.

The Phoenix’s owners have also owned next-door neighbor Bad Genie for nearly 10 years. Having bought the club when they were around 23 years old, they eventually grew out of the raucous party scene that thrives there and wanted to build a place more suited to their current tastes. That led to buying the property at 785 N. Jefferson St., gutting the place and rebuilding the interior with items they pieced together from estate sales, some dating back to the 1880s.

“There’s this thing here where it’s modern classic, and minimalistic as well,” Adam Sarkis, Phoenix’s bar manager says. “You see this pattern and tradition in the most classic English pubs. We wanted the space to feel comfortable and look really fancy.”

The end result is a place where people can come in after work and loosen up, go for a date night or get a high-quality drink away from the aforementioned madness on the weekends.

Phoenix is in many ways the cross section of many a late-millennial interest, with drink names like “Sheed” (a cognac and apple cocktail inspired by an interaction Sarkis had with former NBA player Rasheed Wallace) and “Kill Bill Vol. 3” (a bourbon, cherry and lemon cocktail named after the Quentin Tarantino film). The bar can be seen as a sort of sidestep in the natural progression from hanging out at loud Milwaukee Street clubs to quiet neighborhood dives.

While many of the inspirations for Phoenix come from things those of us in our mid-20s grew up on, Sarkis was surprised to see the amount of young people embracing craft cocktails. “We thought we were going to sitting with a bunch of 55 year olds,” he says. But there are swaths of 20-somethings coming in who you would expect to still be into Bud Lights and vodka sodas. “It’s been a trend in larger cities for over 10 years,” he tells me. “Some of these kids are picking up a copy of Esquire, seeing these dope cocktails and aren’t able to get them at the places they’re used to going.”

Sarkis sees this as part of a greater movement, along with craft beer and Americanmade clothing, towards a greater care for what we consume. “People are conscious of what they’re buying,” he says. “You can go to McDonald’s and get something really quick and cheap, or you can go somewhere really nice and spend a little bit more and it’s going to be something you think and talk about for years maybe.”

While perfectly handcrafted cocktails are their specialty, they aren’t opposed to giving the people what they want, no matter what that is. “We’re not too pretentious,” says Sarkis. “It’s a cocktail bar and we spend a lot of time making these specialty cocktails, and making sure they’re good, but if you come in for a High Life and a shot of whiskey we’re more than happy to serve that as well.”

The same amount of energy is put into their food menu, which rotates every week with staples such as potstickers, which is the best-selling menu item, bibimbap and poutine remaining constant with new ingredients based on the season. They call it world comfort food, and the menu is based on what Executive Chef Nathan Heck enjoys eating.

Even without the glitz of their neighbors, a strong attention to detail, a classically relaxed vibe and a solid food menu has let them quickly carve a niche in the crowded Cathedral Square bar district.

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::SPORTS

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BREWERS RECORD FOR LONGEST GAME IN HISTORY STILL STANDS

::BY KYLE LOBNER

f you went to bed early Sunday night, you missed a lot of baseball. ESPN’s “Sunday Night Baseball” broadcast went on into Monday morning as the Yankees defeated the Cubs 5-4 in a six-hour, 18-inning marathon at Wrigley Field. The two teams combined to use 42 players and set a Major League Baseball record by striking out a combined 48 times in their 128 at bats. The game ended at 1:14 a.m.

Central Time and, adding insult to injury, it was a getaway day for both teams: The Yankees open a series in Cincinnati tonight while the Cubs head out to Denver.

It seems unlikely that any members of the 1984 Brewers were still awake at the end of this game, but if they were they could have held a small celebration: Their record for the longest game in MLB history, set 23 years ago today, still stands this morning.

On May 8, 1984, the Brewers and White Sox went into the eighth inning tied 1-1 at Comiskey Park following strong pitching outings from Milwaukee starter Don Sutton (seven innings) and White Sox southpaw Bob Fallon (six innings), neither of whom would have the game’s longest outing. The Brewers broke through with two in the top of the ninth, as Robin Yount came home on an error and Ben Oglivie singled home Ted Simmons. The lead was short-lived, however, as the White Sox scored two off of Rollie Fingers in the bottom of the inning to send the game to extras.

At that point both teams were done scoring runs for the day: They played eight more innings before reaching the American League’s curfew in the top of the 18th. The game was suspended for the night and would resume the next day, when there was still plenty of baseball left to be played. Pitcher Juan Agosto pitched the 14th, 15th, 16th and 17th in-

nings for the White Sox on Tuesday night, then was back on the mound to pitch the 18th, 19th and 20th on Wednesday. The Brewers did not score against him.

The Brewers did, however, break through for three runs against Ron Reed in the top of the 21st. Ben Oglivie had the big hit this time: a three-run home run in the ninth of his 10 plate appearances. Again, the celebration didn’t last long, however, as the White Sox plated three in the bottom half against Chuck Porter (who pitched 7 1/3 innings in relief after the suspension), and the game continued.

ROBIN YOUNT AT THE PLATE

Bill Schroeder was on first base when Robin Yount came to the plate in the top of the 25th inning but was quickly erased as Yount grounded into a double play, his third of the game. That set a franchise record that still stands, although Ryan Braun (2012) and Jean Segura (2013) later matched it in nine-inning games.

White Sox slugger Harold Baines finally ended the game in the bottom of the 25th, hitting a solo homer off of Porter to give Chicago a 7-6 victory in the longest game in MLB history in both innings (25) and time (eight hours, six minutes). Baines, along with White Sox centerfielder Rudy Law and catcher Carlton Fisk, made 12 plate appearances in the game, a feat no MLB player has matched since. Yount, designated hitter Cecil Cooper and third baseman Randy Ready set Brewers franchise records by coming to the plate 11 times.

With that game finally concluded the Brewers and White Sox took a brief break, then played Wednesday’s regularly scheduled nine-inning contest. The White Sox won that game 5-4 and Tom Seaver, who had won the previous game in relief, pitched 8 1/3 innings for his second win of the day. All told, the two teams played 34 innings of baseball in two days.

Earlier, the marathon game ended a run for the Brewers that saw them go to extra innings in five out of eight contests, playing an extra 23 innings of baseball over a span of 10 days. The next day they started a streak that saw them play just one extra inning over a span of 62 games.

Season 8 ALL STARS

Thursday, May 18 Turner Hall Ballroom Doors open at 6:30pm Stories start at 7:30pm

True, personal stories about “Unfinished Business”

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FEATURE | FILM | THEATRE | ART | BOOKS | CLASSICAL MUSIC | DANCE

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‘ONLY WE KNOW BEST—AT THE TOWN HALL MEETING’ Satirical musical comedy combats reactionary partisanship ::BY SELENA MILEWSKI

started to get really frustrated by the vilification of the other side, coming from both sides of the aisle. It’s just good luck that I happen to have a lot of conservative friends who I bonded with over other stuff.” So says Milwaukee playwright, composer and performer Jason Powell of his own investment in politics over the tumultuous past year. Fortunately for Powell, and for Milwaukee theatergoers, we can look forward to a unique collaborative production that fires thoughtful satirical comedy back at the profusion of hatred and demonization that presently wracks our partisan society: Only We Know Best—At the Town Hall Meeting. liams marked their first collaboration with last fall’s A Cabin in the Woods, a spoof on the 2011 horror film.

Morgan’s other recent endeavors include directing last summer’s successful avant-garde piece, Dali’s Liquid Ladies. Thirty actor-singers fill out the ensemble, including ComedySportz Milwaukee’s Beth Lewinski in the important role of moderator for the titular town hall meeting. Next Act’s Mike Van Dreser provides technical direction, and a three-piece band (musicians TBA) will accompany the ensemble. Next Act’s Mike Van Dreser provides technical direction, and a three-piece band (musicians TBA) will accompany the ensemble.

The premise of Only We Know Best is simple: a community—unspecified, but resembling Milwaukee and Waukesha, according to Williams—convenes to discuss two topics: the installation of a public artwork on private property and the legalization of marijuana. From there, anything and everything become fodder for debate.

The production’s style and ideology have a dual origin story. Williams has been heavily involved in political discourse and “community action theater.”

This style of performance is frequently staged in the round and strives to “make people think about what is happening around them and possibly offer some solutions to the problems that we face.”

Powell, for his part, drew the structure for Only We Know Best from a ComedySportz improvisation game called “Town Hall Meeting” in which players intersperse themselves throughout the audience and take turns contributing to a group conversation. The two men’s ideas meshed to create an immersive, in-the-round performance in which ‘Only We Know Best -- At the Town Hall Meeting’ audience members find themselves seated among the actors. This format

Powell, known for such celebrated new works as Milwaukee Opera Theatre’s Fortuna the Timebender vs.

The Schoolgirls of Doom and Milwaukee Metro Voices’ (MMV) The Search for Suzie Surreal, teams up for the second time with MMV’s Trefor Williams to bring us this political satire at Next Act Theatre. Williams has headed Milwaukee Metro Voices since its inception 12 years ago and describes how his company has moved from “themed concerts” programmed by Williams himself to an increasing focus on commissions and collaborations, like this one, that link the group to local artists and “bring together the elements of drama and musical theater.”

The artists involved in Only We Know Best are an impressive cross-section of greater Milwaukee’s performing arts community. In addition to composer/ lyricist Powell and producer/musical director Williams, Tessara Morgan serves as stage director. She and Wil-

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became ever more timely as the political events of 2016 unfolded during the show’s planning process.

Williams shares that they originally considered setting the piece in the future but settled on the present since grassroots organizing and community conversation have become hot topics.

The show is billed as a musical comedy, but Powell’s and Williams’ descriptions suggest greater depth and bite than are typically attributed to this genre. The characters represent a diverse array of political ideologies; as Powell says, “There have to be liberals and conservatives. Both of them have to be made fun of, but both of them have to be taken seriously too.” With discussions of public art and pot legalization catalyzing the action, the story is more idea than plot driven, and the way things shake out, each song functions as a discrete exploration of a different socio-political topic. These include: gun control, corporations being treated as people under the law, same-sex marriage, immigration and mine closures by the EPA. Powell notes, “Almost every song is satirizing those points of view and then every so often I try to do one that is a little more serious.”

Stylistically, the songs cover an enormous range as well, from cha-cha, tango and waltz, to reggae, troubadour folk song and blues. Lest readers harbor any lingering fears of heavy-handedness or pomposity, Williams further assures us, “There’s plenty of sin and sex. We’ve got a community in it.”

Joking aside, Powell and Williams suggest the production will touch a heartstring and provoke a meaningful conversation. After all, it comes from a simple but noble goal: to use an up-close and immersive theatrical format to humanize people with whom audience Milwaukee members may disagree and whose deMetro Voices monization has lead Only We Know to the dysfunctional, Best -- At the Town reactionary partiHall Meeting sanship rampant in May 12 - May 21 our country. Powell muses, “America kind Next Act Theatre of became about winners, but the nature of the game is that we have winners and losers.” Williams adds, “The winners used to look after the losers. It’s called philanthropy in private terms and it’s called welfare and compassion in public life. It’s not gone. I think it’s not allowed to come to the fore now because people think it’s wrong for it to be there.”

Through the show’s immersive staging and gamut of perspectives, Only We Know Best reminds us, as Powell succinctly puts it, “Everyone’s people and it does just start with communication, whether that means you’re remembering the losers deserve some compassion or remembering that just because someone believes some things about climate change that you think are ridiculous, they’re still a person.”

Only We Know Best—At the Town Hall Meeting runs May 12-21 at Next Act Theatre, 255 S. Water St. For tickets, visit milwaukeemetrovoices.org.

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M A Y 1 1 , 2 0 1 7 | 19

::THISWEEKINMILWAUKEE THURSDAY, MAY 11 Milwaukee Psych Fest V @ multiple locations

The music featured at the annual Milwaukee Psych Fest isn’t quite as niche as the noise and electronic music featured at some of the city’s other annual festivals, but it lends itself to a fervent following nonetheless. For listeners looking for a fix of psychrock, stoner metal, freak-folk or experimental rap, this eclectic three-day showcase provides one hell of a fix. The festival’s biggest year yet kicks off Thursday night with a bill at Boone & Crockett (yes, the taco truck will be open in the back) featuring Heaven’s Gateway Drugs, Dead Feathers, The Harlequins and Moon Rats, among others. The festival moves to the Cactus Club Friday night for a bill topped by Holy Wave, L.A. Witch and Mr. Elevator, and then prepares for a very long day at Company Brewing, featuring nearly two dozen acts playing both indoor and outdoor stages starting at noon, with highlights including Kikagaku Moyo, Ancient River, Flavor Crystals, Floorian, Plastic Crimewave Syndicate, Chatham Rise, Def Harmonic and Calliope. Individual passes are available for each day, or a $40 pass covers the whole thing and includes a limited edition double-disc compilation.

FRIDAY, MAY 12

ZULUZULUU w/ Foreign Goods, Fivy and DJ Tarik Moody @ Company Brewing, 10 p.m.

From Prince to the Rhymesayers collective to Jimmy Jam and Terry Lewis, Minneapolis has long had a rich tradition of R&B and hip-hop music. The futurist soul group ZULUZULUU feels like the logical extension of all those sounds—a proggy, futurist, Afro-centric amalgam of sounds and styles spanning jazz, soul, hip-hop, reggae and electronica. The Twin Cities group’s latest release lays out their influences: The Cover Up mixtape features spacey updates of songs by artists including DJ Quik, The O’Jays, Bootsy Collins and De La Soul.

Brett Newski PHOTO BY KEZIAH SUSKIN

SATURDAY, MAY 13

Brett Newski w/ Claire Kelly @ Shank Hall, 8 p.m.

Hard-touring Milwaukee singer-songwriter Brett Newski has a knack for lighthearted songs about the travails of life, but if his latest album is any indication, all those years trying to make a living off of music have taken a toll on him. The Worst of Brett Newski: Songs to Sink the American Dream is filled with wry critiques of the modern music industry, with chipper songs with titles like “I Don’t Wanna Go To SXSW” and “Fuck You Spotify” (two sentiments that plenty of bands can relate to). Newski also takes shots at the vapid pretty boys of modern country radio on the single “Bro Country,” singing of waxed chests, pre-ripped jeans and watery domestic beer. “I’m an alpha-male country star who exists to be replaced,” he croons. The lyrics may be cynical, but the tunes are as spirited and uptempo as ever.

Legends of Hip-Hop @ The Riverside Theater, 8 p.m.

Hip-hop nostalgia package bills have been around for a while now, but so far most of them have focused on acts from the rap’s neon-colored, late ’80s/early ’90s era, with names like Salt-N-Pepa and Rob Base. This one, though, looks to the harder-edged sounds of the later ’90s and early ’00s, with a lineup that includes Scarface, 8Ball and MJG, Mystikal, Da Brat and Tela. Here’s hoping they’ve all aged gracefully.

Joel McHale @ The Pabst Theater, 8 p.m.

ZULUZULUU

SATURDAY, MAY 13

Pabst Milwaukee Brewery Grand Opening Street Festival @ Juneau Avenue, 1 p.m.

This spring the Pabst celebrates the long-anticipated opening of its new brewery with one of the city’s first major warm-weather outdoor festivals. The brewery will host a variety of live music throughout the day on Juneau Avenue between 10th and 11th streets, with a cast of top-shelf headliners including IshDARR, Masked Intruder, New Age Narcissism (featuring Lex Allen, Siren and Lorde Fredd33), Hugh Masterson, Abby Jeanne and D’Amato. There will also be live paintings, screen printing, games and—of course—beer.

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Most people probably don’t think of Joel McHale first and foremost as a stand-up comedian, but as an actor in several cult franchises—most prominently as the lead in the geekishly beloved sitcom “Community”—he’s guaranteed a built-in audience for just about anything he does. The former host of “The Soup” has been busy since “Community” ended just short of six seasons and a movie fans had been clamoring for. He’s currently starring in a sitcom called “The Great Indoors” on your grandparents’ favorite channel, CBS, and more intriguingly later this year he’ll be appearing in A Futile and Stupid Gesture, Netflix’s biopic about the rise of National Lampoon. He’ll be playing, of all people, his former “Community” co-star Chevy Chase.

SHEPHERD EXPRESS

Read our daily events guide, Today in Milwaukee, on shepherdexpress.com

TUESDAY, MAY 16

The 1975 w/ Pale Waves and Colouring @ The Rave, 7:30 p.m.

Few 2016 rock albums were more divisive among critics than The 1975’s I Like It When You Sleep, for You Are So Beautiful yet So Unaware of It, the sophomore fulllength from the lively Manchester quartet. Even the title seemed to read like a warning, an explicit admission that this music will not be for everyone, but for those who could get on its wavelength, the awards were abundant: The music was bright and poppy like little else on alternative radio, and the band’s gift for pairing dramatic rock ’n’ roll with infectious dance pop remained unparalleled. The band has announced a follow-up album, but fans will have to wait for it: Music For Cars won’t be released until 2018.

SATURDAY, MAY 13

Neil Hamburger @ Club Garibaldi, 8 p.m.

An over-the-top creation right out of a late-night Adult Swim skit, with his greasy comb over, cheap tuxedo, poor comic timing and frequent, phlegmy coughing fits, Neil Hamburger’s sendup of bad stand-ups should be almost as tired as the bad stand-ups he’s mocking. But Hamburger’s shtick is really just a vehicle for his subversive jabs at celebrity targets, jokes that would be funny regardless of how tired their targets are or how clumsily they’re delivered. “Why does Col. Sanders keep the 11 herbs and spices of Kentucky Fried Chicken’s original recipe a secret?” he pondered for one old joke. “Because he’s ashamed of them.”

Only We Know Best Neil Hamburger

AT T h e T O W N h A L L M e e T I N G

SUNDAY, MAY 14

Bush w/ The Kickback @ The Riverside Theater, 8 p.m.

Though it sold like gangbusters, Bush’s 1994 debut, Sixteen Stone, was derided by critics as a shameless attempt to polish grunge-rock for the masses. That feedback must have weighed heavily on frontman Gavin Rossdale, because he spent much of his subsequent career vying for critical credibility, working with esteemed engineer Steve Albini on Bush’s 1996 follow-up, Razorblade Suitcase, going electronic on Bush’s difficult third album, The Science of Things, and starting a band with Helmet’s Page Hamilton during Bush’s hiatus last decade. After so many failed experiments, it’s something of a relief, then, that Bush’s recent reunion albums have been unabashed grunge-pop, cut from the same cloth as Sixteen Stone. Fans of tabloid drama may particularly want to check out their just-released Black and White Rainbows. It’s Rossdale’s first album since his divorce from Gwen Stefani, and he’s rarely sounded more emo.

Locally owned retail gallery representing the work of over 300 artists on Milwaukee’s East Side.

The 1975

A new musical comedy by

Jason Powell This cornucopia of monologues, stories and songs from unique and colorful characters explores a range of ideas and unconventional attitudes. Emotions flow freely and passions flare in this muscial story cycle.

It’s not your typical town hall meeting!

May 12-14 & 18-21, 2017

Thursday–Saturday shows, 7:30 p.m.; Sunday shows, 3 p.m.

Next Act Theatre • 255 S. Water Street, Milwaukee General Admission: $25 advance, $27 at the door.

Seniors/Students $15 A production of

Box Office: (414) 278-0765 Additional info at:

milwaukeemetrovoices.org Book, Lyrics & Score: Jason 1800 E. North Ave. www.thewaxwing.com

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Stage Director: Tessara

Powell Morgan

Producer/ Musical Director: Trefor

Williams

Musical Theatre Series M AY 1 1 , 2 0 1 7 | 21

A&E::PERFORMINGARTSWEEK

THEATRE

MUSIC

First Stage’s Timely, Barebones ‘Animal Farm’

The Power of Love Love is the common sentiment that runs through this Concord Chamber Orchestra concert—especially the

::JOHN JAHN

T

here were many on the far left who thought that Soviet Russia might offer a new way to live in peace and brotherhood. What a crashing disappointment it became, however, when it devolved into a ruthless personality cult built around the mass murderer, Joseph Stalin.

Among those thoroughly disenchanted and disillusioned was British author George Orwell, whose allegorical novella Animal Farm (1945) eviscerated Stalinist Russia.

“Animal Farm affords some great training opportunities for the Young Company,” says First Stage Director Matt Daniels.

Such opportunities present themselves through actors “physicalizing animal behaviors” and as they “devise innovative solutions to theatrical puzzles” that arise when confronted with barebones, scripted stage directions such as “The revolution takes place.” First Stage’s production of Animal Farm is a version that was adapted for the stage by Ian Wooldridge.

May 12-21, Milwaukee Youth Arts Center, 325 W. Walnut St. For tickets, call 414-267-2961 or visit firststage.org.

Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat With a cast of more than 40 and crew of 25, this produc-

tion’s a major undertaking by Racine Theatre Guild. The first of many collaborative works by Andrew Lloyd Webber and Tim Rice that have become worldwide successes, Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat, loosely based on Bible stories, premiered in 1970. (Interestingly, its own genesis was as a cantata recorded for a Decca Records concept album in ’69.)

This family friendly musical, much like its successor, Jesus Christ Superstar, combines many music genres into a thoroughly enjoyable whole.

May 12-June 3, Racine Theatre Guild, 2519 Northwestern Ave. For tickets, call 262-633-4218 or visit racinetheatre.org.

tragic kind. Three different composers’ takes on William Shakespeare’s Romeo and Juliet are on the program: Piotr Tchaikovsky’s late-Romantic fantasy-overture, Romeo and Juliet, the lovely interlude Walk to Paradise Garden from Frederick Delius’ opera, A Village Romeo and Juliet and excerpts from Leonard Bernstein’s West Side Story. Finally, the Concord Chamber Orchestra plays three pieces from John Williams’ touching score to the film Schindler’s List.

7 p.m., May 13, St. Matthew’s Evangelical Lutheran Church, 1615 N. Wauwatosa Ave., Saturday, May 13. For tickets, visit concordorchestra.org.

Music for the Last Queen

Harpsichordist, fortepianist and Great Lakes Baroque founder Philippe LeRoy, violinist Allison Edberg Nyquist and cellist Craig Trompeter invite us to Marie Antoinette’s court for music she would have heard (maybe even while eating cake). Some rarely heard 18th-centrury works are on the program including music by JeanJacques Beauvarlet-Charpentier, Nicolas Séjan and other rarely heard French masters of the late 18th century 7 p.m., Friday, May 12, North Shore Congregational Church, 7330 N. Santa Monica Blvd., Friday, May 12. For tickets, visit greatlakesbaroque.org.

Spellbound

Bel Canto Chorus presents the Wisconsin premiere of a new work by Kile Smith: Canticle, a piece for chorus, cellos and percussion. Smith, whose works tend toward the religious in both ambiance and inspiration, is composer-in-residence at Philadelphia’s Church of the Holy Trinity. Bel Canto also performs three short pieces arranged by Latvian composer Ēriks Ešenvalds: “O Salutaris Hostia,”“Only in Sleep” and the traditional and beloved “Amazing Grace.”

7:30 p.m., Wednesday, May 17, Wilson Theater at Vogel Hall, 929 N. Water St. For tickets, call 414-273-7206.

Requiem for the Living

As Chant Claire’s Tim Backes says of the choral ensemble’s next concert: “Dan Forrest’s Requiem for the Living puts a twist on the traditional requiem structure. The intent with his piece is to pray for the living as well as the dead. The themes…focus on the struggles of life and the pains of mortality while also celebrating everything our earthly lives hold for us.” Surely no hints of gloomy and alarmist “judgment day” concerns in that. Pieces by Max Reger, Ralph Vaughan Williams and others round out the uplifting program.

7 p.m., May 13, St. Sebastian Catholic Church, 5400 W. Washington Blvd. General admission seating is free, but a $10 donation is suggested.

DANCE

Hyperlocal MKE—Easement The 13th performance of the dance group Hyperlocal MKE is called Easement, a completely improvised

dance and music show. Co-directors Tim Russell and Maria Gillespie formed the group three year ago to be a very experimental and improvisational troupe that would perform at all sorts of venues throughout our area; in Easement’s case, the performance will be in a Milwaukee sculpture garden.

3 p.m., May 14, Lynden Sculpture Garden, 2145 W. Brown Deer Road. Admission is free to members or with admission to the garden.

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M I LWA U K E E M U S E U M M I L E P R E S E N T S

IN THE CITY ART PLEIN AIR MKE 2017 ART COMPETITION & SALE | MAY 11-21 O N M I LWA U K E E ’ S H I S T O R I C E A S T S I D E

AWARDS & ART SALE SOIRÉE • MAY 18, 6-8:30 PM LIVE MUSIC • HORS D’OEUVRES • CASH BAR

Members Free • Tickets Online • At Saint John’s On The Lake

WHAT TO SEE AND DO

Watch artists paint the East Side, May 11-17 • 8am-5pm Brady St. Quick Paint, May 13 • 8am-5pm Prospect/North Ave. Quick Paint, May 14 • 8am-5pm

Music by the Chris Hanson Band

VISIT MUSEUMS ON MOTHER’S DAY MILWAUKEE MUSEUM MILE DAY MAY 14, 11- 4 PM

milwaukeemuseummile.org

Awards & Art Sale Soirée, May 18 • 6pm-8:30pm Public Art Sale, May 19-21 • Fri. 10am-7pm, Sat. 10am-5pm, Sun. 10am-3pm

THANK YOU TO OUR 2017 SPONSORS

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A&E::INREVIEW TOM BAMBERGER

THEATRE

Wild Space’s ‘Wild at 30’

::BY RUSS BICKERSTAFF

DANCE

Wild Space’s ‘Wild at 30’ Celebrates a 30-Year-Old Dance Family

W

Y

asmina Reza’s Art is a tight, well-balanced little drama as Milwaukee Entertainment Group coaxes the contemporary one-act into the basement of the Brumder Mansion for an enjoyable production with a great cast. A soft-spoken and thoughtfully imposing Mark Neufang plays Serge, a man who has paid a small fortune for a painting that’s so white and indistinct that it may as well be a blank canvas. The prop painting itself lacks the white detailing

::BY JOHN SCHNEIDER

ild Space Dance Company founder and choreographer Debra Loewen appeared as an audience member in one of the many comic episodes of Wild at 30, her company’s wonderful three-night, 30th anniversary performance bash last weekend. She’d staged her current dancers in a section of audience seats where they executed extravagant movements expressing, as likely as not, what an individual might experience while viewing some risky new work of the sort Loewen makes. Loewen had come for the show. She didn’t stay long.

A group of actual audience members sat on the actual stage, watching and laughing. A second silent audience group sat behind them onstage facing backstage where, sharing the same accompaniment of echoing footfalls, older dancers slowly un-scrolled strips of text across a dull black wall in the simplest of lighting: “Learn to make do with what you have.”

“Forget about tomorrow until it comes.” “Understand that you are not alone.” Other older dancers executed deeply powerful movements in response, free of irony.

Two further scenes and some mysterious hauntings were encountered by, all told, four audience groups as each group travelled separately through the Next Act Theatre building. Rather like opening credits, two tumbling dancers bundled in snowsuits found, among the snowy cushions of a lengthy stuffed couch in the lobby, the materials to construct a tiny diorama announcing a Wild Space dance concert. In a rehearsal room, founding members David Figueroa, Jennifer Goetzinger and Tom Thoreson, each profoundly present, carefully created a goofy dessert and fed the audience. Meanwhile, two of their talented successors in the company, Yeng Vang-Strath and Molly Mingey, snatched bites and reveled, respectively.

“Little did I know 30 years ago that I would be here and still standing,” Loewen told the audience from the stage after the break, thanking them and crediting the many who’ve journeyed with her. A potpourri of works early, recent and brand new followed, performed by company members from each decade. It was interesting to see the counter culture sensibility and physical theater style of the early work give way to a no less impassioned and evocative pure dance style. Choreographic choices simultaneously oddball, tender and wise abounded. Most of all, the show made clear that for 30 years Wild Space has been home to performers of great character. The bonds remain palpable. Loewen matter-of-factly arrived for her curtain call with boxes of just-delivered pizza for her whole extended artist family.

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Enjoyable Work of ‘Art’ at Brumder Mansion

against a white background that’s referenced in the script and bears a rather awkward functional splotch in the upper right-hand corner that mildly distracts from an otherwise satisfying show.

Randall Anderson unearths a great deal of whimsical gravitas in the role of Marc, a friend of Serge’s who sees his purchase of the painting as a personal insult. Anderson is quite believable as an intellectual conservative who obsesses over Serge’s bizarrely inexplicable decision to buy the painting. There’s a thin veneer of civility between both characters that often buckles and explodes into anger.

Neufang and Anderson weave a compelling intellectual and emotional dynamic between the two characters that serves as the central conflict in a story that balances intellectual and philosophical conflict between conservatism and progressive aesthetics against a more social and interpersonal conflict between two people.

Chris Goode is thrust in between the two men in the role of Yvan, a timid, soon-to-be married man frozen into a career in stationery. Goode is respectably fragile in a role that allows him one epic monologue in which to truly explode. Goode makes great use of this opportunity in one of the most dazzling overtly comic moments in a largely satisfying production.

Through May 20 at the Brumder Mansion, 3046 W. Wisconsin Ave. For tickets, visit milwaukeeentertainmentgroup.com.

Windfall Theatre’s ‘By Jeeves’ a Corker of a Funny Play ::BY HARRY CHERKINIAN

C

harming. Delightful. Entertaining. And did we mention very funny?

Just some of the words to describe Windfall Theatre’s production of By Jeeves, featuring our favorite manservant, Jeeves and his befuddled but lovable master, Bertram Wilberforce Wooster, better known as Bertie.

British author P.G. Wodehouse created these two beloved characters and in the hands of Andrew Lloyd Webber (music) and Alan Ayckbourn (book and lyrics), audiences now get the musical version of proper English manners turned upside down and sideways with hilarious results. In this latest musical escapade, Bertie finds his beloved banjo stolen at the start of a performance and must find

a way to entertain the audience until a new one arrives. Who else, but faithful, shrewd Jeeves to the rescue! Jeeves and Bertie fill the time by telling the backstory of one of Bertie’s zany weekends in the countryside, filled with mistaken identities, seemingly star-crossed lovers and a burglar in a pig mask.

Director Carol Zippel has brought the necessary silliness and over-the-top slapstick to do justice to the farcical storyline. And she has chosen well with a cast that is uniformly excellent. Ben George is all proper British manners, but there’s that mischievous glint in his eye and a few tricks up his tailored sleeves as he “guides” his boss, Bertie, in the madcap escapades. As Bertie, Cleary Breunig has the challenging role of being everybody’s accidental fall guy and he delivers admirably, charming us with his sweet bumbling ways, all under Jeeves’ calculated guidance.

The musical numbers work well and the cast works hard to deliver. Others are just as funny and fun to watch: Alicia Rice as Bertie’s ex fiancée who wants him back; Liz Mistele as the hysterical, overly dramatic ingénue; and Mitch Weindorf as the perfectly clumsy but well-meaning minister.

How does it all end up? Only Jeeves knows. And he’s not about to spoil all the fun since there’s plenty of that in By Jeeves.

Through May 20 at Village Church Arts, 130 E. Juneau Ave. For more information, call 414-332-3963 or visit windfalltheatre.com.

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MILWAUKEE MUSEUM MILE DAY! Sunday | May 14, 2017 | 11am-4pm On this day, all MMM museums are offering FREE or reduced admissions.

Visit five wonderful museum treasures, all within walking distance of each other on Milwaukee’s historic East Side.

Make a day of it on Mother’s Day with family and friends.

• Museum tours and refreshments • Exhibits, art, architecture and history • Free shuttle between museums • Children’s activities • Raffles at each museum plus one Grand Prize raffle

Florentine Opera’s ‘Barber of Seville’

Five Great Museums. One Easy Destination.

MUSIC

An Exhilarating ‘Barber of Seville’ from Florentine Opera

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::BY STEVE SPICE

T

he Florentine Opera Company’s season finale, a riveting production of Gioachino Rossini’s ever popular and always vocally challenging Barber of Seville, was perhaps the company’s best offering this season. Under Bill Florescu’s discrete direction, the humor of the work was given full reign but with an understated approach to the subtler elements of the text.

The beautifully mounted backdrops of old Seville created a comfortably suitable setting for the merriment as the outstanding cast ignited an unanticipated spark of vocal and dramatic excitement, not the least of which was the attractive stage presence of the principals. Cutting a handsome, eye-catching figure onstage, baritone Luis Alejandro Orozco worked his way effortlessly through the demanding role of the barber, Figaro, bringing charismatic energy to a character whose main functions appears to be assisting Count Almaviva with various disguises in his pursuit of the lovely Rosina. Taylor Stayton cast an equally handsome figure as the count, his appealing reedy tenor voice perfectly suited to the scale-hopping coloratura demands of Rossini’s score, yet his finely nuanced performance added to the romantic appeal of his character.

Their duets were a pleasure to behold, as were many of the larger ensemble pieces so delightfully assembled in the concluding scene. The superb cast demonstrated remarkable vocal flexibility in spades. As Rosina, mezzo-soprano Carol Garcia needed some warming up during her initial aria, but her lovely if light-hued vocalization provided an endearing contrast to her male counterparts and she looked lovely onstage.

As Borolo, Rosina’s jealous, self-serving guardian, baritone Andrew Wikowske almost stole the show with his mind-boggling display of rapid-fire vocal pyrotechnics in the second act, demonstrating Rossini at his most unbridled tongue-in-cheek hilarity.

As Don Basilio, the music master, bass Peter Volpe makes the most of his famous solo on gossip, while Katrina Thurman as Berta the maid received some appreciative audience attention. This outstanding production rests on the remarkable vocalization of an inspired cast.

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A&E::FILM

A&E::FILMCLIPS Complete film coverage online at shepherdexpress.com

Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 2 PG-13 Adapted from the Marvel comic book series, the second Guardians of the Galaxy film has a “been there, done that” quality. Fortunately, we like most of these characters, relentless verbal sparring aside. Quill (Chris Pratt) comes face-to-face with his traitorous father, Ego (Kurt Russell), who literally doubles as an entire planet’s life force. Overly edited space battles, as well as the casual air of those risking their lives, is a lot to overlook, but the film never gives up trying to recapture the original’s lighthearted magic. (Lisa Miller)

King Arthur: Legend of the Sword PG-13 Loosely based on Arthurian legends, the film stars Charlie Hunnam as Arthur. An orphan unaware of his royal lineage, young Arthur is living on London’s back streets when he draws Excalibur from its stone and must decide whether to pursue the prophecy that accompanies his surprising success. Arthur’s tyrannical uncle Vortigern (Jude Law), is now England’s king after he usurped the throne, stealing Arthur’s birthright. Eventually joining the resistance, Arthur meets the enigmatic and beautiful Guinevere (Astrid Bergès-Frisbey). Planned as a six-film series, Warner Brothers rubber-stamped a frenetic trailer that indicates director Guy Ritchie takes liberties with the story while giving the film ye old comic-book twist. The good news is that the supporting roles are excellently cast. (L.M.)

Snatched R

‘The Dinner’

‘THE DINNER’ FALLS SHORT OF FIVE STARS ::BY DAVID LUHRSSEN

G

reat films can be made around people talking over a meal, but The Dinner is not an especially scintillating conversation. It’s slow going while introducing three sets of thoroughly uninteresting people whose connections become more and more apparent over the course of a long evening as two of those three sets meet for dinner.

The cast is certainly promising. Richard Gere plays Stan Lohman, a congressman running for governor. He may be ahead in the polls but he’s nowhere with his brother. Paul Lohman (Steve Coogan) is a history teacher whose sharp denunciations of modernity 26 | M AY 1 1 , 2 0 1 7

start to shade into misanthropy. He doesn’t want to accept Stan’s dinner invitation at a trendy five-star restaurant but his wife Claire (Laura Linney) insists. Stan arrives with his annoyed-looking and much younger wife, Katelyn (Rebecca Hall), in tow.

“Well, we’re going to talk tonight,” Stan insists, setting up a promise of suspense (what’s actually on his mind?) whose denouement is long delayed by mumbling digressions and meandering flashbacks that finally loop into the main thread. Writer-director Oren Moverman (working from a novel by Herman Koch) eventually reveals that Paul is mentally ill; Paul and Claire’s insufferably entitled teenage son is a nasty piece of work who set a homeless woman on fire; Stan’s stepson is an imbecile who recorded the murder on his cellphone and The Dinner posted it.

Richard Gere The slack pace Laura Linney takes the juice Directed by out of the point: Oren Moverman Here are four Rated R privileged, pampered denizens of the upper middle class, three of them willing to offer any rationalization to protect their “good boys” from justice. The tension eventually comes from one parent’s argument for turning them in. It’s almost too late to save The Dinner, which is no comedy but has some mordantly funny moments, including a dead-on spoof of trendy restaurants with their ritualistic recitations of “drizzled with” and “polished off with” in reference to a few vegetable sticks.

Released for Mother’s Day weekend, this screenplay, by Katie Dippold, casts Amy Schumer and Goldie Hawn (the latter in her first film since 2002) as a daughter and mother vacationing in South America. Duped by a handsome man, they are kidnapped for ransom.

To save themselves, the women brave harrowing obstacles that showcase both their differences and strengths. The script, overflowing with so much outrageous silliness that I watched the trailer twice, makes us root for the unlikely pair as well as for the movie that brought them together. (L.M.)

[HOME MOVIES/OUT ON DIGITAL] The Crucible

Playwright Arthur Miller may have intended The Crucible, set during the Salem Witch Trials, as a metaphor for McCarthy-era witchhunting. The 1996 film adaptation retains Miller’s purpose with its dubious investigations of conspiracies involving witnesses who name names to save themselves. But the movie also provides total immersion in its Puritan setting—colonial New England as an outpost of late-medieval England ruled by a grim theology.

Winona Rider is wicked as the young woman at the center of the upheaval, emotionally wild and irresponsible, leading a group of girls in a circle of love spells and nude dancing in the forest. She might be a sympathetic rebel except for her eagerness to destroy everyone else in an effort to save herself from hanging. Witchcraft was a capital crime. Daniel Day-Lewis costars in this indictment of peer-pressure paranoia and rebuke to the notion that wisdom can be found in crowds.

The World’s Most Beautiful Swindlers

“These stories are not real” reads the opening title. The World’s Most Beautiful Swindlers is a 1964 collection of short films set in various cities and filmed by young, rule-breaking directors from Europe and Japan. Perhaps the most memorable is Jean-Luc Godard’s Marrakesh segment featuring Jean Seberg as a news reporter interviewing an existentialist counterfeiter. The mood throughout the omnibus is kicky and comical, set to jazzy rhythms. Serge Gainsbourg sang the title song.

Ophelia

The literary archetype of Hamlet surfaced in French New Wave director Claude Chabrol’s 1963 film, Ophelia. Somber in gray-toned black and white, visually austere yet fraught with sharp emotional irony, Ophelia’s despondent prince is heir not to Denmark but to an industrial fiefdom beset by strikes and class resentment. He is neurotic and unhinged as he pads around like a distraught ghost in a dark suit, convinced his uncle killed his father and married his mother.

—David Luhrssen

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A&E::VISUALARTRT

VISUALART|REVIEW

Thirty and Strong, Walker’s Point Art Center Celebrates Milestone Year ::BY KAT KNEEVERS

A

nyone who has long-term familiarity with Walker’s Point would easily say it has changed a lot during the last 30 years.

One constant, however, has been the Walker’s Point Center for the Arts. Opened in 1987, WPCA has been an enduring supporter for professional artists and arts education.

Reaching the milestone of three decades, it is time for a celebratory show.

The karmic wheel comes full circle in the “Thirty” exhibition as some of the participants in the show attended youth art classes at WPCA. One is Tom Aldana, a professional tattoo artist and accomplished muralist. His piece, Made Like a Gun, suggests a beautiful, fierce

monochrome tat of a tiger and sword writ large.

Germán Gómez, formerly a WPCA student and now an intern and UW-Milwaukee photography major, contributes pensively poetic images from the neighborhood. A stormy, pink-tinged sky hangs over a garden shrine at 9th and Washington as Gómez’s camera lens opens up this hidden place.

More than anything, the show is really a nod to the organization’s past. The very first exhibition featured painter Dennis Nechvatal and an opening reception where he was joined by Violent Femmes bassist Brian Ritchie for a musical performance piece. Nechvatal is back, represented by Shift: Digital Matter Primal Structure, which features his characteristic use of intricate pattern and detail laid over rows of small metal masks. Valerie Christell, the organization’s first administrator, continues to be a practicing artist. Her photomontage, Grounded, has strips removed from the picture, an effect like a reclining body having a fragmented dream.

The exhibition is a reunion of prominent artists who have shown at WPCA in the past, and some of the most compelling works touch on political or socially conscious art. Josie Osborne’s HOPE (for Pauli Murray) honors the late civil and women’s rights advocate in image and poem. Raoul Deal’s woodblock print, Take Only What You Need, takes its name from part of the text on a protestor’s T-shirt decrying the evils of greed. It’s a powerful statement, and just one of many in WPCA’s 30-year history.

“Thirty” continues through May 20 at Walker’s Point Center for the Arts, 839 S. Fifth St. A panel discussion on Saturday, May 20 from 3-5 p.m. will feature WPCA Founding Director Jane Brite, former Executive Director Gary Tuma, Valerie Christell, Francisco X. Mora, moderated by current Executive Director Marcela Garcia. See a video of this exhibition and conversation with Marcela Garcia at shepherdexpress.com.

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Paintings from Plein Air MKE 2016

Milwaukee Museum Mile Hosts “Art in the City: Plein Air MKE” ::BY TYLER FRIEDMAN

L

ast year’s inaugural “Art in the City: Plein Air MKE” was so successful that the second annual event is larger in size and twice as long. From May 1121, some of the Midwest’s most gifted painters will compete for prestige, publicity and more than $6,000 in prizes. With easels ensconced along the Milwaukee Museum Mile, which spans N. Prospect, N. Wahl and N. Terrace avenues, the artists will spend upwards of 63 hours (May 11-17, 8 a.m. to 5 p.m.) perfecting plein air paintings of the scenic views afforded by the historic East Side.

Meanwhile, the public is encouraged to meander, watching the painstaking birth of art, and to visit the five cultural institutions that punctuate the Museum Mile. On Sunday, May 14, these five institutions—the Charles Allis Art Museum, the Jewish Museum Milwaukee, the Museum of Wisconsin Art at Saint John’s On the Lake, the North Point Lighthouse and the Villa Terrace Decorative Arts Museum—will open their doors offering free/reduced admission, guided tours, kids activities and a free shuttle between locations. Information about other Art in the City events can be found at the event website: milwaukeemuseummile.org/pleinairmke/.

“Oneida Arts: Evolving Traditions”

Southeastern Oneida Tribal Services | 5233 W. Morgan Ave. The second annual Oneida Nation art show features contemporary and traditional art in a variety of media, including painting, Iroquois raised beadwork, loom beadwork, contemporary basketry, photography, metal design, sculpture and scratch boards. The show will be held in the Oneida’s recently purchased and renovated 7,000-square-foot facility. “Oneida Arts: Evolving Traditions” is open to the public on Saturday, May 13 from 10 a.m. through 3 p.m.

“Wright in Racine”

Wade House Visitor Center | W7965 State Highway 23 Happy 150th birthday to the 20th century’s most famous Wisconsin-born architect—Frank Lloyd Wright. In celebration of Wright’s sesquicentennial, a lecture is being given by Mark Hertzberg, photographer and author of three books about Wright’s work, on Thursday, May 11 from 7-8 p.m. Hertzberg will use photographs to discuss Wright’s work in Racine between 1904 and 1954.

The lecture is an opportunity to get an overview of Wright’s diverse creations including Prairie style home, a zoned home, Usonian public buildings and his only realized taproot tower.

Christopher Davis Benavides, Calderas Olvidadas (Idling Plants), stoneware 28 | M AY 1 1 , 2 0 1 7

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A&E::BOOKS BOOK |REVIEW

The story of Poland’s rebirth as an independent nation gets a close examination in A Minor Apocalypse. Reading Warsaw newspapers and the diaries of residents, Robert Blobaum finds that Polish patriots fighting for an independent homeland were hard to find as World War I began. The capital’s citizens displayed great enthusiasm for their Russian overlords, even enlisting in their army in numbers. When the fortunes of war turned, they cooperated with the Germans. Polish combat deaths during the war were mostly incurred in the armies of their occupying countries, Russia, Germany and Austria-Hungary. A Minor Apocalypse includes many fascinating chapters on the rapid rise of women in Polish society during the war along with cultural movements such as the spread of satirical cabaret and young people protesting socialeconomic conditions by going barefoot. (David Luhrssen)

BOOK |PREVIEW

Touching Personal Stories from Wisconsin ::BY JENNI HERRICK

E

kphrasis (EK-fruh-sis) is the Greek term for a creative outlet that allows artists to comment on other works of art. In a new literary anthology edited by Wisconsin writers Christi Craig and Lisa Rivera, a global community of (mostly) female writers has compiled a timeless collection of touching personal tales based on family photographs, diaries, love letters and other artifacts.

Featuring a mix of emerging and established authors, the new collection, Family Stories from the Attic, brings dated archives back to life through vivid works of nonfiction. Many of these reminiscences celebrate the eternal themes of migration, family and love, and among the nearly two dozen works of prose and poetry, a number of Milwaukee voices and stories are on display. Local contributors include Pam Parker and Joanne Nelson, who have both had pieces featured on WUWM 89.7 Milwaukee Public Radio, as well as Milwaukee-area college professors, social workers and literary moms.

This wide-ranging compilation features inspirational stories of new immigrants arriving in the American Midwest in the early decades of the 20th century, separated families surviving the long years of World War II, as well as a lovely reimagining of the abbreviated life of an ancestor who succumbed to the 1918 Spanish flu.

Family Stories from the Attic is published by Milwaukee’s Hidden Timber Books and will celebrate its publication with a book launch at Boswell Book Co. (2559 N. Downer Ave.) at 7 p.m. on Saturday, May 13. Guests will be able to purchase a copy of the anthology and hear from editors Christi Craig and Lisa Rivera as well as many of the contributors.

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Know your status.

Get tested!

HEARMEOUT:: ASK RUTHIE | UPCOMING EVENTS | PAUL MASTERSON

Free HIV and STD testing at 6pm on Monday and Tuesday nights.

No appointment needed.

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1240 E. Brady Street

May 4: LGBT+ Thursdays at Hotch (1813 E. Kenilworth Place): The kids at Hotch are hosting this new night every Thursday. Quizmaster Trivia starts at 8 p.m., but the party continues until bar close. Don’t forget to check out the menu because the kitchen is cooking up savory sensations until 10 p.m.

bestd.org

music | theater | dance visual arts | museums | tours | classes

May 10: 2017 LGBT Business Diversity Summit at InterContinental Milwaukee (139 E. Kilbourn Ave.): The Wisconsin LGBT Chamber of Commerce hosts this third annual summit. Network with other business pros from Wisconsin, enjoy guest speakers and take part in workshops and breakout sessions to help your business thrive in the LGBT community.

Register at eventbrite.com or email info@wislgbtchamber. com for more on the 8-11:45 a.m. conference.

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Mother’s Day a Drag?

L

et’s face it moms, Mother’s Day is a drag. You know it, your husband knows it, your mother knows it. We all know it. The only ones who don’t know it are the friggin’ kids. Be honest, ladies, no brunch, bouquet, homemade card or bottle of perfume makes up for the disappointment, desperation and overall devastation that comes with motherhood.

Granted, I’ve never passed a child through my lady parts, but I’m old enough to know that the enormous sacrifices a mother makes can never be repaid, particularly not with a Whitman’s Sampler. “Wow, kids! Breakfast in bed? Thanks! This makes up for tearing mommy’s body in half, years of sleep depravation, and watching my hopes and dreams vanish before my eyes. Pass the syrup!”

Want to really treat yourself this Mother’s Day? Ditch the kids and celebrate in style. Grab your best girlfriends, your gay buddies or the ladies in your mommy group, and go have some fun! Take in Drag Queen Brunch at Hamburger Mary’s, hit the beach or go see a movie. There’s a lot to do in this city so make this Mom’s Day the sort of day you’ve been dreaming about!

Check out the list of happenings this week for some ideas. Until then, let’s read an email from a fan with some questions about his own mother.

Dear Ruthie,

Im worried about my mom. I was happy that, as an empty-nester, she was finally getting out with friends and having fun. She and her group often hit the city’s gay bars, which I thought was sort of cool. It’s now turned into an obsession. It’s not like she’s an alcoholic or anything, but she goes to gay bars now nearly every weekend. She and a friend even drove to Madison once to go to gay bars there. This seems strange. Should I be worried about this?

Love the Column, Worry Wart Dear Wart,

She’s your mom. She’s an empty nester. Let the woman have fun. Read the first three paragraphs of this article, and shut the hell up.

30 | M AY 1 1 , 2 0 1 7

May 10: HamBingo for Ruthie’s Kennel Club at Hamburger Mary’s (730 S. Fifth St.) Join me for 10 nutty rounds of bingo, hundreds of dollars in prizes and the chance to win two tickets to see Diana Ross in concert! We’ll do the shot ski, have a lot of laughs and more…all to help save local animals.

Call 414-488-2555 for reservations.

May 12: Lesbian Alliance Game Night & Potluck at Milwaukee LGBT Community Center (1110 N. Market St.): What better way to make some new gal pals than over a buffet dinner and Monopoly? Bring a dish to pass and grab your favorite board game before heading over to the 6-9 p.m. girls-only get-together!

May 13: Art in the Park at Humboldt Park (3000 S. Howell Ave.): It’s baaack! The hottest little art fair in Bay View kicks off its new season with more than 40 local artists, workshops, strolling violins and more. Join the fun anytime between 11 a.m. and 4 p.m., or see bvartinthepark.com for details.

May 13: Pridefest GoGo Boy Auditions at D.I.X. Milwaukee (739 S. First St.): Wanna be a dancer at the Dance Pavilion at Pridefest this year? Wanna pick which hotties you see on stage? Get a head start on Pridefest partying with this show where you pick the Pride boys! Sign up to try out at 9 p.m., or swing by for the 11 p.m. audition show hosted by Chicago’s Trannika Rex. May 16: An Evening with Mrs. Kasha Davis at This Is It (418 E. Wells St.): One of the favorite fems from “Ru Paul’s Drag Race” hits the boards at one of Brew City’s favorite watering holes! Don’t miss Mrs. Kasha Davis as she brings her hilarious one-woman show, It Takes a lot of Balls to be a Lady, to Milwaukee for a free 10 p.m. performance (doors open at 9 p.m.).

Want to share an event with Ruthie? Need her advice on a situation? Email DearRuthie@Shepex.com.

SHEPHERD EXPRESS

::MYLGBTPOV

Contemplating Our LGBT Mother’s Day ::BY PAUL MASTERSON

F

or the LGBT community, Mother’s Day has a very special significance. Aside from celebrating our own mothers, we recognize the more universal LGBT mom. Motherhood is a fluid notion.

It can be best defined by the familiar Hillary Clinton book title, It Takes a Village. There have always been LGBT mothers, of course.

But since our recent achievement of marriage equality and the debate that swirled around it, we’re certainly more conscious of them today. Opponents argued children needed a traditional parental unit of a mother and a father, but, in fact, same-sex moms or dads are model parents. As opposed to many a straight counterpart, LGBT ones want their children and go to great lengths and expense to have them. Besides, better a loving untraditional family than none at all.

A married lesbian couple I know just had their second child. Theirs is as wholesome a household as one can imagine. Like a diary, they post their daily experiences on social media. From marriage to the rigors of pregnancy (one of them has had both children), the details make me marvel at their dedication and love (as well as feel a bit guilty when they go on about all the laundry they’ve washed and folded).

Last year I took a photo of a friend riding in the Pride Parade with his newly adopted son.

They’re both waving at me, beaming with that certain glow. They live on a small farm. When the extended family gathers, it requires rental

chairs and tables set up in the barn to accommodate their numbers. The son has the best of rural life. He’s a 4-H Club member, an acolyte at church, a Cub Scout and Little League baseball player.

Another family I know represents gay and straight, mixed races, ethnicities and generations. The uncles, a gay couple of 20 years, live together in a Riverwest duplex with the sister of one and her two sons. Last year, the older boy graduated grammar school (given his stature and maturity, I thought he was going on to college). Then there’s Ethan. He just turned 5. A recent video posted on social media shows him singing with his church children’s choir. You can hear him, quite distinctly, joyfully belting out the spiritual “Walk Together Children” in his own key and tempo and, in the midst of it, briefly breaking his musical stride to call out a “Hi mom!” with a little wave before returning to the tune. He’s already mastered his uncle’s skeptical sideglance, too.

Every Memorial and Labor Day weekend they host a family barbecue with dozens in attendance. I look forward to them like Christmas.

Speaking of which, last December, one uncle posted a conversation he had with the then 4 year old while driving through the city.

Ethan: “Are those Christmas lights?”

Uncle: “Yes, it’s going to be Christmas soon.”

Ethan: “Do you know what the best part of Christmas is?”

Uncle: (expecting “presents,” of course) “No, what’s the best part of Christmas?”

Ethan: “We get to make Christmas cookies together.”

Uncle: “Making cookies is the best part of Christmas?”

Ethan: “Yup.” So thanks to all the moms and Happy Mother’s Day!

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We believe music brings people together and that positive stories can change the way you see our city.

Circulation Drivers NEEDED The Shepherd Express, Milwaukee’s best news, arts and entertainment publication, has a need for Circulation Drivers. The qualified candidate must have a good driving record, an appropriate vehicle with insurance, be reasonably physically fit, and available every Wednesday beginning in the morning.

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::MUSIC

For more MUSIC, log onto shepherdexpress.com

FEATURE | ALBUM REVIEWS | CONCERT REVIEWS | LOCAL MUSIC

Samantha Fish Looks to the Past on Her Unorthodox Covers Album ::BY JON M. GILBERTSON

efore she was old enough to drive, drink or vote, Samantha Fish’s initial glimmer of a musical vocation came to her the way it has come to many other open-eared, open-minded people: She got blown away by some old-time blues and soul intensity.

“When I first heard Etta James, she was just so much more convincing than the stuff I heard on mainstream pop radio,” she recalled during a recent phone interview. “She spoke to me and tapped into something much deeper than what I’d heard before.”

As a teenager, she visited clubs in her native Kansas City, switched from drums to guitar and began writing and performing songs that she hoped would add her own perspective to the feelings she got from listening to “a lot of different American roots genres,” she said.

Yet Fish’s newest album, this year’s Chills & Fever, doesn’t feature any of her songs; instead, it features remakes of songs drawn mainly from the 1950s through the 1970s. However, it is not an especially conventional covers record; the biggest hit is “Hello Stranger,” which its own writer, Barbara Lewis, took to the top of the R&B charts in 1963.

“It seemed good to make an album of hits that maybe no one had ever heard before,” Fish said. “Some of those more obscure songs should’ve really been hits, but they fell through the cracks. We were just finding stuff that fit well together.”

The “we” indicates a collaborator, and he wasn’t the most obvious choice for a trawl through 45-rpm archives—T Bone Burnett would be that guy—but he was the best for Fish: producer Bobby Harlow, whose Detroit-area band The Go once included Jack White and whose garage-rock attitude and experience tightened up Fish’s tactics toward the material.

“Bobby’s got a poppier, even more mainstream, approach to making records,” she said. “Shorter, more concise sounds. You get to the point a lot faster. I can’t believe these songs all fit onto one record.”

Harlow also helped bring in supporting players, including a bassist, guitarist and drummer from The Detroit Cobras, a group that absolutely loves to Samantha Fish put some punk into soul and girl-group Friday, May 12, 8 p.m. music.

Shank Hall Two New Orleans guys on saxophone and trumpet added additional punch, and Harlow tried to keep the recording experience simple and direct, with Fish in the same room as everyone else except those horn players.

“It is tough to deal with microphone bleed and mistakes,” she said.

“You have to be okay with rawness and loose ends, but that’s how we’ve always done stuff. That can be the coolest part of the performance, is the mistakes. There was some magic there.”

Chills & Fever manifests that magic from the opener, a brassbursting “She Did It”—once recorded by The Ronettes and the aforementioned Detroit Cobras—to a torch-bearing “Either Way I Lose”—previously handled by Nina Simone and Gladys Knight—and a tremendous “Crow Jane,” a Piedmont-blues number Skip James mastered.

While Fish’s guitar skills make themselves known, the key focus is her voice, which technically can’t match the range and power of some of the above singers but which in phrasing and passion represents some of the best and most mature singing the 28-year-old winner of a Blues Music Award has done in her career. And it’s affected the rest of her creativity.

“It was a different style of singing,” she said.

“Really spending time with a lot of songs that are classic and timeless, you find yourself analyzing. It’s seeped into my songwriting and helped give me a new method.”

With producer Luther Dickinson, the North Mississippi Allstars frontman who was also behind the boards for her 2015 album Wild Heart, Fish has already completed a new, all-original, semiacoustic record set for release this fall.

In the meantime, though, and with her biggest live band to date, she’s staying on the road for Chills & Fever. Reviews and sales suggest it could be her biggest critical and commercial achievement.

“It’s kind of a sigh of relief that people are embracing it,” Fish said. “I’m going for longevity. You have to balance staying true to yourself and your art with getting out there to as many people as possible. That’s success.”

Samantha Fish plays Shank Hall on Friday, May 12 at 8 p.m.

Samantha Fish

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JAY ANDERSON BRINGS JAZZ INTO THE MIXTAPE AGE ::BY EVAN RYTLEWSKI

J

This Saturday illustrates how quickly Anderson’s schedule can fill up. He’ll be playing three shows, first with his soul/hip-hop band Foreign Goods that afternoon at the Milwaukee Psych Fest at Company Brewing, then that evening with the hip-hop collective New Age Narcissism at the Pabst Milwaukee Brewery’s street festival, and then later that night at the same festival with singer/rapper D’Amato.

When he isn’t gigging, he’s recording. Last

ILLUSTRATION BY JECILIA NEGRON

ay Anderson believes there are Milwaukee musicians who play more gigs than he does, but he can’t name any off hand. This month alone the prolific saxophonist estimates that he’ll be playing somewhere around 23 or 24 shows, “and that’s on the light end,” he says. “Last summer, either in June or July, I had a month where I had more shows than there were days in the month.”

year Anderson released an album called Jazz?, a record that, like his live calendar, features a little bit of everything. Anderson likens it to a mixtape, a kind of catch-all of sounds, moods and ideas.

“I started talking to WebsterX about what a mixtape is, and he was explaining how rappers have mixtapes that group together different shit from different sessions, so I was like, ‘Well, can I have one?’” Anderson recalls.

“He said that a saxophone player can’t have a mixtape, but I said, ‘Why not?’ At that point I had 25, 35 different finished recordings, and I thought, since I already have a bunch of those, let’s pick my favorites and put them together.”

Jazz? features a rotating cast of collaborators. Anderson’s Foreign Goods bandmate Klassik lends the beat to opener “Death,” while electronic producer Strehlow contributes a trippy beat to “Off the Grid.” For the record’s most heated number, Anderson’s trio Stomata (who themselves will release a new album later this year) are joined by DJ Madhatter for a tumultuous remix of “A Night in Tunisia” that splices the Dizzy Gillespie standard with distressed audio of news coverage from last summer’s Sherman Park uprising. To ensure all those disparate tracks hang together, the record was produced and sequenced by Kiran Vee (New Age Narcissism producer Q the Sun) and mastered

by Strehlow.

The record was released through the newly minted VoodooHoney Records label, which Anderson launched with input from local art scene staples including artist Reginald Baylor, Radio Milwaukee DJ Tarik Moody and former Alverno Presents Artistic Director David Ravel. In addition to Anderson’s many projects, the label’s roster includes artists like SistaStrings, Lorde Fredd33, B-Free and poet Kavon Cortez Jones.

Anderson said he was inspired to start the label when he noticed local talent struggling with the ins and outs of navigating the music industry: getting music on iTunes, scoring radio play, landing press coverage—the basic things that labels assist with.

“That stuff seems simple and easy, but a lot of artists don’t have the time and energy to do that and make music,” Anderson says. “For me, that’s not a problem, though.

I sleep like four hours a day, and I’m still bored a lot.”

Jay Anderson’s Jazz? is available on iTunes.

SHEPHERD EXPRESS

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NEIL HAMBURGER THURS, MAY 18TH & SUN, MAY 21ST

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Thurs. 5/11 9 pm

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ANDREW TRIM TRIO

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Fri. 5/12 8 pm

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ERIC JACOBSON ORGAN QUARTET 11:30 pm LOCKJAW TRIO

11:30 pm LESSER LAKES TRIO CD RELEASE PARTY

Sat. 5/13 8 pm

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11:30 pm RODRIGO VILLANUEVA TRIO BILL EVANS TRIBUTE

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MUSIC::LISTINGS THURSDAY, MAY 11

Amelia's, Jackson Dordel Jazz Quintet (4pm) Angelo's Piano Lounge, Acoustic Guitar Night Art Bar, UWM Furrow Magazine reading (4pm), Open Mic Comedy (8:30pm) Boone & Crockett, Milwaukee Psych Fest V - Thurs. 5/11 Cafe Carpe (Fort Atkinson), The New Pioneers Caroline's Jazz Club, Billy Johnson Trio County Clare Irish Inn & Pub, Acoustic Irish Folk w/Barry Dodd Harry's Bar & Grill, Kyle Feerick (6pm) Jazz Estate, Andrew Trim Trio Kelly's Bleachers (Big Bend), Thursday Night Acoustic Open Jam w/host Michael Sean Kochanski's Concertina Beer Hall, The Atomic Spins w/Jeremy Porter & The Tucos Linneman's Riverwest Inn, Cream City Gypsys w/Edgar Allan Cash Mason Street Grill, Mark Thierfelder Jazz Trio (5:30pm) O'Donoghues Irish Pub (Elm Grove), The All-Star SUPERband (6pm) Packing House, Barbara Stephan & Peter Mac (6pm) Potawatomi Hotel & Casino, In Bar 360: Michael Sean of Bellevue Suite (8pm), In the Fire Pit: Chicken Wire Empire (8:30pm) Rave / Eagles Club, All That Remains w/The Devil Wears Prada, Fozzy, KYNG, Sons Of Texas & American Sin (all-ages, 6pm) Stoneridge Inn (Hales Corners), Julie Nelson (6pm) The Bay Restaurant, Wicked Long Day The Metal Grill (Cudahy), Born A New w/Degrader, Bloodmoney, Wit's End, Dishonored & Livid (all-ages, 5:30pm) Transfer Pizzeria Cafe, Eric Schoor Trio w/Manty Ellis

FRIDAY, MAY 12

American Legion of Okauchee #399, The Tom Anthony Group Angelo's Piano Lounge, Piano Night Anodyne Coffee Walker's Point Roastery & Cafe, Paul Cebar Tomorrow Sound Art Bar, Jonny T-Bird & Big Dad Brewed Cafe, Dax Odom (6pm) Cactus Club, Milwaukee Psych Fest V - Fri. 5/12 Cafe Carpe (Fort Atkinson), Alan Gerber Caroline's Jazz Club, The Paul Silbergleit Quartet

::ALBUMS Circle-A Cafe, Alive at Eight: Gnarrenshiff w/Social Caterpillar (8pm); DJ: era & The Nile (10pm) Company Brewing, ZuluZuluu w/Foreign Goods, Fivy & DJ Tarik Moody Conway's Smokin' Bar & Grill, Pre-Summerfest Listening Party: Brademon Wycklendt, Kyler Kuzio, A Western Edge, Milwaukee Mode County Clare Irish Inn & Pub, Traditional Irish Ceilidh Session Dopp's Bar & Grill, The Lawmen Band Five O'Clock Steakhouse, Kirk Tatnall Trio Frank's Power Plant, Romero w/Steel Iron, Asatta & Bongwraith Harbor Lite Yacht Club (Racine), The Blues Disciples Iron Mike's (Franklin), Jam Session w/Steve Nitros & Friends Jazz Estate, Eric Jacobson Organ Quartet (8pm), Late Night Session: Lockjaw Trio (11:30pm) Jokerz Comedy Club, Tim Kidd Kochanski's Concertina Beer Hall, Honkytonkitis w/Deceptions Past Lakefront Brewery Beer Hall, Brewhaus Polka Kings (5:30pm) Linneman's Riverwest Inn, Lack of Reason w/Floor Model & The Mercurys Los Mariachis Mexican Restaurant, Larry Lynne Band Mamie's, Sly Mason Street Grill, Phil Seed Trio (6pm) McAuliffe's Pub (Racine), Green Meadow Boys Milwaukee Ale House, 5 Card Studs Packing House, Barbara Stephan Group (6:30pm) Pendulum Pub (New Berlin), Tomm Lehnigk (6pm) Potawatomi Hotel & Casino, In the Fire Pit: Crossfire (9pm), In Bar 360: Christopher's Project (9pm) Potbelly Sandwich Shop (East Side), Texas Dave (noon) Rave / Eagles Club, Hunter Hayes w/Maggie Rose (all-ages, 8pm) Red Dot Wauwatosa, Natty Nation & The Grateful Dub Riverside Theater, Chicago Route 20 Outhouse (Sturtevant), Blues and the Abstract Truth Shank Hall, Samantha Fish w/Mojo Perry Site 1A, Hudson Mohawke Smitty's On The Edge (Mequon), Matt MF Tyner The Bay Restaurant, Rick Aaron & The Men in Black Trio The Metal Grill (Cudahy), Dogsflesh, ZOR, Burning Sons, N.S.O.A, Bray Road & Crime Spree (ages 18-plus, 9pm) Up & Under Pub, Battle of the Bands Finals II

DONOVAN Sunshine Superman 50th Anniversary Tour

Urban Harvest Brewing Company, Tall Boys Improv Von Trier, Lil Rev w/Cohen/Fiorintini/Wilson (6:30pm)

SATURDAY, MAY 13

American Legion Post #449 (Brookfield), Larry Lynne Band Angelo's Piano Lounge, Piano Night Arriba Mexican Restaurant (Butler), Maple Road Blues Band Art Bar, Duane Mark Bootz Saloon, Road Crew Brewed Cafe, Folk Fantasy & Irish Music: Green Sails w/Paul & Sandy, and Mud River Lee (6pm) Cactus Club, Nasty's Big 21 Intergalactic Drag/HipHop Debacle Cafe Carpe (Fort Atkinson), Brothers Burn Mountain Caroline's Jazz Club, The Paul Spencer Band w/James Sodke, Larry Tresp, Warren Wiegratz & Neil Davis Circle-A Cafe, Alive at Eight: Gin Mill Jubilee (8pm); DJ: Theresa Who (10pm) Club Garibaldi, Neil Hamburger Colectivo Coffee On Prospect, Corky Siegel's Chamber Blues w/ Sam Lay & Jackson Mud (Josh Caterer of Smoking Popes) Company Brewing, Milwaukee Psych Fest V - Sat. 5/13 Conway's Smokin' Bar & Grill, The Dots, Mud River Lee & The Bluegrass Belles, Blonde N Blue, The White Hare Club, Doctor Snake Oil Enlightened Brewing Company, Jonny T-Bird & Big Dad Five O'Clock Steakhouse, Sam Guyton Fox Den Tavern & Grill (Mequon), Stone-Cohen Blues Band Frank's Power Plant, The Best Westerns Hilton Milwaukee City Center, Vocals & Keys Hoyt Park, Walk to End Lupus Now w/Close Enuf Band (9am) Jazz Estate, Russ Nolan Quartet (8pm), Late Night Session: Rodrigo Villanueva Trio (11:30pm) Jokerz Comedy Club, Tim Kidd Kelly's Bleachers (Big Bend), Addiction Kochanski's Concertina Beer Hall, The Blues Disciples w/The Incorruptibles Linneman's Riverwest Inn, Cullah LP release w/Low Commotion, Kyle Kenowski & Kelsey Lee Los Mariachis Mexican Restaurant, Our House Milwaukee Ale House, Cold Sweat and the Brew City Horns Packing House, Rhonda Begos w/Warren Wiegratz, Peter Mac, Dwayne Williams & Brian Dale Pendulum Pub (New Berlin), The Ghostriders Potawatomi Hotel & Casino, In Bar 360: Xeno & Joe Rave / Eagles Club, SoMo w/Klutch (all-ages, 8pm), Alexis y Fidow/ More! (all-ages, 9pm) Red Dot Wauwatosa, Matt MF Tyner & Sponge Riverside Theater, Legends of Hip Hop w/Da Brat, Scarface, 8 Ball and MJG, Mystikal, & Tela Shank Hall, Brett Newski w/Claire Kelly Slinger House (Slinger), Joe Kadlec The Coffee House, Portage Road Songwriters Guild New Song Concert The Lakeside Supper Club & Lounge (Oconomowoc), 5 Card Studs Trinity Three Irish Pubs, Shag w/DJ Zovo Up & Under Pub, King Solomon Urban Harvest Brewing Company, First Five w/Good Landers

SUNDAY, MAY 14

Angelo's Piano Lounge, Live Karaoke w/Julie Brandenburg Cafe Carpe (Fort Atkinson), The Tannahill Weavers Circle-A Cafe, Alive at Eight: Nathan Honore w/The Belle Weathers (8pm); DJ: Frank Frank (10pm) County Clare Irish Inn & Pub, Dick Eliot Jazz Guitar (5pm) Kochanski's Concertina Beer Hall, Marvelous Mack's Mother's Day Blues Matinee (2pm) Potawatomi Hotel & Casino, In the Bingo Hall: Bobby Way & The Wayouts (10:30am) Riverside Theater, Bush w/The Kickback Rounding Third Bar and Grill, The Dangerously Strong Comedy Open Mic Scotty's Bar & Pizza, Larry Lynne Solo (4pm) The Coffee House, Living Activism Night w/Paul Smith & Andy Jehly

MONDAY, MAY 15

JUNE 8

Pabst Theater MILWAUKEE, WI TICKETS AVAILABLE AT

pabsttheater.org or 414-286-3663

TUESDAY, MAY 16

Frank's Power Plant, Duck and Cover Comedy Open Mic Mamie's, Open Blues Jam w/Marvelous Mack Mason Street Grill, Jamie Breiwick Group (5:30pm) McAuliffe's Pub (Racine), Parkside Reunion Big Band

Straight to Hell

(FE TRUE RECORDS) You might ask: How does a Milwaukee musician resurrect an iconic Clash song by recruiting a reggae titan to sing vocals?

He simply does it.

Eric Blowtorch, longtime ringleader, troublemaker and activist has assembled a four-song collection that leads off with Studio One legend Horace Andy taking the Joe Strummer writ “Straight to Hell” for a ride with Blowtorch’s crew The Welders providing the music.

As it turns out, Blowtorch did his legwork long ago. The late Clash frontman had once mentioned to Blowtorch that he suggested Andy record the tune. Upon asking, Andy told Blowtorch he indeed had recorded the tune but was unsatisfied with the rhythm track. That’s all Blowtorch needed to get cracking.

As resonant today as it was in 1982, the song still echoes world politics with Andy’s ghostly vocals anchored by the mighty rhythm section of bassist Michael “Dr. Bassie” Bell and De La Buena drummer Cecilio Negron Jr., kicked off with a haunting trumpet line by Chris Bresette.

The B-side offers up two skanky and dub version takes of the cut, “Pair of Dice” and “Asylum Seekers” featuring DJ Big Youth.

The added prize is a Blowtorch original “Christmas In Ladbroke Grove,” written in London in December 2002 when he heard that Strummer had died.

Available as a 12-inch single on Fe True Records and as a digital download. A portion of the proceeds will go to Doctors Without Borders.

—Blaine Schultz

Miramar Theatre, Tuesday Open Mic w/host Sandy Weisto (sign-up 7:30pm) The Jazz Gallery Center for the Arts, Jazz Jam Session Transfer Pizzeria Cafe, Marge Eiseman B-day w/Transfer House Band

WEDNESDAY, MAY 17

Art Bar, Phillip Michael Scales Cactus Club, Caleb Hawley w/Aryk Crowder Caroline's Jazz Club, Harvey Westmoreland w/Knee Deep Blues Jam Colectivo Coffee On Prospect, Choir! Choir! Choir!

Conway's Smokin' Bar & Grill, Open Jam w/Big Wisconsin Johnson District 14 Brewery & Pub, Wednesday Open Mic Iron Mike's (Franklin), Danny Wendt Noodle Jam (6pm) Jazz Estate, Dave King Trio Kochanski's Concertina Beer Hall, Polka Open Jam Linneman's Riverwest Inn, Acoustic Open Stage w/feature Jesse Guten (sign-up 8:30pm, start 9pm) Mason Street Grill, Jamie Breiwick Group (5:30pm) Morton's (Cedarburg), The Blues Disciples (6:30pm) Nomad World Pub, Locals Only Live Music Packing House, Tracy Hanneman & Theo Merriweather (6pm) Paulie's Field Trip, Humpday Drunkday w/Dave & Blair Potbelly Sandwich Shop (East Side), Texas Dave (noon) Rave / Eagles Club, Alter Bridge w/In Flames & Devour The Day (all-ages, 7:30pm) Shank Hall, Steve Forbert w/H2-OH Tally's Tap & Eatery (Waukesha), Tomm Lehnigk The Cheel (Thiensville), Steve Cohen & Peter Roller acoustic (6:30pm) Turner Hall Ballroom, Tape Face SHEPHERD EXPRESS

34 | M AY 1 1 , 2 0 1 7 DonovanMiluakee_4_725inx5_34inBoxer.indd 1

Cactus Club, Anthony Ruptak w/Pretty Beggar & Lifetime Achievement Award Jazz Estate, Latin Jazz Jam Session Linneman's Riverwest Inn, Poet's Monday w/host Timothy Kloss & featured reader The Skrauss (7:30-10:30pm) Mason Street Grill, Joel Burt (5:30pm) Paulie's Pub and Eatery, Open Jam w/Christopher John Up & Under Pub, Marshall McGhee and the Wanderers Open Mic

Horace Andy Backed by Welders

5/8/17 11:15 AM

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from Summit Credit Union Disclaimer: Offer ends 6/21/17. Restrictions apply. Not available in all areas. New residential customers only. Limited to Performance Internet service. Equipment, installation, taxes and fees, including regulatory recovery fees, Broadcast TV Fee (up to $6.50/mo.), Regional Sports Fee (up to $4.50/mo.) and other applicable charges extra, and subject to change during and after the promo. After promo, or if any service is cancelled or downgraded, regular rates apply. Comcast's service charge for Performance Internet Service ranges based on area, from $59.95/mo. to $61.95/mo. (subject to change). TV and Internet Service limited to a single outlet. May not be combined with other offers. TV: Limited Basic Service subscription required to receive other levels of service. Internet: Wi-Fi claim based on the March 2016 study by Allion Test Labs. Actual speeds vary and are not guaranteed. XFINITY hotpots are included with Performance Internet and above only. Available in select areas. Requires compatible Wi-Fi hotspots enabled laptop or mobile device. 30-Day Money-Back Guarantee applies to one month's recurring service charge and standard installation up to $500. Call for restrictions and complete details. ©2017 Comcast. All rights reserved. All trademarks are the property of their respective owners.

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Submit your questions about ADHD to Jake@envisionadhd.com Disclaimer: The Shepherd Express makes no representations or warranties of any kind, whether express or implied, regarding any advertising. Due diligence is recommended before entering into any agreement with an advertiser. The Shepherd Express will not be held liable for any damages of any kind relating to any ad. Please check your ad the first day of publication and notify us of any changes. We are not responsible for errors in advertising after the first day. We reserve the right to edit, reject or reclassify advertisements in our sole discretion, without notice. We do not knowingly accept advertisements that discriminate or intend to discriminate on any illegal basis, or are otherwise illegal.

NO REFUNDS for cancellation after deadline, no copy changes except to price or telephone number.

M A Y 1 1 , 2 0 1 7 | 35

THEME CROSSWORD

SORRY MOM!

By James Barrick

PSYCHO SUDOKU! “Sum Sudoku”

Put one digit from 1-9 in each square of this Sudoku so that the following three conditions are met: 1) each row, column, and 3x3 box (as marked off by heavy lines in the grid) contains the digits 1-9 exactly one time; 2) no digit is repeated within any of the areas marked off by dotted lines; and 3) the sums of the numbers in each area marked off by dotted lines total the little number given in each of those areas. Now do what I tell you—solve!! psychosudoku@gmail.com 13

13

11

15 20

10

1

7

9

5

3

2

8

6

4

5

4

1

6

9

7

3

2

6

2

3

7

8

4

1

5

9

4

3

5

8

9

7

6

2

1

2

9

1

6

4

5

3

7

8

7

6

8

2

1

3

4

9

5

9

1

7

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5

6

2

8

3

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4

2

3

7

8

9

1

6

3

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6

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1

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14

6

1. — Edna Everage 2. Villainous 3. Facility for Olympians: 2 wds.

4. Sheep 5. Blackthorn drupes 6. An astringent 7. Han — of “Star Wars” 8. Fireplugs 9. — lazuli 10. Insect stage 11. Toy-bricks company

12. Further 13. Plantation’s yield: 2 wds.

14. Narcotic 15. Bless you!

16. Sounded 17. OT book: Abbr.

19. Pine 27. Juvenile 28. Valley of —, where David fought Goliath 29. Path 31. Look 34. Supports for rigging 35. Feminine name 36. Submission 37. End-of-week exclamation 38. Prop 39. Pilfered 40. Fishgig 41. Lab compound 43. Puget Sound city 44. Pointless 45. Glimpses 51. Throw with force 52. Pie chart 54. Polish 55. More healthy, in a way 56. Land area 58. Green gemstone 59. Self-improvement

60. Eyeball part 62. Toodle-oo!

63. Fits 64. Intrigue 65. Liturgical vestment 66. Fermented beverage 67. Beat 68. Braid 69. Things apportioned 70. Ski resort town 71. Lawn tool 73. Jefferson’s veep 74. Roman a — 77. Tough but pliable 78. Motivated 79. In — 81. Contemptuous cry 83. Stew pot 84. Son of Ivan the Great 86. Hikes 90. Grows quieter 91. Unreactive 92. — a deux 93. Eye 94. Muscovy glass 95. River in Belgium 96. Tahari or Wiesel 97. Costa — 98. Church calendar 99. Hats 101. Harvest 102. Fish often pickled 106. Parrot

Solution to last week’s puzzle

17

10 8 9

13

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17

5/4 Solution

WORD FIND This is a theme puzzle with the subject stated below. Find the listed words in the grid. (They may run in any direction but always in a straight line. Some letters are used more than once.) Ring each word as you find it and when you have completed the puzzle, there will be 28 letters left over. They spell out the alternative theme of the puzzle.

Arts and Crafts Solution: 28 Letters

© 2017 Australian Word Games Dist. by Creators Syndicate Inc.

74. Ron Howard’s brother 75. Abbr. in bus.

76. Piquancy 77. Of a heavenly body 78. Kind of glass 79. Toil 80. Behave 81. I am present!

82. Part 3 of quip: 5 wds.

85. Sailboat stabilizer 87. Upper floor 88. Complete 89. Dig with the snout 90. — noir 92. Meeting 94. End of the quip: 4 wds.

100. Word in a palindrome 103. Fertility goddess 104. Strike out 105. Vibrato 106. Genu 107. Welshman, e.g.

108. Utensil for cooks 109. Bauer or Izzard 110. Footnote abbr.

111. Boats 112. A leavening 113. Doctor’s order 114. Reptiles DOWN

10

16

9

© 2017 United Feature Syndicate, Dist. by Andrews McMeel Syndication

ACROSS 1. Mark for removal 5. Cummerbund 9. A flower or its color 14. Meanie 18. Profess 19. Electrum is one 20. Protozoan: Var. 21. Snow, split and sweet 22. PC appendages 23. If looks — kill 24. Leaves 25. “— She Lovely” 26. Sambar cousin 27. Start of a quip by Ray Romano: 5 wds.

30. Fencing items 32. Too 33. Ha’penny 34. Rocky debris 36. Lab gadget 38. Sit astride 42. Part 2 of quip: 2 wds.

46. Gangster 47. Holds 48. Surmounting 49. Those voting no 50. Backhoe bucket 52. Chap 53. Pi-Sigma link 54. Kind of woodworking joint 55. Set off 56. Very short time 57. Concert hall offering 59. Levitate 60. Caldera 61. “The — of the Ancient Mariner” 62. Belief 63. Dispenser contents 64. Tentlike shelter 67. Bistros 68. Acquisition 72. Entertain 73. Ulan —

15

9

13 12

16

7 23

3

8

8

Alter Artist Assemblage Awl Awls Basket Batik Beads Block Bobbin Cakes Calico Canvas

Ceramics China Clay Crochet Daub Die cut Dye Emboss Glassblowing Hammer Hoops Needlework Paper

Pelt Philately Photography Quilt Rope Sew Skill Soft Spun Tack Tapestry Tat Timber

36 | M A Y 1 1 , 2 0 1 7

5/4 Solution: It’s a good idea to stay indoors SHEPHERD EXPRESS

Solution: A productive and fun way to unwind

Creators Syndicate 737 3rd Street • Hermosa Beach, CA 90254 310-337-7003 • info@creators.com

Date: 5/11/17

::CHUCK SHEPHERD’S

::FREEWILLASTROLOGY ::BY ROB BREZSNY TAURUS (April 20-May 20): “Kiss the flame and it is yours,” teased the poet Thomas Lux. What do you think he was hinting at? It’s a metaphorical statement, of course. You wouldn’t want to literally thrust your lips and tongue into a fire. But according to my reading of the astrological omens, you might benefit from exploring its meanings. Where to begin? May I suggest you visualize making out with the steady burn at the top of a candle? My sources tell me that doing so at this particular moment in your evolution will help kindle a new source of heat and light in your deep self—a fresh fount of glowing power that will burn sweet and strong like a miniature sun.

GEMINI (May 21-June 20): Your symbol of power during the next three weeks is a key. Visualize it. What picture pops into your imagination? Is it a bejeweled golden key like what might be used to access an old treasure chest? Is it a rustic key for a garden gate or an oversized key for an ornate door? Is it a more modern thing that locks and unlocks car doors with radio waves? Whatever you choose, Gemini, I suggest you enshrine it in as an inspirational image in the back of your mind. Just assume that it will subtly inspire and empower you to find the metaphorical “door” that leads to the next chapter of your life story.

CANCER (June 21-July 22): You are free to reveal yourself in your full glory. For once in your life, you have cosmic clearance to ask for everything you want without apology. This is the LATER you have been saving yourself for. Here comes the reward for the hard work you’ve been doing that no one has completely appreciated. If the universe has any prohibitions or inhibitions to impose, I don’t know what they are. If old karma has been preventing the influx of special dispensations and helpful X-factors, I suspect that old karma has at least temporarily been neutralized.

LEO (July 23-Aug. 22): “I don’t want to be at the mercy of my emotions,” said Irish writer Oscar Wilde. “I want to use them, to enjoy them, and to dominate them.” In my opinion, that may be one of the most radical vows ever formulated.

Is it even possible for us human beings to gracefully manage our unruly flow of feelings? What you do in the coming weeks could provide evidence that the answer to that question might be yes. According to my reading of the astrological omens, you are now in a position to learn more about this high art than ever before.

VIRGO (Aug. 23-Sept. 22): Africa’s highest mountain is Mount Kilimanjaro. Though it’s near the equator, its peak is covered yearround with glaciers. In 2001, scientists predicted that global warming would melt them all by 2015.

But that hasn’t happened. The ice cap is still receding slowly. It could endure for a while, even though it will eventually disappear. Let’s borrow this scenario as a metaphor for your use, Virgo. First, consider the possibility that a certain thaw in your personal sphere isn’t unfolding as quickly as you anticipated.

Second, ruminate on the likelihood that it will, however, ultimately come to pass. Third, adjust your plans accordingly.

LIBRA (Sept. 23-Oct. 22): Will sex be humdrum and predictable in the coming weeks?

No! On the contrary. Your interest in wandering out to the frontiers of erotic play could rise quite high. You may be animated and experimental in your approach to intimate communion, whether it’s with another person or with yourself. Need any suggestions? Check out the “butterflies-in-flight” position or the “spinning wheel of roses” maneuver. Try the “hum-and-chuckle kissing dare” or the “churning radiance while riding the rain cloud” move. Or just invent your own variations and give them funny names that add to the adventure.

SCORPIO (Oct. 23-Nov. 21): Right now the word “simplicity” is irrelevant. You’ve got silky profundities to play with, slippery complications to relish and lyrical labyrinths to wander around in. I hope you use these opportunities to tap into more of your subterranean powers. From what I can discern, your deep dark intelligence is ready to provide you with a host of fresh clues about who you really are and where you need to go. P.S.: You

SHEPHERD EXPRESS

can become better friends with the shadows without compromising your relationship to the light.

SAGITTARIUS (Nov. 22-Dec. 21): You can bake your shoes in the oven at 350 degrees for 40 minutes, but that won’t turn them into loaves of bread. Know what I’m saying, Sagittarius? Just because a chicken has wings doesn’t mean it can fly over the rainbow. Catch my drift? You’ll never create a silk purse out of dental floss and dead leaves.

That’s why I offer you the following advice: In the next two weeks, do your best to avoid paper tigers, red herrings, fool’s gold, fake news, Trojan horses, straw men, pink elephants, convincing pretenders and invisible bridges. There’ll be a reward if you do: close encounters with shockingly beautiful honesty and authenticity that will be among your most useful blessings of 2017.

CAPRICORN (Dec. 22-Jan. 19): Of all the signs of the zodiac, you Capricorns are the least likely to believe in mythical utopias like Camelot or El Dorado or Shambhala. You tend to be uber-skeptical about the existence of legendary vanished riches like the last Russian czar’s Fabergé eggs or King John’s crown jewels. And, yet, if wonderlands and treasures like those really do exist, I’m betting that some may soon be discovered by Capricorn explorers. Are there unaccounted-for masterpieces by Georgia O’Keeffe buried in a basement somewhere?

Is the score of a lost Mozart symphony tucked away in a seedy antique store? I predict that your tribe will specialize in unearthing forgotten valuables, homing in on secret miracles, and locating missing mother lodes.

AQUARIUS (Jan. 20-Feb. 18): According to my lyrical analysis of the astrological omens, here are examples of the kinds of experiences you might encounter in the next 21 days: 1. interludes that reawaken memories of the first time you fell in love; 2. people who act like helpful, moondrunk angels just in the nick of time; 3. healing music or provocative art that stirs a secret part of you—a sweet spot you had barely been aware of; 4. an urge arising in your curious heart to speak the words, “I invite lost and exiled beauty back into my life.”

PISCES (Feb. 19-March 20): Ex-baseball player Eric DuBose was pulled over by Florida cops who spotted him driving his car erratically. They required him to submit to a few tests, hoping to determine whether he had consumed too much alcohol. “Can you recite the alphabet?” they asked. “I’m from the great state of Alabama,” DuBose replied, “and they have a different alphabet there.” I suggest, Pisces, that you try similar gambits whenever you find yourself in odd interludes or tricky transitions during the coming days—which I suspect will happen more than usual. Answer the questions you want to answer rather than the ones you’re asked, for example. Make jokes that change the subject. Use the powers of distraction and postponement. You’ll need extra slack, so seize it!

ARIES (March 21-April 19): The process by which Zoo Jeans are manufactured is unusual. First, workers wrap and secure sheets of denim around car tires or big rubber balls, and take their raw creations to the Kamine Zoo in Hitachi City, Japan. There the denim-swaddled objects are thrown into pits where tigers or lions live. As the beasts roughhouse with their toys, they rip holes in the cloth. Later, the material is retrieved and used to sew the jeans. Might this story prove inspirational for you in the coming weeks? I suspect it will. Here’s one possibility: You could arrange for something wild to play a role in shaping an influence you will have an intimate connection with.

Homework: If you knew you were going to live to 100, what would you do differently in the next five years? Testify at freewillastrology.com.

Go to RealAstrology.com to check out Rob Brezsny’s Expanded Weekly Audio Horoscopes and Daily Text Message Horoscopes. The audio horoscopes are also available by phone at 1-877-873-4888 or 1-900-950-7700.

NEWS OF THE WEIRD

Sweet, Sweet Revenge

I

t is legal in China to sell electric “building shakers” whose primary purpose apparently is to wreak aural havoc on apartment-dwellers’ unreasonably noisy neighbors. Models sell for the equivalent of $11 to $58—each with a long pole to rest on the floor, extending ceiling height to an electric motor braced against the shared ceiling or wall and whose only function is to produce a continuous, thumping beat. Shanghaiist.com found one avenger in Shaanxi province who, frustrated by his miscreant neighbor, turned on his shaker and then departed for the weekend.

(It was unclear whether he faced legal or other repercussions.)

Can’t Possibly Be True Mats Jarlstrom is a folk hero in Oregon for his extensive research critical of the short yellow light timed to the state’s red-light cameras, having taken his campaign to TV’s “60 Minutes” and been invited to a transportation engineers’ convention. In January, Oregon’s agency that regulates engineers imposed a $500 fine on Jarlstrom for “practicing engineering” without a state license. (The agency, in fact, wrote that simply using the phrase “I am an engineer” is illegal without a license, even though Jarlstrom has a degree in engineering and worked as an airplane camera mechanic.) He is suing to overturn the fine.

Last year, surgeons at Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia (CHOP), for only the second time in history, removed a tumor “sitting” on the peanut-sized heart of a fetus while the heart was still inside the mother’s womb—in essence successfully operating on two patients simultaneously. The Uruguayan mother said her initial reaction upon referral to CHOP’s surgeons was to “start laughing, like what, they do that?” (The baby’s December birth revealed that the tumor had grown back and had to be removed again, except this time, through “ordinary” heart surgery.)

News You Can Use Earn $17,500 for two months’ “work” doing nothing at all! France’s space medicine facility near Toulouse is offering 24 openings,

paying 16,000 euros each, for people simply to lie in bed continuously for two weeks so it can study the effects of virtual weightlessness.

The institute is serious about merely lying there: All bodily functions must be accomplished while keeping at least one shoulder on the bed.

Finer Points of the Law “Oh, come on!” implored an exasperated Chief Justice Roberts in April when the Justice Department lawyer explained at oral argument that, indeed, a naturalized citizen could have his citizenship retroactively canceled just for breaking a single law, however minor—even if there was never an arrest for it. Appearing incredulous, Roberts hypothesized that if “I drove 60 miles an hour in a 55-mile-an-hour zone,” but was not caught and then became a naturalized citizen, years later the government “can knock on my door and say, ‘Guess what? You’re not an American citizen after all’?” The government lawyer stood firm. (The Supreme Court decision on the law’s constitutionality is expected in June.)

Least Competent Criminals Didn’t Think It Through: (1) Edwin Charge Jr., 20, and two accomplices allegedly attempted a theft at a Hood River, Ore., business on April 23, but fled as police arrived.

The accomplices were apprehended, but Charge took off across Interstate 84 on foot, outrunning police until he fell off a cliff to his death. (2) Police said Tara Cranmer, 34, tried to elude them in a stolen truck on tiny Ocracoke Island, N.C., on April 22. Since it is an island, the road ends, and she was captured on the dunes after abandoning the truck.

Update Italian Surgeon Sergio Canavero (notorious as the world’s most optimistic advocate of human brain transplants) now forecasts that a cryogenically frozen brain will be “awakened” (“thawed”) and transplanted into a donor body by the year 2020. His Turin Advanced Neuromodulation Group claimed success in 2016 in transplanting a monkey’s head, with blood vessels properly attached (though not the spinal cord). Canavero promised such a head transplant of humans by 2018, though problematic because, like the recipient monkey, the recipient human would not long survive. Of the subsequent brain transplant, one of the gentler critics of Canavero said the likelihood of success is “infinitestimal”— with harsher critics describing it in more colorful language. © 2017 CHUCK SHEPHERD M AY 1 1 , 2 0 1 7 | 37

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