CLCLT.COM | MAY 25 - MAY 31, 2017 VOL. 31, NO. 14
1 | DATE - DATE, 2015 | CLCLT.COM
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COVERSTORY
PALE ALE Local brewers defy the lily-white craft beer scene BY RYAN PITKIN
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N MAY 12, a diverse crowd of around 100 people gather in Goodyear Arts for an exhibit called Mood: BLACK featuring visual art, live music and free drinks. In a back corner, folks gather around a table to try cups of Dat Dere or the Stokely Stout, two beers from Black Star Line Brewing, a black-owned brewing company based in Hendersonville, N.C. Cut ahead by a few hours, on the afternoon of May 13, as people pour into a block on Louise Avenue for the opening of a new Catawba Brewing Co. location in the Belmont neighborhood between Plaza Midwood and NoDa. The opening is a success, as hundreds of people catch rays on the patio or take up tables inside. While everyone seems to be enjoying themselves at each scene, there’s one striking difference between the two: despite Catawba’s location in a historically black neighborhood, there’s not a single black person to be seen among the hundreds of people there at around 5 p.m. The scene at any brewery in Charlotte on a summer afternoon is more similar to the latter than the former, so it begs the question: why? Is the lack of diversity among Charlotte’s rapidly growing craft beer culture a matter of taste, education, apathy or something else? For Tabu Terrell, who left his high-paying job as an emergency medical physician in 2013 and in November 2015 opened Three Spirits Brewery, becoming Charlotte’s only black brewery owner entering the all-white local craft beer scene was nothing new. “We used to always joke about that. You go to conventions and there’s not that many people like you,” he says. “I went to a couple of [Craft Brewers Conferences] and you just kind of look around the room and your like, ‘Huh?’ But from my perspective, it was no different from medical school. So I was kind of used to that, it didn’t really hit me as hard.” Terrell began making homebrews during his first year of residency at Indiana University in 1999. He had a natural gift, and by the time he finished his residency and moved to Charlotte in 2002, his beers were getting rave reviews from friends who admitted they usually had to lie to protect the feelings of home-brewing buddies. He kept at it, eventually building a shed behind his home when his wife allowed 10 | MAY. 25 - MAY. 31, 2017 | CLCLT.COM
PHOTOS COURTESY OF BLACK STAR LINE BREWING
A line-up of Blask Star Line beers (above). From left: L.A. McRae, Ekua Adisa McRae and local comedian NuffCed at a recent Black Star Line tasting (right). him to get his “big-boy system,” but he only thought of the trade as a potential profession after retirement. That was until one day in 2010 when Terrell was getting some rare time in with his 4-year-old daughter and attempted to teach her a lesson. He ended up learning one himself. “I scolded her for something and I could just see that she was completely puzzled as to why I’m scolding her,” he says. “I realized that a nanny was raising our kids instead of us, and that is not really why I went to school or how I envisioned my family. It’s always like a conglomeration of things, but that kind of started the avalanche.”
TERRELL SAYS HIS crowds on any given night are majority white, and believes the lack of black clientele comes from a need for education. He recalls that, for as long as he can remember, he has seen malt liquor and spirits advertised to blacks and regular beer advertised to whites. Terrell refers to “the count” that most black people do as soon as they enter a room, when they look around to see how many other black folks are in the space. He makes it a point to welcome people of color as they come through his door and let them know he’s there and that he’s the owner. He says he does so without pressuring them or making them feel like the spotlight is on them. Photographer Alvin C. Jacobs, Jr., stopped
in on a recent night and was greeted by Terrell, who eventually took Jacobs down the list of beers while describing how each one got its name. “You walk in and you feel not only at home, but not intimidated from the traditional, dude-bro, ‘No soup for you,’ approach to the craft beer scene,” Jacobs said of the experience. Terrell is optimistic that more minorities will eventually get interested in the craft beer scene; it’s just a matter of time before folks start to come around to realizing what they like. “When you tell people of color or diverse people that you’re going to go to a microbrewery, I think they automatically assume that the beer is going to taste weird,” he says. A Nielsen study published in 2016 showed that African-American drinkers are far more likely to purchase spirits such as vodka or a sweet white wine like moscato than beer. Terrell says organizations like Black Business Owners of Charlotte, Charlotte Black Professionals and an all-black cigar club called Cigars & Stilettos have held events at his business, and some members still don’t even drink beer. “They’re trying to expand their palettes. And so they’ll come and they usually do flights and try to taste. They’re trying to change their palettes so they can come and support us, which we greatly appreciate.” Terrell sees Three Spirits as a bridge
brewery, a term he only first heard a couple months ago but believes fits nicely. It refers to a brewery with lighter and sweeter options that aren’t as harsh as some breweries. “A lot of African-Americans are worried that the beers are just too much, there’s too much going on,” he says. “So ours are just — we call them ‘comfort beers’ — easy drinking and smooth, just to get people on the bridge from the Bud Light, the Miller, the Pabst, just to start expanding their palettes.” Besides, it’s a taste he can relate to. When asked if he brews them sweet because that’s how he likes them, he doesn’t have to consider the question long. “It’s not a conscious effort, it’s just when I’m looking at the recipe I’ll be like, ‘Ehhh, add a little bit of sugar to that. Make it a little bit sweeter,’” Terrell says. “I’m not a person that likes a lot of dry things. That’s what I bring into it. I think there’s a little bit of merit to that.”
L.A. MCRAE, FOUNDER and brewmaster
with Black Star Line Brewing (BSL), has also found that the sweeter the better works for their clientele since brewing the company’s first batch in February. McRae decides on what types of beer to brew through counsel with family members and through prayer. Using that process, the sweeter, honey-infused and ginger beers have become most popular over the last three months. “What I know from my people, being black
icans “A lot of African-Amer ers are worried that the be e’s too are just too much, ther much going on.” ER, THREE SPIRITS BREWERY
-TABU TERRELL, OWNER/BREWMAST
PHOTO COURTESY OF BLACK STAR LINE BREWING.
d “There’s a lot of that micro-aggression an which old brewer ’s boys club stuff happening, rie is really shitty, but it’s the typical expe nce life.” for somebody from my walk of CK STAR LINE BREWING ER, BLA
-L.A. MCRAE, OWNER/BREWMAST
folks, being queer folks or being women, is we want something that tastes sweeter,” says McRae, who prefers to be referred to in nongender specific they/them/their pronouns. Like Terrell, McRae includes familial ties and personal stories into the recipes and names of each beer BSL brews. “Everything for me is about family — whether it’s about family of origin, family of birth, ancestral family or spirit guides — and really honoring the legacy and the history and the culture that we’re building with black brew culture,” McRae says. McRae grew up in Bel Air, Md., home of DuClaw Brewing Co., which was founded in 1995. Later, a family friend opened Red Brick Station, a brewpub in nearby Nottingham, Md. Eventually, McRae’s two older brothers became “craft beer snobs,” in their own words, and McRae wasn’t far behind. About a decade ago McRae left the seminary; as a “self-ordained, practicing homosexual,” it became clear that a future as a Methodist preacher was not in the cards. “For the last 10 years I’ve been searching for what it is that makes me really happy and what I love doing,” McRae says. “So when I thought about that, I thought: Well I love drinking beer. I have a family culture around drinking beer, we’re black craft beer nerds. And also I love creating, I used to be a sous
chef. So for me it was about an opportunity to pull all the things I love together.” McRae began experimenting with small batch brewing — BSL still doesn’t brew more than seven barrels at a time — and learning the tricks of the trade. The name for the Stokely Stout came along before McRae knew the details of brewing, and making that inaugural batch was a learning experience. “Getting to this recipe took us five batches, and it was not easy,” McRae recalls. “The first batch was just absolutely terrible.” But McRae persisted, and after perfecting that dark stout, got to work on some lighter tastes, like the citrusy Ocean’s Nectar or Dat Dere, a ginger beer. However, a diversity in brews doesn’t always lead to a diversity in the culture, at least not in the short time BSL has been around. McRae says most white people are caught off guard when they realize they’re speaking to the company’s brewmaster. “We like to say that beer is community; well, there’s a typical demographic of white, cisgendered, heterosexual men who have taken up a lot of space in the craft brewing industry, especially in Charlotte,” McRae says. “There’s a lot of that micro-aggression and old-brewers boys club stuff happening, which is really shitty, but it’s the typical
ART BY FORREST NORMAN III.
Clockwise from top: Tabu Terrell with a flight of Three Spirits beers. Standing in his brewery, back where all the magic happens. Custom artwork for Three Spirits’ Honey Porter beer. experience for somebody from my walk of life . . . People either don’t realize or don’t care, but that’s part of white privilege, you can just sort of turn your eye from it.” Terrell says he experiences the same presumptuous attitudes at his location, and laughs when he tells of how he has learned that he can use the ignorance to his advantage. “I don’t have to talk to solicitors,” he says. “They come in, and they always go straight to [tap room manager] Debbie, or my assistant brewer, my brother-in-law, who’s white. They’ll walk right up to them. So I can just sit in the corner and nod or shake my head if I want to talk to them or not. I don’t have to deal with them.”
PHOTOS BY RYAN PITKIN.
Terrell believes success has made some are brewers apathetic about the lack of diversity in their tap rooms, but predicts that as the proliferation of Charlotte breweries continues, added competition will make existing owners more aware of the huge population that isn’t coming through their doors. “If you’re successful, you’re probably not paying much attention. You’re making your money, so it’s not that big of an issue,” Terrell SEE
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PHOTO COURTESY OF BLACK STAR LINE BREWING.
COVERSTORY
IN SEARCH OF FRESH FACES Cultivating black brewery culture through hip-hop BY KIA O. MOORE
RMAN III.
ART BY FORREST NO
From left: Danielle Hilton and L.A. McRae discuss Black Star Line at a recent tasting in Charlotte (above). Custom artwork for
ssafassa Three Spirits’ King Raar. ye a ce on t bottled jus
BLACK FROM
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Ale,
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says. “Even African-Americans don’t realize how much spending power we have as a community. So I don’t think other people really look at it either. This city has a lot of black professionals, with a lot of money.” McRae believes the opportunities to serve those populations will come only when breweries make a conscious effort to give back to the communities they serve. “Me and the folks I associate with, as conscious black folks, to go into white establishments that don’t have any investment in black, brown, queer women communities, it’s hard for me to get behind that,” McRae says. “So if I’m going to take my hard-earned dollars out of my pocket and give it to you, I know that’s not going back in my community.” 12 | MAY. 25 - MAY. 31, 2017 | CLCLT.COM
McRae said they would need to see “performative allyship” from local brewers before they felt like they were truly part of the community. “That would be where we’re going to host a night for low-income kids on this side of Charlotte, or we’re going to go over here and clean up the gutters in this neighborhood. And it has to be more often, and it has to be less transactional and deeply invested in the community,” McRae says. Until then, McRae will simply be worried about BSL, and finding space in Charlotte where they can brew their small batches. McRae is also planning the first-ever gathering of black brewers for either Hendersonville or Charlotte in October. The gathering will be an opportunity to connect black brewers and brewery owners with black beer enthusiasts, among others. “There’s no Black Brewer’s Association right now; all of the brewing associations are white. If you look at the leadership, they’re all white. If you look at the board membership, they’re all white,” McRae says. “So we’re looking at having some collective bargaining power with distributors, with hop growers, etc. How do we create some accountability, and inspire other people to get involved in the industry? It will really start the conversation of what is black brew culture? What does it look like? What do we feel?” As for us, what we feel, for now anyway, is very hopeful for the future of local craft beer culture. RPITKIN@CLCLT.COM
TO ENTER A room filled with people that, upon first glance, look as though they have nothing in common with you is not something you ever get used to. No matter how well a person from a minority group learns to assimilate and code switch to better relate with and maneuver within the majority group’s culture, being the token melanated individual at work or in a place of leisure never becomes comfortable. You learn coping strategies that work best for you when you find yourself in white spaces. Black and brown beer drinkers in Charlotte are currently in a state of coping with Charlotte’s craft beer and brewery culture, some reluctantly dipping their toes into it while most ignore it altogether. According to the statistics, it is not just a Charlotte issue. A 2016 study commissioned by the Brewers Association found that the fastest growing demographic of craft beer drinkers are the mixed-race population, the Latino population right on their heels, with African-American and Asian enthusiasts trailing behind. However, when you look at the breakdown of the Charlotte racial demographic according to the most recent U.S. Census Bureau, the African-American and Latino demographics make up a significant portion of Charlotte’s overall population. Yet still, when you step into craft beer breweries around the Crown Town one would be hard pressed to find people of color reflected in the brewery patron population. There are no Jim Crow-style “White Only” signs posted up in Charlotte breweries. And there are not many instances of blatant raciallycharged discriminatory acts toward non-white brewery patrons from owners, staffers or fellow customers. However, the uncomfortable nature of being black in a predominately white space during a time of leisure and relaxation does not have much appeal. If I, as a black Charlottean, have to put on a cultural code-switching mask of “acceptable blackness” in white spaces during my entire workweek or during multiple client meetings, spending my free time in a predominately white space is not the first hangout spot that comes to mind. I am more likely looking to spend my leisure time relaxing in comfortable black or multiracial spaces; looking to be amongst friends where I can be my true self within my authentic black cultural identity. I am looking for leisure-time spaces where I do not have to worry about making others around me feel comfortable and unthreatened by my blackness. The resulting preconceived notion is that going to a Charlotte brewery will require the taxing mental work of putting on my “socially
PHOTO COURTESY OF BLACK STAR LINE BREWING.
Ekua Adisa McRae with a Black Star Line beer. acceptable blackness” mask during a time I have set aside to just relax and be me. So what can Charlotte’s current brewery owners and regular patrons do to help change these preconceived cultural notions attached to Charlotte’s brewery culture? How can they help both budding and long-time black beer enthusiasts see breweries as a space of true leisure and relaxation for all? There are many answers and even more questions that come to mind when trying to respond to such questions, but Lenny Boy Brewing Company and Unknown Brewing Company have tapped into one answer for both — hip-hop. Charlotte hip-hop culture has the potential to help many black Charlotteans relax their preconceived notions of Charlotte’s brewery culture. Through event programming efforts and speciality packaging, Lenny Boy and Unknown are tapping into the connective nature of hip-hop. Last Saturday, Lenny Boy Brewery put on the Dat Hip Hop Fest, billed as an all-out hiphop event complete with live music, an OG Swag Sale, breakdancing, live street art and food trucks. During my time there, between 4 and 7 p.m., I only had the experience of the live music and food trucks. The only vendors I saw selling swag was a U.S.O. table inside the taproom. Townes Mozer, 29, owner and founder of Lenny Boy Brewing Co., has a frat-boy charm typical of the brewery patron you’d expect to find at his establishment. He took some time to chat with Creative Loafing and described how beers like Bring The Ruckus, Burn Down For What, Sexual Seduction and Dat Pale were all inspired by hip-hop songs or the culture as a whole. “A lot of us [at Lenny Boy] just like hiphop music,” Mozer said. Later, I ran into the Carney family, who
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came with their two toddlers specifically for Dat Hip Hop Fest. Ashley Carney said she was always looking for free family-friendly events that include music and beer. “If it has those three elements, then we are always there. Since, my husband is a hip-hop junkie and my son loves to breakdance and I saw this event on the calendar I knew it would be a good fit for us,” she said. For her African-American husband Justin Carney, 29, the hip-hop vibes were lackluster. “The hip-hop element got me interested. Now that I am here I don’t feel it is hip-hop enough. Not even a little bit, but I don’t know what happened before or what is going to happen after we leave,” he said. Ashley said her son was looking forward to seeing the breakdancers, but they didn’t show up by the time the Carney family was off to continue their Saturday family outing Uptown. Dat Hip Hop Fest will not be Lenny Boy’s last such event, Mozer said. “We just opened this facility this past September, so we are just getting our footing here. We have not done many hip-hop events yet. But, this past New Year’s was our first hip-hop-themed event with a DJ and it was lit. It was a little bit more diverse that night. Which was great, you know. And everyone was having a ball.” Mozer said the plan is for Lenny Boy to host hip-hop themed events every six months at the brewery. “Our crowd is really diverse because we have so many things on the board,” Mozer said. “We have non-alcoholic kombucha, we got regular brews, we got sour brews, we got gluten-free beers, so in essence we are kinda like hip-hop, we are not trying to do everything, but everything embodies us.”
and shifting the mindset of those who assume Charlotte brewery culture is not for them. “With us, we want to try to find ways to reach different people in Charlotte. People that would not typically walk into our taproom. People who would not find themselves in South End. People who do not live on this side of town. We want to give them reason to show up here.” Unknown lets local artists and promoters come in and plan concerts. Kent explained, “One thing that I have really tried to focus on since I have become the marketing person here is making Unknown as much as part of the fabric of Charlotte as possible. Since I am a massive hip-hop fan as well, the chance to showcase local talent, especially when it is good local talent, is important to try to push since we have the platform.” Local hip hop act Phaze Gawd approached Unknown with a concept called Bars, Bands & Brews. The first two events were a success, and for Kent, the idea to continue holding them was a no-brainer. “Our mantra is to live without boundaries, push the limit, and do things a little bit differently. We pride ourselves in not fitting into a box,” Kent said. “Like, this is what a Charlotte brewery is supposed to act like. This is what a Charlotte brewery is supposed to look like. If we want to do a hip-hop show, we do a hip-hop show.” For Kent, opening up to hip-hop is about using the culture as a tool to bring all types of people together. “Not a lot of things are able to bring a lot of people together. I would like to think that beer can do that,” he said. With Charlotte’s craft beer culture, hip-
“I am looking for leisure-time spaces where I do not have to worry about making others around me feel comfortable and unthreatened by my blackness.” -KIA O. MOORE Unknown Brewing Co. on S. Mint Street takes a different approach to connecting with a diverse crowd in Charlotte using hip-hop culture. Scotty Kent, 29, marketing lead for Unknown, opened the door of the tap room with smile and a warm handshake introducing himself. His backwards white cap, Charlotte Hornets graphic tee with the teal logo, and teal sneakers reflected Kent’s love for homegrown Charlotte culture. Kent is one-half of the “Bring Back the Buzz” grassroots campaign duo that organized Charlotte’s voice to get the Charlotte Hornets’ name back. Kent’s marketing savvy, love for local Charlotte culture, and deep hip-hop roots are reflected in how Unknown is approaching the issue of bringing diversity into its taproom
hop may be one of the tools a few breweries like Lenny Boy and Unknown turn to showcase to African-Americans in Charlotte that the brewery is truly a place for you, but this cannot be the only remedy from just a few breweries to make the scene as inclusive as it has the potential to be. If Charlotte really wants to foster true diversity, helping to foster diversity in one of the city’s most popular and well-loved leisure sectors is essential. The groups of people we feel most comfortable hanging with during our leisure time is a reflection of their tolerance. How diverse is your circle of friends? Why not grab a beer at a Charlotte brewery and diversify your social circle? BACKTALK@CLCLT.COM
TROUBLEHUNTER
SUICIDE IS AN OPTION It’s just the worst possible one BY NOW YOU’VE heard, rocker Chris
Fuck them. Their debauchery and greed in the face of Cornell hung himself. If you’re a gen-x’er, like I am, you’re probably stilling wondering what rising suicide rates in this state is disgusting. led him to suicide. You know, what was the According to the Center for Disease Control, North Carolina’s suicide rate has been final straw? Or, maybe you’re someone living with creeping up for decades. As of 2016, nearly depression, also like me, and you have a 14 in every 100,000 deaths in this state are pretty good idea of what was going on in his due to suicide. It’s not like there was much money for head and that a “final straw” isn’t necessary. Sometimes life sucks. Sometimes a person mental health services before. In 2015, the can seemingly have everything one could ever N.C. General Assembly, in its ongoing quest want, but inside they feel like a failure or a to make certain we realize they don’t give a fraud. Sometimes nothing goes right, like, for shit about us, cut a whopping $110 million decades. Sometimes past traumas or a broken from the state’s budget for regional mental health services. And that was on top of the heart haunt folks. Life is a cruel bitch, we know this. For cuts experienced during the Great Recession. So, as usual, it’s up to us to save ourselves. those who choose to end their lives, they don’t need a “final straw.” My guess is that No one else can do it for you, but you can do they’ve simply run out of hope that things it. However, and this sucks, if you don’t have will improve in their world. They’ve had health insurance it will be even more enough. They need a break. difficult to get help. But you can The idea to give up on life do it, and you do deserve your might even pop into your best efforts; don’t doubt head from time to time. that. It’s an unfunny trick For those of you with damaged psyches play on health insurance, get us sometimes, reminding thyself to therapy; that you: “You could stop, you is an order. If you were can end the pain, suicide looking for a sign this is is always an option.” it. You owe it to yourself For someone fresh and everyone in your life to out of hope, for someone RHIANNON try to understand your brain who has bottomed out on FIONN and to do your utmost to pull loneliness, for someone who yourself out of your depression. feels like they’re a burden, their Take micro-baby steps. That’s brain may even convince them that life will be better for everyone if they take cool. Just get to therapy. For those with and without health their exit. Well, listen to me: your brain is misfiring, insurance, here’s the best advice from me and others like me (thank you Facebook friends!) and it’s wrong. Brains that are working properly who must fight our brain chemicals: Do are not self-destructive, they’re into self- something other than what you’re currently preservation. If you kill yourself you will not doing. Exercise helps. Sunshine helps. Talking spare or unburden people, you will, instead, things out helps. Art helps. Depending on the person, antidepressants transfer your pain load to others. And that’s might help most — and you can drop your an asshole thing to do. The problem is that the politicians and stigma right now because, according to the bureaucratic types in this state and country Institute for Safe Medication Practices, one are such ginormous assholes that it’s difficult in six of you are already taking them, and that to see how things could get better sometimes. number rises if you’re white. Most old-school antidepressants are I get it. Take, for example, the recent finding cheap, so even without insurance I know by North Carolina state auditor Beth Wood you can find $4 a month for a Walmart that our state’s largest state-funded mental prescription. If you are feeling suicidal, please, go do health managed care company, Cardinal Innovations, receives nearly $600 million something. Anything. Really. Get up. Get out. annually in state Medicaid funding and has Talk to people. Call the Suicide Prevention had the bad habit of spending a large quantity Lifeline (1-800-273-TALK (8255)). But don’t of that money “making lavish expenditures succumb. I bet that if Chris Cornell was here on things such as cars, credit cards, parties, today that he’d tell you that he regrets his travel and bonuses for employees,” according decision. I am absolutely certain his children to a report in on NorthCarolinaHealthNews. do. BACKTALK@CLCLT.COM org. CLCLT.COM | MAY. 25 - MAY. 31, 2017 | 13
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EAST SIDE REVOLUTIONARY Councilwoman Dimple Ajmera discusses her new life in politics BY RYAN PITKIN
A
s an immigrant who moved to Los Angeles from India in her teen years without speaking much English, and shortly thereafter made another big move across country to Durham, Dimple Ajmera is no to stranger to adversity. But when she lost her father to a sudden heart attack four years ago, the experience shook her to her core, as she puts it. “That sort of made me question everything that I was doing,” Ajmera says. “I started realizing what is the true purpose of life. I started saying, ‘You know, I’ve got to be a part of some of the solutions that our community needs.’” Just 26 at the time, Ajmera began working on affordable housing issues, and in 2015 joined the board of the Charlotte Housing Authority. Because of her work, community leaders pushed her to run for office, and as District 5 Charlotte City Council Rep. John Autry prepared to run for a seat in the N.C. House, Ajmera reluctantly shadowed him to see if political life suited her. In January, at 30, she made the leap, and was sworn in to become the first AsianAmerican to serve on the Charlotte City Council. As per a pledge she made when she agreed to take Autry’s seat, she will not be running for reelection this year; however, she’ll still be running to stay on the city council as an at-large representative. Now four months into her first term, we caught up with Ajmera to see how things are panning out for her and to talk Eastland, hate crimes and cycling. Creative Loafing: So you became more active in the community after your father passed, but what convinced you to then go into politics? Dimple Ajmera: Because of some of the work that I had done [with CHA], the neighborhood leaders said, “Why don’t you run for office? Why don’t you look at this?” And I said, “Uhhh, no, I’m far away from politics, I don’t know if I want to do this.” After shadowing John for about five or six months, I was like, “I think I can do this. I can give my time and energy, because this is the part where it needs a lot of leadership, it needs a real change.” Was it an intimidating decision, with all the turmoil in local politics over the last year or so? I knew coming in it wasn’t easy. I always look at it from this way: you can’t complain being 14 | MAY. 25 - MAY. 31, 2017 | CLCLT.COM
an outsider, because that means that you’re not part of the solution, you’re part of the problem. So I thought this is an opportunity for me to create a community that I want to live in. I cannot change the world’s problems. I cannot solve what happens at the state level, but I can make some real change right here in our city, and address issues that are all local; our local sidewalks, our local jobs, our local housing. You can do a lot. You’re managing a $2.4 billion budget every year. You could do a lot of changes being on council. And what I tell folks is that council has more effect on your day-to-day life than the president does. What sort of things did you learn from John during your time shadowing him? I learned how to govern effectively, how to read between the lines, how to work well with others, how to collaborate. I learned that politics is not always black and white, and you know this, there is a lot of zig-zagging. I sort of saw how he did things and zig-zagged and I learned from that. It’s knowledge that you never get by studying. It’s a practical knowledge. Also, he is very much into environment, and that was a new topic for me, so I learned a lot from him about sustainability. That was a big learning curve. He was big into cycling, too. Did he turn you into a cycling advocate, as well? I was at Open Streets 704 recently and I truly support the push for bike lanes, even though I’m not a biker. I’m more of a walker, I love to walk everywhere. But I think we’ve got to create this bike path, this whole model throughout the city, because, think about it, a lot of students, they don’t have cars. I didn’t have a car when I was in college, even after college I didn’t have a car for a number of years. When you remove some of those barriers, when you create this bike path, it really connects people to jobs. It’s not always about just being recreational, it’s about connecting people to work and opportunities, and also sustaining a healthier lifestyle. So that’s why it’s needed not just in the Plaza Midwood and not just in the Uptown area, it needs to be everywhere, east, west, north, everywhere. You’ve made some drastic geographic moves in your lifetime. Are you just immune to culture shock at this point? I’ll say this, I think great things happen when
PHOTO BY RYAN PITKIN.
you’re outside of your comfort zone, and I always push myself to work outside of my comfort zone and I think that’s always helped me along the way, whether it’s been getting a scholarship to go to college or it’s networking with folks or even meeting community leaders to understand their true issues. You have to go to places to connect with real people and that means going outside of your comfort zone. You have to meet people where they are, as they say. Although you moved away from L.A. pretty quickly, you went back for college. Is there anything you miss about your time in Cali? I go visit my folks in California all the time,
in fact I was just there for Mother’s Day, and what I miss about California and L.A. in general is that healthier lifestyle, having healthier options to eat. And also the bike paths, the sidewalks, as a city we have a lot more progress to do to build that type of network. I absolutely miss that, because when I was in L.A. I didn’t have a car, I used to walk everywhere. I lived downtown and I walked everywhere. You mentioned the healthier food options. Are you a vegetarian? I am. So having that variety of options — it’s getting better here in fact with a lot of new restaurants coming, like Fern and Crisp. And then there is one in Dilworth. It’s one
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of the best. There are a lot of options, but I remember when I moved here six years ago, we didn’t have all of those options. So with the growth, the opportunities, and the diversity, it’s changing. It’s sort of like a revolution that I see. It’s going to take some time. It doesn’t happen overnight. Woodlands was one of the first spots to be making vegetarian food in Charlotte. Isn’t that in your district? It is in my district and I take great pride in it. In fact, the Becton Park neighborhood right behind it was ranked as the most diverse neighborhood in this city. You know, we always talk about how do we diversify our neighborhoods, well look at east Charlotte. That’s a perfect model that we can create in other parts of our city. Speaking of your district, the obligatory question everyone wants to talk about in District 5, what’s up at Eastland? Since I started on council, I’ve put a lot of focus on driving the Eastland site forward, and I think we have done tremendous progress over the last four months. In fact, we are winning when it comes to Eastland. When I started we had no activity going on in that site, but just two days ago, we had over 40 development companies here in Charlotte — 10 national and the rest local and regional — looking at the site and participating in the developer’s forum. So we’ve made great strides in that. Also we are bringing a myriad of activities. We brought the circus, which brought over 30,000 people that helped businesses along that corridor. People after leaving the fairs and festivals and the circus, they go out there and create more opportunities for those businesses. Now we are looking at some of the tactical urbanism that we can do, just inexpensive techniques that can create big results, a grassroots movement that is going to create a revolution for the east side; a catalyst for that side. We are looking at some of the small, medium-sized activities that can bring that excitement back, it’s going to make that site a destination point like it was once. If you grew up in Charlotte, you probably grew up going there. I did. I would ice skate there as a kid. And that’s what I hear from every single resident. “Oh, I used to ice skate there or I used to go get ice cream during the summer.” It was a place of belonging where people felt like this is a place I would go and bring my first date there. I’m trying to create that same sense of belonging again. What feedback did you get from developers at the recent forum? Unfortunately, after the forum, we got feedback from the developer community, and some of the feedback was around regulatory challenges. Some of the feedback was around,
NEWS
you’ve got this 68 acres of land, it’s really difficult to find one developer that’s going to develop an entire 68 acres, that’s a huge risk. The site is too big. The risk is too high. And if we do that it’s going to gentrify the area. How can we make our residents and our local businesses be part of the process and not gentrify the area? When we break it down in smaller parcels it creates opportunities for these businesses to invest and they can be part of the catalyst for revolution. Some of the feedback that I’m going to work on, and I’m committed to doing this, is how do we divide this huge 69 acres into smaller lands? Smaller parcels create better opportunities for smaller investors who live in the area. There was a hate-crime that occurred in your district about a month ago, in which the owner of Central Market was threatened and his property damaged. I saw you there on the scene. Why did you feel it was important to show up there? I wanted to make sure that I do justice to my role in city council by serving and being there for people when they are at their most vulnerable. So when the Central Market incident happened, I got a call from one of the community leaders at around 10:30 or so. I talked to the business owner, they put him on the phone, and he was on the verge of moving his business or moving to another state. I said, “Oh, no, no, no, I have to be there.” So I got there around 11:30, and I think our police department and fire department did an amazing job. They went beyond and above what they had to do to make sure that he felt at ease. He was nervous because he felt like this was a warning. [The note] said, “If you don’t leave, we’re going to come back.” He was nervous. He was nervous for his family. Just a month before that incident happened someone had attacked his employee when he was on his way to work. This a series of events, and he was very vulnerable, so I felt like I had to be there. We sat down and talked and the firefighters and the police officers were there, and they said, “By you giving in, you are giving them more power.” I think after several conversations, he felt that there was a community behind him. That uniqueness does exist in east Charlotte. When that incident happened, a lot of the neighbors came and shopped at that place that they’ve never been to just to support his business. That’s the true asset for east Charlotte, is that people feel comfortable with each other regardless of where they come from. It’s a refugee-owned business, he’s from Bhutan, and this is a dream that he had seen 20 years ago when he was in Bhutan. To see that dream sort of being destroyed, it’s a big shock. For me as an elected official, I feel that I am obligated to be there when people feel unsafe. RPITKIN@CLCLT.COM
BLOTTER
BY RYAN PITKIN
IF AT FIRST YOU FAIL A man was
motivated to get out of a South End CVS with a free can of beer last week, and he didn’t care what strategy he had to implement to get it. First, employees noticed the man stuffing a can of beer down his pants in an attempt to steal it (or just cool his junk off), but he wasn’t ready to make for the exit just yet. The man pulled another can from the cooler and approached the counter to pay for it, perhaps to throw off the scent of shoplifter he had already given off. The only problem, he wasn’t going about this purchase honestly, either. The man attempted to buy the second beer with counterfeit money, but ran from the store when confronted.
MIGHTIER THAN THE SWORD Too
much homework can make you want to stab someone, which is what makes an incident that occurred at Reid Park Academy last week all the more dangerous. A school resource officer said someone at the school told him about a student with a pen that was also a knife. Sure enough, when the officer investigated, he found the student to be in possession of a pen from which you could remove the back and it would become a small knife. The perfect tool for those more intense essay contests.
TAKE YOUR PICK An officer approached a vehicle at a stop light on Park Road last week at around 2 a.m. after he noticed the man wasn’t bothering to go when the light turned green. Of course, the officer found that the man had dozed off behind the wheel, and woke him up for a pop quiz, also known as a field sobriety test. The man showed signs of impairment, and was arrested for DWI due to drug impairment. While searching the suspect, officers found naltrexone, a drug meant to fight off the effects of opiates or decrease the desire to take such drugs, but alongside that were six different pipes made for smoking a bevy of different drugs. So there’s no telling what it was that sent the man into an unplanned early morning nap. CAN I CRASH HERE? An underage drunk driver was also found to be inebriated last week after crashing his car in east Charlotte. Officers responded to a call involving the suspect, who had been involved in an accident at 7:30 a.m. in which he struck a house. Officers administered sobriety tests to the driver, which should have just been a quick one question test: Did you just drive into a fucking home? UNDOCUMENTED Hopefully, a 25-year-
old American man was not making any plans to leave the country, as a recent vehicle breakin left him stuck here under Trump with the rest of us, at least for the foreseeable future. The man filed a police report last week after his car was broken into in his University
condominium’s parking lot overnight. The man told police that the thief stole nothing but his birth certificate and passport, and is probably now fleeing to the border to start a new life as a lucky American ex-pat.
PEOPLE OF WALMART An aggressive duo of shoplifters struck at a Walmart on Albemarle Road last week, and took down an older woman in order to make off with their non-impressive booty. According to a 64-year-old employee of the store, a man was approaching the exit with a set of bathroom chimes that he hadn’t paid for. When she asked him to please stop, another man came at her and knocked her to the ground before both made a run for it together. Police then probably checked the vicinity for any tell-tall ringing sounds.
PEOPLE OF TARGET While it’s a relatively normal occurrence for nicotine addiction to take hold of someone to the point where they throw a brick through a convenience store window and make off with boxes of cigarettes, one thief at the Metropolitan was at least trying to make better decisions last week. According to Target employees at the location, a man came in and grabbed several boxes of Nicorette gum before fleeing the store and hopping into a getaway vehicle. We wish you all the luck in breaking your habit, sir.
SPORTSMANSHIP
Police recently responded to a youth football game at Martin Luther King, Jr. Middle School after the game broke out into a melee involving both kids and parents. A 35-year-old woman filed a report stating that two juvenile suspects pushed down her 6-year-old son during the game and began kicking him in the head. When she tried to come to her son’s defense, a parent of one of those boys pushed her and then pulled her to the ground. CLCLT.COM | MAY. 25 - MAY. 31, 2017 | 15
FOOD
FEATURE
HALAL FOR Y’ALL Pakistani-Dominican family brings NYC staple to the center of Charlotte BY ALLISON BRADEN
I
N MANHATTAN, halal carts have become an institution — staples for late-night carousers. But many Charlotteans don’t even know what a halal cart is. The mobile food stands, modeled after those that traditionally sold hot dogs or tacos, serve up a combination of tasty dishes from the Muslim world, but with a New York sensibility: rice, greens, and halal meat either in a foil dish or in sandwich form. As America celebrates its 241st birthday on July 4, Charlotte’s first-ever halal food cart celebrates its first year in business at a corner of the city’s oldest intersection, Trade and Tryon streets. Owner Khuram Bashir, a Pakistani native, moved to Charlotte from Long Island, N.Y., about five years ago. When I asked Bashir’s stepson, Cristopher Collado, 23, why the family wanted to open a halal cart in Charlotte, he answered simply enough, “We were hungry. We wanted our own halal food.” Bashir’s sister, Bisma Ansar, 23, chimed in. “We loved halal food back in New York. I would have it all the time. It’s new here. A lot of people from New York live around here and they love halal food.” “Halal,” which translates from Arabic as “permissible,” means that the meat is butchered and prepared according to specific tenets of Islam. Many Muslims eat halal meat exclusively. Collado likens it to the relationship between Jewish people and kosher meat. The meat is always halal inside the Charlotte cart, but the dishes vary. Options include the classic chicken over rice (a personal favorite) or lamb and chicken over rice as well as gyros, falafel and Philly cheesesteaks. The dishes are culled from the menu at the family’s 4-year-old Matthews restaurant, Mi Barrio Halal Latin Grill. Bashir’s wife Damaris moved to the United States from the Dominican Republic, and both the restaurant and the food cart feature an unusual blend of international flavors. But when I asked Collado if he considers the cart’s food to be a Latin and Middle Eastern fusion, he calls it something else: American. “We just say it’s American, because only in America could you bring all parts of the world together. It’s a beautiful thing,” Collado said. “When you see the employees 16 | MAY. 25 - MAY. 31, 2017 | CLCLT.COM
The Halal cart crew: Ansar (left) and Collado (center) with three employees.
“WE JUST SAY IT’S AMERICAN [FOOD], BECAUSE ONLY IN AMERICA COULD YOU BRING ALL PARTS OF THE WORLD TOGETHER.” -CHRISTOPHER COLLADO
Employees cook up some delicious halal grub. — the people that work with us — it’s from all parts of the world. You have a guy born in the U.S., a guy born in Egypt, and a guy born in Venezuela, so it’s all parts.”
COLLADO MOVED to Charlotte from New York City about a year and a half ago, when
Bashir called to let his stepson know the halal cart was finally going to happen. The permit process had taken a long time — three years. The delay was, in part, Collado said, because the cart is unusual in size: bigger than a pushcart, but smaller than a fullsize, driveable food truck. When the permit
finally came, the news was even better than expected. The city had placed the cart at the intersection of Trade and Tryon, the heart of Charlotte. When his stepfather called to give Collado the news, he moved down to help. Bashir and his family opened the cart for business on July 4, but success wasn’t guaranteed. “We didn’t even know how to set up our cart,” Collado said. Another challenge involved confronting preconceived ideas about Islam and halal food. That became clear on the first day of business. As Bashir struggled to get the cart operational, part of it fell. Bashir rushed to catch it and he fell, too, scraping his elbows and knees. It was then that Sam, a local who regularly proselytizes at the intersection — you might recognize his booming voice as the one screaming “Jesus Saves” at all hours in Uptown — “jumped into action,” as Collado put it, to help his stepfather. According to Collado, Sam had already resolved to ignore the halal cart and never eat the food there because of its association with Muslims. When Bashir offered him food in gratitude, Sam was reluctant. “They got into a conversation and they
FOOD
THREE-COURSE SPIEL
STAY OUT OF THE WEEDS Server Joncarlo Palermo dishes on Que Onda Tacos + Tequila BY DEBRA RENEE SETH A customer waits for her lunch. realized that we’re all here with the same purpose,” Collado said. “We all come here and we all die and we all have to figure it out. Afterward, he tried a gyro and said, ‘That’s the best gyro I’ve ever had.’” And what makes the food so good? Collado said the secret is in how fresh the ingredients are. In New York, he said, there are so many halal carts that the market is saturated. Not every cart gets enough business to keep their inventories fresh. “We get a lot more business [in Charlotte], so the food we put out is fresh,” he said. In Collado’s opinion, the famous halal cart white sauce also has something to do with its success. The family makes both their white and hot sauces at home. There’s also the personalized service. “You gotta treat it like it’s for yourself and that kind of pushes you forward,” he said. Customers seem to agree with Collado, who says that a couple of regulars come as often as three times a day. (“Breakfast, lunch, and dinner!”) I asked Collado and Ansar if they feel like they’re giving Charlotteans an authentic New York City experience. “I honestly think we’re a little bit better than New York,” Callado said. He also enjoys working in Charlotte more than New York. “Over here, my rudest customer considers me more than my best customer in New York,” Collado said. Ansar added, “It’s nice here. It’s quieter. You know, New York is hustle and bustle. The crowd is better [here]. People are nice. There’s a lot of competition over there. Over here, it’s a new concept.” In their line of work, Ansar and Collado encounter Charlotteans of all stripes. It was lunchtime on a weekday when I stopped by, and the cart was surrounded by cleancut lunch breakers, but at night it’s another crowd altogether. The cart stays open until 2 a.m. every day except Friday and Saturday, when it serves until 4 a.m. The hours make the halal cart one of the only late-night food options in Uptown. Typically, Ansar said, they don’t have to deal with too much belligerence, but event nights can get crazy. (I have, ahem, anecdotal evidence that the cart’s offerings pair nicely
ALL PHOTOS BY ALLISON BRADEN
with late-night activities.)
BIGOTRY HAS not gone unnoticed at the halal cart. The diverse crowds have included the occasional xenophobe who might make a comment to the employees about “going back to their country.” But Ansar emphasized that it is rare. On the whole, she said, Charlotteans seem to have taken well to the new concept. “People are very accepting of it. They like the idea of the food, and they like the concept of halal food,” she said. “They come and ask us, ‘What is it?’ and they’ll get it. We appreciate that they accept us and accept the whole concept.” As the business approaches its first year, Ansar is appreciative of that acceptance. “We love the people that come to the cart and talk to us and who really like the food,” she said. “Without them, honestly, we wouldn’t be here.” Both inside and out, the halal cart brings people together and facilitates a uniquely American fusion of ideas, flavors and cultures. The conversation among the cart’s employees is a mix of Spanish and English. On a hot afternoon, the employees deftly move around each other and skilfully dice meat on the sizzling cooktop. Ansar took orders through a small screen window (cash only). Outside, Collado pulled icy cold sodas out of a cooler. When I visited, the halal cart shared the intersection with a taco truck and hot dog stand, making a trio that felt very American. Collado pointed to the American flag on the side of the truck and said the mix of cultures and people “really is what makes this country great.” On that first hot July day in business, the challenge of getting the cart set up may have seemed an inauspicious sign, but Bashir’s encounter with Sam seems almost symbolic. Their first meeting was marked by wariness followed by a willingness to put differences aside to step in on behalf of a fellow traveler. That moment of connection grew into an abiding friendship that transcends their religious affiliations. Collado says, “That’s what it’s all about,” Collado sadi. “Bringing us together.” Besides, he added, “Who doesn’t like food? Food always brings people together.”
MAYBE IT’S his perfect hair. Or maybe
it’s his crazy long arm span, or his magical ability to effortlessly balance heavy platters of hot, delicious food without dropping anything. We’re not sure exactly what it is, but Joncarlo Palermo makes it all look easy. Palermo works as a waiter at one of Charlotte’s busiest new Uptown restaurants, Que Onda Tacos + Tequila. The former retail employee, auto parts manager, and now waitperson has finally found his sweet spot serving classic Mexican cuisine to Uptown foodies. Creative Loafing caught up with Palermo right before dinner rush for a quick conversation over chips and queso. We wanted to know what it’s really like serving folks in Uptown. Creative Loafing: This place gets really busy but that doesn’t stop your guests from demanding fast service. How do you handle the pressure? Joncarlo Palermo: Every waiter knows this feeling. It’s called being in the “weeds” and it’s the worst place ever. It can be different for each person but the “weeds” boils down to feeling extremely overwhelmed. It’s basically when too many things are happening at once and you’re close to losing it. No one is exempt. The process of taking multiple orders, making adjustments, seating multiple tables at the same time, all while your food needs to go out to another table can drive a waiter crazy. The best way to overcome it — or as we say, “staying out of the weeds” — is to be systematic and always communicate with your tables about the status of their meal. The main thing is not stopping and letting the pressure take over. Just keep going, ask for help if you need it, and you’ll get through it. But yeah, being in the weeds sucks big time. I’m always amazed when I order Mexican and it comes back in like 2.5 seconds. How do the chefs prepare the food so quickly? Well if you’re ordering something simple like tacos or quesadillas, it’s quick and easy because our chefs are constantly preparing the fresh proteins and vegetables throughout the day. Then it becomes simply a matter of plating. If you’re ordering a more complex dish like arroz con pollo then you can expect a
little longer wait time but even then, a lot of emphasis is placed on serving guests quickly. We never want to keep a guest waiting for long. We want your palette bursting with flavors from your first bite of chips and salsa to your last sip of tequila. It’s all about enjoyment. Hospitality is a huge part of Hispanic culture, so when you come into our restaurants our goal is always to serve things hot and fast and treating you like family. As a waiter you have the inside track on what the best menu items are. What are some amazing dishes the average Joe may not know to order? Or some no-no’s that make for a bad dining experience? Our most popular taco would be the Al Pastor, which is pork shoulder served on a corn tortilla and topped with our pineapple pico de gallo. The sweetness mixed with the salt of the pork really makes it a great combination and they’re even better with our salsa verde on top. My personal favorite menu items are our chicken enchiladas, which come with your choice of mole or suiza sauce. Both choices serve the enchiladas with shredded pulled chicken and melted cheese wrapped in a corn tortilla. The difficult part is choosing which sauce. Mole is a [chocolate-based] Mexican barbeque sauce, sweet from the chocolate and a bit of spice. The suiza is our green avocado-based sauce. It’s earthy and spicy, served with melted cheese, lettuce and pico. Guests should also try our horchata, which is considered an “agua fresca” [drinks blended with sugar and water and combine fruits, cereals, flowers, or seeds] and is a very popular drink in Mexican culture. It’s made with rice, milk, vanilla and cinnamon, and remains true to it’s name, which means a “refreshing water.” As for what not to do when dining in our restaurants, I’d just say don’t be overly analytical and ruin your experience. You came out to eat and relax and enjoy yourself, so sit back, enjoy and let us take care of you. CLCLT.COM | MAY. 25 - MAY. 31, 2017 | 17
THURSDAY
25
THURSDAY
25
THINGS TO DO
TOP TEN
Okilly Dokilly FRIDAY
PHOTO BY CASEY PETERS
FRIDAY
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SPEED STREET
OKILLY DOKILLY
What: Gather ‘round The Peace Pipe on Thursday night for an evening of spoken word poetry from local artists like Mecca Mone’t, Sir Abstraxxx, Lady T and One Tough Poet, with a special performance from Fushun’s own K. Scott. Think you can hang with the above-mentioned names? There will also be an open mic session for you to step on stage and speak for yourself, or take in — and hopefully buy — some work from local artists who will be selling pieces on site. (Or just sit back and hookah.)
What: Remember when you could go to Speed Street and see Cheap Trick or Joan Jett, or watch Rose Royce do “Car Wash”? No? Well, there was a time. Granted, it was all about nostalgia back then, but some of it was quality nostalgia. Now, it’s mostly about new popcountry, and if that’s your thing, then Speed Street is where you’ll want to be when dudes like Jake Owen and Billy Currington hit the stages Uptown. (There is a performance by DJ Jazzy Jeff, and well, he’s not exactly pop-country.)
What: Last week, Charlotte hosted Sabaton’s battle metal, which turns military campaigns into power rock. Now we get the yin to battle metal’s yang with Okilly Dokilly’s “Nedal,” diminished fifths devoted to Ned Flanders, The Simpsons’ uber-geeky Christian neighbor. Credit Okilly Dokilly’s with a killer gimmick. They became a viral sensation just on the strength of their nerdy press photos! Openers Beatallica mash-up the Fab Four with Metallica, insuring a full evening of ear-bleeding weirdness.
When: 7-10 p.m. Where: The Peace Pipe, 204 W. Woodlawn Rd. More: $5.70-10. bit.ly/2rIteq3.
When: 6:30 p.m., May 25 - 11 p.m., May 27 Where: Various stages, Uptown More: $10-$25. 600festival.com.
SMOKIN’ SPOKEN WORD
18 | MAY. 25 - MAY. 31, 2017 | CLCLT.COM
When: 8 p.m. Where: Neighborhood Theatre, 511 E 36th St. More: $12-15. neighborhoodtheatre. com.
FRIDAY
SATURDAY
CHARLOTTE ASIAN FILM FESTIVAL
OLD SCHOOL BOARD GAME NIGHT
What: Charlotte Asian Heritage Association and CreativeYatra launch their premiere festival with Holy (Un)Holy River, which traces the course of the Ganges from its Himalayan headwaters to the Bay of Bengal. The fest continues on Saturday with features, shorts and docs focusing on terrorism in India, urban despair in Tehran and immigrants in North Carolina.
What: Twenty-somethings are not welcome! Apparently, you have to be 30 years old or older to attend this nostalgic night full of board games that will include Scrabble, Spades, Jenga, Twister, Connect Four, Taboo and Dirty Minds. So this gave us an idea: if you’re in your late 20s and want to feel young again, go to this event and get turned away at the door due to your youth. It will be like therapy for your quarter-life crisis.
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When: May 26, 6 p.m.; May 27, 11 a.m.-8 p.m. Where: Main Auditorium UNCC Center City, 9201 University City Blvd. More: Free. charlotteasianfilmfestival.org.
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When: 6-10 p.m. Where: Apostrophe Lounge, 1440 S. Tryon St., Ste. 101. More: $10-15. haveablastevents. com.
Leif Vollebekk TUESDAY
Kehlani SUNDAY
NEWS ARTS FOOD MUSIC ODDS
For the Culture: Mason Parker SUNDAY PHOTO BY G. SPOT
PHOTO BY JOSEPH YARMUSH
SATURDAY
27
3-ON-3 SNEAKER EXPO & TOURNAMENT
SUNDAY
28
SUNDAY
28
COURTESY OF THE FILLMORE
TUESDAY
30
TUESDAY
30
KEHLANI
FOR THE CULTURE
RICHARD LLOYD
LEIF VOLLEBEKK
What: The largest sneaker culture event in North Carolina is a buysell-trade swap meet that includes everything from custom exclusives to the retro classics. Awards up for grabs include Best Sneaker Table Display, Best Sneaker Painting and Tournament MVP. What tournament, you ask? Teams in three age groups will take part in a 3-on-3 basketball tournmanet to pay homeage to the reason these sneakers got made in the first place.
What: The last year has been one of recovery for Kehlani, after online abuse following her break-up with Cleveland Cavaliers point guard Kyrie Irving in early 2016 led to her attempting suicide. So it’s understandable that fans have been anxious to show up and support the SweetSexySavage artist, and they became only more antsy when she delayed her scheduled Fillmore show in April at the last minute. No fear, however, it was just a few weeks, and now she’s back.
What: Pay tribute to Andre 3000 of OutKast at this party thrown by the good people of Funk-shun. You’ll hear Mr. 3000’s songs, samples and more from DJ Justin Aswell along with the night’s MC, Mason Parker. Then later, you’ll dance to music from special guests including OnQ Productions’ Quentin Talley’s band, rapper Black Linen, singer Autumn Rainwater, DJ SPK and Maf Maddix. Oh, and dancing is required, as it is at all Funk-shun events.
What: You know about the Ramones, Patti Smith, Blondie, Talking Heads, etc. — all late-’70s NYC CBGB regulars that pioneered American punk rock. You should know about Television, but we’ll forgive you if you don’t. Now you have the chance to experience the music of the band’s brilliant guitarist Richard Lloyd when he comes to Charlotte for this solo gig. At an October show in NYC, Lloyd mixed TV classics like “Marquee Moon” with his solo material and a Velvet Underground cover.
What: With his 2013 album North Americana, Canadian folk artist Leif Vollebekk crafted one of that year’s finest albums of any genre, a lo-fi Valentine to young Americans which tumbled through New Orleans gospel, juke-joint ballads, and fragile folk. Vollebekk’s vision is sprawling, yet specific, capturing the essence of a failed love affair with the image of a woman glimpsed through a barroom window. His latest, Twin Solitude, fattens his sound with harp and synthesizer without compromising his restless vision.
When: 2-8 p.m. Where: Carole A. Hoefener Community Center, 610 E. 7th St. More: $0-50. bit.ly/2q9R8ts.
When: 8 p.m. Where: The Fillmore, 820 Hamilton St. More: Sold out. fillmorenc.com.
When: 6-10 p.m. Where: Flight Beer Garden & Music Hall, 314 North College St. More: $7. bit.ly/2qd3Qb3.
When: 9 p.m. Where: Snug Harbor, 1228 Gordon St. More: $10. snugrock.com.
When: 8 p.m. Where: Evening Muse, 3227 N Davidson St, More: $22-25. eveningmuse.com.
CLCLT.COM | MAY. 31 - MAY. 31, 2017 | 19
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Y A D R U T SA
a u n n A h t The 4
a t i r a g r a M s Wa r
Rooftop 210
h t 4 2 JUNE 7pm m p 2
Its Tequila Time ! SAMPLE MARGARITAS FROM
EVENT SPONSORS
SM
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d by
e present
at the epicentre
MUSIC
FEATURE
SHIPROCKED! THE FINAL VOYAGE The greatest show in Charlotte bids farewell BY GREY REVELL
I
MET HER at Shiprocked! She took me home. I didn’t leave for three years. It was Nov. 27, 2008, and I’d gone to the Thanksgiving edition of the greatest show on earth — or at least, the greatest show in Plaza Midwood — to fill the hole left by my still-fresh divorce. On the dance floor, I met a girl. I’m pretty sure “Cracking Up” by the Jesus and Mary Chain was playing. She asked if I was gay. “No,” I replied. “What are you drinking?” It was love at first sight. Not that my story is unique. Shiprocked!, Scott Weaver’s decade-long, Thursday night, glam-burlesque-drag party has sparked countless romances and marriages, not to mention plenty of good old one-night stands. “A number of people have expressed to me that they met the person they are now married to, and have children with, at my party,” Weaver says. He’s sitting at CLTCH, the boutique he co-owns on Central Avenue, reminiscing about the wildly popular party he started a decade ago. But as all great parties do, this weekly throwdown will be coming to an end May 25, when Shiprocked! slips into dry dock at Snug Harbor one last time, leaving me and a whole lot of musicians, dancers and neighborhood denizens with a dimmer and duller Thursday night ritual. In its 520 decadent soirees, Shiprocked! has survived ever-encroaching gentrification while continuing to accomplish its mission to explore the fun and the sleaze, consistently living up to its credo as “the little party that could.” Since it first set sail in 2007, Shiprocked! has been an enabler for the weird, a platform for uninhibited expression, conceiver of children, matchmaker to neighborhood singles and all-around grandass celebration of epic proportions. “There was no game plan to speak of,” Weaver says of the party’s initial launch. “Shiprocked! was gonna be me simply DJing at my friend’s new bar.” Snug owner Scott McCannell had played together with Weaver in the band Babyshaker. “And then it was so fun, I figured if it was going to continue, then I would want to turn it into one of my signature parties, where I bring in go-go dancers and the occasional entertainers.” Shiprocked! was hardly Weaver’s first party-throwing rodeo. He’s been throwing them since the raving pre-war ’90s. But 22 | MAY. 25 - MAY. 31, 2017 | CLCLT.COM
Scott Weaver is surrounded by adoring Shiprocked! partiers in 2012. what separates this one from his earlier events is the breadth of entertainment and the almost-instant level of enthusiasm it generated for those looking for new forms of expression in Charlotte. “I never expected it to become a launching pad for certain types of performers — like drag performers that were an alternative to what was Charlotte’s idea of drag was,” Weaver says. The drag performers at Shiprocked! have always been more New York Dolls than Bette Midler, he says. Two of the best were Bethann Phetamine and Lillith Deville, both now live and work in other cities, where they continue to push the envelope of what drag can be. And both will be returning to Snug for the final Shiprocked! “It’s where I got my start,” Bethann says. “I got to witness all walks of life there.”
CRUISE THROUGH Plaza Midwood on any
given Saturday night and it’s like a walking tour of Weaver’s cheetah-spangled, mirrorball heart. Have you ever popped into CLTCH or Boris+Natasha, or stepped into the Stache Pad? Weaver opened or helped open those shops. Maybe you’ve admired the cool plates that hang on the walls at Dish. Weaver picked those out for owner Penny Craver. Do you enjoy hanging out in the retrodiner gleam of the Diamond, or having a swanky birthday get-together with friends at Soul Gastrolounge? Weaver’s hands were in the launches of those spots, too. Weaver’s stamp on Plaza Midwood goes back to 1995, when there was very little in the neighborhood to foreshadow its current edgy destiny, other than a little shop called Superior Feet.
PHOTO BY JUSTIN DRISCOLL
“I worked there with [Boris+Natasha owner] Hope Nicholls,” Weaver remembers. “It was this punk-rock/club-kid/drag-alternative clothing store. Before there were stores in the mall like that, before you could buy things online, we were that store. “There was also John Rainey’s tattoo shop, and then Thomas Street Tavern, and eventually the Penguin,” Weaver says of the stores that existed in Plaza Midwood during that period. “I think I understood, starting about 15 years ago, that it was inevitable that gentrification would happen.” At Superior Feet, Weaver met many of the musicians and other artists he’d work with over the years. He and Nicholls, just over her run with the noted 1980s and early-’90s alternative rock band Fetchin Bones, eventually formed their own band,
Weaver with friends at the politically incorrect Shiprocked! theme show in 2008, where the author of this piece met his gal pal. Snagglepuss. “There was a very small, very tight-knit community, and it was alternative thinkers, artists and musicians,” Weaver remembers. Then came Shiprocked! It became Weaver’s not-so-gentle stand against Charlotte conformity. Clubs and events in other parts of the city often worked along hard borders when it came to race, sexuality and economic class, but Shiprocked! let gay culture, burlesque theater, dance music and rock ‘n roll collide in an underground party where everyone was invited. “I only charged a cover a tiny amount of times, so it was always a welcome-with-openarms vibe, and if you didn’t dig it, then get the fuck out,” Weaver says, and laughs. “My whole idea was that it’s my job to do what I want to do, and maybe people that don’t know what the hell this thing is can come and have their eyes opened and feel excited that they discovered something in Charlotte that they didn’t know was happening.” People did come, and they kept on coming back. In the years before Shiprocked! launched, Weaver watched as Charlotte and Plaza Midwood grew, and that growth has continued exponentially during the party’s 10-year run. Buy while he has mixed feelings about all the changes, he’s never considered moving on. “I was already here, and I’m not going anywhere,” he says. “I like what I like, and other people seem to respond to it and need it — so I just keep doing it.” Zoen Wolfe remembers his first voyage. “Shiprocked! was my church and safe haven for some time when I first moved back to Charlotte,” Wolfe, a transgender musician and writer, remembers. “It was the hub for my social life and music. I could be 150-percent myself there.” Shiprocked! has brought a fresh atmosphere to the Charlotte club scene like no other event. Try to find another party where you can watch two Brazilian girls dance with abandon to T-Rex’s “20th Century Boy” and Pet Shop Boys’ “West End Girls,” while an inebriated bank bro dryhumps a stage monitor beneath two tattooed Pussy Cat Kill Kill go-go dancers. You won’t. Not in Charlotte. In this city’s otherwise safe-as-milk night scene, Shiprocked! has been the place to seek out the danger and the dirt, the sound and the fury.
CL ARCHIVES
SHIPROCKED! CIRCUS: 10 YEAR ANNIVERSARY & GRAND FINALE May 25, 10 p.m.; Snug Harbor, 1228 Gordon St.; $5; snugrock.com.
“Shiprocked! changed this neighborhood. It was a place for everyone, no matter what crowd you normally associated with,” says Collette Ellis, who got her first break at the Thursday events. Before joining the fireperforming trio Satarah, Ellis was a go-go dancer on Shiprocked!’s maiden voyages. “It developed a sense of community in Plaza Midwood.”
ON ANY GIVEN Thursday at a typical
Shiprocked! party, whether the theme is John Waters-like ’60s kitsch, Marie Antoinette-style French decadence or spaceage wackiness, the emphasis is always on weirdness. And the party is always fun. “The time I spent as a dancer for Shiprocked! was probably some of the most ridiculous fun I’ve ever had,” Lindsey Rourke, another early Shiprocked! gogo dancer, remembers. “I formed a lot of my relationships in Charlotte through the people I met at Snug during that time.” The 29-year-old model and makeup artist sums up Shiprocked! well for a lot of people who have attended: “I got to meet awesome, creative souls. I got to dance on a bar. I got to be on a stage. We got to do group photo shoots. I got to wear whatever the hell I wanted, and do my own thing.” If there’s one thing Weaver has consistently stood for, it’s been giving people opportunities to do their own thing. Which means that while Shiprocked! as a weekly event may be coming to an end, this week’s event is not exactly the end of Shiprocked!. “There’s still things I’m gonna do,” Weaver insists. “One thing is to charter a double decker boat and do Shiprocked! on a boat. And I plan on doing it for Pride — Pride Shiprocked! has become such a staple, so there will be a Pride Shiprocked!” Weaver is not the only one who’s made Shiprocked! such a success. He credits the
myriad of people who have contributed. “The event is always a collaboration between me, the go-go dancers, the performers and the audience,” he says. “I have always held these meetings at my house where we’d hang out and schedule this thing out a couple months at a time, and at those meetings I always say, ‘I want brain power, y’all – throw out some ideas, what have we not done that you guys would like to do?” “Scott Weaver is such a badass and a genius,” Rourke says. “I remember thinking when we met that I had never known anyone like him before, and I know I never will again.” So, what can passengers expect at the May 25 “final” voyage? “Well, being a little overzealous,” Weaver says with a shrug, “I have booked heavily.” The 10th Anniversary Shiprocked! Circus will feature two stages with local luminaries and longtime Shiprocked! allies such as avant-raunch puppets Your Fuzzy Friends, Weaver’s dance band Chiffon and garage-trash rockers Paint Fumes. Veteran Shiprocked! entertainers will appear throughout the night, too, including Lilith DeVille, Bethann Phetamine, Shirley Sweet, Cherry Von Bomb, Macabre Noir, Nick Noir, Saturos, Heiress Hilton, Hellcat Harlowe and Queen Ivory. “I wanted to combine live music, because that’s important to me – dance-oriented
PHOTO BY JUSTIN DRISCOLL
Weaver shoots a pair birds at anyone who would pooh-pooh Shiprocked! — politely, of course.
SHIPROCKED: IN LIVING COLOR
Had enough of Shiprocked!? Of course you haven’t. At Twenty-Two Gallery, next door to Snug Harbor, the photo retrospective “A Shiprocked Odyssey: 10 Years Adrift” has been up since May 17. On Saturday, May 27, the gallery will hold a reception for the artists as a companion to the May 25 final blowout. The reception will include all the usual suspects: Photographers including Frank Balthazar’s showcasing of the alumni of Charlotte’s greatest party crew for one final Shiprocked! fix after it drops anchor for the last time. “Relive the good times you had getting #Shipwrecked,” the gallery announced on its Facebook page. And keep reliving them. When: May 27 Where: Twenty-Two, 1500 Central Ave. More: facebook.com/gallerytwentytwoCLT
“A Shiprocked Odyssey: 10 Years Adrift,” at Twenty-Two Gallery.
PHOTO BY JUSTIN DRISCOLL
CLCLT.COM | MAY. 25 - MAY. 31, 2017 | 23
MUSIC
MUSICMAKER
MALL ROCK Farewell Albatross singer talks songwriting and strange gigs BY PAT MORAN
IT’S DRÉA ATKINS’ birthday and the
The Shiprocked! crowd goes wild. artists and rock ’n’ roll artists, with the full range of drag burlesque and sideshow,” Weaver says. For the final night’s theme, the captain has returned to a concept that’s defined Shiprocked! since the beginning: the circus. “I was wondering if it would be unoriginal to do that again,” Weaver says. “But then I decided to go back to it because, to me, Shiprocked! has always been a circus — a combination of spectacle and entertainment.” He raises his hand like a ringmaster and speaks dramatically: “And here — some rock and roll, some dance music!”
PHOTO BY JUSTIN DRISCOLL
Expect a dunking booth, club kids. And an aerialist. And cotton candy. You’ll find tintype photographer Jeff Howlett on hand to take his signature photos. And there will be special Shiprocked! commemorative T-shirts and posters available for posterity. (Spoiler alert: We’ve seen the tee. You have to have it.) “It’s all of that,” Weaver continues of the greatest show in Charlotte. “In my mind, Shiprocked! has always been the circus of this neighborhood.” BACKTALK@CLCLT.COM
businesswoman and single mother plans to celebrate with a night of karaoke. That’s not unusual for a 43-year-old mom, but her other plans are: On May 25, she’ll be fronting her punky, angular rock band Farewell Albatross at Petra’s, sharing the bill with Community Center and It’s Snakes. Atkins formed Farewell Albatross two years ago, but her first band, when she was in sixth grade, was a little combo she cheerfully calls “terrible,” which performed a version of David Bowie and Queen’s “Under Pressure.” She then funneled her music ambitions into the next-best choice available to her — theater. After graduating from Winthrop University with a B.A. in performing and directing, Atkins launched a photography business, Dréa Photo Artistry, but her love affair with rock ‘n’ roll never went away. The music she makes today balances on the knifeedge between defiance and hope, tackling thorny issues including domestic abuse, the poison allure of vengeance, and the need for resistance in the face of bigotry. Creative Loafing: How did Farewell Albatross come together? Dréa Atkins: Jill Livick, our drummer, was the general manager at School of Rock, and my children were taking lessons there. She and I befriended each other. We really hit it off, and we were out at Snug Harbor one night, standing in front of the stage, and we thought, “Oh my god, we can totally do that!” Then I was at a barbecue at our bassist’s house, Silas Grisewood. He said, “I’ve got this guitarist friend, Richard Jäcob. Maybe he can meet us.” We tried to be a cheesy cover band. We wanted to call ourselves the Lake Norman Blues Band. We’d all wear Dockers and khakis and it would be fabulous. But we couldn’t do
Farewell Albatross
24 | MAY. 25 - MAY. 31, 2017 | CLCLT.COM
it. (Instead), we went down to Silas’ basement, and Richard played a few riffs, Silas started making up bass lines and I started writing lyrics, and we went from there. How do you pick the topics of your songs? When I first started presenting my lyrics, it was a little bit intimidating, because I had been through a divorce. I’m generally a positive person, but here I was spewing all this. I asked if the band was OK with it. They felt that if the music we wrote around the words was interesting enough, then they were OK with it. Does your work as a photographer overlap with your music? I’m always thinking: How are we coming across visually? What will our posters look like? What pictures are we taking to promote our band? I actually think it helps in making our band seem more marketable. In fact, there are times when we were really early in our formation and people thought that we were the headliners or a touring band just based on a poster that we made. There’s a YouTube video in which you’re playing at SouthPark Mall. Was that your strangest gig? (SouthPark) asked us to play there. We were set up in a men’s wear department, facing the Clinique makeup counter. Our first set was 20 minutes. There were grandmas filming us, and little kids with sippy cups were watching us. We were told to quiet it down, and we took a break. Then we started up the second set. We made it into two songs, and then they politely asked us to put our things away. We were really disappointed. We were hoping to get thrown out. It would be so much more punk rock. They gave us gift cards so we could go shopping.
PHOTO BY DANIEL COSTON
CLCLT.COM | MAY. 25 - MAY. 31, 2017 | 25
MUSIC
SOUNDBOARD
MAY 25 CLASSICAL/JAZZ/SMOOTH John Alexander Jazz Trio (Blue Restaurant & Bar)
COUNTRY/FOLK
Underhill Rose, Gareth Asher Duo (The Evening Muse)
MAY 27
Ashley Wineland (Tin Roof)
BLUES/ROOTS/INTERNATIONAL
POP/ROCK
La Terza Classe (The Evening Muse) Pure Fiyah Reggae Band (Hattie’s Tap & Tavern)
Boo Reefa, Lara Americo, Leanna Eden and the Garden Of, Nicholas Holman (Milestone) Cha Wa (U.S. National Whitewater Center) Farewell Albatross, Community Center, It’s Snakes (Petra’s) G Jones, The Widdler, Sayer, Levitation Jones (Visulite Theatre) Karaoke with DJ ShayNanigans (Hattie’s Tap & Tavern) Lincoln Durham, Will Varley (The Evening Muse) Mighty Mango (Comet Grill) Natty Boh (RiRa Irish Pub) Shiprocked! The Grand Finale (Snug Harbor) Songwriter Open Mic @ Petra’s (Petra’s)
MAY 26 CLASSICAL/JAZZ/SMOOTH Jazz Revolution (Morehead Street Tavern) Jazzy Fridays (Freshwaters Restaurant)
BLUES/ROOTS/INTERNATIONAL Capleton & the Prophecy Band (The Underground) Wayne “The Train” Hancock (The Rabbit Hole) Steven Engler Band (Blue Restaurant & Bar)
COUNTRY/FOLK Backroad Anthem (Tin Roof) The Lenny Federal Band (Comet Grill)
DJ/ELECTRONIC Mirror Moves (Petra’s)
POP/ROCK
Axattack, Neverfall, Hectagons!, Umbra (Milestone) Backroad Anthem (Tin Roof) The Big FanDamy Band (Hattie’s Tap & Tavern) Brickyard Road (Sylvia Theatre, York) Champagne Hangover (Tin Roof) Dave Dismelik (Birdsong Brewery) Green Fiend, Funeral Chic, Unruly Boys, Violent Gods (Visulite Theatre) Jahlistic, Crane (The Evening Muse) Okilly Dokilly, Beatallica (Neighborhood Theatre) Pluto For Planet (RiRa Irish Pub) 26 | MAY. 25 - MAY. 31, 2017 | CLCLT.COM
SNUG 600 w/ Modern Primitives, Hectorina, Marley Carroll, Party Dad (Snug Harbor)
COUNTRY/FOLK Tour de Fat Charlotte: A Tousand Horses (Charlotte Metro Credit Union Amphitheatre)
HIP-HOP/SOUL/R&B Lyricist’s Lounge (Upscale Lounge & Restaurant)
DJ/ELECTRONIC CLD09 Yuki, AMWA - A Man With Antlers, FLLS, DHurl!, Joneses B@B Lobes, Squid Blood, Koncept Beats (The Rabbit Hole) Digital Noir featuring Michael Price and DJ Spider (Milestone) Su Casa (Petra’s)
POP/ROCK Charlotte Harmony Fest 2017 (McGlohon Theater at Spirit Square) Glow Co. (Tin Roof) Little District (Comet Grill) Liverpool (Sylvia Theatre, York) Matty McRee Band (RiRa Irish Pub) Pure Fiyah (Hattie’s Tap & Tavern) Real Friends, Have Mercy, Tiny Moving Parts, Broadside, nothing,nowhere. (The Underground) SNUG 600 w/ The Seduction, Poontanglers, Tetragrammaton (Snug Harbor) Sweettalker, The Seduction, 40oz Mouse (The Station) Tour de Fat Afterparty: Jack the Radio (The Fillmore) Urban Soil (U.S. National Whitewater Center)
MAY 28 BLUES/ROOTS/INTERNATIONAL Charlotte Samba Social (Petra’s)
COUNTRY/FOLK Ashley Wineland (Tin Roof)
POP/ROCK Sonic Rewind (SC Shore Club, Tega Cay) David Childers, Indianola, Shovels & Rope (U.S. National Whitewater Center)
Demon Waffle, Control This!, South Side Punx, Corporate Fandango, The Bleeps (Milestone) Kehlani (The Fillmore) Omari and The Hellrasiers (Comet Grill) River Ratz Band (Birdsong Brewery) SNUG 600 w/ Amigo, The Sammies, The Kernal, Control This (Snug Harbor) Omari & the Hellhounds (Comet Grill)
MAY 29 HIP-HOP/SOUL/R&B Knocturnal (Snug Harbor) Motown on Mondays (Morehead Street Tavern) #MFGD Open Mic (Apostrophe Lounge)
POP/ROCK Find Your Muse Open Mic with The Lady Comes First! (The Evening Muse) Locals Live: The Best in Local Live Music & Local Craft Beers (Tin Roof) The Monday Night Allstars (Visulite Theatre) Session: A Listening Party (Petra’s) Shannon Lee and Thomas Stainkamp Dueling Piano’s Night (Vinyl Pi, Huntersville)
MAY 30 CLASSICAL/JAZZ/SMOOTH Bill Hanna Jazz Jam (Morehead Tavern)
COUNTRY/FOLK Red Rockin’ Chair (Comet Grill) Tuesday Night Jam w/ The Smokin’ Js (Smokey Joe’s Cafe)
POP/ROCK Charlotte Berg (Hattie’s Tap & Tavern) Jordan Middleton (Tin Roof) Josie Wails (Vinyl Pi, Huntersville) Leif Vollebekk, Riley Pinkerton (The Evening Muse) Open Mic with Jeff Claud (Puckett’s Farm Equipment) Red Rockin’ Chair (Comet Grill) Richard Lloyd w/ TKO Faith Healer, Drag Sounds (Snug Harbor) Sue Foley (The Rabbit Hole)
MAY 31 CLASSICAL/JAZZ/SMOOTH The Clarence Palmer Trio (Morehead Tavern)
DJ/ELECTRONIC Cyclops Bar: Modern Heritage Weekly Mix Tape (Snug Harbor)
Hectorina
PHOTO BY ZACHARY NESMITH
COUNTRY/FOLK
Theatre)
Open Mic (Comet Grill)
Blame the Youth (June 13, Snug Harbor)
POP/ROCK Carmen Tate (Hattie’s Tap & Tavern) Hectagons (Snug Harbor) Hot Mulligan, Belmont, Paperback, Bogues (Milestone) Jettison Five (RiRa Irish Pub) Karaoke with DJ Pucci Mane (Petra’s) Milky Chance (The Fillmore Charlotte) Modern Heritage Weekly Mix Tape (Snug Harbor) Open Mic Night (Comet Grill) Open mic w/ Jared Allen (Jack Beagles) Open Mic/Open Jam (Comet Grill) Trivia & Karaoke Wednesdays (Tin Roof) White Violet, Sam the Lion, Skye Steele (The Evening Muse)
COMING SOON Joshua Cotterino (June 1, Petra’s) Mind Maze (June 2, Milestone) Train (June 3, PNC Music Pavilion) Toto (June 7, Knight Theater) Chance the Rapper (June 8, PNC Music Pavilion) Tegan and Sara (June 8, The Fillmore) Fire Marshall Bill (June 9, Petra’s) Iron Maiden (June 9, PNC Music Pavilion) Banks (June 9, The Fillmore) Skillet (June 10, Carowinds Paladium) Jarabe De Palo (June 13, Neighborhood
George Thorogood and the Destroyers (June 13, Knight Theater) Bleachers (June 14, The Underground) Muse, 30 Seconds to Mars (June 15, PNC Music Pavilion) Aqualads (June 17, Snug Harbor) Deftones, Rise Against (June 20, CMCU Amphitheater) Elvis Costello and the Imposters (June 21, CMCU Amphitheater) Kris Lager Band (June 21, The Rabbit Hole) Holly Russ Johnson (June 23, Petra’s) The Toasters (June 28, Milestone) Sturgill Simpson (July 7, CMCU Amphitheater) My Morning Jacket (July 8, CMCU Amphitheater) Crystal Garden (July 12, The Rabbit Hole) Spoon (July 18, CMCU Amphitheater) Boy Harsher (July 28, Snug Harbor) Frank Secich (July 29, Snug Harbor) Gillian Welch (August 4, Knight Theater) Gov’t Mule (August 5, CMCU Amphitheater)
5/24 6/6 HAYLEY KIYOKO 6/11 JOSEPH 6/16 ALL THEM WITCHES 6/18 JAMES MCMURTRY 6/22 OLD 97's 6/25 ODDISEE & GOOD COMPNY 7/9 SIR SLY 7/20 JOHN MORELAND 7/28 YO MAMA'S BIG FAT BOOTY BAND 7/30THEROCKET SUMMER
Apocalyptica (September 8, McGlohon Theater) John Prine (September 16, Belk Theater) Adam Ant (September 22, The Fillmore) Kings of Leon (September 27, PNC Music Pavilion) Cafe Tacuba (October 6, The Fillmore)
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 mkemp@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. 25 - MAY. 31, 2017 | 27
ARTS
FEATURE
CLASSICAL COUP Mary Deissler brings a little Hendrix and Radiohead to the Charlotte Symphony BY KIA O. MOORE This story is the fourth of a five-part series on women making a difference at Charlotte arts and cultural institutions.
B
EFORE THE hum of orchestra tuning begins, the lobby of Knight Theater is abuzz with energy. The normally homogeneous symphony crowd is much more mixed on the evening of January 27. That’s because the Charlotte Symphony is preparing to put an alternative spin to the musical experience. The sound on this particular night will be a symphonic mashup of Brahms’ Symphony No. 1 (1876) and Radiohead’s OK Computer (1997). The Brahms v. Radiohead concert, conducted by Steve Hackman, has attracted jeans-wearing Gen Xers looking for a little ’90s nostalgia, curious Doc Marten-wearing Gen Zers and older Millennials, along with the typical tux-and-pearls-wearing Charlotteans you usually see at symphony experiences. This was all part of the plan for Mary Deissler, the new president and CEO of the Charlotte Symphony Orchestra. “I profoundly believe that the world needs music. Music is a way to connect and break down all borders,” Deissler says. That is Deissler’s mindset, and it is positively changing the way the Charlotte Symphony operates. She took the leadership reins of one of the mainstays of Charlotte’s arts institutions last June, and before she had even fully transitioned into the role, she already had plans to take a “borderless” approach to the music programming to keep the Charlotte Symphony’s finances in the black. The field of classical music, Deissler says, is “going through a period of really important change. We have some orchestras that have figured that out, and have been very successful with moving forward and making a mark on their community. Others are not quite there and have an older view.” The older view Deissler refers to is a more plutocratic approach to the orchestra revenue model. It’s when an orchestra caters its programming to the desires of a small number of people who have always supported and attended symphony events. That model eschews programming that would appeal to the wider community unless the handful of symphony funders see widening the musical 28 | MAY. 25 - MAY. 31, 2017 | CLCLT.COM
Mary Deissler offerings as providing more donor dollars. And often, traditional funders don’t see widening the musical offerings as a “proper” approach. Deissler does, and her priority for the Charlotte Symphony is to see it become a vital part of everyday life for all Charlotteans. “We need to be very relevant to a much wider group of people each and every day to be valid and to survive,” she says. The learning curve within the classical music industry is much harder to scale than one would think, she says, but it’s happening.
BRINGING SYMPHONY music to wider
audiences may be a 180-degree turn from what’s become expected from the Charlotte Symphony, but for Deissler, proselytizing about classical music is not new. “I thought I wanted to be a concert pianist from the ages of 8 to 18,” she says. “Then I tried conservatory for a little while and realized there are people way better than I was. I had
PHOTO BY JUSTIN DRISCOLL
terrible stage fright, so I knew I would not be able to be a performer.” Deissler’s stage fright pushed her to pivot into the corporate world for a while, but by the early 1980s the arts had called her back. In 1982 she began working for Boston’s Handel and Haydn Society, the oldest continuously performing arts organization in the United States. “I had the chance to go to work for an organization that I supported as a donor in Boston for a couple of years,” she says. “I was their first-ever development director. I did not know anything about raising money,” she says, adding with a chuckle, “They did not know anything about it either, so we were a good match for each other.” At the Handel and Haydn Society, she connected with Deborah Borda, a key mentor who encouraged Deissler’s desire to push the boundaries of what symphony orchestra programming could be. Borda knew about pushing boundaries. “I’m about change,” Borda told The New York Times in 1994, when
she was named executive director of the New York Philharmonic. “When the New York Philharmonic was about to hire me, I asked them: ‘Are you sure I’m the person you want? Because change is what I’ve always thrived on, and if that’s not what you want then I’m probably not the right person.’” Borda went on to become the longtime president and CEO of the Los Angeles Philharmonic; earlier this month she came full circle when it was announced that she will become the president and CEO of her previous orchestra, the New York Philharmonic, in September. “Deborah has done remarkable work over her career,” Deissler says. “I continue to look to her for sage and wise advice about moving the field forward. She has been a great mentor, cheerleader and supporter.” Borda and Deissler would connect again in 2011 when Deissler took a development role at the L.A. Philharmonic. Deissler had moved on to become president of the Chicago Academy
Musicians with the Charlotte Symphony have taken to performing in nontraditional settings such as pubs.
PHOTO COURTESY OF THE CHARLOTTE SYMPHONY
“MY NIECE SAID, ‘LET’S [TAKE CLASSICAL MUSIC] TO A PUB.’ I WAS LIKE, ‘WAIT, WHAT IS SHE TALKING ABOUT, PUB?’” -CHARLOTTE SYMPHONY PRESIDENT AND CEO MARY DEISSLER
for the Arts last year before being lured to Charlotte. With the dedicated donors of the Charlotte Symphony slowly phasing out, the need to create new fans and patrons had arisen, and Deissler, steeped in fundraising knowledge, was just what the doctor ordered. The Charlotte Symphony required a paradigm shift. “This is really the critical inflection point for the Charlotte Symphony and the field of classical music — this learning how to move in and around the community, and learning how to listen to the community, and then working to understand the needs that they have that the Charlotte Symphony can fulfill,” Deissler says. “We are no longer going in with prepackaged programs and saying, ‘This is going to be good for you,’” she adds. “Instead, we are spending time listening and talking to community members, and from there, we figure out how to make [their requests] happen.”
IN APRIL, the Symphony collaborated with
the Levine Museum of the New South and
the performance group A Sign of the Times of the Carolinas for a program called Listen Up, Charlotte! The free concert combined music and storytelling that tackled issues of discrimination and equality. It was an outgrowth of a free event the Symphony had put on in September, One Charlotte: A Performance for Peace, which came on the heels of the uprising that followed the police shooting of Keith Lamont Scott. “This [event] was a way to make a statement: that we go beyond just performing Brahms, Beethoven and Bach,” Deissler says, but then adds in an assuring tone: “Those are all core to what we do, but we have to be relevant to the wider community and this is one way we can do it. We have to become indispensable to the greater Charlotte community.” Deissler says it is essential that the Symphony go beyond performing only traditional pieces from great composers of the past by integrating music that will add to contemporary conversations that are important to everyone in the community. The Alt Sounds Series is another way Deissler has done this. At the Radiohead
event, young Charlotteans wearing graphic tees with matching sneakers sat next to couples in suits and and flowing dresses. Attendees rode the Symphony’s sonic volleys back and forth as the triumphant crecendos of the Brahms symphony met the ethereal melodies of Radiohead’s songs in a pitchperfect melding of sounds and cultures. But for Deissler, changing the concert experience through musical selection alone is not enough. She wants the Symphony to become an integral part of the community in ways it’s never been before. “Classical music does not have to be confined to the Belk and Knight theaters as mainstage performances,” Deissler says. “We have, for much of the last couple of decades, performed in only those venues. We have to find ways to connect with people who do not love orchestral music.” She offers an anecdote: “My niece said, ‘Let’s go to a pub.’ I was like, ‘Wait, what is she talking about, pub?’” Several small Charlotte ensembles have now performed a pub series. “It is still doing your classic music,” Deissler says, “but along with some Jimi Hendrix or Eric Clapton pieces mixed in.”
The atmosphere at the pub shows is completely different from those in the big Uptown venues. “People are having their drinks and food,” she says. “The place is packed and the musicians are right there with the audience and not up on a stage far away. They are not dressed up in their formal concert attire and they mingle with the guests during the intermission.” Deissler says giving audiences opportunities to talk to symphony musicians and see them as real people is key to connecting the Charlotte Symphony to the daily lives of Charlotteans. And she promises more of the same adventurousness in future programs. “I think that chance for one-on-one conversations between musicians and pub patrons has helped a huge amount to breaking down barriers,” Deissler says. “You see all ages coming to the brewery, dressed very casually and ready for a little bit of culture and good beer. And we can replicate that breaking down of barriers in many other areas.” BACKTALK@CLCLT.COM
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ARTS
THEATER
REVIVAL OF THE FITTEST ‘Fiddler on the Roof’ among the hits at CP Summer Theatre series BY PERRY TANNEBAUM
A
S IT ENTERS its 44th season, Central Piedmont Community College’s Summer Theatre series would be hard-pressed to surpass the lineup it presented last year — Annie, Chicago, Sleuth and Sister Act. But there are good reasons for the folks on Elizabeth Avenue to be confident that 2017 will be even more successful at the box office. “We have had record season ticket sales so far,” says Tom Hollis, the CPCC theater department chair who runs the series and will direct two of the shows this year, Fiddler on the Roof and the jukebox musical Mamma Mia!, based on the hits of the ’70s Swedish pop group ABBA. The family-friendly mix of popular Broadway musicals, adult comedy and a kiddie show will provide the perfect refuge from a slapstick presidential administration that hasn’t yet managed to derail the economy. In addition to Fiddler (June 2-10) and Mamma Mia! (July 14-22), the beloved A Chorus Line comes to the Dale F. Halton Theater June 16-24. The summer’s kiddie musical James and the Giant Peach (June 28-July 8) takes over the Halton by day while the nighttime action scoots across Elizabeth to Pease Auditorium with A Comedy of Tenors (June 30-July 9). Selecting CP’s summer lineup, Hollis says, is an ongoing process that includes suggestions from audience members, a creative team and consultation with other theater companies. CP’s radar is also aimed at what Broadway producers are making freshly available from their inventory. “There used to be a rule of thumb that said you should wait four or five years before you do a show that had toured through,” Hollis says. “But that no longer seems to hold true. Our experience with Les Mis and Phantom showed that proximity to the tours actually increased sales.” It might be assumed that tours of those perennials and Mamma Mia! — which has come to Charlotte no less than six times since 2002 — would be overkill, but the performances at CP draw different audiences from those that go see the shows at the Blumenthal, Hollis says. “What we are seeing is that the combination of our more competitive pricing in comparison with the touring houses, and the quality of our 30 | MAY. 25 - MAY. 31, 2017 | CLCLT.COM
Fiddler cast (from left): Morgan Wakefield as Hodel, Susan Gundersheim as Golde, Beau Stroupe as Tevye, and Sophie Lamm as Chava.
“OUR EXPERIENCE WITH LES MIS AND PHANTOM SHOWED THAT PROXIMITY TO [BROADWAY] TOURS ACTUALLY INCREASED SALES.” -CPCC’S TOM HOLLIS
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Stroupe brings his fatherly warmth to the role of Tevye.
productm makes it possible for people who love theater but can’t afford the tour prices to see the show in our theater and bring the entire family when they do it.” Jerry Colbert, who took the Laurence Olivier role in last summer’s Sleuth, returns as one of the over-the-hill candidates who might be the father of the bride-to-be in Mamma Mia! Alongside Colbert, subscribers will recognize Dan Brunson and Kathryn Stamas. James K. Flynn, fatherly enough to play Tevye the Dairyman when CP last presented Fiddler, moves to A Comedy of Tenors this time, along with two other familiars, Craig Estep and Caroline Renfro. For the second successive summer, Susan Cherin Gundersheim is teamed with Beau Stroupe in Fiddler; she gets to variously torment Stroupe’s Tevye — or emote to his fake dream — as Golde, the mother of Tevye’s five daughters. For Stroupe, the road to Fiddler’s village of Anatevka led through Mary Poppins’ Cherry Tree Lane, where Stroupe was George Banks, the starchy and clueless father who was transformed — along with his unruly children — through that classic story’s magical nanny. Banks, a role Stroupe neither knew nor cared about until he began rehearsing, awakened in the actor a new affection for father roles. “I certainly relate to the journey of a father with my own four children through the difficulty of divorce and the slow healing process,” says Stroupe, whose personal life
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has included recent health and domestic challenges. “It’s easy to understand the juggling act of breadwinner, patriarch, husband, father and visible member of the community. “When Tevye is saying goodbye to Hodel at the train station,” Stroupe adds, “it takes very little effort for me to feel what any true father feels when letting his child go to live a life of their own choosing.” New directions will be running amok when CP opens A Comedy of Tenors, Ken Ludwig’s sequel to Lend Me a Tenor, a CP summer hit back in 1996. No matter what its pedigree is, the operatic farce — think three tenors misbehaving in Paris — is the newest show CP has ever done, practically from farm to fork after its New Jersey world premiere in less than two years. Unheard of, as Tevye would say. Renfro, CP’s go-to action heroine from Dial M for Murder and Wait Until Dark, tackles comedy in Tenors. As sexy diva Tatiana Racon, she has her sights set on a very married tenor, but her seduction will farcically misfire. “There will definitely be some good oldfashioned vamping,” Renfro promises. “I am so psyched about doing the [Russian] accent — and so freaked out about it. At this point in my career, the thing that appeals to me most about a role is doing something I’ve never done before, especially if it scares me.” BACKTALK@CLCLT.COM
CLCLT.COM | MAY. 25 - MAY. 31, 2017 | 31
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ALIENATION OR EXHILARATION? Latest sci-fi saga sure to divide viewers BY MATT BRUNSON
T
O SAY THAT Prometheus, Ridley Scott’s Alien prequel from 2012, divided audiences would be an understatement. Championed in some quarters for expanding the franchise’s mythology and lambasted in others for being too cerebral, the film was subjected to mixed word-of-mouth and saw its box office plummet after a strong opening weekend. That’s a shame, considering it was the first good movie in the series since James Cameron’s masterpiece Aliens opened in theaters back in 1986. Perhaps mindful of the criticism yet not completely willing to dumb down the franchise, Scott has returned with Alien: Covenant (*** out of four), a movie that adds more action to the mix while also keeping the more philosophical points intact. Ironically, Scott will doubtless still get blasted by the naysayers, since fanboys are sure to gripe about the mixing and matching of styles. Yet more discerning viewers should find this a worthy experience, and if it recycles some beloved Alien/Aliens moments a bit too slavishly — well, so did Star Wars: The Force Awakens with the Lucas flicks, and that worked out nicely. Once again, the crew of a space vessel — in this case, Covenant, a ship transporting two thousand sleeping inhabitants to a distant planet ripe for colonization — answers a mysterious call emanating from an unknown source. Seeking its origin, the crew members — among them the resilient Daniels (Katherine Waterston), timid leader Oram (Billy Crudup) and the android Walter (Michael Fassbender) — find themselves on a planet that seems perfectly suitable for the human race. And then they meet David (also Fassbender), the android from the mission detailed in Prometheus. No significant spoilers here, but let’s just say we find out what’s up with Prometheus lead character Elizabeth Shaw (Noomi Rapace), what became of the Engineers, and how the alien monsters will again figure into the proceedings. Working in references to Milton, Michelangelo and Percy Shelley’s “Ozymandias” rather than to Marvel, mutants and Depp’s Jack Sparrow, it’s clear that Alien: Covenant isn’t a typical summer blockbuster (and one more reason why confused fanboys will run screaming into the night). For that, credit the new team of writers for building on the character brought to life by Fassbender in the previous film. David is one of the 32 | MAY. 25 - MAY. 31, 2017 | CLCLT.COM
FOX
Katherine Waterston in Alien: Covenant. most complex and fascinating characters in the entire Alien franchise, and most of the story’s existential angst, ironic developments, and role inversions all link back to him. Fassbender again excels in the part, and his double duty in also portraying Walter (a completely different style of replicant) is endlessly intriguing. Other cast members aren’t quite as compelling, although it should be noted that, against all expectations, Danny McBride portrays a character (Covenant pilot Tennessee) who we do not want to see immediately eviscerated by the aliens. When it comes to helming suspenseful setpieces, Scott remains at the top of his game, with at least two tremendous sequences that are directed for maximum payoff. That’s not to say there aren’t some missteps along the way. The climactic skirmish on top of a moving vessel comes off as overkill, and there’s a plot twist so obvious that even someone with the I.Q. of a slug (or a Trump supporter; take your pick) should be able to figure it out. Yet even the occasional flaw can’t prevent
Alien: Covenant from fulfilling its obligation as sound summertime entertainment. A YA adaptation brandishing a WTF plot twist, Everything, Everything (**1/2 out of four) arrives in theaters as a seasonal antidote to all the superhero and sci-fi sagas clamoring for attention. Of course, counterprogramming is nothing new, and it worked like gangbusters three summers ago with the lovely box office hit The Fault In Our Stars. This new picture, based on Nicola Yoon’s novel, isn’t nearly as successful in its construction of the central characters or its handing of the dilemmas they face, but it’s an agreeable movie with a startling final act that might catch young audiences off-guard as forcefully as, say, The Usual Suspects or The Sixth Sense walloped older audiences with their left-field reveals. Amandla Stenberg, The Hunger Games’ little Rue all grown up, essays the lead role in what’s initially a modern-day variation on the 1976 John Travolta TV-movie The Boy in
the Plastic Bubble. She plays Maddy Whittier, an 18-year-old who has spent practically her entire life never venturing outside her Los Angeles home. That’s because she has severe combined immunodeficiency (SCID), which basically prevents her body from fighting any and all infections. Since even stepping outside might prove to be fatal, she can’t ever leave the premises, with her physician mom (Anika Noni Rose) and a sympathetic nurse (Ana de la Reguera) keeping a watchful eye on her. It isn’t until a cute boy named Olly Bright (Nick Robinson) moves into the house next door and befriends her via text-messaging that Maddy finds herself willing to put her life at risk. Even within the confines of the narrative, the behavior of certain characters doesn’t always make sense, but there’s nothing forced about the burgeoning relationship between Maddy and Olly. Theirs is a sweet romance, and it’s a shame the filmmakers don’t trust it to stand on its own — instead, the picture is weakened by strains of whimsical fancy
Amandla Stenberg and Nick Robinson in Everything, Everything.
Richard Gere in Norman.
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(many involving an astronaut) that probably worked better on paper than in practice. As for the third-act revelation, it provides some oomph to a storyline that had started getting fragmented by this point. It spins the tale in a new direction, and while some viewers might resent the darker implications it brings to the table, it certainly guarantees that the movie won’t be dismissed as merely another standard teen sudser. Subtitled The Moderate Rise and Tragic Fall of a New York Fixer, Norman (*** out of four) finds Richard Gere delivering one of the finest performances of his lengthy career. He stars as Norman Oppenheimer, a self-professed businessman. And if you’re wondering what “businessman” exactly entails in his case, you’re not alone — another character asks that same question, hoping for clarity. Norman is a wheeler-dealer, a con man, an opportunist,
WARNER
a strategist, an advisor — take your pick. He’s a small fish in a big pond, always trying to score important connections with politicos, financiers and other influential people. He finally strikes gold when he does a favor for rising Jewish politician Micha Eschel (Lior Ashkenazi), who three years later becomes the Israeli Prime Minister and doesn’t forget his friend Norman. Written and directed by Joseph Cedar, Norman centers on a man who, by all logic, should be too insufferable and impossible to follow. Yet thanks to Cedar’s writing and Gere’s emoting, Norman Oppenheimer is instead a figure worthy of attention and sympathy. True, he makes his own bed and then has to sleep in the soiled sheets — after all, it’s his insistence on exaggerating his power and his relationships that lead to (as the subtitle notes) his downfall. But who doesn’t want to feel important, or feel as if they’ve made some positive contribution to society? One of Norman’s problems is that he cares too much, and it’s difficult to dislike and dismiss someone like that. Gere nails his character’s braggadocio but also his insecurities, and he’s backed by a terrific supporting roster that includes Michael Sheen as his concerned nephew and Steve Buscemi as a rabbi who’s not above letting loose with the occasional string of profanities. If only the final act were as strong as the rest of this unique picture. Instead, in an ill-advised effort to not only neatly tie together all the plot threads but also lend the piece an air of (there’s that subtitle again) tragic destiny, Norman abandons credibility for convenience. It’s an unfortunate denouement, though it’s hardly a debilitating one.
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NIGHTLIFE
TRAPPIN’ IN THE QUEEN CITY TRAP Karaoke is a thing, and I’m all for it
You’re probably wondering what trap THIS PAST SUNDAY at 3 p.m., for the music is and what TRAP karaoke looks like? second time in the past two months I might Well, for the average music listener like me add, I was standing in a cellphone repair it’s more of a feeling I get or a place to go and shop hoping to fix my phone screen. *Sighs.* buy drugs than a music genre with a tangible I don’t know about you, but I’m no definition. Artists like Boosie Badazz, Crime habitual cellphone breaker, so you can Mob and Young Jeezy come to mind and all imagine my disgust at having to pay upwards I want to do is form a mosh pit. But a simple of $150 to get my screen replaced twice in Google search will reveal that trap music has such a short period of time. Nevertheless, much more depth. the cracked screen was a reminder of yet Born out of 90s southern hip hop, trap another epic weekend in the Queen City. music incorporates pitched and resampled How many times can you run into the hip hop vocals, gangsta synth leads, layered same person and not remember having had synthesizers, heavy kick drums like those from a conversation with them? In this specific a Roland TR-808 drum machine, pipe flutes incidence, the first time came on Food Truck and triple hi hats. These days, however, trap Friday. I’d received a tap on my back and has gotten tied up in EDM culture — that’s turned to hear the words, “Two days in a why I wasn’t surprised when the event page row?” Stunned, I responded without quickly advertising TRAP Karaoke popped up on my recalling sharing small talk with the man in timeline, now it’s accepted into the fold front of me from the night before. of mainstream music. As he walked away, however, the Before my friend decided embarrassing introduction I’d to surprise me with tickets given at 5Church’s five-year for my birthday, I went to anniversary shindig started the website to get a feel to flood back to me. All I for what the event would could think for the next look like. The first quote day was how many times I noticed? “TRAP Karaoke this had happened to me is like going to church … before. The answer was, but instead of ‘Amazing way too many. Grace,’ you’re singing ‘Back So, why was my phone That Azz Up.’” Then, I read, broken, you ask? Well, after AERIN SPRUILL “Anything can happen at the a few escapades around the night show. Like your favorite Q.C. on Thursday and Friday, rapper surprising you on stage.” And Saturday was actually so lit, my brain after watching videos of a crowd jumping nor my phone could keep up. Ink N Ivy, and singing in unison, even without music, 5Church, AA5, SIP (yes, two weekends in a and Pastor Troy walking on stage at one of row), The Corner Pub, Murphy’s Kitchen, the shows, I was sold! Sycamore Brewing, Workman’s Friend and Donned in military boots, a metal Whiskey Warehouse. Even after making so bralette, high-waist jeans and a jean jacket, many moves already, I knew I was going to I entered The Underground for the sold-out have to keep the party going because my old show. I’d never been to the mid-sized music roommate was coming into town for TRAP venue before, and was just as shocked to see Karaoke at The Underground on Saturday how many people were filling the space as I (more on that later). was the “fire lane” carpets that surrounded But first, in true Joanne the Scammer the center standing room area. My friend fashion, why not scam my way into a boat trip and I made our way to the very front right on Lake Wiley for a little pregame? I grabbed next to the stage and proceeded to let loose a bottle of champagne and hopped on the while performers belted out some of our highway. By the time 4 p.m. rolled around, the fave songs on stage. Granted, by the time sun was bright, I was unsuspectingly working we arrived “fashionably late,” there were on a sunburn (yes, those of us with melanin fewer artists performing trap music as the can still burn) and my old roommate was music shifted to “I’m Going Down” by Mary almost in town. That’s when the boat decided J. Blige and other artists like Keyshia Cole. it was going to stop working. Panic mode, Nevertheless, we sang and it was lit. right? Nope, how about shotgunning a beer TRAP karaoke is a nationally touring instead? After all, who doesn’t make the most event, so unfortunately Charlotteans won’t out of situations like that, right? be able to experience the cultural goodness Four hours and a tow later, it was 8 p.m., anytime soon. But be on the lookout, and TRAP Karaoke was starting and my friend and sign up to perform the next time around. It I were just walking into my house to get ready. definitely made breaking my phone at 4 a.m. Give the tickets away? Negative. I was going to well worth it. hear some trap music before calling it a night.
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CROSSWORD
PLANETS OUT OF ALIGNMENT ACROSS
1 Get in a trap 8 Diner dishes 15 Long tales 20 One finding something 21 Mishmash 22 Match venue 23 Additional examination [3rd from the sun] 25 McLain of old baseball 26 Sioux tribe members 27 Scene 28 Tranquil 30 -- Island (old immigration point) 32 Poker style 33 Eve’s music 36 Sends in, as payment 38 Run things 39 Result of a minor infraction in hockey [8th from the sun] 42 Specks in la Seine 43 Not be well 44 “Sand” actor Estevez 45 Fencing weapons 46 Hall-of-Fame Jets running back [4th from the sun] 49 Launch platforms 51 Italian for “seven” 52 Complacent 54 Projecting crane arm 57 Major fuss 61 Lie in court [5th from the sun] 67 “I’m keeping my eye --!” 68 Work site supervisors 69 Book review? 70 One enlisting GIs [1st from the sun] 73 Milk sugar 75 Where one lives: Abbr. 76 Sty feed 77 Gabrielle of modeling and volleyball 79 Part of AFB 81 Moon rock source [7th from the sun] 88 -- gin fizz (cocktail) 91 Ancient Indian emperor called “the Great” 94 Colo. clock setting 95 Whitish gem 96 Unexpected nice thing [6th from the sun]
99 Fight arbiters 100 Comic Berle 101 JFK takeoff guess 102 Wine-related prefix 103 Don’t dissent 104 “Peter Pan” penner 106 Gen. Robert -107 Pair 108 “Zip your lip!” 109 “Inherited or acquired” dichotomy [2nd from the sun] 116 Tolerate 117 Like sandals 118 Not shown, as on TV 119 Died down 120 Nonvital body organs 121 People being quizzed
DOWN
1 Hobgoblin 2 -- -TURN (street sign) 3 “Page Down” user, e.g. 4 Most dapper 5 EIdest Musketeer 6 Some deer 7 Goof up 8 -- -gatherum 9 Carnivore’s intake 10 Couture magazine 11 Place 12 Naval acad. grad 13 -- Fridays 14 Meeting of Cong. 15 Made blue 16 Tourists’ aids 17 Non-Jewish 18 Funicello of film 19 Declare 24 Home of Elaine, in Arthurian lore 29 Prior to, poetically 30 Actor Dane 31 Lollapalooza 32 Reach by water, in a way 33 Lay waste to 34 Ocean off Ga. and Fla. 35 U.S. architect I.M. -37 OS part: Abbr. 39 Stunned with a gun 40 Abbr. for those with only one given name 41 Infield fly ball 47 “A Mighty Fortress -God” (hymn) 48 Gain back 50 Gain maturity
52 -- Nevada 53 52-Down, e.g.: Abbr. 54 A martial art 55 Fleur-de-lis 56 Gig fraction 57 Wild hog 58 About 59 Y facilities 60 Tyke amuser 62 “Either he goes -- go!” 63 Confronted 64 Mrs., in Nice 65 Sprinter, e.g. 66 Extend (out) 68 To and -71 Ar-tee linkup 72 Not dirty 73 To a smaller degree 74 Not obtuse 78 Badgers’ kin 79 River or lake outing 80 Various 81 Ear-piercing 82 Odessa loc. 83 Emperor exiled to Elba 84 “No deal!” 85 Gap 86 Cozy eatery 87 Additional 88 LP stat 89 “Arabian Nights” hero 90 Skin pigment 92 Beatified Fr. woman 93 Pres. initials 97 Singer DiFranco 98 Keanu of film 103 Subtle glows 105 Seth’s eldest 106 Deco artist 107 Sand hill 108 Raven’s cry 110 Smartphone download 111 No. in the white pages 112 A, in French 113 Enthusiast 114 R&B singer Des’-115 Mag workers
SOLUTION FOUND ON P. 38.
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I’ve been reading your column forever — like “Hey Faggot!” forever — and your response to CLIF (the guy whose wife could no longer orgasm from PIV sex after having a child) is first time I’ve felt the need to gripe about your advice. My wife was also the “Look, ma, no hands!” type, and it was amazing to be able to look into her eyes as we RUMINATING ABOUT CONSENSUAL KINKS came together. But after a uterine cyst Restricting someone’s air intake is always followed by a hysterectomy, something dangerous, RACK, and while we all too changed and that came to an end. It often hear about people dying during solo was a pretty hard hit for us sexually breath play, aka “auto-erotic asphyxiation” and emotionally. Toys, oral, etc. had (an activity no one should engage in ever), always been on the table, but more as we rarely hear about someone dying during part of being GGG than as the main partnered breath play. (I recently discussed source of her coming. For a long time, partnered breath play with Amp from it put her off sex as a source of her Watts the Safeword, a kink-friendly sex-ed own pleasure. Things have gotten much YouTube channel. Look up Episode 533 at better, but I’d be lying if I said we didn’t savagelovecast.com.) occasionally talk wistfully about That said, RACK, someone can’t that time in our relationship. consent to being strangled to I can empathize with what death by accident. CLIF is going through. “The lawyers in my When we went through office discussed this, and this, we did research we agree that there is no and spoke with doctors way to ‘waive’ or ‘consent wondering the same to’ criminal negligence thing: Is there some resulting in substantial way to reclaim that bodily harm or death,” said PIV-and-her-orgasms Brad Meryhew, a criminalconnection. We even defense attorney who thought of writing you, DAN SAVAGE practices in Seattle. “I don’t the wise guru of all things think you’ll find any lawyer who sex, but am I glad we didn’t. would draft such an agreement. In response to CLIF asking Even if an agreement were executed, it for some fairly simple advice, you is not going to constitute a complete defense bluntly said that it’s not a problem if something goes wrong. There are principles that she can’t come from PIV sex. You of criminal liability for the consequences ignored the fact that up until fairly of our decisions, as well as public-policy recently, she could. Then you suggest concerns about people engaging in extremely that, because he hasn’t mastered the dangerous behaviors, that make it impossible subtle art of acronyms, he might be a to just walk away if something goes wrong.” shitty lover whose wife has been faking Another concern: Signing such a document orgasms for years and is just tired of it. could make breath play more dangerous, not Dick move, Dan. less. “A person who had such a waiver might A CALLOUS RESPONSE ONLY NEGATES YOUR MOTIVATION be tempted to push the boundaries even further,” said Meryhew. You’re right, ACRONYM, my response to And now the pro-Dom perspective. . . CLIF was too harsh. But as you discovered, “As consenting adults, we assume the there wasn’t a way for you and your wife risks involved in this type of kink,” said to reclaim that PIV-and-her-orgasms Mistress Elena, a professional Dominant. connection. So CLIF would do well to take “But if you harm your partner or they become Dr. Gunter’s advice and embrace how his scared, shamed, shocked, or, even worse, wife’s body works now and not waste too gravely injured, it’s the Dom’s problem. At much time grieving over how her body/PIV any time, the submissive can change their orgasms used to work then. mind. Some cases have been classified as ‘rape’ or ‘torture’ afterward, even though On the Lovecast, Nathaniel Frank on the consent was initially given. It’s our job marriage-equality movement: savagelovecast. as Dominants/Tops/Leads to make sure com; ITMFA.org. everyone is safe, consenting, and capable.”
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FOR ALL SIGNS The static and interference
among the planets returns this week in the form of an opposition between Mars and Saturn. Mars represents the warrior within us and Saturn symbolizes the Inner Teacher. A common association is that Mars, as accelerator, is being held by the brake of Saturn. It is a time to evaluate the results of new starts generated during the late summer of 2016, hesitating, and making corrections or needed changes now. The spirit is meant to help us make improvements and fine tune previous work. The potential trap is one of nagging and nit-picking. Use it for evaluation and avoid falling into a snare of criticism or guilt. This is a time in which accidents may happen with vehicles and other machinery. Mars (the engine) is temporarily trapped by its brakes.
ARIES The pressure of pending change is making itself known in your work arena. A situation that may no longer be tolerable for you personally is the fulcrum. Perhaps this is an issue in which you cannot find any method to create peace enough for efficient operation. Speak up, but not in public, lest you regret it. Drive and handle tools very carefully. TAURUS Changes may be occurring in your primary relationship. One or the other of you is probably trying to hang onto what is familiar. Changes and growth must be allowed to happen or the relationship will become stale. Let things flow naturally. Don’t jump to conclusions or make problems bigger than they are. GEMINI THE TWINS (May 20 -- June 21) You are disturbed by a situation that you would rather not broadcast at this time. Don’t lash out at people. It will not serve you well later. If you must speak, tone down your anger a notch or two and say your piece. Then let it go. CANCER You are in a reasonably good
place with yourself now. Your heart and mind are flowing together. You have no conflict between your feelings and your thoughts about those feelings. This is a time for reflection on important subjects. You can make good decisions now, especially those that are financial.
LEO You may feel pressured by circumstances to take control of a situation. Perhaps that is so. Or perhaps you merely fear that others will not handle the situation as well as you can. You are dangerously close to letting your ego run the game. Please spend some time in contemplation of what is the “right” thing to do for the Greater Good before you act. VIRGO You are prone to worry about 38 | MAY. 25 - MAY. 31, 2017 | CLCLT.COM
outcomes that may never happen. Think carefully. Will worrying make the situation any better in the long run? Your ego is most likely the culprit. It wants the shallow satisfaction of knowing you were right in worrying. Consider how pointless that is and let go of the worry. Relax.
LIBRA You are harboring a secret attitude
about a loved one. You may think it is not visible, but it erodes the core of the relationship. The probability is high that it is critical of yourself or the Other. Maybe a change does need to happen, but it is not useful to pressure its creation with blame.
SCORPIO
Make no impulsive moves this week and keep a sharp curb on your tongue. There may be a minor skirmish with a partner or roommate over the sharing of resources. This is not the ultimate deal breaker and the moments of discomfort pass quickly if your relationship is basically sound. Don’t turn the issue into a disaster.
SAGITTARIUS Jupiter, your ruling planet
is in a truly challenging place. You may feel mistreated by someone, even attacked. But you know intuitively that if you fight it, things will go against you. It is hard for you to back off from a fight, but you must do so now. Wait until well beyond the end of this month to revisit the situation.
CAPRICORN You have a desire to make
changes to home and/or other property, but you hit a brick wall that tells you “no.” Maybe this is a person who disagrees or possibly it is some type of inalterable rule. Step back two paces and allow your mind to open a crack to a fresh and do-able idea.
AQUARIUS You accomplished a major
task in the last couple of weeks. You were in the right place with the right skills to see it through. Don’t bother with re-thinking what you “could-a, would-a, should” have done. You did your part in the best way you could. Let yourself have the privilege of recognizing that and be done with it.
PISCES Your imagination and storytelling
ability is at a high point. Tell or write beautiful prose from scratch. Don’t try to correct it as you go. There will be time for editing later. Your dreams are meaningful and your intuition strong. Are you interested in a personal horoscope? Vivian Carol may be reached at 704-3663777 for private psychotherapy or astrology appointments. You may also visit her at www. horoscopesbyvivian.com.
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NEWS&CULTURE BLACK AND BREW A report on diversity in the craft beer scene
PALE ALE: LOCAL BREWERS DEFY THE LILY-WHITE CRAFT BEER SCENE BY RYAN PITKIN CULTIVATING BLACK BREW CULTURE THROUGH HIP-HOP BY KIA O. MOORE 9 EDITOR’S NOTE 13 THE CHRONICLE BY RHIANNON FIONN 14 NEWSMAKER: DIMPLE AJMERA BY RYAN PITKIN 15 THE BLOTTER
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FOOD HALAL FOR Y’ALL Pakistani-Dominican family brings NYC staple to the center of Charlotte BY ALLISON BRADEN 17 THREE-COURSE SPIEL: JONCARLO PALERMO BY DEBRA RENEE SETH
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MUSIC SHIPROCKED! THE FINAL VOYAGE The greatest show in Charlotte bids farewell
BY GREY REVELL 18 TOP 10 THINGS TO D0 24 MUSICMAKER: FAREWELL ALBATROSS BY PAT MORAN 26 SOUNDBOARD
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ARTS&ENT CLASSICAL COUP Mary Deissler brings a little Hendrix and Radiohead to the Charlotte Symphony BY KIA O. MOORE 30 REVIVAL OF THE FITTEST: CP SUMMER THEATRE SERIES BY PERRY TANNENBAUM 32 SUMMER FILMS PREVIEW BY MATT BRUNSON
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ODDS&ENDS 34 MARKETPLACE 34 NIGHTLIFE BY AERIN SPRUILL 35 CROSSWORD 36 SAVAGE LOVE 38 HOROSCOPE BY VIVIAN CAROL
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NEWS
EDITOR’S NOTE
THE LOGO KNOWS We’re not just Loafing anymore YOU MAY HAVE noticed over the past status quo, particularly when said status three issues that Creative Loafing has a new quo is bad for certain segments of the logo. Gone is the teeny-tiny word creative community. For instance, we’re here to say above a huge, cursive Loafing. The two parts “hell no” when lawmakers gerrymander on of our name share equal billing again, as they the basis of blatant racism. And we’re here to praise decisions that uphold creativity and did in the beginning. inclusivity — decisions like the one made just Size matters. Creative Loafing has a long, storied history days ago by the Supreme Court striking down in Charlotte, and in our 30th anniversary year racist gerrymandering in North Carolina. Our previous logo, which emphasized the we felt it absolutely essential to re-emphasize the first part of our name. Charlotte’s only second part of Creative Loafing’s name, made alternative media outlet has always been about it appear as though we are more about idle promoting creativity in this city — creativity fun. But there was a reason the founders of in the arts, in music, in our dining experiences, this paper humorously juxtaposed a term that in the workings of local government. There’s a means idle fun (loafing) with one that means reason you find Creative Loafing, particularly being innovative and inspired (creative). They now, covering music and arts that skew away wanted to provide you, our readers, with fun from the obvious mainstream products that and relaxing ways to be innovative, diligent paid publicists push. There’s a reason we focus and vigilant — all at the same time. This week’s Creative Loafing is a perfect on the works of local, independent, often example. Our cover story (on page avant-garde musicians, writers, 10) is about craft beer, an painters, designers, filmmakers. innocent enough topic. After There’s a reason Creative all, having beers with friends Loafing ferrets out eating is about having fun. But establishments that aren’t the takeaway from news necessarily the newest or editor Ryan Pitkin and swankiest overpriced joint regular contributor Kia in an Uptown skyscraper. Moore is more substantial There’s a reason we look than just lounging around to sports teams like the and having fun; it’s also Charlotte Roller Girls over, about paying attention to say, the Carolina Panthers. whom we’re lounging around And there’s a reason we delve MARK KEMP and having fun with. into news issues important to Craft beer is predominantly marginalized communities: people white. Not intentionally — it’s not of color, people of different cultures and faiths, people of different gender identities, that craft beer enthusiasts are holding people who have different ideas about what art Klan meetings at breweries. Not at all. But oftentimes craft beer culture has and music can be. unconsciously created an unwelcoming Creative people. It’s not that we ignore interesting works environment for people of color. Creating or issues coming from the dominant culture a more welcoming environment requires of straight, white, middle-class Charlotteans. conscious creativity, like the events Moore We don’t. But other media outlets handle covers on page 12. When that happens, we all mainstream arts and issues well. The Charlotte reap the benefits of the wonderful things a Observer, for example, does a great job of more diverse society can offer. Two craft beer companies Pitkin talks making sure the Panthers and NASCAR stay in the news. They cover the national and to in his story, the black-owned Black Star international news, and the big touring acts Line Brewing and Three Spirits Brewery, are like Paul Simon or Lady Antebellum. You setting precedents that likely will have a profound impact on how craft beer culture don’t need us to tell you about those things. Creative Loafing arrived in Charlotte in evolves. As one patron of Three Spirits says 1987 to cover arts and issues that don’t get of walking into the brewery and being greeted enough attention from mainstream sources. by its black owner, “You feel not only at home, We believe avant-garde ideas or issues of but not intimidated from the traditional, importance to marginalized cultures enrich dude-bro, ‘No soup for you,’ approach to the Charlotte, particularly in a time when federal craft beer scene.” That’s one small step, but a few giant and state lawmakers alike are making life leaps need to be taken. And Creative Loafing more difficult for our marginalized cultures. Charlotte benefits from creative ideas and will be here to report on them — with an eye creative solutions, and Creative Loafing is here to both creativity and fun. Because at Creative Loafing, we know that you can’t have one to put a spotlight on those things. We’re also here to question and criticize without the other. MKEMP@CLCLT.COM uncreative ideas that maintain an outdated CLCLT.COM | MAY. 25 - MAY. 31, 2017 | 9