Riverfront Times, February 21, 2024 by Big Lou Holdings

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FEBRUARY 21-27, 2024

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TABLE OF CONTENTS Owner and Chief Executive Officer Chris Keating Executive Editor Sarah Fenske

E D I T O R I A L Managing Editor Jessica Rogen Editor at Large Daniel Hill Staff Writers Kallie Cox, Ryan Krull Arts & Culture Writer Paula Tredway Photojournalist Zachary Linhares Audience Engagement Manager Madison Pregon Dining Critic Alexa Beattie Theater Critic Tina Farmer Music Critic Steve Leftridge Contributors Aaron Childs, Max Bouvatte, Thomas Crone, Mike Fitzgerald, Cliff Froehlich, Eileen G’Sell, Reuben Hemmer, Braden McMakin, Tony Rehagen, Mabel Suen, Theo Welling Columnists Chris Andoe, Dan Savage

COVER

A R T

P R O D U C T I O N

Art Director Evan Sult

We Need to Talk About Lindbergh

Creative Director Haimanti Germain Graphic Designer Aspen Smit

M U LT I M E D I A

A D V E R T I S I N G

Publisher Colin Bell

We drive on Lindbergh Boulevard. We go to Lindbergh Schools. But Charles Lindbergh was a pro-Nazi bigot

Directors of Business Development

Cover illustration by

Circulation Manager Kevin G. Powers

JOEL HERRERA

B I G

Account Manager Jennifer Samuel Tony Burton, Rachel Hoppman

C I R C U L AT I O N

L O U

H O L D I N G S

Executive Editor Sarah Fenske Vice President of Digital Services Stacy Volhein

INSIDE

Digital Operations Coordinator Elizabeth Knapp Director of Operations Emily Fear Chief Financial Officer Guillermo Rodriguez Chief Executive Officer Chris Keating

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MONDAY, FEBRUARY 12. KDHX’s embattled leadership argues in a press release that things are looking up. Who could believe that after a period of intense controversy, “online engagement” might be up 500 percent for ages 18-24 — and that’s not a good thing? A post on the station’s website by Executive Director Kelly Wells with the grim truth: KDHX has lost one-third of its donors — and finances were shaky even before that. TUESDAY, FEBRUARY 13. The House of Representatives votes to impeach Homeland Security Secretary Alejando Mayorkas, the first cabinet secretary to suffer such a fate in almost 150 years. His alleged crime, a “willful and systemic refusal to comply with the law,” basically means he refuses to do what Republicans want. Back home, the Cardinals have new jerseys … that look a lot like the old jerseys. WEDNESDAY, FEBRUARY 14. It’s Valentine’s Day and Ash Wednesday all at once, the Barbenheimer of 2024: It’s got both hearts and flowers and a stern warning to “remember you are dust, and to dust you shall return.” Alas, in Missouri, the day offers numerous reminders of the tenuousness of life. Just after midnight, Laticha “Lety” Bracero and

Previously On LAST WEEK IN ST. LOUIS Alyssa Cordova are killed by a reckless driver after traveling to St. Louis from Chicago to see Drake at Enterprise Center. Later in the day, Kansas City’s Super Bowl celebration becomes the scene of a horrifying mass shooting. A local DJ is killed and 22 more people are injured.

basement. Also, Monte Henderson is charged with involuntary manslaughter and armed criminal action. The 22-yearold Kirkwood man was allegedly running red lights downtown when he sideswiped another car and careened into the crosswalk, killing Bracero and Cordova.

THURSDAY, FEBRUARY 15. Shockingly, the GOP wingnuts in the Missouri Freedom Caucus falsely blame an imaginary “illegal immigrant” for the Kansas City shooting — using the actual photo of a Kansas man (not an immigrant) who attended the parade (but did not cause any trouble beyond having a few too many brewskis). Anything to avoid talking about Missouri’s weak-ass gun laws. And a genuine shocker: A city review board approves a new homeless shelter in Kosciusko. Peter & Paul Community Services now has permission to build a 100-bed shelter, a big upgrade from its current digs in a Soulard church

FRIDAY, FEBRUARY 16. Donald Trump is fined $364 million, which ought to put other shady businessmen on notice: Don’t run for office if your dirty laundry can’t stand up to scrutiny. Overseas, Alexei Navalny dies in a Russian penal colony. The opposition leader was 47; his family is told he died of “sudden death syndrome,” which sounds just like a disease a dictator would make up after murdering his top rival. Back in St. Louis, snow falls — actual snow, for the first time all winter — and a judge allows Monte Henderson out on bond after he posts $20,000. Henderson does not have a criminal record, the St. Louis Busi-

ness Journal reports — which means he should be out on bond to await trial. Try telling that, though, to local TV stations. SATURDAY, FEBRUARY 17. The St. Louis Convention and Visitors Commission needs $40 million to finish its latest expansion, the Post-Dispatch reports. “We absolutely have to have this piece done, or we’re in big trouble,” Kitty Ratcliffe says. Bring it on: A spokesman for Mayor Tishaura Jones insists $20 million is all the city will give. SUNDAY, FEBRUARY 18. The snow is already melting. What a short winter! In Kansas City, Denton Loudermill, falsely accused of being the Super Bowl parade shooter by GOP lawmakers, hires a lawyer. Suddenly the Missouri Freedom Caucus, which falsely accused Loudermill of being involved in the shooting, is singing a different tune. “Denton is an Olathe native, a father of three & a proud @Chiefs fan,” the caucus writes on X. “He’s not a mass shooter. Images of him being detained for being intoxicated & not moving away from the crime scene at the Chiefs rally have spread online. He just wants to clear his name.” Nice use of the passive voice. Will it be enough to dodge a libel suit?

6 QUESTIONS for pizza maven Andy Taylor Andy Taylor is on a quest: He wants to discover the best pizza in St. Louis. And he’ll leave no slice uneaten in his pursuit. Taylor, who works as a sterile processing tech at Barnes-Jewish Hospital, started in December with Joanie’s To-Go in Soulard. Taylor’s goal is to try one new slice each week, with the hopes of trying 50 local pizzerias by the end of the year. (He’s not interested in restaurants that just happen to offer pizza, however great; he’s sticking to restaurants that are pizza-centric.) When it came time to chart his course, Taylor turned to the St. Louis Pizza Passport. “I literally just took their list from last year and added to it,” says Taylor. You can follow his journey online on Instagram and TikTok (@pizzababble). Taylor recently joined us to share what he’s learned so far — and what’s up next. This conversation has been edited for length and clarity. Andy Taylor is eating his way through St. Louis’ great pizzerias. | COURTESY PHOTO

Why pizza? It actually started with sandwiches. The two things that we have most of in St. Louis are pizza places and sandwiches. I love hot sandwiches and my wife likes cold sandwiches. Seeing all the Italian places around I was like, “There’s a lot of pizza places.” Then last year I started looking around and I’m like, “You can actually get any kind of pizza — you can get Chicago, New York, St. Louis style.” What’s been your favorite so far? I would have to say Pizza-A-Go-Go. I think there’s two or three of them. The one I went to, it’s very small. They only sell pizza. They don’t have appetizers or anything, just pizza and soda. They probably fit like 20 people inside the building itself. They give you the menu and on the menu, it tells you their story, and they’ve been around since ’67. Overall, the pizza was good and the atmosphere was good. So, so far that’s No. 1. Which has been your least favorite? Honestly, it was probably Racanelli’s Pizza. I’ve had it before back when

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they used to have one near Barnes, but that one closed down. So we went to the one in Maplewood. It was like a New York style but it just threw me off. The sausage was, like, that crumbled sausage on [a frozen] Tony’s Pizza. What’s your favorite style of pizza? Probably a New York style. Be honest, St. Louis style pizza, either you like it or you don’t. And let’s be honest, Imo’s is expensive. But I will give Imo’s this: They are the best when it comes to appetizers and sandwiches and salads. What’s the best thing to drink with pizza? I enjoy pizza with nice ice-cold Mexican Coke. What made you decide to take on this pizza journey? I want to show St. Louis a lot of these places because there’s a lot of small pizza places that’s on my list that people may not have heard about, or maybe they’re interested in trying different pizza places and I want to show people, like, these are really good pizza places. —Paula Tredway

WEEKLY WTF?!

Not a bad tag, if we do say so ourselves. | JOHN SCHOEMEHL

GRAFFITI WATCH When: 9 a.m. Monday, February 19 Where: North 6th and Pine streets, Downtown What: Evidently someone appreciates a certain local alt-weekly’s prior reporting on the Wonka Watch beat (we highlighted this building in this very space back in November). What it is not: the secret tag name of an RFT employee Doesn’t featuring this in the paper reward and encourage vandalism? Quiet down you insufferable busybody. But seriously though: If this latest development becomes a trend we will simply have no choice but to devote much ink and many man-hours to covering it. Stay tuned?

15 SECONDS of FAME PERV OF THE WEEK

MATTHEW SKAGGS Few things are worse than a school-resource-officer-in-training preying on the kids he’s there to help. And Matthew Skaggs’ exploitation took some terrible forms. The former Potosi police officer lured in kids by offering to take them on ridealongs or help them with the legal trouble they faced. What followed was Skaggs soliciting nude pics, groping them and statutory rape. He also allegedly gave one teen vape cartridges in exchange for nude pics — making the handoff inside a middle school bathroom — and gave other victims alcohol, CBD and THC. The mother of one of Skaggs’ victims wrote a blistering letter before his sentencing. In it, she accused Skaggs of grooming her son when he was just 12 years old — and giving him alcohol for his 13th birthday. She wrote, “Your actions have made my child distrust adults of authority, he has had nightmares, sleeping problems, depression and anger issues. ... During Matthew Skaggs gives cops a bad name. | one of his counseling sessions, it was WASHINGTON COUNTY brought up that he felt he could not tell anyone at that time because he knew if he called for help, you are the officer that was sent. You scared him and intimidated him.” Skaggs was sentenced to 25 years in prison last week. To which we say, good riddance.

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NEWS

Cops Destroyed Sign, Then Covered Tracks Westminster Presbyterian Church thought it had been targeted by vandals — until a neighbor shared the truth BY SARAH FENSKE

hen the Rev. Mark Miller discovered that the century-old welcome sign in front of his church had been destroyed last August, he initially assumed it was vandalism. It wouldn’t have been the first time Westminster Presbyterian Church was targeted. Just a year before, in fact, more than a dozen windows and a door on the church building in St. Louis’ Skinker-DeBaliviere neighborhood had been broken. And that the Pride flag in front of the church disappeared this time didn’t seem like a coincidence. In an interview with the St. Louis Post-Dispatch soon after the sign’s destruction, Miller noted the circumstances: Tire tracks were visible heading towards the sign, and no swerve marks suggested the crash was unintentional. But if someone crashed into the brick edifice with a vehicle, they’d also taken surprising care to clean up. “The crazy thing is there’s no debris from a car,” he told the daily. It wasn’t until a friendly neighbor got in touch that Miller learned something even crazier. The vehicle that hit the sign had been a St. Louis police SUV. But rather than reach out to explain what had happened, much less apologize for it, police cleared the scene — and then, Miller says, failed to communicate anything. The proof came from Francisco Gonzales, who’s lived across the street from the church for six years. Living on a third-floor unit at the corner of Union and Delmar, Gonzales has gotten used to car crashes on the streets below. “It happens so often, we don’t

A neighbor captured this photo of police on the scene at Westminster Presbyterian Church. | COURTESY MARK MILLER

jump out of our bed to look out the window,” he says. But that night, August 15, 2023, was different. After initially hearing a loud boom around 7:30 p.m., Gonzales says he heard a significant police presence responding to the scene, to the point that he took a look — and saw a police SUV had crashed into the neighboring church’s sign. His photos, which he shared with both Miller and, recently, the RFT, capture the aftermath. Gonzales shared his photos with Miller a few days after the crash. “He was very surprised,” Gonzales recalls. Miller says, at that point, he’d been trying for days to get a police officer to come out and take a report, to no avail. He waited one night for hours. Yet never once had anyone suggested the police might be the source of the damage. Now, what might surprise someone not accustomed to dealing with the

St. Louis Metropolitan Police Department is that even after Miller had photographic evidence that a police vehicle was to blame, the city continued to give him the runaround. In fact, it wasn’t until the RFT reached out last week that an investigator with the city’s law department finally contacted Miller to help the church with a claims process. “We regret that you have experienced an unpleasant incident,” the email stated. Reached for comment, a spokesman for the public safety department replied with one sentence: “The Police Department remains in contact with Rev. Miller to resolve this matter.” Miller is frustrated. “I love being in St. Louis,” he says. “I’ve been here 21 years.” He also knows the stress police are under, and says he worries about their mental health. “We don’t do enough about that,” he says.

Still, he believes police attempted to cover up the damage they caused. He’s also frustrated that six months have passed since their vehicle caused what he estimates is $20,000 in damage. “This has gone on long enough,” he says. It is certainly a footnote in a bigger story, one about police who can’t seem to stop running into things in a city that doesn’t know how to handle it when they do. But when Miller first reached out to the Post-Dispatch, back when he thought the knocked-down sign was a case of vandalism, perhaps from someone who also took the church’s Pride flag, they quickly published a story. Miller followed up days later to explain that it was actually a police vehicle that had hit the church’s sign, and that a neighbor had photos. He never got a response. n

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New Rules for Booze?

Snow Falling on Speeders

Board Bill 60 would change how St. Louis handles liquor licenses — but some neighborhood groups are worried BY KALLIE COX

or years St. Louis restaurateurs have dreaded the city’s liquor licensing process and have hit roadblock after roadblock on their way to obtaining these licenses. A new bill making its way through the Board of Aldermen seeks to change that, but opponents argue the bill hasn’t had enough public input and goes too far in removing neighborhood voices from the process. Board Bill 60, sponsored by Aldermanic President Megan Green, 4th Ward Alderman Bret Narayan and 6th Ward Alderwoman Daniela Velazquez is now under consideration. It passed its second reading on February 9. Under the current liquor licensing process, business owners must obtain a set number of signatures from the businesses and residents surrounding their establishment before they are approved to sell alcohol. “If we were to boil down what we heard in committee it would come down to two things,” Narayan said at a committee hearing for the bill. “It’s hard for the right people to get liquor licenses for a restaurant, and it’s hard to take liquor licenses away from the wrong people when they have a restaurant.” (Neither Narayan nor Velazquez responded to requests for comment.) Under current law, businesses must gather signatures from a majority of the property owners, occupants and tenants located within a 350-foot radius of the business, RFT previously reported. It’s called the “plat and petition process.” Board Bill 60 would create a parallel pathway for restaurateurs by creating an alternative to the signature process. Under the path it outlines, restaurants could apply for a 90-day temporary license after a conditional use hearing and a public hearing. At the end of the 90 days, the excise commissioner would have the option to renew the license for an additional 90 days after a second public hearing, Narayan said. Once 180 days have passed, the excise commissioner would examine the business’ books to make sure they are in compliance with the license by making more than 50 percent of their revenue on food, and would take into

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Snow falls in the city’s Hill neighborhood on Friday, February 16. The daytime accumulation caught many forecasters off guard. | ZACHARY LINHARES

consideration how many times police were called to the business for complaints. If there is no reason not to grant the license, the business would then be given a permanent one. Several community members oppose the bill, saying that the ability to circumvent the plat and petition step removes their voice from the process. “The solution to the issue in the delay of the petitions and hearings should be to improve the administration process by the Excise Division, not to disenfranchise the rest [of us],” Dan Pistor, chair of the St. Louis Downtown Neighborhood Association, said at the bill’s last committee hearing. “The neighborhood should have a voice in determining the compatibility of an establishment that is going to reside in their neighborhood.” At the hearing, Narayan said while some might argue that circumvention of plat and petition could be a way to “backdoor” nightclubs into approval, that isn’t the case. One of the more notorious nightclubs in recent city history would have been shut down on the 91st day if it went through this process, he said. (While he didn’t name the club, he was clearly talking about Reign.) The bill also allows a 72-hour “cool down period” where a restaurant can have its liquor license revoked by the excise commissioner for 48 to 72 hours following an emergency “consisting of an imminent danger to the health, safety and welfare of the public.” The bill states that if a business has its liquor license permanently revoked it cannot re-apply for a new one for a full year.

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Danni Eickenhorst, one of the restaurateurs who helped spur the proposal, says she supports the intent of the bill but it still needs some work. Eickenhorst describes the city’s current licensing process as “inefficient, dangerous discriminatory, and broken.” That’s an opinion shared by constituents at the committee hearing and by her fellow business owners. “This process can take up to nine months to get a liquor license,” Eickenhorst says. “It’s extremely costly, you have to hire a consultant to navigate the process for you, and even when you pay thousands of dollars for a consultant, you have to be taken out of your own business for between 20 and 60 hours to go through it.” Eickenhorst has gone through the process four times with her own restaurants as CEO of HUSTL Hospitality Group. It’s also extremely difficult and time consuming, if not impossible, to locate all of the individuals and businesses needed to sign a petition for a liquor license based on the city’s bad data, Eickenhorst says. Proponents of ending the plat and petition process also argue that it is unfair to those with language barriers, unsafe for those uncomfortable with going door to door and invites discrimination if neighbors don’t want someone of a certain race or ethnicity to open a business near them. Yet on both sides of the bill, constituents, including Eickenhorst, asked aldermen to spend more time with the bill to make changes to its provisions. “It definitely has done some things

very well, it has added enforcement, it has increased penalties for operating without a liquor license, it feels like it’s headed in the right direction,” Eickenhorst says. “But there are definitely some things that need to be tweaked.” One of the items in the bill that needs to be adapted is the 50 percent threshold for food sales to be considered a restaurant, she said. “If a neighborhood is going to approve a 50-50 ratio, that’s going to have much more of the feel of a bar than a restaurant,” Eickenhorst says. “Typically, restaurants are about 75 percent food, maybe 70 percent food.” One reason why opponents are asking that the bill be held for further consideration is that the most recent version was only available to the public 48 hours ahead of its final February 8 hearing in front of the Special Committee on Reducing Red Tape. One of those asking to hold the bill is Ward 8 Alderwoman Cara Spencer, who voted not to move the bill out of committee. “If what we are doing is eliminating the need for public engagement, we are basically saying we don’t need to hear from the public and we’re not even giving the public an opportunity to see the bill here,” Spencer says. “I just don’t understand why we couldn’t have the opportunity to build some consensus around the bill.” On Friday, when aldermen could have given the bill its final approval, they instead held it and moved it to the informal calendar to incorporate community feedback. It’s not clear what kind of timeline will follow. n

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MISSOURILAND

Laugh Now, Cry Later Drake and J. Cole brought fans to Enterprise Center PHOTOS BY ZACHARY LINHARES AND SANA’A ABOU ANTOUN TEXT BY SARAH FENSKE

or Drake and J. Cole, it may have all been a blur — but for the St. Louisans who came out to Enterprise Center for the duo’s shows on February 12 and February 13, they were nights worth remembering. Drake hadn’t been to St. Louis since 2018, and not surprisingly, fans turned out. They also brought homemade signs, and that proved a boon for one lucky fan. “You got a sign that says, ‘Please help me with my surgery,’” Drake told them from the stage. “I don’t know what kind of surgery you need, sir. I really don’t. But I’mma let you know from me to you, St. Louis love, we gonna take care whatever the surgery is. We gonna help you out, because we want you to be at the next show with us. You gotta show us love. You gotta be here the next time we play St. Louis!” Drake’s offer was almost certainly not mere lip service. At a previous show, in Nashville, Drake gifted $100,000 to a fan who’d recently finished chemotherapy for breast cancer. As in St. Louis, Drake was alerted to her milestone through a homemade sign. The only thing putting a damper on the nights of music and fun was a terrible car crash outside Enterprise Center that claimed the life of a mother and daughter duo visiting from Chicago. Police Chief Robert Tracy says the department will seek manslaughter charges — a sad ending to an otherwise joyful two-day run. n

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A C E L E B R AT I O N O F T H E U N I Q U E A N D FA S C I N AT I N G A S P E C T S O F O U R H O M E

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We Need to Talk About St. Louis launched Charles Lindbergh, and even named streets and schools for him. But he was a Nazi-admiring, unabashed bigot 14

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BY SHULA NEUMAN

On December 13, 1930,

about 2,000 people representing the elite of St. Louis society gathered at the Bridle Spur Hunt Club in Huntleigh Village to celebrate the dedication of a newly paved highway. What was once Denny Road was renamed Lindbergh Boulevard. The luncheon at the club included speeches from state senators, representatives, judges and mayors. It was followed by two “processions of automobiles’’ that convened at Kirkwood High School. All that fanfare was in honor of Charles A. Lindbergh, the aviator who made history by flying solo across the Atlantic Ocean in 1927 in a plane named the “Spirit of St. Louis.” Lindbergh didn’t attend the dedication ceremonies in 1930. But his ties to the region come from his stint living here from about 1926 to mid-1927. It was in St. Louis that he nurtured relationships with a handful of wealthy aviation aficionados who ultimately provided the funding Lindbergh needed to buy the plane that would launch him into history. Just 11 years after Lindbergh Boulevard was named, a new movement was afoot to change the name back to Denny. By 1941, the high regard Lindbergh had enjoyed for so long was besmirched by his opposition to entering World War II and by his open disdain for Jews. That name change never happened. Nor has there been any calls to do so since. Yet the past few years, American society has re-examined how we think about the legacy of slavery, racism and the Native American genocide. There is little evidence that a similar examination has occurred with people who espoused a different kind of hate: antisemitism. As a result, Lindbergh

— and many men like him — gets to keep his legacy, and the broader culture doesn’t question it. “I wouldn’t say that St. Louis has a love affair with Lindbergh,” said Frances Levine, former CEO and president of the Missouri Historical Society. “I’d say St. Louis has an unexamined relationship with Lindbergh.” It’s relatively easy to scrutinize the legacies of Christopher Columbus, Andrew Jackson and even King Louis IX, St. Louis’ namesake. Each of those men’s accomplishments came at the violent expense of other people. But Lindbergh represents a different kind of hatred, one that isn’t as easy to villainize. In a few years, the world will once again recall the amazing feat of a single person flying from New York to Paris, paving the way for modern commercial and private aviation. To mark the centennial anniversary of Lindbergh’s flight on May 21, 2027, there will likely be exhibits in museums, commemorative films and articles written about the aviator’s adventures and the tragic kidnapping and murder of his first-born son.

But Lindbergh’s legacy is complicated. He had great admiration for Nazi Germany and Adolf Hitler. He was ardently opposed to U.S. involvement in World War II and was on the lecture circuit in the 1930s and early ’40s of the America First Committee, the foremost isolationist pressure group of that time. He used the microphone of his celebrity to subtly and, eventually, overtly voice antisemitic opinions. Before the centennial commemoration of Lindbergh’s flight, it’s time to step back and take Levine’s advice: Examine our relationship with Lindbergh, understand his attitudes about the Jewish people and reconcile what it means today that we aren’t questioning his legacy of antisemitism.

A very brief history lesson

Lindbergh grew up in rural Minnesota, the son of a U.S. congressman. As a young man, he fell in love with aviation. He learned to fly and served in the U.S. Army Air Service. He worked as a barnstormer in the early 1920s, showing off his fearless flying capabilities to crowds across the Midwest. In the mid-1920s, he landed a job with the U.S. Postal Service, establishing the first air mail routes between St. Louis and Chicago. The job based him in St. Louis, where he befriended some of the city’s wealthy aviation fans, including at least one name still recognizable to today: Albert Bond Lambert. Aviation was a young, untested technology in the 1920s and there was a lot of anticipation to see who could be the first to fly solo across the Atlantic Ocean. There was, in fact, a literal competition for the feat: the $25,000 Orteig Prize. Lindbergh was determined to win

This story was commissioned by the River City Journalism Fund.

the prize. He turned to the connections he had made in St. Louis. In all, nine men (none Jewish) footed the money Lindbergh needed to develop the airplane that would propel him into the history books and into a paparazzi-plagued celebrity status the likes of which the country had never seen before. He called his plane the Spirit of St. Louis. Lindbergh maintained ties with his St. Louis friends after he completed the transatlantic flight, but his direct connection to the region mostly ends there. Still, it wasn’t long before the region’s leaders wanted to honor him — for the first time. On December 4, 1930, the St. Louis County Court (now the County Council) passed the resolution to rename Denny Boulevard as Lindbergh Boulevard. Lindbergh and his wife, Anne Morrow, garnered even more fame when their first-born child was kidnapped — and murdered — in 1932. The subsequent trial of the kidnapper in 1934 (and his execution, in 1936) grabbed the country’s attention in a manner akin to its obsession over O.J. Simpson’s trial 60 years later. Lindbergh found the limelight of fame exhausting. So, in the mid-1930s, he moved to Europe, settling in a cottage about an hour outside London, where he worked with Pan Am Airlines and pursued other scientific interests. At the behest of the U.S. State Department, Lindbergh accepted invitations to tour German airplane factories, test state-of-the-art fighter planes and review the country’s air force. He felt certain no other nation could compete against Germany’s air power. In 1936, he was the guest of Field Marshal Hermann Göring at the Berlin Olympics. Two years later, Göring gave Lindbergh, on behalf of Hitler, the Service Cross of the German Eagle — a medal that Lindbergh kept for years and later bestowed to

A major thoroughfare named for Charles Lindbergh runs through St. Louis County even today. | BILL MOTCHAN

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Charles Lindbergh’s name still has a prominent presence in numerous sites throughout St. Louis County. | BILL MOTCHAN

LINDBERGH Continued from pg 15

the Missouri Historical Society, along with acres of correspondence, diaries and other mementos from his life. He visited Nazi Germany six times between 1936 and 1938 and wrote effusively about how ordered the country was. “I have come away with a feeling of great admiration for the German people,” he wrote to his friend Truman Smith after his first visit. “The condition of the country, and the appearance of the average person whom I saw, leaves with me the impression that Hitler must have far more character and vision than I thought existed in the German leader who has been painted in so many different ways by the accounts in America and England.” The Lindberghs enjoyed their time in Germany so much that they were planning to move to Berlin in 1938 and had even found a house to stay in. But the events of November 9, 1938 — Kristallnacht — changed their plans. Lindbergh wrote to a friend that he didn’t want to take any actions “which would seem to support the German action in regard to the Jews.” Then, as Hitler’s aggressions into the Sudetenland and Czechoslovakia pushed Europe into war, the Lindberghs moved back to the U.S. in 1939.

Lindbergh and antisemitism

Once home, Lindbergh joined the debate over whether or not the U.S. should get involved in the European war. Lindbergh was firmly in the isolationist camp. He publicly sparred with President Franklin Roosevelt and fell in with the America First Committee, an organization known mostly for its isolationism, but also for its belief that white people were under siege. Lindbergh gave radio addresses and

speeches all over the country advocating against involvement in the war. While America First had only 800,000 members at its height, Lindbergh gave the group both clout and visibility. In his speeches, personal correspondence and diary entries, it is clear that Lindbergh believed and trumpeted age-old antisemitic tropes. Sometimes, his antisemitism was merely a dog whistle. “We must learn to look behind every article we read and every speech we hear,” he said in a radio address on September 15, 1939. “We must not only enquire about the writer and the speaker — about his personal interests and his nationality, but we must ask who owns and influences the newspaper, the news picture, and the radio station.” Other times, as in this speech from June 15, 1940, the antisemitism was more direct: “The only reason that we are in danger of becoming involved in this war is because there are powerful elements in America who desire us to take part. They represent a small minority of the American people, but they control much of the machinery and influence and propaganda. They seize every opportunity to push us closer to the edge.” Letters and postcards archived at the Missouri History Society reveal that a lot of people found Lindbergh’s speeches inspirational, and they heard his dog whistles quite clearly. “I have listened to every one of your radio programs so far, the only one I failed to catch was your program last Monday which was cut off of station W.O.R. New York City,” wrote Albert K. Dawson of Jackson Heights, N.Y. “This station is run by a bunch of Jews who want to drag us into this war in order to take out their spite on Hitler — and I would appreciate very much receiving a copy of this speech if you have a spare available.” America’s willingness to either en-

dorse, tolerate or ignore Lindbergh’s antisemitism changed after a speech he delivered on September 11, 1941, in Des Moines, Iowa. “The three most important groups who have been pressing this country toward war are the British, the Jewish and the Roosevelt Administration.” Of the Jews, he said, “Instead of agitating for war, Jews in this country should be opposing it in every way, for they will be the first to feel its consequences. Their greatest danger to this country lies in their large ownership and influence in our motion pictures, our press, our radio and our government.” Americans knew enough about what was happening to Jews in Germany and German-occupied countries to know that Lindbergh’s comments went too far. Mainstream newspapers filled with letters to the editor decrying Lindbergh’s speech. “The assertion that the Jews are pressing this country into war is UNWISE, UNPATRIOTIC AND UNAMERICAN” intoned an editorial on September 15, 1941, in the Pittsburgh Sun-Telegraph. In Missouri, the Carthage Democrat’s editorial headline read “Farewell to Lindbergh,” and the author called Lindbergh a “sucker” for his admiration of the German Luftwaffe and a dupe being used by domestic groups “whose interests are diametrically opposed to the United States.” In the aftermath of the speech, St. Louis newspapers reported that there was an effort to return Lindbergh Boulevard to Denny Boulevard — albeit a fairly anemic effort. The St. Louis Star and Times noted that only 15 people showed up at a “rally” to advocate for the name change, noting one of the people at the meeting “walked out on the principal speaker, saying: ‘That’s a lot of boloney.’” World War II seems to have obliterated the memory of Lindbergh’s rhetoric for most Americans. Yet when his

name is mentioned today in Jewish circles, the first word that comes up is “antisemite.” But what does that really mean for someone living at that time?

Lindbergh in Lindbergh’s time

To be Jewish in America in the 1930s and ’40s was to live with the understanding that you were never considered fully American. Whether your family could date its ties to the U.S. from the 17th century or if it was among the thousands who immigrated around the turn of the 20th century, Jews knew that they were accepted into American society conditionally. Elite universities had a cap on how many Jews they would admit; Jewish doctors couldn’t practice at many hospitals; country clubs wouldn’t accept Jews as members; and Jews were barred from certain restaurants and resorts. In reaction to the systemic antisemitism, Jews created their own enclaves. They founded hospitals where Jewish doctors could work and law firms for Jewish lawyers. They created Jewish country clubs and resorts. Many Jews had no choice but to live among fellow Jews. In St. Louis and around the country, housing deeds had restricted covenants that prevented Black people and people of “Hebrew descent” from owning homes. As a result, where you lived determined the level of antisemitism you were exposed to. Just take the disparate experiences of one married St. Louis couple, Lou and Evelyn Cohen of Clayton. Lou, 91, grew up in St. Louis County and recalls almost no brushes with antisemitism. “I know there were quotas in schools and for getting jobs, which I never felt,” he said. “My first experience was in the army and it was only with one particular officer who had some pretty nasty things to say.” Evelyn Cohen, 87, however, experienced life as a Jew very differently. She

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Correspondence sent to Charles Lindbergh, part of the Missouri Historical Society’s collection. | MISSOURI HISTORICAL SOCIETY

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grew up across the river in O’Fallon, Illinois, population 3,000 with one Jewish family. Her father owned the dry goods store in town and was mostly well-respected. But every now and then, she said, people would call her family “dirty Jews” or spit at them on the sidewalk. And, in some cases, Evelyn said, they were barred from participating at all. “I couldn’t learn to swim,” Evelyn said. “They didn’t have a pool in O’Fallon, but they did in Lebanon. But there was a sign up at the pool in Lebanon: ‘No Jews or dogs allowed.’” This is the zeitgeist in which Lindbergh lived. His diaries reflect what many Christian Americans likely felt about Jewish people. In one 1939 entry, Lindbergh reflects on a visit he had with one Dr. Flexner. “He is a wonderful old man, and one of those Jews who makes you wonder why his race has been persecuted throughout history — until you remember the other kind, the kind that crowd clothing stores, the refugee ships, and beaches and New York streets.” Or, as he wrote in his journal in August 1939: “Whenever the Jewish percentage of total population becomes

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too high, a reaction seems to invariably occur. It is too bad because a few Jews of the right type are, I believe, an asset to any country.” The message is clear: The right kind of Jew is fine … in small numbers. This attitude was not unique to Lindbergh. “Even if you associated with Jews during the day, there was a 5 o’clock shadow,” said Jonathan Sarna, professor of American Jewish History at Brandeis University. “After work ended, you didn’t associate with them. This was true of Lindbergh, but it was true of many others as well, including [Harry] Truman.” The “5 o’clock shadow” represents the genteel side of mid-century antisemitism. There was an ugly side as well. “There were so many times my father came home bloody,” said Elsie Shemin-Roth, 94, who lives at the Brentmoor Retirement Community in Ladue. Shemin-Roth, the daughter of a Russian immigrant, grew up in an Italian neighborhood in the Bronx in the 1930s. “There was a high level of antisemitism,” Shemin-Roth recalled. “In school, I remember one nasty situation. A kid much smaller than I kept calling me a dirty Jew. He reached out and hit me and I smacked him back so hard. He fell down and his lip was

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bleeding.” Shemin-Roth recalled the park near her house hosting American German Bund (group) rallies. “American citizens of German heritage would come in and there was terrible antisemitic rhetoric,” she recalled. In St. Louis, a group called the Amerikadeutscher Volksbund, or the American German Nazis, had a meeting house at 2960 Oregon Avenue, and a summer camp near the Meramec River off of Lemay Ferry Road. American and Nazi flags flew at the summer camp, the St. Louis Post-Dispatch reported in 1937. The group held at least one rally in Forest Park, parading with a Nazi flag to the Friedrich Ludwig Jahn monument on a Sunday morning. The group claimed not to have ties to Germany’s National Socialist Party, according to the Post-Dispatch article. But the article also cites the organization’s German language newspaper, which stated the group’s philosophy clearly: “... the National Socialist dictatorship is the best possible government for present day Germany, that Hitler has regenerated Germany, that the Nazis and the people who believe in Nazi-ism are persecuted in foreign countries, that Communism and the Jews are evil…” While there may have been distaste for flagrant Nazism, most Americans were fine with low-level antisemitism, said Eric Goldstein, associate professor of history at Emory University and author of The Price of Whiteness: Jews, Race and American Identity. However, people weren’t comfortable with the large number of Jewish immigrants who poured into the U.S. from the late 1800s through 1923. People were deeply concerned about the way Jewish immigrants would change the

character of America, Goldstein said. In 1924, Congress passed new immigration laws aimed at southern and eastern European immigrants. Jews were particularly targeted. “That was an antisemitic policy, but it also hastened Americanization of the Jewish community,” Goldstein said. At some point in the 1920s and 1930s, the majority of Jews in America were born here. And that created a new conundrum for America’s antisemitic streak. “I characterize it as acculturation without integration,” Goldstein continued. “Meaning, the American born, second generation were becoming American. They spoke English. Their dress and comportment were American. They were going to American public schools, consuming American fashion. From their exterior trappings, they were absorbing American culture.” But this hardly led to greater acceptance. The inter-war era in America was also a time of intense anxiety, Goldstein said, thanks to the Russian revolution, labor unrest and the Great Depression. “People from all different classes and the leaders, they were all struggling with society and things that seem beyond their control, Goldstein said. “And that is when antisemitism emerges. People are trying to blame someone for these problems in society.” Sarna, from Brandeis, agrees. “Whenever a country or group experiences those kinds of rapid changes, there are going to be people — and Lindbergh was one of them — who worry that they are going to be displaced, that Jews are taking over.” As the Jews — less than 2 percent of the country’s population — were blending into the larger society, other changes deepened the country’s anxiety. Cars were becoming more commonplace, thanks in part to Henry Ford. Commercial aviation was beginning to seem like a possibility, thanks to routes mapped by Lindbergh. And mass communication was moving into a new phase with the advent of the radio, a technology exploited quite successfully by a heretofore unknown Catholic priest, Father Charles Coughlin. In 1919 Ford bought a newspaper, the Dearborn Independent, and used it to promulgate virulently antisemitic articles, frequently citing and promoting The Protocols of the Elders of Zion. The Independent’s circulation was second only to the New York Times in the 1920s. Lindbergh was well-acquainted with Ford and referred to him in his diaries as “one of the greatest men this country has produced.” Coughlin began as a local broadcaster, but by the mid-1930s his national radio show had an estimated 30 million listeners each week, according to Continued on pg 19

a 1972 biography by Sheldon Marcus. Following Kristallnacht, Coughlin explained to his listeners that Jews were to blame for the attacks. “Jewish persecution only followed — only followed — after Christians were first persecuted,” he said. While Lindbergh may not have been as blatant in his antisemitism as Coughlin or Ford, his views certainly aligned with theirs. “Bad ideas are always in the atmosphere. The problem is that when people in high positions give voice to them, they do extraordinary damage,” said Ken Burns, a documentary filmmaker who created The U.S. and the Holocaust. Burns said even if Lindbergh wasn’t the most virulent antisemite in America at that time, he had a megaphone that others did not. “What happens when these ideas get in the hands of people who have broad followings? These ideas gain more traction when you substitute Kanye West for Charles Lindbergh,” Burns said. Lindbergh’s radio addresses and speeches gave voice to the genteel antisemitism of the time. People generally didn’t take issue with his warning about an unnamed group having undue influence over the media. “That was another great American speech you made Sunday afternoon. Hurrah for you!” wrote Mr. and Mrs. C.M. Hunter of Houston in 1940. “There are plenty of red-blooded Americans that believe in you and know that you are not a Nazi agent because you know enough about airplanes to get a medal from Hitler. I feel proud that he thought enough of your ability to give you a medal.” “What was important about Lindbergh — like Ford — he was a national hero,” Sarna said. “And when a national hero attacks Jews, that is very serious because lots of people think he must know a lot. He is a hero. In that sense, it was more serious than Father Coughlin.”

A hero’s fall (temporarily)

The tide changed for Lindbergh when he overtly blamed the Jews for pushing America to war in his speech at the America First rally in Des Moines in 1941. Newspapers were filled with accounts of the blitzkrieg in London as well as Hitler’s invasions of other European countries — Denmark, Greece, the Netherlands and France, to name a few. Some news of how badly the Nazis were treating Europe’s Jews was making its way across the Atlantic. President Roosevelt had launched a strategic campaign to prepare Americans for what he thought was the United States’ inevitable participation in the war, said Daniel Greene, curator of the Americans and the Holocaust

Elsie Shemin-Roth remembers being called a “dirty Jew” as a child and seeing German American rallies at the park near her home. | ELLEN FUTTERMAN

exhibition at the U.S. Holocaust Memorial Museum in Washington, D.C. “I also think something critical was coming to a boil,” Greene said of the Des Moines speech. “The mood in the hall that night was already angry. Roosevelt gave one of his fireside chats that same night. It was piped into the hall before Lindbergh spoke. Most of the negative reaction in the hall was when he talked about Roosevelt. People would jeer.” Somehow, to a broad swath of the public, Lindbergh crossed a line when he openly named Jews as one of three groups advocating for American involvement in the war. It’s not that antisemitism went away as Americans became more aware of what was happening in Nazi-occupied countries. Rather, it’s that the tolerance level for what was acceptable changed. “When you confront history, you also have to look for a sign of hope,” Greene said. “One sign is that mainstream America responded so critically. Even if they might believe some of the things [Lindbergh] believes — that Jews have undue influence in America — you didn’t side with the Nazis if you are in the mainstream. The response to that speech is that Lindbergh is a Nazi.” A few months after Lindbergh’s Des Moines speech, Japan attacked Pearl Harbor and America’s reluctance to join the war basically evaporated, and along with it the memory of the role Lindbergh played in protesting American involvement in the war. In the years since, neither the coun-

try’s reverence for Lindbergh nor the existence of antisemitism have gone away. Rather they morphed into a different flavor.

What’s old is new again

Lindbergh fought in the war, although in an unofficial capacity. During the years leading up to America’s entrance into World War II, Lindbergh’s spats with President Roosevelt and his ardent opposition to entering the war had prompted him to very publicly surrender his position as colonel in the Army Air Corps. Once the war started, Lindbergh tried to convince his friends in the military to reinstate him. But the years Lindbergh spent as part of the America First movement undermined the administration’s faith in him. Even though he was not allowed back in, he managed to find ways to help the war effort. According to A. Scott Berg’s seminal biography, Lindbergh worked for Henry Ford, advising his company on construction of its B-24 bomber. He also served as a guinea pig for scientists advancing their understanding of high-altitude flying. He eventually made his way to the South Pacific, where he advised various air force commands and eventually, surreptitiously, joined numerous combat missions. Such activities were against regulation, but Lindbergh’s skills and charm caused even Gen. Douglas MacArthur to look the other way. Once the war was over and the public learned of his contributions, Lindbergh was, once again, receiving accolades and honors.

In St. Louis, a south county school district named its high school after Lindbergh in 1952. According to the district history, last updated in 2014: “On September 14, 1952, the new Lindbergh High School was dedicated with the reading of a letter from Col. Charles A. Lindbergh and the presentation of his autographed portrait, which is currently displayed in the administration building.” The high school students became the Flyers. Its yearbook, the “Spirit.” Its marching band, “The Spirit of St. Louis.” In 1957, the entire school district took on Lindbergh’s name. In 2007, 50 years after its naming, the Lindbergh School District unveiled a 16-inch-tall bronze sculpture of its namesake by renowned St. Louis-based sculptor Don Wiegand. The sculpture sat outside the school’s auditorium until last year, when it was removed during construction of a new auditorium. It hasn’t been put back on display. And yet, when repeatedly asked for an interview about how the district thinks of Lindbergh the man, or how it uses his legacy as an educational tool, the district wasn’t interested in talking. “I’ve shared your email with our administrative team and the struggle we are having is that Lindbergh schools does not associate its identity with Charles Lindbergh at all and has not for many years,” the district’s communications officer responded in an email. “Anyone who would have been familiar with the district’s original decision to choose this name has long since

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LINDBERGH Continued from pg 19

retired. If people ask us how our district was named today, we tell them that it is a nod to the district’s location on and surrounding Lindbergh Boulevard.” The school district wasn’t the only place that skirted talking about the problematic legacy of its namesake. John Bales, the director of aviation at the Spirit of St. Louis Airport, insisted that the airport’s name is a reference to the city’s spirit of aviation. In Godfrey, Illinois, Pam Whisler, the town’s first clerk, organized the effort to relocate the hut that served as Lindbergh’s relay station when he was working for the U.S. Postal Service to sit in front of the city hall. Whisler said there were some people in Godfrey who didn’t care for Lindbergh, but they recognized that the city was capitalizing on “good history” by preserving the tiny cabin, she said. They supported the move by buying inscribed bricks to fund the project.

‘Antisemitism is like a virus that mutates’

Since October 7, 2023 — when Hamas attacked Israel, murdering more than 1,200 Israelis and taking more than 250 people hostage — it’s become even more clear that antisemitism didn’t disappear at the close of WWII, a fact that is not surprising to anyone who is well-versed in Jewish history. “Antisemitism never goes away. It’s more like a virus that mutates. It hangs around for a long time and then it crops up,” said Rabbi Diana Fersko, author of We Need to Talk About Antisemitism. “It’s an idea. And ideas have a way of lingering and returning,” Fersko added. There was already an uptick in antisemitic incidents prior to October 7. According to the Anti-Defamation League, 3,697 antisemitic incidents took place in 2022, the highest number since 1979 when the ADL started tracking them. They include things like vandalism at synagogues, harassment and personal assaults. But there are other ways that antisemitism manifests itself, including attitudes. The ADL surveyed more than 4,000 Americans to gauge those beliefs in 2022 and found that 70 percent of Americans said Jews stick together more than others; 39 percent thought Jews were more loyal to Israel than to the U.S; and 20 percent thought Jews have too much power in the U.S. As the Black Lives Matter movement has grown, so, too, have workplace and campus workshops in equity, belonging, inclusion and diversity. More than half of college students surveyed by the ADL say they have taken such training where they learn, among

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other things, about white privilege, the fact that simply having white skin imbues a person with advantages that people of color do not have. But what the training doesn’t explore is the status of Jews and white privilege because that same privilege has helped perpetuate antisemitism, said Eric Goldstein, a professor at Emory University and the author of The Price of Whiteness: Jews, Race, and American Identity. “American Jews have benefited from white privilege. But at the same time, that’s not the whole story. It’s more complicated. Antisemitism relies on Jews having a degree of white privilege. It opens them up to projecting societal problems onto them,” Goldstein said. In other words, Jews are dangerous because they can infiltrate the white race without people noticing. White nationalists cannot fall back on the idea that whites are inherently superior when they are beginning to see greater equality between racial groups, Goldstein said. To them, that doesn’t make sense. So, they rationalize it by blaming the Jews. “It only could have happened if Jews were helping African Americans. Jews are moving within the corridors of white society and disrupting white society and are disloyal to it,” Goldstein said. As Goldstein noted, the number of Jews in Congress is out of proportion to the number of Jews in larger society. Jews are also disproportionately represented in some professions, including education and entertainment. What’s more, Jews attain higher levels of education than the general population, according to Pew Research. “The way antisemitism works is so different from the narrative in America about how racism works,” said Dara Horn, author of People Love Dead Jews, an exploration of the modern face of antisemitism. “It’s not the same because racism is social prejudice because you believe a group of people is inferior. But antisemitism is a conspiracy theory and it believes Jews are superior to you. Jews are evil geniuses manipulating things behind the scenes. It’s that Jews are going to take my job. It’s Jews are bringing in immigrants and promoting Hispanics and getting those people to take my job. It’s a puppet master thing.” Since October 7, the news has been filled with examples of how American Jews are being targeted in the wake of the Hamas war. Some of the incidents are familiar tactics, like synagogues getting vandalized, but on a much larger scale. Other incidents are more blatantly tied to the war in Gaza such as boycotts of Jewish and Israeliowned restaurants. For progressives, the framing of the Israel-Palestinian conflict has been

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one of settler/colonizer, said Rabbi Daniel Bogard of Central Reform Congregation. On the one hand, that lens reflects the reality of the power that Jews have in Israel. But to use this “one lens to understand the entirety of Israel is distorted and distorting,” Bogard said. The lens becomes even more distorted when people also apply Americans’ understanding of race to the situation, Bogard said. “The notion that Jews, particularly Israelis, are inherently white plays into a classical antisemitic model,” Bogard said. “Because if we paint Jews as privileged and elite and powerful, it is therefore reasonable and ethical to target them and take them down. That is exactly how antisemitism works.”

What do we do about Lindbergh?

The Black Lives Matter movement prompted a long-overdue questioning of why we, as a society, commemorate some people but not others. As Confederate monuments and statues came down, scrutiny over who we venerate turned to people whose legacies aren’t as clearly problematic as Confederate soldiers. There is Thomas Jefferson, the man who authored a doctrine asserting that “all men are created equal” and also enslaved hundreds of human beings. Christopher Columbus, the explorer whose “discovery” of America brought Europeans to this continent who went on to conduct a brutal genocide against Native Americans. King Louis IX, the city of St. Louis’ namesake, spent fortunes to create art and churches, but he also fought in the Crusades in northern Africa, convinced that violence would wipe out Islam. But for all the interrogation of historical figures for their racism, there is silence when it comes to historical figures who were antisemitic. The silence may come from Jews’ own discomfort with bringing attention to the issue. Or it might be a recognition that taking down a statue, or changing a street name, doesn’t solve the underlying problem, said Helen Turner, director of education at the St. Louis Kaplan Feldman Holocaust Museum. “If you cancel or simply erase someone, we are actually denying that history and letting ourselves off the hook,” Turner said. “A better approach would be to fold it into our history.” However, this is easier said than done. “We wrap a national narrative around people we hold up as heroes. If we reevaluate them, we have to reevaluate ourselves,” Turner said. Perhaps the void of discussions about Lindbergh might speak to the uneasy place Jews still have in the United States, said David Greene, the curator of the exhibition at the U.S. Holocaust Memorial Museum. It’s

not comfortable to point out that individuals who are American heroes to so many people also both hated Jews and questioned whether Jews were real Americans. “Multiple things can be true that make us uncomfortable,” said Greene. “It can be true that the U.S. is a land of opportunity to Jews and also a nation that closed its doors to Jews when they needed help. So, it can be true that Lindbergh is an aviation hero and the advances he helped create are a point of great pride. And also it’s true that he is someone who had a restrictive view of who should be an American and particularly hated the Jews.” What’s the solution? Greene said the 2027 centennial of Lindbergh’s famous flight is “a chance to think about the past in a way that maybe could help us better understand the present.” It’s unclear if that is going to happen. When asked what the Missouri Historical Society is planning for the 100th anniversary of Lindbergh’s transatlantic flight, Sharon Smith, curator of civic and personal identity, said the organization plans to keep things low-key. “We might have a book featuring items from the Lindbergh Collection published for 2027,” Smith wrote in an email. “We will also be doing some small installation within our larger permanent gallery called Collected that will feature items from the Lindbergh Collection.” Even the Lindbergh Foundation doesn’t seem to have much planned to celebrate Lindbergh the man. Rather, its website is lauding its push to decarbonize aviation as part of its 100th anniversary commemoration. The St. Louis Holocaust Museum doesn’t have any plans to use the centennial as a launching pad for public discussion. But Turner said that given the increased reports of antisemitism and the conflation of anti-Zionism with antisemitism, there is an opportunity to change one aspect of the narrative. “We keep talking about antisemitism being on the rise, or spreading, which makes it sound inevitable,” Turner said. “But antisemitism is not inevitable. We are seeing a man who made an uptick in antisemitic language and violence. These are choices made by human beings. Our language around antisemitism is not doing us a great service. Rather, if we re-couch it in terms of human choices that are changeable, therein lies our power.” n This story was commissioned by the River City Journalism Fund, which seeks to advance journalism in St. Louis. For more info, see rcjf.org. The story, conceived by the St. Louis Jewish Light, also received additional support from Mont Levy and the St. Louis Jewish Light’s Bob Cohn Fund. Evan Stewart provided additional research.

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CALENDAR

BY RIVERFRONT TIMES STAFF

THURSDAY 02/22

The Three Bs This week’s new Blues, Bourbon and Beer event promises to bring soulful blues music, savory hors d’oeuvres, crafted bourbon and local beer to downtown St. Louis on Thursday, February 22. The Marriott St. Louis Grand (800 Washington Avenue) will host the event starting at 6 p.m. in their Statler Ballroom, the former lobby of the historic Statler Hotel from 1917, with Robert Nelson as the evening’s host. Live music by Charles “Skeet” Rodgers will start at 6:30 p.m. and go to 10 p.m. Guests will have the opportunity to taste local and international brews as well as a selection of crafted bourbons, including the hotel’s custom Maker’s Mark 1917 Gran Reserve. There will also be small bites from the Marriott’s kitchen to complement the experience. Tickets are $25 each and include the blues performance, a selection of hors d’oeuvres and one drink. Ticket holders also get a $5 valet or complimentary self-parking at the Grand. The event is sponsored by the National Blues Museum, and tickets can be purchased through Eventbrite.

In Their Shoes In celebration of Black History Month, the Missouri History Museum (5700 Lindell Boulevard) is playing host to Black History: Shaping St. Louis, in which KSDK’s Kelly Jackson and Brent Solomon will lead a conversation with Black community members as they share their perspectives on life in the Gateway City. Topics of discussion will range from Black economic successes in the region to healthcare challenges faced by community members to Black media to the complexities of the Black LGBTQIA+ experience. Additionally, there will be a happy hour with food and drinks available for purchase at a discount from the museum’s Key Bistro. Guests will also have the opportunity to check out the museum’s exhibits, explore community resource tables and enjoy a piano performance by Franklin Moss. The event takes place on Thursday, February 22, from 5 to 8 p.m. in the Lee Auditorium, and admission is free. For more information, visit mohistory.org.

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Pop, pop, pop: The world’s largest dedicated pickleball space, Padel + Pickle, is opening its doors in Olivette. | COURTESY IMAGE

FRIDAY 02/23

Go with the FLOW Swap the winter blues for the ocean blue this Friday at the first SLAM Underground of the year at Saint Louis Art Museum (1 Fine Arts Drive), titled FLOW. SLAM invites the city under the sea to highlight the museum’s latest exhibition, Matisse and the Sea, which probes modernist artist Henri Matisse’s marine imagery and the significance of the sea in his work. We’ve all stood in awe of the museum’s Matisse Bathers With A Turtle — this is that and more! The museum will offer seashore-themed cocktails, art making, music and other performances. Past SLAM Underground events have hosted some of St. Louis’ top DJs, so bring your dancing shoes. Cancel that trip to Cancun and vacation for free on Art Hill this Friday, February 23, from 7 to 10 p.m. For more information and a full schedule, visit slam.org/event/ slam-underground-flow.

SATURDAY 02/24

Paying Your Respects It may feel like it only just began,

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Charles “Skeet” Rodgers will be singing the blues while you eat barbecue. | COURTESY PHOTO

but Black History Month is already rapidly approaching its end (this is what happens when a topic with major historical import is saddled with the shortest month of the year). That makes this weekend a perfect time to brush up your knowledge of the local African Americans who made a big impact on the world. The

African American History Trolley Tour at Bellefontaine Cemetery (4947 West Florissant Avenue) offers a two-hour crash course on some of the biggest names buried in the area’s most prominent cemetery, including activist Reverend John R. Anderson, abolitionist Mary Meacham and educator Ida Woolfolk. (Just ignore

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Tom Bullock, legendary mixologist. | COVER ART

The Good Company is bringing good food to the former Layla spot in the Grove, but first it’s bringing it to the Vandy (pictured above). | MICHELLLE VOLANSKY

Rush Limbaugh and John Priest, who has the dubious honor of having been St. Louis’ first veiled prophet.) Tours start at 10 a.m. and 1:30 p.m., but you’ll want to get there at least 15 minutes early. Seating is limited and tickets are required (free, but a $5 per ticket donation is requested). Limit of four tickets per party. Email events@bcastl.org to wheedle your way into more. More info at bellefontainecemetery.org.

Balls to the Walls A new facility promising to be the world’s largest dedicated space for multiple flavors of big ping pong is finally opening its doors. The Grand Opening of the Padel + Pickle Club (1220 North Price Road, Olivette) is this weekend, and promises six “panoramic padel courts” and eight “advanced Cushionmaster II pickleball courts” at Olive and 170. What’s padel, you ask? It’s apparently a mashup of tennis and squash, played on walledin courts that are one-third the size of their tennis counterparts. (Perfect for athletes wanting a workout upgrade from pickleball, perhaps?) At any rate, the people behind this club hope it will be a flagship for similar clubs across the U.S., equipped with “well-appointed

locker rooms and shower facilities, ensuring comfort and convenience from start to finish” and a bar offering “a variety of sports drinks, non-alcoholic beverages and alcoholic refreshments” to help members and guests unwind after a hard-fought match. The facility opens for business at 7 a.m. on Saturday and Sunday, February 24 and 25, and closes at 9 p.m. Membership starts at $60 per month, but limited guest pricing is also available for $17.50 per person per hour for pickleball and $30 for padel. For more information, visit padelandpickleclub.com.

SUNDAY 02/25

Good News Cocktail bar Good Company may not be open just yet, but this week it’s hosting a pop-up at the Vandy (1301 South Vandeventer Avenue) to preview its spring launch in the former Layla space in the Grove. The Good Company bar team will take over the cocktail menu to give customers a taste of what’s in store, and the popup will also offer a limited food menu to tease what owner Jordan Goodman has described as an “approachable, chef-driven menu featuring burgers

and a unique twist of gastropub fare.” Topping the pop-up menu is Good Company’s signature Good Burger, which features thick-cut bacon, Cooper white American cheese, the bar’s “Good Sauce,” pickles and a fried egg. Also on the menu are fries, a beet salad and brown-butter chocolate chip cookies from Poot’s Provisions. Tables will be available on a first-come, firstserved basis, and food will be available all day, or until they sell out. The popup takes place this Sunday, February 25, from 11:30 a.m. to 11:30 p.m. For all the latest, visit instagram.com/ goodcompany_stl.

history, science and culture behind a variety of cocktails and focusing on the evolution of drinking in St. Louis. The program is an ode to pre-Prohibition beverages and will focus on St. Louis heroes of the drinking scene, especially Tom Bullock. Bullock became the first African American to publish a cocktail book in 1917 and was even peripherally involved in a libel lawsuit brought by former President Teddy Roosevelt in 1913 related to Roosevelt’s drinking habits (give us a break, Teddy, you know you were a lush). The event will take place Monday, February 26 from 4 p.m. to midnight. Naturally, you’ll be able to drink the cocktails you’re studying as well. Admission is free, but the drinks are not. For more details, visit theroyale.com. n

MONDAY 02/26

Field Research Among the only redeeming things about life as a grade-schooler were the frequent field trips you got to take, leaving your normal boring environs to embark on a quest for knowledge out in the real world. But you know what would have made those trips even better? Booze. This week, St. Louis favorite the Royale (3132 Kingshighway Boulevard) is hosting part two of its Royale Cocktail Studies series, inviting adults to learn more about the

Tom Bullock’s book broke barriers. | COVER ART

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CAFE

Biscuit and Gravy Trained The Biscuit Joint’s delicious signature item — and wonderful sweet offerings — have Midtown popping BY ALEXA BEATTIE The Biscuit Joint 2649 Washington Avenue, 314-769-9434. Open Tues.-Sat. 8 a.m. to 2 p.m.

f you’re hoping for a Cinnabon, the Biscuit Joint is not the place for you. Because this one, here, is definitely not that. And thank goodness. For starters, it’s — blessedly — a quarter of the size and more resembles a little rosette than a breeze block; it’s prettily spiraled, judiciously iced and since it’s made of biscuit batter rather than yeast dough, it has less bounce and a far more interesting flake. How come, we asked, someone didn’t think of this excellent idea sooner? Paradoxically light and dense, it’s all things: tender and a little bit sconey inside, crunchy and a tiny bit crisp outside. But its main charm is that it’s fragrant with spices 1,000 times more intriguing than cinnamon. Imagine, rather, a paste of star anise and clove; conjure the lovely perfume of toasted fennel. To boot, there’s a fairy pinch of five spice somewhere in this curlicue. One bite in and we aren’t on Washington Avenue under February skies, but thinking about the palm-fringed Moluccas and how quickly we could snag an Uber to the Spice Route. Elliott Brown, chef and owner of the Biscuit Joint, is also chef and owner of Dinner at the Loft. That business, which started as a pop-up, morphed after the pandemic to become private, in-home dining. Brown has a Cordon Bleu background, a lovely smiley face, and big plans in his head; the Biscuit Joint’s location in Midtown, he says, is now the perfect place to house a popup (no extra rent to pay). “We have a lot of ideas for expansion,” he says. The thing is, here at the Biscuit Joint, the foundation is exceptionally sound: The biscuits confidently know themselves to be top-notch and then humbly stand by for fillings and gravies that are delicious — bacon that

The Biscuit Joint’s many tasty offerings include the Creole Cam sandwich, loaded tots, cinnamon rolls and biscuits with mushroom and sage gravy. | MABEL SUEN

Elliott Brown is the Biscuit Joint’s chef-owner. | MABEL SUEN

tastes of smoke, hot cheese and eggs; sweet, cool pickles; a vegetarian gravy involving mushrooms and sage; and two types (pork and chicken) of housemade, pankoed patty (although, rather generally, whoa, the salt!).

I’m a sucker for jams and jellies — as long as they’re not on toast. Give them to me with sausage, give them with lamb. And definitely put some on the bacon and egg sandwich (named the Papa) and mysteriously call it “juke.”

“What’s ‘juke jam?’ I said to myself, having yet to Google and find that it’s a Chance the Rapper song (which then made sense, because everything about this place is coolio). In any event, and Chance aside, it’s a jam made in-house of strawberries and peaches. I was so there. I was also there for fried chicken with Calabrian chile aioli, and there again for housemade pork chorizo gravy, scattered with scallion. It all just seems to work. None of this food screams Jenny Craig, but the portions are modest and the ingredients quality. The Biscuit Joint is in a small storefront with an open kitchen offering a clear view of the action. When we visited, the sage-flecked, fennel-strewn, house-ground chicken was being rolled into tidy balls, weighed and packed in a very large Tupperware box. They were clearly expecting company. The man doing the rolling, whom I learned was Cameron, was grooving a little as he worked, with Eminem on the turntable (“Guess who’s back,” etc.). It was contagious. The others started up, still holding their frypans, still flipping their eggs. I almost got going myself. There was a special the day we went

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RIVERFRONT TIMES

The TBJ Cinnamon Roll is topped with vanilla glaze. | MABEL SUEN A savory option: biscuits topped with mushroom and sage gravy. | MABEL SUEN

THE BISCUIT JOINT Continued from pg 25

— bananas foster something-or-other. “It’s been popular,” said the woman at the till. “We’ve already sold 10.” It was barely 9 a.m. And after I’d made quick work of No. 11, I could see why. It was a biscuit’s turn at being bread pudding. Two thick slabs glistened with a caramelly sauce that more than whispered banana were draped with a ribbon of everyone’s favorite member of the Musaceae family. It wasn’t the prettiest thing in the world — a lot of brown — but it didn’t matter. For someone who adores banana derivatives (pudding, shakes, taffy, body wash and so on) even more than bananas themselves, it was a breakfast (I guess?) of the gods. As for the environs, the Biscuit Joint is a penny’s toss from the dismally lumpen Wells Fargo complex (good move; they’re a ravenous bunch), and directly next door to Omen Coffee, also wise since the Joint doesn’t serve Joe (yet), offering instead a small selection of non-alcoholic drinks (orange juice, cola, bottled water, etc.). Omen is relatively new to the neighborhood as well; it opened early last year and plays a part in Brown’s business plan, which seems to be all about good-spirited collaboration. “We’re catching a flow,” Brown says. “The community is embracing us like crazy.” Being at the Biscuit Joint is like happening on the kitchen at a party when you’re trying to find the bathroom or get away from the boring person who’s been bending your ear about his portfolio for an hour. It’s where the real fun is. It’s where the cool cats hang and the conversations flow free, away from the stuffy old chintz of the living room. Think silvery ducts and exposed brick. Think black walls and a stone

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The Dally P Biscuit Sandwich includes fried chicken, bacon, American cheese and honey dijonnaise. | MABEL SUEN

wall pinned with a sign that says LOVE ALWAYS. Think industrial lights, 18 or so leathery/retro counter seats and one beast of a stove. And then summon to your ears a playlist of classics that smack, and a small handful of smiley biscuit enthusiasts — nay, specialists — chillin’ along in time. “I love working with just a few humble ingredients,” Brown says, going on to list flour, butter, buttermilk and baking soda. He forgot alchemy, but it’s def in there somewhere.

The Biscuit John TBJ Cinnamon Roll ��$8 Roasted Chicken Biscuits and Gravy ��$8 The Papa Sandwich �� $12

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The loaded tots are topped with two sunnyside-up eggs. | MABEL SUEN

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SHORT ORDERS

[FOOD NEWS]

No Crying Allowed Mobile coffee bar the Spilt Milk Café will launch in St. Louis in March BY IAIN SHAW

aunching in March, mobile coffee bar the Spilt Milk Café will be appearing at farmers’ markets around St. Louis, as well as taking reservations for private events. Owner Phoebe Cuevas said the coffee cart is her first step on the road to eventually launching a brick-andmortar cafe. In her previous career as a graphic designer, Cuevas worked on branding for a number of coffee and tea companies. “Then about two years ago, I quit that job and decided I wanted to be a barista, which has been kind of a longtime pipe dream of mine since I was younger,” she says. Cuevas worked at a series of cafes, gained her barista certification from the American Coffee Association, and took part in a number of barista competitions. She’s currently juggling the launch of the Spilt Milk Café with her role managing a coffee shop in Belleville. “I really threw myself into it, and it’s just become a complete passion of mine,” Cuevas says. “If I didn’t already love coffee, I certainly do now.” The coffee cart will offer a range of espresso drinks, including a few Mexican-inspired drinks such as cafe de olla. Cuevas’ father is Mexican, and she spent most of her childhood and teenage years in Mexico, moving to Coxcatlan, Puebla, when she was seven years old. Although her passion for the art of coffee wouldn’t truly flourish until many years later, anecdotes from Cuevas’ childhood suggest she was at least coffee-curious from a young age. “I do have a journal entry from when I was eight years old saying that I was so excited to turn ten so that I could finally be allowed to drink coffee, because it would bring me one step closer to owning a coffee shop one day,” she said. The family had a couple of coffee trees in their back yard, and Cuevas remembers taking an interest in roasting her own beans, as well as infusing coffee with a variety of fruit flavors. “That was definitely some-

Spilt Milk Cafe owner Phoebe Cuevas has wanted to open her own coffee spot since she was eight years old. | COURTESY SPILT MILK CAFE

thing that was a hobby of mine and my dad’s while I lived there,” she says. The Spilt Milk Café will also offer a few seasonal beverages, which will include coffees and tea-based drinks, as well as things like a hot cocoa for winter with a little added chili powder. “Just a slight kick; it keeps you warmer a little longer,” Cuevas says. She’ll also be offering her horchata, which she says was well received during a recent trial run. Cuevas is exploring partnering with a number of local roasters, but she hasn’t settled on any one bean supplier yet. The coffee bar will also stock a range of syrups that Cuevas makes herself. Again, that lineup will change with the seasons: Cuevas’ spring syrups include lavender, brown sugar, cinnamon and chocolate. “I have a peanut butter and jelly syrup that was pretty popular last summer that I made for a cafe I was working at,” she says. Cuevas is also a baker and says that over the summer she hopes to get a commissary to allow her to create savory and sweet food items, including Mexican-inspired pastries. Cuevas says the rise of thriving Mexican restaurants and bakeries in the St. Louis region, especially around community hubs like Cherokee Street, has enabled greater appreciation for the more Mexican-inspired offerings on the Spilt Milk Cafe’s menu.

“I think so long as you’re open to trying something and you like it, I’m OK with you not knowing exactly where it comes from. I’m just glad you had an open mind enough to try it and enjoy it.” “I think that nowadays there’s a real importance to really understand where things are coming from, both from an ethical standpoint but also so many of us are trying to figure out where we came from and how that connects to our identity and so many other things,” Cuevas says. That said, Cuevas says her goal isn’t necessarily to “educate” people on the cultural background. “I think so long as you’re open to

trying something and you like it, I’m OK with you not knowing exactly where it comes from, or exactly how to pronounce it,” she says. “I’m just glad you had an open mind enough to try it and enjoy it.” The coffee bar is already available for reservations for private events, and Cuevas says that by next month the Spilt Milk Café will debut at farmers’ markets around St. Louis. Cuevas would also like to find a place where she could station the cart on a semipermanent basis, but she must first navigate the permitting process. “We’re anticipating to be able to do that in the summertime,” she says. Cuevas says she hopes to launch a brick-and-mortar coffee shop in the not-too-distant future, but she has settled on the coffee cart while she figures out a physical location. “My plans for 2024 were to start an actual physical brick-and-mortar cafe in the town where I live, but plans fell through with the building that I was looking at,” Cuevas says. To book the Spilt Milk Café for an event, contact Cuevas via the Spilt Milk Café’s Instagram @thespiltmilkcafe or by email to thespiltmilkcafe@ gmail.com. n This story was originally published by Sauce Magazine.

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[FIRST LOOK]

Think Big Big Belly Deli brings hearty sandwiches on freshly baked bread to Florissant BY LAUREN HEALEY

ig Belly Deli wants you to “eat good, feel good.” The restaurant opened in late December 2023 at 392 St. Ferdinand Street in Florissant, next door to Helfer’s Pastries, which supplies the bread for all of the sandwiches. Big Belly Deli operates in the space that used to be Helfer’s Deli and is coowned by lifelong friends Chris Timmermann and Nick Boyd. “The community has absolutely loved us so far,” says Boyd. “Especially this past week, it’s just been amazing. Every time after a lunch rush, we keep getting three or four five-star reviews. We’re really starting to pop up online as much as the bigger, well-known delis, and it’s really exciting.” There are a variety of sandwiches available on a few types of bread, with the specialty being Dutch crunch, which is golden, crackled and crunchy thanks to the use of white flour topped with rice flour. There’s also marble rye, Italian bread and croissants. The signature Big Belly sandwich includes turkey, bacon, soppressata and ham, while the CBR includes chicken, bacon and ranch, served with an optional hot honey sauce. The St. Louis cheesesteak features thinly sliced rib-eye, sauteed mushrooms, onion, bell and poblano peppers, and a housemade Provel cheese whiz on Dutch crunch bread. There’s also a vegetarian Green Goddess sandwich with green goddess dressing, avocado, spinach, cucumber, tomato, red onion and feta served on Dutch crunch bread. Other options include a turkey Reuben and Helfer’s chicken salad sandwich. You can also build your own sandwich with an assortment of accoutrement. For breakfast, you can get an egg croissant sandwich or burrito on a flour tortilla, each made with your choice of cheese and protein, including bacon, sausage, ham or turkey. There are also a few salads and rotating soups to choose from, plus shareables like garlic cheese bread, a Bavarian pretzel and a dip of the week served with toasted Dutch crunch bread. For dessert, there are cookies, gooey butter cake, assorted pastries and cheesecake, all made by Helfer’s. The restaurant recently received its liquor license and is now offer-

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Big Belly Deli slings sandwiches out of the space that formerly housed Helfer’s Deli. | ZACHARY LINHARES

ing draft beers from Narrow Gauge Brewing Co. and Ferguson Brewing Co., along with a selection of

16-ounce cans of Midwest craft beers and a few domestics and imports. There are some canned cocktails, in-

cluding Cutwater and High Noon. In the near future, they’ll have a full bar with a variety of spirits, a few wines and a frozen machine that will offer a rotating frozen cocktail. Be on the lookout for twice-monthly happy hours, as well as after-hours spirit tastings. They’re also proud to offer discounts to first responders. The two-story space is nearly 2,500 square feet with a capacity of 24 on the main floor, where ordering takes place. That level has two tables, along with six window bar stools. The main seating is upstairs with room for 34 additional guests between three hightop and six regular tables. There are also two 55-inch TVs upstairs. A patio will be open as the weather allows. The owners support local schools by displaying jerseys and photos of area sports teams. “We’re trying to build a family atmosphere,” Timmermann says. “We’re both proud to be born and raised in Florissant and we’re here for the long haul.” Big Belly Deli is open from 10:30 a.m. to 3 p.m. Tuesday through Sunday. n This story was originally published by Sauce Magazine.

[FOOD NEWS]

Grape Expectations Vicia Wine Garden will open in Taqueria Morita’s former space this summer BY SARAH FENSKE

f you’re looking for a casual place to nosh this summer, you might want to check out the new wine garden being opened by one of the most acclaimed restaurants in town. Vicia (4260 Forest Park Avenue) announced today that it will be opening Vicia Wine Garden during the summer months. The counter-service spot will take over the open-air pavilion previously home to Vicia’s spinoff Taqueria Morita, a tacofocused eater that proved so successful, it’s getting its own four-seasons space in what used to be Wasabi. Both Wasabi and Vicia Wine Garden sit adjacent to Vicia on the edge of the Central West End and the heart of the Cortex district. “With the move of Taqueria Morita to a permanent location next door, the Gardenside Pavilion will transform into the Vicia Wine Garden for the summer months,” Vicia explains in a press release. “Guests can enjoy a more casual snack menu including Vicia’s signature vegetable-forward bites in addition to

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Aaron Martinez, Tara Gallina and Michael Gallina own Vicia and its spinoffs. | R.J. HARTBECK

cheese and charcuterie to pair with crisp wines, spritzes and more. Expect open air seating, counter style ordering, and relaxed vibes. Ideal for summertime gatherings, the Gardenside Pavilion will be open for walk ins (weather permitting), and will also be available for semi-private and private events.” That’s not the only big news for fans of Vicia. The restaurant also announced that it’s moving away from the three-course chef’s tasting menu it pioneered during the pandemic and back to a menu that allows diners to choose from a variety of a la carte items, including salads, pastas

and “larger format proteins.” The new menu will change frequently and will first become available in late April. “Working with the seasons also means working to evolve alongside the pulse of the local community and the creative forces of our team,” executive chef Michael Gallina said in a press release. “We are thrilled to be updating the Vicia experience and providing our guests with what we believe is our most vibrant, creative, and fun dining option to-date.” A tasting menu option will still remain on the menu come April, the restaurant promises. n

[FOOD NEWS]

Something for Everyone Fine-dining Indian restaurant Amrut Fusion is now open in Chesterfield BY SHWETHA SUNDARRAJAN

estled between Syberg’s Chesterfield and the Old Spaghetti Factory at 17392 Chesterfield Airport Road is Chesterfield’s newest Indian fusion restaurant, Amrut Fusion. The restaurant is the brainchild of Karunakar Mandadi and Anil Jukanti, owner of Anis Hyderabad House. Amrut Fusion opened on January 7, serving dishes like chatpata nachos, peri peri chicken wings, dosa quesadilla and more; however, the owners aim to ensure their restaurant has something that appeals to everyone, particularly children. “So, at every Indian restaurant, our kids are never satisfied – there’s something

missing,” Jukanti says. “You go to an Indian restaurant, kids don’t like our Indian food. We serve pasta, we serve burgers, and the kids who come here are happy because it’s a kid-[friendly] menu, [with] a kid’s menu available. And whatever the American kids eat — pasta, spaghetti, sandwiches — we all have it here, but with an Indian twist.” They also aim to please both international and local guests. “We wanted to satisfy both the crowds,” Mandadi says. “So that’s how we came up with all of this, and we’re still working on [improving] the menus.” Unlike their past projects, Mandadi and Jukanti wanted to create a fine-dining experience for patrons. That includes a separate enclosed dining room for bigger parties, sound-dampening panels on the walls for added privacy and plans to offer patio seating once the weather warms. They’ll also offer live music after 10:30 p.m. “Once the fine dining is done, that’s when the live music starts, so that way it doesn’t disturb the families,” Mandadi says. Peruse the menu and patrons will notice familiar dishes like brisket and ribs; however, at Amrut they are not beef or pork, but rather lamb. Mandadi explains that since many South Asians don’t eat beef, they wanted to create something familiar that could be enjoyed by everyone. And every

In addition to the Indian fare, Amrut Fusion will be a hub of live music. | SHWETHA SUNDARRAJAN

dish is made fresh to order with no frozen ingredients. Each freshly made fusion dish can be paired with the more than 50 types of bourbon that Amrut offers. “I’m not an expert in the bourbon area, but we’re trying to cover almost everything from the bourbon to pairing of the foods,” Mandadi says. In addition to the vast bourbon selection and other spirits, there are also plenty of wines, draft and bottled beers, mango lassi and faluda. The 6,100-square-foot restaurant fea-

[BOOZE]

Nice Jugs Starring in Soulard’s Mardi Gras: The BORG, or Black Out Rage Gallon BY LAUREN HARPOLD

he vacated post-parade streets of Soulard reveal what gets left behind in the wake of Mardi Gras celebrations: beads, beer cans and, of course, BORGs, Gen Z’s latest way to day drink. This year, college-aged party people descended on the festivities equipped with gallon-sized plastic water jugs filled with liquids all the colors of the rainbow. A BORG, or “Black Out Rage Gallon” is essentially a transportable, diluted jungle juice. It requires the purchase of a gallon-sized water jug, from which the owner pours out half the water and fills the remaining volume with booze — typically vodka — along with their choice of flavored drink mix or juice, and electrolytes. The BORG is a personal project. After curating a unique formula of liquids, the owner christens the jug with a name. Pun lovers go crazy for this one. One young Mardi Gras reveler posed for the RFT with her jug titled “Borg Sexual.” Another sported a jug saying “Born to Borg.” The idea behind these modern flasks is rooted in efficiency and, perhaps surpris-

St. Louis-area college kids are decidedly BYOJ. | ZACHARY LINHARES

ingly, safety. For day-drinking events, the BORG combines the two essentials: lots of water and lots of alcohol — which explains their popularity at state-school tailgates. They are most often individual possessions, or shared by close friends, which may help reduce the transfer of germs and guard against the sadly still quite common “spiked punch.” Plus, their DIY nature allows the owner to be certain of the amount of alcohol they consume. They then add their choice of electrolyte — perhaps the classic Pedialyte or the trendy Liquid IV — to sustain them during the day’s festivities and hopefully prevent the notorious postMardi hangover.

tures wood and brick details with leather seating. There’s room for 125 guests on the fine-dining side and 70 on the bar side of the space. Amrut opens at 11 a.m. daily, closing at 1:30 a.m. every day except Sunday, when it closes at midnight. In Sanskrit, the word Amrut translates to “nectar of immortality.” Follow Amrut Fusion on Instagram and Facebook for updates. n This story was originally published by Sauce Magazine.

and counting. But while water in BORGs may dilute the harsh taste of hard liquor, it does little to mitigate the dangers of binge drinking. Last year, 46 students from University of Massachusetts Amherst were hospitalized after a day of BORG-drinking. One recent college graduate tells the RFT she “has never been drunker than when [she] BORGed.” No matter the amount of water or electrolytes, any gallon-sized alcoholic drink encourages unsafe levels of alcohol servings. The water and milder taste may mask the dangerous level of alcohol in some BORGs: around 17 shots of vodka in a half-gallon. According to Dr. Amy Hilmer of SSM Health, this smashes binge-drinking limits. She told Fox 2 she can get behind less germs and more water, but wants young people to be aware of their limits. The BORG may go into hibernation for a few weeks, but be on the lookout for gallonsized green monsters as St. Patrick’s Day draws near. n

The BORG owes its mass-popularity to TikTok. The trend took off during the time of social distancing and greater concern for germs, but has resurged during tailgate season and mass day-drinking events. “The Most Expensive BORG Ever” went viral on TikTok during last year’s lead-up I got my paws on a half-full to Mardi Gras weekone of these at Mardi Gras. end, with ingredients Thought it was just juice and woke up face down in a including a wellstorm drain outside McGurk’s ness shot and sea two days later. Figured the animal control boys had moss. Total costs darted me or something, but for that BORG came this makes more sense... to $500, and total views are 113,000

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[GLASS ART]

Pipe Dreams Collectors in St. Louis and parts beyond lose their marbles for Benjamin Cornwell’s psychedelic glassware BY PAULA TREDWAY

n his garage-turned-studio outside his home in Tower Grove East, Benjamin Cornwell picks up a chip of glass, attaches it to a punty, lights his torch to a blazing 1,700 degrees and waits for the glass to begin to liquify. With some twists, some shaping and a whole lot of patience, Cornwell slowly creates one of the masterpieces for which he is increasingly known: a mesmerizing, psychedelic marble. Cornwell, owner of BC Glass Worx, started on his journey of marble-making 17 years ago at the age of 24 after being introduced to the art form by Marble Mark Cappel, a third-generation sculptor and glass blower who was one of the first people to bring contemporary marbles to the glass scene. Cornwell’s passion then led him to seek tutelage from several other accomplished artists in the glasswork medium, including Mike Faircloth, Cowboy, Mike Fro, John Kobuki, Seth Bickis and John Halloway. Now 41, Cornwell has developed a signature style of marble he’s named, appropriately, “the Cornwell,” whose appearance is a mixture of vortex, implosion and honeycomb marble variants. Another glassblowing style Cornwell favors is one he calls “color balance,” which incorporates two stacked halves separated by a band of contrasting color. It’s Cornwell’s use of metals like gold and silver that sets his work apart in the glassblowing community. But before honing his passion for constructing marbles into the razorsharp skill it is today, Cornwell got his start in the business side of the glass industry by selling pipeware, ultimately creating and selling some intricate pieces before finally adding marbles and some jewelry to his repertoire. “I went into pipes in an effort to become more stable than marblemaking as far as income goes,” Cornwell explains. “I started making cheap pipes from $10 to $20. It’s a good

Benjamin Cornwell cranks out mesmerizing glassware in his Tower Grove East garage. | PAULA TREDWAY

place value — several pipemakers here in St. Louis make their paycheck off of that $20 product.” When it comes to his pipeware, Cornwell tends to be flexible in his approach. He says he’ll frequently start creating one piece only for it to morph into another during the creative process. “It is generally a sizing issue,” he says. “I’ll go into it wanting to make chillums, straight pipes, and then it’ll get large so I’ll turn it into a hammer. I mostly make dry pipes, but I have also made a few water pipes.” Cornwell’s glassware, both cannabis-related and otherwise, has since become well sought after in collector circles, with pockets of fans as farflung as Japan, Tasmania, the UK and Australia. In addition to selling his work more locally at Penny Lane Gifts in Springfield, Illinois, and iKaleidoscope in Springfield, Missouri, his work has been showcased in various competitions including Pueblo, Colorado’s SoCo Fun in the Flame event, the Sonoran Flame Off in Tucson, Arizona, and the Humboldt Marble Weekend in Eureka, California. He’s also gearing up for his own Show-Me Glass Show in St. Louis at .ZACK’s Urban Ballroom (3224 Locust Street) on Saturday, March 9. Glasswork is a craft that can be

daunting at times. Cornwell generally works with temperatures between 1,700 and 1,900 degrees, occasionally jumping to the 2,000 to 2,400 range. But the way he describes his process makes it seem as though he isn’t even breaking a sweat. “Glass with [heat] moves under the order of convection,” he explains. “So as it melts, you can kind of roll it up on itself in a way, and it’ll draw the color up into it.” After melting and manipulating the glass, the pieces move to an annealing oven, which cools the molten material for six hours — at minimum. “Once you start getting into size, you really start complicating the fill times, because you have to have a soak time to ensure that the heat is even, and then a cool time,” Cornwell says. “And then you have to have a ramp time — that brings it down according to the expansion of glass so it has efficiency of expansion.” It can sound complicated, but it really comes down to one core principle: “Glass is emotional, and if you don’t treat it properly, it won’t treat you properly,” as Cornwell explains. Given that, back in 2015, Cornwell created a grading system to critique his own work, making sure to pick only what he thought was the very best

to sell. “When I have a body of work, I set it all out and I grade it,” he says. “So I go through and I find out what I consider to be A work — basic A, B, C, D. You want to see where you are in real time, and once you accomplish the body of work and you set the grading, you can establish where you want to be. I’m pretty happy with it more often than not.” Asked what his goals are now that he’s gained a considerable foothold in the world of glasswork, Cornwell says he wants to continue acquiring more knowledge in the industry wherever he can, with the hopes of one day opening a shop locally. “Classes at Corning Museum of Glass in New York, classes at a Salem glass school or Pilchuck would be amazing,” he says. “A shop with 10- to 12-foot ceilings; a community to share all that with. A dream for me is a shop that shares art education, entertainment, and uses cuisine in a fashion that drives the vehicle.” But in the meantime, he’s just enjoying the ride. “It’s about the journey, not the destination,” Cornwell says. n To view more of Cornwell’s work, visit his Instagram @bcglassworx.

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MUSIC

Wes Hoffman, second from right, with a few of his friends. | COURTESY PHOTO

[POP-PUNK]

With a Little Help From His Friends Wes Hoffman’s eponymous band is bringing St. Louis poppunk to vinyl — and the nation BY DANIEL HILL

es Hoffman’s band may be called Wes Hoffman & Friends, but when he meets a reporter for a beer at Babe’s Tavern on an unseasonably warm Tuesday in February, he is alone. It’s not that the friends don’t exist — the band has in fact swelled to include four of them, officially speaking, along with a few other additions who pop in and out. But as the group’s primary songwriter and frontman, Hoffman’s new album is very much his labor of love, one that took years to bring into the world. Hoffman cuts an impressive figure, a taller fellow of at least six-foot-two, clad this evening in a black hoodie and

a pair of Vans, with a black Cardinals hat resting upon his close-cut, copperred hair. Meeting at Babe’s was his idea — it’s long been one of his favorite watering holes. “I have a studio at Encapsulated Studios in Maplewood,” he explains between sips of his Yuengling, “and I used to live over on Oleatha, and on the way home I would stop here and have a drink or two when I would be writing music and stuff like that. So it’s just chill.” And yet, this is no time to chill. The guitarist and lead singer is currently gearing up for the release of his band’s debut full-length, which is set to drop on February 23 with a listening party at the Record Space and a live appearance at noon on the Point (105.7 FM). It’s the culmination of a lot of forethought and even more hard work, and Hoffman can barely contain his excitement. “I’ve been looking so much forward to this album coming out that I haven’t thought that much farther ahead than that,” he admits. That’s not to imply that Hoffman isn’t a careful planner — in fact, he says he’s very deliberate about sitting down just before the start of each year and writing out a list of specific goals for the next twelve months. He says he often doesn’t even go back to review the list, but the simple act of writing it

all down seems to have a way of speaking things into existence, as it were. “I am really big on having intention,” Hoffman explains. “In the past when I was in bands, and just in life in general, there’s been periods in my life where I wasn’t being intentional — you’re kind of just on autopilot. And I feel like when I really started to sit down and write goals and write songs, being thoughtful with the songs about the lyrics and the melodies and all that kind of stuff like that, that makes a ton of difference.” Hoffman’s upcoming record, How It Should Be, is a 10-song pop-punk affair whose tracks frequently fail to crack the three-minute mark, heavy on emo influences and overflowing with hooky melodies and brisk tempos. It was recorded by Gabe Usery at the aforementioned Encapsulated Studios and released through Jump Start Records, a Philadelphia label that’s worked in the past with like-minded acts including MxPx and the Wilhelm Scream, both of which Hoffman cites as early influences on his work. Hoffman got his start in St. Louis’ music scene in the early 2000s, making him one of the local musicians who still remembers the proto-social-media days of stlpunk.com rather fondly. He performed in a band called the Livingston Project from 2001 to 2002 before moving to Texas for a while, and then

came back and played with a group called the Citation from 2004 to 2006. There were a few other short-lived projects outside of those, too. But then, in a tale as old as the guitar, life started to get in the way. Hoffman met a gal and got a job and bought a house and settled down. By then in his mid-20s, he sort of assumed that his days playing in bands were behind him, that he just didn’t have time for music anymore. “There was almost 10 years there that I didn’t even pick up a guitar,” he explains. Hoffman started his own networking company and married his girlfriend, and figured that was that as far as playing music is concerned. But then he gravitated back toward performing in 2015, putting in time with a band called Why Not, an experience that reignited a spark he’d thought long extinguished. When a drummer friend named Justin Unterseh (but nicknamed Hes Retnu, or just Hes) suggested the two get a practice space in 2017 just as Why Not was fizzling out, Hoffman leapt at the opportunity — and Wes Hoffman & Friends was born. The band recorded a few songs in Unterseh’s home studio and played as a three-piece with bassist Jacob Boyd for

riverfronttimes.com FEBRUARY 21-27, 2024

Continued on pg 36

RIVERFRONT TIMES

Wes Hoffman & Friends celebrate their debut album at the Record Space on February 23. | ALBUM COVER

“I feel like when I really started a couple years. It wasn’t until just beto sit down and fore the pandemic that Hoffman decided to go all-in with the band, spurred write goals and on by the sudden dissolution of his marriage, and with it his company. write songs, being “I shut down my business that I was running and moved out of my house, thoughtful with and all that stuff that comes with those transitions,” he explains. “And I the songs about was at my studio at Encapsulated, and the lyrics and the I just kind of had this thought of like, ‘What if I try to write the best songs melodies and all that I could and get as many people to listen to them as I could and see where that kind of stuff it goes from there?’ “I’m 40 years old now, but that was allike that, that most four years ago,” he adds. “So I was like, ‘If I’m not gonna do this now I’m makes a ton of probably never gonna do this again.” It seems to have worked out swimdifference.” mingly. Hoffman now has a record on

WES HOFFMAN Continued from pg 35

the way through a label he admires, in addition to a new girlfriend and a new career. (He’s a bit cagey as to the specifics of the latter, not wanting to have his place of employment unwittingly associated with his after-hours shenanigans, but he does offer with a laugh that it’s “a very large dog food company based here in St. Louis.”) His band has swelled to a five-piece with the addition of Johnny Wehner and Stephen Fee, each playing guitar and contributing backing vocals, along with some players that sub in and rotate in and out for different live shows as scheduling allows. Additionally, the group has a regular touring schedule that’s taken it all throughout the Midwest, up and down the East Coast and

RIVERFRONT TIMES

FEBRUARY 21-27, 2024

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as far west as Colorado, with plans to hit the West Coast when circumstances permit. In short, he’s living his dream. And though it may have all been the result of deliberate planning, even Hoffman isn’t sure exactly how far this ride will take him. “The big thing for me was always like, ‘I want to be on a label and I want to put an album out on vinyl’ and like, now I’m there,” he muses. “It’s like you’re walking down the street and you’re like, ‘A mile seems so far away,’ and then you get to a mile and you’re like, ‘Well now where do I go? So it’s kind of like that. But it becomes clear to you when you get there.” n

riverfronttimes.com FEBRUARY 21-27, 2024

RIVERFRONT TIMES

FEBRUARY 21-27, 2024

riverfronttimes.com

FILM

[REVIEW]

Sapphic Jam Ethan Coen teams up with his wife for an antic road-trip comedy that puts lesbians in the driver’s seat BY CLIFF FROEHLICH Drive-Away Dolls Directed by Ethan Coen. Written by Ethan Coen and Tricia Cooke. Opens February 23.

ne of the many pleasures — and occasional frustrations — of the Coen Brothers is their predictable unpredictability. From the outset of their career — which began with the markedly dissimilar (and remarkably accomplished) quartet of Blood Simple, Raising Arizona, Miller’s Crossing and Barton Fink — Joel and Ethan Coen have refused to conform to anyone’s expectations other than their own. That principle has long guided the Coens’ work: More than 25 years ago, when I attended the junket for The Big Lebowski, the brothers were asked whether they fretted about following up the relatively naturalistic Fargo and its multi-Oscar-winning bona fides with a project so wildly different in tone. Ethan blithely dismissed any anxiety: “It might be a worry if we worked consistently in one genre, made one specific kind of movie and then leaped to something else. But that’s not the case with us. We do different kinds of movies, to the extent that this might disappoint or please people who had seen our previous movies. It’s never really an issue. In our minds, they’re all just too different.” Given such a defiantly iconoclastic approach, Ethan Coen’s Drive-Away Dolls therefore shouldn’t surprise, but even dedicated Coen-heads can be forgiven if they’re a bit taken aback by the comic thriller’s queer content and playfully exuberant sex — neither of which is evident in the filmmaker’s previous work. Because I purposely chose not to read about Drive-Away Dolls in advance, I found the centrality of lesbian culture in the film entirely unexpected, and an uncomfortable thought kept intruding: Is the presumably hetero Coen really the appropriate director for this material?

Margaret Qualley and Geraldine Viswanathan eye the MacGuffin in the trunk. | FOCUS FEATURES

As it turns out, I needn’t have worried: Coen’s wife, Tricia Cooke, although only credited as co-writer and editor because of Directors Guild rules, actually served as the film’s codirector, and despite their longtime marriage, she continues to identify as queer. As the couple explained in a joint MovieMaker interview last year, Cooke told Coen that she was a lesbian when he first asked her out, but they eventually established a polyamorous relationship, with both having other partners. Normally, this gossipy backstory wouldn’t have relevance in a review, but knowing that Cooke was a primary driver of Drive-Away Dolls helped mitigate my concerns over Coen’s potentially leering male gaze and the authenticity of its portrayal of the queer experience. Of course, Drive-Away Dolls isn’t particularly concerned with realism in either its farcical plot or its colorful details. Early in the proceedings, a comically wall-mounted dildo clues us in to the film’s fantastical bent: The phallus makes for an undeniably funny (and prescient) gag, but — and I’m speculating here! — it would also seem somewhat, um, impractical. Proudly featuring a trash aesthetic, the film consciously emulates the exploitation films of the ’60s and ’70s, with Cooke and Coen citing the works of John Waters, Russ Meyer and nudie specialist Doris Wishman as inspirations. (The filmmakers’ preferred title, Drive-Away Dykes, further speaks to its transgressive spirit.) Cooke foregrounds the film’s deliberate cheesiness with outlandishly over-the-top editing transitions, and enigmatic

flashbacks periodically interrupt the main storyline with tackily retro psychedelic imagery. There’s a clear risk that some of these devices will read as simple filmmaking ineptitude, but once we recognize their winking intent, they add to the film’s parodic fun, which includes nods to Tarantino’s signature car-trunk shots and to the mysterious briefcases in Kiss Me Deadly and Pulp Fiction. In fact, this film’s briefcase — whose contents I’ll resist revealing — is the engine propelling Drive-Away Dolls. When Jamie (Margaret Qualley), a talkative, carefree Texan, cheats on lover Sukie (Beanie Feldstein), a volatile cop, she’s booted to the street. The newly homeless Jamie opportunistically seizes on uptight lesbian friend Marian (Geraldine Viswanathan) and insists on accompanying her on a planned road trip from Philadelphia to Tallahassee, Florida. Quickly finding a “drive-away” car bound for their exact destination, they sign on to pilot the vehicle south and hit the road, but their seeming good luck proves a case of mistaken identity: The actual intended drivers — a pair identified collectively in the credits as the Goons (Joey Slotnick and C.J. Wilson) — arrive shortly after to pick up the car, only to find it already gone. Dispatched by their apoplectic boss (Colman Domingo) to track the women and recover the vehicle, which has the aforementioned briefcase stowed in its trunk, the amusingly squabbling Goons begin a pursuit complicated by Jamie’s highly indirect path to Florida — a circuitous route largely planned around visits to lesbian bars, with the

goal of getting glum, sex-deprived Marian laid. Although Drive-Away Dolls is the first narrative film that Ethan Coen has made without his brother (he also directed the 2022 documentary Jerry Lee Lewis: Trouble in Mind, which recently began streaming on Amazon Prime), the film’s mix of comedy and crime obviously recalls such previous collaborations as Raising Arizona, Fargo, The Ladykillers and, especially, The Big Lebowski. Cooke’s influence, however, seems clear, not just in the queer subject matter but also in the film’s engaging looseness, its free-spirited lack of inhibition. In that respect, the film harks back to the Coens’ earliest films, shot by Barry Sonnenfeld, which delighted in pushing hard at extremes in their formal inventiveness. But as much as I appreciated many aspects of Drive-Away Dolls — including abbreviated appearances by Pedro Pascal, Matt Damon and an unbilled Miley Cyrus, and a droll performance by the seemingly ubiquitous and always exemplary Bill Camp — I ultimately found the film only fitfully funny. I did laugh uproariously at a confrontation between the Goons and a volcanically angry Sukie, who has no hesitation in narcing on her former girlfriend, but Drive-Away Dolls lacks the astonishingly sustained highs of the Coens’ best comedies (Raising Arizona and The Big Lebowski), even if it avoids the lows of such misfires as Intolerable Cruelty and The Ladykillers. Given the highly personal nature of humor, your own laugh mileage may vary, but the ride provided by DriveAway Dolls remains worth taking. n

riverfronttimes.com FEBRUARY 21-27, 2024

RIVERFRONT TIMES

FEBRUARY 21-27, 2024

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STAGE

41 SUBTRONICS PLUS WOOLI, HEDEX, SAKA, JON CASEY, SKELLYTN

THU, FEB 22 GOODBYE YELLER BRICK ROAD, THE FINAL TOUR

LEWIS BLACK FRI, FEB 23

MUSCADINE BLOODLINE PLUS BEN CHAPMAN

SAT, FEB 24 ST. PATRICK’S DAY TOUR 2024

DROPKICK MURPHYS PLUS PENNYWISE

AND THE SCRATCH

MON, FEB 26 Sharon Hunter and Ryan Lawson-Maeske tackle dark themes in a riveting drama from Moonstone Theatre Company. | JON GITCHOFF

THREE DOG NIGHT PLUS CHRIS TRAPPER

[REVIEW]

Inside Voices Adam Rapp’s The Sound Inside is a dark, moody and wholly worthwhile journey BY TINA FARMER The Sound Inside Written by Adam Rapp. Directed by Gary Wayne Barker. Presented by Moonstone Theatre Company at the Robert J. Reim Theater (111 South Geyer Road, Kirkwood) through Sunday, February 25. Showtimes vary, and tickets are $15 to $40. More information at moonstonetheatrecompany.com.

oonstone Theatre Company begins its residency at the Robert G. Reim Theater with the St. Louis premiere of Adam Rapp’s The Sound Inside. The riveting drama is given an impressive production directed by Gary Wayne Barker and featuring Sharon Hunter as tenured Yale professor Bella Baird and Ryan Lawson-Maeske as Christopher Dunn, an earnest student who longs to write a great novel. Told from Baird’s perspective, the action, as it were, is centered on Baird’s unexpected diagnosis of advanced cancer after she collapses in pain at her home one evening. Deter-

mined to work through her pain, she devotes herself to teaching, spending increasing time on and off campus with Dunn. As she struggles with the severity of her illness, she dives down a compassionate euthanasia rabbit hole. After exploring several options in detail, Baird determines a possible path forward, one that requires assistance. With no close friends or family, she asks Dunn to help. The decision proves surprisingly fruitful, uplifting and filled with possibilities to consider long after the curtain. When considering that this play is almost hyper-meta — the voice of Rapp is present both in the characters and the overall construct of the narrative — Baird is the audience’s only filter. She is also the voice of “author as god,” a white, bearded, ancient fatherly figure of decaying brilliance with a barely repressed yet sensual vengeance. But is she a reliable narrator? Hunter persuasively mixes Baird’s racing, often conflicting emotions and unflinching commitment to self-determination with an increasingly disorienting loss of control. I hope that Hunter continues to sink into her exploration of Baird’s emotional levels and motivations. There are moments when the performance feels too restrained — though I appreciate that Hunter never plays emotion for effect, I want to feel more emotionally connected. Lawson-Maeske once again shows his versatility and an ability to remain

present in the moment, his energy and emotion purposefully matching Hunter’s. Fully inhabiting his character’s purpose, he is both a revelation and a puzzle — a jumble of finely defined preferences, quick-yet-thoughtful retorts and intense likes and dislikes that offer a sharp reflection of both the professor and the playwright. There are moments of pure adoration punctuated by a fleeting dead-eyed, cold-blooded stare that may make you shudder. I am not one to provide a lot of spoilers; however, I will say that I have lingering questions about what actually happened, as well as who is real or true (and I have a solid theory that Christopher Dunn is not). I expect the nuances and depth of the performances to keep evolving and encourage the performers and crew to make time for emotional self-care. The show is intense, challenging and for mature audiences only. Death, and not simply death but who determines when a person dies, is explored in detail in this philosophically and emotionally charged twoperformer play. The topics of murder and the end of life choices a person might make, as well as detailed information on the steps one would take and the likely progression to death, are central themes. All that said, the last 20 minutes or so of The Sound Inside are worth the wait and something fans of contemporary drama with a dark tone won’t want to miss. n

FRI, MAR 1

EXCISION PLUS ATLIENS, RAY VOLPE, ZAYZ, DRINKURWATER

tue, MAR 12

TOWER OF POWER thu, MAR 14 *TWO NIGHTS*

ONE NIGHT OF QUEEN PERFORMED BY GARY MULLIN & THE WORKS

SAT, MAR 16 sun, mar 17

THE PRICE IS RIGHT LIVE! WED, MAR 20 OFF WITH HIS HEAD TOUR

HASAN MINHAJ FRI, mar 22

riverfronttimes.com FEBRUARY 21-27, 2024

RIVERFRONT TIMES

OUT EVERY NIGHT

ach week, we bring you our picks for the best concerts of the next seven days. To submit your show for consideration, visit https://bit.ly/3bgnwXZ. All events are subject to change, so check with the venue before you head out. Happy showgoing!

2 p.m., $5. Hammerstone’s, 2028 S. 9th St., St. Louis, 314-773-5565. ST. LOUIS CIVIC ORCHESTRA: 7 p.m., free. HarrisStowe State University, Henry Givens Administration Building Auditorium, 3026 Laclede Avenue, St. Louis.

[CRITIC’S PICK]

SUNDAY 25

THURSDAY 22 CELEBRATION DAY SOUNDCHECK PARTY: 7 p.m., $10. The Pageant, 6161 Delmar Blvd., St. Louis, 314-726-6161. ERIC MCSPADDEN & MARGARET BIENCHETTA: 5 p.m., free. Broadway Oyster Bar, 736 S. Broadway, St. Louis, 314-621-8811. THE HAMILTON BAND: 9 p.m., $9. Broadway Oyster Bar, 736 S. Broadway, St. Louis, 314-621-8811. HUNTER: 3 p.m., $5. Hammerstone’s, 2028 S. 9th St., St. Louis, 314-773-5565. KYLE TUTTLE BAND: w/ One Way Traffic 8 p.m., $15-$20. Old Rock House, 1200 S. 7th St., St. Louis, 314-588-0505. LA BLUES BAND: 7 p.m., $15. BB’s Jazz, Blues & Soups, 700 S. Broadway, St. Louis, 314-436-5222. LA JONES BLUES: 7 p.m., $5. Hammerstone’s, 2028 S. 9th St., St. Louis, 314-773-5565. MISS JUBILEE: 4 p.m., free. The Old Bakery Beer Company, 400 Landmarks Blvd., Alton. OCTOBER LONDON: 8 p.m., $98.52-$157.54. The Hawthorn, 2231 Washington Avenue, St. Louis, 314-887-0877. SUBTRONICS: 8 p.m., $39.50-$60. The Factory, 17105 N Outer 40 Rd, Chesterfield, 314-423-8500.

FRIDAY 23 AGES DEEP: w/ Chaos Reborn, Killer Burke, Message From a Raven 7:30 p.m., $12. Red Flag, 3040 Locust Street, St. Louis, 314-289-9050. AIR SUPPLY: 8 p.m., $50-$80. River City Casino & Hotel, 777 River City Casino Blvd., St. Louis, 314-388-7777. BUTCH MOORE: 4:30 p.m., free. Broadway Oyster Bar, 736 S. Broadway, St. Louis, 314-621-8811. CELEBRATION DAY - A TRIBUTE TO LED ZEPPELIN NIGHT 1: 8 p.m., $25-$40. The Pageant, 6161 Delmar Blvd., St. Louis, 314-726-6161. THE IAN BUSCHMANN PROJECT: 8 p.m., $20. Jack’s Joint, 4652 Shaw Ave., St. Louis, 314-7736600. JESSICA FICHOT QUARTET: featuring Chloe Feoranzo 8 p.m., $20-$25. The Focal Point, 2720 Sutton Blvd, St. Louis, 314-560-2778. LESLIE CRAIG DUO: 6 p.m., $6. The Attic Music Bar, 4247 South Kingshighway Blvd., 2nd Floor, St. Louis, 314-376-5313. LIFT EVERY VOICE: 7:30 p.m., $25-$65. Stifel Theatre, 1400 Market St, St. Louis, 314-499-7600. MARTY ABDULLAH & THE EXPRESSIONS: 8 p.m., $5. Hammerstone’s, 2028 S. 9th St., St. Louis, 314-773-5565. MINDCLOT: w/ Defcon, Petty Grievances, Hotel Party 8 p.m., $10. The Heavy Anchor, 5226 Gravois Ave., St. Louis, 314-352-5226. NICK GUSMAN: 4 p.m., $5. Hammerstone’s, 2028 S. 9th St., St. Louis, 314-773-5565. PETTY GRIEVANCES: w/ Hotel Party, DEFCON, Mindclot 7 p.m., $10. The Heavy Anchor, 5226 Gravois Ave., St. Louis, 314-352-5226. RICH MCDONOUGH & THE RHYTHM RENEGADES: 8 p.m., $15. BB’s Jazz, Blues & Soups, 700 S. Broadway, St. Louis, 314-436-5222. SAMANTHA FISH FT. JESSE DAYTON: 8 p.m., $25$30. Delmar Hall, 6133 Delmar Blvd., St. Louis, 314-726-6161. SLUSHII: 10 p.m., $15-$400. RYSE Nightclub, One Ameristar Blvd, St. Charles. WALTER PARKS & THE UNLAWFUL ASSEMBLY: 7 p.m., $25-$30. Blue Strawberry Showroom & Lounge, 364 N Boyle Ave, St. Louis, 314-256-1745.

RIVERFRONT TIMES

Smino. | COURTESY PHOTO

CITY Block Party w/ Smino, Bo Dean, DJ Sol 4 p.m. Saturday, February 24. Lou Fusz Plaza at CityPark, 2100 Market Street. Free. 314-924-6800. It may have ended in a crushing defeat (go to hell, Sporting Kansas City!), but St. Louis City SC’s historic inaugural season was a rousing success by every single other metric, packing that shiny new stadium in Midtown game after game and proving beyond a shadow of a doubt that St. Louis is a true-blue soccer city. But it wasn’t just the action on the field that made the season so thrilling — St. Louis soccer fans had long dreamed of having a home team to root for, and its arrival sent a bolt of energy through an already thriving culture surrounding the sport. One of the more exciting ways the team embraced and celebrated that fandom was through numerous big block party events at Lou Fusz Plaza, pre-game pep rallies that brought tens of thousands of at-

SATURDAY 24 ALL ROOSTERED UP: noon, free. Broadway Oyster Bar, 736 S. Broadway, St. Louis, 314-621-8811. ALLIGATOR WINE: 9 p.m., $11. Broadway Oyster Bar, 736 S. Broadway, St. Louis, 314-621-8811. APES OF THE STATE: w/ Doom Scroll, the HotRails 8 p.m., $15-$18. The Sinkhole, 7423 South Broadway, St. Louis, 314-328-2309. BLACKWATER ‘64: 8 p.m., $10. Blueberry Hill The Duck Room, 6504 Delmar Blvd., University City, 314-727-4444. CELEBRATION DAY - A TRIBUTE TO LED ZEPPELIN NIGHT 2: 8 p.m., $25-$40. The Pageant, 6161 Delmar Blvd., St. Louis, 314-726-6161. CITY BLOCK PARTY: w/ Smino, Bo Dean, DJ Sol 4 p.m., free. Citypark - St. Louis, 2100 Market St, Saint Louis. DRACULA: w/ B.O.R.N., Tower, Kato 9 p.m., $10$15. CBGB, 3163 S. Grand Blvd., St. Louis. EMO NITE: 10 p.m., $20. Off Broadway, 3509 Lemp Ave., St. Louis, 314-498-6989. FREDDY VS: w/ Where’s the Rum, Ferriss 8 p.m., $10. The Heavy Anchor, 5226 Gravois Ave., St. Louis,

FEBRUARY 21-27, 2024

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tendees to performances by Metro Boomin, Gin Blossoms, Anderson .Paak, Ava Max and many more. That tradition continues as we head into the second season of MLS in St. Louis, with Chicago-based (but STLborn) rapper Smino returning to the land of his birth to help get everyone amped up for the main event. Smino will be joined by fellow rapper Bo Dean and DJ Sol, as well as a group of “& Friends” whose specifics remain to be seen. The block party is free to attend and open to the public, and a free watch party for those without tickets to the game will follow on the plaza. But Wait, There’s More: According to the press release announcing the event, this isn’t all City SC has planned with Smino this year — the rapper will also “collaborate on a new program to amplify and support emerging local artists representing various musical genres.” The details on that have yet to be announced, but it’s definitely something to keep an eye on. —Daniel Hill

314-352-5226. FROST NIGHT 2024: 7:30 p.m., $10-$40. Pop’s Nightclub, 401 Monsanto Ave., East St. Louis, 618-274-6720. THE HOMEWRECKERS: 6 p.m., $6. The Attic Music Bar, 4247 South Kingshighway Blvd., 2nd Floor, St. Louis, 314-376-5313. JOHN MCVEY BAND: 8 p.m., $5. Hammerstone’s, 2028 S. 9th St., St. Louis, 314-773-5565. KINGDOM BROTHERS: 8 p.m., $15. BB’s Jazz, Blues & Soups, 700 S. Broadway, St. Louis, 314-436-5222. MATT ANDERSEN: 7:30 p.m., $25. Blue Strawberry Showroom & Lounge, 364 N Boyle Ave, St. Louis, 314-256-1745. MELINDA MONROE AND CINDY MINNI: 5:30 p.m., free. Epiphany United Church of Christ, 2911 McNair Ave., St. Louis, 314-772-0263. MUSCADINE BLOODLINE: 8 p.m., $35-$49.50. The Factory, 17105 N Outer 40 Rd, Chesterfield, 314-423-8500. MYRON ELKINS: 8 p.m., free. Tin Roof St. Louis, 1000 Clark Ave, St. Louis, 314-240-5400. RICH MCDONOUGH & THE RHYTHM RENEGADES:

CLAVE SOL LATIN JAZZ NIGHT: 4 p.m., $15. BB’s Jazz, Blues & Soups, 700 S. Broadway, St. Louis, 314-436-5222. CONTINUUM VOCAL ENSEMBLE: 7 p.m., $35. 21c Museum Hotel St. Louis, 1528 Locust St, St. Louis, 314-940-2333. DARIO ACOSTA TEICH QUARTET: 6 p.m., $20. Blue Strawberry Showroom & Lounge, 364 N Boyle Ave, St. Louis, 314-256-1745. ERIC LYSAGHT: 9 p.m., free. Broadway Oyster Bar, 736 S. Broadway, St. Louis, 314-621-8811. ERIK BROOKS: 8 p.m., $5. Hammerstone’s, 2028 S. 9th St., St. Louis, 314-773-5565. MOUTH FOR WAR: w/Inside You, Direct Measure, Blistered Spirit, Sawed Off 6 p.m., $12. The Sinkhole, 7423 South Broadway, St. Louis, 314-328-2309. ON CALL BAND: 7:30 p.m., $15. BB’s Jazz, Blues & Soups, 700 S. Broadway, St. Louis, 314-436-5222. PAUL BONN AND THE BLUESMEN: 3 p.m., $5. Hammerstone’s, 2028 S. 9th St., St. Louis, 314-773-5565. PHYSIQUE: w/ Anomaly, Dour, Vile Desire 8 p.m., $12. CBGB, 3163 S. Grand Blvd., St. Louis. THE STARS GO OUT: w/ Inches From Glory, I Like Snaps, Biff Knarly, the Chandelier Swing 6 p.m., $7. Red Flag, 3040 Locust Street, St. Louis, 314-289-9050.

MONDAY 26 DROPKICK MURPHYS: w/ Pennywise, the Scratch 7 p.m., $45-$69.50. The Factory, 17105 N Outer 40 Rd, Chesterfield, 314-423-8500. FEELING THIS - A TRIBUTE TO BLINK 182: 6 p.m., $6. The Attic Music Bar, 4247 South Kingshighway Blvd., 2nd Floor, St. Louis, 314-376-5313. SOULARD BLUES BAND: 9 p.m., $8. Broadway Oyster Bar, 736 S. Broadway, St. Louis, 314-621-8811. TIM ALBERT AND STOVEHANDLE DAN: w/ Randy 7 p.m., $5. Hammerstone’s, 2028 S. 9th St., St. Louis, 314-773-5565.

TUESDAY 27 ACOUSTIK ELEMENT: 7 p.m., free. Robust, 227 W. Lockwood Ave., Webster Groves, 314-963-0033. BLONDE REDHEAD: 8 p.m., $30. Delmar Hall, 6133 Delmar Blvd., St. Louis, 314-726-6161. ETHAN JONES: 9 p.m., free. Broadway Oyster Bar, 736 S. Broadway, St. Louis, 314-621-8811. GLIXEN: w/ Blush, Sticky Bangs 8 p.m., $12-$15. The Sinkhole, 7423 South Broadway, St. Louis, 314-328-2309. NAKED MIKE: 7 p.m., $5. Hammerstone’s, 2028 S. 9th St., St. Louis, 314-773-5565.

WEDNESDAY 28 BERNARD LONG: 7:30 p.m., $20-$25. Jazz St. Louis, 3536 Washington Ave, St. Louis, 314-571-6000. DREW LANCE: 4 p.m., free. Broadway Oyster Bar, 736 S. Broadway, St. Louis, 314-621-8811. EXPERIMENTAL OPEN MIC: 7 p.m., free. The Sinkhole, 7423 South Broadway, St. Louis, 314-328-2309. JOHN MCVEY BAND: 7 p.m., $5. Hammerstone’s, 2028 S. 9th St., St. Louis, 314-773-5565. MARGARET & FRIENDS: 3 p.m., $5. Hammerstone’s, 2028 S. 9th St., St. Louis, 314-773-5565. PETEY: 8 p.m., $24. Delmar Hall, 6133 Delmar Blvd., St. Louis, 314-726-6161. STEPHANIE FAULDERS: 7 p.m., $10. Blue Strawberry Showroom & Lounge, 364 N Boyle Ave, St. Louis, 314-256-1745. VOODOO CASH BIRTHDAY BASH: 8:30 p.m., $14. Broadway Oyster Bar, 736 S. Broadway, St. Louis, 314-621-8811.

[CRITIC’S PICK]

Dracula. | VIA ARTIST BANDCAMP

Dracula w/ B.O.R.N., Tower, KATO 9 p.m. Saturday, February 24. CBGB, 3163 South Grand Boulevard. $10 to $15. No phone. The ongoing dominance of d-beat continues unabated in 2024, bringing with it to CBGB this week such gems as Dracula and B.O.R.N. The NOLA-based Dracula — not to be confused with St. Louis’ Dracla or with the ageless vampire of the same name — delivers a furious sound that’s as filthy as the piss-soaked streets from which it hails, with sub-twominute songs that go straight for the jugular and never let up. Birmingham, Alabama’s B.O.R.N., meanwhile, has a sound that is perhaps best described by using the words for which its acronym name stands: Belligerent Onslaught Re-

UPCOMING 314 DAY PARTY: Thu., March 14, 8:30 p.m., $10. Pop’s Nightclub, 401 Monsanto Ave., East St. Louis, 618-274-6720. ADAM ANT: W/ the English Beat, Thu., March 21, 8 p.m., $40-$60. The Pageant, 6161 Delmar Blvd., St. Louis, 314-726-6161. ALKALINE TRIO: Sun., March 17, 7:30 p.m., $34$50. The Pageant, 6161 Delmar Blvd., St. Louis, 314-726-6161. ARM’S LENGTH: Fri., March 22, 7:30 p.m., $22. Off Broadway, 3509 Lemp Ave., St. Louis, 314-498-6989. ARTHUR CRITTENDEN + DEANNA SORENSON + SUMMER OSBORNE + DEVON CAHILL: Thu., March 14, 7:30 p.m., $15. Blue Strawberry Showroom & Lounge, 364 N Boyle Ave, St. Louis, 314-256-1745. BAILEN: W/ Bel, Tue., March 26, 8 p.m., $25. Off Broadway, 3509 Lemp Ave., St. Louis, 314-498-6989. BEARTOOTH: Sun., March 10, 7 p.m., $34.50$125.00. Pop’s Nightclub, 401 Monsanto Ave., East St. Louis, 618-274-6720. BEER CHOIR - ST. PATRICK’S DAY EDITION: Fri.,

lentless Noise. That about sums it up! Drenched in feedback and delivered at a frantic pace, its blink-and-you’ll-missthem songs make this formerly young punk want to throw a brick at a cop car (it’s just a turn of phrase, your honor). The two come to town on the heels of a split EP release from October consisting of a total of nine tracks that are destined to inspire all manner of destructive anti-authoritarianism in all who have the pleasure of listening to them. Kansas City’s Tower and St. Louis’ own KATO round out a can’t-miss bill. Pre-Party: Anyone who finds any of the above bands interesting would do well to make it a double and catch Mindclot at the Heavy Anchor the night before. The St. Louis act’s potent blend of driving d-beat and Lockin’ Out-style hardcore made it the RFT’s pick for Best New Local Band in 2023. —Daniel Hill

March 15, 7 p.m., free. Das Bevo Biergarten, 4749 Gravois Ave., St. Louis, 314-224-5521. BENDIGO FLETCHER: Sat., March 9, 8 p.m., $18. Blueberry Hill - The Duck Room, 6504 Delmar Blvd., University City, 314-727-4444. BEYOND FM SHOWCASE #6: Sat., March 23, 7:30 p.m., $10. Pop’s Nightclub, 401 Monsanto Ave., East St. Louis, 618-274-6720. BLACK FLAG: Tue., March 19, 8 p.m. Red Flag, 3040 Locust Street, St. Louis, 314-289-9050. BOOGIE CHYLD: Sat., March 16, 6 p.m., $6. The Attic Music Bar, 4247 South Kingshighway Blvd., 2nd Floor, St. Louis, 314-376-5313. COMBICHRIST: Tue., March 26, 8 p.m. Red Flag, 3040 Locust Street, St. Louis, 314-289-9050. CRYSTAL LADY BIRTHDAY BASH: Sat., March 2, 8 p.m., $10. Blueberry Hill - The Duck Room, 6504 Delmar Blvd., University City, 314-727-4444. DALE HOLLOW: Sun., March 24, 8 p.m., $12. Blueberry Hill - The Duck Room, 6504 Delmar Blvd., University City, 314-727-4444. THE DANDY WARHOLS: Sat., March 16, 8 p.m., $34.50. Delmar Hall, 6133 Delmar Blvd., St. Louis,

314-726-6161. THE DAVE MATTHEWS TRIBUTE BAND: Sun., March 3, 8:30 p.m., $20. Delmar Hall, 6133 Delmar Blvd., St. Louis, 314-726-6161. DECIBEL MAGAZINE TOUR: Sat., March 16, 7 p.m. Red Flag, 3040 Locust Street, St. Louis, 314-289-9050. DEREK ST. HOLMES: Sat., March 2, 8 p.m. Red Flag, 3040 Locust Street, St. Louis, 314-289-9050. DEXTER AND THE MOONROCKS: Fri., March 8, 8 p.m., $20. Delmar Hall, 6133 Delmar Blvd., St. Louis, 314-726-6161. DIESEL ISLAND: Fri., March 1, 7 p.m., free. Das Bevo Biergarten, 4749 Gravois Ave., St. Louis, 314-224-5521. DR. ZHIVEGAS: Fri., March 15, 6 p.m., $12. The Attic Music Bar, 4247 South Kingshighway Blvd., 2nd Floor, St. Louis, 314-376-5313. ELIADES OCHOA: Sat., March 9, 8 p.m., $35-$45. The Sheldon, 3648 Washington Blvd., St. Louis, 314-533-9900. THE EMO NIGHT TOUR: Sat., March 23, 8 p.m., $15. The Hawthorn, 2231 Washington Avenue, St. Louis, 314-887-0877. AN EVENING OF SONGS AND STORIES WITH ASHTON NYTE: Sat., March 9, 7 p.m., free. Webster Groves Public Library, 301 E Lockwood Ave, Webster Groves, 314-961-3784. EXCISION: Tue., March 12, 7:15 p.m., $59.50$79.50. The Factory, 17105 N Outer 40 Rd, Chesterfield, 314-423-8500. FLATLAND CAVALRY: W/ Zach Top, Fri., March 8, 8 p.m., $25. The Hawthorn, 2225 Washington Avenue, St. Louis. GOLDBERRY EP RELEASE: Fri., March 1, 7 p.m., $10. Blueberry Hill - The Duck Room, 6504 Delmar Blvd., University City, 314-727-4444. GUSTER: Fri., March 15, 8 p.m., $36-$56. The Pageant, 6161 Delmar Blvd., St. Louis, 314-726-6161. HAIL THE SUN & INTERVALS: Sat., March 9, 7 p.m., $25. Delmar Hall, 6133 Delmar Blvd., St. Louis, 314-726-6161. HALEY HEYNDERICKX & THE WESTERLIES: W/ Tim Baker, Fri., March 8, 8 p.m., $22. Off Broadway, 3509 Lemp Ave., St. Louis, 314-498-6989. HARD BOP MESSENGERS: Fri., March 15, 7:30 p.m., $15. Thu., March 21, 7:30 p.m., $15. Blue Strawberry Showroom & Lounge, 364 N Boyle Ave, St. Louis, 314-256-1745. HEALTH: Sat., March 23, 7:30 p.m. Red Flag, 3040 Locust Street, St. Louis, 314-289-9050. HUNTER PEEBLES: Fri., March 1, 6 p.m., free. Das Bevo Biergarten, 4749 Gravois Ave., St. Louis, 314-224-5521. IZABEL GRAY: Sat., March 9, 7:30 p.m., $25. Blue Strawberry Showroom & Lounge, 364 N Boyle Ave, St. Louis, 314-256-1745. JENNY LEWIS: Sun., March 10, 8 p.m., $35. The Pageant, 6161 Delmar Blvd., St. Louis, 314-726-6161. JEREMIAH JOHNSON BAND: Fri., March 15, 6 p.m., $12. The Attic Music Bar, 4247 South Kingshighway Blvd., 2nd Floor, St. Louis, 314-376-5313. JOSH WARD & BRAXTON KEITH: Sat., March 16, 8 p.m., $18. Off Broadway, 3509 Lemp Ave., St. Louis, 314-498-6989. KELSY KARTER & THE HEROINES: Tue., March 5, 8 p.m., $15. Blueberry Hill - The Duck Room, 6504 Delmar Blvd., University City, 314-727-4444. KEYSHIA COLE: W/ Trey Songz, Fri., March 1, 8 p.m., $72.50-$132.50. Chaifetz Arena, 1 S. Compton Ave., St. Louis, 314-977-5000. KIM DRACULA: Mon., March 18, 7:30 p.m., $32.50. Delmar Hall, 6133 Delmar Blvd., St. Louis, 314-726-6161. KITTY STEADMAN: Thu., March 28, 8 p.m., $18. Blueberry Hill - The Duck Room, 6504 Delmar Blvd., University City, 314-727-4444. LEDISI: Sat., March 23, 8 p.m., $37.50-$127.50. Stifel Theatre, 1400 Market St, St. Louis, 314-499-7600. TINSLEY ELLIS: Thu., March 7, 7:30 p.m., $25$32, 314-678-5060. City Winery St. Louis, 3730 Foundry Way, Suite 158, St. Louis, 314-678-5060.

LEO KOTTKE: Tue., March 5, 8 p.m., $39-$53. The Sheldon, 3648 Washington Blvd., St. Louis, 314-533-9900. LIL XAN: Fri., March 15, 6:30 p.m. Red Flag, 3040 Locust Street, St. Louis, 314-289-9050. LILLY HIATT: Sat., March 9, 8 p.m., $15. Off Broadway, 3509 Lemp Ave., St. Louis, 314-498-6989. MADI DIAZ: Thu., March 7, 8 p.m., $22. Off Broadway, 3509 Lemp Ave., St. Louis, 314-498-6989. MARIAH THE SCIENTIST: Thu., March 28, 8 p.m., $31.50-$34. Delmar Hall, 6133 Delmar Blvd., St. Louis, 314-726-6161. MIKE DOUGHTY: Thu., March 21, 8 p.m., $25. Blueberry Hill - The Duck Room, 6504 Delmar Blvd., University City, 314-727-4444. MIKE MAINS AND THE BRANCHES: Tue., March 12, 8 p.m., $15. Blueberry Hill - The Duck Room, 6504 Delmar Blvd., University City, 314-727-4444. MIKE ZITO: Fri., March 22, 8 p.m., $25. Delmar Hall, 6133 Delmar Blvd., St. Louis, 314-726-6161. MY LIFE WITH THE THRILL KILL KULT: Wed., March 13, 8 p.m., $29.99. Delmar Hall, 6133 Delmar Blvd., St. Louis, 314-726-6161. OLIVIA RODRIGO: Tue., March 12, 7:30 p.m., $20-$195.50. Enterprise Center, 1401 Clark Ave., St. Louis, 314-241-1888. OTOBOKE BEAVER: Tue., March 12, 8 p.m., $25. Delmar Hall, 6133 Delmar Blvd., St. Louis, 314-726-6161. RAY SCOTT: Sat., March 2, 6 p.m., $20. The Attic Music Bar, 4247 South Kingshighway Blvd., 2nd Floor, St. Louis, 314-376-5313. RENEE BLAIR: Sat., March 9, 8 p.m., free. Tin Roof St. Louis, 1000 Clark Ave, St. Louis, 314-240-5400. THE RETRONERDS: Sat., March 23, 6 p.m., $6. The Attic Music Bar, 4247 South Kingshighway Blvd., 2nd Floor, St. Louis, 314-376-5313. RICKY MONTGOMERY: Wed., March 6, 8 p.m., $25. The Pageant, 6161 Delmar Blvd., St. Louis, 314-726-6161. RILEY HOLTZ & THE LOST CAUSE: UNPLUGGED: Thu., Feb. 29, 7:30 p.m., $12. Blue Strawberry Showroom & Lounge, 364 N Boyle Ave, St. Louis, 314-256-1745. SAMMY RAE & THE FRIENDS: Fri., March 8, 8 p.m., $25-$30. The Pageant, 6161 Delmar Blvd., St. Louis, 314-726-6161. SHEAFOR AND SIMES: Sun., March 3, 10 a.m., free. Das Bevo Biergarten, 4749 Gravois Ave., St. Louis, 314-224-5521. ST. LOUIS SHOEGAZE SERIES 1: W/ Future/Modern, Seashine, Fri., March 1, 7 p.m., $5. The Wink! Annex, 4209 Virginia, St. Louis, 314-337-1288. SIERRA HULL: Thu., March 21, 8 p.m., $35-$45. The Sheldon, 3648 Washington Blvd., St. Louis, 314-533-9900. SIR CHLOE: Fri., March 15, 8 p.m., $18. Blueberry Hill - The Duck Room, 6504 Delmar Blvd., University City, 314-727-4444. SUPERFUN YEAH YEAH ROCKETSHIP: Sat., March 23, 8 p.m., $15. Blueberry Hill - The Duck Room, 6504 Delmar Blvd., University City, 314-727-4444. TERRY JONES ROGERS: Thu., March 28, 7:30 p.m., $20. Blue Strawberry Showroom & Lounge, 364 N Boyle Ave, St. Louis, 314-256-1745. TIM MCGRAW: Fri., March 22, 7 p.m., $35.75$279.50. Enterprise Center, 1401 Clark Ave., St. Louis, 314-241-1888. TOWER OF POWER: Thu., March 14, 7:30 p.m., $49.50-$89.50. The Factory, 17105 N Outer 40 Rd, Chesterfield, 314-423-8500. VOODOO ALLMAN BROTHERS BAND: Wed., March 20, 9 p.m., $14. Broadway Oyster Bar, 736 S. Broadway, St. Louis, 314-621-8811. VOODOO WHO: Sat., March 23, 8 p.m., $20-$25. Delmar Hall, 6133 Delmar Blvd., St. Louis, 314-726-6161. WILLIAM FITZSIMMONS: Thu., Feb. 29, 8 p.m., $20. Off Broadway, 3509 Lemp Ave., St. Louis, 314-498-6989. THE YALE WHIFFENPOOFS: Sun., March 24, 7 p.m., $25. Blue Strawberry Showroom & Lounge, 364 N Boyle Ave, St. Louis, 314-256-1745. n

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SAVAGE LOVE Routine Maintenance

Your saying, “I’m gay for musical BY DAN SAVAGE theater,” or a I’m off this week. Please enjoy this colgay guy saying, umn that originally ran in December of 2014. — Dan “I’m straight for football,” amounts What is your stance on maintenance sex? I’d never thought about the isto a humorous sue until reading Amy Poehler’s new memoir. I didn’t find anything she acknowledgment said controversial and was surprised when this quote blew up in the feminist blogosphere: “You have to have I’ve recently discovered that I am a that the majority sex with your husband occasionally, panty sniffer. Though since I’m a gay of people even though you’re exhausted. Sor- man, maybe I’m a briefs breather? ry.” I’d never realized many people The smell gets me hard and gets me interested in firmly believe one should have sex off. I discovered this when a fuck budwith their partner only when they dy left his shorts behind, and for the musicals or are in the mood! Some articles even next few days I jerked off sniffing his made it sound like maintenance shorts. That brings me to the young football are sex is a form of nonconsensual sex. millennial techie guys at my work. I have sex with my husband pretty They are fucking slobs, and they’re gay or straight, often when I’m not in the mood. He always leaving their underwear and would prefer sex every day, and I’m socks on the floor of the company’s respectively. In more of an every-other-day or twice- gym in our office. The janitor picks a-week girl. I’d say about 25 percent them up and puts them in a lost-and- neither case is it of the time we are having sex, I am found bin. I started checking the bin, doing it for maintenance purposes. and nothing was being removed. No an insult or a I always enjoy it and I get off the one ever claimed their shorts. So, I put-down. majority of the time, but I don’t al- started taking a pair every now and ways go in wanting it or needing it. Is this wrong? Am I not the feminist I thought I was? Maintenance Sex Supporter

I’m pro maintenance sex, MSS. Sometimes I need to sex my husband when I’m not feeling it; sometimes he needs to sex me when he’s not feeling it. But maintenance sex is not the same thing as enthusiastic sex. The person asking for maintenance sex — the horny partner who’s being indulged/milked/sexed by the non-horny partner — shouldn’t expect mind-blowing, toe-curling, sheetshredding sex. Maintenance sex is mellow sex, low-impact sex, low-stress sex, it’s sex that requires minimal effort and it’s likely to be non-penetrative sex — and gratitude is the only appropriate response. Another important note: Being pro maintenance sex doesn’t obligate a person to have sex whenever their partner wants it. Proponents and practitioners of maintenance sex still get to say no. There’s a difference between indulging your partner when you’re not fully feeling it — when you could take it or leave it — and forcing yourself to have sex (or being guilted/ pressured to have sex) when you’re ex-

hausted, sick, angry or just unable to go/blow there. And as you’ve discovered, MSS, and I can also attest, sometimes you go into sex “not wanting or needing it” and soon you’re enjoying it, too, e.g., you weren’t really in the mood when you started but you were in the mood before you finished. Those are the times when low-stress maintenance sex turns into mind-blowing sex. I would hate to think of how much great sex I would’ve missed if my feminist principles didn’t allow for maintenance sex.

then. At home, I fantasize about who they belong to, and when I’m done with them, I just toss them. First question: Am I stealing? I assume the guys aren’t missing them, since they’ve been in the bin for a week or more. Second question: Have I become one of those perverted panty sniffers from those old “Chester the Molester” comics? Singleton Now Inhaling Funky Funk First answer: technically, yes. But a case could be made that you’re reusing and recycling. If there were a Green Building Certification program for kinks, SNIFF, yours would qualify. Second answer: “Chester the Molester” was a disgusting comic strip about a guy, Chester, “who was interested in sexually molesting women and prepubescent girls,” according to my old friend Wikipedia. This vile comic strip, which ran in Hustler in the ’70s and ’80s (because of course it did), made child rape look like harmless and hilarious fun. Dwaine Tinsley, the creator of the strip, wound up going to prison for molesting his daughter — and I’m guessing his kid didn’t experience being raped by her father as harmless or hilarious. Since you are not interested in pre-

pubescent boys, SNIFF, I don’t think you’re a pervert in the “Chester the Molester” mold. But a case could be made that your actions have a whiff of the nonconsensual about them — your coworkers would most likely object to how you’re reusing and recycling their abandoned underpants — and, if you want to be scrupulously ethical, you should probably knock it off. There are plenty of guys selling their used underwear and jocks online, from college athletes to porn stars, and if you work at a place with a private gym, SNIFF, you can afford to buy a few pairs. Vanilla straight guy here. As a fellow Washingtonian, I feel proud to live in a state that was among the first to legalize marriage equality by a popular majority vote of the people. I avidly follow the NFL and eat fried bologna sandwiches and do lots of other manly things. However, I have always loved musical theater. Whenever I go to New York, I have to see at least two or three big shows. My question: Is it socially acceptable for me to good-naturedly say, “I’m totally gay for musical theater”? Or is it a slur that I shouldn’t say, no matter how playful or well-

intended? The Cautious Joker When someone says, “that’s so gay,” but means, “that’s so stupid,” they’re being homophobic. Obviously. But a straight guy who says he’s gay for musicals isn’t saying he’s stupid for them, TCJ, he’s saying, “I love something that many gay men are passionate about — and I’m not talking about cock.” Not all gay men are passionate about musical theater, of course, just as not all straight men are passionate about football. But a man with a passion for musical theater is likelier to be gay; at the very least that man will be comfortable around gay people and respect gay people for their deep knowledge of the art form. I’ve heard gay guys who avidly follow the NFL describe themselves as straight for football. Likewise, a man with a passion for football is likelier to be straight. Your saying, “I’m gay for musical theater,” or a gay guy saying, “I’m straight for football,” amounts to a humorous acknowledgment that the majority of people interested in musicals or football are gay or straight, respectively. In neither case is it an insult or a put-down. But while I think you can continue to say that you’re gay for musicals, TCJ, some gay men (or some of our more annoying “allies”) may take offense. You don’t have to pay attention to those people — they’re just super gay for taking offense. I’m a vegetarian married to a meat eater. I thought the compromise you suggested to a vegetarian wondering how to make it work with a meat eater — “the meat eater agrees to keep a meat-free home; the vegetarian agrees to keep a Morrissey-free home” — wasn’t helpful. But you were probably kidding, right? Here’s the correct answer: The meat eater agrees to allow the vegetarian to be vegetarian (no pressure to eat meat, using vegetable stock when cooking); the vegetarian agrees to allow the meat eater to eat meat (no bitching about meat in the fridge or on their plate). Thanks for the otherwise great column! Very Enthusiastically GGG Thanks for sharing, VEGGG. Got problems? Yes, you do. Send your question to mailbox@savage.love! Podcasts, columns and more at Savage.Love

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RIVERFRONT TIMES

FEBRUARY 21-27, 2024

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riverfronttimes.com FEBRUARY 21-27, 2024

RIVERFRONT TIMES

FEBRUARY 21-27, 2024

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