The Reader Feb. 27 - March 5, 2014

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| THE READER |

ALEGENT HEALTH Clinic Office Specialist Adult Partial Hospitalization PT, RN Adult Partial Hospitalization IMC PT, RN Adult Partial Hospitalization IMC OnCall & Surgical Services Project Specialist FT. Contact Jakob Hughes at jakob.hughtes@alegent. org. Go to OmahaJobs.com for more information.

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heartlandhealing N E W A G E H E A LT H A N D W E L L N E S S B Y M I C H A E L B R AU N S T E I N

News You Can Use The Good

Pipe Fitting In mid-February, a Nebraska judge struck down a 2012 law that incorrectly gave our governor, Dave Heineman, supreme power over where the Keystone Pipeline would be allowed to go. The law allowed Herr Heineman the option to cede condemnation power and Right of Eminent Domain to the Canadian corporation, TransCanada. Essentially, TC would have had the right to confiscate land from Nebraska farmers and build the pipeline wherever governor wanted. The law was ruled unconstitutional.

This reversal again reminds TransCanada and others that Nebraska ain’t Canada’s bitch. Why it’s important: Foreign countries shouldn’t control Nebraska; the pipeline is a dangerous undertaking; we need to shift from fossil fuels.

Cat Pause Some crazy people rammed a ruling through a couple years ago that allowed the State of Nebraska to award licenses to chase down, tree and gun down cougars. With a measly 22 mountain lions holding claim to 49 million acres of Nebraska (about one puma per 2 million acres!) they justified it “to control the cougar population.” WTF? Fortunately, Ernie Chambers is one of the sane ones in Lincoln and has collected enough votes to reverse the cougar hunting law. Why it’s important: Humans need more respect for nature.

Baby Steps Women have been birthing babies for, oh, millions of years. Modern surgical procedures have been around, oh, about a hundred years. Lately, docs have been cutting open wombs to pluck babies more often than ever. About one in three US deliveries is done by C-section. Finally, modern docs are figuring out that the female animal has not forgotten how to birth. The American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists issued guidelines that delivery docs should be a little slower with the scalpel. C-sections are valuable when indicated by life-threatening complications but too often they are scheduled for bad reasons: a doctor’s tee time, convenience or fear of liability lawsuits. C-sections have a whole list of dangers and cutting back on the cutting up is good news.

Mammograms Questioned One of the largest and most meticulous studies of mammography ever done, involving 90,000 women and lasting a quartercentury has found that they are statistically useless in regard to saving lives. Perhaps more attention will be given to what causes the disease and focus on that.

The Bad

Water Crisis Triple hit of bad news on this front.

Drought in the west and California, where most of our

produce is grown, is pretty much out of water. Seriously. Here in Nebraska, all across the state, our precious groundwater that has built up over thousands of years was drawn down three feet last year, a huge amount of water used up to grow ethanol, cow food and candy bars. And in West Virginia, a half million people can’t bathe in, touch or drink their tap water because of chemicals leaked into it. And we’re contemplating a pipe carrying unknown chemicals (Canada refuses to tell us what ones) and sludge crossing our state? Bad news.

Bad Farm Exports What we grow and eat is killing us and we’re losing money doing it. A Harvard study looked at one horrible byproduct of our American agriculture system, the pollutant ammonia. Comparing the revenue from exporting the ag products to how much we spend in healthcare combatting the results of ammonia-induced illness and death here in the US, we lose; by a minus $13 billion and thousands of deaths. Meanwhile, China smiles and now owns the largest pork producer in the world, recently purchasing the American company Smithfield Foods. China gets the pork; we get the poop.

Unconscionable A study by Oxfam puts global inequity in perspective: 85 richest people — you could fit them all in a city bus, (as if they’ve ever been in one), — 85 people own more of the planet’s wealth than the poorest 3.5 billion. 85 to 3,500,000,000. That’s pretty unsettling. There is nothing inherently wrong with prosperity. There is something inherently wrong with inequity.

VISIONS FROM FIVE MINUTES INTO THE FUTURE • FEBRUARY 27, 2014 •

The Ugly

One Bad Apple Genetically modified organisms, GMOs, are everywhere. Their implementation has a sordid and corrupt history driven by collusion between the Bush One administration and greedy corporations. Lackey Dan Quayle, veep under Bush One, was the figurehead chairman of the panel okaying GMOs in the early ‘90s. Important: Not one commercially grown GMO improves nutrition, is healthier or in any way benefits consumers. They don’t have more vitamins or nutrients. They are not environmentally better and in fact, worse. They lead to more pesticide use while filling corporate coffers. A new GMO apple is expected to be approved by the USDA this year.

Known as the Arctic Apple, its single advantage over a natural apple is that it won’t turn brown when cut.

There are lots of things wrong with that as an incentive but what’s the worst is that the genetic trait is accomplished by inserting a gene from E. coli bacteria into the apple causing antibiotic resistance. Crazy and ugly news.

In the future, children will have their DNA tested and sequenced at the moment of birth as part of a comprehensive approach to health care, in the same way we draw blood nowadays. Babies will grow up in a world in which their genetic information

is instantly available to them via computer, including thousands or even millions of genetic relatives, dating back through history. Our future children will be connected with their health and their history in a way that is impossible for us to imagine.

Embrace Creativity!

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HEARTLAND HEALING is a New Age polemic describing alternatives to conventional methods

of healing the body, mind and planet. It is provided as information and entertainment, certainly not medical advice. It is not an endorsement of any particular therapy, either by the writer or The Reader. Visit HeartlandHealing.com for more information.

heartland healing

| THE READER |

FEB. 27 - MAR. 5, 2014

3

Restaurants vie for Best at

VNA’s Art & Soup

by Cheril Lee

“A

rt & Soup is the VNA’s SIGNATURE event,” said Caryn Hohnholt VP of Fund Development for the Visiting Nurses’ Association (VNA).

At this year’s 16th annual Art & Soup, held at the Embassy Suites in La Vista, 20 Omaha-area restaurants competed for the honor of having the best soup.

Hohnholt said they pulled out all the stops and really put their heart and soul into trying to come up with new and inventive soups.

That was certainly clear this year, which featured everything from Loaded Peruvian Potatoes with Cured Pork Belly and Fatty Brisket Pho to Apple-Squash Bisque with Spice Crème Fraiche and Smoked Salmon Florentine.

and-chef-award-semifinalists. n Omaha Loves Our James Beard Award Semifinalist Congratulations to Chef Clayton and team at The Grey Plume on being nominated as a James Beard Foundation semifinalist for 2014 Best Chef Award, Midwest.

Follow or copy the link below for other nominations http://www.jamesbeard.org/blog/2014-restaurant-

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FEB. 27 - MAR. 5, 2014

n More Talent Coming from the Grey Plume Chase Grove, chef de partie at The Grey Plume, Omaha, will be competing in a regional cooking competition March 17, in St. Louis during the American Culinary Federation’s (ACF) Central Regional Conference.

Grove is competing for the title of ACF Central Region Student Chef of the Year against three other aspiring chefs. If Grove wins the regional competition, he will

| THE READER |

dish

Perhaps the best part of the event is that admission allowed you the privilege of sampling as many of the soups as you wanted.

And soup portions were ample and had an assortment of garnishes, including deliciously crispy fried onions and crunchy-spiced peanuts.

Some of the restaurants went all out creatively speaking. 801 Chophouse offered their take on the traditional comfort food, peanut butter and jelly, with a Moroccan Peanut Soup with Siracha Concord Grape Jam. Over at Attitude on Food’s table, the mood was whimsical with their Caramelized Sweet Potato Soup with Purple Potato Confit, Candied Bacon and, wait for it, Toasted Marshmallow.

These restaurants clearly worked hard to try and win the top prize.

Attendees were invited to vote on which soups they thought were the best.

Catering Creations won first place and decor with

go on to compete for the national title July 25-29 in Kansas City, Mo. n Thank You, Venice Inn, For All The Great Years Eli Caniglia’s Vencie Inn is closing their doors. This Omaha staple located at 6920 Pacific Street has seen its heyday come and go. Brothers and owners, Jerry and Chuck Caniglia have accepted a developer’s offer and will be closing their restaurant on May 3. Ac-

their Bangkok Mussel Carnival.

Vivace took second place with its Goulash with Lemon Sour Cream and Mustard Spaetzle. And M’s Pub won the People’s Choice and nabbed third place with their Bourbon Butternut Squash Bisque with Maple Glazed Duck, Cranberry Gastrique, Jalapeno BaconWalnut Granola and Crème Fraiche.

Lest you think it was only about soup, there were plenty of other goodies to be enjoyed including bits of bundts from Nothing Bundt Cakes, mini cupcakes courtesy of Jones Bros. Cupcakes & Café and iced tea and coffee from Starbucks.

Then there was the art half of Art & Soup. Hohnholt refers to it as an indoor art fair, “50 different artists attend each year and bring their original artwork.”

Fifty percent of sales of the artwork and 100 percent of the proceeds from admission go to support the VNA’s Shelter Nursing Program.

Hohnholt said the VNA provides nursing in all of the Omaha and Council Bluffs homeless shelters and domestic violence shelters.

“A lot of times at the adult shelters though, youth aren’t allowed in without an adult, so there are a lot of youth living on the streets, in cars or in abandoned buildings and we serve them as well,” said Hohnholt.

She said the VNA looks at these individuals’ health needs, helps them with their chronic conditions and connects them with other long-term providers if they can.

Last year, the VNA provided over 8,100 faceto-face visits. Hohnholt said the entire program is philanthropy funded with a big part of that being the Art & Soup event.

“People look forward to it. Many come every year and bring new people. It’s a good time and it benefits a good cause,” she said.

For more information on the VNA, visit www.thevnacares.org.

cording to the Omaha World Herald, Jerry states “It has been a joy to serve those customers for all those years. And we would not have survived without our loyal staff.” Luckily, there is still time to partake in your menu favorite before this love story ends..

— Krista O’Malley Crumbs is about indulging in food and celebrating its many forms. Send information about area food and drink businesses to crumbs@thereader.com.

Omaha Performing Arts Presents

Tequila Corner

I

can usually count on Jose Salazar, La Mesa’s Regional Manager, to steer me in the right direction when it comes to food and drink pairings. In the past, before I had Jose on speed dial, I used to just guess what drinks went with what food. I learned quite a bit through trial and error, but now I can count on Jose to tell me what to order and he hasn’t been wrong yet.

So when I found out that La Mesa is putting the Cabrito Tequila Reposado Margarita on special in March, my first move was to call Jose and ask him what I should order to eat when I go and get my 18 ounce margarita for $6.50.

He didn’t even hesitate in giving me some solid recommendations, because he’s cool like that.

“Start out with some guacamole,” Jose said, so that’s what I did. I ordered the fresh guacamole with some chips and used some impressive restraint by allowing the other people at my table to eat some too. “I think Pork Carnitas would be great,” he suggested.

If you haven’t tried the Carnitas, you’re missing out on tender pork tips that are served with avocado, lettuce, tomato, jalapeno, red onions and tortillas. They’re also accompanied by rice and your choice of refried, black or charros beans. And if you visit in March, they can partner nicely with your Cabrito Tequila Reposado Margarita (make that plural if you have a designated driver).

If Carnitas aren’t your style, Jose had another recommendation. “The Chile Verde with pork is a good choice too,” he says. “It’s spicy, but not really hot.” I notice a pork theme going on here, but you can also order the Chile Verde with chicken, which is what I did. I must say, the combination of the Chile Verde alongside the Cabrito Tequila Reposado Margarita was dazzling. The food was full of vibrant flavors and the Margarita starts out powerful but then smooths out quickly. I wasn’t surprised that the Margarita would have that kick and smoothness all in one; Carbrito Tequila

Reposado is made from 100% blue agave and comes from one of the most popular tequila makers in Mexico.

Remember how I said Jose is never wrong when it comes to his food recommendations? I did have one moment that made me pause and wonder if perhaps he might not be perfect after all – it was when I asked him what he would order for dessert with this particular pairing.

“Oh, I’m not much of a dessert person,” he responded, not realizing that in that moment I couldn’t help but wonder if he had lost his mind. Luckily, I have ample research hours in the art of choosing the right La Mesa dessert to accompany a meal, and in this instance I have to say that Choco Flan is the clear winner. Or the Fried Ice Cream. Or maybe the Mexican Cheese Cake. Really, it doesn’t matter – they’re all delicious and make a great ending to a flavorful meal.

By the way, you’ll want to mark your calendar for Thursday, April 17 from 6-8pm. That’s the next tequila tasting at the La Mesa on 110th & Maple Street. Ask your server for more information or call any La Mesa to make your reservation.

Believe me when I say you don’t want to miss this tequila tasting. The one I attended was a blast, and besides, fun things just have a way of happening at La Mesa – just ask Jennifer K., who just won the 10th annual all-inclusive free

Adult lAnguAge. Recommended for ages 18+. All productions, performers, prices, dates and times subject to change.

“MAXIMIZe YOuR lIFe tOuR” IS nOt SPOnSORed, endORSed, OR OtHeRWISe ASSOCIAted WItH “tHe BIggeSt lOSeR”

trip for two to Mexico, courtesy of La Mesa.

—Tamsen Butler

dish

| THE READER |

FEB. 27 - MAR. 5, 2014

5

Terence “Bud” Crawford is in the fight of his life for the world Lightweight title he looks to make history

by Leo Biga

As

Omaha glories in Creighton Bluejays hoops superstar Doug McDermott’s historic season, another local sports figure going for greatness flies under the radar.

Top ranked boxer Terence “Bud” Crawford challenges for the WBO lightweight title March 1 against champion Ricky Burns in the title holder’s native Scotland. The scheduled 12-rounder is being televised in the States by AWE, a hard to find cable-satellite network. The fight is scheduled for 2 p.m. (CST). The CU campus McDermott’s put on the map is mere few blocks from The Hood Crawford grew up in and where his recently opened gym, B & B Boxing Academy, 3034 Sprague Street, is located. The African-American Craw-

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FEB. 27 - MAR. 5, 2014

| THE READER |

ford is a product of the inner city. He grew up fighting in the streets and getting kicked out of schools. On the eve of his first pro bout he was shot in the head on the same mean streets of his youth.

Crawford’s compiled a 22-0 record, 16 by knockout, yet he’s never once fought professionally in his hometown though he trains and resides here. Crawford toils at a lone wolf game that’s lost traction in this mixed martial arts age, operating in relative obscurity. Unless you follow boxing on HBO, you’ve likely not seen him fight and until reading this were oblivious to his upcoming title shot.

Decades ago, when boxing still mattered in places like Omaha and when there weren’t alphabet soup titles with deluded value, Crawford’s world championship bid would have

cover story

been big news. Still, just getting in this position should be cause for celebration today. If he prevails in Glasgow – oddsmakers and experts give him anywhere from a decent to an excellent chance – he’d be the first major boxing champ from Neb. since heavyweight Max Bear in 1934. The last time a local fought for an undisputed title was 1972, when Ron “The Bluffs Butcher” Stander met heavyweight king Joe Frazier at the Civic Auditorium and got bloodied like a stuck pig for his trouble.

Co-manager-trainer Brian “BoMac” McIntyre feels Omaha’s not embracing this historic moment involving one of its own. He says given the way Crawford represents by proudly identifying his hometown on his trunks and giving it props in interviews, it’s a shame Omaha doesn’t “stand up” for him in continued on page 8 y

The life and music of Ella Fitzgerald Starring Kathy Tyree

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402.345.0606 / omahasymphony.org | THE READER |

FEB. 27 - MAR. 5, 2014

7

Terence “Bud” Crawford is in the fight of his life for the world Lightweight title he looks to make history

As

Omaha glories in Creighton Bluejays hoops superstar Doug McDermott’s historic season, another local sports figure going for greatness flies under the radar.

Top ranked boxer Terence “Bud” Crawford challenges for the WBO lightweight title March 1 against champion Ricky Burns in the title holder’s native Scotland. The scheduled 12-rounder is being televised in the States by AWE, a hard to find cable-satellite network. The fight is scheduled for 2 p.m. (CST). The CU campus McDermott’s put on the map is mere few blocks from The Hood Crawford grew up in and where his recently opened gym, B & B Boxing Academy, 3034 Sprague Street, is located. The African-American Craw-

6

FEB. 27 - MAR. 5, 2014

| THE READER |

ford is a product of the inner city. He grew up fighting in the streets and getting kicked out of schools. On the eve of his first pro bout he was shot in the head on the same mean streets of his youth.

Crawford’s compiled a 22-0 record, 16 by knockout, yet he’s never once fought professionally in his hometown though he trains and resides here. Crawford toils at a lone wolf game that’s lost traction in this mixed martial arts age, operating in relative obscurity. Unless you follow boxing on HBO, you’ve likely not seen him fight and until reading this were oblivious to his upcoming title shot.

Decades ago, when boxing still mattered in places like Omaha and when there weren’t alphabet soup titles with deluded value, Crawford’s world championship bid would have

cover story

by Leo Biga been big news. Still, just getting in this position should be cause for celebration today. If he prevails in Glasgow – oddsmakers and experts give him anywhere from a decent to an excellent chance – he’d be the first major boxing champ from Neb. since heavyweight Max Bear in 1934. The last time a local fought for an undisputed title was 1972, when Ron “The Bluffs Butcher” Stander met heavyweight king Joe Frazier at the Civic Auditorium and got bloodied like a stuck pig for his trouble.

Co-manager-trainer Brian “BoMac” McIntyre feels Omaha’s not embracing this historic moment involving one of its own. He says given the way Crawford represents by proudly identifying his hometown on his trunks and giving it props in interviews, it’s a shame Omaha doesn’t “stand up” for him in continued on page 8 y

Omaha Performing Arts Presents

TAO

Phoenix Rising

March 7, 2014 | Orpheum Theater Tickets start at $20 | TicketOmaha.com

BUILD a

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doing what you love.

All productions, performers, prices, dates and times subject to change.

Presents

Nadia Bolz-Weber Thursday, February 27 7:00 p.m. CST

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Countryside Community Church | 8787 Pacific St. Lecture, Q&A, and book signing Tickets Available at Door Suggested donation $10.00 Rev. Nadia Bolz-Weber is the founding pastor of House for All Sinners and Saints in Denver, Colorado. She is the author of Salvation on the Small Screen? 24 Hours of Christian Television (Seabury 2008) and the New York Times Bestselling theological memoir, Pastrix: The Cranky Beautiful Faith of a Sinner & Saint (Jericho 2013). She blogs at www.sarcasticlutheran.com and Jim Wallis’ www.Godspolitics.com. Her writings can be found in the Christian Century, The Lutheran Magazine and Patheos.com. Nadia has been featured in The Washington Post, NPR’s Morning Edition, The Daily Beast and on CNN. Nobody really believes she’s an ordained pastor in the ELCA. Maybe it’s the sleeve tattoos or the fact that she swears like a truck driver. Either way...she’s fine with it. www.countryside.org | www.centerforfaithstudies.org

| THE READER |

FEB. 27 - MAR. 5, 2014

9

y continued from page 8

With him finally on the cusp of his dream he can’t afford giddiness.

“This is what I wanted to do, so now that it’s here I’m the one who’s got to go in there and handle my business and then when I win it I’m going to be happy. It’s strictly business right now. I’m not happy I’m fighting for a world title, no. I’m going to be happy when I win it though.

“I’m ready to do what I’ve been doing all my life and that’s showing people how good my talent is.”

Many Omaha boxing scene veterans believe Crawford may just be the best fighter, pound-forpound, to ever come out of here.

Crawford, the father of two children, says his confidence is high because he’s left nothing to chance in training. Sticking with a routine that’s worked before, he began training for Burns in Omaha, then went to Colorado Springs for the added conditioning high altitude promotes and the better sparring available there, the site of USA Boxing. Being away from home also helped eliminate distractions. McIntyre says it’s all about getting focused and following a regimented workout process from 8 to 8 daily that ensures he didn’t peak too early.

10

FEB. 27 - MAR. 5, 2014

After the four-week camp Crawford returned home mid-February to fine-tune, stay sharp and maintain just the right edge.

Even after weeks of intense training that encompassed running, swimming, sit-ups and sparring, Crawford says there’s still an element of doubt that naturally attends any fight.

“There’s always going to be a doubt and a what-if with any fighter, I don’t care who he is. They’re going to always have doubt in the back of their mind. Did they do enough? What if this happens? What if that happens? But that’s when you got to adapt and you got to adjust to the situation and that’s what I plan to do.”

As for his strategy, he says, “basically it’s just me fighting my fight,” adding “I just always feel like if I fight like I want to fight can’t nobody beat me. I’ve got so many styles, so it’s going to be hard to capitalize on one style because I’ll switch up or change it up.”

All the coaching and strategizing in the world doesn’t mean anything, he says, if you can’t execute it.

“It’s up to me to establish it and carry it on into the ring. We can train all day, every day, we can do this and that. Like Ricky Burns, he can say he’s got something new, he’s going do this and that, but all

| THE READER |

cover story

that don’t matter if you get in the ring and you can’t establish what you want to do. When we get in the ring then it’s all going to tell.”

Crawford refuses to fight out of character. He’s too smart to be drawn into adopting a style or forcing the action that’s not in his best interest. Even when boos rained down on him in Orlando, Fla. as he dismantled Russian Andrey Klimov in an Oct. 4, 2013 fight, Crawford was content to stick with his plan of outboxing his foe even though going for a KO would have pleased onlookers and HBO executives.

He says he’ll neither get into a brawling match with Burns nor take undue chances testing the champ’s repaired jaw, which was broken in his last title defense, for the sake of pleasing the crowd or boosting ratings.

“I’m not going to go out there and just go for haymakers and get caught with stupid stuff. I’m just going to go out there and do what I do and if the knockout comes it comes, if it don’t it don’t. I’m just going out there to win that title and that’s the only thing on my mind.”

He maintains a healthy respect for Burns or any opponent.

“I don’t underestimate nobody. Even if it’s a fight I know I’m going to knock the dude out I always go in there like, What if? It keeps me driving, it keeps me

on my Ps and Qs, it keeps me more focused because you never know – one punch can beat you.”

He says you also won’t catch him doing any prefight grandstanding or gamesmanship at the weighin press conference. Not his style, though he’s says if Burns comes at him he’ll come right back. However, Crawford does use those occasions to size up his opponent and what he finds can be revealing.

“Sometimes I’ll see right through you. I can see in your eyes a little twitch. On the outside you look like you’re this big bad guy but on the inside you’re afraid for your life. You’re a nervous wreck.”

At the end of the day, there’s nothing about this fight or any fight that scares him. Compared to a bullet in the head it’s no big deal.

“I’ve been shot, I’m not going over there worried about what’s going to happen in the ring. I’m ready, period. I’ve got my mind made up, I’ve got my goals set, and I’m going up there and I’m going to get it.

I’m not going to let nothing or nobody stop me from conquering my dreams.”

Meanwhile, Team Crawford asks Omaha to do the right thing and stand up for one of your own as he goes for history. , Read more of Leo Adam Biga’s work at leoadambiga.wordpress.com.

fourthpageforReader2_27_14_Layout 1 2/21/14 11:19 AM Page 1

©Jeff Lonowski Pixels Photography

Ticketmaster.com

MARCH 15 • APRIL 19 MAY 10 • JUNE 7

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April 30 – May 4

Family fun-filled day of live entertainment, carnival rides, food, games, parade, booths & much more!

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Saturday, May 3 – Sunday, May 4 12:00 - 8:00 PM

Register at www.CincodeMayoOmaha.com | info@cincodemayoomaha.com | THE READER |

FEB. 27 - MAR. 5, 2014

11

8 DAYS

TOPTV Bates Motel

Season 2 Premiere, Monday, 8 p.m., A&E

The acclaimed Bates Motel adapts Alfred Hitchcock’s horror classic Psycho, as Norma Bates (Vera Farmiga) and troubled son Norman (Freddie Highmore) run a motel in a town with more than its share of unexplained murders. The second-season premiere contains all the perversity you’d expect while still exercising an admirable Hitchcockian restraint. Blessedly, Bates Motel is nowhere near as gross as fellow serial-murderer dramas Hannibal or Those Who Kill.

Four months after his high school teacher’s death, Norman is obsessed with visiting her grave. He’d been with her on the night she died and either did or didn’t kill her; he blacked out and doesn’t remember what happened. As last season, the series delights in teasing us about who did what and why.

Alternately appealing and disturbing, Highmore is a worthy precursor to Anthony Perkins’ Norman from Psycho. And as his mother, Farmiga would make Sigmund Freud swallow his cigar — such is her Oedipal intensity. She somehow causes Norman’s odd behavior while at the same time disapproving of it.

“You seem obsessed with morbidity or something,” she scolds.

It’s that mysterious “or something” that keeps us watching.

— Dean Robbins

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FEB. 27 - MARCH 6, 2014

T H E R E A D E R ’ S E N T E R TA I N M E N T P I C K S F E B . 2 7 - M A R C H 6 , 2 0 14

DANIEL BEATY

THURSDAY27 DANIEL BEATY

Holland Performing Arts Center, 1200 Douglas St., 7 p.m.; Tickets $10 www.danielbeaty.com Last year at about this same time, Daniel Beaty brought his one-man to the same venue and played to a full house, blowing quite a few minds.

Presented by the Sherwood Foundation, that normally quiet group of bandits taking Warren’s money to the most needed corners of Omaha, Beaty’s second appearance marks another wake up call for Omaha to be honest about understanding not only the African-American experience, but also all of our shared experiences. This in a town ranked as the most deadly to AfricanAmerican men just last month.

Beaty’s performances have variously been described as moving “with the easy grace of a man attuned to the rhythmic impulse that links music and poetry” (New York Times) to an “an explosive, affecting solo ... may be the most important new American drama since Angels in America” (NYTheatre. com) to “funnier than most serious plays and vastly

| THE READER |

picks

smarter than most funny plays” (New York Magazine). A common theme in describing his work is the use of the word “beautiful,” the performance itself is a work of art. But the reason a foundation would bring him here, help him set-up workshops with students across the city is that this evening promises a rare opportunity to see a “moving and eloquent performer, fully convinced of the power of theater to heal hearts and change lives.” --Atlanta Journal-Constitution

THURSDAY 6 KILLING THEM SOFTLY: THE RETURN OF KING BUZZO The Waiting Room, 6212 Maple St., 9 p.m.; Tickets $13 www.onepercentproductions.com Buzz Osbourne, aka King Buzzo, the man behind the heavy, lurching, wildly unpredictable Melvins, will soon be releasing an acoustic album. Yes, you read that right. A guy most often associated with complex and undeniably heavy music (and let’s get this out of the way early: grunge too) is going to be taking the stage at the Waiting Room on Thursday March 6th armed with only an acoustic guitar. No backing band. No cellist. No dulcimer player. Just him. “My main goal was to not fall prey to what happens to most rock people who do this,” he said from his home in Los Angeles. “They often end up sounding like a half-assed version of Woody Guthrie

or a half-assed version of James Taylor. That’s not what I wanted.” The setlist, which he was working on at the time we spoke, was still in flux. But he promised it would be a mix of new songs that’ll be on the upcoming album as well as Melvins songs including “Revolve,” “Boris,” “Hooch” and “Suicide in Progress.” None of which seem to lend themselves to an acoustic treatment. “You gotta understand, I wrote a lot of this stuff on acoustic guitar anyway,” he said. “I’ve certainly written a lot of songs [acoustically] that were then translated into the full band. I’ve just never done it live before.” Osbourne’s got seventeen songs in the can already and will be coming out on a full-length on Ipecac Records early this summer. In preparation for this short tour that includes a stop in Omaha at the Waiting Room on Thursday, March 6th, he’s releasing a 10” called This Machine Kills Artists. It’s limited to just 500 copies and will include four songs that will be on the fulllength and two Melvins songs. They’ll be available at the show, he said. It’s one he’s looking forward to. “I love playing the Waiting Room,” he said. “It’s a great place. I think it’s the best club I’ve ever played in Omaha by far. It’s really nice to find a place like that.

I think Omaha has needed something like that for a long time. The owners really seem to care. You can’t say enough about that. It’s not the norm. I appreciate it greatly and I hope people in Omaha appreciate it enough to keep it open. Some cities don’t have it.”

He continued, “I’m really happy to be a part of it.

We’ve been there twice and I’ve had a really good experience there.” --Kyle Tonniges

MIKE BIRBIGLIA THANK GOD FOR JOKES TOUR 2014

Holland Performing Arts Center THURSDAY, MAY 15 7:30PM SHOW

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| THE READER |

FEB. 27 - MAR. 5, 2014

13

nly ow!

O s N y 2 Da ickets

5,000 YEARS OF CIVILIZATION. LIVE ON STAGE!

rT e d r O

“5,000 years of Chinese music and dance in one night…”

“Beautiful!

A nimble mastery.”

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• World’s Top Classical Chinese Dancers • Stunning Animated Backdrops • Unique East-West Orchestra • Over 400 Exquisite Costumes

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WITNESS THE DIVINE CULTURE’S RETURN

CLASSICAL CHINESE DANCE

PERFECT HARMONY OF EAST & WEST

AN EXTRAORDINARY JOURNEY across 5,000 years of Chinese civilization! A journey where the wisdom of ancient China, the world’s finest classical Chinese dancers, gorgeous hand-crafted costumes, and massive animated backdrops come together in one spectacular performance.

FROM BATTLEFIELDS TO IMPERIAL PALACES. Classical Chinese dance has a history of thousands of years, sharing a common ancestry with martial arts. Its dramatic jumping, spinning, and flipping techniques are just part of the vast repertoire of movements that make classical Chinese dance—one of the most demanding and expressive art forms in the world.

FROM THE MOMENT the gong is struck, you know you are in for something memorable. The Shen Yun Orchestra masterfully blends ancient Chinese instruments, like the emotive erhu and delicate pipa, with a full Western orchestra,creating an exhilarating new sound.

A feast for your eyes, a feast for your ears, and a feast for your heart — an experience not to miss!

TOURING 30 COUNTRIES, SHEN YUN LEAVES MILLIONS IN AWE MILLIONS HAVE SEEN SHEN YUN. Standing ovations at the world’s top venues, royalty attending in Europe, sold-out shows throughout North America, and packed houses across Asia have made Shen Yun an international phenomenon.

“Mesmerizing! Reclaiming the divinely inspired cultural heritage of China… I encourage everyone to see and all of us to learn from.”

—Donna Karan, creator of DKNY (New York)

“Exquisitely beautiful. An extraordinary experience for us and the children... the level of skill, but also the power of the archetypes and the narratives were startling.”

—Cate Blanchett, Academy Award-winning actress

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FEB. 27 - MAR. 5, 2014

| THE READER |

Resounding voices of bel canto soloists are an integral part of the Shen Yun experience. Their impassioned songs give voice to Chinese culture’s ancient virtues.

“So inspiring! One big poetic event.

It’s almost like going to the theater and the movies at the same time.”

—Robert Stromberg, Academy Award-winning production designer

MARCH 8—9 ORPHEUM THEATER ShenYun.com/Omaha Presented by Nebraska Falun Dafa Association

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DoubleTree by Hilton Omaha Downtown

strikingly intricate melodies.”

—NYTheater.com

MERCER, AEPPLI SHARE A DOUBLE-EDGED THEME IN RETROSPECT AT GARDEN OF THE ZODIAC GALLERY

I

S E T I S O P P O T C A R ATT

by Mike Krainak

t’s not uncommon for a husband and wife to share an interest and talent in the visual arts. After all, many couples display such in theater, music and literature, let alone in the field of sports.

The Metro is familiar with the work of the former including the sculpture and drawings of Mary Day and the digital prints and computer animation of husband Gary; the painting and drawing of James Freeman and ceramics of wife Susan McGilvrey; and new media art from Jody Boyer and Russ Nordman.

Occasionally, these creative couples will exhibit together, particularly when collaborating in installations such as the ongoing Echotrope project of Boyer and Nordman. Yet even in such curatorial and creative sharing each artist brings something to the show distinctly their own.

This is especially so with the Moving Gallery’s recent offering, a retrospect or survey of the paintings, drawings and sculpture of storied artists Eva Aeppli and Sam Mercer in their self-titled exhibit. So disparate is their work here in style, subject and pointof-view, the viewer may indeed wonder what exactly they have in common.

In no small part, the show pays tribute to these founders of the exhibition space, the Garden of the Zodiac Gallery in the Old Market Passageway. The late Mercer, best known for his preserving and revitalizing this part of Omaha’s downtown prior to its infamous demolition of the city’s Jobber’s Canyon, features his mostly abstract and anthropomorphic watercolors.

His wife Eva, an internationally known artist and permanently featured in the Garden courtyard, offers figurative oils, charcoal drawings and silk and bronze heads in more somber tones and visionary imagery.

What, then, does this distinctly two-person exhibit share besides time and space? Certainly that, as this is the first time these two individuals have been shown together, organized as such by son Mark Mercer and

his wife, Vera, artist and contemporary of Aeppli who lives in Honfleur, France.

Though both Sam and Eva were part of the avantgarde Paris art scene where they first met, he did not consider himself a professional artist. Nevertheless, his watercolor and gouache paintings have been exhibited in Paris, Brussels, Copenhagen and Basel and presently adorn the new Le Bouillon restaurant in the former French Café site.

Aeppli, on the other hand, was a featured artist in the Nouveau Realist movement that formed in Paris in the ‘50s. Her work is in the collection of the Modern Museet, Stockholm, and the Kunsthaus Zurich and was showcased at the Museum Tinguely in Basel. The cloister at the Garden of the Zodiac was designed in 1985 by Mercer to house the 22 bronze heads of the sculptural suite, “Planets and Signs of the Zodiac.”

But the two-person show shares more than marriage and proximity. In their own way, Aeppli and Mercer are exploring and expressing a certain duality: the duality within mankind and Nature. For the former, the sources or muse appear to be myth and astrology, subjects Aeppli takes very seriously. Mercer on the other hand seems to be motivated by a return to a more innocent and naïve exploration and expression of nature one ordinarily associates with childhood.

What their art reveals on closer inspection is that life and death, suffering and joy, and even the forces of good and evil co-exist on all levels.

Aeppli’s devotion to astrology and mythology has been well documented, particularly by critic Jacques Berthon who has analyzed her sculpture and drawings, many of which we see in this exhibit. The viewer can’t be blamed for seeing initially the “macabre” in the “lost souls” of her paintings, the scrap heap of skulls and bony hands and the grotesque figure gingerly handling a scorpion in Aeppli’s imagery.

Nor to react with some misgiving or forbiddance at

her “sutured” heads and shrouded, ghostly matron.

Death and the supernatural as well as suffering are uncomfortable at best in a civilized world.

But it would be a mistake to ascribe points of history to these works--especially the larger pieces--such as the Holocaust or other forms of genocide and atrocity.

Man’s inhumanity is not the human condition imagined in Aeppli’s work.

In his commentary of her art, Berthon connects her vision to lessons of synchronicity learned from a study of astrology and myth’s emphasis on the cycle of life.

In the former, the character of man is determined by the position of the planets at one’s birth as well as the interdependence of the objective event and the subjective or psychic state of the observer. This astral connection suggests, in paraphrase, that we are more than just a product of chance or our times.

Aeppli’s mythological figures acknowledge a belief in certain archetypes, particularly the role and journey of the artist as hero or as exemplar. Consequently, her figures whether in 2D or 3D are not “real” but universal. They depict life as a cycle of birth, death and rebirth and the interdependency of opposing forces.

The expressions on the faces alone suggest emotional stages that vary from angst to ecstasy, from ennui to acceptance.

Whether one is an artist or not, her imagery argues that “beauty always originates in pain” and that in either case one must suffer for one’s art, for one’s life. Berthon says that an artist’s journey is a cycle of splendor achieved presumably only after a personal struggle or descent into the dark or the unknown.

The hollow and howling men depicted in black and white in the main room of the Zodiac are then, “lost souls” in a purgatory of angst and depression, unable yet to move on. To the right of this compelling work is another grouping of sorts, this time only skulls and boney hands frozen in glee or madness or both. They

culture

appear to have undergone some sort of purification, having shed their material existence.

The silk-covered heads—especially the shrouded, glass-encased figure—look like masks or specimens that both hide and reveal the weight and mystery of their journey. Their visage expresses much but says little. Their ethereal and fragile beauty cannot hide the scars (stitches) of their suffering. But they are the survivors who have achieved some state of enlightenment.

In sharp contrast, but with an intriguing duality of its own are Mercer’s fanciful, free-form watercolors. Not only is palette richer and more varied than Aeppli’s, the work’s structure is more gestural and spontaneous than her formalistic aesthetic. Though her figures reference at times the caricatures of filmmaker Tim Burton, Mercer’s more abstract creatures are even more animated with an energy and transparency that threatens to burst from the canvas into thin air.

Mercer’s subject matter resembles the flora and fauna of land, air and sea that have mutated into a sort of cosmic struggle for existence and essence. In spite of their playful and engaging nature there is an edge to his elongated figures, whose tentacles, tendrils, vines, claws and beak ensnare, multiply and reproduce, motivated by the same duplicity in Dylan Thomas’ poem, “The Force That Through the Green Fuse Drives the Flower.”

Like Aeppli’s supernatural studies and specimens, Mercer’s contrasting verdant mise en scene expresses the co-existence of life’s opposing means that measure and define us all, none the least of which are growth and decline, risk and reward, success and failure, in a constant struggle and cycle.

The exhibit of Sam Mercer and Eva Aeppli continues through April 3 at the Garden of the Zodiac Gallery in the Old Market Passageway at 1042 Howard St. For more information call 402.517.8719.

| THE READER |

FEB. 27 - MARCH 6, 2014

15

overtheedge LIFESTYLE COLUMN BY TIM MCMAHAN

F O R S A L E : O N E C I V I C AU D I TO R I U M S L I G H T LY U S E D

I

am perhaps singularly alone in my disdain for MECA and the City of Omaha for first mothballing the Civic Auditorium from hosting any large concerts and now “selling” it. My contempt over last week’s announcement is (admittedly) a product of personal nostalgia, as well as loathing for The CenturyLink Center (a.k.a. The CLink).

Yes, I saw a lot of concerts at the Civic during the heyday of “festival seating,” back when you showed up with your $10 general admission ticket and chanted, “Open the F***ing Doors! Open the F***ing Doors!” for 20 minutes while waiting to get in.

Concerts attended at the Civic Auditorium included the usual ’80s arena monsters — Styx, Kansas, The Cars, Journey, Van Halen and on and on. Beyond the music, the concert experience as a whole was much more fun back then. After someone did open those F***ing doors, you’d run in, “acquire” your seats and watch the madness going on down below.

Down on the Civic’s concrete slab of a floor, hippies sat in circles and smoked dope as a fleet of multicolored Frisbees whizzed through the smokehaze over their heads. Everyone was loaded because everyone snuck booze in, whether it be a small bottle of Canadian Mist or the industrious drunks who figured out a way to hide a half dozen tallboys in their pants. That hour leading up to the concert was as much fun as the concert itself.

But then came the actual concert. Say what you will about the run-down condition of the Civic Auditorium and the fact that MECA and The City “let it go” after they built the great white elephant called The CLink, but I can’t remember ever having a bad seat at a concert there no matter how far up or

Film Streams at the Ruth Sokolof Theater 14th & Mike Fahey Street (formerly Webster Street) More info & showtimes 402.933.0259 · filmstreams.org Facebook | Twitter | Instagram: @filmstreams

16

FEB. 27 - MAR. 5, 2014

Don’t get me wrong, I’m not one of those people who shake their fist at the sky every time an old building gets sold and torn down. If a business is losing money and the building isn’t “historical,” then its owner has a right to sell it to someone who thinks they can do better in their space.

Venice Inn is a good example — the online whining about its recently announced plans to close would make you think they were shutting down Boys Town. If you loved the place so much, you should have eaten there more often. I ate at Venice Inn a couple times a year, and I’ll miss its staff and its salad bar, but I can’t blame the Caniglia family for getting out while the getting’s good, and neither should anyone else.

how far back I sat. With a capacity of only around 9,000, the Civic simply wasn’t that big, though it seemed mammoth at the time. The facility’s sound quality, well, it was exactly what you expected from an arena — loud as hell.

Skip this if you’ve read this one before, but I’ve been to three concerts at The CLink — Fleetwood Mac, Bruce Springsteen and The Who — all were miserable experiences both in sight and sound quality. I did have the privilege of seeing Neil Young from one of the CLink’s corporate boxes, but even that was a detached experience. I’ve had seats on the floor, along the side, in the back, no matter where I sat the sight lines sucked. The facility’s layout is simply not designed for concert going.

Even sporting events are a drag at The CLink, at least compared to seeing them at the Civic, where every game or match felt like you were at an E*V*E*N*T rather than an event. UNO hockey was hands down a more exciting experience at The Civic than The CLink. My caveat here: I haven’t been to a Creighton basketball game at The CLink, which I’m told is rather exciting, and I never will since (as a proud graduate of UNO) I loathe Creighton and its rich-kid athletic programs.

As the Civic sat empty in the distance these past few years, I couldn’t help but wonder what we were missing. Surely there is a plethora of concerts not big enough to book at The CLinck but that are the right size for a 9,000-seat arena. When I read in the Omaha World-Herald that the Civic “has not kept pace in booking events” (as if the structure itself is

to blame for its booking woes) and that it posted a loss of $197,000 last year, I wonder whose fault that was. Maybe if MECA had actually tried to book the facility it might have made some money. But they don’t want to pull attention away from their white elephant, which sits across the street from that other white elephant of a baseball park that only gets used three weeks a year.

The Met: Live in HD

Oscar Shorts! The Academy Award Nominated Short Films 2014 First-Run

Borodin’s Prince Igor

Gloria First-Run (R)

Dir. Sebastián Lelio.

Through Thursday, February 27 Last chance!

The Past First-Run (PG-13)

Dir. Asghar Farhadi.

Starts Friday, February 28 From the director of A SEPARATION.

| THE READER |

over the edge

When the wrecking ball finally comes for the Civic Auditorium, I’ll say ‘Thanks for the memories’ and reminisce as it joins Aksarben Coliseum and Racetrack, Peony Park, Rosenblatt Stadium and the Indian Hills Theater in that great old-fashioned Omaha up in the sky.

OVER THE EDGE is a weekly column by Reader senior contributing writer Tim McMahan focused on culture, society, music, the media and the arts. Email Tim at tim.mcmahan@gmail.com. And be sure to check out his blog at Lazy-i.com

First-Run Films Animated Program: Through March 6 Live-Action Program: Through March 6

Ah well, maybe it’s time for the Civic to go, too. UNO is building a new right-sized arena for its hockey program, and there’s always the Ralston Arena if someone can figure out how to book it.

And besides, the bands I listen to these days don’t play in arenas and probably never will.

Live: Saturday, March 1, 11 am Encore: Wednesday, March 5, 6 pm Presented with Opera Omaha. Prelude Talk by Opera Omaha Resident Music Director J. Gawf before live broadcast.

Coming Soon Stranger By the Lake First-Run Child’s Pose First-Run The Grand Budapest Hotel First-Run (R) Tim’s Vermeer First-Run (PG-13)

The Hitchcock 9 Generously supported by Sam Walker.

Thursday, March 6 Double Feature! Two for the price of one!

6 pm Champagne 1926 8 pm The Pleasure Garden 1926 Live scores by Donald Sosin Tickets: $12 general, $10 for students, seniors, teachers and military, and $8 for Film Streams Members.

Forever Young Admission just $2.50 for kids 12 and under!

Meet Me in St. Louis 1944 Dir. Vincente Minelli.

March 1, 2 & 6

| THE READER |

FEB. 27 - MAR. 5, 2014

17

backbeat livemusiccalendar

New Faint Album on the Way

The Faint will release Doom Abuse, their sixth studio album, Tuesday, April 8 on SQE Music.

The 12-song album is now available for pre-order via iTunes or SQEMusic.com.

Those who pre-order the album on iTunes will get a song right away and then a new song each week leading up to the April 8 release date, singer Todd Fink says.

Fink says the idea behind the song-aweek concept is tied to the whole idea of a rush release of the album. There will be just more than a month between the announcement of the new album and it’s actual release.

The album will also be available on CD and vinyl. Vinyl enthusiasts should take special note, as the band will offer a limited edition gatefold double-LP version, which includes the synth-heavy indie dance-rock band’s previous white-label tour-only EP, released in 2012.

SQE Music’s U.S. office, located in Los Angeles, is ran by Zane Smythe, who previously served as the Faint’s assistant manager. SQE Music is also home to indie-minded acts including Johnathan Rice, CSS and Desert Noises.

Fink says the SQE label will be the band’s home for the foreseeable future, though he hasn’t ruled out doing future projects or releases with Saddle Creek Records, which released the Faint’s first four albums.

Both Pitchfork and NPR premiered songs off the new album, while the band also unveiled a new video for the album’s leadoff track, “Help in the Head”. Tim Nackashi directed the clip for the song.

The band tracked the record in their band-owned space, Enamel Studios, and mixed with Mike Mogis at ARC Studios here in Omaha. Both processes happened simultaneously, with Mogis basically mixing the previous day’s recordings while the band worked on new material across town.

Fink says it was a pretty crazy and busy time, but the rushed environment was by design.

“We wanted to be in this state of emergency,” he says.

--Chris Aponick.

Backbeat looks at music in the metro area. Email information to backbeat@thereader.com.

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FEB. 27 - MAR. 5, 2014

SEND CALENDAR INFORMATION — including addresses, dates, times, costs and phone numbers — to The Reader’s calendar editor. Mail to or drop off information at P.O. Box 7360 Omaha, NE 68107; email to listings@thereader.com; fax to (402) 341.6967. Deadline is 5 p.m. the Thursday prior to issue date.

THURSDAY 27

MIKE ZITO & THE WHEEL, (Blues) 6 pm, 21st Saloon, Check venue for cover charge.

HENHOUSE PROWLERS & CHICAGO FARMER, (Rock) 10 pm, Bourbon Theater, $8 ADV / $10 DOS. NEW MOON SONGWRITERS NIGHT, (Folk/Singer-Songwriter) 7 pm, Crescent Moon Coffee, FREE. SMOOTH JAZZ THURSDAYS AT THE OZONE LOUNGE W/FOR THE OCCASION, (Jazz) 6:30 pm, OzoNE Lounge at Anthony’s Steakhouse, No cover charge.

BRIAN HOLLAND, (Jazz) 8 pm, OzoNE Lounge at Anthony’s Steakhouse, FREE. 24 HOUR CARDLOCK W/THE ELECTROLINERS, VAGO, BANANA SHADOW, (Rock) 9 pm, Slowdown, $5.

ACOUSTIC MUSIC THURSDAYS!, 8 pm, Two Fine Irishmen, Contact venue for cover charge.

FLOATING OPERA W/ DOMESTICA & BURNING DOWN THE VILLAGER, (Pop) 9 pm, Vega, $5 21+ / $7 18-20.

WE B 3 (LUKE POLIPNICK, MITCH TOWNE AND DANA MURRAY), (Jazz) 9 pm, Zoo Bar, $6.

JOHN WALKER AND THE NEW HOKUM BOYS, 6 pm, Zoo Bar, Contact venue for cover charge.

FRIDAY 28

3D IN YOUR FACE, (Rock) 9 pm, 21st Saloon, $5.

ON THE FRITZ, (Rock) 9:30 pm, Arena Bar & Grill, FREE. BOBBY MEADER MUSIC W/EPONYMOUS, THE RIDGEAYS, NOT BEN SHIN AND ADAMCORE, (Punk/Folk/Singer-Songwriter) 9 pm, Barley Street Tavern, Contact venue for cover charge.

THE PACKAGES, (Rock) 9 pm, Firewater Grille, Check venue for cover charge.

KARAOKE THEATRE, 9 pm, House Of Loom, FREE. THE LABELS, (Cover Band) 9:30 pm, Loose Moose, FREE. TOM BULLER, (Blues) 8 pm, McKenna’s Booze, Blues & BBQ, Contact venue for cover charge.

DIGITAL LEATHER W/SKELETON MAN, (Punk) 9:30 pm, O’Leaver’s Pub, $5.

PEACE, LOVE, ETC, (Rock) 8 pm, OzoNE Lounge at Anthony’s Steakhouse, FREE. ON THE ROAD SUMMER CAMP W/ THE MIDLAND BAND, THE DECATURES, FUNK TREK & LINNEAR SYMMETRY, (Rock) 8:30 pm, Slowdown, $5.

COVER ME BADD, (Cover Band) 9 pm, Two Fine Irishmen, Contact venue for cover charge.

TIJUANA GIGOLOS, (Rock) 9 pm, Vega, $6.

SLOW YOUR ROLL W/ GETCHASUM, (Cover Band) 9 pm, Venue 51, $5.

FACCS: 40 SINNERS, (Blues) 5 pm, Venue 51, FREE. RUSSIAN CIRCLES W/ KEN MODE & INTER ARMA, (Metal) 8:30 pm, Waiting Room, $13 ADV / $15 DOS. HONEYBOY TURNER BAND, (Blues) 5 pm, Zoo Bar, Contact venue for cover charge.

JOSH HOYER AND THE SHADOWBOXERS, (Rock) 9 pm, Zoo Bar, $8.

KARAOKE THEATRE, 9 pm, House Of Loom, FREE.

SATURDAY 1

KARAOKE, 8 pm, Firewater Grille, Contact venue for cover charge.

TIJUANA GIGOLOS PLAY FOR THE LINDA BARTA CLEVENGER BENEFIT, (Rock) 4:30 pm, 4-H Building Tuxedo Park, $5 dinner, $5 dance.

HI-FI HANGOVER, (Rock) 8:30 pm, Ameristar Casino, FREE. CITRUS CLUB, (Cover Band) 9:30 pm, Arena Bar & Grill, FREE. PALINDROSEFF, (DJ/Electronic) 9 pm, Bar 415, $5.

CLEAR THE DAY W/THE SUPERBYTES, ALPHA 5 AND GHOST TOWN RADIO, (Rock) 9 pm, Barley Street Tavern, Contact venue for cover charge.

| THE READER |

music listings

THE RUDE BAND, (Cover Band) 9:30 pm, Cappy’s Hot Spot Bar & Grill, $5 21+.

JUDD HOOS, (Rock) 9 pm, Chrome Lounge, Contact venue for charge.

WILD COLONIAL BHOYS, (Rock) 9 pm, Dubliner Pub, $3.

KARAOKE, 8 pm, Firewater Grille, Contact venue for cover charges.

SWAMPBOY BLUES BAND, (Blues) 6 pm, Jazz, A Louisiana Kitchen, Contact venue for cover charge.

RSTYLE, (Hip-Hop/Rap) 9:30 pm, Loose Moose, Contact venue for cover charge.

THE BRIGADIERS W/GHOSTS OF GUYANA AND RELAX, IT’S SCIENCE, (Rock) 9:30 pm, O’Leaver’s Pub, $5.

SOUL DAWG, (Rock) 8 pm, OzoNE Lounge at Anthony’s Steakhouse, FREE. RHYTHM 911, 8 pm, Shamrock’s Pub & Grill, Contact venue for cover charge.

TWINSMITH W/ INDREAMA, THE CAVES & LOT WALKS, (Rock) 9 pm, Slowdown, $7.

J. LONGORIA W/JIMMY HOOLIGAN AKA MO C AND BIG MISTA, (Pop) 8 pm, The Hideout Lounge, Contact venue for cover charge.

JESSICA ERRETT W/PANCHO, THE CONTRABAND AND THE LAST DRAFT, 8 pm, The Sydney, Contact venue for cover charge.

THE PERSONICS, (Cover Band) 9 pm, Two Fine Irishmen, Contact venue for cover charge.

NO TIDE W/ MAKER, RUST BELT LIGHTS & SECOND TO LAST, (Punk) 5 pm, Vega, $7 ADV / $10 DOS. DIRTY RIVER RAMBLERS, TUCKER HILL CITIZENS BRIGADE & DR. WEBB, (Rock) 9 pm, Venue 51, $5.

AFTER THE FALL CD RELEASE W/ THROUGH THE STONE, SAVE THE HERO & RISE FROM RUIN, (Rock) 8:30 pm, Waiting Room, $8.

DOWN TO HERE, (Rock) 9 pm, Whiskey Roadhouse (Horseshoe Casino), Contact venue for cover charge.

BLUES PROJECT, (Blues) 6 pm, Zoo Bar, $5.

LAZY (KC), SKELETON MAN & KILLER BLOW, 9:30 pm, Zoo Bar, Contact venue for cover charge.

SUNDAY 2

SALSA SUNDAY W/ LATIN MADNESS, 7 pm, House Of Loom, $5.

O’LEAVER’S OPEN MIC NIGHT, 9 pm, O’Leaver’s Pub, Free.

PAPER DIAMOND, LOUDPVCK AND BRANCHEZ, 8 pm, Slowdown, $15 ADV | $18 DOS. SOARING WINGS VINEYARD SUNDAY MUSIC WITH RYAN MCLEAY, 2 pm, Soaring Wings Vineyard, No cover charge.

AARON KAMM & THE ONE DROPS W/ TBA, (Blues) 4 pm, Venue 51, $5.

MARSHALL CRENSHAW W/ THE BOTTLE ROCKETS, (Pop) 5 pm, Waiting Room, $20 ADV / $25 DOS.

MONDAY 3

OPEN MIC NIGHT, 6 pm, 402 Arts Collective/ Aromas Coffeehouse, FREE. OPEN MIC & SONGWRITER SHOWCASE, (Folk/SingerSongwriter) 9 pm, Barley Street Tavern, FREE. FIRST CUT INDUSTRY NIGHT W/ DJ DRDRIGGS, (DJ/Electronic) 9 pm, House Of Loom, FREE. GOOCH & HIS LASVEGAS BIG BAND, 8 pm, OzoNE Lounge at Anthony’s Steakhouse, FREE. WAITING ROOM MUSIC QUIZ, 8 pm, Waiting Room, FREE. PIANO HOUR W/ EMILY BASS, 5 pm, Zoo Bar, Contact venue for cover charge.

ZOO BAR HOUSE BAND, 7 pm, Zoo Bar, $3.

TUESDAY 4

VIC NASTY, 8 pm, Bar 415, Contact venue for cover charge.

OPEN MIC NIGHT, 8 pm, Dubliner Pub, FREE.

OPEN MIC HOSTED BY DAVE YOBLE, 8 pm, Venue 51, FREE. DJ RELIC SOUL PARTY, 8 pm, Zoo Bar, FREE. FAT TUESDAY PERFORMANCES: TIM KOEHN AND THE SWAMPBOY BLUES, (Blues) 11 am, Jazz, A Louisiana Kitchen, Contact venue for cover charge.

ANIMAL EYES, (Rock) 9:30 pm, O’Leaver’s Pub, $5.

JAZZOCRACY, (Jazz) 6 pm, Zoo Bar, No Cover.

WEDNESDAY 5

DICEY RILEYS, 7 pm, Brazen Head Irish Pub, FREE. DECIBEL, (Punk) 9 pm, Bar 415, FREE. TRACY SKRETTA, (Rock) 9 pm, Firewater Grille, Contact venue for cover charge.

ELISIUM, PAISTY JENNY & PUNCHING PUPPETS, (Rock) 8 pm, Shamrock’s Pub & Grill, Contact venue for charge.

DEAD MEADOW W/SNAKE ISLAND!, DIM LIGHT AND SWAMP WALK, (Rock) 7 pm, Slowdown, $10 ADV | $12 DOS. LE FIGS DUO & FRIENDS OF WEEPING WHISKEY WEDNESDAY, (Rock) 10 pm, Venue 51, FREE. OH DEAR! W/ JUSTIN MARTIN & MITCH GETTMAN, (Rock) 7 pm, Venue 51, $5.

REVEREND PEYTON’S BIG DAMN BAND, (Blues) 9 pm, Waiting Room, $10 ADV / $12 DOS. JOE LOUIS WALKER, (Blues) 6 pm, Zoo Bar, Contact venue for cover charge.

THE PATIENT ZEROS (DENVER) W/ THE CRAYONS AND HANDSOMER JAWS, (Rock) 9 pm, Zoo Bar, $5.

BY B.J. HUCHTEMANN

Zito, Zoo Bar, Sundays

M

ike Zito & The Wheel are up at The 21st Saloon Thursday, Feb. 27, 6-9 p.m. Zito’s star keeps rising. His other gig is playing as part of Royal Southern Brotherhood with Devon Allman and Cyril Neville. Zito’s latest solo disc, Gone to Texas (Ruf Records), includes special guests Sonny Landreth, Delbert McClinton and Susan Cowsill. NoDepression.com writes “Zito bares his soul throughout this testimonial. It’s not the work of a man squatting in a corner wallowing in self pity, but a man sure in his resurrection who wants to celebrate and share his blessings and transgressions with a wall rattling, roadhouse throwdown.” See mikezito.com.

Zoo Bar Blues Friday night Lincoln’s Zoo Bar features the Honeyboy Turner Band 5-7 p.m. Late night it’s Josh Hoyer & The Shadowboxers sharing the bill with Lucas Kellison & The Undisco Kids. This show is part of the Zoo’s new “dancehall series” with fewer tables and chairs and a bigger dance floor. Next week the Zoo features Joe Louis Walker & The Boss Talkers Wednesday, March 5, 6-9 p.m. Billy Bacon starts a three night run on Thursday, March 6, 6 p.m. See zoobar.com for dates and times. The heavy blues of The Soul of John Black

hoodoo

is up on Thursday, March 6, 9:30 p.m.

Sunday Roadhouse The Sunday Roadhouse concert series presents Marshall Crenshaw on a double bill with The Bottle Rockets Sunday, March 2, 5 p.m. AllMusic.com says of Crenshaw, “He writes songs that are melodic, hooky and emotionally true, and he sings and plays them with an honesty and force that still finds room for humor without venom.” See sundayroadhouse. com.

Reverend Peyton Tears it Up The hard-charging early 20th Century blues of Reverend Peyton’s Big Damn Band is at Waiting Room Wednesday, March 5, 9 p.m. Peyton is a tremendous, explosive slide player who is steeped in the traditional old-school blues of artists like Charley Patton and Robert Johnson. Their 2010 appearance on Van’s Warped Tour on the Alternative Press stage cemented them with a larger, younger fan base that doesn’t usually connect with the blues. Check them out at bigdamnband.com.

VE

HOODOO is a weekly column focusing on blues, roots, Americana and occasional other music styles with an emphasis on live music performances. Hoodoo columnist B.J. Huchtemann is a Reader senior contributing writer and veteran music journalist who has covered the local music scene for nearly 20 years. Follow her blog at hoodoorootsblues.blogspot.com.

ENTERTAINMEN

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A legendary boundary-pushing icon of modern blues.” –NPR Music

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hoodoo

| THE READER |

FEB. 27 - MAR. 5, 2014

19

newsoftheweird

T H E WO R L D G O N E F R E A K Y B Y C H U C K S H E P H E R D W I T H I L LU S T R AT I O N S B Y T O M B R I S C O E

Find That Genius!

B

eijing Genomics Institute scientists are closing in on a technology to allow parents to choose, from several embryos, the one most likely to yield the smartest offspring. London’s Daily Mail (in January, referencing recent work in Wired, The Wall Street Journal and The New Yorker) explained that BGI will have identified high-potential mathematics genes (by mapping the cells of geniuses) so that researchers can search for those among a couple’s array of embryos. (Most embryos will yield gene arrays resembling their parents’, but one embryo is likely “better” -- and maybe much better.) One Chinese researcher acknowledged the “controversial” nature of the work, “especially in the West,” but added, “That’s not the case in China.” The parental price tag on finding the smartest kid? Expensive, said a supporter, but less than upgrading an average kid via Harvard, or even a private prep school.

Can’t Possibly Be True “This (was) my life,” said musician Boujemaa Razgui in December, referring to the 13 handmade flutes that he played professionally, “and now they’re gone.”

Arriving in New York City from Madrid with the 13 woodwinds in his checked luggage, he was shocked to discover that U.S. Customs had destroyed them without notice because “wood” is a restricted “agricultural” import. (Unsophisticated agents had apparently regarded them as mere bamboo.) Razgui plays all over the world including, since 2002, with the Boston Camerata ensemble staged by the city’s Museum of Fine Arts.

--A Georgia Regents University dental school official acknowledged in December that the school would likely continue to conduct research on the mouths of stray dogs solely to test a coating that might inhibit infections in humans’ dental implants. The work is controversial because the only way to study the in-

20

FEB. 27 - MAR. 5, 2014

| THE READER |

weird news

stalled implants is to remove them, after euthanizing the dogs. (Also, the research is sponsored by commercial dental-implant companies for a market dominated by elective cosmetic patients.) (However, a GRU professor noted that implants are also functional, as they inhibit infections that might reach the heart’s lining and other locations.)

-- Saved by the Blimps: Americans who have grown accustomed to hearing that the U.S. is militarily without peer might have been shocked to learn in January (as CBS News reported from a Pentagon interview) that America has “practically zero capability” either to detect enemy cruise missiles fired at Washington, D.C., from offshore, or even worse, to “defend against (them).” The Pentagon’s interim makeshift solution to protect the U.S. capital, said an official, is to launch two blimps, soon, to float two miles up over a base in Maryland to try to spot any such missiles.

-- In February, a California Highway Patrol officer handcuffed and threatened to arrest a firefighter performing an emergency roadside rescue along Interstate 805 in Chula Vista, Calif., because the rescuer would not move his truck from the fast lane, where it was “impeding” traffic. Firefighters are required to block lanes during rescues, specifically to “impede” traffic for their own protection and that of victims nearby. CHP and the Chula Vista firefighters later jointly called the incident a “miscommunication.”

Unclear on the Concept -- Oregon inmate Sirgiorgio Clardy, 26, filed a handwritten $100 million lawsuit in January against Nike for inadequately marketing its Air Jordans. Clardy, a convicted pimp, had received an “enhanced” penalty for using a “dangerous weapon” to maim the face of a john, i.e., he had stomped and kicked a man after accusing him of skipping out on a payment, and the “dangerous weapon” was apparently his shoe. Clardy said Nike bears at least some responsibility for his in-

COPYRIGHT 2014 CHUCK SHEPHERD. Visit Chuck Shepherd daily at NewsoftheWeird. blogspot.com or NewsoftheWeird.com. Send Weird News to WeirdNewsTips@yahoo.com or P.O. Box 18737, Tampa, FL 33679. Illustrations by Tom Briscoe (smallworldcomics.com).

carceration because it failed to label the shoe a “dangerous weapon.”

-- Ed Forchion sits in a jail in Burlington County, N.J. (where he will reside for a few more months), serving a term for possession of marijuana. However, for 10 days each month until his release, the same judge who sentenced him has promised to allow him to go smoke medical marijuana in California to relieve pain from his bone cancer. (Forchion was convicted of possession before New Jersey legalized medical marijuana.) (Update: Four days after a Trentonian columnist’s story about “Weedman” Forchion, and the subsequent Internet frenzy it wrought, Forchion’s judge commuted the final 130 days of his sentence and freed him.)

-- In a December letter to the University of Minnesota president, a coalition of black student organizations demanded an end to racial profiling, especially in light of recent campus crime incidents. “(C)ampus safety should be of the (university’s) utmost importance,” they acknowledged, but among the organizations’ complaints was that when “be on the lookout” alerts were issued (usually based on victims’ descriptions of their attackers), innocent black students feel “discomforting,” “negative psychological effects” -because the alerts so often describe black attackers.

-- Officials at the Emu Plains Correctional Center near Sydney, Australia, announced in January that they had pre-empted a planned escape by two female inmates, ages 32 and 21, after finding a 60-foot length of tied-together sheets in a cell. Nonetheless, the officials said they were puzzled, in that Emu Plains is a one-story facility, enclosed, wrote the Daily Telegraph, by a “not particularly high” fence.

Perspective Recent U.S. Supreme Court rulings have made clear that only in the case of murder can a juvenile be given a life sentence “without possibility of parole” (and never a death sentence). Under-18s, the court said, must get a “meaningful opportunity” to mature and redeem themselves behind bars. The U.S. Constitution aside, apparently some Florida judges disagree and have subsequently sentenced juveniles to 50

years or longer for non-murders, in some cases assuring that the release date will be beyond the inmate’s natural life expectancy. In one case found by a Barry University law school program, a juvenile convicted of gun robbery and rape had his earlier life-without-parole sentence “reduced” to consecutive sentences totaling 170 years. Critics said the Supreme Court should recognize that some juveniles are already “thoroughly incorrigible.”

People With Issues Christopher Pagano, 41, was finally arrested in January as police identified him as the man who had apparently been roaming the Mayfair neighborhood of Philadelphia for several weeks exposing his genitals while lovingly fondling a hunk of Swiss cheese (“cheese-accessorized” genitals, wrote a Philadelphia Daily News reporter). The case was broken when a 2012 victim recalled a “Swiss cheese pervert” in the Philadelphia area and searched for him on the Internet, locating a man who rhapsodized as much about cheese as about having sex. “I started to compare girls to cheese due to their milky (complexions),” the man (Pagano) wrote. “(G)irls are soft, smooth-feeling, and tend to like dairy products more.”

Least Competent Criminals Perps Who Need to Be in a Different Line of Work: “Victim” Joseph Torrez, 27, was at home in Las Cruces, N.M., on New Year’s Day with his fiancee and young son when four men barged in (after threatening Torrez on the telephone with “I’m big Eastside,” “I’ll kill you and your family,” “I will go to your house”). Torrez is a mixed-martial arts fighter, and by the time it was over, he and his family were safe, but one home invader was dead, another was in the hospital, and the other two (including the telephoner) under arrest.

COPYRIGHT 2014 CHUCK SHEPHERD

weird news

| THE READER |

FEB. 27 - MAR. 5, 2014

21

3 Days H

e laid low.

For the last decade, Kevin Costner mostly kept to himself, popping up only to save our oceans from oil spills with inventions from Waterworld and to convince Superman he shouldn’t be so super, man. But now my least favorite actor is back, and he’s looking to make up for lost time in the “things that suck” department. And sweet tap-dancing Moses does 3 Days to Kill suck.

3 Days to Kill is so impossibly bad it is either an inside joke we don’t get or Costner’s personal “eff you” to me. It is littered with racist caricatures, nonsensical plot contrivances, light misogyny and the sight of Costner in a friggin’ decorative scarf for two hours. I’m aware the scarf thing shouldn’t bother me as much as the other stuff, but if you can make it the full running time without fantasizing about choking his character to death with it, you’re a better person than me.

The “character” in question here is Ethan Renner (Costner), a stunningly lethargic and nondescript CIA badass who finds out he has brain cancer. With only weeks to live, Ethan tries to reconnect with his estranged wife (Connie Nielsen) and daughter (Hailee Steinfeld).

They hate him because he’s the clichéd “absent father obsessed with his job.” Normally, that’s a fair criticism to level, but Ethan is out disarming rogue nuclear weapons.

He should be able to say, “Hey, you know how Sara’s dad sells Hondas all day? I prevented Armageddon, so maybe you cut me a break?”

—Ryan Syrek

Cutting Room provides breaking local and national movie news … complete with added sarcasm. Send any relevant information to film@thereader.com. Check out Ryan on Movieha!, a weekly half-hour movie podcast (movieha.libsyn.com/rss), catch him on radio on CD 105.9 (cd1059. com) on Fridays around 7:30 a.m. and on KVNO 90.7 (kvno.org) at 8:30 a.m. on Fridays and follow him on Twitter (twitter.com/thereaderfilm).

22

FEB. 27 - MAR.05, 2014

| THE READER |

Kill

to is punishment

REPORTCARD

You remember Ed Norton, right?

He’s the guy from the cell phone commercials who was the Hulk for a hot minute. Well, he may not have used up all his acting juju like we thought. This week, it was revealed Eddie will direct and star in Motherless Brooklyn, based on the fantastic Jonathan Lethem novel about a detective with Tourette syndrome. If done right, this could be a riveting neo-noir classic with an unforgettable central character. If done poorly, look for Norton in upcoming Dyson vacuum commercials.

We now know who the Fantastic Four will be in the upcoming reboot.

Miles Teller will be Mister Fantastic, Kate Mara will be the Invisible Woman, Jamie Bell will be the Thing and Michael B. Jordan will be the Human Torch. Other than the fact that Teller emits some kind of pheromone that makes me hate his stupid face, I’m good with this, most notably Jordan and Mara, who are immensely talented. They play siblings despite being of different races, which is apparently something many people on the Internet didn’t know could happen. Other things commenters on the Internet do not know: tact and kindness.

Tina Fey has aced TV but is barely getting a passing grade on the big screen. That could change with The Taliban Shuffle, which is sadly not the most racist dance craze I’ve seen at a wedding. The film will be based on a journalist’s memoir of her time in Afghanistan and Pakistan, because nothing says comedy like Afghanistan and Pakistan.

Titus Welliver (the man in black from “Lost”) was talking about his upcoming film, Transformers: Age of Extinction. When talking of the darker tone and violence, he noted “it’s not a kids movie, I’ll tell you that much.” Why would we assume a movie based on a kids toy line would be for kids? To be fair, it’s not only not for kids, it’s not for anyone with taste.

film

Actually, Ethan does get a break, in that the leatherclad sex object/CIA operative, Vivi (Amber Heard), just so happens to have a magic, glowing serum that fixes brain cancer. But she’ll only give it to him if he stops multiple bad guys whose names have the article “the” in them. There’s The Albino (Tómas Lemarquis), who is albino, and The Wolf (Richard Sammel), whose real name is Wolfgang. There’s also an accountant you’d think would be called “The Numbers,” but his actual name is Guido (Bruno Ricci). In case you didn’t know he was Italian, he offers a recipe for spaghetti sauce at gunpoint.

Then there are the squatters who take over Ethan’s apartment out of nowhere. It’s a whole family infused with the “Magic Negro” racist schtick, including young black kid who just wants a high five and a father figure who reminds Ethan what’s really important. Between that and the depiction of Vivi, who inexplicably transforms from trusted high-ranking official to sex-obsessed trollop, it’s hard to say what’s most offensive. The scarf.

The scarf is most offensive.

There are two competing and incompatible movies happening at once in 3 Days to Kill: one is a looseygoosey action comedy, the other is a dramedy about a dad reconnecting with his teenage daughter by doing things like teaching her how to finally ride a bike. Both of those movies suck. Combine them, and you have a reminder why we must stay vigilant lest Costner get famous again. Not this time, Kevin. Not on my watch.

READER RECOMMENDS

The Lego Movie = B+

Turns out you can make an awesome movie about inanimate plastic blocks.

GRADE = F

ON DVD

Blue Jasmine = B+ A show-stopping performance for Cate Blanchett.

Nebraska = B-

Austenland = BA criticism of fanatics that winds up feeling a bit like fan fiction.

Her = B+

Ender’s Game = C This is one tame, lame video game.

Another nice, quiet, muted film from the master.

Love between a man and his computer can be beautiful.

American Hustle = B

Solid, slightly odd, con film with great female performances.

Rush = B+ True story about a sport we don’t care about that you’ll actually care about!

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| THE READER |

FEB. 27 - MAR. 5, 2014

3119

23

“funnier unnier than most serious plays and vastly smarter than most funny plays…”

- Jeremy McCarter, New York Magazine

reTurning For one nighT only!

Off-BROAdwAY Hit

After performing extended sold-out runs Off-Broadway and in Los Angeles, Mr. Beaty now brings his explosive solo play EMERGENCY back to Omaha for one night only!

Thursday, February 27 | 7:00pm holland performing arts Center

emergenCy

Written and performed by

daniel beaTy

supported by:

Tickets available now www.TicketOmaha.com 402-345-0606 Recommended for ages 13 and older Photo Credit: Nathan Yungerberg: www.njyphoto.com

includes all taxes & fees