Current May 2013

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FRONTLINE Behind the lens with Pulitzer Prize-winning photographer & UM professor David Turnley

p 10

p.12 A2, al fresco

Our annual guide to the summer’s best patios

p.16

Studying the craft

The intense foodies at Vellum restaurant

p.24 Jammin’ with a guru

Inside the musical mind of Chewy Anderson

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FREE

MAY

nt.com

curre 2013 e

FRONTLINE Behind the lens with Pulitzer Prize-winning photographer & UM professor David Turnley

p 10

p.12 A2, al fresco

Our annual guide to the summer’s best patios

p.16

Studying the craft

The intense foodies at Vellum restaurant

p.24 Jammin’ with a guru

Inside the musical mind of Chewy Anderson

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contents fyi 6

A2 Commuter Challenge 2013

green corner 6

Downtown Blooms Day

bizz buzz 7

The economy turns around

On The Frontline 10

Behind the camera with acclaimed photographer and UofM alum David Turnley

by Nan Bauer

may 2013

vol. 24 / no.5

16 food: in review

Vellum

by Nan Bauer

30 theater: The Mountaintop Performance Network Theater revives MLK Jr.

by San Slomovits

32 artbeat The brushwork of Ismau Noguchi

by Louis Meldman

35 everything else 24 perspective: rock

Inside the mind of Chewy Anderson

by Jeff Milo

online exclusives Exclusive features at www.ecurrent.com

Keeping it Crunchy

Jazzy Veggie

Even within the crunchy-granola city limits of Ann Arbor, it’s lonely being a vegetarian. One might think vegetarian restaurants would flourish here, but that’s not necessarily true. Who's got the best veggie-friendly faire in town?

A Musical Odyssey

Blues Perspective: Dig in to Blues Winter blues have disappeared, but Ann Arbor's blues musicians have gigs at venues all over town. Get the scoop on www.eCurrent.com

The first time you hear Bill Staines sing in his down-to-earth, unpretentious voice, you might be surprised that it’s a voice agile and acrobatic enough to have earned him a National Yodeling Championship. That’s just one of a number of surprises hidden in the man and his music.

Facebook Fan of the Month Stacey Lawhon Narduzzi

"I love Ann Arbor for all the various cultures that happen there simultaneously. While walking through A2, I will meet people from different countries, different beliefs, and, of course, different opinions. Yet we are all there together, often doing the same thing. A2 is a community for everyone."

Like Current on Facebook for your chance to win concert tickets, gift cards, and to become Current's next Facebook fan of the month.

ecurrent.com / may 2013 5

fyi

Adams Street Publishing Co. In honor of Mother’s Day we asked the staff: Who’s your Mama?

Publisher/Editor in Chief

Collette Jacobs (cjacobs@toledocitypaper.com) Jenny Stagg’s daughter

Co-publisher/Chief Financial Officer Mark I. Jacobs (mjacobs@toledocitypaper.com) Marilyn Jacobs’s son

Editorial

Assignment Editor: Alia Orra (editor@toledocitypaper.com) Layla J. Orra’s daughter Interim Editor Joesph Schafer (josephs@adamsstreetpublishing.com) Lydia Schafer’s son Calendar: Julian Garcia (jgarcia@toledocitypaper.com) Maggie Garcia’s son Social Media Specialist: Amanda Goldberg (agoldberg@adamsstreetpublishing.com) Margherita Martinez’s daughter Staff Writer: Griffin Messer-Kruse (griffin@adamsstreetpublishing.com) Diana Messer’s son Contributing Writers: Ned Randolph, Nan Bauer, Louis Meldman, Jeff Milo, San Slomovits

Art/Production

Commute and compete

This spring lower your carbon footprint, get some exercise and save some cash by participating in A2’s Commuter Challenge 2013.

Organizations and workplaces of similar size or individuals can compete from May 1-31 in Weekly Spirit Challenges, random prize drawings and an overall prize for the highest level of participation. Leave the car in the garage and take the bus, carpool, walk or bike to the office. Visit the website for a full list of events, prize categories and to register. 734-214-0100. www.getdowntown.org—JG

green corner The city blossoms

The City of Ann Arbor Natural Area Preservation (NAP) is looking for individuals, groups and families to volunteer for Downtown Blooms Day on Saturday, May 18. The public can have fun sprucing up A2 by planting flowers throughout the downtown area. Volunteers will receive a free t-shirt and pizza lunch, and are to meet the coordinators at Liberty Plaza between Liberty & S. Division. 9am-12pm. Park at the Library structure for parking validation, 343 S. Fifth Ave. 734-794-6000. www.a2gov.org/NAP—JG

Art Director: Leah Foley (leah@adamsstreetpublishing.com) Joanne Riley’s daughter Senior Designer: Kristi Polus (kristi@adamsstreetpublishing.com) Julia Ann Hayes’s daughter Graphic Design: Brittney Koehl (adsin@toledocitypaper.com) Dawn Koehl’s Daughter Megan Anderson

(manderson@toledocitypaper.com)

Sherri Anderson’s daughter Sarah Baird (production@adamsstreetpublishing.com) Carolyn Walters’ Daughter Jameson Staneluis (jameson@adamsstreetpublishing.com) Kim Staneluis’s son

Advertising

Sales Manager: Aubrey Hornsby (ahornsby@adamsstreetpublishing.com) Sue Sheridan’s Son Sales Coordinator: Emily Gibb (classifieds@toledocitypaper.com) Joni Gibb’s daughter Best Account Executives: Kelly Schwark (kelly@adamsstreetpublishing.com) Suzanne Kropog’s Daughter Charles Towne (charles@adamsstreetpublishing.com) Joyce Towne’s Son Jami Hull (jami@adamsstreetpublishing.com) Debbie Hooker’s Daughter

Administration

Accounting: Robin Armstrong (rarmstrong@toledocitypaper.com) Joan Greenshields’ daughter Distribution: Michelle Flanagan (distribution@toledocitypaper.com) Patricia Flanagan’s Daughter Publisher’s Assistant: Jan Thomas (jthomas@adamsstreetpublishing.com) Carmelinda Nuti Robertson’s daughter Office Assistant: Marisa Rubin (mrubin@adamsstreetpublishing.com) Ellen Rubin’s daughter © 2013 by Adams Street Publishing Co., All rights reserved. 3003 Washtenaw Ave., Suite 3, Ann Arbor, MI 48104, Phone (734) 668-4044, Fax (734) 668-0555.

First class subscriptions $28 a year. Distributed throughout Ann Arbor, Ypsilanti and neighboring communities.

Also publishers of:

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Jobs Return

by Ned Randolph

Browse the shelves at Literati, an independent bookstore, recently opened in downtown A2

A pair of University of Michigan economists say that Ann Arbor-Washtenaw region has erased all of the job losses caused by the so called Great Recession and will add another 13,000 jobs over the next 2-1/2 years. Authors George Fulton and Don Grimes point to a broad-based recovery across multiple sectors, unique to this area.

The highest performing sector will be construction, which should grow by nearly 25 percent, pushed by new student high rises, downtown office space and a housing recovery.

Construction employees in the construction sector could surpass 4,000 by 2015.

Next is financial services, which will grow by 20 percent based on a growing demand for George mortgage services.

Fulton They expect Computer Systems Design to grow by 20 percent with 400 new jobs.

Nursing and Residential Care jobs will increase as baby boomers age and increase demand for care givers, nurses and senior living centers. Washtenaw County could add 550 jobs in the sector, a 13 percent increase.

Jobs associated with state government funding at the University of Michigan Health System and other institutions will add 3,500 new jobs over the next three years.

The return of the auto sector is expected to drive jobs in skilled manufacturing and transportation and warehousing., adding 150 jobs and 550 new jobs respectively.

An increase in overall wealth should push job growth in the leisure and hospitality sector, especially jobs at golf courses and country clubs, forecasted to grow 27.7 percent.

And finally the employment Services sector is expected to grow by 250 jobs.

Despite the recent good news, the authors said the 4.3 percent unemployment rate remains higher than rates between 1990-2007. “For many residents, economic recovery has not yet arrived, and might not arrive any time soon,” the report says.

Literati Come Forth

The rise of ebook downloads and online book retailers haven’t fully squelched the upstart dream of opening a boutique bookstore.

Mike Gustafson and Hilary Lowe, engaged to be married, recently returned to Southeast Michigan from Brooklyn to open Literati, an independent bookstore at 124 E. Washington in downtown Ann Arbor.

“It feels great. It feels wonderful,” they say on the store

blog, which offers a detailed progress report on the store’s development, book arrivals, and upcoming events.

They have hired as “book ninjas” three former Borders employees, a Shaman Drum employee, the director of the Great Lakes Independent Books Association, and two Michigan MFA students. “All are passionate. All are experienced.

We’re thrilled,” they said.

The couple wants their store to be a meeting place for the community and plan to host events like kids story time, open mics and author readings. On April 30, they sponsored an open mic event with the Neutral Zone at Literati. They are also considering hosting academic panels and life story telling events such as The Moth.

The ground floor houses non-fiction, biographies and memoirs while upstairs is populated by fiction, poetry, children’s books and cookbooks.

The bookstore has room to grow based on the community’s interest, including a “suggestion list” for people to write down their favorite titles and help shape the store’s character “If there’s not something you think we should have, say so!” they said.

Farming Meets Farmville

A $1 million cash infusion for an Ann Arbor software startup to help midwestern farmers is bolstering the area’s case as a high-tech hub. Huron River Ventures and Hyde Park Venture Partners co-led the funding.

Farmlogs, started by Saginaw State University graduates Jesse Vollmar, 24 and Brad Koch, 23, is developing a cloud-based farm management mobile application for farmers in the field. The company, which has been written up by the New York Times, Forbes.com and Detroit Free Press, is trying to bring farmers in from the cold and into the 21st century.

“We’ve seen farmers track activities and expenses tons of different ways, from the back of an envelope in their truck to trying to remember to put them into an old clunky spreadsheet when they get home,” the website says.

The software helps modernize farming by bringing critical farm data online and onto smartphones and tablets.

The tool allows farmers to quickly forecast and measure

cont. on page 8 ecurrent.com / may 2013 7

cont. from page 7 profits, track expenses, and more efficiently schedule operations. That data can be combined with information from other sources and shared easily with consulting agronomists, crop insurance agents, the Agriculture Department and others.

The company founders, which have reached out to customers through traditional agricultural fairs and expos, graduated from the Silicon Valley-based tech accelerator Y Combinator. With seed money, they launched the company last June eyeing Ann Arbor because of its unique proximity to talent, VC capital and mentoring and Midwestern farmers.

Mountain Melt

The downtown Rocky Mountain Chocolate Factory closed its doors last month after five years.

The closure of Borders, and its foot traffic draw, made franchise owner Angela Eddins decide not to renew her lease, which expired at the end of March.

Rocky Mountain’s closure follows the shuttering of two other neighboring businesses on East Liberty Street, Pink Pump and Grand Traverse Pie Company.

Pursed

Purse and accessories retailer Vera Bradley opened in Briarwood Mall last month. The Fort Wayne-headquartered company provides baby clothes and accessories in iconic quilted cotton designs.

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Quick Buzzes

^ The future of medical marijuana in Michigan may be hazy, but a permit for a new medical marijuana dispensary in Ypsilanti, to be named Aspen Gardens, has been approved by the city to open sometime this year at 75 Catherine St., a former auto body repair shop and one time home to the Iron Coffins Motorcycle Club. ^ Vacant since 2009, the former Firefly Club, located at 637 S. Main St., has found new life as Hail Hookah Lounge. ^ Arhaus Furniture will move to the under-construction Arbor Hills Shopping Center on Washtenaw Ave. The new location, which will open in September, will feature a completely revamped interior design and major retailers like Brooks Brothers, Running Fit, Arhaus Furniture, Sur La Table, Anthropologie, The North Face, Bluemercury, Lululemon Athletica, a restaurant by the Cafe Zola owners, Pizzeria Biga and Hot Mama. ^ Ahmo’s Gyros and Deli, a middle-eastern restaurant, will open its doors in the former Pinter’s Flowerland building on the corner of Washtenaw Avenue and Owendale St. This will be the fourth restaurant in the Ahmo's chain. ^ Primo Coffee on the corner of E. Liberty and Fifth, has closed its doors after six years in business. The establishment was known for its bright, cheery windows and steady supply of Zingerman’s pastries. ^ Arts in Motion is partnering with Wild Swan Theater. The two businesses opened a new location at 6175 Jackson Rd. on April 8. The Wild Swan Theater troupe went on hiatus last April, and Arts in Motion has been looking for a new, smaller space for expanding since 2008. The new, 4,800square-foot area will accommodate both businesses.

ecurrent.com / may 2013 9

feature

Pulitzer Prize winning photographer David Turnley talks about equal rights, squeegee artistry, 9/11, and Michigan football

By Nan Bauer

Nelson Mandela gazes through the bars of the prison that once contained his body. A Gulf War soldier’s face contorts as he sits next to his dying friend, helpless. Michelle Obama looks knowingly at the camera, her husband’s eyes closed for a moment.

And Santa jumps out of a helicopter.

These are just a few of the iconic images captured by David C. Turnley, the internationally acclaimed, Pulitzer Prize-winning photojournalist and documentary filmmaker who recently returned to his alma mater to become an assistant professor at the University of Michigan’s Penny Stamps School of Art and Design. He spoke to us about key moments from his childhood, career, and his new documentary, Shenandoah.

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Where’d you get the idea for Shenandoah?

Obama made a comment on the campaign trail when he was in Pennsylvania: “In times of crisis, the working class cling to guns and religion.” Now, I was very excited about Obama’s candidacy, but I also think that working class America gets historically dismissed. And I was reminded that my dad and grandfather, who both played football, would always talk about this tough football that they played in these coal-mining towns. And I remembered that I had really wanted to make a movie about that.

So you didn’t know about the incident?

No. I was scouting around, and someone said, you’ve got to go to Shenandoah, where these four star football players from the local high school had beaten an undocumented Mexican immigrant to death. Now the media had already descended on this town, and I wasn’t sure that they would even talk to me. I saw these two men sitting in lawn chairs.

Well, they started talking right away. That was August, 2008, and the election was going on, and one of the great things about this part of the country is they don’t pull any punches.

Did the locals see you as this fancy photographer from New York?

Well, I didn’t see myself that way. I didn’t ever want it to be an “Us/Them” film. So I wanted them to relate to how we were alike, not how we were different. And the fact that I had been a walk-on wide receiver for, like, 10 minutes for Michigan was huge.

So how does a wide receiver end up being a photographer?

My twin, Peter [also an internationally acclaimed photographer], played football as well. He was injured when he was 16, and my parents got him a camera. And we both started to take pictures, and we found the same passion that we’d had for football. But what was great was that football had

But what was great was that football had given us discipline; you have to have stamina, physical and emotional, to be a combat photographer.

—David Turnley

given us discipline; you have to have stamina, physical and emotional, to be a combat photographer.

Even those high school photos have empathy and depth. How did you manage to capture that at such a young age?

My parents were involved in civil rights early on, and they taught us to live by the words of Dr. King, and they had this fierce belief that everyone was equal.

Growing up in Ft. Wayne, Indiana, we would discuss the Vietnam war and Kent State and what was going on in the world around the dinner table. My brother called us when he got his head whacked because he was in a protest at Harvard, and my parents were completely supportive.

camera around your neck. People were so desperate for the world to know the realities of their lives. They just wanted to be treated as human beings.

Have you ever had problems being an outsider with a camera?

On September 11, I took some pictures of the first group of firemen who were carrying a fallen colleague on a stretcher. One of the men was incredibly upset. Well, a year later, on the first anniversary, I got a phone call: “I’m the fireman who almost took your head off last year. I’ve seen your photographs everywhere, and I want to thank you for testifying what happened to our buddies.” I sat and had drinks with these firemen as they remembered their brothers.

It was an incredible honor.

David Turnley embracing

My parents wanted us to be fully engaged. spiritual guru The Dalai Lama. Do you know when a photograph is I remember when I was 5, my dad took going to be big? me to lunch at a diner one day. And there I had a powerful feeling when I shot the grieving soldier was this plate glass window, and I see this gentleman in the first Gulf War. We had been in a tank that had been washing it and the way he was using a squeegee, this man split by a missile. It was one of those moments where time was just an unbelievable artist. I was so excited and I said, slows down. I don’t always ask if I can publish the pictures, Dad, do you see that man with that squeegee? And Dad but this was so raw, and the young men said, “Publish said, “I don’t care what you do with your life, just do it as them.” However you feel about war, people need to know it well as that man washing the window.” So that’s what I’ve is not a video game. tried to do.

From Ft. Wayne to University of Michigan, and then?

One of my earliest assignments was photographing the demolition of Poletown in Detroit, and then I went to South Africa in 1985.

No problems being a white guy in South Africa in the apartheid era?

In 1985, if you were white and you deliberately walked into a township, you were welcomed, especially when you had a

How have the people of Shenandoah reacted to the way you told their story?

We just took the film to them this past weekend; it’s been a 5-year project. The film finished, and the applause was kind of overwhelming, and one after another people stood up and said, thank you, you’ve given us the ability to heal.

No Us/Them?

No. I don’t think it’s ever Us/Them.

ecurrent.com / may 2013 11

SPECIAL ADVERTISING SECTION

J

ust when you thought winter would never loosen its icy grip, spring has sprung. Go out,

soak up the sun, breathe the warm air and dine out, really out, with the Current Patio Guide 2013.

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or New h izons

This will be the Bona Sera Supper Club’s first year with an outdoor patio. Dine on fusion200 W Michigan Ave. inspired dishes beneath Ypsilanti, MI table umbrellas or the 734.340.6335 beautiful awning. The www.bonaserasupperclub.com patio will be situated on the Washington St. side of the restaurant, and should be open in time for the May 11 Ypsilanti color run. Enjoy the athletic spectrum on that day with Bona Sera signature dishes like shrimp n’ grits. Specials and menu updates may be found daily at Bona Sera’s Facebook page: www.facebook.com/bona.sera.7.

BONA SERA CAFE

SPECIAL ADVERTISING SECTION

Sidetracks is re-opening their four scenic patios at the heart of historic depot town in downtown Ypsilanti—it’s not just great seating, it’s award-winning! Come for hand crafted burgers and other sandwiches, but stay for the best train-watching in depot town. Then, stay for the evening and sample Sidetrack’s 24 beer taps-the bar and kitchen are both open until 2am. Sidetracks has a plethora of vegetarian and vegan options as well, and every item on the menu is hand crafted and made from scratch.

Concert-ready Brecon Grille

101 W Michigan Ave. Saline, MI 734.429.4868

www.brecongrillesaline.com

Ride the rails!

SIDETRACK BAR & GRILL 56 E Cross St. Ypsilanti, MI 734.483.1490

www.sidetrackbarandgrill.com

Brecon Grille offers unique patio/cafe style seating on the beautiful sidewalks of downtown Saline. Shaded by the trees and neighboring buildings, this is a great place to spend the afternoon or evenings relaxing in the spring, summer or fall. Outdoor concerts and festivals take place adjacent to the Brecon.

Stop by, say hi and enjoy a wide selection of Michigan draft beers or a glass of wine!

Visit www.brecongrillesaline.com or http:// www.salinemainstreet.org/events/summermusic-series/ for more information.

ecurrent.com / may 2013 13

SPECIAL ADVERTISING SECTION

Drink Up!

On a nice day, Ann Arbor locals can enjoy a Michiganmade beer outside while relaxing in the Wolverine State Brewing Company Beer Garden. As an extension of their indoor utilitarian space, 2019 West Stadium the relaxed vibe outside is Ann Arbor, MI a nice complement to the 734.369.2990 indoor taproom, an authentic www.wolverinebeer.com converted warehouse spilling over with local flavor. Enjoy the sweet sounds of spring and summer concerts while kicking back under the sun in an area with tables, chairs and fresh flowers. You may never want to get up to leave!

Wolverine State Brewing Company

Wake up!

The back patio at Cafe Ollie is modeled after a true European Cafe. They 42 E. Cross Street not only serve espresso, Depot Town, Ypsi snacks, and a side of 734.482.8050 attitude...but also fine www.cafeollie.com wine, craft beer and Sake cocktails. Upon arriving, you’ll find live performances scattered throughout the day and food service from 10am-9pm. With 16 flavors of hand-dipped ice cream, peaceful and playful surroundings and Ypsilanti’s many summer festivals, the patio is a great place for the whole family to relax.

CAFE OLLIE

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SPECIAL ADVERTISING SECTION

Eat Up! CAFE MARIE

1759 Plymouth Road Ann Arbor, MI 734.662.2272

www.cafemariea2.com

Cafe Marie is a popular breakfast and lunch cafe serving traditional and speciality items. Come see why people love our breakfast eggers, potato and cheese avalanche, signature cherry chicken salad, and roasted tomato bisque. Open from 7am3pm. Great patio, wireless internet, and catering is available.

It might get hot

For 18 years the \aut\ BAR’s patio has been one of Ann Arbor’s most popular. The brick patio 315 Braun Ct surrounded by early 734.994.3677 20th century workman’s homes converted into www.autbar.com shops and restaurants has a European feel unique to Ann Arbor. The Braun Court patio is away from the hustle and bustle in a relaxed, off-street location. Enjoy the casual menu with a Mexican flair. And on cool spring and autumn evenings gather around the fire pit. Arrive early for patio seating for the popular Saturday and Sunday brunch, featuring a wide range of bloody marys and signature mimosas.

\´aut\ BAR

ecurrent.com / may 2013 15

food food

The art of eating, Ann Arbor style

A native son and his team of restaurant craftspeople take humble food to new culinary heights

By Nan Bauer

Restaurant kitchens and the front of the house, an apprenticeship in Paris, a degree in hospitality from Cornell, managing a restaurant granted four stars by the New York Times: Peter Roumanis’ resume seems like it should have a much older guy attached to it.

It helps that he virtually grew up in a restaurant — Ann Arbor favorite Mediterrano, owned by his father, John. Peter started helping out at the age of 12. By 16, he was ready for an internship at the Paris food temple Taillevent under the late, legendary chef Jean-Claude Vrinat. “It was all very strict, very silent,” says Peter. “And if Jean-Claude ever even Restaurateur/chef glanced at you, it was a big deal. I told Peter Roumanis my staff that he would come daily to cut the fish, and then he’d wipe his bloody hands on my apron.” He smiles. “That was my claim to fame.”

After that, a culinary institute program would pale, so Peter instead majored in the hospitality program at Cornell University in Ithaca, New York, which focuses on every aspect of owning and managing hotels and restaurants; he minored in European politics. A job managing Del Posto, Mario Battali’s Italian eatery in NYC that boasts a 4-star rating from the New York Times, followed.

“After an almost militaristic experience at Taillevent, it was a real 180 to work for Mario, who’d show up in his clogs and ponytail and blast rock and roll,” says Peter.

Contrasts like that intrigue him, and they also inform Vellum, his new restaurant located in a former 19th century Ann Arbor printing business. Modern meets traditional, composed meets informal in both décor and menu: Vellum is all about finding balance between seeming polar opposites. “I love to use humble ingredients—things like brisket, bone marrow, lamb shoulder, half a chicken — and then give them an elaborate treatment,” says Peter.

But, while passionate about the finest locally sourced ingredients, he’s not one to go to the farmers’ market

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and forage. “I’m not an improviser. It can take me six months to get a dish perfect.” In fact, the Vellum blog features a recent post that details Photos by Daniel Brenner why certain dishes were either deleted from the menu or tweaked. For instance, one pasta dish featured mussels, fennel fronds, lemon, and salmon roe. “We simply couldn’t get the balance correct and the guests were not excited about the dish,” states Peter. “Whenever the dish went out, the reactions were good at best. It was 86’d [removed] from the menu fast and efficiently.” On the other hand, local Michigan walleye proved to be a surprise hit, particularly after it was tweaked from being poached to pan-fried; it’s served alongside hand-pressed onion broth, shallot, brandade, and apple.

Far from being an old-fashioned, “people will eat what I tell them to eat!” restauranteur, Peter Roumanis belongs completely to a new school. A spirit of collaboration infuses Vellum’s atmosphere. Exhibit A: the innovative “Working Wednesdays” program, in which four Vellum staff members — two from the kitchen and two from the front of house — workshop new ideas after the restaurant closes at 11 p.m.

A recent session included one staffer’s research on knives, another recreating a beloved recipe from his youth, and a third conjuring up “an extremely thoughtful beet salad,” in the words of Caroline J. Dunbar, director of service and marketing. Sessions are open to guests as well, provided they don’t mind the late hours.

Peter and his staff certainly don’t. There’s none of the customer-facing staff vs. the kitchen tension that invades many restaurants, at least not on display. That is in large part due to Peter’s equal passion for both sides. “I just love restaurants,” he says. “There’s a magic to the experience of having a great meal out, when there’s a seamless flow from the back to the front of the house. I have such respect for people who do a job so perfectly, like a server who can read a customer’s body language, or a chef who can make an incredible sauce.”

Then he heads into the kitchen. It’s time to work.

Get your grub on

Hopheads can turn to the longstanding tradition of the pub crawl, but where do foodies in search of variety turn? A 'grub' crawl — a one-night tour through a host of restaurants in search of deliciousness. The

4th Semi-Annual Grub Crawl on Wednesday, May 8, hosted by the Ann Arbor/Ypsilanti Regional Chamber, is one such opportunity, where hundreds of local community members will visit restaurants including Aubree's Pizzeria & Grill, Cafe Ollie, Corner Brewery, Haab's, Harvest Kitchen, Red Rock BBQ, Sidetrack Bar & Grill, and The Wurst Bar. Most restaurants will be serving their local specialities, but there will also be plenty of options for kids as well. After registering online, guests will arrive at an assigned location to receive a t-shirt that will act as their "ticket" for the evening. Golden Limousine International will provide a transportation trolley so that guests can make it to every stop. It's a chance to try new food at local restaurants and perhaps discover your new favorite hot spot. $20/adults, $5/children under 12. Wednesday, May 8. 6-9pm. Downtown & Depot Town Area, Ypsilanti. 734-214-0105. Pre-register online at business.a2ychamber.org. —MO

ongoing Wednesdays

Italian Wine Tastings

6-7pm. $25. Paesano Restaurant & Wine Bar, 3411 Washtenaw Ave. 734-971-0484. www.paesanosannarbor.com

Indulge in a post-work wine tasting every Wednesday at Paesano Restaurant & Wine Bar. Five Italian wines will be on hand for sampling, along with a mix of tasty appetizers.

ongoing Sundays

Themed Brunch Buffet

10am-2pm. $19 adults, $9 kids 12 and under. The Quarter Bistro & Tavern, 300 S. Maple Rd. 734-929-9200. www.thequarterbistro.com

The Quarter Bistro’s chef, Ernest Prokos, has more than 45 years of experience in the kitchen and brings a unique approach to the stove. (“Cook with your heart, make food with your hands” is his motto.) His Sunday brunches are fun, themed four-hour culinary excursions — concepts range from Tex-Mex to Moroccan.

7 tuesday Basic Cake Decorating 6:30-8:30pm. $75. Ann Arbor Preschool & Family Center, 2775 Boardwalk Dr. 734-994-2300. www.aareced.com

Join certified cake decorator Jyothi Matthews for this four-week class, taking place every Tuesday night through the May 28. Learn basic techniques such as piping and using a spatula for spreading butter cream icing. You’ll also explore how to make frosting, edible roses and other flowers and receive tips for baking high-quality and delicious cakes with the perfect shape and texture.

8 wednesday Gluten-free Baking 6:30-9pm. $45. Huron High School, 2727 Fuller Rd. 734-994-2300. www.aareced.com

Wendy Watson is ready to show you the right way to transform the sweets you love into delicious gluten-free recipes. In this demo, you’ll learn about which ingredients and flour work best for baking as well as why it can be a challenge to get recipes to turn out right.

By the end of the class, you’ll have learned how to make cornbread, chocolate cake and cookies— minus the gluten but still flavorful enough to satisfy your sweet tooth.

9 thursday Michigan Mushroom Hunter for Adults and Teens

7-8:30pm. Free. Ann Arbor District Library, 343 S. Fifth Ave. 734-327-4265. www.aadl.org

Join Phil Tedeschi, president of the Michigan Mushroom Hunters Club, for an explorative lecture looking at where and when mushrooms are “hunted,” how you can tell if they are safe for eating, what goes into cooking them and why mushrooming is such an exciting activity. Come to learn more about the Michigan mushrooms you can find in your own backyard!

Beer Tasting: Bock and Trappists

7-9pm. $25/$30. Arbor Brewing Company, 114 E. Washington St. 734-213-1393. www.arborbrewing.com

Around two dozen malty rich bocks, dopplebocks, and Belgian trappist ales will be featured, along with an appetizer buffet

and style and tasting notes.

Tickets available by phone or at the pub. ID required; advance tickets suggested as event often sells out.

11 saturday Hors D’oeuvres with Keegan Rodgers 2-4:30pm. $25. Home of Lisa Gottlieb, 722 Soule Blvd.

734-769-0095. www.peoplesfood.coop

Head baker Keegan Rodgers is excited to teach you about a variety of adventurous, tasty and exotic hors d’oeuvres to be enjoyed “outside the meal.” Learn about the importance of experimenting with flavors, textures and types of cuisine when preparing a menu selection. When the class ends, take the extras home for a special treat for family and friends.

12 sunday The Whole Truth about Whole Grains with Ellen Livingston 7-8:30pm. Free. Crazy Wisdom Bookstore and Tearoom, 114 S. Main St. 734-994-4589. www.peoplesfood.coop

As part of the People’s Food Co-op “Healthy Living Series,” Livingston—life coach, raw food educator and yoga instructor—will speak about why consuming grains is not optimal for the human body.

Mother’s Day Brunch

10am-1pm. Free. Whole Foods Market, 990 W. Eisenhower Pky. 734-997-7500. wholefoodsmarket.com

Enjoy a complimentary omelet for all mothers, a wide selection of foods on the hot bar, and a chance to relax with fabulous eats and fresh flowers.

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cont. from pg. 17

13 monday

Crafting With Vodka

7:30pm. $35. The Last Word, 301 W. Huron St. 734-276-3215. www.tammystastings.com

In this cocktail class, you’ll learn about why vodka may not deserve the bad rap it typically receives in the specialty cocktail world. Experiment with different flavors and combinations and explore how vodka just may be incorporated into your new favorite craft cocktail.

14 tuesday Vegetarian Cooking 101 With VegMichigan: A Spring Menu

7-8:15pm. $5. Whole Foods Market, 990 W. Eisenhower Pky. 734-997-7500. wholefoodsmarket.com

Join VegMichigan, the state’s largest vegetarian organization, as they demonstrate a variety of vegan recipes in this hands-on classroom setting.

Revive your spring menu and learn to cook with fresh greens, vegetables and herbs.

How to Start a Successful Cottage Food Business in Michigan

2-4pm. $20. Growing Hope Center, 922 W. Michigan Ave., Ypsilanti.

734-786-8401. www.growinghope.net

At this workshop, led by MSU Extension and Growing Hope, you’ll learn about the business behind selling and preparing cottage foods in Michigan.

Leave the workshop with a certificate that states you have taken a food safety course related to cottage foods that you can show to customers and/or employers.

16 tuesday Basic Sushi

6:30-9pm. $45. Huron High School, 2727 Fuller Rd. 734-994-2300. www.aareced.com

In this hands-on class, Chef Tom Lin will teach you how easy it is to make your own sushi from scratch! Learn how to prep the special rice, practice using a bamboo roller and make delicious California rolls, vegetable rolls and a spicy tuna roll.

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may 2013

20 monday Ice Cream Bike: A Sneak Peek at Go! Ice Cram for Adults and Teens 7-8:30pm. Free. Ann Arbor District Library: Malletts Creek Branch, 3090 E. Eisenhower Pky. 734-327-8301. www.aadl.org

In preparation for a new biking adventure mobile business in Ypsilanti coming this summer, Go! Ice Cream will host a lecture and demo that explores a wide variety of local, hand-made, “unusual” and exotic ice creams. Learn how to make your own allnatural ice pops and enjoy tastings.

21 tuesday The Humble Chickpea

6-7:30pm. $5. Whole Foods Market, 990 W. Eisenhower Pky. 734-997-7500. wholefoodsmarket.com

In this interactive class, you’ll learn all about how to cook with garbanzo beans. Walk away from the class knowing how to make your own hummus, chick pea soup, and dumplings, among other delicious recipes.

23 thursday Micro Brew-Haha

6:30pm. $45, plus tax and tip.

Paesano Restaurant & Wine Bar, 3411 Washtenaw Ave. 734-971-0484. www.paesanosannarbor.com

What’s a shrub anyway?

by Robyn Cleveland (Barman at The Ravens Club, president of the US Bartenders Guild Detroit)

You may have seen this ingredient popping up on cocktail menus at many bars and restaurants these days and wondered, “What is a Shrub?” Or maybe not. Either way, here’s a bit of the what, when, why and how of this newly rediscovered classic.

Traditionally, in Colonial America, shrubs were used as a means to preserve seasonal fruit in order to utilize and enjoy their flavors during leaner times. Typically vinegar would be poured over fresh berries and set out for a few days to absorb the flavor. After the solids were taken out, a sweetener was added. You could then mix it with either water to make “drinking vinegar,” or liquor, typically brandy or rum, to make an early form of a cocktail. Spices and herbs were often added for more complexity.

With the modern luxury of refrigeration, these types of soft drinks fell out of favor. That is, until the craft cocktail mantra of “All that was old is new again” began sweeping the nation.

With as many combinations as there are of fruits, sweeteners, spices and vinegars, the possibilities are endless. Here is an easy favorite of my creation, and how to make a great drink with it. Cheers!

Strawberry Basil Shrub

Paesano’s will kick off the summer patio season with this special dinner. Three local micro breweries will have reps on hand to discuss the brewing process. Expect fun food and beer pairings during a four-course meal, like honey barbecue ribs over a summer vegetable gratin with County Street Amber from Original Gravity.

In a large mason jar, muddle: 1 pound of Strawberries (stems removed) 1 oz. Fresh Basil 2 cups Sugar To that add: 3/8 cup Balsamic Vinegar 1/4 cup + 2 tsp. Apple cider vinegar 1/4 cup water Stir and cap tightly. Let stand for 8-12 hrs. Stir again and then refrigerate for 5-7 days. Strain out all solids and store in refrigerator for up to 6 months (trust me, you’ll finish it long before then)

Canning 101

Cocktail:

7-9pm. $39. Whole Foods Market, 3135 Washtenaw Ave. 734-975-4500. wholefoodsmarket.com

In this hands-on demo, you’ll learn about the art of preserving what you harvest in your summer garden. Explore techniques for safe canning methods.

/ ecurrent.com

2 oz Old Tom Gin (a tad sweeter than London Dry) 1 oz Strawberry/Basil Shrub .25 oz Fresh(!) lime juice 1 Healthy Dash Angostura Orange Bitters Shake hard with plenty of ice for 15 seconds and double strain into a chilled cocktail glass. Garnish with one or all: lime wheel, basil leaf, sliced strawberry.

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music

Bill Frisell

The Ark / Saturday, May 4

It is hard to find a more complete combination of traditional American music genres than the compositions of Bill Frisell — mixing folk and country with jazz fusion and blues, he connects the different styles through improvisation and his transcendent, melodic guitar playing. The virtuoso composer and guitarist will perform live leading his eclectic trio Bill Frisell's Beautiful Dreamers, featuring Rudy Royston on drums and Eyvind Kang on viola, through a set of extended improvisation, jazz and blues standards as well as original songs. According to the New Yorker, 'Bill Frisell plays the guitar like Miles Davis played the trumpet: in the hands of such radical thinkers, their instruments simply become different animals.' And with a list of collaborators that includes John Zorn, Ginger Baker, Brian Eno and the Los Angeles Philharmonic, professional musicians and critics alike agree that Frisell is one of the best in the business. May 4. 8pm. $30. The Ark, 316 S. Main St., Ann Arbor. 734-761-1800. www.theark.org. —GMK

1 wednesday Acoustic, Folk & Ethnic

Billy Bragg - The Ark

Bragg has become the conscience of British music, a stalwart guardian of the radical dissenting tradition that stretches back over centuries of political, cultural, and social history. 8pm. $40.

2 thursday Acoustic, Folk & Ethnic

The Moxie Strings Wolverine Tap Room

Electrifying combination of fiddler, Diana Ladio, and electric cellist, Alison Lynn, put a fresh, enticing spin on Celtic and Americana music. 8:30pm.

Free.

Jonah Parzen-Johnson Canterbury House

Experimental folk saxophonist, Parzen-Johnson is heavily influenced by Appalachian folk music, and exploring the textural possibilities created using a saxophone’s extended techniques. 8pm. $10 / $5 students & seniors.

Classical & Spiritual

Ypsilanti Community Choir 30th Anniversary Concert Celebration Emmanuel Lutheran Church

Ariel Toews-Ricotta directs the choir in a variety of selections, some of which were performed at the choir’s first formal concert. 7:30pm. Free.

“World Travels”: Washtenaw Community Concert Band Towsley Auditorium

Under the direction of Chris Heidenreich, the 70 piece band performs the final concert of its indoor season with a whirlwind musical tour through Arabia, Australia, Belgium, Mexico, and Russia. 7:30pm. Free.

3 friday Country & Bluegrass

Mountain Heart - The Ark

This band can go from highspeed harmonic turns to straight-ahead ballads. Mountain Heart makes super-powered bluegrass that can tear the house down! 8pm. $30.

cont. on pg 22

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music

Bill Frisell

The Ark / Saturday, May 4

It is hard to find a more complete combination of traditional American music genres than the compositions of Bill Frisell — mixing folk and country with jazz fusion and blues, he connects the different styles through improvisation and his transcendent, melodic guitar playing. The virtuoso composer and guitarist will perform live leading his eclectic trio Bill Frisell's Beautiful Dreamers, featuring Rudy Royston on drums and Eyvind Kang on viola, through a set of extended improvisation, jazz and blues standards as well as original songs. According to the New Yorker, 'Bill Frisell plays the guitar like Miles Davis played the trumpet: in the hands of such radical thinkers, their instruments simply become different animals.' And with a list of collaborators that includes John Zorn, Ginger Baker, Brian Eno and the Los Angeles Philharmonic, professional musicians and critics alike agree that Frisell is one of the best in the business. May 4. 8pm. $30. The Ark, 316 S. Main St., Ann Arbor. 734-761-1800. www.theark.org. —GMK

1 wednesday Acoustic, Folk & Ethnic

Billy Bragg - The Ark

Bragg has become the conscience of British music, a stalwart guardian of the radical dissenting tradition that stretches back over centuries of political, cultural, and social history. 8pm. $40.

2 thursday Acoustic, Folk & Ethnic

The Moxie Strings Wolverine Tap Room

Electrifying combination of fiddler, Diana Ladio, and electric cellist, Alison Lynn, put a fresh, enticing spin on Celtic and Americana music. 8:30pm.

Free.

Jonah Parzen-Johnson Canterbury House

Experimental folk saxophonist, Parzen-Johnson is heavily influenced by Appalachian folk music, and exploring the textural possibilities created using a saxophone’s extended techniques. 8pm. $10 / $5 students & seniors.

Classical & Spiritual

Ypsilanti Community Choir 30th Anniversary Concert Celebration Emmanuel Lutheran Church

Ariel Toews-Ricotta directs the choir in a variety of selections, some of which were performed at the choir’s first formal concert. 7:30pm. Free.

“World Travels”: Washtenaw Community Concert Band Towsley Auditorium

Under the direction of Chris Heidenreich, the 70 piece band performs the final concert of its indoor season with a whirlwind musical tour through Arabia, Australia, Belgium, Mexico, and Russia. 7:30pm. Free.

3 friday Country & Bluegrass

Mountain Heart - The Ark

This band can go from highspeed harmonic turns to straight-ahead ballads. Mountain Heart makes super-powered bluegrass that can tear the house down! 8pm. $30.

cont. on pg 22

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music

Musicologist, arwful arwful in front of PJ Records

Arwulf Arwulf

PJ’s Used Records / Friday, May 10

Do you like vintage? PJ's Used Records and renowned local musicologist arwulf arwulf would like to formally invite you to a truly vintage listening experience. PJ's is hosting its second Digital-Free Discs and Drinks event. Guests will listen to old-school jazz spun on a phonograph by arwulf himself while sipping on a complimentary cocktail provided by Tammy's Tastings. The upshot? No phones, just like the movies.

Guests will be asked to check their smart phones and/ or iPods at the door. Don't worry, you'll get them back when you leave—last time every device was returned without a hitch. Enjoy a brief vacation from the digital age with a cruise on arwulf's sea of musical nostalgia.

Free. 7-9pm. May 10. PJ’s Used Records, 617-B Packard (upstairs). 734-663-3441—JS

cont. from pg 20 Rock, Pop & Hip-Hop

The Average White Band River Raisin Centre for the Arts (Monroe)

Renowned for the hits Pick up the Pieces and Cut the Cake, Average White Band has been performing sold-out shows around the world for the last 30 years. 7:30pm. $32 adults / $29 seniors / $18 students.

4 saturday Acoustic, Folk & Ethnic

Wire In The Wood Wolverine Tap Room

Enjoy jazz-grass/punk-folk music by this Michigan string band.

Jazz, Blues & R&B Chef Chris & The Rumpshakers Guy Hollerin’s

Chef Chris gets the crowd shakin’ with a night of traditional blues influenced by Muddy Waters, John Lee Hooker and RL Burnside. 8pm. $5.

6 monday Classical & Spiritual

Zoë Keating - The Ark

This one-woman orchestra uses a cello and a foot-controlled laptop to record layer upon layer of lush, beautiful and otherworldly music. 8pm. $20.

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7 tuesday Country & Bluegrass

Lindsay Lou & the Flatbellys Wolverine Tap Room

These A2 faves give a nod to American traditional music, while boldly taking their own songs in new directions. Distinct vocals, tight harmonies, instrumental expertise, and creative arrangements are all essential characteristics of their unique sound.

Jazz, Blues & R&B

David Lindley - The Ark

Lindley performs a unique brand of electro-acoustic roots rock woven together with sounds from blues, bluegrass, folk, African, Arabic, Asian, Celtic, Malagasy, and Turkish musical sources. 8pm. $20.

Laith Al-Saadi The Black Pearl

Every Tuesday enjoy soulful acoustic rock and blues covers and originals by this local singer-guitarist. 8pm.

8 wednesday Acoustic, Folk & Ethnic

Jody Raffoul and Wes Buckley - The Black Pearl

Canadian pop-rock singersongwriter, Raffoul, is joined by masterful back-up vocalist and acoustic guitarist Buckley. 8pm.

music 9 thursday

11 saturday

Acoustic, Folk & Ethnic

Acoustic, Folk & Ethnic

Blue October’s Justin Furstenfeld is a captivating live performer, a gifted and complex songwriter who has poured into his songs intimate details of his many personal battles.

8pm. $25.

Erin Zindle of the Ragbirds brings a group of friends together for a first-annual family show. Featured on this afternoon of kid-friendly music will be Dick Siegel, Chris Buhalis, Brant Losinski (of Rootstand), Jim Roll, The Understorey, Shelly Smith, and more! 1pm. $10.

An Open Book: An Evening With Justin Furstenfeld - The Ark

10 friday Acoustic, Folk & Ethnic

Joe Reilly Kerrytown Concert House

Singer songwriter Joe Reilly and the talented collective of Earthwork musicians take you on a journey of music and spirit in this album release concert for ‘Greyhound Bus Tour.’ 8pm. $10 / $5 student.

Ghost City Searchlight Crazy Wisdom Bookstore and Tea Room

These talented musicians play original music inspired by traditional Celtic and American folk songs infused with raucous energy. 8:30pm. Free.

The Ragbirds Present: The Ebird & Friends Kids Show!

- The Ark

Country & Bluegrass

Jason Dennie Chelsea Alehouse Brewery

Dennie spends a great deal of time teaching and playing traditional music, focusing on some of the bluegrass roots he’s grown up with. 8pm.

Jazz, Blues & R&B

Motor City Josh And The Big Three - Guy Hollerin’s

Josh is a straight up singin’, guitar slingin’, songwriting, crowd-pleasing Blues man. An absolute entertainer, Josh manages to keep everyone happy no matter what their age, race, or music taste. 8pm. $5.

12 sunday Jazz, Blues & R&B

Leon Redbone - The Ark

In the raspy but strangely intoxicating voice and the calmly bemused attitude of Leon Redbone, the music of the Victrola era becomes modern and timeless. 7:30pm. $25.

14 tuesday Classical & Spritual Summer Sings Hill Auditorium

The UMS Choral Union along with 300 singers from southeast Michigan, northern Ohio, and Canada have joined each session in singing great choral repertoire with some of the nation’s most respected choral conductors and outstanding soloists. 6:30pm. $5.

15 wednesday Acoustic, Folk & Ethnic

Shinyribs - The Ark

16 thursday Acoustic, Folk & Ethnic

Dave Boutette Chelsea Alehouse Brewery He blends many schools of American roots and popular music including folk, blues, swing, and old time country.

8pm.

Anais Mitchell & Jefferson Hamer - The Ark

“Child Ballads,” Vermont songwriter Anais Mitchell’s latest album, is a collection of traditional songs from the British Isles, named after their collector, Francis James Child.

Anais’s versions have been carefully re-imagined to reflect an American sensibility as well as a deep respect for the tradition. 8pm. $15.

17 friday Acoustic, Folk & Ethnic

Shinyribs is Kevin “Shinyribs” Russell, frontman of the Austin musical combo The Gourds.

Stylistically he pulls from the spectrums of great American music; country, gospel, funk, and a dollop of poetry in the middle of it all. 8pm. $10.

Gun Lake w/ Tike Anderson Back to the Roots (Chelsea)

Gun Lake’s songs will haunt you with heavy hooks both emotional and melodic. Free.

cont. on pg 26

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music

perspective: rock Chris “Chewy” Anderson

by Jeff Milo

The Vagrant Symphony lead an all star lineup of local bands at this year’s YpsiArboroo June 8-10

Photos by Bailee Ann Steinmetz Convinced this local music scene’s nothing special? You should meet Chris “Chewy” AnFesti-fun What can happen when a group of derson. Actually, anyone convinced that modern Ready to unpack the music’s lost its magic, should also probably talk to camping gear and rock out musicians assemble in a small group (say, three to nine-ish players) and just this local singer/songwriter/show-organizer. with your bands? Get the jam? Anderson’s music label, IntelAnderson has culled 33 local music acts, bands scoop on this summer's lect Records, has been curating an and songwriters from Ann Arbor, Ypsilanti and coolest regional music beyond, spanning all genres and performance festivals on eCurrent.com experimental showcase series at the Maidstone Theatre (inside Mr. Mike’s styles and slotted them into packed line-ups inLounge in Ypsilanti), inviting numerous side six different venues for three day’s worth of live musical performances. Tennessee can have their groups/musicians to take part in 30-minute free form “stage Bonnaroo; we’ve got our own music festival: Anderson’s jams.”

The Vagrant Symphony perform at Woodruff’s later on YpsiArboroo (June 8 – June 10).

New around town? Curious what these twin-cultural in June but you can also see Nicole P’Simer, a flagship artist outposts have to offer, musically? Anderson’s expansive of Intellect Records, on May 31 (also at Woodruffs). The Vaand ambitious showcase bridges from one city’s Blind Pig grants, meanwhile, play The Ugly Mug in Ypsilanti on May to the other’s Woodruff’s while also stopping at various hip 31, part of the Madhouse Poetry Nights.

If you’re interested in these jam-ceremonies at Mr. hubs off the beaten path, including Anderson’s own personal residence, “the Alexander Hamilton House” and Mr. Mike’s Mike’s, there’s a “carnival-themed” showcase on June 1 that Maidstone Theatre, the birthplace and “home venue” for leads into the Festival’s scheduled “kick-off” performance (starting at 4:20pm) on June 8 – with the first host-venue his band.

Anderson’s “band,” The Vagrant Symphony, leaves being the Pontiac Trail House in Ann Arbor. More YpsiAran impression. (Did you catch them at last month’s Hash boroo-curated live music acts play the Blind Pig later that Bash?) Their sets feel like art happenings; crossing Rolling evening, around 9:30pm. Find ‘Intellect Records’ on FaceStones’ Rock n’ Roll Circus with a house party hosted book for further updates / information. at Warhol’s Factory; or like a nostalgic, easy-going, One Kiss Re-starts It All psychedelic-pop-loving bunch of locals affecting a reverential Meanwhile: Iconic Ann Arbor area chamber-pop mainNewport Folk Festival-tinged blissful balladry, encouraging stays Saturday Looks Good To Me reunited last year, experimentalism and communalism. and will release One Kiss Ends It All, their first album The Vagrants personnel fluctuates; it was founded sevin six years, on May 21 via Polyvinyl Records. SLGTM’s eral years ago with fellow musicians Harrison Zamperla, main art-pop-architect Fred Thomas reiterated the and sustained by Joseph O’Dell, Casey Dickerson, group’s collective ebullience and overall excitement over Alexis King, Michelle Labelle and countless others). what should be one of their best (if potentially beguiling) Anderson’s entourage (and YpsiArboroo) seems out to records. He coyly enthused/warned that Kiss is “deeply preserve the vitalities yet re-imagine the possibilities of live collaged” and that parts of his “vision” may be “impermusic. That’s partly why so many cutting edge indie-rock, ceptible” upon initial spins. You can stream their first two punk-pop revivalist outfits and even Americana songwritsingles (saturdaylooksgoodtome.bandcamp.com) and see ers like Chit Chat, The Old Adage, Disinformants, them live for an ostensible One Kiss release concert in Ferdy Mayne, Deep Space Six and Zombie Jesus Ferndale (at the Loving Touch Pool Hall) on May 25. & The Chocolate Sunshine Band all hopped onto this year’s festival.

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A devilishly good beer

by Oliver Roberts, Wolverine State Brewing Co. Head Brewer

For the past two years now we have made it a point to brew our “Drag Me To Helles Maibock” to celebrate the onset of Spring. A Maibock or “May” Bock, is also known as a Helles Bock, where “helles“ means “pale“ in German. This hearty yet refreshing brew is lighter in color and has more hop character than a traditional Bock.

We brew this beer three months before it’s served so it cold-conditions or lagers at freezing temperature to give it the most refreshing and defined flavors. This beer is so celebrated here at Wolverine State Brewing that we decided to brew it a brother and we named it “Hickory Dickory Bock“.

We promise the name does this brew all its justice as we aged it on cured American hickory which imparts subtle flavors of mesquite, marshmallow, and light smoke. A Bock beer is Maibock’s older and more burly sibling. It is characterized by its rich malt aromas, complex malt flavors, and smooth and crisp mouthfeel from more cold lagering. Mix that with the hints of hickory and we have created one of our most unique and yet traditional brews to date. Welcome to Bock Month! Prost!

ecurrent.com / may 2013 25

music cont. from pg 23

18 saturday Jazz, Blues & R&B

Lady Sunshine & The X Band - Guy Hollerin’s

Lady Sunshine’s sultry, soulful vocals leads the X Band into the realms of the funkiest blues.

8pm. $5.

19 sunday Classical & Spiritual

The Ann Arbor Concert Band - Michigan Theater

Conductor James Nissen, presents “Home At Last,” featuring the 2013 Andrew J. Lum and David R. Juillet Young Artist Scholarship Competition winner, Kevin Dittman, performing “Tableaux de Provence” by Paule Maurice. 2pm. $10 adults / $5 students & seniors / Free,

26

20 monday

children 12 and under.

Acoustic, Folk & Ethnic

Vandaveer - The Ark

The core duo of Mark Charles Heidinger and Rose Guerin offers up melodic Americana that is both haunting and easy, forlorn and welcoming, with stories as universal as the songs they inhabit. 8pm. $11.

21 tuesday Acoustic, Folk & Ethnic

An Acoustic Evening w/ Mary Chapin Carpenter & Shawn Colvin Power Center

Acclaimed songwriters (and longtime friends) Mary Chapin Carpenter & Shawn Colvin share the stage as an intimate duo, performing material span-

may 2013 / ecurrent.com

ning their vast catalogues as well as some of their favorite songs. 8pm. $30-$60.

25 saturday Country & Bluegrass

Gangstagrass, Cabinet The Ark

Gangstagrass goes back to the future with Rappalachia— blending bluegrass and hip-hop.

8pm. $15.

28 tuesday Jazz, Blues & R&B Mike Vial & The Great Lake Effect - The Ark

Mike writes songs about love and life’s transitions, and his accomplished guitar playing has a voice of its own, mixing elements of jazz, folk, and rock.

8pm. Free, non-perishable food donation.

29 wednesday Rock, Pop & Hip-Hop Beth Stalker and Jim Rawlings The Black Pearl

Audiences will rock to the eclectic mix of styles from Blues, to Rock and Country by the Detroit Music award-winning singer-songwriter Stalker and song-writer-guitarist Rawlings. 8pm.

31 friday Acoustic, Folk & Ethnic

Johnny Walker And The Spare Parts Silvio’s Organic Pizza

Veteran band leader, vocalist, and saxophonist Johnny Walker leads the band in a tour of classic roots and Americana.

7pm. Free.

ecurrent.com / may 2013 27

music

Orion Festival

Belle Isle, Detroit / Saturday & Sunday, June 8-9

As far as Summer festies go, leave it to Metallica to play host to the grittiest line up of the summer, in no better setting than Belle Isle overlooking the ruin porn of Detroit on shore.

Add the Red Hot Chili Peppers as the other headliners and you already have a full-throttle experience. Indulge your inner headbanger with the contemporary hard-rock stylings of Rise Against, Deftones, Dropkick Murphys, Gogol Bordello, Japandroids, Silversun Pickups and many more. Or pull out your glow sticks for a second stage of heavy dance and dubstep artists including BASSNECTAR, Destroid, and Datsik among others and you have a musical experience that flexes its Detroit muscle. There are also plenty of other activities taking place throughout the festival. Revelers can check out 100 classic hot rods and custom bikes at the Custom Car & Motorcycle Show, catch a film handpicked by Lars Ulrich at the Hit The Lights Films tent or roll through the Metallica Museum. Festival-goers can also watch high-flying tricks all day long at the 2013 Vans Damage Inc. Stage + Vert Ramp. Expect online coverage from your fellow music nuts at the Current following the fest. For more information, activities list and hotel accommodations visit the website. $150 general admission / $750 VIP. Belle Isle, Detroit. www.orionmusicandmore.com—JG

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1 wednesday America’s Music Film & Discussion: Latin Rhythms From Mambo To Hip Hop 6:30pm. Free. Downtown Library, 343 S. 5th Ave. 734-327-8301. www.aadl.org

This exuberant 2006 documentary celebrates one of America’s worst urban slums in the 1970s, New York’s South Bronx, home to many Latin performers from mambo’s heyday, when hip hop originated. Hip hop was created and performed first by Jamaican and African American youth, and then Latinos.

3 friday Cinema Night Special: An Evening Of Fresh Takes On Animated Films And Live Music 6:30pm. Free. Downtown Library, 343 S. 5th Ave. 734-327-8301. www.aadl.org

The opening short The Fantastic Flying Books of Mr. Morris Lessmore, combines miniatures, computer animation, and 2D animation in a hybrid style that harkens back to silent films and MGM Technicolor musicals. The feature is 2011’s critically-acclaimed Czech film Alois Nebel, which won, among other awards, Best Animated Film at the 2012 European Film Awards. The film will be shown with subtitles. Between films, local band Cash Harrison & The Terrible Decisions will perform a live set, and fresh popcorn will be served.

5 sunday Jewish Film Festival

Sunday-Thursday, 2pm-8pm.

Michigan Theater, 603 East Liberty St. 734-668-8397. www.michtheater.org

The Jewish Community Center of Greater Ann Arbor presents the 12th Annual Lenore Marwil Jewish Film Festival. The Jewish Film Festival is an annual event celebrating film and the impact and influence which Jewish culture has played on the movies and filmmakers of today. Feature and documentary films from Israel, the United States, Poland, Ukraine and France will be screened. See the Michigan Theater’s website for specific details. The festival will run until Thursday, May 9.

Race to Nowhere

3pm. Free (donations appreciated but not required). Little Lake Learning Community, 3257 Lohr Rd. 734-218-4877.

Little Lake Learning Community is screening several movies to spark conversation and discussion amongst parents and caregivers of children. Each movie is a presentation on the ills of dominant corporate education. Race to Nowhere is an education documentary that challenges current thinking about how to best prepare our students for success

film

History Hill

Few stages in America have as rich and compelling a history as Hill Auditorium -- hailed as 'a monument to perfect acoustics', Hill has hosted artists ranging from Elton John to the New York Philharmonic, and even the Grateful Dead over the course of its 100 year existence.

As the final segment of the America's Music series, Associate Professor of MuPhoto by Sophie Kruz sicology at the University of Michigan Mark Clague, along with local filmmakers Sophia Kruz and Anna Prushinskaya, will lead a screening and discussion on Wednesday, May 8 of the just-released documentary A Space for Music, A Seat for Everyone: 100 Years of UMS performances in Hill Auditorium. The hour long original film explores not only the unique history of Hill performances, but also its function as a cultural incubator for the arts community in southeastern Michigan. Through concert recordings, news articles and anecdotal interviews, the documentary proves a historical context for UMS performances in Hill Auditorium while showcasing the ever-changing community of students and locals that are an integral part of the building as well. 630pm. Free. Downtown Library, 343 S. Fifth St. 734-327-4200. www.aadl.org -GMK

19 sunday Free to Learn

3pm. Free (donations appreciated but not required). Little Lake Learning Community, 3257 Lohr Rd. 734-218-4877.

Little Lake Learning Community is screening several movies to spark conversation and discussion amongst parents and caregivers of children. Each movie is a presentation on the ills of dominant corporate education. Free to Learn is a documentary that offers a “fly on the wall” perspective of the daily happenings at The Free School in Albany, New York.

Like many of today’s radical and democratic schools, The Free School expects children to decide for themselves how to spend their days.

their healing journeys. Viewers feel their heart-wrenching loss and cheer for these incredible, everyday people who have found their way back.

ONGOING To the Wonder

Michigan Theater, 603 East Liberty St. 734-668-8397. www.michtheater.org

Neil (Academy Award winner Ben Affleck) and Marina (Olga Kurylenko) meet in France and

move to Oklahoma to start a life together. But when Neil renews a relationship with his childhood sweetheart (Rachel McAdams), Marina turns to a priest and fellow exile (Academy Award winner Javier Bardem). Written and directed by Academy Award nominee Terrence Malick (Tree of Life, The Thin Red Line).

112 minutes. Rated R. English, French, Spanish, and Italian with subtitles. The film will screen until Wednesday, May 4.

22 wednesday Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.: A Historical Perspective 7pm. Free. Downtown Library, 343 S. 5th Ave. 734-327-8301. www.aadl.org

In this award-winning documentary, writer/director Thomas Friedman takes a look at Reverend King’s ideas, actions, and influence on the fight to end racial segregation. Narrated by Arthur Berghardt, the 1993 film (which is not rated) includes rare archival footage, photographs, and interviews with King associates.

30 thursday Transforming Loss

7pm. $10 adults / $8 students & seniors / $7.50 members. Michigan Theater, 603 East Liberty St. 734-6688397. www.michtheater.org

Transforming Loss follows 6 families through the grief process. Incredibly, these individuals have not only survived their profound losses, but have become more than who they were before. Judith Burdick’s goal, as a documentary filmmaker is to provide a window into

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theater

The Return of the King The Mountaintop at Performance Network Theater

by Sandor Slomovits The Mountaintop, by young American playwright, Katori Hall, is The Performance Network’s new production. In the play, Hall imagines what events and conversations might have taken place in Martin Luther King’s room in Memphis’s Lorraine Motel on the evening of April 3, 1968, the night before he was assassinated. The play opened in London in 2009 and won an Olivier Best New Play Award, before moving to Broadway in 2011.

David Wolber, the Artistic Director of The Performance Network, and Jen Pan, an intern there who will serve as assistant stage manager for the production, talked with Current about the play.

Current: London seems an unusual place to debut a play about Martin Luther King.

Wolber: I’m fascinated by how many plays are doing that now. There’s more and more lately. There’s Red, for example, written by an American, John Logan, about American painter Mark Rothko. Logan has another play that he’s now starting in London. It’s becoming a bit of a trend, and maybe it just speaks to Britain looking to some new voices from America. I keep an eye out for what’s going on over there to see if I can keep a little ahead of the curve.

Current: I was in Memphis a number of years ago and visited the Lorraine Motel; it has been converted to a museum about Dr. King.

Visitors can go into the room he stayed in that night. Will you try to re-create that room on your stage?

Pan: We’ve been staring at reference photos of the actual hotel room, and saying “OK, let’s see if we can find that.” For example, there’s a spray bottle in one of

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Photo by Jennifer Pan Carollette Phillips and Brian Marable in a scene from Performance Network’s new production, “The Mountaintop.”

those pictures and we’re trying to find one that’s exactly the same type as we see in those black and white photos, we’re trying to match it as best as we can.

Current: Many of us still remember that awful day when MLK was murdered 35 years ago.

What can this play tell us?

Wolber: Katori Hall has a great ear for dialog and a fresh new perspective here on an American icon. Everybody knows Martin Luther King Jr. the icon, a lot of people know his speeches and really look up to him, and this is a way of looking at the end of his life and trying to come to terms with him as a legend and as a man — trying to bridge that gap. She’s even said that her intention in writing this play was to try to look at somebody like that, who we all look at and say, “Well I could never do those amazing things.” And try to find a bridge so that people start to think, “Maybe I’m not this amazing, iconic person, but I can do some amazing things too, perhaps.” It’s trying to look at MLK as a human being and getting a sense of what he was trying to accomplish.

The Mountaintop runs from April 25 to June 2. $27-36.

Various times. Performance Network Theatre.

120 East Huron St. For more details call 734-663-0681, or visit www.performancenetwork.org.

3 friday Macbeth

7:30pm. $8 / $6 students, seniors & staff. Huron High School’s New Theater, 2727 Fuller Rd. 734-994-2095. www.aaps.k12.mi.us

The victorious Macbeth chances upon three mysterious witches who offer an intriguing prophecy, tempting him with the promise of becoming King.

Upon hearing the news, Lady Macbeth urges her husband into murderous action in this Shakespeare classic. Tickets go on sale 45 minutes prior to the performance.

The Big Hair Big Mouth Big Fat Fun Show!

10:30pm. $5, 18-21 / $10, 21+.

Millennium Club, 210 S. First St. 734-332-9900.

The Cavern Club is proud to present The Big Hair Big Mouth Big Fat Fun Show cabaret featuring professional entertainers who have performed across the nation. The show stars Jennifer Foxx, a former Miss Gay America, features Hershae Chocolatae, from America’s Got Talent, and a host of others.!

5 sunday Detroit Puppet Theater’s The Sleeping Beauty

3pm. Free. Downtown Library, 343 S. 5th Ave. 734-327-4200. www.aadl.org

Enjoy puppet arts combined with classical music with this puppet ballet. Founded in 1998 by a group of puppeteers and artists trained in the former Soviet Union, all members of the PuppetART troupe are masters of puppetry art theater.

For grades 3 and up.

11 saturday Ann Arbor Civic Ballet Storytelling

2-2:30pm. Free. Pittsfield Branch, 2359 Oak Valley Dr. 734-327-4265. www.aadl.org

Young dancers from the Ann Arbor Civic Ballet will leap and twirl uplifting tales and poems.

Come dance along!

Let’s Get Weird Variety Show

7-9:30pm. $5. LIVE, 102 South 1st St. 734-623-1443. www.treetownsound.com

This variety series features local music, theater, poets, dance and comedians and creative chaos. Each show will consist of highlighting local plays, skit comedy, artists, stand-up, poetry, hip hop, musicians, dance and whatever the creative team comes up with.

12 sunday Clutter

theater

A Small Fire

Redbud Productions is set to perform A

Small Fire, the critically-acclaimed

Off-Broadway play by award-winning playwright Adam Bock, on Friday, May 31 and Saturday, June 1 at the Kerrytown Concert House. The play, which was nominated for Best Play of 2011 as well as several other Drama Desk Awards, is about the delicate and intertwining nature of familial relationships and how love endures even through the unexpected. Construction firm owner Emily Bridges (Cassie Mann) runs a flourishing Cassie Mann as Emily Bridges in business, is married to an HR manager (Tim “A Small Fire” Grimes) and has a daughter who is about to be wed. Tensions escalate when Emily confesses to her employee that she hates her fiance and is determined to stop the wedding, but when the unexpected happens, she must re-examine what she values most. May 31 & June 1. 8pm. $15 students & seniors, $20 adults. Kerrytown Concert House, 415 North Fourth Ave. 734-769-2999. www.kerrytownconcerthouse.com—JS present a staged reading of Clutter, a new play by Brian Cox. A talk-back will be held after each performance.

18 sunday Ragtime The Musical

8pm. $25 / $15 students & seniors / $50 VIP. Michigan Theater. 603 E. Liberty St. 734-786-3868. www.a2ic.org

A special one night only presentation of the three-time Tony Award-winning hit musical Ragtime by Ann Arbor’s newest performing arts group: Ann Arbor in Concert. The musical intertwines the stories of three extraordinary families as they confront history’s timeless contradictions of wealth and poverty. Ragtime includes graphic language and scenarios.

28 tuesday Concert Reading: “Miles & Ellie”

6:30pm. Free. Downtown Library, 343 S. 5th Ave. 734-327-4200. www.aadl.org

This new comedy, will have its world premiere production at the Purple Rose. Two American teenagers are in love when a misunderstanding breaks them apart. Twenty years later, a divorced and disenchanted Ellie learns that Miles is still in town and still carrying a torch for her.

This play does contain adult language and content.

ONGOING

Shrek the Musical

7:30pm. $15 / $10 seniors & PHS staff. Pioneer High School Schreiber Auditorium, 601 W. Stadium Blvd.

The Pioneer Theater Guild will be working with a revised script and score to create its own costume and set design, original choreography and direction. Performances will run May 3, 4, and 5.

19 sunday Bernhardt on Broadway

4:30pm. $25. Vinology, 110 S. Main St. 734-222-9841. www.vinologya2.com

This musical is about Sarah Bernhardt, starring Ann Arbor resident Carol Dunitz. Bernhardt on Broadway is a no holds barred tell-all about the daughter of a courtesan who overcame countless obstacles to become the most famous woman in the world.

21 tuesday Honk!

$15 / $12 students / $9 MainStage patrons / $7 children 6-12. Sponberg Theatre, 124 Quirk Hall, Ypsilanti.

734-487-1220. www.emutix.com

EMU Theatre is quacking up over the 2012-2013 MainStage season closer, Honk!, the modern story of Ugly an odd-looking duckling. This play will run until Saturday, June 8.

8-11pm. $6 adv. students & seniors / $7 door. Riverside Arts Center, 76 N. Huron St., Ypsilanti.

734-944-2787

From Around Here Productions and Two Twelve Arts Center

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art art

From left: Crabs by Qi Baishi, Daffodils

by Qi Baishi and Seated Female Nude: Scroll (Kakemono) by Isamu Noguchi

artbeat Here Comes the Sun

by Louis Meldman

Courtesy of Pomegranate Arts © Tim Knox

There’s some really cool stuff going on this month and I don’t know where to start, so let’s start at the University of Michigan Museum of Art. Opening on May 18 and running through September 1 is Isamu Noguchi/Qi Baishi/Beijing 1930. Noguchi is best known for his Noguchi Table, a staple of Mid-century Modern design–you can’t thumb through an Architectural Digest without seeing one. He designed it in 1939 for Conger Goodyear, president of the Museum of Modern Art. Design swami George Nelson at Herman Miller picked it up for the masses in 1947, and it’s still in production. Most often known for his sculptures, Noguchi is also critically acclaimed for his gardens, ceramics, architecture and set designs (for Merce Cunningham, Martha Graham, Balanchine–guys like that).

He was born in Los Angeles in 1904 to an American mother and Japanese father. He lived in Japan until he was 13, and from then was based in the U.S. But he traveled continuously, soaking in large-scale public works in Mexico, earthy ceramics and tranquil gardens in Japan, the purity of marble in Italy, and subtle ink-brush techniques in China. And the latter is what the current exhibition is about.

In 1930 Noguchi traveled east on the Trans-Siberian Railroad, stopped for six months in Beijing and studied with brush-and-ink painter, Qi Baishi (1864-1957). The UMMA show comprises sixty drawings, including ink paintings, calligraphic works and sculptures and interpretive materials from the UMMA, the Noguchi Museum and other public and private collections. In 1985 Noguchi opened the Isamu Noguchi Garden Museum (now the Noguchi Museum) in Long Island City, New York–he died three years later, having received seemingly endless awards, accolades and citations. You’ll never have a better chance to see ink painting at its best.

Also at the UMMA, through August 11, is a stunning installation, Laurie Anderson: From the Air. Anderson is a multi-threat talent, including performance, visual arts, film Laurie Anderson and, I guess, everything. She is provocative,

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political and above all a story-teller. I saw her Songs and Stories from Moby Dick in 1999 at the Power Center, but I missed her Delusion there in 2011. From the Air is her third major installation, based on a song from her 1982 album Big Science. It consists of small clay sculptures with video projection and sound of her, holographic-like, telling a story of her dog being terrorized at the beach by a gaggle of turkey vultures. Anderson has collaborated with David Byrne and Peter Gabriel and if that’s not enough on the wild side, she’s married to Lou Reed.

River Gallery, in charming nearby downtown Chelsea, has adopted a winning strategy: partnering with the University of Michigan School of Art and Design for various and sundry projects around Ann Arbor and at the gallery. Now through May 11 is an exciting gallery show by UM art professor, Endi Poskovic. Endi is a world-class, world-renowned printmaker. He grew up in Tito’s Yugoslavia in the 1970s and escaped before the savage civil war in the 1990s. He adopted the Japanese ukiyo-e woodblock print format after he arrived in the U.S. in 1995, applying it to the largest sheets of paper on the market, Okawara washi, 39 by 72 inches.

His images are an amalDeath of a Painter by Endi gam of themes, from European travel posters Poskovic at River Gallery and signs for political propaganda to tropes of nature: icebergs, rocks, clouds, rain and water. Beneath each print is a phrase in a foreign or pseudo-foreign language, functioning like Magritte’s “Ceci n’est pas une pipe.” The prints themselves are sensational with bold but accessible color and an arresting play with depth. It evoked in me the best of Van Gogh, Keith Haring and even Robert Crumb, if Crumb had graduated from the Sarajevo School of Applied Arts. Don’t miss this chance for a brush with greatness.

art

Toys in the attic

Elliott Kayser makes innocent pigs surreal.

Ceramic art seems to be the most easily reproduced. Potters often make their work in large batches. At the same time, it’s impossible to recreate an object exactly, and there’s something intriguing, and perhaps a bit sinister, in the difference between those copies. At least, those ideas are at play in Day In and Day Out, an exhibit of potter Elliott Kayser’s work. Kayser, a Portlandborn artist, relocated to Michigan in 2010, and is a member of the Ann Arbor Potter’s guild. Kayser’s subjects, like toy boats, stylized pigs and rats, hint at our childhoods, but also at probing ethical dilemmas. Day In and Day Out runs Sunday May 5 through Sunday June 16. An opening reception will be held on Friday May 10, and Kayser himself will discuss his work at 3pm on Sunday May 26.

Free. Opening reception 7-9pm. Clay Gallery, 335 S. Main St. 734-662-7927. www.claygallery.org.-JS

New Exhibits

1 wednesday

Art Contest: Kids! Submit Your Art to be Juried for the 2013 Kids’ Art Fair

5pm. Free. Second session on Sunday, May 5 at 1pm. Pittsfield Branch, 2359 Oak Valley Drive. 734-332-3923. www.aadl.org

The Ann Arbor Street Art Fair, the Original, is calling young artists from Washtenaw County in 3rd-8th grade to submit their artwork to be juried for the 2013 Kids’ Art Fair (to be held at the Townie Street Party Monday, July 15).

Drop-in jury sessions will take place at the Pittsfield branch.

Interested artists should arrive with 4-6 samples of their original artwork and be prepared to discuss their art work with jurors. The Kids’ Art Fair is an opportunity for young artists to interact with the community and sell their original artwork at the Townie Street Party.

2 thursday Paintings by Martin Hoogasian Opening Reception

6pm. Free. Chelsea Center for the Arts, 400 Congdon St. Chelsea.

734-433-2787. www.chelseacenterforthearts.org

The Chelsea Center for the Arts is pleased to announce its

cutline

presentation of Paintings by Martin Hoogasian, an exhibition of sixteen works by this distinguished Michigan painter.

Paintings include landscapes, still lifes, and portraits. In these representational, although impressionistic works, Hoogasian displays an amazing facility in the handling of paint and a poignant approach to composition, including his cropping of an image. But whether subdued and reflective, intimate and playful, or bold and explosive, Hoogasian’s paintings are most effective at drawing the viewer in to share the emotion of the moment captured by the artist in his beautiful works. The exhibition will be on view in the CCA Gallery through August 2.

3 friday Creative Social Club

7pm. $35. Ann Arbor Art Center, 117 W. Liberty St. 734-994-8004. www.annarborartcenter.org

The evening will focus on the creation of a fun, engaging art project and all the materials and instruction will be provided, as well as two beverages No experience is necessary.

This event will take place on the first Friday of each month through August.

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art cont. from pg 33

4 saturday Wild Wings In Action Photography

8am. $70 participant / $25 spectator.

Leslie Science & Nature Center, 1831 Traver Rd. 734-997-1553. www.lesliesnc.org

Increase your ability to take action shots while practicing photographing a flying red tail hawk, barn owl, and bald eagle.

Participants will learn to take the ever-elusive photo of a bird in flight.

5 sunday

tion by Lynda Cole, as she displays A Color Conversation, her collection that is inspired by color and its emotional content.

11 saturday

Clay, Glaze, Fire and Smoke – The Raku Art of Frank James Fisher

10am. $27 member / $30 non-member. Rovin Ceramics, 253A Dino Dr. 734-994-8004. www.annarborartcenter.org

Ceramicist Frank James Fisher will demonstrate the clay process and glazing methods to produce his famous raku fired Tea-cans. During the clay and glaze demonstration, a Tea-can will be raku fired and revealed fresh from the kiln.

12 sunday

Hands-On Workshop: Comic Artists Forum with Cartoonist Mike Roll

Mosaic Jewelry Workshop

Join Mike Roll, artist of the Apooka: The World’s Most Adorable Zombie comic series for an explanation of the development of his comic. Mike will also discuss and demo his techniques and tools using one of his Apooka sketches. Drawing supplies will be provided.

Learn how to make delicate and creative mosaic pieces to be worn as jewelry! Artist Shannon Kuchera will share her talent at these unique workshops. For grades 6 and up. Check out her website at www.mosaicgeek.com. All supplies will be provided!

1pm. Free. Downtown Library. 4th Floor Meeting Room, 343 S. 5th Ave. 734-327-8301. www.aadl.org

10 friday

3:30pm. Free. Downtown Library.

Multi-Purpose Room, 343 S. 5 Ave. 734-327-8301.www.aadl.org

19 sunday

Opening Reception: Lynda Cole

Yarn Bomb the Garden

Enjoy this fabulous solo exhibi-

Yarn bomb the Library! Yarn

9pm. Free. WSG Gallery, 306 S. Main St. 734-761-2287. www.wsg-art.com

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1pm. Free. Downtown Library.

Multi-Purpose Room, 343 S. 5 Ave. 734-327-8301.www.aadl.org

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bombing is a form of knit graffiti, and the library would love your help with this art collaboration. Learn how to knit small pieces with our knit-cam and an instructor to help guide you. Experienced knitters and crocheters are also welcome to stitch. At the end of the program you’ll take the pieces you created outside to yarn bomb the downtown library outdoor garden. The library has yarn on hand, or bring size 8 or 10 yarn.

For grades 6 and up.

30 wednesday Mary Bachman Retrospective

Free. Riverside Arts Center, 76 N Huron St. Ypsilanti. 734-480-2787. www.riversidearts.org

Mary calls herself an all-media artist, but oils and pastels are her favorite. Landscapes are her favorite subject. Mary has been a member of the Ann Arbor Women Artists for many years, and more recently a member of the Ann Arbor Area Pastelists. This event runs until Saturday June 29. Closed on June 16th.

ongoing Ann Arbor Public Schools Annual Student Art Exhibit

Free. Ann Arbor District Library, 343 South Fifth Ave. 734-327-4265. www.aadl.org

Each year the Ann Arbor Public Schools come to the Ann Arbor District Library to showcase the work of their students. Once

again, the developing talents of students from across the city will be shown throughout the Library. Both two-dimensional and three-dimensional art in many mediums will fill the display cases and cover the walls. Come and enjoy the wonderfully creative projects of the students of kindergarten through fifth grade art classes.

Exhibit runs through May 26, 2013.

With my iPhone and Eye 7-9pm. Free. Washington Street Gallery, 306 S. Main St. 734-761-2287. www.wsg-art.com

Nina Hauser has blended traditional photography with fine art for some time. She has touched upon many subjects— from landscapes, to the world as seen by her dog, Theo. Her newest exhibit covers what she calls hybrid photography.

Exhibit runs through Sunday, May 5.

“Big Triumph / Majestic Land”

5-8pm. Free. Chelsea River Gallery, 120 S. Main St., Chelsea.

734-433-0826. www.chelsearivergallery.com

Endi Poskovic’s work depicts real objects, animals and natural landscapes. But it’s surreal as well. His landscapes seem like something out of pulp sci fi, and he tags his work with hybrid words from foreign languages so that his images resemble propaganda posters from another reality. Runs though Saturday, May 11.

everything else

18th Annual African American Downtown Festival

Downtown Ann Arbor / Saturday, June 1 The Ann Arbor African American Downtown Festival

celebrating African American culture and businesses will take over Downtown Ann Arbor. This day-long event features something fun for the entire family.

Exhibits include crafts, jewelry, custom and traditional clothing, political and community outreach programs, and edible contests with taste tests. A full slate of health screenings and awareness programs will be on hand as well, and live entertainment will rock downtown throughout the day, with poetry, gospel choirs, praise dancers (movement with a religious bent), storytellers, hip hop, and bands playing everything from jazz to country. Kids will enjoy activities from 11am-6pm including face painting, nature-inspired arts and crafts, a puppet show, and interactive activities sponsored

by Radio Disney AM 910. 8am-9pm. Downtown Ann Arbor.—NB

2 thursday AADL Series Walk

7-8:30pm. Natural Area Preservation, 1831 Traver Rd. 734-794-6627. www.a2gov.org

This is part of a series of walks in partnership with Ann Arbor Public Library to give participants a more in-depth understanding of the natural areas and restoration work in the city.

Meet in the Bird Hills parking lot off Newport Rd. just north of M-14.

Meet Author Gloria Whelan

7pm. Nicola’s Books, 2513 Jackson Ave. 734-662-0600. www.nicolasbooks.com

National Book Award winner Gloria Whelan will be with her new book from the Made in Michigan Writers series, “Liv-

ing Together.” These stories explore the unexpected and sometimes amazing ways humans live together.

3 friday 7th Annual Bee on Board for Literacy Spelling Bee

6:30-10pm. $35-$5,000. Morris Lawrence Building, Washtenaw Community Coll, 4800 E. Huron River Dr., Ypsilanti. 734-730-7463. www.familylearninginstitute.org

20 teams of three adults compete while audience members cheer them on! Form your own team, join an existing corporate-sponsored team, or just enjoy the fun. Proceeds benefit The Family Learning Institute. There’ll be drinks, hors d’oeuvres and music by the Community High Jazz Band.

Malcolm Tulip will emcee.

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cont. from pg 35

4 saturday National Herb Day Festival

11am-3pm. Hidden Lake Gardens , 6214 Monroe Rd., Tipton.

517-431-2060. www.hiddenlakegardens.msu.edu

This one day international event is aimed at educating and sharing ideas about the many ways herbs bring joy and well-being into daily lives.

Celebrate herbs use in food, beverages, medicine, beauty products, and crafts, along with the art of growing and gardening with herbs. There will be cooking demonstrations, gardening tips, educational seminars, children’s activities, and a wide array of plants and products for sale.

Spring into Fun!

2-5pm. Southeast Area Park, Ellsworth Rd & Platt Rd. 734-994-2985. www.canannarbor.org

Spring is in full force, and Community Action Network is ready to make the most of it! Come celebrate with “Spring into Fun!”, a festival of outdoor games and activities for children. The event will feature a park-wide puzzle scavenger hunt with prizes and fun spring-themed trivia games that involve parents as well as children.

5 sunday Washtenaw Wanderers Annual Fairy Door Walk Michigan Union, 530 S. State St. 10am-4pm. www.facebook.com/ Washtenaw-Wanderers

This is a fun, free, family friendly event where participants can do 5K and 10K walk routes around Downtown Ann Arbor and the U of M Campus. The start point and registration is at the Michigan Union. Register between 10am-1pm.

Bike Ypsi Spring Ride and Festival

9am. Free. Recreation Park, 1015 N. Congress St., Ypsilanti. 734-634-5593. www.bikeypsi.org

Always the first Sunday in May, the 2013 Spring Ride will include: a 15 mile ride exploring the roads and routes of Ypsilanti, a 30 mile ride for those wishing to challenge themselves, and a 5 mile ride with a relaxed pace perfect for families. All rides with have Bike Ypsi guides and will focus on promoting safe, smart, and fun riding. As always the ride will be followed by a cookout with plenty of food, fun, and festivities.

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35th Annual Burns Park 5K & 10K Run

8am. $20 before May / $25 after May 3. Burns Park, Wells St. and Baldwin Ave. www.burnsparkrun.org

Winding through a beautiful old Ann Arbor neighborhood near the University of Michigan campus, the tree-lined Burns Park Run loop course has been a favorite of beginner and world-class runners alike.

A separate 1/2 mile Fun Run around the park for younger runners starts after the 5K and 10K races finish. Registration is from 7-8:15am.

Ypsi Area Show & Shine 34th Annual Car Show

9am-3pm. $20. Riverside Park, Depot Town, 5 E. Cross St., Ypsilanti. 734-4857025. www.yasr.com

The Ypsi Area Street Rods kick off summer car season with this classic show with vendors, Dj, prizes throughout the day and cool classic cars. Proceeds benefit the local Autism Society.

10 friday Growing Hope’s Spring Plant Sale

2-8pm. Growing Hope Center, 922 W. Michigan Ave, Ypsilanti. 734-786-8401. www.growinghope.net

Offering seedlings, kitchen garden kits, and gardening supplies including raised bed and season extension kits, soil, compost, and more. Proceeds support Growing Hope’s work to increase healthy food access in Ypsilanti and surrounding communities.

Ladies Night Out

5pm-12am. Downtown Ann Arbor. www.mainstreetannarbor.org

With over thirty retailers and twenty seven restaurants participating, downtown Ann Arbor is the place to be. Businesses will roll out the red carpet with discounts, refreshments, goody bags, t-shirts, raffles, a photo booth, a rickshaw, a bra fitting clinic, a most kissable lips contest, special drinks and menu items and much more! The first 500 ladies to visit retail shops receive a special trinket to help light up the night downtown.

11 saturday Mother’s Day Spring Plant Sale & Fundraiser

Saturday & Sunday, 10am-4:30pm.

Free. Matthaei Botanical Gardens, 1800 N. Dixboro Rd. 734-647-7600. www.lsa.umich.edu/mbg

There will be a large selection of hanging baskets and containers perfect for mom!

Each basket will be filled with a variety of colors and textures and grown and designed by Matthaei-Nichols staff and volunteers. All proceeds benefit U-M Matthaei Botanical Gardens & Nichols Arboretum.

Also, there’s rhododendron sale at Matthaei sponsored by the American Rhododendron Society, Ann Arbor chapter.

18 saturday Mayfly

6-9:30pm. $100 plate. Leslie Science & Nature Center, 1831 Traver Rd. 734-997-155. www.lesliesnc.org

Gather for an upscale evening to celebrate the work of the Leslie Science & Nature Center while ensuring continued success. Wander the beautiful grounds under twinkling lights, and enjoy drinks and a catered meal set to live music. Staff will provide up-close interactions with live birds of prey and Critter House animals. The evening culminates with flight demonstrations from two bald eagles. Advanced registration required.

Mad Libs Poetry Session

11:30am-1pm. Downtown Library, 343 S. Fifth Ave. 734-327-8301. www.aadl.org

The poets of the Made In Michigan Writers Series will celebrate homegrown creative writing talent. For this participatory session, attendees will team up with one of these five famous poets to create oneof-a-kind poems, incorporating random elements at certain points along the way. Like a Mad Lib, but in reverse! Poets include Chris Dombrowski, Francine Harris, M.L. Liebler, Jack Ridl, and Keith Taylor. This will be followed by a selection of original poetry from each poet.

Downtown Blooms Day

9am-12pm. Downtown, Ann Arbor.

734-794-6000. www.a2gov.org

Help plant flowers throughout the downtown area! See pg6.

Please meet the coordinators in Liberty Plaza between Liberty and S. Division. Free morning parking in the Library structure-bring your parking slip for validation. Free t-shirt. Free pizza for lunch.

19 sunday 35th Annual Ann Arbor Antiquarian Book Fair

11am-5pm. $5. Michigan Union, 530 S. State St. 734-995-1891. www.annarborbookfair.com

The Ann Arbor Antiquarian Bookdealers Association and the William L. Clements Library of the University of Michigan will host the 35th annual Ann Arbor Antiquarian Book Fair.

Since 1976 the fair attracts book collectors, book dealers, and others that treasures books from throughout the Midwest.

Bonsai & Penjing Garden Opening

2-4:30pm. Free. Matthaei Botanical Gardens, 1800 N. Dixboro Rd. 734-6477600. www.lsa.umich.edu/mbg

With its handcrafted benches, display areas, and pavilion, the garden will allow for display of many more of the Arb and Gardens’ collection of more than 70 bonsai and penjing trees created from a variety of

plants. Festivities include music, tours, and more in the first bonsai garden at the U of M.

20 monday Meet Author Richard Snow

7-8:30pm. Downtown Library, 343 S. Fifth Ave. 734-327-8301. www.aadl.org

Henry Ford was born the year of Gettysburg and died two years after the atomic bombs fell and in that time become the most famous and richest man in America. Snow, acclaimed popular historian and former editor-in-chief of American Heritage Magazine, will discuss Henry Ford and his new book “I Invented The Modern Age: The Rise Of Henry Ford,” a meticulous and entertaining account of Ford, the Model-T, and the remaking of American industry in the early 20th century. This special event will also include a book signing and books will be for sale.

25 saturday Ann Arbor Science & Skeptics: Scientists Fair 2013

1-3pm. Downtown Library, 343 S. Fifth Ave. 734-327-8301. www.aadl.org

Scientists from the U of M and other local institutions with expertise in the Big Bang, Particle Physics, Climate Change, Biological Medical Research, Nuclear Power, and Explor-

ing Mars will be available to answer your questions and/or explain scientific concepts.

5th Annual Classics at the City Club 12-4pm. Ann Arbor City Club, 1830 Washtenaw Ave. 734-662-3279. www.annarborcityclub.org

Ann Arbor City Club presents its fifth annual classic car show, Classics at the City Club.

Come see this fine collection of classic, sporty, unusual and rare collectible cars, trucks, motorcycles and more.

31 friday 7th Annual Ya’ssoo Greek Festival

May 31-June 2. Friday, 2pm-12am; Saturday, 11am-12am; Sunday, 126pm. $3 after Friday, 4pm & Saturday, 1pm / Free Sunday / Free, children 12 and under. Saint Nicholas Greek Orthodox Church , 3109 Scio Church Rd. 734-332-8200. www.annarborgreekfestival.org

A2’s St. Nicholas parishioners present the 7th annual Ya’ssoo Greek Festival with homemade pastries, live Greek music and entertainment, dancing, Agora Marketplace, and the Hellenic Cultural Exhibit. There will also be huge cash raffles and guided tours of the Byzantine-style church are conducted throughout the event. Shuttle and free parking at Knox Presbyterian Church (2065 S. Wagner) 1/2 mile from St. Nicholas.

ecurrent.com / may 2013 37

crossword Q TIPS

Across 1. Blow sound 5. They start with 7-Down 8. Nicks and Buckingham bandmate Christine 13. It might prevent a gas explosion 14. Necklace in Obama's birth state 15. Bill mentioned often in the course of 2008 presidential mudslinging 16. Sheets for shoppers 17. Seven-foot golf assistant?

19. Boundary 20. Commit election fraud, perhaps 21. Restraint choice for a root beer magnate's dog?

24. Beastie Boys rapper who died in 2012 27. Low-rent NYC building 28. Her full name has just one vowel repeated four times (aaaaand this entry officially jumps the shark) 29. Array of food 32. They're beneficial to the core 35. Barbera's partner in animation 36. "Jacques, I rate your face a perfect score, but your butt is trËs mediocre!"

40. Met field 41. The TPD might make them wail 42. Heavily Hispanic California region 44. Tribe near Salt Lake City 45. Bon ___ (witticism) 48. Banned bug killer 49. Device that automatically cooks a certain French dish "au vin"?

53. Car company that makes the Tribeca 56. Middle alternative?

57. Copy of a copy of a Persian Gulf republic?

60. Historic European waterway, to the Germans 61. Sucks or blows, as it were 62. A Turner 63. Certain minced oaths 64. Mr. T's crew 65. Scottish criminal 66. Gross lid issue Down 1. City where Bach, Goethe, and Marlene Dietrich lived 2. Company whose Monopoly is fully legal 3. Not contemp.

4. Like someone smoking in bed, stereotypically 5. Small business's designation 6. Tone similar to eggshell 7. See 5-Across

38

may

8. Wrap condiment 9. A doctor might tell you to cut it out 10. Fierce 11. Kaplan of indie rock fame 12. Atty.'s letters 13. Fails to reserve a juicy bit 18. Saves for later, in a way, as "Girls" 22. "Moving ___ the next topic, please ..."

23. Big dummies 25. Yankee Robinson who was MVP of the 2013 World Baseball Classic 26. ___ Yauch (real name of 24-Across) 30. Long-distance options 31. "Foiled!"

32. Two of four, e.g.: Abbr.

33. Golden ratio letter 34. Truth ___ (what the U.S. military once hoped LSD could be) 36. For all kinds of students, in a way 37. Popular glowing rectangle 38. Domestic decision for a duck 39. It lost to VHS in part because the porn industry didn't adopt it 43. Celebrity-endorsed diet supplement berry 45. Company lover?

46. Like much modern shopping and dating 47. Terrifying (or at least super

2013 / ecurrent.com

irritating) group for anyone who isn't their age, often 50. Senator Hatch 51. One might scare a visitor to California 52. Zildjian product 54. Chemical in fertilizer 55. Practice with blindfolds and gags, for short 57. Sked note where a cancellation happened, maybe

for crossword answers, go to ecurrent.com 58. Blockbuster 59. "That which was to be demonstrated," in proofs

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HELP WANTED

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2013 federal postal positions - now hiring! $13.00$36.50+/hr., Full Benefits / Paid Training. No experience. Call today!

1-800-593-2664 Ext. 141

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ANNOUNCEMENTS

Are your children interested in Astronomy?

Do they like observing the moon, planets and stars? GO TO: www.youngastronomer.com

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HEALTH & WELLNESS

------------------------------------Meet the Midwives! An open forum to ask questions about the midwives at New Moon Midwifery, home birth, waterbirth, doula support or options in childbirth.

Mondays, 6:30-7:30pm at the Center for the Childbearing Year ~ 722 Brooks St. Ann Arbor, Mi 48103. Free. For more info call 734-424-0220 or go to www.newmoonmidwifery.com

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,

Homebirth Circles A social gathering and discussion group for families who are considering homebirth, planning a homebirth or have birthed at home. Sponsored by the Midwives at New Moon Midwifery. Mondays, 7:30-8:30pm at the Center for the Childbearing Year ~ 722 Brooks St. Ann Arbor, Mi 48103. Free. For more info call 734-424-0220 or go to www.newmoonmidwifery.com

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Prenatal, postnatal, Swedish, and sports massage. Nationally certified.

Clinic on A2’s west side. Chair or table. 17 years experience. Holiday Gift Certificates or on-site events.

Call Carol: 734-368-2138

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STRESS REDUCTION, DEEP TISSUE, CMT. 14 years of

experience, intro massage special $45/hour AA Northside. Call Jane 734-741-0761 ------------------------------------

We’re looking for a freelance writer and a freelance photographer.

Paid gigs for Current & Ann Arbor Family magazines. E-mail us at aspcsocialmedia@gmail.com

Moms- get fit and have fun! Come workout for FREE every Friday at 1 pm. Details at http://www.facebook.com/ MomentumBeachbodyFitClub

Become a founding member of SOPHIA (Study Organization for Philosophy, Humanities, and Interdisciplinary Action). Twelve UM students will be enough. looking4sophia@gmail.com

BecomE a doula!

DONA International birth and postpartum doula training and professional certification at Center for the Childbearing Year www.center4cby.com

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style sense sponsored by:

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style sense

Photo by Natasha Barros Interview by Alia Orra

Sara Willhoft, hair stylist, Ferndale

Sara's style is part prepster, part indie rock star. We stopped the Ferndale native and hair stylist to talk geek chic versus fashions of the '90s.

Have you always been geek chic?

It's something I've always had going on — kind of ‘80s librarian mixed with rocker. I think it just came from wanting to look unique.

What's more important to you: comfort or style?

I think it's optimal for it to work together. I tend to wear, as far as shoes go, something that would be more comfortable as opposed to something that's fun to look at it.

You're a hairstylist. How do you settle on one look?

My hair's been every color under the sun, but I've found that blonde works the best for me.

What are your style pet peeves?

The late '90s styles that are coming back. I saw a picture of rainbow platform tennis shoes in a catalogue recently, which was the worst shoe I've ever seen. The late '90s stuff is kind of like raver clothing. Not me at all. *Our style spotters, Natasha Barros and Emily McAlister, roam the streets of A2 to find the chicest (or craziest) looks.

Vote on the candidates at Facebook.com/CurrentMagazine — those selected are awarded a $100 Bellanina Day Spa gift card.

Come and spa...

201 N. Fourth Ave. 734-327-1000 www.bellaninadayspa.com

ecurrent.com / may 2013 39