2017 Issue 24 Creative Loafing Charlotte

CLCLT.COM | AUG 3 - AUG 9, 2017 VOL. 31, NO. 24

1 | DATE - DATE, 2015 | CLCLT.COM

alternative

hot new music with dj

lin benfield with a latin flare

2 | AUG. 3 - AUG. 9, 2017 | CLCLT.COM

dance party every friday night

free

Video Games free

Phone Chargers free

Wi-Fi pool tables available

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Charlotte's Only Boutique Guitar Shop

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EDITORIAL

NEWS EDITOR • Ryan Pitkin rpitkin@clclt.com FILM CRITIC • Matt Brunson mattonmovies@gmail.com THEATER CRITIC • Perry Tannenbaum perrytannenbaum@gmail.com CONTRIBUTING WRITERS • Corbie Hill, Erin Tracy-Blackwood, Vivian Carol, Charles Easley, Allison Braden, Page Leggett, Alison Leininger, Sherrell Dorsey, Dan Savage, Aerin Spruill, Chuck Shepherd, Jeff Hahne,

We're representing the best amplifier, bass and guitar builders in the industry.

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WHERE WE ALL REFUSE TO WEAR SOCKS. CLCLT.COM

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A MEMBER OF:

PHOTO BY CHRISTOPHER DONALD.

16

Salud Cerveceria puts it all out there with Skin: A Story Showcase on Monday, August 7.

We put out weekly

8

NEWS&CULTURE A MOVEMENT UNDER THE OAK Twin Oaks residents and NoDa neighbors demand respect for the displaced

BY RYAN PITKIN 6 EDITOR’S NOTE BY MARK KEMP

11

FOOD THE SANDWICH ISSUE Creative Loafing picks the 12 best sandwiches in Charlotte

BY CL STAFF

16

TOP 10 THINGS TO DO THIS WEEK

18

MUSIC FROM ‘LOISAIDA,’ WITH LOVE Jose Ayala survived a terror attack to bring Furia Tropikal’s Latin fusion to Charlotte

BY GREY REVELL 20 SOUNDBOARD

22

ARTS&ENT DREAM THEATER Broadway Dreams takes Charlotte performers to

the next stage

BY PAT MORAN

24 FILM REVIEWS BY MATT BRUNSON 25 ARTSPEAK: VALAIDA FULLWOOD BY MARK KEMP

26

ODDS&ENDS 26 NIGHTLIFE BY AERIN SPRUILL 27 CROSSWORD 28 SAVAGE LOVE BY DAN SAVAGE 30 STARGAZER BY VIVIAN CAROL

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COVER DESIGN

BY DANA VINDIGNI

CLCLT.COM | AUG 3 - AUG 9, 2017 VOL. 31, NO. 24

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CLCLT.COM | AUG. 3 - AUG. 9, 2017 | 5

NEWS

EDITOR’S NOTE

WHAT MAKES YOU AN EXPERT? ‘CL’ comes to terms with writing about stuff we know nothing about WHEN NEWS EDITOR Ryan Pitkin and I learned as an editor of a leaner staff is were doing the research for this week’s cover that pushing outside of our comfort zones story — and by research, I mean eating tons has led to some of the more interesting of sandwiches at spots all over Charlotte — perspectives and well-researched stories I’ve we’d scurry back into the office, bellies full, ever had the pleasure of writing or editing. and do a quick powwow on the quality of the For instance, when Ryan writes about music, he’s not coming to the story from a music sandwiches we’d consumed that day.

It’s a tough job, as they say, but somebody’s critic’s perspective — he’s coming to it from the perspective of someone who simply loves got to do it.

Last issue, Ryan wrote a rare food piece on music. And there’s a difference. It means The Mad Greek Cafe in South End, and had an Ryan has to do more research. He has to ask epiphany when a big plate of food came his the kinds of questions a casual music fan way. “It was around that time that I came to would ask. He has to find the story in the a realization,” he wrote. “I need to write food music. Which is what he did for his terrific cover story on the MollyWops in the Music stories more often.”

Does this mean we are now food experts? Issue a couple of weeks ago.

We still hire professionals. Freelance It depends on how you define expertise.

Ryan and I had a lot of fun chiseling down contributors Alison Leininger and Catherine the list of great sandwiches for this issue, Brown both are experts in the food world.

Contributor Kia Moore is an expert in and we think we covered most of arts and nonprofit organizations. the bases. Beginning on page 11, Contributor Grey Revell is an you’ll find out where to get a expert on music. And when great barbecue sandwich, a Ryan writes a local news flavorful grilled cheese, a story or I write about delicious Vietnamese bánh music, you can rest mì, plus some bizarre assured that we know Dagwoods and a few of the what we’re talking about. best vegan or vegetarian But when all is said options the Queen City and done, you are the real has to offer. But as you experts. You are the ones peruse our choices, know out there plucking down that these are really not MARK KEMP your hard-earned cash for a the be-all-end-all sandwiches good meal or a good concert. We in town, and that Ryan and I just do a little footwork to provide are not any more authoritative on the context for the food you eat, the sandwiches than you are. We just like to eat, and we wanted to spotlight some of the more art you experience or the local band you interesting and tasty sandwiches we’ve come might want to check out. And we like to across. So, go check them out and then do think we offer alternatives to the choices that your own research. And tell us what assholes mainstream media outlets shove down your throats based on whatever restaurant or arts we are for missing your favorite.

This is the way we operate at Creative organization has the highest-paid publicist.

Does that mean we’re experts? Well, kind Loafing these days. We know how to do the research, ask all the right questions, and write, of. We’re experts in the sense that we spend so we go out and find interesting stuff to cover our work hours (which are all hours for us) that we think you need to know about. It’s doing what you may not have time to do. We’re that simple. We’re not experts on everything, experts in the same way an artist or musician although during the course of a story, we learn is an expert when they write or draw or sing about a topic that’s important to them. a lot and we pass that info along to you.

In the arts section, I talk with a Charlotte That’s the role a journalist should play.

We do each have our particular areas of writer, Valaida Fullwood, who has thought long expertise — Ryan knows a lot about local and hard about what being an “expert” means. news, I know a lot about music, staffer Pat Lots of times, creative people feel like frauds Moran knows a lot about arts and theater — when we speak authoritatively on a topic. It’s but we don’t always stick to those topics. The not true, of course, and there’s a name for that fact is, at Creative Loafing today, we all often feeling: “imposter syndrome.” Fullwood will work outside of our comfort zones. In earlier speak on that topic at the Charlotte Art League years, CL would hire so-called professional this week, and she gives me a little preview in food and arts critics, but we have to be more the Artspeak column on page 25.

Enjoy this special sandwich issue. And resourceful now, because budgets are smaller and resources scarcer than they were in the rip us a new one if you don’t agree with our expert choices. prosperous ’90s and early aughts.

MKEMP@CLCLT.COM There’s a silver lining to this. What I’ve 6 | AUG. 3 - AUG. 9, 2017 | CLCLT.COM

CLCLT.COM | AUG. 3 - AUG. 9, 2017 | 7

NEWS

a month, until September 17th, and that residents would receive $2,000 to help them relocate, four times the original offer of $500.

Since then, Barker and her friend Shannon Weatherly have been in the neighborhood almost daily, speaking with residents about what, exactly, they need.

FEATURE

A MOVEMENT UNDER THE OAKS

CUNNINGHAM, KNOWN AROUND the

Twin Oaks residents and NoDa neighbors demand respect for the displaced RYAN PITKIN

L

ATE ON A humid Sunday afternoon, July 30, at Twin Oaks apartments on East 36th Street, about a dozen residents mingle under a large oak tree. Some sit on stoops, others pace. Some sit quietly, others discuss the conundrum they’ve found themselves in through no fault of their own.

“I just don’t know what I’m supposed to do,” one woman stammers between sobs.

The residents are young, old and in between. Some have lived here for nearly a decade, some moved in this year. One thing all of the neighbors share in common: they don’t know where they’ll be living on September 17.

Each resident living in the 18 remaining units in the complex — two other units were heavily damaged by fire in February — received a letter on July 13 stating the company they were leasing from, Beatty Investment Homes LLC (BIH), had sold the property and would be knocking it down.

Local development firm The Drakeford Company (TDC) and builder Shea Homes plans to build more than 30 townhomes on the 1.4-acre plot where Twin Oaks now sits. Although TDC’s intentions were first reported in April 2016, residents say that BIH never communicated to them that they would have to move, and most were blindsided by the letter, which originally gave them just 30 days to be out of their homes.

Many Twin Oaks residents are on subsidized rent and collect meager disability checks as their only income. With the Charlotte Housing Authority on a six-month waiting list for affordable housing, residents feared they’d be put out on the streets.

Since then, those residents have come together with the help of neighbors from surrounding homes in the NoDa area to demand better treatment, and the efforts have been working.

After an original group of Twin Oaks residents and neighbors first met under the large oak tree that stands in the center of the complex — some have taken to calling themselves the Oak Tree 30 — Shea Homes and TDC acquiesced to some of the groups’ highest-priority demands, such as an extended move-out deadline and an increase 8 | AUG. 3 - AUG. 9, 2017 | CLCLT.COM

Above: [From left] Caroline Cunningham, Molly Barker and Sharon Edwards outside of the Twin Oaks complex. Below: Twin Oaks resident Reginald Howard [right] discusses his search for housing with N.C. Sen. Joel Ford at a recent gathering at Twin Oaks.

PHOTOS BY RYAN PITKIN

neighborhood as Sunshine, has lived in the NoDa area her entire life. She moved into Twin Oaks about 10 months ago, and planned to nurse her ill father there. Her father passed away just two weeks later, however, and Cunningham moved on. Despite the loss, she felt as if she was finally striking out on her own for the first time in her 41 years.

Cunningham was heartbroken to learn that her apartment would be rubble in just a month’s time. Nevertheless, she went to work trying to find a new place. She quickly learned that she wouldn’t be able to afford an apartment elsewhere.

“Everywhere you go you have to make three times the amount of monthly rent to live there. It’s not understandable,” says Cunningham, an employee at Showmars Family Restaurant. “Why is that necessary when I know I make enough to pay the rent every month? I work just like everyone else.

I get up and go to work. Whether you make more or not, work is work. If we go to work we should be able to get a place and live. It shouldn’t be this hard.”

Cunningham fears she will have to move away from the neighborhood she grew up in to find affordable housing, but says that even in her worst-case scenario, she has family she can stay with.

Others in Twin Oaks aren’t so lucky.

Reginald Howard is 58 and has been living on disability since receiving a pacemaker last year. With no affordable housing available in the city, Howard seems resigned to the idea that he will be living in his car come September 18.

“I don’t have nowhere,” Howard says. “All this week I’ve been racking my brain, trying to go different places to try to find somewhere, and everything is booked up. They want you to have twice as much as your gross income a month, which is just impossible for me. My health is really bad. I called it success to be moving into this place last year, but now this has come up, and I have nowhere to go at this moment, I don’t.”

BARKER REMAINS OPTIMISTIC that in money to help residents relocate.

Molly Barker, who lives next to Twin Oaks in the Wesley Corner at NoDa complex, heard on the news that her neighbors were being forced out of their homes and decided to see what she could do. Barker didn’t know anyone there, so she walked over and started knocking on doors.

“I’ve never been involved in this issue,” says Barker. “I know nothing about gentrification, I know nothing at all. But I wave to these people and these are my neighbors, and there’s something wrong if a group of people are being tossed out without adequate means.”

On her first visit to Twin Oaks, she met Sharon Edwards and Caroline Cunningham.

The two residents told Barker that the unsuspected eviction had them in a tough

situation, but they knew others in the complex who were worse off than them. The two began introducing Barker to their fellow Twin Oaks residents. Eventually, three turned into 30, and the Twin Oaks Rehousing Project was born.

During their first meeting, the group discussed the priorities for residents.

“We talked about what we needed, and what we need is a community where people are treated with dignity,” Barker says. “The specific needs were more money, more time and more respect.”

Through Facebook, Barker contacted Shea Homes and was put in touch with Bobby Drakeford, head of TDC. Within about a week of the first meeting, Drakeford informed them that the developers would extend the move-out deadline by

neither Howard nor any other Twin Oaks resident will be sleeping anywhere but in their new homes by the deadline.

After she and Edwards addressed Charlotte City Council at a recent meeting, Barker said she was frustrated by hearing from city leaders that their hands were tied.

She has used the connections she built during her years running local nonprofit Girls on the Run to recruit realtors, social workers and a bevy of other Charlotteans to join the effort to get homes for the residents at Twin Oaks. She’s been encouraged by the number of professionals who have stepped up and offered their personal time and professional expertise to help the Oak Tree 30.

“I’m excited most because there are genuine relationships developing here,” Barker says, her eyes tearing up as she stands with Edwards and Cunningham. “This is not

just about money, it’s not about things, it’s about connecting and building trust and dignity. I am looking forward to how that can re-engineer the system.

“The relationships that are happening here are outside of the system,” she continues.

“How can we build something new together?

That includes the builders and economic people, and the people that live in these homes; it’s all of us. It’s liberating us all from the system that sees people as numbers.”

There are hopes that the Oak Tree 30 could potentially turn into a larger network of people fighting for the rights of affordable housing tenants and victims of displacement throughout Charlotte, but Barker and Weatherly remain adamant that their only focus at this time is to help the Twin Oaks residents, whatever that takes.

“I’m not trying to figure out the housing problem in Charlotte right now, I’m trying to figure out what’s going to happen with these 18 families, because that is why we showed up under this tree,” Weatherly says.

“It’s really important that we keep our eye on this ball and help these families, and then hopefully we’ll learn things and we’ll be more educated by helping in this process. Then, come September 18, when they’ve all found homes, then maybe we’ll talk policy and soccer fields and whatever people want to talk about. But right now we’re talking about these people.”

As for now, the Oak Tree 30 is still getting results.

At the July 30 gathering under the tree, Weatherly creates an impromptu GoFundMe account titled Twin Oaks Rehousing Project

to help residents with deposit payments on new homes. She also announces that a 75-foot trailer will be placed in the parking lot of Missiongathering church on 15th Street to collect housing needs for Twin Oaks residents and their new homes.

At a meeting on July 31, Barker tells residents attending a meeting at NoDa Bodega that developers have agreed to pay up to $1,000 as a down payment directly to the owner of any new home a Twin Oaks resident is able to find, then pay the remaining $1,000 directly to the resident upon their leaving Twin Oaks. They had originally planned to only pay the $2,000 upon return of the apartment keys.

Still, the announcement doesn’t sit well with some residents at the meeting, including Scott Stewart, a longtime maintenance man at Twin Oaks who lost his job and his home when BIH sold the buildings.

“We still have no place to go. We still have no money in our hand. They promised us that money, and they’re giving it to the other landlords that we got, but we don’t need that,” Stewart says. “We’re not going to accept that. If they want to tear them buildings down, they can properly do it right. Put the money in our hands, and we will leave. We’re willing to leave, but they’re not willing to put the money in our hands.”

And so the process continues, as it does in so many similar situations happening throughout the city. The difference here is that Stewart has the Oak Tree 30 at his back, and that makes all the difference.

RPITKIN@CLCLT.COM

2 CHARLOTTE

LOCATIONS!

09.27.2017

Bisonte Pizza Co. on trade St. 710 W. TRADE ST, CHARLOTTE, NC 28202

980-242-4395

Bisonte Pizza Co. in Mathews 1381 CHESTNUT LANE MATTHEWS, NC 28104

704-821-8003

WWW.BISONTEPIZZACO.COM CLCLT.COM | AUG. 3 - AUG. 9, 2017 | 9

10 | AUG. 3 - AUG. 9, 2017 | CLCLT.COM

The CL staff has chosen Charlotte’s 12 best sandwiches, and we don’t want to hear any lip about it Foesch never understood why vegan Reuben sandwiches were so ... un-Reubenlike. “After trying many different versions and variations of a vegan Reuben in many different cities,” he says, “I couldn’t find a traditional Reuben that used vegan ingredients.” Foesch decided to come up with his own version, and his delicious, messy Reuben not only spawned Bean Vegan Cuisine, it’s the restaurant’s flagship sandwich.

Veganeuben R Restaurant: Bean Vegan Cuisine Fixins: House-made seitan lunch meat

Goes Down Well With: The Tater Tot Casserole (Charlie’s Aunt Gail’s recipe, veganized) and an Olde Mecklenburg Copper or Lenny Boy kombucha to wash it all down.

Maker(s): Charlie Foesch Location: 3001 East Independence

(beans, wheat gluten and spices cooked into a loaf and sliced); vegan mozzarella, sauerkraut and house-made 1000 Island on grilled rye.

Blvd.

Cost: $10.99

10 a.m.-9 p.m.; Sun., 10 a.m.-8 p.m.

The Lowdown: Vegan chef Charlie

Hours: Mon.-Fri., 11:30 a.m.-9 p.m.; Sat., Website: EatAtBean.com CLCLT.COM | AUG. 3 - AUG. 9, 2017 | 11

Restaurant: Coco and the Director Fixins: Brisket smoked for 12 hours,

chipotle BBQ sauce, sweet pickles, pickled red onion, jalapenos, Lust Monk mustard.

Cost: $10 combo includes chips and

Come out and enjoy

a drink

The Lowdown: Dominique

our fast, friendly, & fun local spot in the Historic Southend!

LIVE BAND

Awar Winni d ng BBQ!

“Dom” Chavez, a line cook who has taken over the sandwich operation, serves up a different special every day.

We stopped by on a day when Chavez was serving her brisket, which she brines overnight, then smokes for 12 hours, then rubs down with “Dom’s Love Rub,” which is a mix of black pepper, mustard, cayenne pepper and brown sugar. They’ll often post their specials on Instagram or Twitter, and if you like what you see, move quick.

Goes Down Well With: Zapp’s Voodoo Heat chips

ON SATURDAY EVENINGS!

Tues – Sun 11AM – 9PM Closed Mondays

Kids Eat FREE Every Wed 12 | AUG. 3 - AUG. 9, 2016 | CLCLT.COM

228 West Blvd.

Charlotte, NC 28203 PH.704.333.7070 & Thurs

Maker(s): Dominique Chavez Location: 100 W. Trade St. Hours: Mon-Fri: Sandwiches go on sale at 11 a.m., and Chavez makes them until she runs out of ingredients (usually by 2).

Website: cocoandthedirector.com

owner Blake Barnes credits Bridget Wyant with bringing the vegan/vegetarian focus to the CM deli menu. From offering meatless brunch options to sandwiches such as the Tree Hugger and Mid-Eastern, Wyant was a trailblazer for Charlotte vegans and vegetarians. And her favorite sandwich is the Straight Jacket Soy, one of CM’s first veggie items. The secret to the perfect Straight Jacket? “It goes best on a wrap with Veganaise.” We don’t disagree.

ORDER ONLINE & SKIP THE LINE ! saucemans.com

Smoked Brisket

StraightSoy Jacket Restaurant: Common Market Fixins: Baked and sliced tofu, baby spinach, red bell peppers, cucumbers, carrots, tomato and onion (vegan).

Cost: $7.50 The Lowdown: Common Market

Goes Down Well With: A large glass of suicide kombucha/juice (we recommend mixing the Green Apple juice with the Fire kombucha on tap).

Maker(s): “We honestly can’t remember where [the Straight Jacket Soy] came from, but I’ve been making it for 12 years,” Wyant says.

Location: 2007 Commonwealth Ave. Hours: Mon.-Sat., 6:30 a.m.-6 p.m. (4 p.m. opn Monday); Sun., 8 a.m.-4 p.m.

Website: CommonMarketIsGood.com

Restaurant: Fud @ Salud

Restaurant: Earl’s Grocery

Fixins: House-made chicken salad, candied

Fixins: Spicy black bean hummus,

walnuts, bacon and maple syrup between two waffles.

queso fresco, carrots, cucumbers, leaf lettuce, soft flour tortilla

Cost: $7

Cost: $7.49

The Lowdown: Fud @ Salud is

known for its specialty waffle-wiches both sweet (You’re Killin Me S’mores) and savory (Jason Gi-ham-brie), but as popular as those aforementioned hybrids are, nothing touches the popularity of the chicken and waffles waffle-wich. They’ve sold 8,000 in less than two and a half years, serving up around 200 every week. “So many people assume that waffles are breakfast items,” says Jeff McElwee, or the Fud Dud, as he’s called. “And they also assume that waffles are super sweet by nature. But when you break down our recipe, it has 20 cups of flour and only two cups of sugar, so they’re not inherently sweet by any means.”

wrap: black beans (check), lettuce (check), cukes (check). It’s hard to go wrong with these ingredients, and when you add to that the awesome creative atmosphere at Earl’s Grocery near Central Piedmont Community College, you have one of the best veggie sandwiches in the city.

Chicken &Waffles

Waffle-wich

Goes Down Well With: Any stout from the adjoining beer shop.

The Lowdown: This is your basic, garden variety (pardon the pun) veggie

l

Rockin’ Rol

Goes Down Well With: Lenny Boy “Good Ol’ Ginger” Kombucha

Maker: Bonnie Warford

Maker(s): Jeff McElwee

Location: 1609 Elizabeth Ave.

Location: 3306 N. Davidson St.

Hours: Mon-Thurs., 8:30 a.m. - 8:30

Hours: Mon.-Thu., 12-10 p.m.; Friday, 12

p.m.-12 a.m.; Sat., 11 a.m.-12 p.m.; Sun., 12-7 p.m.

p.m.; Fri.-Sat., 8:30 a.m. - 9 p.m.; Sun., 10:30 a.m. - 3 p.m.

Website: earlsgrocery.com

Website: fudatsalud.com

Restaurant: NoDa Bodega Fixins: Prosciutto, finocchiona, hot capocollo,

mozzarella cheese, peppadew relish, house-made roasted tomato spread, fresh basil, Italian vinaigrette, pressed on a baguette.

Cost: $8 The Lowdown: NoDa Bodega owner Bryan

n a i l Ita Stallion

Moore believes the Italian Stallion represents his bistro pub’s efforts to take classics and put a fun twist on them. “You’ve got the salty prosciutto, the finocchiona is a little sweet, then you’ve got the hot capocollo, which gives it a little bit of spice,” Moore says. “We’re not trying to reinvent the wheel, we’re

trying to take something that’s familiar to you and put a fun little spin on it.”

Goes Down Well With: Bodega’s Redneck Potato Salad, made with potatoes, ranch dressing, cheddar cheese, bacon and scallops. Wash it down with a cold craft beer.

Maker(s): Bryan Moore Location: 1200 E. 36th St. Hours: Mon.-Thu., 11 a.m.-8 p.m.; Friday, 8 a.m.-8 p.m.; Sat.-Sun., 8 a.m.-5 p.m.

Website: NoDaBodega.com

CLCLT.COM | AUG. 3 - AUG. 9, 2017 | 13

rk

o Chopped P

Restaurant: Sauceman’s Fixins: Pork smoked for 15-18 hours then

chopped on a wooden chopping board, choice of white or red slaw.

Cost: $5.5 The Lowdown: Pitmaster Gray Cole is quick to point out that he smokes his meat

so long that trying to pull it would just make it all fall apart, so he doesn’t have much choice but to chop it. Turns out, that’s a tradition here in North Carolina, and the story behind it is a bit cringeworthy. “Back in the day, people didn’t have such good dentistry around here, so chopped pork was like a courtesy to your customers,” Cole says. Whatever the reason, we’ll take it — and include some of that white “Octane” BBQ sauce made in house by a staffer.

Goes Down Well With: Mac ’n’ cheese with house-made sauce.

Maker(s): Gray Cole Location: 228 West Blvd.

Hours: Tues.-Sun., 11 a.m.-9 p.m.; Closed Mondays.

Website: saucemans.com savoring Papi’s Mushroom Gruyere, with its delicious pan roasted wild shrooms, truffle spread, gruyere cheese and nutt fontina. But the most popular item on this menu is the Pig Mac, which, according to co-owner Brian Stockholm, “pretty much built this truck.”

THANK YOU CHARLOTTE!

PIG MAC

Restaurant: Popi Queso Food Truck Fixins: Carolina pulled pork, mac ’n’ cheese and bourbon onions.

Cost: $9.50 The Lowdown: You’ll never see a

grilled cheese sandwich the same way after

Goes Down Well With:

Homemade dill pickles and basil lemonade.

Maker(s): Stockholm and co-owner

Shelley Odum

Location: Uptown, Gateway Village, SouthPark, South End (check online sched.)

Hours: Tues.-Fri (lunch), 11 a.m.-2 p.m.; Friday (dinner), 5 p.m. - 10 p.m.

Website: PapiQuesoTruck.com

Restaurant: Rhino Market & Deli Fixins: Grilled extra-firm tofu, BBQ sauce, pickled vegetables, lettuce, Veganaisse on toasted sourdough

Cost: $7.49 Maker: Rob Rondelez Lowdown: Owner Rondelez swore he’d never serve tofu sandwiches, because he thought nobody ever really gets them right.

But when his customers demanded them, Rondelez came up with a flavorful item that defies all tofu sandwiches you’ve ever had.

You know how bland they can be? Not a problem with this tart combo of barbecue sauce, pickled veggies and Veganaisse.

14 | AUG. 3 - AUG. 9, 2016 | CLCLT.COM

TOFU YOU Goes good with: Kale Yeah salad and a 16-oz. bottle of Cayenne Cleanse kombucha

Location: 1500 Morehead St., Ste. E Hours: Mon.-Sat., 7 a.m.-9 p.m. (deli hours); Sun., 9 a.m.-9 p.m.

Website: rhinomarket.com

the sandwhich issue con’t Restaurant: Le’s Sandwiches Fixins: Grilled pork marinated in

lemongrass and other spices with cukes, pickled carrots, daikon, fresh jalapenos and cilantro on a baguette

Restaurant: Sub One

Cost: $4.25

Fixins: Soy-based meats, Lettuce, Tomato,

The Lowdown: Le’s has

Onion, Oil & Vinegar

Cost: $7.49 The Lowdown: Ask Mr. Jones to add

a little mayo and mustard, and you won’t find a better, juicier, more flavorful veggie hoagie than than this — and at an amazingly low price, to boot. Locally owned Sub One is among Charlotte’s best-kept secrets, but purist vegetarians beware of this sandwich: they cook that soy meat on the same grill with real meat, so if that’s a deal breaker, move along. Meat eaters: There’s tons of great choices here for you, too.

ian r a t e Veg oagie H Location: 516 N. Graham St. #A

Goes Down Well With: Extra-large Hours: Mon.-Fri., 11 a.m. - 7 p.m.; Sat., cup of sweet iced tea

closed; Sun., 11 a.m. - 4 p.m.

Maker(s): Richard Jones, his son Derek and nephew Aaron

Website: faook.com/subonehoagie

witnessed major changes in its spot at Asian Corners Mall since 2004, but don’t be fooled by the unassuming location, these are the best bánh mì sandwiches in town. It’s been that way since it opened in another location in the early ‘90s. “Bánh mì was really new to Charlotte, so a lot of the American folks didn’t know about it yet,” says Tuan Nguyen, whose mother, Le, founded the restaurant.

Since then, it’s grown in popularity. “I think it’s just the flavors,” Tuan says.

“Bánh mì is basically a contrast of flavors. You have the saltiness — your savoriness — from the meats, and then you get your sweetness from the

ork Grilled PM Banh i

carrots. That’s what makes bánh mì special.”

Goes Down Well With: Vietnamese coffee

Location: 4520 N. Tryon St. Suite 41 Hours: Thurs.-Tues., 9 a.m.-5:30 p.m.; Closed Wednesdays.

Website: lesbanhmishop.com

The Lowdown: In the six years since

The Ding Dong

Pinky Westside Grill sarted serving the Ding Dong, they’ve gotten plenty of reactions, says restaurant manager Lisa Clontz, but all she can say is, you’ve got to try it before you judge it. “I think that when most people hear about it, some people, they actually shudder, and they’re like, ‘What is this?’ But the best way I find to describe it is, I call it pad thai on a sandwich.” You can order any other sandwiches Ding Dong-style as well.

People even make tacos with the Ding Dong ingredients, so go to town.

Goes Down Well With: Skinny, shredded onion rings.

Restaurant: Pinky’s Westside Grill

Location: 1600 W. Morehead St.

Fixins: Beef patty (or patties), crunchy

Hours: Mon.-Sat., 11 a.m.-11 p.m.; Sun., 11

peanut butter, cilantro honey coleslaw, sriracha.

Cost: $4.25 single, 6.50 Mammoth (two patties), $8.50 Tripe G (three patties)

a.m.-10 p.m.

Website: eatatpinkys.com

u o Y ank aders!

The Loafing Re Y'all!

iv t a e r C

d uisine o o G an C It's N Veg - BEA

CLCLT.COM | AUG. 3 - AUG. 9, 2017 | 15

FRIDAY

4

GILLIAN WELCH What: Early in her career, folksinger Gillian Welch was accused of being an interloper from Los Angeles appropriating Southern culture and singing of topics about which she knew little. She’s gone on, of course, to gain a loyal following among Southerners who care deeply about our culture. Her ability to occupy a character and tell her story with heart and soul goes a long way in blasting the notion of cultural appropriation.

And yet some remain offended. Go judge for yourself.

When: 8 p.m.

Where: Knight Theater, 430 S. Tryon St. More: $37-up. blumenthalarts.org.

16 | AUG. 3 - AUG. 9, 2017 | CLCLT.COM

FRIDAY

4

DESCENDENTS W/LATE BLOOMER What: Here’s a show every Charlotte punk fan, from 15 to 55, should be excited about: SoCal melodic hardcore pioneers Descendents (Milo Goes to College, I Don’t Want To Grow Up) are descending on The Fillmore and invited Charlotte-based Late Bloomer, Lunchbox Records owner Scott Wishart’s band, to open.

The QC doesn’t often get a more musically credible lineup — with a great local act opening for a legendary national one — in a big venue with great sound.

When: 9 p.m.

Where: Fillmore, 820 Hamilton St. More: $30. fillmorecharlottenc.com.

THINGS TO DO

TOP TEN

Descendents w/Late Bloomer (pictured) FRIDAY

PHOTO BY BRIAN TWITTY

FRIDAY

4

FRIDAY

4

SATURDAY

5

ARE WE HUMAN(E)

PANTHERS FAN FEST

MINEFAIRE

What: Opening reception for inyour-face Charlotte political artist Mark Doepker and urban landscape artist Hannah Barnhardt. These two have been documenting the local terrain for years, questioning the status quo, imagining a more inclusive Charlotte and making excellent art. A Doepker “Black Lives Matter” cube got the artist threatened last year when he drove around Uptown with the piece attached to his VW, but he and Barnhardt do more than provoke — they make us think.

What: Historically, this glorified practice in Bank of America Stadium has been free, but this year you’ll have to cough up five bucks. We’re putting our money on the safe bet, which is that folks are so starved for football they won’t mind throwing a few dollars to see Kelvin Benjamin run a few routes and Cam Newton practicing new dances for the 2017 season.

Then, on the following Wednesday, August 9, come right back for the Panthers’ first preseason game against the Houston Texans.

What: And you thought HeroesCon attracted nerds. You haven’t seen nerds until you’ve experienced Minefaire, which serves fanatics of Minecraft, in which players mine for 3D blocks (basically, virtual Legos) and craft them into, well, pretty much anything that fits into the world they create. At least, that’s what we think it’s about. (We’re not exactly Minecraft experts at CL.) Wanna know more? Hang out at the convention center Aug. 5 and 6. These folks love to talk about their passion.

When: 7-10 p.m.

Where: C3 Lab, 2525 Distribution St. More: Free. c3-lab.com.

When: 6 p.m.

Where: Bank of America Stadium, 800 S. Mint St. More: $5. panthers.com.

When: Sat.-Sun., 10 a.m.-5 p.m.

Where: Charlotte Convention Center, 501 S College St. More: $49-up. minefaire.com.

Minefaire nerds SATURDAY

NEWS ARTS FOOD MUSIC ODDS

Scarface with Sai the Violinist (pictured) FRIDAY

Gillian Welch FRIDAY ALBUM ART BY JOHN DYER BAIZLEY

PHOTO COURTESY SAI THE VIOLINIST

SATURDAY

SATURDAY

PLOT TO POLITICSCANDIDATE STORY SHARE

MEET THE ARTIST: ANDY MCMILLAN

SCARFACE W/SAI THE VIOLINIST

What: From Julius Caesar’s glowing account of his legions’ genocide in Gaul to Donald Trump’s latest twitter tantrum, politicians have always loved to talk about themselves. Plot to Politics tries to harness politicos’ gift of gab for the greater good, encouraging candidates for Charlotte mayor and at-large city council to share stories that have impacted their lives. Not a debate or a panel discussion, the non-partisan event is an attempt to get to know our community leaders.

What: Photographer McMillian compulsively peers behind the curtain. In 2006, he documented the post-apocalyptic landscape of Jim Bakker’s decaying Christian theme park Heritage USA. During a 2014 residency at McColl Center, he looked at Civil War-era battlefield photos where soldiers’ bodies were moved for dramatic effect. Charlotte novelist Jeff Jackson, author of Mira Corpora, leads a discussion with McMillan. The gallery will display the photographer’s work.

When: 8 p.m.

Where: The Third Place, 1609 East 5th St. More: Free. caldwellpresby.org.

When: 12 p.m.

Where: Soco Gallery, 421 Providence Rd. More: Free. soco-gallery.com.

5

5

SUNDAY

6

PHOTO COURTESY OF NOUSOMA COMMUNICATIONS

WEDNESDAY

MONDAY

9

7

SKIN: A STORY SHOWCASE

J. COLE

What: The true king of Southern rap is in town, and that’s enough for our recommendation alone, but what really caught our eye was opening act Sai the Violinist, a Charlotte-based artist who sings and plays guitar, piano, bass, drums, percussion, DJ and strings, but is best known for tearing it up on electric violin. We also can’t help but love that Sai created the flyer for this event, and placed herself on it three times as much as Scarface. Can’t knock the hustle.

What: You never know what another person is going through until you’ve walked in their skin, right? Hosted by Rebecca Henderson at Salud Beer Shop, this storytelling session is billed as “tales of the flesh, told in the flesh.” The description is more than metaphor. Skin is bringing burlesque performer Veritas Veridian, headmistress of AFV Exotic Arts, onstage to tell her story in her own inimitable way. A tattoo booth by local artist Elisa Marie Sanchez is also featured.

What: We would love to claim J. Cole as our own, but Fayetteville just has so little to claim, we can’t steal their shine. Either way, we’re excited for the North Carolina native to play in Charlotte’s biggest arena, with no features. This is a stop on Cole’s 4 Your Eyez Only Tour, but it’s safe to assume you’ll be joined by a few other sets of eyes at Spectrum Center. If this one isn’t guaranteed to sell out, then something is wrong with Charlotte music fans.

When: 9 p.m.

Where: Club One, 950 N.C. Music Factory Blvd.

More: clubonecharlotte.com.

When: 8 p.m.

Where: Salud Cerveceria, 3306-C N. Davidson St. More: $8. crockout.org.

When: 8 p.m.

Where: Spectrum Center, 333 E. Trade St. More: $30 and up. spectrumcenterarena.com.

CLCLT.COM | AUG. 3 - AUG. 9, 2017 | 17

PHOTO COURTESY OF FURIA TROPIKAL.

Furia Tropikal (from left to right): singer Sendy Mendez, trombonist Jolanta Wilson, singer Natalia Raigosa, Jose Ayala, lead singer Fredy Suarez, and percussionist Ricardo Ortega. (Not pictured: Bernard Torres, Bryan Torres and Kairy Bautista.)

MUSIC

FEATURE

FROM ‘LOISAIDA,’ WITH LOVE Jose Ayala survived a terror attack to bring Furia Tropikal’s Latin fusion to Charlotte

BY GREY REVELL

O

N A TYPICAL New York City

morning, Jose Ayala arrived early to his carpentry gig in lower Manhattan: building a reception area for a high-powered law firm. The office was in the North Tower of the World Trade Center. The date was September 11, 2001.

“You can’t imagine the sound of that impact,” Ayala says today, shaking his head in his modest, home-built DIY recording studio in Gastonia. He walks over to his phone and scrolls through his photos.

“Look at this,” Ayala says, enlarging one of the images. “Can you guess who that is?”

The photograph reveals a scene that’s been forever imprinted into our collective consciousness: a group of people, covered in white powder, dazed, walking like a tribe of ghosts up a Manhatttan street. In the background: a roiling cumulus cloud of smoke and ash.

But this image has something I’d never seen before in one of these images: a familiar, ash-covered face. It’s Jose Ayala.

To say the experience was jarring for Ayala, a carpenter who moonlights as a band leader, would be a gross understatement. He packed up and his home and moved his family south, to North Carolina, and rebuilt his New York band Furia Tropikal in the Charlotte area.

18 | AUG. 3 - AUG. 9, 2017 | CLCLT.COM

It wasn’t easy. The Charlotte of 16 years ago is almost unrecognizable from the quickly diversifying mini-metro it is today. But that didn’t deter Ayala, who assembled a new Furia Tropikal lineup from the small but fierce local Latin community of musicians, and soon landed a weekend residency at the Plaza Fiesta Spanish Mall near Carowinds.

“We were there. . .” Ayala begins, then pauses to consult his longtime musical partner, bassist Bernard Torres. “How long was it, Bernard? Quanto tiempo?”

“Tocamos música en la Plaza por dos, casi tres años,” Torres answers. Two to three years.

AYALA AND TORRES are sitting in the

basement studio of Ayala’s beautiful brick home in a quiet Gastonia neighborhood where you might expect to hear the lonesome twang of pedal steel or the crunch of classic rock. But the sound coming from this home is neither country nor rock. It’s pure Loisaida (Lower East Side, Manhattan) — the unmistakable one-two stomp of a cumbia rhythm, mixed with the chirping of Carolina cicadas outside.

The control room of Ayala’s studio is small but efficient, with a Logic Pro set-up and multiple screens all in a space just big enough for a single chair. Earlier, Ayala had been sitting at the screens monitoring Torres, who was on the other side of the glass laying down

a conga track for the cumbia-in-progress.

That’s when something else caught my ear.

As Torres tapped out a solid, Afro-Colombian rhythmic foundation, a simple-but-insistent saxophone hook appeared, augmenting the cadence of a bass line with its own harmony.

Then a male voice came in, smoky and right on pitch.

“This is going to be a female vocal eventually,” Ayala explained, as he maneuvered a fader on the virtual mixer. “This is” — he waved a hand in the air, looking for the right word in English — “a guide.”

When Torres finished and looked up from the skins, Ayala stood up.

“OK,” he said to me, “Let’s meet the guys.”

He opened a small black door leading into the tracking room, which also is small but efficient. A couch lines one wall, instrument cables draped over it. An N.C. MUSIC FACTORY sign stretches across the far wall behind a charcoal-colored drum set. Posters of past live-music events dot the walls.

Seated on the couch were “the guys” ­— all kids, except for the 46-year-old Torres. One is actually a 17-year-old girl, Kairy Bautista, who sat strumming an acoustic guitar. Torres’ 13-year-old son Bryan sat by the wall, arms crossed, baseball cap over his eyes, big grin on his face.

These are not the “guys” I expected when I came to interview the members of Ayala’s Furia Tropikal, the music project he conceived back in New York in the early 1990s. Tonight, Ayala is recording with a truncated version of the seven-piece band, which usually includes drummer Luis Medel, the band’s newest member; trombonist Jolanta Wilson, the sole native Charlottean; and a revolving trio of singers: Venezuelan Manuela Woler and Colombians Natalia Raigosa and Laura Villamil.

This night, though, belongs to young Kairy Bautista, whom Ayala discovered when Furia Tropikal had been invited to play at her quinceañera, the big 15th birthday party and coming-of-age event for Latinas. Foregoing the traditional “secret dance” of a typical quinceañera, Bautista had chosen to come out as a young adult in her own way. She fronted Furia Tropikal in an unexpected performance, singing a salsa-inflected version of “Hotel California” which, by all accounts, blew the roof off the hall.

“I can’t dance, so I figured I’d do what I was good at,” Bautista tells me, with shrug and a smile. Ayala set about mentoring the young girl and tonight is in the middle of producing her first set of songs.

The elder Torres, originally from Mexico, has been Ayala’s musical partner since 2006, and is a bandleader in his own right. His group, Los Salber’s, is a 12-piece that regularly plays at Latin music events in the Charlotte area. In addition to fronting and supporting a few other Charlotte-area cumbia bands, Torres supports a family of musicians.

“Bryan is the saxophone you were just listening to on this track,” Ayala tells me, referring to the younger Torres. My shock is noticeable. This middle-school kid with the big grin is the musician who played the confident, slinky saxophone part that had caught my ear just minutes ago?

Bryan smirks good-naturedly and salutes me, cap still obscuring his eyes.

Though only two official Furia-listas are present tonight — Ayala and Torres, who also

plays bass — give me the scoop on how Furia Tropikal formed. “Music is a story of ups and downs,” Ayala says as he relaxes on the couch next to Bryan. “But, gracias a Dios, peope have helped us a lot.”

THE ROOTS OF Furia Tropikal can be

traced to the heady ’90s, when Ayala was living in Union City, New Jersey, and working every day as a carpenter across the river in Manhattan. Furia Tropikal was his musical passion — his night and weekend gig.

“We started out playing parties,” Ayala remembers, “then graduated to street festivals all over the city. Eventually, we started getting some serious shows.”

Early gigs opening for some the big bands of ’90s Latin music, including Banda Blanca, cemented Furia Tropikal as a serious NYC cumbia outfit. For the first few years, Furia’s fortunes were driven by local CD sales, until the late-’90s digital revolution began to affect his bottom line.

“I’d sell a CD for $10, and the music would go to about 150 people,” Ayala says. It’s a typical story for musicians of that era. After losing profits on his music and experiencing the devastating terror attack of 9-11, Ayala was ready for a change.

It took time for Furia Tropikal to establish itself in Charlotte, but after their run at the Plaza Fiesta Spanish Mall, more gigs followed.

What’s more, as the group plugged on, the city around them grew and changed. With a greater infusion of people from El Salvador, Mexico, and all Latin American points in between, the size and diversity of Charlotte’s Latin music scene expanded dramatically. And the broadening musical landscape invigorated Ayala, who is excited to see new groups, from traditional outfits to hip bands like Chócala, continue to fuse Latin styles such as cumbia, bachata and mariachi in local clubs.

“Charlotte is now becoming a little bit of Miami and a little bit of New York,” Ayala says. “You go to the festivals here in town, you see thousands of Latinos.”

And it’s not just happening at Latin festivals and clubs. In 2012, Furia Tropikal was the first Latin group invited to perform at Gastonia’s annual Fourth of July Festival.

That, Ayala says, is a radical change.

Tropikal through two major U.S. cities and a terror attack, but now he’s using it to mentor a new generation of American Latinos.

“It’s not just about playing music anymore,” Ayala says. “It’s about educating people.” He cues another track. “And I’m always grateful to the ones que se quedan.”

The ones who stick around.

Ayala and Furia Tropikal have chosen to stick around the Charlotte area, y ese es nuestro privilegio — it’s our privilege.

BACKTALK@CLCLT.COM

FURIA TROPIKAL’S 26TH ANNIVERSARY BASH 3 p.m. Saturday, Aug. 5. No cover.

Rolling Brook Farm, 208 Rolling Brook Rd., Kings Mountain. (Also features Sonbacha, Grupo Los Salber’s, Orquesta Mayor, others.)

ON APRIL 5, Furia Tropikal will celebrate

its 26th anniversary at a King’s Mountain farm on a bill with multiple other acts, including Torres’ Los Salber’s as well as local artists Sonbacha, Freddy Suarez and Orchesta Mayor. What’s more, Furia just inked a deal with the Coca-Cola company to perform at private parties and events.

“Playing the clubs every night, man. . .”

Ayala shakes his head. “Te mata. It’ll kill you.”

Though Ayala has been steering Furia Tropikal back to its roots as a party band, he’s also evolving off the stage, taking the hyperfocus he’s given the group to help other musicians, using his skills to promote young, up-and-coming Latino talent like Bryan Torres and Kairy Bautista.

Ayala plays a recording of Bautista’s cover of the Shakira song “No.” The goal, he says, is to combine the Charlotte singer’s vocals with a bachata backing rhythm, and eventually record some of Bautista’s original music. He motions in her direction: “She’s gonna go all the way, man.”

Ayala’s passion has propelled Furia CLCLT.COM | AUG. 3 - AUG. 9, 2017 | 19

MUSIC

SOUNDBOARD

AUGUST 3 CLASSICAL/JAZZ/SMOOTH John Alexander Jazz Trio (Blue Restaurant & Bar)

DJ/ELECTRONIC Le Bang (Snug Harbor)

COUNTRY/FOLK Florida Georgia Line, Nelly, Chris Lane (PNC Music Pavilion)

HIP-HOP/SOUL/R&B August Alsina, Rotimi, Tone Stith (The Fillmore)

POP/ROCK Carmen Tate (Eddie’s Seafood & Raw Bar, Mooresville) Open Mic at Studio 13 (Studio 13, Cornelius) Charles Walker, David Z. Cox & The Extenders, Dylan Gilbert, Nicolas Peter Eichen (The Milestone) The Dinners Rabbits, Passersby, Happy Abandon (Petra’s) Karaoke with DJ ShayNanigans (Hattie’s Tap & Tavern) Katrina Brown (Comet Grill) LFO, Ceoneo (Evening Muse) Live Band Karaoke (RiRa Irish Pub) Rebirth Brass Band, Dynamo (Neighborhood Theatre) Shiprocked (Snug Harbor) Sumilan (U.S. National Whitewater Center) That Guy Smitty (Birdsong Brewery) Throwback Thursdays: 80s and 90s Music (Morehead Street Tavern)

AUGUST 4 CLASSICAL/JAZZ/SMOOTH Jazzy Fridays (Freshwaters Restaurant) Breakon Em Davis (Morehead Street Tavern)

BLUES/ROOTS/INTERNATIONAL Emmet Cahill’s Ireland: Celtic Songs and Tales (Central Piedmont Community College) Etana (Crystal On The Plaza) Steven Engler Band (Blue Restaurant & Bar)

COUNTRY/FOLK Gillian Welch: The Harrow & The Harvest In Concert (Knight Theater) The Lenny Federal Band (Comet Grill) The Speedbumps, Autumn Brand (Neighborhood Theatre)

DJ/ELECTRONIC DJ Complete (RiRa Irish Pub)

HIP-HOP/SOUL/R&B Electric Relaxation f. DJ Skillz (‘Stache House Bar & Lounge) Heroes at Last (RiRa Irish Pub) 20 | AUG. 3 - AUG. 9, 2017 | CLCLT.COM

SEND US POP/ROCK Reevestock: Swin in the Wild, Late Night Special, Luke Mears Band, Tyler Hatley (Downtown Elkin) Blakeney Summer Concert Series (Blakeney Shopping Center) Music Box Lunch (Romare Bearden Park) Angwish (Hattie’s Tap & Tavern) #Cometogether Tour 2017: Broadway Dreams (Booth Playhouse) Corporate Fandango, Shagwuf, Dr. Cirkustien, Stray Cat Sideshow, The Cocker Spaniels (Milestone) David Childers, Dane Page (Petra’s) Descendents, The Bronx, Late Bloomer (The Fillmore) Hungry Girl, Pleasures. Mammabear, Gasp (Snug Harbor) Jarred Morehead (Don Gibson Theatre, Shelby) KIDZ BOP “Best Time Ever” Tour: KIDZ BOP Kids (Charlotte Metro Credit Union Amphitheatre) Pluto For Planet (Tin Roof) Rob Ickes & Trey Hensley (Neighborhood Theatre) Rumor Mill (Vinyl Pi, Huntersville) Sounds on the Square: Hamiltunes Singalong!

(Spirit Square)

AUGUST 5 DJ/ELECTRONIC DJ Method (RiRa Irish Pub) Off The Wall: The Annual Michael Jackson Tribute (Petra’s)

HIP-HOP/SOUL/R&B Gospel Hip Hop Open House (Doghouse Bar and Gril)

POP/ROCK Reevestock: The Marcus King Band, Town Mountain, Time Sawyer, David Childers and the Serpents, William Wild, Corey Hunt Band (Downtown Elkin) Summer Camp Concert: Girls Rock Charlotte!

(McGlohon Theater) Blakeney Summer Concert Series (Blakeney Shopping Center) Abe Reid and The Spikedrivers (Vinyl Pi, Huntersville) Allman Brothers Tribute: Randy Franklin & The Sardines, Steve Stoeckel, The Mannish Boys, Kevin Marshall & The J-Walkers, The Roadshow Band, Shannon Lee & The Grab Bag Band, Raine, Analog Daze, Halden Vang (Neighborhood Theatre) Blue Monday (Tin Roof) Bombadil (U.S. National Whitewater Center) Cherbough Way (Hattie’s Tap & Tavern) #Cometogether Tour 2017: Broadway Dreams (Booth Playhouse) Delbert McClinton (Neighborhood Theatre)

Foreigner, Cheap Trick & Jason Bonham’s Led Zeppelin Experience (PNC Music Pavilion) Gov’t Mule, Galactic (Charlotte Metro Credit Union Amphitheatre) Heavy Water (RiRa Irish Pub, Charlotte) JGBCB - Jerry Garcia Band Cover Band (The Rabbit Hole) Mauve Angeles, Solemn Shapes, IIOIOIOII, 30 Year Sick (The Milestone) Mighty Mango (Comet Grill) Same As It Ever Was - Talking Heads Tribute (Visulite Theatre) Shadowgraphs (Snug Harbor) Shana Blake Band (Birdsong Brewery)

AUGUST 6 BLUES/ROOTS/INTERNATIONAL August Blues Bash Sunday (The Rabbit Hole)

COUNTRY/FOLK William Wild (Neighborhood Theatre)

HIP-HOP/SOUL/R&B Playboi Carti (The Fillmore) RC & The Gritz (Neighborhood Theatre)

POP/ROCK Bone Snugs-N-Harmony Karaoke Party (Snug Harbor) Ford Theatre Reunion, Tiny City, Morrowville (The Milestone) Omari and The Hellhounds (Comet Grill)

AUGUST 7 HIP-HOP/SOUL/R&B Knocturnal (Snug Harbor) #MFGD Open Mic (Apostrophe Lounge)

POP/ROCK Find Your Muse Open Mic with Elliott Humphries (Neighborhood Theatre) Locals Live: The Best in Local Live Music & Local Craft Beers (Tin Roof) The Monday Night Allstars (Visulite Theatre) Open Mic with Jade Moore (Primal Brewery, Huntersville)

AUGUST 8 CLASSICAL/JAZZ/SMOOTH Bill Hanna Jazz Jam (Morehead Tavern)

COUNTRY/FOLK Red Rockin’ Chair (Comet Grill) Open Mic hosted by Jarrid and Allen of Pursey Kerns (The Kilted Buffalo, Huntersville) Tuesday Night Jam w/ The Smokin’ Js (Smokey Joe’s Cafe)

POP/ROCK Music Box Lunch (First Ward Park) Carpoolparty, Dead $ea Scrilla, Koosh (Snug

SOUNDBOARD

MUSIC

Harbor) Twin Trances, Joules, Jordan M (The Station)

AUGUST 9 CLASSICAL/JAZZ/SMOOTH The Clarence Palmer Trio (Morehead Tavern)

DJ/ELECTRONIC Cyclops Bar: Modern Heritage Weekly Mix Tape (Snug Harbor)

COUNTRY/FOLK Open mic w/ Jared Allen (Jack Beagles) Open Mic/Open Jam (Comet Grill, Charlotte)

HIP-HOP/SOUL/R&B J. Cole (Spectrum Center)

POP/ROCK Farruko (The Fillmore) Jettison Five (RiRa Irish Pub) Karaoke with DJ Pucci Mane (Petra’s) Modern Heritage Weekly Mix Tape (Snug Harbor) Open Mic/Open Jam (Comet Grill,) Snug Harbor 10 Year Anniversary Celebration Residency: Hectorina, The Business People.

Blame the Youth (Snug Harbor) Songwriter Open Mic @ Petra’s (Petra’s, Charlotte) Take the Fall, Get Stoked, Oceans Between, So Yesterday (The Milestone) The Tosco Music Open Mic - Summer night fun!

(Neighborhood Theatre) Trivia & Karaoke Wednesdays (Tin Roof, Charlotte)

COMING SOON Wyclef Jean (August 10, Neighborhood Theatre) Erykah Badu (August 12, PNC Music Pavilion) Flagship (August 13, The Underground) John Mayer, (August 15, PNC Music Pavilion) Social Distortion (August 19, The Fillmore Charlotte)

TICKETS ON SALE THIS FRIDAY!

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YOUR LISTINGS!

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CLCLT.COM | AUG. 3 - AUG. 9, 2017 | 21

FEATURE

ARTS

DREAM THEATER Broadway Dreams takes Charlotte performers to the next stage

BY PAT MORAN

C

HARLOTTE IS A CRAZY

source of talent for musical theater,” Sam Faulkner says. “A lot of people don’t realize it, but I’ve always known it.”

Faulkner knows what he’s talking about.

Four years ago, the 19-year-old Charlotte native was cast as the lead in Billy Elliot the Musical at the Ogunquit Playhouse, in Maine, and he reprised the role at Raleigh’s North Carolina Theater. Last December, he starred in a live telecast of Hairspray Live! on NBC. The young triple threat — he sings, dances and acts — has lined up an impressive array of stage and television credits, but his most influential role may be something he did behind the scenes: he helped make Broadway Dreams a reality in Charlotte.

Broadway Dreams offers a weeklong intensive performing arts training program, with a focus on acting, voice and dance disciplines, to local aspiring performers.

Think of it as Broadway boot camp with a crucial distinction: The faculty are all industry professionals, and the final is a live show that is conceived, cast and mounted all in the course of a week. This year’s production, which spotlights variations on the theme “Come Together,” goes up at the Blumenthal Performing Arts Center’s Booth Playhouse on August 4 and 5.

“Sam would travel to other cities (with us), and he would always talk about the level of talent in Charlotte,” says Broadway Dreams’ executive director Annette Tanner.

“Six years ago we did our first weekend workshop in Charlotte and the talent blew us away.”

Tanner, a former casting director in her native New Zealand, launched Broadway Dreams in 2005.

“I had a harebrained idea to do musical theater training,” the effusive 51-yearold says, laughing. “One thing I do well is identify talent. I saw so many talented people who didn’t know where to direct it, and so many top-notch teaching artists who had huge gaps between shows.”

Why not bring these two groups together, Tanner wondered. She had no idea her concept would have legs, as they say in the business. Twelve years later, the Atlantabased non-profit has gone international, hosting workshops in Brazil, Russia and Canada, while touring U.S. cities including New York, Los Angeles, Philadelphia — and Tanner’s current favorite, Charlotte. In 2016 22 | AUG. 3 - AUG. 9, 2017 | CLCLT.COM

Broadway Dreams performers strut their stuff in Charlotte in 2016.

Broadway Dreams held its first weeklong Queen City workshop at Central Piedmont Community College.

“Last year, of all 10 cities we toured in North America, I felt that the Charlotte talent was the strongest,” Tanner says. “We were absolutely floored by the level of talent. [Charlotte] has great students and teachers, and a strong

Hannah Day

PHOTO COURTESY OF BROADWAY DREAMS

Broadway professionals who are at the top of their game.”

Faulkner, who attended Charlotte Latin from kindergarten through eighth grade, has just graduated from George Washington University online high school.

He began interning for Broadway Dreams this summer in Los Angeles, assisting showcase

PHOTO BY SADIE WHITEHEAD

community with the Blumey Awards and the high school musicals. Charlotte has a great foundation for theater performance.”

Aspiring Charlotte performers who signed up for the week-long workshop, which began July 29, are attending a series of master classes in performing, plus the business side of show business: seminars on auditioning, getting an agent, getting into a good performing arts college and more. On top of that, they are rehearsing for the shows on the following Friday and Saturday.

“It prepares you for the stress and demands of the profession,” Faulkner says.

“All the while you’re working alongside

native just graduated with a degree in musical theater from Western Carolina University.

She started doing local theater while in middle school, and this fall she’ll star in Mary Poppins at Children’s Theater. This is her third year with Broadway Dreams.

“My expectation for [my first summer] workshop was just to grow, not only as a

Sam Faulkner Annette Tanner

PHOTO BY VII TANNER

director Spencer Liff, the Emmy-nominated choreographer for the Fox TV series So You Think You Can Dance. Liff is also on the Broadway Dreams faculty in Charlotte.

“As director, [Liff] had a whole different set of responsibilities that I got to experience first hand being his assistant,” Faulkner says.

“That gave me a new perspective as an actor, seeing the other side of things. I think that ultimately made me a better actor.”

The Broadway Dreams tour and workshop has also been an eye-opening experience for Hannah Day. The 22-year-old Charlotte

PHOTO BY VII TANNER

performer but also as a human being,” Day says. “That’s what sets Broadway Dreams apart and makes them special. They are interested in nurturing young artists, rather than just young performers. Coming out of that summer I was rejuvenated.”

Day participated in the first week-long Charlotte workshop last year at CPCC. “It was a whirlwind, the most beautiful and exciting experience you could ask for,” she says.

Day performed in multiple show segments at Pease Auditorium, and her favorite was Dreamer Divas. “I sang a song called ‘Up the Ladder to the Roof,’ from the musical Everyday Rapture,” she says.

Alex Newell and the Broadway Dreams performers.

PHOTO COURTESY OF BROADWAY DREAMS

Broadway Dreams performers rehearse in Charlotte.

PHOTO COURTESY OF BROADWAY DREAMS

#COMETOGETHER TOUR 2017 August 4, 7 p.m. August 5, 7 p.m.

Booth Playhouse at Blumenthal Performing Arts Center $25 - $55 Presented by: Broadway Dreams blumenthalarts.org

“The show this year is going to be even bigger than last year,” Day continues. “I’m really excited.”

Faulkner finds the intensive training and preparation leading up to the shows as exciting as the performances.

“When you go to a Broadway Dreams intensive, you have to look around the room carefully at your fellow students and budding artists,” he says, “because you’re looking at the future of our business.”

“We give students opportunities and the access to someone they would normally get only three to four minutes with in an audition in New York,” Tanner says. “We’re saying, ‘Here you go — you get to spend eight days with us.’”

Tanner cites the large percentage of scholarships that her organization grants as a sign of its commitment to the students. Over 50 percent of the more than 120 participants at the 2017 Charlotte workshop are on scholarship.

“This is an industry where the playing field is fairly even when it comes down to talent,” Tanner says. “Often, those that have the raw talent don’t get the opportunity because they can’t afford it. It was my dream to remove cost as a barrier.”

“I’m looking for that person who knows this is the career path they want to follow, and then I want to be part of that journey,” Tanner continues. “I want to be the one who opens the doors and helps them to get to where they want to be.”

PMORAN@CLCLT.COM

CLCLT.COM | AUG. 3 - AUG. 9, 2017 | 23

Casey Affleck in A Ghost Story.

Charlize Theron in Atomic Blonde.

ARTS

A24

FOCUS FEATURES

FILM

‘BLONDE’ AMBITION Cold War heats up again in slick action flick

BY MATT BRUNSON

T

HE LOGICAL COMPANION

piece to the summer hit Baby Driver, Atomic Blonde (*** out of four) is another movie largely defined by its cool-as-ice characters, its action-packed set-pieces, and its awesome mix tape of classic tunes readily available for iTunes download. But whereas Baby Driver (the better picture, though not by much) loses some tread during its final act, this adaptation of the graphic novel The Coldest City feigns in the opposite direction, getting off to a rocky start before blossoming into something rousing and rejuvenating.

Charlize Theron, newly minted action star thanks to her fast and Furiosa turn in Mad Max: Fury Road, is equally as kick-ass here — she’s Lorraine Broughton, an MI6 agent operating in Berlin at the tail end of the Cold War. Landing in the divided city just as the Berlin Wall is about to collapse, Lorraine must find out who killed a fellow operative while also locating an explosive list that contains the names of double agents.

She’s ordered by her MI6 superiors (Toby Jones and James Faulkner) to hook up with the department’s agent in Berlin, a live wire named David Percival (James McAvoy), but she also comes into contact with a gruff CIA agent (John Goodman), a mysterious woman (Sofia Boutella) who’s been following her, and assorted other players in the spy game.

Atomic Blonde is the sort of movie in which nothing is as it seems, as scripter Kurt 24 | AUG. 3 - AUG. 9, 2017 | CLCLT.COM

Johnstad serves up a full menu of doublecrosses, triple-crosses, false identities, and startling character revelations. Some of it doesn’t work (the film reveals its hand regarding McAvoy’s Percival far too soon), but the flurry of activity at least is consistent with the rest of the movie’s kinetic approach.

David Leitch, a former stuntman on such films as The Bourne Ultimatum and 300, made his directorial debut (albeit uncredited) alongside Chad Stahelski on 2014’s John Wick, but his work on Atomic Blonde is far more impressive. There’s a lengthy fight sequence in this picture that’s among the best of recent times — filmed in one uninterrupted take, it’s less fanciful and more realistically sloppy than many such filmic fisticuffs, as characters can barely stand even as they continue to wallop each other.

As noted, the soundtrack is superb, even if it isn’t always as hardwired into the action as cleverly as the songs in Baby Driver. For instance, After the Fall’s “Der Komissar” figures prominently in one scene, the sole reason apparently being that — whaddaya know! — the song title is in German and this movie is set in Germany. Then again, the film does open with one brilliant David Bowie song — “Cat People (Putting Out Fire)” — and closes with another brilliant Bowie tune (not telling), so let’s not be too harsh on Leitch for turning to his iPod to score the picture. Like his personal playlist, Atomic Blonde rocks.

Casey Affleck and Rooney Mara in A Ghost Story.

If the minds behind The Guinness Book of World Records ever elect to add a category called “Most Walkouts For A Single Movie,” then I expect writer-director David Lowery’s A Ghost Story (*** out of four) might have a shot at grabbing the tarnished-brass ring.

Moving at the speed of molasses trying to drip up a wall, the movie clocks in at just over 90 minutes, yet many fidgety viewers will swear it runs at least four hours. One fiveminute scene consists of nothing more than Rooney Mara’s character eating an entire chocolate pie, and if there’s any sequence in the movie likely to leave an audience member shrieking in frustration and bolting for the adjacent auditorium showing The Emoji Movie, it’s probably this one.

Yet for those who can get attuned to its leisurely approach, A Ghost Story proves to be a fascinating watch. Lowery’s decision to have his film move with the speed of a turtle with four broken legs is a deliberate one, tying into the piece’s themes regarding love, loss, identity and time. Especially time.

At its center is a young couple identified only as C (Casey Affleck) and M (Mara). The two are in love, with one of their relatively

A24

few conflicts coming from the fact that M wants to move from their present house while C wants to remain there. One day, C is killed in a car accident just outside the home, but he soon returns as a ghost. Intriguingly, the ghost isn’t some CGI specter or a Patrick Swayze hunk but rather a figure in a white sheet, the sort seen in Peanuts strips and in costume shops come Halloween. C remains in the house over the years/decades/centuries, and just when it seems the movie can’t possibly get any more existential, a leap is taken — both literally and figuratively — that spins it in a new direction.

Aside from one interlude with a chatty hipster (Will Oldham), the dialogue is kept to a bare minimum, another tactic that makes the movie feel longer than its actual running time. Yet Lowery’s approach is key in providing the picture with its melancholy mood, and he’s backed by a score from Daniel Hart that only emphasizes the pervading wistfulness. A mournful rumination on not only what it means to be human but also what it means to be something else entirely, A Ghost Story is a haunting experience no matter how you slice it.

ARTS

Creative Loafing: What does imposter syndrome mean to you?

Valaida Fullwood: It’s the struggle among creative people — or actually, among people in general — who aspire to create or do something in a field in which they don’t feel credentialed, or in which they don’t feel they’re experts in a traditional sense.

Whether it’s an artist or writer or creative person or a businessperson, whatever their point of reference is, they question whether they measure up or whether they can really call themselves an expert.

ARTSPEAK

‘WHO DO YOU THINK YOU ARE?’ Valaida Fullwood shares her experience with “imposter syndrome”

BY MARK KEMP

ANYONE WHO’S ever done anything creative — from an arts project to journalism to a business venture — can identify with sometimes feeling like a fraud.

There’s a name for that. It’s called “imposter syndrome,” and Charlotte writer Valaida Fullwood, author of Giving Back: A Tribute to Generations of African American Philanthropists, has suffered from it. Even though her book was listed among the 10 best black books of 2011 and endowed with the prestigious Terry McAdam Book Award, the Morganton native doubted herself. Even when I asked Fullwood to define imposter syndrome, she initially hedged.

“Well, I’m not an expert on imposter syndrome, specifically,” Fullwood explained.

“I’ve just experienced it.”

Fullwood

PHOTO BY CHARLES W. THOMAS, JR.

It was Donna Scott of Charlotte theater arts group Donna Scott Productions who diagnosed Fullwood’s condition after her appearance at the 2013 TEDxCharlotte conference. Scott saw something in the talk that struck a universal chord. And now she has tapped Fullwood to be the featured guest at the latest installment of DSP’s Women Entrepreneurs in Business and Arts speaker series. Fullwood’s talk, From “Imposter” to Empowered, is free to the public, but an RSVP is required due to limited seating.

CL spoke with Fullwood about how she came to terms with her feelings of inadequacy.

What’s your personal experience with imposter syndrome?

I’d had a clear idea for [Giving Back] and was very passionate about it, and although I had often written things and worked independently and been contracted to write reports and papers, I was initially hesitant to call myself a writer. I never aspired to become an author or to write a book, but this particular idea came to me and I felt a book was the right vehicle for sharing it.

The process took about five years, and through that journey I eventually gained the confidence to call myself a writer. But it was torturous at times — I’d ask myself questions like, “Who do you think you are?” and “Can my writing or my book be valued by anybody?” — because I didn’t have an English degree or a journalism degree.

You have said that your experience with imposter syndrome dovetailed with the experiences of some of the folks in your book. How so?

The point of the book was to lift up the stories

FROM ‘IMPOSTER’ TO EMPOWERED (W/ VALAIDA FULLWOOD) Monday, Aug. 7. 6:30-8 p.m. Free (but RSVP). Women Entrepreneurs in Business and Arts, Charlotte Art League, 1517 Camden Road. http:// bit.ly/2vfsLgR.

of everyday givers in black communities — to make philanthropy more democratic in terms of who can have an impact in a community.

But when I approached people to share their stories, many of them were hesitant because of another facet of imposter syndrome.

To contribute to a book on philanthropy would mean you have to see yourself as a philanthropist. And historically, philanthropy has been set up as the domain of old, dead, rich white guys; if you don’t fall into that category, you question whether you’re a philanthropist.

What role does Donna Scott’s speaker series play in Charlotte?

It provides an opportunity for creative people, particularly women, to talk about their struggles and experiences — because these topics oftentimes resonate. Our work is often done in isolation, and we have all these internal questions. Forums like this provide spaces for us to learn that many of the issues we face are universal. We’re not alone in our struggles and pursuits.

CLCLT.COM | AUG. 3 - AUG. 9, 2017 | 25

ENDS

NIGHTLIFE

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The Perfect Combo.

And that, it was.

I’d heard that Snug hosted breakdancing drop me off in front of Snug Harbor in Plaza and freestyle battle nights on Mondays, Midwood. Next door to the ever-changing but it wasn’t until this particular night a art gallery Twenty-Two and familiar Soul few weeks ago that I figured out this was Gastrolounge, Snug is a nightlife venue that the event known as “Knocturnal,” or how folks in the music scene frequent regularly. I awesome this local favorite music nook hopped out of the car with my work backpack really is. on — I’ve become the picture-perfect Dora After the crew arrived with my $2 entry bopping around after work these days — and and we walked in, I grabbed my second fave walked up to the entrance to learn the cover drink of choice, Pabst Blue Ribbon, and was $2. started taking in the scenery. Once again, Wow, that’s super cheap!

I was taken aback by the diversity of the Funny enough, I still had to wait outside crowd, and recognized a few familiar faces because I didn’t have a single dollar bill to and “InstaFamous” locals I knew. I felt right my name. at home and part of what I’d imagine While I waited for my friends is an “inner circle.” to rescue me, I stared into the We ventured to the back small doorway past the fencedpatio where the freestyle rap in patio with picnic tables. I battles and dances were laughed, thinking back to happening. I watched one of my first experiences in awe as everyone sat at Snug Harbor. It was around the small stages during an annual Pig and vibed to the music.

Pickin’ in Plaza Midwood, From the couple having I believe. Snug had some an intimate moment sort of Southern cooking singing along to an oldthing going down on the school joint, to the group patio, and my P.I.C. (partner AERIN SPRUILL of friends rallying behind the in crime) and I decided we best break dancer in the group, were going to grab a plate. After Knocturnal is the epitome of what I’d getting our food, we ambled through call cool-ass art in motion. the walkway with full intentions of making After a few throwback singalongs — our way to the back patio to grub. think ’90s R&B — I noticed a major twerk Inside, it was very dim. I remember session happening inside. Now, if you know looking at all the trinkets that lined the walls me, or you’ve kept up with my articles, you and swore I saw some creepy little gothic know Aerin doesn’t miss an opportunity creatures hanging from the rafters. I have to “look back at it,” even if that means I’m no idea if the little creatures are still there, in the middle of the dance floor at Tilt on but I remember thinking, “They probably Trade all by myself. I walked in and started play heavy metal here all the time.” (I was getting it to whatever trap song was on, completely wrong; even though the words swerving anyone who attempted to get in “Rock & Roll Bar” do appear underneath the on the action. Surprised? What am I going logo, Snug is more indie-rock and hip-hop to do with a dance partner when “Loose as than Mötley Crüe.) a Goose” by Boosie comes on? Not a damn The back patio area is another world altogether; a small oasis filled with every thing, keep it moving. different type of human. I was intrigued.

We returned to the patio to finish up Not too long after this experience, I our beers before deciding whether or not spoke with a co-worker at the time about to rejoin the “kickback” that was happening her experience writing for Creative Loafing inside. No, I still had to go to work the next and the like. I wanted to pick her brain day. And even though our motivation for about everything from music and politics leaving was a slice of Benny’s pizza and it to nightlife venues and race. Little did was closed by the time we got there, I was I know that she would introduce me to proud of our decision not to be the ones “Knocturnal,” described online as “a weekly sitting on the patio when the lights came on party born from the brains of Justin Aswell inside. I may be a “knocturnal” creature, but and friends featuring the best in electronic, the last thing I need to see on a weeknight is hip and forward music for the truly awesome the sun rise.

BACKTALK@CLCLT.COM human being.”

ENDS

CROSSWORD

GETTING SERVED IN THE MIDEAST ACROSS

1 Flag supporter 5 Coen of film 10 Proposition 15 Melville mariner 19 One-spot cards 20 Bucks 21 “Odyssey” enchantress 22 Woman of rank 23 Start of a riddle 26 “... -- it just me?”

27 Painful spots 28 Literary Leon 29 Subj. for U.S. immigrants 30 Horseshoe-shaped iron bar 31 Riddle, part 2 36 Bit of legend 37 Transmit 38 Showy scarf 39 Italian “God” 40 Cry loudly 43 Singer Smith 45 Less bold 48 “Misled” singer Celine 49 Riddle, part 3 56 Marketing news mag 57 Big name in electric razors 58 Oman export 59 “Blue” singer Rimes 60 Director Elia 61 Hidden mike 62 Drop off 65 Unit of corn 66 Riddle, part 4 71 -- Lingus 72 “Dr.” of rap 73 Writer Fleming 74 Spud state 75 Plane path 77 Boom maker 78 Obtain 81 Hotel room Bible placer 82 Riddle, part 5 87 Fed a line 88 Old-time actress Palmer 89 Blue yonder 90 Links org.

91 Suffix with 121-Across 92 “Sure” 93 Archibald of old basketball 97 Regal Norse name 100 End of the riddle

107 Jordanian capital 108 A, in Acapulco 109 Electric, water or gas: Abbr.

110 Merger with Mobil in 1999 112 Country singer -Keith 113 Riddle’s answer 117 Author -- Stanley Gardner 118 “Later!”

119 “Star Trek” officer 120 British conservative 121 Forecaster 122 “Bleeding Love” singer Lewis 123 Volga native 124 Farm females

DOWN

1 Rabbit’s feet 2 Ellen who was the first Latina in space 3 Get wind (of) 4 Honor 5 Type widths 6 Little squirt 7 Just so-so 8 1999-2004 Oldsmobiles 9 Aboriginal 10 Autumn mo.

11 -- mignon 12 Insolent 13 “Green” product sticker 14 Ump’s cousin 15 Baked brick 16 Last Anglo-Saxon king of England 17 Umpteen 18 Oscar category for “Let It Go” 24 Early Bill Cosby series 25 “The end -- sight” 30 Stage legend Hagen 32 “No worries” 33 Burn black 34 Detroit flop 35 Detached, as a coupon 40 Went flat 41 “Mercy me!”

42 “Watch out!”

44 Talking birds 46 Ad -47 Wall St. intro 48 Singer Lana -- Rey 50 D.C. bigwig

51 Common bowling game 52 Seep out 53 Sardonic Lebowitz 54 Intel chip brand 55 Result of excessive teasing?

60 Guy doll 61 Playbill info 62 Lessen 63 Fit in 64 Starr of old comics 67 Scary snake 68 Actress Falco 69 Fix, as socks 70 Sharpens 76 Bridal vow 77 Senator Cruz 78 Internet inits.

79 D halved 80 Actor Aidan 81 Country’s Crystal 82 Protective film sheets 83 Mount where four presidents went bust?

84 Look like 85 Deter 86 Hershey’s toffee bar 92 Urge 94 “Son of --!”

95 “Shame!”

96 “Happy Endings” actress Cuthbert 98 New -- (Enya, e.g.)

99 Obsess (on) 101 Bill settler 102 “That Night --” (old film) 103 1800s veep Burr 104 Scoff at 105 U-shaped river bend 106 Black, in Lille 111 Bill blockers 113 -- -Mart 114 Simile center 115 Italian monk 116 Bern’s river

SOLUTION FOUND ON P. 28.

CLCLT.COM | AUG. 3 - AUG. 9, 2017 | 27

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ENDS

SAVAGE LOVE

CROSSED DRESSERS Living in the margins

BY DAN SAVAGE wife didn’t share all the rules with you until My wife has been seriously ill for three years, and I have been her sole caregiver. after you used it. It looks like a setup to me.

The doctors here weren’t getting the job Your soon-to-be-ex-wife gave you permission done, so we made the difficult decision to fuck someone else—permission that came for her to move 2,000 miles away to with rules that were disclosed and secret start over and be near her family. Our bylaws and codicils that were not — because, sex life has been nonexistent since she consciously or subconsciously, she wanted became ill. She offered me a “hall pass” to catch you doing it wrong (in your case, with two rules: (1) It couldn’t be anyone DRESSED, doing it more than once, crossI worked with and (2) she didn’t want dressing when you did it, etc.). Because now to know about it. She offered multiple she can divorce you with a clear conscience, times, but I was taking care of her 24/7 since she’s not to blame for the split — you and never used it. I started to consider and your dick and your dresses are to blame. using it after she moved. But I didn’t You might want to brace yourself for want to just find some random person on some hardcore blaming and kink-shaming, Tinder. You see, I am a cross-dresser. My DRESSED, and for the very real possibility wife knows. She’s never seen me dressed she’ll out you as a cheat and a cross-dresser and isn’t interested in knowing to family and friends. But however more about it. So instead of the divorce plays out — and paying for a traditional here’s hoping it doesn’t get escort, I found someone ugly — at least you’ll soon who would dress me, do be free to find a partner my makeup, go out to you don’t have to hide dinner with me, but your cross-dressing from. no sex. We met three times. However, one I’m a 22-year-old time I did hire a trans nonbinary person and woman who dressed I’m debating whether to me and we did have sex. come out to my father as DAN SAVAGE Obviously, I had to lie at nonbinary. Complicating times about where I was things is the fact that I when I was using my hall pass, tried to come out to him at 18 but I considered it a white lie to back when I thought I was “only” a meet Rule #2. But my wife flew home hetero-leaning bi cross-dresser. He did unannounced to get her things (with not take the news well. Today we don’t her ex-husband along to help) and found talk about it, and I think he pretends my clothes out and quickly got out of it never happened. I’m wanting to me what I had done. She was beyond move toward living in a less-genderpissed. She says I had a hall pass for sex conforming way — including changing but not cross-dressing. She belittled my name —and am considering making me for the cross-dressing and said the a second attempt. Pros: not feeling I sex was supposed to be a one-and-done like I’m hiding who I am, maybe I get thing. She knew I was a cross-dresser, him off my back about kids, being able and I derived more pleasure from this to be out on Facebook. Cons: screaming cross-dressing experience than having matches, strong possibility of being anonymous sex with an escort. My disowned and losing the modest amount questions: Did I violate the hall pass? of financial support I get from him, Was I wrong to cross-dress? small possibility of him telling my mom DUDE RELISHING EROTIC SEXCAPADES SUDDENLY (they’re divorced). Any advice?

ENTERTAINING DIVORCE ONE FOOT OUT

P.S. I am quite convincing when dressed and blend well in public.

Your wife went home to get well and “start over.” And it sounds like she got well — at least well enough to fly — and started over with her ex-husband.

I don’t think you were wrong to crossdress, DRESSED, and if you violated that hall pass, it was only because your soon-to-be-ex28 | AUG. 3 - AUG. 9, 2017 | CLCLT.COM

What’s more important to you, OFO, living authentically or living off your dad? If being your authentic self means giving up the money he sends you and you don’t desperately need his money, the choice is obvious. But if his money is all that stands between you and gender-nonconforming homelessness, you might want to think through your options before going nonbinary official on Facebook.

CLCLT.COM | AUG. 3 - AUG. 9, 2017 | 29

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FOR ALL SIGNS August is the eclipse

month this year. We begin this week on August 7, 2017, with a full moon eclipse in the sign of Aquarius which carries the symbolism of that which is good for everyone. The second, a total solar eclipse, occurs on Aug. 21, 2017, in the sign of Leo. That one will be especially notable, because the path of the eclipse crosses the United States, from northwest to southeast. I will write more about it in two weeks.

The world’s structures are so precarious that some may have collapsed. Whether global or personal, anything built on sand rather than solid ground, is showing cracks and signs of impending change. That means issues that have been developing for a long time are brought into the light. It is judgment time, for good or ill. In Chinese, “crisis” means “opportunity for change”. Keep this thought in mind if you are losing something you thought you needed. With hind sight, you may look back on this time as a godsend.

ARIES Uranus, the god of change and

surprise, turns retrograde in your sign this week. This suggests that you may be backing away from a previous direction, opting out instead of opting in. This planet of individuation has one more year of traveling with you before it changes signs. If you are headed for a significant change in life direction, you will probably accomplish it next spring.

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TAURUS Don’t allow fear and pessimism to interfere with your pleasure in life. If something is nagging at you, take a clear and direct look at it. Is there really anything there, or have you invented your own worry?

The blues may be your companion for a couple of days over the weekend, but the cloudy time is short.

GEMINI An issue has arisen that brings forth your need to protect home, hearth, and family. The temptation to overspend is strong. Consider what would be fun and interesting that doesn’t require a big expenditure. The most important gift is your care and love.

CANCER At the beginning of the week you

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may be feeling stress related to your lover or a partner, maybe a child. Underneath it all, the issue is tied to your internalized sense of what a woman “should” do or be. Our culture has always struggled with images of the feminine. Is she a caretaker or a seductress?

LEO THE LION (July 22--Aug 22) The Full Moon eclipse on August 7, 2017, occurs in the sector of partnerships and clientele. It is time to illuminate and define your relationships, whether business or personal. Attend to those who rattle chains and complain. Strike a more equal balance between or among you.

VIRGO In July I wrote that you are called to

protect something or someone. You are the keeper of the flame for now, which means to hold up the spirit and show “the way”. It is a sacred duty for the present. Now you are called further to verbalize your care, whether that is in speech or writing. Do not hesitate to answer the summons.

LIBRA Your open-hearted generosity may

lead you to bite off more than you can chew this week. There may be more people at the table than you have plates to serve. Do not worry about what people will think. They are aware you’ve almost exceeded your limit of tasks to handle. It will all work out.

SCORPIO Listen to the Guardian, who

speaks to you from the inside. This is a time in which your Guardian will protect you. It is sometimes hard to pick it out from the voice of Ego. If the Voice is flattering you, set it aside. That is not the true Guardian. The true Guardian offers wisdom, not criticism or flattery.

SAGITTARIUS If you have been

channeling your energy into a project that has positive value for many you may be receiving recognition and applause now.

Others are recognizing the value of your efforts. For many, this time frame represents improvements in a job situation or beneficial changes in job conditions.

CAPRICORN You may feel compelled to

raise your flag and promote your plans now.

Do some self-searching ahead of time to find your own motive. If it is for the good of all, you will gain support from others. However, if you are really after a prize that will simply allow you to preen, let go of it. Your product or idea is not yet ready for exposure.

AQUARIUS The Full Moon Eclipse occurs in your sign on Aug. 7, 2017. It is possible that you will reveal information that has been hiding in the dark. You may feel compelled to do so for the sake of equality. Check the lead paragraph for more information.

PISCES The Sun is in an uncomfortable

aspect to Neptune, your ruling planet. You may not be feeling well. If so, lighten up on your exercise routine and get some extra rest. Stay out of the hot Sun. You or someone else may be guilting you. Ignore that voice.

You don’t have to prove anything to pay for your existence.

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.

CLCLT.COM | AUG. 3 - AUG. 9, 2017 | 31

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