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RON JOHNSON’S ASSAULT ON HEALTH CARE

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::NEWS&VIEWS FEATURES | POLLS | TAKING LIBERTIES | ISSUE OF THE WEEK

A Surprise Detractor

WISCONSIN SEN. RON JOHNSON’S ASSAULT ON HEALTH CARE ::BY ELIZABETH ELVING enator Ron Johnson has called the Affordable Care Act the “greatest assault on freedom in our lifetime.” He’s been denouncing the healthcare law for years, devoting press releases, interviews, town halls and op-eds to its alleged failures and flaws.

Like many of his colleagues in the GOP, he campaigned on the promise of repealing and replacing it.

When Senate Republicans finally got their chance to do so, Johnson made it clear that he wanted to be an integral part of that effort. It was surprising, then, when he turned up as a possible hindrance and wavered for weeks about where he actually stood.

“He was a no, he wasn’t a no; it was back and forth,” says Julie Rovner, chief Washington correspondent at Kaiser Health News. “It sort of came out of nowhere. Who had Ron Johnson on the ‘no’ list?”

In the end, Johnson remained a reluctant “yes,” framing his votes not as endorsements so much as means to an end. He later co-sponsored the Graham-Cassidy Bill— named after Senators Lindsey Graham and Bill Cassidy who authored it—which would have repealed the ACA and changed the fundamental structure of Medicaid. Like the earlier attempts, the bill failed when enough senators came out against it.

Kevin Kane, organizing director at Citizen Action of Wisconsin, said that, while Johnson’s “exact motivations were never fully clear,” a few things are evident: The senator wants very much to get rid of the ACA, he wasn’t ready to give up after the initial failures, and he’s not ready to give up now. “Because they failed the last time, it’s not surprising that he’d want to bring it up again, and he will probably continue to talk about it,” Kane says. “I don’t see him dropping it any time soon.”

6 | OCTOBER 19, 2017

Throughout the convoluted “repeal and replace” debate, Sen. Johnson often complained that the process was moving forward too quickly and behind closed doors. Issues arose in May when Sen. Mitch McConnell formed a core “working group” of 13 fellow senators to draft the repeal legislation. Johnson wasn’t listed among the group’s members and later said he had to “kind of muscle my way in.” While the member list attracted a lot of attention (mainly because there weren’t any women on it), Rovner explains that it was also somewhat misleading.

“It’s not like those members were writing a bill,” Rovner says. “McConnell’s staff and some of the staff from those members’ offices were writing a bill.

Did [Johnson] want his own people working with the people who were writing it? I’m sure he did. But it’s not like they were meeting in a room and he wasn’t there.” Nevertheless, the idea of a “working group” helped the impression that the process was surrounded by a wall of secrecy—one that Johnson himself was struggling to scale. But Johnson also had leverage. Republicans currently hold a precarious twovote majority in the U.S. Senate, which amplifies every critical voice.

When the first senate bill was drafted, Johnson was one of the four conservative senators saying they’d reject it unless significant changes were made. He was evasive when asked how he’d vote, saying he needed more time or didn’t have enough information. And in July, when he heard McConnell was meeting privately with moderates and suggesting that some of the promised Medicaid cuts might not actually happen, Johnson accused the majority leader of a “breach of trust” and suggested he may have to withdraw support after all. “He made it so his party had to deal with him,” Kane says.

The suspense continued on the day the Senate voted to open debate for the “skinny” repeal bill. Johnson arrived late and proceeded to engage McConnell in what appeared to be a heated conversation on the Senate floor. “He was pretty visibly unhappy,” says Rovner, who was in the chamber for the vote. “I can tell you from the body language that they were not each other’s best friends.”

The discussion ended when Sen. John McCain, who had just shared the news of his brain cancer diagnosis, arrived to a standing ovation and voted “yes” to begin debate on the repeal legislation (he would eventually vote “no” on passage). After McCain’s vote to begin debate, Johnson then voted “yes” as well, casting the final vote to proceed. In spite of his earlier objections, Johnson went on to vote in favor of the Better Care Reconciliation Act, the partial repeal amendment, and finally the “skinny” repeal, which failed when McCain cast that decisive “no” vote.

Johnson’s strained relationship with the Senate Republican leadership has been linked to the 2016 election, when the National Republican Senatorial Committee pulled their investment in his campaign once it looked like he was going to lose. This break from the establishment—combined with the fact that he apparently won’t be seeking reelection—positioned Johnson as an independent figure, free to ig-

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nore political pressure and act on his convictions.

Ultimately, it was Senators Lisa Murkowski, Susan Collins and John McCain who took that stand, but Johnson did manage to keep his name in the conversation.

Healthcare Coverage in Wisconsin

SMARTPHONES

Beyond ‘Repeal and Replace’ Hours after Graham-Cassidy was called off, Johnson held a telephone town hall where he told constituents he still hoped to pass the bill by some other means. The same day, a statement released by Graham, Cassidy, Johnson and co-sponsor Sen. Dean Heller assured that “it is just a matter of time until we fulfill our promise to repeal and replace Obamacare [ACA] with something far better.”

“I don’t think it’ll ever really end with them,” Kane says.

Medicaid, which covers about one million Wisconsinites and one-fifth of the U.S. population, remains threatened regardless of what happens to the ACA. Peacock points out that the idea of block granting Medicaid is a separate issue that was rolled into the ACA debate. “Even if repeal and replace legislation dies, the efforts to cap Medicaid spending will continue in other legislation—in the budget process or in tax cut legislation,” Peacock says. “Those threats to Medicaid are going to come up in numerous different places.”

At the same time, the Trump administration is actively working to undermine the ACA. It has cut the 2018 open enrollment period in half, released videos attacking the law’s effectiveness, and gutted outreach and promotion funding. The Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) recently announced that healthcare.gov will be shut down for 12 hours every Sunday during the open enrollment period (except for Sunday, Dec. 10), due to “system maintenance.”

On Thursday, Oct. 12, President Trump signed an executive order to expand the use of cheaper, stripped-down “association health plans,” which could lure healthy people out of the marketplace, raising premiums for those who remained. Hours later, he announced a plan to end payments for cost-sharing subsidies that reduce expenses for low-income enrollees.

These changes would disadvantage vulnerable Americans and further destabilize the individual markets. Such overt sabotage is terrifying—especially for the people who consider the ACA a lifeline, not an “assault on freedom.”

“What freedoms were compromised by the Affordable Care Act? To me, it’s just the opposite,” Peterson says. “I’m not saying it was perfect. But the Affordable Care Act provided care to a lot of folks. It enhanced their lives, their freedom to pursue life and liberty.”

The 2018 open enrollment period begins on Nov. 1 and runs until Dec. 15, 2017.

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Back when he was still waffling between “yes” and “no,” Johnson stated he wouldn’t support a bill unless it halted Medicaid expansion and lowered premiums. He blamed high premiums in part on guaranteed issue mandates that protect people with preexisting conditions and touted high-risk pools as one way to bring down costs. He pointed to Wisconsin’s former Health Insurance Risk-Sharing Plan (HIRSP) as a model for this.

However, Bobby Peterson, executive director of the public interest law firm ABC for Health, cautions against remembering HIRSP too fondly. “People were segregated into high-risk pools where they had higher premiums and waiting periods,” Peterson says. “They weren’t a great option. They were the best option in a terrible system.”

Jon Peacock, the research director of the advocacy organization Kids Forward, says that the HIRSP served about 21,000 people, which “barely made a dent” in the more than half a million who were uninsured in Wisconsin at that time. What has had an impact, Peacock argues, is the ACA. Between the individual marketplace and the partial Medicaid expansion, the state’s uninsured rate has dropped 42%. “Senator Johnson has said that Wisconsin didn’t need the ACA, and I couldn’t disagree more,” Peacock says.

“There are 218,000 fewer uninsured Wisconsinites now, and that’s just one of many benefits of the law.”

Expanding coverage helps control healthcare costs as well. A recent study from the Commonwealth Fund found that states in which Medicaid has expanded saw significant reductions in uncompensated care, leading to billions of dollars in savings. Peterson says that when Gov. Scott Walker rejected the federal expansion money, he not only passed on millions of much-needed dollars but also instituted a confusing eligibility system that kept people from getting coverage, leading to more uncompensated care. “When we provide coverage for people, we help eliminate uncompensated care, which costs the system and society a lot more,” he says.

Graham-Cassidy would have changed Medicaid from an entitlement to a block grant system, where states had a finite amount to spend on the program each year. Experts have said that devolving control to the states in this way would create more confusion, raise costs for people with preexisting conditions and limit coverage through spending caps. “Over time, those caps would force states to ration Medicaid services,” Peacock says. When promoting Graham-Cassi-

dy in an interview with MSNBC on Thursday, Sept. 21, Johnson fielded repeated questions about whether anyone would lose coverage under the bill, which he repeatedly declined to answer. According to the Congressional Budget Office, millions would.

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NEWS&VIEWS::FEATURE

A Beer Garden in Pere Marquette Park?

Debate ensues about the future of the Downtown riverfront park ::BY VIRGINIA SMALL

H

ans Weissgerber III wants to open a beer garden in Pere Marquette Park—a stone’s throw away from his Old German Beer Hall (1009 N. Old World Third St.) which offers indoor and seasonal sidewalk seating. His firm has operated the beer garden in Shorewood’s Estabrook Park since 2012 and ran Oktoberfest events in Pere Marquette from 2011-2016.

The Westown Association, which promotes Downtown’s west side, would partner with Weissgerber by surrendering its long-held liquor license for Pere Marquette in exchange for a portion of the sales. The group sells alcohol during events there. Association President Claude Krawczyk believes that “increased activity on a daily basis would help make the park a more inviting place.”

The 1.9-acre Pere Marquette Park borders the Milwaukee River as well as Old World Third Street, Kilbourne Avenue and State Street. A Milwaukee County Parks background sheet calls the park a “green oasis in Downtown” and a “vital link in the Riverwalk system.”

Weissgerber proposes funding the design and construction of a building for food-and-drink

service and restrooms. A rough sketch calls for removing about a quarter of the park’s lawn and three mature trees. About 30 long tables on a gravel patio would seat up to 300. Weissgerber’s firm also would plant more trees and help maintain the park. Proposed hours are 11 a.m. to 10 p.m. daily, seven months a year, weather permitting.

Milwaukee County Parks Director John Dargle Jr. supports the beer garden concept, but added that “it’s still in the discussion phase.” He said upcoming meetings will include Weissgerber and representatives of the Westown Association and Milwaukee County Historical Society.

The Society controls the park’s brick patio next to its headquarters and museum.

Executive Director Mame McCully said the Society has been “a partner with the county for decades at this location,” hosting 20-40 events a year. The nonprofit’s concerns include how much space a beer garden would appropriate and plans for loading logistics. She said potential impacts on Historical Society rentals are unknown, since some might find a beer garden attractive, while others would not.

Dargle said a beer garden would increase “cost recovery,” or revenue collected from park concessions, rentals and use fees. Beer garden concessions brought in nearly $1 million in 2016. He anticipates that up to 60% of the 2018 parks budget would need to come from earned income if Chris Abele’s budget is approved. (The tax levy would cover the rest.)

He also said a beer garden would provide numerous “public health benefits,” including the conviviality of people gathering outdoors.

Milwaukee County Supervisor Supreme Moore Omokunde, whose 10th District includes the park, did not respond to requests for comment.

December’s Milwaukee County Board meeting is the soonest this proposal could be heard.

Private Enterprise and Public Parks

Not everyone welcomes a beer garden in Pere Marquette Park. Shay Sanders, who works Downtown and often catches the bus at Pere Marquette, thinks a beer garden would diminish the park and limit its uses. “Everything does not need to be about beer, beer, beer,” she said.

Sanders and her husband are among Downtown workers who eat lunch at the park’s picnic tables;

they also attend concerts, holiday light displays and other events there.

According to Diane Buck who, with her husband, David, has initiated and funded many park and public art restoration projects in Milwaukee: “Permanent beer gardens do not belong in small public parks, especially in Pere Marquette, which has very little green space and is the only Downtown public park on the Milwaukee River.” Buck notes that it already contains a music pavilion, boat docks, the Milwaukee County Historical Society’s offices and patio, a historic monument to Marquette and a contemporary sculpture.

Buck, who serves on the board of Preserve Our Parks and other civic groups, is not opposed to all park-based beer gardens. “I have no problem with permanent beer gardens in large, underused parks. They are great places to spend the afternoon with friends and family to enjoy a beer and perhaps a picnic,” she says. However, Buck thinks a permanent beer garden in Pere Marquette would “continue the creeping commercialization in our public parks. Will there be any public space left in our parks once the private sector continues its march to take over public green space?”

Other permanent beer gardens in county parks are within much larger parks and parkways, such as Hoyt, Humboldt, South Shore and Whitnall parks. Traveling beer gardens circulate in other substantial county parks.

The Westown neighborhood, located between the Milwaukee River and Interstate 43 and McKinley and St. Paul avenues, has just four acres of public parkland. Other parks are Clas, located south of the Milwaukee County Courthouse; Zeidler Union Square, which is along Michigan Street; and a city-owned, postagestamp-size triangle on Plankinton Avenue that’s home to the Letter Carriers’ Monument.

Preserve Our Parks’ president, John Lunz, says the advocacy group opposes a permanent beer garden in Pere Marquette because “it’s not the proper size for such an establishment, and there’s already so much competition in the area for customers.” Lunz adds that “eating and drinking facilities should be placed in parks as a convenience to park patrons who are there for park purposes.”

Market Considerations How might a beer garden affect the 70-or-so bars and restaurants within a half-mile of Pere Marquette, including those on Old World Third and Water streets? Multiple establishments can create buzz in an area and foster a vibrant scene.

However, some say, too much of a good thing

can become detrimental “over-saturation.” At least three nearby establishments offer al fresco riverfront seating and ever more enterprises have patio or sidewalk seating. The Milwaukee Bucks are also developing a multi-story entertainment mall across from their new tax-subsidized arena, a short walk from Pere Marquette.

Krawczyk said merchants hope that more bars and eateries will “grow the pie” of Downtown’s entertainment market, rather than yielding thinner slices. He also said Third Street businesses generally support Weissgerber’s preliminary beer-garden plans; a spokesperson for Third Street businesses did not respond to a request for comment.

The Park’s Fullest Potential Although Pere Marquette Park boasts enviable views and exceptional trees, it’s become rundown. For example, large planter urns contain only scraggly remnants of long-ago-planted ornamental grasses. Some hope that any Pere Marquette changes are not piecemeal and recognize opportunities to aim higher for this park and revitalizing the blocks facing it.

Architect Chris Socha, who heads Kubala Washatko Architects’ UrbanLab Division and led a pro-bono assessment of challenges facing Westown’s “public realm,” notes that the success of a beer garden in Pere Marquette “would depend on the quality of the overall experience of the surrounding public space.” He said an effective design ideally would address the whole park and nearby streetscapes.

Stephen Filmanowicz, a board member of the Wisconsin Chapter of the Congress for the New Urbanism (but who was not speaking for the group), wrote in an email: “A beer garden might work here. But Pere Marquette Park would really benefit from a larger planning effort that recognizes it for the strategic asset that it is in Downtown Milwaukee,” adding: “What other public gathering space is so enmeshed in the city fabric, while also connecting to the city’s signature ribbon-like public space, the Riverwalk?

“When you think of the Marcus Center’s Peck Pavilion and chestnut grove directly across the river and the opportunities for joint programming, the potential is sizable, with the right investment,” Filmanowicz wrote. “If Milwaukee is ever to create a public space where our urban heart is always beating—like Millennium Park in Chicago but obviously smaller—this could be the place.”

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NEWS&VIEWS::SAVINGOURDEMOCRACY ( OCT. 19 - OCT. 25, 2017 )

E

ach week, the Shepherd Express serves as a clearinghouse for 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 seek to thwart social justice. We will publicize and promote actions, demonstrations, planning meetings, teachins, party-building meetings, drinking-discussion get-togethers or any other actions that are directed toward fighting back to preserve our liberal democratic system.

Thursday, Oct. 19

The Black and Brown Get Down @ Arts @ Large (908 S. Fifth St.), 6-8:30 p.m.

This end-of-the-year fundraiser for Youth Empowered in the Struggle (YES) and Voces De La Frontera will include delicious food, entertainment, raffle prizes and items for sale. All proceeds will go towards YES and their current campaigns.

Blue Bash @ J&B’s Blue Ribbon (5230 W. Bluemound Road), 7-11 p.m.

The Democratic Party of Milwaukee’s annual celebration of democratic values will include a special solo performance by Christopher Porterfield of Field Report and a special live performance by Allen Cote’s Lyric Advisory Board. General admission tickets are $25, while $50, $100, $250 and $500 sponsorship levels are also available.

Friday, Oct. 20

Resist! Exploring Youth Activism in Milwaukee: Past and Present @ UWM Student Union Concourse (2200 E. Kenwood Blvd.), 10 a.m.-3 p.m.

Voter and Civic Engagement Campaign @ Acción Ciudadana de Wisconsin (221 S. Second St.),10 a.m.-1 p.m.

Acción Ciudadana de Wisconsin, Latino Voting Bloc of Wisconsin and Citizen Action of Wisconsin have come together to organize a weekly Saturday campaign of knocking on doors and phone banking to get people thinking about the 2018 elections. Volunteers can go out and talk to voters about the issues that they care about and get them involved in different events happening in the community.

Peace Action Wisconsin: Stand for Peace @ The corner of 92nd Street and North Avenue, noon-1 p.m.

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

Immigration Help and Seminars @ St. Anthony High School of Milwaukee (4807 S. Second St.), 5 p.m.

This seminar conducted by local immigration attorneys will teach attendees about potential avenues for immigration relief. The Mexican Consulate in Milwaukee, Congresswoman Gwen Moore’s office and other professionals will answer questions about DACA and other immigration issues. (Also on Sunday, Oct. 22 at 5 p.m.)

Laughing Liberally Milwaukee @ ComedySportz Milwaukee (420 S. First St.), 8-10 p.m.

Laughing Liberally is a progressive comedy show held monthly at ComedySportz Theater. It is hosted by Matthew Filipowicz, who has been featured on CNN, NPR, PBS, HBO, the BBC and elsewhere. This month’s comedians include Ton Johnson, Marisa Lange, Erik Koconis, Stevie Leigh Crutcher, Deon Green and sketch comedy group The Accountants Of Homeland Security.

Wednesday, Oct. 25

View from the Street: Grassroots Activism in the Black Community @ Milwaukee Neighborhood News Service (1131 W. Wisconsin Ave.), 5:30-7:30 p.m.

This field trip, which is open to UW-Milwaukee students only, explores the city while learning about events that made the history books (and the ones that didn’t). Students will meet local organizers, artists, activists and others leading the change in Milwaukee, as well as make a plan for what they can do in the community.

Markasa Tucker, lead organizer for UBLAC (Uplifting Black Liberation and Community), Andre Lee Ellis, founder of We Got This and Vaun Mayes, co-founder of Program the Parks, will discuss challenges and successes of community activism in a conversation moderated

by Milwaukee Neighborhood News Service reporter Jabril Faraj.

Saturday, Oct. 21

Reviving Hope: Inspiration, Education and Action 4 Racial Equity @ Plymouth Church (2717 E. Hampshire Ave.), 9 a.m.-2:30 p.m.

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 the Trump administration has planned for our great country.

Reviving Hope aims to deepen our ability to work for racial equity in Milwaukee through storytelling, song, art and justice.

Available workshops for youth and young adults include “Hip Hop and Social Change,”“Know Your Rights” and “DACA and the Importance of Immigration Reform.”

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NEWS&VIEWS::POLL

You Say Mike Pence Should Reimburse Taxpayers for NFL Stunt Last week we asked if Vice President Mike Pence’s political campaign should reimburse taxpayers for expenses associated with his trip to an Indianapolis Colts game that he left in protest after some players knelt during the National Anthem.

You said: n Yes: 80% n No: 20%

What Do You Say? With Aaron Rodgers set to miss at least most of the rest of the season with a broken collarbone, can the Green Bay Packers still make the playoffs? n Yes n No Vote online at shepherdexpress.com. We’ll publish the results of this poll in next week’s issue.

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Why Are Abused Kids So Unruly? ::BY JOEL MCNALLY

L

et’s face it. Many adults today just don’t like kids very much.

Teenagers with smart mouths and attitude aren’t nearly as endearing as the sweet children they once were. And when black kids or brown kids walk down the street together, they can be downright scary. Maybe that’s why children imprisoned in juvenile facilities are held in such contempt.

12 | O C T O B E R 1 9 , 2 0 1 7

Plenty of adults are ready to write off the entire lives of such children before they’re even capable of making adult decisions.

It was a long time coming, but finally last June, U.S. District Judge James D. Peterson ordered Wisconsin to stop physically and psychologically torturing children at Lincoln Hills School for Boys and Copper Lake School for Girls in Northern Wisconsin. The injunction was the first legal action aimed at restoring human decency to a horrific youth prison complex intentionally created by Gov. Scott Walker and Republican legislators as far from public attention as possible.

Until President Donald Trump and Attorney General Jeff Sessions took office, the FBI and U.S. Justice Department were actively investigating those prisons after reports of children being sexually assaulted and receiving broken bones and amputations from violent physi-

cal assaults by guards. Judge Peterson issued his injunction in response to a lawsuit by the American Civil Liberties Union of Wisconsin and the Juvenile Law Center on behalf of inmates repeatedly drenched in blistering pepper spray for minor rule infractions and held for months in psychologically damaging solitary confinement.

Child Abuse Continues But that federal court injunction has done little or nothing to relieve the serious child abuse taking place in Wisconsin’s juvenile prisons. An attorney for the Walker administration claimed in an update to Peterson that the state was making strides, but he said it couldn’t comply with the court order because of the unruly behavior of the inmates. Golly, I wonder why kids who are living in constant fear of being physically abused and assaulted would get unruly?

Actually, I know why: Violence begets violence.

Many children who end up in prison have already had plenty of violence in their lives and more of it doesn’t improve them. What the state calls making strides to improve conditions looks like the tiniest of baby steps by officials who have no intention of ending cruel and inhuman treatment of children.

Judge Peterson ordered the state to stop overusing blistering pepper spray—a substance created not for use on human beings but for protection from wild animals. In 2016, before Peterson’s order, pepper spray was used on children at Lincoln Hills 220 times, an average of 18 times a month. The state’s reduction was fleeting. In June when Peterson issued his order, pepper spray was used only 10 times.

That immediately increased to 27 times in July and then to 36 times in August.

Peterson also ordered Wisconsin to reduce solitary confinement, which former President Barack Obama banned from federal youth prisons, citing lasting psychological damage and increased risk of suicide among children.

Larry Dupuis, the Wisconsin ACLU’s legal director, said Wisconsin tried to fake compliance by changing the name of solitary confinement. Dupuis said inmates were rotated “for weeks and months on end” between various forms of isolation with different names such as “administrative confinement.” Before Peterson’s court order, as many as 20% of the inmates at Lincoln Hills and Copper Lake were held in isolation at one time; since the order, that percentage has been only slightly reduced to up to 15% of the population at a time.

Benjamin A. Sparks, the attorney for the state, said “significant unrest among the youth at Lincoln Hills School and Copper Hills School” made “immediate implementation [of the federal court order] difficult and, at times, dangerous for staff and non-disruptive youth.”

There’s no mystery what fosters dangerous behavior within a prison. Corrections professionals know the best way to improve order within such facilities—for adults or for children—is to create positive incentives for good behavior instead of feeding a culture of violence.

We all respond better to positive rewards than harsh punishment, but the Walker administration prefers “tough love”—the kind of “love” abusive parents show by throwing gay kids out of the house. Tough love looks a lot like hate.

Sharlen Moore and Jeffrey Roman, cofounders of Youth Justice Milwaukee, have joined Milwaukee County judges and other local officials calling on the state to close down Lincoln Hills and Copper Lake and return children to facilities in their own communities with local oversight and support from families and loved ones. “We’re amazed that the adults who are supposed to be in charge of rehabilitating young people can’t see the fact that [the kids] are acting out because they are being abused,” Moore and Roman said in a joint statement.

Instead of ending its horrific child abuse, the state is blaming the victims. It’s trying to use the behavior of abused children to justify continuing that abuse.

Comment at shepherdexpress.com.n SHEPHERD EXPRESS

NEWS&VIEWS::ISSUEOFTHEWEEK

Stop the Gunfire.

Stand Up to the NRA

own certain types of firearms and guns to be brought onto K-12 school grounds. Still another bill would require the Department of Public Instruction to create a curriculum for teaching shooting to high school students.

It’s worth noting that, when the public got a chance to be heard at one of the very few public hearings, the opponents of the NRAbacked bill outnumbered the proponents (nearly all of whom work as lobbyists or with the gun industry) by a ratio of approximately six to one.

At times, it appears the gun manufacturers and dealers work with the NRA to literally give marching orders to our legislators. And then someone sits in a 32nd-story window of a posh Las Vegas hotel and fires a weapon more than 400 yards into a crowd of country music fans for 10 minutes. The resulting

chaos and uproar garbles and interrupts those marching orders to the point where Sen. Ron Johnson finds himself uttering the word most feared by the NRA: “ban.”

The NRA’s shell-shocked paralysis this past week seems to have allowed a little common sense to infiltrate the debate and, hopefully, lodge itself in the brains of certain legislators. If, indeed, it has, it’s up to us to capture the attention of our elected officials and ensure the NRA cannot recover its bearings.

Their lobbyists’ hands are a bit shaky now; their aim may be off.

Anneliese Dickman is the communications director of the Wisconsin Anti-Violence Educational Fund (WAVE)—an organization seeking to raise awareness about firearm violence throughout Wisconsin.

Comment at shepherdexpress.com. n

::BY ANNELIESE DICKMAN

T

wo days after the methodical massacre of 58 people by a sniper with dozens of firearms, including high-powered assault weapons, House Democrats stood on the steps of the U.S. Capitol to call for the appointment of a bipartisan study commission to issue recommendations for gun policy reform. Yes—the same people who last summer staged an unprecedented 25-hour sit-in on the House floor in an attempt to force a vote on life-saving gun legislation after 49 people were shot and killed in a nightclub in Orlando, Fla.—decided this time to politely ask for a committee to study the issue.

And even those few breadcrumbs were too much for Wisconsin’s own Speaker Paul Ryan to throw the Democrats’ way. When civil rights hero and Congressman John Lewis “asked if the Speaker would join the Democrats in a show of unity—on a show of action to deal with this … we were told in caucus [meeting] today that the response was, if it has to do with policy, it’s a nonstarter.”

“If it has to do with policy, it’s a non-starter” sounds like the mantra the lobbyists for the National Rifle Association (NRA) might repeat to themselves whenever regular programming is interrupted with news of another mass shooting. The giant-checkwriting leaders of the corporate gun lobby ensure that Paul Ryan and most Republicans have no reason to offer their constituents anything other than thoughts and prayers whenever the weaknesses of our country’s gun laws are exposed by graphic news footage. In fact, whether or not a politician will take any action beyond a “thoughtful” and “prayerful” tweet can almost be predicted by the amount of campaign cash they’ve raised from the NRA and the gun industry.

The NRA’s money is so compelling that it even purchases ready-made legislation here in Wisconsin. This year alone, we’ve seen a batch of the NRA’s favorites. One bill proposes the elimination of permits, background checks and training for gun owners who wish to carry concealed weapons in public. Another bill would allow felons to SHEPHERD EXPRESS

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::DINING

For more Dining, log onto shepherdexpress.com

FEATURE | SHORT ORDER | EAT/DRINK

Mr. B’s Steakhouse

Mr. B’s: The Place for Steak in Mequon

grilled in a Josper oven and is a slice of heaven. The Josper oven is a combination grill-oven that uses cutting-edge technology with classic cooking techniques to produce succulent, charred and perfect grilled meat and seafood. It’s also used in Mr. B’s roasted seafood tower that includes shrimp, lobster, oysters and crab with a delicate garlic wine sauce perfumed with herbs ($25 per person).

Not new on the list, but noteworthy, are the haystack onion rings. It is an appetizer, but I love to order it as a side dish for the table when the steaks arrive. These haystacks are among the best in the city—a huge bowl of ultra-thin cuts of Spanish onions bathed in buttermilk and lightly fried. They are crispy, well seasoned and not at all greasy. Just a hint: They pair well with every one of the sauces that accompany your steak.

It’s an exciting moment at Mr. B’s when the steak cart rolls around displaying the ::BY ALISA MALAVENDA evening’s prime cut offerings including a few specials. When you see the gorgeous marbling in the steak, the Flintstones-looking bone coming off the tomahawk cut, r. B’s steakhouse in Mequon, located in what was Joey whether dry or wet aged, you know it is packed with flavor and going to be good.

Gerard’s, has that classic steakhouse atmosphere and an With the help of knowledgeable servers to steer you in the right direction, you are exceptional wine list just like its Brookfield counterpart. The sure to get the perfect steak for your preference in flavor and price. menu is similar to the original Mr. B’s with the addition of a All steaks come with a choice of potato and sauce and are prepared wood fired. few outstanding new items. Those wood-fired premium-cut They come out with a charred crust, juicy interior and just the right amount of steaks that put the Brookfield location on the map 18 years seasoning to bring out the natural beefy flavor. The bone-in options and dry aging ago as one of the southeast Wisconsin’s premier steakhouses bring out even more flavor and add to the striking presentation. New on the Mr. B’s anchor the menu at the new Mr. B’s. It has menu is the Porterhouse for Two ($95), a whopping 42-ounce all the visual markings of the Bartolotta steak served with potato, vegetable and sauce. Every head Restaurants, including the green-andturns when it comes out of the kitchen. Other prime cuts Mr. B’s, A Bartolotta white checked tablecloths and meat cart include a bone-in filet, ribeye, classic filet and many more we know and love from the Brookfield ($39–$50).

Steakhouse location.

If you can’t decide between the land or sea, you can make 11120 N. Cedarburg Road, Chef Amber Dorszynski is Bartolotta’s it a surf and turf by adding shrimp, crab cakes, lobster, salmon Mequon first-ever female executive chef and has and scallops. The seafood selection is as vast as the meat. Also 262-518-5500 | $$$$ worked with them for seven years in variavailable is a lovely selection of pork, lamb, ribs and even a bartolottas.com/ ous restaurants. She is the master behind all those beautiful fantastic steak sandwich (loaded with those delectable onion prime cuts of meat and has perfected cooking them in Bartorings) and a burger, as well as a pasta dish for a vegetarian mr-b-s-steakhouse lotta’s signature style. option. You won’t have a problem finding something for evHandicapped access: Yes There are plenty of appetizers to choose from. I was deeryone.

CC, FB, RS lighted to see all of my favorites like the shellfish bisque with Don’t leave without trying one of those blended ice cream Hours: M-Th 5:30-9 p.m., its silky texture and fragrant aroma, the famous fried calamari drinks or a signature dessert. Mr. B’s version of the schaum F 5:30-10 p.m., and the classic Caesar salad all perfectly executed. A newer torte and the warm chocolate chip cookie sundae ($8 each) Sa 5-10 p.m., Su 5-8 p.m. standout item, the Josper Bacon ($12), is a steak-cut bacon are positively dreamy.

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Health and Lifestyle Expo

Saturday, February 10, 2018 10am - 4pm Wisconsin State Fair Park Expo Center INTERESTED IN BECOMING A VENDOR OR SPONSOR? Email Rachel@shepex.com or register online at: https://goo.gl/forms/uPSab6hgrfIADJCn2

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J. Henry’s Bourbon

J. Henry’s Small-Batch Aged Bourbon from the Badger State ::BY SHEILA JULSON

W

hen Dane County corn farmers Liz and Joe Henry toured the Kentucky Bourbon Trail a decade ago, Joe was inspired to make bourbon. Liz wasn’t quite sold on the idea, but once they arrived home, Joe had already made up his mind. Today, Henry Farms Prairie Spirits’ line of award-winning J. Henry & Sons Wisconsin Straight Bourbon products has gained a following in the Milwaukee area and is featured at establishments including Bartolotta Restaurants, Goodkind, Palomino and Comet Café.

Starting in April 2015, J. Henry & Sons has released 92 Proof J. Henry & Sons Small Batch, Five Year Aged Bourbon, and then went on to release Patton Road Reserve, Cask Strength, in August 2015. Their most recent bourbon is Bellefontaine Reserve, Cognac Finished Five Year Aged Bourbon, released this past February.

While it may seem like the company experienced overnight success, J. Henry & Sons was more than a decade in the making through strategic business planning and Joe’s commitment to the five-year aging process. Joe obtained heirloom red corn from UW-Madison. Naturally red in color, the corn is the same variety Joe’s dad had once raised on their farm property. “Using the heirloom red corn is a nod to the farm’s history, and it differentiates our bourbon,” Liz said.

For a product to be legally sold as bourbon, the mash has to contain 51% or more corn, and

it must be aged in new charred oak barrels. The Henrys grow all the grains used in the mash right on their farm—corn, wheat and rye, and they purchase the barley malt from Briess Malt & Ingredients Co. in Chilton, Wis. “Rather than trying to get into the malting part of bourbon, we decided to purchase it from Briess to make sure all the product in the bottle is from Wisconsin, so we can support another local Wisconsin industry,” Liz said.

Although J. Henry & Sons has a distiller’s permit, they don’t distill on site. They’re dedicated to making only bourbon, and rather than investing a large sum of money into their own still before knowing if their business model would work, they partnered with Paul Werni of 45th Parallel Distillery in New Richmond (not to be confused with Parallel 44 Vineyard and Winery).

Werni mashes, ferments and distills. The Henrys then bring it back to their farm, where they barrel and age the bourbon for a minimum of five years, which changes the flavor profile considerably.

“It was a sound business decision, because it allowed us to know that if we had to unwind this without taking a huge loss, we wouldn’t go deeply into debt,” Liz said. She also wasn’t sure if their two sons, Joseph Zachary and John Robert, would be interested in being part of the business, but they’re now on board. The former helps with customer relations, education and marketing, while the latter is earning a degree in agricultural business and global economics. While growing up, both sons also helped plant, pick and harvest the feed corn on the farm.

“We feel really good to continue promoting that this is an all-Wisconsin product,” Liz said.

“We don’t want to necessarily take on the big Kentucky producers, but we also want to show that you can make a really good-quality bourbon outside of Kentucky with all of these Wisconsin inputs.”

J. Henry & Sons bourbon is available for retail purchase at several Milwaukee area locations, including Discount Liquor, Ray’s Wine & Spirits and Sendik’s Fine Foods in Brookfield. For more information and upcoming tastings and events, visit jhenryandsons.com.

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::SPORTS WITH RODGERS OUT, HOW GOOD CAN THE PACKERS BE? ::BY PAUL NOONAN

T

here is no way to sugarcoat the loss of Aaron Rodgers. The simple fact is that Rodgers is the league’s best player, and it’s not an exaggeration to say that he is worth six wins or more by himself. With Rodgers, the Green Bay Packers were favorites for a first round bye in the playoffs; without him they fall to a level where the best they can hope for is a wild card. The last time Rodgers broke a collarbone that is exactly what they did—with an enormous assist from the rest of their division. This time I suspect the NFC North Division is more competent, and the challenge will be greater. Fortunately, they have better quarterbacking options than last time, when the combination of Seneca Wallace, Scott Tolzien and Matt Flynn proved disastrous.

How Good is Brett Hundley?

At this stage of his career, it’s difficult to tell exactly what the Packers may or may not have in Hundley, but I would not put too much stock into his struggles against Minnesota. Viking head coach and defensive guru Mike Zimmer is one of the best in the business, even outsmarting Aaron Rodgers on occasion. It’s unreasonable to expect much of any backup in this situation, and even more so given the state of the Packers’ offensive line, which lost David Bakhtiari, Bryan Bulaga and Lane Taylor. After losing Rodgers, head coach Mike McCarthy called a conservative game, running on early downs and giving Hundley short, one-read throws. This is common practice league-wide when backups en18 | O C T O B E R 1 9 , 2 0 1 7

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ter games, but it often does them a disservice as the defense knows exactly what is happening. Hundley threw three picks, and while at least one was on him for staring down his receiver, all were varying degrees of fluky.

Zimmer doesn’t blitz often, but once Hundley entered, he brought extra pressure frequently and effectively. This is generally a good strategy against inexperienced quarterbacks who haven’t adjusted to NFL speed, and who don’t have the instincts to hit hot routes, but it has been a very good strategy against Hundley specifically, even in the preseason. Whereas a seasoned veteran like Rodgers will sense an edge rusher and step up into the pocket, Hundley often rolls outside, or retreats backwards, leading to sacks or awkward throws. When he does step up he can be very effective, and his touchdown pass to Davante Adams was an example of what he is capable of. Hundley also loves to bail out to his right, sometimes prematurely. Fortunately, he has shown the ability to keep his eyes downfield and throw accurately on the move.

While Hundley struggled with pressure, he also did show why the Packers believe in him.

When he had clean pockets, he threw accurately—on time and with authority. He was especially adept at hitting receivers outside the numbers, and his back shoulder throw to Jordy Nelson was a thing of beauty. The offense isn’t going to be as productive as it once was, but it also doesn’t have to be. Hundley is more than capable of making smart NFL throws and keeping the team in games, and next week at least, Aaron Jones and Ty Montgomery should be productive. The key for the Packers will be everything else.

Everything Else Just as the offensive tackles were both finally playing together, David Bakhtiari and Bryan Bulaga suffered disappointing setbacks, and both injuries are likely to linger into next week and beyond. Bulaga suffered a concussion and will have to clear the protocol before he returns, while Bakhtiari reinjured his hamstring. To avoid further complications, the team will have to be cautious with their left tackle, as pushing him into service too early just blew up in their face. Hopefully, Lane Taylor can make a quick recovery, but his status is still uncertain.

While the line may make things dicey for the new quarterback, the real issue in the postRodgers era is the defense. Without Kevin King, Davon House and Morgan Burnett, the secondary was already undermanned, but Quinten Rollins was also forced to leave the game with a season-ending Achilles injury, and even the reserves like Lenzy Pipkins were playing hurt. The front seven are healthy and playing well, but until King and Burnett return, the team will be extremely vulnerable to quarterbacks of Drew Brees’ caliber. But when they are back, the Packer defense is capable of playing well enough to support a Hundley-led offense.

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Monday, Oct. 23 11:30 a.m.

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O C T O B E R 1 9 , 2 0 1 7 | 19

::A&E

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

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An ‘Affirmation of Life’ at Uihlein Hall FLORENTINE OPERA AND MILWAUKEE BALLET COLLABORATE FOR ‘THE MERRY WIDOW’ ::BY JOHN JAHN ranz Lehár was born in Hungary in 1870 when it was part of the unwieldy Austro-Hungarian Empire under the Habsburg Dynasty. He was the son of a military bandmaster, a musical influence that would shape his oeuvre to come. By age 12, he was studying at the Prague Conservatory and later joined his father’s band. This allowed him the free time he needed to study and, eventually, compose music.

Vienna, the capital of the empire, was the place to be; the city was a composer magnet. The “serious” opera lovers were all abuzz about Richard Wagner (whether that buzz be love or hate; with Wagner there’s no in between). Those wanting a little more lighthearted escapism, however, preferred operetta—grand opera’s lively little brother. The king of the genre at the time was Johann Strauss II who had already enjoyed worldwide success with Die Fledermaus (“The Bat”) when Lehár was only 4 years old. He followed that up in 1885 with the equally massive hit Der Zigeunerbaron (“The Gypsy Baron”).

With but four such works under his belt, Lehár set to work on a libretto by Viktor Léon and Leo Stein, which they based on a successful French comedy. Lehár was not their first choice to compose a score to their work, Die Lustige Witwe (“The Merry Widow”) and, in fact, Lehár had to prove his worth to them by composing a few tunes for the piece to impress them before they agreed to sign him up.

That settled, Lehár then had to deal with the management of the Theater an der Wien, which was convinced that this operetta was going to fail; as a result, they gave Lehár second-rate singers and a low-budget set design to work with.

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A Masterpiece is Born

As things turned out, The Merry Widow’s popularity rose like a rocket; as a result, the theater managers gave the production a fresh décor, tailcoats, gowns and improved cast. That was 1905, and by the following year, The Merry Widow was being performed in virtually every theater in Austria; from there, it would conquer the major capitals of Europe and beyond. In Buenos Aires in 1907, the operetta was simultaneously showing on five different stages in five different languages. In the U.S., a veritable Merry Widow craze ensued, and numerous products—cigars, shoes, chocolates and corsets—were branded “The Merry Widow” variety.

The piece boasts a gorgeous score, lushly elegant scenes and a charming plot centered on a beautiful widow, Hanna Glawari, from the fictional Balkan country of Pontevedro. She’s left her home country for Paris; but her countrymen want her back! Not necessarily because they miss her so much as they miss her wealth. How they set about trying to lure her away from Gay Paree is the heart of Lehár’s masterpiece.

In the Florentine Opera’s production of The Merry Widow, Alyson Cambridge is Hanna. She’s previously performed as Mimi in La Bohème and the title role of Madama Butterfly for the Florentine.

Rounding out the production’s central cast are baritone Corey McKern (Danilo), bassFlorentine Opera baritone Jamie Offenbach & Milwaukee Ballet (Baron Zeta), tenor Vale Rideout (Camille) and, making her The Merry Widow Florentine debut, soprano Oct. 20 & 22 Stacy Dove (Valencienne).

Marcus Center for The production will be sung the Performing Arts in English in Albert Sherman’s excellent translation.

Given several dance sequences (the ever-popular “Merry Widow Waltz”), the Florentine Opera has teamed up with the Milwaukee Ballet—their dancers as well as their orchestra—for this production.

“As a show with a lot of waltzing, I think this will be a natural fit,” says Florentine Opera General Director William Florescu. He also stresses that attendees will be dazzled visually by the production. “The point of the show is opulence and celebrating the Belle Époque, so this show will have that in spades, in both sets and costumes!”

Petr Zahradníček, resident choreographer of the Milwaukee Ballet, is excited about this, his second time choreographing a production that the two companies are collaborating on to bring to the stage. “They have a grand stage presence, which is nice to work with,” Zahradníček says of the opera company. In The Merry Widow, Florentine vocalists and Milwaukee Ballet dancers are choreographed together, Zahradníček explains, “which adds another layer for both the dancers and singers. The dancers are getting vocal coaching, so the collaboration is truly both ways. As a dancer, it is a unique experience to be surrounded by live singing while dancing. It is very majestic.”

Franz Lehár, who lived to 1948, had many successes in his long composing career, but The Merry Widow was the biggest, and the one that launched him to instant fame. He once said, reflecting on his life’s work: “Music is more than mere entertainment … the musician’s profession serves Man’s affirmation of life.” Lehár’s life-affirming music stands forever as testament to the veracity of that observation.

The Merry Widow plays Oct. 20 and 22 at the Marcus Center for the Performing Arts Uihlein Hall, 929 N. Water St. For tickets, call 414-291-5700 or visit florentineopera.org.

SHEPHERD EXPRESS

come as you are.

Taking in a little song or dance or drama does not require fancy pants.

Just be real. Because what you’re gonna experience is real. All you need is a ticket – just show up. It never happens the same way twice.

But happen it will. With or without you. Right here. In Milwaukee.

FIND YOUR PERFORMANCE AT MKEARTS.COM

SHEPHERD EXPRESS

O C T O B E R 1 9 , 2 0 1 7 | 21

OLIVIA BEE

::THISWEEKINMILWAUKEE THISWEEKIN WEEK WEEKIN SATURDAY, OCT. 21

Milwaukee Polka Riot @ Kochanski’s Concertina Beer Hall, 6 p.m.

When you picture a polka band, there’s a good chance you’re picturing men of a certain age, dressed in the traditional attire of a previous age. That’s not always the case, though: There are polka bands that look outside the box. Some of them have come together for the Milwaukee Polka Riot, an event described as “the world’s first and only alternative polka festival.” Among the performers are November Criminals, a polka/hip-hop band; Cheese of the Goat, a polka/metal project spearheaded by Frank Chandek of Dr. Chow; polka rock ’n’ rollers The Polkaholics; and Preomnor, who fuse zydeco and Cajun music with hardcore.

Kesha

THURSDAY, OCT. 19

Kesha w/ Savoy Motel @ The Rave, 8 p.m.

For a time it seemed Kesha would never even get to release a new album. After the divisive pop singer came forward with accusations of sexual assault and emotional abuse against her longtime producer, Dr. Luke, earning the support and sympathy of many of her fellow pop stars, she launched a legal campaign to free herself from her contract with Sony Music. She may have lost that battle, but she won the war: Dr. Luke has been all but blacklisted from the music industry, while Kesha was free to release a new album on her own terms. Nodding to classic rock ’n’ roll, soul and country and featuring guest spots from Dolly Parton, the Dap-Kings Horns and Eagles of Death Metal, this year’s Rainbow proves what an electric presence Kesha can be when she’s given the chance to actually sing.

FRIDAY, OCT. 20

Andrew W.K. w/ Iron Pizza @ The Rave, 8 p.m.

In the decade since his major-label debut, I Get Wet, made him an instant icon, hardrock animal Andrew W.K. has followed some curious whims. He became a motivational speaker, began making regular appearances on Fox News’“Red Eye w/ Greg Gutfeld,” hosted the Cartoon Network game show “Destroy Build Destroy,” recorded a Kit Kat jingle, produced an album for reggae legend Lee “Scratch” Perry and, most bizarrely, released an album of solo new-age piano music—2009’s 55 Cadillac. All those extracurricular activities seem to have kept him away from the studio, since he hasn’t released a full-length album this decade, but he’s finally announced plans for a new one, which he plans to release next March.

Herbie Hancock @ The Pabst Theater, 8 p.m.

Herbie Hancock emerged as one of the great pianists of the post-bop era while supporting Miles Davis. By the ’70s, Hancock was a respected solo artist and leader of the jazzfusion movement, recording the 1973 masterwork Head Hunters and continuing to explore new electro-jazz sounds through the 1980s, when he fused R&B, funk and hip-hop together on his 1983 hit “Rockit,” one of the first major singles to use turntable scratches.

In the decades since, he’s returned to more traditional jazz sounds, but he’s still capable of grand ambition. His most recent major work was 2010’s The Imagine Project, an expansive, world music-inspired album that featured collaborations with John Legend, P!nk, Dave Matthews, Chaka Khan, The Chieftains and many African musicians.

Pinegrove w/ Florist and Lomelda @ The Back Room at Colectivo, 8 p.m.

New Jersey’s Pinegrove earned an instant cult following with last year’s breakthrough album Cardinal, a wordy, twanged-out hybrid of indie rock and alt-country, peppered with nods to emo forbearers like Death Cab for Cutie and Bright Eyes. The band is celebrated for their live shows, where their digressive, disjointed tunes turn into cathartic crowd singalongs. The spirit of those concerts was captured impressively on a live album the band released early this year, Elsewhere.

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SUNDAY, OCT. 22

Janet Jackson @ BMO Harris Bradley Center, 8 p.m.

Crafted with the help of producers Jimmy Jam and Terry Lewis, Janet Jackson’s propulsive mix of hip-hop, R&B, dance and pop made her one of the biggest female artists of the ’80s. She carried her audience with her through the ’90s, as she dropped the mechanical rhythms of her first records for a softer, more soulful sound, and strong sales of her 2000s records affirmed her as one of modern pop’s most enduring stars—though between a notorious Super Bowl mishap and the death of her brother, Michael, that last decade was at times difficult. Lately, though, she’s had reason to celebrate. She re-teamed with Jam and Lewis for a rock-solid 2015 album, Unbreakable, and this January, at age 50, she gave birth to her first child. With her current tour, she makes good on the one she had to cancel after her pregnancy.

Girlpool w/ Palm and Lala Lala @ The Back Room at Colectivo, 8 p.m.

The songs of the L.A. indie-folk duo Girlpool often sound in conflict with themselves, as if they can’t decide whether they want to be soft or loud. Many are both. The prettybut-edgy tunes on the duo’s acclaimed new album, Powerplant, teeter on the edge of a breakdown, with many giving away to an eruption of tense, grungy guitars. They sound more like a rock band now than they did on their 2015 debut album, Before the World Was Big. This year, they’ve been touring as a five-piece, with a drummer and synth-saxophone player, but the same sense of whispered intimacy remains.

Craig Finn & The Uptown Controllers w/ John K. Samson @ Cactus Club, 7:30 p.m.

Celebrated by fans as literary rock ’n’ roll saviors and derided by detractors as a glorified bar band, Brooklyn’s Hold Steady divide their time between rousing tales of spiritual redemption and the American dream and more commonplace accounts of passing out at concerts, stumbling around drunk or making out at a detox tent—stories that lyricist and frontman Craig Finn packs with allusions to the works of Jack Kerouac and fellow Minnesotan John Berryman. Finn’s voice is the driving force behind that band, so it goes without saying that Hold Steady fans will find much to love on his solo albums, including 2015’s mellow Faith in the Future and this year’s ambitious We All Want the Same Things, which, while less rowdy than some of Hold Steady’s most charged records, includes the same redemptive storytelling.

Craig Finn SHEPHERD EXPRESS

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alt-J w/ NoMBe @ The Riverside Theater, 8 p.m.

With all due respect to British music fans, they aren’t particularly picky about their buzz bands. Every month, the U.K. press hypes some hot new thing that usually turns out not to be all that hot or all that new. But sometimes they get it right.

Named for the keyboard shortcut that produces the ∆ symbol, alt-J have proven to be one of the more lasting British buzz bands. After earning a whole lot of attention stateside for their shimmering 2012 debut, An Awesome Wave, which invited plenty of Radiohead comparisons, they released an even catchier sophomore album in 2014, This Is All Yours. The band kept the momentum going this spring with their third album, Relaxer, another weird-but-not-too-weird set of modernist alt-rock.

The Dead Boys w/ The DUIs @ Shank Hall, 8 p.m.

Like many bands from the earliest days of punk, Cleveland’s The Dead Boys didn’t record all that much: just the classic, utterly vital 1977 debut Young, Loud and Snotty and its less essential, but still frequently great 1978 follow-up, We Have Come for Your Children. In the decades since, labels released various rarities, demos and live albums as the band reunited for infrequent live shows, but the band never got around to releasing a third full-length until just this fall, when Plowboy Records issued Still Snotty: Young, Loud and Snotty at 40, a song-for-song rerecording of the band’s debut. New singer Jake Hout takes over for the band’s original singer Stiv Bators, who died in 1990.

TUESDAY, OCT. 24 Hamilton Leithauser w/ Courtney Marie @ Turner Hall Ballroom, 8 p.m.

The Walkmen’s frontman Hamilton Leithauser is one of the rarest things: a band leader whose solo albums are meaningfully different from his band’s. After his band’s hiatus, Leithauser struck out on his own with his 2014 debut, Black Hours, which he recorded with members of The Shins, Dirty Projectors and Fleet Foxes. He showed particular chemistry with one collaborator: Rostam Batmanglij, formerly of Vampire Weekend. In the spirit of David Byrne’s albums with Brian Eno, Leithauser and Rostam shared billing on their 2016 album, I Had a Dream That Your Were Mine, which earned both artists some of the strongest reviews of their career.

SHEPHERD EXPRESS

YOU’RE INVITED! WHAT: FREE Pizza from Alphonso’s and Live Music By 0007 (All original Alternative Rock) WHEN:

Saturday, October 21, 5-10 PM

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WHY:

Unveiling of the Devine Intervention Pizza in Honor of Mayor Dan Devine and Support of the Hunger Task Force

NO COVER CHARGE, but donations to Hunger Task Force Appreciated. $1 of every Westallion Beer Sold Will Go to Hunger Task Force.

If you have questions, visit Facebook.com/ShepherdExpress.

Alphonso’s 414-755-0341 O C T O B E R 1 5 , 2 0 1 7 | 23

BARN PAINTINGS

::PERFORMINGARTSWEEK

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OCTOBER 20

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OCTOBER 21

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A unique artistic treatment of the Wisconsin Barn!

; Across Borders ; Across Time ;

Missa Lutherana: The Beginnings of Lutheran Church Music Cappella Pratensis Oct 21 | 5:00 pm Grace Lutheran Church Downtown Milwaukee

…

“The group’s exquisitely balanced, cleanly expressive sound is a thing of beauty.”

— BLOGCRITICS

Black Violin

MORE TO DO

Black Violin

The violin-playing duo of Wil B. and Kev Marcus are classically trained musicians who have grown up amid modern urban hip-hop cultural touchstones. Just as centuries-old composers and instrumentalists dabbled in the music of the people and cultures of their time, so do the members of Black Violin. They’ve shared concert stages with Kanye West, Aerosmith and the late Tom Petty; they appear courtesy of Black Arts MKE and the Marcus Center for their own concert. Saturday, Oct. 28 at Uihlein Hall, 929 N. Water St. For tickets, call 414-273-7206 or visit marcuscenter.org.

Stars and Stripes: American Icons

The Concord Chamber Orchestra presents a concert rich in American heroes, legends and idealists. Composers and works are truly iconic, themselves: Aaron Copland’s Lincoln Portrait, Leonard Bernstein’s Candide Overture, Stars and Stripes Forever by John Philip Sousa and more. Saturday, Oct. 21 at Wauwatosa Presbyterian Church, 2366 N. 80th St. For tickets, call 414-750-4404 or visit concordorchestra.org.

Seasons in Song

Mastersingers of Milwaukee opens its season with “Seasons in Song.” The program’s notable highlight is Morten Lauridsen’s 1980 composition, Mid-Winter Songs, a five-movement suite of choral works based on poems by Robert Graves (1895-1985). Lauridsen’s work, appropriately enough, contains a finale titled Intercession in Late October. Saturday, Oct. 21 at North Shore Congregational Church, Fox Point; Sunday, Oct. 22 at St. John Lutheran Church, Brookfield. For tickets, visit mastersingersofmilwaukee.org.

Stories in Brass

Founded in 1985, Milwaukee Festival Brass has been our city’s premier brass ensemble that gathers members from all over 414.225.3113

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southeastern Wisconsin. They describe their next concert, “Stories in Brass,” as containing “a high-energy and highly entertaining program” that will show off various brass instruments’ multiple ways of telling stories through music. Saturday, Oct. 21 at St. John’s Lutheran Church, 20275 Davidson Road, Brookfield. Tickets will be available at the door.

The Waukesha Choral Union’s next concert features Daniel Elder’s Three Nocturnes and Aaron Copland’s Old American Songs.

The collaborative effort referenced in the concert’s title refers to the WCU’s pairing with Lake Country Children’s Chorus and New Berlin High School A Cappella Choir. Saturday, Oct. 21 at Lohmiller-Sutherland Theatre, New Berlin. For tickets, visit choralunion.ticketleap. com/simplegifts.

Serenade and Swan Songs

Philomusica Quartet open their season with three lovely quartets from giants of classical music. They’re celebrating their 10th anniversary together this season, and this is a good way to kick things off. Works on the program are Joseph Haydn’s “Hoffstetter” Quartet, Felix Mendelssohn’s Quartet No. 6 and Gabriel Fauré’s E Minor Quartet. Monday, Oct. 23 at Schwan Hall of Wisconsin Lutheran College, 8815 W. Wisconsin Ave. For tickets, call 414-443-8802 or visit wlc. edu/box-office.

The Burials

Cardinal Stritch University theater students present an unfortunately timely story of a family torn asunder in the wake of a school shooting. The play debuted a year ago at the Steppenwolf Theatre’s Young Adults program. This production will be directed by Mark Boergers and presented in collaboration with the University’s “Common Read” program exploring the epidemic of gun violence.

Oct. 20-29 at Stritch’s Black Box Studio Theater. For tickets, call 414410-4171 or visit stritch.edu.

Esperanza Rising

Written by Lynne Alvarez and based on a book by Pam Muñoz Ryan, Esperanza Rising is something of a riches-to-rags story wherein a young Mexican girl from a well-to-do family, through several misfortunes, ends up struggling just to stay alive. Milwaukee Youth Theatre’s production stars child actors as well as stage managers. Oct. 19-20 at the Lincoln Center for the Arts. For tickets, visit milwaukeeyouththeatre.org.

Indoor/Outdoor

This catty comedy by Kenny Finkle may not be Cats, but it does include them! Cat Samantha shares her story and those who inhabit it—her doting owner, her pet therapist and her, perhaps, purr-fect romantic interest, alley cat Oscar. Seen through the eyes of our furry feline friends, perhaps we can learn something, too, about life and love. Oct. 20-Nov. 5 at Racine Theatre Guild. For tickets, call 262-633-4218 or visit racinetheatre.org.

EARLYMUSICNOW.ORG

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SHEPHERD EXPRESS

THEATRE

Sex with Strangers

Renaissance Theaterworks opens their 25th season with Laura Eason’s Sex with Strangers, directed by Mallory Metoxen and featuring local actors Marti Gobel and Nick Narcisi. Even more than that, however, Renaissance has brought together 14 Wisconsin-based authors to present a two-day book fair during the second weekend of the play’s run.

“Sex with Strangers is about a brilliant novelist who finds herself in an unlikely romance, caught between desire, the struggle for fame and the evolution of ambition in the digital age,” remarks Renaissance’s Izetta Rees. “Given the subject matter of the play and our mission to advance the careers of women in theater, we’re excited to feature the published work of local women authors during the book fair.” As for the latter, the Broadway Theatre Center’s lobby will be brimming with the works of Wisconsin authors before, during and after Sex with Strangers’ performances on Oct. 28-29.

Eason is surely no novice author. An Illinois native and graduate of Northwestern University, Eason’s output features both original and adapted works. Sex with Strangers premiered at the Steppenwolf Theatre, Chicago, in 2011; within a few years it was presented Off-Broadway and has since become one of the most-produced plays in the country. (John Jahn) Oct.20-Nov.12 at the Studio Theatre of the Broadway Theatre Center, 158 N. Broadway. For tickets, call 414-291-7800 or visit r-t-w.com.

MUSIC

Cappella Pratensis

Early Music Now brings the male vocal octet Cappella Pratensis all the way from the Netherlands for a concert featuring some undoubtedly very early music. It’s titled “Missa Lutherana: The Beginnings of Lutheran Church Music.” Cappella Pratensis are specialists in the performance of polyphony; such talents will be put front and center at this concert.

Several classical music ensembles are recognizing the 500th anniversary of the Protestant Reformation these days, and Early Music Now is no exception. Indeed, music from that long ago is literally their raison d’être. Composers on the program include such notables as Heinrich Isaac (1450-1517), Johann Walter (1496-1570) and Josquin Desprez (1450-1521)— the latter of whom Martin Luther called his favorite composer. (A seemingly odd choice; Desprez was not a reformist composer.)

Concertgoers will hear a variety of works in Old German and Latin—mass excerpts, hymns, plainchant and so forth. Together they depict a fascinating time in music history: when long-held traditions were gradually giving way to new sounds from different voices. (John Jahn) Saturday, Oct. 21, 5 p.m. at Grace Lutheran Church, 1209 N. Broadway. For tickets, call 414225-3113 or visit earlymusicnow.org.

DANCE

Buy Tickets Here

Dancing on the Ceiling— solo performances by women of a certain age

The good news is that we have a rare chance to see two of Milwaukee’s bestloved dance artists, Simone Ferro and Debra Loewen, dance their own compositions.

Ferro, the chair of UW-Milwaukee’s dance department and a former classical ballet soloist whose career spans both American continents and Europe, had the idea three years ago to assemble an evening of original dance and physical theater performances by mature women artists of international stature. Her friend Sara Hook of the University of Illinois’ dance department and a former member of the famous Nikolais Dance Theatre quickly signed on, as did Loewen, founder and artistic director of Milwaukee’s seminal Wild Space Dance Company.

UW-Madison dance department’s Li-Chiao Ping, another major influence on dance in the region, was an immediate yes, as were Charlotte Adams of the University of Iowa’s dance department and Beth Corning of the Pittsburgh-based CORNINGWORKS, each an award-winning founder of an internationally acclaimed dance company. The six women range in age from 53-66. Each performs an original solo. Milwaukee is the second stop on a Midwest tour. The Iowa premiere, Ferro said, was a resounding success. (John Schneider) 7:30 p.m., Saturday, Oct. 21 and 2 p.m., Sunday, Oct. 22 in UW-Milwaukee’s Mitchell Hall Studio 254, 3203 N. Downer Ave. For tickets, call 414-277-8480 ext. 6025 or visit danceworksmke.org/performances/guestconcerts.

SHEPHERD EXPRESS

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Milwaukee Entertainment Group’s ‘Bell, Book and Candle’

THEATRE

Of Sorcery and Soul Mates

MEG’S ‘BELL, BOOK AND CANDLE’ CHARMS OCTOBER AUDIENCES ::BY SELENA MILEWSKI

M

ilwaukee Entertainment Group’s (MEG) production of Bell, Book and Candle is a well-chosen comedy for the Halloween season. The plot revolves around Gillian, a 1950s witch who casts a spell on an ordinary professional man, a publisher, to make him fall in love with her. By her side are an impish brother (also a warlock) with a penchant for upending her plans, an eccentric witch auntie and a writer determined to get to the bottom of witchcraft in the modern age. The real fly in Gil’s ointment, though, is the fact that witches can’t fall in love.

John Van Druten’s script is a dazzlingly smart piece of mid-century comedy. Hold on tight for cute period words like “mingy” and an expansive quality of writing that makes you feel you’re seeing an entire slice of the world instead of a single room populated by five characters. Likewise, as all good comedies should, Bell raises some serious questions, namely, what role can, or should, entrapment play in romantic love?

Under Amanda J. Hull and Tom Marks’ direction, all performers—including, hold the “awws,” a real live cat—were in fine form for their preview performance. Michael Keiley shines as the drunken, wild-eyed author, Sidney, and puts the audience in stitches with slapstick. As Aunt Queenie, Beth Perry is sagely off-kilter and possessed of the sort of comic timing found in Golden Age film. Jason Nykiel lights up the role of Nicky, Gil’s brother, with a devilish charm and flashing smile that border appropriately on the disconcerting.

Although stage chemistry didn’t always ring true between them, the leads Randall Anderson (as Shep, the publisher) and Libby Amato (as Gil) were individually brilliant. Anderson compassionately brings to life a man flummoxed by an implausible fate and solidly fills the straight-man role the story needs. Amato’s Gil is elegant, complex and highly dynamic; her character’s transformation is compelling and even heartrending.

Production values are also strong. Hull handled set, props and costumes, and all are superb in the intimate basement theater (a former speakeasy) of the Brumder Mansion. From tasteful period furnishings and piano to a bejeweled Grimoire and exquisite black Christmas gowns for the ladies, Bell is a treat for the eyes. Marks’ lighting, special effects and sound design are also on point. Look for tastefully understated stage magic and listen for narratively appropriate ’50s favorites such as “I Put a Spell on You” and “Lonely Street.”

Through Oct. 31 at the Brumder Mansion, 3046 W. Wisconsin Ave. For tickets, call 414388-9104 or visit milwaukeeentertainmentgroup.com.

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Alchemist Finds Comedy in Horror with ‘Pepper’s Ghost’ ::BY RUSS BICKERSTAFF

A

lchemist Theatre’s Aaron Kopec returns to Halloween with another horror show for the month of October. Pepper’s Ghost is a fun horror-comedy fusion that plays light with shades of something deeper. David Sapiro is engrossingly passionate as a playwright named Donald who has grown tired of doing empty Halloween shows. He longs for something of more depth. Nate Press reaches a clever level of comedy as Max, a techie working with the playwright who suggests the possibility of doing high-end specialized horror shows in the homes of the wealthy that have been tailored specifically to them and their family histories.

A lithe and dramatically agile April Paul plays Mrs. Pepper, the first client of Donald and Max. Time melts and mutates in a sharp script about a haunting being staged in a haunted house. One day becomes two days becomes a week and it becomes apparent that the fake haunting has come to rest within something very real. The cast features a lot of personality in and around the edges. Liz Whitford elegantly charms as a wealthy socialite who has arranged the meeting between the playwright and his client. Sammi Kaufman is a fun contrast as an improv comic who can’t seem to figure out where the stage isn’t.

The flow of action from one scene to the next is well paced. Kopec seems to have stopped just short of pulling a brilliant theme out of the interplay between horror fantasy and the horror of reality.

Even without the deeper themes reaching their full potential, this is a hugely entertaining show with a stylishly immersive visual feel about it.

Through Oct. 28 at the Alchemist Theatre, 2569 S. Kinnickinnic Ave. For tickets, visit thealchemisttheatre.com.

’70s Diva Comedy in Sunset Playhouse’s ‘Sister Act’ ::BY RUSS BICKERSTAFF

T

he 1970s live again onstage in Elm Grove as Sunset Playhouse presents Sister Act. Ashley Levells has a fairly dazzling presence in the role of an aspiring pop diva who walks in on her boyfriend as he commits murder. Levells has the right dramatic mix of confidence and vulnerability as an aggressively flamboyant personality who is forced to lay low as a nun in a Philadelphia convent long

enough to be able to testify against her former boyfriend.

Levells’ charm is pitted against that of Sharon Sprague as the Mother Superior forced to deal with an iconoclastic outsider shaking things up in the convent. Sprague’s grasp of droll brevity of wit plays well against Levells’ flashiness in a solidly satisfying pairing of personalities. The rest of the story is rounded out with a refreshingly diverse supporting cast. Director Diana Alioto pieces together an enjoyable couple of hours of musical theater tucked away in Elm Grove in a show with admirable heart.

The ’70s feel very appealing in a show which features pop tunes that sound like they should have actually charted sometime in the last few years before the ’80s. Costume designer Joanne Cunningham and scenic designer Nick Korneski bring an uncluttered visual representation of the era to the stage. It’s a very clean-looking 1978 that plays host to a heartwarming story about the importance of acceptance in a world that so desperately needs much more of it.

Through Nov. 5 at Furlan Auditorium, 800 Elm Grove Road. For tickets, call 262-7824430 or visit sunsetplayhouse.com.

GEORGE KATESEKES, JR

JT BACKES PHOTOGRAPHY

A&E::INREVIEW

Sunset Playhouse’s ‘Sister Act’

SHEPHERD EXPRESS

A&E::FILM

‘The Florida Project’

No Future in the Futureland of ‘The Florida Project’?

A

::BY DAVID LUHRSSEN

fter a verbal altercation with nocence amid the danger and depravity on all a security guard outside a golf sides and roams the flat terrain, weedy fields resort, Halley explains why she and sickly palm trees poking through the aswithdrew in defeat to her 6-year- phalt, in ongoing adventures played out across old, Moonee. endless summer days.

“I can’t get arrested again,” mom tells her She lives in a cramped motel room with her daughter. mother, who is barely in her 20s, covered in tat“Can we go out for ice cream,” the little girl toos, hooked on cigarettes and acting as if rereplies with no comprehension of the precari- sponsibility is a dirty word. Halley is a sponge, ousness of their life. living off the dole, day-old bakery handed out They are the protagonists of The Florida by a Christian charity van in the car park and Project, the latest look at the shadow side of leftover meals passed to Moonee through the America by director Sean Baker. A compelling back door of a run-down restaurant. Eventually, depiction of skid row, circa 2017, The Florida as suspected all along, we find that she sells a Project is sometimes hilarious but often sad little dope and turns a few tricks when panhanand ultimately heartbreaking. The film takes its dling can’t make ends meet. name from the utopian community envisioned The Florida Project’s cast is unknown and

by Walt Disney during the 1960s near the site non-professional except for the story’s closest that eventually became Epcot and unfolds in thing to a hero, Bobby, played by Willem Dathe tacky strip where Disney’s foe. Although hard-pressed as aborted city of the future might manager of the Magic Castle, have been built. Halley (Bria Bobby keeps a level head in Vinaite), Moonee (Brooklynn his role as mayor of Bedlam.

The Florida Prince) and their neighbors live Moonee’s pranks—tossing Project in the motels along the highway a dead fish into the pool and Willem Dafoe into Epcot—places with fanciturning off the building’s elecBrooklynn Prince ful names like the Magic Castle tricity—are minor irritants in a Directed by or the Futureland Inn, whose bedbug-infested world whose sign is perched atop mock rockcracks can’t be concealed by Sean Baker et ships. a new coat of paint. He cares Rated R Moonee describes the resiabout the many kids who live dents of her Magic Castle to a in the motel, keeps an eye out friend from Futureland as they for the pedophiles and tries to skip along the cement balcony fronting the resolve the conflicts that spark among his tenupstairs units and overlooking the parking lot. ants, all of them impoverished and hanging on “The man who lives here gets arrested a lot,” week by week. she explains matter-of-factly. And pointing to Baker shot his previous movie, Tangerine, the next door, she adds, “The woman who lives about transgender prostitutes, on iPhones. in here thinks she’s married to Jesus.”

By contrast, he filmed The Florida Project in A crafty kid, Moonee cons change from cus- 35-millimeter, endowing the decrepit settings tomers at the ice cream stand, claiming she has with a suggestion of cinematic beauty that adasthma and her doctor says ice cream relieves heres to the story’s tone—never preachy but the symptoms. She maintains an endearing in- hyper aware.

SHEPHERD EXPRESS

INVITES YOU AND A GUEST TO A SPECIAL ADVANCE SCREENING OF

MONDAY, OCTOBER 23 7:00PM LANDMARK DOWNER TWIN FOR TICKETS, GO TO FOXSEARCHLIGHT SCREENINGS.COM AND ENTER THE RSVP CODE SHEPEX1023 THIS FILM HAS BEEN RATED PG PLEASE NOTE: Passes received through this promotion do not guarantee you a seat at the theatre. Seating is on a first come, first served basis, except for members of the reviewing press. Theatre is overbooked to ensure a full house. No admittance once screening has begun. All federal, state, and local regulations apply. A recipient of tickets assumes any and all risks related to use of ticket, and accepts any restrictions required by ticket provider. Fox Searchlight Pictures, Shepherd Express, and their affiliates accept no responsibility or liability in connection with any loss or accident in connection of a prize. Tickets cannot be exchanged, transferred, or redeemed for cash, in whole or in part. We are not responsible if, for any reason, recipient is unable to use his/her ticket, in whole or in part. All federal and local taxes are the responsibility of the winner. Void where prohibited by law. No purchase necessary.

Participating sponsors, their employees and family members, and their agencies are not eligible. NO PHONE CALLS.

IN THEATRES OCTOBER 27 O C T O B E R 1 9 , 2 0 1 7 | 27

[HOME MOVIES/OUT ON DIGITAL]

Complete film coverage online at shepherdexpress.com

In Country In Country interviews and follows the “soldiers” of Delta Company as they reenact the Vietnam War in the Oregon woods. Two of that conflict’s veterans (one of them Vietnamese) mentor the band of 30-somethings. Some are Iraq vets; some are army brats; one claims it’s “a way for me to live out that childhood love of playing war in the woods.” Underlying the maneuvers is the attitude that America could have won, if only…

A Tribute to Les Paul: Live from Universal Studios Hollywood Les Paul’s signature guitar helped electrify rock music, his innovative multi-tracking made modern recording technology possible and he invented many of the effects prized by rock guitarists.

In his later years he was idolized by those players, as seen in this 2006 tribute concert featuring performances by Slash, Joe Perry, Joe Satriani and more. The DVD also includes interviews with many of those famous fans and memories from Paul himself, recorded at New York’s Iridium Club.

The Suspicious Death of a Minor Psychotic knife-wielding violence, full-frontal nudity and Keystone cops slapstick, especially during the car chases—it’s all wrapped together in this 1975 Italian crime movie. Writer-director Sergio Martino injects enough comic relief to lighten his dark reflection of Italy careening out of control into terrorism and crime, a place where corruption permeated every level of society. The story’s hero is a cop, a bespectacled Dirty Harry who breaks every rule in a country lunging toward chaos.

Sign Painters Midwest indie craft advocate Faythe Levine co-directs this documentary about yet another pushback against the dull algorithmic culture of nowadays. Hand-lettered signs were once ubiquitous and are making a cautious comeback as young artists, drawn to the possibility of self-expression within commercial design, are taking up paints and brushes and brightening signboards and the sides of buildings with letters and images. Sign Painters visits many workshops and interviews painters male and female, old and young.

—David Luhrssen

“EXTRAORDINARY. LIAM NEESON LEADS A SUPERB CAST.” -Pete Hammond, DEADLINE

B E S T O F

Milwaukee LIAM NEESON DIANE LANE

MARK FELT

T W E N T Y

S E V E N T E E N

Vote Now

WWW.SONYCLASSICS.COM

MARK FELT AND JOHN O’CONNOR WRIDIRTECTEDTEN ANDBY PETER LANDESMAN STARTS FRIDAY, OCTOBER 20

MILWAUKEE LANDMARK ORIENTAL THEATRE 2230 N Farwell (414) 276-5140

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NEW BERLIN MARCUS RIDGE CINEMA 5200 S Moorland Rd (262) 797-0889

Boo 2! A Madea Halloween PG-1

After Chris Rock included a fictitious Madea Halloween movie in his 2014 film, Top Five, Tyler Perry proposed making it a reality for his longtime studio, Lionsgate. Subsequently, Madea’s ninth film brought in $73 million. A new tradition was born. For the sequel, Perry reprises his sassy granny character, Mabel “Madea” Simmons, as well Brian and Uncle Joe Simmons.

When Madea and company are surrounded by familiar horror-character tropes, she declares, “Hell no!” before beating her attackers senseless. The mega-silly plot serves as a narrative for the unflappable granny to flash her bosom at shocked frat boys or to invoke the Lord’s protection while fleeing a zombie horde. God Bless Halloween. (Lisa Miller)

Geostorm PG-13

In the near future, Earth’s weather is stabilized by climate-controlling satellites. System architect Jake Lawson (Gerard Butler) is fired for saying what he thinks and replaced by his more politically correct brother, Max (Jim Sturgess). That is until the satellite system is hacked, and Jake returns to prevent “climategeddon” by using the International Space Station as a base for his daring space jockeying. Back on Earth, special effects depict the freezing, burning and melting caused by weather gone wild. Director-co-writer Dean Devlin is the heir apparent of mentor-director Roland Emmerich, whose climate disaster films 2012 and The Day After Tomorrow are similarly notable for cliché plotlines and hackneyed dialogue. (L.M.)

Mark Felt PG-13

The mysterious “Deep Throat,” the insider who furnished The Washington Post with the key to unlock Watergate and other Nixon administration scandals, turned out to be the FBI’s deputy director, veteran operative Mark Felt (1913-2008). In this tightly wound dramatization of Felt’s memoir, Liam Neeson stars in the title role, his face drawn into an impassive sneer as he prepares to bring down Nixon’s house of cards. The movie hints at his dislike of Nixon’s arrogant advisors; his irritation is only amplified by being passed over by a political toady as the bureau’s director following J. Edgar Hoover’s death. He also saw the FBI as a law unto itself taking no orders from the transitory occupants of the White House. Mark Felt brings alive the paranoia— and duplicity—of the early ’70s. (David Luhrssen)

Only the Brave PG-13

This true story follows an Arizona “fuels mitigation crew,” as its members train to become “hotshots”—the most elite category of wildfire fighters. A special brand of camaraderie grows from fighting fires together, and by June 28, 2013, the crew is promoted to the hotshot designation and is deployed to fight a fire threatening the small town of Yarnell, Ariz. Overseeing these 19 men is Eric “Supe” Marsh (Josh Brolin). Gritty and realistic, Only the Brave depicts the tragic events that follow without over sentimentalizing them. (L.M.)

Same Kind of Different As Me PG-13

A faith-based production adapted from The New York Times bestseller, this biography finds philandering art dealer Ron Hall (Greg Kinnear) volunteering with his wife, Debbie (Renée Zellweger), at the local shelter. Debbie claims she’s met homeless stranger Denver Moore (Djimon Hounsou) in spiritual dreams. Her revelation prompts the three to become fast friends. Having renewed his faith, Hall attempts to reconcile with his estranged dad (Jon Voight). Growing in the wake of our mistakes is always a challenge, and here the message is that, with God’s help, we can. (L.M.)

The Snowman R

Adapted from Jo Nesbø’s Harry Hole novel series, a police investigation searches for Norway’s first serial killer, dubbed “The Snowman.” Michael Fassbender embodies alcoholic detective Harry Hole who’s disliked by his police colleagues. Smaller, pivotal characters are played by Rebecca Ferguson, Charlotte Gainsbourg, J.K. Simmons, Val Kilmer, Toby Jones, Chloë Sevigny and James D’Arcy. With so much talent on display, it’s especially disappointing that this highly pruned adaptation becomes confusing and unable to sustain tension. (L.M.)

We’re Here for the Fish Fry! Not Rated

THE MAN WHO BROUGHT DOWN THE WHITE HOUSE

BASED ON THE BOOKS BY

A&E::FILMCLIPS

NOMINATIONS: ENDS ON OCT. 19 FINALISTS: NOV. 2 – NOV. 30

The recipes are often handed down over generations and can involve arcana such as soaking the cod overnight in a bath of evaporated milk. Nowadays, Milwaukee fish fries can also come baked—a concession to healthier eating—but the basics remain the same, including sides of French fries or potato pancakes, condiments of tartar sauce and ketchup and coleslaw… Occasionally, you can even get pierogis. Writer-director Ron Faiola, whose previous documentaries have celebrated supper clubs and Catholic church festivals, turns his cameras on another Wisconsin contribution to food culture. Fun yet informative, We’re Here for the Fish Fry! circles around church basements, bars, restaurants and community centers where deep fryers sizzle. A brandy old fashioned, by the way, goes good with fish. (D.L.) 7 p.m., Oct. 26, Oriental Theatre.

SHEPHERDEXPRESS.COM/BOM17

WWW.MARKFELTMOVIE.COM 28 | O C T O B E R 1 9 , 2 0 1 7

MILWAUKEE SHEPHERD EXPRESS THUR 10/19 2.276” X 3.472”

SHEPHERD EXPRESS

A&E::VISUALART

Lon Michels and Todd Olson: Exuberance Side by Side at Portrait Society ::BY KAT KNEEVERS

T

here is the old saying about art imitating life, but for Lon Michels and Todd Olson, art is life. It is their profession and surrounds them in their home and on travels. Their exhibition, “Husband & Husband,” at Portrait Society Gallery offers a glimpse into the career of two artists whose paintings overflow with colorful exuberance.

This is the first show where their work is presented side by side, and their shared penchant

for pattern and sophisticated aesthetic is readily apparent. Michels’ painting Thai Garden shows a seated woman with a large bouquet of roses in various red hues held against her orange dress. Her blue hair tumbles to her shoulders and in the background are multicolored trees and a small sculpture. It is like looking at the world through a prismatic kaleidoscope, where ornate decorations cover every surface, from flesh to foliage. In this world, everything is transformed, buzzing and alive with possibilities for beauty and embellishment.

Olson’s Self-Portrait follows suit, but with additional touches of subtle expressionistic strokes and heavier lines of contour. Like Michels’ technique, the excitement of patterning and organic decoration draw the picture away from mere representation to something that describes a joyous sense of creation. That feeling is communicated through the syntax of painting.

To compare the similarities of style between Michels and Olson, see their companion pieces depicting Icarus and Daedalus. Working from live models, as is the case with their many portraits, the transformation is one that begins with reality and leaves in another world altogether.

Daedalus, the consummate mythological craftsman, counsels Icarus about flying too close to

the sun, represented as lovingly sage advice.

When traveling, the couple opts for painting what they see rather than snapping easy photographs. In these works, echoes of Henri Matisse and Fauvist paintings come to mind. Their views of Ecuador and South America are bathed in light and vibrant tones that enthusiastically embrace new vistas. The way Olson and Michels see the world is a perspective not limited

VISUALART|PREVIEW

‘Chairness’ and Contemporary Illustration at MIAD

T

wo new exhibitions are being unveiled during Gallery Night, Friday, Oct. 20, at the Milwaukee Institute of Art and Design, 273 E. Erie St. “Chair5: Perspectives on Form, Function and Innovation” is an exhibition that would have delighted Socrates, the ancient Greek philosopher famed (and ultimately put to death) for his attempts to answer the question “what is x [e.g. justice, beauty, virtue]?” In good Socratic fashion, “Chair5: Perspectives on Form, Function and Innovation” investigates the elusive concept of “chairness” through historical and contemporary exemplars. Whereas most exhibitions frown on attempts to interact with the art, “Chair5” offers the unique opportunity to utilize the chairs on display, giving a firsthand insight into the ways that posture has evolved over time.

“Fantastic: Four Contemporary Illustration Artists” collects four distinct approaches to a single medium. Celebrated Dutch illustrator, Henrik Drescher contributes large landscape paintings inspired by ancient Chinese panoramas, which incorporate extraterrestrial components. Frances Jetter has created a 40-foot-wide folio book that takes a critical stance toward torture at Guantanamo Bay. Contemplation is the theme of Katherine Streeter’s 50 collage paintings, which find humans and animals ruminating on life and its vicissitudes. Carl Dunn has made the seasonally appropriate decision to display Halloween masks as well as paintings from his forthcoming book, The Music Lesson.

SHEPHERD EXPRESS

SPONSORED BY

::BY TYLER FRIEDMAN

Tune in at 8 a.m. every Wednesday for “Arts Express”

to their studio, but carried everywhere they go with brushes and artistic engagement in mind.

Through Nov. 10 at Portrait Society Gallery, 207 E. Buffalo St., fifth floor. Visit shepherdexpress.com for a special video interview with the artists. (left) Todd Olson, Self-Portrait (right) Lon Michels, Thai Garden

Paintings by Hal Koenig and Richard W. Patt Oil Gallery | 207 E. Buffalo St.

Oil Gallery has inhabited the first floor atrium of the Third Ward’s Marshall Building since June, but perhaps you’ve yet to welcome them to the neighborhood with a visit. Stop by during Gallery Night and Day, Oct. 20-21, to see paintings by Hal Koenig—resident artist and owner of the gallery— and Richard W. Patt. Koenig specializes in painting urban landscapes, which capture Milwaukee at its most picturesque. With their use of rectangular forms and mottled acrylic paint, Patt’s landscapes flirt with abstraction and call Paul Klee to mind.

“Splooshes of Fall”

Lake Country Fine Arts School and Gallery 112 W. Capitol Drive, Hartland

Carl Dunn, The Music Lesson

“Sploosh” is a technical term coined by local painter Noelle Kraemer to describe her unique manner of applying paint. Ever since a near-fatal car accident during the winter of 2008, Kraemer has struggled with fine motor control. Consequently, she applies paint with quick taps of paint-filled brushes—splooshes, if you will. “Splooshes of Fall” is Kraemer’s second exhibition. Her first, two years ago, was so successful that she sold more than half of her paintings. Kraemer will be donating a quarter of this exhibition’s proceeds to the Brain Injury Resource Center of Wisconsin in Big Bend. “Splooshes of Fall” opens with a reception on Saturday, Oct. 21, from 1-3 p.m.

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A&E::BOOKS BOOK |REVIEWS

New Views: The World Mapped Like Never Before (AURUM PRESS), BY ALASTAIR BONNETT

An atlas usually marks political boundaries or indicates topography.

But the 50 maps that fill New Views “distill innumerable terabytes of data,” according to Newcastle University social geography professor Alastair Bonnett. Color-coded maps delineate everything from the population of venomous animals to linguistic diversity and the human fertility rate. Climate change is visualized on turbulent maps that mark the rise and fall of precipitation and rising sea levels since the ’70s.

Other chapters explore topics such as migration and the Global Peace Index, which draws conclusions from domestic and international conflicts, political stability and crime statistics. Iceland ranks as the world’s number one peaceful country. The U.S. checks out at 103, lower than Jamaica or Papua New Guinea. (David Luhrssen)

Notes on a Foreign Country: An American Abroad in a PostAmerican World

(FARRAR, STRAUS AND GIROUX),

BY SUZY HANSEN Although she wrote for The New York Times Magazine and won a fellowship to live abroad for two years, Suzy Hansen discovered that she knew nothing about the world when she left America. Notes on a Foreign Country is her record of shock upon encountering nations that have often been poorly used by American foreign policy, economic ideas and unreflective theories on the meaning of life. “Americans are surprised by the direct relationship between their country and foreign ones because we don’t acknowledge that America is an empire; it is impossible to understand a relationship if you are not aware you are in one,” she writes. Living in Turkey and listening closely to Greeks and Egyptians, among others, Hansen discovers that American-style “structural reforms” ruin more lives than they help; our nation’s academics, officials and news reporters are perennially blind-sighted even when well intentioned. Although the author is occasionally reductive in her take on history, Notes on a Foreign Country is an insightful and highly personal critique of American myopia. (David Luhrssen)

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BOOK |PREVIEW

Astronaut Scott Kelly Discusses ‘A Year in Space’ at UWM

A

::BY JENNI HERRICK

human mission to Mars has been a dream of engineers, science-fiction writers and ordinary citizens alike since the 19th century. It has also been a tangible goal for NASA and space stations around the world, and in 2015, American astronaut Scott Kelly was selected for a so-called one-year mission (it was actually 11 months) aboard the International Space Station to collect scientific data that will help develop future opportunities for human exploration of our solar system. His 11-month journey in space included 5,440 orbits around the Earth, during which time he conducted three spacewalks. Kelly, who was a veteran commander of four previous space flights prior to his 11-month stint in orbit, is the American record-holder for the total accumulated number of days spent in space.

In his book, Endurance: A Year in Space, A Lifetime of Discovery, the recently retired Kelly recounts his 340 days spent aboard the ISS with humor, candor and raw sincerity. From describing the unique challenges of constant close quarters to the emotional anguish of being unable to return home after tragedy struck his family, Kelly shares his incredible journey and his hopes for a future human mission to Mars.

The UW-Milwaukee Student Union, the Manfred Olson Planetarium and Boswell Book Co. welcome Kelly to the UWM Student Union Wisconsin Room for a conversation with WUWM’s Bonnie North at 7 p.m. on Monday, Oct. 23.

This ticketed event includes a signed copy of Endurance: A Year in Space, A Lifetime of Discovery.

Scott Kelly

SHEPHERD EXPRESS

A&E::OFFTHECUFF

OFF THE CUFF WITH REBEL GREEN’S ALI FLORSHEIM ::BY MORGAN HUGHES

A

lawyer and a journalist walk into a grocery store. It’s not a joke, it’s the foundation for Rebel Green, a natural and mostly domestically sourced company, founded by Melina Marcus and Ali Florsheim, focused on bringing natural cleaning supplies into the homes of conventional shoppers. The duo launched its first product in 2008 and has since expanded internationally. In addition to their product line, the pair works with various outreach organizations, including Feeding America and the Hunger Task Force. We spoke with Florsheim to further discuss their company’s successes.

What is Rebel Green?

Rebel Green is a natural brand that is aimed at bringing conventional shoppers into the natural space through better pricing, amazing packaging and better ingredients, as well as great marketing. There are very few choices available to people where things are sourced closer to home and where ingredients are truly and transparently identified. Most people who shop for household cleaners will turn the product around right away to see what’s in there, and we always aim to have as much transparency as we can. We think it’s important for people who buy things to know what’s in them. We didn’t see a lot of that in the market.

What inspired you to start Rebel Green?

When we first started our brand, we started with reusable lunch bags and tote bags that were made in the U.S. and that were sustainable. One of the things we noticed was that people would use reusable bags, but they’d be made out of petroleum-based material that had been shipped from China. Transparency is really great—people deserve transparency.

If you’re going to do something environmentally friendly, you should do it as best you can and make sure that people understand what they’re buying. I think the consumers that we’re targeting really care a lot about the environment and really want that kind of transparency.

What goals do you have for Rebel Green?

The trend has been that consumers are getting more and more educated about what’s in their products and they care a lot more. If we can bring a couple of the conventional shoppers into the natural space, they’ll start to appreciate that natural products work just as well as conventional and they can slowly start to change their habits to buy other products that are natural as well. And the more people who buy natural, the more people will start making natural products. I think education is a big part of what we’re trying to do.

Sunday, November 5 9am - 3pm Grace Center: 250 E Juneau Ave. ENJOY A DAY AT GRACE, WHERE OVER 25 LOCAL ARTISANS WILL BE SELLING THEIR ORIGINAL, HANDCRAFTED WORK!

Woodwork • Jewelry • Photography • Metal Sculptures Greeting Cards • Pottery • Gourmet Fudge • Children’s Clothes • Toys gracedowntown.org | 414-271-3006

Arts Bridge Project: A Century of Song One Night Only • Friday, October 27 • 7:30PM

What impact do you hope to have on your community?

We’ve been fortunate to have not only local distribution, but national as well. The better we do as a company and the more consumers we can reach out to, the less people will be buying non-natural products. We want to highlight the availability of natural cleaning products for your home. We want people to use our products, but if our product is an introduction to natural products, we consider ourselves lucky.

To learn more or place an order, visit rebelgreen.com.

PHOTO: MARK FROHNA

Cleaning House the Natural Way

Scott Coulter

Alyson Cambridge

The Marcus Center is home to the finest performing artists in Wisconsin, including the Milwaukee Ballet and Florentine Opera.

Arts Bridge: A Century of Song brings together the Broadway flair of the Marcus Center, dance expertise of the Milwaukee Ballet and the unmatched vocals of Alyson Cambridge and the Florentine Opera Studio Artists in a celebration of the works of famous artists born 100 years ago. The evening will be narrated by vocalist, Scott Coulter, who will take the audience through two acts of music by Ella Fitzgerald, Dean Martin, Leonard Bernstein and more!

OCT 20 - NOV 5

262.633.4218 2519 Northwestern Ave. RACINE, WI 53404

Box Office Hours: M - F 12:00 - 6:00 p.m.

90 min. prior to curtain through intermission.

SHEPHERD EXPRESS

For more information: RACINETHEATRE.ORG

Tickets Start at just $24

UIHLEIN HALL • MARCUS CENTER 414.273.7206 • MarcusCenter.org/artsbridge

O C T O B E R 1 9 , 2 0 1 7 | 31

::HEARMEOUT ASK RUTHIE | UPCOMING EVENTS | PAUL MASTERSON

::RUTHIE’SSOCALCALENDAR Oct. 18: Opening night of ‘A Midsummer Night’s Dream’ at Off the Wall Theatre (127 E. Wells St.): Musical lovers, rejoice! Shakespeare lovers, rejoice! The words of the Bard are set to the music of Cole Porter in this change-of-pace production from one of Milwaukee’s favorite black box theaters. Described as a “seamless tapestry of mirth, mystery and magic,” the show runs through Oct. 29. Call the box office at 414-4848874 for the $30 tickets.

Join us for our LGBT and Allies Wedding Showcase Sunday, October 29 11:00 a.m. to 2:00 p.m.

Hilton Milwaukee City Center 509 West Wisconsin Ave Milwaukee, WI 53203 All are welcome.

Free to attend.

RSVPs appreciated at

www.wislgbtweddings.com

LOVE LIFE ENTERTAINMENT ADVICE

Dear Ruthie says, “Hear Me Out! ”

AND FOR EVEN MORE FUN VISIT RUTHIE AND CYNTHIA AT RUTHIE’S BITCHIN KITCHEN.COM

32 | O C T O B E R 1 9 , 2 0 1 7

Three’s a Crowd?

M

aybe it’s the chill in the air. Maybe it’s the frivolity of Halloween. Maybe it’s the moon. Whatever it is, people are horny in Cream City. Take a look at this coupling of emails I recently received, then head out and look for love via the events listed in my social calendar.

Who knows? You might get a little hoochie coochie yourself this week!

Oct. 20: ‘Trick or Tease’ Burlesque Show at The Wherehouse (818 S. Water St.): The Brew City Bombshells get naughty with this sexy (and spooky) show loaded with strip teases, comedy and plenty of macabre moments. The $15 door charge begins at 8:30 p.m. with the show bouncing onto the stage at 9.

Oct. 20: Whose Drag Is It Anyway at D.I.X. (739 S. First St.): I make my formal D.I.X. debut during this kooky Halloween show, featuring your favorite dead celebrities playing a few rounds of “Match Game.”

The fun starts at 10 p.m. with drink specials, a DJ, dancing and more.

Join me, and let’s celebrate Halloween early!

Dear Ruthie,

Oct. 21: Paint by Number Party at This Is It (418 E. Wells St.): Let your creative spirit soar when you join hostess Ester Flonaze for a night of painting. The $10 cover charge gets you a canvas and painting supplies as well as a free drink and all the fun you can handle. Flex your artistic muscle (that sounds dirty) during the 5-7 p.m. event.

Dear Confused,

Oct. 22: A Spooky Spectacular Miltown Halloween Bash at Urban Ecology Center (1859 N. 40th St.): It’s family fun a go-go with this nottoo-scary afternoon of Halloween treats. The 2-4:30 p.m. party includes pumpkin decorating, a scavenger hunt, Halloween sweets and costume contests (including a family costume category). Enjoy the season (and haunting holiday) with like-minded families during the annual boobash, hosted by Dixie Kuppe.

What’s up with all of the people on Facebook who say their relationship is “complicated?” What does that even mean? What’s so complicated? Either you’re in a relationship or you’re not. Can you explain this “it’s complicated” status to me, please?

Your Friend, Confused The answer is simple: They’re sluts.

Dear Ruthie,

Our two friends have moved a third man into their home, and they’re now insisting we address the three of them as a triad marriage and acknowledge this new person as their new husband. We think it’s weird, and we’re uncomfortable around this new man as we don’t really know him well. What do you think about our friends’ action?

—Three’s a Crowd

Dear Crowd,

Your friends are sluts. No, no, no. All kidding aside, they’re sluts. I’m kidding, but seriously, if you value your friendship with the couple, try to get to know this third member of their home. If you feel you don’t know the newbie very well, simply tell your friends (in private), that you’d like to get to know the new guy better. Making such an effort will improve the situation for everyone, your friends will appreciate your willingness to learn about their new living situation and you’ll likely make a new friend out of it all.

Oct. 22: Girlpool at Colectivo Coffee (2211 N. Prospect Ave.): The popular indie rock band, Girlpool, makes its Cream City debut in the backroom at Colectivo. Serving up punk with a nod to female empowerment, vulnerability and strength, the group hits the stage at 8 p.m. (doors at 7 p.m.). Swing by pabsttheater.org for the $15 tickets.

Oct. 23: Kickoff of the LGBTQ+ Meditation & Yoga Series at Greene Hall (3347 N. Downer Ave.): Develop your inner yogi with this series of safe-space classes, designed for yoga beginners and experts alike. This, the first in a three-part series, explores meditation and yoga.

Email martinj@uwm.edu with questions or visit bit.ly/yogarsvp for reservations.

Want to share an event with Ruthie? Need her advice on a situation?

Email DearRuthie@Shepex.com.

SHEPHERD EXPRESS

::MYLGBTQPoint of View

Milwaukee’s LGBTQ Halloween, a Community and Family Affair ::BY PAUL MASTERSON

I

t’s finally feeling fall-ish. Aside from the blustery winds and cooler temps, another hint is the over-the-top Halloween decorating throughout town.

In my Bay View neighborhood there’s A & J’s Halloween House at 2943 S. Clement Ave. Now an annual attraction, the masters of this manor of the macabre have chosen a frightful theme perhaps inspired by the scary state of our current politics. A looming cathedral facade includes a ghoulish organist who has pulled out all the stops to accompany an unholy hearse drawn by a pair of skeleton horses and driven by a ghoul and his canine companion from the crypt. The demonic display is a hair- and fundraising effort. This year’s benefactor is Pathfinders, Milwaukee’s support organization for homeless and abused youth, including LGBTQs. They even have a handy collection box for donations.

Nearby Humboldt Park has erected its haunting homage to Henri Matisse’s La Danse in the form of several circles of dancing ghosts. The Bay View Neighbor Association’s Pumpkin Pavilion will be held at the Humboldt Park Pavilion. Pumpkin carving for the event takes place this week on Wednesday and Thursday and members of Milwaukee

GAMMA will be there to join in the fun.

Halloween is a family affair, of course. The Milwaukee-based Miltown LGBT Families holds its second annual Halloween Bash at the Washington Park Urban Ecology Center on Sunday, Oct. 22. Founded in 2016, this volunteer group’s evolution is a testament to the power of social media and the reality of just how established the LGBTQ family actually is. Its founder, Laurie Marks, had the idea of starting a social group to connect LGBTQ families. Posting on social media, she just wanted to reach out and find others to share experiences and information. She had 75 requests to join the next day. Another LGBTQ parent, Joseph Brooks, helped expand the group to include family oriented social activities and the creation of a resource for families seeking LGBTQ friendly health care and other services as well as for coaching schools and other agencies about their particular family dynamics.

Meanwhile, Miltown LGBT Families has become the go-to organization for the region.

It quickly connected with Cream City Foundation for financial support to help maintain the group and develop its programming. Today it boasts a membership of more than 500 parents and children ranging from toddlers to teenagers.

Its second annual spooky spectacular Halloween Bash attracts LGBTQ families from across the area. Promising a full afternoon of Halloween-themed fun for all ages, the event is hosted by Miss Dixie Cuppe. Beginning at 2 p.m., activities include pumpkin decorating, a costume contest with a variety of categories, including themed family costumes, a scavenger hunt and Halloween treats. Miss Dixie Cuppe tells spooky stories to complete the haunted holiday experience.

Information for all events may be found through social media.

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::MUSIC

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EBRU YILDIZ

FEATURE | ALBUM REVIEWS | CONCERT REVIEWS | LOCAL MUSIC

The Violent Femmes Return to (South) Milwaukee ::BY DAVID LUHRSSEN

uccessful rock bands can often point to a particular hometown club where, as they say, “it all began.” For the Violent Femmes, the legendary brick-and-mortar spot in their Milwaukee home has no walls. It’s the intersection where North and Farwell avenues converge—the corner in front of what once was the Oriental Pharmacy next door to the still flourishing Oriental Theatre. The Femmes often played on that heavily trafficked crossroads back when busking was unknown (and probably illegal) in this town.

In 1981, when the Violent Femmes were “discovered” on that corner by Chrissie Hynde and invited onstage as opening act for The Pretenders at the Oriental Theatre, playing the streets was as much a necessity as a fun way to earn a few coins (and startled expressions) from passersby. The city’s rock clubs, seldom bastions of enlightened thought, wouldn’t have them. When the Femmes played indoors, it was usually at a four-table Peruvian café in a Downer Avenue basement or on off nights at Riverwest’s Jazz Gallery.

The Violent Femmes didn’t fit the norm, but with the release of their self-titled debut album in 1983— the one with “Kiss Off” and “Blister in the Sun”—they found a worldwide audience of young people who didn’t fit. Their latest album, 2 Mics and the Truth, was recorded during informal acoustic sessions in between concerts on their 2016 tour and includes selections spanning their debut LP through 2016’s We Can Do Anything. It revisits a career that, despite many bumps and gaps, has continued into its third decade.

The Violent Femmes are returning to Milwaukee— to a suburb they never visited back in the day, South Milwaukee, a place beyond the last bus stop and too far to walk from Riverwest.

On their current tour, the band includes two of its three original members: vocalist-guitarist-songwriter Gordon Gano and bassist Brian Ritchie. Australian

34 | O C T O B E R 1 9 , 2 0 1 7

Blaise Garza is on sax. Milwaukee’s John Sparrow, known locally for his high-energy, jazz-inflected band, The Danglers, holds the drum stool originally occupied by Victor DeLorenzo. DeLorenzo exited the band in 1993 but returned from 2002-2009 and for a few shows in 2013.

The Femmes had already gone dormant briefly in the late ’80s as Gano and Ritchie pursued solo careers, but their differences threatened a permanent split in 2007. In that year, Ritchie sued Gano after the latter licensed “Blister in the Sun” for a Wendy’s ad and demanded a larger share of royalties. It was ugly.

“It would be remarkable if there wasn’t turbulence in a band,” Ritchie tells me when asked about the unstable climate for music making. “Bands are not healthy social constructs. But sometimes the music that results is better, or at least different, than what individuals can create on their own.”

This was certainly the case with the Femmes at their point of origin. Gano’s teen angst lyrics rode on melodies simple enough to play around a campfire.

He needed a band to fully put him across and found a most unusual one in Ritchie and DeLorenzo. Their visceral knowledge of avant-garde jazz, coupled with punk-rock energy, wrapped Gano’s stark sentiments in perpetual surprise and invention.

“We shook off our torpor after reforming for Coachella [2013] and have released an EP, an LP and a dou-

ble-LP in the last three years,” Ritchie says. “Two Mics and the Truth is a definitive recording and the closest we’ve ever gotten to the original concept of the band.

It’s been one of our funnest and most productive periods. Gordon and I are both pleasantly surprised at being able to become viable again. General mood is that we’ll keep it going for a while.”

Aside from their willingness and ability to play rock music acoustically at a time when “unplugged” was for lamps and toasters, the original Femmes were unique for keeping time not with conventional drums but with the “tranceaphone”—DeLorenzo’s homemade percussion kit fashioned from a metal bushel basket. For his part, Sparrow plays on a snare and, yes, a Weber grill. “Oddball and minimalist percussion has been one of the hallmarks of Violent Femmes since the beginning,” Ritchie explains. “Victor laid a good foundation for the subsequent drummers to build upon.

“Having grown up as a fan has given John a deep perspective on how to play the songs and the overall Femmes philosophy. We are in an interesting position right now with both John and our saxophonist being a generation or more younger than us and coming into the band as big fans. We were the first album Blaise bought and the first concert John saw.”

The current band is spread across continents. Sparrow still lives in Milwaukee. “Blaise and I live in Tasmania, and Gordon lives in an undisclosed location, but not the same undisclosed location Dick Cheney used to live in,” Ritchie says. The Tasmania reference is no joke; Ritchie is now an Australian citizen and has lived in the Australian state of Tasmania since 2008. He is music curator for the Museum of Old and New Art; plays with members of Midnight Oil in a surf band, The Break; tours with the Australian Chamber Orchestra; and is artistic director of Australia’s contribution to the Commonwealth Games (April 2018).

I asked Ritchie if fatigue has set in, playing songs Gano wrote as a teenager and recorded by the band 35 years ago. He laughs. “I The Violent heard ‘Blister’ on the radio Femmes recently and it still sounds South good,” he replies. “Gordon Milwaukee copes with the absurdity of Performing some of the lyrics by taking Arts Center an actor’s perspective. If it’s autobiographical, he chanFriday and nels himself. If you listen Saturday, to Two Mics and the Truth, Oct. 20-21, Gordon’s vocals are more 8 p.m. focused and unhinged than ever. For us to play, and for the audience to listen to that material, calls for some suspension of disbelief. But the satisfaction of knowing the music has stood the test of time and still sounds fresh outweighs any cognitive dissonance.

Also, as soon as we see the audience going nuts, it gives us fresh energy to do those songs.”

The Violent Femmes perform at 8 p.m. on Friday, Oct. 20 and Saturday, Oct. 21 at the South Milwaukee Performing Arts Center, 901 15th Ave., South Milwaukee.

SHEPHERD EXPRESS

::CONCERTREVIEW

Oozing Wound, Population Control and Sex Scenes Brought Beet Street to a Rowdy Close

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::BY THOMAS MICHALSKI

n alternative twist on the traditional harvest celebration, the Beet Street Harvest Festival aims to keep Milwaukee’s passion for block parties and street festivals alive even as summer slides into autumn. It distinguishes itself with a blend of more adult-oriented fun—such as craft beer tastings and an excellently curated local music lineup—with more family-friendly seasonal fare, like pie-eating contests and a farmer’s market. However, while the daytime entertainment tries to keep things PG, albeit in a sort of hipster-oriented way, Saturday’s second-annual event, sponsored once again by nearby businesses like the Cactus Club, Goodkind and the Palomino, also came along with a radically different kind of after-party, boasting a more hard-edged tone that only intensified as the evening went along.

Lousy weather may have put a damper on, but certainly not a stop to, some of the daytime proceedings, yet it wasn’t much of a deterrent to the crowd trickling into the Cactus Club hours later. In fact, by the time local MC Kia Rap Princess took the stage, she had a good-sized audience to work with, and, as usual, she made the most of it. One of the finest examples of the city’s eclectic, eccentric alt-rap scene, KRP’s sound sports both a defiant, quasi-punk attitude and heartfelt lyricism.

Both were best heard on “All I Ever Wanted,” dedicated to her late mother, whose portrait sat at the edge of the stage alongside a T-shirt that simply read: “Fuck Cancer.”

Things only got harder and faster as Sex Scenes launched into their set. The band may trade in a classically hardcore sound and revel in its nihilism and sleaze, but they are also a welcome rarity among the genre by managing to maintain an insistent groove no matter how vicious things get, largely thanks to the airtight rhythm section of bassist Connor LaMue

SHEPHERD EXPRESS

and drummer Chelsea Hays. Harrison Colby, best known for his work in NO/NO, filled things out with some scratchy guitar as frontman Zach Otto stalked the audience, getting in people’s faces. The group’s two releases, a self-titled demo and a suggestively named new EP, do them justice, but they are at their best live in the flesh.

The trend toward heaviness continued with Population Control, the local opener who most closely resembled the evening’s thrash-metal oriented headliner, and as such couldn’t help but comment on the fact that one their crossover forebears, D.R.I., was simultaneously playing right next door at Club Garibaldi. That isn’t to say there seemed to be much competition as nobody headbanging to Population Control’s juggernaut set appeared to be heading toward the exit. Occasionally poking fun at the old-timers across the street added some needed comic relief and a personal touch to a performance that otherwise rarely let its foot off the gas. In any case, they no doubt earned some new fans, regardless of what any dirty rotten imbeciles were up to.

Chicago’s Oozing Wound have become something of a fixture in Milwaukee whenever the Halloween season kicks into high gear, and there’s a good reason for that. Encapsulating the holiday’s mix of self-aware humor, hard-partying and genuine terror, their irreverent thrash is welcome any time of the year, yet resonates particularly well whenever fall starts to take over. Powering through hits like the frantic “Bury Me with My Money,” what stood out about the trio was their versatility; they were equally adept at slicing the audience to ribbons with razor-sharp shredding as they were grinding them to dust with stoner-friendly riffs. By the end, they literally had people hanging from the rafters, capping off Beet Street 2017 with a decidedly intense twist.

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MUSIC::LOCAL

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36 | O C T O B E R 1 9 , 2 0 1 7

Duckling Lean into the Weirdness on ‘Sup From a Duck’

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::BY EVAN RYTLEWSKI

ometimes a band name just clicks. When guitarist Tony Catalano suggested the name Duckling to his bandmates, they ran with it. And then they kept running. The group’s debut EP, Sup From a Duck, features a duck on the cover and opens with a cacophony of duck noises. At their album release show, singer-drummer Quinn Cory is preparing some duck-shaped food to share and hopes to have a kiddie pool filled with rubber ducks.

“It’s not even that we’re obsessed with ducks,” Cory says. “It’s the nature of who we are, and what our relationships are in this band, that it made sense to push this duck thing as far as possible, definitely further than it needs to go.” Pushing things too far is sort of a pattern with the band, who play loopy punk and buzzy alternative with echoes of The Rentals and The Breeders but with a screwball edge that’s all their own.

“The things we talk about, the things we laugh about, they just bring out the weirdest version of myself,” Cory says of her bandmates, the exiting Catalano (who’s moving to New York and will soon be replaced by new guitarist Derek Marinello) and bassist Jordan Moreno. “That’s why I like playing with them so much. We’ll have days where we play for hours and hours and it gets weirder and weirder as it keeps going.”

Cory also sings and drums for the politically minded folk septet Ruth B8r Ginsburg, but Duckling, she says, gives her an outlet for her louder, wilder impulses. While Duckling isn’t entirely a joke band, there is an element of that. At least a couple lyrics on their quickie debut amount to some variation of a “your mom/your dad joke,” and the closing track, “Animalz,” has a line about Larry David’s shiny head.

“I think people just take things so seriously, especially music,” Cory says. “When we got this band together, we were pretty clear that we’re not trying to do that. All we wanted was to play music and express ourselves without really caring about what people think.

For me, a lot of those vocal tracks are really further than I’ve gone in a recording before.

We’re screaming and taking it that far, and I think when people I know first see us, it’s surprising for them, because that’s not really who I am, but that’s kind of the point.”

Even for a band as unconcerned with the outside world as Duckling, though, releasing an EP is a significant occasion. It marks the moment that a band that’s hitherto only existed as a live entity officially enters the public record, and Cory has mixed feelings about that. She speaks longingly of the pre-internet days, quite a bit before her time, when bands could operate both relatively anonymously, as sheltered from the public’s response to their work as they wanted to be. “There’s something special about not knowing much about a band and having a little mystery,” she says.

“I know everybody says this, but this band really is for ourselves,” Cory continues.

“Opening it up to other people to tell us what they think, for me personally that’s hard, because I’m really trying not to care about outside opinions. That’s why we’re not on Facebook. We’re not even on the internet really. For us it’s hard enough even just to make a Bandcamp and put this online.”

Duckling will play an EP release party on Saturday, Oct. 21 at 7 p.m. with Ben Yela, Mark Waldoch and Bum Alum. Details are available on Facebook.

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MUSIC::LISTINGS

::ALBUMS Lil Rev

We apologize for the Music Listings alphabetical mish-mash this week.

Sing Song Daddy

THURSDAY, OCTOBER 19

(FOUNTAIN OF UKE RECORDS) Lil Rev has tried on many hats in his role as a latter-day folk musician, with his advocacy of ukulele taking center stage in recent years. The uke is at the heart of Sing Song Daddy, but the material is bluesier than usual, sung in a voice that has gained authority over the years with lyrics that show sharpening insights into society He’s backed this time with a full complement of musicians, all of them Milwaukee notables, giving many tracks a band feel.

—David Luhrssen Release event at 7 p.m. on Thursday, Oct. 19 at Boswell Book Co. featuring guest performances by John Sieger, Robin Pluer, Jim Liban, Guy Fiorentini, Jim Eannelli, Jason Klagstad and Peter Roller.

Blind Guardian Live Beyond the Spheres (NUCLEAR BLAST) This triple-CD live set from Blind Guardian, Germany’s premier progressive-power metal pioneers, stands as a testament to Europe’s enthusiastic audience participation. Nowhere is that more evident than on “The Bard’s Song (In the Forest),” a rousing folk singalong in which fans nearly overpower vocalist Hansi Kürsch. The crowd looms large on all 22 songs here—chanting between songs and singing during instrumental passages. Officially a quartet, Blind Guardian expands to six in concert to broaden its epic sound and emphasize its huge choruses. The performances on Live Beyond the Spheres were culled from at least 10 shows recorded on the band’s 2015 European tour and feature an appealing mix of vintage tracks and more recent material (including songs from 2015’s Beyond the Red Mirror). Choirs and orchestral passages are piped in but don’t diminish the overall impact—unless fantasy-based lyrics aren’t your thing. In that case, you won’t last past the first disc.

—Michael Popke

Banda Magda Tigre (VERVE) Born in Greece but living in New York, Magda Giannikou’s transcontinental experiences are echoed on the third album with her group, Banda Magda. Moreover, Tigre’s cosmopolitanism amplifies many of the sounds that waft around New York, including a touch of Brazil in the breezy harmonies and rhythms, timbres from Greece and points east and lots of contemporary beats. A composer and multi-instrumentalist, Magda sings her lyrics in several languages—English not among them—over vibrant melodies.

—Morton Shlabotnik 38 | O C T O B E R 1 9 , 2 0 1 7

Up & Under Pub, A No Vacancy Comedy Open Mic Shaker’s Cigar Bar, Rouge 2.0 (6pm) Angelo’s Piano Lounge, Acoustic Guitar Night Mason Street Grill, Mark Thierfelder Jazz Trio (5:30pm) O’Donoghues Irish Pub (Elm Grove), The All-Star SUPERband (6pm) Amelia’s, Jackson Dordel Jazz Quintet (4pm) Shank Hall, Nora Jane Struthers County Clare Irish Inn & Pub, Acoustic Irish Folk w/ Barry Dodd Potawatomi Hotel & Casino, In Bar 360: Keith Pulvermacher (8pm), In the Fire Pit: Gunnar & The Grizzly Boys w/ Alyssia Dominguez (8:30pm) The Packing House Restaurant, Barbara Stephan & Peter Mac (6pm) Harry’s Bar & Grill, Kyle Feerick (6pm) Clarke Hotel (Waukesha), Ginni & JoAnna Marie (6:30pm) Mikes Bar and Grill (Campbellsport), Jonny T-Bird Open Jam Pabst Theater, Mary Chapin Carpenter w/Emily Barker Transfer Pizzeria Cafe, Eric Jacobson Organ Trio Kochanski’s Concertina Beer Hall, Roadhouse Rave-Up Turner Hall Ballroom, Ron Pope w/Ages and Ages Caroline’s Jazz Club, The Milwaukee Hot Club Cactus Club, Witchcryer w/Atalla & Galactic Hatchet Company Brewing, Pedal Forward Riverwest: Black&Mad Afrobeat, Kavon Cortez Jones & Host Bublr Bikes

FRIDAY, OCTOBER 20 Potawatomi Hotel & Casino, In Bar 360: Steve Beguhn (9pm), In the Fire Pit: Gunnar & The Grizzly Boys with Alyssia Dominguez (9:30pm) Up & Under Pub, Hot By Ziggy Angelo’s Piano Lounge, Piano Night Jokerz Comedy Club, Dave Waite Circle-A Cafe, Alive at Eight: Carolinas w/Bruce Dean (8pm); DJ: French Connection (10pm) Mo’s Irish Pub (Downtown), After-Party w/Big Something Mason Street Grill, Phil Seed Trio (6pm) Lakefront Brewery Beer Hall, Brewhaus Polka Kings (5:30pm) Potbelly Sandwich Shop (East Side), Texas Dave (noon) Timmer’s Resort (West Bend), Acoustic Blu Duo Rave / Eagles Club, Andrew W.K. w/Iron Pizza (all-ages, 8pm), Snow Tha Product w/AJ Hernz, Castro Escobar & Zed Kenzo (all-ages, 7:30pm) ComedySportz Milwaukee, ComedySportz Milwaukee!

County Clare Irish Inn & Pub, Traditional Irish Ceilidh Session Shank Hall, Nick Moss American Legion Post #449 (Brookfield), Dean Richards (6:30pm) Iron Mike’s (Franklin), Jam Session w/Steve Nitros & Friends Milwaukee Ale House, Paul Rebek (6pm) Clarke Hotel (Waukesha), Dick Eliot Jazz Guitar (6pm) The Packing House Restaurant, Carmen Nickerson & The Carmen Sutra Trio (6:30pm) Brewed Cafe, Mark Hubing Solo Acoustic Urban Harvest Brewing Company, Tall Boys Improv American Legion of Okauchee #399, Tom Anthony Group Rounding Third Bar and Grill, Latino Comedy Tormenta (Storm) South Milwaukee Performing Arts Center, Violent Femmes “Viva Wisconsin 2017” Route 20 Outhouse (Sturtevant), Mixed Company w/ DayRollers & Brock Betz Band Kochanski’s Concertina Beer Hall, The Twang Dragons w/Indigo Dog Pabst Theater, Herbie Hancock Smith Bros. Coffee House (Port Washington), 7000 Apart LIVE McAuliffe’s Pub (Racine), Take Me Alley Cat Lounge (Five O’Clock Steakhouse), Milwaukee’s Finest

Cafe Carpe (Fort Atkinson), Bing Bong Tally’s Tap & Eatery (Waukesha), Tomm Lehnigk Frank’s Power Plant, High Gallows w/Steel Iron, Knaaves & Heavy Down Linneman’s Riverwest Inn, Gloss Records presents: No/No record release w/Zed Kenzo, Dirty Dancing and Dashcam Cactus Club, Devils Teeth w/tus/Hot Coffin, Narco States & Brain Bats Art Bar, Neo Caveman & Gentle Brontosauras Club Garibaldi, Bohannons w/Dumpster Babies, Rocket Paloma & The Red Flags Site 1A, Golf Clap w/Zebo & Derel Fer Real Mamie’s, Michael Charles

Miramar Theatre, Chris Webby (ages 17-plus, 9pm) Riverwest Gardeners Market, Texas Dave Trio (12pm) The Packing House Restaurant, Jazz Unlimited Open Jam w/Sharon Schmidt Quartet (1pm Angelo’s Piano Lounge, Live Karaoke w/ Julie Brandenburg Shank Hall, The Tangent w/Nick Turner’s Hawkwind & Karmakanic Jazz Estate, Sunday Styles: Ethan Keller Group Cactus Club, Craig Finn & The Uptown Controllers w/John K. Samson Turner Hall Ballroom, Boris w/Helms Alee and Endon Colectivo Coffee (On Prospect), Girlpool w/Palm and Lala Lala

SATURDAY, OCTOBER 21

MONDAY, OCTOBER 23

Rave / Eagles Club, Sundance Head (all-ages, 8pm) City Lights Brewing Company, Derek Byrne & Paddygrass Cue Club of Wisconsin (Waukesha), The Brew City Rockers Up & Under Pub, Alcohol is Rehab Mo’s Irish Pub (Downtown), After-Party w/Big Something Potawatomi Hotel & Casino, In Bar 360: 89 Mojo (9pm), In the Fire Pit: Gunnar & The Grizzly Boys (10:30pm) Jazz Estate, Dave Stoler 4tet w/Rich Perry (8pm), Late Night Session: Steve Peplin - Neil Davis Duo (11:30pm) Hilton Milwaukee City Center, Vocals & Keys Mason Street Grill, Jonathan Wade Trio (6pm) Angelo’s Piano Lounge, Piano Night Urban Harvest Brewing Company, No Dice: The MilWalking Dead Circle-A Cafe, Alive at Eight: The Cow-Ponies (8pm); DJ: Mr. Action (10pm) Jokerz Comedy Club, Dave Waite West Racine Farmers Market, Jack and Jill Jazz w/Jack Grassel & Jill Jensen (8:30am) Kochanski’s Concertina Beer Hall, Milwaukee Polka Riot!

The Landing at Hoyt Park, Paul Rebek (6pm) The Packing House Restaurant, Lem Banks, Jeff Stoll, Alvin Turner & Omar (6:30pm) Final Approach, Larry Lynne Solo American Legion Post #449 (Brookfield), The Ricochettes Colectivo Coffee (On Prospect), Patricia Barber The Bay Restaurant, Sue Russell Quartet Shank Hall, The Stone Foxes w/ Liv Mueller MugZ’s Pub and Grill (Muskego), Open Jam w/host Potter’s Field South Milwaukee Performing Arts Center, Violent Femmes “Viva Wisconsin 2017” Route 20 Outhouse (Sturtevant), Mellencougar Five O’Clock Steakhouse, Joe Richter Linneman’s Riverwest Inn, R&B Coquettes The Coffee House, Sweet Diversity w/The QuarterNotes ComedySportz Milwaukee, Laughing Liberally Milwaukee Frank’s Power Plant, Volunteer w/The Mons, Doubletruck & Dead Is Dead Jazz Estate, Misha Siegfried and his Band Liquid Johnny’s, Les Martin Silver Spring House, The Smoovies Miramar Theatre, Black Tiger Sex Machine w/Kai Wachi, Sullivan King & LeKtriQue (ages 17-plus, 9pm) Cactus Club, Jonwayne w/Danny Watts, EMV, Hot Science & DJ Mikey Fast Life Company Brewing, S2D/Green Room Rockers/Cream City Cabaret

Mason Street Grill, Joel Burt Duo (5:30pm) Up & Under Pub, Marshall McGhee and the Wanderers Open Mic Linneman’s Riverwest Inn, Poet’s Monday w/host Timothy Kloss & featured reader Kenneth Woodall (7:3010:30pm) Paulie’s Pub and Eatery, Open Jam w/Christopher John The Astor Cafe & Pub, The Chris Hanson Band w/Robin Pluer (6:30pm) Turner Hall Ballroom, Junior Brown 42 Lounge, Spoken Nerd w/Luxi & Bashful Hips Shank Hall, Dead Boys 40th Anniversary Tour w/Cheetah Chrome & Johnny Blitz, and The DUIs Riverside Theater, alt-J w/NoMBe Jazz Estate, Latin Jam Session with Cecilio Negrón Cactus Club, Motopony w/Paper Holland Puddler’s Hall, Blue Monday Blues Jam w/Cadillac Rob, Rex Probe & Wayne D’Wolf

SUNDAY, OCTOBER 22 Circle-A Cafe, Alive at Eight: “The Times They Aren’t A’Changin’ “ w/Dale Kellison & Mandy Cappleman (8pm); DJ: Sextor (10pm) Rounding Third Bar and Grill, The Dangerously Strong Comedy Open Mic Falcon Bowl, Zur Krone Reunion 2017 “Oktober-Best” w/ The Brewhaus Polka Kings, The Spirals, Terry Vittone, Tom Schwark & Art Kumbalek (4pm) Mo’s Irish Pub (Downtown), After-Party w/Big Something Iron Mike’s (Franklin), Jammin’ Jimmy Open Jam (3pm)

TUESDAY, OCTOBER 24 Frank’s Power Plant, Duck and Cover Comedy Open Mic C Notes Upscale Sports Lounge, Another Night-Another Mic Open Mic w/Darryl Hill 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, Transfer House Band w/Dennis Fermenich Mason Street Grill, Jamie Breiwick Group (5:30pm) Turner Hall Ballroom, Hamilton Leithauser w/Courtney Marie Andrews McAuliffe’s Pub (Racine), Jim Yorgan Sextet Mamie’s, Open Blues Jam w/Kenny J

WEDNESDAY, OCTOBER 25 Linneman’s Riverwest Inn, Acoustic Open Stage w/ feature Chris Haise (sign-up 8:30pm, start 9pm) Rave / Eagles Club, RAW: Savor (all-ages, 7pm) Potbelly Sandwich Shop (East Side), Texas Dave (noon) Circle-A Cafe, Alive at Eight: Greg Ashley w/Saebra & Carlyle, and Harris P. Andrews (8pm); DJ: Bob Evans & Gorge Webb (10pm) Iron Mike’s (Franklin), Danny Wendt Open Jam (6pm) Route 20 Outhouse (Sturtevant), Wednesday Acoustic: Camp Sugar (5:30pm) Conway’s Smokin’ Bar & Grill, Open Jam w/Big Wisconsin Johnson Kochanski’s Concertina Beer Hall, Polka Open Jam Mason Street Grill, Jamie Breiwick Group (5:30pm) The Packing House Restaurant, Carmen Nickerson & Kostia Efimov (6pm) Cafe Carpe (Fort Atkinson), Irish Session Tally’s Tap & Eatery (Waukesha), Tomm Lehnigk Mezcalero Restaurant, The Larry Lynne Trio Turner Hall Ballroom, Shawn Colvin Jazz Estate, Martelle Jossart Quartet Shank Hall, Barns Courtney Caroline’s Jazz Club, Harvey Westmoreland w/Knee Deep Blues Jam Paulie’s Field Trip, Humpday Jam w/Dave Wacker & Mitch Cooper

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O C T O B E R 1 9 , 2 0 1 7 | 39

FLIGHT OF FANCY

By James Barrick

THEME CROSSWORD

PSYCHO SUDOKU! “Kaidoku”

Each of the 26 letters of the alphabet is represented in this grid by a number between 1 and 26. Using letter frequency, word-pattern recognition, and the numbers as your guides, fill in the grid with well-known English words (HINT: since a Q is always followed by a U, try hunting down the Q first). Only lowercase, unhyphenated words are allowed in kaidoku, so you wonít see anything like STOCKHOLM or LONG-LOST in here (but you might see AFGHAN, since it has an uncapitalized meaning, too). Now stop wasting my precious time and SOLVE! psychosudoku@gmail.com 22 21 11

11 18

25

11

18

4

23

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24 14

6

12 23

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14 6

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3

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11 10

78. Letters 79. Flynn of old movies 80. Expunges 82. Sch. org.

83. Go wrong or astray 84. Kind of card or box 85. Love 86. Summit 87. Snoop’s problem 89. Unexciting 90. Takei or Orwell 92. Confab 93. Judges 94. Breaks down 95. Chekhov’s “Uncle —” 98. Willow rod 100. Do what tourists do 104. United 105. End of the quip: 4 wds.

109. Soft 110. Atoll 111. “—, meenie...”

112. Pours 113. Print measures 114. Abounds 115. Falls in drops 116. Joy DOWN 1. “Big Four” economies, for short 2. Dalai — 3. Range in Russia 4. Plan 5. Cut off 6. Fissiped creatures 7. Whitney or Wallach 8. — Speedwagon 9. Witticisms: 2 wds.

10. To any degree: 2 wds.

11. Victory goddess 12. Dusk-’til-dawn stay 13. Publishing people: Abbr.

14. Land agent 15. Family man 16. The Bard’s river 17. Verne’s captain 19. Mature 24. Unmixed, as brandy 25. Brooks and Gibson 30. “— Miserables” 32. Active one 33. Optimistic 35. Coeur d’— 36. OT name 37. Soil layers 38. Undecided balloters: 2 wds.

39. Language family 40. Strobile 41. Merchant 42. Roman official 43. Merest 45. Class of art 46. Seat 49. Greek letter 50. — -water mark 51. Arboreal primate 52. Like a monkey 54. Occupations 55. Weeds of grain fields 58. Genuflect 60. Bullring figure 62. Assign 63. Knight’s tunic 64. Contain

65. Scottish or Irish Gaelic 67. Virtuoso 70. “— the season...”

72. Jason’s wife 73. Student of Plato 74. Experts 76. For men only 77. Benefit 80. Variety of cheese 81. Paul and Perlman 84. Occupy 85. Forewarned 86. Pouch for a London letter carrier 88. Gelid 89. Kind of garden 90. Vincent van — 91. Old anesthetic 93. Deliberative bodies 94. Ceremonies 95. Rodent 96. Before very long 97. Tidings 99. Flute or coupe part 100. Cut 101. Begrime 102. Serf 103. — est percipi 106. Pt. on a compass 107. That vessel 108. Cuckoo

Solution to last week’s puzzle

5

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9

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5 22

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4 18

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13 7

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7 24

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26 9

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1

10/12 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 24 letters left over. They spell out the alternative theme of the puzzle.

Memories Solution: 24 Letters

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

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

ACROSS 1. Vision problem 5. Acid 10. Genus of waterfowl 15. Nature god 18. Harder to come by 20. Ancient: Prefix 21. Umlaut cousin 22. — Maria 23. Start of a quip by anonymous: 3 wds.

26. Toy dog 27. Measuring device 28. Fracas 29. Treeless plain 31. Substance 32. Like a wag 34. — de foie gras 36. Agreement 39. Shultz of old baseball 40. Mammoth 44. Dispirited 45. Name in fashion 46. First State capital 47. Peg 48. “Da — G Show” 49. Wood for cabinetry 51. Of flax 52. Fountain drink 53. Part 2 of quip: 2 wds.

55. River in Rome, in Rome 56. Rainbow 57. Amulet 58. — Sutra 59. Soften a little 60. Depression-era org.

61. Part 3 of quip: 4 wds.

66. Presidential nickname 67. Tenor 68. Villainous look 69. Arteries 71. Commedia dell’— 72. Deciduous trees 75. Part 4 of quip

3 4

17

19

Backyard BBQs Birthdays Bob Dyer Camps Circus Crash Davey Face Family Fishing FJ Holden Flynn Fraser

Friends Fun Games Gran Happiness Hikes House Kerr Matinee McMahon Melba MS DOS Music O’Keefe

Opera Peace Pets Picnic Radio Riptide Ships Slides Uncle Wedding Whitlam Zacs

40 | O C T O B E R 1 9 , 2 0 1 7

10/12 Solution: Nothing better than sleeping under the stars SHEPHERD EXPRESS

Solution: Where have all the years gone?

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

Date: 10/19/17

::NEWS OF THE WEIRD

::FREEWILLASTROLOGY ::BY ROB BREZSNY LIBRA (Sept. 23-Oct. 22): A woman I know, Caeli La, was thinking about relocating from Denver to Brooklyn. She journeyed across country and visited a prime neighborhood in her potential new headquarters. Here’s what she reported on her Facebook page: “In the last three days, I’ve seen three different men on separate occasions wearing sundresses. So this is definitely the right place for me.” What sort of signs and omens would tell you what you need to do to be in the right place at the right time, Libra? I urge you to be on the lookout for them in the coming weeks. Life will be conspiring to provide you with clues about where you can feel at peace, at home and in the groove.

SCORPIO (Oct. 23-Nov. 21): Simon & Garfunkel released their first album in October 1964. It received only a modest amount of airplay. The two musicians were so discouraged that they stopped working together. Then Bob Dylan’s producer Tom Wilson got permission to remix “The Sound of Silence,” a song on the album. He added rock instruments and heavy echo to Simon & Garfunkel’s folk arrangement.

When the tune was re-released in September 1965, it became a huge hit. I bring this to your attention, Scorpio, because I suspect you’re now at a point comparable to the time just before Tom Wilson discovered the potential of “The Sound of Silence.”

SAGITTARIUS (Nov. 22-Dec. 21): “Consider how hard it is to change yourself,” wrote author Jacob M. Braude, “and you’ll understand what little chance you have in trying to change others.” Ninety-nine percent of the time, I’d advise you and everybody else to surrender to that counsel as if it were an absolute truth. But I think you Sagittarians will be the exception to the rule in the coming weeks. More than usual, you’ll have the power to change yourself. And if you succeed, your self-transformations will be likely to trigger interesting changes in people around you.

Here’s another useful tip, also courtesy of Jacob M. Braude: “Behave like a duck. Keep calm and unruffled on the surface, but paddle like the devil underneath.”

CAPRICORN (Dec. 22-Jan. 19): In 1969, two earthlings walked on the moon for the first time. To ensure that astronauts Neil Armstrong and Buzz Aldrin landed there and returned safely, about 400,000 people labored and cooperated for many years. I suspect that in the coming months, you may be drawn to a collaborative project that’s not as ambitious as NASA’s, but nevertheless fueled by a grand plan and a big scope. And according to my astrological calculations, you will have even more ability than usual to be a driving force in such a project. Your power to inspire and organize group efforts will be at a peak.

AQUARIUS (Jan. 20-Feb. 18): I predict your ambitions will burn more steadily in the coming months, and will produce more heat and light than ever before. You’ll have a clearer conception of exactly what it is you want to accomplish, as well as a growing certainty of the resources and help you’ll need to accomplish it. Hooray and hallelujah! But keep this in mind, Aquarius: As you acquire greater access to meaningful success—not just the kind of success that merely impresses other people—you’ll be required to take on more responsibility. Can you handle that? I think you can.

PISCES (Feb. 19-March 20): What’s your top conspiracy theory? Does it revolve around the Illuminati, the occult group that is supposedly plotting to abolish all nations and create a world government? Or does it involve the stealthy invasion by extraterrestrials who are allegedly seizing mental control over human political leaders and influencing them to wage endless war and wreck the environment? Or is your pet conspiracy theory more personal? Maybe you secretly believe, for instance, that the difficult events you experienced in the past were so painful and debilitating that they will forever prevent you from fulfilling your fondest dream. Well, Pisces. I’m here to tell you that whatever conspiracy theory you most tightly embrace is ready to be disproven once and for all. Are you willing to be relieved of your delusions?

ARIES (March 21-April 19): “I am my own

SHEPHERD EXPRESS

muse,” wrote painter Frida Kahlo. “I am the subject I know best. The subject I want to know better.”

Would you consider trying out this perspective for a while, Aries? If so, you might generate a few ticklish surprises. You may be led into mysterious areas of your psyche that had previously been off-limits.

You could discover secrets you’ve been hiding from yourself. So what would it mean to be your own muse? What exactly would you do? Here are some examples. Flirt with yourself in the mirror. Ask yourself impertinent, insouciant questions. Have imaginary conversations with the person you were three years ago and the person you’ll be in three years.

TAURUS (April 20-May 20): “Happiness comes from getting what you want,” said poet Stephen Levine, whereas joy comes “from being who you really are.” According to my analysis, the coming weeks will bear a higher potential for joy than for happiness. I’m not saying you won’t get anything you want. But I do suspect that focusing on getting what you want might sap energy from the venture that’s more likely to thrive: an unprecedented awakening to the truth of who you really are.

GEMINI (May 21-June 20): Sigmund Freud was a medical doctor who laid the groundwork for psychoanalysis. Throughout the 20th century, his radical, often outrageous ideas were a major influence on Western culture. When Freud was 50, he discovered a brilliant psychiatrist who would become his prize pupil: Carl Jung.

When the two men first met in Vienna in 1907, they conversed without a break for 13 consecutive hours.

According to my reading of the astrological omens, you could experience a comparable immersion sometime soon: a captivating involvement with a new influence, a provocative exchange that enchants you or a fascinating encounter that shifts your course.

CANCER (June 21-July 22): In the next 12 months, I hope to help you track down new pleasures and amusements that teach you more about what you want out of life. I will also be subtly reminding you that all the world’s a stage, and will advise you on how to raise your self-expression to Oscar-worthy levels. As for romance, here’s my prescription between now and October 2018: The more compassion you cultivate, the more personal love you will enjoy. If you lift your generosity to a higher octave, there’ll be another perk, too: You will be host to an enhanced flow of creative ideas.

LEO (July 23-Aug. 22): Are you interested in diving down to explore the mysterious and evocative depths? Would you be open to spending more time than usual cultivating peace and stillness in a sanctuary? Can you sense the rewards that will become available if you pay reverence to influences that nurture your wild soul? I hope you’ll be working on projects like these in the coming weeks, Leo. You’ll be in a phase when the single most important gift you can give yourself is to remember what you’re made of and how you got made.

VIRGO (Aug. 23-Sept. 22): Louisa May Alcott wrote a novel entitled A Long Fatal Love Chase, which was regarded as too racy to be published until a century after her death. “In the books I read, the sinners are more interesting than the saints,” says Alcott’s heroine, Rosamund, “and in real life good people are dismally dull.” I boldly predict that in the coming months, Virgo, you won’t provide evidence to support Rosamund’s views. You’ll be even more interesting than you usually are, and will also gather more than your usual quota of joy and self-worth—but without having to wake up even once with your clothes torn and your head lying in a gutter after a night of forlorn debauchery.

Homework: If one of your heroes said to you, “Tell me the most important things you know,” what would you say? 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.

::BY THE EDITORS OF ANDREWS MCMEEL

Alcoholic Aliens

B

ryant Johnson of Casper, Wyo., was on a mission on Monday, Oct. 2, when police responded to a call about a man warning citizens of an alien invasion coming next year. KTWO Radio in Casper reported that Johnson told police he had traveled back in time from 2048, explaining that the aliens filled his body with alcohol and had him stand on a giant pad that transported him back to 2017—though he was supposed to arrive in 2018. He also asked to speak with the “president of the town;” instead, Bryant was arrested for public intoxication.

Delinquent Donkey The owners of a mischievous donkey in Vogelsberg, Germany, have been ordered to pay for damages after Vitus, the donkey, mistook an orange McLaren Spider sports car for sustenance. When Markus Zahn left his $411,000 car parked next to a paddock on Sept. 16, 2016, he returned to find that Vitus had nibbled on its paint to the tune of $7,000 in damage. “The donkey had insurance, but the insurance didn’t want to pay,” Zahn told the BBC. Vitus’ rap sheet also includes biting a Mercedes-Benz.

Did He Ever Play “Operation?”

Doctors thought a 47-year-old postman in Preston, England, who complained of a persistent cough might have cancer. After all, he was a long-term smoker whose X-rays showed a spot on his lung. But when they went in and removed the “mass,” the BBC reported, doctors found the culprit for the coughing,” a “long-lost Playmobil traffic cone” the patient had received as a gift on his seventh birthday.

He told doctors he had regularly swallowed the small pieces as a child and believed he had inhaled the tiny cone. After the toy was removed, the man’s cough almost completely disappeared and his other symptoms have likewise improved.

A Calendar To Carp About If you’re already shopping for your 2018 calendar, don’t overlook the “Carponizer Carp Calendar,” featuring “12 beautiful carp with attractive women on high quality paper.”

Neither the carp nor the women are clothed.

Hendrik Pohler, 28, the calendar’s creator, was struck with the idea when he was fishing

with a friend, “and at the spot next to us were two hot girls fishing,” he told Maxim, which described the models as having “stiff, pained expressions.”

Moving News From Montana Patrick J. Adams Jr., 36, of Great Falls, Mont., pulled the ultimate heist in July when he convinced two male friends and his girlfriend to help him “move out” of a house that wasn’t his. One of the friends was suspicious when he saw a wall in the home dedicated to military service, but didn’t remember that Adams had ever been in the military, the Great Falls Tribune reported. That friend left before the move was complete, but the rest of the group loaded about $40,000 worth of belongings into a U-Haul truck, requiring two trips.

Later that evening, the true homeowner of the burglarized house called police and reported the theft, and through U-Haul records police were able to track Adams down. He was charged on Sept. 28 with burglary and criminal mischief.

A Life-After-Death Experience Juana Escudero, 53, of Alcalá de Guadaira, Spain, has been dead since May 13, 2010— except for the fact that she’s still very much alive. FOX News reports that a Malaga, Spain, woman died on that date who shared Escudero’s full name and birthdate. As a result, Escudero was pronounced dead by the government, which has given her headaches ever since. For instance, she can’t renew her driver’s license or go to the doctor. Finally, six years later, she tracked down the actual dead woman in Malaga; last month, she petitioned the courts to open the grave to prove that she is not the dead woman. She even offered to do a DNA test. “On the government’s computers, I am dead,” Escudero said, “but for the banks, I am alive and kicking.”

Panda-monium!

Minnesota State Police nabbed a motorcycle rider on Thursday, Aug. 31, who was weaving in and out of traffic on Interstate 394 and performing stunts—while wearing a panda suit complete with an oversize panda head. The rider told police that the panda suit was meant to help his motorcycle videos “go viral,” but police responded with a citation for reckless driving, and they confiscated the panda head. “A panda head will not protect you in a crash like a DOT-approved helmet would,” police helpfully advise on their Facebook page. © 2017 ANDREWS MCMEEL SYNDICATION O C T O B E R 1 9 , 2 0 1 7 | 41

THEBACK::ARTFORART’SSAKE

YOU ARE READING ALMOST LIVE ::BY ART KUMBALEK

Ed. Note: Two analysts/commentators have been assigned to Mr. Kumbalek’s column this week to provide more comprehensive comprehension through the marvel of instant analysis in hopes of attracting more male beer drinkers from ages 18 to 34 to this page. The analysts we chose are former professional writers— one now in advertising, the other fulfilling a lengthy community service obligation. We feel their clear, insightful and fun commentary will benefit both the seasoned reader as well as the casual.

Analyst #1: Hello, and welcome. Before the first paragraph gets under way, I’d like to ask my compatriot here what kind of column—or essay, as Mr. Kumbalek prefers to pretentiously call it—we can look forward to this week.

Analyst #2: With this writer, one never knows. Questions are these: Does he have his essay face on and has he come to write? Or, will he just sputter around in the backfield of his mind until he figures he’s coughed up enough words to call it a day and hit the nearest bar stool. Any given week, it’s a tossup, but let’s turn to the action. Looks like he’s ready to kick it off.

I

’m Art Kumbalek and man oh manischewitz what a world, ain’a? Listen...

Anal. #1: Art seems to have called a very early timeout here. Any idea why?

Anal. #2: I think it’s an equipment problem.

He stopped to light a cigarette and pour himself another tub of coffee. Right now he’s picking his nose, but I think he’s nearly ready to retake the page.

I was wondering the other day if any of Yo-Yo Ma’s friends ever call him Duncan, like for a nickname, you know?

Anal. #1: Any idea who he’s talking about?

Anal. #2: Not a clue, but an otherwise nice, quick opener.

Anyways, before I get steamrollering Swiftly mine weekly battle against the usual confederate union of dunces, hey, how ’bout this holiday season coming back up like a bad burrito. Here in the States, the season now commences with Columbus focking Day. But in different parts of the world it ain’t the same, like over there by New Zealand, where it starts Oct. 23 this year ’cause that’s their Labour Day, and I got to tell you, I hope their labor situation is a whole lot healthier than the crap sandwich the would-be American workingman is forced to swallow, lo, these days.

Anal. #1: That opening phrase—meant to throw the reader offside?

Anal. #2: Fock if I know. And New Zealand, two questions: One, do we really need to know anything about it; and two, who cares?

Anal. #1: We know that the country was settled by the Maoris, a group principally out of Polynesia, sometime before 1350. And if they were cannibals, they’d enjoy this anecdote: Sitting around after lunch, one cannibal says to the other, “Your wife makes a nice soup.” The other says, “Yeah, I’m sure going to miss her.” Now, back to the page.

I mean, do we even have unions, to speak of, anymore?

We were so cock-focking-sure all our problems were on account of the unions, ain’a?

Sky-high budget deficit? The unions. Can’t get the goods on pushing goods in foreign markets? Unions. Your focking car’s cigarette lighter doesn’t want to cooperate? Your kid can’t read? Aaron Rodgers’ busted collarbone? You guessed it. The focking unions.

Big Business heard the Word and the Word was this: Go Ahead And Squash The Unions ’Cause Who’s Going To Stop You. And the blue-collar man has become the horseshit-collar man and a buck two-eighty an hour won’t get you a pot to pee in and this sucks, what the fock.

Anal. #1: Believe it or not, Art’s taking a TV timeout.

Any thoughts on the action?

Anal. #2: Reasonably coherent approach, an approach Mr. Kumbalek might think of trying more often.

The excessive capitalization, too cutesy by half. But here he comes, back from the refrigerator with an icecold one in hand, so let’s get what’s left of this page under way.

And speaking of the workplace, here’s one for you: So this hotshot executive has a problem. He’s got to get rid of one of his staff, either Jack or Jill. They’re equally qualified and do excellent work. He decides that whichever one uses the water cooler first would get the heave-ho. So Jill comes in, hung-over to the max after partying all night. She goes to the cooler to take an aspirin. The executive says: “Jill, excuse me, but I need

to lay you or Jack off.” Jill says: “So could you jack off? I feel like shit today.” Ba-ding!

Let this story be a warning to what workers we have left working these days: Watch what you say. If our “Jill” had been less a party gal, she could’ve slapped the executive guy so fast with a sex-harassment suit right across the puss as to bring tears to his eyes, I kid you not.

I’m a sensitive guy when it comes to this subject ’cause word-harassment is the solo reason I’m even at a workplace; it’s the butter that pats my toast. Sure, my variety is written ’stead of spoken, but you know what they say: “The pen is more mightily potenter than a focking petard, for christ sakes,” ’cause I’m Art Kumbalek and I told you so.

Anal. #1: That’s it? Space has ended. Let’s grab Mr. Kumbalek for a comment before his ritual post-essay meltdown at the Uptowner tavern/charm school. Art, this column, this essay. Call it a win, loss, or draw?

Art: Call it focking finished.

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