DIGBOSTON.COM 01.03.19 - 01.10.19
POLITICS
NIKA ELUGARDO
“I SAW THINGS A CHILD SHOULDN’T SEE” COVER
PRIORITY GRAF GRIND MAILING LABEL MASTERPIECES BOSTON BETTER BEER BUREAU: PEACH SMOOVY-SUMMER BREWS FOR WINTER
TICKETMASTER • RESPECTIVE BOX OFFICES* • CHARGE BY PHONE: 800-745-3000
*BMH Box Office open night of show only. All dates, acts and ticket prices subject to change without notice. A service charge may be added to each ticket. CROSSROADSPRESENTS.COM • FOLLOW US!
2
01.03.19 - 01.10.19
|
DIGBOSTON.COM
/BRIGHTONMUSICHALL /PARADISEROCKCLUB •
@BRIGHTON_MUSIC @PARADISEROCKCLB
®
BOWERY BOSTON WWW.BOWERYBOSTON.COM VOL 21 + ISSUE 01
For show announcements, giveaways, contests, and more, follow us on:
JAN 03, 2019 - JAN 10,2019 BUSINESS PUBLISHER John Loftus ASSOCIATE PUBLISHERS Chris Faraone Jason Pramas SALES EXECUTIVES Victoria Botana Derick Freire Nate Homan Nicole Howe FOR ADVERTISING INFORMATION sales@digboston.com
EDITORIAL EDITOR IN CHIEF Chris Faraone EXECUTIVE EDITOR Jason Pramas MANAGING EDITOR Mitchell Dewar MUSIC EDITOR Nina Corcoran FILM EDITOR Jake Mulligan THEATER EDITOR Christopher Ehlers COMEDY EDITOR Dennis Maler STAFF WRITER Haley Hamilton CONTRIBUTORS G. Valentino Ball, Sarah Betancourt, Tim Bugbee, Patrick Cochran, Mike Crawford, Britni de la Cretaz, Kori Feener, Eoin Higgins, Zack Huffman, Marc Hurwitz, Marcus Johnson-Smith, C. Shardae Jobson, Heather Kapplow, Derek Kouyoumjian, Dan McCarthy, Rev. Irene Monroe, Peter Roberge, Maya Shaffer, Citizen Strain, M.J. Tidwell, Miriam Wasser, Dave Wedge, Baynard Woods INTERNS Casey Campbell, Sophia Higgins, Morgan Hume, Daniel Kaufman, Jillian Kravatz, Elvira Mora, Juan A. Ramirez, Jacob Schick
DESIGN
DESIGNER Don Kuss COMICS Tim Chamberlain, Pat Falco Patt Kelley, Don Kuss, Cagen Luse DigBoston Phone 617.426.8942 digboston.com
ON THE COVER COVER IMAGE BY MIKO. CHECK OUT MORE OF THEIR WORK @ MIKOYBNZ ON INSTAGRAM AND AT ‘PRIORITY MADE’ AT THE DORCHESTER ART PROJECT. READ OUR INTERVIEW WITH ONE OF THE ORGANIZERS INSIDE.
©2019 DIGBOSTON IS PUBLISHED WEEKLY BY DIG MEDIA GROUP INC. NO PART OF THIS PUBLICATION CAN BE REPRODUCED WITHOUT WRITTEN CONSENT. DIG MEDIA GROUP INC. CANNOT BE HELD LIABLE FOR ANY TYPOGRAPHICAL ERRORS. ONE COPY OF DIGBOSTON IS AVAILABLE FREE TO MASSACHUSETTS RESIDENTS AND VISITORS EACH WEEK. ANYONE REMOVING PAPERS IN BULK WILL BE PROSECUTED ON THEFT CHARGES TO THE FULLEST EXTENT OF THE LAW.
ROYALE
DEAR READER By now you may have seen the viral recording of the deranged woman on a New York train swinging her umbrella at some folks whom she appears to have felt threatened by for no good reason. It’s a striking visual, somehow awful and hilarious at once, the latter mainly because the behavior of the perpetrator is so damn outrageous. As I’m sure a lot of other viewers thought upon seeing that clip, I will admit that my instinctual reaction was to feel that I’d have handled it violently had I been there, especially if that umbrella hit a kid or senior or some person with a disability (or me). I’m just being honest; as an alpha male who at one point in my old life was something of a pugilistic juvenile delinquent, I have no problem using my hands or even my legs if they’re needed. At the very least, I like to think I would have shielded any vulnerable people who were being threatened. And perhaps I would have acted in a prudent or heroic fashion. But since I had a mini melee of my own on the Red Line on the day after Christmas, I’m not so sure that I should be the beneficiary of much doubt. I don’t exactly know what happened in my case, because instead of telling me how I offended them, some asshole sitting next to me just started punching me right in the arm and back and screaming. I know what you are thinking, and I assure you there was no awkward contact leading up to this. Considering the way they put their shopping bags up on the seat that I deserted as I scurried off, I’m guessing it was just a ploy to get more legroom. Should my assailant be arrested? Jailed? I don’t think so; while I don’t condone violence against others, I can personally handle it up to a certain point and would hate to see somebody caught in the system for assaulting me, especially if I can get a column out of it. Also, between all of the bystanders who saw that I was just minding my business and any MBTA cameras perched near us, I didn’t have to worry about being accused of doing something that could have warranted a physical reaction. There is no bitterness here; if anything, I walked off that subway car having learned a big lesson. There are a lot of dickheads in the world, and we can’t just go around knocking their teeth out, even when they deserve it. If the people in that viral video from NYC could manage to help one another without injuring the filthy lowlife causing havoc, then so can I, and so can you.
SHARON VAN ETTEN
W/ XAVIER OMÄR
GNARLEY ON THE MTA W/ MARGARET GLASPY
THU. JANUARY 24
279 Tremont St. Boston, MA royaleboston.com/concerts NEWPORT FOLK® PRESENTS
W/ NILÜFER YANYA
FRI. FEBRUARY 1
JACOB BANKS
W/ MARY LATTIMORE
SAT. FEBRUARY 23
SUN. FEBRUARY 24
M O V E D F R O M T H E S I N C L A I R T O R O YA L E !
FRI. FEBRUARY 8
SAT. FEBRUARY 9
FRI. MARCH 1
SAT. MARCH 2
AURORA W/ TALOS
SUN. MARCH 3
MON. MARCH 4
mandolin orange
TUE. MARCH 5
T PAIN SAT. MARCH 23
52 Church St., Cambridge, MA sinclaircambridge.com
THE
SHEILA DIVINE W/ BETHLEHEM STEEL, MINT GREEN
FRI. JANUARY 4
A BENEFIT FOR ZUMIX SAT. JANUARY 5
FRI. JANUARY 11
SAT. JANUARY 12
FOUR YEAR STRONG
ACOUSTIC TOUR W/ NATHAN HARDY OF MICROWAVE, ELDER BROTHER & LIZZY FARRALL
W/ TOKE, YEAR OF THE COBRA
FRI. JANUARY 18
THU. JANUARY 24
WED. JANUARY 30
THU. JANUARY 31
FRI & SAT JAN. 25 & 26
SUN. JANUARY 27
W/ THE MICHIGAN RATTLERS
FRI. FEBRUARY 1
SAT. FEBRUARY 2
adrianne lenker W/ RUSTIC OVERTONES, ALDOUS COLLINS BAND
FRI. FEBRUARY 8
(of Big Thief)
W/ JOAN O F A RC
SAT. FEBRUARY 9
w/ luke temple
TUE. FEBRUARY 12
WED. FEBRUARY 13
Happy New Year. CHRIS FARAONE, EDITOR-IN-CHIEF
JUAN WAUTERS
Need more Dig? Sign up for the Daily Dig @ tiny.cc/DailyDig
SUNDAY, JANUARY 20
THURSDAY, JANUARY 24
W/ AIRE ATLANTICA
W/ MEG BAIRD & MARY LATTIMORE
SUNDAY, JANUARY 27
THURSDAY, JANUARY 31
FRIDAY, FEBRUARY 1
WEDNESDAY, FEBRUARY 6
THURSDAY, FEBRUARY 7
FRIDAY, FEBRUARY 8
1222 Comm. Ave. Allston, MA greatscottboston.com
FRIDAYS AT 7PM!
‘s THE GAS
FRIDAY, JANUARY 25
& THE HITMAKERS
W/ WEATHERS
≠ 1/3 CHEEM ≠ 1/4 WHITE ELEPHANT ≠ 1/9 ED BALLOON ≠ 1/10 NON- ≠ 1/11 MYTH OF I ≠ 1/12 BIG UPS ≠ 1/16 ED BALLOON ≠ 1/17 JAKALS ≠ 1/18 THE GREAT BOSTON MOLASSES COMEDY SHOW ≠ 1/23 ED BALLOON ≠ 1/26 DIONYSIA ≠ 2/2 THE WELCH BOYS
Tickets for Royale, The Sinclair, and Great Scott can be purchased online at AXS.COM. No fee tickets available at The Sinclair box office Wednesdays - Saturdays 12:00 - 7:00PM FOR MORE INFORMATION AND A COMPLETE LIST OF SHOWS, VISIT BOWERYBOSTON.COM NEWS TO US
FEATURE
DEPT. OF COMMERCE
ARTS + ENTERTAINMENT
3
NEWS US
CAPTION IF ANY.
A LOT OF LIGHTBULBS TO CHANGE NEWS TO US
More than simply a magnificent attraction, Chestnut Hill museum teaches about access and sustainability BY SOPHIA HIGGINS The sheer size was what he noticed first. Eric Peterson, director of operations at the Waterworks Museum, is not a short man—I’m 5’8”, and he has at least six inches on me. But the stillness and vastness of the machines were enough to make him feel small. It was 2009, and the historic site in Chestnut Hill was just cleared for operation as a museum. Since the Boston water supply switched to the Quabbin and Wachusett reservoirs in the ’70s, this old pump station had slowly deteriorated. The roof was missing pieces, the building riddled with debris, pigeons, and graffiti. Peterson began working to restore the place—a greasy, smelly, and detailoriented gig. “I have this amazing ability to change lightbulbs. It’s just a gift,” says Peterson. “And if you look up there, you’ll notice,” he gestures to the high buttressed ceilings of Great Engines Hall, “there’s a lot of lightbulbs to change.” I am standing beside the three-story Leavitt engine, one of three here that once pumped water to the city. The Waterworks Museum seems to marry industry and nature in a timeless vacuum, exploring new and old technology under arches that evoke the wonder of standing in a centuries-old cathedral. The building itself is the centerpiece of the museum’s collection. Built in 1887, it requires constant upkeep, something Peterson has attended to since his first day as a volunteer. The collection includes about 500 tools—“mostly wrenches, mostly big”—parts, and accessories for the engines.
While the museum centers around technology that’s lifetimes old, Peterson stresses that it’s not “a clubhouse for a bunch of old people.” Keeping the historical narrative colorful is crucial to their process—and it requires some imagination. “History is stories. Anyone can connect with them as long as they’re presented in a way that’s compelling,” Peterson says. “Whether it was in the 1800s or in 800, you still have human attitudes and feelings. If you can put yourself in that mindset, almost anything becomes interesting.” Up a flight of stairs beside Great Engines Hall, a gallery illuminates stories of laborers on the Wachusett Reservoir construction site at the turn of the 20th century. Photos of dust-clad immigrant workers, houses built into hillsides, and a dog splayed out on bedrock stand frozen in time. “Even though they’re long dead, somehow they’re back to life,” Peterson says. “There they are, captured just in an instant.” Such stories also become accessible through educational programming, which includes field trip activities at the museum and in-class instruction. Education director Tracy Lindboe focuses on integrating simple language and interactive activities into the exhibits to appeal to audiences of all ages. Docents contextualize the waterworks technology in a broader narrative, offering a glimpse into the zeitgeist of the industrial revolution. But what sets these machines apart is their altruistic function.
“There’s a sense of respect you have to have for the confidence that was put in these things, the purpose they were intended for,” Peterson says. Beyond the history, the museum is looking to educate people about safe water access today. In the face of climate change, Boston and other communities must adjust infrastructure, says volunteer coordinator Ethan Grosso. “Water is always going to be important to people,” Grosso says. “As our landscapes change over time, our systems have to change to adapt.” Lindboe plans to work with other nonprofits and bring more educational events to the museum—MIT professor Susan Murcott gave a lecture last summer, for instance. But the museum also reaches beyond waterworks to expand its audience. Great Engines Hall has become a destination for weddings, film screenings, and experimental music. Circus acts have also inquired about performing. While noting that activities must be respectful of the space, Peterson stresses the importance of risk-taking. He recalls a sound installation that made fluorescent lights buzz precariously but never fall. “Maybe it’s good to feel that kind of discomfort every now and then,” he says. “I still think it’s worth it to push the edge on that, try to explore the space. It’s not just about the sound—it’s the sense of the space as a whole and how it can be used and appreciated in different ways.”
>> METROPOLITAN WATERWORKS MUSEUM. 2450 BEACON ST., BOSTON. WATERWORKSMUSEUM.ORG, 617-277-0065. ADMISSION IS FREE FOR GA, BUT DONATIONS REQUESTED. 4
01.03.19 - 01.10.19
|
DIGBOSTON.COM
SAVE THE DATE 2019 Winter Gateway Speaker
APRIL RYAN Correspondent and author April Ryan will visit Northeastern University as the third annual Winter Gateway Speaker to meet and talk with students, faculty, staff and members of the community. Free and open to the public! Friday, February 8, 2019 Northeastern University RSVP: northeastern.edu/ crossing For more information: 617-373-2555 NEWS TO US
FEATURE
DEPT. OF COMMERCE
ARTS + ENTERTAINMENT
5
HOW TO WRITE FOR DIGBOSTON EDITORIAL
BY JASON PRAMAS @JASONPRAMAS
To start the new year, I thought it would be helpful to discuss the question we get most often from our readers: “How can I start writing for DigBoston?” Our answer is simple at base. You get an idea for an article. You tell my colleagues and I about your idea via email. We say “yes” or “no” (or sometimes nothing, in which case feel free to send one follow-up email). If we say “yes,” you write up your article draft. We edit it with you. We publish your finished article. Then we pay you an agreed-upon fee for it. However, as with most things in life, there’s more to writing for us than that. So allow me to run through our full editorial process for you from “soup to nuts.” Overview Every good news organization is constantly recruiting new talent, and DigBoston is no exception. Writers send us “pitches”—article ideas—every day. We look at all of them, filter out the marketers trying to sucker us into placing what amount to free ads for their clients, and contact people who we think are proposing something that fits with what we do. Or who are proposing something we haven’t yet done, but might consider doing. Many of the writers that pitch us are experienced journalists. But not all. In fact, some people that pitch us have never written for a newspaper before. And that’s totally fine. We strongly encourage new writers to work with us. We know it’s scary to pitch a publication for the uninitiated. We understand that no one likes rejection. And we do reject far more pitches than we accept. But that should not deter anyone who is serious about becoming a writer. Because every writer learns at least as much from being rejected as we do from being published. So it’s vital that people who want to get published with DigBoston take the first step and send us pitches. It’s a critical part of every future reporter’s learning process. Remember, the worst that can happen if you pitch us an idea is that we don’t get back to you. Which generally means we decided that your pitch wasn’t right for us. And we get too many article ideas to reply to every one. However, sometimes, if we think your pitch is pretty decent and just needs some polishing, we’ll contact you and tell you to work on it some more and try again. And sometimes, less frequently, we’ll say what every writer wants to hear: “Good pitch, we’re assigning you to write up your story idea.”
You’d be amazed how many pitches we get for subjects we literally ran articles about the previous week. Don’t do that.
The Pitch But what makes a good pitch to DigBoston? How does a writer—particular a new and unknown writer— get our attention… and get us to yes? Technically, it’s easy as pie. Send us one article proposal at time in a single email to editorial@digboston.com with a short descriptive subject line like “Pitch: Boston Police Attack Square Dance.” In the body of the email, give us a few sentences succinctly explaining your story idea and why it’s “newsworthy”—deserving of coverage. Conclude with a bio line telling us who you are in brief. Then add links to your resume (if you have one) and up to three “clips”—articles you’ve written for other news publications, not blog entries or college papers—(if you 6
01.03.19 - 01.10.19
|
DIGBOSTON.COM
have them) that you want to show us to demonstrate your writing skills and experience. Straightforward enough. Yet figuring out what kind of pitch we might be interested in is a different matter. We’re a general interest newspaper and cover a wide variety of topics in several different formats; so we can’t just say, “Here are the three bullet points that make for an interesting pitch.” Thus the most important advice we can give prospective writers is to read DigBoston cover to cover for several weeks. And go to our website, digboston.com, and read at least a couple dozen recent articles across several of our sections. Then decide if your idea seems like something we would want to publish based on your reading. And make sure that idea is not something that we have covered recently. You’d be amazed how many pitches we get for subjects we literally ran articles about the previous week. Don’t do that. Send us a proposal for something we haven’t covered in a while or ever. Editing OK, we’ve accepted your pitch and given you an assignment to write an article. If we like your idea enough, we’re willing to work with you to edit the “copy”—text—you give us. Even if it’s “rough”—a bit of a mess. So don’t sweat it if every comma isn’t in place when you get us your first draft. We’ll help you fix it up. When a writer gets an assignment, we agree on a “deadline”—a due date for you to submit the first draft of your article—in advance. As well as how much you’re going to get paid after we’ve published it. After we’ve agreed on a deadline, it’s then up to you to produce the first draft of your article. If you get stuck while writing that up, you can check in with us for advice. We’re even willing to do a certain amount of basic journalism training in periodic workshops we run for new writers. Particularly writers from working-class backgrounds who never had a chance to take a formal journalism course. But actually writing your draft is where the rubber of journalism hits the road. You either do it at this point, or you don’t do it. Assuming you “file”—pass in—your first draft by the deadline, the next step for each new submission is to get slotted with one of our top editors. Basically, every article is overseen by either Dig Editor-in-Chief Chris Faraone or by me, the Dig executive editor. Broadly speaking, Chris
is in charge of our news and entertainment sections, and I’m in charge of our arts section. However, there’s a lot of crossover, as I also function as the number two news editor. And Chris manages some arts articles. Once your draft is given to the appropriate editor, editing begins. That editor will give the incipient article its first edit, then make comments. It is up to you to fix whatever you are asked to fix. After that, the first editor will go back and forth with you until your article is ready to be copy edited. At which time it is sent to Dig Managing Editor Mitchell Hansen-Dewar. The copy edit is a specialized edit to make sure that the grammar, punctuation, and spelling in your article are as close to perfect as they can be. After the article is edited, it goes to our designer for layout. Conclusion When all the articles for a given weekly issue are laid out, our team will “read the issue on the page”... basically editing the entire “book”—newspaper—one more time. The layout goes off to the printer, and is printed overnight. DigBoston hits the streets the next day. When the print process is done, we then post all articles to our website. And you get paid a few weeks later. We currently buy First North American Serial Rights and First Web Rights only. You keep all other rights to your work. We want you to be able to make money reselling any article you produce in different forms whenever possible. And that’s how you can get an article published in DigBoston. Sound daunting? Well, it is the first couple of times, but our regular writers get used to the process quickly. You will too. If you take the leap, pitch us, and we give you an assignment. Best of luck! To pitch an article idea to DigBoston editors, follow the instructions above and email us at editorial@digboston. com. Please note that opinion submissions are handled differently—you send a completed 500-700 word draft to the same email address, and you are not paid if we agree to run it. Jason Pramas is executive editor and associate publisher of DigBoston.
BINJ SUPPORTERS PUT THE
invest in
investigation When You Support Independent Nonprofit Media, You Support All Your Favorite Causes At The Same Time
GIVETOBINJ.org NEWS TO US
FEATURE
DEPT. OF COMMERCE
ARTS + ENTERTAINMENT
7
TALKING JOINTS MEMO
‘WE NEED TO PUT OUR MONEY THERE AND NOT ON PROSECUTION’
State Rep.-elect Nika Elugardo knows the dangers of illegal drug trade
BY MIKE CRAWFORD @MIKECANNBOSTON
NIKA ELUGARDO AND MIKE CRAWFORD
BOSTON, MA MARCH 22-24
Tickets on sale Nov. 12th, 2018
SPRINGFIELD, MA JUNE 21-22
Tickets on sale Mar. 1st, 2019
While a lot of politicians claim to understand the war on drugs or the dangerous nature of illicit markets, State Rep.-elect Nika Elugardo has unique firsthand knowledge. Her dad was a dealer. That was only one of many interesting revelations from my recent interview with Elugardo, whose 15th Suffolk District covers most of Jamaica Plain plus parts of Brookline, on my Disrupt Boston radio show, The Young Jurks. Here are some highlights from our hour-long sit down. How do we ensure that the spirit of our Mass cannabis law is implemented in regards to helping those most disproportionately harmed? What do we do in the cannabis area? We can have funds, because if we simply say we are going to make a preference for those who have been disproportionately held back by the very system and we don’t provide any funds for that, then it’s not going to be possible to overcome it. The state rep you are replacing, Jeffrey Sanchez, opposed cannabis reform. How are you different than him on it? My dad was a dealer, mostly large volume. It was horrible. I hated it because it is very dangerous. It creates violence, it perpetuates poverty, you see thousands of dollars going through in plastic baggies and meanwhile our water is getting cut off. When I was 11, my dad quit because I asked him to, but then it was hard because after that he suffered a severe depression and crack addiction. I saw a lot of things a child shouldn’t see. What do you think is driving the wave of upsets by women of color we saw winning in this last election cycle? The new wave of politics is, I work very hard and execute, I am accountable for my actions and I do it with my community—whether it’s [incoming 9th Suffolk Rep.] Jon Santiago, a [medical] doctor; [incoming Suffolk County District Attorney] Rachael Rollins; or [Congresswoman-elect] Ayanna Pressley, we all have that in common. I got to say about Rachael [Rollins] … I think she needs a special spotlight because to do what she has done, as anybody—nevermind a black woman—especially when you have people sketched out about the way you look, she obliterated her opposition both times. I love that woman; she is a unique person as a human being. I love you, Rachael. My team was amazing but I was more happy to see her win than even my own win. Single-payer healthcare? We need to think about what is the role of public good. This is something we have really never nailed down. I say education, healthcare, and housing is for the public good. We were the first state to decide that education was for everybody and then the rest of the country followed through. Education, healthcare, and housing. These three things, people need them to survive. Massachusetts Cannabis Control Commissioner Shaleen Title wrote an op-ed about harm reduction, legalizing other drugs, and other states are now considering it for hallucinogens. What do you think about legalization reducing addiction? We have to do it very smartly. We have been watching some other countries that have tried. I have been speaking to a counterpart from Portugal, and it seems it has helped in some cities, countries, to legalize drugs. Some cities it worked, and some it didn’t work as well, so we need to look more to see what makes it work. People like me who grew up in homes with negative impacts of addiction—the knee jerk is to say no, but the reality is we need to address the real problem just like we learned with [alcohol] prohibition. The real problem is mental health, behaviour health, and addiction; sometimes that’s tied to poverty or other past trauma and abuse. We need to put our money there and not on prosecution and incarceration.
Sign up for our free newsletter at talkingjointsmemo.com and get all your cannabis news in one place 8
01.03.19 - 01.10.19
|
DIGBOSTON.COM
DRINK A PEACH BOSTON BETTER BEER BUREAU
Behold the Mighty Squirrel’s perfect fruit concoction BY CHRIS FARAONE @FARA1 Once upon a time, I used to hug the bar at Boston Beer Works and down anywhere from six to eight pints of its watermelon ale in a sitting. I’d get up to piss a few times, but otherwise I’d sit there and chug candy brew for hours upon hours without interruption. It was something of a personal tradition when I moved here nearly 20 years ago, and on certain occasions in the time since, when I’ve seen watermelon on tap through a Beer Works window, I’ve picked up where I left off. If that time stamp makes me feel a little dated, then so does my appreciation of seriously sweet suds. Sure, it’s currently as en vogue as it ever was to put a mango spin on savory selections, but following the bitter ’90s, when virtually every beer that hardcore heads got thrilled about came from the hills of Europe and made your top lip curl up into your nose, it seemed inevitable that most subsequent commercial microbrews would head straight in the opposite direction, namely toward sweeter pastures. As things wound up playing out, while tastes on the darker side of things have been sufficiently syrupy for some time—just consider the outstanding staying power of Newcastle Brown Ale, or the countless chocolate stouts and porters that surface around this time of year—those of us who have made the transition from light ales to IPAs have been rather deprived of legitimate but measured sweetness. There are subtle fruity hints and notes and plenty of confectionery puns no matter where you turn, not to mention gems like Harpoon’s New England IPA Juicer (where it’s available). But look for something on the sweet-not-sour side that falls between a clear beer and a meal, and suddenly you’re facing awfully slim pickings. Enter the holy Mighty Squirrel and its perfectly mellow Peach Smoovy IPA. Somehow even better than the Waltham brewery’s signature Cloud Candy, it’s the most delicious piece of pie I’ve sipped in quite a while, with enough bite to excite my palate but none of the trendy baggage that can make a fruity can taste like a Jamba Juice. I doubt that I could drain a dozen of these like I used to with the Beer Works watermelon, but then again, I did knock back six in an evening, so maybe I could. Despite the lively orange body and fulfilling meaty peach smell, the Smoovy goes down smoother than fuzz on a fresh-picked peach. Not too lazy, not too hazy, it absolutely rocks its sister, Strawberry Smoovy, which to me feels like two separate side-by-side attractions—the fruit fondling half of my taste buds, hops dancing on the rest across the room all by themselves like shy teens at a junior high school dance. Bottom line: Unlike its berry good but lesser counterpart, Peach Smoovy is a limited edition. If you come across it, buy every goddamn can. Request that store managers order more if possible, and perhaps even call the folks at Mighty Squirrel to ask if they will brew some more.
FEB 1 & 2 - BOSTON TICKETS:
beeradvocate.com/extreme
NEWS TO US
FEATURE
DEPT. OF COMMERCE
ARTS + ENTERTAINMENT
9
GOING POSTAL FEATURE
A month-long show in Dorchester displays literal artistic deliverables BY DIG STAFF @DIGBOSTON The graffiti writer’s love for Priority Mail 228 labels is that which a locavore has for a fresh bunch of backyard arugula. Much like the way a gardener looks at a field and savors the wonder of crops growing from dirt and water, artists for generations have walked into US mailrooms without any money and exited with their pockets full of street supplies. From there, they manufactured glorious tagsake decals to affix the world over, aggravating antigraf stiffs every stick of the way. Now that we are decades into this tradition and have become accustomed to seeing said labels on bus shelters and street signs that we rely on as reference points in calibrating our place in the world, it is only right that intersections of graffiti and illicit sticker art meet in proper display spaces and galleries. To that end, the medium was highlighted in Mass five years ago with a show in New Bedford at the UGLYgallery, while more recently exhibits have opened in places as far away as Arizona (Going Postal) and Switzerland (Slap Me Baby). Back in Boston, starting this week at the Dorchester Art Project (with an opening reception Jan 5), heads will have a month to view this kind of literally outside-of-thebox work from more than a hundred artists hailing from across the country plus the UK and Canada (big names include Tense, Imagine876, Deme5, Soems, Take1, Rob Stull, Omega Rocks, and Jayel 228 from New York, among others). We spoke with show producer Jacob Leidolf of Scope Apparel about the event, co-organized by AoA Supply, the Pen & Sword Political Pirates collective, and Voices of Liberation. What exactly is it about USPS labels that make for such a remarkable surface? 10
01.03.19 - 01.10.19
|
DIGBOSTON.COM
Probably the most striking thing about 228s is how widespread their use is by artists due in large part to their availability. Literally any place in this country that is considered a “place” is so partially in definition because it has at least one post office of its own. That’s what makes it a city or a town or whatever. And any post office can be a source of free art supplies. Sure, folks also gravitate to other free or common labels and stickers (UPS, FedEx, Hello My Name Is, etc.) but the sheer ubiquity of post offices and the labels within definitely contributes to their wide usage among artists. As a phenomenon within graffiti and street art culture, artists build on one another’s developments and experiments, trying to one-up or outdo your peers, making the sticker something of a battleground just like a wall or a page. Some cats use them as a surface that can be worked for a really long time in the comfort of one’s space but deployed out in the world relatively quickly; others use the sticker for the sheer volume, making and placing as many “slaps” as they can. There is also the trading and collaborative aspect, where artists seek work out and use the stickers as the common surface that anyone can make their own. Some are collectors, some trade and post stickers, allowing artists to operate outside their immediate area. As more and more people use them, they become a traditional marquee in the same way walls or canvases or freight trains feel like home to some artists. There is also the graphic and design aspects of the label, which different artists use differently, covering over or preserving the blue fields, red stripes, and postal logos as part of their design and composition choices. The first Label 228s came out in 1991 and have changed every few
years, resulting in a wide array of sizes and variations, some of which are extremely rare and collectible to some cats. Twenty-eight years later, there are deep and diverse traditions among many sets of artists who have adopted the postal sticker as a canvas. This show tries to tell some of that story.
Twenty-eight years later, there are deep and diverse traditions among many sets of artists who have adopted the postal sticker as a canvas. This show tries to tell some of that story.
Are there any that you or a friend threw up years ago that you still see out in the wild and can’t believe that it’s still there? I have watched many slaps go through their lifetime on streets or corners I pass regularly going from bold and bright to faded fragments. All creations are temporary and transient. I think graffiti artists just embrace and confront that reality more directly in their work. But there are all kinds of ways to fight that clock— from covering stickers with packing tape or vinyl to
GOING POSTAL continued on pg. 12
NEWS TO US
FEATURE
DEPT. OF COMMERCE
ARTS + ENTERTAINMENT
11
GOING POSTAL continued from pg. 10 placing them in sheltered spots. But at the end of the day it is not an acid-free archival medium, and even without being exposed to the elements a sticker will change over time. Are there any urban legends around the labels that you’ve heard in your time around writers? Like that it’s a felony to use federal property in such a fashion, or something like that? Never heard of anyone getting in trouble for using them to draw on, maybe for placing them out in the world. There are warnings about misusing federal property, but believe it or not, the rampant abuse those warnings are meant to curb comes from people using Priority Mail materials to send packages not as Priority Mail, thus not paying the rate that is supposed to cover the cost of those “free” materials. They seem to have more trouble from people turning boxes inside out and cutting up labels for their own personal stationary than they do from writers. Especially since what a lot of cats seek out is old and discontinued models. There are some legendary stories about how some cats acquired vast numbers of blank stickers and commercial-only versions.
team effort and we’re looking forward to what is hopefully the first of many sticker shows. Anyone who missed the deadline, hit us up, it’s only the beginning! Any more words on what heads can expect? For the opening we have live music by Grubby Pawz, Loman, SPNDA and Eboane AUD. We’re having DJ Bobby Bangers come through for the closing. AOA Supply will be hosting Blackbook Sessions, where people can come draw together both nights and during some of the gallery days. We’re really hoping to make the show interactive and have the project continue to grow and develop as a way to document the work of artists in Boston and beyond, and to bring folks together to share their love of art and stickers.
In your experience, are certain post offices that get hit up for their labels more than others in the habit of keeping them behind the counter instead of leaving them out in the open? It depends. They all have to keep a certain amount out and available. But how many and how often that pile gets depleted or replenished could have something to do with your friendly neighborhood artist. Has the quality of USPS labels changed over the years? For better or for worse? We were just talking about this the other day when we were setting up the show. The early models are highly prized partly because they’re rare and visually distinct, partially because they’re larger labels to work on. The 2002 was loved for its large white background. Later models featured a watermark which was not actually meant to deter art but people cutting off the “Priority” topper and using the stickers as To/From labels. The watermark lasted until the most recent version, the 2016, which is well liked for its large white space to work on. Everyone has their own favorites, but a lot of folks cherish the old blue tops that were around in the ’90s and ’00s. Where did the idea for the show come from? There have been shows like this all over for years. This year there were several around the US and overseas. The first one I participated in was at the UGLYgallery in New Bedford, but I had wanted to do one [in Boston] for some time now, and after reconnecting with the AOA Supply fam around their BlackBook Sessions over the last couple years, it was easy to find other folks who were interested and willing to help organize and plan it. There is a deep community of artists around this, so part of the goal of the show is to bring everyone together since we often are working in parallel. When Dorchester Art Project jumped on board to host it, we were able to start moving on it for real. There’s a pretty remarkable array of artists. How did you select the lineup? It seems like this is the kind of thing that every writer in New England would want to be a part of if they heard about it. We put out an open call and just have been hitting the pavement, word of mouth, and online to reach out to folks. We were overwhelmed by the reception and the biggest challenge is going through all the incredible work. So far everyone has been really supportive and excited, it’s just a matter of following up and making sure to reach out and include folks. Shout-out to everyone who submitted work and everyone who helped recruit artists to submit—it was a tremendous >> PRIORITY MADE. 1.5–2.9 AT DORCHESTER ART PROJECT, 1486 DORCHESTER AVE., BOSTON. OPENING RECEPTION 1.5, 6-10PM. CLOSING RECEPTION 2.9, 6-10PM. 12
01.03.19 - 01.10.19
|
DIGBOSTON.COM
VOL 11
Saturday • January 12 2:00 PM - 4:30 PM
Art by JAM Sketches
Grove Hall Branch of the Boston Public Library 41 Geneva Ave • Dorchester 02121
Comics In Color is a safe space where you can come and nerd out about illustrated stories by and about people of color.
THIS MONTH! Featured Guest:Charity Everett
Charity will talk about her Augmented Reality story telling project “Go Back and Fetch It”
Discussion: Is Digital Publishing the future of Comics? • All-levels comics making activity • Samples of Black Comics • SNACKS! All are welcome but this is an event focused on comics by and about people of color.
COMICSINCOLOR.ORG
NEWS TO US
FEATURE
DEPT. OF COMMERCE
ARTS + ENTERTAINMENT
13
GA GA SEAFOOD EATS
Authentic Chinese, from the rooter to the tooter to the clay pot BY CITIZEN STRAIN
For all the whining that we do about gentrification and losing the places we love, sometimes it’s nice to just sit back and love the gems that we still have, like the North End and Chinatown. Because while those two locales in particular have certainly been hit with big development and an influx of interlopers who care as much about history as they do about Boston Public Schools, the neighborhoods also still have relatively hidden spots with secrets around corners and tastes that are sometimes available only at the whim of a chef, manager, or server. I am fortunate to have a friend who knows the owners at Ga Ga on Tyler Street. Not that anybody needs an usher—the place is small and up a flight of stairs but still inviting, with five tables up front and enough space for about 50 more heads in a room tucked around the back. Nevertheless, it helped to have my pal, I’ll call him G, to translate. He knows his way around the menu and a few things that you won’t find on it, and while I doubt that he’ll be around to assist your pickings by the time you follow our lead to this ideal quaint find for authentic Chinese dishes you won’t see on average takeout menus, he did help us so that we can guide you. As we discovered on our first outing with G a couple months ago, it’s best to just go with the flow and to investigate the unfamiliar alongside basic staples such as pan-fried noodles. Ours came with thin, marinated tender beef shavings, along with a side of soy sauce subtly sweet enough to sip. For the center of our plates, G special-ordered us a cordillera of spicy pork chops. Fried harder than a mozzarella stick yet smoother than a panko-crusted chicken cutlet, the tangy golden-red medallions and their wayside scraps were devoured by one and all despite the heat from an array of peppers. While Ga Ga calls itself a seafood restaurant in name and is one by all means— from the fish and shrimp in tanks to greet you upon walking in, to options like eel with black bean sauce and clams with sponge squash on the menu—we traveled the meat route this time, even sampling the stewed goat, which was every bit as savory as the best oxtail I’ve ever eaten, and also as gelatinously jarring to the unaccustomed eye. At the centerpiece of this outstanding smorgasbord, G arranged ahead of time for the kitchen to prepare us a clay pot rice dish (the long grains have to be soaked for hours, then cooked over a flame while the rice crisps up on the bottom and sides). While there are other clay pot spots in Chinatown, some of which advertise the unique style outright, the Ga Ga guys have serious clay game and really wowed in this department as each spoonful upon spoonful scraped up edging as perfectly crunchy as a Waffle House hash brown. The icing on the clay pot cake came underneath an inch-wide layer of minced meat that provides the salty and fulfilling flavor in the dish. We sampled the ground, greasy slab and then moved it aside for the real treat—a cascade of quarter-inch sliced Chinese sausage, every bite sweeter and smokier than the last. Blood-red and downright delicious, it’s often called “meat candy,” which tastes a whole lot better than it sounds. You have to try it for yourself. Whether you bring G along to order for you or not.
>> GA GA SEAFOOD RESTAURANT 25 TYLER ST BOSTON GAGASEAFOODBOSTONMA.COM
14
01.03.19 - 01.10.19
|
DIGBOSTON.COM
FRI. JANUARY 11
NEWS TO US
FEATURE
DEPT. OF COMMERCE
ARTS + ENTERTAINMENT
15
A MEAN TEAM THROWBACK
Why do Hub hip-hop artists raise their pinky, ring, and middle fingers to make “three stripes” in photos? BY CHRIS FARAONE @FARA1
This article was first published in DigBoston in October 2007. With a lot of chatter about Boston hip-hop history bubbling around the Massachusetts Hip-Hop Archive, which is based at UMass Boston but has hosted several recent events at the BPL Copley Square branch, there has been demand for us to break “A Mean Team” out of our own archives. Without further ado, here is the answer to a question that a lot of people around here have but may not even know who to ask. What do the three stripes stand for? I’m not the only one asking. There hasn’t been much prior research, but an inquiry into why Mass. rap cats “throw threes up” went down in a Boston-Online.com chatroom last year. The initial thread asked: “We all know that three stripes represent Boston. What’s the origin behind it? What do the three stripes stand for?” Caucasians should hope that no Def Comedy Jam jokesters get hold of any answers offered by the site’s presumably yuppie regulars. One responder guessed the stripes represented the Zakim, Longfellow, and Harvard bridges. Another dug deeper: “Tremont Street (always pronounced TREH-mont, never TREE-mont) is derived from ‘Trimountain’ or maybe ‘Trimontaine’ which refers to three hills that we used to have, back in the 1600s. Two of them were cut down to fill in places like the Mill Pond (near today’s North Station). The remaining one is Beacon Hill.” After several dozen ludicrous suggestions, one commenter referring to himself as Notorious Nate Dogg nearly nailed it: “It’s a rap thing,” he wrote, possibly tipped off by the popular rhyme team named 3 4 Da Stripes. “Rappers from Boston talk about the three stripes a lot. That’s why people in hoods in Boston wear Adidas a lot more than people elsewhere. I’ve heard that it’s because, when you make a lowercase B (as in ‘Boston’) with your hands, your middle, ring and pinky fingers come together in three stripes.” Excluding his sign language hypothesis, Nate 16
01.03.19 - 01.10.19
|
DIGBOSTON.COM
Dogg was correct. The three-finger flash—as well as its derivative handshake—has roots in Boston sneaker culture. But as it turns out, the relationship runs deeper. “It’s street shit, and that’s what it is,” TDS Mob and Made Men veteran Cool Gzus says. “Even though it comes from a pair of sneakers, it means a lot more.” They make a mean team, my Adidas and the Bean If there’s one thing that the 50-plus people interviewed for this story agree on, it’s that Boston’s worn Adidas since pimps in fish tank pumps pushed pink Caddies through Scollay Square. Most trueschoolers trace the trend back to the early ’80s, though Floorlords founder Lino Delgado remembers heads religiously rocking stripes as far back as 1979. Roxbury rap bishop Edo G says that although Adidas had a presence in the late ’70’s, the fever spread around 1986, when, on the strength of “My Adidas” and “Walk This Way,” Run DMC’s Raising Hell became the first rap album to go platinum. “Run DMC might have been from New York, but everybody in New York wore Nikes, so Adidas just became part of Boston’s identity,” Edo says. “I remember how big Adidas was around Run DMC because I used to always try wearing mine with no laces,” Dorchester hip-hop manager D. Large says. “I was late to class a lot, and my sneakers were always flopping down the hall.” Before chain stores took over and Adidas parked a flagship mecca outside Harvard Square, there were four sacred spots that Bostonians relied on for stripes. At Harry the Greek’s in the South End, fiends came from all directions to get laced. For shell toes, whiteboys hit the Jones Department Store (better known as Jonesy’s) in Southie. On Washington Street in Roxbury, patrons have forever frequented Alpha & Omega—the sole survivor of the bunch. And in Downtown Crossing, rappers, thugs, and wannabes alike flocked to the almighty Mickey Finn’s. “We had every single Adidas shoe on the planet
down there,” says JAM’N 94.5 DJ Geespin, who manned the Mickey Finn’s counter back in high school. “Way before Harry the Greek’s and Hip Zepi, people came to us for suede Gazelles and Yum Yums. We had that reputation— people would fly all the way from London to buy Adidas there.” With Boston serving as home base for Adidas nuts—despite, mind you, Reebok, Saucony and New Balance headquartering in Massachusetts—legendary collections were built. There are tales of some crews hoarding more than 500 communal pairs; another story involves a Southie kid with shell toes for each day of the year. Just about everybody knows at least one person whose brand allegiance is famously obsessive ... someone like South End-raised kick collector Sut. “Adidas stands for All Day I Dream About Sut,” he brags. “I’ve been wearing nothing but Adidas since I was 10 years old, and I’m 38 now. I live in apartment number 3, my birthday is on October third, and I’ve got Adidas chains. There’s no pair I haven’t had.” Sut adds, “One time, Run DMC came up here to play at WaterWorks, and [Jam Master] Jay—rest in peace— asked if he could rock my chain through the whole show. That’s the best Adidas moment of my life.” Trees and threes Even eternal fads fade from time to time. Geespin remembers years when Fila swarmed the local sneaker forefront; others recall Lotto making shortlived moves in the mid ’90s. But in Boston, Adidas always boomeranged—largely because “three stripes” handshakes and signs became ingrained early on. “When everything else fell off, there was always Adidas,” Geespin says. “It was more of a handshake than anything else—cats would always throw that dap.” “Back in the day, you would catch a bad one if you wore Nikes,” Cool Gzus says. “Even though it’s not like that anymore, the handshake still stuck. It used to be the first three fingers [pointer, middle and ring], but now that’s considered disrespectful. You don’t want to give anyone you love your trigger finger.” Gzus isn’t exaggerating about the past perils faced by those without Adidas. Though the “three stripes” pound has come to signal solidarity amongst Boston neighborhoods, early incarnations spawned from gang culture. One infamous example is even immortalized in case law. “During the 1990s, members of the IVP (Intervale Posse) sold crack cocaine in the Intervale neighborhood of Dorchester,” a document from the United States Court of Appeals states. “The IVP was the successor to an earlier gang known as ‘Adidas Park.’ The gang gave a new spin to the concept of brand identification. IVP members wore Adidas clothing [and] identified themselves and
referred to the gang by signifying the Adidas brand logo (a sign of three fingers signifying the three stripes on Adidas products).” A 2001 report published by the National Institute of Justice further details Intervale’s new jack hustle: “The Intervale Posse had essentially taken over its neighborhood,” it reads. “Working primarily out of a large, wooded lot that it had equipped with couches, television sets (powered by extension chords run out of nearby houses that residents had abandoned because of gang activity), a large barbecue, and even firing ranges, the gang sold crack cocaine, invaded homes, and attacked young people who dared to venture onto its turf (a huge ‘Adidas tree’ adorned with hundreds of pairs of shoes taken from interlopers was a principal feature on the lot).” “I went to middle school across the street from Intervale, and you couldn’t walk past the cats in there wearing anything but Adidas,” Edo G remembers. “If you did, they would throw them in the tree. I swear, there were 400 pairs of Nikes and Reeboks in that tree.” Although feds castrated Intervale’s Adidas shrine when they swept the crew circa ’97, its legacy—like the brand that inspired such rituals—lives on. For some, the memories are of detouring Adidas Park at all costs; for others, it conjures nostalgia. “Everybody who had respect in the street would go down there and throw their sneakers on the tree as a tradition,” Boston clothier and MC Antonio Ennis says. “That tree never grew leaves, but people would come from everywhere to see it. I’m actually designing a T-shirt that has a big-ass Adidas tree. I’m just going off of memories, but if I could find a picture of that tree it would be priceless.” So for any kids, young MCs, or carpetbagging reporters who missed the Hub’s Adidas heyday, there’s the history. Which leaves just one question: Who is allowed to “throw threes” and sport “A-dogs”? “It all depends on who you are,” Cool Gzus says. “If you’re ’bout it, then you can rep that. But if you’re just doing it because everyone else is doing it, then that’s like crip walking when you’re not a crip.”
AFTER THEN-BOSTON MAYOR TOM MENINO POSED WITH HUB RAP SUPERGROUP SPECIAL TEAMZ AT THE 2008 UNITY FEST ON CITY HALL PLAZA, THE BOSTON HERALD INSIDE TRACK QUESTIONED WHETHER HE WAS THROWING UP A GANG SIGN. HE WASN’T. NEWS TO US
FEATURE
DEPT. OF COMMERCE
ARTS + ENTERTAINMENT
17
SMALL MOUTH SOUNDS PERFORMING ARTS
Director Bevin O’Gara Speaks About Play With No Talking BY JACOB SCHICK For a play in which the characters aren’t allowed to speak, Small Mouth Sounds says a lot. The play, by Bess Wohl, follows its characters on a comedic and poignant journey in self-reflection and mutual understanding at a spiritual retreat. Director Bevin O’Gara, a Huntington Theatre alum, is returning to Boston—this time at SpeakEasy Stage—to work on Small Mouth Sounds. DigBoston spoke with her about the play and about coming back to the city for this project. Could you describe what Small Mouth Sounds is about? So it’s about six individuals who go to a silent meditation retreat somewhere in the Northeast, and they’re all going through their own struggles, their own difficult times, they’re all there to look for some sort of solace. And so they’re silent. They’re not allowed to use dialogue, or words, to communicate. And it’s all about the miscommunication that happens there, and the connections that are forged, in that and the foibles and happenstance that losing that means of communication allows. So how did you first learn of Small Mouth Sounds? And what made you want to direct it? I became aware of this play pretty quickly after it gained popularity in New York. I love finding alternative ways to communicate. I think that communication between individuals is utterly impossible. And I love
plays that explore how we are so isolated and yet share so much at the same time. And I love that this play took away the words from sharing in those joys and those pains and still found a way of expressing that. I hadn’t read anything like it before. Do you think of theater as a way to break down that isolation barrier? Oh, dear God, I hope that that’s what theater does because, I mean, I’ve based my entire life on that pretense. I think this play explores it in very unexpected ways. I think the goal of theater is to see yourself in the other or to see the things that we all share. But I think the way that this play communicates that and conveys that is unlike anything I’ve ever seen. Silence is the story. It’s the inciting incident. If these characters had words, none of the play would happen. Silence takes away everything from these characters, but also gives them utter permission to be who they are at this retreat. Speaking of retreats, some of the actors have experience attending them, has that been helpful in this process? Oh, totally, they have a real understanding of what these places are. And that knowledge has been very, very useful. I myself have never done that and constantly make fun of it. But I also think that filters into some of the characters.
>> SMALL MOUTH SOUNDS. 1.4-2.2 AT SPEAKEASY STAGE COMPANY, 539 TREMONT ST., BOSTON. SPEAKEASYSTAGE.COM 18
01.03.19 - 01.10.19
|
DIGBOSTON.COM
Obviously it requires a lot of work by the actors to convey all of this through very little dialogue. Do you think it requires more work from the audience as well? I don’t think it requires more from the audience. I think it requires a different kind of listening. You have to be present the way the retreat itself asks the characters to be present. You don’t have to understand every moment, you just have to experience it. Previously you worked at the Huntington Theatre Company. What’s it like coming back to Boston? A little trippy. A little different. Boston and Ithaca are very different cities—they share a lot of the same qualities. The acting community here, the theater community here, it’s unlike anything else I could imagine. And it’s just it’s very warm, very welcoming. It’s so much a family. We were joking about how much we all know about each other. Everyone knows everyone and everyone knows everything about everyone. The one amazing thing about leaving the city and coming back is that you ask your top choices and everyone says yes. We have sort of an embarrassment of riches in terms of design and in terms of acting team. It really is the best of the best, and I hope I support them and do them justice.
DIG BOX OFFICE COMING SOON … BECAUSE EVENTBRITE IS A SEWER
Are you looking for solutions to your ticketing nightmares? Contact our marketing team today at ads@digpublishing.com
NEWS TO US
FEATURE
DEPT. OF COMMERCE
ARTS + ENTERTAINMENT
19
REGISTERED INDEPENDENT FILM
On the films directed by Ida Lupino BY JAKE MULLIGAN @_JAKEMULLIGAN
Star actress Ida Lupino (1918-1995) was active as a writer and director of theatrically released motion pictures from 1949 to 1953 and has often been cited as the only woman to serve as a “Hollywood director” during that period. On some level that’s indeed true, but there’s at least one part of it that’s reductive or misleading—the Hollywood part. In point of fact Lupino became a writer/director specifically by detaching herself from “Hollywood”: first by sidelining her work as a performer to instead found an independent production company; then by co-writing the screenplay for that company’s first movie, Not Wanted [1949]; then lastly by taking over the director’s post on Not Wanted’s production after the original director fell ill of an apparent heart attack. Not Wanted would be the first of six films that Lupino would make in that five-year stretch, some of which were distributed by once-mighty film studio RKO but all of which were literally produced outside the Hollywood system, independently, a necessity given that studios would’ve never hired Lupino to direct, nor would they have greenlit her film’s ostensibly controversial subjects (bigamy, sexual assault, and “unwed mothers” among them). A list of Lupino’s contemporaneous independentfilmmaking peers would be very short, but would include fellow mavericks like the great Samuel Fuller, who set up his own shop around the same time to make films like Park Row [1952]. Independence has its upsides, but it also has its downsides, and in film, one of those downsides involves preservation. With no major film company standing to profit off them, many of Lupino’s films went uncirculated for decades at a time following their initial release, and it even appears that some of them fell into the public domain, as cheap quasi-bootleg video transfers of films including Not Wanted have proliferated on tapes, discs and legal streaming outlets for years now. This unfortunate status will hopefully be at least partially rectified by “Ida Lupino at 100,” a touring repertory program from Kino Lorber that presents new digital restorations of three Lupino projects from the ’49-’53 period—Not Wanted (which she co-wrote and directed uncredited), The HitchHiker (which she co-wrote with Young and directed), and The Bigamist (which she directed from a screenplay credited to Young). All three films will play this week at two local theaters: at the Museum of Fine Arts under the “Lupino at 100” title (1.2-1.16), where they’ll be joined by the only theatrical feature Lupino directed after ’53, The Trouble With Angels [1966]; also at the Brattle Theatre, where all three will play (1.2-1.3) as part of the larger “Refreshed, Renewed, Restored” series (1.2-1.7). Restoration was much-needed in the case of Not Wanted, specifically, which despite being a financial success on first release was soon chopped up and re-edited by other less artful independent filmmakers. The low-budget movie (in 4:3 ratio black and white like all the other films in this Lupino cycle) depicts a young woman named Sally (Sally Forrest) who becomes pregnant out of wedlock, and one such cheapo rerelease went so far as to interrupt the middle of the movie for the sake of some incongruous full-color footage of a real cesarean section procedure. As seen in this digital restoration of the film’s original version, Not Wanted is a much different film than its exploitation-market recut would suggest and furthermore establishes a number of characteristics that recur throughout Lupino’s six-film writer/director run. Like The Hitch-Hiker and Never Fear [1950], Not Wanted begins with a roll of text that frames the film as a purportedly realistic
depiction of a common-but-not-commonly-dramatized social issue (“This is a story told one hundred thousand times each year”). Like The Bigamist and Outrage [1950], Not Wanted is relatively process-based in its depiction of its chosen subject—once Sally finds out she’s pregnant, the film depicts her time in a group home for “unwed mothers,” her exchanges with adoption services, and finally her experiences in the hospital itself, which are introduced with first-person groggy-vision living-nightmare imagery. On that note, like most other Lupino films, Not Wanted gains momentum from a series of wordless montage sequences (great one here where the consummation of Sally’s affair is represented by her partner flicking his cigarette into a body of water while he’s making out with her; the camera leaves the couple and follows the cigarette before dissolving into an image of a clock ticking past the late night hours), which are buttressed by dialogue sequences composed with a rather typical application of the so-called “classical Hollywood style” (stiff pseudotheatrical blocking and overdone reaction shot close-ups are not uncommon). And finally—as in the other films in the Kino program, The Hitch-Hiker and The Bigamist—Not Wanted employs thinly drawn archetypal characters (in this case the naif in love, the artistic playboy, and the spurned second suitor), but then places them in dynamics and dialogue that are unusually humane and nuanced (I was rather moved by a sequence where Sally catches up with her romantic partner after following him to a new city; she believed distance was the only thing keeping them from a lasting relationship but very quickly realizes that’s not the case; while the man is open to continuing the affair, she now knows it’s not something he’s taking seriously, which visibly breaks her spirit midconversation, and she quietly slinks toward the exit for the rest of the scene). Archetypal characters engaged in unusually nuanced dynamics and dialogue is exactly what you get from The HitchHiker, though it’s nothing you’re likely to call humane. The 71-minute feature depicts caddish fishing buddies Roy and Gilbert (Edmond O’Brien and Frank Lovejoy) as they make the dire mistake of picking up lonesome traveler Emmet Myers (William Talman), a serial murderer who then directs them at gunpoint to help him get across the Mexican border. Aside from a few Spanishlanguage interludes depicting police on the trail, most of the film is dedicated to scenes where Roy and Gilbert try and fail to figure out escape plans, or to exchanges where Myers gleefully taunts them both with displays of his proudly sociopathic demeanor. There is the feeling of pulp media and noir cinema all over The Hitch-Hiker, a quality that emerges from the shadowy black-and-white texture, as well as from Lupino’s occasional use of comic book-style montage. But for the most part this is a more plain and straightfaced film than descriptors like “pulp” or “noir” would suggest. As a depiction of the terrifying dynamics between a violent aggressor and his helpless victims, The Hitch-
Hiker is both rightfully unpleasant and properly lacking in any real sense of resolution. It’s a disgusting film, really, and probably Lupino’s most distinctive for that very reason. There’s not as much to recommend The Bigamist, which is obviously a personal film by Lupino (the screenplay parallels numerous happenings in her personal life around the time of its production), but which is by other standards her most common and typical works (the acting is often very broad, and the screenplay cliche-ridden). A significant portion of the film is dedicated to depicting the courtship between the male bigamist (O’Brien) and his soon-to-be-second-wife (Lupino), dramatized in the sort of mournful-romantic scenes you can find in so many other melodramas of the era (dad dances before long goodbyes, tough speeches given to bedridden women, that kind of thing). These films are not quite masterpieces, and The Bigamist is further off than most. But these Lupino films are nonetheless “essential” (per Martin Scorsese’s 1995 obituary for the New York Times Magazine), a small but integral link in the ongoing lineage of the American cinema. The restoration of these films was similarly essential. And one hopes the other three—Never Fear, Outrage, and Hard, Fast, and Beautiful [1951]—are not far behind.
>> THE HITCH-HIKER AND THE BIGAMIST PLAY AT THE BRATTLE THEATRE AS PART OF THE “REFRESHED, RENEWED, RESTORED” SERIES ON THU 1.3 (7:30PM AND 5:30/9:15PM RESPECTIVELY). 40 BRATTLE ST., CAMBRIDGE. $11.50, OR $14 FOR DOUBLE FEATURE. NOT WANTED PLAYED ON 1.2. MORE INFORMATION AT BRATTLEFILM.ORG. >>“IDA LUPINO AT 100” RUNS AT THE MUSEUM OF FINE ARTS THROUGH WED 1.16. THE BIGAMIST PLAYS ON THU 1.3 (6PM). THE HITCH-HIKER PLAYS ON SAT 1.5 (4PM) AND SUN 1.6 (11AM). NOT WANTED PLAYS ON SUN 1.6 (1PM) AND SAT 1.12 (1PM). THE TROUBLE WITH ANGELS PLAYS ON SUN 1.13 (3PM) AND WED 1.16 (8PM). $13 PER TICKET. MORE INFORMATION AT MFA.ORG. 20
01.03.19 - 01.10.19
|
DIGBOSTON.COM
e h t e v a S ! e t Da
SomERviLlE ComMUniTy
SumMIt
Somerville residents* are welcome to come meet DigBoston journalists and colleagues from other news outlets to discuss local issues that need more coverage
pm 2 2 1 16, . b e F Sat., Location TBA
ston, o B g i d by D onprofit e r o s on for N e Co-sp t u t i the t s d n n I a , n ) C) (BINJ Bosto M S ( m s r i l e t Journa Media Cen ille v r e m So
*Not in Somerville? Interested in a similar community summit in your city or town? Drop us a line: editorial@digboston.com NEWS TO US
FEATURE
DEPT. OF COMMERCE
ARTS + ENTERTAINMENT
21
LOST KINKSTER
COMEDY EVENTS
SAVAGE LOVE
THU 01.03 - SUN 01.05
BY DAN SAVAGE @FAKEDANSAVAGE | MAIL@SAVAGELOVE.NET
HELEN HONG @ LAUGH BOSTON
I’m a 19-year-old bisexual woman really into orgasm denial and edging. With the recent Tumblr ban on all NSFW content, I have no idea where to indulge my kinks and find my community. I’ve never needed to go anywhere else to find porn, explore my sexuality, and be surrounded by supportive people—and now I’m at a loss. A few Google searches have been really disheartening. Clearly I’ve been spoiled by all the easily found porn made by women, for women on Tumblr. Hell, I’m used to it being made by bisexuals, for bisexuals. I feel like I’m 15 again, desperately scouring the internet for anything that applies to me. Please tell me where I can find my porn! Missing My Porn Community P.S. You wrote about how this ban harms sex workers, Dan, but please write about how it harms queer and kinky people, too! “Many people are scrambling to relocate their fetish communities in the wake of Tumblr’s ban on ‘adult content,’” said Alexander Cheves, a queer writer who lives in New York City. “Porn is more than hot videos—porn creates communities. I wouldn’t know half the gross stuff I’m into if it weren’t for Tumblr!” Luckily, MMPC, the men and women who created and/or curated the content that spoke to you and affirmed your identity didn’t evaporate on December 17, the day Tumblr’s porn ban went into effect. Many have taken their clips, captions, GIFs, and erotic imaginations to other platforms and some are creating new platforms. “MMPC should devote some time to scouring Twitter for bisexual women into orgasm denial and edging, some of whom may be uploading their original content to platforms like Just For Fans,” said Cheves. “The creators of JFF are right now working on a more Tumblr-like social-media extension to their site. Other start-ups like Slixa or ShareSomeCome and social platforms like Switter have emerged in the wake of this crackdown. These are corners of the internet where MMPC can find her porn.” Cheves wrote a terrific piece for Out that connects the dots between Tumblr’s ban on porn and the anti-sex, anti-porn, anti-sex-work, and anti-queer crackdown that was already under way on other platforms (“The Dangerous Trend of LGBTQ Censorship on the Internet,” December 6, 2018). While there’s still tons of porn on the internet, as many people have pointed out (myself included), the crackdown on explicit content on social-media platforms is fucking over vulnerable queers. As Eric Leue, executive director of the Free Speech Coalition, told Cheves: “Many people in straight, heteronormative communities don’t understand what the big deal is [about the Tumblr adult content ban], because their lives and cultures are represented everywhere. For those in queer, or niche, or fetish communities, Tumblr was one of the few accessible spaces to build communities and share content.” And as long as sex-education programs don’t cover queer sex or kinky sex—and there’s no sign of improvement in either area—LGBTQ youth and young people with kinks will continue to get their sexual education on the internet. And the harder it is to access explicit content, particularly explicit noncommercial content, the harder it’s going to be for young queers to find not just smut that speaks to them, but the education they need to protect themselves. “More youth will get hurt and more will get HIV thanks to Tumblr’s content ban,” said Cheves. “That’s not scaremongering—that will happen. Case in point: I grew up in a fiercely religious home on a 500-acre farm in the middle of Georgia with dial-up and a pretty intense parental blocker. I couldn’t access porn—I couldn’t even access articles with sexual illustrations, including sexual health illustrations. When I went to college in 2010, the same year Grindr hit the App Store, I knew absolutely nothing about HIV and nothing about my community. It’s no wonder that I tested positive at 21.” Shortly after getting the news that he was HIV+, Cheves started an educational queer sex blog. “I answer sex questions from anyone who writes in—I stole the idea from you, Dan, to be honest,” said Cheves. “I wanted to reach those kids in the middle of nowhere, kids like me.” While Cheves writes professionally today—you can find his advice column in the Advocate and his byline in other publications—he still updates and posts new content to thebeastlyexboyfriend.com, his original queer sex blog. “Sites like my blog are needed now more than ever,” said Cheves. “If MMPC wants to help her community survive, she may no longer have the option of being a passive consumer—she might have to start a website or blog, wave a digital flag, and find others. The internet is so massive that censorship will never be able to keep people with niche fetishes from congregating, digitally or otherwise. It’s just going to be a little harder to find each other.” Follow Alexander Cheves on Twitter @BadAlexCheves.
Want more? Listen to the Savage Lovecast every week at savagelovecast.com. 22
01.03.19 - 01.10.19
|
DIGBOSTON.COM
savagelovecast.com
Helen Hong is a comedian, actor, host, and chronically single. Helen has performed standup comedy on Last Call with Carson Daly, The Arsenio Hall Show, Comics Unleashed with Byron Allen, Wanda Sykes Presents Herlarious, Standup in Stilettos, Gotham Comedy Live and the Showtime documentary Why We Laugh: Funny Women.
425 SUMMER ST., BOSTON | VARIOUS | $20-$25 FRI 01.04 - SAT 01.05
DAN BOULGER @ NICK’S COMEDY STOP
I started doing standup in late 2004 when I was a freshman in College. I don’t remember the exact date I only remember that the Patriots lost to the Bengals that day. For the next couple of years I did shows around Boston. Then in 2006 I won Boston Comedy Festival. Then I dropped out of school the next day. I remember I had some crap paper due. I went up to the professor and said "hey I won a comedy festival over the weekend and I’ve been drunk for about three days." There may be some college students reading this. If you ever need an extension give that excuse a shot. After that I’ve appeared on Comedy Central’s Live at Gotham, The BBC, and the HBO Aspen Comedy Festival.
100 WARRENTON ST., BOSTON | 8PM | $20 FRI 01.04
DC YOUNG FLY @ THE WILBUR
Originally having picked up traction for his hilarious videos on Vine, DC is a hands down fan-favorite amongst today’s generation, currently holding an overall deal with MTV/VH1. He is a veteran cast member of Nick Cannon’s WILD ’N OUT, which is entering production for its 13th season, and has brought the humor to MTV’s TRL (Total Request Live reboot) as one of its main hosts.
246 TREMONT ST., BOSTON | 7:30PM | $27-$35 SAT 01.05
GOOD HEAVENS! A COMEDY SHOW @ GOOD LIFE
Featuring: Brian Higginbottom, John Paul Rivera, Killian McAssey, & Stine An. Hosted by Michael Stewart and Gabe Stoddard
28 KINGSTON ST., BOSTON | 7PM | $10 SUN 01.06
LIQUID COURAGE COMEDY @ SLUMBREW
Featuring: Jane McNamara, Jonathan Tilson, Dom Smith, Kathleen DeMarle, Rob Greene, Liam McGurk, Mike Setlow, James Huessy, & Brett Johnson. Hosted by Jeff Medoff
15 WARD ST., SOMERVILLE | 8PM | $5
Lineup & shows to change without notice. For more info on everything Boston Comedy visit BostonComedyShows. com Bios & writeups pulled from various sources, including from the clubs & comics…
RUTHERFORD BY DON KUSS DONKUSS@DIGBOSTON.COM
“I’M SOrry sir, but urine does not qualify as a signature on a legally binding contract”
WHAT'S FOR BREAKFAST BY PATT KELLEY PATTKELLEY.COM
HEADLINING THIS WEEK!
Helen Hong
Thursday - Saturday Comedy Central, Showtime
COMING SOON Ramy Youssef
Special Engagements: Sun, Jan 6 (TWO SHOWS!)
Addicts Comedy Tour
THE WAY WE WEREN’T BY PAT FALCO ILLFALCO.COM
Special Engagement: Weds, Jan 9
Samuel J. Comroe America’s Got Talent Jan 10-13
K. Trevor Wilson Roast Battle, Jimmy Kimmel Live Jan 24-26 OUR VALUED CUSTOMERS BY TIM CHAMBERLAIN OURVC.NET
Greg Fitzsimmons Netflix, The Howard Stern Show Jan 31-Feb 2
617.72.LAUGH | laughboston.com 425 Summer Street at the Westin Hotel in Boston’s Seaport District NEWS TO US
FEATURE
DEPT. OF COMMERCE
ARTS + ENTERTAINMENT
23
VERY FUNNY SHOWS.
Seven Nights A WWk. IMPROVASYLUM.COM | 617.263.6887