Clclt.com | May 19 - May 25, 2016 Vol. 30, No. 13
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Jun
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The 3rd Annual
a t i r a g r a M rs Wa
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at the epicentre
SATURDAY JUNE 25th 2016
1-6pm
Join us on June 25 as Charlotte’s finest bartenders battle it out to concoct the best margarita in the city - and YOU get to be the judge. Sample over a dozen margaritas as we kick off summer 2016 the right way. The drinks will be cool and the music will be hot!
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AND Special Guest Dotan
MAY 22 KNIGHT THEATER AT LEVINE CENTER FOR THE ARTS
Maria Bamford May 22 • McGlohon Theater The Monkees: 50th Anniversary Tour May 24 • Belk Theater Chris Cornell – Higher Truth Tour June 20 • Belk Theater
JUNE 2-26 BOOTH PLAYHOUSE
AT BLUMENTHAL PERFORMING ARTS CENTER
Three Acts, Two Dancers, One Radio Host June 25 • Belk Theater
Michael Bolton June 30 • Belk Theater
Gregory Alan Isakov and The Ghost Orchestra with Special Guest Jay Clifford (Of Jump, Little Children) June 27 • McGlohon Theater
Delta Rae with Special Guest Liz Longley July 2 • McGlohon Theater
The Wizard of Oz July 5-10 • Belk Theater
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Creative Loafing © is published by CL, LLC 1000 NC Music Factory Blvd., Suite C-2, Charlotte, NC 28206. Periodicals Postage Paid at Charlotte, NC. Creative Loafing welcomes submissions of all kinds. Efforts will be made to return those with a self-addressed stamped envelope; however Creative Loafing assumes no responsibility for unsolicited submissions. Creative Loafing is published every Wednesday by Womack Newspapers, Inc. No portion may be reproduced in any form without written permission from the publisher. First copy is free, all additional copies are $1. Copyright 2015 Womack Newspapers, Inc. Creative Loafing is printed on a 90% recycled stock. It may be recycled furtheR; please do your part.
A MEMBER OF:
Jake Chessum
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Sharon Jones performs at PNC Music Pavilion on May 24.
cover story Genome phones home: Artist collective returns for a second chance By ryan pitkin This week’s cover features artwork by henry schreiber.
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News&VIEWS In their own words: A discussion on immigrants, refugees and asylum speakers with those on the front lines.
By ryan pitkin 12 blotter 13 news of the weird 13 The Query
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Food Making markets run: Lifting the curtain on the people who make farmers’ markets. By alison leininger 16 Three-course Spiel
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Arts&Ent still creepy and kooky: Review of Theatre
Charlotte’s The Addams Family. By Perry tannenbaum 23 film review 26 Happenings
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Music Trash or treasure: One-man band, Suitcase Junket, gives new life to discarded objects. By Anita Overcash 32 soundboard
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Odds&Ends
18 Top 10 Things To Do 34 Marketplace 34 Nightlife 35 Crossword 36 Savage Love 38 Horoscope
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News
Feature
In TheiR Own Words A discussion on immigrants, refugees and asylum seekers with those on the front lines By Ryan Pitkin
F
or many Americans, the refugee crisis was just another trip through the news cycle. Near the end of 2015, government leaders called on the Obama administration to discontinue allowing Syrian refugees into the United States. That story overshadowed a similar crisis in which tens of thousands of women and children fleeing violence in Central America had been (and still are) showing up on our southern borders seeking asylum. Since then, those with nothing truly invested in the debate have found new things to argue about, while those fleeing violence abroad have continued to leave behind everything they know for some promise of safety. On Sunday, May 15, two Charlotte area events looked to spotlight the ongoing plight of refugees, asylum seekers and immigrants in America and the struggles they face within our borders and abroad. At Levine Museum of the New South, a panel of immigrant and refugee community leaders discussed these issues at an event titled “Which Way Home: Refugees in Charlotte.” Later that evening, people gathered at Assurance UMC in Huntersville to screen Salam Neighbor, a documentary showing what life is like for Syrian refugees in Jordanian refugee camps awaiting word — usually for many years — on whether they will return home or be granted refugee status in another country. The screening was followed by a discussion with Rachel Humphries, executive director of Refugee Support Services in Charlotte. Creative Loafing sat in on both events to hear what these experts said were the biggest issues facing their organizations. The following excerpts were taken directly from discussions between those working every day to help immigrants, asylum seekers and the more than 600 refugees that come into Charlotte each year.
Cat Bao Le
Ryan Pitkin
On the dangers that bring people here Cat Bao Le, executive director, Southeast Asian Coalition “Oftentimes the same sort of conditions 10 | may. 19 - may. 25, 2016 | clclt.com
that cause people to seek refugee status [are happening in Central America], but for a lot of Central Americans and South Americans and folks at our southern border, that refugee process does not exist in our country. So people take the risk to come to the U.S. border through Mexico to seek asylum. It’s the same conditions, it’s the same reason why people come to the southern border that you see refugees from southeastern Asia or elsewhere going into bordering countries to try to get to a different place, but there’s a different definition. That’s something that we’re constantly trying to communicate to the public: it’s not that one group of immigrants is better than the other because we have green cards. Sometimes that legal process just does not exist for people who are ironically closer to the U.S. border than those who are further away.” Atenas Burrola, immigration justice attorney, Legal Services of Southern Piedmont
Ryan Pitkin
Atenas Burrola “One of the largest misconceptions currently about one of our largest refugee groups is that they are not refugees. This unfortunately is a misconception that is coming from the top. The Obama administration is labeling tens of thousands of Central Americans who are fleeing violence and death in their countries as economic immigrants. They are refusing to treat them as refugees and they are putting them in jail, they are putting them in detention centers. They are holding them and their children in places that — someone who has just fled a life of domestic violence, extortion, rape — someone who just fled those things should not be living in a place like that. But, unfortunately, that group of people is not being labeled as refugees, they’re being labeled as economic migrants and suffering from other myths we deal with, like that they are here to take our resources, which isn’t true.” On the struggles immigrants and refugees face once they’re here
“My experience in working with refugees is that every refugee wants to go home, because refugees did not choose this, it was forced on them. The definition of a refugee is someone who flees their country for fear of being persecuted to death, so it’s not a choice. All of the refugees that I have interacted with just want to go home. For them, the U.S. is not always the land of milk and honey, it’s very hard here. Everybody wants to go home, but what’s the reality of that? The Montagnard [an indigenous culture from the highlands of Vietnam with a large presence in Charlotte] are working with the government of Cambodia for some land on the border of Vietnam for them to be able to move back. That’s a long process. The Montagnard have been in Charlotte since 1980. That’s a very long time to now think about going home. It’s a tricky subject.”
Sil Ganzo
Ryan Pitkin
Sil Ganzo, founder and executive director, ourBRIDGE “A lot of apartment complexes will take advantage of the refugees and immigrants living in these apartments. We have families who come to us saying, ‘My neighbor was charged $30 for water this month and I’m charged $250,’ or ‘I complained to the city and now the manager doesn’t want to take my check and now I am being evicted.’ We try to contact the city but there’s so many loops and so many steps that the families have to take in order to get it fixed and they are afraid. They don’t know if they are going to get in trouble and they’d rather pay the $250 than go to jail because they are undocumented.” On the importance of integrating cultures
Rachel Humphries
Ryan Pitkin
Rachel Humphries, executive director, Refugee Support Services
Nimish Bhatt, refugee and founder of Universal Institute for Successful Aging of the Carolinas “Refugees, first of all, we must see them as humans like us. That takes half of the burden off. Once we see them as humans
Nimish Bhatt
Ryan PItkin
like us, then we will not feel like they are getting in our space, spending our resources. It should make you proud that our country is considered safer than their country and they’re coming for a better life. The concept of seeing refugees as crossing borders for reasons to fight us — that concept that is creating some kind of insecurity — has to change.” Ganzo: “Something I feel very passionate about is teaching our newly arrived children about American culture and helping them learn the culture in our communities, but I think we’re living behind a huge gap by not helping the American children acculturate to the newly arrived children. I know it sounds idealistic, but it would be a dream come true if every school, every office, every organization would have a class that will be like a cultural orientation for the American people who are working with newly arrived immigrants and refugees. My children go to Waddell Language Academy. There are four languages being taught in that school: German, Chinese, Japanese and French. They don’t get cultural orientation in the languages that they are learning. They learn food and the very superficial part of the culture, but there’s just so much more that goes into culture and I think the teachers at school should have the tools that they need to help children understand that being different is a good thing, instead of just not talking about it. We have kids pointing at each other or feeling afraid of somebody that they don’t know because they look different. If we could teach our kids to be kind to each other from a very young age — 2-3 years old and up, pre-kindergarten — I think that they’re going to grow up to be kind adults and that’s what I feel would bring world peace. If we could all teach our kids to be kind to each other, to understand each other, to learn from each other, they’re going to grow up to
Ryan Pitkin
The panel at Levine Museum of the New South’s “Which Way Home: Refugees in Charlotte.” be nice people. I don’t know if that’s a policy that could be applied, giving those tools to the teachers to be culturally aware, but I think that would benefit everybody, the American culture and the unity of our culture.” Bhatt: “It’s very important to not look at everything from the point of religion. We have given so much importance to religion and forgot who we are as humans. What we don’t see is that in the ways of humanity, we are all the same, but when we put religion there, we start to see it as a difference.” On a recent culture of fear surrounding refugees in U.S. politics and media Humphries: “There is definitely fear right now, and especially about the Syrians. The fear around this culture group coming is dramatically increased compared to other culture groups. This group has just rocked our political world. The fear has heightened our awareness. The vetting process is so much more stringent on welcoming a refugee than it is on someone who comes here on a special visa or student visa. Look at the students who are coming, look at the special visas that we’re giving out, because refugees have been vetted tremendously. The more we can see what it’s really like and humanize the situation — and your voice to your neighbors and whomever you speak with will be very important. Yes, we need to stay heightened and be careful, but from a humanitarian standpoint, we have to remember that we’re all in the same boat.”
Bao Le: “We have heard a lot of antirefugee sentiment — specifically regarding the unaccompanied minors [at the Mexican border] and the Syrian refugees — with people saying the Asian refugees are different. ‘You guys are the good ones.’ For some reason, people feel really comfortable saying that to SEAC and I think it’s because us Asian-Americans are often seen as the safe immigrants and refugees. There’s this whole idea that we assimilate in a way that they want other groups to. That ties into the U.S. and how we are quick to make a whole group into second-class citizens. That’s happened throughout history and at one point, southeastern Asian refugees were that secondclass citizen group. But as the Asian population we hear a lot of people playing us as the wedge, that unaccompanied minors are not really refugees like us because they’re Latino. There’s a linkage there that we can’t forget and that we only know if we talk about our history and how it directly ties to the 50,000 unaccompanied minors that are now at our border.” On the importance of intersectionality Bao Le: “One thing that we try to do in our organization, even though we’re the Southeast Asian Coalition, we’re very multiracial and diverse. In a sense that other communities have similar issues as us, we find that it’s best to have open doors and allow everyone in and we build from that foundational value. We can get into, ‘We want the piece of the pie, and we want this over
other communities,’ but I don’t think that’s going to be helpful. That continues to divide us in a way where our strengths aren’t pooled. We always identify that southeast Asians have a very high poverty rate. A lot of Cambodian, Laotian, Vietnamese refugee populations have a much higher rate of poverty than other Asian groups. Bangladesh has its own community in the U.S. and has a higher rate of poverty than Latinos and African Americans. You can take that in two ways: you can take that as, ‘Wow, these communities need more support,’ but you could also take it as, ‘Well, that’s a common denominator for our two communities to work hand-in-hand with Latino and African American communities so that we all are fighting for the same sort of results.’ All of our struggles are linked in a way that either you want to see them or you continue to not want to see them. For us it’s a little bit of a harder day-to-day operation when our base is so diverse, but we feel like we have to do that. We were given a space at the table for the [City of Charlotte’s] Immigration Integration Task Force, for example. That was the first time we were ever invited to a city forum, but at the same time, if we’re not linked together, there’s a reason why being at the table is just the first step. A lot of those recommendations that we spent a year coming up with have not been implemented. We can only put on the pressure as much as we can collectively put on the pressure. A place at the table is just not enough.” rpitkin@clclt.com clclt.com | may. 19 - may. 25, 2016 | 11
News
Blotter
By Courtney Mihocik
Home Improvement A south Charlotte resident reported that her neighbor made threats over the close proximity of the fence dividing their properties — thus dividing their neighborly relationship. The victim called police and told the officers that her neighbor told her, “I hope you got approval for the fence from the [Homeowner’s Association] because I’m going to tear it down because it’s too close to my unit.” The victim is on the fence whether or not the suspect would actually carry out the threat.
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Peeved Police When
nature calls, sometimes you just have to answer — no matter where you are. Police officers reported to calls of a man urinating in public in southwest Charlotte last week, but this was not your average alleyway piss; the man was inside the upper level terminal of the Charlotte Douglas International Airport. The suspect was intoxicated and probably needed to break the seal, but couldn’t hold it long enough to find a bathroom in time. According to police, his behavior was disruptive as he yelled obtrusive obscenities at officers who tried to escort the man out of the terminal-turnedbathroom.
Lights Out A bright idea led to lights
out for one east Charlotte man following an argument in an apartment last week. The suspect was reportedly hanging out with a 29-year-old man (later, the victim) when the victim decided to unplug a lamp. The suspect became enraged at this decision and allegedly punched the unenlightened victim in the face and chest repeatedly. The altercation took a sharp turn (as opposed to a dark one) when the suspect then struck the victim on the head with a glass bottle.
Tag, You’re Hit! Oh, the days of a light,
innocent game of playground tag. Nowadays, that “innocent” game can turn violent. At Thomasboro Academy, a teacher reported to police that during recess, the schoolchildren began a game of tag amongst themselves. Things went awry when the tags among the players became more and more like shoves. Two children got into an altercation over the increasingly forceful tags. The “physical running game,” as it was described, upset both students, and one received a forceful tag to the face. Ouch.
Wake-up Call Hair stylists were just
enjoying another day at Diamante’s Beauty Salon last week when an unknown person entered the premises and asked to use the business’ telephone. The suspect then suddenly absconded with the phone. This
begs the question, who you gonna call now? Eat It Tenants can be an absolute nightmare when they don’t pay rent on time, have pets or parties that ruin the unit or make rude threats. One apartment complex manager in the University area received a fairly concrete threat from a tenant renting in one of the units. She told police that the suspect threatened to punch her in the face and make her “eat asphalt.” Wow, is that grounds for eviction?
Back for Seconds The golden rule
of crime: do not return to the scene of the crime. One man who got rowdy at Epicentre last weekend clearly doesn’t understand this basic rule. After engaging in an afterhours fight at Suite, security tried to remove the suspect from the area. That’s when the suspect got nasty, cursing at and threatening to assault the men as they did their job. By the time police officers arrived, the man had fled the scene without being apprehended or identified. The now-wanted suspect, however, returned with his friends later to report that he had been assaulted by security while being escorted out of the building earlier in the night. It was then that the man was finally arrested.
He Said, She Said Nothing adds
respectability to an otherwise normal argument like the presence of a gun. Police responded to one couple’s north Charlotte residence last week and were told that the wife took a gun from her husband’s car and pointed it at him, threatening to shoot him if he did not return their children’s electronic items. But, as is usually the case, there were two sides to this story (both equally stupid). The woman told police that the husband had actually threatened to shoot his her in the head if he didn’t get his cellphone back from her. Let’s just put down the phones and the gun and go to marriage counseling, huh?
Do I Know You? A Yellow Cab driver
took a gamble on a local man who wanted a ride to Harrah’s Cherokee Casino Resort in Cherokee last week and promised to pay the cab driver when they returned. The driver said they were only supposed to stay in Cherokee for a couple hours, but the man kept negotiating for him to stay longer, telling him he would give him more money while presumably losing everything he had inside. The driver later told the police that when the pair finally got back to Charlotte, the man suddenly got selective amnesia, acting as if he had never met the cab driver and that he was bothering him. He probably just wanted to forget about losing his life savings in one day. Blotter items are chosen from the files of the Charlotte-Mecklenburg Police Department. All suspects are innocent until proven guilty. backtalk@clclt.com
News
News of the weird
By Chuck Shepherd Google the Future Google filed a
U.S. Patent Office application on April 28 for a vision-improvement device in liquid form that, once inserted (i.e., injected directly into the eyeball!), solidifies into not only a lens replacement for the eye but an instrument that carries its own storage, radio and wireless power supply. The idea, according to inventor Andrew Jason Conrad, is to better focus light onto the retina. (The patent process does not assure that the device will ever come to fruition, but it might indicate that Google’s parent, Alphabet, is concerned that other inventors might be doing similar work.)
The Entrepreneurial Spirit (1)
Before new parents ruin their baby daughter’s chances of future success by giving her “weak” names (such as Polly), they should consult one of several services that recommend more powerful ones (such as Elizabeth). A New York City woman offers personalized naming research for fees starting at several hundred dollars, but a Swiss agency whose primary work is helping to name product brands now offers parents suggestions on their offspring’s “brand” (for corporate-like fees beginning at around $29,000). (Parents in South Korea and India traditionally seek baby-naming recommendations from priests, who review religious text, culture and astrology — in exchange for modest offerings.) (2) Entrepreneur.com reported in April the surprising success of “Ship Your Enemies Glitter,” in which, for about $10, the startup sends an envelope full of glitter that, when opened, scatters, irritating (or enraging) the recipient. The concept was an overnight sensation, but quickly petered out and was seemingly worthless — until a prescient businessman offered $85,000 for its two assets: (1) a valuable list of customers who might buy similar pranks (such as a cupcake that’s really horse manure) and (2) an opportunity at additional waves of customers newly discovering the original glitter product. The $85,000 purchaser now reports sales “in the high six figures.”
Compelling Explanations Peter
Jensen of Athol, Idaho, filed a lawsuit against the state transportation department in April after his driving privileges were revoked because his car had no license plate. For the inconvenience, he believes he deserves $5.6 million in damages (gold and silver only, please) because, for example, there is nothing about “license plates” in the Ten Commandments.
Simple As That (1) Bingham County
(Idaho) Sheriff Craig Rowland told reporters in March that the state legislature had no reason to improve the statewide administration of “rape kit” evidence because the majority of local rape accusations are, he is certain,
Views
consensual sex. (2) Scout Hodge, 20, angry at his mother, was charged with arson in Austin, Texas, in January for setting fire to her rug. He told police he did it as a “political” statement (unexplained) and to prove he isn’t a “loser.”
Modern Problems William Timothy Thomas, 25, (bonus: three first names!) was arrested for vandalizing a home in Largo, Florida, in April. He told police he needed to go “destroy” stuff because he “listened to too much music and masturbated too much.” Leading Economic Indicators
(1) As China’s real-estate construction boom fades, tempers have flared, and according to a local government officer in Hebei province, two companies’ officials angling for a contract wildly dueled each other in their bulldozers in an incident captured on video. The losing driver was seen running from his toppled machine. (2) Italy’s top appeals court ruled in April that a homeless man stealing cheese and sausage from a grocery story in Genoa, and who received a six-month jail term for it, was actually not guilty of criminal behavior at all. The court set him free using a traditional Italian legal principle that no one is required to do the impossible — which, the court surmised, would be to allow himself to starve.
Least Competent Cops Motorist Rebecca Musarra was stopped for speeding in October 2015 by state troopers in New Jersey, and dutifully handed over her license, insurance and registration, but declined to answer the troopers’ “do you know why we stopped you” questions. Annoyed at her silence, troopers Matthew Stazzone and Demetric Gosa threatened several times, with increasing aggressiveness (according to dashboard video obtained by NJ Advance Media), to arrest Musarra for “obstruction.” Musarra pointed out that — as nearly every American knows — she has the right to remain silent. The troopers nonetheless arrested her (then recited, of course, her “right to remain silent”). After nearly two hours back at the station, a supervisor offered a weak apology and released her. Musarra, an attorney, has unsurprisingly filed a federal lawsuit. NOTW Classic (March 2012) Louis
Helmburg III filed a lawsuit in Huntington, West Virginia, in February (2012) against the Alpha Tau Omega fraternity and its member Travis Hughes for injuries Helmburg suffered in May 2011 when he fell off a deck at the fraternity house. The reason he gave for falling was that he had been startled, and toppled backward off the rail-less deck, after Hughes attempted to fire a bottle rocket out of his anus — and the rocket, instead, exploded in place. (The lawsuit did not refer to Hughes’ injuries.) backtalk@clclt.com
the query
The tipping point Taking advantage of a historic moment in time HB2. Bathrooms and access to safe spaces “I’ve seen trans issues take off as the for transgender people will remain the gofull-on centerpiece of public discourse like to topic du jour. While that issue is vitally never before … and perhaps for the first time important for transgender people, it’s not ever, trans issues have been at the forefront the only issue we should be focusing on. of a two-week news cycle.” The challenge for LGBT advocates will be That’s what I wrote in this column last to think of the long-term; to look past the month. Six weeks later, it’s still true. HB2 has current debate when possible, recognize the continued to roil this city and state, and even larger implications of this tipping point and national politics as it continues to shape this learn how to take advantage of the upswings in year’s election season and keep LGBT — and support. Cash and other resources are flowing particularly transgender — issues at the center into Charlotte and North Carolina — from of political discourse and public conversation. national advocacy and political organizations More than a decade ago, when I began my and the donated proceeds of high-profile career as an LGBT advocate and journalist, entertainers, among others. We’ll be tempted I never would have imagined how far we to use those resources on a single campaign, would have come in public debate on instead of looking strategically these issues. I never once thought toward building better trans issues would advance so community infrastructure quickly. It would have been and sustainable projects difficult, if not impossible, and programs to benefit to imagine that the rights the daily lives of LGBT of transgender people people once many of these would become one of the current legal questions are most hot-button issues answered and laid to rest. of a gubernatorial and There’s a long list presidential election year. of actionable areas that There is now no doubt can benefit from current that we’ve reached a historic Matt broader discussions on HB2 tipping point that will forever comer and LGBT equality. As we’ve seen change the lives and experiences with Gov. Pat McCrory’s executive of LGBT people in the U.S. We’re order banning anti-LGBT employment witnessing a wholesale transformation discrimination, we’ve been presented an in the treatment of LGBT people by average opportunity to finally make bolder, better citizens, lawmakers, the media, religious advances for our own equal treatment. We institutions and governments from the local should push harder for local and statewide to the federal level. We’re not only moving laws protecting our rights. Additionally, toward, but finally arriving at a place where we can and should take full advantage of LGBT people can lead rich and fulfilling lives this time to loudly address the social and with full acceptance and embrace in the broader health issues that rarely get the attention civic and social lives of our communities. they deserve — issues like substance abuse, The fight against HB2 is just the domestic violence, suicide and mental health, latest sign of forward momentum, but the the rejection of LGBT youth by their parents, debate’s focus on transgender inclusion and broader conversations of employment nonsafe spaces in faith communities, continued discrimination has finally moved the needle efforts to decrease HIV/AIDS and how those on topics that other LGBT rights advances issues intersect with race and socioeconomic never quite touched. status. It is these concerns that lie at the heart Who could have imagined, for example, of the powerful, personal struggles faced in our that a Republican governor would ban anticommunity members’ daily lives. LGBT discrimination in state government The fight over HB2 will result in tangible employment? It took HB2 and the successes expanding our legal equality, in resulting backlash, to make the seemingly that I have no doubt. But legal equality, in impossible possible in a state where LGBT and of itself, won’t create a better, more advocates previously couldn’t even convince healthy and more inclusive community for Democratic governors to do the same. LGBT people. As nasty as the fight over HB2 In the immediate, as we stare down has been and will continue to be, I know it the fall elections, LGBT advocates and will result in better, real-life outcomes for community organizations will be as tempted our community. It’s our responsibility to as candidates running for office to focus make it so. on the most hotly contested portions of backtalk@clclt.com clclt.com | may. 19 - may. 25, 2016 | 13
Food
Feature
L-R: Penelope Bakatsias of Skye Turtle Design and Sam DeRosa of Atherton Market.
Making Markets Run Lifting the curtain on the people who make farmers’ markets tick By Alison Leininger
A
s spring looks toward summer, Saturday mornings in Charlotte find more and more residents heading to farmers’ markets. From outlying suburbs to central neighborhoods, farmers and shoppers come together in all parts of the city to sell, shop and socialize. Whether under metal-girded barns, temporary tents or blazing sun, each venue presents its own picturesque version 14 | may. 19 - may. 25, 2016 | clclt.com
of wholesome food and happy customers. Yet it takes more than a few tents and tables to make a farmers’ market. Behind every scene of booths overflowing with peas and carrots is a market manager organizing space, coordinating events and sometimes even cleaning bathrooms. Twenty-five years ago in Matthews, a small group of farmers began gathering on Saturday mornings, attracting a small but
expanding customer base. Four years later, organizer Sammy Koenigsberg of New Town Farms recognized he needed help, and turned to then-vendor Pauline Wood. “I thought to myself, ‘All this guy seems to need is somebody to do promotions and a little organization,’” Wood recalls today. “Famous last words; 21 years later, here I am!” But “here” covers a lot of ground. So does “organization.” Today Matthews
counts more than 40 vendors, some of them seasonal. Markets generally have a vendor application process, ensuring that sellers fall within their guidelines, whether that be the products they sell or their proximity to the market (Matthews’ only pulls in producers from within 50 miles). In most cases, a board of directors sets the rules, with the manager primarily responsible for hands-on oversight.
Matthews Farmers Market Saturdays, 8 a.m.-12 p.m. 105 N. Trade St. matthewsfarmersmarket. com.
Cotswold Market Saturdays, 8 a.m.-12 p.m. 309 S. Sharon Amity Road. facebook.com/ cotswoldfarmersmarket/.
Atherton Market
David van hemel
Pauline Wood of Matthews Community Farmers’ Market.
Beyond sheer numbers, organizers must balance the variety of vendors. At Matthews, food sellers are kept to 70 percent farmers and 30 percent bakers, with very few crafts in addition. “You want something that fits with the market, so we limit it to old-fashioned, handmade farm crafts,” Wood says. Halfway across town, the brand-new Cotswold Farmers’ Market recently finished the selection process for its own slate of vendors. In the past year, manager Mike Walker has put a lot of miles on his vehicle, first visiting 20 markets across the state to learn the best practices, then inspecting each of the 20-plus producers who helped open the market on May 7th. “We’re trying to make sure every farmer and meat producer is within a 100-mile radius,” says Walker. The market, a Charlotte Providence Rotary Club community project, is also focused almost totally on food, with flowers, as well as locally-made soaps being the only non-edible merchandise. Once vendors are in place, managers continue to juggle market offerings, sometimes asking sellers to bring only part of their product line to avoid too much competition. There are also considerations about the best locations within the market, whether they be under shade or in hightraffic areas. At Atherton Market in South End, the establishment of a weekday co-op last year has resulted in a lot of shuffling, and manager Sam DeRosa knows the pains of affecting someone’s business. “These people are impassioned about this place and their items,” she says. While their markets operate only on Saturdays, both Wood and Walker put in plenty of weekday hours. Wood estimates she and assistant manager Lauren Schexsnider spend about 25 hours a week on their phones and computers, composing newsletters and Facebook posts, organizing events and confirming chefs and performers. From weekly
Monday-Saturday, 9 a.m.6 p.m. 2000 South Blvd. athertonmillandmarket.com/ retailers/mill/atherton-market/.
cooking demonstrations to an annual baking competition and this year’s 25th-anniversary fundraiser, the weekend market requires weeklong effort. Even after two decades, a myriad of details floating in the manager’s mind keep her awake on most Friday nights. For both Wood and Walker, volunteer power features prominently in making their markets tick. About 20 regular volunteers support the effort at Matthews, with about a dozen pitching in each Saturday. They are everywhere, setting up and helping vendors unload, answering customer questions and assisting chefs in the demonstration tent. Walker is drawing some manpower from his and other Rotary clubs, but has had plenty of interest from other folks eager to lend a hand with setup, traffic control and breakdown. Through it all, each manager seeks to create a unique atmosphere for his or her market. Atherton’s indoor space is open six days a week, offering coffee and prepared foods. “We are more of a community hangout,” DeRosa says. “We want to give people a reason to sit here and stay.” While Wood’s Saturday mornings can be hectic, she says her favorite part of the job is seeing the human interaction among customers, farmers and volunteers. “It’s the community, coming together over nutritious food,” she says. More than that, both she and Walker talk about an educational drive behind their markets. Much of the programming at Cotswold will be directed toward children and helping to teach them about healthy eating. And in Matthews, Woods focuses on developing relationships between sellers and buyers. “We hope that by people getting to know the folks that produce their food, they look at their plate differently.”
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General manager Gavin Toth dishes on Improper Pig and its new wheels By Madeline Lemieux
Cooking Cla sse designed to s make preparing d elicious quality mea ls less chore li ke!
True to its name, the Improper Pig has thrown out the rulebook on regional barbecue in favor of a menu that is equal parts southern comfort and Asian fusion. Alongside cook-out staples like mac and cheese and chicken wings, you’ll find ahi tuna salad and edamame. General manager Gavin Toth explains that the unique flare is an homage to Mama Fu’s, the Asian eatery replaced by Improper Pig was established in Cotswold. In addition to putting an “improper” spin on Asian and barbecue classics, Toth says that it was important to bring a quick but high-quality dining experience to the neighborhood when they set up shop in 2014. “You could say we’re a slightly upscale barbecue, but we cater to an everyday person. At lunch, we get construction workers, business people, doctors and nurses. At dinner, it’s a lot of families.” “We wanted to provide the right space for people to come in and stay an hour and a half with their families, or be here for fifteen minutes just to grab lunch.” Improper Pig delivers prompt lunch service and a happy hour that encourages you to linger ($1 stuffed jalapeños, half-off nachos, and bourbon pairings). For Toth, it comes down to attention to detail: “We don’t really focus on being that traditional barbecue joint. We wanted to see what direction we could take it.”
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Creative Loafing: You’ve said that Improper Pig is about blurring lines on regional cuisine and doesn’t take a stance on the great barbecue sauce debate, but tell us… what’s your signature flavor? Gavin Toth: The important thing is the preparation of the meat. We smoke everything in-house, and we came up with our own rub — we call it Will’s Rub [after owner Will Bigham]. It has a mix of different spices. We rub down the pork every morning, let it sit on there for about ten hours or so, and then we load it into the smoker to smoke for ten to twelve hours. A nice bark is created and we use hickory wood whole-logs. When you cut into our brisket, you can see the smoke ring. For the most part, our pork doesn’t need a sauce, so I don’t sauce it. It’s up to you to chose one of the six sauces at the table. There’s a big Asian influence on the menu, but there’s a lot of southern comfort food as well. What brings all these dishes together?
Gavin Toth of The Improper Pig
Madeline lemieux
The Improper Pig 110 S. Sharon Amity Road. 704-7147878. theimproperpig.com.
For ten years this building was Mama Fu’s. When we went in a different direction, we wanted to still appease some of those old customers that wanted to come in. Our big themes are pretty traditional barbecue; you still want to see the right things, you don’t want to be completely different. You can’t be a barbecue joint without things like mac and cheese. We don’t have a southern green bean casserole, but we have spicy green beans, so we’ve taken something southern and made it Asian. Inside, we don’t have the layout of your traditional barbecue joint. There’s an Asian feel, with the reds and blacks and the use of wood inside. You launched your food truck just in time for summer — how did you decide to bring Improper Pig on the road, and where are you headed? Opportunity knocked and we got together and said ‘This sounds like a great idea, lets do it.’ We bought the food truck, retrofitted it a little bit, cleaned it up, wrapped it with our logos, and designed the menu. It’s the same quality food and the same fast service. We put speakers underneath so you can hear us coming. We’re like an ice cream truck, except with good music. There is no traditional path with a food truck. We want to be as available as possible to continue to grow our business.
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Thursday
19
chris stapleton What: He’s been a bluegrass frontman and a Southern rocker but Chris Stapleton has found the most success as a solo artist and songwriter. He’s written hits for a who’s who of country, but his old-school style full of grit and no-bullshit attitude has won over the masses. A live collaboration with Justin Timberlake helped win over the kids, too. No surprise he’s starting to rake in the awards, including two country Grammys. When: 8 p.m. Where: Charlotte Metro Credit Union Amphitheatre, 1000 N.C. Music Factory Blvd. More: Sold out. livenation.com. — Jeff Hahne
18 | may. 19 - may. 25, 2016 | clclt.com
friday
20 Hippo Campus What: These youngsters released their first album right after they graduated high school and have since gone on to ace the sophomore slump with South, their second EP released in 2015. Based out of St. Paul, Minnesota, the guys have generated quite the buzz among their own local music scene before hitting the road with bands like Modest Mouse and My Morning Jacket. They have a solid sound fitting into the indie rock and melodic pop realm. When: 9 p.m. Where: Visulite Theatre, 1615 Elizabeth Ave. More: $12-$15. visulite.com. — Anita Overcash
THINGS TO DO
TOP ten
Hippo Campus Friday
friday
saturday
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saturday
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Shane Mauss’ A Good Trip
#LongLiveArts Community Festival
What: Standup comedian Shane Mauss has done enough hallucinogenic drugs — mushrooms, LSD, DMT and more — to make a show about it. But while a large portion of the set highlights some of his best and worst trips, Mauss also explores some of the science behind the psychadelic experience. A note about the show reads, “No prior drug experience is required to enjoy this show.”
What: Consider telling any of the other plans you had today to #RIP, because Levine Center for the Arts is the place to be. Not only is museum access at Bechtler Museum, Harvey B. Gantt Center and Mint Museum free, but the fun is expanding to outside of the facilities with salsa dancing, a portrait paint-off, aerialists, jazz, a “plazacast” of Charlotte Symphony’s Romeo & Juliet.
What: For the 10th anniversary of DrumStrong, the event to beat cancer returns to its roots. Sure there will be food and vendors and music from the Jeff Sipe Trio, Kruger Brothers, the Get Right Band, Josh Daniel/Mark Schimick Project and more, but this event is about much more. It’s about the rhythmic heartbeat that gives so many people the strength they need to fight their battle against cancer. Help with the beatdown.
When: 7 p.m. Where: UpStage, 3306 N. Davidson St., Suite C. More: $11-$15. 704-749-4245. upstagenoda.com.
When: 10 a.m.-6 p.m. Where: Levine Center for the Arts, 500 block of South Tryon Street. More: Free admission. facebook. com/levinecenterart.
When: 9:45 a.m. Where: Misty Meadows Farm, 455 Providence Road S. and Ennis Road., Weddington. More: $25-$75. drumstrong.org.
— Overcash
— Overcash
Drumstrong 2016
— Hahne
Zuvaa Summer Pop-Up Saturday
News Arts Food Music Odds
Chris Stapleton Thursday
Shane Mauss Friday
saturday
Saturday
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tuesday
Wednesday
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Charlotte Veg fest
Zuvaa Summer Pop-Up
No pANTS RIDE
Hall & Oates
Covers for a cause
What: Forget about meat; at least for today. And at the annual Charlotte VegFest, that’s easy to do. The fest, which promotes vegetarian and vegan living, features a variety of grub from local eateries. There are also guest speakers — including Ellen Jaffe Jones, author of Eat Vegan on $4 a Day, and Aysha Akhtar, author of Animal Protection Is Human Protection, Too!— as well as cooking demos, vendors and more.
What: Summer means looking into your closet and feeling the need to add vibrant, new pieces to your wardrobe. That being said, thank goodness for pop-ups. Of the latter, be sure to mark the two-day Zuvaa Summer Pop-Up going down at Carolina Place on the calendar. If you’re unfamiliar with Zuvaa clothing line, you’ll find bold and bright patterns mixed with chic modern designs.
What: If you can ride the lightrail with no pants whose to say you can’t ride a bike without them. (Just make sure to wear comfy undies.) The folks at Unknown Brewing Co. and Good Bottle Co. are hosting this event and have teamed up with Queen City Bicycles and 24 Hours of Booty. It all kicks off at Good Bottle and bikers will hit the light rail path and end at Unknown, where a Kitten Snuggles beer brewed with catnip flowers is on tap.
What: The blue-eyed soul duo had mostly faded into the background until the mid- to late-2000s when Chromeo steered attention their way and some lifetime achievement awards were won. Since then, it’s been one giant nostalgia trip that seems to have been getting stronger every year. Not only will you have the chance to sing along to hit after hit, but get there early for this tour — Sharon Jones and Trombone Shorty are opening.
What: These events not only raise money for a good cause, but they celebrate legendary musicians. This time around, a handful of local acts will pay tribute to Merle Haggard, who died in April at age 79, in the process of raising money for Kindermourn, which offers grief counseling for parents who have lost a child. The talent on this night comes by way of Mike Strauss, The Loose Lugnuts, Bill Noonan, Sam the Lion and more.
When: 12 p.m. Where: Unknown Brewing Co., 1327 S. Mint St. More: unknownbrewing.com.
When: 7 p.m. Where: PNC Music Pavilion, 707 Pavilion Blvd. More: $25-$125. livenation.com.
When: 11 a.m.-4 p.m. Where: Grady Cole Center, 310 N. Kings Drive. More: Free admission. thehumaneleague.com. — overcash
When: May 21, 10 a.m.-9 p.m.; May 22, 12 p.m.-6 p.m. Where: Carolina Place, 11025 Carolina Place Parkway, Pineville. More: Free admission. zuvaa.com/ CHLpopup. — Overcash
— Overcash
— Hahne
When: 9 p.m. Where: Double Door Inn, 1218 Charlottetowne Ave. More: $5. 704-376-1446. doubledoorinn.com. — Hahne
clclt.com | may. 19 - may. 25, 2016 | 19
Arts
cover story
“Alpha” by Alexandra Loesser
Genome Pop Up # 1
Genome Phones Home Artist collective returns for a second chance in a changing arts scene By Ryan Pitkin
I
t was like hearing your
favorite band is reuniting and touring the neighborhood you live in. It was during a cold night in early 2016 that Henry Schreiber unexpectedly saddled up on the barstool next to me at a local 20 | may. 19 - may. 25, 2016 | clclt.com
watering hole. We caught up over cheap beers and nonchalantly, in his typical softspoken manner, he dropped in the fact that the Genome team was getting back together. I met Schreiber in the summer of 2011 as the arts editor for UNC Charlotte’s Niner Times. I had written about an art gallery
called Genome that he helped found with the help of his friend John Josef that summer in Brevard Court. The gallery displayed the work of Schreiber and his friends in the art community; folks like Alexandra Loesser, Scott Partridge and Erich Moffit. I fell in love with the work of Genome
Free admission. Opening reception on May 20, 7 p.m.-10 p.m. Open Monday-Saturday, 2 p.m.-7 p.m., through June 1. Art Hole, 908 E. 35th St. ohgenome.com.
while working on the story. The art these people created fit my tastes. While their styles varied, each artist consistently churned out works that fell nicely between abstract, “what am I looking at?” pieces and simplistic portraits you’d find on the other side of the spectrum.
From Schreiber’s patented marmots dressed as historical figures or memorable movie characters (see The Terminator marmot on this week’s cover), to Loesser’s knack for bringing the beauty out of deadly carnivores that rule the animal kingdom using representational contrasts (a tiger seemingly vomiting butterflies, for example), the pieces held just the right amount of surrealism to draw me in and get me excited for each new project presented at the gallery. I looked on like a fanboy that summer as the crew worked tirelessly on a huge papermache tree that seemingly sprouted from the center of the gallery and extended through the space in the lead-up to the gallery’s first show in July 2011. In the months to come, I would attend shows there and take comfort in the fact that the team seemed to be doing well, but behind the scenes, Josef and Schreiber were struggling. “We had fun but we did some pretty dumbass shit,” Schreiber says now, looking back and laughing. “We were naive about starting a retail shop and didn’t fully understand the expenses required to maintain a business like that in a historic building. We should have had multiple streams of income instead of relying solely on original art sales.” By fall 2012, Genome had to shut its doors. Upon its return nearly four years later, Genome plans to continue in its original goal of showcasing exceptional art in the Charlotte area, but the way the group goes
Untitled drawing by Brett Toukatly about it will change. Instead of opening a specific gallery (yet, at least) the group will hold seasonal showcases in collaboration with local businesses and artists. The first of these quarterly showcases, or pop-up shows, is on May 20 at The Art Hole in NoDa. The next one, presumably in three months, is already in the works at Haylo Healing Arts Lounge in Plaza Midwood. Schreiber said he’s not rushing into things, and while he hopes to return to a brick-and-mortar gallery at some point in 2017, he’s hoping slow and steady can win the race this time around. He said he’s already playing a more active role with Genome, as opposed to just working on his art while Josef — who has other business ventures to focus on — becomes overwhelmed with the behind-thescenes work. “I’d been talking with John about reopening [Genome] for a long time. This time around, because of all the business things that he does, he said, ‘Henry, if we do it this time, you’ve got to play a bigger role in it. You have to actually be doing stuff.’” Loesser, who’s remained relatively close with Schreiber over the last four years, offers her translation for what that means. “He means not being such a little bitch,” she says, laughing. She’s clearly joking, poking fun at her friend, but he runs with it. “Yeah, I have to stop being such a little
“North American Owls” by Scott Partridge bitch,” he says. “I’ll be organizing [the upcoming pop-up shows], making things happen, talking to people, getting all the artists together, figuring out the space, figuring out the scheduling. There’s a lot that goes on that a lot of people don’t see.” The Art Hole show, aptly titled “PopUp #1” will kick off on Friday, May 20, but the gallery will re-open from 2 to 7 p.m. on Monday, March 23, and keep those hours every day until Wednesday, June 1.
Schreiber can joke about it now as
he prepares to slowly reintroduce Genome to the Charlotte arts scene, but it’s clear that losing the first gallery was tough on him. As happy as I was to hear about the group’s resurgence, it’s something bigger for Schreiber. He says he’s been discussing a possible Genome revival with Josef for well over a year and calls the original days at the gallery the most exciting time of his life. When asked if he’s just being hyperbolic or if he truly means that, his eyes glaze over nostalgically for some time while he ponders before finally coming to and confirming.
“Yeah, the most exciting time ever,” he says. Loesser — a repeat Best Local Artist winner in Creative Loafing’s last two Best of Charlotte issues — has spent the last year in her personal studio in X Foundation “painting a lot of animals that eat marmots,” as she puts it, playfully poking fun at Schreiber again. She’ll spend the weekend before Pop-Up #1 moving into a new studio in the McColl Center for Art + Innovation, where she’s renting for the summer and not a resident (she legally must say that). As excited as she is for that new start, it’s the idea of reuniting with the Genome family that holds a special place in her heart. “I think it’s like getting a little piece of community back, because that’s what we were when we started,” she says. “And I know [Henry is] going to bring more artists in, but it’s nice to have this foundation of support and it’s a cool way to get work out there again.” While Schreiber, Loesser, Moffit and Partridge were all there for the original goround, there’s a new guy on the team who clclt.com | may. 19 - may. 25, 2016 | 21
Arts
coverstory
Untitled drawing by Brett Toukatly
Detail of “St. Jude” by Erich Moffit
wasn’t even doing art when Genome was hosting shows in Brevard Court. Brett Toukatly is an illustrator who’s been creating art solely with pen and ink for two years. He met Schreiber while working as a bartender at Growler’s Pourhouse and the two hit it off. Although his medium is different than many of Genome’s artists, who are predominantly painters, pieces like his three-eyed panther look like a cartoon version of something Loesser would paint. He sees the similarities throughout the Genome family. “There’s a strong will to personify animals. A lot of their work — and some of mine too — it’s funny because you can see the similarities. You can see what Henry was going for, and Alex and Henry and Erich; all these dudes like to take the animal kingdom and kind of personify it and run with it, which I think is super awesome,” Toukatly says. He can’t help but notice, however, that he’s the new kid in class. The thought inspires him, but not without anxiety, especially considering it’s the first time he’s ever participated in an art show. “It’s a little overwhelming working with these guys, because they’re professional,” he says. “As someone who hasn’t been doing this for very long, I haven’t really taken myself incredibly serious. I’ve been having fun doing it and I’ve been doing some commission work with T-shirt designs lately, but it’s something that’s kind of grown out of nowhere. To do this and realize that it’s something that these guys all take super serious — they’re artists by trade and by profession — it’s super flattering for me to know that all the stuff I’ve been doing is going somewhere.” The “somewhere” he refers to is an everchanging Charlotte arts scene. Take NoDa, for example, where a few Genome artists live and Pop-Up #1 will take place. When Genome originally opened, the so-called arts district 22 | may. 19 - may. 25, 2016 | clclt.com
w a s in rapid decline. In the lead-up to Genome’s opening in Uptown in 2011, just down the street NoDa had already lost many of its standalone art galleries: Center of the Earth, Green Rice Gallery, Lark & Key, etc. Now, as Genome prepares to re-enter the scene and the economy improves slowly but surely, people have made room for art in NoDa again. Gallery showings at the recently opened Company Store and the appearance of the PBR-sponsored Art Hole last summer show that, while NoDa is not the “arts district” it once was, there’s certainly a place for art in Charlotte. “It’s growing, you can definitely see it,” Loesser says. “A lot more public art has been going on, murals are popping up everywhere, which is really great to see. Also, C3 Lab [an art space in South End] came up, and they do a lot of cool stuff. It’s just growing.” Partridge has also noticed the murals and other public art that can be found throughout the city and sees it as a silver lining to the arts slow-down Charlotte saw during the early 2010s. “You don’t see as many traditional galleries as you used to,” Partidge says. “That doesn’t have to be a bad thing, because there are these other alternative ways to share art. People are making art regardless of whether they have an avenue already lined up to show it, so the amount of creativity hasn’t decreased, just the vehicle for getting it out is maybe altering over time.” Now that Genome isn’t tied down to a certain space, Schreiber said he’s ready to embrace those alternative art forms in upcoming pop-ups. He’s constantly on the lookout for artists in the area doing cool things, no matter the medium. “What we want to do is create awesome projects,” he says. “We want to help people, in particular creative artists, do projects. If it’s an awesome project we want to help, whatever it is. We built a tree in the middle of a gallery, so we’re ready for anything.” rpitkin@clclt.com
me so w/ p U e l g g u Sn tonight!
Arts
film
TriStar
George Clooney in Money Monster
Faulty investment Save your dough and skip phony Money By Matt Brunson
D
irector Jodie Foster’s topical thriller
Money Monster (** out of four) certainly has its heart in the right place. Its brain, though, is another matter. What promises to be a ripped-from-theheadlines drama with comic undertones, a throwback to such 70s gems as Dog Day Afternoon and Network, instead turns out to be too farfetched to gain any traction — it’s ripped from the headlines, all right, but only the type one might see gracing the front of the National Enquirer. In the minds of its makers, it’s the celluloid equivalent of “Men Walk On Moon” and “Nixon Resigns”; in actuality, it’s more like “Hillary Clinton Adopts Alien Baby” and “Bigfoot Kept Lumberjack As Love Slave.” Then again, when one of the scripters is the guy who penned those dopey National Treasure films, this is perhaps the inevitable result. The setting is a TV studio wherein the smug Lee Gates (George Clooney), the
host of an inexplicably popular moneymanagement program, is prepping for the next episode while Patty Fenn (Julia Roberts), his director, patiently tries to keep him in line. Ibis, a company that Gates has been praising to the rafters, has just lost 800 million dollars of its investors’ money, and the episode about to air will focus on getting answers behind the meltdown the company blames on a computer glitch. But just as the live taping gets underway, a struggling working-class guy named Kyle Budwell (Jack O’Connell) storms the set. Brandishing a gun, he places a bomb-adorned vest on Gates and threatens to blow everyone up unless he’s given a satisfactory answer on how Ibis managed to lose so much dough. He has a personal reason: Receiving a $60,000 inheritance, he invested all of it in Ibis stock, simply because Gates told his national audience it was a sound business venture. Clearly, Kyle’s a moron — given his buffoonish on-air antics and obvious disdain
for others, I wouldn’t trust Gates to give me directions to the shoes on my feet — but since Kyle represents us, the poor rabble being snookered daily by those with power and wealth, we’re expected to line up behind him. Meanwhile, while Kyle continues to wave his weapon at Gates and British actor O’Connell continues to speak in an overly studied New York accent, Patty is feverishly trying to locate Ibis’ CEO (Dominic West), who’s been conspicuously MIA, and unravel the mystery surrounding the wayward money. Some mystery; whereas in real life it would take weeks, months, maybe years, to uncover and understand everything, here it takes about the same amount of time required to unwrap a stick of gum. “Not every conspiracy is a theory,” notes the movie’s tagline, a reminder that Roberts went down this route before when she starred opposite Mel Gibson in 1997’s Conspiracy Theory. In this new picture, though, her role is more comparable to that essayed
by another actress in another film. Patty Fenn is to Clooney’s Lee Gates what Kate Winslet’s Joanna Hoffman was to Michael Fassbender’s computer magnate in Steve Jobs: his competent right-hand woman and his more sensible sounding board. Roberts provides a calming presence and fares better than Clooney, who’s saddled with a character who makes some unbelievable personality shifts over the course of the film. Money Monster is certainly watchable, and there are some nice individual scenes: I especially liked Gates’ reaction to Kyle’s claim that “$60,00 is probably pocket change to you,” and the sequence involving Kyle’s pregnant girlfriend (Emily Meade) does not go where one might expect. But this is the sort of picture that suffers in the aftermath, when its ludicrousness becomes ever more pronounced in the mind. Catch this during a matinee, and you’ll be adding another meaning to dog day afternoon. clclt.com | may. 19 - may. 25, 2016 | 23
Arts
theater
Photo courtesy of theatre charlotte
The Addams Family runs through May 29 at Theatre Charlotte.
The Addams Family
Still Creepy and Kooky The Addams Family adds grotesque feel to Theatre Charlotte By Perry Tannenbaum
G
loomy lighting and
cobwebs. Raging thunderstorms and decrepit dungeons. The whole Gothic horror thing, on screen or onstage, is a carnival of special effects — the bizarre compounded by the supernatural. Vampires, ghosts, werewolves, and monsters don’t often wear jeans and T-shirts. Costumers, wigmakers, prosthetic manufacturers, and makeup artists work overtime to get the right look. Buckets of blood must spew on cue, get mopped up, and spew again for the next take. 24 | may. 19 - may. 25, 2016 | clclt.com
Even though fangs and gore aren’t factors in The Addams Family, there was sufficient tech wizardry in the 2010 Broadway musical to give Theatre Charlotte pause. Past springtime hits at the Queens Road barn like Rent, Hair, and Jesus Christ Superstar haven’t required fog, fangs, or extensive set changes. As we reported back in 2011 when Charlotte was the third city it visited, the national Addams Family tour cut back significantly on the tech pizzazz because it was so daunting. On Broadway, the curtain was so active, talented, and amusing that a
Tony nomination wouldn’t have surprised me. There’s a vestige of that precocity before the curtains part, but don’t expect it to last. On opening night, the raging storm that sound designer Erik Christensen concocted to assail the Addams mansion was mighty enough, but it inexplicably subsided in a matter of seconds. Morticia’s flaming red tango skirt peeped through her funereal black evening gown at least a minute too early, spoiling the surprise. And the apple that Wednesday Addams was destined to
$12-$27. May 19, 7:30 p.m.; May 20, 8 p.m.; May 21, 2:30 p.m. and 8 p.m.; May 22, 2:30 p.m.; May 25-26, 7:30 p.m.; May 27-28, 8 p.m.; May 29, 2:30 p.m. Theatre Charlotte, 501 Queens Road. 376-3777. theatrecharlotte.org.
split with her crossbow on her fiance’s head fell apart when Lucas Beineke first brought it in from the wings, half of it popping hilariously into the first row of the orchestra. Perhaps because the script by Marshall Brickman and Rick Elice seemed more akin to the Addams Family sitcom on TV than the darkly comical Charles Addams cartoons in the pages of The New Yorker, the musical drew no more respect from New York critics than its Mel Brooks cousin, Young Frankenstein. That lack of critical cachet may
explain why there are so many relatively unfamiliar names in the cast. Rest assured, the uptick in no-shows at Addams auditions hasn’t been replicated at the box office. Locals filled the house pretty well for the opening and brought plenty of enthusiasm with them. Throughout the hall, finger snaps came resoundingly on cue during the overture. Audience enthusiasm is the main thing stage director Jill Bloede, music director Zachary Tarlton, choreographer Lisa Blanton and the title characters keep going, earning almost every bit of the fervor with their high energy. With a storyline that echoes You Can’t Take It With You, the Addams family has a license to be every bit as weird as George S. Kaufman’s Sycamores. Each of these families has a mutant daughter who wishes to couple with a normal person, each of the daughters’ beaus has parents who are conspicuously boring and respectable, and each of the hosts launches a game at the dinner table that causes the guests to reveal a deep-set fissure in their marriage. Wednesday is the new wrinkle in the old formula, which most recently recurred on Queens Road in La Cage aux Folles. This mutant child is not as normal and wholesome as previous defectors who fled their kooky coops. No, our rockin’ culture has overtaken the Addamses to the extent that Goths like them have established themselves on the fringes of high school life. Only those who enter the hall with black lipstick will fully recognize Wednesday as a kindred spirit. Yet the crossbow keeps her securely outre for everyone. As a result, Wednesday can rock when the whole William Tell scene circuitously makes its point in the “Crazier Than You” duet. This role is not at all as humdrum as Alice Sycamore, and Emily Roy takes full advantage of Wednesday’s weird glamor. Standing next to Morticia, Roy looks puritanical and punkishly pugnacious at the same time — and she can definitely belt her half of the duets. In his debut, Christian Regan is noticeably underpowered as Lucas the apple-bobbler, but his shortcomings are poignantly effective. After all, he and his family hail from Ohio. “A swing state!” is how the horrified Gomez describes the unfathomable gulf. But you look at how sloppily Lucas is dressed and you already see that he is more than meeting Wednesday halfway. Regan talks his talk far better than he sings it. Challenged by Blanton’s choreography and a Morticia decades younger than he is, Kevin Roberge surpasses himself as Gomez, even if he is visibly panting at the finish line. He may not have the essence of this unctuous patriarch as thoroughly as Nathan Lane did on Broadway, but he has the Gomez
sound perfectly, and there is such fatherly pathos when Roberge sings “Happy/Sad” in Act 2 that the power of it took me by surprise. Followed by “Crazier Than You” before Gomez teams up with Morticia for “Tango de Amor,” the hits do keep coming as Roberge gasps for breath. Nor is Aubrey Young less than breathtaking as the preternaturally tensile Morticia, though her dress is disappointingly less revealing than Bebe Neuwirth’s was on Broadway. Young is also less Zombielike than Neuwirth, further altering the icy marital chemistry. Ah, but when Morticia pines for the sewers of Paris, Young is just as wry. I was every bit as impatient as the red skirt for the tango to begin, and when Young stretched herself into its most extreme choreography, her youth provided ample rewards. With the Addamses’ pet squid axed from the script, Mal Beineke is no longer the sort of role that would warrant Terrence Mann’s bravura. Instead of being asked to sing the bodacious “In the Arms of a Squid” in the Act 2 denouement, Jonathan McDonald merely piggybacks onto the “Crazier Than You” duet playing Mal with Jenn Grabenstetter as Alice Beineke. There is no diminution of the eclat Grabenstetter is allowed to make in Act 1 after Alice drinks the misdirected potion in the “Full Disclosure” game. She’s a pure undersexed animal in the “Waiting” showstopper. Delicacies are doled out deeper into the cast. After stomping around inarticulately on platform shoes for nearly the entire evening, Jonathan McDonald makes good on his liberation as the family’s Zombie butler Lurch. And who could possibly have a more ardent crush on the moon than Vito Abate as Uncle Fester? Abate was simply born for this role and the epic passion of “The Moon and Me.” The lightbulb prop he messes with was still a work-in-progress on opening night, but his rocket backpack was pure bliss. The wig and costume Vanessa Davis wears as Grandmama and the grimy makeup sported by Jackson Davis as Pugsley, Wednesday’s masochistic little brother, help to make their Theatre Charlotte debuts successful. Up on Broadway, if you were buried in the Addams Ancestors ensemble, you went home with a paycheck. Down here in Charlotte, it’s nice to find that the eight members of our ensemble are individualized in the cast bios with such identifiers as stewardess, baseball player, and Greek. Make no mistake, there’s plenty of authentic Charles Addams embedded in the script, nowhere more effectively than at the end. What Gomez and Morticia say to one another in the closing dialogue is quoted verbatim from an Addams cartoon. It still worked the third time I heard it. clclt.com | may. 19 - may. 25, 2016 | 25
Arts
Happenings
Comedy Armour Street Theatre The Chuckleheads presents the “For All Ages Comedy Improv Musical Variety Extravaganza.” May 21, 6-7:30 p.m. $10-$15. 307 Armour St. planetimprov.com. Bonkerz Comedy Club Kevin White. My 20-21, 8 p.m. 5624 Westpark Drive. bonkerzcomedy. com. The Comedy Zone Jessimae Peluso. May 19, 8 p.m.; May 20, 7:30 and 9:45 p.m.; May 21, 7 p.m. and 9:30 p.m. $20. Wild West Open Mic. May 24, 7 p.m. $15. Almost Famous with Blayr Nias. May 25, 8 p.m. $12. 900 N.C. Music Factory Blvd., Suite B3. 980-321-4702. cltcomedyzone. com. McGlohon Theater Maria Bamford. May 22, 7 p.m. 32. 704-372-1000. 345 N College St. 704372-1000. blumenthalarts.org. UpStage Shane Mauss presents “A Good Trip.” May 20, 7:30 p.m. $11-$15. The Improv Vikings. May 21, 9 p.m. $10. 3306 N. Davidson St. Wet Willie’s Charlotte Comedy Theater. For more information, visit charlottecomedytheater. com. Fridays, Saturdays, 8 p.m. $10. 900 N.C. Music Factory Blvd., Suite C-1. 704-716-5650. wetwillies.com.
Theater/Dance/ Performance Art Clybourne Park “A bookend play” to A Raisin in the Sun, this show focuses on the neighborhood that the Younger’s were to move into right before the final curtain falls. It explores their impending arrival, as well as 50 years after they have settled into the community. $15-$20 Duke Energy Theater, 345 N. College St. May 20-21, 8 p.m.; May 27-28, 8 p.m. 704-372-1000. blumenthalarts.org. Romeo and Juliet Charlotte Symphony, Charlotte Ballet, and Opera Carolina come together to bring audiences the timeless, classic Shakespeare tale of the tragic love. $29. May 20-21, 7:30 p.m. Knight Theater, 430 S. Tryon St. 704-372-1000. blumenthalarts.org. The Addams Family Musical $12-$27. May 1920, 8 p.m.; May 21, 2:30 p.m. and 8 p.m.; May 22, 2:30 p.m.; May 25-26, 7:30 p.m.; May 27-28, 8 p.m.; May 29, 2:30 p.m. Theatre Charlotte, 501 26 | may. 19 - may. 25, 2016 | clclt.com
Queens Road. 704-376-3777. theatrecharlotte. org. Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat Dilworth United Methodist Church presents its third annual musical production. The Biblical saga of Joseph and his coat of many colors comes to vibrant life in this delightful musical parable. $10. Dilworth United Methodist Church, 605 East Boulevard. May 20-21, 8 p.m. 704-333-4173. dilworthchurch. org/joseph.
Visual Art Bechtler Museum of Modern Art The Art of Print. The exhibition spotlights rare works by Hansjürg Brunner, Marino Marini, Eduardo Chillida, Bernhard Luginbühl, Cornélia Forster, Georges Rouault, Raoul Ubac, Italo Valenti, Martin Disler, Peter Emch, Camille Graeser, Alfred Hofkunst, H.R. Huber, Jean-Paul Michel, Eduardo Pignon, Anslem Stalder, Charles Walch, and Franz Anatol Wyss. Through June 19. The House That Modernism Built. The exhibit presents Bechtler Museum of Modern Arts’ rich mid-20th century art collection alongside furniture, textile and ceramic holdings on loan from other institutions and private collectors. The show will emphasize process, examining how designers and artists tackled projects, and how the innovations in other disciplines from the sciences to the humanities influenced their direction. Through Sept. 11. 420 S. Tryon St. 704-353-9200. bechtler.org. Charlotte Museum of History Enter the Dragon. The exhibition will feature a variety local and Chinese-American artists and rotating showcases and collections. Through May 31. 3500 Shamrock Drive. 704-568-1774. charlottemuseum.org. CPCC Art Galleries CPCC Visual Arts Club Exhibition. Artists from the CPCC Visual Arts Club exhibit their works. Through May 31. 1201 Elizabeth Ave. 704-330-6211. arts.cpcc.edu/ art-gallery. Harvey B. Gantt Center for African-American Arts + Culture 1960Now. 1960Now is an evolution of Bright’s “1960Who” series inspired by the Civil rights Movement, a collection of images featuring common grassroots youth activists of the 1960s. Through June 26. Art of a New Deal: African-American Artists in the WPA. This exhibition looks at six artists - Charles Alston, Ernest Crichlow, Allan Crite, Jacob
Lawrence, Charles White and Hale Woodruff who were employed by the WPA. Through June 26. Dance Theatre of Harlem: 40 Years of Firsts. This majestic exhibition of dazzling costumes, set pieces, and video excerpts celebrates an iconic company and its corps who defied prejudice, and gravity itself, in pursuit of their talent. Through June 26. 551 South Tryon St. 704-547-3700. ganttcenter.org. Jerald Melberg Gallery Works by Thomas McNickle. The exhibit showcases works by Thomas McNickle. Through June 17. 625 S. Sharon Amity Road. 704-365-3000. jeraldmelberg.com. LaCa Projects Collective II: Latin American Perspectives. The exhibit celebrates LaCa’s third anniversary and showcases work by Latin American contemporary artists, including Carlos Estévez (Cuba), Juan Dolhare (Argentina), Vicente Hernández (Cuba), Ricardo “Chino” Morales (Costa Rica), Alicia de la Campa (Cuba), Otto Apuy (Costa Rica), Cristina Toro (Puerto Rico), Juan Carlos Verdial (Cuba) and Leandro Manzo (Argentina). Work by studio artists Luis Ardila (Colombia) and Rosalia Torres-Weiner (Mexico) is also on view. Through June 4. 1429 Bryant St. 704-837-1688. lacaprojects.com. Mint Museum Uptown The Art & Craft of Shoemaking. The exhibit features an array of diverse and unique shoes, from past to present eras of the Mint’s permanent collection. The show explores both the cultural history and the meticulous craft of shoemaking. Through July 31. Here & Now: 80 Years of Photography at the Mint. The first survey exhibition of photography drawn solely from the Mint’s permanent collection. It’s comprised of approximately 100 of the Mint’s most stunning and provocative photographs. Through Sept. 18. Romare Bearden Gallery. A permanent gallery devoted to the work of Romare Bearden (1911-1988), who was born in Charlotte. Bearden is best known for his groundbreaking use of collage and vibrant portrayals of American life, depicting subjects that range from contemporary urban scenes to nostalgic recollections of the rural South. Kristina Rogers: Into the Labyrinth. Rogers combines aspects of art history, religion, and mythology with her own biography and private mementos to create intricately constructed images. Ongoing. 500 S. Tryon St. 704-337-2000. mintmuseum.org.
More Events 4th Annual Charlotte Beer Festival The event, featuring more than 75 craft, import & specialty beers, will also feature live music. $20. May 21, 12-3 p.m. Rooftop 210, 210 E. Trade St., Suite 230B. 12th Annual Charity Bachelor Auction The proceeds from the Bachelor Auction provide financial resources for Deltas of Charlotte Foundation to continue its community-based programming. $35. May 21, 7 p.m. McGlohon Theater, 345 N. College St. 704-372-1000. blumenthalarts.org. 48 Hour FILM Project Cannes Critique Charlotte film makers view the collection of 2015 films that screened at Festival de Cannes. A panel of top local film makers will critique each film. May 19, 6:30 p.m.-8:30 p.m. The Light Factory, 1817 Central Ave. The Blumey Awards Ceremony The Blumey Awards is designed to recognize and celebrate the best in high school musical theater. Similar to the Tony Awards with productions, best actors/actresses and more. May 22, 7 p.m. Belk Theater, 130 N. Tryon St. 704-372-1000. blumenthalarts.org. Charlotte Pride Band’s “A Pops Matinee” The Charlotte Pride Band closes its fifth season with “A Pops Matinee.” The program features the music of stage and screen. CPB performs selections representing stories and characters that Hollywood keeps bringing back. Featured pieces include music from Doctor Who, Star Wars, Jurassic Park, Into the Woods, Fiddler on the Roof, The Muppet Show and James Bond. $10-$13. May 21, 5-7 p.m. Myers Park Baptist Chruch, 1900 Queens Road. Coloring & Cocktails A relaxing evening of coloring and cocktails at Vida Vida. Coloring supplies, including premium coloring books for adults, will be provided. Complimentary appetizers (chips and salsa, guacamole and quesadillas) and drink specials ($3 select beer, $4 house wines and $5 Vida margaritas) will also be available. $10. May 23, 7:30-9 p.m. Vida Vida, 210 E. Trade St. eventbrite.com. Dragon Boats & Brews A family-friendly afternoon with games, live music by Doug Thompson, a raffle, a silent auction and prizes. $15. May 22, 2-6 p.m. Sugar Creek Brewing Co., 215 Southside Drive.
Festa Italiana Charlotte Christopher Columbus Italian Club of Charlotte presents this festival that celebrates all things Italian. There’s music, dancing, and cultural displays, and food (seafood and vegetable risotto, gelato and cannoli and more). May 22, 1 p.m.-7 p.m. Queens University of Charlotte, 1900 Selwyn Ave. $25$75. eventbrite.com. Food Truck Fridays in Oldtown Rock Hill Family-friendly event featuring food trucks, children’s activities, craft beer, live music amd Old Town restaurants. Free admission. Starts May 20. Every third Friday, 6-10 p.m. Continues through Sept. 16. Fountain Park, 300 E Main St. The Hair Games: Reloaded The Hair Games, Charlotte’s unique, Hunger Games style hair competition and fashion show, returns for its fourth year with a makeover of its own. In addition to crowning Charlotte’s ‘Best Stylist,’ the show will include a live, on-stage barber battle. Judged by top industry talent from across the region and featuring designs by The House of Lemond, music by DJ Krazy T, the Hip Hop National Championship dancers of Fuzion Force Entertainment Academy and host Derrick “Fly Ty” Jacobs. $25-$35. May 22, 5-7 p.m. thehairgames.com. Hilton, University Place, 8629 JM Keynes Drive. Journey: A Charlotte Storytellers Storyslam Charlotte Storytellers present a storytelling open mic on the theme of “journey.” Folks are encouraged to present a 5-7 minute story on the topic and may be selected randomly throughout the night. $5. May 20, 7:30 p.m. The Broken Spoke, 227 Southside Drive. MecDec Day Celebration A celebration of the Mecklenburg Declaration of Independence. Enjoy cupcakes and lemonade, tours of the Hezekiah Alexander Home Site, crafts and games. Free for members, $5 for public. May 21, 10 a.m.-2 p.m. Charlotte Museum of History, 3500 Shamrock Drive charlottemuseum.org. New Frequencies: George Kuchar This program showcases a selection of underground film legend George Kuchar’s rarely screened short films. $5-$7. May 20, 8-9:30 p.m. McColl Center for Art + Innovation, 721 N. Tryon St. 704-3325535. mccollcenter.org. New South for the New Southerner: Queen City Brews With more than 17 breweries in the Charlotte-Metro area and more on the way, Charlotte is now home to one of the nation’s
most vibrant craft beer scenes. This event explores the history of brewing in Charlotte and there will also be beer samples from Birdsong Brewing, NoDa Brewing and Sugar Creek Brewing. $5 for members, $12 for non-members. Levine Museum of the New South, 200 E. 7th St. 704-333-1887. museumofthenewsouth.org. Powerful Stilettos Charlotte Networking Expo The event prsents an avenue for women across the world to unite and network amongst each other. It also advocates for the awareness of healthy business relationships as well as entrepreneurial resources. Free admission. May 21, 1-6 p.m. powerfulstilettostour.com. Prohibition Party 1920s-era party with scotch, wine and moonshine vendors on site. By the end of the evening, you’ll be able to differentiate between single barrel whiskeys and unwheated bourbons, and if your wine was aged in an oaken barrel or a steel barrel. $55. May 21, 7:30-10 p.m. Gettys Art Center, 201 East Main St. yorkcountyarts.org. Prosperity Village Saturday Night Food Truck Rally Some of Charlotte’s favorite food trucks head out to the suburbs. Free admission. eatfromatruck.com. Starts May 21. Third Saturday of every month, 4-9 p.m. Continues through Oct. 15. Prosperity Village Neighborhood, 10220 Prosperity Park Drive. eatfromatruck.com. Slam Charlotte Poetry Slam Featuring SlamCharlotte, Charlotte’s own two time national championship team of spoken word poetry (2007 & 2008). Bluz, the current Slammaster, ranks 13th individual poet in the world. $10. May 20, 8 p.m. Booth Playhouse, 130 N. Tryon St. 704-372-1000. blumenthalarts.org. Tephra Vegan Pop-up Dinner A vegan threecourse pop-up dinner. All menu items are as locally sourced and organic as possible. V.I.P. tickets include one complimentary chef’s choice wine bottle. Homemade breads and jams served upon arrival. $50-$75. May 22, 5-7 p.m. Atherton Market at Atherton Mill, 2104 South Blvd. Walk to Cure Arthritis Walk to Cure Arthritis is the Arthritis Foundation’s nationwide signature event unites communities across the country to put an end to arthritis. This event features a three-mile and one-mile course. May 21, 8-11 a.m. Davidson College, 102 N. Main St., Davidson. walktocurearthritis.org/charlotte.
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Music
Feature
Bill Foster
Suitcase Junket performs at Evening Muse on May 24.
Trash or treasure One-man band, Suitcase Junket, gives new life to discarded objects By Anita Overcash
B
ones and cutlery, a saw blade, a gas can and a drum pedal topped with an old beat up baby shoe. These are not items you’d imagine being useful in a band. And then there’s Suitcase Junket, a one-man band carefully constructed by Matt Lorenz and his junk — 28 | may. 19 - may. 25, 2016 | clclt.com
performing at Evening Muse on May 24. Lorenz, who currently resides in Leverett, Massachusetts, where he also plays music in Rusty Belle, formed the side project for economic and creative purposes. After touring with Rusty Belle, a trio comprised of himself, his sister and another member, he examined the band’s finances
and quickly noticed that they hadn’t made enough money to justify being on the road for as long as they had been. Though he seesaws between the two projects, Suitcase Junket is now his primary focus. While similar to other one-man acts along the lines of Shakey Graves and David Ford, who import vast elements of sounds
and instruments into solo sets, Suitcase Junket adds an extra buckle to the niche. Lorenz attributes the rise in performers of this type to economics, but he admits that working out the kinks of being a one-man band isn’t as easy as it sounds. “The one-man band thing can have some pitfalls in that it can be easy for all the stuff
The Suitcase Junket $10. May 24, 8 p.m. Evening Muse, 3227 N. Davidson St. 704-376-3737. eveningmuse.com.
to start sounding the same and then also there’s that kind of Dick Van Dyke pitfall of hookiness,” he says. “But I think a lot of people are getting around that and making really interesting stuff and I think it makes the whole cultural landscape richer.” For Lorenz, part of the reward of flying solo is in the creative reign. “There’s this sort of freedom to be as wild as you want to be at any given moment and you can change any of these songs at any point, either midsong or mid-tour” he says. “You can decide to do different takes on them and get sort of brash with them in a way that would be disrespectful if you were playing with other people and having to go ‘Ok, no, we’re not doing it that way anymore.’” That being said, his method of trading conventional instruments in for repurposed objects might also require quite the persuasion for other potential musicians to join Lorenz on the road. “I’ve always been a bit of a tinkerer and a bit of a visual artist as well,” says Lorenz, who was introduced with the idea to construct instruments out of unconventional objects when Rusty Belle’s drummer grew jaded. Rather than set himself behind an intricate drum set, Lorenz used a simple wooden box to serve as a Cajon; attaching two bass drum pedals to that and using it up until it was no longer playable. From there he grew more adventurous – a suitcase being the next apple of his eye. Not only could it serve as an instrument, but he could also fill it with foot-drum instruments, making for light travel on the road. “I was really interested in the sound of castaway things, especially in our culture where we throw away so much stuff that going to a dump was like going to the candy store in terms of sound. You can go and find all sorts of really interesting tones,” says Lorenz. “I think it was probably listening to a Tom Waits record that I learned this idea that as artists and musicians were constantly recycling each others ideas and forms. There’s not much new that’s happening in terms of that and so the way to sort of find your own style or create something that feels new is to change the tone of these things, and my favorite way to do that is through these trashy sounds.”
Some of these sounds come at the mercy of objects as small and seemingly insignificant as a baby shoe. While in the studio, Lorenz found himself struggling to get the sound he wanted out of an old gas can turned drum, assembled with a sock-laden pedal. But when an engineer recommended a baby shoe, Lorenz jumped at the idea and ran with it. “I was like ‘Are you kidding me? That’s creepy and great,’ so I went home and asked my mom if she had any of our old baby shoes,” he says. The shoe, surprisingly durable with a strong, hard sole and leather stitching, continues to serve as part of the Suitcase Junket ensemble. “I think it’s on its sixth piece of metal. It just keeps playing through these pieces of metal and its not falling apart yet — knock on wood,” says Lorenz. And then, there are the bones — deer and sheep bones mostly, to be exact. Lorenz found the pieces in the woods and in compost materials when he worked on a farm. After collecting the bones for years, he’d filed them away with discarded silverware that was saved for potential visual arts projects. Then one day, during a move, he dropped them on the box — and he liked what he heard. “I loved the sound of it and I thought I want that sound with me more” he says. “I figured out a way to rig it up to the hi-hat stand so that I can get all these bones and silverware hanging above the box, and then every time you hit the pedal they drop down and there’s this great kind of crunchy jangle to it.” The sounds are hard to pinpoint, making the process as interesting as the result. But not all of Lorenz’s object-turnedinstruments have been successes. He recalls a time when he made a one-string can fiddle with a broomstick for the body and a can for the resonator. “That sort of blew my mind, as to how simple instruments can be. But in that family, there were a lot of failures,” he says. “I actually just found a whole little family of instruments that are definitely wall pieces. They look like they sound interesting and they just don’t.” While Lorenz’s guitar may look like the only normal object onstage, it’s got a backwoodsy history of its own. Lorenz found it in a dumpster and regards it as one of his biggest treasures. “I owe that guitar a lot. It gave me all these songs and it gave me all these ideas. And the limitations of it are one of the things that made it so prolific creatively,” he says. Lorenz credits part of its unique sound to the fact that it was missing parts. He replaced its missing saddle with a nail and its nut with a piece of steel. Initially they were put there as a stopgap, but seven years later,
they seem to be there to stay. “[The guitar] was filled with mold, which I guess is why someone threw it away, but white vinegar beats mold every time, so it wasn’t too bad cleaning it out,” he says. Lorenz’s resilience to music and instruments begs the question of whether he ever steps foot in big box music stores. The answer? Sure. “I’m not opposed to going to the music store and getting stuff,” he says. Yet he has a minimalist approach. He mostly just hits music shops for new guitar strings and if he’s in for a tuner, he prefers used over new. This DIY-approach is reflective in the branding for Suitcase Junket. The album cover for 2009’s Sever and Lift features a pair of scissors with wings; 2011’s Knock it Down features a hammer with wings; 2015’s Make Time features a baby shoe with wings; and Dying Star, his most recent EP, released in March of this year, features a wrench with wings. For Lorenz, the album artwork came unconsciously. As he looks back at the covers, he finds new meaning in the concept he had when the idea was first conceived. “I really like old objects — a lot of people do, that’s why antiques are something people
like — because there’s a story behind them. Value goes up if there’s a story that can be told, regardless of if it’s true,” he says. “If you put a picture of a hammer on a page nothing really comes across, but if you put wings on a hammer or pair of scissors, then all of a sudden they have a story, the life of the object.” For his latest album, Dying Star, Lorenz featured songs that didn’t make the cut for Make Time. “Thematically, it was kind of a salvage job,” he says. “Like, I don’t want these songs to go by the wayside and I want to save them and get them out there.” On the album’s first track, “Dying Star,” Lorenz ponders the science of what happens when a star dies, which lends itself to a examination of what happens when humans die. “It’s about the death of your heroes and what that looks like when they kind of explode into a thousand pieces and what it looks like when other people start playing their songs,” he says. “I remember thinking after Prince died, ‘How dead can you be when your song is on half the world’s lips?’” aovercash@clclt.com
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Music
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Soundboard
May 19 Classical/Jazz/Smooth John Papa Gros (of Papa Grows Funk) (Neighborhood Theatre)
Country/Folk Beavergrass Bluegrass Jam f. Jim Garrett (Thirsty Beaver) *Chris Stapleton (Charlotte Metro Credit Union Amphitheatre) Rick Monroe, Taylor Centers & Beau + Luci (Evening Muse)
Hip-Hop/Soul/R&B *The Rap Round Robin Tour w/ Height Keech, PT Burnem, Impulse Control, Eze Jackson, StereoLoud, Human Pippi Armstrong & MC Stealth (aka Blak Angel) (Milestone) R&B Live (Studio Movie Grille)
Pop/Rock
FRI 5/20
HIPPO CAMPUS + Riothorse Royale SAT 5/21
People’s Blues of Richmond + MOOSE KICK & DANK
SAT 5/21 (1PM) // SUN 5/22 (3PM)
SCHOOL OF ROCK PRESENTS: SPRING SHOWS FRI 5/27
+ Carl Anderson & Christy Hays THU 6/2
MON 6/13
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Alive After Five w/ Groovetown (Rooftop 210) Alive After Five w/ The Boat Rockers (EpiCentre) Big Sandy and his Fly-rite Boys (Double Door Inn) LangTree Live w/ Part Time Blues Band (LangTree, Mooresville) Mike Strauss Trio (Comet Grill) *River Jam w/ Samantha Fish (U.S. National Whitewater Center) Sunset at Metropolitan w/ 5 on Sundays (Metropolitan) *Shiprocked (Snug Harbor)
May 20 Classical/Jazz/Smooth Charlotte Symphony: Romeo & Juliet (Knight Theater)
Country/Folk
Jay Mathey (RiRa Irish Pub) *Junior Astronomers, Patois Counselors, The Mineral Girls, Shell & Cabron (Milestone) Music Box Lunch Series w/ Devon Elizabeth (Romare Bearden Park) Lenny Federal Band (Comet Grill) Stonecrest Summer Concert Series w/Greg Lilley Band (Stonecrest) *Permanent Vacation (Snug Harbor)
May 21 Classical/Jazz/Smooth Charlotte Symphony: Romeo & Juliet (Knight Theater)
Pop/Rock Big Shoals w/ The Waydown Wanderers (Evening Muse) Charlotte Pride Band’s “A Pops Matinee” (Myers Park Baptist Church) An Evening with Danny Wood of New Kids on the Block (Neighborhood Theatre) Gene Gene and the Blues Machine (Sullivan’s Steakhouse) Lil Skritt, Aloha Broha, Dollar Signs, Kilberth, Family Friend & Beach Bath (Milestone) Live and Local Metal Showcase (Amos’ Southend) *The Loudermilks w/ The Menders, The Fat Face Band (Snug Harbor) *People’s Blues of Richmond w/ Moose Kick & Dank (Visulite Theatre) Poor Blue Band (Comet Grill) River Jam w/ Woody Pines (U.S. National Whitewater Center) School of Rock Presents: Spring Show (Visulite Theatre) Stonecrest Summer Concert Series w/Greg Lilley Band (Stonecrest) The Spongetones (Double Door Inn) Swim in the Wild (RiRa Irish Pub)
Kenny Chesney w/ Old Dominion (PNC Music Pavilion) Lenny Federal Band (Comet Grill) The Slocan Ramblers (The Evening Muse)
May 22
Pop/Rock
Country/Folk
Blakney Summer Concert Series w/ DJ Chuck (Blakney) Born of Osiris w/ A Burning Body, After the Burial, Erra & Bad Omens (Amos’ Southend) Hippo Campus w/ Riothorse Royale (Visulite Theatre) First Ward Friday w/ Retro Vertigo (First Ward Park)
Blues/Roots/International The Mavericks (Knight Theater)
Blue Highway (Neighborhood Theatre)
Pop/Rock Metal Night feat. Hate Eternal & Vital Remains (The Rabbit Hole) Omari and the Hellraisers (Comet Grill) School of Rock Presents: Spring Show (Visulite Theatre)
We all refuse to wear socks. clclt.com Sense of Purpose f. Paul Agee, Chris Allen, Joe Lindsay, Jody Gholson (Tyber Creek Pub) Stuck on Planet Earth, Rothschild, Blinds & Muffled (Milestone)
May 23 Hip-Hop/Soul/R&B Knocturnal (Snug Harbor)
Pop/Rock The Monday Night All-Stars (Double Door Inn) *The Neighbourhood (The Fillmore Charlotte) Open Mic feat. Levi Parham (Evening Muse) Wicked Powers (Comet Grill)
May 24 Classical/Jazz/Smooth Sai the Violinist (Helles & Dunkel) Bill Hanna Jazz Jam (Double Door Inn)
Country/Folk Red Rockin’ Chair (Comet Grill) Tuesday Night Jam w/ The Smokin’ Js (Smokey Joe’s Cafe)
Hip-Hop/Soul/R&B JMSN & Tiffany Gouché (Neighborhood Theatre)
Pop/Rock Bill Hanna Jazz Jam (Double Door Inn) Fairplay & Special Guests (Lucky Lou’s Tavern) Hall and Oates (PNC Music Pavilion) The Monkees: 50th Anniversary Tour (Belk Theater) Music Box Lunch Series w/ Sabra Callas (Romare Bearden Park) The Suitcase Junket w/ Connor Zwetsch Band (The Evening Muse)
May 25 Country/Folk Covers for a Cause: Mike Strauss, Loose Lugnuts, Bill Noonan, & Sam the Lion cover Merle Haggard (Double Door Inn) Open Mic (Comet Grill)
DJ/Electronic Astari Night, Astrea Corp, Tenderlash, & Iioioioii (Milestone)
Pop/Rock Bear Hands (Neighborhood Theatre) Party in the Park w/ The Catalinas (Romare Bearden Park)
An Intimate Evening with Good Old War (Acoustic) & Joshua Hyslop (The Evening Muse) Open Mic Night (The Dirty Hippie) Modern Heritage Weekly Mix Tape (Snug Harbor) Pluto for Planet (RiRa Irish Pub)
COMING Soon Brandi Carlile (May 27; The Fillmore) Susto (May 27; Visulite Theatre) Urban Ministry’s Housing Fest: A Concert to End Homelessness w/ Josh Ritter, Matrimony, Lindi Ortega, Nikki Hill and Jim Lauderdale (The Fillmore) Lincoln Durham (May 28; Evening Muse) Selena Gomez (June 7; Time Warner Cable Arena) Ellie Goulding (June 9; CMCU Amphitheatre) R Kelly (June 9; Time Warner Cable Arena) Dead & Co. (June 10; PNC Music Pavilion) Weezer, Panic at the Disco (June 10; PNC Music Pavilion) Kurt Vile (June 11; Amos’ Southend) Miranda Lambert (June 11; PNC Music Pavilion) Lucius (June 13; Visulite Theatre) Death Cab for Cutie, Chvrches (June 16; CMCU Amphitheatre) Lake Street Dive (June 17; The Fillmore) Chris Cornell (June 20; Belk Theater) Weezer, Panic at the Disco (June 20; PNC Music Pavilion) The Cure (June 23; PNC Music Pavilion) Aesop Rock (July 1; Visulite Theatre) Vans Warped Tour (July 5; PNC Music Pavilion) Garbage (July 23; The Fillmore) Gwen Stefani (July 23; PNC Music Pavilion) Peter Frampton, Gregg Allman (July 26; CMCU Amphitheatre) Counting Crows and Rob Thomas (July 27; Time Warner Cable Arena) Slipknot, Marilyn Manson, Of Mice & Men (Aug. 2; PNC Music Pavilion) Motion City Soundtrack (Aug. 10; The Fillmore) Maroon 5 (Sept. 11; Time Warner Cable Arena) Brian Wilson (Sept. 19; Belk Theater) Puff Daddy (Sept. 20; Time Warner Cable Arena) * - CL Recommends
Need directions? Check out our website at clclt.
com. CL online provides addresses, maps and directions from your location. Send us your concert listings: E-mail us at aovercash@clclt. com or fax it to 704-522-8088. We need the date, venue, band name and contact name and number. The deadline is each Wednesday, one week before publication. clclt.com | may. 19 - may. 25, 2016 | 33
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Recycle me, please (Only after you’re done reading me)
Nightlife
Fun With the Family Goes Off Without a Hitch stocked bar, a private dinner room and a Why is it that every Monday, no lounge area. We were walked to couches matter how long the weekend was, is accompanied by a sinking feeling of what’s situated to the right of the bar where the to follow? That’s how I felt walking into marketing and events coordinator, Deborah, work at 7:30 a.m. this past Monday after a sat after a long day. She was extremely four-day weekend. I had taken Friday off for accommodating and friendly — even helping my cousin’s graduation from Winston Salem us move the couches and chairs closer State University and ended up working from together for my family. home for three days. You would think that I A grapefruit vodka and sour apple martini would’ve been well-rested at the start of the later, the crew started to arrive and, they week but that wasn’t the case. too, were in awe of the atmosphere. They On Thursday night, my nightcap included were having an event “A Night in Ecuador,” three glasses of wine, and a late bed time — I didn’t fall asleep until 2 a.m. on Friday. an earthquake relief fundraiser, so So, it’s not surprising that when the live music feature was a Latin my alarm went off around 7:15 band instead of their usual jazz a.m., I was startled. Feeling — they’ve been awarded a little queasy, I rolled out “Best Place to Hear Jazz” of bed and threw on my in Charlotte — but we outfit for the graduation. were still impressed by We arrived at Lawrence the vibe they created. The Joel Veterans Memorial skinny on the spot? If Coliseum in Winston you’re planning a special Salem for the ceremony around 9:30 a.m. and I date, looking for a place to was feeling anxious to see host a private party or you’re Aerin Spruill my cousin walk across the interested in an alternative to stage, so we that we could get sloppy nightlife, Blue Restaurant back on the road to Charlotte. & Bar has a lot to offer. Five hours later — yes, I said five After Blue, we were hungry again. They — the “Dirty Dozen,” as my family is often weren’t serving food since the fundraiser called, was packed and headed to the Queen was going on, so we decided on Enso Asian City. If you picked up last week’s article then Bistro and Sushi Bar in the EpiCentre. This you may remember I talked about how hard is one of my parents’ favorite spots to go to it was to find things for a large family, with diverse interests, to do in the city. But then, when they’re visiting the Q.C. That’s not just I stumbled upon Blue Restaurant & Bar in because almost everything we’ve tried on its Uptown. Pan-Asian menu is amazing or because of As you can imagine, travelling with a the dimly-lit electronic house party feel. It’s large family is challenging. Disorganization, because they love to watch the drunk people food and gas means an hour-and-a-half trip stumbling through EpiCentre while nestled can easily turn into a three-hour adventure. on the patio right out front. After getting settled at Aloft in Epicentre, We ended up grabbing a couple more we quickly realized that dinner reservations drinks — a mistake I regretted until 8 p.m. in Ballantyne would have to be cancelled. the next day — and two orders of Mongolian Instead, we opted for Blackfinn Ameripub beef (my absolute favorite dish on their since that was just a hop, skip and a jump away from the hotel. Despite having heard menu). Before long, we were asking the great things about their food, I was still waitress if we could pick up wings from Wild surprised at how delicious everything was Wing Cafe and bring them back. — especially my blackened brie with sliced As you can expect, the night ended on apples and apricot cranberry chutney. Not a boozy note. Most of my family retired to to mention, we snagged the perfect peopletheir respective hotel rooms while I grabbed watching spot on the patio. my luggage and parked myself in front of Of course my family was moving slow, so a galaga machine in Tin Roof until 2 a.m. my pops and I closed out and walked ahead to Though I’m still exhausted, I can honestly make sure all was well with our reservations say weekend fun with the family in the Q.C. at Blue. Being situated on the corner of East 5th Street and North College Street, made was a success. I popped my family-friendly Blue easy to find. The venue was beautiful nightlife cherry and now I’m up for the next featuring white linen, mood lighting, a fully challenge.
Ends
Crossword
KEEPING TO ONE SIDE ACROSS
1 Blazing 7 Greek vowel 12 Alternative to “mac” or “bud” 20 One offering hush money 21 Tons 22 Mayonnaise, butter or mousse 23 Thing pushed by a flight attendant [left hand] 25 Unimportant matter 26 Atop, to poets 27 Not keep in 28 Plant that’s a drug source [right hand] 30 Dog-paddles [left hand] 35 Upfront stake 36 Date steadily 37 “How Do I Live” singer Rimes 38 Full of frost 40 - chi 43 Sore 46 Mama’s man 48 One on the same squad 53 Ziploc product [left hand] 56 Fashion designer with the “3.1” label [right hand] 58 Greene of “Bonanza” 59 People hauled in 61 Dial and Zest 62 “That’s -” (“Negative”) 63 Minnelli of “Cabaret” 65 “... - gloom of night ...” 66 Double curve 67 Hand over formally 69 Typing (and the theme of this puzzle) 74 Orient 78 Charlotte of sitcoms 80 Telecast 81 Excavates 83 “No noise!” 84 Rigging poles 87 Spike heels 91 Autumn bloomer 93 University in San Marcos [left hand] 95 Hit song from a Leslie Caron film [right hand] 97 Recorded in advance 98 Light beams 100 English Channel swimmer Gertrude 101 Vote in favor
102 Fast WWW hookup 103 Astronomer Tycho who coined the term “nova” 105 Tennis unit 108 Manage OK 111 “What I think is ...” [right hand] 117 Strike zone, say [left hand] 121 Boat blades 122 Livy’s 1,006 123 Software clients 124 American violet [right hand] 129 Diverges 130 Develop 131 Bassett of “Notorious” 132 Thin quality 133 See 29-Down 134 Limy cocktail
DOWN
1 Chief monk 2 More relaxed 3 Book, in Nice 4 1860s prez 5 Sea, in Nice 6 History topic 7 Sci-fi hominid 8 Lawful 9 Entrée holder 10 The woman 11 Re 12 Country in West Africa 13 Folder’s call, in poker 14 Dull bluish-gray color 15 Freak (out) 16 Bygone U.S. gas brand 17 Some speech flaws 18 Jeweler’s magnifier 19 Not bat 24 Ball dress 29 With 133-Across, amounts that rise with raises 31 Non-earthling 32 Actor Washington 33 Very wise 34 Put a tear in 39 Hostage holder, e.g. 41 Wrong 42 Force (upon) 43 Insurer with a duck icon 44 Witchy woman 45 Judean king 46 Hole number 47 Epoch 48 Cravat, e.g.
49 Lofty trains 50 Carte lead-in 51 Gratuity 52 Letters before ens 54 Bulldoze 55 Donkey’s cry 57 Bovine bunch 60 Kind of drum 64 1950s prez 66 Nest nugget 68 Galley goofs 70 Angling need 71 NHL team 72 Revered one 73 Not yet final, in law 75 In motion 76 Snail coverer 77 Piercing pain 79 Appraise 82 Gave a quick greeting 84 Indy sponsor 85 Part of mpg 86 Log chopper 87 - -Foy, Que. 88 Iota 89 “Love - neighbor ...” 90 “- a shame” 92 Actor Martin 94 Watch a sports event 96 Vault 99 Liston fighter 102 Poor grade 103 “77 Sunset Strip” actor Edd 104 Optimistic 105 Earring types 106 Studio prop 107 Fountain in Rome 109 Caravan layover sites 110 Iron 112 Perfectly pitched, in baseball 113 Parson’s estate 114 Motivate 115 Future seed 116 Bite gently on 118 Forbidding 119 “My People” writer Abba 120 Partially open 125 “... - mouse?” 126 Spree 127 One: Prefix 128 “Gigi” studio
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Before I go on, let me say that I adore my husband in all ways except sex. We are raising a child together and are a good fit otherwise. I no longer have any desire to have sex with my husband. Lots of men and women write in to complain about their partner’s low libido. This is not the case. My libido is fine. I just don’t want to have sex with my husband. Whenever we would have sex in the past, I would get anxious and try to avoid it. We each have our issues. He feels insecure and has trouble maintaining erections. I always felt desexualized — “Porn performers almost never get not by him, but when I was younger. royalties for their scenes when they work Being a poly woman dating in for big studios,” said Conner Habib, my 40s has been incredibly a writer, activist, and porn empowering and sexy. But performer. “If you buy into my husband’s experiences the trickle-down theory of have been different. He things, then more money is frustrated because for the studio should it is hard for him to mean more money for the meet women, and his performers. If you don’t frustration is made buy into that — and not worse by the fact that everyone does — there I don’t want sex with are other options.” him either. When he To get your money had a girlfriend, our sex directly to the performers Dan Savage life wasn’t as much of an whose work you’re currently issue. What should I do? enjoying/stealing, SPANK, He’s unhappy. I’m frustrated. you can patronize smaller studios Neither of us wants to divorce. Should run by performers, book time with I force myself? independent webcam models, and purchase Lady In Baltimore Isn’t Desiring porn created by performers on sites like Obligatory Sex Clips4Sale.com. To atone for your years of freeloading, SPANK, you can and should make large It is a truth universally acknowledged donations to two organizations. — in the poly universe anyway — that a “The Adult Performer Advocacy married poly woman will have an easier time Committee (APAC, apac-usa.com) is the finding sex partners than a married poly largest performer-based organization in the man. Some men in poly relationships present world, and its membership is made up entirely themselves as dishonest cheaters rather than of performers,” said Habib. “Full disclosure: honest nonmonogamists because women I’m the vice president, but no donation would rather fuck a married man who’s money goes to me or any board member. It cheating on his wife than a married man who all goes to the organization, which works to isn’t cheating on his wife. Go figure. improve the working conditions, quality of Anyway, LIBIDOS, the answer to your life, and safety of performers, as well as to question — should you force yourself to fuck fight anti-porn laws and stigma.” Habib also your husband? — depends on your answer recommended donating money to the Sex to this question: How badly do you want to Workers Outreach Project (swopusa.org). avoid divorce? Because if your husband can’t “This isn’t a porn-specific organization,” said or won’t pretend to be cheating, LIBIDOS, Habib, “but it works to protect and fight for and if women won’t fuck him because he’s the rights of all sex workers. Since many in an open marriage, your refusal to fuck performers are doing other forms of sex him could wind up incentivizing divorce. work, donations go a long way to help porn So to save your marriage, LIBIDOS, you performers.” might wanna fuck your husband once in a while. And since you’re off the hook when My husband and I have been married your husband has a girlfriend, LIBIDOS, you for 16 years. We have been polyamorous might wanna do everything you can to help for the last five years. We are a bit him find a new one. But between girlfriends, mismatched sexually in many ways. LIBIDOS, you’ll probably wanna fuck him Polyamory was our solution. For much of once in a while. Lube for you, Viagra for him, this time, my husband had a girlfriend. pot for you both.
Over the years, I have consumed what I believe to be an average amount of porn for a 44-year-old hetero guy. I have never paid for it, and I am now facing a troubled conscience for that fact. I could obviously just subscribe to some site or other now, but that would benefit only one company and/or set of performers. Is there a Dan Savage– approved charity relating to the adult film industry to which I could donate? Seeks Penance And Needs Knowledge
clclt.com | may. 19 - may. 25, 2016 | 37
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For All Signs: The planets Venus and Mars are in opposition at this time. Venus, the ancient goddess of love, carries broad feminine and romantic symbolism. Mars is the warrior god and prevails over masculine territory. This opposing alignment may suggest the conclusion of one relationship and the beginning of another. Alternatively the opposition suggests a need to lay our cards on the table, clear the air, and find solutions to issues within an ongoing relationship. We are asked to look at both the internal and external character of the relationship. This is a halfway point in an ongoing 26 month cycle. The beginning of this cycle occurred during the first quarter of 2015. This marks a time in which we are evaluating the development of that beginning. By now it has come to a point of tweaking. The direction may be changed from the intended purpose. That shift could be a purely creative outcome or perhaps we can readily perceive potholes that need to be corrected. The “relationship” can be gender oriented or it might be a singular piece of creative work. Reflect on what began for you in the first quarter of 2015. At this point we see the result of that birth. Make changes if needed. The full moon on the 21st is a doozy. Stay home and watch TV. Aries: This looks like a week in which you really want to say your piece, but you have a sense that would be a bad idea. Agreed. Your ruling planet, Mars, continues to retrograde. If someone “attacks” you, then you may safely defend yourself. But if you want to initiate a snipe at anyone, you’d best save that for late in the summer. Taurus: During this period it is probable
that you and another will need to clarify and come to agreement on issues of shared resources. Those may include time, sexuality, energy, objects, and/or the finances of a partnership. This is a time for honesty and fresh or renewed agreements.
Gemini: The sun moves into your sign this week. Right away it begins making oppositions to several planets. You may be in the mood to tell someone off. The problem is that given the Mars retrograde, it is better to do so judiciously, lest you be seen as an “attacker.” Slow it down by writing the complaints in a letter so you can review before you speak. Cancer: It is normal to feel somewhat lethargic during the month just prior to one’s birthday. At this time the sun is figuratively at its darkest and we experience a natural low in our personal annual cycle. Don’t take the dip too seriously. It is meant to happen this way, so that you can rest before your new year begins. Create some time for rest and relaxing, if possible. Steer clear of trouble on the 21st full moon. 38 | may. 19 - may. 25, 2016 | clclt.com
Leo: A small cycle change this week shifts
your attention to the areas of community and broader social relationships. This is a good time to develop your network of contacts. Beware of hidden opposition that could undermine your plans. Don’t push.
Virgo: Mercury is your avatar planet and
will be turning direct on the 22nd. You may be surprised to recognize that during this retrograde period you have learned more about yourself and your belief system. This could significantly helpful in making decisions that have been pending.
Libra: Choose your words carefully
when speaking to friends and loved ones. Sometimes you present your ideas as though they were established facts. Your words may generate hurt feelings and anger that likely will return to haunt you later.
Scorpio: You are under significant
financial pressure now. Make an effort to face the problem. Don’t let yourself resort to any get rich quickly schemes. That will only cost you money you can’t afford to spend.
Sagittarius: There is potential trouble
in the area of significant relationships, partnership(s), and clientele. Whenever you push forward you are met with bright flood lights aimed at your weaknesses. Resist the temptation to shift into passive-aggressive behavior.
Capricorn: Over the weekend, someone
takes an aggressive poke at you. It calls for a response from you, but at this time the aggressor always loses, so keep that in mind. The aggressive action works like a boomerang and comes right back at the initiator. If the battle is interior, then you may be feeding yourself negative thoughts.
Aquarius: Aspects are not the best for
the Waterbearers at this time. You may feel isolated or as though no one around you can possibly understand who or what you are. In some way life circumstances may be preventing you from communicating. Remember that feelings come and go like waves. They never remain the same.
Pisces: This is a period in which you are doing battle with yourself. You want to move forward, but fear the changes involved. Equally as strong is the fish that ducks underwater and does not want to be bothered. This is a conundrum that you probably cannot repair until July. Go easy on yourself. Do what must be done now and let other things go.
Are you interested in a personal horoscope? Vivian Carol may be reached at 704-366-3777 for private psychotherapy or astrology appointments. www.horoscopesbyvivian.com.
clclt.com | may. 19 - may. 25, 2016 | 39
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