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MEDIEVAL MAN MISSED

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DEMOCRACY IN CRISIS

MCCONNELLWANTS TO KILL YOU MBTUBER PLUS: KICKASS LOCAL IMAGINING PUBLIC LONG LIVE THE KING! TRANSIT

RIDE-SHARING

DOC RIPS MEDIA

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JULY 6, 2017 - JULY 13, 2017 BUSINESS PUBLISHER Marc Sneider ASSOCIATE PUBLISHERS Chris Faraone John Loftus Jason Pramas SALES MANAGER Marc Sneider FOR ADVERTISING INFORMATION sales@digboston.com BUSINESS MANAGER John Loftus

EDITORIAL EDITOR IN CHIEF Chris Faraone EXECUTIVE EDITOR Jason Pramas MANAGING EDITOR Mitchell Dewar ASSOCIATE MUSIC EDITOR Nina Corcoran ASSOCIATE FILM EDITOR Jake Mulligan ASSOCIATE ARTS EDITOR Christopher Ehlers STAFF WRITER Haley Hamilton CONTRIBUTORS G. Valentino Ball, Sarah Betancourt, Tim Bugbee, Mike Crawford, Kori Feener, Marc Hurwitz, Marcus Johnson-Smith, Micaela Kimball, Derek Kouyoumjian, Andrew Quemere, Jonathan Riley, Peter Roberge, Adam Sennott, Maya Shaffer, Miriam Wasser, Dave Wedge, Baynard Woods INTERNS Katie Martin, M.J. Tidwell

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Dear Reader,

Long before I became editor of DigBoston, believe it or not, I was a fairly prolific hip-hop critic, writing for the likes of Spin and the Source. And ever since long before that, I have detested Jay Z and the trite materialistic trash he passes off as conscientious thoughtful boom bap.

Within an hour of waking up last week to countless posts hailing Jay’s genius—many written by people who I’ve never seen prop any music at all, independent or commercial, on social media—I realized the extent to which a lot of them are just like Trump supporters. Not politically, but rather in that they don’t know a lot about a topic, but nevertheless feel compelled to preach about their favorite billionaire.

Without any further ado, I swapped the words “Jay Z” for “Trump” and “4:44” for “hair” in the following posts, really for no reason at all beyond highlighting just how childish and inane all this chatter is in the first place.

NICOLAS JAAR W/ IVY SOLE

SAT. JULY 15

WED. JULY 19

Trump’s new hair might be the best hair of 2003 I’m not a Trump fan but the fact I keep seeing people say Kanye means more to the culture than Trump makes me want to go on a shooting rampage.

Thank You Trump!

TUE. AUGUST 1

THU. AUGUST 3

ALLSTON PUDDING PRESENTS

W/ XAVIER OMÄR

W/ AND THE KIDS, DJ REDBEES

W/ PALEHOUND, OUTER SPACES

MON. AUGUST 7

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MON. AUGUST 28

M OVE D FR O M T H E SI NC L AI R D U E TO OVE R W H E L M I NG D E M AND !

ON SALE FRIDAY AT 10AM!

DAVE LOMBARDO | MIKE PATTON JUSTIN PEARSON | MICHAEL CRAIN

SAT. SEPTEMBER 9

KALI UCHIS

W/ SECRET CHIEFS 3

W/ PHONY PPL

W/ SMINO, RAVYN LENAE

MON. SEPTEMBER 11

TUE. SEPTEMBER 12

FRI. AUGUST 25

52 Church St., Cambridge, MA sinclaircambridge.com

Can someone please help me get the new Trump hair on Zune?

Pretty sure these links work for the new Trump hair. I haven’t tried it myself because I’m mobile right now.

279 Tremont St. Boston, MA royaleboston.com/concerts

W/ PARKS

w/ (T-T)b

THU. JULY 6

FRI. JULY 7

W/ KELSEY WALDON

SAT. JULY 8

LANGHORNE SLIM & THE LAW W/ JONNY FRITZ

SUN. JULY 9

FRANK IERO & THE PATIENCE

group

W/ EXIT ORDER, CONMEN

W/ THE HOMELESS GOSPEL CHOIR

W/ A WILL AWAY, DRY JACKET

TUE. JULY 11

FRI. JULY 14

TUE. JULY 18

THU. JULY 20

Sooo apparently Trump dropped a new album or something.

Did anyone not know Trump has been cheating on Beyonce since the beginning? If you ain’t woke enough to know that I don’t know what to tell you.

But at least he was smart enough to pay all his sidechicks off.

The hair is great but I see the same people bashing it are the let’s keep it underground and broke. Trump is saying real grown shit.

SUN. JULY 23

SUNDAY, JULY 9

‘s S GA THE

CHRIS FARAONE, EDITOR

FRI. AUGUST 11

W/ COVEY, BEDBUG

ACOUSTIC & BORN WITHOUT BONES

TUESDAY, JULY 11

SUNDAY, JULY 16

FIRE EX.

greatscottboston.com

Damn … Trump has always had a way of gettin’ under other rappers skin … Welp he’s done it again!

LOL. And I love it.

MON. AUGUST 7

1222 Comm. Ave. Allston, MA FRIDAYS AT 7PM!

With all the memes and debates … It’s safe to say that Trump has once again not only created another classic rap album but also brought back Real Rap conversation … In the last 48 hours, his hair was the topic in my barbershop, in my office and in the streets … It felt like the ’90s all over again when me and my crew would sit for hours analyzing and comparing the hottest hair that came out.

FRI. JULY 28

ALLSTON PUDDING PRESENTS

Trump’s album is an apology to Bey. Bet Kanye’s next album will be an apology to Trump.

Love this Trump joint. Honest. Transparent. Selfreflective. Soul-Baring. Redemptive. Clever. Can’t knock his evolution.

W/ DENNIS BRENNAN BAND, JESSE DEE (SOLO)

W / M AT T M A E S O N

W/ MAYBIRD

THURSDAY, JULY 20

FRIDAY, JULY 21

SUNDAY, JULY 23

ON SALE FRIDAY AT 1PM!

W/ HORSE JUMPER OF LOVE

MONDAY, JULY 24

FRIDAY, JULY 28

TUESDAY, OCTOBER 17

≠ 7/6 BOOGARINS ≠ 7/7 SOMETHING SNEAKY ≠ 7/8 GRETCHEN & THE PICKPOCKETS ≠ 7/12 FRATERNAL TWIN ≠ 7/13 THE ATOMIC BITCHWAX ≠ 7/14 TIMESHARES ≠ 7/15 ONEIDA ≠ 7/18 BROTHER TOASTER ≠ 7/25 MINT GREEN ≠ 7/27 ACTOR|OBSERVER ≠ 7/29 EDDIE JAPAN ≠ 7/30 THE SPINTO BAND

OTHER SHOWS AROUND TOWN:

JULIE BYRNE W/ JOHANNA WARREN

MOUNT EERIE

SATURDAY, JULY 15 CAFE 939

WEDNESDAY, SEPTEMBER 13 ARTS AT THE ARMORY

THURSDAY, SEPTEMBER 28 ARTS AT THE ARMORY

FRIDAY, SEPTEMBER 29 MUSEUM OF FINE ARTS

Tickets for Royale, The Sinclair, and Great Scott can be purchased online at AXS.COM or by phone at 855-482-2090. 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

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NEWS US

THE BALLAD OF BIKING IN BOSTON VICIOUS CYCLE

Dispatches from my daily dance with death en route to work

BY KATIE CAMPISI I edge off the sidewalk. I look left and then right. Then left and then right again. One more time to be sure. I merge towards the rightmost edge of the street, but there is no bike lane so I teeter between the curb and the line of cars waiting at the red light I am approaching. As I reach the intersection, the light turns green and the first car in line turns right sharply, cutting me off without even noticing.

No blinker, no concern. I squeeze my brakes, swerve and dodge around the car and keep going, shaking my head, shaking it off.

I don’t ride my bike in Boston because I have a death wish. I ride my bike because it’s convenient, affordable, and healthy for me and the planet. My 25 minute, 5 mile commute between Brighton and Kendall Square takes me through several major intersections. On the way to work I hit Packard’s Corner, followed by the BU Bridge, and round it off with a tough left turn from Main Street onto Galileo Galilei Way in Kendall just before I get to work.

Heading back home I hit the dangerous cross-section of Mass Ave and Beacon Street (the most dangerous intersection in the city for cyclists according to the Boston Police Department’s Collision Report for 2009-2012), then Kenmore Square, and then back past the BU Bridge and Packard’s Corner before I reach home. While most of my route has bike lanes, and a few roads even have fully protected cycle tracks, my daily ride isn’t one that I would call safe.

Approaching the intersection of Beacon Street and Mass Ave, riding over the bridge. The right turn I make onto Beacon Street funnels me into a well-marked and protected bike lane, a safety feature added in 2016 to this notoriously dangerous crossing. As I complete the turn, the 4

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illusion of safety is instantly shattered by an SUV parked inside the bikes-only lane, blocking me completely. I pull up and stare at the driver, hoping to make eye contact, to make them realize where they parked. They don’t look up from their phone.

There are certain obstacles that cyclists in Boston can expect to encounter frequently. The most common, according to crash reports, is being doored—a collision that occurs when a passenger, often the driver, in a parked car opens their door into the bike lane directly into the path of a cyclist, typically causing the cyclist to fly over the door and off of their bike. This can toss the cyclist into the middle of the road, on the ground, in front of oncoming traffic.

Another frequent danger comes from cars turning right, crossing directly through bike lanes and plowing over or cutting off any cyclists continuing straight.

Unaffectionately dubbed a right hook, this is probably the most pervasive obstacle I encounter.

Amanda Phillips, 27, was killed in Inman Square last summer when she swerved to avoid being doored.

Christopher Weigl, 23, was killed at the corner of St. Paul’s Street and Comm Ave in December 2012 by a truck making a right hook. Had someone in either car taken the few seconds it takes to scan for oncoming cyclists they might both still be with us.

The ride down Comm Ave is never without some event, and I keep my eyes and ears open wide while I pedal inbound towards Kenmore Square. I’m keeping pace with a car on my left, and they are inching closer and closer to my lane. They don’t have a blinker on and I don’t see the driver checking the side mirror, but I know better. I slow down,

sighing as the car continues into the bike lane, completely cutting me off and absolutely unaware of what they have done. Quick check over my left shoulder, a car is coming, but I have space to keep going and move around the car blocking my lane. I inch out, passing the offending vehicle on the left and the approaching car lays on the horn in the distance. I resist the urge to flip them off and keep going, sliding back into the bike lane where I don’t feel much safer.

Uber drivers, delivery drivers, most drivers, don’t use their blinkers. They pull in and out of bike lanes, using them as their own personal parking lots, never checking for bikes. When I see a car veering to the right, I never assume they are just bad at driving straight. I always prepare for the sudden jerk of their vehicle into my path, and keep my hands on the brakes at all times.

Once a car is in the bike lane, I have to pull into the road to avoid it, causing a symphony of horns without fail. A reminder to drivers reading this: don’t be mad at the cyclist. Be mad at the driver who blocked off their lane.

Legally, cyclists have the right to take a full road lane to themselves, a law overlooked by every Boston driver I’ve shared the road with.

When I see a car veering to the right, I never assume they are just bad at driving straight.

I enjoy taking Vassar Street in Kendall Square because of the completely separated cycle track raised alongside the sidewalk. I breathe a little easier while I roll along those few blissful blocks. Today, though, I dodge a pedestrian using my lane as a sidewalk. I yell in my most sing-songy voice, “This is a bike lane!” as I pass them. They leave the bike lane. I look back down for a moment, and then I look up.

Another cyclist, a younger boy, is on a bike heading directly at me. I swear at him. I swerve and nearly crash. This is not the first time I’ve almost crashed because of somebody on a bike using the lane to move in the wrong direction.

Between scanning my right side for passengers in parked cars who might throw their door open, and watching on the left for cars entering my lane without blinkers, riding my bike in this city leaves me on edge. And sometimes cars aren’t even the most dangerous thing I encounter in the bike lane. Pedestrians using the lane as a sidewalk and other cyclists biking erratically or in the wrong direction can cause accidents as easily as vehicles.

While the city works to improve cycling infrastructure and safety for those of us on two wheels, I hope to see a shift in the attitude towards bikes on the road.

Presumably, the Massholes revving their engines from red

light to red light are probably not trying to kill a cyclist, yet they continue to honk and gesture and whine about the presence of bikes on the roads. It’s time for a reality check and an attitude adjustment for drivers in this city.

Even though it’s raining, I take my bike to the gym in Coolidge Corner. On Harvard Ave, heading home towards the heart of Allston, I pick up speed heading downhill and catch a light just as it turns green. I cruise into the

intersection alongside traffic. A gap between the bumpers of the cars in my lane leaves space for an oncoming vehicle—the driver doesn’t see me coming—to make a fast left through our lane. I twist my bike, smashing down on the brakes, and stumble onto the curb shaking. The driver doesn’t stop. The pedestrians watch, but say nothing. I walk my bike the last few blocks home, too rattled to get back on.

It can be hard as a cyclist not to flip out after every close call, but really we just all want to get from point A to point B alive, in one piece. Keep your eyes open on the road, and think about your friends on two wheels. Look over your shoulder. Use your blinker. By remembering to take a couple of seconds to scan the road you can save somebody’s life as quickly as you could end it if you don’t.

For videos recorded by Katie using a 360-degree helmet cam, check out facebook.com/weeklydig This article was produced in collaboration with the Boston Institute for Nonprofit Journalism as part of its ongoing Vicious Cycle series. Learn more about the project and how you can contribute at binjonline.org, and share your stories about cycling in Greater Boston at facebook.com/ binjnetwork

SUMMER BICYCLE EVENTS (JULY EDITION) JUL 8 WHAT: Inter-Neighborhood Ride WHERE: Quincy WHY: “As part of the Inter-neighborhood Ride Series, we are showing off many of Quincy's historical sites both well-known and not so well-known. The third of a series of rides to connect and explore the neighborhoods of Boston and Quincy by bike.”

JUL 8 WHAT: Ride for Peace WHERE: Franklin Park Zoo WHY: If you are going to criticize the BPD for its ham-fisted attempts at community policing, it helps to see their efforts unfold in person.

JUL 10 (and other dates) WHAT: Femmechanics Grrrease Time: Learn to Work on Your Bike WHERE: Bikes Not Bombs and Broadway Bicycle WHY: “Open-shop time provides a space for FTW cyclists to work on their bike and we’ll do our best to help you out and teach you what you need to know. During open-shop bike stands are first come, first serve and everyone might not be able to get their bike in a stand, but we will do our very best. We want you to have the tools in your hands, and we encourage you to learn together.”

JUL 12 (and other dates) WHAT: Bike Seaport Tune Up Series WHERE: Seaport Common WHY: “Join the Seaport TMA and Landry's Bicycles for complimentary bike tune-ups and light refreshments from Juice Press as a thank you for commuting sustainably.”

JUL 13 WHAT: Tour De France Night WHERE: Home.stead Bakery & Cafe WHY: “Join us for a fun evening of watching an exciting stage and enjoy a tasty French inspired buffet and beverages. Stage 12 is the first and longest stage in the Pyrenees and is one of only three mountaintop finishes in this year’s tour.”

JUL 14 WHAT: Boston Bike Party WHERE: East Boston WHY: “Boston Bike Party is a monthly social group bike ride at casual pace. It’s completely free and open to the public to participate in, and is completely volunteer-run by collective of people who like to ride bikes. The goal is to build community while partying on bikes!”

JUL 15 WHAT: American Diabetes Association Tour De Cure New England Classic WHERE: All over New England WHY: “A two or seven day ride around New England to raise funds for the American Diabetes Association.”

JUL 16 WHAT: Boston Providence Boston WHERE: Take a guess WHY: “EST total mileage 100 miles. This ride is unsupported, and it’s not a race, so all riders are welcome.”

JUL 30 WHAT: Boston Triathlon WHERE: All over Boston WHY: “The Columbia Threadneedle Investments Boston Triathlon captures the essence of the city—historical, scenic, fun and exciting. As a participant in the triathlon, you’ll swim in the fresh waters of Dorchester Bay, bike through Boston city streets, and run along the scenic Southie shoreline.”

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REAL RIDESHARING APPARENT HORIZON

Evolving the way the world moves … beyond Uber (and Lyft)

LIVE MUSIC • LOCAVORE MENU

BY JASON PRAMAS @JASONPRAMAS

PRIVATE EVENTS

7/6 The Sadies, Governor

Country Western, rock and roll.

7/09 Jesse Royal

Dub, roots reggae

7/10 Wild Rivers

Indie folk pop

7/14 Destroy Babylon, Stray Bulletts, Riki Rocksteady Reggae and ska

7/14 Oxbow, the Cancer Conspiracy, Chrome Over Brass Experimental bluesy noise rock

7/16 Bellows, Big Ups, Lilith, Hexpet

Gentle indie music and enchanting lyrics

156 Highland Ave • Somerville, MA 617-285-0167 oncesomerville.com   @oncesomerville /ONCEsomerville

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The following column was written as commentary for the July 2017 episode of the Beyond Boston monthly video news digest—produced by the Boston Institute for Nonprofit Journalism and several area public access television stations. It’s aimed at suburbanites, but fun for the whole Boston area family.

Over the years, I’ve often written about how to improve public transportation in the Bay State. But this time out, rather than rehash my standing call for the legislature to raise taxes on the rich and corporations to properly fund such a necessary service, I’d like to take a different tack and discuss a topic germane to the future of both transportation in general and public transportation in particular.

Specifically, the so-called ridesharing industry pioneered by corporations like Uber and Lyft.

Ridesharing is a transportation system in which riders and drivers interact via software on cell phones, rather than going through human dispatchers. The software allows riders to see which drivers are near them, and to have the closest one assigned to them. It provides price estimates for rides, features seamless automatic payments from rider to driver at the end of each trip—and it incentivizes simple but important things like drivers keeping their vehicles clean.

One would think this ridesharing system would be great for riders and drivers alike, but that’s not the case. The problem with ridesharing ... is that it’s not really ridesharing. That is, Uber and Lyft and smaller companies like Fasten completely control their operations from top to bottom.

Including the economic structure that determines how much riders will pay in fares—and what cut of those fares go to drivers. This system is non-transparent and largely unregulated.

An actual ridesharing system would be controlled by its riders and drivers. It could, and I would posit should, be publicly managed. In short, rather than allow ridesharing companies to assist in the dismantling of existing public transit systems like the MBTA by gradually privatizing them, those systems—or agencies set up by individual cities—could run municipal ridesharing services at cost.

Fares would be regulated in ways that would ensure riders the best fares—which poor and working class riders would be able to consistently afford. A small percentage of each fare would go to the municipal rideshare service to develop and maintain the necessary software and infrastructure. Then all the extra money that presently flows into the coffers of Uber and Lyft top brass and investors would be paid to drivers in the form of the best possible wages.

Such a service would be an excellent adjunct to public trains and buses, and would make it much easier for everyone to get from point A to point B. Plus it would be far more democratic because it could be organized to ensure that riders and drivers would play a large role in managing the service. It could even be run as a hybrid of a consumer and a worker cooperative. And democratically controlled from top to bottom. Restricting the growth of Uber and Lyft to something like their natural share of the private transportation market by its mere existence.

Going the public route—or at least a similar nonprofit route being experimented with by RideAustin in Austin, TX—would satisfy the needs of the loyal base of Uber and Lyft clients by providing comparable service at a better price point. And it would also satisfy the needs of a whole new layer of riders who will be able to afford access to new municipal ridesharing services on a regular basis—in addition to public buses, trolleys, and trains. All while paying living wages to drivers. Who are, after all, the backbone of the current corporate ridesharing system. But who are also the most exploited by it.

The problem with ridesharing ... is that it’s not really ridesharing.

Apparent Horizon is syndicated by the Boston Institute for Nonprofit Journalism. Jason Pramas is BINJ’s network director, and executive editor and associate publisher of DigBoston. Copyright 2017 Jason Pramas. Licensed for use by the Boston Institute for Nonprofit Journalism and media outlets in its network.

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coming soon to TV, print, radio, and online news outlets

A New Multimedia Series About

Bicycle Safety, Risk, and Solutions in Greater Boston visit binjonline.org & facebook.com/binjnetwork

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OUTRAGE & ECSTASY DEMOCRACY IN CRISIS

Queer dance party descends on McConnell’s house in anger over health care repeal

A swanky stretch of C Street near the Capitol in Washington, DC is blocked by a raucous crowd dancing in front of Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell’s house on an unseasonably cool summer evening. As music blasts from loudspeakers, the scene resembles a Pride block party as about 50 members of the LGBTQ community and their allies attempt to dance away their fears and anger over McConnell’s so-called health care bill, which was negotiated in secret.

The group behind the daylight dance party on C Street received an anonymous email with McConnell’s home address, according to Carla Aronsohn, one of the organizers.

“By going to his house, we’re giving the message: ‘We’re going to mess your life if you’re going to mess with ours,’” Aronsohn said.

According to the Congressional Budget Office, McConnell’s tax cutting bill will strip health care from 22 million people. The LGBTQ community feels particularly vulnerable to these cuts.

“The health care bill that’s currently in the House and the Senate would be a huge step back both for trans people specifically and for all of us who care about the health and the well-being of our neighbors,” said Rebecca Kling of the National Center for Transgender Equality.

The group first gathered at Union Station to pass out rainbow suspenders, sunscreen, bottles of water, and watermelon slices. Then they marched through the streets to “show with our bodies, with our voices, with our rad dance moves that this is an issue that is important to LGBT Americans and it is important to everyone,” Kling said as she assembled a long flagpole, on which she would soon hoist a rainbow flag and the pink, blue, and white Trans

McConnell’s lack of scruples may make him the most influential person of our era–and may explain how a man who suffered from polio as a child can craft a bill that punishes people with similar illnesses.

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flag.

As they set off, they were bookended by the cars of two authority figures: The mother of organizer Firas Nasr drove a station wagon at the head of the parade, and a police car trailed behind, flashing its own disco lights on the tony brownstones.

“We’re out here to send a clear message to the Senate, to Mitch McConnell and his cronies who wrote the bill that we will not tolerate them writing a bill that is not inclusive of all Americans,” Nasr said. “If they’re not working for the American people, then we will be out here werkin’.”

Nasr, who wears tight shorts and a pink shirt revealing plenty of chest hair, goes down into a split on the the asphalt. Balls deep on C Street. Once the group arrives in front of McConnell’s house, they begin throwing confetti that, Nasr assures everyone, is biodegradable.

It is doubtful the confetti will last that long on his sidewalk.

“In Washington, [McConnell] lived in a Capitol Hill townhouse where neighbors saw him come out on a regular basis with a broom in hand to sweep away every last bit of leaf or twig from his stoop,” Alec MacGillis wrote in his superb book, “The Cynic: The Political Education of Mitch McConnell.”

MacGillis’ 2014 book paints a portrait of McConnell as a man cynical and shrewd enough to recognize his own limitations and to compensate for them with procedural or monetary mastery. He relished the process of raising money and used the cash he collected to pay people like Roger Ailes to create dishonest ads that would discredit his opponents.

McConnell hired Ailes in 1984, when he first ran for the Senate, against two-term incumbent Walter “Dee” Huddleston. According to MacGillis, McConnell later acknowledged that Ailes’ ad showing Kentucky bloodhounds chasing down the incumbent— falsely depicted as a largely absent senator—were “fundamentally unfair.” But still, it helped him win.

McConnell’s lack of scruples may

make him the most influential person of our era—and may explain how a man who suffered from polio as a child can craft a bill that punishes people with similar illnesses.

Even Donald Trump is worried that this bill is “mean” or lacks “heart.” Based on his tweets last week, Trump seems to have only recently learned the word “obstructionist,” but it was McConnell’s rallying cry from the beginning of the Obama administration. It forced Obama to use executive orders to accomplish his goals, and Trump has been able to easily overturn those.

While his greatest victory is the theft of a Supreme Court seat, McConnell’s first major obstruction binge came in the long debate over Obamacare. McConnell ultimately lost that fight and spent the next seven years talking about repealing and replacing it.

Now that he actually has to do it, it’s not so easy.

When the Senate bill was finally released, there was chaos at McConnell’s office. Capitol police officers pulled disabled people protesting from their wheelchairs and assistive devices and dragged them away. It was an outrageous scene. The activists displayed extraordinary courage in the face of McConnell’s cowardice and the moral bankruptcy of officers just following orders. The whole scene was a perfectly symbolic enactment of the bill itself, ripping Americans from the medical systems that help sustain them.

Against this backdrop, the crowd ecstatically dancing in front of McConnell’s house was even more surprising in its embodiment of outrage and ecstasy. Trump’s popularity is driven, in part at least, by the joy of anger. This is its opposite, the anger of joy. The queer dance party at Mike Pence’s place just before the Inauguration got a lot more attention, but the joyous outrage on display as the evening sun cast a spectacular golden light on all of the shaking booties, upraised fists and fluttering flakes of confetti, which ended up in the McConnell mail slot, somehow embodied the exact opposite of McConnell, who operates in shadows.

On the day after the dance party, McConnell realized he wouldn’t be able to get the votes he needed to pass the bill and postponed it until after the July 4th recess. The delay had everything to do with defecting Republicans and nothing to do with the getting down in front of his abode.

Still, on the anniversary of our declaration of independence from England, as people ponder again what America means, I will think of these dancers as they shake it away from McConnell’s house, glowing gorgeous in the slow evening sun.

McConnell’s office did not respond to requests for a comment on the confetti or the dancing.

Contact me at baynard@democracyincrisis.com

PHOTOS BY BAYNARD WOODS

BY BAYNARD WOODS @BAYNARDWOODS

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NIGHTMARE THROUGH THE LOOKING GLASS FEATURE Q+A

A documentary about how the idiot media helped elect a moron POTUS

BY CHRIS FARAONE @FARA1

At the beginning of 2016, my team from the Boston Institute for Nonprofit Journalism built a makeshift popup newsroom in the front room of the Shaskeen Pub in Manchester, New Hampshire during the lead up to that state’s first-in-the-nation primary contest. Throughout the week, we invited every independent and alternative reporter we encountered on the trail back to the Shaskeen for free beer and a place to work, in the process meeting some seriously unique media makers. One of them was Kevin Bowe, an amateur Mass-based documentarian who was driving back and forth to the Granite State to attend rallies and town halls.

Bowe recently sent over the fruits of his filming, a movie titled Democracy Through the Looking Glass, all “about our broken political information system” and a media that “focuses on the shiny object of the day.” In addition to showing the phenomenon I’ve always loved about covering presidential politics in New Hampshire— that anybody can gain access, formal press credentials be damned—Bowe’s work truly is a stellar exposé of frauds like President Donald Trump and Chris Christie, as well as an indictment of a “media that [is] incapable of thoughtfully covering elections.”

With Bowe showing his doc in Arlington next week, I threw a range of questions at the West Newbury resident.

What were you doing before you decided to start watching the political action in New Hampshire around this time two years ago?

Short answer: Working as a video producer primarily at the time of my adventure. Long answer is I spent 22 years in the cable advertising business before burning out. For the last 12 years, I’ve done a variety of government, political, and business development work. About 10 years ago I started learning video production and got good enough to start getting paid and incorporated it into my portfolio of services.

About how many trips did you make over how many months? How many hours would you say you spent up there?

My first trip was in May 2015, so I spent 10 months in the field. I estimate I went to about 125 events, many multiple events per day at the end. Hours? Who knows. I was in New Hampshire about two or three times a week for the duration. And as the low person in the media

food chain, I had to arrive extra early to claim one of the riser spots not reserved for the “big guys” (which is understandable and I was almost always treated with respect by the campaigns and the media people I worked beside).

You were one of the few people waiting outside on the scene when Donald Trump arrived in New Hampshire for a meet and greet in June 2016 …

I was the only “media” person waiting for him to arrive.

The rest were waiting on the riser …

You say that Trump began to really strike you as a threat of sorts in the months after that, but what else can you say about watching his profile grow over the following year?

It was a little bit of watching his profile grow and a little bit of me realizing this was more than a flash in the pan. Past experience made conventional wisdom think that the early days of Sanders and Trump would burn out over time, and this was more true in the crowded GOP side.

But at each subsequent event, you could feel things grow … the campaigns got rooms that accommodated the last overflow crowd, but not today’s surge. At Trump’s second New Hampshire visit in August 2015 there was no doubt he had real appeal. I arrived three hours early and the media and waiting crowds were enormous. And I got more clarity.

At Trump’s first event, I treated it as a silly sideshow. But by that second event, I realized the appeal of his message could get him the nomination.

Who were some candidates who, watching them up close, seemed like they had a damn good chance and really did connect with voters but who weren’t able to gain enough traction in the end?

Not many. Lots of oxygen was taken up real quickly by Sanders and Clinton and O’Malley never clicked (with me).

I thought Rand Paul could go places based on my first Paul event in July 2015, but he just got worse as time went on.

Bush never had life. Graham was refreshingly honest, so you know how that played out. There was a reason Rubio is often compared to a robot. Christie worked hard and did seem to be on the cusp of momentum at times, but in the end he was not first on the dance-cards of many voters.

Other than Trump, Sanders and Clinton (yes, Clinton), the only other candidates that connected were Cruz and Kasich. Of course, they’d never connect with the same

audiences. Cruz did connect with the gun community, [and with] evangelicals and libertarians who are closeted foreign policy hawks. Kasich was your only “classic New Hampshire primary” story of a candidate doing a ton of small town halls, hitting stride a month before the election, with each event getting bigger, with the candidate being more confident, the applause getting stronger and louder … he was the only one gaining traction in the end.

Your movie has some real depth. You focus on the way that the opiate addiction was used as a political prop, and on people like Victor Sims, a young man who grew up in foster care in Florida and came up to New Hampshire to confront Jeb Bush. Is that essentially you saying: If I can do it, how come the professional media can’t produce meaningful stories?

Yes. And I gave other brief examples of “meaningful stories” that illuminate issues that are on the mind of voters, before I settled into telling my “Alzheimer’s story.”

There was the combat veteran turned peace activist and a member of the National Guard facing combat deployment, both looking for specific answers from candidates about war and peace issues. Or the 73 year old man asking why he has to still work, because he can’t afford to retire, but is paying taxes for other people to retire at 55. Or the mom— whose 14 year old son was been diagnosed with the gene that will lead to him getting cancer—wanting to know if candidates would fund cancer research. These stories create ways to draw readers/viewers into “issues” without being wonkish. But the media is apparently incapable of telling these kinds of stories and instead focuses 90 percent of their time and energy covering the optics of the campaign—writing about the strategies or latest polls and not about problems.

I don’t think you intentionally set out to make Boston Globe Editor Brian McGrory look like an out of touch imbecile, but there is a remarkable interview with him in your film in which he says that Globe writers and brass only thought to cover the opiate crisis in 2014, after thenVermont Governor Peter Shumlin devoted his entire State of the State speech to the “full-blown heroin crisis,” and the New York Times wrote about it on their front page.

What was it like to discover right up close that these people really are that disconnected to the reality the rest of us live in?

I realized a long time ago that—with a few exceptions—the major media outlets and politicians at the statewide and national levels had no sense of the opioid crisis that was unfolding right before them in the Aughts.

Even Shumlin’s speech was one year after the CDC declared prescription drug abuse an epidemic. Purdue Pharma pled guilty in 2007 for lying to doctors (for a decade) about the addictive nature of Oxycontin. In 2008, more people were dying of prescription drugs (mostly opioids) than car accidents. In 2004 one doctor in MA was supplying about one-third of all the Oxycontin in state and pill mills were setting up shop in many states. Yet the American people learned more about the handful of SARS and Ebola cases in the world than [they learned about] the millions of Americans affected by the opioid crisis. When the tragic history of this epidemic is written in 50 years, our media and political leaders will be viewed as negligent for their lack of vigilance. The warning signs were everywhere for a very long time.

Check digboston.com for our full interview with Kevin Bowe.

DEMOCRACY THROUGH THE LOOKING GLASS. REGENT THEATRE, 7 MEDFORD ST, ARLINGTON. WED JULY 12. 7:30PM/ALL AGES/$10. REGENT.PRIMETIX.COM 10

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PHOTOS VIA DUTCHESS LINGERIE/NEIL GULIANO

TARANTINO ON THE RUNWAY FEATURE

Pulp Fiction fashion, art, and burlesque show hits Providence

BY M.J. TIDWELL @MJTIDWELL781

The second installment of the Tarantino Project, a night of “fashion, live performances, and art in every form,” goes down at Alchemy in Providence on Saturday, and this time the inspired hostesses from Dutchess Lingerie are bringing one of the director’s most adulated films, Pulp Fiction, off the screen and to the runway.

Along with exhibitions of the Duchess line, the show will also feature designs from the local likes of Who U Rep, Ortega Jewelry Designs, and Nathalia JMag of Project Runway notoriety. Art and accessories from Andersyn Elaine and others will be on display and for sale, while the entertainment will carry the rest of the evening. For those who need a little more than just a glimpse of Vincent’s bolo or some classic Mia Wallace black and white, the event will showcase comedy from Colleen Farrell and Alessandra Grima, plus a hula hoop performance from Betty Hoop.

Sounds like a party that Quentin himself would approve of.

Finally, the show will also bring Tarantino-inspired burlesque performances, including a set from Bostonbased model and dancer Naida Black. I caught up with Naida briefly to ask about her coming trip to Providence in homage to a bloody cult classic.

[Tarantino] movies into my performance. It’s, well … it’s definitely work! I try to properly create a burlesque show that embodies those movies while still respecting the original art form. The first thing is always picking the songs for me and I go from there. Once I have the music flowing through, it makes it a little easier to create a set. I have a couple songs that I’m using from the actual movies. One is a mix from one of the movies. One is a secondary [song] that mixes in well.

So this event is in Providence. Could you tell me a little about the Boston burlesque and modeling scene? Is there

much of one or do you travel a lot around New England?

There’s a small scene for burlesque in Boston, definitely.

But I have done a lot of traveling over the last few years to do performances. Last year, I did New York, Georgia, and Louisiana.

What are you most looking forward to?

Most of the burlesque shows I’ve done have been pretty unique. They’re very thematic for me. But I’m very much looking forward to the actual performing itself. It’s always fun. All I’m gonna say is make sure you’re there.

Are you a Tarantino fan yourself? Which is your favorite?

Yes! I’m a very big Tarantino fan. That’s a really tough one … I do love Kill Bill though.

What does it mean to bring one art form—the movie Pulp Fiction in this case—to another very different art form in your burlesque performance?

I’m planning on bringing elements from a few different

TARANTINO PROJECT VOL. II: PULP FICTION RUNWAY AND ART SHOW. ALCHEMY, PROVIDENCE, RI. SAT JUL 8. 8PM/18+/$10.

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MEDIEVAL MAN SORELY MISSED

TRIBUTE

Long live the king!

BY DIG STAFF @DIGBOSTON

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TIMELINE 1973 Don Akin and his brother Mark open Medieval Manor in the cellar of the Eliot Hotel on Comm Ave, setting up shop in the space formerly occupied by Les Tuilleries. The actual show is amateur hour at first, still in short time the comedy act becomes a local dinner theater favorite.

1976 Mark Akin, a Boston University graduate who opened Medieval Manor with his brother Don, dies of a heart attack. He is just 29 years old.

1977 Boston Globe music and nightlife critic Steve Morse, writing about another show that some Medieval Manor regulars are in, reports that the “‘Grand Revue’ is boisterous but not as raunchy as the Medieval Manor show.”

1978 Akin buys the Eliot Lounge, a famous bar hang of great athletes that’s open since the end of prohibition, and turns it into one of the hottest rock clubs in a booming Boston music scene.

1982 Medieval Manor relocates to the first floor of 242 East Berkeley St.

PHOTOS VIA MEDIEVAL MANOR

When we heard that Boston icon Don Akin, proprietor of South End staple Medieval Manor for more than 40 years until the unique kingdom’s tragic ending two years ago, we knew that we had no choice but to help immortalize the legacy. As some longtime readers are aware, the Dig headquarters were above the Manor for more than a decade at 242 East Berkeley St., way before the Whole Foods moved in right around the corner. And so we hoped to meaningfully acknowledge not just Akin, but everything from the hysterical and raunchy stage show to the hulking slabs of meat that literally hundreds of thousands of visitors— largely sitting side by side with strangers—enjoyed in his kingdom.

We’re not going to lie; we spent a lot of time jousting with the Manor gang over parking spots, and mostly viewed them in the same way they viewed us—as a bunch of artsy weirdos who just happen to live next door. Nevertheless, as Boston changes so dramatically, it’s always sad when a truly original personality leaves us. So in a similar fashion to how we paid homage to our favorite North Shore haunts on Route 1 after the Hilltop Steakhouse shuttered, here’s a salute to the man who, as his family obituary noted, resided over the Medieval Manor “for over 40 years,” and who “along with his cast, received great joy in giving people a reprieve from their daily troubles and a chance to laugh in his kingdom.”

in the then-deserted South End, where it would remain until closing more than 30 years later. It’s not long after that Michael Chiklis, later to become the star of TV shows “The Shield” and “The Commish,” comes on board to play court jester.

1993 Two decades in business, Medieval Manor remains a viable operation. Popular restaurant critic Sandy Coleman writes, “in its 20th year of operation, [it] is a theater-restaurant in which a company of players puts on an audience participation show described as ‘vaudeville English castle cabaret.’ Be forewarned, the jokes and musical antics are not for the prudish. Most of the humor springs from below the belt—a song about a chastity belt, jokes about the size of the queen’s butt, references to other parts of the human anatomy … Two ballads by the wenches are particularly lovely.”

1996 After more than 60 years, the Eliot Lounge goes out of business. The joint is known as the most popular spot in the Hub to grab a beer on Marathon Monday. Lamenting in the Hartford Courant on the eve of their last service, columnist Alan Greenberg writes, “The 100th Boston Marathon may have been road racing’s ultimate celebration, but it was a bittersweet one for the race’s most famous watering hole. The Eliot Lounge may be threequarters of a mile from the marathon finish line, but to most of its patrons, walking in its door is like making it all the way home. But the Eliot’s doors are closing this fall. The landlord, the adjacent Eliot Hotel, is not renewing the lounge’s 15-year lease.”

2000s False rumors that Medieval Manor has closed plague the business. The restaurant remains a somewhat popular tourist trap, but begins to see attendance slip overall.

2015 Akin announces in October that Medieval Manor is slated to shutter. “I’m 65 years old, and I’m running out of enthusiasm,” Akin tells the Globe. “Money is just too tight. I have to confess, my head is kind of spinning with the reality of the situation … I want to thank all of Boston for supporting us for so long … Please accept my apologies for not being able to do it for another 43 years.”

2016 Three former Medieval Manor actors announce potential plans to reopen the restaurant through a crowdfunding campaign, but report five months later: “It is with great sadness that we inform you our efforts to reach a new lease agreement for the space where the Manor has lived for so long were unsuccessful. The price of a castle in Boston has increased significantly. We will continue to search for ways to bring back the king but we may not be seeing you as soon as we had hoped. Thank you for all of your support over the years. Long Live The King!” That disappointment aside, some Medieval Manor alumnae reunite for a show called “Plymouth Rocks” in Plymouth.

2017 Don Akin passes at the age of 67. Meanwhile, while the rest of the Manor’s immediate South End neighborhood becomes overrun with sleek and pricey apartments, the former kingdom is being used for good. More Than Words, a nonprofit that works with young people and runs a impressive used book operation on the second floor of 242 East Berkeley St., announces that it will revitalize the space as an expansion of its retail operation.

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TERMS OF SERVICE

MASS NEEDS YOU!

Hurry up and apply for a spot on the Alcohol Task Force

BY HALEY HAMILTON @SAUCYLIT

Despite the BBQs and fireworks, let’s face it America: we don’t have much to celebrate this year. And while wearing your Black Lives Matter and Nasty Woman shirts to family gatherings and using July 4th as a personal protest of the current administration was a step in the right direction, there’s something else that you can do for the future of our city and state.

Massachusetts Treasurer Deb Goldberg has launched the Alcohol Task Force, a statewide coalition that aims “to examine the legal and regulatory framework governing the alcoholic beverage industry in the Commonwealth.”

And she wants you, the people of the Commonwealth, to apply to be members.

By filling out a simple online survey (which takes about 10 minutes because of course I applied), you can submit your name and contact information and rank, from 1 to 5, which of the working groups you’re interested in joining to help better the restaurant landscape and bar ecosystem in Mass.

I don’t need to remind you that a liquor license is not merely about serving alcohol, it is the financial lifeblood for a majority of establishments. As I reported in a two-part feature, “The Thirsty Games,” which was published in these pages last year: Our months-long plunge into the rubble of the Hub’s regulatory past reveals that city and state officials barely agree about which body is responsible for what and when. According to activists, finance and regulatory experts, Boston city councilors, and restaurant industry professionals, lifting the [liquor license] cap would invigorate the local economy and help narrow the cultural gap between more booming parts of Boston and neglected corners of the Hub. Removing the cap could additionally be a powerful first step toward addressing an enduring segregation.

In practice, however, after nearly a century of paradoxical precedents, redrawn zoning maps, and a tightly monopolized market, distributing the opportunity to entertain has become an uphill battle with no real end in sight.

And as one of my sources in that series noted:

“The fact that there are Bostonians who are basically not allowed to open restaurants because they’re priced out of it, the fact that [certain] neighborhoods aren’t allowed to develop and be attractive to other people … that’s horrible injustice.”

Restaurants aren’t simply places to eat and drink. They are colossal economic forces, particularly in neighborhoods working to keep local money local while attracting a bigger slice of the citywide pie. They are the source of dozens of jobs, many of which are entry level, and many of which also have clearcut forward trajectories. And of course they are places where people go to make things happen, to meet future partners (in business or in life), and to reconnect with old friends.

Without exaggeration, the notions and ideals that ultimately led to the Declaration of Independence were first discussed and drafted over pints in local pubs. That’s a tough act to follow, but all contemporary woes considered, what better time has there ever been to stand up for the right to create? Seems like a patriotic act to me.

Survey submissions are due by noon on Friday, July 7 and can be found at mass. gov/treasury/alcoholtaskforce.

Copyright 2017 Haley Hamilton. Terms of Service is licensed for use by the Boston Institute for Nonprofit Journalism and media outlets in its network.

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WHEEL OF TUNES MUSIC

Indie rocker Vagabon talks fireplaces, field trips, and fingernails

BY NINA CORCORAN @NINA_CORCORAN When a collection of demos get to tour the States, there’s a chance they will transform from stripped-down notes to filled-in personal reckonings. That’s what happened to Laetitia Tamko. Her songwriting as Vagabon feels full of life while retaining its original intimacy, a transformation that her debut full-length, Infinite Worlds, captures perfectly. It’s a record of handclaps, gentle guitar, and thundering words, a wide-ranging assortment of songs that has thrown Tamko into the press circuit’s big leagues, getting covered by NPR, Billboard, Pitchfork, and more.

“One thing I’ve been thinking about a lot is if the means justify the ends,” Tamko says over the phone. “Infinite Worlds has taken me three years, and that almost doesn’t matter to anyone but me because when we share it, it doesn’t come with that disclaimer or mill of information.

‘Mal à L’aise’ was one of the tracks that made me, personally, feel like I was making growth as a musician to do something totally out of my comfort zone, to show I’m not one-dimensional anymore.”

While on the surface this is a guitar-driven album, there are other instruments underlying here that she toys with. It’s a record of indie rock experimentation.

Even beyond that, it’s a record of storytelling, and it’s not one that strictly centers around Tamko. “People seem to think every song on this record is autobiographical, but it’s not,” she says.

“I understand why they would think that, though, since I’m the one delivering them. It goes back to this quote I heard Roxane Gay say: ‘Women are always expected to be experts of themselves and not have an imagination.’ That’s with any writing. It’s not something I feel angry about, but that I wish people could note that there’s more than myself in these songs.”

Tamko dug deep into each track, no matter how heavy or light the instrumentation sounds. To explore what she’s like beyond her material, we interviewed Tamko for a round of Wheel of Tunes, a series where we ask bands questions inspired by their song titles.

It goes back to this quote I heard Roxane Gay say: ‘Women are always expected to be experts of themselves and not have an imagination.’

That’s with any writing.

1. “The Embers” If you’re at a party and there’s a bonfire outside, candles in a room, and a fireplace fire in the family room, where would you be?

The fireplace in the family room. I like being indoors

[laughs]. When I was growing up, my parents had one, and it’s very intrinsic. It’s mesmerizing. Being able to zone out by any ambient noise, even if it’s just wood crackling, is satisfying for me.

2. “Fear & Force” When’s a moment where you had to use force and you realized how glad you are to be strong, physically or mentally?

Actually, being a musician and putting out this record. Working with musicians that are hired, knowing how to run this whole thing—I do take it seriously. I speak with strength and force, but it’s all rational. Delegating and being a leader and running my shit was something that made me realize I’m mentally strong. If I’m working with a musician and showing them something, patience is very important, but so is not deviating from your goal and vision. That’s what’s number one to me. So learning how to work with others and be a good leader, being kind and generous and patient, while not being shy about the things you want and how you will get them, was a big one for me.

I would like to live right at the hit of the new millennium in 2000. I was around to live it, but I’d like to be older in that era. I would want to be 15 in the 2000s, so born in 1985 to 2085.

6. “Cleaning House” Which house chore do you dread having to do?

Probably cleaning the bathroom. The entire thing. Ugh. 7. “Cold Apartment” Which would you choose: no heater but you get unlimited sweaters and sweatshirts of your choosing, no heater but you get a cordless heated blanket that you can carry with you anywhere, or a heater but you only own one sweater, one sweatshirt, and no heated blanket?

The last one, having a heater but only one sweater. I just stay in my zone, so if my zone is fine, then I can record there and relax. I wouldn’t need sweaters then.

8. “Alive and A Well” What’s your fondest historic field trip from school?

Medieval Times! I remember the table arrangements, actually.

Everything was gray and weird plastic metal and stones.

I have a fond memory of the eating experience and food placement. I was probably the kid with the arms folded. I enjoyed it, but I don’t think I did any cheering. I just stayed to myself [laughs], like some kind of pouting child.

3. “Minneapolis” Do you have any favorite hangouts in Minneapolis?

Oh man, I’ve only been there one time. That’s a tough one.

I was at an airport and at someone’s house, neither of which is exciting, so I guess those places [laughs].

4. “Mal à L’aise” Name three things that are technically petty or frivolous but make you very uncomfortable.

That’s a great question. There’s so many, but I want to pick good ones. When there’s more than four people in a small room that I’m in, I get really uncomfortable, like anxious.

Another thing is seeing an instrument cable that’s about to fall out, like it’s loose. Have you ever seen those annoying videos—I don’t know who even posts them—of things that make people uncomfortable, like an awkwardly cut fruit? This is one of those things for me. When you’re watching a band and something is about to fall, like a guitar or cable or anything that could ruin the song. It’s a weird thing, but it really makes me uncomfortable. Everyone in the room can see, and if that one thing fell it would be ruined.

Also, this is a very weird one, but when people clip their nails in front of others. Even when you’re at a friend’s house. Yeah, no. That would drive me insane. It’s more the sound than the act of clipping [laughs]. Oh god. Everyone’s going to know I’m weird now.

PHOTO OF VAGABON BY EBRU YILDIZ

5. “100 Years” What century span would you want to live through?

>> VAGABON, COVEY, BEDBUG. TUE 7.11. GREAT SCOTT, 1222 COMM. AVE., ALLSTON. 9PM/18+/$10. GREATSCOTTBOSTON.COM

MUSIC EVENTS THU 7.06

THE OG PAY-WHAT-YOU-WANT PUNKS JEFF ROSENSTOCK + LAURA STEVENSON + (T-T)b [The Sinclair, 15 Church St., Cambridge.

7pm/all ages/$15. sinclaircambridge.com]

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THU 7.06

SUN 7.09

SUN 7.09

[Great Scott, 1222 Comm.

Ave., Allston. 9pm/18+/$13. greatscottboston.com]

[The Sinclair, 15 Church St., Cambridge. 7pm/18+/$18. sinclaircambridge.com]

[Great Scott, 1222 Comm.

Ave., Allston. 9pm/18+/$12. greatscottboston.com]

PSYCH ROCK FROM BRAZIL BOOGARINS + DOUG TUTTLE + MIDRIFFS

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JOYFUL FOLK FOR THE BLUESY SOUL LANGHORNE SLIM & THE LAW + JONNY FRITZ

PERSONAL PUNK TURNED POP CAYETANA + WORRIERS + CAMP COPE

TUE 7.11

WED 7.12

[Middle East Upstairs, 472 Mass. Ave., Cambridge.

7pm/all ages/$12. mideastoffers.com]

[Great Scott, 1222 Comm.

Ave., Allston. 8pm/18+/$8. greatscottboston.com]

THE NEW EMO OSO OSO + MOM JEANS + GRADUATION LIFE + PERSPECTIVE + MORE

RUN THE SPECTRUM OF ALLSTON ROCK’ FRATERNAL TWIN + HORSE JUMPER OF LOVE + STOLEN JARS + MORE

BONFIRE MADIGAN MUSIC

Queer dance party returns with an award under their bedazzled belt

BY NINA CORCORAN @NINA_CORCORAN

512 Mass. Ave. Central Sq. Cambridge, MA 617-576-6260 phoenixlandingbar.com

Boston’s Best Irish Pub

Independence Day already happened, but a more important celebration for independent origins is happening this Saturday: Break the Chains with Bonfire Madigan Shive headlining.

Break the Chains is Boston’s all ages, all gender, all genre queer dance party, meant to offer attendees liberation and hope. Founder Evan Greer is a bit of a staple here in Boston’s music community, but the semi-monthly event, which has been essential for years now, never would have existed if it weren’t for this weekend’s headlining musical act.

From 6pm to 10pm this Saturday, Break the Chains will host another dance party at Make Shift Boston. Bonfire Madigan Shive will perform hits from records released on Kill Rock Stars and K Records, after the crowd hears music from Anjimile, Myriam Ortiz, The Best Ever, JoRa, and a secret guest.

Bonfire Madigan has deep ties to the series, though. The riot-grrrl legend, cellist, singer, and activist helped pave the way for the strong underground queer, feminist, radical music scene that we have today. As such, Greer wanted to throw a show for her in Boston, so several years back she booked her at a co-op house in Jamaica Plain and turned it into a dance party to reach a broader audience. The title? Break the Chains.

“Break the Chains is a radical answer to the co-optation and exploitation of our queer culture by corporations, politicians, and hierarchical organizations that claim to represent us,” Greer says. “I try to infuse that spirit of creating alternatives into every aspect of the party, from ensuring that it’s all ages and wheelchair accessible every time, to prioritizing booking queer artists of color and other marginalized performers and making sure they get paid real wages, not just gas money. It’s always a work in progress, trying to make it as awesome of a space as it can be. I’m grateful for all the help I get, and the feedback from both audience members and performers. Physical space for alternative events is always a challenge in rapidly gentrifying Boston, but that’s not an excuse for making the vast majority of our queer events inaccessible to many members of our community.”

The series wins you over from the first moment you step foot in the room. Greer— who’s always on the lookout for local musicians, DJs, dancers, poets, and artists— encourages interested folks to get in touch via email to keep the all-volunteer series alive and well. To get a taste of what you’d be signing up for, show up on time for this Saturday’s show—especially because attendees get an extra special treat: the chance to be included in a music video shoot for a song off Greer’s upcoming full-length. “The details of the video are top secret, but... I’ll be playing a rare set with a full band similar to the instrumentation on the album. It’s a project I’ve been working on since before my kid was born almost 7 years ago,” she says. “Rest assured, the video will feature sequins, glitter, and queer rebellion.”

Break the Chains recently won the Improper Bostonian’s Boston’s Best award for Dance Party Starter. It’s one of many nods of recognition to the dedication and passion Greer’s churned out continually to give Boston the dance series it needs. This Saturday’s party is a special moment for the series because its origins come full circle. It’s a reminder of why it all began — and that honor isn’t lost on Greer.

“I organize Break the Chains as a way of giving back to the Boston queer and activist communities that have given me so much support as a trans musician and organizer.

I love standing on the balcony looking down at everyone dancing, or hanging on a performer’s lyrics, or chatting and enjoying themselves, and it gives me life and strength to keep fighting for the things I believe in,” she says. “Break the Chains has no corporate sponsorship or any formal backing, so it’s an honor to see it recognized through Boston’s Best. Mostly I’m just so grateful for the support of my queer community, to all the volunteers and the people who show up month after month. Together we’ve created something really special.”

>> BONFIRE MADIGAN SHIVE, ANJIMILE, MYRIAM ORTIZ, THE BEST EVER, JORA. SAT 7.8. MAKE SHIFT BOSTON, 549 COLUMBUS AVE, BOSTON. 6PM/ALL AGES/$10-20.

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GRAND ACCOMPANIMENT

FILM

Reporting from the latest “film screenings” held by the Boston Pops

BY GREG VELLANTE @GREGVELLANTE

somebody who has the profundity to write a score like Schindler’s List [1993] as well as the musical exoticism to compose Memoirs of a Geisha [2005]. Then, there’s the action-adventure output of things like Superman [1978], Raiders of the Lost Ark [1981], and Star Wars [1977], plus the overall fantasy of eternal childhood movies like E.T.: The Extra-Terrestrial [1982], The BFG [2016], Hook [1991] and Harry Potter… [2001]—it’s just amazing.”

The collaborations between Williams and Spielberg have been celebrated by the Pops for years, via both its Film Night and “Film in Concert” events. This happened most recently in May, when Jaws [1975] and E.T. were both were projected alongside live orchestral accompaniment from the Pops at Boston Symphony Hall.

But doing so requires far more than just a conductor and their players. The preparation required for performing a sound film live in concert with orchestral accompaniment is a lengthy, multistep process. First the orchestra receives a high definition ProRes file—a lossless video compression format—from the film’s distributor. That file features audio that’s uniquely assembled into separate stereo tracks, with the film’s original score completely stripped from the mix. From there, all sound effects, dialogue, and other remaining source music elements are reworked to create an optimal balance for presenting the film with full symphony orchestra accompaniment. And while this file is being prepared, a separate corresponding film file is tailored specifically for Lockhart. Displayed on a small screen above the conductor’s sheet music, this additional video file includes audio and visual cues to assist Lockhart in keeping the musical accompaniment in sync with the picture. “Even missing something by a half second is pretty late,” says Lockhart.

It’s an exceptionally ambitious concept, and the work of Spielberg and Williams fits it perfectly. “E.T. in Concert,” as presented by the Pops, was an otherworldly experience. The last 30 minutes of the film are known for eliciting strong responses, and the live score enhanced the immediacy of those feelings immeasurably. “Jaws in Concert” managed

to elicit some golden reactions from the audience as well, despite the fact that its rightfully iconic score is deployed far more sparsely than E.T.’s (seeing an entire audience jolt in unison after an underwater Richard Dreyfuss discovers a severed head, complete with an orchestral punch of the score, was particularly rewarding). With its familiar “dadum” theme, and its sudden bursts of explicitly audible assaults, the suspense and thrills of Spielberg’s oceanic adventure also became increasingly effective with live accompaniment.

Spielberg/Williams may be perfectly fit to this method of exhibition, but witnessing a film in concert is a unique venture regardless of what’s onscreen. Lockhart hopes that seeing certain movies this way will be unlike any moviegoing experience the viewer has encountered before, and he’s certainly validated in these aspirations. But it must be noted that these performances are undoubtedly in favor of a film’s musical side, to the potential detriment of cinema’s other elements. The low points of a film-in-concert experience mainly relate to exhibitional compromises— you can’t help but recognize the moments where a darkened movie theater projecting a bright, 35mm-film print would be superior to the presentations happening behind the orchestra.

First is the visual presentation itself. The screen above the stage in Boston Symphony Hall is not huge by any means, but it’s also not small—in fact, it’s the perfect size to take in the digitally processed film file (which is screened via a projector not too different from what you’ll find at your local multiplex). But that screen is then diminished by exposure to way too many light sources—from the sides of the seating sections and from directly below the screen—which are, of course, necessary for the orchestra to adequately perform. There is also the unfortunately raised positioning of the screen itself, which requires you to crane your neck upward in order to disregard the unusually high amount of activity happening in your peripherals. Said activity usually comes when the films are without score: Since the majority of the audience is there for the musical experience, scenes of dialogue become opportunities for patrons to get up and refresh themselves, all while the wait staff works to stay on top of food and drink orders.

These actions are accompanied by the side doors swinging open—driving more light inside the auditorium—as well as by a persistent creaking of the wooden floors. Everyone’s just waiting for the next passage of music to arrive, which can prove disheartening for some people.

That’s not a deal breaker by any means, but it’s a drawback inherent to the experience. Within a show like these, the film is an accessory to the music, more so than the other way around. This is a musical performance more than a cinematic presentation—but the Pops does deliver a truly marvelous performance. While performing live scores for movies, despite all the steps and bumps in the process, it gets close to the second definition of “concert”: “agreement, accordance and harmony.”

FRI 7.07

SAT 7.08

SUN 7.09

MON 7.10

[Coolidge Corner Theatre.

290 Harvard St., Brookline.

Midnight/R/$12.25. 35mm. coolidge.org]

[Coolidge Corner Theatre.

290 Harvard St., Brookline.

Midnight/R/$12.25. 35mm. coolidge.org]

[Somerville Theatre. 55 Davis Sq., Somerville.

2pm/NR/$15. 35mm. somervilletheatre.com]

[Brattle Theatre. 40 Brattle St., Harv Sq., Camb 5:30pm/NR/$9-13. 35mm.

Also on 7.11 at 3:30 and 7:30pm.brattlefilm.org]

PHOTO BY MICHAEL BLANCHARD The word “concert” gets you thinking about the thrill of hearing music live—and if you do consider the visual components of the experience, they’re probably secondary at best. So the idea of “a film in concert” is one with immediate contradictions, but that hasn’t stopped the Boston Pops from putting on such performances for years now. In past outings, the orchestra has performed live scores alongside screenings of Hollywood classics like Singin’ in the Rain [1952] and The Wizard of Oz [1939]. And looking ahead, current Pops conductor Keith Lockhart teases the possibility of performing live scores for newer works, such as Best Picture winner The Artist [2011], as well as for more canonical entries, like Alfred Hitchcock/Bernard Herrmann collaborations including Psycho [1960] and Vertigo [1958]. The latest film-related events, however, land somewhere in between “modern favorites” and “accepted canon”—the Pops has recently performed scores for screenings of films made by the composer/director team of John Williams and Steven Spielberg. Much like Herrmann and Hitchcock, Williams and Spielberg have a partnership that approaches legendary status. And Williams, in particular, is no stranger to Symphony Hall or the Pops: He served as their conductor from 1980 to 1993, before Lockhart took over.

“Like so many people of various generations, I’ve really grown up with his music,” says Lockhart, speaking over the phone. “I was a little intimidated when I had to come to Boston in 1995 and take over for him. He’s a very modest, very self-effacing human being. I’m so glad he’s still part of the Pops family.”

Williams currently serves as conductor laureate and returns annually for the John Williams Film Night event, which celebrates a variety of classic film scores (with Lockhart and Williams both conducting). And the event’s most recent incarnation—on May 31, 2017—marked the first occasion where every piece performed was originated

by Williams himself. “I’ve always been impressed by just the sheer range of John’s career—it’s not just the amount of output, but the range of output,” says Lockhart. “He’s

FILM EVENTS FRI 7.07

FRI 7.07

[Brattle Theatre. 40 Brattle St., Harvard Sq., Cambridge. 3:30, 5:30, 7:30, and 9:30pm/NR/$911. Screens through 7.13 brattlefilm.org]

[Harvard Film Archive. 24 Quincy St., Harv Sq., Camb.

7pm/NR/$7-9. 35mm. hcl. harvard.edu/hfa]

ALISON BRIE AND AUBREY PLAZA IN THE LITTLE HOURS [2017]

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THE FILMS OF ERNST LUBITSCH CONTINUE AT HARVARD DESIGN FOR LIVING [1933]

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CRONENBERG MOVIES AT MIDNIGHT, PART ONE THE BROOD [1979]

CRONENBERG MOVIES AT MIDNIGHT, PART TWO VIDEODROME [1983]

PRESENTED WITH LIVE MUSICAL ACCOMPANIMENT HAROLD LLOYD IN SAFETY LAST! [1923]

‘ROBERT MITCHUM CENTENNIAL’ BEGINS AT THE BRATTLE OUT OF THE PAST [1947]

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A PLACE IN THE SUN ARTS

A remarkable Nari Ward survey at the ICA

BY CHRISTOPHER EHLERS @_CHRISEHLERS

PHOTO BY JOHN KENNARD Although much of the work featured in Sun Splashed, the largest survey of artist Nari Ward’s work to date, was completed a decade or more ago, it’s hard to imagine a more opportune time for this show. Sun Splashed, at Boston’s Institute of Contemporary Art through Sept 4, feels so current and of this time that it is the unmissable exhibition of the summer.

Crackling with lust for life and the skepticism of the American dream, Ward’s art is often both humorous and hearty. He explores the plight and the burden immigrants face in America today, and infuses his work with cultural references to his native Jamaica as well as the Black experience—both past and present—in the United States.

Although Ward was born in Jamaica, he immigrated to New York City in the late 1980s. With Harlem as his adopted home, it wasn’t long before Ward established himself as someone to watch on the New York art scene.

It’s important to consider the New York that Ward called home, particularly the ravaged and poverty-stricken Harlem that would be his first taste of American life. But on a larger scale, New York as a whole was hurting, and the art world was nowhere near being free and clear of the AIDS epidemic that took from us an entire generation of artists.

But Ward’s Jamaican roots reverberate through every corner of Sun Splashed. He looks at stereotypes of the island as well as the specific role that Jamaica played in the Atlantic slave trade and Black diaspora. He treats urbanity and community with the same kind of reverence that he treats mysticism and religion, and as a result there is a very specific kind of provocation that ripples continuously throughout the exhibition.

Ward’s hallmark is the use of found objects and a very labor-intensive process, which not only plays with the ideas of value and worth but also gives power to the ordinary,

out of order, or downright discarded. Another fascinating aspect of some of Ward’s work is the way that he includes the mark of the human body without actually having a body present in the work.

Happy Smilers: Duty Free Shopping is the first step into Ward’s world in Sun Splashed. A bright yellow storefront with different Jamaican soda bottles hanging from the awning, it was inspired by a candy store near Ward’s home in Harlem that was actually running a gambling operation out of its back room. It got him thinking about the differences between reality and expectation as well as the disparity between the way something looks and the truth of its inside.

Through the storefront, a real fire escape is suspended from the ceiling, surrounded by various found household objects tightly wrapped with decommissioned fire hose.

The fire escape hangs over a trough of salt, an evocation of a Jamaican saying that the devil can’t walk across salt.

A lone aloe plant sits on the otherwise bare fire escape, a small sign of life in this urban landscape. Giant dance hall speakers sit against the far wall playing a soundtrack of rain falling on a tin roof, one of Ward’s earliest childhood memories.

Another highlight is We the People, which takes up an entire wall and spells out the first words of the US Constitution in shoelaces of varying colors and lengths.

The exhibition’s most Instagrammable work, in question here is the inclusiveness of democracy and how, despite being made up of people of all different types and colors, American democracy doesn’t come close to serving all people at all times.

Situated right in front of We the People is Glory, a barbaric-looking tanning bed made of empty oil barrels.

Created one year after the US invaded Iraq, Ward’s

statement here is not subtle. But he’s also exploring pigmentocracy here, the idea that the darker the skin tone, the more discrimination you’re likely to face. For some, the idea of dark, tanned skin is a sign of wealth and leisure, but others spend their lives wishing for lighter skin. There is a fascinating contradiction in some places like Ward’s native Jamaica, where tourists come for a tan but some locals are discriminated against because of the darkness of their skin.

Stars and stripes cover the glass of the tanning bed so that if someone were to actually tan on it, the imprint of the American flag would be left on their body.

Oriented Right is another work that stuck with me and is, perhaps, the exhibition’s most moving. Ward was visiting the First African Baptist Church in Savannah, Georgia, when he noticed that there were holes drilled into the floor. It turns out that the church was a stop on the Underground Railroad, and the holes allowed those passing through, hidden under the floorboards, to breathe. Ward applied patina to his shoes and danced on the wood, a massive oak slab adorned with copper and a pattern of holes, and it oxidized over time. This evokes a ghostly presence of a long-suffering people, and it’s a great example of Ward including the human body in his work without the presence of an actual body.

If Sun Splashed is a title that is decidedly more optimistic and carefree than the substance that lies at the center of Ward’s work, it is fitting in that it reiterates the themes of disparity that Ward so clear-sightedly explores.

At turns playful and mysterious, harrowing and somber, Sun Splashed is a transportive and sobering look at the politics of identity, the perils of patriotism, and the quest to belong.

>>NARI WARD: SUN SPLASHED. THROUGH 9.4 AT THE INSTITUTE OF CONTEMPORARY ART/BOSTON, 25 HARBOR SHORE DR., BOSTON. ICABOSTON.ORG

ARTS EVENTS CLASSIC MUSICAL SHOW BOAT

[Reagle Music Theatre, 617 Lexington St., Waltham. Through 7.16. reaglemusictheatre.com]

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DRINKS, MUSIC, & ART FIRST FRIDAYS: SUMMER POP

[Institute of Contemporary Art, 25 Harbor Shore Dr., Boston. 7.7. icaboston.org]

A THEATRICAL EVENT IN 24 HOURS MAD DASH

[Fresh Ink Theatre at the Lyric Stage, 140 Clarendon St., Boston. freshinktheatre.org]

FAREWELL TO MATISSE + BEER! MFA + NIGHT SHIFT: FINAL NIGHT OF MATISSE

[Museum of Fine Arts, Boston, 465 Huntington Ave., Boston. 7.8. mfa.org]

FREE THEATRE IN THE PARK THE VISIT

[Apollinaire Theatre Company, 99 Marginal St., Chelsea. Through 7.30. apollinairetheatre.com]

ARTS

AN EXPERIMENTAL CLASSIC Non-Event events fill venues, command undivided attention

BY KATIE MARTIN

PHOTO BY PETER B. KAARS It’s a rare experimental music concert where promoters have to bring out extra chairs and it is still standing-room only. But that was the case at the recent performance by EKG, an electroacoustic duo whose name represents, among other things, the initials of its members Ernst Karel and Kyle Bruckmann. The concert’s organizer, Non-Event, has run a well-regarded concert series since 2001, and has been responsible for bringing some of the experimental music community’s foremost artists to Boston.

Non-Event’s concerts have taken place at venues all around the city, and this time EKG set up in Le Laboratoire Cambridge, a “culture lab” and gallery. Upon entering the sparsely-decorated space, audience members were greeted by loud clicks, buzzes, and whirs, as well as the sight of a black table covered in an a impressive assortment of electronics and, incongruously, two oboes.

The visual disconnect between the tangle of wires and the wooden instruments foreshadowed EKG’s unique sound: the interplay between electronic perfection and the necessary imperfections of a traditional acoustic instrument. Although both group members are trained on traditional instruments (oboe and trumpet, respectively) as well as electronics, Bruckmann largely focused on the oboe in this concert while occasionally leaning down to tap away at a laptop, while Karel fiddled with an Escherian tangle of dials and wires to create “analog electronic” sounds without the assistance of a computer.

EKG’s music relied primarily on airy soundscapes and languorous silences, foregoing melody almost entirely. The first piece, Michael Pisaro’s “Every Night” [Harmony Series No. 12C] was so soft and atmospheric that it was at times hard to distinguish what was intentional sound and what was the background hum of the air conditioner and the audience’s breathing. The second piece, written and performed solo by Bruckmann, was inspired by the works of light artist James Turrell, intending to create “a similar experiential state through a different medium.” Each note was placed laboriously, leaving plenty of time to contemplate Bruckmann’s feats of breath control.

The contrast with the piercing sterility of the electronics made the oboe sound warm and almost gritty.

The third section of the evening, Karel’s improvised solo set on electronics, suffered in contrast to the earlier pieces due to the lack of oboe. Though the calculated cacophony of sounds was impressive and well-crafted, it failed to make a lasting impression. Fortunately, Bruckmann returned for the final piece of the night, an arrangement of Alvin Lucier’s “Serenade” for oboe and string quartet. Here, the quartet was replaced by four pre-programmed oscillators, and speakers were set up around the room so that the audience was seated in the middle. The oscillators created an impossibly regular and unrelenting vibrato, harmonizing with and amplifying the breathy, sustained sounds of the oboe.

In his introduction to the second piece, Bruckmann described the experience as an “exercise in patience,” and that would be a fair description of EKG’s music on the whole. It was as much a meditative experience as a concert, more likely to provoke contemplation than cheers.

The next installment of Non-Event’s concert series takes place on July 11, featuring noise artist Valerie Martino, with another on August 8 with computer programmer/ musician Erika Nesse. More at nonevent.org.

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SAVAGE LOVE

CAT CALLS

WHAT'S FOR BREAKFAST

BY PATT KELLEY WHATS4BREAKFAST.COM

BY DAN SAVAGE @FAKEDANSAVAGE | MAIL@SAVAGELOVE.NET My boyfriend of three months is great! He’s smart, funny, and attractive—and two weeks ago, we said those three words. My parents like him, my friends like him, and my cat is enamored with him.

But that’s where the problem starts. I had some reservations that he was only coming around to cuddle with my cat—which I know sounds crazy— so I disregarded it. Then he told me that he loves sleeping in my bed because of the mattress! He says his mattress at home hurts his back and he feels achy all day unless he sleeps at my place. (I splurged on an expensive gel/foam combination mattress.) I can’t shake the feeling that he is using me for my mattress and my cat.

Boy Erodes Dame’s Satisfaction Which seems likelier: This smart, funny, and attractive guy has been fucking you for three months (and said “those three words” two weeks ago) to keep the gel/foam and literal pussy coming, BEDS, or this guy likes you, he really likes you. Since men can get cats and mattresses of their own, BEDS, my money is on the latter. But you’re right about one thing: Your question makes you sound crazy.

I was surprised by your advice to CUCK, the gay man whose husband was sleeping with another man who insisted on treating CUCK like a cuckold— sending him degrading text messages—even though CUCK isn’t into that. Why isn’t this a case of someone involving another person in his sex life without his consent? While CUCK has agreed to let his husband fuck another person, he didn’t agree to receive sexually explicit texts from that person.

Consensual Lovin’ Is Paramount The Other Man (TOM) is fucking CUCK’s husband, CLIP, so TOM is involved in CUCK’s sex life—at the margins, on the edges, but kindasorta involved. When CUCK told his husband he didn’t appreciate TOM’s texts, his husband asked CUCK to play along because it turns TOM on. (I suspect it also turns CUCK’s husband on.) I told CUCK that he should play along only if the texts didn’t bother him. It may have been out of line for TOM to send that first message without making sure it would be welcome (I’ll bet CUCK’s husband, who was there, gave TOM the okay), but it was a party foul at best.

And, again, if the texts don’t bother CUCK and he’s willing to play along for his husband’s benefit, I think he should.

On the Lovecast, Mistress Matisse is back to talk about her very special lube: savagelovecast.com.

THE STRANGERER

BY PAT FALCO ILLFALCO.COM

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OUR VALUED CUSTOMERS

BY TIM CHAMBERLAIN OURVC.NET

Your Trusty Massachusetts Cannabis Newsletter subscribe for free at

talkingjointsmemo.com NEWS TO US

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