Seeing Green: Saint Patrick’s Day Party Guide VOL. 39 | ISSUE 23 | MARCH 13–19, 2019
Detroit rockers Stone Clover celebrate a decade of ‘Paddy Slag’
LUCKOF THE IRISH
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Vol. 39 | Issue 23 | March 13-19, 2019
News & Views Feedback/Comics ................. 8 Informed Dissent ................ 12 Is rent too damn high? ....... 14 Feature Stone Clover on a decade of “Paddy Slag”................... 18 Saint Patrick’s Day party guide .......................... 19 Food Katsu Detroit ....................... 26 What’s Going On ............... 30 Fast Forward ....................... 38
Publisher - Chris Keating Associate Publisher - Jim Cohen
EDITORIAL Editor in Chief - Lee DeVito Investigative Reporter - Steve Neavling Dining Editor - Tom Perkins Music and Listings Editor - Jerilyn Jordan Web Editor - Devin Culham Proofreader - Dave Mesrey Contributing Editors - Michael Jackman, Larry Gabriel Editorial Interns - Jessica D’Alfonso, Mike Dionne, Will Feuer, Maryam Jayyousi, Ariel Whitely, Angela Zielinski
ADVERTISING Associate Publisher - Jim Cohen Regional Sales Director - Danielle Smith-Elliott Senior Multimedia Account Executive Jeff Nutter Multimedia Account Executive Jessica Frey, Molly Clark Account Manager, Classifieds - Josh Cohen Marketing Intern - Mallary Becker
BUSINESS/OPERATIONS Business Support Specialist - Josh Cohen Controller - Kristy Dotson
CREATIVE SERVICES Graphic Designers - Paul Martinez, Haimanti Germain
CIRCULATION Circulation Manager - Annie O’Brien
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Music Kiss ...................................... 40 The Lasso ............................ 42 Latrice Royale ..................... 44
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Arts & Culture 50 years of the Alternative Press ................ 46 Review: Captain Marvel .... 48 Higher Ground .................... 50 Savage Love ........................ 54 Horoscopes .......................... 62
On the cover: Stone Clover at the Old Shillelagh. Photo by Doug Coombe.
Printed on recycled paper Printed By
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Chief Executive Officer - Andrew Zelman Chief Operating Officers - Chris Keating, Michael Wagner Creative Director - Tom Carlson VP of Digital Services - Stacy Volhein Digital Operations Coordinator - Jaime Monzon euclidmediagroup.com
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NEWS & VIEWS Feedback We received a number of comments in response to Tom Perkins’ opinion piece on metrotimes.com, “Whitmer’s gas tax hits Michigan’s poorest residents, those with debt,” regarding the governor’s proposed 45-cent-per-gallon gas tax to raise money to “fix the damn roads.” Janet Jalila Mashni: The infrastructure needs fixing now and until we can flip the state House we can’t get very far with income inequality. It hurts the poor to hit potholes that destroy their cars, too. I’m not sure she has a better choice right now.
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Michaeleen Kassa: I think she’s high-balling it, so when it passes at 20 cents there won’t be as much bitching about it. donaldopeoples: Tax the gas-guzzling trucks and asshole-ish SUV owners, not the working poor who have to get to employment that’s nowhere near their neighborhoods. Whitmer, please don’t be a limousine liberal. Dean V. Ricci: No new taxes. Legalizing pot was supposed to generate the money to fix roads, wasn’t it? Have an opinion? Of course you do! Send feedback to letters@metrotimes.com.
This city has its secrets and we’re gonna share them all. Maybe you can help. Go to metrotimes.com and vote for your favorite food, drink, music, arts, and more in the 2019 Best of Detroit poll before March 22nd. After that, it’ll be too late!
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ON SALE FRIDAY
AUGUST BURNS RED With Silverstein & Silent Planet June 26
RHETT & LINK June 27 (*)
COMING SOON QUINN XCII with Ashe & Christian French
– March 15 (SOLD OUT)
A BOOGIE WIT DA HOODIE with Don Q and
Trap Manny – March 16 (SELL OUT ALERT)
THE MUSICAL BOX – A Genesis Extravaganza – March 19 (*)
METRIC with July Talk – March 25 THE WALL THEATRICAL EXTRAVAGANZA – March 29 (*)
JAMEY JOHNSON with Kelsey Waldon – March 30 DREAM THEATER – April 2 (*) LIL BABY with City Girls, Jordan Hollywood
& Blueface – April 3
* denotes a seated show
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on sale friday:
coming soon:
coming soon concert calendar:
3/14 – born of osiris
w/ chelsea grin, make them suffer, kingdom of giants
3/15 – the black queen @ the shelter 18+
3/16 – haywyre @ the shelter 18+ may 4
ooh la la lucha
st. andrew’s tequila, gams & body slams - 21+
mar. 17 sabrina carpenter st. andrew’s w/ maggie lindem
3/19 – as i lay dying
w/ frost koffin, phinehas & currents low ticket alert
3/23 – trevor hall w/ dirtwire 3/24 – leikeli47 @ the shelter w/ young baby tate
3/25 – tobe nwigwe @ the shelter low ticket alert
3/27 – red sun rising @ the shelter may 21
the shelter
sum 41
no personal space tour
mar. 18 children of bodom
st. andrew’s w/ swallow the sun & wolfheart
3/28 – whiskey myers w/ bones owens
3/29 – thunderstruck
america’s ac/dc tribute - 40 years of highway to hell - 18+
3/29 – grits and biscuits @ the shelter - 21+
3/30 – emo night brooklyn 18+ 4/4 – cherry pools @ the shelter june 30
built to spill
keep it like a secret
st. andrew’s 20 year anniversary tour
mar. 26 extreme midget st. andrew’s wrestling
w/ tillie
4/4 – eric. b & rakim 18+
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NEWS & VIEWS Informed Dissent
Outrage over Omar is in bad faith y e rey . i man
If ever a story was situated perfectly at the intersection of 2020 politics and the perpetual outrage machine of cable news, this was it. Naturally, it sucked up all of the media’s oxygen, fueling a fire stoked on allegations of anti-Semitism and doused with gasoline by a racist president desperate to show that the other guys are the real racists. I refer, of course, to the saga surrounding U.S. Rep. Ilhan Omar, D-Minnesota, a Somali immigrant and one of the first uslim women elected to Congress. Omar is an avowed critic of the Israeli government’s treatment of Palestinians, and an equally avowed critic of the notion that criticizing that government is inherently anti-Semitic. But in doing so — and particularly while focusing on pro-Israeli money in American politics — she’s said illadvised things that echoed anti-Semitic tropes and vile stereotypes, intentionally or not. Most recent was her suggestion that American supporters of Israel are pushing for “allegiance to a foreign country.” If you’re inclined to give her the benefit of the doubt, this dual-loyalty smear could be seen as more thoughtless than insidious when read in context. But most politicians — Republicans and many Democrats — weren’t willing to do that. mar was at a on eb. 2 , ri ing on why she drew such condemnation for criticizing pro-Israeli groups but not when she bashed the NRA or Big Pharma. This followed widespread denunciations for a tweet in which she said that lawmakers’ support for Israel was “all about the Benjamins, baby” — which prompted a 424–0 vote last month for a Republican House resolution condemning anti-Semitism. She didn’t help matters when she later tweeted at a Democratic colleague that she “should not be expected to have allegiance/pledge support to a foreign country in order to serve my country in Congress.” No sooner had Omar uttered her dual-allegiance remarks than Republicans — who for decades welcomed
U.S. Rep. Ilhan Omar.
white supremacist Steve King into their ranks before finally rebuking him demanded that Democrats denounce her, including Rep. Matt Gaetz of Florida, who took a Holocaust denier to the State of the Union, and Rep. Louie Gohmert of Texas, who falsely accused George Soros of collaborating with the Nazis during World War II. Meanwhile, Rep. Steve Scalise, who once boasted that he was like Ku Klux Klan leader “David Duke without the baggage,” suggested she be denied access to intelligence briefings. It’s possible some of this outrage isn’t entirely in good faith. There were, however, a number of House Dems genuinely unnerved by Omar’s comments, and Democratic leaders wanted to put the mess behind them. So they began crafting a second resolution to condemn anti-Semitism. But they were met with a backlash from the young progressives now animating the party’s base, who argued that Omar was being unfairly targeted. The media found a shopworn Dems-in-disarray narrative, and Republicans saw an opportunity to paint their opponents as unwilling to call out bigotry. As she always does, House Speaker Nancy Pelosi found a way out, a compromise resolution denouncing all “expressions of hateful intolerance” along with white supremacy, anti-Semitism, dual-loyalty slanders, and Islamophobia — including bigotry
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PHIL PASQUINI / SHUTTERSTOCK.COM
against “African Americans, Latinos, Native Americans, Asian Americans and acific Islanders, and other people of color, Jews, Muslims, Hindus, Sikhs, the LGBTQ community, immigrants, and others.” It passed 407–23, with Democrats (including Omar) in favor and only Republicans (including Gohmert) opposed. (Steve King voted “present.”) The Democrats moved on the HR 1, a sweeping election-reform and anticorruption bill designed to make it easier for people to vote and to require dark money groups to be transparent about their campaign spending. (Or, as Senate leader Mitch McConnell calls it, a “power grab.”) Republicans, though, have remained fixated on Ilhan mar. On Sunday, Rep. Liz Cheney of Wyoming accused Democrats of “enabling anti-Semitism,” which is quite the thing to say, considering her party has two Jewish members of Congress and Democrats have 34, including quasiDem Bernie Sanders, who, incidentally, is a leading candidate for the party’s presidential nomination. As is his wont, President Donald Trump cranked the rhetoric to 11. At a Mar-a-Lago fundraiser Friday night, Trump told donors, “The Democrats hate Jewish people.” The day before, he called Democrats the “anti-Jewish party.” This is an actual talking point, apparently. Trump isn’t the GOP’s best messen-
ger here, of course. He’s the same man who said the neo-Nazis marching on Charlottesville in 2017 contained “some very fine people, who told the ewish Republican Coalition in 2015, “You’re not going to support me because I don’t want your money,” and whose Department of Health and Human Services just granted a waiver allowing South Carolina’s foster care program to discriminate against Jewish (and LGBTQ) families. But, as with all things Trump, intellectual congruity isn’t the point. The point — and what Trump does so well — is an endless barrage of bullshit and distraction, such that it’s impossible to separate the meaningful from the inane, such that Trump’s myriad scandals and screw-ups can be countered with dismissive whataboutism. When Omar’s comments surfaced, Trump was coming o another godawful week, with the bungled North Korea summit, Michael Cohen’s damning testimony, and the looming Senate rebuke of his fake border emergency. They proved useful. The president won’t want to move on. He wants to keep Omar in the news, to make her an avatar of run-amok leftism and a creeping Islamist threat so as to rile and enrage his base, in the same way Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez symbolizes the coming socialist nightmare. This is how he plays the game. It’s dirty pool, sure. ut it’s e ective.
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NEWS & VIEWS
Detroit has seen a boom in new apartment complexes, though rent has skyrocketed.
STEVE NEAVLING
Is rent getting too damn high? Detroit’s apartment rates spike By Steve Neavling
Freddy Evans and his family hung on until they no longer could. The tipping point came in 2017, when the monthly rent on their modest, one-bedroom apartment in the Cass Corridor reached $1,000, nearly twice what they had been paying ust five years ago. With a part-time janitorial job that pays . 0 an hour, vans was spending more than 70 percent of his paycheck on rent. or the next year, vans, his fianc e, and their 4-year-old daughter bounced from a homeless shelter to friends’ sofas to a cheap, filthy, crime-ridden apartment in a neighborhood with abysmal city resources. very day is a struggle, vans, , says. “I don’t know what we’re going to do. It’s frustrating. vans is far from alone. In merica’s most impoverished big city, the average rent has increased a whopping 80.2 percent since July 2011, from $585 a month to $1,054 in February, according to rent.com, which tracks apartment rates. That’s the largest rent hike among big cities. During the same period, the median
household income has been relatively stagnant at $27,838. Detroiters now spend a greater share of their income on rent than any other major city. To put that into perspective, a family earning a median household income would have to spend . percent of their earnings on an average apartment. The federal government considers anyone who spends 30 percent or more of their income on rent to be “rentburdened. In etroit, about 0 percent of apartment dwellers are “rentburdened, the highest rate among the nation’s big cities. The impetus for the rent hikes is multi-faceted and includes public and private investments. Since 20 , the year etroit filed for bankruptcy, the city has handed out hundreds of millions of dollars to wealthy developers for projects ranging from Little Caesars Arena to Dan Gilbert’s Hudson’s site skyscraper, which will be the state’s largest residential high-rise. uring that period, developers built more than 3,000 apartment units since 2015, predominantly in downtown, Midtown, Corktown, Eastern Market, Lafayette Park, and the waterfront.
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etween 20 0 and 20 , the population in Greater Downtown increased by over ,000 residents, the ma ority of whom moved to the area from outside Detroit and were between the ages of and , according to a city report on the housing crisis. emand is driving significant levels of new construction. In those areas, thousands of longtime etroiters have been displaced because they cannot a ord the escalating costs of rent. To address the massive displacement, Mayor Mike Duggan began requiring developers to carve out 20 percent of the housing units for people who live below the Area Median Income (AMI). The trouble is, the AMI is a federal statistic based on the median income of people living in the etroit-WarrenLivonia metropolitan area, where the wealthier suburbs drive up the average to ,000 for an individual. In Detroit, the median income is $27,838 – or 72 percent lower than the metropolitan area. The income gap is so large that most of the new a ordable housing units are o limits to 0 percent of etroiters.
Making matters worse, as many as 0,000 a ordable housing units are at risk because of expiring low-income housing tax credits. About half of them are in greater downtown. Duggan’s administration is focusing on providing a ordable housing in the neighborhoods, where the city has been much slower than the rest of the nation to recover from the financial crisis a decade ago. Since then, more than 0,000 houses have been foreclosed because of delinquent taxes or mortgage defaults. That has created a surging demand for rental units. To stave o an impending housing crisis, etroit is planning to develop a 2 0-million fund to preserve 0,000 existing a ordable housing units and build an additional 2,000 ones. Since 20 , the city has preserved or added more than ,000 a ordable housing units. This fund will be used to preserve existing a ordable housing, produce new a ordable housing, including supportive housing, and strengthen neighborhoods through investments in large-scale single-family stabilization pro ects, according to the city’s ultifamily ordable Housing Strategy. uring the city’s State of the Union, Duggan said the plan is central to preserving a city where there is opportunity for everyone. Those who stayed need to benefit, Duggan said.
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FEATURE
D
etroit’s Old Shillelagh bar holds a special place for Stone Clover frontman Pauly Brady. His grandfather, a former Detroit police o cer, founded reektown’s Irish bar in 1975, and Brady says he spent many Saint atrick’s ays working at the ld Shillelagh alongside his big Irish atholic family.
ou got to be careful who you say something to about the Old Shillelagh or anything around it, ’cause you might be standing next to one of my cousins, my aunts, my uncles, rady says with a laugh. Now, it’s tradition for rady to perform at the Old Shillelagh on Saint atrick’s ay with his rock band Stone lover, which formed a decade ago when rady was living above the bar and playing in various rock ’n’ roll bands around town.
funk, folk ust, ust all these bits we were never able to define exactly what it was we were mixing this Irish influence into. So it became addy Slag.’ Soon Stone lover outgrew the Irish pub scene circuit, and the band developed a crossover sound that landed them on the punk rock Warped Tour, as well as gigs opening for such varied national rock acts as en olds ive, heap Trick, Uncle racker, and wolnation. Brady traces the origin of the “Paddy
Luck Ir of the
rady says Stone lover was originally formed to perform at the Renaissance estival, but things ust kept happening from there. We went there and had a lot of fun, imbibed a lot of beverages, and we got a positive response, he says. The band started performing at other Irish pubs around etroit, and its sound kept evolving. We started playing rock ’n’ roll bars and we got louder and faster, rady says. nd the Irish community, it was kind of like, They’re Irish, but they’re not really playing Irish music,’ you know? nd then the rock scene started to open up to us.” Enter “Paddy Slag,” Brady’s name for the band’s blend of Irish and rock influences — “Paddy” as a nod to the band’s Irish roots, and slag as a nod to the rock influences. When you refine rocks and minerals, what’s left over is called slag, rady says. ou get that fine, refined piece of mineral, be it a ruby or an emerald or, or even ores. ut what’s left is the slag. nd so as we touched all these di erent styles of rock, and metal,
Slag sound to the influences of the band members’ varied backgrounds and experiences. The band’s current incarnation features Brady on vocals and guitar; Michael Berger on bass; Connor rey on mandolin, cello, and additional vocals anny aigh on fiddle and Jacob Pratt on drums. For Berger and aigh, their backgrounds were studying azz and classic violin at WSU, respectively. Pratt studied percussion in Hollywood. rey is self-taught. So is rady, who has no music background except the Irish pennywhistle his mother taught him and the guitar he taught himself as a kid to impress girls,” he says. But Brady says he also learned from watching other musicians in the Irish pub scene people like illy ixon, Terry Murphy, and Larry Larson. “That’s the greatest thing about the etroit Irish music community is that it’s essentially a family,” he says. “They showed me their versions of the songs. I would say, I learned this tune and this
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Detroit rockers Stone Clover celebrate a decade of ‘Paddy Slag’ By Lee DeVito
country F chord from Terry Murphy,’ and I would say that onstage to a small crowd and ust give accolades to where it where it came from until it became mine until I’d done enough to the song that it had mutated or developed into a thing that I felt was my own. As a band, Stone Clover also acknowledges it shares inspiration with other local Irish rock bands like ill rogan’s oat, lack ist, and the Codgers. They all have their own distinct sound, and nobody is trying to play
traditional Irish music, aigh says. Nobody’s trying to play ust rock music. They’re all putting their own twist on both Irish and rock. rady also acknowledges other national and international Irish- or eltic-rock acts like the ogues, logging olly, and ropkick urphys, but says the goal with Stone lover was to evolve beyond a typical Irish- or elticpunk sound. I’m not trying to say anyone is eltic-punk or isn’t, but when you hear eltic-punk, it follows the code, a pattern,” he says. “We’re trying
Seeing Green A selection of local Saint Patrick’s Day parties By MT staff
rish DOUG COOMBE
to not be in the pattern. We’re trying to break the mold.” He compares Stone Clover to a band like System of a Down, which blends rmenian and metal influences, if in spirit rather than sound. When System of a Down got to metal or rock ’n’ roll, no one ever said, That’s rmenian music,’ he says. They said, That’s metal and rock ’n’ roll.’” Tradition is a very important thing and a very beautiful thing that we all learned from, aigh says. ut there’s no moving forward until you create something yourself. nd that’s what we’re trying to do.” Which brings us back to Saint Patrick’s Day — a time to celebrate etroit’s Irish community. The whole community is supportive to carry on the music to the next generation, rady says. s long as long as everybody’s working as a team and celebrating the music and continuing the tradition, that’s what it’s all about. nd the thing that’s special about
Detroit for Saint Patrick’s Day,” he says. It’s a camaraderie thing. veryone is a part of that family. We’re all here for the same reason to have fun, to en oy and celebrate life together. veryone is welcome. And I like it that way. I want everyone to be a part of it.” Stone Clover have a number of gigs planned on and around Saint Patrick’s Day. The band will perform a free show at 8 p.m. on Saturday, March 16 at Soaring Eagle Casino & Resorts, 6800 Soaring Eagle Blvd., Mount Pleasant; 989-775-5777; soaringeaglecasino.com. The band will perform another free show starting at 10 a.m. on Sunday, March 17 at the Old Shillelagh, 349 Monroe St., Detroit; 313-964-0007; oldshillelagh.com; and again later that day opening for Gaelic Storm at the Buick Event Center; 812 Leith St., Flint; 810487-4550; buickcityevents.com; doors are 7 p.m. and tickets start at $25. Doug Coombe contributed to this report.
Beacon Park: eatures heated tent, food trucks, , lawn games, crafts, and more. Starts at 1 p.m. on Saturday, March 16; 1903 Grand River Ave., Detroit; no cover. Big League Brews: 101.1 The WRIF live broadcast, live s, morning Tullamore ew toast, 2 -cent green beer specials starting at 7 a.m., and an Irish-themed food menu. Starts at 7 a.m.; 20428 Ecorse Rd., Taylor; 313-406-6931; No cover. The Blarney Stone: Starts at 7 a.m.; 27253 Woodward Ave., Berkley; 248541-1881; blarneystonepub.com; no cover. Briggs Detroit: Irish Long Islands and $10 pitchers of green beer. tarts at a.m. . e erson Ave., Detroit; no cover. Circ Bar: ree Irish-inspired bu et, music from -Town Hoolies and the elsey’s, s, Irish dancers, and drink specials. Starts at 7 a.m.; 210 S. First St., FL 2, Ann Arbor; 734277-3656; thecircbar.com; $5 cover. CK Diggs: Traditional Irish favorites on the menu and massive beer list. Starts at noon; 2010 W. Auburn Rd., Rochester Hills; 248-853-6600. Claddagh Irish Pub: House , and en ack, im erkins, and bagpipers. Starts at 8 a.m.; 17800 Haggerty Rd., Livonia; 734-542-8141; claddaghirishpubs.com/livonia; No cover. Conor O’Neill’s Traditional Irish Pub: Live music, Irish dancers, bagpipes, and shot specials. Starts at 7 a.m., 318 S. Main St., Ann Arbor; 734-665-2968; conoroneills.com/ annarbor; No cover. Corner Brewery: Irish dancing on Sat. at 2 p.m. Live music with host City Searchlight starts at 7 p.m. Irish food and drink specials all weekend. Starts at a.m. on Saturday, March 16 and 9 a.m. on Sunday, March 17; 720 Norris St., Ypsilanti; 734-480-2739; arborbrewing.com; no cover. Cultivate Coffee & TapHouse: eatures a roll the dice challenge, and a beer garden tent. Starts at noon on Saturday, March 16; 307 N. River St., Ypsilanti; 734-249-8993;
cultivateypsi.com; no cover. Danny’s Irish Pub: Irish-inspired food menu. Starts at 7 a.m.; 22824 Woodward Ave., Ferndale; 248-5468331; no cover. Detroit Fleat: Live music from lack Tie ircus and the own iver an, food trucks, beer tent, and more. March 16 & 17. Starts at 11 a.m.; 1820 E. Nine Mile Rd., Ferndale; 248-6077611; detroitfleat.com; no cover. Deluxx Fluxx: Special blacklight bingo. Starts at 7 p.m.; 1274 Library t. etroit de xx xx. om no cover. Detroit Irish Fest: Heated tent, live music, games, and more. Starts at 9 a.m.; 700 Randolph St., Detroit; detroitirishfest.com; $10-$20. Dooley’s Tavern: 94.7 WCSX broadcast with Uncle uck, s all day, bagpipers, Irish menu, and green beer. Starts at 7 a.m.; 51748 Van Dyke Ave., Shelby Twp.; 586-323-3501;dooleysirish.com; No cover. El Charro: The local chain’s famous u y tacos will turn green for one day only. Opens at 11 a.m.; 16720 E. 14 Mile Rd., Fraser, 3651 Rochester Rd., Troy, 21519 21 Mile Rd., Macomb, and 24401 Harper Ave., St. Clair Shores; elcharrousa.com. Exodos: Indoor and outdoor heated area features entertainment by ix, revu, Nass, and more. Starts at 10 a.m.; 529 Monroe Ave., Detroit; 313-962-1300; exodosrooftop.com. Farmington Brewing Co.: Irish dinner on Saturday from p.m.p.m. including euben sandwiches, green mac & cheese, and more. runch served on Sunday from 0 a.m.-1 p.m. as welll as the release of several Irish beers. Starts at 10 a.m. on Saturday, March 16 and Sunday, March 17; 33336 Grand River Ave. armin ton re ing.com; Tickets are $12 for brunch. Frame: Chef Kieron Hales St. Patrick’s ay ie and ash residency. ull dinner service. Seatings begin at noon on Saturday, March 16; 23893 John R. Rd., Hazel Park; framehazelpark.com; $25 per person, tickets sold only in pairs.
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FEATURE The Grotto: Themed party with a performance by Irish pub rock outfit, the Glen Leven Band. Wednesday, March 13 at 6:30 p.m.and Sunday, March 17; 303 S. Ashley St., Ann Arbor; 734-3694212; thegrottobar.com; no cover. Hamlin Corner and Strata: Two venues, food, green beer, beer bongs, giant enga, Hookah, and live s. Starts at 11 a.m., Strata opens at 2 p.m.; 386 N. Main St., Royal Oak; 248-556-5428; hamlinpubs.com; $10 cover. Hennessey’s Pub + Kitchen: Live music, s, . Nash broadcast, Irish menu, green beer. Starts 7 a.m.; 42012 Hayes Rd., Charter Twp., 586-2860008; hennesseyspubkitchen.com; no cover. HopCat: rink specials all weekend with Odd Sides Ales Green Beer on tap as well as a special food menu which includes Reuben Rolls. Starts at 11 a.m. Friday, March 15-Sunday, March 17; 4265 Woodward Ave., Detroit; 313-769-8828; hopcat.com/ detroit; no cover. Irish Gaelic League: St. Patrick’s ay celebration features live music by evils ew and Spillin. Music starts at noon; 2068 Michigan Ave., Detroit; 313-964-8700; gaelicleagueofdetroit.org; no cover. John Cowley & Sons: Breakfast and live music from the Shawn Riley Band. Starts 8 a.m.; 33338 Grand River Ave., Farmington; 248-474-5941; johncowleys.com; no cover. Kapone’s Sports Tavern: Live music, corned beef dinners, and rown Royal samples. Starts at 7 a.m.; 24301 Harper Ave., St. Clair Shores; 586-200-5242; kaponesbar.com; no cover.
Kuhnhenn Brewery: Free breakfast for the first 200 people, special beers, and more. Open at 7 a.m.; 5919 Chicago Rd., Warren; 586-983-8362 and 36000 Groesbeck Hwy., Clinton Twp., 586-231-0249; kbrewery.com; no cover. Madison’s: Live s, drink specials, and Irish fare. Starts at 7 a.m.; 15 N. Walnut St., Mount Clemens; 586468-7777; madisonpubmtclemens. com; no cover. Market Center Park: ownriver’s largest St. atrick’s ay party. Heated tents, live music, and more. Starts at noon; 13545 Eureka Rd., Southgate; $5. McShane’s Irish Pub: Live music from obby c anus, green beer, Irish menu, and more.Starts at 11 a.m.; 1460 Michigan Ave., Detroit; 313-9611960; mcshanespub.com; no cover. The Morrie: Live music from the Randy rock roup, ood ravy, eremy St. ohn, on ett uartet, and more. Starts at 9 p.m. on Friday, March 15 through Sunday, March 17; 511 S. Main St., Royal Oak; 248-216-1112; $5 cover. MotorCity Casino Hotel: usic from the odgers at the hromatics Lounge. Starts at 3:30 p.m.; 2901 Grand River Ave, Detroit; 866-7829622; motorcitycasino.com. Mr. B’s Gastropub: Irish-inspired food and drink specials. Opens at noon; 215 S. Main St., Royal Oak; 248-3990017; mrbspub.com. Nemo’s: Live music, outdoor heated tents. Starts at 9 a.m.; 1384 Michigan Ave., Detroit; 313-965-3180; nemosdetroit.com; $5 cover. O’Connor’s Public House: ,000-square-foot party tent, two music stages, games, prizes, and more. ree Irish bu et from a.m.a.m. irst ,000 people receive
DONTAE ROCKYMORE
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MIKE PFEIFFER
commemorative engraved uinness glass. Starts at 7 a.m.. 324 S. Main St., Rochester; 248-608-2537; oconnorsrochester.com; $15 cover. Old Shillelagh: usic by lack ist, host ity Searchlight, and Stone lover. rink specials and heated outdoor spaces. Starts at 11 a.m. on Saturday, March 16 and 7 a.m. on Sunday, March 17; 349 Monroe St., Detroit; 313-964-0007; oldshillelagh. com; Cover is $15-$20. O’Mara’s: Live music from lackthorn, adigan’s ttic, the arley rothers, and rossbow. Starts at 8 a.m., 2555 W. 12 Mile Rd., Berkley; 248-399-6750; omaras.net; $5 cover. O’Toole’s: Festivities include an Irish menu and drink specials. Friday, March 15–Sunday, March 17. Open 9 a.m.; 205 W. Fifth Ave., Royal Oak; 248-591-9226; otoolespubs.com; no cover Friday and Saturday, $5 cover Sunday. Otus Supply: usic by ootstand, Leaving Lifted, and oyal rand. Starts at 5 p.m.; 345 E. Nine Mile Rd., Ferndale; 248- 291-6160; otussupply. com; Tickets are $10-$15. Outer Limits Lounge: usic by owes o’ owrie, ndrew Hecker, and osh ud of roders. orned eef dinner and vegetarian shepherd’s pie will also be served. Starts at 7 p.m., 5507 ani t . etroit no cover. Pat O’brien’s Irish Pub: usic by the arley rothers, ob onteleone. Starts at 7 a.m.; 22385 E. 10 Mile Rd., St. Clair Shores; 586-771-5715; putpatsinstpats.com; $10 cover starting at 11 a.m. Patrick J’s Irish Pub: Live music, green beer, and more. Starts at 7 a.m.; 3052 12 Mile Rd., Berkley; 248268-3909; patrickjsirishpub.com; Public House: raft beers, punk rock on vinyl. Opens at 10 am.; 241 W. Nine Mile Rd., Ferndale; 248-850-7420; publichouseferndale.com; No cover.
Roadrunner Tavern: Special Irish menu, live s, green beer, giveaways, and a heated outdoor tent. Starts at 7 a.m.; 16091 1o Mile Rd., Eastpointe; 586-204-3093; Facebook.com/RoadrunnerTav; No cover. Rosie O’Grady’s: s, live music, heated tent, 0 . The ounce broadcast, and more. Starts at 8 a.m.; 279 W. Nine Mile Rd., Ferndale, 248-5919163 and 30400 23 Mile Rd., Chesterfie d rosieo radysirishpub.com; no cover. Royal Oak Brewery: pints, breakfast burritos, and the release of Stone lover Stout. Starts at 8 a.m.; 215 Fourth St., Royal Oak; 248-5441141; royaloakbrewery.com Second Best: Food and drink specials. Outdoor heated tent. Saturday, March 16 at 2 p.m.; 42 Watson St., Detroit; no cover. Small’s: Supersuckers perform 0th anniversary show with special guests the eggars. Doors open at 7 p.m.; 10339 Conant St., Hamtramck; 313-873-1117; smallsbardetroit.com; Tickets are $15. Three Blind Mice: reakfast bu et, heated tents, live music by oin’ Time, lexandria, N’Transit and, Stereo ings, and osmic roove with s, bagpipers, and corned beef sandwiches. Starts at 7 a.m.; 101 N. Main St., Mount Clemens; 586-9616371; threeblindmiceirishpub.com; no cover. Vintage House: Party features a menu with corned beef and Irish fare, heated tents, and live music, s, Irish dancers, and more. Starts at 7 a.m.; 31816 Utica Rd., Fraser; 586-4155678; vintagestpats.com; no cover until noon, $10 from 3 p.m. to close. Youngers Irish Tavern: Live s and drink specials. Starts at 8 a.m.; 120 S. Main St., Romeo; 586-752-4400; youngerstavern.com; No cover until noon.
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FOOD
Oroshi mentaiko.
TOM PERKINS
Big in Japan By Tom Perkins
Around 12,000 Japanese
nationals call southeast Michigan home, and there are few nations’ cuisines that are better represented here than that of Japan. That means Michiganders who aren’t from apan are finally getting a sense that its food doesn’t start and end with raw fish, but instead means dishes like Katsu Detroit’s kakuni. It holds a small block of braised pork belly laced with soft, glorious, flavorful pig fat that arrives in a pool of soy and sake, and is flavored with ginger and onions. There are Japanese omelettes, noodles, ramen, karaage (fried chicken), and grilled meats done on a yakitori grill. Woodbridge’s Katsu is an izakaya, which some loosely translate to gastropub,” and it marks the third that Metro Times has reviewed in 20 . It might not be the last. Katsu is one of two in the area that opened within of several weeks of each other in December — the other, Antihero, is up and rolling in Ferndale. Much of the Japanese population is concentrated in the western burbs around Novi or loomfield, where izakayas like Fumi and Kitchen Hanzo long ago laid roots, but Katsu is
the first izakaya in the city proper. Lanterns hang from the ceiling of the restaurant’s dim interior, while a largescreen television at one end is tuned in to a apanese television station. t the bar, atsu keeps on display some of its dishes, and there’s a range of Japanese beers, cocktails, sakes, and more. The food menu can be daunting on the first visit it’s lengthy and divided into sections of hot and cold small plates, grilled skewers, noodles, and deepfried small plates, while a separate menu holds the sake selection. Among the noodle dishes is the epic wintertime bowl Nagasaki Champon. The champon is a hearty soup that at some bites almost tastes Chinese, likely because hinese restaurants in the north of apan invented it. It’s centered around fried pork, cuttlefish, shrimp, and big, crunchy pieces of cabbage that’s all pan-fried with thick, wavy, and bouncy noodles. The broth is cloudy with a glistening surface, and the hearty wintertime dish also holds crunchy corn, peas, carrots, onion, seaweed, and more. I ordered the tomato tuna sarada tuna salad on two di erent trips, and
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while it’s excellent, it arrived with two di erent preparations. n the first visit, atsu placed big dollops of tuna salad on a row of thin tomato slices. That’s mixed with cabbage strands and the package should be hit with a bright, acidic yuzu dressing, which is a combo of citrus-y yuzu fruit and soy sauce. It’s a more appealing and economic presentation than that which Katsu delivered on the second trip, which offered far less tuna and fewer tomatoes. Also note that Katsu uses canned tuna, not raw, so don’t let that surprise you. There is no raw fish at this izakaya. The oroshi mentaiko is essentially a small sausage composed of cod roe that’s lightly charred. It’s an incredible concept, and is slightly spicy, intensely salty, and held a strong flavor that I en oyed but a dining partner didn’t. The chikuwa chizu isobe-age is another fish sausage this time cod comes stu ed with cheese and the package is deepfried. Though it seemed odd on paper, it worked well. Some of the small plates are actually fairly tiny, but that’s not a complaint. Just don’t expect the rather large small plates that are common around Detroit. The small portion of marinated octopus held a nice flavor, but was exceedingly chewy. Tsukemono, or pickles, are a staple with Japanese meals, and a plate of radish, celery, and other veggies at atsu are lightly pickled and served
Katsu Detroit 5069 Trumbull Ave., Detroit 313-788-7205 $2 to $18 5 p.m. to midnight, Tuesday through Sunday, closed Monday
with bonito flakes. ny of atsu’s tomagoyaki are a must. It’s billed as a apanese egg roll, but this is more literal than the Chinese counterpart. Tomagoyaki are cylindrical, rolled omelettes filled with meat or cream cheese. The yakitori grill seems to be the centerpiece of the menu. The grill itself holds virtually smokeless charcoal that slowly heats short skewers of chicken. We asked for the chef’s selection, and the chef delivered skewers with vegetables and four nubs of lightly charred bird that come heavily dusted with a flavorful spice mix. He sent chicken thigh with onion, chicken breast, and chewy gizzard that were all decent. ut the chef missed the options I was most curious about, like the chicken tender with yuzu pepper, wasabi, or plum, or the chicken meatball with shiso leaf. The options the chef sent out were among the cheapest. So which izakaya is best? There’s no easy ranking as it’s too tough of a decision — which is the best possible outcome for Detroit’s diners.
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THIS WEEK
Kiki’s Delivery Service, Michigan Theater, March 20.
THURSDAY, 3/14
What’s Going On
Larger Than Life @ Tangent Gallery
ART Sponsored by Woodward Camera, “Larger Than Life” will showcase more than 75 Polaroid and Instax photographs from artists who have captured the essence of Detroit using an instant format. Each image featured has been scanned and re-printed to be larger than the original print, and each print will be available to purchase for $20. Donations will be accepted to benefit the etroit Impact Center, which assists at-risk youth at developing values, motivation, and positive self-esteem. Music by Isaac Prieto of Detroit Vinyl Room. Doors open at 7 p.m.; 715 E. Milwaukee St., Detroit; 313-873-2955; tangentgallery. com; Event is free.
FRI., 3/15-SUN., 3/17 Alvin Ailey American Dance Theater
A week’s worth of things to do and places to do them celebrates its status as being a “cultural Ambassador to the world” with an anniversary tour. The modern dance company will deliver Ailey’s signature work, Revelations, which explores the AfricanAmerican tradition and history. Performances begin at 7:30 p.m. on Friday, March 15 and Saturday, March 16 and 2:30 p.m. on Sunday, March 17; 1526 Broadway St., Detroit; 313-961-3500; michiganopera.org; Tickets start at $35.
FRI., 3/15, SAT., 3/16 Triptych (Eyes of One on Another) @ Power Center for the Performing Arts
@ Detroit Opera House
DANCE As America found itself in the throes of the civil rights movement, a small group of black dancers assembled under choreographer and activist Alvin Ailey for a one-night only performance in New York in 1958. Sixty years later, the Alvin Ailey American Dance Theater
STUDIO GHIBLI
THEATER Punk poet Patti Smith once wrote, “We went our separate ways, but within walking distance of one another,” in reference to her relationship with the late artist Robert Mapplethorpe, the photographer known for his intimate and compelling portraits. Celebrating Mapplethorpe’s work 30 years after his
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untimely death from HIV/AIDS is the world premiere of Triptych (Eyes of One on Another). The theatrical staging composed by the National’s Bryce Dessner, directed by Kaneza Schaal features librettist Korde Arrington Tuttle and choral performances by Roomful of Teeth as well as large-scale projections of some of Mapplethorpe’s work — immersing the audience in the black-and-white world of one of the most profound American artists of the 20th century. Performances begin at 8 p.m., Q&A will follow the performance; 121 Fletcher St., Ann Arbor; 734-763-3333; ums.org; Tickets start at $34.
SATURDAY, 3/16 Lean on Me: José James celebrates Bill Withers @ The Cube at DSO
MUSIC Though Bill Withers, now 80, has been retired from music for nearly 35 years, his contributions are still felt widely through the music community. Among
those touched, is R&B singer-songwriter José James who has curated a program of Withers’ hits and deep cuts to perform a contemporary celebration of the artist who has given his personal blessing to the performance and setlist. Doors open at 8 p.m.; 3711 Woodward Ave., Detroit; 313-576-5111; dso.org; Tickets start at $25.
SATURDAY, 3/16 Kevin Saunderson @ TV Lounge
MUSIC The Detroit-area native built his name as part of the legendary “Belle– ville Three” for his contributions to the blueprint and innovation behind techno music. Although those days are long gone, Saunderson’s impact has been felt far and wide. Skip the plane to Europe and catch Kevin Saunderson in front of an intimate hometown crowd at TV Lounge. Doors open at 9 p.m.; 2548 Grand River Ave., Detroit; Tickets are $10+.
SATURDAY, 3/16 jessica Care moore’s Black Women Rock Concert @ Charles H. Wright Museum
MUSIC “Black girl magic” is not easily defined it’s something that is meant
Friday 3/15
ThE ClAuDeTtEs / RyAn DiLlAhA & ThE MiRaClE MeN / ThE HiGh StRuNg Saturday 3/16
ChAcHuBa
WsG BiOmAsSiVe + SaPrOlInG
Sunday 3/17
St. PaTtY’S DaY WiTh RoOtStAnD, LeAvInG LiFtEd & RoYaL GrAnD
Wednesday 3/20 Robert Mapplethorpe’s “Embrace,” 1982.
to be felt. Though the term was coined by CaShawn Thompson in 2013, at just 19 years old Detroit poet and activist jessica Care moore came up with “black girl juice” to mean the same thing in 1996 — that “unadulterated dopeness” exhibited by black girls and women everywhere. Forged from this juice is Black Women Rock, celebrating its 15th year as a rock ’n’ roll movement showcasing black women in music and platform to encourage the exploration of creative agency and identity within the community. This year’s iteration will return to the Charles H. Wright Museum with performances by Liza Colby, Celisse Henderson, V Bozeman, Ideeyah, Shelley Nicole, as well as moore herself. On Sunday, Black Women Rock will host a free screening of They ay m i erent — a documentary about the queen of funk, Betty Davis. oors o en at ane e in at
.m. ree s reenin and .m. on nday ar h
LaItH Al-SaAdI
© ROBERT MAPPLETHORPE FOUNDATION. USED WITH PERMISSION.
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MONDAY, 3/18 James Bay
.
WEDNESDAY, 3/20 Kiki’s Delivery Service @ Michigan Theater
@ Royal Oak Music Theatre
MUSIC It’s been five years since ritish crooner cutie James Bay dropped the earworm “Hold Back the River,” and a lot has changed. For one, Bay, released last year’s e tri i ht which finds the 2 -year-old flexing everything from Allen Ginsberg poems, R&B, and soars to OneDirection-level of infectious pop. Secondly, he has since supported everyone from Taylor Swift, Ed Sheeran, and the Rolling Stones on massive tours, which proves his eclectic staying power. Noah Kahn is also on the bill. oors o en at t. oya a
.m.
. o rth
FILM There are perhaps few filmmakers as capable of creating whimsical worlds where people of all ages, races, and backgrounds can escape into as Hayao Miyazaki. As part of its “Icons of Anime Film Series,” the Michigan Theater will screen Miyazaki’s 1989 fan favorite i i s e i ery er i e which follows 13-yearold witch-in-training and broomstickriding courier Kiki and her talking black cat Jiji as she overcomes her fears of self-doubt. The film will be screened in Japanese with English subtitles. reenin e ins at t. nn r or or i ets are .
.m. . .
. i erty mi htheater.
SoLo AcOuStIc
Thursday 3/21
PeOpLe’S BlUeS Of RiChMoNd WsG ThE MuGgS
Friday 3/22
EsCaPiNg PaVeMeNt
(ReCoRd ReLeAsE)
now serving
brunch
FoR TiCkEtS & DiNnEr ReSeRvAtIoNs
ViSiT OtUsSuPpLy.CoM 345 E 9 MILE RD
FeRnDaLe
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THIS WEEK
jessica Care moore’s Black Women Rock, Charles H. Wright Museum, March 16.
MUSIC Wednesday, March 13 All Them Witches 8 p.m.; Magic Bag, 22920 Woodward Ave., Ferndale; $15. Althea Rene 6 p.m.; Aretha’s Jazz Cafe, 350 Madison St., Detroit; $20. Feelings, Slizz, ITEM 8 p.m.; Outer Limits Lounge, 0 ani St., Hamtramck; No cover. James Russell Project p.m. Bell’s, 2030 Park Ave., Detroit; $10.
li
Jonathan McReynolds 7 p.m.; Majestic Theatre, 4140 Woodward Ave., Detroit; $22-$25.
KAHN SANTORI DAVISON
Celso Piña 8 p.m.; La Terraza, 1633 Lawndale St., Detroit; $30-$55.
jmani 8 p.m.; Emerald Theatre, 31 N. Walnut St., Mount Clemens; $45+.
Crashing Cairo 9 p.m.; Blind Pig, 208 S. First St., Ann Arbor; $5-$8.
Jake E. Lee’s Red Dragon Cartel p.m. Token Lounge, 2 oy d., Westland; $20-$25.
grandson 7 p.m.; El Club, 4114 W. Vernor Hwy., etroit Sold-out. The Scott Gwinnel Jazz Orchestra - 0 p.m. li ell’s, 20 0 ark ve., Detroit; $10.
Friday, March 15
JUiCY: ‘90s Hip Hop + R&B Dance Party 10:30 p.m.; El Club, 4114 W. Vernor Hwy., etroit .
Adventure Club + Spag Heddy 0 p.m. lektricity Nightclub, S. Saginaw St., Pontiac; $40+.
King for a Day, Braided Veins, and Damien Done 8 p.m.; Small’s, 0 onant St., Hamtramck 0.
Arkells 7 p.m.; Majestic Theatre, 4140 Woodward Ave., Detroit; Sold-out.
The Mavericks p.m. oyal ak usic Theatre, W. ourth St., oyal Oak; $35.
KISS 7:30 p.m.; Little Caesars Arena, 2645 Woodward Ave., Detroit; $64.50+.
The Black Queen 8:30 p.m.; The Shelter, 431 E. Congress St., Detroit; $20.
Rodney Crowell 8 p.m.; The Ark, 316 S. Main St., Ann Arbor; $40.
Can’t Swim, Homesafe, Save Face, Youth Fountain 6 p.m.; Pike Room, 1 S. Saginaw, Pontiac; $15.
Trick Trick and Friends 8 p.m.; El lub, W. Vernor Hwy., etroit ree with RSVP.
Thursday, March 14 Alasdair Fraser & Natalie Haas 8 p.m.; The Ark, 316 S. Main St., Ann Arbor; $23. Ben Sharkey 6 p.m.; Willis Show Bar, 4156 Third St., Detroit; $15. Born of Osiris 6 p.m.; Saint Andrew’s Hall, . ongress St., etroit 20.
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John Kay & Who’s To Say 7 p.m.; l lub, W. Vernor Hwy., etroit $10-$12.
Deadbeat Beat, phased out, co-stars p.m. U actory, 2 0 Trumbull Ave., Detroit; $7. Deal Breakers 9 p.m.; PJ’s Lager House, 2 ichigan ve., etroit
Nadim Azzam 8 p.m.; Blind Pig, 208 S. First St., Ann Arbor; $10. Odmiana, Just Plurals, and Johnny Yuma 7 p.m.; Ghost Light, 2 ani St., Hamtramck - 0. Quinn XCII 7 p.m.; The Fillmore, 2115 Woodward Ave., Detroit; $53+.
.
Domestic Problems with Jes Gru 8 p.m.; Magic Bag, 22920 Woodward Ave., Ferndale; $15.
The Claudettes wsg: Ryan DIlaha & the Miracle Men, the High Strung p.m. tus Supply, . Nine Mile Rd., Ferndale; $10-$15.
The Evan Mercer Quartet 9 p.m.; li ell’s, 20 0 ark ve., etroit 0.
Yael Weiss: 32 Bright Clouds 8 p.m. errytown oncert House, N. Fourth Ave., Ann Arbor; $15-$30.
Haris Dzinovic and Fatmir Sule-
Y&T 7 p.m.; The Machine Shop, 3539 S.
The
Old
Miami
OUR PATIO NIGHTLY BONFIRES ON
FRIDAY, MARCH 15TH BLUE PONTIAC BOURBON SQUIRREL MARY COTTER 9PM DOORS / $5 COVER SATURDAY, MARCH 16TH THE WRETCHED SIGHTS THE BLITZERS GIRL FIGHT 9PM DOORS / $5 COVER Jacqueline Green and Jamar Roberts of Alvin Ailey American Dance, Detroit Opera House, March 15-17. ANDREW ECCLES
Dort Hwy., Flint; $20.
Saturday, March 16 A2SO Pops: The Music of Harry Potter 8 p.m.; Michigan Theater, 603 E. Liberty St., Ann Arbor; $29+. Amino Acids, Satin Stone, Nox Boys, Spectres 9 p.m.; UFO Factory, 2110 Trumbull Ave., Detroit; $7-$10. Chachuba 8 p.m.; Otus Supply, 345 E. Nine Mile Rd., Ferndale; $10-$15.
Red Stone Souls, Kommander, Vazum 8 p.m.; The Loving Touch, 22634 Woodward Ave., Ferndale; $5. The 13th Annual Motor City Blues Festival 8 p.m.; Fox Theatre, 2211 Woodward Ave., Detroit; $57+. The Wretched Sights 9 p.m.; The Old Miami, 3930 Cass Ave., Detroit; $5.
Sunday, March 17
Haywyre 10 p.m.; The Shelter, 431 E. Congress St., Detroit; $23.
Anvil, Don Jamieson 6 p.m.; Token Lounge, 28949 Joy Rd., Westland; $15.
Donald SInta Quartet 8 p.m.; Kerrytown Concert House, 415 N. Fourth Ave., Ann Arbor; $20.
John Craigie 7:30 p.m.; The Ark, 316 S. Main St., Ann Arbor; $15.
Electric Six 9 p.m.; Blind Pig, 208 S. First St., Ann Arbor; $15.
Matt LoRusso Trio - p.m. li Bell’s, 2030 Park Ave., Detroit; No cover.
Ezra Collective 8 p.m.; El Club, 4114 W. Vernor Hwy., Detroit; $12.
Sabrina Carpenter 6 p.m.; Saint Andrew’s Hall, 431 E. Congress St., Detroit; $39.50.
Kevin Saunderson 9 p.m.; TV Lounge, 2548 Grand River Ave., Detroit; $10.
St. Punktricks Day 8 p.m.; Sanctuary etroit, 2 2 ani St., Hamtramck $8.
Lean On Me: José James Celebrates Bill Withers 8-11 p.m.; The Cube, 3711 Woodward Ave., Detroit; $25+.
St. Patty’s Day with Rootstand, Leaving Lifted, and Royal Grand 5 p.m.; Otus Supply, 345 E. Nine Mile Rd., Ferndale; $10-$15.
Legends of Hip Hop 8 p.m.; Masonic Temple, 500 Temple St., Detroit; $45+. The Mega ‘80s 8 p.m.; Magic Bag, 22920 Woodward Ave., Ferndale; $12. Monster Energy Outbreak Tour Presents - A Boogie Wit Da Hoodie 7 p.m.; The Fillmore, 2115 Woodward Ave., Detroit; $29.50-$55.
Sunday Brunch with Jarrod Champion 0 am li ell’s, 20 0 Park Ave., Detroit; No cover.
SUNDAY, MARCH 17TH HAPPY ST. PATTY’S DAY! MONDAY, MARCH 18TH FREE POOL ~ HAPPY BIRTHDAY, DONNY & BOOTSIE! ~ FRIDAY, MARCH 22ND SURFER JAMES, THE WATCHERS, PYTHIAN, MINUS SATURDAY, MARCH 23RD VIOLENT BLOOM, MONOCULTURE (DALLAS PSYCH), MY GIRLFRIEND BERU SUNDAY, MARCH 24TH MARCHE DU NAIN ROUGE
Supersuckers 7 p.m.; Small’s, 10339 Conant St., Hamtramck; $17.
OPEN EVERY DAY INCLUDING HOLIDAYS INSTAGRAM & FACEBOOK: THEOLDMIAMI CALL US FOR BOOKING! 313-831-3830
Whut?, Zor, Blacktooth, Militia, Overdrive 8 p.m.; Kelly’s Bar, 2403 Hol-
The Old Miami
3930 Cass • Cass Corridor • 313-831-3830
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THIS WEEK
James Bay, Royal Oak Music Theatre, March 18.
brook Ave., Hamtramck; $8.
Monday, March 18 Children of Bodom 6 p.m.; Saint Andrew’s Hall, 431 E. Congress St., Detroit; $27.50. James Bay 7 p.m.; Royal Oak Music Theatre, 318 W. Fourth St., Royal Oak; $43. The Lucky Nows, the Rough and Tumble 8 p.m.; The Ark, 316 S. Main St., Ann Arbor; $15. Max Frost 7 p.m.; Blind Pig, 208 S. First St., Ann Arbor; $15-$17.
THEATER Candide Saturday, 7:30 p.m. and Sunday, 2:30 p.m.; The Berman Center for the Performing Arts, 6600 W. Maple Rd., West loomfield . Hamilton Tuesdays-Friday, 8 p.m., Saturdays-Sundays 2 & 8 p.m.; Fisher Theatre, 3011 W. Grand Blvd., Detroit; . Mayumana Currents Friday, 8 p.m.; The Whiting, 1241 E. Kearsley St., Flint; .
Tuesday, March 19
Never Not Once Wednesdays-Sundays.; Purple Rose Theatre, 137 Park St., helsea .
As I Lay Dying 6 p.m.; Saint Andrew’s Hall, 431 E. Congress St., Detroit; Soldout.
The House on Poe Street ThursdaySunday; Detroit Repertory Theatre, 13103 Woodrow Wilson St., Detroit; $17-$20.
DBUK & Norman Westberg 7 p.m.; El Club, 4114 W. Vernor Hwy., Detroit; $15-$18.
COMEDY
EMILY HOPE
Friday, 7:15 & 9:45 p.m. and Saturday, 7 & 9:30 p.m.; Mark Ridley’s Comedy Castle, 310 S. Troy St., Royal Oak; $10-$20. Open Mic Wednesdays, 7:30 p.m.; Mark Ridley’s Comedy Castle, 310 S. Troy St., Royal Oak; $5. Pandemonia Every other Friday, 8 & 10 p.m.; Go Comedy! Improv Theater, 261 E. Nine Mile Rd., Ferndale; $20. Sunday Buffet Sundays, 7 p.m.; Go Comedy! Improv Theater, 261 E. Nine Mile Rd., Ferndale; $10; 248-327-0575. The Pump and Dump Show Saturday, 7 p.m.; Royal Oak Music Theatre, 318 W. ourth St., oyal ak 2 . Thursday Night Live! Thursdays, 8 p.m. nt Hall, 2 20 ani St., Hamtramck; $5.
DANCE
Dennis Coffey 8 p.m.; Northern Lights Lounge, 660 W. Baltimore St., Detroit; Free.
All-Star Showdown Fridays, Saturdays, 8 & 10 p.m.; Go Comedy! Improv Theater, 261 E. Nine Mile Rd., Ferndale; $20.
Alvin Ailey American Dance Theater Friday, 7:30 p.m., Saturday 7:30 p.m. and Sunday, 2:30 p.m.; Detroit Opera House, 1526 Broadway St., Detroit; 0 .
Mad About Chamber Music 8 p.m.; Kerrytown Concert House, 415 N. Fourth Ave., Ann Arbor; Free.
Comedy Open Mic Tuesdays, 9 p.m.; Trixie’s Bar, 2656 Carpenter Avenue, Hamtramck; No cover.
Tap Dogs Thursday, 7:30 p.m.; Fox Theatre, 2211 Woodward Ave., Detroit; $25.
The Musical Box: A Genesis Extravaganza 7 p.m.; The Fillmore, 2115 Woodward Ave., Detroit; $20.
Dave Stone Wednesday, 8 p.m.; Blind Pig, 208 S. First St., Ann Arbor; $10.
Singers in the Round 8 p.m.; Otus Supply, 345 E. Nine Mile Rd., Ferndale; Free. Strings Showcase 3 p.m.; Earl V. Moore Building, 1100 Baits Dr., Ann Arbor; Free.
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FILM
Fresh Sauce Sundays, 9 p.m.; Go Comedy! Improv Theater, 261 E. Nine Mile Rd., Ferndale; Free.
An Affair to Remember Saturday, 8 p.m.; Historic Redford Theatre, 17360 Lahser Rd., Detroit; $5.
Haters Roast the Shady Tour Saturday, 8 p.m.; The Music Hall, 350 Madison Ave., Detroit; $35.
Back Street Saturday, 2 p.m.; Historic Redford Theatre, 17360 Lahser Rd., Detroit; $5.
Mark Normand Thursday, 7:30 p.m.,
Birds of Passage Friday-Saturday,
7 & 9:30 p.m., Sunday, 4:30 & 7 p.m., Monday-Thursday, 7 & 9:30 p.m.; Cinema Detroit, 4126 Third St., Detroit; $9. Brew and View — Leprechaun Thursday 8 p.m.; Emerald Theatre, 31 N. Walnut St., Mount Clemens; $5.
sion. Fractured Beauty Through March 23;.Tuesdays-Sundays, 6 p.m.; David Klein Gallery Detroit, 1520 Washington Blvd., Detroit; Free.
DP2A: Hollywood in Detroit Thursday, 6 p.m.; Detroit Film Theatre, 5200 Woodward Ave., Detroit; $40-$50.
From Camelot to Kent State: Pop Art 1960-1975 Tuesdays-Sundays.; Detroit Institute of Arts, 5200 Woodward Ave., Detroit; Museum admission.
Madame X Friday, 8 p.m.; Historic Redford Theatre, 17360 Lahser Rd., Detroit; $5.
Georgina Reskala: Past Imperfect Friday, 6 p.m.; K.OSS Contemporary Art, 1410 Gratiot Ave., Detroit; Free.
Ruben Brandt, Collector Friday, 7 p.m., Saturday, 5, 7 & 9:30 p.m. and Sunday, 2 & 4:30 p.m.; Detroit Film Theatre, 5200 Woodward Ave., Detroit; $7.50-$9.50.
Global Glass: A Survey of Form and Function Mondays-Wednesdays, Fridays, 9 am-5 p.m. and Thursdays, 9 am-7 p.m.; Alfred Berkowitz Gallery, U of M-Dearborn, Dearborn; Free.
Shrek 2 Friday,10 p.m.; State Theatre, 233 State St., Ann Arbor; $8.
Hybrid: Glass + Metal MondaysSundays.; Flint Institute of Arts, 1120 E. Kearsley St., Flint; $10.
Strangers on a Train Friday & Saturday, midnight; Main Art Theatre, 118 N. Main St., Royal Oak; $7. The Departed Saturday, 10 p.m.; State Theatre, 233 State St., Ann Arbor; $8.
Larger Than Life Thursday, 7 p.m.; Tangent Gallery & Hastings Street Ballroom, 715 E. Milwaukee Ave., Detroit; Free.
The Living Stone Saturday, 2 p.m.; UMMA, 525 S. State Street, Ann Arbor; Free.
Sheida Soleimani WednesdaysSaturdays, noon-6 p.m.; Library Street Collective, 1260 Library St., Detroit; Free.
The Times of Bill Cunningham Saturday, 2 p.m.; Detroit Film Theatre, 5200 Woodward Ave., Detroit; $7.50$9.50.
Nonsense Night: Eye Can See You Friday, 7 p.m.; Tangent Gallery & Hastings Street Ballroom, 715 E. Milwaukee Ave., Detroit; $15.
ART Art in the Age of the Internet: 1989 to Today Mondays-Sundays.; UMMA, 525 S. State Street, Ann Arbor; Free. Artist Demonstration: Lucy Cahill — Mixed media and illustration Saturday and Sunday, 2 p.m.; Detroit Institute of Arts, 5200 Woodward Ave., Detroit; Free; 313-833-7900. Conservation Live with Becca Goodman Thursdays, 11 a.m., 1, 2 & 3 p.m.; Detroit Institute of Arts, 5200 Woodward Ave., Detroit; Free with museum admission. Drawing in the Galleries Fridays, 6 p.m., Saturdays, noon and Sundays, noon; Detroit Institute of Arts, 5200 Woodward Ave., Detroit; Free. Drop-In Workshop: Milagros Friday, 6 p.m., Saturday and Sunday, noon; Detroit Institute of Arts, 5200 Woodward Ave., Detroit; Museum admission. Engaging African Art: Highlights from the Horn Collection Through May 26; Flint Institute of Arts, 1120 E. Kearsley St., Flint; $10 donation. Extraordinary Eye, Extraordinary Gift: The Legacy of Margaret Herz Demant Mondays-Sundays.; Detroit Institute of Arts, 5200 Woodward Ave., Detroit; Free with museum admis-
Penny Stamps Speaker Series: Mapplethorpe in Performance Thursday, 5:10 p.m.; Michigan Theater, 603 E. Liberty St., Ann Arbor; Free. Ruben & Isabel Toledo: Labor of Love Mondays-Sundays.; Detroit Institute of Arts, 5200 Woodward Ave., Detroit; Free. Successions and Reflections: Heirs of a New Country Wednesdays-Saturdays, noon-6 p.m.; Library Street Collective, 1260 Library St., Detroit; Free. The 13th Annual Members’ Exhibition Through March 23; Northville Art House, 215 W. Cady St., Northville; Free. The Big Picture Guided Tour Tuesdays-Sundays, 1 p.m., Fridays, 6 p.m. and Saturdays, Sundays, 3 p.m.; Detroit Institute of Arts, 5200 Woodward Ave., Detroit; Free. The Far Shore: Navigating Homelands Mondays-Sundays.; Arab American National Museum, 13624 Michigan Ave., Dearborn; $10-$15. The New Mona Lisa: Opening reception Friday 7 p.m.; Norwest Gallery of Art, 19556 Grand River Ave., Detroit; Free. Salvaging Sound Mondays-Sundays, 6 p.m.; Detroit Historical Museum, 5401 Woodward Ave., Detroit; Free.
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Mo Pop Festival West Riverfront Park, July 27-28, noon, $75+
Tame Impala.
MARIANO REGIDOR/SHUTTERSTOCK.COM
Fast-Forward Justin Timberlake Little Caesars Arena, March 25, 7:30 p.m.; $49.50+ Mumford & Sons Little Caesars Arena, March 27, 7:30 p.m., $64.50+ Demetri Martin Royal Oak Music Theatre, March 29, 7 p.m., $39.50+ Muse Little Caesars Arena, April 4, 7:30 p.m.; $44.50+ Ariana Grande Little Caesars Arena, April 5, 8 p.m.; $364.95+ Bon Iver Fox Theatre, April 8, 7:30 p.m., $69+ An Evening with President Bill Clinton and Former Secretary Hillary Clinton Fox Theatre, April 12, 7:30 p.m, $69.50+
Luke Combs DTE Energy Music Theatre, May 30, 7 p.m., $87+ Wu-Tang Clan Michigan Lottery Amphitheatre at Freedom Hill, May 31, 7:30 p.m., 29.50+ Bob Seger and the Silver Bullet Band DTE Energy Music Theatre, June 6, 8, 12, 14, 19 & 21 7:30 p.m., $284.50+ Coheed and Cambria, Mastodon Michigan Lottery Amphitheatre at Freedom Hill, June 11, 6:30 p.m., $25+ Jason Isbell, Father John Misty Fox Theatre, June 17, 7:30 p.m., $49.50+ New Kids on the Block Little Caesars Arena, June 18, 7:30 p.m., $79.95+
Trevor Noah Fox Theatre, April 26, 7:30 p.m., 10 p.m. $35+
Hugh Jackman Little Caesars Arena, June 24, 7 p.m., $140+
Ali Wong The Fillmore, May 4, 7 p.m., 9:30 p.m., $130+
The Lonely Island Fox Theatre, June 26, 8 p.m., $389.50+
Lizzo Saint Andrew’s Hall, May 15, 7 p.m., SOLD OUT
Weird Al Yankovic Meadow Brook Amphitheatre, July 5, 8 p.m., $30+
Patton Oswalt The Fillmore, May 18, 8 p.m.; $37.50+
Dave Matthews Band DTE Energy Music Theatre, July 9, 8 p.m., $45.50+
Fred Armisen Crofoot Ballroom, May 19, 7 p.m., $30
Jeff Lynne’s ELO Little Caesars Arena, July 20, 8 p.m., $49.50+
Slayer DTE Energy Music Theatre, May 19, 6 p.m., $29.50+
Alice Cooper and Halestorm DTE Energy Music Theatre, July 20, 7 p.m., $29.50
Tony Bennett Fox Theatre, May 23, 8 p.m., $39.50+ Chromatics Majestic Theatre, May 28, 7 p.m., $30.50+ The Who Little Caesars Arena, May
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28, 7:30 p.m., $49.50+
Adam Lambert + Queen Little Caesars Arena, July 27, 8 p.m.; $550+ John Mayer Little Caesars Arena, Aug. 2, 7:30 p.m., $59.50+
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MUSIC One last Kiss goodbye Paul Stanley struggles to name a single influential woman in his life and explains why Kiss never set out to be cool By Jerilyn Jordan
Paul Stanley truthers are a
thing now. A quick YouTube search of Kiss’ starry-eyed frontman turns up several people claiming that Stanley has been lip-syncing through the band’s most recent farewell tour performances. One user, In My Head, points out that Stanley is about “three feet away” from the microphone when his intro scream to “Psycho Circus” kicks in. During “Lick it Up,” a song created during the band’s unfortunate “unmasked” years, YouTube user Jake Tanis provides video footage “proving” that Stanley falls “a couple of milliseconds” behind on his verse as the audio continues. And then there’s user Shane Diabolo, who appears so outraged by Stanley’s lip-syncing and recent Kiss concert ticket prices that he records his commentary whilst seatbelted in his car and suggests we would be better o supporting our neighborhood Kiss cover band than paying to see the real deal. “At those prices,” he says, “Kiss my ass.” For more than 45 years, Kiss has managed to be a contender on both “best” and “worst” rock ’n’ roll band listicles. Some hail the band for being harbingers of pseudo-satanic arena-rock and showmanship. Others are quick to chastise the band’s tongue-wagging, blood-spitting, glam rock gimmickry, uncompromising pageantry (er, stagecraft), and undying misogyny. If you’re Aerosmith frontman Steven Tyler, you likely fall into the former camp and might share the sentiment that Kiss is a “comic book rock band [with] spackled faces [and] a couple of hits.” When we speak to founding member Stanley — a title he shares with the band’s self-proclaimed proud egomaniac and notorious womanizer Gene Simmons — it is on International Women’s Day. Instead of launching into a series of questions about the aforementioned lip-syncing truthers, or his art (his mixed-media paintings, not his music),
or whether he was aware that he had penned an anthem the city of Detroit never knew it needed, let alone asked for, we ask him about women. In an attempt to name a single influential woman in his life, Stanley stutters and stammers for a few minutes and confesses that he has been “stumped” by a question that he, in 45 years, has never been asked — and based on his response, has never thought to answer. “Wow,” he says. “That’s hard to do.” During a segment for the 1988 documentary The Decline of Western Civilization Part II: The Metal Years, during which Stanley appears in bed with women in varying states of undress draped around him, director Penelope Spheeris asks if he believes more women should be in rock ’n’ roll. Here, he does not hesitate. “In every way possible,” he says. “I have a deep appreciation of women, and the deeper the better.” With some baiting, Stanley eventually lands on Motown singer Martha eeves as being an influential female. He likes Pink and “Gaga” and with a bit more conversational guidance, he cites the Queen of Soul, Aretha Franklin, for having “transcended all music.” “As somebody who’s pretty wellversed in opera, to hear her interpret in her own way Nessun Dorma was just crazy,” he says. “She somehow managed to keep the emotion of that so palpable and the fact that the first time she did it, she came in at the last minute to replace Pavarotti. Show me one female artist who doesn’t list her in the top five. “The End of The Road” tour, which the band announced with a performance on America’s Got Talent last year, is a pretty long road. Kiss is less than halfway through the tour, which spans the globe and will carry the facepainted rockers through the end of the year and could bleed into 2020. The farewell trek is the second final tour the band has embarked on, though this one
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boasts the band’s longstanding lineup consisting of Stanley aka Starchild, Simmons as Kiss’ resident Demon, Eric “the Catman” Singer on drums, and guitarist Tommy “The Spaceman” Thayer. Absent from the tour are ex-members Ace Frehley and Peter Criss, who are welcome to make special appearances along the tour but will never be acting members of Kiss again, according to a statement Simmons made in Guitar World, adding that they have used up their “three chances” at cleaning up their act. What Stanley does promise for the upcoming run is that Kiss will have pulled out all the stops to raise the bar on the band’s history of live performances, which have been almost
entirely reliant on bombast and the gratuitous use of pyrotechnics. “There are all kinds of progress at this point that allowed us to really, I guess, turn up the heat in more than one way, as opposed to a lot of artists who are out there who could use each other’s stages because they’re generic,” he says. “They may be technical marvels, but generic technical marvels with no real identity. The only people who could step on our stage would have to have eight-inch heels and would have to be us.” Formed in New York City in 1973 through an ad in the Village Voice, Kiss received, perhaps, its warmest reception in Detroit well before putting our city’s name in the title of a song. “De-
‘Detroit embraced us in a way that I was humbled by because Detroit has been such a spawning ground for great music.’
troit Rock City” from 1976’s Destroyer is as steady of a pillar in the pantheon of songs that mention Detroit but aren’t really about Detroit, such as Journey’s “Don’t Stop Believin’,” though when released as a single, “Detroit Rock City” failed to perform in markets other than Detroit. It was released as its own Bside to a re-issue of Peter Criss’ ballad “Beth” — the band’s highest-charting song to date. Though the inspiration behind “Detroit Rock City” came from a tragic incident during a Kiss performance in Charlotte, North Carolina, where a concertgoer was killed by an oncoming vehicle outside of the venue, Stanley says he was deliberate in his tribute to Detroit.
“It was heartfelt and well-deserved,” he says. “When we were still an opening act or a second-on-the-bill act in most of the country, Detroit embraced us in a way that I was humbled by because Detroit has been such a spawning ground for great music. To be taken in and given the kind of reception we were so early on needed to be thanked. There have been songs about other cities and I thought, boy, you’re missing the boat. Thanks for leaving Detroit to us.” While Kiss is just one of the legacy acts to announce a farewell tour in the past year, it’s not as much about saying goodbye as it is about reliving the band’s 46 year-long-career that, aside
JIM LOUVAU
from their simultaneously released solo records, has not veered too wildly o its path of destruction. The same band that has o ered not one, but two, generations of the Kiss Kasket (an actual co n plastered in photos of the band engulfed in hellfire and is, allegedly, the preferred eternal resting place for both deceased members of Pantera — Vinnie Paul and Dimebag Darrell) also suggests that its farewell tour is a celebration of life. And what better way to raise a toast to the band’s victory lap than with an o cial Swarovski crystalcovered iss logo co ee cup which is currently being o ered through iss’ online store for $429.95)? “The Kiss Nation has become a tribe.
It’s not your normal audience,” Stanley says of Kiss fans. “It’s your family. It’s this huge secret society, where everybody comes to celebrate. There’s a sense of self-empowerment, a sense of celebration of life. And it’s now or never,” he says. “People have always heard the legend and now you get a chance to see is it true and is it worthy of what you’ve heard? And by the last song, if not by the first song, you know, for sure that if you’ve never seen us before, you should have.” There’s something universally true about Kiss and the members of Kiss Nation — the belief that anything is possible. Stanley says that he identifies with the audience for that reason. He says that he has personally encountered fans ranging from doctors to ex-convicts, all of whom have credited Kiss’ music for helping them overcome adversity or for getting them to where they are now. He likes to think Kiss continues to “lead by example” and that they’ve inspired people to follow their dreams, even if people think those dreams or stage outfits are ridiculous. “The band started with the idea of not being confined by other bands’ limitations. And I certainly never had the idea of trying to be cool and maybe that’s what made us cool. We still remain black sheep because there are still people out there that don’t get it and that’s OK,” he says. “Singing about self-empowerment, singing about celebrating life, singing about having a good time may seem trite to some people, but it’s timeless and what we were singing about 40 years ago will be true 40 years from today.” So, what can be learned from the Kiss formula, other than the importance of facial moisturizer and flame-retardant space armor and that not being able to readily name a single influential woman in your life is far from a deal-breaker in the eyes of Kiss Nation? If it ain’t broke, why fix it? nd if it is broke, just put makeup on it. “I believe we create unknowingly or knowingly, we create our destiny,” Stanley says. “It doesn’t necessarily mean we wind up where we thought we would. We play a major role in determining our direction and that leads us to whatever we’re going to go to. So, this was the path that I wanted and to believe that I would be doing it 45 years later is unfathomable. Yet, here I am and here’s the band packing arenas and going down in a storm, because we’re Kiss and we’re forever.” Kiss will perform at 7:30 p.m. on Wednesday, March 13 at Little Caesars Arena; 2645 Woodward Ave., Detroit; 313-471-7000; 313presents.com; tickets start at $72.
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MUSIC The Lasso challenges the boundaries of instrumental hip-hop By Gus Navarro
When you’re from Michigan,
it’s hard to stay away. This turned out to be true for music producer Andy Catlin, the Grand Rapids-born music producer known as the Lasso. Catlin, who spent weekends as a kid visiting family in Delray and going to concerts in Detroit, recently returned to Michigan after living in Tucson, Arizona, for four years. Before moving to Tucson, and ultimately re-settling in Ferndale, Catlin had been creating a lane for himself as a hip-hop producer and sound engineer in Kalamazoo. But it wasn’t until he headed southwest that his career really began to take o . “I had already been doing Lasso records, but moving to Arizona was a chance for a fresh-start,” Catlin says while sitting comfortably in his homestudio surrounded by analog keyboards and electronic drum machines. I moved to Tucson with so much fire. I wanted to meet people. I wanted to collaborate. I really wanted to produce songs for someone who could sing and rap. As soon as I got there, I basically Googled ‘hip-hop in Tucson’ and found out there was this little venue called the Scratch Shack that had hip-hop shows all the time. I just went there and introduced myself to people.” It was during this moment that Catlin befriended a fellow midwestern transplant: the Chicago-born rapper and vocalist Lando Chill. After months of working on music together and forming a band, Catlin and Chill caught the attention of hip-hop record label Mello Music Group. They signed to the label and released multiple projects together, including an excellent LP in 2018, Black Ego. This initial chance with Mello would lead to more opportunity for Catlin. On Friday, Catlin will release The Sound of Lasso — his debut solo album on Mello Music Group. At 14 tracks, Lasso is a collection of ethereal compositions that push boundaries and challenge the archetype of what an instrumental hip-hop album can be. On Lasso, the beats flow together,
Andy Catlin, aka the Lasso.
sseamlessly creating a vast array of soundscapes for the mind to wander through. Even without lyrics, the album is rich with story and visuals. Catlin returned to Michigan and moved to Ferndale with his wife this past summer. The Sound of Lasso was recorded over the course of eight weeks amid Catlin’s return to Michigan. “Putting the album together was incredibly fast,” says Catlin. “By midAugust I was back (in Michigan), and Mello had been talking to me about doing a solo album. Something like a deadline is exciting to me ’cause I’ll just keep creating and not really doing anything with it. I pretty much wrote and recorded everything in eight weeks between the beginning of October and the day I turned it in on December 5. I wanted (The Sound of Lasso) to be
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BRIAN ROZMAN
its own thing. Just ’cause I’m on this hip-hop label, I don’t need to make straight-up hip-hop music. I wanted to showcase the sounds I have and find this di erent thing that’s somewhere between a soundtrack and a beat-tape.” To enhance the sound of the album, Catlin enlisted the help of his musician friends — many from his previous life in Michigan — to play on the record. On Lasso, what shines through is Catlin’s love of music, something that goes all the way back to his days in elementary school. “As soon as I hit fourth grade, I started asking my parents about playing music,” he says. “My grandpa gave me a Yamaha piano. All I wanted to do was practice it. That was what I started to do for fun. I joined school band and music just became what I wanted to
do. y the time I finished high school, I had learned how to play the clarinet, the trombone, tuba, guitar, and keyboards.” Moving forward, we can expect more from the Lasso. Before that, Catlin plans to continue acclimating himself and making music every day. “I have this huge list of people that I want to collaborate with,” he says. “Just to be disciplined with making music. That’s my main goal these days. I have more records to make and I’m working on records with a lot of di erent people. But if I think about that too much, I get overwhelmed. I just try and think about it as ‘a-day-at-a-time.’ Everything good that’s happened in my career has come from focusing on the craft, so I’ve doubled down on that more than ever.”
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MUSIC mally don’t do onstage in the clubs.
Eat it
MT: How did you feel about two queens winning the crown? That’s never happened in Drag Race herstory before. Latrice Royale: You know, at least VH1 gave each of them the prize money of $100,000. Like, at least they got their coin. [Laughs.] That’s all I would care about if that happened to me! [Laughs.]
Latrice Royale doesn’t need a crown to know she’s a queen By Jack Roskopp
MT: How is the Haters Roast going so far? Have you had any issues with fans being too o ended by any jokes? Latrice Royale: Well, it is a roast, so you better come knowing that you’re going to hear some shit. But it’s been so much fun. It’s like, I’m getting paid to read the hell out of my sisters? Sign me up! [Laughs.] We all love each other so everyone knows we’re just playing and we don’t get mad about jokes or anything.
Latrice Royale is
large and in charge, chunky yet funky, and has won over even more hearts when she returned as a cast member of RuPaul’s Drag Race: All Stars for Season 4 earlier this year. Royale’s return to All Stars four years after competing in its poorly produced debut season was exciting news for fans who missed Royale on their TV screens, but also exciting news for newer fans who have not witnessed the queen in action. While Royale did not snatch the crown or a spot in the Drag Race Hall of Fame (the season ended a couple weeks ago with a first-ever tie between Monét X Change and Trinity the Tuck), she still got to show both old and new fans why Latrice Royale is more than just a “sickening” drag queen. Royale is currently performing on the Haters Roast, a tour across the country that features a bunch of former Drag Race queens Latrice Royale. who sit on a stage and roast Stars? the hell out of each other for Latrice Royale: Absolutely not. I two hours straight. Latrice says it’s all in good fun, but “the shade will be real.” came back wanting to show my drag and what I do, and I think I did that. We caught up with Royale to discuss It was great to introduce myself to the all things Drag Race, the Haters Roast new fans, as well. tour, and how she got her voting rights restored in the 2018 election after getMT: Do you think the show itself has ting arrested in Florida for possession changed since you last competed? It of Klonopin, a drug used to treat panic seems like the challenges have evolved attacks, without a prescription. since the earlier seasons. Latrice Royale: Oh, completely. Metro Times: Let’s talk about There are a lot more acting and improv Drag Race, girl. You didn’t make it to challenges, which make it hard. Look, the end, but you did have a good run. I don’t travel the world and do improv Any regrets about returning to All
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MT: You’ve been incredibly open about your past and when you served time in prison. How are you feeling since getting your rights restored after Florida passed an amendment to restore the right to vote for convicted felons? Latrice Royale: Besides getting married this past year, it has been the most incredible thing ever to happen to me. COURTESY OF LATRICE ROYALE
in a courtroom scene in my act, you know? But at the end of the day, I was able to win a challenge, turn some looks, and I had a great time. I’m really happy that Trinity and Monét won. MT: There is this expectation in the fandom that if you don’t excel at Drag Race then you’re not a sickening queen. Latrice Royale: Oh, you’re right. We just had a Christmas tour a couple months ago, and I got double standing ovations every night in every city, so I know I’m sickening. Drag Race makes you do a lot of things that queens nor-
MT: A lot of people might be ignorant of the fact that convicted felons can’t vote in some states. Latrice Royale: It’s a very real thing, and we need to make sure that we’re educating ourselves. I’m just happy I can use my voice to speak out and actually vote now. You can catch Latrice Royale and other drag queens on Saturday, March 16 Haters Roast at the Detroit Music Hall 350 Madison St., Detroit; 313-8878500; musichall.org; Doors at 7 p.m.; Tickets are $35 and $50.
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CULTURE Great, free poetry — and the occasional crasher U-M celebrates 50th anniversary of the Alternative Press By Meredith Counts
The University of Michigan is celebrating the 50th anniversary of the Alternative Press with an exhibit of poetry and a talk by Ken Mikolowski, who ran the press as a husband-wife team with painter and printer Ann Mikolowski before she died from breast cancer in 1999. A piece or two on exhibit will feature the work of poet Jim Gustafson, a friend whose own papers will be joining those of the press at the Special Collections Research Library on the U-M campus. It’s not the first time ustafson, who died in 1996, crashed a show honoring the Mikolowskis. (Full disclosure: Gustafson was the author’s uncle.) It’s a meandering walk through the Detroit Institute of Arts to trace the path taken by the two guards who removed Gustafson from a 1990 poetry reading celebrating the 20th anniversary of the Alternative Press. What happened next is disputed, but what is agreed is that Gustafson, neither a small nor sober poet, did not cooperate with the pair of museum guards who escorted him out when he showed up to the event intoxicated. Outsizing the guards in stature and bravado, Gustafson reportedly struggled and sang a song in defiance. ecollections about the song vary; the museum is laid out di erently now, but the route takes long enough that he would have had time to sing “Summertime” as he told Martin Gross on WEMU in a radio interview later that year, as well as “Roxanne” by the Police, which is another rumor poet Glen Armstrong heard. Nearing the Farnsworth Street doors, ustafson continued to fight against the guards. They got through the first set of doors, but during a tussle Gustafson’s body broke through a second set of glass doors, cutting his arm, hand, and face. At the time, witnesses said the guards pushed Gustafson, but the museum disputed this account, saying Gustafson smashed the
glass himself. A friend sped a bleeding Gustafson to Detroit Receiving, and the Alternative Press anniversary reading came to a halt. “Poet’s reading is ‘smashing’ success,” a Detroit News headline read. One way or another, Gustafson’s pants reportedly came o during the episode, giving the News a chance to explain the verb “mooning” to their readers. (“[A] term that denotes the dropping of one’s trousers to expose the derriere as a sign of contempt,” the paper reported.) Someone christened the bloody, shattered doors the “Gustafson Exit.” But few of the news articles even mentioned the Alternative Press by name; in the News report it was mentioned only in the last sentence and then only as the publisher of one of the injured poet’s books, not as the subject of the exhibit and the night’s honoree. The opening of the Alternative Press’s retrospective show in the DIA’s Ongoing Michigan Artists Program gallery had been overshadowed by photos in the newspapers of a cut-up Gustafson in a hospital bed. Ken and Ann Mikolowski bought their press from the Detroit Artists Workshop in 1969, moved it into their own apartment, and began producing exquisite, gutsy letterpress poetry, art, and postcard series given away for free and in subscription mailers. The Alternative Press became a mailbox hothouse for poetry and artists, distributing collections of printed work. Soon the Mikolowskis moved the letterpress from Detroit to Grindstone City, a tiny coastal town in Michigan’s thumb, and finally settled in nn rbor, taking turns being the one having to hold down a job and raising their kids Michael and Molly — all while printing work by an incredible array of American poets on postcards, broadsheet posters, bookmarks, and even bumper stickers, anything flat enough to print poetry on it.
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Ken Mikolowski, holding a button depicting poet Jim Gustafson’s bandaged hand, will give a talk commemorating the 50th anniversary of the Alternative Press. COURTESY OF MEREDITH COUNTS
The two became fixtures of nn Arbor’s literary scene. Ken taught at U-M, while Ann’s paintings and prints were exhibited, sold, and even featured in a popular Absolut vodka campaign. When writers came to Ann Arbor for readings and events, there was a good chance they’d be staying with Ken and Ann. The Alternative Press published a few books of poetry, one of which was Jim Gustafson’s 1988 book, Virtue and Annihilation. Good friends, the Mikolowskis and Gustafson all knew making a living in the arts was hard enough. It’s described in the heightened wordplay in one of Gustafson’s best known poems, No Money in Art, which ends: “But I gotta tell you Honey/ don’t let it break your heart/ but there ain’t no money, Honey!/ No Money in Art!” But the daily struggle of being an artist responsible for more than oneself is illuminated in Mikolowski’s poem “January in Detroit or Search for Tomorrow Starring Ken and Ann,” from the book Big Enigmas printed by Past Tents Press in 1991. Mikolowski begins, “I think it is interesting/ though not exactly amusing/ how we go from day to day/ with no money,” and ends up fantasizing about robbing a bank, but not the bank that knows them as the people who’ve already cashed the savings bond their kid got for Christmas.
U-M’s archives contain correspondence between Gustafson and Ken Mikolowski trading feedback on each other’s writing, reporting their luck at getting publications or reading gigs, and comparing the details of who might get paid what. Then, when the DIA incident was protested by a hundred or more at an event on the steps of the Kresge building across the street from the museum, the Mikolowski family was there, front and center. Ken and Jim both wore buttons made by Paul Schwarz depicting an image of Gustafson’s bleeding, bandaged hand. Gustafson sued the city over the incident and won a settlement. Still no money in art, but some in damages. So that was the 20th anniversary. The 0th should be a mellower a air, with a lecture by Ken Mikolowski and mementoes printed by Rebecca Chung on the Mikolowskis’ original press, now enjoying new use in the Duderstadt Center on U-M’s North Campus. Free Poems and Functional Art: 50 Years of the Alternative Press is on view through June 2 at the Hatcher Graduate Library at University of Michigan; 913 S. University Ave., Ann Arbor; 734-7640400; lib.umich.edu; a lecture with Ken Mikolowski will take place at 4:30 p.m. on Friday, March 15; the event is free and open to the public.
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CULTURE
Brie Larson in Captain Marvel.
DISNEY
Girl power and corporate domination By Corey Hall
Captain Marvel is the story of a vast, technocratic empire coldly bent on expanding its territory and squashing all dissent. But enough about Disney/Marvel. A decade into its era of cultural and box o ce domination, it’s become nearly impossible to recall a time when the sky wasn’t spangled with the multitudinous stars of the Marvel inematic Universe it’s very di cult to consider any entry of the franchise individually, and not as part of a grand narrative. Which brings us to the main problem: This is a brand extension in search of a reason to exist on its own as entertainment. We are first introduced to rie Larson’s character on Hala, the home world of the powerful Kree civilization, whom she loyally serves in an elite commando unit that does the dirty work in the empire’s endless war with the green shapeshifting Skrulls. Her teammates call her Vers, but she’s plagued by flashbacks to an earlier, more terrestrial life, and another identity. The Kree are ruled by and worship a massive A.I. conglomeration of all the great minds of their history known as the “Supreme Intelligence,” which
each citizen visualizes as a figure that they most admire. Vers sees a dreamy, silver-haired Annette Bening, which is admirable — Bening is cool. When an extraction mission in Skrull territory goes south, Vers gets split up from her unit, and crashes in Los Angeles circa 1995 with a squad of sneaky alien infiltrators on her tail. ortunately, she gets backup from Shield Agent Nick ury, played by a hammy Samuel L. Jackson (with a layer of CGI scrubbing to “de-age” him, a process that has improved, but is still distracting). The directors nna oden and yan leck constantly remind us of the ’ 0s setting with a liberal dosage of bands like Elastica and Nirvana on the soundtrack and nostalgic references that stand in for actual okes. Hey, remember Blockbuster Video? A store where you could rent movies wasn’t that crazy? Remember grunge? They get better mileage out of gags about the limits of computing speed back then, and from a scene-stealing cat, which, if you’ve ever seen a sci-fi movie, you know has its own secrets. ude Law is in fine form as Vers’s dashing Kree commander and men-
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tor, a boss who is constantly prodding her to be her best — a tactic which he eventually comes to regret. The plot churns along in standard superhero origin mode, with everyone hunting for a magical, glowing ac u n, and Vers gradually shaking o her amnesia and learning the truth of her reality, the extent of her cosmic powers, how she should use them properly, and against whom. To say much more would spoil the twists. There is certainly a bit of “girl power” edge to this story of a woman’s selfdiscovery and empowerment (though sorry, no Spice Girls cameo), but this stops short of a total assault on masculinity some Marvel nerds seemed to be dreading. Since this is how the world works now, with the #GamerGate wars still smoldering, Captain Marvel has been a magnet for controversy for months — with some older fans along with sundry internet types upset with the choice of the character herself, and with lead actress Larson’s frequent comments about a lack of diversity in entertainment media leading to a swarm of protests, trolling about S W’s run amok,” and conspiracy theories.
Captain Marvel Rated: PG-13 Run-time: 124 minutes
The fight got so ugly, that otten Tomatoes went to the extraordinary and bizarre lengths of removing the “Want to see” fan metric. Is all this howling outrage over a movie ustified? If you’re a diehard Marvel zombie of a certain age, then maybe, as the plot takes a few huge liberties with the established comicbook canon. If you don’t have a taste for decades of scriptural mythology, then this is hardly the best entry point. If you’re only a fan of the arvel movies themselves, then this is exactly the kind of breezy, middlebrow space opera action comedy fare you’ve been devouring all along (posthumous Stan Lee cameo included), and one that serves as a nice weigh station on the way to the next epic installment — which, rest assured, will come along in just a few months, true believer.
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Laith Al-Saadi performing at the 2018 Hash Bash.
Higher Ground
Why this year’s Hash Bash is special By Larry Gabriel
There is excitement around
the 48th Ann Arbor Hash Bash, because it’s the first one since ichigan voters legalized mari uana for adult use. This one is special, a chance for folks to gather and savor a big win at the event that has been the most public face of mari uana and pushback against prohibition in the state. Hash Bash — which will be held Saturday, pril at the Uiag has been a beacon of hope to some, and an opportunity to flaunt the civil disobedience of openly smoking mari uana. It feels very significant, says Nick ettell, a Hash ash organizer. It’s really exciting as someone who’s been a part of Hash ash and observing it as an intersection of cannabis culture and cannabis politics, to see a victory for both is very exciting. This is a victory for the advocates, the people who have been pushing for better policies. Hash ash is a holiday, more than ust a protest. eople see it as a time they can come out of the cannabis closet and convene about ending the stigma. eople will be very celebratory now. The first bash back in 2 was actually the first one where weed was legally consumed. The state supreme court had declared that the law used to convict activist ohn Sinclair for mari uana possession was unconstitutional. The consequence was that mari uana became legal in ichigan for three months. new law
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RICK THOMPSON
was created and was scheduled to go into e ect after the first weekend in pril. The first gathering took place pril , although it wasn’t dubbed the Hash ash until year two. Now it’s always celebrated the first Saturday in pril. There will be a notable first at this rally, with ep. ebbie ingell scheduled to speak. Hash ash has featured politicians and even a presidential candidate in the past, but this will be the first time a sitting federal o ceholder will address the crowd. That indicates that not only has the political tide turned in ichigan, but it also suggests that it’s turning at the federal level. It’s certainly turned across the country for voters, who give 2 percent support to the idea in recent polls. That’s certainly something bash organizers have in mind. In the past few years, there was a focus on petition drives and getting out the vote in ichigan. lot of this year’s speechmaking will focus on ending federal prohibition, not to mention improving the legal climate in ichigan as adult use is enacted. The stigma against mari uana still drives a lot of policy, such as in communities that have opted out of allowing mari uana stores within their borders. Legalization is not a one-and-done fix, says ettell. xpungement of records for folks convicted of nonviolent o enses, as has been done in other states, is one of those follow-up issues. Still, this is a moment when people should be allowed to stop and savor the feel of victory when they can smile a little wider and hold their oint, or blunt, or pipe, or vaporizer, or edible, a little higher. It’s a moment where people can feel a little safer in their advocacy and show a little defiance. It’s times like these that hearten you for the continuing battle.
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CULTURE Ann Arbor has long been the place where this could happen. State Sen. e Irwin, a longtime supporter on the political side, will be there for the first time as a senator. His many appearances at the Bash as a state representative serve as proof that one can support mari uana and still move up in your career possibly due in part to that support. nn rbor has been such an important home for the cannabis legalization movement, says ettell. It’s associated with radical activism, even though it is changing quite a bit I don’t think that reputation will go away. It is fertile soil for other drug policy reform. There is less stigma. The Hash ash played an important role in reducing the stigma. ther municipalities that have turned their backs on mari uana out of fear should take a look at nn rbor, which has embraced it. Hash ash-related events have fanned out into the surrounding areas. As has been the case in recent years, the ash has grown to
n a warm day, the Hash ash has been known to draw 0,000 or more people. The legalization victory in November brings a celebratory mood that might expand the crowd to numbers not seen before in Hash ash history. I do think that legalization will drive the crowd by quite a bit, says ettell. -20 is an important day to observe, but Hash ash is really our cannabis holiday ... a lot of people may decide to experience it for the first time, or for the first time in 20 years. There’s a banner that’s been a backdrop for the Hash ash the last few years. irst it was Legalize 20 . Then it was Legalize 20 . This year’s will read Legalized 20 . Now that’s something to celebrate
Unconstitutional test?
While the Michigan State Police call for extension and expansion of a pilot program of roadside saliva testing in an e ort to determine if drivers are impaired by drugs, the whole thing
‘This is a victory for the advocates, the people who have been pushing for better policies. Hash Bash is a holiday, more than just a protest.’
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include the Michigan NORML Spring onference on riday at the raternal rder of agles in psilanti the Hash ash up ri. through Sun. at the Wyndham arden Hotel the Hash ash rally, the onroe Street air, and Hash Bash Late Night at the Blind Pig on Saturday and the thletes annabis anel iscussion at ackham uditorium on Sunday details with times and contact information can be found at freedomactivist.net hashbash.html . uitarist Laith l-Saadi, a recent finalist on The Voice television show, will be there to render the opening “Star Spangled anner imi Hendrix style. Seed pioneer Short will be there, as well as Sinclair, the man whose suit against the state began this whole ourney that is now a cause for celebration. nd while it is legal to have mariuana in ichigan now, a no-smoking regulation is in e ect on the University of ichigan grounds. Nobody got arrested last year, even though there was plenty of smoking going on during the event. pparently it’s not a police priority to bust people during this particular festivity.
might ust fall apart. n article posted on the merican ivil Liberties Union blog claims that oadside saliva testing may be unconstitutional. The piece points out that these tests do not measure impairment, and that with no warrant it’s an invasion of privacy, along with other arguments. When the LU says something is unconstitutional, I see this headed for litigation.
Didn’t last long
It looks like ohn Sinclair’s social hangout at the sychedelic Healing Shack in etroit is already over before it ever really got started. There was plenty of ballyhoo about this place kicking o , but in the end Sinclair and r. ob izzimenti didn’t see eye to eye on what it was all about. So it’s all over now. Things come and go quickly in this environment. emember the cocktails at le ary’s, another topic we covered here in Higher round not that long ago? Health o cials ended that and several other establishments adding to food items. There’s still a lot of shaking out to go down as we figure this all out.
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CULTURE Q:
My grandfather was a pillar of the community and beloved by his family. He was also sexually abusive. He died when I was a child. I remember only one incident happening to me — during a cuddle session, he encouraged me to put my mouth on his penis, and then told me to let it be our little secret. I heard rumors as an adult that he molested other kids in the neighborhood. He also had a sexual relationship with my mother. She says nothing happened as a child. But as an adult, he started telling her he loved her in a romantic way. He told her he wanted to take nude Polaroids of her, and she let him. And she loved him — she and her sisters all pretty much idolized him. My one aunt knew (she said nothing happened to her), and I asked her how she reconciled that. She said she compartmentalized it — she thought he was a wonderful father and didn’t really think about the other st . did ots o thera y in the late 1980s and early ’90s. I read books, I journaled, I talked to my mom and tried to understand what she experienced. And I moved on as much as anyone could. So now it’s 2019 and I’m almost 50. My mom just moved into a nursing home, and while cleaning out her drawers, I found the Polaroids my grandfather took of her. I know it was him because he is in some of them, taken into a mirror as she goes down on him. They were taken over a period of years. She had led me to believe he never really did anything sexual with her besides taking photos. But he did. And here’s the thing, Dan: In the photos, she looks happy. I know she was probably acting, because that’s what he wanted from her. But it just makes me question my assumptions. Was it terrible abuse or forbidden love? Both? What am I looking at? What would I prefer — that she enjoyed it or that she didn’t? She kept the photos. Were they fond memories? I know she loved him. She kind of fell apart when he died. Was he a fucking manipulator who had a gift for making his victims feel loved and special as he ex oited them or his o n se fish needs? I don’t know if I’m going to bring this up with my mom. She’s old and sick, and I dragged her through these types of conversations in my 20s. So I’m writing you. This is so far out of most people’s experience, and I want someone who has heard more sexual secrets than probably anyone else in the world to tell me what he thinks. —Whirlwind Of Emotions
A : I think you should sit down and
watch all four hours of Leaving Neverland, the new HBO documentary by ritish filmmaker an eed. It focuses on the experiences of Wade obson
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Savage Love
and James Safechuck, two now-adult men who were sexually abused by pop star Michael Jackson when they were boys. llegedly. It’s an important film to watch, W , but it’s not an easy one to watch, as it includes graphic descriptions of the sexual abuse both men claim to have su ered as boys. The second most disturbing part of the film after the graphic descriptions of child rape — or the third most disturbing part after the credulity culpability of obson’s and Safechuck’s parents — may be what the men have to say about ackson. oth describe their abuser in romantic terms. They both say they loved ackson. nd they both remain deeply conflicted about their feelings for ackson then and their feelings for him now. It was their a ection for Jackson — their desire to protect him and to safeguard what ackson convinced them was a secret and a bond they shared — that led both men to lie to law-enforcement o cials when Jackson was accused of sexually abusing di erent boys. ou should also listen to eed’s interview on The Gist, ike esca’s terrific daily podcast. eading your letter the morning after I watched Leaving Neverland reminded me of something eed said to esca What the film is about is the reckoning. It’s two families coming to terms with what happened to their sons. nd a big part of understanding that, you know so why the silence? Why did the sons keep silent for so long? Why did they keep the secret? nd the key really is to be able to explain why Wade gave false witness and perured himself on the witness stand. nd the reason for that, of course, has to do with how survivors of sexual abuse experience that. nd how they keep a secret and how they sometimes form deep attachments with the abuser and how that attachment persists into adult life. our mother, like obson and Safechuck, lied to protect her abuser, a man who abused her and abused you and probably many others. She may have held on to those photos for the same reason obson and Safechuck say they defended ackson She loved her father, and she was so damaged by what he did to her — she had been so expertly groomed by her abuser that she felt loved and special in the same way that ackson’s alleged abuse once made obson and Safechuck feel loved and special. So as horrifying as it is to contemplate, WOE, your mother may have held onto those photos because they do represent what are, for her, fond memories. nd while it would be a comfort to think she held on to those photos as proof for family members who doubted her story if she ever decided to tell the
By Dan Savage
truth, her past defenses of her father work against that explanation. Leaving Neverland demonstrates that sexual abuse plants a ticking time bomb inside a person — shit, sorry, no passive language. Leaving Neverland demonstrates that sexual predators like your grandfather and like ackson fucking manipulators with a gift for making their victims feel loved and special plant ticking time bombs in their victims. ven if a victim doesn’t initially experience their abuse as a violation and as violence, W , a reckoning almost inevitably comes. ne day, the full horror of what was done to them snaps into focus. These reckonings can shatter lives, relationships, and souls. It doesn’t sound like your mother ever had her reckoning that day never came for her — and so she never came to grips with what was done to her and, tragically, what was done to you. nd your aunt wasn’t the only member of your family who didn’t really think about the other stu . Just as denial and compartmentalization enabled Jackson and facilitated his crimes (and allowed the world to en oy ackson’s music despite what was staring us all in the face , denial and compartmentalization allowed your pillar of the community grandfather to rape his daughter, his granddaughter, and scores of other children. Like obson and Safechuck, WOE, you have a right to be angry with the adults in your family who failed to protect you from a known predator. That some of them were also his victims provides context, but it does not exonerate them. I’m glad your grandfather died when you were young. It’s tempting to wish he’d never been born, W , but then you would never have been born, and I’m glad you’re here. I’m particularly glad you’re there, right now, embedded in your damaged and damaging family. y telling the truth, you’re shattering the silence that allowed an abuser to groom and prey on children across multiple generations of your family. our grandfather can’t victimize anyone else, W , but by speaking up by refusing to look the other way you’ve made it harder for other predators to get away with what your grandfather did. .S. There’s a moment in the credits for Leaving Neverland that I think you might want to replicate. It involves some things one of ackson’s alleged victims saved and a fire pit. ou’ll know what I mean when you see it. On the Lovecast: Yikes! It’s the trigger show. Listen at savagelovecast. com. Questions? mail@savagelove.net. Impeach the Motherfucker Already: ITMFA.org.
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Horoscopes
ARIES: March 21 – April 20 Things are in a state of flux. s you look around, the need to do something about it has you hatching a plan or two. ou keep trying to bring those things to fruition. What is frustrating for you is that the universe doesn’t seem to be responding the way that you thought it would. on’t be discouraged. our higher self has something in mind. our personality is doing everything in its power to get things rolling. or the time being, keep up the good work, knowing that what doesn’t pan out is falling flat because od and the fates have better things in store for you.
LEO: July 21 – August 20 The ods are shining on you ll kinds of blessings have fallen into your lap. They have arrived in the form of good luck, and or rewards granted for years of hard work and e ort. If the wind in your sails is refreshing, the next few weeks will see you walking on air. s a result of all of this, life has made it possible for you to release the long held belief that you will never have enough, or, you have to kill yourself to get it. Those days are gone, my dear rom here on out, the idea that life is what you make it will open the space to weave the future straight from your heart.
TAURUS: April 21 – May 20 etween one thing and another, you wonder how things will go once you blow this clambake and get on to the next thing. It looks to me like everything’s about to work out ust fine, as long as you understand that you can’t keep repeating the same old routine. Those of you who are clear about this will be better o than those of you who are unwilling to rock the boat. What you’ve had to force yourself to do for a living needs to shift into pathways that have something to do with you. Let yourself be guided by the forces that are already there waiting for you to follow your bliss.
VIRGO: August 21 – Sept. 20 ou do the same thing over and over again. ou’re smart enough to be aware of the pattern. s time goes by, you ask yourself why the same old routine keeps getting in your face. ou do your best to correct your behavior you pray, you meditate, you do everything in your power to get it right. It might help you to understand that the people, places, and things that keep coming back to haunt you are like reddy rueger. The lessons are always the same, and they are unique to you. s time goes by, you get better at handling them without getting destroyed in the process.
GEMINI: May 21 – June 20 eing all things to all people wears thin after a while. ou dissipate so much energy by making too many adaptations to what is expected, or to the notion that somehow, it’s your ob to make sure everyone has what they need. s you begin to grok the fact that it’s time to focus on your own stu , and bring whatever has been sidelined to fruition, it looks like it’s your turn to stand up to those close to you and tell it like it is. on’t expect them to like it after all, you created this monster and it will take a while for them to get over the shock and love you enough to be who you are.
LIBRA: Sept. 21 – Oct. 20 The heat is o . fter a long period of stress and testing, you are about to enter a period of smooth sailing. rom what I can see, there will be changes that solidify all of the e ort that has been expended over the last few years. e prepared for people who matter to show up with o ers that you would be nuts to refuse. deeper understanding of what you are here for will reinforce these opportunities in ways that allow you to pursue things on your own terms. The changes that come out of this will support you for a long time to come. This is your reward, your time in the sun.
CANCER: June 21 – July 20 s you keep your life on an even keel, you are well aware that something needs to change. It could be that you’ve invested too much in something that is either weighing you down, or creating levels of dependency that are unhealthy. nowing that it’s best to be on your toes, you keep wondering when and how what’s next will reveal itself. None of us know what lies ahead. In your case, the idea that it’s time to move on, or go for broke and pack it all in, competes with the need to preserve all of this. eep your eyes peeled, knowing that things could flip anytime.
SCORPIO: Oct. 21 – Nov. 20 eople disappoint you so what? Who made it your ob to get the rest of the world on track? What is it about you that needs to supervise everyone else’s karma? If you had a clearer grip on what’s going on here, it would be easier for you to grok the fact that everyone’s exactly where they need to be, doing their absolute best with what they have. our perfect example is all well and good, but be wary of the tendency to think that anyone needs to follow it. et real. This is one of those times when you’ve got to figure out how to love people in spite of themselves.
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By Cal Garrison SAGITTARIUS: Nov. 21 – Dec. 20 ou’ve been sitting in the crosshairs of a big shift, and it has reached the point where things are ready to pop. It could be that the straw has finally broken the camel’s back. It could also be that things have run their course and the next chapter is ready to be written. on’t overdramatize the situation. verything in life falls away and is reborn in regularly timed cycles. This test will be easier for some of you than it will be for others. It comes down to whether or not your stu ’ makes it impossible to get the lesson. et outside yourself enough to see that there’s no need to freak out. CAPRICORN: Dec. 21 – Jan. 20 In the midst of trying to figure out what will work best for everyone, don’t get hung up on the idea that anything will remain the same. efining moments require innovative approaches. ou’ve finally managed to find your way out of the woods don’t mess it up by thinking that you’ve got to get everything back to normal after all, normal is what got you stuck in this groove. s you figure out how to follow your own path, those closest to you will learn how to dust themselves o and follow theirs. eep the light on, let out all the stops, and keep going for it. AQUARIUS: Jan. 21 – Feb. 20 Sometimes it’s best to leave well enough alone. or sure you have certain things to accomplish, but there are side issues, and the people involved in those issues can’t comply with your needs at the moment. If it looks like they’re ust being di cult, don’t press your case, knowing that things of this nature are there to test our ability to trust and go with the flow. Wait and see. Nothing in this world is worth the amount of stress or the energy that you’re giving to this situation. When everything comes out in the wash, you’ll laugh at yourself for getting uptight about it. PISCES: Feb. – March 20 ou’ve got a huge amount of support making it easier to breathe deep into the sense that things will work out ust fine. The only thing that could mess you up is a level of overconfidence and the idea that nothing can go wrong. With what the last few years have put you through, this recent opening feels like you might be out of the woods. I’m willing to agree with that, at least for now. What I would suggest is that you not rest on your laurels, and instead, keep hustling ust enough to stay on track. Huge undertakings are on the menu. es, you are in the clear, but remain vigilant.
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