2018 Issue 4 Creative Loafing Charlotte by Creative Loafing Charlotte

CLCLT.COM | MARCH 15 -MARCH 21, 2018 VOL. 32, NO. 4

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CREATIVE LOAFING IS PUBLISHED BY WOMACK NEWSPAPERS, INC. CHARLOTTE, NC 28206. OFFICE: 704-522-8334 WWW.CLCLT.COM FACEBOOK: /CLCLT TWITTER: @CL_CHARLOTTE INSTAGRAM: @CREATIVELOAFINGCHARLOTTE

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EDITORIAL

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PHOTO BY DANA VINDIGNI.

Our own Candice Andrews decided to try her hand at a recent viral challenge when she and art director Dana Vindigni visited a local crafts store to shoot this year’s Spring Guide photos.

We put out weekly

NEWS&CULTURE A MIXTURE OF HOPE AND ANXIETY Behailu Academy plans to enjoy the access brought by the light rail, until they can’t anymore BY RYAN PITKIN 10 THE BLOTTER BY RYAN PITKIN 10 NEWS OF THE WEIRD

FOOD&DRINK OF PIG HUNTING AND SMOOTHIES Gimme the green BY ARI LEVAUX 14 THREE-COURSE SPIEL: RUTHIE’S ON TRYON

16 18

TOP 10 THINGS TO DO THIS WEEK

MUSIC IT TAKES AN AFROPOP NATION... Charlotte promoters expand their territory

BY MARK KEMP 19 THE ETERNAL BEAT: A BRIEF PRIMER ON AFROCENTRISM IN AMERICA BY MARK KEMP 22 SOUNDBOARD

SPRING GUIDE 2018

ARTS&ENTERTAINMENT ROUGH JUSTICE ‘A Time to Kill’ asks uncomfortable questions about gun violence and race

BY PAT MORAN 32 FILM REVIEWS BY MATT BRUNSON 33 ARTSPEAK: OMAR CRENSHAW BY GREY REVELL

ODDS&ENDS 34 NIGHTLIFE BY AERIN SPRUILL 35 CROSSWORD 36 SAVAGE LOVE BY DAN SAVAGE 38 SALOME’S STARS

GO TO CLCLT.COM FOR VIDEOS, PODCASTS AND MORE!

COVER DESIGN AND PHOTO BY DANA VINDIGNI

CLCLT.COM | MARCH 15 -MARCH 21, 2018 VOL. 32, NO. 4

Website: www.clclt.com Facebook: /clclt Pinterest: @clclt Twitter: @cl_charlotte Instagram: @creativeloafingcharlotte YouTube: /qccreativeloafing 1 | DATE - DATE, 2015 | CLCLT.COM

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NEWS

FEATURE

A MIXTURE OF HOPE AND ANXIETY Behailu Academy plans to enjoy the access brought by the light rail, until they can’t anymore BY RYAN PITKIN

ALKING DOWN North Davidson Street in its namesake NoDa neighborhood today, it’s clear just how much things have changed since Ruth Ava Lyons and Paul Sires began turning what was once known as North Charlotte into an arts district where the Queen City’s most eclectic folks could feel at home. Today, the scene is much different, as the neighborhood is filled more with bars and restaurants than anything else. On Friday night, people from around the city gather in NoDa not to participate in the once-popular gallery crawl but to check out the new row of restaurants that have popped up in the last 15 months; Haberdish, Mango’s Caribbean and The Red House Café all opened right next to each other, adding to an already impressive line-up of food options. Afterward, you might see these same folks lining up at the new Reigning Donuts window attached to Growlers Pourhouse for dessert, or Popbar, which opened in December 2016, the same month Haberdish kicked off this new foodie frenzy. A block from North Davidson Street, running parallel to the ever-changing corridor that runs all the way into Uptown, is the reason the owners of these new businesses have reason to be optimistic. The new Lynx Blue Line light-rail extension is set to begin running on Thursday, March 16, and NoDa business owners have been long awaiting its arrival, putting up with the closure of 36th Street — one of the neighborhood’s busiest entry points — for the last three years in hopes it would be worth it for the incoming hordes of people arriving from South End, Uptown and University City. But while bar and restaurant owners can be sure that the influx will mean more money in their coffers, some folks are watching the impending storm with a little more anxiety. Lori Krzeszewski, executive director of Behailu Academy, an arts-based youth development organization housed in the center of NoDa, said she’s hopeful about the opening of the Blue Line just feet from her front door, but also realistic about what it could mean for her nonprofit in the long run. Behailu has been running programs in a 5,000 square-foot space on East 36th Street for 8 | MAR. 15 - MAR. 21, 2018 | CLCLT.COM

“What I see here [in NoDa] is exactly what I’ve seen [in South End].” LORI KRZESZEWSKI, EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR, BEHAILU ACADEMY

six years. Its mission is to give children access to the digital, visual and performing arts that they may not get in their schools or neighborhoods. The academy also hosts community events, such as its March 19 public discussion titled “Exploring Social Class: Upper, Middle, & Lower: What Does It Mean and How Did We Get Here?” For an organization that’s built around access, having the light rail pass by the building seems like a godsend. Behailu, which transports students from four feeder schools — Cochrane Middle School, Eastway Middle School, Garinger High School and Garinger Focus Academy — can’t afford to go and pick up children from other schools who would like to attend the free programs there. “To keep transportation costs somewhat manageable, we have to concentrate on just a specific area of Charlotte, because we just can’t have drivers going over to the west side. We just can’t afford it,” Krzeszewski said. “But we get a lot of calls from the west side, we get a lot of calls from south Charlotte, people wanting to send

kids or kids wanting to attend and not being able to get here. We do have some students that take public transportation, [and] we’re excited because what it will mean is if they can get themselves to the [light rail], then very quickly they’re going to be able to get to us.” Krzeszewski said she hopes the light rail will not only help bring kids in, but help Behailu provide more trips out of the building. Companies or organizations often will donate free tickets to a theatrical performance or a Hornets game, but the cost of transportation can be costly when taking transportation and parking into consideration. She said her hope is that the light rail will open up opportunities to bring students Uptown for events or north to UNC Charlotte for programs and other trips that could be helpful for the students. “It’s just about being able to connect them to more opportunities,” Krzeszewski said. “There are times that we’ll have people reach out to us with internships or job opportunities for our young people, but logistically it’s just the transportation here has made it next to

impossible. So thinking about having the Blue Line open up and come so close, we’re just excited about what that will mean for our kids.” On the other hand, Krzeszewski is also realistic about what the light-rail opening means for the neighborhood as a whole. Developers have already begun building condos and buying properties all along the Blue Line. For a nonprofit like Behailu, which rents the space it is in, it might be impossible to keep up financially with the boom. When I met up with Krzeszewski at the academy on a recent afternoon before students started arriving, the large room in the building sat empty, with musical instruments off in one corner and art supplies in another. She said the company that owns the space, Guy Properties, has been helpful in giving the organization a decent rental rate during its first six years, but she’s concerned that when her lease runs out in 2019, someone might buy the property or the temptation to raise the rent to match those in surrounding buildings could prove to be too much.

Inside Behailu [above], it looks like it’s looked for years, but outside [left], the change is apparent. “It hasn’t necessarily been a struggle to stay here so far,” Krzeszewski said, “but our concern is just like everyone else in the neighborhood: As the property value goes up, will this generosity continue or are we going to see a huge rate hike that makes it so that we can’t stay?” It’s a familiar story in NoDa, where for the last 10 years, arts spaces have had a tough time staying open in the neighborhood that the arts made popular in the first place. In 2017, Dupp&Swat became the most recent victim when it was pushed out of the NoDa&28th shopping center. As Kia Moore reported for Creative Loafing back in July, Davita Galloway, co-owner of Dupp&Swat, addressed the move during a Creative Mornings talk. “You see it. Venues are closing. You see it,” Galloway said. “Rent is increasing, forcing different businesses and organizations out. And after five years, that thing came knocking on our door, and we were forced to close.” It’s also a familiar story for Krzeszewski, who said she’s seen a similar style of gentrification happen in South End, where she’s been a resident for 16 years. “What I see here [in NoDa] is exactly what I’ve seen [in South End],” she said. “The neighborhood is not where I moved into originally. There’s a lot of good and great things, but I’ve also seen a lot of my neighbors that have been in their homes 20 or 30 years bought out — or not even just bought out, but pushed out, and losing that sense of belonging that it was their neighborhood. So we do worry about what it means for our students and the families as this side of Charlotte grows.” Krzeszewski said she’s been keeping an eye out around town for new spots, but she hopes it won’t be necessary. She said many people have suggested she partner with Charlotte-Mecklenburg Schools to run programs out of school buildings, but an important part of the organization is that it stays open at all times, rather than be limited by time constraints. She also mentioned that kids have recently been talking a lot about the fear they feel in schools; fears of gun violence

PHOTOS BY RYAN PITKIN

PHOTO COURTESY OF LORI KRZESZEWSKI

Lori Krzeszewski and other anxieties. She values being able to offer kids an escape from those concerns. “One of the things that makes us successful is being based in the community,” Krzeszewski said. “Being able to be in the community and have our doors open all the time and allow people to come and go freely has been really important, and so we hope that we’ll be able to stay here. We are also trying to put feelers out to other folks that are in the neighborhood if there are buildings and spaces that are underutilized or available. We’re always just trying to prepare for the ‘just in case.’” As we wrapped our conversation, Krzeszewski tried to stay positive about the changes light rail will bring, but the looing realities are impossible for her to ignore. “It’s exciting, but at the same time…” she said, trailing off before switching gears. “For us, all of our programs are free. Everything we do is at no cost. So we’re like, ‘Yay, because then we could figure out how to get more kids here and consolidate costs and grow our mission,’ but that doesn’t necessarily always work. We can’t compete with money.” RPITKIN@CLCLT.COM

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NEWS

BLOTTER

BY RYAN PITKIN

WELL PROTECTED A police report surfaced last week describing the alarming findings of a vehicle search at the EpiCentre on Friday night during CIAA weekend. Police did not disclose why they were searching the suspects’ Chevrolet Suburban, but did report that they found a Smith & Wesson handgun in the driver seat back pocket, a Glock 19 in the middle console, a Smith & Wesson M&P in the third row driver’s side, a Ruger SR9C on the floor board under the driver’s seat, another Glock 19 in the passenger seat rear pocket and a Century Arms AK-47 in the rear of the SUV wrapped up in a jacket. Police also reported that they found $880 in a plastic bag with two credit cards inside, but when they tried to return the money to the suspect who owned the credit cards, he refused it. CHILLAXIN’ A 51-year-old woman called

police last week after catching a man breaking into her car — or possibly just taking a rest in it — in northeast Charlotte. The woman told officers that she looked outside and saw the suspect sitting in the passenger seat of her car. When she confronted him, he claimed that he wasn’t doing anything wrong, then fled the scene in a white sedan before police could arrive.

PAINT JOB Last week, we reported on

a woman who awoke one morning to find that someone had poured buckets of blue, pink, green and orange paint over her car and driveway. This week, a suspect went for a classier paint job on a home in northeast Charlotte, but still got reported. A 62-yearold woman told police that at some time overnight, someone painted the pillars on the front porch of her home in the Hamptons II neighborhood. They painted the pillars white, which surely looked nice enough, but she also stated that the suspects dripped the white paint all over the bricks and mats on her porch.

WHAT’S HAPPENED TO US One would

like to think of elementary school kids as innocent, but with all the violence we’ve seen in schools in this country, staff members are not ready to ignore any signs of threatening behavior, no matter how young the child it comes from. That’s why police got involved in an incident at Starmount Academy of Excellence, an elementary school in south Charlotte, last week. Teachers reported that a student drew something in class, and when teachers looked at it, it depicted a threatening scene and listed the names of two teachers from the school.

MUSHROOM TIP There are some things

you just don’t want to see when you’re eating, but both staff members and restaurant goers alike were disgusted when an unwanted visitor showed up at Mellow Mushroom 10 | MAR. 15 - MAR. 21, 2018 | CLCLT.COM

in Third Ward last week. According to the report, witnesses said that a man walked into the restaurant at 7:12 p.m., while the dinner rush was still going, with absolutely no pants or any clothing whatsoever on the lower half of his body.

HAIR. DONE. Police responded to Nubiance

Hair Salon in east Charlotte after a customer got into a tussle with employees because she didn’t feel the need to pay full price for the services rendered. Upon the officers’ arrival, the employees told police that the suspect tried to walk out of the store without paying, and when a staff member tried to step in front of her, the suspect pushed her and another employee while trying to leave. The suspect, on the other hand, told officers that she didn’t feel like she needed to pay the full amount for services because the employee was rude and she wasn’t happy with the customer service provided. The suspect told police that when she tried to leave the salon, one employee sprayed her with a water bottle while the other put her in a headlock. Other customers in the store confirmed to police that the employees were telling the truth when they recounted the original story.

PUT TO USE Police responded to a medical facility on the CMC-Main campus last week after employees there reported a theft. The callers told officers that they had placed a $500 camera in a recycling bin, and then when they went back to get it, it was gone. So what’s the problem? You put it in the recycle bin and now somebody’s out there re-using it. MAINTENANCE MAN A 30-year-old man

was startled last week to come face to face with a man who he believed was trying to break into his home. The victim told police that he was sitting in his east Charlotte apartment when he heard a noise near the back window. When he went to check it out, he found the suspect staring right back at him holding a tool box. The suspect fled the scene upon seeing that the resident was home.

PUT THE CAMERA AWAY Bullying just

isn’t what it used to be. An 18-year-old student at Vance High School filed a police report last week after being the butt of a joke that stemmed from some criminally gross activity in the bathroom. The victim told officers that he had seen the suspect filming him while he was using a stall bathroom one day, and decided to file a report after realizing that the suspect had showed the footage to other students in the school. All stories are pulled from police reports at CMPD headquarters. Suspects are innocent until proven guilty. BACKTALK@CLCLT.COM

NEWS OF THE WEIRD

SUSPICIONS

CONFIRMED District Judge Joseph Boeckmann, 72, took a personal interest in the young men who came through his courtrooms in Cross and St. Francis counties (Arkansas) from 2009 to 2015 with traffic citations or misdemeanor criminal charges. The Arkansas DemocratGazette reported that Judge Boeckmann routinely dismissed those charges pending “community service,” which Boeckmann would set up through private phone calls with the men, assigning them to provide sexual favors or allow Judge Boeckmann to take pictures of them in “embarrassing positions; positions that he found sexually gratifying,” a court document revealed. Boeckmann, of Wynne, Arkansas, admitted to the charges in October and was sentenced Feb. 21 to five years in prison. Prosecutors had agreed to a lesser sentence in light of Boeckmann’s age, but U.S. District Judge Kristine Baker ordered the maximum sentence, saying, “(H)e acted corruptly while serving as a judge. That sets his crime apart.”

UNCLEAR

THE

CONCEPT

Washington State University senior Logan Tago, a football linebacker, received WSU’s Center for Civic Engagement Fall 2017 Community Involvement award on Feb. 1 for 240 hours of service to the local community, reported the WSU Daily Evergreen — service he was ordered to give as a stipulation of his sentencing in January 2017 for thirddegree assault. In June 2016, The Seattle Times reported, Tago allegedly hit a man with a six-pack of beer and later agreed to a plea deal that called for 30 days in the Whitman County jail, $800 in fines — and exactly 240 hours of community service. Tago managed to play the final two games of the 2016 season and in all of 2017’s 13 games, despite a WSU athletic department policy that prohibits players who are facing a felony charge from playing.

COMPELLING EXPLANATIONS On Feb.

9, the Texas 3rd Court of Appeals upheld the four-year prison sentence Ralph Alfred Friesenhahn, 65, of San Antonio received after his fourth DWI conviction in 2016, rejecting arguments from his lawyer, Gina Jones of New Braunfels, that the state’s legal limit for alcohol concentration discriminates against alcoholics, who have a higher tolerance for liquor. “You’re not being punished for being an alcoholic,” Sammy McCrary, chief of the felony division for the Comal County criminal district attorney’s office told the Austin American-Statesman. “It’s the driving that’s the problem.”

SPECIAL DELIVERY At the beginning of

February, several residents along a block in Marina, California, were hit by mail thieves. But the criminals probably didn’t know what hit them when they stole Rosalinda Vizina’s package. SFGate.com reported that

Vizina, an entomologist, had ordered 500 live cockroaches for a study she’s working on. “I feel a little bad for the roaches in case they got smushed or tossed or something like that,” Vizina told KSBW. “For the thieves, I hope they went everywhere,” she added.

TMI? On Feb. 20, little Jameson Proctor was

born in St. Louis and a radio audience listened in as he came into the world. Cassiday Proctor, co-host of the “Spencer’s Neighborhood” show on The Arch in St. Louis, scheduled her C-section right in the middle of drive time and then invited listeners to share the moment when Jameson was born, at 7:45 a.m., through a broadcast phone call. “Our radio show is all about sharing our personal lives,” Proctor, 33, told The Telegraph.

AWESOME! The mining town of Kurri

Kurri, Australia, cut loose on Feb. 24 with a new festival to draw visitors: Mullet Fest, a celebration of the infamous hairstyle and those who wear it. Local hairdresser Laura Johnson came up with the idea, which included contests (Junior Mullet and Ladies’ Mullet categories, and so forth) and bands (the Stunned Mullets from Karuah). Winner of the junior division prize, Alex Keavy, 12, told The Guardian: “It’s not a hairstyle, it’s a lifestyle.” He pledged to use his $50 prize to buy his girlfriend a pie. More than 180 contestants competed for Best Mullet of Them All.

FOLLOW THE MONEY Christina C. Ochoa of Wichita, Kansas, and her mom, Christy L. Ochoa, explained to The Wichita Eagle that more than 50 $5 withdrawals Christina made from a Central National Bank ATM during a five-day period in mid-January were for a “money cake” she was making as a gift for someone. But the bank says the faulty ATM was dispensing $100 bills instead of $5 bills, and that Christina received $14,120 instead of $1,485. In a Jan. 22 lawsuit, the bank seeks $11,607.36, plus interest, it says is owed by Christina. The bank is also trying to seize two cars the Ochoas bought during the same period, claiming that the $3,000 down payment for one of them was made up entirely of $100 bills. SOLID PLAN In Boston, trolley driver

Thomas Lucey, 46, of Saugus, Massachusetts, was indicted Feb. 21 for paying a man $2,000 to attack him while he was on the job on Oct. 30, 2016, so that Lucey could collect workers’ compensation and disability insurance. The “attacker” wore a Halloween mask and carried a plastic pumpkin, from which police obtained fingerprints used to identify him and unravel the scheme, according to The Boston Globe. A grand jury in Suffolk County brought charges of insurance fraud, workers’ compensation fraud, misleading a police investigation and perjury. COPYRIGHT 2017 ANDREWS MCMEEL SYNDICATION

CLCLT.COM | MAR. 15 - MAR. 21, 2018 | 11

FEATURE

FOOD

OF PIG HUNTING AND SMOOTHIES Gimme the green BY ARI LEVAUX

OPEFULLY

THEY’RE

crunching,” my friend Ken whispered as we walked toward his neighbor’s patio. It was after 2 a.m., and the moon was bright. But inside the Hawaiian jungle it was dark — and loud, with scurrying rodents, crowing chickens, warring cats, horny frogs and assorted other creatures, in addition to our prey. We trained our ears into the jungle, trying to screen out the noise and detect a signal, the sound of a wild pig crunching a macadamia nut in its jaws. It sounds a little like a small explosion, a gunshot with the volume turned down, or perhaps a bullet hitting a large rock. Pigs have become such a problem in Hawaii that locals are encouraged to go after them, and given broad latitude when it comes to concepts like “fair chase.” Pig hunting may seem like an odd way to introduce an article on green smoothies, but they have more in common then you might guess. It all comes down to that crunch. Gaining access inside a macadamia nut, or mac-nut, as they are called here, is no small feat. Even for humans, it isn’t a leisurely activity like shelling a walnut. The shell is not only harder, but rounder and smoother. What would be an all-night project for a rat is accomplished in a single chop from a pig. Ken says the bigger the pig, the louder the crunch. That crunch — in addition to being a clue to the whereabouts of a pig, and an impressive feat of strength and mouth agility — is also the sound of plant energy being accessed, despite the best efforts of mac-nut evolution. A pig eating a mac-nut has a lot in common with the sounds you hear from a Vita-mix, or other high-speed blender, full of greens. For one, they are both domains that Ken has mastered, to varying degrees. And they are both examples of plant fiber being physically broken so that the innards can be attained. If only we could do it as well as a pig does. Plants, Ken explained, are about as nutritious as you can get. Nutritious enough to allow large animals like giraffes and elk to attain their full sizes. But animals that rely solely on plants usually have an angle on squeezing out all of their goodness. Cows have four stomachs. Some animals simply chew, and chew, and chew, until all that nutrition is squeezed out. But with the limitations of human digestive machinery, simply swallowing some plant material and waiting for your stomach acids to break them down isn’t going to get you very far. As Ken explained all this to me in between our bow-hunting forays, he whizzed up midnight green smoothies. I had just placed my cup on the patio when I heard a 12 | MAR. 15 - MAR. 21, 2018 | CLCLT.COM

sharp pop. Ken held up one finger. “Crunch,” he said. It was followed by more crunching, from more than one pig. Like a family of Rice Krispies on steroids drifting toward the shooting lanes Ken had cut into the understory of his neighbor’s neighbor’s forest. I began to wonder what kind of crunch those jaws might put on my leg. Ken drew his bow and flicked on a green spotlight, revealing an 80-pound boar. There was a swish and a blue streak of flying arrow, which had a glowing nock. The arrow went toward the pig’s neck, but using the layer of fat above the spine as a pivot, changed course and flew another 20 yards. The arrow was covered with a sheen of grease — from the top of the neck, Ken believes — but no blood. And the pig was nowhere to be found. Apparently, crunching

5 GREAT GREEN SMOOTHIES IN CHARLOTTE Did Ari’s story whet your whistle? You can find some delicious green smoothies at spots all around Charlotte. Start with one of these:

GREEN HORNET

NODA SPROUT

GREEN SMOOTHIE

Greengredients: Spinach, broccoli, spirulina, banana, peanut butter, almond milk Price: $6.45 - $8.45

Greengredients: Kale, spinach, banana, mango, coconut milk Price: $7.99

Greengredients: Kale, spinach, banana, pineapple, lemon, coconut milk, apple juice Price: $7.50

Green Brothers

3100 N. Davidson St., #101 juiceboxcharlotte.com

101 S Tryon St. greenbrothersjuice.com

THE FLYING LUCY

Juice Box

THE TROPICAL ONE

Greengredients: Spinach, spirulina, banana, pineapple, ginger, lemonade Price: $8

Greengredients: Kale, banana, pineapple, coconut oil, coconut water Price: $6.95

Luna’s Living Kitchen

Clean Juice

2000 South Blvd., #300 livingkitchen.com

1616 Camden Road, #130 cleanjuice.com

I Love Juice Bar 2907 Providence Rd., #101 ilovejuicebar.com

mac-nuts gives you quite the neck. Unless you chew your greens all day, you only get the plant juices from the cells that are actually broken, Ken explained, relaying information from Victoria Boutenko’s 2004 book Green for Life, which got him onto green smoothies in the first place, long before hunting came along. Animals that get more out of their greens have a system, such as the four stomachs of ruminants, designed to extract more. But with a highspeed blender along the lines of Vitamix, Blendtec or Breville, you can bushwhack your way through a jungle of greenery without spending the whole day chewing your cud. In a very interesting three-way competition among those three top-notch high-speed blenders, kale was used as the standard for the comparison of the machines. With so much fiber, particularly in the leaf stems, most blenders will get bogged down, and the relative abilities of the elite blenders to handle kale fiber was carefully considered. Similarly, performance at making a kale and berry smoothie was used to distinguish elite-level blenders from the rest. Lesser blenders can’t break enough cell walls to make the smoothie turn green, and it remains purple from the berries. Those impenetrable plant cell walls are the result of an evolutionary arms race between plants that want to keep their juices and animals that want to eat them. In both cases, indigestible plant fiber is used to protect valuable stores of plant energy and nutrients from animals that want to eat them. A pig crunching on a mac-nut is the animal world’s answer to the high-speed blender. Or actually, it’s the other way around. In any case, we eat the contents of the blender like we would eat the contents of a macadamia nut-fattened pig. “One helps clean out the other,” Ken suggested, pointing to his belly. As we all know, green smoothies are a way to easily consume a lot of greenery, giving us the bowel cleansing assistance of fiber, as well as many other benefits of leaves, without the work of chewing. In hopes of determining just how prohibitive that work is, Ken made a green smoothie with kale, parsley and other greens, as well as ice, to keep it from heating up, but no fruit or creamy stuff. (If you are adding fruit and yogurt or whatever, add that last). The unsweetened smoothie was richly bitter, dark, very liquified — and my kids drank it up, consuming huge quantities of greens without the benefit of bitter buffers like mango or banana. Granted my kids’ palates are well-acquainted to bitter, but I still take this as evidence that it’s the chewing, and not so much the flavor that keeps people from downing more greens. Green for Life, which I’ve checked out online and plan to order, also contains a chapter on savory smoothies, which is very relevant to my interests. These are the ones that contain ingredients like cilantro, nettles, tomatoes, garlic, ginger and whole limes, peel and all. The author, Boutenko, sometimes refers to savory smoothies as cold soups, which is what they are, essentially. Many of them would be really good served with pig. If only Ken were as good with a bow as he is with a Vitamix. CLCLT.COM | MAR. 15 - MAR. 21, 2018 | 13

FOOD

THREE-COURSE SPIEL

DON’T GET IT TWISTED How a Brooklyn soul food joint came home to the South BY ALEXANDRIA SANDS

RUTHIE’S ON TRYON has only been open

for five months, but its legacy spans three generations. The story began in 1997 on Dekalb Avenue in Brooklyn, New York. Ruth West opened the doors to Ruthie’s Soul Food and became famous for bringing Southern staples to the big city up north. Two more Ruthie’s locations were established in New York and West’s daughter, Deborah Monroe, began looking for a spot in Charlotte to open a fourth. However, the recession kept her from finding one. When West died at 75, Monroe knew it was time to expand her legacy to the Carolinas. At that time, the food truck craze was on the rise. With West and Monroe’s faces painted on the side, Monroe rolled out into Charlotte to serve food out of the window of her Ruthie’s truck. She was serving the same soul food that her mom was known for in Brooklyn, calling it “Southern food with a twist.” Late in 2017, two of West’s granddaughters, Kia Spell and Kenyota Farmer, helped Monroe open a new restaurant on North Tryon, where Luna Restaurant and Lounge once stood. Creative Loafing visited the family in their new spot and talked with Spell about the past and future of Ruthie’s. We also got to the bottom of what some of those “twists” are. CL: What was the transition from a food truck to a brick-and-mortar restaurant like, and will your food truck keep on running? Kia Spell: The food truck is definitely still up and running. Right after the end of this month, we’re gonna be starting to roll it back out every day. For me, I would say with the food truck it’s constant. You’re always at a rapid pace. This right here, being at the restaurant, it’s much more slower as of right now. Since we’re just now opening, a lot of people are finding more out about us. Now we actually have a little bit of time to sit down, take a breath and fix our mistakes also. The food truck brings more people to the restaurant. It gives awareness that we’re here. Cooking wise, we cook a lot more at the restaurant. Everything is here so it’s much easier. I still love the food truck. Was the goal always to go from food truck to a restaurant in Charlotte? After my grandmother passed away, [my mom] still wanted to continue my grandmother’s legacy, so that’s when my mom opened the food truck. At that time,

14 | MAR. 15 - MAR. 21, 2018 | CLCLT.COM

PHOTOS BY ALEXANDRIA SANDS

food trucks were just now coming in … The food truck was, I think at that time, the best. Our ultimate goal is to definitely franchise. We’re trying to, within the next two years, be on the West Coast … We’re also trying to box all of our foods. So we’re trying to be able to box our meatloafs and you’re able to go in the grocery store and get a kit where you can make our meatloaf at home — so it’s Ruthie’s at home. We’re going to bottle our tartar sauce and our seasonings. That’s another way how we’re going to keep my grandmother’s legacy going. How do you come up with these recipes, and what are the most popular ones? It’s my mom. She’s the whole thought of this, the whole brain of everything. We just really wanted to stand out … We just started doing little things and seeing if it worked and it worked. It was like, “Let’s try this and put the collard greens on a tortilla,” cause we all love quesadillas so we put the collard greens on it, put the cheese on it, and we tried it and it was good. We actually started with a pulled pork mac and then added meatloaf macs, fish macs. We added a best melt which is half pulled pork mac, half meatloaf mac so you can try the best of both worlds. Our meatloaf is hands down the best. We had a couple people saying it makes you wanna smack your mom. We had this guy say that he died and came back to life after eating our meatloaf. We have meatloaf in different forms also. We have just the regular meatloaf as a dinner, we have it as a melt, which is a meatloaf mac; it’s a grilled cheese sandwich with meatloaf and mac and cheese in the middle. We also do that with other meats too. Our collard green quesadilla, that’s different. A lot of people never heard it. They’re like, “What’s a collard green quesadilla?” It’s just collard greens, monterey jack cheese in a tortilla. We don’t have our full menu out right now so we’re still adding things to the menu as we get busier and busier. We’re going to be adding oxtails, turkey wings, baked chicken. We’re going to be adding a lot of different sides like rice and beans. BACKTALK@CLCLT.COM

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CLCLT.COM | MAR. 15 - MAR. 21, 2018 | 15

THURSDAY

TONY BENNETT What: Sinatra may have been the coolest of the white pop-jazz crooners, but Bennett was the hippest. Not only did he travel to Alabama, in 1965, to sing for civil rights marchers on a dark and rainy night outside of Montgomery, but Bennett remains relevant today. At 91, he champions younger singers like Lady Gaga, with whom he’s recorded duets. One of his more memorable concerts was a late-’90s tribute to Billie Holiday at the Apollo. When the power went out, he performed his entire set unplugged. When: 7:30 p.m. Where: Ovens Auditorium, 2700 Independence Blvd. More: $25-up. blumenthalarts.org.

16 | MAR. 15 - MAR. 21, 2018 | CLCLT.COM

THURSDAY

BUILDING FUTURES: A SYMPOSIUM

THINGS TO DO

TOP TEN

‘Human Flow’ THURSDAY

PHOTO COURTESY OF NFP

THURSDAY

FRIDAY

GHOST TREES, NED FERM

‘HUMAN FLOW’ SCREENING

NCAA TOURNEY

What: Many of the issues Charlotte faces today — gentrification, school segregation, homelessness — are related directly to the city’s lack of affordable housing. For its third annual Building Futures symposium, Habitat for Humanity invites Dr. Tererai Trent, an internationally renowned scholar, humanitarian, motivational speaker, educator and author who recently won the 2018 NAACP Award for Outstanding Instructional Literary Work for her book, The Awakened Woman.

What: A night of free jazz and maybe even some country that squawks. Charlotte’s Ghost Trees is joined on this bill by fellow Carolina free jazzers Caterpillar Hedge as well as tenor sax player Ned Ferm, who somehow manages his way around a country tune as easily as he does an avant-garde improv. Ferm will be playing with the Greensboro-based jazz guitarist James Gilmore. The only thing missing: the great Eugene Chadbourne, with whom Ferm and Gilmore will be performing four nights earlier in Greensboro.

What: In the United States, refugees often serve as pawns of political discourse; chess pieces to be moved around on a board during Twitter screaming matches. In Human Flow, Chinese artist activist Ai Weiwei puts a face on the 65 million people around the world who have been forced from their homes to escape famine, climate change and war in the greatest human displacement since World War II. Filmed over a year in 23 countries, this doc asks some unignorable questions of our international community.

What: Hoops fans know the Tar Heels are coming to Charlotte for the 2018 NCAA Tournament first-round games. For the rest of y’all, here’s the lowdown: If you want to join in on North Carolina’s favorite pastime you need to know that CLT will be hosting first- and second-round games on March 16 and 18, with UNC playing Lipscomb on the 16th. Also that day, Virginia faces MarylandBaltimore County, Texas A&M plays Providence and Kansas State squares off against Creighton.

When: 6-8 p.m. Where: Halton Theatre, 1206 Elizabeth Ave. More: Free. habitatcharlotte.org

When: 8 p.m. Where: The Milestone, 3400 Tuckaseegee Rd. More: $5. themilestone.club.

When: 7-9:20 p.m. Where: C3 Lab, 2525 Distribution St. More: $5-10. charlottefilmsociety.com

When: Noon Where: Spectrum Center, 333 E Trade St. More: $62-up. spectrumcentercharlotte.com

Cider Release SATURDAY

Tony Bennett SATURDAY

NEWS ARTS FOOD MUSIC ODDS

Tal National WEDNESDAY PHOTO COURTESY OF BLUMENTHAL

PHOTO COURTESY OF ISTOCK

SATURDAY

BOTANIST & BARREL RELEASE What: Charlotte cider fans rejoiced recently when City Council approved an ordinance making it easier for cideries and wineries to begin popping up in the same zoning districts as breweries. But for now there’s not much here (we see you GoodRoad). So Salud is hosting our neighbors to the north, Botanist & Barrel, for the bottle release of their — take a breath — sour raspberry sea salt bourbon gose cider, with B&B reps on site to discuss all things cider. When: 6-8 p.m. Where: Salud Beer Shop, 3306-B N. Davidson St. More: Free. saludbeershop.com

SATURDAY

PHOTO COURTESY OF TAL NATIONAL

TUESDAY

WEDNESDAY

GREEN RIVER REVIVAL

THE X-ECUTIONERS

MAT KEARNEY

TAL NATIONAL

What: First thing we thought upon seeing this was: “Woo-hoo, a Creedence Clearwater Revival tribute band!” (You know, CCR is that ’60s band that had a song called “Green River”? Oh, never mind.) To be sure, the Green River Revival will present music — the jazzy Rebirth Brass Band and southern boogie merchants Kevin Maines and the Volts — but it’s mainly a sports and leisure event, featuring a 5k trail run, yoga and whitewater that turns green for St. Paddy’s Day.

What: This is not just your average hip-hop nostalgia show. For one thing, NYC’s X-Ecutioners — which began as the X-Men featuring turntable masters Rob Swift, Mista Sinista, the late Roc Raida and others — were not one-hit wonders who will bring you warm memories of that certain song or beat from hip-hop’s golden age. What they were, however, were turntable innovators who — together and separately — have kept the art of turntable tricks like beat juggling alive and vibrant. This free show should not be missed.

What: Mat Kearney has gone through a lot since the release of his fifth and most recent full album, Just Kids. For one, he actually had one — a kid, that is — and also dealt with the loss of a loved one. Since then, Kearney struck out on his own, releasing his newest album, Crazy Talk, as an indie project for the first time in his career. The album’s first single off the two-part album, “Better Than I Used To Be,” is a catchy, Timberlake-esque pop tune that sees Kearney moving away from his singer/songwriter roots.

When: 8 p.m. Where: Crown Station, 3629 North Davidson St. More: Free. crownstationpub.com

When: 7 p.m. Where: The Fillmore, 820 Hamilton St. More: $25. fillmorenc.com

What: One of the more exciting bands to come out of West Africa this millennium, Tal National performs a dizzying mix of traditional Afrobeat and African highlife infused with raw, blues-rock guitar excursions over crazy polyrhythms. There’s no way you can stand still during performances of songs like the title track of the band’s latest album, Tantabara, or grooving to the fuzzedout solo on “Entente,” or marveling at the spindly guitars of “Akokas.” This must-see show, part of Chócala’s Snug residency throughout March, also features AfroPop’s DJ Kato.

When: 8 p.m. Where: U.S. National Whitewater Center, 5000 Whitewater Center Pkwy. More: $45. usnwc.org

When: 10 p.m. Where: Snug Harbor, 1228 Gordon St. More: $8. snugrock.com

CLCLT.COM | MAR. 15 - MAR. 21, 2018 | 17

MUSIC

FEATURE

IT TAKES AN AFROPOP NATION... Charlotte promoters expand their territory BY MARK KEMP

HEN ERIC BITISU NDELO

was in grade school in Charlotte, being African was not cool. “There was one point in time, in the third grade, where I was so ashamed to be Congolese that I wouldn’t even write my last name,” Ndelo said in a 2016 episode of the Baltimore radio show Congo Live. Instead, he told the show’s hosts, he would sign his name “Eric B.” That sounded more hip-hop, more American. Ndelo’s father was not impressed. He had immigrated to the United States from the Democratic Republic of the Congo in the early 1970s to study at the historically black Shaw University in Raleigh. The elder Ndelo eventually got his master’s in business and settled with his wife in Charlotte, where he opened convenience stores and the couple started a family. When he saw what Eric, who was born in the Queen City in 1979, had scrawled on his school paper one day, he asked his son, “Hey, who is this Eric B.?” “I said, ‘That’s me.’ “He said, ‘No. Your last name is Ndelo.’” His African heritage, Eric’s father told him, is what made him different — and what would help him thrive in American society. Eric Ndelo, now 39, is sitting at a conference table inside the Hygge coworking space at Camp North End, wearing a tan hoodie with the word “Africas” in blue lettering below a sun-kissed red and yellow emblem that resembles the Adidas logo. He’s with his partners Ifeanyi Ibeto (also known as the Dynamic DJ Kato) and April Hood, who two years ago formed the Charlotte-based production company AfroPop Nation. The trio throws monthly AfroPop Charlotte parties across the city that celebrate the music, arts and culture of the African diaspora. In a short time, the group expanded to Durham and Atlanta, and will soon take their events to Miami, Los Angeles, New York and Chicago. “Our grand plan,” Ibeto says, “is to go nationwide.” That may sound like quite an ambitious goal, but these three are ambitious people. On March 17, AfroPop Charlotte will hold its biggest, most visible event yet when it takes over the sprawling Harvey B. Gantt Center for African-American Arts + Culture on Tryon Street. “We’re calling it The Bantu Experience,” Ndelo says. The name refers to the massive 18 | MAR. 15 - MAR. 21, 2018 | CLCLT.COM

“People love AfroPop — it’s home to them. They know it’s coming from a genuine place,” Ifeani Ibeto says. This shot was taken at a September edition of AfroPop held at Morehead Tavern. linguistically and somewhat culturally connected ethnic groups scattered across western, central and southern Africa. “It’s going to be a gumbo of African dance, art, fashion and vendors — basically, our normal AfroPop experience, except on another level.” Beginning at 6 p.m., the Gantt Center will transform into a mini African continent in full party mode, featuring a pop-up marketplace with 20 vendors, pop-up fashion shows, a pop-up gallery showing works by local visual artists, African dance and drumming classes each hour, a Kizomba dance room, an earlyevening arts and crafts class for children, and other workshops and classes. And then, from 9:30 p.m. to 1:30 a.m., the Dynamic DJ Kato and DJ Steel Wheel will preside over an after party on the Gantt’s rooftop patio overlooking Charlotte.

NDELO, IBETO AND HOOD are on a righteous mission. Their aim is to bring back into sharper focus the Afrocentrism that became all the rage across the United States and Europe in the 1980s and ’90s. [See sidebar, next page.] But they don’t want it to be just a hip accessory to popular music and style; Afrocentrism in the new millennium should contain all the nutritious context of its source — that massive continent across the Atlantic Ocean that’s served as civilization’s heartbeat ever since the first Taung Child frolicked through the grasslands of South Africa some 3 million years ago. The late-’80s rise of Afrocentrism in popular culture had come in large part as a response to South African apartheid. But by the late ’90s, when Ndelo set off for college at North Carolina State University in Raleigh to study electrical engineering, pop culture was cycling out of its decade-long flirtation with Afrocentrism that had resulted in a spate of conscious rappers like Queen Latifah, the Jungle Brothers and A Tribe Called Quest. The

tide had turned to post-West Coast gangsta rap. What had started in New York City with gold chains and boasting, and matured into dashikis and the dropping of knowledge, had become all about the Benjamins, the Gucci and the Dom Pérignon. But Afrocentrism had made a deep imprint, and Ndelo found a circle of friends in the Triangle who were committed to keeping the diaspora plugged in to its musical and cultural roots. “I was doing events at N.C. State around African music and African culture in 1997, and it was still a good time to be doing African-based events,” Ndelo says. “You’d had the Native Tongues, Erykah Badu, Dead Prez, all that. It was still important to some people during that period to get in touch with yourself and be natural.” For Ibeto, whose parents had relocated to Houston, Texas, from Nigeria, where his father studied architecture at Texas Southern University, being first-generation African comes with a heavy responsibility. Born in Texas, Ibeto, 35, moved with his family to Charlotte when he was 8. “My parents came to the U.S. to get their educations, they got their educations, and then they got jobs,” he says. “So I’ve seen all sides of life in America, from living in a poor neighborhood to living an upper-middle-class life.” Ibeto went on to study communications and marketing at North Carolina A&T State University in Greensboro. When he was in his early 20s he and some friends took a trip to Washington, D.C., where they saw Africans celebrating their culture. Ibeto was shocked. “In Charlotte, being African wasn’t a mainstream thing and it wasn’t cool,” he says. “But in D.C. it was all that. So we were like, ‘Oh my god, we have to do this in Charlotte.’” He threw his first African-based party in Charlotte on October 1, 2005 — Nigerian Independence Day. That’s when Ibeto connected with Ndelo, who was still living

PHOTO COURTESY OF AFROPOP! NATION

AFROPOP! CHARLOTTE: THE BANTU EXPERIENCE 5 p.m.-1:30 a.m. March 17, The Harvey B. Gantt Center for African-American Arts + Culture, 551 S. Tryon St. $7.50$30. tinyurl.com/AfroPopGantt

in Raleigh at the time. As it turns out, Ibeto’s dad, who owns an environmental engineering consulting firm in Charlotte, had shopped at Ndelo’s dad’s convenience store years earlier in what was once a modest North Charlotte neighborhood but is now called NoDa. Ndelo laughs. “We were in NoDa before NoDa was NoDa,” he says. “I saw the gentrification of that area happen the whole way through.” By 2007, Ndelo was back in Charlotte, where he began throwing events under the name Nappy Luv. For the next few years Ndelo and Ibeto organized events together and separately. April Hood, who was born on the west side of Charlotte and came of age in the Leafcrest projects on the south side, had discovered the parties after falling in love with the Afro-Caribbean sounds of soulcalypso, or soca music. “I had already fallen in love with African music and African culture,” Hood says. “And then I had met a young Muslim sister who was doing soca classes, and I fell in love with soca.” Hood and some friends started doing events that mixed African and soca music with trap music, she says, “which is part of my culture, as an African American.” A few years later, after having met Ndelo and Ibeto, Hood asked Ibeto to DJ one of her parties in 2012. It was at the Apostrophe Lounge, where Ibeto was doing his Afrobeats events and Ndelo was doing Nappy Luv.

THE ETERNAL BEAT A short primer on Afrocentrism in America THE AFROCENTRISM movement of the late 1980s arose in part as a reaction to apartheid in South Africa, but also by the 1987 publication of Martin Bernal’s Black Athena: The Afroasiatic Roots of Classical Civilization. But though that movement was significant, art and music from the African continent have always been at the core of popular culture in the United States. It was in the late-19th-century jazz that developed out of the West African polyrhythms and call-and-response vocalizing that had come from Congo Square in New Orleans, where enslaved Africans would gather and socialize on their days off from toiling in sugar plantations. It was in the Deep South blues and gospel that became the building blocks of rock ’n’ roll. It was in the Latin and Caribbean music that made its way onto the pop charts of the 1950s in hits by artists such as Harry Belafonte. But it wasn’t until the 1986 U.S. release of a compilation of music from apartheid-era South Africa — The Indestructible Beat of Soweto — that African folk styles began to transform the way we hear the African roots of contemporary popular music. Not only did Indestructible Beat help put a spotlight on the egregious system of racial segregation and discrimination that still existed in South Africa at the time — ultimately resulting in the collapse of apartheid — but the album re-introduced U.S. listeners to a purer form of the rhythms, percussion, vocal harmonies and song structures coming from the African continent. That same year, the American singer-songwriter Paul Simon released his Graceland album, which featured some of the groups, such as Ladysmith Black Mambazo, that had appeared on Indestructible Beat. Other white pop stars, including Peter Gabriel and David Byrne, launched labels The owner of Apostrophe, Kyle Musumeci, eventually suggested that Hood, Ibeto and Ndelo team up for one big event featuring all of their talents combined. The three began meeting in Ndelo’s parents’ garage, mapping out a plan. And on June 10, 2016, they threw their first AfroPop party. “It all started in a garage,” Hood says. “All good things start in a garage.”

THREE MONTHS AFTER the first AfroPop

at Apostrophe Lounge, 43-year-old Keith LaMont Scott was shot down by Charlotte police, and the city erupted in protest. All of a sudden, the party turned serious, and AfroPop had a new role — to serve as place for young Africans, African-Americans and their allies to bond and heal. “When the Keith Scott shooting happened, we saw that there was a bigger

that released music from artists such as the Congolese singer Papa Wemba, BelgianCongolese singer Zap Mama and Ugandan musician Geoffrey Oryema. African music had made its way to American and British rock fans in earlier decades, too — most notably the works of Nigerian musician and political activist Fela Kuti, who had traveled to the U.S. west coast in 1969. Three years later, Fela’s collaboration with Cream drummer Ginger Baker, Stratavarious, came out on the British major label Polydor Records. Then, a decade later, after Jamaican icon Bob Marley died in 1981, his British label Island Records began looking back to Africa, introducing musicians such as the Nigerian singer and multi-instrumentalist King Sunny Adé to white audiences. But it wasn’t until the ’80s and ’90s that the English-speaking world saw a groundswell of African music, with compilations featuring both new and traditional music from West Africa, East Africa and South Africa, on independent labels like Earthworks and Shanachie. Those collections provided opportunities for Americans who’d lost touch with their African roots to hear purer music from the Motherland, freed from the control and context of a paternalistic pop star or a hip-hop sample. — Mark Kemp

purpose for everybody to come together and party together at a place where you could be free and be yourself, whatever color you are,” says Hood, who works the social justice angle for the group. “And now, look at us: We’ve grown to other cities in other states, where we’ve taken that same vision and that same idea. On every level, we’ve brought about positive change, as far as people coming together and getting more involved in their communities.” “The Keith Scott shooting catapulted us to a new level, in terms of the importance of what we’re doing,” Ndelo adds. Ibeto remembers an AfroPop block party last year that attracted people of multiple colors and cultures. “It was beautiful to see all these kids — white people, black people, Asian and Latino people — all in one space together, all dancing together.”

PHOTO BY MARK KEMP

Ndelo (from left), Hood and Ibeto at Camp North End. “White kids with African face paint,” Ndelo interjects, with a laugh. “It was beautiful.” He pauses. “As you can see, we don’t really get down with that idea of misappropriation of culture — we’re trying to teach the culture, not shut people out. No matter who you are, if you want to embrace African culture, embrace it. I’m Congolese, but who’s to say I can’t go and become a Hindu if I want to? And who’s to say if you’re not African you can’t dress African or be inspired by African culture? That’s not true. So we want to dispel those myths that we often hear that, in reality, don’t exist. That’s what AfroPop is all about.”

Reflecting on the past two years, Ibeto sees the Charlotte Uprising as a pivotal moment, not just for the city, but for AfroPop and its grand plan to go nationwide. “If you think about it, the Keith Scott shooting — that could have been a time when everybody in the city became very, very segregated, more than what it already was,” Ibeto says. “Instead, we came together. And if you come to an AfroPop event, you won’t be able to see any segregation at all. That’s amazing. And you know what’s more amazing? We’re doing this in the South.” MKEMP@CLCLT.COM

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20 | MAR. 15 - MAR. 21, 2018 | CLCLT.COM

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MUSIC

SOUNDBOARD MARCH 15 BLUES/ROOTS/INTERNATIONAL Irish Jam Session with An Archaic Agenda (RiRa Irish Pub)

COUNTRY/FOLK Beavergrass Bluegrass Jam f. Jim Garrett (Thirsty Beaver)

DJ/ELECTRONIC DJ Matt B (Tin Roof) Le Bang (Snug Harbor)

HIP-HOP/SOUL/R&B Trae Pierce & The T Stones (Heist Brewery)

POP/ROCK Open Mic for Musicians (Crown Station Coffeehouse and Pub) Artist Vice, The Bleeps, Dylan Gilbert (Petra’s) Ghost Trees, Ned Ferm, James Gilmore, Caterpillar Hedge (Milestone) Jessica Lea Mayfield, T. Hardy Morris (Neighborhood Theatre) Shana Blake and Friends (Smokey Joe’s Cafe) Tony Bennett, Antonia Bennett (Ovens Auditorium) Wicked Travesty (Comet Grill)

MARCH 16 BLUES/ROOTS/INTERNATIONAL

MARCH 17 BLUES/ROOTS/INTERNATIONAL Karol G (World) The Kerry Boys Band (RiRa Irish Pub)

COUNTRY/FOLK Fireside Collective, Aaron Burdett (Evening Muse) Frank Foster, Denny Strickland (Coyote Joe’s) Rob McHale (Cafe 100, Huntersville)

The Kerry Boys Band (RiRa Irish Pub)

CLASSICAL/JAZZ/SMOOTH

Jeremy Davenport sings Frank Sinatra (Stage Door Theater)

COUNTRY/FOLK The Lenny Federal Band (Comet Grill) Sunday Union (Summit Coffee Co., Davidson) Travis Tritt (Don Gibson Theatre, Shelby)

DJ/ELECTRONIC Mic Larry (Tin Roof) DJ Complete (RiRa Irish Pub)

POP/ROCK Blonde Ambition (Shore Club, Tega Cay) Bobby’s Jorts (The Rabbit Hole) Brian Dunne, Brit Drozda (Evening Muse) Chicago Reloaded, ABACAB-The Music of 22 | MAR. 15 - MAR. 21, 2018 | CLCLT.COM

Genesis (The Underground) Evan Button and The Tribe (Primal Brewing, Huntersville) The Eyebrows (Birdsong Brewing Co.) Heroes At Last (RiRa Irish Pub) Joules, Communal Sex Dice, Fratmouth, Stray Cat Sideshow (Milestone) Landless, Indigo Jo, Joshua Cotterino (Petra’s) Matisyahu, Eminence Ensemble (The Fillmore) Matt Walsh (Hattie’s Tap & Tavern) Nerve Endings, Cheesus Crust, Acne (Snug Harbor) The New Familiars, Bob Margolin (Neighborhood Theatre) The Queen’s Guard (Evening Muse) Runaway Gin-A Tribute to Phish (Visulite Theatre) St. Paddy’s in Plaza: John Sullivan and Friends, DJ Tomato Slice, DJ Nice (Whiskey Warehouse) The Underground Owls (Smokey Joe’s Cafe)

DJ/ELECTRONIC Digital Noir featuring DJ Michael Price & DJ Spider (Milestone) DJ RWonz (RiRa Irish Pub) Tilted DJ Saturday’s (Tilted Kilt Pub & Eatery)

HIP-HOP/SOUL/R&B Grits & Biscuits (The Fillmore) The X-Ecutioners, DJ Rob Swift, Mista Sinista (Crown Station Coffeehouse and Pub) A Sign Of The Times of the Carolinas 18th Annual Black History Concert (Central Piedmont Community College’s Pease Auditorium)

POP/ROCK Carmen Tate Band (Beantown Tavern, Matthews)

SOUNDBOARD Dixie Revival (Smokey Joe’s Cafe) The English Beat (The Underground) The Foxies, Carly Taich, Modern Moxie (Snug Harbor) Green River Revival: Kevin Maines & the Volts, Rebirth Brass Band (U.S. National Whitewater Center) Jay Mathey Band (RiRa Irish Pub) The Mannish Boys (Comet Grill) Marvelous Funkshun, Ike Stubblefield (Neighborhood Theatre) Radio Lola, MollyWops (Evening Muse) Rebirth Brass Band, Open Soul Project (The Rabbit Hole) St. Paddy’s Day Bash: Shana Blake Band (Hattie’s Tap & Taverns) St. Patrick’s Day at Tommy’s Pub: Bottle of Smoke (Tommy’s Pub) St. Patrick’s Day Bash at the Roof: Glow Co., Restless Carolina, VillaNova, Lovely Budz, Joal Rush (Tin Roofs) St Patrick’s Day Celebration: Ziggy Pockets, Steve Brown (Primal Brewing, Huntersville)

MARCH 18 BLUES/ROOTS/INTERNATIONAL Live Irish Music - Dennis Spring & the Sons of the Full Moon (The Workman’s Friend) The Kerry Boys Band (RiRa Irish Pub)

COUNTRY/FOLK Old Sap (Free Range Brewing Company)

CLASSICAL/JAZZ/SMOOTH

MARCH 19 HIP-HOP/SOUL/R&B #MFGD Open Mic (Apostrophe Lounge) Knocturnal (Snug Harbor)

POP/ROCK Find Your Muse Open Mic featuring Whitehall (Evening Muse, Charlotte) The Monday Night Allstars (Visulite) Music Trivia (Hattie’s Tap & Tavern, Charlotte)

HIP-HOP/SOUL/R&B Eclectic Soul Tuesdays - RnB & Poetry (Apostrophe Lounge) Soul Station (Crown Station Coffeehouse and Pub)

Kyle Petty, David Childers (Evening Muse) Red Rockin’ Chair (Comet Grill)

Hallow Point, Reflect/Refine, Vices & Vessels, Arborlea, The Culturalist (The Rabbit Hole) Mat Kearney, Andrew Belle, Filous (The Fillmore) New Politics, Dreamers, The Wrecks (The Underground) Uptown Unplugged: Sticks & Stones (Tin Roof) Open Jam with the Smokin’ Js (Smokey Joe’s Cafe) Open Mic hosted by Jarrid and Allen of Pursey Kerns (The Kilted Buffalo, Huntersville)

DJ/ELECTRONIC

Bone Snugs-N-Harmony (Snug Harbor)

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

Above & Beyond (The Fillmore) Gang of Thieves (Heist Brewery) Iced Earth, Sanctuary, Kill Ritual (The Underground) Mary Lambert, Mal Blum (Neighborhood Theatre) Omari and The Hellhounds (Comet Grill)

DENNY STRICKLAND LIMITED ADVANCE $10 ALL OTHERS $12

❈ ❈❈❈❈❈❈❈❈❈❈❈❈❈❈❈❈❈❈❈❈❈❈❈❈❈❈❈❈❈❈❈❈❈❈ ❈❈❈❈❈❈❈❈❈❈❈❈❈❈❈❈❈❈❈❈❈❈❈❈❈❈❈❈❈❈❈❈❈

SATURDAY, MARCH 24

LANCO WITH SPECIAL GUEST

ADAM SANDERS LIMITED ADVANCE $15 ALL OTHERS $18

SATURDAY, APRIL 14

THE CASEY DONAHEW BAND LIMITED ADVANCE $12 ALL OTHERS $15

SATURDAY, APRIL 21

THE LACS

LIMITED ADVANCE $12 ALL OTHERS $15

FRIDAY, MAY 4

COYOTE JOE’S 27TH BIRTHDAY BASH STARRING

GRANGER SMITH FEATURING EARL DIBBLES JR LIMITED ADVANCE $10 ALL OTHERS $12

BLUES/ROOTS/INTERNATIONAL March Residency: Chócola, Tal National, DJ Kato (Snug Harbor)

SATURDAY, MAY 12

AARON WATSON LIMITED ADVANCE $17 ALL OTHERS $20

POP/ROCK Advance Base, Greg Jamie, Future Thieves (Evening Muse) Brandon Davidson (Hattie’s Tap & Tavern) Jay Mathey Band (RiRa Irish Pub) Melvin Seals and the Jerry Garcia Band (Neighborhood Theatre)

FRANK FOSTER WITH SPECIAL GUEST

POP/ROCK

DJ/ELECTRONIC

THIS SATURDAY

COUNTRY/FOLK

MARCH 21

MARCH 20

Gaudium Musicae: Opera Carolina and VOX (St. Ann Catholic Church) New Music Charlotte - Mark Lewis, Jennifer Stasack (Davidson College Tyler-Tallman Recital Hall, Davidson)

POP/ROCK

3/15 FLY FISHING FILM TOUR Presented by Jesse Brown's 3/16 RUNAWAY GIN - A TRIBUTE TO PHISH 3/23 RIPE 3/17 BRAWLEYS BLACK & BLUE 9 **SOLD OUT** 4/4ROGUE WAVE 4/13MIPSO 4/14TOUBAB KREWE 4/17 WOLF ALICE 4/18 THIRD STORY 4/20The OLD 97s 4/21 SCOTS 4/26 LYDIA LOVELESS 4/28 ATLAS ROAD CREW 5/2 TAUK 5/6 (the) MELVINS 5/19 The CLARKS 5/15 TANK AND THE BANGAS 5/31 Justin Townes Earle

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MUSIC

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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.

SATURDAY, MAY 19

DYLAN SCOTT

LIMITED ADVANCE $17 ALL OTHERS $20 ON SALE AT COYOTE JOES AND COYOTE-JOES.COM COYOTE JOE’S : 4621 WILKINSON BLVD

704-399-4946

CLCLT.COM | MAR. 15 - MAR. 21, 2018 | 23

Feast Food Tours

Spring is the perfect time to hook up with one of six walking tours that teach you about the culinary gems to be found in Dilworth, NoDa, South End, Plaza Midwood and Uptown. There’s no better way to eat and learn about Charlotte’s rich culinary scene. When: Weekly tours held throughout the spring. Where: Locations vary More: $60-80; feastfoodtours.com

Taste of the Mint

This annual series features small plate and wine pairings followed by curator-led tours of select art exhibitions. This year includes topics like A Different Kind of Modern and Last Look at Devolar y Detonar. This one not only teaches you about Charlotte’s culinary scene, but also its connection to the arts. When: March 17, April 21, June 16 Where: Mint Museum Uptown, 500 South Tryon St. More: $30-$40; mintmuseum.org

2nd Annual Charlotte Wingfest

Creative Loafing is a proud and hungry sponsor of this rooftop competition where you can put back a cold one while serving as a judge of Charlotte’s best wings, hottest wings, most unique wings and best booth. When: March 24 Where: Rooftop 210; 210 East Trade St. #B320 More: $20-$35; rooftop210.com

Foods That Cool

Warmer weather often brings inflammation and puffiness, so let Chef Julie and Sous Chef Caroline of Nourish teach you how to cook anti-

24 | MAR. 15 - MAR. 21, 2018 | CLCLT.COM

inflammatory and low-sodium dishes to keep you going into summer. Who says you can’t eat well and still look and feel awesome? When: March 27 Where: Nourish, 1421 Orchard Lake Drive, Unit F More: $60; nourishcharlotte.com

When: April 7, Noon-4 p.m. Where: The Fillmore, 820 Hamilton St. More: $20-40; tinyurl.com/ CLTBrunchFest

University Wine Fest

9th Annual Charlotte Craft Beer Week

The light rail is opening, so now you oenophiles have no excuse not to head north for this festival featuring unlimited samples of more than 100 wines from 25 participating wineries. It all takes place along the boardwalk, so you can have your wine and pretend like that water hole is an actual lake. When: April 14, 2-6 p.m. Where: The Shoppes at University Place; 8708 JW Clay Blvd. More: $35 and up; universitycitywinefest.org

Beer Me Brewfest 2018

Wine and Food Weekend

From South End to Plaza Midwood to NoDa, check out the website for a list of events from local breweries, bars and beer shops looking to spread the message about craft beer in Charlotte for the two people left in the city who haven’t gotten it yet. When: March 30-April 8 Where: Locations vary More: charlottecraftbeerweek.org

What other way would you spend National Beer Day than at a beer festival? Unless you’re a teetotaler, you’ll be here with the beers. Even if you are a teetotaler, there’s plenty of music and games to keep you occupied with your drunk friends until it’s time to be the designated driver. When: April 7, 1:30-5:30 p.m. Where: 200 E. Bland St. More: $40 and up; beermebrewfest.com

Charlotte Brunch Festival

An overwhelming response led organizers to switch locations for this event, so you know it’s going to be packed. A ticket gets you free parking, swag, live entertainment and access to countless samples ranging from $2-6, including from Fahrenheit’s new spring brunch menu.

PHOTOS BY DANA VINDIGNI

This one’s pretty self-explanatory, as the region’s leading wine makers come together with their counterparts in the culinary world to advance public knowledge about which wines go best with whatever meal you’re having. And it’s all for a great cause — raising money for children’s charities. When: April 18-21 Where: Uptown Charlotte More: Prices vary; charlottewineandfood.org

Taste of Ayrsley

Sure, you’ve heard of Taste of Charlotte, but Steele Creek will no longer be ignored. This event spotlights the southwest gems of Charlotte’s culinary community. There will also be music, vendors and all kinds of stuff to occupy the kids. When: April 21, 1-6 p.m. Where: Piedmont Social House, 2135 Ayrsley Town Blvd., Suite C More: Free; tasteofayrsley.com

Whales for Wishes

Partnering with The Beer Exchange, Resident Culture will host this year’s bottle share, with all proceeds going to the Make-A-Wish Foundation. Last year, WFW raised more than $15,000; this year, they’re shooting for $18,000. Help ‘em out. When: April 22 Where: Resident Culture Brewing Company; 2101 Central Ave. More: $20; thebeerexchange.io/whales-forwishes-2018/

South End Hops Fest

Another beer, music and food festival — because you can never have too much beer, music and food in this city — including 23 breweries, from Ass Clown to Wooden Robot. Also, the proceeds go to the animal adoption organization Rescued Me. When: May 19 Where: 308 W. Carson Blvd. More: $35 and up; southendhopsfest.org

Taste of Charlotte

Over 100 samples from area restaurants, cooking demos and children’s activities spread over six of Uptown Charlotte’s city blocks. The definitive Charlotte food festival. When: June 8-10 Where: Uptown Charlotte More: Free; tasteofcharlotte.com

Creative Photography Workshop

Open Studio Saturday

BLKMRKTCLT at Camp North End kicks off a series of monthly photography workshops with this session hosted by local photographer Carey King. The workshop is open to everyone from fledgling shutterbugs to professionals, and participants are encouraged to bring their own cameras. When: March 25 Where: BLKMRKTCLT, 1824 Statesville Ave. More: $35; blkmrktclt.com

McColl opens its doors to the public for this family-friendly event, inviting Charlotteans to discover what makes the facility such a vibrant arts space. Art-making activities for all ages are featured, and visitors are encouraged to drop in on artists-in-residence at their studios to check out their work and their creative process. When: April 14 Where: McColl Center for Art + Innovation, 721 North Tryon Street More: Free; mccollcenter.org

Mohawk

BOOM Charlotte

Presented by Charlotte Film Society’s Back Alley Film Series, Mohawk is a western with a twist. For starters, it’s set during the War of 1812, a good 50 years before the time period portrayed in most oaters. Also, the trio of Native Americans are the good guys here, with a trio of Mohawks fighting for their lives against a band of ruthless Americans set on revenge. Did we mention that the three heroes are all lovers? That’s a little bit different too. When: March 29 Where: C3 Lab, 2525 Distribution St More: $5-$10; c3-lab.com

Charlotte Black Film Festival

One of the standout films in this year’s edition of the popular four-day Charlotte film fest is the homegrown Purple Dreams, which tells the story of six at-risk black students of Northwest School of the Arts — and their inspiring teacher — as they work together to bring Alice Walker’s The Color Purple to the stage. Other highlights include The Possibility of Her, about 12 women of color in non-traditional careers, among many more. When: April 5-8 Where: Charlotte Convention Center, 501 S. College St. More: $10-$129; charlotteblackfilmfestival.com

The Big Bang of Charlotte arts explosions returns to Plaza Midwood for the third year in a row. There will be free dance, music, aerial and spoken-word performances outdoors, but the BOOM festival’s core is its fringe shows — a series of hour-long performances at venues spread across the neighborhood. It can be challenging and strange, but there’s a message and a method to BOOM’s madness. As frequent contributor, XOXO Theater’s Matt Cosper, says: “Experimental work is not just being weird for weirdness’ sake.” When: April 20-22 Where: Plaza Midwood More: Free-$10; boomcharlotte.org

Dances of India – 16th Anniversary

Presented by acclaimed choreographer Dr. Maha Gingrich, the performance features traditional classic Indian dances as well as highenergy folk dances. Each dance tells a story about ancient India, bringing epic dramas to life using elaborate masks, costumes and props. When: April 21 Where: Halton Theater, 1206 Elizabeth Ave. More: $5-$10; cpcc.edu

The Sherlock Project

Paperhouse Theatre puts a new face on the master detective from 221-B Baker Street. This interactive experience at the Frock Shop flips the conventions of those classic English mystery stories by Arthur Conan Doyle, turning the audience into active participants in sleuthing, adventure and discovery. There will be more questions raised and answered than “Whodunnit?” When: April 26 – May 12 Where: The Frock Shop, 901 Central Ave. More: Tickets available March 26. paperhousetheatre.com

Spring Works

With this production Charlotte Ballet introduces three new choreographers to the fold — former Charlotte Ballet dancer and emerging talent Bryan Arias; Helen Pickett, reprising her mesmerizing pas de deux Tsukiyo; and up-andcomer Filipe Portugal, who makes his North American debut at Charlotte Ballet. When: April 26 – 28 Where: Knight Theatre, 430 South Tryon Street More: $25 and up; charlotteballet.org

Kings Drive Art Walk

Think of this as Festival in the Park’s cooler, artsier cousin, an outdoor arts walk and openair gallery spread along the reclaimed natural waterway between E. Morehead Street and the Pearl St. Bridge along Kings Drive. The walk features fine and emerging artists in a beautiful setting. When: May 5-6 Where: Little Sugar Creek Greenway, Dillworth More: Free; festivalinthepark.org/kings-driveart-walk/

Modernism + Film: Raw Beauty In 1906, a psychiatrist at Bern Psychiatric

Hospital started collecting artwork by his patients. This work fascinated artists such as Paul Klee and gave rise to the “Art Brut” or “Outsider Art” movement. This film investigates the history of and ongoing fascination with these groundbreaking works. When: May 17 Where: Bechtler Museum of Modern Art, 420 South Tryon Street More: $10; bechtler.org

Spring Awakening

This classic 19th century German coming-ofage play gets a rock ‘n roll makeover with music by Duncan Sheik. At the musical’s core is the notion that the discovery of sex turns the world on its head and makes all creation seem dangerous and alive. Directory Billy Ensley, whose edgy Bonnie & Clyde engrossed audiences at Matthews Playhouse, works his disquieting magic here. When: May 25 – June 10 Where: Theatre Charlotte, 501 Queens Road More: $28; theatrecharlotte.org

God’s Trombones

This gospel-infused theatrical production puts folk preachers on the same footing as epic bards and storytellers. OnQ Productions presents a tribute to the African-American church tradition with a collection of sermons interspersed with music interludes. The show traces the spiritual roots of jazz, blues, funk and rock n’ roll. When: June 19-21 Where: McGlohon Theater, 130 North Tryon Street More: $20; youarenowonq.com

CLCLT.COM | MAR. 15 - MAR. 21, 2018 | 25

Charlotte Knights

The Knights return to Uptown for the fifth straight season in their actual hometown — in their actual state — and it all begins with an opening exhibition against their big brothers, the Chicago White Sox. The clever marketing staff over at BB&T has decided to make every evening game start at 7:04 p.m. (get it?), so that’s the plan unless otherwise listed. March 21: Chicago White Sox (Exhibition) April 12-15: Scranton/Wilkes-Barre RailRiders April 16-18: Rochester Red Wings April 27-29: Norfolk Tides April 30-May 1: Gwinnett Braves May 2: Gwinnett Braves (Day game, 11:05 a.m.) May 11-12: Durham Bulls May 13: Durham Bulls (Day game, 2:05 p.m.) May 21-24: Norfolk Tides May 25-27: Indianapolis Indians May 28: Indianapolis Indians (Day game, 2:05 p.m.) June 5-7: Syracuse Chiefs June 8-9: Lehigh Valley IronPigs June 10: Lehigh Valley IronPigs (Day game, 2:05 p.m.) June 19-21: Columbus Clippers Where: BB&T Ballpark, 324 S. Mint St. Cost: Single tickets, $12 and up. More: bbtballparkcharlotte.com

Charlotte Hornets

The Hornets have let us down greatly this season, and we won’t be seeing any playoff games here in Buzz City, so go catch them while you can. If you’re showing up to these season-wrapping games, take comfort in knowing that nobody can ever call you a bandwagon fan. March 22: Memphis Grizzlies, 7 p.m. March 26: New York Knicks, 7 p.m. March 28: Cleveland Cavaliers, 7 p.m. April 1: Philadelphia 76ers, 1 p.m. April 8: Indiana Pacers, 1 p.m.

26 | MAR. 15 - MAR. 21, 2018 | CLCLT.COM

Where: Spectrum Center, 333 E. Trade St. Cost: Single tickets, $14 and up. More: nba.com/hornets

Charlotte Roller Girls

The Roller Girls have already kicked their season off with a matchup against Panhandle United, and they’ll be back in May for the first of a couple spring bouts. First listed opponent will skate against the CLTRG All-Stars, while the second will face the B-Dazzlers. May 19: Little Steele Derby Girls; Spartanburg Deadly Dolls June 16: Dominion Derby Girls A; Dominion Derby Girls B Where: Grady Cole Center, 310 N. King Drive. Cost: $6.50-12 More: charlotterollergirls.com

Charlotte Independence

The Independence has made themselves nice and cozy in Matthews since feeling unappreciated in the Queen City and heading southeast on their namesake boulevard, but they’re still in the county. March 24: Toronto FC II March 31: Atlanta United FC II April 14: North Carolina FC April 28: Indy Eleven May 12: FC Cincinatti June 16: Charleston Battery Where: Sportsplex at Matthews, 1505 Tank Town Rd., Matthews. Cost: $15 and up. More: charlotteindependence.com

Charlotte Hounds

We know our readership can often be sportsilliterate, so this is your yearly reminder that Charlotte does have a Major League Lacrosse team, and the games are damn fun. April 21: Boston Cannons April 27: Dallas Rattlers

May 3: Chesapeake Bayhawks June 2: Denver Outlaws Where: Memorial Stadium, 310 N. Kings Drive. Cost: $10 and up. More: charlottehounds.com

Monster Energy NASCAR All-Star Race

The NBA All-Star Game is coming to Charlotte in 2019, but you’re liable to see a whole different crowd at this one, as NASCAR’s best drivers face-off after qualifying through points, winning one of the three stages before the big race or coming out on top of the fan vote. When: May 19, 6 p.m. Where: Charlotte Motor Speedway, 5555 Concord Pkwy S., Concord More: $10 and up. charlottemotorspeedway.com

NHRA Four-Wide Nationals

For those who like racing but don’t have the attention span for NASCAR, right next door to the Charlotte Motor Speedway is “the Bellagio of drag strips,” where Top Fuel, Funny Car, Pro Stock and Pro Stock Motorcycle races will be held throughout the weekend. When: April 27-29, All day Where: zMAX Dragway, 6570 Bruton Smith Blvd., Concord. More: Prices vary. charlottemotorspeedway.com

Color Vibe Charlotte

If nothing else, you’ll get some sick pictures out of this social media-friendly 5K. Do it for the ‘Gram. When: April 7, 8 a.m. Where: Concord Mills, 8111 Concord Mills Blvd., Concord More: $30-65. thecolorvibe.com/charlotte.php

Yoga Retreat for Women of Color

In recent years, many yoga spaces have gone from inclusive to gentrified, but this event will create comfort for women of color through hatha yoga, meditation and speaking truths. When: May 5, 8 a.m. Where: Grier Heights Community Center, 3100 Leroy St. More: $95. tinyurl.com/yogaforWOC

Mixed Up in the Queen City

This co-ed disc golf tournament is not going to allow teams to put the guys on the tee pad and let the women through the putts and more technical shots. Each team member — one man and one woman — must throw nine drives of the pad each. When: May 20 Where: Kilborne TPC, 2600 Kilborne Drive More: $25 per team. tinyurl.com/ MixedUpDoubles

Sol Fest

There’s craft beer sampling and live music for those interested in relaxing on the last day of spring, but that’s no fun. Get proactive and sign up for one of the multiple races held throughout the day on the river and the trails. When: June 16, All day beginning at 7:30 a.m. Where: U.S. National Whitewater Center, 5000 Whitewater Center Pkwy. More: Free to attend, prices vary for participation. usnwc.org/relax/festivals/solfest/

Charlotte Goes Green Festival

It’s all things Irish when Charlotte goes green. The St. Paddy’s Day Parade is the kickoff spring event that everybody loves, because — well, how could you not love it? You get Irish jigs, music from pipe and drum bands, the Federal Clan Kings (featuring Lenny Federal and his family), lots of marching bands, and beer that doesn’t necessarily have to be of the “craft” variety. Come out to the parade route on Tryon Street at around 10 a.m. and get the party started. The parade begins at 11 a.m.; entertainment goes on all day. When: 10 a.m. - 6 p.m., March 17 Where: S. Tryon St. at E. 3rd St., Charlotte More: Free; charlottestpatsday.com

Tuck Fest

You know the drill: lots of Americana music plus water and trail tricks packed into four days of outdoor fun. The Tuck music lineup skews fairly predictable — solid, beloved sounds from solid, beloved acts like Shakey Graves, Deer Tick, the Wood Brothers and Elonzo Wesley. But the real fun of this event is the climbing, biking, trail running, kayaking, rafting and swimming you’ll get to participate in yourself, if you so choose. If not, you can live vicariously thorugh those who are participating. When: April 19 - 22 Where: U.S. National Whitewater Center, 5000 Whitewater Center Pkway More: Free (with $6 parking) - up (to participate); tuckfest.org

New Era Hip-Hop Fest

One of the more exciting first-year Charlotte music festivals this year is the New Era Hip-Hop Festival, which will feature a veritable who’s who of Charlotte-area rappers including Th3 Higher, Nige Hood, Lord Jah-Monte Ogbon, Black Linen, Ron Styles, La La Specific, Railz the Principle, Indigo Jo, SideNote, Mori Bea, Ricky Rogers, and many, many more. If you’ve been

loving Charlotte’s exploding hip-hop scenes over the past few years, then come out and support its artists and show the organizers that this festival should become an annual event. When: April 21 Where: New Era Music House, 5814 Old Concord Rd. More: $20; tinyurl.com/NewEraFest

MerleFest

North Carolina’s most beloved Americana music fest — launched by N.C.’s most-beleved guitar picker, the late, great Doc Watson — features another stellar lineup topped by the Silver-Tongued Devil himself, legendary singer/ songwriter Kris Kristofferson (“Me and Bobby McGee,” “Why Me?,” “Sunday Morning Coming Down,” and so many others). Also appearing will be the phenomenal N.C. singer and banjo player Rhiannon Giddens (of Merlefest regulars the Carolina Chocolate Drops), The Mavericks, Bela Fleck and Abigail Washburn, and a wide range of equally deserving but less-famous pickers and grinners. When: April 26 - 29 Where: North Wilkesboro More: $50 - $275; merlefest.org

Moo and Brew

Not only will you scarf down some of the best burgers in Charlotte and guzzle some of the finest craft beer and kombucha, but you also get to experience some of the most aweinspiring live Americana music in the nation when Charleston’s Shovels & Rope hits the stage. Also performing this year: history royalty will appear in the person of Texas bluesman Charley Crockett, a direct descendent of American folk legend Davy Crockett. So check it: You get living history, beer, burgers — and the proceeds go to Second Harvest Food Bank. Everybody wins. When: April 28 Where: AvidXchange Music Factory, 1000 NC Music Factory Blvd. More: $35 - $55; mooandbrewfest.com

Carolina Rebellion

This one reads like a blast from the ‘90s past (minus the guys who are now dead): Alice in Chains, Stone Temple Pilots, even ‘80s MTV icon Billy Idol. Other, more alive acts on the bill: Queens of the Stone Age, Incubus, the Used, Godsmack, Andrew W.K., etc. Carolina Rebellion is the place to be if rebellion, to you, means flashing the devil horns, banging your head to loud rock and camping with fellow lovers of black leather, spikes and tattoos. When: May 4 - 6 Where: Charlotte Motor Speedway, 5555 Concord Pkwy S, Concord More: $199 - $299; carolinarebellion.com

LEAF Festival

For those who choose to pass on Carolina rebelling — in other words, you prefer hemp to leather, and would rather camp with fellow granola-crunchers who shake their (predominantly) white booties to a swirl of folk and world music sounds — Leaf is where you want to be. This year, reliable protest folk singer Ani DiFranco headlines, but you’ll also hear some terrific artists from around the region, country and world, including Haiti’s Boukman Eksperyans, New York’s band of female mariachis Flor de Toloache and a full-on Southern Fried Poetry Slam. When: May 10 - 13 Where: Black Mountain More: $46 - $220; theleaf.org

NC Brewers and Music Festival

Looking for two days of NC-brewed craft beer and (mostly) Southeastern-brewed Americana music? Look no further. You’ll drink beer from Charlotte breweries Lenny Boy and Bird Song, NoDa and Nomad, and see QC guitarist and singer-songwriter Josh Daniel’s project with Asheville mandolin player Mark Schimick, as well as other fiery acts including flatpicker

Larry Keel, the Raleigh country-bluegrass quartet Chatham County Line and Asheville jammers Acoustic Syndicate. When: May 11 - 12 Where: Rurual Hill, 4431 Neck Road, Huntersville More: $8 - $78; ncbrewsmusic.com

Moogfest

At the cutting edge of experimental music and tech since its 2004 launch in New York, Moogfest (which moved to Asheville in 2010 and Durham in 2016) has featured such pioneering electronic artists as Kraftwerk, Tangerine Dream, Terry Riley, Brian Eno, Laurie Anderson and Nile Rodgers, along with more contemporary acts ranging from Flying Lotus to Sleigh Bells. Named for the late Bob Moog, inventor of the Moog synthesizer, the festival continues to push musical boundaries, offering interactive workshops or just the concert experiences. This year’s lineup features LCD Soundsystem’s Gavin Rayna Russom, Senegalborn synthesist Fatima Al Qadiri, Japanese ambient musician Midori Takada, singer Jamila Woods and privacy rights activist Chelsea Manning, who will speak on the future of creativity. Moogfest is a must-attend event for anyone who cares about music innovation. When: May 17 - 20 Where: Durham More: $99 - $1,500; moogfest.com

CLCLT.COM | MAR. 15 - MAR. 21, 2018 | 27

FEATURE

ARTS

ROUGH JUSTICE ‘A Time to Kill’ asks uncomfortable questions about gun violence and race BY PAT MORAN

APE, MURDER AND RACISM. That’s what’s on

the docket in a small-town Mississippi courtroom in the early 1980s, the setting for A Time to Kill. The stage adaptation of the debut novel from best-selling author John Grisham, which goes up at Theatre Charlotte March 23, draws on the traditional courtroom drama trappings of a Perry Mason or Matlock episode, but it also embraces harrowing — and timeless — subject matter. Director Dave Blamy wouldn’t have it any other way. “The play asks the question, ‘What would you do?’” Blamy says. “How far would you go for something you believe in?” That line of questioning is set in motion in the play when an African-American man, Carl Lee Hailey, enters the courthouse where two white men charged with raping and beating his 10-year old daughter are being arraigned. Hailey opens fire with his M-16, a military-grade weapon, and kills the assailants. The bereaved father is arrested and charged with murder. Recent events turned the show’s opening act of violence into more than just a plot point that sets the legal drama in motion. It posed a moral dilemma that called for soul searching on the part of Blamy and his cast and crew. The director, actors and technicians assembled for rehearsal just a few days after the horrific shooting at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School in Parkland, Florida. “We discussed how we felt about the tragedy,” Blamy remembers. The creative team wondered if their fictional story, which begins with gunfire and bloodshed, would touch a nerve too raw for audiences and performers alike. In the end, Tim Hager, who plays Jake Brigance, the idealistic white attorney who defends Hailey, urged Blamy and his team to press on with the production as planned. Hager argued that A Time to Kill is about much more than a murder case — it’s about equality, the role race plays in the justice system, and the importance of standing up for what you believe is right. It’s a tale that begs to be told in our current troubled times. “The play explores themes that were relevant in the 1980s, that are relevant now and that are going to be relevant in 20 years,” Blamy says. 28 | MAR. 15 - MAR. 21, 2018 | CLCLT.COM

Client and counselor (L to R) – Carl Lee Hailey (Jonathan Caldwell) confers with Jake Brigance (Tim Hager) Blamy has been a fixture on the Charlotte theater scene since 2005, when he moved here with his wife after earning a PhD in playwriting at Texas Tech University. After acting for companies that are no longer around — Bare Bone Theater and CAST — Blamy played Otto Frank in Theatre Charlotte’s staging of The Diary of Anne Frank. Blamy hit it off with Theatre Charlotte’s executive director Ron Law, and Law approached Blamy to direct his first show for the company, Neil Simon’s Biloxi Blues. “Frankly that was a great piece to jump in directing,” Blamy says. “Neil Simon is inherently funny. Just stay out of his way and the jokes will come.” These days Blamy is an in-demand television and film actor, known for his roles in the series House of Cards, Under the Dome, and Army Wives. He’s reduced his Charlotte stage commitments to approximately one show a year. “It’s difficult to commit to the six or eight weeks of rehearsal and performance when there is more and more camera work coming to the region,” he says. “You have to be really passionate about a project in order for it to take you out of the running for more lucrative jobs.” When Law offered Blamy A Time to Kill, he couldn’t say no. The show’s message resonated with him. Among the numerous roles Blamy has portrayed on Charlotte stages, the upright attorney Atticus Finch in Theatre Charlotte’s 2015 production of To Kill a Mockingbird is one of the actor’s favorites. Blamy sees a parallel between that classic, racially charged courtroom drama and this production of the Grisham novel. A major theme running through both is

PHOTO BY MAGEN PORTANOVA, MAGEN MARIE PHOTOGRAPHY

Dave Blamy embracing and understanding the humanity in other people, Blamy maintains. “In A Time to Kill, Jake talks to the jury about empathy,” Blamy says. “It echoes Atticus’ line in To Kill a Mockingbird: ‘You never really understand a person until you consider things from his point of view…until you climb in his skin and walk around in it.’” “I think A Time to Kill is timely,” Ron Law says. “It offers good roles, with a couple of really strong parts for African Americans.” Law says he approached Blamy because he feels the actor has sensitivity to issues of equality and inclusion. “Dave is also a funny guy,” Law says, “but he handles tough, intense situations quite well.” Not all of the show’s intensity stems from its controversial themes and contentious questions. The production also posed tough technical issues for Blamy and his crew. The play has a large cast — 14 actors

PHOTO BY CHRIS TIMMONS

portraying over 20 roles — and multiple scene changes with two acts divided into 17 short segments. The challenge for Blamy and his scenic and lighting designer, Theatre Charlotte’s associate artistic director Chris Timmons, was how to move people, props and scenery seamlessly from scene to scene. “Long scene changes can drag a show down,” Blamy says, so he and Timmons decided to anchor the show to one central set — the courtroom — and only suggest other locations by lighting cues and shifting a few set pieces. “We both felt strongly that the courtroom is the crux of the play,” Blamy says. “I think we get in and out of scenes well, and in a clever and imaginative way.” With its short scenes, the show is cinematic in structure, but Blamy did not want to copy the 1996 film version of A Time to Kill, which stars Samuel Jackson as Hailey, Matthew McConaughey as Brigance, and Kevin Spacey as ambitious District Attorney Rufus Buckley. “I’ve encouraged the cast and production team not to watch the movie or look at any clips,” Blamy says. “If [an audience member] has already read the book or seen the film it won’t matter, because this show is its own unique experience. “ The director praises his cast for bringing this experience alive onstage. He cites Jonathan Caldwell, who plays Hailey, as particularly captivating. “Jonathan is an honest actor,” Blamy says. In the actor’s audition, the dialog in which the character talked about his daughter rang particularly true. “It turns out that Jonathan has a 9-year old daughter,” Blamy says. “When he read the lines, you

‘A TIME TO KILL’ Adapted by Rupert Holmes from the novel by John Grisham Theatre Charlotte March 23 – April 8 $28 theatrecharlotte.org

could see that he was talking about a real person.” Blamy directed Tim Hager, who plays Brigance, in Theatre Charlotte’s 2015 production of Dracula. “Brigance is cut from the same cloth as Atticus Finch in Mockingbird,” Blamy says. “He’s a gentle guy who can find ways to command the room. Tim captures that attractive Everyman quality.” If the play has a villain, it’s District Attorney Buckley, who sees Hailey’s murder trial as a ticket to a political career. “After Conrad Harvey read for the role, I knew he was Buckley,” Blamy says. Completely bald and well over 6 feet tall, Harvey cuts an imposing figure. “Then Conrad opened his mouth and it turns out that he’s a voice actor who can do marvelous things with his voice,” Blamy says. Perhaps most surprising about the imposing Harvey is that he’s never acted on stage before this production. That mix of seasoned performers and talented first-timers is the tool Blamy uses to engage the audience in a legal labyrinth, which is also a moral quandary. In the show, Hailey admits to the killings, so there is never any doubt he’s the murderer. Brigance enters a not-guilty plea on the grounds of insanity, so the onstage trial ostensibly revolves around determining the accused’s state of mind when the crime was committed. But no one really doubts Hailey’s sanity, Blamy contends. The community shares the extra-legal societal norm that in the case of a horrific rape and beating of a young girl, the girl’s father is justified in killing the rapists. What the case really revolves around is whether homicide, in this case, is justifiable if the father and daughter happen to be African American. It’s a pertinent question — especially in the era of a real-life Attorney General like Jeff Sessions. In the end, Brigance’s case boils down to one question for the jury: If they were in Hailey’s shoes, what would they do? The

PHOTO BY CHRIS TIMMONS

The district attorney confronts the defendant (L to R) - Carl Lee Hailey (Jonathan Caldwell), Judge Omar Noose (Jim Greenwood), D.A. Rufus Buckley (Conrad Harvey)

“THE PLAY EXPLORES THEMES THAT WERE RELEVANT IN THE 1980S, ARE RELEVANT NOW AND ARE GOING TO BE RELEVANT IN 20 YEARS.” DAVE BLAMY query raises a raft of other questions. When is procedural justice unequal to actual justice? When, if ever, is vigilantism justified? Despite its previous iterations as novel and movie, A Time to Kill’s moral challenge is uniquely suited for the stage, Blamy says.

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“You can pause the movie. You can close the book and pick it up later. But with theater there is nowhere to escape,” the director says. “When the audience has those actors right in front of them, it’s a visceral exchange that just can’t be replicated in any other way.”

In effect, Brigance is not just talking to the jury; he’s confronting the audience when he asks, “What would you do?” “It’s a tough question,” Blamy says, “and I want it to hang with the audience.” PMORAN@CLCLT.COM

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Oprah Winfrey and Storm Reid in ‘A Wrinkle in Time’

ARTS

DISNEY

Daniela Vega in ‘A Fantastic Woman’

SONY PICTURES CLASSICS

FILM

TIME AFTER TIME Leaden adaptation misses who, what and why BY MATT BRUNSON

A LITERARY CLASSIC becomes a cinematic clunker with A Wrinkle in Time (** out of four), the ambitious but ultimately disappointing adaptation of Madeleine L’Engle’s lovely 1962 novel. Remaining faithful enough to the plot of the book, this screen version finds Meg Murry (Storm Reid), still understandably upset over the disappearance of her scientist father (Chris Pine) four years earlier, being handed an opportunity to locate him thanks to the involvement of three celestial beings. Introduced to Meg and her friend Calvin (Levi Miller) by her younger brother Charles Wallace (Deric McCabe), the trio of Mrs. Which (Oprah Winfrey), Mrs. Whatsit (Reese Witherspoon) and Mrs. Who (Mindy Kaling) informs the children that Dr. Murry vanished upon discovering that the fabric of time and space can fold on itself. But Dr. Murry is now being held prisoner by an evil interstellar entity known simply as “It,” and with the members of The Losers’ Club off in their own movie, it’s up to these comparable outcasts to save the day — and the universe. Ava DuVernay, who earned an Oscar nomination for the mesmerizing documentary 13th and should have earned one for the powerful drama Selma, seems paralyzed with reverence for the source material, as her direction is atypically muted and her setpieces alarmingly flat. For a film that traffics in imagination and phantasmagorical sights, A Wrinkle in Time is surprisingly cumbersome 32 | MAR. 15 - MAR. 21, 2018 | CLCLT.COM

in its visual splendor, with much of the film caught in a chokehold that’s mercilessly being applied by impersonal and deadening visual effects. Worse, most of the actors are urged to deliver their dialogue in monotonous rather than melodious waves, none more so than poor Storm Reid. Winfrey sounds like she’s already practicing for a presidential run, speaking her words in measured and drowsy tones, while Kaling’s Mrs. Who barely registers as a character. Only Witherspoon seems to be having any fun in her role, providing the picture with some much-needed pep (and until his character turns into a more verbose version of Pet Sematary’s Gage in the third act, McCabe also adds some life to the proceedings with his boyish enthusiasm). A Wrinkle in Time is recommended for children, who will enjoy its colorful palette and benefit from its messages involving individuality, self-worth, anti-bullying, and other notable pursuits. But for the adults who accompany them, their only interest in Time will be in determining how much of it remains before the closing credits begin their roll. A-LIST ACTORS CUTTING LOOSE is the prime draw of Gringo (**1/2 out of four), an irreverent comedy in which Charlize Theron mocks the deaf, Joel Edgerton informs a Mexican that “Yo quiero Taco Bell,” and David Oyelowo is shown gettin’ jiggy wit it.

Oyelowo, Selma’s MLK, here plays Harold Soyinka, who, when he’s not busy singing along to Will Smith in his car, is being played the patsy by practically everyone around him. Too nice for this world, the sweet and trusting Harold works for bosses (Edgerton and Theron) ready to sell him out, loves a wife (Thandie Newton) who’s been cheating behind his back, and runs afoul of a powerful drug lord known as (with apologies to Marvel) The Black Panther (Carlos Corona). The only decent person he encounters during his disaster-plagued business trip to Mexico is a fellow American named Sunny (Amanda Seyfried) — he might be able to trust a cheery mercenary (Sharlto Copley) who unexpectedly arrives on the scene, but he’s not entirely certain. A hot mess of a movie, Gringo initially maintains interest with its various twists and turns. But as the film progresses, the storyline splinters rather than gels, and the climax is the usual standard-procedure car chase followed by the usual standard-issue shootout. Still, the picture nevertheless benefits from its engaging roster of actors, including Oyelowo in an immensely likable turn. Best of all, though, is Theron, who has lately been testing her action credentials with the likes of Atomic Blonde and Mad Max: Fury Road. This time, she prefers to flex her comedic muscles, resulting in a ferociously funny performance that takes no prisoners.

THE NEWLY ANOINTED Academy Award winner for Best Foreign Language Film, the Chilean import A Fantastic Woman (*** out of four) tells the story of Marina (an excellent Daniela Vega), a waitress who’s the partner of the affluent and older Orlando (Francisco Reyes). Late one night, Orlando discovers he doesn’t feel well, and it isn’t long after being taken to the hospital that he passes away. Everyone is allowed to mourn in proper fashion after Orlando’s death — his ex-wife, his brother, his children. Everyone, that is, except Marina. Because she’s a trans woman, she is treated horribly by almost everyone she encounters. She’s bullied by one of Orlando’s grown kids. She’s badgered by an investigator whose specialty is sex crimes. And she’s forbidden by Orlando’s disgusted ex-wife from attending his funeral. Writer-director Sebastián Lelio indulges in a couple of flights of fancy during the course of A Fantastic Woman, but they’re superfluous moments that really aren’t required. This is a movie that’s at its best when it operates simply and without flourish, satisfied merely to point out the awfulness of people when they refuse to show basic human decency toward those who are different. Like Get Out, Three Billboards Outside Ebbing, Missouri and other 2017 Oscar-entrusted peers, it’s a movie of the moment, similarly pleading for hope and change against formidable, unfortunate odds. BACKTALK@CLCLT.COM

ARTS

ARTSPEAK

ART THERAPY Omar Crenshaw finds ‘Golden Nuggets’ in the trash bin BY GREY REVELL

BY THE TIME Omar Crenshaw graduated

from Appalachian State University in 2011 with a master’s in marriage and family therapy, he knew he wasn’t going to be a practicing therapist. Even as an intern, he found the daily grind of treating an endless array of social and family ills was taking its toll. “It was heavy,” Crenshaw, 31, remembers. Crenshaw turned to art to cope with the stresses of the job. He began spinning records as DJ Hugo with the Charlotte music collective Hip Hop Orchestrated, the ambitious music-education project, founded by CL contributor Kia Octavia Moore, which spotlights connections between hip-hop and orchestral music. He also started exploring street art as a way to express himself. But canvases, particularly the large ones graffiti artists prefer, can be pretty expensive. Crenshaw discovered an alternative to buying them. He learned that local theaters discarded their set pieces after closing shows; the background panels and wooden stage sets proved to be ideal canvases for his newest passion. But dumpster-diving yielded other great finds for Crenshaw, and as he continued to explore his newfound art calling, he realized that looking for treasures in trash could be an opportunity to give back to his community. Crenshaw talked to Moore, who had won a 2016 grant from the Knight Foundation’s Emerging City Champions Fellowship Program, which funds projects in 13 cities across the United States that strengthen mobility, improve public spaces and enhance civic engagement. Moore encouraged him to apply for the same grant the next year, and Crenshaw won it — $5,000 to implement a project in Charlotte that he now calls Golden Nuggets. The idea: to teach budding artists how to see beauty and utility in garbage. Hosted by the Charlotte non-profit youth organization Behailu Academy, Crenshaw’s Golden Nuggets program trains middle and high school students to use discarded items to create art pieces that represent their cultures and communities. As part of the curriculum, Golden Nuggets plans regular student shows, and the next one will be at Baku Gallery, in NoDa, on Friday, March 16. Creative Loafing met up with Crenshaw on a recent night in Plaza Midwood to talk with him about the project and its future. CL: What inspired you to turn your dumpster diving into Golden Nuggets? Omar Crenshaw: One of my friends [Moore] won the [Knight Foundation] grant, and she put together Hip Hop Orchestrated, which I was a part of. She motivated me to take my ideas to another level, and put it out there in

PHOTO COURTESY OF OMAR CRENSHAW

Omar Crenshaw sprays up a wall.

GOLDEN NUGGETS ART SHOW 7-10 p.m. March 16, Baku Gallery (inside Fu’s Custom Tattoo), 3200 N. Davidson St. 704-376-4556; fustattoos.com

a different way. I was then able to take what I know, with my educational background, and marry it with my artistic capability, and give back to the community in a way that would allow me to teach kids something that they could then use in various ways. How did you get the program into the Behailu Academy? Behailu asked me to come down and tell them a little more about my plans for the project, and what my projected lesson plans would be. They brought me up to speed on their own guidelines — what they would need to do, and how they ran their own semesters, things like that. We found a time to work, and discussed how we would go about getting materials, and storing everything. It all worked out, it was a very positive thing. What’s the most positive thing you’ve seen come from Golden Nuggets? I think the most positive thing is watching all the awesome artists who are finding themselves and realizing their capabilities. A lot of them knew they were really good, but I don’t think they really knew how good they were until someone actually gave them the tools. I’ve seen a kid having a bad day who doesn’t really want to talk, but then you can see the expression of what they’re going through in the art, and that’s really cool — that’s literally what art therapy is, and it’s awesome to see someone going through a therapeutic process, unconsciously. Have there been any major challenges? The biggest obstacles have been finding materials that were consistent. When I was dumpster diving to make my own art, it

didn’t matter if the piece was big or small, but when you have to find pieces for a group of nine, and try to be fair to everyone, because they all want the biggest thing to do their work on, that was a major obstacle. The other one, honestly, was staying on a lesson plan. [laughs] I sympathize with all teachers. I had built lesson plans before, but those were for a more college-type scene, and it’s easier with college students. It’s a whole different kind of wild card with kids. And the fact that you’re giving kids spray paint, and they’ll want to spray everything up. Do you think Charlotte is more receptive to street art these days? I’ve seen graffiti art in places where I never would have seen it before. I think it’s something that Charlotte’s coming around to, so hopefully in the next couple of years it’ll grow.. And there’s definitely an underground scene that’s been exposed, showing different artists and their abilities. You have murals being completed all around the city, so you can’t say that it’s not happening.

Any specific artists we should look for? DeNeer Davis [a collaborator and co-educator at Golden Nuggets] comes to mind. She’s an amazing artist, born and raised here in Charlotte. It’s great to see her find ways to make street art in an acceptable and legal way. [laughs] She’s not tagging up buildings and whatnot. And when she does do public art, it’s commissioned and she does very good work. So I would definitely check her out. With your background in therapy, do you think Golden Nuggets could be an alternative to the couch? As a culture, we talk about mental health a lot, but we don’t value it the way other cultures do, because we drive things like success into the ground. We don’t talk about all the unhealthy things that come along with that. The frame of mind that art creates, the way it takes your mind off your stress — that, in and of itself, is a benefit, and if you can get someone even thinking about that at a younger age, then as they grow, I think they’ll simply lead a healthier lifestyle. CLCLT.COM | MAR. 15 - MAR. 21, 2018 | 33

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Evening Muse. I grabbed tickets Thursday OKAY, SO I know I’m going to get ostracized night and before you know it, we were in an for admitting this — probably by my CL editors who teased me when I “discovered” Uber heading to NoDa Friday night. I’m not Snug Harbor last year — but last Friday was going to lie, I was shocked at how small the my first time going to The Evening Muse in venue was. I pictured something along the NoDa. There, I said it. Before I end up having lines of the Visualite Theatre or The Fillmore to adorn the scarlet letter for the rest of my Charlotte. But no, this was tiny. The bar, career as a nightlife writer, give me a second which is on the right when you enter, was to explain my social faux pas. simply a wooden shelf with stacked bottles I only recently got to the point in and glasses. And the stage? A three-inch nightlife where I actually enjoy going to platform. Other than that, there were stools “shows” with my friends. As someone who’s scattered along the left-hand side and two known to consume rap, trap and all things single bathrooms in the back right corner. hip-hop, I think I can safely say there’s a huge difference between going to see No bells and whistles for this music Lil’ Wayne perform at PNC Music venue, and that’s why I loved it. Pavillion and the SoFar shows (Especially when I decided to I’ve been attending over the make the switch to a tall past few months. boy PBR. Maybe you disagree. You enter at the However, there’s a deeper corner of North Davidson level of intimacy you’ll and East 36th streets find at a “show” than across from The Blind you’ll find at a concert, Pig. We had to pay a dollar and I’ve grown to for membership and then appreciate it completely. And that’s even when I the boys headed straight for AERIN SPRUILL don’t know anything about the bar. As a latecomer to the the artist/band performing. pregame, I needed to rely on an Anyways, I’ve talked often RBV to get me through. While I ordered, about my SoFar Charlotte experiences in I watched the crowd slowly trickling in while the Queen City and how the allure of “not bobbing their heads to Pierce Edens, another knowing what you’re going to get” has led familiar face from the Camp North End to sold out shows twice a month. And on SoFar show. We had no idea there would be this past Wednesday, the boyfriend and I an opener, so while we started to get antsy, experienced déjà vu and nostalgia when we we definitely enjoyed getting our money’s watched a couple familiar faces performing worth. once again: Mo Lowda & The Humble. The first time we saw them was on By the time Mo Lowda & The Humble Halloween at Camp North End. It was came on, I was ready for a sound that was my first show and I wasn’t exactly in the more my style. You’ll have to Google these right headspace to pay attention to anyone artists if you haven’t heard of them and performing (it was BYOG – bring your own experience their music for yourself. I’m no goodies), but I remembered one thing: he music writer. loved them. When I heard them at the show Once they started playing, I looked over this past Wednesday (for my first time) at at my boo thang and he seemed to have the Charlotte Trolley Powerhouse Studio in the same look of confusion on his face as I South End, I was taken aback. had. Their sound was more rock ‘n’ roll than The sound was pure and paralyzing. Next thing you know, “the band we didn’t know” the sweet melodies I remembered from two was announcing that they were playing at nights prior. Don’t get me wrong, I like that The Evening Muse two days later. I’d already they can cater their music to the listening alerted my sweetheart that a band that had audience. However, we were looking forward played at the show in October was going to a repeat of the intimate atmosphere we to be returning, but it wasn’t until that experienced in the cozy space at the trolley moment that he realized it was his favorite museum. act of the entire show. (Side note: I almost Nevertheless, I’ll definitely be returning suggested we abandon the show when I to The Evening Muse for a show very soon. noticed that Futo Buta was only a stone’s Share your favorite intimate venues with me throw away and we haven’t tried it.) at backtalk@clclt. After hearing them perform, it was BACKTALK@CLCLT.COM confirmed. We were going to the show at The

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DOWN

1 Goldie of “Foul Play” 2 Turkish chief 3 Campbell of country 4 Full chromosome set 5 Car-towing org. 6 Gigantic 7 One of the Judds 8 Shar- -- (dog breed) 9 “With God -- witness” 10 Phrase on a thin coin 11 New Deal prez 12 Add- -- (extras) 13 Wildlife park 14 Incarnations of deities 15 Jazz great Puente 16 Very dry 17 Advance, as money 18 Captains’ journals 21 More fitting 24 “For want of --, the shoe was lost” 25 Half of Mork’s sign-off 31 Poker stakes 32 Feel likewise 34 Insect snare 35 Be part of, as a film 36 Montreal’s province 37 Elevated region 38 Puts into law 39 Tobaccoless smoke 40 Sitarist Shankar 41 Like a child 42 Toad feature 43 Jason’s ship 44 Reverse of NNW 50 Boxing ref’s ruling 52 Be sure the job is done 54 Docket 57 Spoils 58 “-- longa, vita brevis” 59 Big maker of SUVs 60 Mr. Capote, to pals 61 Tartan cap 62 Neither Rep. nor Dem. 68 “I’m talkin’ to you!”

69 Munic. law 70 “Quiet down!” 71 Little newt 72 “So adorable!” 73 Ear malady 74 Kid-lit “pest” 75 Part of NSA 76 With 109-Down, one of five famed comedic brothers 79 Big name in fuel additives 80 For takeout 81 Red Scare gp. 82 “Hot dog!” 83 Oahu feast 84 Sorvino of Hollywood 85 Monogram, e.g.: Abbr. 86 Japanese fish dish 87 Used a bench 92 Involve in conflict 94 Pig’s place 95 Honey 97 Loving ones 98 Drowsy 99 Made sense 102 Part of 44-Down 103 Trojan beauty 104 Move past carefully 108 Place 109 See 76-Down 110 Send forth 111 Latin “year” 113 “Think nothing --” 116 One- -- jack 117 “99 Luftballons” group 118 J.D. holder 120 NFL players who pass 121 Mentalist Geller 122 Swimming star Thorpe 123 Blushing hue 124 -- big way

graB Your copy today

SOLUTION FOUND ON P. 30.

CLCLT.COM | MAR. 15 - MAR. 21, 2018 | 35

ENDS

SAVAGE LOVE

Real hot chat now.

WHAT IS LOVE? Maybe he just doesn’t know BY DAN SAVAGE I’m a 33-year-old woman from Melbourne, Australia, dating a 24-yearold man. We’ve been dating for about eight months; it is exclusive and official. He’s kind and sweet, caring and giving, and his penis is divine. The thing is, he confessed to me recently that he doesn’t really “feel.” The way he explained it is, the only emotions he feels are fear and anxiousness that he’ll disappoint the people he cares about. He says he’s never been in love. He said his dad is the same way. The only time I see him really “feel” are when he’s high, which he is semifrequently. He uses MDMA and he comes alive. He seems the way a “normal” person does when they’re in love, but when he’s sober, it’s like he’s trying to mimic the things a person in love would say or do. I confessed I am falling in love with him recently and told him I wasn’t saying this with any expectation of him feeling the same; I just wanted him to know. He responded that he cares for me a lot — but that’s it. I’m now worried that he’ll never love me. I don’t want kids, so time isn’t critical for me, but I don’t want to be with someone who won’t ever love me. LACKING ONE VAUNTED EMOTION

You didn’t use the P-word (psychopath) or the S-word (sociopath), LOVE, but both came to mind as I was reading your letter. Someone who isn’t capable of feeling? Isn’t that textbook P-word/S-word stuff? “The fear with someone who doesn’t ‘feel’ is that they may be a psychopath or a sociopath, terms that are used interchangeably,” said Jon Ronson, author of The Psychopath Test: A Journey Through the Madness Industry. “And lots of the items on the psychopath checklist relate to an inability to experience deep emotions — like Shallow Affect, Lack of Empathy and Lack of Remorse. However, I have good news for LOVE! This line: ‘The only emotions he really feels are fear and anxiousness that he’ll disappoint the people he cares about’ is the critical one. Psychopaths do not feel anxiety. In fact, my favorite thing a psychologist said to me about this was: ‘If you’re worried you may be psychopath, that means you aren’t one.’ Also, psychopaths don’t care about disappointing loved-ones! All those emotions that relate to an overactive amygdala — fear, remorse, guilt, regret, empathy — psychopaths don’t feel them.” 36 | MAR. 15 - MAR. 21, 2018 | CLCLT.COM

he started sending me Craigslist posts So your boyfriend’s not a psychopath. Not from women and couples looking for that you asked. But, you know, just in case casual sex partners. I told him I wasn’t you were worried. Anyway… interested in doing anything for real. A My hunch is that your boyfriend’s problem few months later, we went on vacation isn’t an inability to feel love, LOVE, but an and I said I wanted to get a massage. inability to recognize the feelings he’s having He found a place that did “sensual” as love. (Or potentially love, as it’s only been couples massage. I wanted nothing to eight months.) What is romantic love but a do with this. During sex, he talks about strong desire to be with someone? The urge the idea of someone else being around. to be sweet to them, to take care of them, to This does turn me on and I like thinking do for them? Maybe he’s just going through about it when we are messing around. the motions with you — a conscious mimicBut I don’t want to have any other it-till-you-make it strategy — or maybe the partners. I’m like a mashup of Jessica double whammy of a damaged dad and that Day, Leslie Knope, and Liz Lemon if that toxic masculinity stuff sloshing around out gives you an idea of how not-for-me there left him blocked, LOVE, or emotionally this all is. When I say no to one idea, constipated. And while MDMA can definitely he comes up with another one. I would be abused — moderation in all things, kids, truly appreciate some advice. including moderation — the effect it has BOYFRIEND INTO GROUP SEX I’M NOT on him is a hopeful sign. MDMA is not an emotional hallucinogen; the drug has been used in Short answer: Sexual couples counseling and to compatibility is important. treat PTSD, not because it It’s particularly important makes us feel things that in a sexually-exclusive aren’t there (in the way relationship. You want a hallucinogen makes a sexually-exclusive us see things that aren’t relationship; your boyfriend there), but because it doesn’t want a sexuallyallows genuine feelings exclusive relationship — to surface and, for a few DAN SAVAGE so you two aren’t sexually hours, to be felt intensely. compatible, BIGSIN, and you So he can feel love — he just should break up. has to learn how to tap into Slightly longer answer: Your those feelings and/or recognize boyfriend did the right thing by laying them without an assist from MDMA. his kink cards on the table early in the Jon Ronson had one last bit of advice for relationship — he’s into threesomes, group you, LOVE: “Marry him and his divine penis!” sex, and public sex — and you copped to I agree with Jon, of course, but a long, having fantasies about threesomes, BIGSIN, leisurely engagement is definitely in order. but not a desire to experience one. He took You’ve only been seeing this guy and his that as an opening: maybe if he could find divinity dick for eight months — don’t the right person/couple/scenario/club, you propose to him for at least another year, would change your mind. Further fueling LOVE, and make marriage conditional upon his false hopes: you get turned on when he him seeing a shrink four times as often as he talks about having “someone else around” sees his MDMA dealer. when you two have sex. Now lots of people Follow Jon on Twitter @jonronson, read who very much enjoy threesomes and/or all of his books (So You’ve Been Publicly group sex were unsure or hesitant at first, Shamed? is urgently required reading for but gave in to please (or shut up) a partner, anyone who spends time online), and check and wound up being glad they did. If you’re out his amazing podcast, The Butterfly certain you could never be one of those Effect. To access all things Jon Ronson, go to people — reluctant at first but happy your JonRonson.com. partner pressed the issue — you need to shut this shit down, Liz Lemon style. Tell My boyfriend of 1.5 years shared (several him no more dirty talking about this shit months into dating) that he has a fantasy during sex, no more entertaining the idea of having a threesome. I shared that I at all. Being with you means giving up this had also fantasized about this but I never fantasy, BIGSIN, and if he’s not willing to took my fantasies seriously. Right away,

30 MINUTES FREE TRIAL

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18+ Vibeline.com give it up — and to shut up about it — then you’ll have to break up. I’m an 18-year-old woman who has been with my current boyfriend for a year, but this has been an issue across all of my sexual relationships. In order to reach climax, I have to fantasize about kinky role-play-type situations. I don’t think I want to actually act out the situations/ roles because of the degrading/shameful feelings they dredge up, but the idea of other people doing them is so hot. This frustrates me because it takes me out of the moment with my partner. I’m literally thinking about other people during sex when I should be thinking about him! What can I do to be more in the moment? DISTRACTED EARNEST GIRLFRIEND REQUIRES A DIFFERENT EXCITEMENT

Actually, doing the kinky role-play-type things you “have to” fantasize about in order to come would help you feel more connected to your boyfriend — but to do that, DEGRADE, you need to stop kinkshaming yourself. So instead of thinking of those kinky role-play-type things as degrading or shameful, think of them as exciting and playful. Exciting because they excite you (duh), and playful because that’s literally what kinky role-play-type things are: play. It’s cops and robbers for grownups with your pants off, DEGRADE, but this game doesn’t end when mom calls you in for dinner, it ends when you come. So long as you suppress your kinks — so long as you’re in flight from the stuff that really arouses you — your boyfriend will never truly know you and you’ll never feel truly connected to him. On the Lovecast — A sexy toy review that will send you packing: : savagelovecast.com; follow @fakedansavage on Twitter; mail@savagelove. net; go to ITMFA.org.

CLCLT.COM | MAR. 15 - MAR. 21, 2018 | 37

LILLY SPA

ENDS

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SOLUTION TO THIS WEEK'S PUZZLE

WHERE WE ALL REFUSE TO WEAR SOCKS.

ARIES

(March 21 to April 19) Congratulations, Lamb. This is the week to finish your project and then bask in your well-earned approval. (And if you like, you also can say “bah” to all those detractors.)

LIBRA (September 23

to October 22) The possibility of a career change is intriguing. Learn more about what it can offer and what it cannot. Weigh everything carefully. And ask questions.

SCORPIO (October 23

TAURUS (April 20

to November 21) Work is your priority this week as you try to make up for lost time. Expect help from someone who cares about you. Things take a welcome turn by the weekend.

to May 20) The bold Bovine could find a new opportunity too intriguing to be ignored. But don’t charge into it. Go slowly so you see how things develop as you get more involved.

GEMINI (May 21

to June 20) You might try to soften your stand on that important issue. A little more flexibility actually could get you what you’re looking for. A new friend enters the picture midweek.

SAGIT TARIUS

(November 22 to December 21) A health problem causes some anxiety early in the week. But prompt medical attention soon eases everyone’s concerns. Enjoy an arts-filled weekend.

CAPRICORN (December 22

CANCER (June 21 to July

to January 19) As much as you might resent it, a changing situation could require you to adjust your plans accordingly. The good news: An associate agrees to cooperate.

22) Your inner voice is on the mark when it advises you to tackle that family problem now! The sooner you’re able to come to terms with it, the better it will be for everyone.

LEO (July 23 to August 22)

Someone reveals important news about a longtime associate. But before you decide how to deal with this information, make sure it’s reliable, and not simply self-serving.

AQUARIUS

(January 20 to February 18) That old problem is finally resolved, just in time for you to take on a new workrelated project. This one could be the super door-opener you’ve been looking for.

VIRGO (August 23 to

September 22) Some intensive soulsearching early in the week can help you reach a decision by week’s end that should please both you and the other person involved. Good luck.

PISCES (February 19 to

March 20) The early part of the week presents some difficult hurdles. But once you get over them, you can start to focus on matters that are more important to you.

BORN THIS WEEK You are respected for your honesty and your dedication to doing the right thing, no matter how difficult that might be. 38 | MAR. 15 - MAR. 21, 2018 | CLCLT.COM

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