Arkansas Times - September 17, 2015 by Arkansas Times

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VOLUME 42, NUMBER 2 ARKANSAS TIMES (ISSN 0164-6273) is published each week by Arkansas Times Limited Partnership, 201 East Markham Street, Suite 200, Little Rock, Arkansas, 72201, phone (501) 375-2985. Periodical postage paid at Little Rock, Arkansas, and additional mailing offices. POSTMASTER: Send address changes to ARKANSAS TIMES, 201 EAST MARKHAM STREET, SUITE 200, Little Rock, AR, 72201. Subscription prices are $42 for one year, $74 for two years. Subscriptions outside Arkansas are $49 for one year, $88 for two years. Foreign (including Canadian) subscriptions are $168 a year. For subscriber service call (501) 375-2985. Current single-copy price is 75¢, free in Pulaski County. Single issues are available by mail at $2.50 each, postage paid. Payment must accompany all single-copy orders. Reproduction or use in whole or in part of the contents without the written consent of the publishers is prohibited. Manuscripts and artwork will not be returned or acknowledged unless sufficient return postage and a self-addressed stamped envelope are included. All materials are handled with due care; however, the publisher assumes no responsibility for care and safe return of unsolicited materials. All letters sent to ARKANSAS TIMES will be treated as intended for publication and are subject to ARKANSAS TIMES’ unrestricted right to edit or to comment editorially.

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SEPTEMBER 17, 2015

COMMENT

Amen to Griffen on incarceration Wendell Griffen’s recent letter, “Summit won’t help mass incarcerations,” struck a positive Amen chord with me. How many young lives have been ruined and will be ruined because of our antiquated drug laws? It is ridiculous to have so many nonviolent offenders overflowing our prisons when law enforcement could be focusing on the rampant violence in our state. We need a leadership that will talk less and act more. A leadership that will in fact lead — not just reflect an ideology. I would also suggest that a leadership that attacks and defunds Planned Parenthood on the basis of Arkansas’s “family values” while continuing to fund Rep. Justin Harris’ religious school and questionable adoption practices is not leadership at all. Enough of this smoke and mirrors. Bill Russell Maumelle

of the funnier movies I have seen since “Blazing Saddles.” I actually laughed out loud several times, which I rarely do; 2) the scenery and the dialogue were beautiful and poignant. The description of natural objects and our own human insignificance were thought provoking; 3) it was refreshing that there was no slaughter, no violence, no overwrought sex scenes; and 4) it was delightful to see two older men embark upon a taxing adventure (yes, I know Bill Bryson was much younger when he wrote the book). I would like to know how old James Matthews is. Being older myself, I found the movie to be one of the best I have seen in a long time. Maybe you should have had an older person review it for your magazine. Phyllis Haynes

From the web In response to a blog item on the “grand opening” of the redesigned portion of Main Street: Narrowing the street was fine. The bioswale idea was fine. Making the neighborhood more walkable is

Age and ‘A Walk in the Woods’ I can imagine movie reviewer James Matthews being disappointed in the movie, “A Walk in the Woods,” having read the book. Can anyone name a movie that has done total justice to a book? I can’t. However, having seen the movie just yesterday, I can tell you this: 1) it was one 4

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ARKANSAS TIMES

more than fine. But the corner trying to turn south on Main at Third Street is as close to impossible as it can be. Heaven help you if you’re not driving a compact car. The curbing on the corner is ridiculously close to the actual lane. They seriously need to go and jackhammer it back some. Perplexed In response to Arkansas Blog reporting on Planned Parenthood’s lawsuit against the state Department of Human Services for withholding of federal dollars: Some 60 percent of pregnancies (after fertilization and implantation) do NOT reach full term. Those socalled “babies” (so-called by theocrats, but not by scientists or even simple dictionary definitions of “baby”) are aborted naturally and spontaneously. Calling a fertilized or implanted egg a “baby” or a “child” is a lie. So is referring to an aborted embryo or fetus as a “lost life.” It never had an independent life to lose in the first place. It’s an irrational emotional appeal by theocrats to sentimental simpletons who prefer Hallmark Cards to

real life. One may as well refer, ridiculously, to a removed appendix as a “lost life.” It isn’t. If, for whatever reasons, a woman and her physician deem an abortion advisable, that medical choice cannot legally or constitutionally be decided by some theocrat who lacks any understanding of nature or science and instead depends solely on false sentiment and lies to control and subjugate women’s reproductive choices and medical health care. Governors like Asa Hutchinson promote that theocratic lie by asserting that Planned Parenthood illegally sells fetal tissue from aborted fetuses. It doesn’t. Governor Hutchinson claims that the thoroughly discredited video hoax perpetrated by the Center for Medical Progress, a right-wing group trying to discredit and defund Planned Parenthood, is true. It isn’t. It is a fabricated hoax. Governor Hutchinson is a liar on this as on other topics beloved by Christian theocrats. He and governors like him will ultimately lose in the courts. It will prove costly to their states, and profitable to attorneys for both sides. All of that taxpayer money could be better spent on many constructive measures of lasting value to citizens, instead of bolstering the power and control of religious bigots. The relentless chipping away at a woman’s right to choose an abortion has shut down legal abortion clinics everywhere, largely at the expense of less fortunate women who are least in a position to be effective parents — thus forcing unwanted babies into the world, and perpetuating the very problems overpopulation and poverty engender, with all their additional future human misery and costs to society and taxpayers. Religions that use ignorance, emotionalism, fear, superstition, threats, intimidation and violence to maintain their misogynistic dogmas at the expense of the world’s greater good are — no exaggeration — cancers on societies. From the Pope to Asa Hutchinson, those who spread these cancers are liars. They know it and so do increasing majorities. The only antidote is to speak out and speak the truth. Loudly and often, wherever the lies are raised. Like here. Like now. Norma Bates

Local and National Beers The Arkansas Times along with the Argenta Arts District is excited to announce their fourth annual craft beer festival. We want to share the celebration of the fine art of craft brewing in America by showcasing over 250 beers.

One big night of fun, food, entertainment & tasting fine beer!

Local LOCAL Restaurants Live MusiC! Whole Hog Cafe, NLR & Old Chicago Pizza, NLR plus more restaurants to come!

OCT. 23

Benefiting

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6th & Main Street, Downtown North Little Rock

Sponsored by RAIN OR SHINE!

arktimes.com/craftbeer15 Questions: phyllis@arktimes.com

Participating Breweries Stone’s Throw, Summit, Mothers, Charleville, Brick Oven, Southern Star, Southern Prohibition, Finch’s, Sixpoint, Bubba Brews, Core, Crazy Mountain, Leap of Faith, Lost Forty and many many more…

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SEPTEMBER 17, 2015

WEEK THAT WAS

“I wouldn’t really say my dad helped me be comfortable with my sexuality growing up. He was who I feared the most regarding it. … But once I came out to my dad — and I was dating a guy at the time — he was great about it. My boyfriends have always come over for family dinner, been on family vacations. And he was really nice to them and was interested in who they were. ... Everyone has accepted me and loved me for who I am. It is a non-issue in our family.” —Bobby Petrino Jr., publicly coming out as gay in an interview with an LGBT magazine in Louisville. (Bobby Sr. is now the head football coach at the University of Louisville.)

Child left in van at Justin Harris’ preschool Last week, the state Department of Human Services and the police investigated an incident at Growing God’s Kingdom preschool in West Fork, which is run by state Rep. Justin Harris (R-West Fork) and his wife, Marsha. A 3-year-old girl was left in a van for about five hours, strapped in a car seat, evidently because the driver of the vehicle failed to notice the child had not gotten off the bus at the beginning of the school day. The child was thankfully unharmed when paramedics arrived — it was a cloudy day and the van was parked in the shade — but West Fork Police Chief Bryan Watts told reporters, “If it had been much warmer, I don’t think she would have survived it.”

Lights out in Orlando After 20 years, Walt Disney World will end its annual Osborne Family holiday light show, the resort announced last week. The gargantuan Christmas stylings of Jennings Osborne were sent to Disney World in 1995, after the Arkansas Supreme Court ordered the light display moved 6

SEPTEMBER 17, 2015

ARKANSAS TIMES

from the Osborne family home on Cantrell Road. Disney says it’s closing the show after the coming holiday season to make room for Toy Story Land and a Star Wars-themed attraction. Jennings Osborne died in 2011, but, apparently, enthusiasm for his lights lives on. To date, Disney’s announcement has attracted almost 250 comments online, nearly all of them pleading for the lights to stay. In the words of “Sharon from FL”: NNNNNOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!!!!!

Planned Parenthood pushes back On Friday, Planned Parenthood of the Heartland announced it was suing the state over Gov. Asa Hutchinson’s efforts to block Medicaid patients from using its clinics for non-abortion services. The ACLU of Arkansas is representing Planned Parenthood in the suit. The organization is under intense fire at both the state and national levels — Republicans in Congress are threatening a government shutdown unless the health care provider’s funding is yanked — following the release of undercover sting videos by anti-abortion activists regarding the use of fetal tissue in medical research. No matter that Medicaid only pays for services such as health screenings and contraceptives, not abortions.

BRIAN CHILSON

Quote of the Week:

EYE ON ARKANSAS

A Democrat for U.S. Senate Former U.S. Attorney Conner Eldridge announced last week he’s running as a Democrat for the U.S. Senate against incumbent Republican John Boozman in 2016. Boozman is an uninspiring, low-key candidate — after 15 years in elected office, a poll earlier this year found that four in 10 Arkansans had no opinion about the senator — but in today’s Arkansas, a near-anonymous Republican is still the clear favorite when matched against a Democrat of any variety. Eldridge, 38, seems to be running as a centrist (he’s voiced opposition to the Iran nuclear deal, for example, and abortion rights). He hopes to capture the same independent voters who overwhelmingly returned former Gov. Mike Beebe to office, even while voting out other Democrats left and right. It’ll be an uphill battle.

CELEBRATING INDEPENDENCE: A dancer swirls in the Wonders of Mexico performance at the Mexican Independence Day celebration at the Maumelle Performing Arts Center Saturday, Sept. 12.

of 142 statewide. (In other Pulaski County schools, one semifinalist came from Jacksonville High, three from charter schools and 13 from private schools.)

Fairness in Fayetteville

Judging on the merits For all the talk of the failures of the Little Rock School District, Central High continues to produce more National Merit semifinalists than any other high school in the state: 16, out

And finally: Congrats to Fayetteville for a victory on civil rights. After the Times went to press last Tuesday, voters there ratified an anti-discrimination ordinance protecting LGBT people, 53 percent to 47 percent. The measure still faces a potential court challenge, since its opponents say it conflicts with a state law passed in 2015 intended to stop localities from enacting such ordinances.

OPINION

School elections: Why now?

enji Hardy has written for the Arkansas Blog about the work of ForwARd Arkansas, a Walton- and Rockefeller Foundation-financed project to develop a plan to improve public education. As Hardy noted, the final plan represented a compromise and avoided some hot-button topics (charter schools, for example) while favoring apple pie ideas like pre-K education and healthy children. But there was this glaring sentence: “Change the timing of school board elections to coincide with state or district elections.” This has nothing to do with school excellence. It is a political stinker in the woodpile, a sign of the agenda of the Walton/Billionaire Boys Club school “reform” posse. They’ll stop at nothing to achieve this long, long quest. Why? To cut their tax bill. On Thursday, the state Board of Education voted unanimously to endorse the plan. Several days later, the Arkansas Democrat-Gazette editorial page singled out the election change for praise. The page is dictated philosophically by its publisher, school “reform” advocate Walter Hussman, whose family has darkened the

doors of few schools public or private in Little Rock. But he’s expert enough to be sure that killing teacher unions, killMAX ing the Little Rock BRANTLEY maxbrantley@arktimes.com School District and otherwise blowing up the egalitarian public school system with privately run charter schools are the solutions to education woes. Never mind addressing the root problem — impoverished, dysfunctional families who’ve yet to be lifted systematically by any school yet devised, be it KIPP, eStem or a utopian Waltonia.) The D-G wrote: “The unions will hate such a move. They like it when their people vote, and nobody else. That way they can hand-pick the school board.” This is either dishonest or uninformed. There is but one “union” involved in education in Arkansas: the Arkansas Education Association. It has never had more than four or five affiliates that served as anything akin to a union. That number is now

Two Huckabees

nless he can rescue his tanking presidential ambitions, we have now witnessed the zenith and the nadir of the political life of Mike Huckabee, and both involve the narrow question of how Americans should treat declarations of human rights by the U.S. Supreme Court. Those were the 1954 decision that the Constitution required the integration of public schools, which President Eisenhower enforced at Little Rock three years later, and the court’s decision this June that the Constitution also required states to permit gays and lesbians to marry. Huckabee’s celebrated stands on both questions share no resemblance in logic or law, and people can dispute which was his nadir and which his zenith. Huckabee’s lowest point, in my view, was the spectacle he created by leaping to the side of Kim Davis, the county clerk in Kentucky who refused to issue marriage licenses to same-sex couples because her apostolic religion considered them sinners.

His criticism of the marriage decision was unexceptionable, shared by every other Republican ERNEST candidate — it DUMAS is simply good politics, craven though many think it is — but not his assertion that court decisions are nothing more than pieces of paper that do not carry the force of law and need not be obeyed. To repudiate the whole concept of common law and the duty of courts to interpret the laws borders on anarchy and ought to be a disqualifier for anyone seeking to be president. On the other hand, the preachergovernor’s posturing at Davis’ side might be sympathetically understood as simply a desperate bid to recapture evangelical voters who had fled to Scott Walker, Ted Cruz and Donald Trump. Also, if your sympathies are with

down to two, IF you count the Little Rock school districts the option to have NovemEducation Association, which now works ber elections, but none has. There’s a practical reason to keep elecin a district without a school board and has been pretty well stripped of its power. The tions separate. Ask county clerks. School Little Rock and Pulaski teacher groups did district boundary lines (there are more enjoy some (but not universal) success in than 200 districts in Arkansas) have little school elections now and then, but it was relationship to other governmental boundmore due to peculiarities of district shape aries. Jonesboro has five school districts and demography (black voters rose up in overlaid on a city government elected by unison against a Chamber of Commerce- zones. The Little Rock School District covorchestrated takeover in Little Rock) than ers only a portion of the city and, should anything else. In any case, neither district elections return, its zones also cross many now has a school board. But statewide? other zone boundary lines. Drawing up It’s about the money or, more specifically, ballots would be a nightmare. The clerks’ school property taxes. opposition — along with powerful school Conservatives believe general election administrators — have so far foiled a forced votes — populated by huge numbers of move of school elections. people without a stake in the schools — will The fact that the election issue was regularly kill tax votes and strangle school buried, without explanation, in the Forbudgets they believe are bloated. I suspect wARd recommendations is a sign to me they are onto something, which is one rea- that the billionaires are firmly in control. son why school superintendents and school They haven’t retreated from their aim boards (management, not labor, please of charterizing districts, killing the remnote) have long favored separate school nants of organized teacher groups and elections. Despite that, tax votes often go putting the brakes on school spending down in flames in September. Conserva- by whatever means possible. They have tives think school budgets can be shrunk a Republican legislature inclined to go and I believe the reformers think this will along. But we’ve learned before that the set the districts up for more privatization school administrators — and the little (profitization) by the corporate charter industries they control across the state operators yearning to grab tax dollars with — are one of the state’s most formidable scant accountability. lobbies (excepting those from despised Separate school elections have been Pulaski County). law for more than a half-century, though Changing election dates is about they were moved in 1987 from March to improving schools? About taking on the September. The legislature recently gave evil “unions”? Don’t be fooled.

Huckabee you might consider his other great stand, the apex of his political life in my estimation and, I think, in his. That was his speech at Central High School on Sept. 25, 1997, on the 40th anniversary of the court-ordered enrollment of nine black students at the school. Gov. Orval E. Faubus had sent National Guardsmen to the school that day to keep the youngsters out. Huckabee’s widely praised speech and his symbolic escorting of the Little Rock Nine through the school’s famous portals were his proudest moment. So proud was he of the speech that you can still find digital links to it on his presidential websites. On that crisp morning in 1997 there was no talk by Huckabee of defying the law of the land that the Supreme Court had proclaimed in Brown v. Topeka but rather of upholding it in the face of massive opposition. Huckabee strove to outdo the president of the United States, Bill Clinton, who shared the dais and the national spotlight that day, in condemning the forces that tried to prevent the nine children from exercising the rights the

Supreme Court had vouchsafed them. “I think today we come to say once and for all that what happened here 40 years ago was simply wrong,” he declared. “It was evil, and we renounce it. What the people did who tried to hold those nine from entering the doors of this high school may be forgivable, but it is not excusable.” Like Clinton, he did not name Faubus as the culprit who defied the court and denied the kids’ their rights, but it was Huckabee’s plan to make that point by, along with the president, escorting the Nine into the school to contrast himself with Faubus, who had ordered troops to keep them out. There was no trace of the 2015 Mike Huckabee, who says court orders do not matter and that religious beliefs, whatever they are, should determine whether one obeys the law. His 1997 speech actually is a clear rejoinder to the 2015 Huckabee by recalling that Southern churches had condemned “forced integration” as a violation of the Word of God. “What … we today come to renounce,” the 1997 Huckabee said, “is the fact that in many parts of the South it was the white CONTINUED ON PAGE 25

www.arktimes.com

SEPTEMBER 17, 2015

7 P.M. THURSDAY, SEPT 17

We’re Showing Terrence Malick’s “Days of Heaven.” CO-SPONSORED BY

RON ROBINSON THEATER 100 RIVER MARKET

presents…

Stevie Coyle Thursday September 17 7:30 p.m. The Joint 301 Main Street North Little Rock

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Former frontman for the band The Waybacks, Coyle has gone solo and now tours both nationally and internationally.

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Hating on Hillary

lthough nobody sensible would choose to do it this way, America’s political fate has become captive to the TV news media’s neverending quest for ratings. Months before the earliest votes are cast, the 2016 presidential contest has turned into a “reality TV” melodrama. The themes are broad and simple: Donald Trump as Nationalist Strongman, and Hillary Clinton as National Bitch. Up with the Strongman, down with the Bitch. Yes, 20 other candidates are vying for attention, and somebody else could assume a starring role should these narratives lose momentum. Even supposedly left-wing MSNBC broadcasts Trump’s speeches live, giving the billionaire braggart free publicity even he might not be able to afford. Whatever you can say about Trump, he gives good TV — that is, if professional wrestling extravaganzas are your idea of family entertainment. Also, it’s always been clear that no Democratic woman, and certainly not one named Clinton, can be elected president of the United States without being designated a brass-plated bitch. Having failed to entomb Bill Clinton and drive a wooden stake through his heart, wrecking Hillary’s candidacy has become the Washington press clique’s overriding goal. And yet the geniuses running her campaign act as if they don’t know it. Consider reporter Amy Chozick’s remarkable piece in the Sept. 7 New York Times: “Hillary Clinton to Show More Humor and Heart, Aides Say.” According to “extensive interviews” with “top strategists” at the campaign’s Brooklyn headquarters, Clinton would be urged to exhibit empathy and humor on the campaign trail. Such as when she recently joked, apropos of Trump’s insistence that he didn’t buy that orange thing on his head from Hair Club for Men, that while her own “hair is real, the color isn’t.” Well, it says here that everybody in Brooklyn involved in the Times exclusive ought to walk the plank. Voluntarily or otherwise. Slate’s sarcastic headline summed thing up perfectly: “Hillary Clinton Hatches Plan to Be More Spontaneous.” The idea of Hillary as a kind of political Stepford Wife, calculating and “inauthentic” to use the cant term, is so deeply imprinted in the press clique’s standard narrative that they reacted pretty much the way your dog does when you rattle

his leash. Let Washington Post columnist Dana Milbank speak for all: “And now comes GENE the latest of many LYONS warm-and-fuzzy makeovers — perhaps the most transparent phoniness since Al Gore discovered earth tones.” Never mind that the whole “earth tones” and “invented the Internet” fiasco was a malicious invention. Caricaturing Gore as a posturing phony made it possible for make-believe rancher George W. Bush to become president. So how is it possible that communications director Jennifer Palmieri, one of two staffers quoted in the Times by name, couldn’t see that coming? Another Clinton staffer confided that although the candidate would emphasize income inequality, she’d be “scrapping the phrase ‘everyday Americans,’ which wasn’t resonating with voters.” One mocked it as too much like Walmart’s “Everyday low prices.” Presumably, the campaign will choose a more tasteful slogan from Tiffany or Bergdorf-Goodman. Esquire’s always understated Charles P. Pierce calls Clinton staffers “a writhing ball of faithless snakes,” more concerned with advancing themselves than electing her. Do they not grasp that wrecking her candidacy is Job One at the New York Times? Indeed, no sooner had Hillary made a rote apology for the manufactured email “scandal” than staffers “who insisted on anonymity to discuss private conversations,” hurried to the same Times reporter to emphasize they’d been urging her to kiss the news media’s collective feet for weeks. Supposedly, Bill Clinton had resisted the idea on the grounds that she hadn’t done anything wrong. Supposedly, too, he urged staffers to try harder to make that clear. Based solely on her appearance on Chris Hayes’ MSNBC program, I’d say the aforementioned Palmieri — President Obama’s former communications director — couldn’t explain how to pour sand out of a boot with the instructions printed on the heel. Her speech mannerisms make her hard to follow, and she talks in circles. The Clinton campaign needs to send out more spokesmen like former Govs. Howard Dean and Jennifer Granholm capable of clarity and forcefulness. Here we are months into this pointless debacle and it’s left to the Justice Department to state that CONTINUED ON PAGE 25

SEPTEMBER 17, 2015

ARKANSAS TIMES

BOOKS FROM THE ARKANSAS TIMES

THE UNIQUE NEIGHBORHOODS OF CENTRAL ARKANSAS Full of interesting voices and colorful portraits of 17 Little Rock and North Little Rock neighborhoods, this book gives an intimate, block-by-block, native’s view of the place more than 250,000 Arkansans call home. Created from interviews with residents and largely written by writers who actually live in the neighborhoods they’re writing about, the book features over 90 full color photos by Little Rock photographer Brian Chilson.

Also Available: A HISTORY OF ARKANSAS A compilation of stories published in the Arkansas Times during our first twenty years. Each story examines a fragment of Arkansas’s unique history – giving a fresh insight into what makes us Arkansans. Well written and illustrated. This book will entertain and enlighten time and time again.

ALMANAC OF ARKANSAS HISTORY This unique book offers an offbeat view of the Natural State’s history that you haven’t seen before – with hundreds of colorful characters, pretty places, and distinctive novelties unique to Arkansas. Be informed, be entertained, amaze your friends with your new store of knowledge about the 25th state, the Wonder State, the Bear State, the Land of Opportunity.

Payment: CHECK OR CREDIT CARD Order by Mail: ARKANSAS TIMES BOOKS 201 E. MARKHAM ST., STE. 200, LITTLE ROCK, AR 72201 Phone: 501-375-2985 Fax: 501-375-3623 Email: ANITRA@ARKTIMES.COM Send _____ book(s) of The Unique Neighborhoods of Central Arkansas @ $19.95 Send _____ book(s) of A History Of Arkansas @ $10.95 Send _____ book(s) of Almanac Of Arkansas History @ $18.95 Shipping and handling $3 per book Name _________________________________________________ Address ________________________________________________ City, State, Zip ____________________________________________ Phone _________________________________________________ Visa, MC, AMEX, Disc # _________________________ Exp. Date _______

Fighting to End Hunger in Arkansas

FOODT FIGH

2015 Hunger Summit Monday, Sept. 21 | 9 am - 4:30 pm at the First Assembly of God Church 4501 Burrow Rd., North Little Rock, AR Please do not call the church.

To register, call (501) 320-6022 or email Bridget.Bauer@dhs.arkansas.gov Reserve your space today! Registration is limited. Co-Hosted By Department of Human Services, DCCECE Health and Nutrition Unit & the Arkansas Hunger Relief Alliance www.arktimes.com

SEPTEMBER 17, 2015

PEARLS ABOUT SWINE

PRESENTS

Get back to the plan

T CONCERT DATES & TIMES

Sunday, September 20 @ 3 pm Monday, September 21 @ 7 pm Thursday, September 24 @ 7 pm

All performances are free and open to the public. Trinity United Methodist Church 1101 N. Mississippi | Little Rock 501.377.1080 | rivercitymenschorus.com

he inherent risk of braggadocio is that it can morph so violently into complete humiliation. That transition takes about three hours or so, based on what transpired Saturday afternoon at War Memorial Stadium, where temperatures were mild and tempers were hotter than a soft-willed state senator at a hardware store. By the time Toledo snuffed out the last futile Arkansas rally and celebrated a 16-12 win, the whole thing felt far more surreal than the other, notable disappointment of this era at the same locale. When the Hogs sauntered into Little Rock in 2012 to face unheralded Louisiana-Monroe, the Warhawks battered the Razorbacks mercilessly even while falling behind 28-7. Tyler Wilson got knocked around so much that Brandon Allen got his first call to extended duty and floundered badly because of miserable play designs and decisions. That was the trigger point for a lost season. On Saturday, Allen bookended his forgettable career in the capital city with a bipolar showing. He fired it around for a career-best 412 yards, but among his 53 chucks, none went for scores, including a terrible first-half interception that stalled a would-be momentum-shifter of a drive, and then misfired twice at the end trying to connect for a gamewinner. It was hardly Allen’s fault, but the senior quarterback’s lifetime ledger in the decrepit old bowl looks like this: ugly mopup effort in a loss to Monroe, uneven showing in a win over Samford, critical mistake in an overtime loss to Mississippi State, last year’s farce of a loss to Georgia, and now ... this. Allen may not have much help going forward, either. Healthy throughout fall camp, the Hogs lost Jonathan Williams — who was sorely missed Saturday for his aggressive and methodical approach to running — and then got waylaid repeatedly by the Rockets. Keon Hatcher is now shelved for weeks. Denver Kirkland, Josh Williams and Eric Hawkins took some vicious blows but may be able to recover in time for the Texas Tech contest Saturday that now looks way more dangerous than it did a few short days ago. Bruised and battered? That’s one thing. But Arkansas’s mystifying inability to generate explosiveness in the running game, combined with the defense

finding itself outside the thin margin of error it’s been cursed with, makes all of Bret Bielema’s swagger BEAU WILCOX no longer tolerable. I appreciate the desire to infuse confidence in the players by vesting it in them, but this week’s Pearls, if nothing else, shall serve as a cease and desist to Coach B. Don’t even talk about other programs, conferences or coaches. Stay centered on what you are here to do, and what we generally believed you were doing quite well until the ship got thrown well off course by a surprisingly resilient Toledo team. Buoyed by an adept transfer at quarterback, onetime Alabama prospect-inwait Philip Ely, Toledo had a curious and ultimately unimpeachable strategy. The Rockets were clearly willing to get outgained through the air, but did big things on special teams and within the red zone. Their two touchdown drives were rhythmic and balanced, and more impressive than anything the Hogs mustered. Toledo correctly figured that Arkansas had no deep threat — again, no sign of Dominique Reed or even Jojo Robinson? — and accordingly let the Hogs run drag and out routes all day without permitting additional damage. And they flat-out abused Alex Collins, who looked not only mortal, but altogether uninspired. Collins lacks the gear and ability to shed tackles in the backfield. Arkansas has a lot of size and brawn in its stable of running backs, but suspiciously absent is the Michael Smith, Fred Talley type of waterbug who can energize a crowd rendered disconsolate by a series of stuffed runs by runners who simply aren’t elusive. Thusly, Cinderella has a lot of scars. The kicking game has all kinds of ills, especially now that Hawkins may be incapacitated as a returner for a bit. There isn’t any pressure being generated by the defensive ends and the linebackers are accordingly left in the lurch. And what of the wideout situation now that Hatcher is off the grid for a bit? Drew Morgan and Cody Hollister did well Saturday, but Hunter Henry is not maximizing his height over the middle and Robinson, Dominique Reed and Jared Cornelius will simply have to present a CONTINUED ON PAGE 25

SEPTEMBER 17, 2015

ARKANSAS TIMES

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n advance of Junior turning 5, Junior’s great-grandmother got a balSpouse was determined to find loon bouquet of flowers. Mr. Pockets is 17. His business card something to enliven a backyard birthday party. The Observer suggested says “Inflating happiness since 2010.” a large bowl of Around that time, he chips. Spouse suggested The watched a man Observer go working for to hell. When tips in a Pizza Spouse struck Hut twist a sword out of out with maballoons, and gicians, she then he tried threatened to untwist it to dress up to see how like a clown. Thankfully — the man did it. particularly The balloon popped. Mr. for Junior’s fuPockets credture therapist — The Observits his mother er’s mother for all that’s stepped in to MR. POCKETS: With Captain America. followed. recommend When he was Mr. Pockets, discouraged, one of White County’s premier party she pushed him to keep at it, bought attractions. him a “how-to-do balloon animals” kit Mr. Pockets is not a clown, though he and helped him figure the kit out. Years does wear Seussian hats and tells jokes. later, when she got tired of hearing balloons squeaking at home, she told him For example: “Wanna hear a joke about to stop or get a job, which nudged him butter?” to the Chick-fil-A in Searcy, which he “Sure.” “No, I better not spread it.” convinced to hire him to twist balloons Mr. Pockets’ special talent — gift, we’re for customers in its dining room. tempted to say — is to take long, skinny He’s had to scale back public appearballoons and twist them into recognizances recently. He’s now a freshman at able things. He pulls the balloons from Harding University pursuing a major a multipocketed apron he wears (thus in software development. We suspect his name). You’ve probably seen people he’s already well known around cam— or clowns — do a version of balloon pus. When Harding President Bruce twisting, maybe to make a weiner dog or McLarty was inaugurated several years sword. But in the world of balloon artback, Mr. Pockets used 135 balloons istry, that’s hack-level, as impressive as a to make a life-sized balloon sculpture magician pulling a quarter out of a kid’s of him. ear. Mr. Pockets, on the other hand, is At the close of Junior’s party, Mr. something of a balloon-twisting prodigy. Pockets thanked our crew for mixing it He specializes in elaborate creations. up with him. People don’t talk at a lot At Junior’s party, that included a tricof the events he works, he said. Who eratops (frill included), a puppy, Yoda, wouldn’t want to talk to Mr. Pockets? a bunny rabbit and Darth Vader (light He’s a walking Laffy Taffy joke. As he was leaving, a couple pulled him aside. saber included). The parents of the party “Do you do anniversaries?” they asked, guests were soon making requests. One not even half joking. mom wanted Princess Leia. A dad holding an infant asked for Captain America. C

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SEPTEMBER 17, 2015

Arkansas Reporter

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IN S IDE R

Money for crime lab from Manhattan The Arkansas State Crime Lab has been awarded a grant from the Manhattan District Attorney’s office to process some 1,500 sexual assault evidence kits, or “rape kits,” Manhattan DA Cyrus R. Vance announced last week. The $97,121 grant to Arkansas is from the Manhattan office’s Criminal Justice Investment Fund, which is funded by hundreds of millions of dollars in asset forfeiture from settlements with international banks in New York that violated the terms of U.S. sanctions. In total, the office announced $38 million in 32 awards to resolve processing backlogs in cities and states across the country. Tennessee and Kentucky also received grants, as did local jurisdictions in Texas and Missouri. Arkansas’s grant is the smallest of those announced. The announcement was paired with a $41 million commitment of federal funds from the U.S. Justice Department to further clear backlogs on processing sexual assault forensic evidence. Said the Manhattan DA’s office in its press release: “Every jurisdiction that applied for funding is receiving it through either the Manhattan District Attorney’s Office or [federal funds]; no city or state that reported a backlog was turned away.” End the Backlog, an advocacy website with a self-explanatory name, notes that Arkansas passed a law this year that “directs the State Crime Laboratory to conduct an annual sexual assault evidence inventory audit of all law enforcement agencies and healthcare providers.” However, it continues, “while this law will allow us to have a more accurate picture of the backlog in Arkansas, the legislature must take additional steps to provide survivors with greater access to justice, including requiring the testing of all rape kits booked into evidence.” The DA’s office said it has established agreements with two forensic laboratories to test the evidence from the kits at a cost of “less than $675 per kit — significantly less than the estimated nationwide average of $1,000 to $1,500 per kit.”

Huck, schooled At the Daily Beast, author Todd

The Rapert file State Police file on alleged threats against Sen. Jason Rapert reveals multiple investigations, zero charges. BY DAVID KOON

here’s a reason society has made threatening to bodily harm someone a punishable crime: Even if a blow is never landed, sometimes living with the fear that it could come at any moment is worse. Perceived threats are what motivated Sen. Jason Rapert (R-Conway) to seek law enforcement help over a dozen times since February 2013, as seen in a file obtained by the Arkansas Times from the Arkansas State Police under the Arkansas Freedom of Information Act. None of the information forwarded by Rapert has resulted in criminal charges, according to the State Police. Several of the messages reported by Rapert are vulgar and disturbing, including an expletive-filled email from a person who says he wishes that Rapert’s wife would be assaulted and that Rapert would “die in a fire”; a message that includes a snippet from an NBC News story about Serbian war atrocities with the postscript, “What I wish for you & your family”; and another note to Rapert’s campaign page describing how the writer’s uncle killed an annoying evangelical Christian in Vietnam by cutting off his head with a bayonet. However, several of the incidents Rapert reported to law enforcement seem to be writers using ill-advised turns of phrase to relay hopes that his agenda would fail, including an October 2014 phone message in which a caller said: “I hope the power of the Constitution kicks your ass” and a June 2015 Facebook private message exchange in which a Jonesboro man told Rapert to be careful “or you may find yourself on the wrong end of the gun you are holding to the heads of the American people,” before the argument escalated into the man inviting Rapert to engage in fisticuffs. Other incidents: Feb. 2, 2013: Rapert turned over screenshots of the Facebook page of an

Iowa woman, who had posted a meme featuring Rapert and a quote from his 2011 Tea Party rally speech in which Rapert said he wouldn’t let minorities run roughshod over what his constituents believe. In sharing the meme on Facebook, the Iowa woman wrote: “What? I’m no pro-gun moron, but somebody needs to shoot this bastard ASAP.” She was eventually contacted by Iowa State Police and said she had never been to Arkansas and didn’t want to actually harm Rapert or anyone else. Feb. 11, 2013: Rapert, acting on a warning relayed from the wife of Rep. Bob Ballinger (R-Hindsville), reported posters on the Arkansas Times blog for discussing where Rapert lived. Sept. 23, 2014: Rapert reported an October 2013 incident in which a UCA student said, “Can’t we just assassinate him?” during an online chat on how to unseat Rapert. A few lines later, the student apologized and said that the statement was not meant to be taken seriously before adding, “I would never wish harm upon anyone under any circumstance.” In September 2014, a fellow student who was involved in the chat turned over screenshots of the chat to police. The case was investigated and the student who made the comment said he had no intention of harming Rapert. Citing the fact that the comment had been made almost a year before, Faulkner County prosecutor Cody Hiland refused to issue a subpoena requested by the State Police for phone records in

the case, and no charges were ever brought. Arkansas State Police spokesman Bill Sadler said that because the agency doesn’t keep a database on threats against public officials, there is no easy way for him to determine whether the number of incidents Rapert has reported is higher or lower than the number reported by other Arkansas politicians. However, in an October 2014 email to another investigator, ASP special agent Jassen Travis, who received many of the initial reports forwarded by Rapert, wrote that “due to the high nature of complaints Senator Rapert made involving social media,” he was actively monitoring Rapert’s social media accounts as part of his job duties. “I felt this was the best way to manage the evolving complaints and keep up with them in real time in the event an actual death threat occurred,” Travis wrote. Sadler said there is currently no employee of the Arkansas State Police who monitors Rapert’s social media accounts as part of their job duties. As seen in the file, Rapert often kept tabs on the progress of investigations. After being told that there would be no charges in the Iowa meme incident, Rapert wrote to ASP criminal investigation division commander Maj. Henry La Mar: “I want charges filed on every case on which we have evidence to move forward,” Rapert wrote. “When people are not held accountable, they do worse in the future.” Arkansas Times emailed a series of questions to Rapert, including questions about whether he agreed with the outcome of the police investigations, whether he believed investigating these incidents was an appropriate and justified use of taxpayer dollars and police time, and whether he believed his prolific and often argumentative Facebook and Twitter presence made him a lightning rod for comments from angry or unstable people. In a response emailed Tuesday, Rapert said the Arkansas State Police “has details confirming that we were indeed informed of what was deemed credible threats on 02/02/2013 and I have personally spoken with law enforcement officials confirming everything I have said.” Based on the date of Feb. 2, 2013, Rapert appears to be talking about the Iowa meme case, which was closed without charges. He refused to confirm CONTINUED ON PAGE 25

SEPTEMBER 17, 2015

ARKANSAS TIMES

THE

BIG

Inquizator: Read Admire

PICTURE

A GRADUATE OF THE UNIVERSITY OF ARKANSAS AT LITTLE ROCK and the Clinton School of Public Service, Read Admire launched The Urban Food Loop in May. It’s a do-gooder idea with a business start-up twist. For $31 a month, Admire will come by your house once a week, pick up your organic kitchen scraps in a supplied bin and turn landfill-bound waste into compost. The subscriber can either get bulk deliveries of their compost just in time for garden planting in the spring and early fall, or the fertilizer can be donated to one of several local community organizations that have partnered with the Loop, including Little Rock Urban Farming, the Dunbar Community Garden Project and the Arkansas Hunger Relief Alliance Gleaning Garden.

How did you come up with the idea for The Urban Food Loop? The Clinton Global Initiative University program had put out a request for proposals for innovative ideas, and I wanted to get involved, but I didn’t have an innovative idea. Meanwhile I was working part time as a line cook at Natchez (restaurant). I saw how much food was wasted between vegetable scraps and leftovers. Having just lived on a farm where we composted everything, I knew the food waste at the restaurant would create good compost for my home garden. I started collecting food waste from Natchez and South on Main. I didn’t have any big plans until, as part of my first-year project, the Clinton School sent me to a Delta Regional Authority conference where U.S. Secretary of Agriculture Tom Vilsack was the keynote speaker. He mentioned a lot of statistics. The one that stuck out to me the most was that almost 40 percent of food in the U.S. ends up in landfills. After I got home I did a little more research on food waste and found out how valuable a natural resource compost is. … Later that night I was just lying on my floor listening to a record when the idea hit me: I needed to start turning food waste into fertile soil on a larger level.

What’s your process for turning scraps into compost? The Urban Food Loop drops off a compost bin weekly to subscribers. They scrape all their food waste — from coffee filters, to vegetable scraps, to bones — into their bin. Every week I drive a pickup route and switch out the full buckets with clean, empty ones. I take the food scraps to my property where the composting begins. … Every day I rake out the compost pile and turn it with a pitchfork. It takes several months for everything to break down into the finished product. Once it’s done I shovel it all into my truck and take it to Dunbar Gardens where I use their “Worm Rocket,” a compost tumbler that sorts out the fine black compost from the rocks, sticks and bones that didn’t compost.

For the average household, how much compost can they expect to receive? Because we just started, we only have a small batch of finished compost. Next year, a customer can expect several hundred pounds of compost to be delivered to their home garden.

Has the idea been well received in Little Rock? The idea has been incredibly well received. We haven’t advertised much yet because we want to make sure all the kinks are worked out before we go big — and they are. Right now we have 15 customers, with more signing up every week. It seems like a cool idea, but it’s so new, some people hesitate. However, once people use the service for a few weeks they can’t believe how much less they have in the trash. They tell their friends how easy it is, and then they sign up. And then they tell a friend. And that’s how it’s gone since June. We have one restaurant [subscriber] right now, South on Main, and are working on logistics with The Faded Rose.

Do you see The Urban Food Loop as a “save the world” project, or more of a business venture? Those two things don’t have to be mutually exclusive, of course. It’s both. It’s a social enterprise with a double bottom line. We want to make money, but we want to do it doing something that matters. Studying at the Clinton School has really shown me that there is a way to do both.

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INSIDER, CONT. Brewster, who last year wrote a book about Abraham Lincoln and the history of the Emancipation Proclamation, takes Mike Huckabee to task over his conflation of resistance to same-sex marriage with resistance to the Dred Scott decision, the pre-Civil War ruling by the U.S. Supreme Court that denied black Americans citizenship. It’s morally absurd to make Kentucky county clerk Kim Davis out to be Abraham Lincoln, of course (which is the context of Huckabee’s remarks). It’s harder to argue with deeply held beliefs that define non-heterosexual relationships as wicked. Instead of the moral argument, Brewster focuses on history to point out why Huckabee’s claims are incorrect: “While it is true that Lincoln found the Court’s decision in Dred Scott an abomination, the 16th president recognized that it was the law of the land and that he was obliged to follow it. Furthermore, the [Emancipation Proclamation] was not, as Huckabee would have you believe, in contradiction to the Court’s ruling. In fact, in what must have struck Lincoln as a delicious irony, he indirectly relied upon Dred as a justification for his power to issue it.” Dred Scott defined African Americans as property, not citizens. Lincoln, resourceful lawyer that he was, therefore “asserted the act of emancipation was undertaken only as a ‘military necessity’ commensurate with his power to seize enemy property of any kind; human property in this case being no different from non-human property like military hardware, supplies, or rations.” Yes, Brewster says, Lincoln and his lieutenants relied on some tortured legal logic to get from the proclamation to the 13th and 14th amendments. But it’s inaccurate to portray that as defiance of law. Here’s a solution for Huckabee: “Now that same amendment, ratified in 1868, is the basis of the ruling last term on same-sex marriages, and the [county] clerk, Kim Davis, should properly be forced to comply just as Lincoln had to comply with Dred. If Mike Huckabee finds that offensive, he has an opportunity to do something about it. He can get himself elected president and then, like Lincoln, appoint an attorney general and Supreme Court justices who will read the Constitution the way that he reads it.” www.arktimes.com

SEPTEMBER 17, 2015

FALL ARTS 2015

2015 FALL ARTS MUSIC PREVIEW

Concerts coming from Stevie Wonder, Drive-By Truckers, Taj Mahal, Jackson Browne, Motley Crue and more. BY WILL STEPHENSON

AUTUMN DRIVE-BY: Alt-country favorites Drive-By Truckers play at Revolution in October.

SEPTEMBER 17, 2015

ARKANSAS TIMES

his fall’s concert season has something for most, if not all, of the state’s music fans: symphony denizens, jazz buffs, crust punks, nostalgic baby boomers, heartland country bros, hip-hop heads and whoever listens to Dirt Nasty. In the span of a few months, we’ll see the Dirty Dozen Brass Band, the Indigo Girls, Motley Crue and Warren G. Plus yacht rock and Miami rap and wind symphonies and Delta blues — it will get loud, it will get weird and it will almost certainly get expensive. Chicago rapper and Def Jam signee Lil Durk comes to Juanita’s on Sept. 24 with the unhinged Rick Ross-affiliate Gunplay. That same night, New York punks Dirty Fences play at

the White Water Tavern with local garage rockers Bombay Harambee and Nashville’s Faux Ferocious. On the 25th, New Orleans funk rock group Bonerama returns to Stickyz and Aaron Watson, the country singer from Amarillo, Texas, plays at Revolution. Also on the 25th: Kid Rock brings his “First Kiss: Cheap Date” tour to the Walmart AMP in Rogers. Baton Rouge blues singer Tab Benoit comes to Revolution, and local country favorites The Salty Dogs play at White Water (Sept. 26). Comedy rapper and former MTV VJ Dirt Nasty headlines at Discovery (Sept. 26) and Chicago industrial band My Life with The Thrill Kill Kult plays at Revolution (Sept. 27). The Arkansas Symphony Orchestra presents Grieg’s

Piano Concerto at the Maumelle Performing Arts Center (Sept. 26-27). Cincinnati garage rock group Heartless Bastards plays at Revolution on Sept. 30, while indie rock duo IAMDYNAMITE plays at Juanita’s and Canadian country singer (and visual artist) Daniel Romano comes to White Water. The Hot Water Hills Music & Arts Festival returns to downtown Hot Springs’ Hill Wheatley Plaza Oct. 2-3, featuring Ghost Bones, Adam Faucett, Big Piph and more. Atlanta rapper Young Dro comes to Revolution on Oct. 2. The great blues guitarist and Arkansas native CeDell Davis returns to White Water on Oct. 2, and the Swedish indie folk singer José González performs at Juanita’s on Oct. 4.

FALL ARTS 2015

BRING THE FUNK: Warren G plays his funk-inspired gangsta rap at Juanita’s on Oct. 17.

Atlanta indie rock band Manchester Orchestra plays at Juanita’s on Oct. 4, and Southern Gothic Nashville songwriter Adia Victoria plays at White Water on Oct. 6. In Helena, the King Biscuit Blues Festival returns Oct. 7-10, featuring performances by Taj Mahal, Bobby Rush, Jimmie Vaughan, Leo “Bud” Welch and many more. On the Oct. 8, debauched ’80s rock legends Motley Crue play at Verizon Arena, electric blues hero Cedric Burnside returns to White Water and The Strokes’ guitarist Albert Hammond Jr. plays at Juanita’s. The Arkansas State Fair returns Oct. 9-18, featuring concerts by Naughty By Nature, Grand Funk Railroad, Styx, Eddie Money, Montgomery Gentry and more. On Oct. 14, gently psychedelic altcountry singer Israel Nash plays at Stickyz, while Detroit rap duo (and Insane Clown Posse compatriots) Twiztid play at Revolution. On the 15th, G-Funk legend Warren G (best known for the 1994 single “Regulate”) comes to Juanita’s. Nashville folk duo Birdcloud plays at Juanita’s on Oct. 17, while the Dirty Dozen Brass Band, the longtime New Orleans brass funk institution, plays Revolution. Legendary ’70s songwriter Jackson Browne performs at the Walmart AMP in Rogers (Oct. 17). The Arkansas Symphony Orchestra presents Dvorak’s Symphony No. 8 on Oct. 17-18, with

THEY’RE BACK: You thought Motley Crue was finished touring? Fear not; the Crue plays at Verizon Arena on Oct. 8.

Hungarian-born Minneapolis guest conductor punk band (and Imre Pallo. SeatSonic Youth pals) Babes in tle rock group Girl Toyland play On Fire performs at Juanita’s on Oct. at Juanita’s Nov. 18, and Tav Falco, 3, and jazz virtuoso and comthe Gurdon (Clark poser Aaron County) native and art-rock legend, Diehl performs plays at Stickyz at South on on Oct. 19. Main on Nov. 5. Stevie Wonder On Oc t . 20, upbeat, cultish comes to Veriindie rock group zon Arena on The Polyphonic Nov. 5 and the Spree plays a Arkansas SymBACK TO KING BISCUIT: Taj Mahal, in “15th Anniversary” phony OrchesOctober. show at Stickyz, tra presents and alt-country favorites Drive-By “Beethoven & Blue Jeans” at the MauTruckers play at Revolution. Eightymelle Performing Arts Center Nov. three-year-old blues guitarist Leo 7-8. Richmond metal band Wind“Bud” Welch plays at White Water hand plays at White Water on Nov. 8, with Jimbo Mathus on Oct. 22. Local and Peter Case (of The Nerves and indie rock band Knox Hamilton — The Plimsouls and a long, thriving currently blowing up due to the Intersolo career) comes to White Water on net-radio-famous single “Work It Out” Nov. 14. Jacksonville alt-rock band Shinedown plays at Verizon Arena — plays at Juanita’s on Oct. 24. The Arkansas Symphony Orchestra perwith Breaking Benjamin on Nov. 14 forms “Cirque Musica: Crescendo” at and pop-punk band Plain White T’s Pulaski Academy’s Connor Performing performs at Juanita’s on Nov. 16. On Arts Center Oct. 24-25. “Jessie’s Girl” Nov. 19, Pasadena glam metal band songwriter Rick Springfield performs Autograph (“Turn Up the Radio”) at UCA’s Reynolds Performance Hall plays Juanita’s and Diana Krall perin Conway Oct. 29, and alt-country forms at the Walton Arts Center in stalwarts Old 97s play at Revolution Fayetteville. Ozark classic rock favorwith Banditos on Oct. 30. ites The Cate Brothers perform at

the Ron Robinson Theater on Nov. 20. On Nov. 21, Phoenix punk band Andrew Jackson Jihad and anti-folk songwriter Jeffrey Lewis play at Juanita’s. Also that day, Israeli jazz clarinetist Anat Cohen comes to the Walton Arts Center in Fayetteville. Yacht rock legend Michael McDonald performs “This Christmas: An Evening of Holiday and Hits” at the Walton Arts Center on Dec. 1. The Indigo Girls and Patterson Hood perform an evening of Georgia music to kick off the Oxford American’s Georgia Music Issue at South on Main, Dec. 3. “America’s Got Talent” veteran Cas Haley comes to Stickyz on Dec. 3. Christian rapper TobyMac performs at Verizon Arena on Dec. 4. Grammy-winning gospel group The Blind Boys of Alabama performs at UCA’s Reynolds Performance Hall on Dec. 6. The Little Rock Wind Symphony presents “Christmas Festival” on Dec. 10, and the Ron Robinson Theater hosts the Arkansas Sounds Holiday Concert on Dec. 11, featuring the Dave Rosen Big Band and the Maumelle High School Jazz Band. Multimedia progrock extravaganza Trans-Siberian Orchestra comes to Verizon Arena on Dec. 17, and the Arkansas Symphony Orchestra presents “Holiday Pops with the ASO” at Pulaski Academy’s Connor Performing Arts Center Dec. 19-20. www.arktimes.com

SEPTEMBER 17, 2015

FALL ARTS 2015

Resurgent Hot Springs Documentary Film Festival promises true drama. BY DAVID KOON

he Hot Springs Documentary Film Festival, launched in 1992, seemed to be doing a financial rail grind on the rim of oblivion some years back. But in recent years, having shed some debt and moved its screenings to the Arlington Hotel and Low Key Arts, festival director Courtney Pledger says the HSDFI is comfortably in the black and better than ever, returned to doing what the festival does best: sharing real-life stories that would put the human drama found in any novel to shame. This year’s festival screens from Oct. 9-18, with tickets running from all-access VIP passes at $264.74 to a single-screening general admission for $8.90. Hit hsdfi.org for more information on ticket prices and the complete festival schedule coming soon. Highlights of the festival are too numerous to list here, but I’ll try to hit a few bright spots. For Hot Springs, the big news this year is the world premiere of the new documentary “The First Boys of Spring,” by director Larry Foley. The film, narrated by Arkansas native Billy Bob Thornton, chronicles the surprising role Hot Springs played in the development of spring training for major league baseball teams, which figured out that going somewhere warm to get a head start on training made them better all season. Everybody who was anybody in the

golden age of baseball came to Hot Springs, partaking in the city’s thermal baths and well-known debauchery, so the documentary should be enlightening for both baseball fans and lovers of the high-rolling history of the Spa City. Foley and legendary, El Doradoborn St. Louis Cardinal Lou Brock will be on hand for the screening. Another promising film is “The Primary Instinct,” featuring character actor Stephen Tobolowsky. Tobolowsky, who has played memorable (though probably not memorable enough to remember his name) roles in everything from “Groundhog Day” to “Mississippi Burning,” to Christopher Nolan’s “Memento,” will be on hand to introduce the film, which explores his love and mastery of the tricky art of oral storytelling. Tobolowsky’s podcast, “The Tobolowsky Files,” has been around since 2009, and, like the film, features the know-the-face-when-you-see-him actor telling stories and his fascination with the form. As a reporter who often digs into the terrible intricacies of crime, I’m understandably drawn to the documentary “dream/killer.” It’s the story of Bill Ferguson, a doting father who fights to save his son, Ryan Ferguson, from prison for the senseless 2001 murder of a Columbia, Mo., newspaper reporter. The case was unsolved for two years, until Ryan Ferguson’s

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SEPTEMBER 17, 2015

ARKANSAS TIMES

Opening Reception and Awards SEPTEMBER 17, 5-7 P.M. 29 artists from 7 states 9.17.15 – 11.21.15

ASC701.org

Fall into film

friend Kent Heitholt dreamed he’d done the killing, became convinced he was the murderer, confessed to the police, and implicated Ryan as an accomplice. What happened from there turns out to be a riveting story of a father’s love, the reality of false confessions and the myriad ways the justice system can go haywire. Fans of country music and quirky comeback stories might want to check out “Made in Japan.” It’s the story of Tomi Fujiyama, a singer brought up in the thoroughly weird Japanese subculture of country-western music fanatics. In 1964, already a star in Japan, Fujiyama came to the U.S. to play the Grand Ole Opry in Nashville. Sharing the stage with the likes of Earl Scruggs, Lester Flatt and Johnny Cash, Fujiyama got the only standing ovation of the night. Fifty years and a long career later, she returns to America in the hopes of playing the Opry one more time. Looks to be a whole lotta fun. Fujiyama will be on hand. Another film that looks great is “Can You Dig This” by director Delila Vallot. The film, executive produced by singer John Legend, explores the minds and motives behind urban garden plots in Watts, South Central, Compton and other inner-city L.A. communities, where people can find hope and promise in a handful of dirt. The film has an local connection: One of the gardeners featured is Hosea Smith, an Arkansas native who spent 30 years in prison before moving to California. Others featured include an 8-year-old trying to help her family make ends meet, and a young man who starts working at his community garden to pick up tips on growing marijuana, but soon finds his own green thumb and a love of the soil.

FALL ARTS 2015 SPA SAMPLER: The HSDFI will feature (top to bottom) “Can You Dig This,” “Made in Japan” and “The First Boys of Spring.”

ArtsFest is a week long celebration of the arts that takes place at various locations around Conway from September 26th through October 3rd

www.arktimes.com

SEPTEMBER 17, 2015

FALL ARTS 2015 Downtown Arts District, Mena Sat. Nov. 7 10am-4pm • Flint Knapping • Ladies Drum Circle • Arkansas Native Plant & Wildlife Center will share Birds of Prey in flight Fashion Show • Music / Bands • Culinary Art booth • Roving Choir Art Vendors • Kids activities: face painting, balloons, popcorn and temporary tattoos • Live art demonstrations of watercolors, fiber arts, weaving, polymer clay & more • Plus shopping and great dining downtown! For more information contact the Mena Art Gallery at 479-394-3880 SPONSORS: Mena Advertising & Promotion Commission, Arkansas Arts Council, Mena Art Gallery, Rich Mountain Community College, Union Bank of Mena, Washburns Home Furnishings, Aleshire Electric ADVERTISEMENT PAID FOR BY THE MENA ADVERTISING & PROMOTION COMMISSION

'STILL LIFE WITH DOILY': Work by Alfred Maurer, coming up at Crystal Bridges Museum of American Art.

American perspectives Latino art at Arts Center, Frank Lloyd Wright and Alfred Maurer at Crystal Bridges. BY LESLIE NEWELL PEACOCK

he Arkansas Arts Center, on the heels of its “30 Americans” exhibition that focused on work by African-American artists last spring, opens “Our America: The Latino Presence in American Art” from the Smithsonian Museum in October. The exhibition, three years in the making, presents work by 72 artists of Mexican, Cuban, Puerto Rican and Dominican descent from the mid-20th century to today. The styles are wide-ranging: There is surrealist work (Rafael Soriano, for example), abstraction (Olga Albizu and Carmen Herrera), mixed-media installations (Franco Mondini-Ruiz, Amalia Mesa-Bains), oils (Frank Romero) and photography (Harry Gamboa), sculpture (Luis Jimenez) and much more. What promises to be a standout in the exhibition is also the earli-

SEPTEMBER 17, 2015

ARKANSAS TIMES

est: The 1958 “Cowboy and ‘Indian’ Film” by Raphael Montanez Ortiz, a 16-mm film in black and white that Ortiz altered and screened at the Destruction in Art Symposium in London in 1966. In a video available on the Arkansas Arts Center’s website (arkansasartscenter.org), curator E. Carmen Ramos explains that Latino artists started attending American art schools in the civil rights era of the mid-20th century and thus became “masters of socially engaged art,” though they were not confined to that convention. “Our America” opens Oct. 16 and runs through Jan. 17. Also diverse was the work of American painter Alfred Maurer, considered to be the first this side of the Atlantic to work in the French

FALL ARTS 2015

COMING SOON AT 9/24 : House Concert: Runaway Planet

W I LD W O O D

ART in the PARK • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • •

10/8 : House Concert: Dreaming Sophia

Thru 9/20 L.K. Sukany 10/10 -11/22 Park’s Pants

10/22 : Tales from the South Tin Roof Project with Nancy Nolan

10/15: Artists’ Reception and Documentary Screening with Nancy Nolan & Dave Anderson

10/25 : In Concert: VIENNA BOYS CHOIR 10/29- 31 : Dracula Unearthed

with Praeclara & Arkansas Festival Ballet

11/6 : Vine & Dine Wine Reserve Dinner, Chenal Country Club

11/19 : In Concert: Brooklyn Rider with The Chamber Music Society of Little Rock

11/22 : Kristin Lewis Opera Gala with Praeclara 12/5 : Holiday Tour of Homes

20919 Denny Road Little Rock TICKETS ONLINE AT WILDWOODPARK.ORG OR CALL 501- 821-7275

September Free Family-Friendly, Children’s Public Art Project Saturday 9/19

'PARIAH': Painting by Marcos Dimas in the "Our America" exhibition at the Arts Center.

16-20

The ACANSA Arts Festival is excited to welcome a wide variety of visual and performing artists, art organizations and the public to central Arkansas. The festival will feature works by established and emerging artists showcased in a variety of venues throughout Little Rock and North Little Rock. ACANSA is committed to collaborating with local organizations and to educating and enlightening the public about the arts.

Come to be

Amused

style of Fauvism. If you’ve been to Crystal Bridges Museum of American Art, you’ve seen his 1904 oil “Jeanne,” a tall painting of a woman decked out in a white satin gown, a hat topped with birds and a boa, holding a cigarette to her somewhat snarling mouth. Now, thanks to an exhibition from the Addison Gallery of American Art at Phillips Academy in Andover, Mass., you’ll be able to see Maurer’s venture into Fauvism, Cubism and American Modernism. “Alfred Maurer: Art on the Edge,” which features more than 70 works, opens Oct. 10 and runs through Jan. 4. On Nov. 11 (the fourth anniversary of the museum), Frank Lloyd Wright lovers will finally get a peek at the Usonian home that Crystal Bridges moved from New Jersey to Benton-

ville and has been working on for months to reassemble and renovate. America’s most famous architect developed the simple, lower-cost house design during the Depression and came up with the name Usonian by abbreviating “United States of North America.” He designed them to be affordable and distinctly American; about 120 were built. Members will get to preview the house Oct. 10. The house will be open 11 a.m. to 6 p.m. Monday, Thursday, Saturday and Sunday and 11 a.m. to 9 p.m. Wednesday and Friday. Guided tours will be available except on Tuesdays, when the museum is closed, and Friday. The museum has also created a digital exhibition, “Fay Jones and Frank Lloyd Wright: Organic Architecture comes to Arkansas.”

Family-Friendly, Free Festival Opening Event Entertained Wednesday 9/16

Inspired

Tickets On Sale Now! Visit

September 16-20

ACANSAartsFestival.org

Presenting Media Sponsor

to purchase tickets and learn how you can get involved.

Design Sponsor

Family-Friendly, Free 501-663-2287 Puppets Music and Dance Saturday 9/19

See a full listing of all Festival events at

www.ACANSAartsFestival.org or call 501.663.2287

Scheduled Performances and Activities Include: Alonzo Ford

•

Gospel Brunch

ACANSA Late Night

•

Children’s Puppet Show

Urban Bush Woman

The Hot Sardines

•

The Exchange

PUSH

•

Public Art Project

Blood at the Root

Dork Knight

www.arktimes.com

SEPTEMBER 17, 2015

FALL ARTS 2015

GREATER LITTLE ROCK MUSIC

FALL ARTS CALENDAR SEPT. 24-DEC. 25 NOT RUNNING ON EMPTY: Jackson Browne is coming to the Walmart Amp.

SEPTEMBER 17, 2015

ARKANSAS TIMES

SEPT. 24: Lil Durk, GUNPLAY, Hypno Carlito. Juanita’s, 9 p.m. $20. SEPT. 24: Dirty Fences, Bombay Harambee, Faux Ferocious. White Water Tavern, 9:30 p.m. $7. SEPT 24: Lera Lynn. South on Main, 8 p.m. $13$22. SEPT. 25: Bonerama. Stickyz, 9 p.m. $10. SEPT. 25: Aaron Watson. Revolution, 9 p.m. $10 adv $15 day of. SEPT. 26: Andy Frasco & The U.N. Stickyz, 8:30 p.m. $10. SEPT. 26: Tab Benoit. Revolution, 9 p.m. $20. SEPT. 26: The Salty Dogs. White Water Tavern, 9:30 p.m. SEPT. 26: Dirt Nasty, Flameing Daeth Fearies, DJ Poebot. Discovery, 9 p.m. $10-$15. SEPT. 26-27: Arkansas Symphony Orchestra’s “Grieg’s Piano Concerto.” With pianist Jon Kimura Parker. Maumelle Performing Arts Center, 7:30 p.m. Sat., 3 p.m. Sun. $19-$58. SEPT. 27: My Life with The Thrill Kill Kult. Revolution, 8:30 p.m. $15. SEPT. 29: Arkansas Symphony Orchestra’s Artist of Distinction: Jon Kimura Parker. Clinton Presidential Center, 7 p.m. $23. SEPT. 30: Heartless Bastards, Alberta Cross. Revolution, 8:30 p.m. $12 adv. $15 day of. SEPT. 30: IAMDYNAMITE, Smashing Satellites. Juanita’s, 9 p.m. $10. SEPT. 30: Daniel Romano. White Water Tavern, 9 p.m. OCT. 1: Aaron Lewis, Jason Cassidy, Cody Cook. Juanita’s, 9 p.m. $40. OCT. 2: CeDell Davis. White Water Tavern, 9:30 p.m. $10. OCT. 4: Jose Gonzalez. Juanita’s, 8 p.m. $15. OCT. 4: Left and Right. White Water Tavern, 9 p.m. OCT. 5: Manchester Orchestra, Kevin Devine & The Goddamn Band, Big Jesus. Juanita’s, 7:30 p.m. $17.50. OCT. 6: Adia Victoria. White Water Tavern, 9 p.m. $7. OCT. 8: Motley Crue. Verizon Arena, 7 p.m. $38-$147.

STROKES GUITARIST SOLO: Albert Hammond Jr. plays Juanita’s Oct. 8. OCT. 8: Albert Hammond Jr. Juanita’s, 9 p.m. $10. OCT. 8: The Cedric Burnside Project. White Water Tavern, 9:30 p.m. $10. OCT. 14: Eleganza! White Water Tavern, 9:30 p.m. OCT. 9-18: Arkansas State Fair, featuring Naughty by Nature, Grand Funk Railroad, Styx, Eddie Money, Montgomery Gentry and more. Arkansas Fairgrounds, $15.

OCT. 11: Theory of a Deadman, Shaman’s Harvest, Aranda. Juanita’s, 8 p.m. $27. OCT. 14: Monster Energy Outbreak Tour Presents: Nothing More, Marmozets, Turbowolf, Separations. Juanita’s, 7:30 p.m. $13. OCT. 14: Israel Nash, The Pines. Stickyz, 8:30 p.m. $10 adv. $12 day of. OCT. 14: Twiztid, Blaze, Boondox, Prozak, Wolfpac. Revolution, 8:30 p.m. $22 adv. $25 day of. OCT. 15: Amy LaVere and Will Sexton. White Water Tavern, 9:30 p.m. $7. OCT. 15: “British Invasion.” Offenbach, Holst, Williams, Elgar, Arnold, Little Rock Wind Symphony, Second Presbyterian Church. 7:30 p.m. $8-$10. OCT. 15: Warren G. Juanita’s, 9 p.m. $25. OCT. 17: Birdcloud, Blaine Cartwright. Juanita’s, 10 p.m. $5. OCT. 17: Dirty Dozen Brass Band & Rusted Root. Revolution, 8 p.m. $20 adv $25 day of. OCT. 17-18: Arkansas Symphony Orchestra, “Dvorak’s Symphony No. 8.” With Imre Pallo, guest conductor, and Cicely Parnas on cello. Maumelle Performing Arts Center, 7:30 p.m. Sat., 3 p.m. Sun. $19-$58. OCT. 18: Girl On Fire. Juanita’s, 8 p.m. $8. OCT. 19: Tav Falco’s Panther Burns. Stickyz, 8 p.m. $15. OCT. 20: “The Trees Are Getting Harder To Climb: 15th Anniversary of The Polyphonic Spree.” Stickyz, 8:30 p.m. $20. OCT. 20: Drive-By Truckers. Revolution, 8:30 p.m. $25. OCT. 21: Lee Baines III and The Glory Fires. White Water Tavern, 9 p.m. OCT. 22: Leo Bud Welch with guest Jimbo Mathus. South on Main, 7:30 p.m. $12-22. OCT. 22: Tremonti, Wilson. Juanita’s, 9 p.m. $20. OCT. 23: David Ryan Harris. Juanita’s, 7 p.m. $12. OCT. 24: Knox Hamilton, Canopy Climbers, Brothers & Company. Juanita’s, 9 p.m. $10. OCT. 24-25: Arkansas Symphony Orchestra, Cirque Musica: Crescendo. Connor Performing Arts Center, Pulaski Academy. 7:30 p.m. Sat., 3 p.m. Sun. $19-$58. OCT. 25: Big Smo. Juanita’s, 8 p.m. $15. OCT. 27: Arkansas Symphony Orchestra, “Anniversary of a Violin.” Clinton Presidential Center, 7 p.m. $23. OCT. 29: Mat Kearney, Parachute. Juanita’s, 9 p.m. $25. OCT. 29: Colony House, The Rocketboys. Stickyz, 9 p.m. $12 adv. $15 day of. OCT. 30: Old 97s, Banditos. Revolution, 9 p.m. $20. NOV. 3: Babes in Toyland. Juanita’s, 8:30 p.m. $22. NOV. 5: Aaron Diehl. South on Main, 8 p.m. $20-$32. NOV. 5: Stevie Wonder. Verizon Arena, 8 p.m. $39.50-$129.50. NOV. 7: “Jimmy Webb — the Glen Campbell Years.” Ron Robinson Theater, 7 p.m. $35. NOV. 7-8: Arkansas Symphony Orchestra, “Beethoven & Blue Jeans.” With Kelly Johnson on clarinet. Maumelle Performing Arts Center, 7:30 p.m. Sat., 3 p.m. Sun. $19-$58. NOV. 8: Windhand. White Water Tavern, 9:30 p.m. NOV. 14: Peter Case. White Water Tavern, 9 p.m. $15. NOV. 14: That 1 Guy. Stickyz, 9:30 p.m. $15. NOV. 14: Skizzy Mars. Juanita’s, 9:30 p.m. $15. NOV. 14: Shinedown, Breaking Benjamin. Verizon Arena, 7 p.m. $51.50-$57. NOV. 16: Plain White T’s. Juanita’s, 8 p.m. $17-

FALL ARTS 2015

FILM

COMEDY

NOV. 1: Tom Segura. Juanitaâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s, 7 p.m. $20. NOV. 14: Brooks Whelan. Juanitaâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s, 7 p.m. $15.

Adults $30 KIDS Free

DANCE

DEC. 11-13: Ballet Arkansasâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s â&#x20AC;&#x153;The Nutcracker.â&#x20AC;? Maumelle Performing Arts Center, 7:30 p.m. Fri.-Sat., 2 p.m. Sat.-Sun. $20-$52.

Plus LIVE MUSIC By the b flats!

THEATER

THROUGH OCT. 3: â&#x20AC;&#x153;A Bench in the Sun.â&#x20AC;? Murryâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s Dinner Playhouse, 6 p.m. Tue.-Sat., 11 a.m. Wed. and Sun., 5:30 p.m. Sun. $25-$35. THROUGH SEPT. 27: â&#x20AC;&#x153;Macbeth.â&#x20AC;? Arkansas Repertory Theatre, 7 p.m. Wed.-Thu., Sun., 8 p.m. Fri.-Sat., 2 p.m. Sun. $30-$65. SEPT. 18-OCT. 4: â&#x20AC;&#x153;Puss in Boots.â&#x20AC;? Arkansas Arts Centerâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s Childrenâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s Theatre, 7 p.m. Fri., 2 p.m. Sat.-Sun. $12.50. SEPT. 25-26, OCT. 2-3 and 9-10: â&#x20AC;&#x153;The Shape of Things.â&#x20AC;? The Weekend Theater, 7:30 p.m. $12-$16. OCT. 6-NOV. 7: â&#x20AC;&#x153;Arsenic & Old Lace.â&#x20AC;? Murryâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s Dinner Playhouse, 6 p.m. Tue.-Sat., 11 a.m. Wed. and Sun., 5:30 p.m. Sun. $25-$35. OCT. 9-10: â&#x20AC;&#x153;Apollo: To the Moon.â&#x20AC;? Arkansas

Debra Wood

Dow & Amy Brantley

DO Â´7KH RULJLQ RI &DUGV Âľ H V RX + Â˛ %RE +XSS 'LUHFWRU DWOOD@ARKANSASFOODBANK.ORg

BEER NIGHT

O Â´7KH RULJLQD VH RI &DUGV Âľ 'LUHFWRU RX + Â˛ %RE +XSS

Michael Stewart Allen (Macbeth) in Macbeth. Photo by John David Pittman.

SEPT. 26: â&#x20AC;&#x153;Rocky Horror Picture Show.â&#x20AC;? Ron Robinson Theater, 7 p.m. $5. SEPT. 30: Banned Books Week: â&#x20AC;&#x153;The Color Purple.â&#x20AC;? Ron Robinson Theater, 6:30 p.m., free. OCT. 13: â&#x20AC;&#x153;SlingShot.â&#x20AC;? Ron Robinson Theater, 7 p.m. $5.

OCT. 16: Sister Rosetta Tharpe Tribute and screening of â&#x20AC;&#x153;The Godmother of Rock and Roll.â&#x20AC;? Ron Robinson Theater, 7 p.m. Free. OCT. 17: â&#x20AC;&#x153;Tale of Princess Kaguya.â&#x20AC;? Ron Robinson Theater, 2 p.m. $5. OCT. 17: â&#x20AC;&#x153;The Look of Silence.â&#x20AC;? Ron Robinson Theater, 7 p.m. $5. OCT. 21: â&#x20AC;&#x153;Back to the Future.â&#x20AC;? Ron Robinson Theater, 7 p.m. $5. OCT. 30: â&#x20AC;&#x153;Gone With the Wind.â&#x20AC;? Ron Robinson Theater, 7 p.m. $5. OCT. 31: Local horror/sci-fi shorts. Ron Robinson Theater, 7 p.m. $5. NOV. 12: â&#x20AC;&#x153;Miami Connection.â&#x20AC;? Ron Robinson Theater, 8 p.m. $5. NOV. 13: â&#x20AC;&#x153;King Kong.â&#x20AC;? Ron Robinson Theater, 7 p.m. $5. DEC. 4: â&#x20AC;&#x153;A Christmas Story.â&#x20AC;? Ron Robinson Theater, 7 p.m. $5. DEC. 10: â&#x20AC;&#x153;Itâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s A Wonderful Life.â&#x20AC;? Ron Robinson Theater, 7 p.m. $5.

Etta May

OCT 6 - NOV 7

Stand-Up Comic of the Year

NOV 10 - NOV 11

Sweet Dreams

Mandy Barnett Sings Patsy Cline

NOV 12 - NOV 14

murrysdp.com

562-3131

Michael Stewart Allen (Macbeth) in Macbeth. Photo by John David Pittman.

$20. NOV. 17: Arkansas Symphony Orchestra, â&#x20AC;&#x153;Merry Pranks.â&#x20AC;? Clinton Presidential Center, 7 p.m. $23. NOV. 18: Amaranthe, Butcher Babies, Lullwater. Juanitaâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s, 8 p.m. $18. NOV. 19: Autograph. Juanitaâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s, 8 p.m. $12. NOV. 20: The Cate Brothers Band. Ron Robinson Theater, 7 p.m. $20. NOV. 21: Andrew Jackson Jihad, Jeffrey Lewis & Los Bolts, Rozwell Kid. Juanitaâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s, 8 p.m. $10-$12. DEC. 1: Ryan Bingham, Jamestown Revival. Revolution, 8 p.m. $20 adv. $25 day of. DEC. 3: Indigo Girls and Patterson Hood. South on Main, 8 p.m. $45-$75. DEC. 3: Cas Haley, Collin Hauser. Stickyz, 8:30 p.m. $10 adv. $12 day of. DEC. 3: Exodus, Vore, Madman Morgan. Revolution, 9 p.m. $20 adv. $22 day of. DEC. 4: TobyMac. Verizon Arena, 7 p.m. $19.75$69.75. DEC. 10: â&#x20AC;&#x153;Christmas Festival.â&#x20AC;? Little Rock Wind Symphony, Second Presbyterian Church, 7:30 p.m. $8-$10. DEC. 11: Arkansas Sounds Holiday Concert. Featuring the Dave Rosen Big Band and the Maumelle High School Jazz Band. Ron Robinson Theater, 7 p.m. Free. DEC. 12: Gaither Christmas Homecoming. Verizon Arena, 6 p.m. $29-$74. DEC. 13: Keith Harkin. Juanitaâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s, 8 p.m. $35. DEC. 16: The Sword, Royal Thunder. Juanitaâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s, 9 p.m. $17. DEC. 17: Trans-Siberian Orchestra. Verizon Arena, 8 p.m. $52.50-$92. DEC. 19-20: Arkansas Symphony Orchestra, â&#x20AC;&#x153;Holiday Pops with the ASO.â&#x20AC;? Connor Performing Arts Center, Pulaski Academy. 7:30 p.m. Sat., 3 p.m. Sun. $19-$58.

Directed by Bob Hupp | Produced by W.W. and Anne Jones Charitable Trust

DirectedThursday, by Bob Hupp | Produced by W.W. and Anne Jones- Charitable September 24 6pm Trust

The lobby SEPTEMBER 11-27, 2015 at The Rep For tickets, call the Box Office at (501) 378-0405 or visit therep.org (501) 378-0405 | TheRep.org

SEPTEMBER 11-27, 2015 ARKANSAS

REPERTORY THEATER T H378-0405 E AT R E (501)ARKANSAS | TheRep.org REPERTORY Sponsored By

sponsored by

ARKANSAS A R KTIMES ANSAS

REPERTORY T H E AT RE www.arktimes.com Sponsored By

SEPTEMBER 17, 2015

REWARD! NO QUESTIONS ASKED.

These items were stolen from our house near the Stifft Station neighborhood of Little Rock. Please help us get them back. They are very important to us! Not actual picture of the Epiphone, but correct model, anyway. Some of the best songs Arkansas has ever heard were written on this guitar. No joke.

Both guitars and mandolin were in hard shell cases with stickers and the band name “Pity Sing” stenciled on the side.

It was my father’s and is one of the few things I have of his.

An Epiphone acoustic guitar with “sunburst” and light green tuning keys.

A Larrivee acoustic guitar with clear pick guard.

Not actual picture of our mandolin but very similiar.

An Oscar Schmidt Autoharp in a gray zip-up case.

A mandolin inside a black case, which also had “Pity Sing” stenciled on the case.

Samson C03U microphone

CALL BRYAN AT 479-841-2629 WITH ANY INFORMATION! ALSO

A Wacom Intuos 4 medium size tablet in the box.

VOX acoustic amplifier Ampeg Portaflex bass amp.

THANK YOU! Please call 479-841-2629 if you have any information!

SEPTEMBER 17, 2015

ARKANSAS TIMES

FALL ARTS 2015 Arts Center’s Children’s Theater, 7 p.m. $10. OCT. 16-NOV. 8: “The 25th Annual Putnam County Spelling Bee.” Arkansas Repertory Theatre, 7 p.m. Wed.-Thu., Sun., 8 p.m. Fri.Sat., 2 p.m. Sun $30-$65. OCT. 23-NOV. 8: “The Legend of Sleepy Hollow.” Arkansas Arts Center’s Children’s Theatre, 7 p.m. Fri., 2 p.m. Sat.-Sun. $12.50. NOV. 6-8, 13-15, 20-22: “God’s Man in Texas.” The Weekend Theater, 7:30 p.m. Fri.-Sat., 2:30 p.m. Sun. $12-$16. NOV. 10-11: “Etta May.” Murry’s Dinner Playhouse, 6 p.m. Tue.-Sat., 11 a.m. Wed. and Sun., 5:30 p.m. Sun. $25-$35. NOV. 12-14: “Sweet Dreams.” Murry’s Dinner Playhouse, 6 p.m. Tue.-Sat., 11 a.m. Wed. and Sun., 5:30 p.m. Sun. $25-$35. NOV. 17-DEC. 31: “Out of Order.” Murry’s Dinner Playhouse, 6 p.m. Tue.-Sat., 11 a.m. Wed. and Sun., 5:30 p.m. Sun. $25-$35. NOV. 26-29, DEC. 4-6 AND 11-13: “The Great American Trailer Park Christmas Musical.” Community Theatre of Little Rock, The Studio Theatre. $8-$18. DEC. 4-6, 11-13, 18-20: “The Foreigner.” The Weekend Theater, 7:30 p.m. Fri.-Sat., 2:30 p.m. Sun. $12-$16. DEC. 4-20: “The Gingerbread Man.” Arkansas Arts Center’s Children’s Theatre, 7 p.m. Fri., 2 p.m. Sat.-Sun. $12.50. DEC. 4-JAN. 3: “The Little Mermaid.” Arkansas Repertory Theater, 7 p.m. Wed.-Sun., 2 p.m. Sun. $30-$65.

VISUAL ARTS

GALLERIES AND MUSEUMS THROUGH SEPT. 27: “Fieldwork — Alternative Process Photography.” University of Arkansas at Little Rock. THROUGH SEPT. 27: Heidi Hogden: “Recollections.” University of Arkansas at Little Rock. THROUGH OCT. 2: Rusty Scruby: “Learning to Fish.” University of Arkansas at Little Rock. THROUGH OCT. 4: “Art. Function. Craft: The Life and Work of Arkansas Living Treasures.” Historic Arkansas Museum. THROUGH OCT. 25: “A Little Poetry: The Art of Alonzo Ford.” Arkansas Arts Center. THROUGH OCTOBER: David Bailin, Warren Criswell, Sammy Peters: “Disparate Artists Redux.” Butler Center Galleries, Arkansas Studies Institute. THROUGH OCTOBER: “Weaving Stories and Hope: Textile Arts from the Japanese Internment Camp at Rowher, Arkansas.” Butler Center Galleries, Arkansas Studies Institute. THROUGH NOV. 8: “Katherine Rutter and Ginny Sims.” Historic Arkansas Museum. THROUGH DEC. 26: “Gene Hatfield: Outside the Lines.” Butler Center Galleries, Arkansas Studies Institute. OCT. 10-DEC. 8: Marianela De La Hoz: “Speculum-Speculari.” University of Arkansas at Little Rock. Reception. 4-6 p.m. Oct. 14. OCT. 25-JAN. 17: “Our America: The Latino Presence in American Art.” Arkansas Arts Center. NOV. 13-JAN. 3: “The Collectors Show and Sale.” Arkansas Arts Center.

SPECIAL EVENTS

OCT. 9-18: Arkansas State Fair. Arkansas State Fairgrounds. OCT. 23: “Cupidon’s Halloween Fashion Show, You vs. Designers!” Statehouse Convention Center, 6:20 p.m. $49.99.

NOV. 5-7: Antiques in the Quarter. Quapaw Quarter United Methodist Church. NOV. 6: Dancing into Dreamland. Dreamland Ballroom (3rd floor of the Arkansas FlagandBanner.com Building), 7 p.m. $69.

BENTONVILLE/ROGERS/ SPRINGDALE MUSIC

SEPT. 25: Kid Rock First Kiss: Cheap Date Tour. With Tim Montana and the Shrednecks. Walmart AMP, Rogers, 6 p.m. $47.50-$82.50. OCT. 4: TobyMac. Featuring Britt Nicole, Colton Dixon and Hollyn. Walmart AMP, Rogers, 6 p.m. $26-$65. OCT. 17: Jackson Browne. Walmart AMP, Rogers, 6 p.m. $32-$72. NOV. 14: Voxana. Art Center of the Ozarks, Springdale, 7:30 p.m. NOV. 21: Play It Forward Concert, Folk and Bluegrass with Smokey and The Mirror. The Walmart Museum, Bentonville, 6:30 p.m. $5.

VISUAL ARTS

GALLERIES AND MUSEUMS THROUGH OCT. 5: “Warhol’s Nature.” Crystal Bridges Museum of American Art, Bentonville. $8. THROUGH OCT. 5: “Jamie Wyeth.” Crystal Bridges Museum of American Art, Bentonville. $8. OCT. 10-JAN. 4: “Alfred Maurer: Art on the Edge.” Crystal Bridges Museum of American Art, Bentonville. NOV. 7-EARLY 2016: “Picturing the Americas: Landscape Painting from Tierra del Fuego to the Arctic.” Crystal Bridges Museum of American Art, Bentonville.

SPECIAL EVENTS

NOV. 5: 13th Annual 5×5 Jazz Soiree and Auction. Arts Center of the Ozarks, Springdale, 5:55 p.m.-7:55 p.m.

CONWAY MUSIC

OCT. 13: “The Midtown Men.” Reynolds Performance Hall. 7:30 p.m. $27-$35. OCT. 29: Rick Springfield. Reynolds Performance Hall. 7:30 p.m. $27-$35. DEC. 6: The Blind Boys of Alabama. Reynolds Performance Hall. 3 p.m. $27-$40.

THEATER

SEPT. 28: “Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat.” Reynolds Performance Hall. 7:30 p.m. $27-$35.

VISUAL ARTS

THROUGH OCT. 23: Dan Steinhilber, sculpture. University of Central Arkansas’s Baum Gallery.

SPECIAL EVENTS

SEPT. 26-OCT. 3: Conway ArtsFest. Various venues. OCT. 8: The National Circus and Acrobats of the People’s Republic of China. Reynolds Performance Hall. 7:30 p.m. $27-$35. OCT. 6: Bill Nye. UCA Farris Center. 7:30

FALL ARTS 2015

FORT SMITH PERFORMING ARTS

DEC. 12-13: 30th annual Nutcracker Ballet. Western Arkansas Ballet, 2:30 p.m. $15-$25.

VISUAL ARTS

THROUGH DEC. 6: Patrick Angus, paintings. Fort Smith Regional Art Museum.

HELENA

Theater. $8-$17. NOV. 20-24: “The Nutcracker Ballet.” The Forum Theater. 7 p.m. $8-$17. DEC. 18-21: “White Christmas.” The Forum Theater. 7:30 p.m. $8-$15.

PINE BLUFF VISUAL ARTS

THROUGH NOV. 21: “2015 Irene Rosenzweig Biennial Juried Exhibition.” The Arts and Science Center for Southeast Arkansas, reception 5-7 p.m. Sept. 17.

SPECIAL EVENT

OCT. 7-10: King Biscuit Blues Festival. With Taj Mahal, Bobby Rush, Jimmie Vaughan, Leo “Bud” Welch and more. Various venues downtown. $50.

THE SCIENCE GUY: Bill Nye, scientist and entertainer, will be at the Farris Center at UCA. p.m. $15.

EL DORADO MUSIC

OCT. 2-3: MusicFest El Dorado. Union Square. $25 per day $40 weekend pass, ages 12 and under free.

FILM

SEPT. 17-19: 2nd annual El Dorado Film Festival. Various venues.

VISUAL ARTS

THROUGH SEPTEMBER: “Contemporary Folk Art: Four Decades of Creativity: My Way.” South Arkansas Arts Center.

EUREKA SPRINGS PERFORMING ARTS

DEC. 12: John Two Hawks Concert. The Auditorium, 7 p.m. DEC. 12: Ozarks Chorale Concert. The Auditorium, 7:30 p.m. $10 (students free).

SPECIAL EVENTS

OCT. 7-10: 68th Original Ozark Folk Festival. Various events and venues, Ozarkfolkfestival. com for more information. Downtown Eureka Springs $12-$32.

FAYETTEVILLE MUSIC

NOV. 17: Paragon Ragtime Orchestra Presents “The Clown Princes of Silent Comedy.” Walton Arts Center, 7 p.m. $10. NOV. 19: Diana Krall. Walton Arts Center, 8 p.m. $67-$97. NOV. 21: Anat Cohen Quartet. Walton Arts Center, Starr Theater, 7 and 9 p.m. DEC. 1: Michael McDonald, “This Christmas: An Evening of Holiday and Hits.” Walton Arts Center, 7 p.m. $42-$72.

DEC. 4: Pat Martino Trio. Walton Arts Center, Starr Theater, 7 and 9 p.m. DEC. 6: “The Snowman: A Family Concert.” Walton Arts Center, 2 p.m. $8. DEC. 13: Jim Brickman’s “Comfort & Joy.” Walton Arts Center, 4 p.m. $20-$50. DEC. 14: Christmas with SONOS Handbell Ensemble. Walton Arts Center, 7 p.m. $10-$25. DEC. 15: Home Free: “Full of Cheer.” Walton Arts Center, 7 p.m. $20-$40.

THEATER

OCT. 15-NOV. 8: “Water by the Spoonful.” Studio Theater, Walton Arts Center, 7:30 p.m. Wed.-Sat., 2 p.m. Sat.-Sun. $15-$39.50. NOV. 10-15: “Pippin.” Walton Arts Center, 7 p.m. Tue.-Thu., 8 p.m. Fri.-Sat., 2 p.m. Sat.Sun., 7:30 p.m. Sun. $40-$78. NOV. 24-29: “Annie.” Walton Arts Center, 7:30 p.m. Tue.-Wed., Fri.-Sat., 2 p.m. Wed., Fri.-Sun. $30-$70. DEC. 3-JAN. 3: “Peter and the Starcatcher.” Walton Arts Center, Studio Theater, 7:30 p.m. Wed.-Sat., 2 p.m. Sat.-Sun. $10-$25.

FILM

DEC. 18: “Home Alone.” Walton Arts Center, 7 p.m. $5. DEC. 19: “It’s a Wonderful Life.” Walton Arts Center, 2 p.m. $5. DEC. 19: “The Polar Express.” Walton Arts Center, 6 p.m. $5. DEC. 21-23: “Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer: The Musical.” 7 p.m. Mon.-Tue., 1 p.m. Tue.-Wed., 10 a.m. Wed., 6 p.m. Wed.

VISUAL ARTS

THROUGH SEPT. 27: “2015 New Faculty Exhibition.” University of Arkansas Fine Arts Gallery.

SPECIAL EVENTS

SEPT. 29: Smokey & The Mirror. Botanical Garden of the Ozarks, all day, free. OCT. 16-OCT. 18: Phases of the Moon Music and Arts Festival. Mulberry Mountain, Ozark, 4-11 p.m. DEC. 11-12: The National Circus and Acrobats of the People’s Republic of China. Baum Walker Hall, 7:30 p.m. $15-$35.

HOT SPRINGS MUSIC

OCT. 2-3: Hot Water Hills Music & Arts Festival. Hill Wheatley Plaza, $5. OCT. 3: Rock Porch Featuring Markus Pearson. Grove Park, 6 p.m.-8 p.m. Free. DEC. 9: “5th annual Christmas Musical Extravaganza.” Garvan Woodland Gardens. 6:30 p.m.

THEATER

OCT. 2-11: “Bingo! The Winning Musical.” The Pocket Theatre, 7:30 p.m. Fri.-Sat., 2:30 p.m. Sun. $5-$15. DEC. 4-13: “Greetings!” The Pocket Theatre. 7:30 p.m. Fri.-Sat., 2:30 p.m. Sun. $5-$10.

FILM

OCT. 9-18: 24th annual Hot Springs Documentary Film Festival. Arlington Resort Hotel and Spa, 6 p.m. $7.50-$250.

VISUAL ARTS

OCT. 1-31: Arkansas Pastel Society exhibit. Work by Marlene Gremillion, Sheliah Halderman and Linda Shearer. Garvan Woodland Gardens, 9 a.m.-6 p.m., free. OCT. 24-26: “Pysanky at the Gardens Exhibit and Workshop.” Garvan Woodland Gardens. 9 a.m.-5 p.m. Exhibit free, workshop $155.

JONESBORO

MUSIC

NOV. 6: The Arkansas Symphony’s “Beethoven and Blue Jeans.” Fowler Center, Arkansas State University, 7:30 p.m. $6-$30. DEC. 6: Boston Brass “Christmas Bells Are Swinging’.” Fowler Center, Arkansas State University, 2 p.m. $6-$30.

THEATER

SEPT. 25: “Dr. Keeling’s Curve.” Riceland Distinguished Performance Series, with actor Mike Farrell. Fowler Center, Arkansas State University, 8 p.m. $6-$30. OCT. 16: “The Magic of David Garrand.” Fowler Center, Arkansas State University, 7:30 p.m. $6-$30. OCT. 23-26: “A Little Princess.” The Forum

{

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SEPTEMBER 17, 2015

FALL ARTS 2015

‘ELVIS LIVES!’ HERE; ‘GOD’S MAN IN TEXAS,’ TOO Variety for the fall stage from The Rep, Celebrity Attractions and Weekend Theater. BY KAYA HERRON THE KING: He lives at Maumelle Performing Arts Center Oct. 23-25.

bloody tragedy. A spelling bee for adults. And, finally, a mermaid’s tale. That’s what the Arkansas Repertory Theatre has lined up for its 40th anniversary season that begins this fall. The milestone season began with William Shakespeare’s “Macbeth,” which opened Sept. 11. The tragedy of ambition, madness and corruption runs through Sept. 27. Several special events have been scheduled around it, including a preshow tasting of Goose Island beer at 6 p.m. Sept. 24, sponsored by the Arkansas Times and Golden Eagle, and an after-party with the Smittle Band on Sept. 26. Both events are at Foster’s, The Rep’s bar.

SEPTEMBER 17, 2015

ARKANSAS TIMES

Next up is “The 25th Annual Putnam County Spelling Bee,” the Tony Award-winning interactive musical comedy from William Finn, the composer of “Falsettos,” “A New Brain” and “Little Miss Sunshine,” running Oct. 16 through Nov. 8. A story for adults about the pain of adolescence, the show will allow audience members to compete with the actors portraying a menagerie of prepubescent misfits vying for a spot in the National Spelling Bee Championship. Disney’s “Little Mermaid,” the musical adapted from Hans Christian Andersen’s story about the mermaid princess who longs to live on land, brings the fall season to a close with performances Dec. 4 through Jan. 3.

With the Robinson Auditorium still under construction, Celebrity Attractions brings its fall Broadway show — “Elvis Lives!” — to the Maumelle Performing Arts Center on Oct. 23-25. The multimedia and live music concert, billed as the Ultimate Elvis Tribute Artist Event, features three champions and finalists from Elvis Presley Enterprises’ worldwide Ultimate Elvis Tribute Artist Contest, each representing different stages of his career, accompanied by a live band, backup singers, dancers and an Ann-Margret tribute artist. Celebrity’s Christmas offering is “Broadway Holiday,” Neil Berg’s critically acclaimed music revue, set for Dec. 18-20. The show fea-

tures traditional and contemporary Christmas songs alongside classic Broadway showstoppers “My Fair Lady,” “South Pacific,” “West Side Story,” “Chicago,” “Jersey Boys” and “Wicked.” The Weekend Theater opens its 23rd season Sept. 25 with Neil LaBute’s, “The Shape of Things,” in which four college students in a small Midwest college town push the boundaries of love and friendship. The show runs through Oct. 10. “God’s Man in Texas,” David Rambo’s comedy about an aging pastor of a Baptist megachurch, comes to the Weekend stage Nov. 6-22. Comedy favorite “The Foreigner,” by Larry Shue, the winner of two Obie Awards, runs Dec. 4-20.

DUMAS, CONT. churches that helped not only ignore the problems of racism, but in many cases actually fostered those feelings and sentiments.” He called on Southern churches to join Christians, Jews and Muslims around the world in saying “never, never, never, never again will we be silent when people’s rights are at stake.” He called on people in Arkansas to abandon their old racial animosities even if they were based on religion. But “until justice is the same for every human being whether he or she is black or white,” he promised, “we will deal with it.” Government could force the doors of the schools open to all kids, the governor said, “but only God can give us the power to love each other and respect each other and share life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness with every American,

regardless of who he or she is.” “… unless they are gay,” the 2015 model Huckabee would add. Even Faubus, it needs to be said, did not believe he or anyone should be able to defy court orders. He publicly claimed that he was trying to prevent disorder, though he would confide to me and to others years later that his brief defiance was necessary to mollify the great majority of voters who hated the decision. Much later he tendered the fatuous theory that he was the true hero because he forced the president of the United States to set an example for the entire South by enforcing the orders of the court at Little Rock. Mike Huckabee will have a chance one day to reposition himself on the right side of history on gay rights, too. Unlike Faubus, he won’t be meek about it.

PEARLS ABOUT SWINE, CONT. deep threat. But for this season to shift direction again, it falls largely on that ballyhooed offensive line to demonstrate ownership of the trenches. To be rather outclassed by a MAC team, even a very good one, is beyond the realm of being tolerable. Bielema’s goodwill is spent, and

urgency now reigns. There is precedent for an SEC team to bounce back from a loss of this sort, namely Missouri overcoming an early defeat to Indiana last year to again lay claim to a divisional crown; but make no mistake, those fellas in “Bad Boys” were on point when they observed, “This shit just got real.”

THE RAPERT FILE, CONT. that in a follow-up email. Rapert went on to say that the reporter’s questions “are so off-base they do not warrant any comment from me. I have followed the direct instructions of law enforcement in reporting and handling any and all e-mails, written comments and phone calls that we have received that reach the level of a threat. Communications that are merely hateful or negative do not get reported.” Rapert closed by saying Arkansas Times should be ashamed for the “appalling” attacks on him, adding: “If I were you, I would hold off on your article until you see another statement on this matter. It will save you further embarrassment.” Later Tuesday, ASP spokesperson Sadler passed along the following statement: “Upon receipt of the threat information in February 2013 from Senator Jason

Rapert, as in all threat investigations, the threats were treated as credible threats by all law enforcement agencies involved in the investigation. The law enforcement agencies discussed preventative security measures with Senator Rapert while these threats were being properly investigated.” The Times’ Max Brantley, who has been reporting on Rapert on the Arkansas Blog, asked Sadler, “The lack of pursuit of charges would indicate that no agency found a credible threat of imminent harm to Rapert in any of the threats?” He responded: “I believe you’ll find the answer to your question within the files provided to you last week.” For more detailed information on the alleged threats forwarded by Rapert and screenshots from the State Police file, find this story on our website: www.arktimes. com/rapertfile.

LYONS, CONT. Clinton’s email arrangements were legal, proper — and presumably known to everybody in the Obama administration who sent her a message. And, oh yeah, that business about how Hillary’s obsessive secrecy caused her computer’s server to be wiped of all data? Evidently false, as Bill Clinton evidently wanted the campaign to say all along.

So spooks in places like the National Geospatial Intelligence Agency (seriously) now say emails sent in 2010 should be made Top Secret in 2015? Isn’t that like getting a traffic ticket in the mail from a town you drove through last month because they dropped the speed limit last week? Then shouldn’t somebody say so?

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SEPTEMBER 17, 2015

Arts Entertainment AND

THE GOSPEL ACCORDING TO SLINK: (From left) Corey Holcomb, Gerald ‘Slink’ Johnson and Andrew Bachelor star in Adult Swim’s “Black Jesus.”

BLACK JESUS REMEMBERS DUMAS

A Q&A with Arkansas native and Adult Swim star Gerald “Slink” Johnson. BY WILL STEPHENSON

he Adult Swim series “Black Jesus” on Cartoon Network attracted a mix of high praise and virulent controversy when it premiered last August. This was fairly predictable, 26

SEPTEMBER 17, 2015

ARKANSAS TIMES

as the show depicts a present-day Jesus Christ who lives in Compton, smokes weed and turns water into Cognac. The Los Angeles Times called it “gentle and hopeful,” and Time magazine called it

a “stoner hangout comedy with a heart.” The more publicity prone fringes of the Christian right were not convinced. “We, the Christian Community, are vehemently opposed and violently offended,” one pastor, Chicago’s David Rodgers, wrote. “We are demanding an IMMEDIATE retraction of this show and a PUBLIC APOLOGY to the Christian Community at large.” Of course, no apology was forthcom-

ing, and the show’s second season is set to premiere at 10 p.m. Sept. 18. I spoke with the show’s star, Gerald “Slink” Johnson, about his career, his associations with rapper Too $hort and “Grand Theft Auto V” (in which he provided the voice of Lamar Davis) and his upbringing in Dumas: You’re originally from Arkansas. Yes sir, originally from Dumas. I come from humble beginnings, man. Dumas is a great town, a small closeknit community. My family’s been there for years, I got a lot of love for it. Lot of memories, too. Spending my summers outdoors — that’s what I loved about Arkansas, having the opportunity to really be a child. My father still lives there. I was just there in March. The town is really proud of me, everybody’s really supportive there. And I need that,

ROCK CANDY Check out the Times’ A&E blog arktimes.com

A&E NEWS I need that hometown support. I don’t want to be one of those artists who make their mark then fail to acknowledge their beginnings. I’ll always make Arkansas part of my journey. I love my little town. And I want to be the guy to figure out how to bring opportunity to Arkansas. Given the chance to go back and look at Dumas, it’s a beautiful place with beautiful scenery, but a very impoverished town. There’s a lot of poor people, education is poor. I love that place, and I don’t want it to die. I’ve seen it shrink exponentially since I was born and left. And I hate to see that. Though I guess nowhere stays the same. Anything you’d recommend people do in Dumas? When I go to Dumas it’s all about eating. So check this out: You got to go to the Pic-Nic-Ker, you got to go to Debbie Dean’s — a little hole-in-the-wall joint, great food — and you got to go to the Sonic right there on [U.S. Highway] 65. Those are the places I have to eat at when I get there. Also, when you go to Dumas you got to go to the west side and see the fly hot wheels. The economy might be pretty tough down there, but there’s always some nice whips. You were into music before acting? My first foray into entertainment was hip-hop. I was signed by Too $hort actually — one of my relatives in California was also a relative of his — and I rapped for a while. They called me Slink Capone. I did my thing with him, got the chance to tour and make a few records. I got a taste of the life. Me and $hort are still cool, that’s my guy. What made you want to act? Acting kinda came to me. I took no formal acting classes, never would have imagined I’d be on TV. But I’ve always been an outspoken, boisterous kind of dude. Always been a comedian. And I met a guy by the name of Jason Van Veen, and I was such a character, he wanted to film me. So I did one of his student films back in ’93, and the first time I saw myself on film I fell in love. Then through Jason and [“Boondocks” creator] Aaron McGruder, I met DJ Pooh, who took a liking to my style as well. When “Grand Theft Auto V” was happening and they were casting for it, Pooh said I’d be perfect and told me to go read the script. And the rest is history. “Grand Theft Auto” was amazing.

What can I even say? To see the whole wild process of making a video game. I knew “Grand Theft Auto” was a huge franchise, but I had no idea the project I was a part of would be as big as it is. It was an amazing opportunity. Everybody got that game. Not that I didn’t think they would, but it’s just overwhelming and humbling to be involved in something like that. I’m a guy from Dumas, Arkansas, you know? How did “Black Jesus” come together? I was approached about “Black Jesus” in late 2007. Aaron approached me with the idea. He said, “Hey, how would you like to play Jesus?” I was like, “OK, hell yeah.” That’s how he put it: “How would you like to play Jesus”? Something to that effect, yeah. He gave me the concept and I improvised the original sketches. There was no real script or direction, it was just, “You’re Jesus. Be Jesus, but as yourself. What would you do if you were Jesus?” A lot of the Jesus that you see on the show directly comes from me and my personality, and I thank Aaron for allowing me to convey it like that. It seems like there would be an enormous amount of pressure getting that role. You know what? I’m having fun. That’s how I operate. All the disdain some people have for the show, it came afterward. I was just having fun, it was a great thing. I look at it like, the same God that I portray is the one who gave me the job. God gave me the opportunity. I’m from the Bible Belt. I’m as spiritual as anybody else down in that region. So I honestly and truly feel that this is a gift from God. Did you expect the controversy? Yes I did. I wasn’t surprised by it at all. Because we’re dealing with a faith, and a central figure to that faith. A lot of people want to be up in arms, but I feel confident in the idea that, you know, I believe in God. I believe in Jesus. And I believe that Jesus had a sense of humor. I find it no different from mocking your parents. People just have to watch the show. What can we expect for season two? Hijinks. Revelation. Miracles, of course. There will be miracles.

THE FAYETTEVILLE LITERARY FESTIVAL is fast approaching, with events scheduled Oct. 1-7 at the Fayetteville Public Library. Novelist and essayist Zadie Smith will appear at 7 p.m. Monday, Oct. 5, the University of Arkansas Program in Creative Writing and Translation announced. Smith is the author of several acclaimed novels, including “White Teeth,” “On Beauty,” and “NW.” “Zadie Smith is one of the most accomplished and exciting writers working today,” program director Davis McCombs said. “Her novels bristle with fresh voices and ideas. Her fiction and essays tackle tough topics, both social and personal. We’re extremely pleased to bring her to Fayetteville for the True Lit festival. ”THE GIVER” AUTHOR LOIS LOWRY will speak at 7 p.m. Wednesday, Oct. 7. The festival also features workshops on creative writing, songwriting, graphic novels and magazine publishing. All events are free and open to the public. IN A MONDAY PRESS CONFERENCE on the front steps of the still-under-construction Robinson Auditorium, the CEOs of Celebrity Attractions and the Little Rock Convention and Visitors Bureau announced the 2017 Arkansas premiere of a new production of Andrew Lloyd Webber’s “The Phantom of the Opera” at the Robinson Center Music Hall. It will be presented by Broadway blockbuster producer Cameron Mackintosh. According to LRCVB CEO Gretchen Hall, “The $70 million renovation of Robinson Center will now provide the staging and stateof-the-art facility needed to host such a large production. The entire 2016-2017 Broadway season, reopening Robinson, is going to be incredible.” THIS MONTH’S ARKANSAS TIMES Film Series screening at the Ron Robinson Theater will be Terrence Malick’s “Days of Heaven” (see the To Do List for more). Next up, on Thursday, Oct. 15, we’ll screen Otto Preminger’s great and strange 1944 film noir “Laura,” which Roger Ebert wrote “achieved a kind of perfection in its balance between low motives and high style.” Nominated for five Academy Awards, it has been called a “stone cold classic” by Indiewire. “Less a crime film than a study in levels of obsession,” the Chicago Reader’s Dave Kehr wrote, “ ‘Laura’ is one of those classic works that leave their subject matter behind and live on the strength of their seductive style.”

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SEPTEMBER 17, 2015

THE TO-DO

LIST

THURSDAY 9/17

‘DAYS OF HEAVEN’

7 p.m. Ron Robinson Theater. $5.

This month in the Arkansas Times Film Series, we’re screening Terrence Malick’s 1978 masterpiece “Days of Heaven,” starring Richard Gere, Brooke Adams and Sam Shepard, the last film Malick directed before his legendary 20-year hiatus. The Village Voice has called it “almost incontestably the most

BY LESLIE NEWELL PEACOCK AND WILL STEPHENSON

THURSDAY 9/17 gorgeously photographed film ever made,” and Variety has called it “one of the great cinematic achievements of the 1970s.” The Guardian recently judged it one of the top 10 arthouse films of all time, calling it “one of the most mesmerisingly beautiful evocations of the past ever laid on celluloid.” The film will be introduced by Hendrix College film studies professor Dr. Kristi McKim. WS

BLACK TUSK 9 p.m. Vino’s.

Punk scene veterans reared in the heady marshlands of Savannah, Ga., Black Tusk prefer the term “swamp metal” for their music, which is otherwise often described as thrash or stoner or sludge. They are usually grouped with fellow Savannah bands Kylesa and Baroness, whose collective dedication to apocalyptic gloom reminds me that city’s most famous literary export, “Midnight in the Garden of Good and Evil,” would have made a fantastic title for a metal LP. Black Tusk’s album titles

are similarly evocative: “The Fallen Kingdom,” “Passage Through Purgatory,” “Taste the Sin.” Last November, the band’s founding bassist, Jonathan Athon, died after a motorcycle accident. He was 32. The whole metal community stepped up to pay tribute — local favorites Rwake dedicated a 2015 vinyl release to Athon’s memory. This fall, the band is touring the U.S. for the first time since the tragedy, and we’re extremely lucky it’s decided to stop in Little Rock. Black Tusk shares the bill with Athens, Ga., experimental metal trio Lazer/Wulf and Madrid-based black metal group Wrong. WS

SOUL MEN: The Bo-Keys play at South on Main 10 p.m. Friday as part of the ACANSA Arts Festival.

THURSDAY 9/17-SUNDAY 9/20

ACANSA ARTS FESTIVAL

Various venues, downtown Little Rock.

The 2nd annual ACANSA festival of the performing and visual arts, which began Tuesday, continues through Sunday. Thursday’s events include a reception for an exhibition of paintings by Angela Davis Johnson at Argenta Gallery in North Little Rock, 5 p.m. to 9 p.m., and performances by acrobatic dancers PUSH Physical Theatre, 7 p.m. at North Little Rock Middle School; The Hot Sar28

SEPTEMBER 17, 2015

ARKANSAS TIMES

dines jazz group, 8 p.m. to 9:30 p.m. on the lawn of the Clinton Presidential Center; “Blood at the Root,” a play about six black teens convicted of beating a white student in Louisiana, 8 p.m. to 10 p.m. at the Argenta Community Theater in North Little Rock (also Friday and Saturday, same time); and “The Dork Knight,” impersonations of Christian Bale and Jack Nicholson in “Batman” by Jason O’Connell, 9 p.m. at The Rep’s Black Box Theater (also Friday, same time). Friday’s events include a reception for the exhibition “The Art of Alonzo Ford,” 5:30 p.m.

to 7 p.m. at the Arkansas Arts Center, and performances by The Exchange a capella group, 7 p.m. to 8:30 p.m. at the Albert Pike Memorial Temple, and beloved Memphis soul band The Bo-Keys at 10 p.m. at South on Main. Saturday’s events include two for children: a puppet, music and dance show from 11 a.m. to 1 p.m. at the Hillary Rodham Clinton Children’s Library and the Children’s Public Art Project from 2 p.m. to 4 p.m. at the Argenta Plaza in North Little Rock. Evening events include the dance troupe Urban Bush Women, 7 p.m. to 9 p.m. at North Little Rock Middle

School, and ACANSA Avant-Garde Late Night with local band Amasa Hines, 9 p.m. at Rocktown Distillery. Sunday wraps things up with an 11 a.m. Gospel Brunch at Wildwood Park for the Arts, featuring the choir of St. Mark Baptist Church. There will be two “Lunch and Learn” events: a tour of the Albert Pike Memorial Temple from 11:30 a.m. to 1 p.m. Thursday and a talk by David E. Gifford about Arkansas art pottery from noon to 1 p.m. Friday at the Argenta Branch of the Laman Public Library in North Little Rock. Go to acansaartsfestival.org for tickets. LNP

IN BRIEF

THURSDAY 9/17

FRIDAY 9/18

CHELSEA CLINTON

6 p.m. Statehouse Convention Center. Free, but reservations required.

The Clinton School of Public Service’s public lecture series — the regular speaker series and the Kumpuris lectures — have brought to Little Rock men and women from the world over

to talk about economics, science, literature, climate, theater, sports, politics and other topics of import. Bob Dole, Clinton’s opponent in his run for his second term in office, inaugurated the series. Now, for the 1,000th talk, former first daughter Chelsea Clinton, the author of “It’s Your World: Get Informed, Get

Inspired and Get Going,” will talk about how people of any age can change the world for the better. As the vice chair of the Bill, Hillary and Chelsea Clinton Foundation, Clinton has focused on issues related to health, girls and women. She’ll sign her book after the talk. Call 683-5239 to reserve a seat. LNP

SATURDAY 9/19

SIX BRIDGES REGATTA

8 a.m. Arkansas Boathouse Club. Free.

The Six Bridges Regatta was launched last year as a kind of revival, 78 years after the fact, of the Arkansas Boathouse’s popular annual race, held from 1882 to 1936 (the original Boathouse burned down in 1938). The race’s return is the brainchild of oil executive Mike Coulson, who says, “It’s a pretty elegant way to have some good exercise.” The 5K will start near the Bill and Hillary Clinton National Airport and finish at the Junction Bridge. WS

SATURDAY 9/19

LEGENDS OF ARKANSAS FESTIVAL HAVE MERCY: Wynonna & The Big Noise play at UCA's Reynolds Performance Hall, $27-$40.

FRIDAY 9/18

WYNNONA & THE BIG NOISE

7:30 p.m. Reynolds Performance Hall, UCA. $27-$40.

Wynonna Judd was born in Ashland, Ky., a hometown she shares with Billy Ray Cyrus and Charles Manson. As with Cyrus (and Manson), the notion of family was always at the center of her career. Wynonna, whose half-sister is the actress Ashley Judd, began her professional life as one half of a duo with her mother, Naomi. They moved to Nashville together in the late ’70s and became famous there, earning five Grammys and 14 No. 1 singles on the country charts. They did commercials for Kmart and halftime at the Super Bowl. More recently they had a reality show, “The Judds,” on Oprah’s network. Naomi

retired due to illness — she contracted Hepatitis C — in 1991, and Wynonna went solo with an album called “Wynonna.” It was led by a single called “I Saw the Light,” a beautiful song that (you could be forgiven for not noticing) is about a cheating boyfriend. Many of her songs have this effect — their glossy likeability masking some deep inner scar. Judd, of course, has known great personal turmoil, having married men with names like Cactus Moser and D.R. Roach, the latter of whom was arrested for child molestation in 2007. Other traumas have been mined by tabloids and daytime talk shows. Asked by Rolling Stone about her dysfunctional family life, she said, “If you had to share a bus with your mother for 10 years, wouldn’t you be that way too?” Probably we would. WS

Noon. Riverfront Park. Free.

Legends of Arkansas is a crowdfunded, family-friendly music and arts festival that began two years ago with the noblest of intentions: to celebrate all things local. This year’s event will feature two stages. At the First Security Amphitheater, Adam Faucett & The Tall Grass will headline (8:30 p.m.) after the Whole Famn Damily (1:15 p.m.), Big Piph (2:35 p.m.), Stephan James (3 p.m.), Collin vs. Adam (4:10 p.m.) and Barrett Baber (7 p.m.). The lineup at the History Pavilion will range from Mothwind (5 p.m.) and Duckstronaut (6 p.m.) to Groovecluster (7:45 p.m.) and Sick Numbles (9:15 p.m.). ReCreation Studios will bring the pyrotechnic circus tricks, and there will be an array of food trucks and craft vendors. Stickyz will host an after-party at 9:30 p.m., featuring FreeVerse’s tribute to the Grateful Dead, and Midtown Billiards will host the after-party’s after-party at 1:30 a.m., with Black River Pearl. WS

The 2nd annual El Dorado Film Festival, which this year received submissions from 14 different countries, will be held at the South Arkansas Arts Center Sept. 17-19, $45. Comedian and hypnotist Doug T is at the Loony Bin at 7:30 p.m., $7 (and at 7:30 p.m. and 10 p.m. Friday and Saturday, $10). The United Way Campaign Kick-Off Concert at Dickey-Stephens Park will feature Barrett Baber and Backroad Anthem, 6 p.m., $15. Burn Halo plays at Juanita’s with Heartist and Courage My Love, 7 p.m., $10. Guitarist Stevie Coyle performs at The Joint as part of its Argenta Arts Acoustic Music Series, 7:30 p.m., $20. The Vondoliers play at White Water at 8:30 p.m., $5.

FRIDAY 9/18 Mark Christ, community outreach director for the Arkansas Historic Preservation Program, will give a lecture, “An eagle on his button and a musket on his shoulder: Black Regiments in Civil War Arkansas,” at the Mosaic Templars Cultural Center, 11:30 a.m. Amasa Hines, Mulehead, the Good Time Ramblers and Jeff Coleman will play a special show at the River Market pavilions in honor of Little Rock native and cancer survivor Jakob Mueller, 6 p.m. Tickets are $20; all proceeds go to the Ronald McDonald House of Arkansas. Arkansas Arts Center Children’s Theatre presents its production of “Puss in Boots” at 7 p.m. Friday and Saturday (through Oct. 4), $10-$12.50. Comedian Randy Liedtke performs at Juanita’s, 7 p.m., $12. Bonnie Montgomery plays with Doug Strahan at the White Water Tavern, 9:30 p.m., $7.

SATURDAY 9/19 Little Rock Baconfest comes to the Arkansas State Fairgrounds, with bacon-themed cooking contests, live music, a 5K and more, 11 a.m., $5 adv., $10 day of. The Hot Springs Blues and BBQ Festival is at Oaklawn, with headliners Los Lonely Boys and Keb’ Mo’, 11 a.m. Saturday and Sunday, $20 adv., $30 day of. Bryan Adams plays at the Walmart AMP in Rogers, 7:30 p.m., $30-$295.

SUNDAY 9/20 U.K. indie rock band The Dreaming Spires headlines an all-ages Last Chance Records showcase at White Water that also features Little Rock’s Adam Faucett and Winnipeg’s Scott Nolan, 7 p.m., free. Neo-soul singersongwriter Bilal, who has worked with Beyonce, Kendrick Lamar, Common and countless other rappers and R&B singers, performs at Juanita’s at 7 p.m., $20 adv., $30 day of. www.arktimes.com

SEPTEMBER 17, 2015

AFTER DARK All events are in the Greater Little Rock area unless otherwise noted. To place an event in the Arkansas Times calendar, please email the listing and all pertinent information, including date, time, location, price and contact information, to calendar@arktimes.com.

by The Main Thing. The Joint, 8 p.m., $22. 301 Main St. No. 102, NLR. 501-372-0205. thejointinlittlerock.com. Hypnotist Doug T. The Loony Bin, 7:30 p.m. and 10 p.m., $10. 10301 N. Rodney Parham Road. 501-228-5555. www.loonybincomedy.com. Randy Liedtke. Juanita’s, 7 p.m., $12. 614 President Clinton Ave. 501-372-1228. www. juanitas.com.

THURSDAY, SEPT. 17

MUSIC

2015 United Way Campaign Kick-Off Concert. Featuring Barrett Baber and Backroad Anthem. Dickey-Stephens Park, 6 p.m., $10 adv., $15 day of. 400 W. Broadway, NLR. 501-664-1555. www.travs.com. Black Tusk, Lazer/Wulf, WRONG. Vino’s, 9 p.m. 923 W. 7th St. 501-375-8466. www.vinosbrewpub.com. Burn Halo, Heartist, Courage My Love. Juanita’s, 7 p.m., $10. 614 President Clinton Ave. 501-3721228. www.juanitas.com. The Dead Flowers, Canaan. Maxine’s, 9 p.m. 700 Central Ave., Hot Springs. www.maxinespub.com. “Inferno.” DJs play pop, electro, house and more, plus drink specials and $1 cover before 11 p.m. Sway, 9 p.m. 412 Louisiana. 501-907-2582. Jim Dickerson. Sonny Williams’ Steak Room, 7 p.m. 500 President Clinton Ave. 501-324-2999. www.sonnywilliamssteakroom.com. Live music. No cover charge Sun.-Tue. and Thu. Ernie Biggs. 307 President Clinton Ave. 501-3724782. littlerock.erniebiggs.com. Open Jam. Thirst n’ Howl, 8 p.m. 14710 Cantrell Road. 501-379-8189. www.thirst-n-howl.com. Open jam with The Port Arthur Band. Parrot Beach Cafe, 9 p.m. 9611 MacArthur Drive, NLR. 771-2994. Pamela K. Ward (headliner), Brian Ramsey (happy hour). Cajun’s Wharf, 5:30 and 9 p.m. 2400 Cantrell Road. 501-375-5351. www.cajunswharf.com. RockUsaurus. Senor Tequila, 7-9 p.m. 10300 N. Rodney Parham Road. 501-224-5505. Stevie Coyle. Argenta Arts Acoustic Music Series. The Joint, 7:30 p.m., $20. 301 Main St. No. 102, NLR. 501-372-0205. thejointinlittlerock.com. Ted Ludwig Trio. Capital Bar and Grill, 8 p.m., free. 111 W. Markham St. 501-370-7013. www. capitalbarandgrill.com. The Vondoliers. White Water Tavern, 9:30 p.m., $5. 2500 W. 7th St. 501-375-8400. www.whitewatertavern.com. William Clark Green. Stickyz Rock ‘n’ Roll Chicken Shack, 8:30 p.m., $10. 107 River Market Ave. 501372-7707. www.stickyz.com.

COMEDY

Hypnotist Doug T. The Loony Bin, 7:30 p.m., 10 p.m., $7. 10301 N. Rodney Parham Road. 501228-5555. www.loonybincomedy.com.

EVENTS

ACANSA Arts Festival. Downtown Little Rock, through Sept. 20. www.acansaartsfestival.org. Antique/Boutique Walk. Shopping and live entertainment. Downtown Hot Springs, third Thursday of every month, 4 p.m., free.

FILM

El Dorado Film Festival. South Arkansas Arts Center, $45. 110 E. 5th St., El Dorado. 870-8625474.

SEPTEMBER 17, 2015

ARKANSAS TIMES

DANCE

LAST CHANCE: U.K. indie rock band The Dreaming Spires headlines an all-ages Last Chance Records showcase at White Water Tavern that also features Little Rock’s Adam Faucett and Winnipeg’s Scott Nolan, 7 p.m. Sept. 20, free.

POETRY

POETluck. Literary salon and potluck. The Writer’s Colony at Dairy Hollow, third Thursday of every month, 6 p.m. 515 Spring St., Eureka Springs. 479-253-7444.

FRIDAY, SEPT. 18

MUSIC

All In Fridays. Club Elevations. 7200 Col. Glenn Road. 501-562-3317. Almost Infamous (headliner), Richie Johnson (happy hour). Cajun’s Wharf, 5:30 and 9 p.m. 2400 Cantrell Road. 501-375-5351. www.cajunswharf.com. Beatles at the Ridge Music Festival. With live music by Beatles tribute band Liverpool Legends. Downtown Walnut Ridge, Sept. 18-19. Front Street, Walnut Ridge. Big Piph & Tomorrow Maybe, Bijoux, Dee Dee. Revolution, 9:30 p.m., $10. 300 President Clinton Ave. 501-823-0090. www.rumbarevolution.com/new. The Bo-Keys. South on Main, 10 p.m., $15. 1304 Main St. Part of the ACANSA festival. 501-2449660. southonmain.com. Bonnie Montgomery, Doug Strahan. White Water Tavern, 9:30 p.m., $7. 2500 W. 7th St. 501375-8400. www.whitewatertavern.com. Charon Creek, Eddie and the Defiantz, Andrew Raines. Vino’s. 923 W. 7th St. 501-375-8466. www. vinosbrewpub.com. Four on the Floor, Stephen Neeper & The Wild Hearts, Trey Hawkins Band, Scott Diffee & His

6 String. Revolution, 9 p.m., $8. 300 President Clinton Ave. 501-823-0090. www.rumbarevolution.com/new. Live music. No cover charge Sun.-Tue. and Thu. Ernie Biggs. 307 President Clinton Ave. 501-3724782. littlerock.erniebiggs.com. Manatees, Ten High. Maxine’s, 9 p.m., $5. 700 Central Ave., Hot Springs. www.maxinespub. com. Rockin’ the Bald 2015. Amasa Hines, Mulehead, Good Time Ramblers and Jeff Coleman perform a special show in honor of Little Rock native and cancer survivor Jakob Mueller. Proceeds go to the Ronald McDonald House of Arkansas. River Market pavilions, 6 p.m., $20. 400 President Clinton Ave. 375-2552. www.rivermarket.info. Route 66. Agora Conference and Special Event Center, 6:30 p.m., $5. 705 E. Siebenmorgan, Conway. SOULution. Stickyz Rock ‘n’ Roll Chicken Shack, 9:30 p.m., $5. 107 River Market Ave. 501-3727707. www.stickyz.com. Ted Ludwig Trio. Capital Bar and Grill, 8 p.m., free. 111 W. Markham St. 501-370-7013. www. capitalbarandgrill.com. Upscale Friday. IV Corners, 7 p.m. 824 W. Capitol Ave. Wynonna & The Big Noise. Reynolds Performance Hall, University of Central Arkansas, 7:30 p.m., $27-$40. Reynolds Performance Hall, University of Central Arkansas, 7:30 p.m., $27$35. 201 Donaghey Ave., Conway.

COMEDY

“Lou Tells a Bog One.” An original production

Contra Dance. Park Hill Presbyterian Church, 7:30 p.m., $5. 3520 JFK Blvd., NLR. arkansascountrydance.org. “Salsa Night.” Begins with a one-hour salsa lesson. Juanita’s, 9 p.m., $8. 614 President Clinton Ave. 501-372-1228. www.littlerocksalsa.com.

EVENTS

ACANSA Arts Festival. Downtown Little Rock, through Sept. 20. www.acansaartsfestival.org. LGBTQ/SGL weekly meeting. Diverse Youth for Social Change is a group for LGBTQ/SGL and straight ally youth and young adults age 14 to 23. For more information, call 501-2449690 or search “DYSC” on Facebook. LGBTQ/ SGL Youth and Young Adult Group, 6:30 p.m. 800 Scott St. Paul Laurence Dunbar Community Festival. With tours, vendors, entertainment and more. Paul Laurence Dunbar School Neighborhood Historic District, Sept. 18-19. Chester Street and Wright Avenue.

FILM

El Dorado Film Festival. South Arkansas Arts Center, through Sept. 19, $45. 110 E. 5th St., El Dorado. 870-862-5474.

LECTURES

1,000th Speaker: Chelsea Clinton. Clinton School of Public Service lecture, Statehouse Convention Center, 6 p.m. 501-683-5200. clintonschool.uasys.edu. “An eagle on his button and a musket on his shoulder: Black Regiments in Civil War Arkansas.” A presentation by Mark Christ, community outreach director for Arkansas Historic Preservation Program. Mosaic Templars Cultural Center, 11:30 a.m. 501 W. 9th St. 501-683-3593. www.mosaictemplarscenter.com.

KIDS

“Puss in Boots.” Arkansas Arts Center, through Oct. 4: 7 p.m., $10-$12.50. 501 E. 9th St. 501372-4000. www.arkarts.com.

SATURDAY, SEPT. 19

MUSIC

Apostate of Solitude, Sumokem, Enchiridion. Vino’s, 9 p.m. 923 W. 7th St. 501-375-8466. www. vinosbrewpub.com. Beatles at the Ridge Music Festival. With live music by Beatles tribute band Liverpool Legends. Downtown Walnut Ridge. Front Street, Walnut Ridge. Bryan Adams. Walmart AMP, 7:30 p.m., $30-$295. 5079 W. Northgate Road, Rogers. 479-443-5600. www.arkansasmusicpavilion.com. FreeVerse: 50 Years of the Grateful Dead. Stickyz Rock ‘n’ Roll Chicken Shack, 9:30 p.m., $5. 107 River Market Ave. 501-372-7707. www. stickyz.com. Hot Springs Blues and BBQ Festival. Headlined

by the Los Lonely Boys and Keb’ Mo’. Oaklawn, Sept. 19-20, 11 a.m., $20 adv., $30 day of. 2705 Central Ave., Hot Springs. 501-623-4411. www. oaklawn.com. Khaotik Black, Table of Mahogany, LV$H ERA. Maxine’s, 9 p.m., $5. 700 Central Ave., Hot Springs. www.maxinespub.com. K.I.S.S. Saturdays. Featuring DJ Silky Slim. Dress code enforced. Sway, 10 p.m. 412 Louisiana. 501-492-9802. Legends of Arkansas Music & Art Festival. Featuring Adam Faucett, The Wildflowers, Barrett Baber, Big Piph, Collin vs. Adam and more. Riverfront Park, 12 p.m., free. 400 President Clinton Avenue. Live music. No cover charge Sun.-Tue. and Thu. Ernie Biggs. 307 President Clinton Ave. 501-3724782. littlerock.erniebiggs.com. Mulehead. Afterthought Bistro & Bar, 9 p.m., $7. 2721 Kavanaugh Blvd. 501-663-1196. www. afterthoughtbistroandbar.com. Pickin’ Porch. Bring your instrument. All ages welcome. Faulkner County Library, 9:30 a.m. 1900 Tyler St., Conway. 501-327-7482. www.fcl.org. Ted Ludwig Trio. Capital Bar and Grill, 8 p.m., free. 111 W. Markham St. 501-370-7013. www. capitalbarandgrill.com.

COMEDY

“Lou Tells a Bog One.” An original production by The Main Thing. The Joint, 8 p.m., $22. 301 Main St. No. 102, NLR. 501-372-0205. thejointinlittlerock.com. Hypnotist Doug T. The Loony Bin, 7:30 p.m. and 10 p.m., $10. 10301 N. Rodney Parham Road. 501-228-5555. www.loonybincomedy.com.

EVENTS

ACANSA Arts Festival. Downtown Little Rock, through Sept. 20. www.acansaartsfestival.org. Falun Gong meditation. Allsopp Park, 9 a.m., free. Cantrell and Cedar Hill Roads. Hillcrest Farmers Market. Pulaski Heights Baptist Church, 7 a.m.-2 p.m. 2200 Kavanaugh Blvd. Historic Neighborhoods Tour. Bike tour of historic neighborhoods includes bike, guide, helmets and maps. Bobby’s Bike Hike, 9 a.m., $8-$28. 400 President Clinton Ave. 501-613-7001. Little Rock Baconfest 2015. With bacon-themed cooking contests, a 5K, live music and more. Arkansas State Fairgrounds, 11 a.m., $5 adv., $10 day of. 2600 Howard St. 501-372-8341 ext. 8206. www.arkansasstatefair.com. Little Rock Farmers’ Market. River Market pavilions. 7 a.m. 400 President Clinton Ave. 375-2552. www.rivermarket.info. Paul Laurence Dunbar Community Festival. With tours, vendors, entertainment and more. Paul Laurence Dunbar School Neighborhood Historic District. Chester Street and Wright Avenue. Pork & Bourbon Tour. Bike tour includes bicycle, guide, helmets and maps. Bobby’s Bike Hike, 11:30 a.m., $35-$45. 400 President Clinton Ave. 501-613-7001. Six Bridges Regatta. A full day of races on the Arkansas River. Arkansas Boathouse Club, 8 a.m., free. 50 Riverfront Dr., NLR.

FILM

El Dorado Film Festival. South Arkansas Arts Center, $45. 110 E. 5th St., El Dorado. 870-8625474.

BENEFITS

2nd Annual Casting for a Cure Arkansas Crohn’s Colitis Bass Tournament. Lake Dardanelle State Park. 100 State Park Drive, Russellville. 479-9675516. online.ccfa.org/BassCure2015.

KIDS

“Puss in Boots.” Arkansas Arts Center, through Oct. 4: 7 p.m., $10-$12.50. 501 E. 9th St. 501372-4000. www.arkarts.com.

SUNDAY, SEPT. 20

MUSIC

Abrial and Jerry Davidson. Studio Theatre, 7 p.m., free. 320 W. 7th St. Bilal. Juanita’s, 7 p.m., $20 adv., $30 day of. 614 President Clinton Ave. 501-372-1228. www.juanitas.com. Hot Springs Blues and BBQ Festival. Headlined by the Los Lonely Boys and Keb’ Mo’. Oaklawn, 11 a.m., $20 adv., $30 day of. 2705 Central Ave., Hot Springs. 501-623-4411. www.oaklawn.com. Irish Traditional Music Session. Hibernia Irish Tavern, 2:30 p.m. 9700 N. Rodney Parham Road. 501-246-4340. www.hiberniairishtavern.com. Last Chance Records Showcase. Featuring Scott Nolan, Adam Faucett and The Dreaming Spires. White Water Tavern, 9 p.m., free. 2500 W. 7th St. 501-375-8400. www.whitewatertavern.com. Live music. No cover charge Sun.-Tue. and Thu. Ernie Biggs. 307 President Clinton Ave. 501-3724782. littlerock.erniebiggs.com.

EVENTS

ACANSA Arts Festival. Downtown Little Rock and North Little Rock. www.acansaartsfestival.org. Artist for Recovery. A secular recovery group for people with addictions. Quapaw Quarter United Methodist Church, 10 a.m. 1601 S. Louisiana.

KIDS

“Puss in Boots.” Arkansas Arts Center, through Oct. 4: 7 p.m., $10-$12.50. 501 E. 9th St. 501372-4000. www.arkarts.com.

MONDAY, SEPT. 21

MUSIC

John Moreland. White Water Tavern, 9 p.m., $10. 2500 W. 7th St. 501-375-8400. www.whitewatertavern.com. Live music. No cover charge Sun.-Tue. and Thu. Ernie Biggs. 307 President Clinton Ave. 501-3724782. littlerock.erniebiggs.com. Monday Night Jazz. Afterthought Bistro & Bar, 8 p.m., $5. 2721 Kavanaugh Blvd. 501-663-1196. www.afterthoughtbistroandbar.com. Open Mic. The Lobby Bar. Studio Theatre, 8 p.m. 320 W. 7th St. Richie Johnson. Cajun’s Wharf, 5:30 p.m. 2400 Cantrell Road. 501-375-5351. www.cajunswharf. com.

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CIGARETTES

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LECTURES

Film History and Appreciation Mondays. Hillcrest Hall: 6:30 p.m., $15. 1501 Kavanaugh Blvd. “Operation HOPE” founder and CEO, John Hope Bryant. Sturgis Hall, 6 p.m. 1200 President Clinton Ave. 501-683-5200. clintonschool.uasys. edu.

SPORTS

Don Frantz Memorial Golf Tournament. www.arktimes.com

Arkansas Times 09-17-15.indd 1

SEPTEMBER 17, 2015

8/13/15 2:01 PM

AFTER DARK, CONT. Maumelle Country Club, 11:30 a.m. 100 Club Manor Drive, Maumelle. 501-851-1033. www. maumellecc.com.

TUESDAY, SEPT. 22

MUSIC

Alex G, Sea Nanners. Juanita’s, 7:30 p.m. 614 President Clinton Ave. 501-372-1228. www.juanitas.com. Carson McHone. White Water Tavern, 9:30 p.m. 2500 W. 7th St. 501-375-8400. www.whitewatertavern.com. Jeff Ling. Khalil’s Pub, 6 p.m. 110 S. Shackleford Road. 501-224-0224. www.khalilspub.com. Jim Dickerson. Sonny Williams’ Steak Room, 7 p.m. 500 President Clinton Ave. 501-324-2999. www.sonnywilliamssteakroom.com. Live music. No cover charge Sun.-Tue. and Thu. Ernie Biggs. 307 President Clinton Ave. 501-3724782. littlerock.erniebiggs.com. Music Jam. Hosted by Elliott Griffen and Joseph Fuller. The Joint, 8-11 p.m., free. 301 Main St. No. 102, NLR. 501-372-0205. thejointinlittlerock.com.

Tuesday Jam Session with Carl Mouton. Afterthought Bistro & Bar, 8 p.m., free. 2721 Kavanaugh Blvd. 501-663-1196. www.afterthoughtbistroandbar.com.

COMEDY

Stand-Up Tuesday. Hosted by Adam Hogg. The Joint, 8 p.m., $5. 301 Main St. No. 102, NLR. 501372-0205. thejointinlittlerock.com.

DANCE

“Latin Night.” Juanita’s, 7:30 p.m., $7. 614 President Clinton Ave. 501-372-1228. www.littlerocksalsa.com.

EVENTS

Science Cafe: Bullies or Bust? Social Behavior Today. Afterthought Bistro & Bar, 7 p.m. 2721 Kavanaugh Blvd. 501-663-1196. www.afterthoughtbistroandbar.com. Trivia Bowl. Flying Saucer, 8:30 p.m. 323 President Clinton Ave. 501-372-8032. www.beerknurd. com/stores/littlerock.

GRAND OPENING

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FALL INTO ART CLEARANCE SALE! JOIN US TO (OUR FIRST EVER) C

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FILM

“Hunting Ground.” Ron Robinson Theater, 7 p.m., $10. 1 Pulaski Way. 501-320-5703. www.cals.lib. ar.us/ron-robinson-theater.aspx.

LECTURES

John Lewis, Nate Powell, Andrew Aydin. A presentation on the award-winning graphic novel “March,” Arkansas Hall. Henderson State University, 7 p.m., free. 1100 Henderson St., Arkadelphia. www.hsu.edu.

WEDNESDAY, SEPT. 23

MUSIC

Acoustic Open Mic. Afterthought Bistro & Bar, 8 p.m., free. 2721 Kavanaugh Blvd. 501-663-1196. www.afterthoughtbistroandbar.com. American Aquarium, Joshua Black Wilkins. White Water Tavern, 9 p.m., $15. 2500 W. 7th St. 501-375-8400. www.whitewatertavern.com. Brian and Nick. Cajun’s Wharf, 5:30 p.m. 2400 Cantrell Road. 501-375-5351. www.cajunswharf. com. Drageoke with Chi Chi Valdez. Sway. 412 Louisiana. 501-907-2582. Jazz in the Park: Syn RG. Riverfront Park, 6 p.m., free. 400 President Clinton Avenue. Jeff Coleman & the Feeders. South on Main, 7:30 p.m., free. 1304 Main St. 501-244-9660. southonmain.com. Jim Dickerson. Sonny Williams’ Steak Room, 7 p.m. 500 President Clinton Ave. 501-324-2999. www.sonnywilliamssteakroom.com. Live music. No cover charge Sun.-Tue. and Thu. Ernie Biggs. 307 President Clinton Ave. 501-3724782. littlerock.erniebiggs.com. Mark Curry. Afterthought Bistro & Bar, 5:30 p.m. 2721 Kavanaugh Blvd. 501-663-1196. www.afterthoughtbistroandbar.com. Open Mic Nite with Deuce. Thirst n’ Howl, 7:30 p.m., free. 14710 Cantrell Road. 501-379-8189. www.thirst-n-howl.com. Sons of Texas, Switchbach, Red Devil Lies. Stickyz Rock ‘n’ Roll Chicken Shack, 8:30 p.m., $8 adv., $10 day of. 107 River Market Ave. 501372-7707. www.stickyz.com.

COMEDY

The Joint Venture. Improv comedy group. The Joint, 8 p.m., $7. 301 Main St. No. 102, NLR. 501372-0205. thejointinlittlerock.com.

DANCE

Little Rock Bop Club. Beginning dance lessons for ages 10 and older. Singles welcome. Bess Chisum Stephens Community Center, 7 p.m., $4 for members, $7 for guests. 12th and Cleveland streets. 501-350-4712. www.littlerockbopclub.

LECTURES

“Demography, Destiny and Financial Security in the 21st Century.” A presentation by Ray Boshara, director of The Center for Household Financial Stability at the Federal Reserve Bank in St. Louis. Sturgis Hall, 6 p.m. 1200 President Clinton Ave. 501-683-5200. clintonschool.uasys. edu. “The Human Rights Crisis on the U.S. Mexico Border.” A presentation by Chelsea Halstead. Sturgis Hall, noon. 1200 President Clinton Ave. 501-683-5200. clintonschool.uasys.edu.

POETRY

Wednesday Night Poetry. 21-and-older show. Maxine’s, 7 p.m., free. 700 Central Ave., Hot Springs. 501-321-0909. maxineslive.com/shows. html. 32

SEPTEMBER 17, 2015

ARKANSAS TIMES

ARTS

THEATER

“Amadeus.” Walton Arts Center, through Sept. 20: Wed.-Sat., 7:30 p.m.; Sat., Sun., 2 p.m., $10$39.50. 495 W. Dickson St., Fayetteville. 479443-5600. “Detours.” A production by North Little Rock playwright Sabrina Wright at the M.L. Harris Auditorium. Philander Smith College, Sept. 17-19, 7 p.m., $20 adv., $25 day of. 900 W. Daisy L. Gatson Bates Drive. “Macbeth.” Arkansas Repertory Theatre, through Sept. 27: Fri., Sat., 8 p.m.; Wed., Thu., Sun., 7 p.m.; Sun., 2 p.m., $35-$45. 601 Main St. 501378-0405. www.therep.org.

NEW GALLERY EXHIBITS, EVENTS ARGENTA GALLERY, 406 Main St.: Paintings by Angela Davis Johnson, part of the ACANSA Arts Festival, through Oct. 12, reception 5-9 p.m. Sept. 17. ARKANSAS ARTS CENTER, MacArthur Park: “A Little Poetry: The Art of Alonzo Ford,” part of the ACANSA Arts Festival, through Oct. 25; “57th annual “Delta Exhibition,” 88 works by 84 artists from Arkansas and surrounding states, juried by George Dombek, through Sept. 20. 9 a.m.-5 p.m. Tue.-Fri., 10 a.m.-5 p.m. Sat., 11 a.m.-5 p.m. Sun. 372-4000. BERNICE GARDEN, 1401 Main St.: “Block Party,” celebrating new sculptures by Alex Cogbill, Harry Loucks and Michael Warrick, winners of the South Main Public Art competition, 5:30-7:30 p.m. Sept. 24, with food trucks, music, beer. Hosted by StudioMAIN. 975-0052. BUTLER CENTER GALLERIES, Arkansas Studies Institute, 401 President Clinton Ave.: “Gene Hatfield: Outside the Lines,” reception sponsored by the ACANSA Arts Festival, through Dec. 26; “Disparate Acts Redux,” paintings by David Bailin, Warren Criswell and Sammy Peters, through October; “Weaving Stories and Hope: Textile Arts from the Japanese Internment Camp at Rohwer, Arkansas,” through October. 9 a.m.-6 p.m. Mon.-Sat. 320-5790. ERIC FREEMAN OPEN STUDIO ART SHOW, 708 W. Charles Bussey Ave. (20th and Gaines): 10 a.m.-6 p.m. Sept. 19. Sept. 19. GALLERY 26, 2601 Kavanaugh Blvd.: Daniel Broening and Renee Williams, opening reception and celebration of gallery’s 20th anniversary 7-10 p.m. Sept. 19, with live music by the Rolling Blackouts, show through Oct. 24. 10 a.m.-6 p.m. Tue.Sat. 664-8996. GREG THOMPSON FINE ART, 429 Main St., NLR: “Best of the South,” part of the ACANSA Arts Festival, work by John Alexander, Walter Anderson, Gay Bechtelheimer, Carroll Cloar, William Dunlap, Pinkney Herbert, Robyn Horn, Dolores Justus, Sammy Peters, Kendall Stallings, Donald Roller Wilson and others, opening reception 5-8 p.m. Sept. 18, Argenta ArtWalk. 664-2787. LAMAN LIBRARY ARGENTA BRANCH, 420 Main St.: “Delta des Refuses,” work by artists not accepted into the Delta Exhibition at the Arkansas Arts Center, opening reception 5-8 p.m. Sept. 18, Argenta ArtWalk, show through Oct. 16. 665-0030. THEA FOUNDATION, 401 Main St., NLR: Arkansas Children’s Hospital exhibit, through September. 379-9512.

www.arktimes.com

SEPTEMBER 17, 2015

Dining

Information in our restaurant capsules reflects the opinions of the newspaper staff and its reviewers. The newspaper accepts no advertising or other considerations in exchange for reviews, which are conducted anonymously. We invite the opinions of readers who think we are in error.

B Breakfast L Lunch D Dinner $ Inexpensive (under $8/person) $$ Moderate ($8-$20/person) $$$ Expensive (over $20/person) CC Accepts credit cards

WHAT’S COOKIN’

Al Seraj Mediterranean Restaurant

TICKETS ARE NOW ON SALE TO THE Arkansas Times’ two big fall events. The Arkansas Times Craft Beer Festival is 6-9 p.m. Friday, Oct. 23, at the Argenta Farmer’s Market Plaza in North Little Rock. Once again, we’ll have more than 250 beers from dozens of local, regional and national breweries, with food and live music, too. Tickets are $35 and available at arktimes.com/craftbeer15. The Arkansas Times Whole Hog Roast is 5-10 p.m. Saturday, Nov. 14. This year, we’re allowing amateur teams to compete in the hog roast competition along with professional chefs from local restaurants. Food from all the contestants will be available to sample. Plus, there’ll be live music. Tickets are $25 and available at arktimes.com/hog15.

11400 N. Rodney Parham Road 954-2026 alserajusa.com

QUICK BITE It can be a little confusing knowing where to order at Al Seraj, and there aren’t any signs to guide the way. Go back to the rear of the restaurant along the prep bar to place an order. Meals from the restaurant are also available for delivery through Chef Shuttle. HOURS 11 a.m. to 9 p.m. Monday through Saturday, 11 a.m. to 7 p.m. Sunday. OTHER INFO All major credit cards accepted; no alcohol.

DINING CAPSULES

AMERICAN

1620 SAVOY Fine dining in a swank space. 1620 Market St. Full bar, all CC. $$-$$$. 501-221-1620. D Mon.-Sat., BR Sun. ADAMS CATFISH & CATERING Catering company in Little Rock with carry-out trailers in Russellville and Perryville. 215 N. Cross St. All CC. $-$$. 501-336-4399. LD Tue.-Fri. AFTERTHOUGHT BISTRO AND BAR The restaurant side of the Afterthought Bar (also called the Afterthought Bistro and Bar) features crab cakes, tuna tacos, chicken tenders, fries, sandwiches, burgers and, as entrees, fish and grits, tuna, ribeye, chicken and dumplings, pasta and more. Live music in the adjoining bar, also private dining room. 2721 Kavanaugh Blvd. Full bar, all CC. 501-663-1196. ALL ABOARD RESTAURANT & GRILL Burgers, catfish, chicken tenders and such in this trainthemed restaurant, where an elaborately engineered mini-locomotive delivers patrons’ meals. 6813 Cantrell Road. No alcohol, all CC. 501-9757401. LD daily. BOGIE’S BAR AND GRILL The former Bennigan’s retains a similar theme: a menu filled with burgers, salads and giant desserts, plus a few steak, fish and chicken main courses. There are big-screen TVs for sports fans and lots to drink, more reason to return than the food. 120 W. Pershing Blvd. NLR. Full bar, all CC. $$. 501-812-0019. BD daily. BOOKENDS CAFE A great spot to enjoy lunch with friends or a casual cup of coffee and a favorite book. Serving coffee and pastries early and sandwiches, soups and salads available after 11 a.m. Cox Creative Center. No alcohol, all CC. $-$$. 501- 918-3091. BL Mon.-Sat. THE BOX Cheeseburgers and french fries are greasy and wonderful and not like their fastfood cousins. 1023 W. Seventh St. No alcohol, CC. $-$$. 501-372-8735. L Mon.-Fri. BUFFALO GRILL A great crispy-off-the-griddle cheeseburger and hand-cut fries star at this family-friendly stop. 1611 Rebsamen Park Road. 34

SEPTEMBER 17, 2015

ARKANSAS TIMES

CHICKEN KEBAB: Lunchtime choice was flavorful, moist.

Mixed bag Mediterranean Al Seraj impresses and disappoints in span of a few days.

ometimes restaurants we visit are great, and sometimes they aren’t very good at all — but until we tried Al Seraj on Rodney Parham, we’d never been to one that was both in the space of a single week. Our initial impression of the place was that Little Rock had gained a valuable addition to our international

food scene, but a second meal left us scratching our heads and wondering what went wrong. The restaurant is in the former Great Wraps location next to Bedford Camera, and on our first trip in, we were impressed by the clean interior, which despite being at the height of lunch looked as though the restaurant

had just opened. Walking past the prep bar to the register to place our order, we noticed the wide variety of fresh salads and ingredients available, and our mouth always starts watering the minute we see a spinning column of gyros meat ready for shaving. We decided to start small for lunch with an order of hummus ($4.69), and we were excited when the plate hit the table. The chickpea puree was silky smooth and the splash of olive oil over the top added a delightful pungent note to the dish. The pita served alongside appeared to be handmade, and while we can’t be sure that Al Seraj is making it in house, we can say with some certainty that wherever the pita is coming from, it’s being made fresh. Hummus is a simple dish, but those can often be the hardest to pull off, and we were more than pleased by this version. A couple of wrap-style sandwiches followed, and we were equally happy with them. The Kufta Beef Kabob ($5.99) was flavorful and moist, with an ample portion of kabob-style ground beef nestled among vegetables and a tangy sauce. The Chicken Kabob ($5.99), marinated grilled chicken, was moist and flavorful. The bread for the sandwiches was a flatbread-style wrap, and again it was clear that Al Seraj is using homemade bread. We finished lunch and left already planning our next trip. It was a fantastic meal. A return trip for dinner proved to be about as far from fantastic as could be imagined. If there was one highlight of this disastrous second meal,

BELLY UP Check out the Times’ food blog, Eat Arkansas

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DINING CAPSULES, CONT. it was an order of falafel ($2.99). The hushpuppy-sized chickpea patties were tender and well spiced, and while we found the tahini sauce on the side to be a touch thin, the flavor was spot on. Falafel is a dish that can easily be served either too dry or falling apart, but these were firm, moist and delicious. Unfortunately, that’s basically where the good times ended. A Half-and-Half Platter ($12.99) with gyros meat and chicken shawarma committed sins that were avoided by our previous meal: The meat was dry, spongy and uninspired. Gyros meat should be shaved from the column and lightly crisped in a pan; this was just shaved and dumped onto a plate. The shawarma had a good flavor, but it was so dry that sip after sip of water was required just to get it down. A side of baba ganouj didn’t help matters, veering from pleasantly sharp to bitter, despite having a good texture and consistency. Most disappointing, though, was the Lamb Kabob ($12.99). Four sad chunks of gristly, tough lamb made us wonder if we were actually at the same restaurant that pleased us so much just a few days prior. A side salad of cucumbers, tomato and tangy tzatziki sauce was tasty and fresh, and our other side of basmati rice was fine (if under-seasoned), but we had really come into the place with a taste for lamb, and thus left disappointed. It was as if an entirely different kitchen had prepared our food the second time around. The attention to spice and flavor that we enjoyed so much during our previous lunch seemed more slapdash and inconsistent the second time around, with some items (like the lamb) having very little flavor while others were prepared well. Given that Al Seraj performed so well the first time, we are inclined to give it another chance to reach those heights again. Perhaps the place is simply better equipped to do sandwiches and other lunch-style dishes, or perhaps there is a better crew in the kitchen during the day. Whatever it is, we still recommend giving the place a try, because while we found our dinner dishes lacking, that first lunch had enough sparkle and taste that there is obviously potential at Al Seraj.

Full bar, CC. $$. 501-296-9535. LD daily. CAFE 201 The hotel restaurant in the Crowne Plaza serves up a nice lunch buffet. 201 S. Shackleford Road. Full bar, all CC. $$. 501-2233000. BLD Mon.-Fri., BD Sat., BR Sun. JASON’S DELI A huge selection of sandwiches (wraps, subs, po’ boys and pitas), salads and spuds, as well as red beans and rice and chicken pot pie. Plus a large selection of heart healthy and light dishes. 301 N. Shackleford Road. No alcohol, all CC. $-$$. 501-954-8700. LD daily. JIMMY JOHN’S GOURMET SANDWICHES Illinois-based sandwich chain that doesn’t skimp on what’s between the buns. 4120 E. McCain Blvd. NLR. No alcohol, all CC. $-$$. 501-9459500. LD daily. 700 S. Broadway St. No alcohol, all CC. $-$$. 501-372-1600. LD daily. KITCHEN EXPRESS Delicious “meat and three” restaurant offering big servings of homemade soul food. Maybe Little Rock’s best fried chicken. 4600 Asher Ave. No alcohol, all CC. $-$$. 501-666-3500. BLD Mon.-Sat., LD Sun. LASSIS INN One of the state’s oldest restaurants still in the same location and one of the best for catfish and buffalo fish. 518 E 27th St. Beer and wine, all CC. $$. 501-372-8714. LD Tue.-Sat. LINDA’S CORNER Southern and soul food. 2601 Barber St. 501-372-1511. MADDIE’S PLACE Owner/chef Brian Deloney has built quite a thriving business with a pretty simple formula: making almost everything from scratch and matching hefty portions of Cajun and Creole with reasonable prices in a fun, upbeat atmosphere. Maddie’s offers a stellar selection of draft beers and a larger, better wine list than you might expect. 1615 Rebsamen Park Road. Full bar, all CC. $$-$$$. 501-660-4040. LD Tue.-Sat. MARIE’S MILFORD TRACK II Healthy and tasty are the key words at this deli/grill, featuring hot entrees, soups, sandwiches, salads and killer desserts. 9813 W Markham St. No alcohol, CC. $-$$. 501-225-4500. BL Mon.-Sat. MARKETPLACE GRILLE Big servings of steak, seafood, chicken, pasta, pizza and other rich comfort-style foods. 11600 Pleasant Ridge Road. Full bar, all CC. $$-$$$. 501-221-3939. LD daily. MASON’S DELI AND GRILL Heaven for those who believe everything is better with sauerkraut on top. The Bavarian Reuben, a traditional Reuben made with Boar’s Head corned beef, spicy mustard, sauerkraut, Muenster cheese and marble rye, is among the best we’ve had in town. 400 President Clinton Ave. No alcohol, all CC. $-$$. 501-376-3354. LD Mon.-Sat. MIDTOWN BILLIARDS You’ll find perhaps the city’s finest burgers in this all-night dive. But be prepared to smell like stale cigarette smoke and grease once you’re finished. 1316 Main St. Full bar, CC. $-$$. 501-372-9990. D daily. MIMI’S CAFE Breakfast is our meal of choice here at this upscale West Coast chain. Portions are plenty to last you through the afternoon, especially if you get a muffin on the side. Middle-America comfort-style entrees make up other meals, from pot roast to pasta dishes. 11725 Chenal Parkway. Full bar, all CC. $$-$$$. 501-221-3883. BLD daily, BR Sun. MORNINGSIDE BAGELS Tasty New York-style boiled bagels, made daily. 10848 Maumelle

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SEPTEMBER 17, 2015

DINING CAPSULES, CONT. beef, half and whole chicken and an addictive vinegar-mustard-brown sugar sauce unique for this part of the country. 2415 Broadway. Beer, CC. $-$$. 501-372-6868. LD Mon.-Sat. 1307 John Barrow Road. Beer, all CC. $-$$. 501-224-2057. LD Mon.-Sat. 7601 Geyer Springs Road. Beer, all CC. $$. 501-562-8844. LD Mon.-Sat.

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EUROPEAN / ETHNIC

ALI BABA A Middle Eastern restaurant, butcher shop and grocery. 3400 S University Ave. No alcohol, all CC. 501-379-8011. BLD Mon.-Sat. BANANA LEAF INDIAN FOOD TRUCK Tasty Indian street food. 201 N Van Buren St. No alcohol, CC. $-$$. 501-227-0860. L Mon.-Fri. THE PANTRY Owner and self-proclaimed “food evangelist” Tomas Bohm does things the right way — buying local, making almost everything from scratch and focusing on simple preparations of classic dishes. The menu stays relatively true to his Czechoslovakian roots, but there’s plenty of choices to suit all tastes. There’s also a nice happyhour vibe. 11401 Rodney Parham Road. Full bar, all CC. $$-$$$. 501-353-1875. LD Mon.-Fri., D Sat.

ITALIAN

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JAY’S PIZZA New York-style pizza by the slice. 400 President Clinton Ave. No alcohol, all CC. $-$$. 501-374-5297. L Mon.-Sat. LARRY’S PIZZA The buffet is the way to go — fresh, hot pizza, fully loaded with ingredients, brought hot to your table, all for a low price. Many Central Arkansas locations. 1122 S. Center. No alcohol, all CC. $-$$. 501-224-8804. LD daily. 12911 Cantrell Road. No alcohol, all CC. $-$$. 501-224-8804. LD Mon.-Sat.

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ASIAN

BENIHANA JAPANESE STEAKHOUSE Enjoy the cooking show, make sure you get a little filet with your meal, and do plenty of dunking in that fabulous ginger sauce. 2 Riverfront Place. NLR. Full bar, all CC. $$-$$$. 501-374-8081. LD Sun.-Fri., D Sat. THE SOUTHERN GOURMASIAN Delicious Southern-Asian fusion. We crave the pork buns. Made the transition from food truck sponsored by to brickand-mortar in 2015 to rave reviews. 219 West Capitol. Beer and wine, all CC. $-$$. 501-3135645. LD Mon.-Sat. VAN LANG CUISINE Terrific Vietnamese

SEPTEMBER 17, 2015

ARKANSAS TIMES

LATINO

CANTINA CINCO DE MAYO Friendly, tasty Americanized Mex. 3 Rahling Circle. Full bar, CC. $$. 501-821-2740. LD daily. ELIELLA You’ll find perhaps the widest variety of street-style tacos in Central Arkansas here — everything from cabeza (steamed beef head) to lengua (beef tongue) to suadero (thin-sliced beef brisket).The menu is in Spanish, but the waitstaff is accommodating to gringos. 7700 Baseline Road. Beer, all CC. $. 501-539-5355. LD daily. TAQUERIA SAMANTHA On Friday and Saturday nights, this mobile taqueria parks outside of Jose’s Club Latino in a parking lot on the corner of Third and Broadway. 300 Broadway Ave. No alcohol, No CC. $. 501-5685264. D Fri.-Sat. (sporadic hours beyond that). TAQUERIA Y CARNICERIA GUADALAJARA Cheap, delicious tacos, tamales and more. Always bustling. 3811 Camp Robinson Road. NLR. Beer, all CC. $-$$. 501-753-9991. BLD daily.

cuisine, particularly the way the pork dishes and the assortment of rolls are presented. Great prices, too. Massive menu, but it’s user-friendly for locals with full English descriptions and numbers for easy ordering. 3600 S. University Ave. No alcohol, all CC. $-$$. 501-570-7700. LD daily.

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CAPITOL SMOKEHOUSE AND GRILL Beef, pork and chicken, all smoked to melting tenderness and doused with a choice of sauces. The crusty but tender backribs star. Side dishes are top quality. A plate lunch special is now available. 915 W. Capitol Ave. No alcohol, all CC. $-$$. 501-3724227. L Mon.-Fri. SIMS BAR-B-QUE Great spare ribs, sandwiches,

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THEATER REVIEW

Toil and trouble ‘Macbeth’ opens a new season at The Rep. BY JAMES MATTHEWS

here is no better time to see a Shakespeare play than political season. We are already primed for the drama: the factions, the contenders, the presumptives, the prognosticators. The shifting allegiances. The grand speeches. The loud and obnoxious clown, so popular with the masses that he becomes a recurring character. An unwieldy cast of minor characters that no one can keep straight. This is our daily fare during the primaries. It is perhaps no accident that the Arkansas Repertory Theatre has chosen to open its 2015-16 season with “Macbeth,” the Shakespeare play that best reflects Americans’ current distrust of the political system and its skepticism of political power couples. “Macbeth” director Robert Hupp suggests this connection, calling it “the original ‘House of Cards’ ” on The Rep’s website. You remember the basics from 10th grade. Macbeth, until now an honorable and loyal Scottish lord, is prophesied to become king by the three witches of “double, double, toil and trouble” fame. But to get there he must murder the present king. He is constantly prodded and goaded by Lady Macbeth, that political spouse who haunts all others. Murder begets murder, and soon the bodies of Macbeth’s best friend, Lady Macbeth, and a half dozen other characters litter the stage. As a woman behind me at Sunday night’s performance said, late in the fifth act, “There are not many characters left to kill.” There is one more, of course (spoiler alert for those long past high school): Macbeth himself, killed by Macduff in the final scene. The scenery for The Rep’s production is a deconstructed castle rampart, with several portals and openings, multiple floor levels, and timbers protruding from the wall at chaotic angles. It works surprisingly well, for scenes interior and exterior, intimate and violent. As the

MOVIE REVIEW be more than a frenzy of memorized lines. Since this depends as much on the audience’s efforts as the actors’, this production at times feels like a line reading in costume. But several individual performances lift the production. Michael Stewart Allen as Macbeth carries the play. It is telling that several of the strongest scenes involve him alone on stage. Joseph J. Menino as the porter steals one scene, as the character is meant to, but Menino also commands the eye as a mere attendant playing opposite Lady Macbeth. Heather Dupree (an acquaintance of the reviewer) delivers a strong Lady Macduff, BLOODY GOOD IN PARTS: Individual performances lift The Rep’s “Macbeth.” that motherly contrast to Lady Macbeth. play is set to start, three heaps of ragged, As the lights came up for intermission, the lady behind discarded fabric litter the stage. What appears to be a corpse lays stage center. me woke up and asked if the play was And there is clearly a head on a pike. over. Much of the audience, having just The hiss of the smoke machines quiet watched several disturbing murders, filed the preperformance chatter in the audiout to the concession stand for white ence. And suddenly those three piles of chocolate-macadamia nut cookies. And ratty rags, which have lain motionless a man in front of me read the “Macbeth” on the stage since the first theatergoer entry on Wikipedia on his smartphone. There was no talk of the play. took her seat, rise and unfurl themselves. These are the three witches, their cosAfter intermission, the play sped tumes some cross between dreadlocked toward its bloody end, the lights came Indian sadhus and the Tusken Raiders up, the audience stood and clapped from “Star Wars.” dutifully. I was lost in my own world While the witches chant, the text of as we filed out — mentally recasting their lines is projected helter-skelter Macbeth from the current slate of presonto the scenery. The effect is of mulidential candidates, if you must know — when I overheard the conversation tiple news tickers running across a TV of a young woman near me. A teacher, screen, and it almost outweighs the brilshe had invited her students to Macliant costuming and staging of the scene. (The projected words and faces don’t end beth. Only one showed up. Teacher with the witches’ scenes. Technology and student ran into each other in the lobby, and there was a brief exchange. becomes a poor stand-in for the otherworldly throughout the production, any “What did you think?” the teacher time a vision or ghost is meant to appear.) asked. “It was good.” The stage then becomes an 11th century Scottish fashion show, replete with “Pretty crazy, right?” the teacher plaids, animal skins, weapons and wigs said, obviously trying to coax her stu(so many that there is a “Wig Design” dent into engaging the play’s messy mescredit given in the playbill). The unfamilsages. “Good?” I imagined the teacher iar names — Donalbain, Fleance, Siward thinking. “You, who will vote for the first — further muddle the characters. And time this year, have just witnessed what then there is the language — “Shakeunbridled ambition and power can do in spearean” we call it, though we mean the world. Take heed.” archaic and difficult. Every modern proBut the student had already walked duction of Shakespeare must contend on toward the exit. with it, must find a way for the play to

Impatient eyes M. Night Shyamalan returns to horror in ‘The Visit.’ BY WILL STEPHENSON

ebecca and Tyler’s mother hasn’t It happened relatively suddenly in around seen her own parents since she 2004 or 2005, maybe 2006 if you didn’t was a teenager, when she ran read the newspaper. As though the entire away from home one night with a substifilm-viewing public reversed its opinion on tute teacher. There was a fight, perhaps — his work en masse, deciding it was all too she prefers not to talk formulaic and passé when about it. Now she and you really thought about her new boyfriend are it. For a decade now, critigoing away on a cruise cal celebration of his work and Rebecca and Tyhas been confined largely ler will be staying with to the inscrutable French. their grandparents, He has that in common whom they’ve never with Jerry Lewis. met. They’ll take a The most noticeable train out to the coundeparture of “The Visit” is that Shyamalan has abantry, beyond the reach of mobile data plans, SUNDOWNING: Deanna Dunagan doned classic cinematic stars as a creepy grandmother in to the not-quite backstyle for the fractured first“The Visit.” woods. Farmland, with person of “The Blair Witch occasional snow. It’s an experiment. Maybe Project” or “Paranormal Activity.” Here the they’ll get along, maybe their mother can spectator must perform double duty: We are rebuild a relationship with her parents if as curious about and conscious of what’s things go well. Anything is possible. behind the camera as we are about what’s Rebecca is an aspiring filmmaker. She in front of it. The whole filmmaking artifice plans to make an “Oscar-winning docu— the fourth wall, whatever — becomes mentary” about the family drama, and so part of our purview. This can be liberating, will be documenting the visit extensively. potentially. It can give the impression of wild She has artistic ambitions, refers to “visual improvisation, rather than closely followed tension” and to the viewer’s curiosity about sheet music. Things can seem visceral and “what’s beyond the frame.” She sees the up close and fragile. Things can go wrong. Of poetry in an empty swing at dusk. Tyler her unfaithful husband, the mother early on is antic and wild and likes to freestyle rap, says he had an “impatient eye,” and the same anachronistically. He thinks his sister’s could be said of Shyamalan, who shakes and cinematic approach is a little feigned — pummels and punishes the camera. “No one too pretentious — though he becomes a gives a crap about cinematic standards,” as Tyler puts it. “It’s not the 1800s.” co-director, with a camera of his own. He As to whether or not the film marks a is irrepressible and cocky and juvenile, but also debilitatingly germaphobic. Rebecca, “triumphant return to form” for the directoo, can be neurotic. For instance, she has tor — and critics can’t resist narratives like an aversion to mirrors. this — that depends very much on whether And their grandparents? They’re posyou think Shyamalan ever had a successful sibly a little quiet, a little peculiar. Chalk form to return to. “Signs” and “The Vilit up to age or geographic isolation. “He’s lage” both painted memorable portraits of a country guy; all he does is chop wood,” dread in dark blues and greens, but their Rebecca says of her sturdy, silent grandfathematic algebra seemed too simple on ther. Of their grandmother’s erratic behavreflection. It was all too easy. The “swing ior, they are satisfied for a while with the away” climax of “Signs,” especially, was diagnosis they are given, which is a form such a tragic screenwriting miscalculation of mild dementia known as “sundowning” that I still think about it from time to time: It was instructive in its badness. But “The — confusion, restlessness, psychological oddities triggered by the night. Everything Visit” never really builds enough affechas an explanation here, even the mold in tive momentum or “visual tension” (to use the basement. Even the locked barn-house Rebecca’s phrase) for it to be undermined door. Even the muddy water in the well. by a last-minute sleight of hand. And there “The Visit” is the 11th film directed is a last-minute sleight of hand. The movie by M. Night Shyamalan, whose star has is genuinely and frequently revolting, but plummeted since the days when he was in an all-too-familiar, even interchangeable pegged as a new generation’s Hitchcock. way. It feels minor. www.arktimes.com

SEPTEMBER 17, 2015

NO NE VE W M DA BE T R E 14

ANNOUNCING The 2015 ARKANSAS TIMES WHOLE HOG ROAST

WHOLE HOG

benefiting

Argenta Arts District

SATURDAY, NOV. 14 Argenta Farmers Market Events Grounds 5 until 9 PM

benefiting

Argenta Arts District

WE ARE STILL ACCEPTING:

AMATEUR TEAMS are considered individuals or businesses not connected to any particular restaurant, food truck or catering companies. Amateur teams will be preparing at least 30 pounds of pork butt. Amateur teams wanting to enter our People’s Choice “No Butts About It” will need to provide 30 pounds of options such as chicken wings, thighs, ribs, goat, stuffed jalapenos, anything besides pork butt - be creative. This is a separate award for amateurs only. Edwards Food Giant is offering 20% discount on meat purchases. Entry fee: $150

Arkansas Times and the Argenta Arts District are now accepting both AMATEUR and PROFESSIONAL TEAMS to compete in our 3rd annual Whole Hog Roast

BEER & WINE GARDEN

Gated festival area selling beer & wine ($5 each). Loblolly ice cream will be for sale.

PROFESSIONAL TEAMS are considered restaurants, catering companies and food trucks. Professional teams will be preparing a whole hog from Ben E. Keith Company Entry fee: $500 and includes the whole hog, pick up by Nov. 11.

Each team must provide two sides serving at least 50 people each.

CURRENT ROAST COMPETITORS AMATEUR TEAMS:

L.A. SMOKERS (LEVY AREA SMOKERS) COWBOY CAFE · SMOKIN’ BUTZ

• Ticket holders will cast all the votes via “Tokens” • Three tokens will be provided to all ticket holders, additional tokens are available for sale • Three Winners will be chosen: PEOPLE’s CHOICE FOR Best professional Team, Best Amateur Team and the Best Amateur “No Butts About It” Team. ARKANSAS ALE HOUSE · COUNTRY CLUB OF ARKANSAS · MIDTOWN BILLIARDS SO RESTAURANT-BAR · CLINTON PRESIDENTIAL CENTER

Deadline to enter: September 25

To enter, contact Drue Patton dpatton@argentadc.org or Phyllis Britton phyllis@arktimes.com 38

SEPTEMBER 17, 2015

ARKANSAS TIMES

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Suzy Oakley Batesville

your road to heart health

starts here.

visit BaptistHealthHeart.com to take your free heart assessment today! Suzy’s route to finishing her first half marathon started with a serious heart condition. Now, along with her team at Baptist Health Heart Institute, she’s proving you don’t have to be invincible to be incredible. How can you keep on amazing? Activities like walking, bike riding, and playing basketball can strengthen your muscles, including your heart. Aim for at least 2.5 hours a week. Keep on striving. Keep on inspiring.

#KeepOnAmazing

Call Baptist Health HealthLine at 1-888-BAPTIST for a referral. Find more tips and take a free heart assessment at

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SEPTEMBER 17, 2015

ARKANSAS TIMES