Metro Times 08/14/19 by Chava Communications

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VOL. 39 | ISSUE 45 | AUGUST 14–20, 2019

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Former Detroit Tiger Ron LeFlore’s unlikely rise to baseball stardom to be honored 45 years after his big-league debut

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metrotimes.com | August 14-20, 2019

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metrotimes.com | August 14-20, 2019

Vol. 39 | Issue 45 | Aug. 14-20, 2019

News & Views Feedback/Comics ............... 12 Informed Dissent ................ 14 The houses of horror on Detroit’s east side ............... 16 Feature Detroit celebrates Ron LeFlore’s unlikely rise to Tigers stardom .................... 20 Food Black Restaurant Week ...... 22 Review: Table ..................... 24

Publisher - Chris Keating Associate Publisher - Jim Cohen

EDITORIAL Editor in Chief - Lee DeVito Digital Editor - Sonia Khaleel Investigative Reporter - Steve Neavling Dining Editor - Tom Perkins Music and Listings Editor - Jerilyn Jordan Proofreader - Dave Mesrey Contributing Editors - Michael Jackman, Larry Gabriel Editorial Interns - Faith Janet Coleman, Bridget Ekis, Christopher Emrich, Alexander Harring, Diamond Jones, Amanda Sinishtaj, Jessica Tituskin

ADVERTISING Regional Sales Director - Danielle Smith-Elliott Senior Multimedia Account Executive Jeff Nutter Multimedia Account Executive Jessica Frey Account Manager, Classifieds - Josh Cohen Marketing Intern - Mallary Becker

BUSINESS/OPERATIONS Business Support Specialist - Josh Cohen Controller - Kristy Dotson

What’s Going On ............... 26

CREATIVE SERVICES

Livewire: Local picks ......... 38

Graphic Designers - Paul Martinez, Haimanti Germain

Fast Forward ....................... 40

CIRCULATION Circulation Manager - Annie O’Brien

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Music Antighost............................. 42 Ann Arbor Blues Fest ......... 44 Arts & Culture Charles McGee mural gets restored ............................... 46 Review: Maiden.................. 48 How Ooze vape pens took over the world ..................... 50 Higher Ground .................... 56 Savage Love ........................ 60 Horoscopes .......................... 66

On the cover: Photo courtesy of Mark Dehem

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metrotimes.com | August 14-20, 2019

COMING SOON 8/27 – NATHANIEL RATELIFF & THE NIGHT SWEATS with Hiss Golden Messenger – Sell Out Alert

8/29 – PHANTOGRAM with Bob Moses

9/9 – THE ALCHEMY TOUR: NGHTMRE + SLANDER, SEVEN LIONS, THE GLITCH MOB 9/10 – WELCOME TO NIGHT VALE * 9/14 – RON WHITE: IF YOU QUIT LISTENING, I’LL SHUT UP * 9/18 – BABYMETAL with Avatar

9/20 – ANGELS & AIRWAVES Sell Out Alert

9/23 – TYCHO with Poolside

9/24 – GOV’T MULE

9/25 – RAINBOW KITTEN SURPRISE with Illiterate Light

9/27 – ERIC ANDRE: LEGALIZE EVERYTHING TOUR * 9/28 – JUDAH & THE LION with Flora Cash

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10/5 – DANE COOK *

10/6 – SKILLET & ALTER BRIDGE with Dirty Honey

10/7 – COMMON

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* denotes a seated show

on sale friday:

coming soon concert calendar:

8/16 – neurosis

w/ negative approach, bell witch & deaf kids

8/19 – spencer sutherland @ the shelter w/ justice carradine

8/20 – matt maeson w/ your smith oct. 28 ayokay the shelter

nov. 5

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moved up to saint andrew’s hall

8/21 – reignwolf @ the shelter w/ king nun

8/25 – northlane & erra @ the shelter - low tickets w/ crystal lake & currents

8/28 – krayzie bone of bone thugs n harmony @ the shelter - 18+

aug. 63 nov.

ghostemane the acacia strain

w/kublai 3teeth,khan horus the astroneer, st. andrew’s w/ parv0

nov. 17 pj morton st. andrew’s

8/29 – Ximena Sariñana 8/30 – mc50 w/ wayne kramer,

kim thayll, brendan canty, bill gould, marcus durant & bars of gold

8/30 – scarlxrd @ the shelter 9/3– tyler cassidy aka froggy fresh @ the shelter

nov. 22 collie buddz st. adnrew’s

dec. 2

issues

st. adnrew’s w/ polyphia, lil aaron, sleep token

9/7 – saved by the 90’S - 18+ 9/12 – kalimba 9/18– hermitude @ the shelter

metrotimes.com | August 14-20, 2019

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NEWS & VIEWS Feedback Readers react to stories from the August 7 issue We received a number of comments in response to Lee DeVito’s cover story about the Democratic debates, “This is CNN.” Job Bohnson: Agreed! These candidates came in for the debates and holed up in hotel rooms with their advisors plotting out what to say. You would think they would have some interest in seeing Detroit or meeting its citizens. They were out of here after the debate ended. So superficial.

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Editor’s note: Actually, former Vice President Joe Biden stayed an extra day to appear at Detroit One Coney Island with Mayor Mike Duggan, causing the QLine to be delayed. You can read about it on metrotimes.com. Ed Stonehiller: John Delaney said, “Look at the story of Detroit, this amazing city that we’re in. This city is turning around because the government and the private sector are working well together.” Hah! You mean when the Ilitches get to do whatever they want and the mayor’s office rolls over and asks how deep Have an opinion? Of course you do! Send feedback to letters@metrotimes.com.

metrotimes.com | August 14-20, 2019

NEWS & VIEWS Informed Dissent

The deficit trap By Jeffrey C. Billman

The same week Nancy Pe-

losi looked President Donald Trump’s criminal acts square in the eye and shrugged, she also surrendered her best leverage to counteract the administration’s misdeeds while making it more difficult for his Democratic successor — should there be one — to enact a progressive agenda. Some resistance this is. To back up The last full week of July, before Congress skipped town for the summer, was dominated by Robert Mueller’s testimony. Not the substance of his testimony which, like his report, made clear that Trump obstructed the investigation into ussian interference but ueller’s lack of showmanship. Trump being Trump, the week was also full of sideshows racist attacks on members of Congress and the city of altimore , lashing out at Sweden’s prime minister over A$AP Rocky, his Department of Justice restarting the federal death penalty, etc. ost in all of this was a budget deal the administration hashed out with Pelosi that will keep the government running — and extend the debt ceiling — through 2021, ensuring there will be no government shutdowns or debt defaults for the remainder of Trump’s term. Democrats avoided a fight over looming automatic spending caps. Trump, meanwhile got the bloated

midst of an economic collapse and brought the .S. to the brink of default to extract spending cuts in 2011, but in 2017 had also lavished the wealthy with $1.5 trillion in tax cuts during the longest period of economic growth in the postwar era. Now the GOP president who inherited that growing economy will head into an election year with forecasted deficits as far as the eye can see eclipsing trillion after his Democratic predecessor cut the deficit in half. As a rule, presidents get too much credit or blame for economic cycles, especially in their first two years in office. Trump is nonetheless an aberration, in that everything he’s done has been focused on short term benefits at the expense of long term pain. e walked into a steady if not booming economy that was producing decent job reports and stock market gains, primed by low interest rates and a strengthening real estate sector, and he ooded it with borrowed cash and spent freely. Republicans swore the 2017 tax cuts would pay for themselves, an obvious lie or simple ignorance . The tax cuts — Trump’s only major legislative accomplishment — gave the economy a sugar high but little else. Growth is already slowing, to 2.1 percent this most recent quarter, about where it was during the Obama years, perhaps

House Speaker Nancy Pelosi.

not an acute crisis either. All is fine, in other words until it’s not. n June, Duke niversity’s business school reported its quarterly survey of chief financial officers all over the world. Nearly 70 percent believe there will be a global recession by the end of for the third straight uarter, a ma ority of .S. CFOs think so. Perhaps they’re wrong about the timing, but when a recession does come, the Fed will have one less tool to fight it, as it can’t cut interest rates much lower. Same for Congress, which will be constrained by already-low tax rates and already soaring deficits that will

As surely as the sun rises, the second a Democrat takes the oath of office, Republicans will stop backsliding and become born-again, radicalized fiscal hawks. Pentagon budget he drools over and — though he’ll never admit it more federal spending to prop up the economy headed into an election year. The OP’s self appointed fiscal conservatives huffed, or at least made a show of huffing. f nothing else, they knew the hypocrisy was a bad look. This was the same Republican Party that had fought President arack Obama’s $700 billion stimulus in the

weighed down by Trump’s trade wars. At the same time, Trump has pressured the Federal Reserve not to raise interest rates, as it often does during growth periods to head off in ation. Fortunately, there are no signs of ination on the hori on. And the deficits aren’t a big deal so long as we’re able to continue borrowing at good rates; the national debt, now approaching $22 trillion, hasn’t prevented that, so it’s

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be made worse by falling tax revenues when people start losing their jobs. Keeping that in mind, look at what ouse Democrats agreed to a spending deal that maintains Trump’s tax cuts, drives up the deficit, and delays the debt crisis until when, if all goes according to plan, one of theirs will be in the White ouse and they’ll be setting the agenda. Know this: As surely as the sun

ALEXANDROS MICHAILIDIS/SHUTTERSTOCK.COM

rises, the second a Democrat takes the oath of office, epublicans will stop backsliding and become bornagain, radicali ed fiscal hawks. They won’t blink at holding the debt ceiling hostage to force spending cuts, and they certainly won’t refrain from using the spiraling deficits they created to lecture us about how we can’t afford to combat climate change or expand broken health care. ’ve seen this movie before. More immediately, though, think about the opportunities the debt ceiling presented if Democrats were willing to fight dirty i.e., like epublicans. They could have forced Trump to release his tax returns, or improve the hellish conditions at border detention camps, or stop diverting military funds to his idiotic border wall. They could have even demanded a deal that ended this debt ceiling nonsense once and for all, so no president ever has to live with this threat again. That would have made sense. Sure, the media would have scolded Pelosi about breaching decorum, and Trump would have had a Twitter meltdown. ut unlike in , when epublicans played footsie with default so they could gut programs for the poor, Democrats’ goals would be popular. Trump would capitulate because he would’ve had no choice. nstead, Democrats chose not to fight. They wanted to be the adults in the room. That’s great, but ’d rather get children out of cages.

metrotimes.com | August 14-20, 2019

NEWS & VIEWS Houses of horror

City of Detroit fails to board up ‘every’ vacant house by July deadline By Steve Neavling

Mayor Mike Duggan

pledged to board up every vacant house on Detroit’s east side by the end of July after police warned about a suspected serial killer luring his victims into abandoned homes. But the plan fell far short of its goal. By early August, many vacant houses on the east side were still wide open. And of the homes that were boarded up, some were open to trespass because the plywood had been ripped off. The ambitious effort began on June 7 at an abandoned house on Mack and Mt. Elliott, where the decomposed body of one of the victims, Tammy Jones, was found two days earlier. The suspect, Deangelo Martin, was also accused of beating and raping another woman at the same house, which he used as his home base, police said. On Thursday, Metro Times discovered the house was open to trespass. The plywood that was sealing the front and side doors was peeled back on the house, which is located just blocks from the Heidelberg Project, a popular tourist destination. After Metro Times posted the story, city workers returned to the house to board it up again. The house is on the city’s demolition list, but no date has been set to raze it. In Detroit, plywood does little to keep people out of vacant homes, which are havens for drug dealers, metal scrappers, and predators. That’s why Detroit Public Schools sealed its abandoned buildings with metal panels. Duggan announced his plan to board up homes at a news conference two days after Jones’ body was discovered. “It appears we may have a serial killer,” Police Chief James Craig told reporters. At the time, Duggan estimated there were about 1,000 vacant houses on the east side that needed to be boarded up. Police began searching abandoned homes to look for more victims, and after their search, temporary workers hired by the city nailed plywood to every open door and window. “To turn back this violence, it’s going to take our entire city — the police and the community together — to say once and for all that this violence is just not acceptable,” Craig said. Since then, about 900 houses have

Above: The alleged “home base” of a suspected serial killer. STEVE NEAVLING Below: Another nearby home that has not yet been boarded up by the city.

been boarded up, and the city expects to be finished by the end of August, mayoral spokesman John Roach tells Metro Times. On Sunday, Metro Times spent two hours driving on the city’s east side to see whether the city met Duggan’s goal

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of boarding up every vacant house. It quickly became clear that the city was far from done. In a section of the east side bounded by I-94, Charlevoix, East Grand Boulevard, and St. Jean, dozens of vacant houses were wide open, sometimes next to abandoned homes

that had been boarded up. Multiple houses were open to trespass on single blocks between East Warren and Mack Avenue. On Crane street near Charlevoix, three children were playing outside of a row of vacant houses, some of which had not been boarded up. “The city’s got to do something,” Jim Bryant, the children’s uncle, tells Metro Times, saying the houses have been vacant “for as long as I can remember.” “This is no way to live,” he says. In about a month, the city plans to create a cell phone app to enable residents to report when plywood is removed from boarded-up houses. A week before police announced they suspected a serial killer had killed at least three people since March, Duggan announced a plan to ask voters to approve issuing a $200 million bond to demolish all of the city’s vacant houses by 2024. Since Duggan took office, the city has razed more than 15,000 houses. The city has struggled with vacant homes for decades as the population continues to dwindle. The foreclosure crisis also led to mass vacancies. The abandoned homes drive down property values, increase crime, and accelerate the exodus. In May, a 16-year-old boy was walking to school when a predator pulled him into a vacant garage on the west side and sexually assaulted him. It’s alleged that “the defendant assaulted the juvenile, who escaped the abandoned garage, called 911 again and ran to another abandoned property,” the Wayne County Prosecutor’s Office said in a news release. On June 3, a woman’s burned body was found in the backyard of an abandoned house on the city’s west side. Firefighters discovered the body after extinguishing the fire. Martin, the suspected serial killer and rapist, has been charged with sexually assaulting two women who had survived the attacks. Police believe he killed at least three other women in vacant houses, but the case has not been sent to the prosecutor’s office yet for charges. “Investigations continue,” police said in a brief statement to Metro Times.

metrotimes.com | August 14-20, 2019

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metrotimes.com | August 14-20, 2019

FEATURE Solitary refinement

Former Detroit Tiger Ron LeFlore’s unlikely rise to baseball stardom to be honored 45 years after his big-league debut By Jimmy Doom

During the tumultuous

decade of the 1970s, Ron LeFlore went from the back of a patrol car to prison to patrolling the outfield for the Detroit Tigers in just over four years. It’s an astonishing tale of personal redemption through professional sports — and a stark contrast to the pro-sports-toprison arc seen repeatedly today. The made-for-TV movie of LeFlore’s life was called One in a Million, and while that figure isn’t accurate when viewed through a few disparate lenses, his story was extremely rare when it happened — and, arguably, could not possibly happen today. ven a film based on his life would be subject to backlash for being a “white savior” story, if it were produced at all. But LeFlore himself is quick to credit and thank the men responsible for his baseball career. One in a Million: The Ron LeFlore Story starring a young LeVar Burton first aired on C S in September of , and it will be shown Sunday at the Detroit Historical Museum, 45 years to the

about any inaccuracies in the movie, he says, “The robbery scene. The way LeVar holds the gun.” LeFlore chuckles. “That’s not the way I held the gun.” LeFlore, by his own admission, was a booze and dope user and career criminal from a young age. Bios of him tend to point to his neighborhood (the LeFlore family lived on Iroquois near East Warren Avenue or rough home life as tacit excuses for his criminal behavior. Whatever 21-year-old Ron LeFlore was, one thing he wasn’t was a seasoned baseball player. Quite possibly the most incredible part of his story is that Ron LeFlore had never played an organized game of baseball in his life — until he went to prison. “We had a little team in our neighborhood, we’d go up to the park to play, but that was about it,” he says. “No Little League, nothing organized or official. Fortunately for LeFlore, the prison system had a baseball program, and a fellow inmate, Jimmy Karalla, watched

Ron LeFlore had never played an organized game of baseball in his life — until he went to prison. month after LeFlore made his majorleague baseball debut. A native of Detroit’s east side, eFlore got in trouble with the law early and often and, in 1970, at the age of 21, he was arrested for the armed robbery of Dee’s ar on ack Avenue, across from the Chrysler Stamping Plant. e was sentenced to five to years in the State Prison of Southern ichigan (commonly referred to as “Jackson Prison . LeFlore’s narrative is not one of a promising young athlete who is falsely convicted or a “wrong-place-at-thewrong-time” tale of woe of an otherwise model citizen. He doesn’t shy away from details of the robbery that led to his incarceration. When asked

him play. Karalla was an associate of revered tavern owner Jimmy Butsicaris, proprietor of the indell A.C., widely hailed as America’s first sports bar (which is now the subject of an ongoing exhibit at the Detroit istorical useum . In April of 1973, Karalla wrote a letter to Butsicaris detailing LeFlore’s prisonyard baseball exploits. Butsicaris, a close friend of Tigers manager Billy artin, ca oled the fiery skipper, who as an ex-player himself was skeptical that he could find a serviceable player behind bars. As Butsicaris’ daughter, Liz Butsicaris Jackson, remembers, “[Karalla] kept calling my father, and my father said to illy, C’mon, let’s do this, let’s do this.

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What have you got to lose ’ and finally got Billy to go.” On May 23, 1973, Martin and Butsicaris organized a “goodwill trip” to Jackson state prison, which included Tigers slugger Frank Howard and Hall of Fame broadcaster Ernie Harwell, though the film doesn’t depict either man as being there. Martin and Butsicaris portray themselves in the movie, with Butsicaris getting a solid A for his believability and smooth delivery, while Martin comes off as a famous guy who was offered a role for his name recognition. ut the film’s portrayal of a sodden field unsuitable for a ma or league workout is spot-on, says LeFlore. “I was disappointed I didn’t get to work out [that day],” he says. “I was like a Jim Thorpe of that prison. Played basketball, ran on a relay team, played softball, baseball, lifted, whatever I could do. Despite not being able to showcase his skills that fateful day in Jackson, based on Karalla’s recommendation and the testimony of other prisoners Martin met during his visit, the Tigers manager promised LeFlore a tryout when he was paroled. LeFlore didn’t dismiss it as idle talk. “Frank Howard gave me a bat,” LeFlore says. “It was the longest bat I’d ever seen. I hit balls with that thing until the skin was falling off my fingers. Didn’t have batting gloves, but the pain was meaningless to me. I was gonna be prepared for that tryout.” He’s also grateful to the man who put the whole thing in motion. “If it wasn’t for [Jimmy] Karalla, I never would’ve had a baseball career,” he says. In July of 1973, the Tigers were able to sign him to a contract that seemed to fast-track his parole. “Jimmy was really good friends with Wayne County prosecutor William Cahalan. don’t know if he pulled any strings but …” says Butsicaris’ son-inlaw and former indell A.C. employee David Jackson, hinting that he believes that may have been the case. The film, a classic late ’ s style T movie, heavy on the melodramatic soundtrack ourishes and timed for commercial-break edits, is based on

the book Breakout: From Prison to the Big Leagues written by LeFlore and longtime Detroit Free Press and Oakland Press sports scribe Jim Hawkins. Side note One in a Million screenwriter Stanford Whitmore wrote three episodes of the popular ’60s television drama The Fugitive. t doesn’t depict any behind-the-scenes machinations. n fact, the film gives the impression that Tigers general manager Jim Campbell was unaware of LeFlore until he set foot inside Tiger Stadium for his tryout. Hawkins, the Freep’s Tigers beat writer at the time the LeFlore story started to unfold, recalls how it all went down The first time heard any mention of [LeFlore] was when I happened to be sitting in illy artin’s office a few hours before a Friday night game in 1973 when LeFlore called to inform [Billy] he was out of prison on a brief parole and would like to come to Tiger Stadium the following day for the tryout he had been promised when Billy met him in Jackson prison,” Hawkins says. “I’m not sure any of the other reporters covering the team (there were only a few of us in those days before sports talk radio and the internet were even aware on existed at that point. I can’t say for certain, but I probably was the only reporter present at Tiger Stadium for on’s initial workout — and I was only there because I always got to the ballpark early. No one, including the Tigers, had any idea how significant that Saturday morning session would be.” When LeFlore later worked out for the Tigers at ut el Field on Detroit’s west side, he impressed Tigers scout and future general manager Bill Lajoie with his 60-yard dash. What had started as a favor to Martin’s friend Butsicaris resulted in LeFlore a free man on a short trip through the minor leagues (where he played for manager Jim eyland , culminating in his August 1974 callup. While it was common knowledge that LeFlore had a sordid past, there was no Twitterverse, no 24-hour news cycle. And he was a local kid, embraced by Tigers fans. “I heard catcalls sometimes, but mostly I heard the chants of ‘Go Ron Go,’” he says. “The

For much of 1975, his first full season in the big leagues, LeFlore struggled to learn the game at its highest level. But by 1976, he was an American League All-Star.

team depended on me to steal bases.” LeFlore thrived. He had shattered the odds and made the major leagues, eventually making the 1976 American League All-Star team alongside teammates Rusty Staub and Mark “The Bird” Fidrych. His level of success was unprecedented, though his journey from prison to the big leagues wasn’t even unique on his team. Fellow Tiger Gates Brown had served time in the Ohio State Reformatory in ansfield, Ohio the prison immortalized in The Shawshank Redemption

— prior to his major-league baseball career. “Gates Brown was someone I spent time with because we came from familiar circumstances,” LeFlore says. “He helped me with my batting. I was happy for him when he became hitting coach, and I’m sad to see him gone.” (Brown was the Tigers’ hitting coach from 1978 to 1984. He died in 2013.) For Tigers fans, the film version of the tryout is a Mount Rushmore of reallife Tiger greats portraying themselves: Kaline, Cash, Freehan, Northrup, all

COURTESY OF MARK DEHEM

of whom seem relaxed in front of the camera. Actor Matt Stephens plays Tigers centerfielder ickey Stanley, the man LeFlore would eventually replace. Fans of the film Revenge of the Nerds might recognize Larry B. Scott as LeFlore’s brother Gerald.) e ar urton, fresh off his mmy nominated portrayal of Kunta Kinte in the groundbreaking ABC miniseries Roots, was cast as eFlore in the film. “I had seen Roots” says LeFlore, “so I was excited, but he seemed awfully small to be playing me. They got a guy

from Wayne State to do the baserunning and some of the batting scenes.” One one occasion, Burton overslept in his hotel room on a shoot day at old Tiger Stadium. “It scared me,” LeFlore remembers. “We had a (real) game that night.” Some of LeFlore’s own behavior scared the Tigers a bit. “My dad kept a close eye on him,” says Butsicaris Jackson “My dad had enough street sense to know that where he came from, he could [end up] back there really easily.” (Butsicaris’ own life was made into the movie Jimmy B and Andre, starring Alex Karras. Karras later bastardized the tale for the TV series Webster. In One in a Million, Madge Sinclair plays LeFlore’s mother; coincidentally, she also plays Andre’s mother in the Butsicaris biopic.) Despite eFlore’s on field success and fan adoration, he was abruptly traded to the ontreal xpos in December of 1979 for pitcher Dan Schatzeder. It was rumored then and the rumors persist today that the trade was precipitated by LeFlore being seen in the company of alleged mobster Frank Usher, better known on the streets as Big Frank Nitti. Usher was charged with a 1979 triple beheading, convicted, but ultimately acquitted on appeal. “I was disappointed to be traded,” says LeFlore of the deal that outraged Tigers fans. While Schatzeder had a subpar year for the Tigers in 1980, losing 13 games, eFlore stole bases for the xpos to lead the National League. But it will be LeFlore’s glory years in Detroit that will be celebrated Sunday at the Detroit Historical Museum, which is already celebrating the now defunct bar that gave rise to LeFlore’s unlikely legend. “We’re gonna do a meet and greet, and talk. Whatever they want me to do, I’m willing,” says LeFlore,who now resides in Florida with his wife, mily. Butsicaris Jackson was an extra in One in a Million. She is now the proprietor of Grosse Pointe-based Queen of Cups Catering, and was once the personal chef to the New Kids on the Block. She is no stranger to celebrity, but looks forward to LeFlore’s appearance in Detroit. “It will be good to see Ronnie and give him a hug.” On in a Million: The Ron LeFlore Story will be celebrated with a 40th-anniversary screening starting at 2 p.m. on Sunday, Aug. 18 at the Detroit Historical Museum, 5401 Woodward Ave., Detroit; 313-833-7935; detroithistorical.org. No cover.

metrotimes.com | August 14-20, 2019

FOOD ‘They deserve shine’

Why Kwaku Osei-Bonsu started Black Restaurant Week in Detroit By Antonio Cooper

Detroit native Kwaku

Osei-Bonsu was only a freshman at Howard University when he started his business, Strange Roots — a monthly subscription service that delivered items from Black-owned businesses to college students. The service achieved moderate success before Osei-Bonsu ended it, but the experience helped lead him to his passion: to create and foster Black spaces. “I want to solidify spaces, to make it so that spaces are safe,” the 27-year-old says. “Not in the sense of making it safe for us, but to make it safe from threat — safe from the threat of it not being a Black space.” Since his Howard days, Osei-Bonsu has put together several events in Detroit, including Black Restaurant Week, an annual weeklong showcase of Detroit’s Black-owned restaurants. The event returns for its third year on Monday. Osei-Bonsu says he founded Black Restaurant Week with the mission of making sure Detroit’s Black-owned restaurants would not get forgotten as the city’s dining scene heated up. “Being from the area, leaving and

Black Restaurant Week Participating restaurants (more to be added): The Block 3919 Woodward Ave, Detroit; 313-8320892; theblockdet.com COOP 474 Peterboro St., Detroit; coopdetroit.com DUO Restaurant & Lounge 29555 Northwestern Hwy., Southfield; 248996-9929; dineduo.com Flood’s Bar and Grille 731 St. Antoine St., Detroit; 313-963-1090; floodsdetroit.com

coming back, you start to see what your people could have and what they deserve,” Osei-Bonsu says. Initially, Black Restaurant Week started with online branding as a simple way to unite Detroit’s Blackowned restaurants under one banner. “It was a platform that didn’t need a lot of legwork to get it done,” he says. “It was more online-focused, so I just made it happen, and I caught the bug so I thought, ‘What else could be Black as hell?’” Osei-Bonsu knew that an event like Black Restaurant Week would likely come under scrutiny because of its name. “In the past, we’ve had controversy because of the name. People thought it was exclusively for Black people,” he says, defending his vision. “We’re only trying to highlight the Black owners and Black chefs.” “If every other city can have a restaurant week, then we can have a Black restaurant week,” he adds. “We’re an 84-percent Black city — all of these Black restaurants, they deserve shine.” The struggle Osei-Bonsu is facing is not unique. Other attempts to highlight and celebrate Black spaces have

The Griot: Music Lounge & Bar 66 E. Forest Ave., Detroit; 313-289-3813; griotdetroit.com The Jamaican Pot 14615 Eight Mile Rd., Detroit; 313-659-6033; thejamaicanpot.com Le Crepe 317 S. Washington Ave., Royal Oak; 248629-9391; lecreperoyaloak.com River Bistro 18456 Grand River Ave., Detroit; 313-8556108 Yum Village 6500 Woodward Ave., Detroit; 313-6862839; yumvillage.com

Black Restaurant Week events: The Exchange x Godwin Ihentuge

22 August 14-20, 2019 | metrotimes.com

become a hot issue lately, and other culture creators have received backlash in response to their efforts. arlier this year, creators of AfroFuture Fest came under fire for their decision to charge different ticket prices for POC people of color , charging non POC more with the goal of promoting equity in their community. After the story went viral, the festival organizers changed the ticket structure to a at rate, asking white guests to consider paying an additional suggested donation.) “Detroit is a place where if you want fun, you have to make it yourself,” Osei-Bonsu says. “I support anyone that’s sticking their necks out to create a space in general. At some point there were people who felt nothing was happening in Detroit, so they left. So with people like Leah Hill, who’s throwing Kindred Fest, and the people throwing AfroFuture Fest, I put all my support behind them.” Regarding the backlash, Osei-Bonsu believes all press is good press. “Anything ever worthwhile never came easy,” he says. “Disruption is not supposed to make people comfortable.” Participating restaurants this year

include metro Detroit favorites like Savannah Blue, the Block, Flood’s, DUO’s Restaurant and Lounge, and Jamaican Pot, among others. The first year we had around 11 restaurants participate, and 16 the second year,” Osei-Bonsu says. “This year I just want to have those numbers continue to rise. We’ve had a slew of Black-owned restaurants open in the last year, so I don’t expect that we’ll have anything less than 20 to 25 this year.” Chef Antoinette Alexander Perry of DUO’s Restaurant and Lounge says she considers it an honor being one of the restaurants chosen to participate, with the restaurant joining for its second year as part of Black Restaurant Week. “We enjoy making sure the customer has great food to eat because we understand that whatever energy we hold will be in the food we present,” she says. “We all have positive energy when preparing the food. I love that about everyone who works in this kitchen. Positive energy is important to have, especially in such an important event like this.” Along with DUO, Savannah Blue will make its third appearance at Black Restaurant Week. General manager Lee

@YumVillage 6-9 p.m. Sunday, Aug. 18; 6500 Woodward Ave., Detroit. Tickets are $65.

A vegan cooking course at Detroit’s newest vegan destination. The course dishes include a breakfast, lunch, and dinner item. Tickets $40.

Flood the Block featuring The Block, Flood’s, and HandleBarDetroit @The Block, Flood’s 6-10 p.m. Tuesday, Aug. 20. Ticket includes a ride on The HandleBar between both Flood’s Bar and Grille (731 St. Antoine St., Detroit; 313-963-1090; floodsdetroit.com) and The Block (3919 Woodward Ave., Detroit; 313-832-0892; theblockdet.com) and two drinks. Tickets $25.

AfroBeatz n’ Eatz @Yum Village 6-9 p.m., Friday, Aug. 23; 6500 Woodward Ave., Detroit; 313-686-2839; yumvillage. com. An AfroBeat dance class led by the hilarious Uncle Azeez. Food from YumVillage is included with ticket, and sounds will be provided by DJ MikeDeeBest. Tickets $25.

Lettuce Be Lifted with Quiana Broden of The Kitchen by Cooking with Que @The Kitchen by Cooking with Que 6 p.m.; Wednesday, Aug. 21; 6529 Woodward Ave., suite A, Detroit; 313-462-4184; cookingwithque.com.

SoulSolSole: The Cannabis Edition @ TBA 10 p.m.-3 a.m., Saturday, Aug. 24. Enjoy the warmth of a bonfire, the sounds of Latinx, African, and Black cultures while enjoying THC-infused bites. Wristband includes three courses, $25 donation.

Kwaku Osei-Bonsu.

Campbell says customers should expect Savannah Blue’s visual presentation to match its quality of service, and that the restaurant plans to showcase some of its most popular menu items, like its fried chicken. “We’re a speakeasy vibe, with a touch of brightness,” he says. “There’s art throughout our restaurant, and we keep things very low-lit because we want to provide that sense of intimacy and privacy. There will be a door guy to greet customers when they come in. We want

COURTESY PHOTO

everyone to feel warm and welcomed.” Even with a larger number of participating restaurants this year, OseiBonsu says not every restaurant is accepted into this showcase. He says the selection process has become far more strenuous over the years, and some newer restaurants have even turned down the offer because they felt like it was too soon for the spotlight. Osei-Bonsu says that his goal for this event is to have an impact well beyond Black Restaurant Week. “I want to

bring these restaurants revenue outside of the realm of this one week,” he says. While Black Restaurant Week is primarily focused on fostering a Black space, Osei-Bonsu says the focus for the event is to have more representation within different food communities. “Our vegan and vegetarian community needs more attention,” Osei-Bonsu says. “Our chefs that don’t have brickand-mortars need more attention as well. I need to make sure I’m representing people within the food space in

general, not ust those who can afford to get a building.” Participants planning to attend this year’s Black Restaurant Week can look forward to additional food-related events and other activities, including a cannabis-infused dinner by chef Nicki Stewart. Another event highlights future opportunities to check out new businesses. “We’re also working with Le Culture Cafe, which is one of the newer Black-owned restaurants opening in the city,” Osei-Bonsu says. “We’ll be doing a weekly event with them that starts during Black Restaurant Week called “The Catch.” “The Catch” will provide a dine-in experience at Le Culture Cafe without the need for a reservation. This new feature will take place from 10 p.m. to 1 a.m. on Friday during Black Restaurant Week. Patrons will receive an abbreviated version of Le Culture Cafe’s dinner, an experience that Osei-Bonsu describes as offering people the opportunity to dine in a more casual setting.” This year’s Black Restaurant Week will also feature its first sponsor ncle earest, the first lack owned whiskey company. Osei-Bonsu considers it to be a major milestone for the event. “We didn’t take on sponsorship before because we were too afraid they would try to distort the vision and skew it to what their marketing interests were at the time,” he says. The company is named after the slave who taught Jack Daniel how to make whiskey. Participating restaurants like D O plan to incorporate sponsored products into their meals. Alexander-Perry says guests should look forward to a few surprises. “I’ve created a special barbecue sauce from ncle earest products, she says. Along with the barbecue sauce, Alexander-Perry wants to create a specialized dessert for Black Restaurant Week. “Hopefully we’ll be able to create a dessert with ncle earest too, she says. “I want to do a banana pudding with caramelized bananas on top.” With Black Restaurant Week around the corner, Osei-Bonsu hopes the restaurants on display can be an inspiration to others. “My message is that, if you want it, you’re going to believe in what it is you want to do; then you’ll get to the point where you’re going to have to jump,” he says. “It’s a matter of how do I make these dreams happen and how do I also do what I need to do.” “I want every entrepreneur to know that your dream is big enough,” he says. More information, including a full list of participating restaurants, can be found at blackmetroeats.com. Black Restaurant Week runs from Monday, Aug. 19 to Sunday, Aug. 25.

metrotimes.com | August 14-20, 2019

Table

FOOD

Fort Street Galley, 160 W. Fort, Detroit 813-777-4805 fortstreetgalley.org Handicap accessible 11 a.m.-9 p.m. Monday-Thursday, 11 a.m.-10 p.m. Friday, 10 a.m.-10 p.m. Saturday, 10 a.m.-9 p.m. Sunday, weekend brunch 11 a.m.-3 p.m. Entrées and sandwiches $13-$16

Nashville hot chicken.

BRIDGET EKIS

Order in the court By Jane Slaughter

I took a friend to Table; it was

his first time at Fort Street alley, the collection of four restaurants in the old Federal eserve uilding downtown. y first impression he said. They want for a hamburger in what looks like a food court. Fort Street alley is a food court. t’s an upscale food court, with real silverware and glasses, no plastic to be seen and the cuisines have nothing to do with fast food. ’ve always felt there’s a disconnect between the generally excellent dishes at all of the alley’s restaurants and the atmosphere there, which is a big, somewhat echoing space with picnic tables. t’s like, the food shouldn’t be this good in this informal space. ut it is. had the best drink of the summer in the alley’s excellent though pricey bar, agpie, and that drink had some stiff competition as of early August. t was an sprit hibiscus aperitif and white wine with a big chunk of grapefruit peel. Come during the p.m. happy hour if you want to pay less than

for a cocktail. The agpie makes them either draft pre mixed and you choose which spirits to add or created on the spot. They’re all lovely, but especially the latter. had a refreshing bittersweet oneypenny with passionfruit, aperitif, fortified wine, lemon, and vodka. Table, a pro ect of chef Phil ilton, opened in ay after two earlier alley restaurants, Allenby and Pursue, had bitten the dust after only a few months in operation. ilton once cooked at the lamented Tribute under the renowned Takashi agihashi, so he comes with credentials. is idea is soul food, sometimes gussied up your mama never put duck confit in her mac and cheese. e says he’s doing his American comfort food, which he grew up eating in ichigan, with modern techni ues and ingredients to give it that chef touch, but it’s still very recogni able and approachable. are is the chef who doesn’t try to allay diners’ fears this way. Can you imagine a restaurateur saying, We seek to intimidate with

24 August 14-20, 2019 | metrotimes.com

the unfamiliarity of our dishes and the oddness of our presentation The food is totally recogni able, and cooked and served by very friendly staffers. While we were pondering the menu, one offered us a taste of the watermelon salad, which turned out to be almost a serving. The melon is oined by heirloom tomatoes, feta, cukes, mint, and a lime vinaigrette nothing could be more refreshing except that sprit . also loved fried green tomatoes, breaded in cornmeal with pimento cheese and a ranch sauce there’s nothing more approachable than ranch dressing, the best selling salad dressing in the .S. since . ut these slices avoided the ranch clich and let the tomato avor shine through. As you know, ashville hot chicken is the thing now, with ashville restaurants competing for the highest number of Scoville eat nits. ilton’s crust, and there’s a lot of it, was too hot for me, but the bird itself was uicy and sweet, indicating that the cayenne lard paste was applied after the frying,

which is more traditional. The chicken pieces were way too much to fit into a bun, though this is officially a sandwich, served with a giant heap of fries. All serving si es were gargantuan. We also liked skirt steak with chimichurri and grilled corn salad. The strips are chewy but tasty, and the corn tomato red onion mix is both sweet and pungent. arbecued pork belly is super fatty and why order pork belly unless you’re seeking fat with a big hunk of alape o cornbread that was actually honey sweet. A lot is fried at Table, in keeping with the theme. Crisp shrimp hushpuppies are one example their avor is good, though there’s no discernible shrimp in taste or texture. wondered if the shrimps were whirled in a blender to make them melt into the batter. The fish in the fish sandwich is pecan crusted walleye, but have to say it seemed like a normal hard fried fish to me. Chicken and biscuit means two large breasts, maybe a little dry, or at least there’s a lot of crust. The buttermilk biscuit is crisp and creditable, but would have put the honey on the side, to give the diner a choice. Cheddar grits are very creamy the avor was good but prefer mine with a bit of texture. rits on their own have no particular avor, after all, being simply a means of conveying butterfat to the mouth, so a little texture helps. ’ll mention one more dish, which didn’t order, because it sounds like the apotheosis of mid century housewife bad cheese curds with a saltine coating and more of that ranch sauce. Why f any reader orders Cheese in Crackers, please write me. It was at Table that I scored the best dessert of the summer though competitors are still sought . ou’d think strawberry pur e on strawberries would be silly, but swear that when ilton does it, it’s not. These two items and shortcake and a whole lot of whipped cream are chopped and thrust into a ason ar. t is heaven on earth. Desserts are supposed to change regularly, but it was strawberry shortcake both times went, and you’ll hear no complaints from me.

metrotimes.com | August 14-20, 2019

THIS WEEK What’s Going On

A week’s worth of things to do and places to do them WED., 8/14-SUN., 8/18 Dreamgirls @ New Center Park

THEATER The story of Motown is an incredible one. A testament to scrappy dreamers and gifted singers, Motown was more than a musical trend — it was a cultural revolution. Enter Deena, ffie, and orrell the fictitious girl group, the Dreamettes, and the stars of Dreamgirls. Adapted from the 1981 Broadway musical, the 2006 Academy Award winning film Dreamgirls brought some of Hollywood’s brightest stars to the screen, including Beyoncé, Jennifer Hudson, Anika Noni Rose, and Jamie Foxx. Presented by the Detroit Actor’s Theatre Company, this special version of Dreamgirls will embark on a free five night live engagement ust minutes away from the birthplace of the Motown sound, Hitsville U.S.A. Performances begin at 8 p.m. each day; 2998 W. Grand Blvd., Detroit; 313-8741690; thedatc.org. Performances are free and open to the public.

FRI., 8/16-SUN., 8/18 Michigan Comic Convention @ Cobo Center

COMICS Arguably never before in history has there been a better time to be a nerd than right now. Superheroes are the norm, dressing up as a wizard is considered très chic, and dragons, as always, are really friggin’ cool. That being said, we don’t mind having multiple comiccentric events to choose from each year, including the return of Michigan Comic Convention, which has gathered a gaggle of famous faces and voices to celebrate all things nerdy. Per usual, games, books, toys, collectibles, and other geek paraphernalia will be available via the convention’s exhibit hall. This year’s celebrity guests include recent cancer survivor and our forever Batman Val Kilmer, Star Trek mainstay Worf played by Michael Dorn, and the one true ryffindor and master of the glow up, atthew ewis aka eville ongbottom. Also scheduled to appear is famed voice actor and Reno

“Blue Corvette” by Nico Rousselet, Robert Kidd Gallery, Aug. 16-17.

911! star Carlos Alazrazqui; Bob West aka America’s favorite dinosaur, Barney; Veronica Taylor, who voiced Pokémon’s Ash Ketchum; as well as the voice actors behind each of the Teenage utant in a Turtles. Cowabunga. Doors open at noon on Friday, Aug. 16 and 10 a.m. Saturday and Sunday; 1 Washington Blvd., Detroit; michigancomicconvention.com. Tickets are $30+.

FRIDAY, 8/16 Noura Mint Seymali @ Trinosophes

MUSIC It’s not every day that we’re presented with agile and lush female-fronted psych-blues out of Northwest Africa, but we’re sure glad Noura Mint Seymali is doing the damn thing. Hailing from Mauritania, vocalist Seymali comes from a long line of gifted singers and storytellers and wields a Mauritanian harp called an ardin. Formed in 2004, Seymali’s four-piece — which includes Ousmane Touré

26 August 14-20, 2019 | metrotimes.com

on bass, drummer Matthew Tinari, and Seymali’s husband, Jeiche Ould Chighaly, on guitar — has become internationally revered for its emotive blend of traditional Mauritanian music and roof-lifting psych-rock with curious hints of Canadian prog-rockers, Rush. Anyway, Seymali and her bandmates are still backing 2016’s Arbina, the group’s fourth record and second international release, which landed at No. 1 on the European World Music Charts. Sung in Arabic, Seymali’s music does not isolate non-Arabic-speaking listeners — rather, she creates a universal and complex contemporary sonic conversation. Doors open at 8 p.m.; 1464 Gratiot Ave., Detroit; 313-778-9258; trinosophes.com. Tickets are $15-$20.

FRIDAY, 8/16 Papa Roach @ Michigan Lottery Amphitheater at Freedom Hill

MUSIC Welcome to the resistance, Papa

COURTESY OF GALLERY

Roach. Or is it Mr. Roach? Anyway, numetal is having a moment and, with the resilience of a cockroach, we might ust have Papa Roach’s 20-year-old banger ast esort to thank for the years of rage and memes. Frontman Jacoby Shaddix has been an outspoken critic of President Trump, which comes to a head on the band’s energetic 2019 release, Who Do You Trust? The band’s latest finds the nu-metal statesman melding rap-rock a la Rage Against the Machine. Honestly, it’s almost as if Papa and company were aiming to score a trailer for a film in the Fast & Furious franchise. Doors open at 7 p.m.; 14900 Metro Pkwy, Sterling Heights; 586-268-9700; 313presents.com. Tickets are $29.50.

FRI., 8/16 AND SAT., 8/17 Nico Rousselet: Baby You Can’t Drive My Car @ Robert Kidd Gallery

ART Artist Nico Rousselet is, like, one degree of separation from Keanu Reeves and we can’t handle it. OK — so it’s actu-

Thursday 8/15

BrAd PaRsOnS & StArBiRd Thu 8/22

NpR TiNy DeSk CoNtEsT - WdEt Friday 8/23

Noura Mint Seymali, Trinosophes, Aug. 16.

ally Rousselet’s art that might be closer to Neo than we’ll ever be. He was commissioned by Reeves’ Arch Motorcycle company, and it makes sense that his abstract, auto-inspired paintings caught the eye of a broody dude like Reeves because, like his subjects, Rousselet’s paintings have speed. Based in Detroit, Rousselet’s latest collection, Baby You Can’t Drive My Car, examines his fascination with auto engineering and his academic background in transportation design, as well as the relationship between human and machine. Opening receptions begin at 5 p.m. both days; 107 Townsend St., Birmingham; 248-642-3909; robertkiddgallery.com. Event is free and open to the public.

SATURDAY, 8/17 Metro Times’ Best of Detroit @ Roostertail

PARTY Case closed: the results are in for metro Detroit’s best businesses, restaurants, bars, music, and art, and now it’s time to celebrate. The competition is fierce but the hard work of metro Detroit’s best and brightest is reason enough to gorge on some of the hottest restaurants and coolest drinks. Returning to Detroit’s waterfront destination The Roostertail, this year guests can sample bites from more than 20 restaurants, including eans Cornbread, onefish Grill, Brome, Detroit BBQ Company, GreenSpace Cafe, Hell Fire Detroit, Table No.2, Treat Dreams, and McShane’s, and

LAURENT PRIEUR

enjoy drinks from Tito’s, Faygo, Captain Morgan, and Stroh’s (to name a few). This year’s celebration will also include music from Detroit’s own Sponge. Now if only we could nominate our own best of blowout for the best party category. Maybe next year. Doors open at 6:30 p.m.; 100 Marquette Dr., Detroit; 313-822-1234; mtbestof.com. i e are an in l e e rin tickets.

SAT., 8/17 AND SUN., 8/18 High Times’ Cannabis Cup @ Russell Industrial Center

WEED In the words of Bob Marley, “the High Times they are a-changin.’” OK, so maybe we’re only slightly stoned, but the rumors are true: you no longer have to be a registered card-holding medical marijuana patient to attend this year’s Cannabis Cup. In previous years, the High Times magazine smoker soiree that celebrates the top marijuana products, as well as strains, edibles, and concentrates, once required a med-card to partake. But no longer: As of Dec. 6, 2018, weed in Michigan is legal, baby, which means adults over the age of 21 are invited (and 18+ MMJ patients are also welcome). Per usual, the event will host booths where vendors will sample their goods, as well as panels, seminars, and an A-list hip-hop lineup. This year will see performances

by Wu-Tang Clan, 2 Chainz, Warren G, Trick Trick, Willy J Peso, We Are Culture Creators, and Kid Vishis. Event begins at noon both days; 1600 Clay St., Detroit; 313-872-4000; cannabiscup.com. Tickets are $40+.

TUESDAY, 8/20

DeSmOnD JoNeS Saturday 9/7

J. NaVaRrO & ThE TrAiToRs + SpEcIaL GuEsTs

Sunday 9/8

StEvE’N’ SeAgUlLs

Saturday 9/14

Black Flag @ Harpos

MUSIC In the mid-seventies, New York’s rock scene was in a hizzy over a scrappy band of shaggy-haired non-brothers, the Ramones, while, across the pond, a storied group of anarchists by the name of the Sex Pistols were ru ing petticoats with what would be their only record, which is also considered the most in uential punk album of all time. n California, however, a storm was brewing under the formation of Black Flag — a contentious, revolving door of aggressive DIY punk. Bookie’s Bar in Detroit was host to the first performance with then frontman Henry Rollins and though the band has waved its collective white ag several times — most notably in 1986 when it played its final show with ollins at Detroit’s former Graystone Hall — after a few reunions (2003 and again in 2013), Black Flag will make a rare appearance at Harpo’s with troubled founder Greg Ginn at the helm. Doors open at 6 p.m.; 14238 Harper Ave., Detroit; 313-824-1700; harposlive.com. Tickets are $25.

TeNtH MoUnTaIn DiViSiOn

Friday 9/20

MaRbRiSa

Thursday 9/26

ThE BlAsTeRs

friday-sunday 9/27-9/29

ZaCh NuGeNt’S FiRe DiScO GoSpEl WeEkEnD

Wednesday 10/2

EzRa BeLl

FoR TiCkEtS & DiNnEr ReSeRvAtIoNs

ViSiT OtUsSuPpLy.CoM 345 E 9 MILE RD

FeRnDaLe

metrotimes.com | August 14-20, 2019

THIS WEEK

Papa Roach, Michigan Lottery Amphitheater at Freedom Hill, Aug. 16.

MUSIC Wednesday, August 14 The Bouncing Souls 6 p.m.; Saint Andrew’s Hall, 431 E. Congress St., Detroit; $20. Double Vision Revisited: Bob James, David Sanborn, & Marcus Miller 7:30 p.m.; The Aretha Franklin Amphitheatre, 2600 E. Atwater St., Detroit; $13+. SESSIONS - Music Showcase & Live Murals 6 p.m.; El Club, 4114 W. Vernor Hwy., Detroit; No cover. The Smashing Pumpkins and Noel Gallagher’s High Flying Birds 7 p.m.; DTE Energy Music Theatre, 33 Bob Seger Dr., Clarkston; $39.50+.

Thursday, August 15 After Dark 8-11 p.m.; The Apparatus Room, 250 W Larned St., Detroit; Free. BB King Blues Festival 7 p.m.; Flag-

28 August 14-20, 2019 | metrotimes.com

star Strand Theatre for the Performing Arts, 12 N. Saginaw St., Pontiac; $25-$35. Boyz II Men 8 p.m.; MGM Grand, 1777 Third St., Detroit; $69+. Brad Parsons and Starbird 8:30 p.m.; Otus Supply, 345 E. Nine Mile Rd., Ferndale; $10-$15. Chris Botti 8 p.m.; Sound Board, 2901 Grand River Ave., Detroit; $41-$53. Indigenous 8 p.m.; Token Lounge, 28949 Joy Rd., Westland; $15-$25. MIYAVI 7 p.m.; El Club, 4114 W. Vernor Hwy., Detroit; $30-$75. Of Two Minds 9 p.m.; Blind Pig, 208 S. First St., Ann Arbor; $8. Pabst Sound Society Presents: OSHUN 8 p.m.; Magic Stick, 4120 Woodward Ave., Detroit; Free. Talisk 8 p.m.; The Ark, 316 S. Main St., Ann Arbor; $15. Zo! + Carmen Rodgers “Piano & A Microphone” 9 p.m.; $20.

DARREN CRAIG

Friday, August 16 Antighost, You Rest, You Joy Life, Southpaw, Baggage, Tall Boy 7 p.m.; The Loving Touch, 22634 Woodward Ave., Ferndale; $10. Benefit Tribute to Aretha Franklin - How I Got Over 7 p.m.; The Aretha Franklin Amphitheatre, 2600 E. Atwater St., Detroit; $20+. Christian Martin 9 p.m.; The Grasshopper Underground, 22757 Woodward Ave., Ferndale; $10. Crystal Method 9 p.m.; The Crofoot Ballroom, 1 S. Saginaw St., Pontiac; $15. David Ellefson’s Basstory Megadeth Bassist 7 p.m.; Token Lounge, 28949 Joy Rd., Westland; $20. Drab Majesty 7 p.m.; El Club, 4114 W. Vernor Hwy., Detroit; $15-$18. Hootie & the Blowfish 7:30 p.m.; DTE Energy Music Theatre, 33 Bob Seger Dr., Clarkston; $149.50+.

How I Got Over 8 p.m.; The Aretha Franklin Amphitheatre, 2600 E. Atwater St., Detroit; $40-$150. Mark Rose (of Spitalfield) & Ryan Dunson (of Rookie Of The Year) 7 p.m.; PJ’s Lager House, 1254 Michigan Ave., Detroit; $12. Neurosis 7 p.m.; Saint Andrew’s Hall, 431 E. Congress St., Detroit; $28. Noche de Cumbia con Los Yes Yes 9 p.m.; La Terraza, 1633 Lawndale St., Detroit; $20-$25. Papa Roach 7 p.m.; Michigan Lottery Amphitheatre at Freedom Hill, 14900 Metropolitan Pkwy., Sterling Heights; $29.50+. “Something To Live For: The Music of Billy Strayhorn” p.m. Cliff Bells, 2030 Park Avenue, Detroit; $10. Stray Cats’ Slim Jim Phantom Trio 8 p.m.; Magic Bag, 22920 Woodward Ave., Ferndale; $20. WHY?, Anna Burch 7 p.m.; Magic Stick, 4120 Woodward Ave., Detroit; $18.

Saturday, August 17 4 The Family with Tiny Jag, Lana Ladonna, Don Don, Rashad B. 8:30 p.m.; El Club, 4114 W. Vernor Hwy., Detroit; $15+.

Gauche 7 p.m.; Deluxx Fluxx, 1274 Library St., Detroit; $10. Spencer Sutherland 7 p.m.; The Shelter, 431 E. Congress St., Detroit; $15.

Tuesday, August 20 Black Flag 6 p.m.; Harpos, 14238 Harper Ave, Detroit; $25. Dennis Coffey 8 p.m.; Northern Lights Lounge, 660 W. Baltimore St., Detroit; Free. Matt Maeson 7 p.m.; Saint Andrew’s Hall, 431 E. Congress St., Detroit; $15+.

THEATER Anatomy of a Hug WednesdaySunday. Through Aug. 25. Tipping Point Theatre, 361 E. Cady St., Northville; $31+. Handsome Devils Puppets Thursday, 8 p.m.; PizzaPlex, 4458 W. Vernor Hwy., Detroit; $10-$15. An Inebriated Reading: The Two Noble Kinsmen (Shakespeare in Detroit fundraiser) Sunday, 1 p.m.; Two James; 2445 Michigan Ave., Detroit; $30. Now That I Can Dance: Motown 1962 (Closing Weekend) Saturday 8 p.m.; Detroit Film Theatre, 5200 Woodward Ave., Detroit; $25.

Blast-Officers with The Essentials 9 p.m.; PJ’s Lager House, 1254 Michigan Ave., Detroit; $8.

The Art of Poetry: A Recorded Open Mic Night Experience Monday, 7 p.m.; The Detroit Writing Room, 1514 Washington Blvd., Detroit; $10.

CJ Ramone wsg Dog Party and Ricky Rat Pack 8 p.m.; Small’s, 10339 Conant St., Hamtramck; $13.

Welcome To Paradise MondaysSundays. Through Aug. 31. Purple Rose Theatre, 137 Park St., Chelsea; $14+.

DJ Dan & Dead Space 9 p.m.; The Grasshopper Underground, 22757 Woodward Ave., Ferndale; $10. Jim McCarty’s Mystery Train 8 p.m.; Downstairs, 28999 Joy Rd., Westland; $10. Matt Wertz 8 p.m.; The Ark, 316 S. Main St., Ann Arbor; $20. Mighty Mighty Bosstones 7 p.m.; Royal Oak Music Theatre, 318 W. Fourth St., Royal Oak; $47+. Nelly, TLC and Flo Rida 7 p.m.; DTE Energy Music Theatre, 7774 Sashabaw Rd., Clarkston; $29.50. Rich The Kid 7:30 p.m.; The Aretha Franklin Amphitheatre, 2600 E. Atwater St., Detroit; $36+. The Alarm 6:30 p.m.; Saint Andrew’s Hall, 431 E. Congress St., Detroit; $29.50.

Sunday, August 18 Late Bloomer 7 p.m.; The Loving Touch, 22634 Woodward Ave., Ferndale; $8. Molotov 7 p.m.; El Club, 4114 W. Vernor Hwy., Detroit; $55.

Monday, August 19

COMEDY All-Star Showdown Fridays, Saturdays, 8 & 10 p.m.; Go Comedy! Improv Theater, 261 E. Nine Mile Rd., Ferndale; $20. Bob Phillips + Steve Lind Thursday, 7:30 p.m., Friday, 7:15 p.m., Saturday, 7 p.m.; Mark Ridley’s Comedy Castle, 310 S. Troy St., Royal Oak; $18. Detroit to LA Comedy Challenge Tuesday, 7:30 p.m.; Mark Ridley’s Comedy Castle, 310 S. Troy St., Royal Oak; $10. Fresh Sauce Sundays, 9 p.m.; Go Comedy! Improv Theater, 261 E. Nine Mile Rd., Ferndale; Free. Katya: Help Me I’m Dying Comedy Tour Thursday, 7 p.m.; Royal Oak Music Theatre, 318 W. Fourth St., Royal Oak; $25-$150. Let’s Just Say ... Thursday, 7:30 p.m.; Go Comedy! Improv Theater, 261 E. Nine Mile Rd., Ferndale; $10. Name This Show Fridays, Saturdays, 11:45 p.m.; Go Comedy! Improv Theater, 261 E. Nine Mile Rd., Ferndale; Free. Open Mic Wednesdays, 7:30 p.m.; Mark Ridley’s Comedy Castle, 310 S. Troy

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metrotimes.com | August 14-20, 2019

THIS WEEK

Detroit Burger Week, various locations, Aug. 19–25.

St., Royal Oak; $5. Pandemonia Every other Friday, 8 & 10 p.m.; Go Comedy! Improv Theater, 261 E. Nine Mile Rd., Ferndale; $20. RISK! live podcast featuring Kevin Allison Thursday, 8 p.m.; Magic Bag, 22920 Woodward Ave., Ferndale; $20. Sunday Buffet Sundays, 7 p.m.; Go Comedy! Improv Theater, 261 E. Nine Mile Rd., Ferndale; $10. T.R.U.T.H. Thursday, 9 p.m.; Go Comedy! Improv Theater, 261 E. Nine Mile Rd., Ferndale; $10. Wayne Brady Sunday 7:30 p.m.; Sound Board, 2901 Grand River Ave., Detroit; $45-$58. Zach Peterson Friday, 9 p.m.; Independent Comedy Club, Caniff Ave., Hamtramck; $8.50-$10.

FILM Back to the Future Friday-Saturday, midnight; Main Art Theatre, 118 N. Main St., Royal Oak; $7. Cassandro, the Exotico! FridayWednesday, 9:30 p.m.; Cinema Detroit 4126 Third St., Detroit; $7. Fury Road movie night with Road Warrior, Beyond Thunderdome, Fury Road Saturday, 3 p.m.; Studio 8700, 8700 W. Nine Mile Rd., Oak Park; Free with RSVP. Movie Nights in the D: Bohemian Rhapsody Saturday, 8 p.m.; Campus Martius Park, 800 Woodward Ave., Detroit; Free. Star Wars: Episode IV — a New Hope Thursday, 7 & 9 p.m..; The Henry Ford, 20900 Oakwood Blvd.,

30 August 14-20, 2019 | metrotimes.com

Dearborn; $10.

ART

Detroit; $5 suggested donation.

FUN FOR ALL

Clumsy Animals by Greg Siemasz: Opening reception Saturday, 7-11 p.m.; UFO Factory, 2110 Trumbull St., Detroit Free.

2019 TASTE OF WAYNE ATHLETICS Thursday 5:30 p.m.; Harwell Field - WSU Athletic Campus, 5101 John C Lodge, Detroit; $25-$150.

Drawing in the Galleries Fridays, 6 p.m., Saturdays, noon and Sundays, noon; Detroit Institute of Arts, 5200 Woodward Ave., Detroit; Free.

Detroit Burger Week Aug. 19-25, various venues; burgerweekdtown.com; $6 burgers available at participating restaurants.

Eddie Martinez: Fast Eddie Through Aug. 18. Museum of Contemporary Art Detroit (MOCAD), 4454 Woodward Ave., Detroit; $5 suggested donation.

Detroit City Chess Club Open Play Fridays, 4 p.m.; Detroit Institute of Arts, 5200 Woodward Ave., Detroit; Free; 313-833-7900.

From Camelot to Kent State: Pop Art 1960-1975 Tuesdays-Sundays.; Detroit Institute of Arts, 5200 Woodward Ave., Detroit; Museum admission.

Friday Beach Party Saturdays, 4:308:30 p.m.; Campus Martius Park, 800 Woodward Ave., Detroit; Free. Fash Bash 2019 Thursday, 7 p.m.; Detroit Institute of Art, 5200 Woodward Ave., Detroit; $150+.

Global Glass: A Survey of Form and Function Mondays-Wednesdays, Alfred Berkowitz Gallery, U of M-Dearborn, Dearborn; Free.

Hazon Michigan Jewish Food Festival Sunday, 11 a.m.; Eastern Market, 2934 Russell St., Detroit; Free.

MARKED: The Art, Body & Soul of the Tattoo Artist Through Aug. 24. Northville Art House, 215 W. Cady St., Northville; Free.

Michigan Comic Convention Friday, noon, Saturday-Sunday, 10 a.m.; Cobo Center, 1 Washington Blvd., Detroit; $30+.

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. Thursdays at the Museum: Highlights of the Permanent Collection Thursdays, 1 p.m.; Detroit Institute of Arts, 5200 Woodward Ave., Detroit; Free. Unboxing: Doublespeak Through Aug. 18. Museum of Contemporary Art Detroit (MOCAD), 4454 Woodward Ave.,

SPORTS Play Ball! Transforming the Game, 1876–2019 Tuesdays-Sundays, Detroit Institute of Arts, 5200 Woodward Ave., Detroit; Admission is free for residents of Macomb, Oakland, and Wayne counties. XICW Xtreme Wrestling: Warrior Rampage Saturday, 6 p.m.; The Crofoot Ballroom, 1 S. Saginaw St., Pontiac; $10+.

FROM 15+ RESTAUR S R E G ANT R U B S $6

AUGUST 19-25, 2019 BURGERWEEKDTOWN.COM

metrotimes.com | August 14-20, 2019

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metrotimes.com | BURGER WEEK | August 14-20, 2019

34 August 14-20, 2019 | BURGER WEEK | metrotimes.com

OFFICIAL BURGER WEEK LOCATIONS

Auburn Hills, Clinton Township, Dearborn, Livonia

barlouie.com 6 Napkins Burger Two smashed slider

patties, grilled with yellow mustard, topped with caramelized onions, double white cheddar, pickles & Louie sauce.

BASEMENT BURGER BAR

House Beef, Sriracha garlic seasoning, spring mix, carrot strings, red onion, grilled pineapple, Swiss cheese and sweet thai chili sauce on Whole 9 grain bun.

V G

bromemoderneatery.com The Original Red Onion, Tomato, McClure’s Pickles, Romaine & Brome Sauce.

theemoryferndale.com Farm Field Emory Signature Blend All beef patty burger topped with spinach, smoked Gouda cheese, caramelized onions and black garlic aioli.

sautéed onions, Corradi’s famous Lava Sauce, smothered in 3 cheeses and topped with lettuce, tomato & pickles.

HARVARD BAR & GRILL

OTUS SUPPLY

COMMON PUB

HOPCAT DETROIT

4-oz Michigan Craft Beef patties, white cheddar, American, red onion, Otus special sauce, iceberg lettuce, Crispelli’s bun. Add a fried egg: $2 – Add Otus bacon: $3 – Add a patty: $3 – Add 3-oz foie gras: $4

TABLE

hopcat.com/detroit Ja Bacon Me Crazy Two custom-blend

pickled green tomato and Awesome Sauce on Brioche Bun.

MAP KEY

grilled patty, American cheese, shredded lettuce, tomato and secret sauce with a side of fries.

TABLE NO.2 RESTAURANT

jspenaltybox.com Prime Angus Burger Served on a fresh

with spring mix, charred pickled peppers, grilled jalapeno, pickles, garlic & herb aioli laced with smoked honey.

Garden Patch No.2 Grilled Vegetables Burger Topped with spring

kavanstavern.com Four Topps Burger Applewood bacon,

mix, charred pickled peppers, grilled yellow & zucchini squash, jalapeno, pickles, garlic & herb aioli laced with smoked honey.

sautéed onions, sautéed mushrooms and American cheese.

loversonlydetroit.com Bitter South 6 oz. Beef, Comeback Sauce,

= Veggie Substitute Browns, Fried Onions & Emmentaler Cheese = Gluten Free Substitute Hash on Toasted Rye. = Take Out Available = Special ask restaurant for details BURGERWEEKDTOWN.COM

EAT TO

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Butcher Block No.2 Burger Topped

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LOVERS ONLY

S T

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commonpub.com Double 4 oz ground beef patty, white cheddar,

V G T S

otussupply.com The New Speedway Burger Two

beef kabob, fresh onion, tomato and pepperoncini. Served on a pita. Tasty Burger Seasoned ground beef patty, choice of cheese, fresh lettuce, tomato, onion and pickle on a sesame seed bun.

COBB’S CORNER BAR V T J’S PENALTY BOX Cobbs Burger 1/3 pound patty topped with

cheddar cheese, bacon, onion rings, ranch and bbq sauce. Breakfast Burger 1/3 lb patty topped with bacon, cheddar, egg and hollandaise sauce.

rockon3rd.com Lava Burger Delicious burger with

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basementburgerbar.com Thai Chili Burger Basement Burger Bar

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metrotimes.com | BURGER WEEK | August 14-20, 2019

36 August 14-20, 2019 | BURGER WEEK | metrotimes.com

metrotimes.com | BURGER WEEK | August 14-20, 2019

THIS WEEK

first concert she ever saw was the Spice Girls. “I think I always wanted to be Baby Spice but always ended up being more of a Sporty,” she said. Many years later, she appears to have harnessed the power of both the confessional Canadian and the spicy pop outfit, as Quit the Curse is a shimmering lo fi landscape of romantic misadventures laced with frustration, mixed signals, and unreciprocated devotion. Burch will support Cincinnati-bred Yoni Wolf-led Why? Doors open at 7 p.m.; 4120 Woodward Ave., Detroit; 313-833-9700; majesticdetroit.com. Tickets are $18-$20.

SATURDAY, 8/17 Bevlove @ Deluxx Fluxx

We’ve been under the spell of the ever commanding Bevlove, who, in 2016 instructed the adoring Detroit hip-hop masses with “Do What I Say” — and we’ve been heeding the call ever since. She’s been hailed as “Detroit’s Beyoncé”, and last year found Bevlove releasing her sophomore output, Letters, which is every bit the sensual, lovelorn, demanding R&B diva that calls to mind Queen Bey’s Sasha Fierce era with hints of B’Day. For lady love’s Glow performance, she’s recruited some stellar DJ talent in Sky Jetta, Sir Bleek, Actually Mae, Lansuh, and Kid McFly.

Livewire

Local music picks By Jerilyn Jordan Apropos, Willis Show Bar, Aug. 15.

TENDO LUKWAGO

(Verse)atility, a collection that is indeed hella versatile and spotlights his ability to show a chameleon-like range without neglecting his penchant for infectious hooks. Apropos will be backed by Trey Priest on guitar, B-Whaye on keys, and drummer Nunthaless. The event will also offer food from Detroit pop up Tempura and tunes from DJ Cove. Doors open at 6 p.m., performances at 8 and 10 p.m.; 4156 Third Ave., Detroit; 313-788-7469; willisshowbar.com. Tickets are $5-$8.

FRIDAY, 8/16 Anna Burch, Magic Stick, Aug. 16. EBRU YILDIZ

THURSDAY, 8/15 Apropos @ Willis Show Bar

He croons, he raps, he’s Austin Dunsen, who performs as Apropos — and he might as well be Detroit’s response to John Legend and Bruno Mars, though with an undeniably retro radio-ready and up-tempo brand of pop that is all his own. Last year, the Detroit singer released

Matthew Milia with Quick Draw and Eliza Godfrey @ UFO Factory

Matthew Milia loves his parents. In fact, he considers them his muses and, over the course of his career making sad-boy folk via Frontier Ruckus and now with his solo work, has written more songs about domesticity and his parents than he has about love. However, on Milia’s years-in-the-making solo debut — Alone at St. Hugo,

38 August 14-20, 2019 | metrotimes.com

released earlier this year — he appears to have found the Daphne to his Niles (Milia also really loves Frasier). Though nostalgia is a clear hallmark of Milia’s observational diarial folk-pop, his debut has him ruminating on the future. Joining Milia is vocal powerhouse Eliza Godfrey and Quick Draw, featuring Connor Dodson and Quennton Thornbury of Prude Boys along with Evan Eklund of Best Exes. Music begins at 9 p.m.; 2110 Trumbull St., Detroit; facebook.com/ufofactorydetroit. Cover is $10.

FRIDAY, 8/16 Anna Burch in support of WHY?

@ Magic Stick When Anna Burch released her debut record, 2018’s Quit the Curse, she was in a state of transition. She had parted ways with atthew ilia’s folk outfit Frontier Ruckus, found herself signed to Polyvinyl, and had just entered her 30s. It was during her chat with Metro Times for a cover story last year that we learned that the first CD she owned was Alanis Morissette’s Jagged Little Pill and the

Doors open at 9 p.m.; 1274 Library St., er i el . m. Cover is $5 after 10 p.m.

SUNDAY, 8/18 Earth Engine @ Ghost Light

Lovers of robust, spastic prog-rock, look no further than Detroit sevenpiece arth ngine. Take the outfit’s 2016 self-titled EP, which channels King Crimson if they were to collaborate with Muse on some hyper-theatrical posthumous Jeff uckley sides and this comes as a high compliment, for the semi-elusive band that is more genre-twisting than genre-bending. Though the band boasts a seven-member lineup, Earth Engine manages to do something most layered, prog-rockers struggle to master. Earth Engine never sounds heavy-handed or over-worked: its sound is a seamless whole rather than a sum of parts. Boston-based Space Junk Is Forever is also on the bill, as well as Just Plurals and a brand-new band via Now With Real Humans. r en a .m. Caniff . Hamtramck; 313-365-4948; planetant. com. Cover is $7-$10.

metrotimes.com | August 14-20, 2019

Robyn Masonic Temple, Oct. 8, 6:30 p.m., $69.50+ BEN HOUDIJK/SHUTTERSTOCK.COM

Fast-Forward Meek Mill, Future DTE Energy Music Theatre, Sept. 1, 7 p.m., $37.50+ Lenny Kravitz Fox Theatre, Sept. 5, 8 p.m., $39.50+ Jonas Brothers Little Caesars Arena, Sept. 7, 8 p.m., $94.95+ Blink-182 and Lil Wayne DTE Energy Music Theatre, Sept. 10, 7 p.m., $44.50+ The B-52s, OMD, Berlin Meadow Brook Amphitheatre, Sep. 14, 7 p.m., $29.50+ Patti Smith Royal Oak Music Theatre, 7 p.m., Sept. 16-17, $45+ Jenny Lewis Masonic Temple, Sept. 18, 6:30 p.m., $37.50+ Marc Maron Masonic Temple, Sept. 21, 6:30 p.m., $72+ Andrew Bird Cathedral Theatre, Sept. 25, 7 p.m., $55+ Eric Andre The Fillmore, Sept., 27, 8 p.m., $35+ Avril Lavigne Fox Theatre, Sept. 28, 7 p.m., $29.50+ Post Malone Little Caesars Arena, Sept., 29, 8 p.m., $109.50+ Phil Collins Little Caesars Arena,

40 August 14-20, 2019 | metrotimes.com

Oct.1, 8 p.m.; $90+ The Black Keys Little Caesars Arena, Oct. 5, 7 p.m., $64.50+ Big Thief Majestic Theatre, Oct. 17, 7 p.m., $21+ Tegan & Sara Royal Oak Music Theatre, Oct. 17, 7:30 p.m., $76+ Jay & Silent Bob The Fillmore, Oct. 22, 8 p.m., $60+ Joe Rogan Fox Theatre, Oct.25, 7:30 & 10:30 p.m., $39.50+ A Fun Conversation with Lily Tomlin and Jane Fonda Fox Theatre, Oct. 30, 7:30 p.m., $49+ Chance the Rapper Little Caesars Arena, Nov. 1, 7 p.m.; $59.95+ Sleater-Kinney Majestic Theatre, Nov. 4, 7 p.m., $37.50 Celine Dion Little Caesars Arena, Nov. 5, 7 p.m.; $180.72+ Big Freedia Saint Andrewâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s Hall, Nov. 5, 7 p.m.; $25+ Jonathan Van Ness The Fillmore, Nov. 7, 7 p.m., Sold-out A Hilarious Uncensored Conversation with Alec Baldwin Fox

metrotimes.com | August 14-20, 2019

MUSIC

Antighost.

COURTESY PHOTO

‘Sick’ shows

No show is too small for Detroit postpunk band Antighost By im

Detroit post-punk band

Antighost straddles two identities. One is where the band enjoys national recognition and has performed its mosh-pit-inciting anthems to crowds at Vans 2017 Warped Tour pit stop in Detroit and Bledfest, a one-day musical extravaganza held in Howell’s Hartland Performing Arts Center that drew in hundreds. The other, which Antighost believes to be more accurate, is one of a rising band that plays wherever they can, and does whatever they can to get to the next gig. That sometimes means securing low-cost and free “venues” in obscure places, like a farmhouse in the middle of a remote Pinckney cornfield or a random garage in Indiana, and playing for a group of six. Life on the road can entail sleeping in an Alabama public skatepark while sustaining on fresh fruit from a farmers market that the band dices with a sword they purchased at a Nashville mall. “You can have some days where you feel like the biggest rock star in the world, and then there’s others where you’re like, ‘Yep, [we] still got a really long way to go,’” admits 23-year-old Sean Shepard, Antighost’s founder, lead vocalist, and guitarist. Shepard, drummer Dylan Vanderson, 21, and bassist

y a e Joe Bida, 24, promise an energetic performance with every tour date, regardless of the size of the crowd. “We put a lot of work into our shows and try to make it an experience for fans. Nowadays, people are so comfortable staying at home and watching Netix for hours. So if someone is going to give us their time, we’re going to give them our 100 percent,” Shepard says. “We play the same show to 500 people that we do to five, adds anderson. “Our band mantra is if we can make one fan at a show, we did good.” Shepard started Antighost in 2016, and recorded and released his solo debut EP, l e ee , with close friend Mark Stewart, owner of the recording studio Raydon Studio in Keego Harbor, that same year. Shepard produced the EP as a way to attract potential bandmates. Vanderson responded to Shepard’s Craigslist ad soon after. For a period of time, Shepard said that there was a “revolving door of bassists” for Antighost, but Bida, also a founder of multi-genre rock-inspired band Den of Greece, joined the band in 2018, in the midst of Vanderson and Shepard producing Animal Panic — the band’s second EP, released this past February. Shepard may be the lyricist behind

42 August 14-20, 2019 | metrotimes.com

Antighost’s discography, but the three find a way to collectively channel the emotions they, and plenty of other millennials, are experiencing right now — anger, depression, and anxiety — into their songs. “I’m rarely writing when I’m happy because I don’t feel like that a lot, and I know the music wouldn’t be genuine,” Shepard says. “I write music when I’m depressed because that’s what gets me through that period. Sometimes I wish I could write happier music, but I don’t know how good it would be.” Antighost’s growing and fiercely loyal fan base doesn’t seem to mind the absence of rainbows and smiles in their songs, like “Sober” and “I Can’t Feel the Sun.” The dark, raw energy they express onstage is befitting of the unpolished spaces they play, and the enthusiasm of every crowd they perform for a testament of their ability to connect with their listeners outside of music streaming services. One of Antighost’s first out state shows took place in a one-bedroom apartment in a major Midwestern city that the group deemed to be one of the dingier DIY punk houses they often perform in. Fly tape hung from the ceiling like party streamers, and the carpet, covered in cigarette butts, squished with every step they took due to a combination of piss, spilled beer, and mold. The bathroom was simply non-existent and the microphone provided by the owner, also covered in beer, shocked Shepard throughout the night as he sang. Not only did show attendees seem to dig the atmosphere, as the space was packed tight with moshers and emphatic cigarette-smoking fans, but

it was a safe space for punk kids and societal outliers to come together — this is becoming an increasingly important aspect for Antighost when scouting performance spaces. “We’ve had to step away from a lot of venues because we found out the owners are racist, homophobic, or express some form of prejudice,” says Shepard. “Everyone should be welcome at our shows, so we try to play at places that will accommodate all.” Venues of this gamut are ascribed an “unknown” address on Antighost’s website tour page to not only protect these spots from the police, but also ensure that everyone attending is “there for the same reason,” says Shepard. Fans must direct message the band through Instagram for the show’s location and time. Possibly the most ambitious endeavor of Antighost’s is the band’s upcoming national tour. The band is set to perform at 13 venues in 16 days, leaving little room for recuperation and personal space. It took roughly four months for the band members to arrange the escapade. The tour kicks off at Ferndale’s Loving Touch on Friday; then, they’ll drive more than 2,700 miles in a van whose seats fold down and provide enough space for the three to sleep. Bida has found the roof of the car to be a comfortable place to snooze. “We’re dipping into new waters, being in the car with each other for so long,” he says. “It’s the real test if we can be a band. It’s going to be rough, but we’re all addicted to being on tour. We hate coming back to reality.” Bida, Vanderson, and Shepard say they’re determined to make Antighost their everyday reality. The unpredictable nature of playing shows can leave them scraping their van for coins to fill up the gas tank and hustling band-tees to pay for food — though, they say this comes with the territory. “There’s so much glorification surrounding being out on the road,” says Bida. “It’s not easy, but it’s like you love the struggle too. When you’re doing what you love, you’re willing to make sacrifices, and you don’t feel like you’re in a shitty place.” Shepard adds, “As long as we can support ourselves, that’s the goal. We don’t need to be selling out Wembley Arena or headlining major festivals. All of that would be cool, but that’s not what we got into this for. We want to make music, and if we can do that and it means we never go past playing smaller clubs, ’m totally fine with that. ni J y ie n ri ay

er rm i e a Ba a e an all B y . a e in ar e. ern ale el in ern ale. m. r .m. i e are . ll a e .

metrotimes.com | August 14-20, 2019

MUSIC

Benny Turner at the 2018 Ann Arbor Blues Festival.

BRYAN MITCHELL/COURTESY OF ANN ARBOR BLUES FESTIVAL

Still singin’ the blues

After a rocky road, the Ann Arbor Blues Festival is back just in time to celebrate its 50th anniversary By Jim McFarlin

James Partridge was an ardent fan of the blues long before he ever knew it. “I was a classic rock ’n’ roll fan most of my life,” says Partridge, the attorneyturned-impresario who became the driving force behind reviving the Ann Arbor Blues Festival, which returns to the Washtenaw Farm Council Fairgrounds this weekend for its 50th anniversary celebration. “I grew up listening to Creedence Clearwater Revival, the Rolling Stones, ric Clapton, all that stuff, he says. “But it wasn’t until I started to learn to play the guitar as an adult that my instructor educated me that all that music was blues-based.” So when the Brooklyn, N.Y., native relocated to southeast Michigan shortly after earning his law degree and settled in Ann Arbor 18 years ago, he soon realized he had landed on hallowed ground. Because while baby boomers wax nostalgic this summer about the 50th anniversary of Woodstock, two weeks earlier an event was held near the University of Michigan that also carried historic significance in popular music annals. In August 1969, a small group of blues-obsessed U-M students, led by John Fishel and Cary Gordon and sup-

ported by the university, produced the world’s first electric blues festival and arguably the greatest assemblage of blues artists ever, led by such legends as B.B. King, Muddy Waters, and Howlin’ Wolf. (The inaugural Ann Arbor Blues Fest is the subject of a recently released box set put together from long-lost tapes, released by Jack White’s Third Man Records.) That began a long and checkered history for the annual blues bash, which changed its name and expanded its vision to the Ann Arbor Blues and Jazz Festival before ceasing operation in 2006. As the event’s silver anniversary approached, however, Partridge — who became immersed in the guitar primarily to bond with his son, Nick, who wanted to learn — felt compelled to honor it in some way. First he needed to know if he could rally any similarly devoted blues lovers to join him — a Partridge family, if you will — so he created the Ann Arbor Blues Society in 2016. “That’s my baby,” he says. “I’ll admit it was a little strategic. When I started trying to put the festival together, I realized I was going to need a lot of help. My thought was, ‘I need to build an army. How do I do that?’ I decided to form a blues society and get a lot of people together who are interested in the blues. So that was my first step.

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As a novice concert promoter, Partridge, who stopped practicing law in 2018 to concentrate on the festival full time, quickly learned how much he didn’t know. “My reach exceeded my grasp, as they say,” he admits. “My original vision was to bring it back in as a big three day affair, very much like the original festival,” says Partridge, 53. “I wanted to have big-name bands. I mean, I wanted Buddy Guy, the Black Keys. I had no idea what I was doing. But the Ann Arbor Blues Festival was the Coachella of blues festivals, right? So I wanted it to pick up where it left off. ut we couldn’t get any funding, and with budget and logistics we just couldn’t make it happen. I got discouraged, frankly, and I put it aside.” With the support and encouragement of numerous people, most notably local blues artist Chris Canas, Partridge, now the executive producer, relaunched the festival in 2017 as a more modest, one-day event. “I said, ‘Let’s really scale it down and do something small, see if we can build it so that by the anniversary in 2019 we can get it close to what it once was.’” Mission accomplished, but even in its full three-day form, the festival has encountered its challenges: an

emergency appendectomy performed on Devon Allman forced one of this weekend’s top attractions, The Allman Betts Band, to cancel its appearance. (Ticket refunds are available; see info block below.) Ann Arbor native and The Voice finalist aith Al Saadi has moved his headlining set from Sunday to Friday night to replace the band, and the legendary Kinsey Report has been booked to close the festival on Sunday. “I think we’ve put together a really strong lineup,” Partridge says. “What I was hoping to do as we curated this was to get a good cross-section of acts that really honored the past and the legacy of the original festival, that pure Chicago-style blues, represented the current crop of contemporary blues musicians and also looked to the future of the blues. To let people know that despite all the predictions, the blues is very much alive and we’ve got a lot of really good music to look forward to for the next 50 years.” As his passion has become his profession, Partridge can wax eloquent about what this weekend’s silver celebration means to him. “The Ann Arbor Blues Festival is much more than a festival, more than a celebration of the blues,” he maintains. “It’s a cultural event, a social event, really even a political event. “You know, what happened in 1969 on that field in Ann Arbor changed the world, and not just because it was the first electric blues festival. That was a time when artists like Muddy Waters and Howlin’ Wolf were not household names, not played on mainstream radio. When John and Cary brought in all those musicians to perform in front of 20,000 mostly white people, that was monumental. That changed history. That changed music. That inspired thousands of people, and it transformed their lives. “It transformed the lives of the musicians, the lives of the people in the audience, and ultimately the lives of people who never even heard of the Ann Arbor Blues Festival. That’s what we’re celebrating 50 years later. That to me is the significance of this, and that’s why I wanted to bring this festival back. Because it’s just so important that we remember that.” The Ann Arbor Blues Festival 50th anniversary, presented by A2 Hosting, takes place Friday Aug. 16 through Sunday, Aug. 18, at the Washtenaw Farm Council Fairgrounds, 5055 Ann ArborSaline Rd., Ann Arbor; 323-908-0607; a2bluesfestival.com. Gates open at 5 p.m. Friday, 11 a.m. Saturday and Sunday, with performances beginning one hour later. Tickets start at $40 advance, $50 day of show.

metrotimes.com | August 14-20, 2019

CULTURE A fresh coat of paint

Beloved Charles McGee mural gets a long-awaited touch up — with help from Hubert Massey By Lee DeVito

On Wednesday, Aug. 7, celebrated Detroit

artist Charles McGee put the finishing touches on his colorful, geometric mural on the side of the Detroit Foundation Hotel. Well, sort of. The mural was originally painted by c ee back in on the side of what was then the Pontchartrain Wine Cellars. n the decades since, the untitled artwork largely faded and crumbled away, becoming a ghost of its former self. ut that changed shortly after the Detroit Foundation otel moved in, which as of now occupies the building as well as the next door former Detroit Fire Department head uarters. ast year, the hotel management decided they wanted to restore the mural to its former glory, and that they wanted McGee to help. We would not have done it if it didn’t have Charles’ blessing, says ob ambert, the general manager of the Detroit Foundation otel. We’re always looking for ways to connect with community in a way that maybe others don’t do at times. And so for us, it’s ust about us continuing to play a role, to contribute, and to do what’s right. And in this situation, what was right was to bring this thing back to life. There was only one problem At , c ee is in no position to climb a ladder these days. Furthermore, a stroke further limited his movement the towering black and white foot by foot mural by c ee painted on the side

of W. rand iver Ave. in Capitol Park was executed by olden Sign Co. So the Detroit Foundation otel decided to link up with muralist ubert assey, who had recently completed a fresco at the nearby Cobo Center, to work closely with c ee on the restoration. The two artists began collaborating last year. c ee didn’t have any original sketches or color studies from the time, so they created a new color sketch based on old photographs and c ee’s memory. The mural is similar to Spectral hythms, a c ee painting from the same era that is part of the Detroit nstitute of Arts’ permanent collection an abstract painting that also serves as a color study, as if its various components were made of translucent fields of color laid over each other, producing new colors. We had to get the colors to his specifications, assey says. That’s probably what took most of the time. The restoration work started earlier this year, with assey enlisting the help of his friend enry eading the two spent years working together as commercial sign painters starting back in the early s. assey says the actual painting wasn’t hard because most of the faded mural was still largely intact, and they could ust add a new coat of paint on top of it. When new windows were added to the wall, the hotel continued the design as see through vinyl graphics on the glass. Painting wrapped up earlier

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Hubert Massey puts the finishing touches on Charles McGee’s restored mural.

this month. Since c ee was too frail to leave his osedale Park home to be able to watch the painting get completed, instead he dipped a brush in a can of black paint his daughter and caretaker yndsay c ee and assey then transported it to the Detroit Foundation otel, and assey climbed a ladder to touch up

c ee’s signature, which was faded from the original mural, adding the final strokes to the restoration. remember him working on it, yndsay c ee says. ut never really saw the finished product as it was years ago. ’ve only seen it crumbly and old. t’s such an honor to my

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dad, she says, watching assey place the finishing touches on the mural. love how Detroit is inviting new art, but also restoring the old good stuff. The Detroit Foundation Hotel is located at 250 W. Larned St., Detroit; 313-800-5500; detroitfoundationhotel.com.

metrotimes.com | August 14-20, 2019

CULTURE

Tracy Edwards (left) and Mikaela Von Koskull in Maiden.

Maiden voyage By George Elkind

For anyone who doesn’t boat

much, it’s hard to grasp how yachting — a kind of postcard leisure activity for the hyper-rich — can be athletic, harrowing, admirable, or lethal. Maiden, Alex Holmes’ new documentary focused on the 1989 Whitbread Round the World race (and so yacht racing as opposed to leisure yachting), makes a good case for the prowess, invention, and perseverance required — and shows people perishing or coming close in the process. Tracy dwards, the leader of the first women’s team to ever compete, had all these better qualities by her mid-20s (if not a wealth of experience that might have equipped her better). From the years spent crewing and fundraising and rehabbing the titular ship — and all the way up to the day of the race itself — she’s checked by her status as a woman at nearly every turn, laughed off by the male crewmen and ournalists who mock her, refusing to take her seriously. For a time, Tracy — who had a rough upbringing and skews at turns apathetic and quick to anger — brushes

this off, waving away any feminist appellations while keeping her nose to the task at hand. She’s less interested in breaking any sort of barrier than in doing what she cares about: living out a life marked by a high degree of personal freedom. Over the movie’s course, Maiden’s central theme becomes Tracy’s growing awareness of her place in history, the weight of her ambitions balanced against her own stature and inexperience, and the sense that so much of the world she’s elbowed her way into has arrayed itself against her. Fortunately for viewers, Maiden doesn’t have to rely on re-enactments or solely on recollections to convey all this. olmes benefits in piecing dwards’ story together from a vast trove of video footage recorded onboard the ship as it circles the globe. Capturing both tear-stained and hard-set faces, what his footage shows the racers enduring is hard to imagine. Freezing temperatures, rising waters, and twostory waves all beset the ship at times, making for a rough and often sleepless voyage whose textures can be captured

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COURTESY OF TRACY EDWARDS AND SONY PICTURES CLASSICS

with considerable struggle but could scarcely be convincingly re-created after the fact. Especially in contrast to the blandly staged (but structurally essential) studio interviews that frame Maiden’s arc, this footage has a transporting uality for the unaffected shagginess of its framing, and for the sense that the crew is both hard-atwork and off their guard for so much of the time they’re being recorded. It’s a shame to think so many records of our own time will be taken by people who have effectively become their own marketing agents, questing for endorsements, business, or social media likes in glib images that are often finely calculated, everything carefully filtered and posed. Looking back today, it feels arring to witness pieces of what feels like such a personal and unselfconscious document from 30 years back, especially of an event that would be more widely trumpeted and written up today. Likewise, it’s fascinating to watch Edwards and her crew’s gradually dawning awareness of their own place in sporting history (like many competitive athletes, they’re not innately drawn to introspection) and what they mean to the world around them. Just as wide segments of the press, yachting fans, and other competitive racers regard

Maiden Rated: PG Runtime: 97 minutes Maiden’s crew as a curiosity or an ob ect of bemused scorn, it’s clear that to others (and especially younger women and girls) that Edwards’ crewmates were parade oated standard bearers and genuine inspirations: separate but twinned responses that affirm they pose a threat. One of Maiden’s inevitable tensions is the danger it runs in featuring these women so many years later, a risk of framing their story (now a period piece) as a human-interest story in a self-congratulatory or exploitative sort of way. To our good fortune, it mostly dodges this kind of superficial failing. Made up by and large of footage the women featured recorded themselves in their moment and in isolation, it lets its cast speak in a manner that, though mediated by editing, is largely for themselves. Though they’re neither grandiose nor publicity-minded, they seem heartily determined, honest in their reminiscences, and comfortably themselves. For all of them, it’s nothing new.

metrotimes.com | August 14-20, 2019

CULTURE In full plume

How Michigan vape retailer Ooze became a major player in the marijuana accessory game By Jerilyn Jordan

It started with a pen.

Four years before Michigan would vote to legalize the recreational use of marijuana for adults, and just a year after Oxford Dictionaries declared “vape” the definitive word of 2014, a modest Michigan brand launched a line of personal vaporizer batteries under the name Ooze. The Slim Twist battery, the first of its kind due to its twist-on charging mechanism, was invented to universally accommodate the influx of cannabis and CBD concentrate cartridges that had flooded the market of surging smoking alternatives. Needless to say, things have changed since then. “If they had more space, we’d probably get that, too,” Ooze’s marketing director Eddie Koury says during a tour of Ooze wholesale headquarters in Oak Park. The company, which started with less than 2,000 square feet of space with owners Vince Ayar, Gjergj Sinishtaj, and brothers Dan and Steve Hannawa at the helm and fewer than five employees on payroll, is taking over the industrial complex they’ve called home since 2015, and will soon occupy nearly 45,000 square feet of warehouse and showroom space in the coming months. “We’re up to I think almost 50 employees now. It’s about job creation, and that’s been fun, too,” Ayar says of the company’s expansion, which started last year when Ooze entered the wholesale market, and will include “doubling or tripling” Ooze’s marketing department, as well as partnering with other supply brands to offer a wide range of products beyond Ooze brand exclusives. “That’s the most satisfying thing for us as the owners is you see how passionate some people are about this industry, about the job,” he says. “And to be able to give somebody a job that you know that they’re going to love and enjoy … I’m a firm believer [that] people will do what they love much better than if they do what they hate. Our structure is just different. It’s run more like a family business than it is like a corporation.”

Ooze wasn’t always the Ooze it is today. Ayar credits fellow partner and Ooze co-owner Steve Hannawa for bringing e-cigarette technology to Michigan, as he had been invested in vape tech years before Juul pods and #VapeNation entered the cultural lexicon. The struggle was figuring out how to get in on Michigan’s marijuana industry without opening dispensaries or operating grows, both of which had been subject to closures, fines, and fees under the previous administration’s extreme regulation of Michi-

gan’s medical marijuana program. Ayar and his team eventually said “fuck it” and leaned on pushing the vape exclusively, which they already had access to, and came out with what remains their best-selling product to date: the Slim Twist battery. Thus Ooze was born. “Nobody was really putting a brand behind this stuff,” Ayar said. “We knew the brand had to be fun. I knew it had to be something that you could have a lot of fun with graphics with. When you think ‘ooze,’ you think

Ooze’s stylish vape pens have become ubiquitous.

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COURTESY PHOTO

green. When you think ‘ooze,’ you think slime. A lot of our product was geared for the concentrate industry. So it just felt right.” In terms of its branding, Ooze products ooze the company’s ethos of fun, function, interchangeability, and portability. From the rotating selection of collectible rolling trays (all of which boast trippy, dripping, psychedelic designs) to smoking necessities like papers, clips, and most recently a partnership with King Palm wraps (natural pre-rolled palm leaves with a corn husk filter, ready to fill with herb for a slow and safe smoke sesh), Ooze is quickly becoming a one-stop shop for experts and casual tokers alike, and has a distinct design aesthetic to back it up. One of its newest offerings, the silicone Slugger Dabbin Dugout — which, like all Ooze products, comes in a variety of colors and patterns — keeps your dab rig contained in a discreet, pocket-sized setup. The Ooze Silicone Kettle Bubbler is also a newer hot-ticket item for flower and concentrate lovers, as it accommodates both and features a no-slip suction design to avoid weed water spills. The brand’s hand-sized silicone bubbler shaped like a saxophone is a testament to Ooze’s playfulness. “We want to play with people’s personality, too,” Ayar says of Ooze’s product and package design, 75 percent of which is done in-house. “It’s a more personal experience for the consumer.” Product expansion is first on the minds of the Ooze team, but even more than that, it is product improvement. Ooze batteries, which now come in a variety of voltages, are protected with a lifetime warranty and, unlike some off-brand batteries, Ooze’s technology wields a safety feature that allows the battery to stop charging once it has reached full charge. Ayar says, overall, Ooze quality has improved and, as a brand, he says they want to hear how they can do better. “If we make a mistake, we go to the end of the world to make it right,” he says. “I love all feedback. I encourage all feedback because if there is some-

metrotimes.com | August 14-20, 2019

CULTURE

Ooze’s vape pens are also known for their portability.

thing that you don’t like about our product, there’s probably a thousand other people that don’t like it. And if it’s something we can change, let’s change it.” One of the earliest complaints about Ooze batteries were, well, the batteries themselves. Ooze batteries are made in China, and Ayar says that even if you were to take a battery straight from the package, you might encounter a quality issue that is beyond Ooze’s design or quality standards. Or it might have something to do with a particular cartridge, and battery issues might actually be a novice connection issue. “The first pen was the best at the time. This pen is the best at the time, but of course in four years a lot has changed, but we just have to make sure we’re on top of those changes,” Ayar says. “Our biggest thing now is just noticing market trends. What are consumers enjoying, what are some new things that are coming out? It’s about keeping our eyes peeled.” For instance, Ooze has latched onto the silicone trend, which has been made popular because it’s easy to clean, it protects glass pieces from breaking, and lends itself to the interchangeability between products and replacement pieces as a means to extend product life. Though Ooze is forced to improve and expand in what feels like a saturated vaper’s market,

Ayar and Koury agree that Ooze’s future success is less about expansion and more about changing the game. “We have an engineering team starting to do more of the ... bigger projects,” Ayar says. “I know a lot of what we’ve done right now [has] been a lot of design elements. Our next goal is to have a team to really come up with, like, a game-changing product. We have great product, [but] I don’t feel like we have a game-changing product. Not yet. We just got to keep adapting and just keep moving and getting better.” If you’re surprised to learn that Ooze is a Michigan brand, you’re not alone. Ayar says they hear that a lot. Though all of Ooze’s owners are Michigan natives (many of the company’s shipping, receiving, marketing, and graphic design staff are also local), dodging the label of a Michigan brand was a strategic choice. “To be honest with you, in the beginning we leaned on it a little bit,” Ayar says. “We love our hometown, we love Michigan, but we also feel like as a brand, we have to do what’s right for the brand and we don’t want to be so focused on Michigan. We didn’t want to be looked at like a small hometown brand like, hey look, we’re a nationwide brand. That being said, we go to the Lions games and Tigers games with our Ooze gear all the time.”

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“We all grew up here, you know, a lot of us are starting families now,” Koury adds. “We don’t want to leave. This is us. Like, we grew with it. This is where we live, and this is [what] we want to be a part of.” As of 2019, only 10 states in the U.S. still enforce the federal categorization of marijuana as an illegal Schedule 1 substance (weed shares this label with heroin, , and ecstasy), while the remaining states have either decriminalized marijuana, legalized it entirely, or have a medical marijuana program in place. Though Michigan is a hotbed for marijuana entrepreneurs beyond dispensary ownership and grow operations — we’ve had a head start on many states, thanks to legalizing a medical program in 2008, and recreational use 10 years later — Ayar doesn’t foresee an immediate trickledown boom in the non-smoking public’s interest in vaping or smoking, noting that he’s “a firm believer that just because something is legal or illegal doesn’t necessarily mean somebody’s going to do it or not do it.” The transition for many might take a while. Vaping has created a new frontier, one that makes marijuana and CBD consumption more accessible to an entire generation of nonsmokers who may have been turned off because of legality and social stigma. Both Ayar and Koury agree that

vaping may replace the end-of-the-day “glass of wine” for a lot of people, and they seeing the tide slowly shifting. “I love seeing those same people who maybe 10 years ago were like, oh, we’ll never touch this stuff,” Ayar says. “But then all it took was a little bit of media influence to let them know it’s not the worst thing in the world right now. I think everybody should for sure try it. I think everybody should smoke every now and again because you know, everybody needs to take an edge off sometimes and under the right circumstances, right environment, I think everybody should enjoy it.” While Ooze widens the footprint of its metro Detroit headquarters and looks to bring in additional staff to accommodate the company’s growth, one question remains: Is Ooze a 420-friendly workplace? The answer: Sort of. “Well, so when we first started the company, we had like 10 or 12 employees. We used to have barbecues every Friday, and we’d smoke a joint together. It was kind of like that. And then HR had to come in and ruin it,” Ayar laughs. “We straightened up a little bit. Not everyone smokes here, so you gotta be fair to everybody. I’m not going to tell you I’m going to go in and if I catch someone with a pen, I’m gonna fire them. If you do it, do it discreetly.” he says. “But after this interview, we’ll go smoke a joint.”

metrotimes.com | August 14-20, 2019

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metrotimes.com | August 14-20, 2019

CULTURE

BRANDING POT/SHUTTERSTOCK.COM

Higher Ground

The marijuana drought By Larry Gabriel

Marijuana users have often

been plagued by the August drought: those dog days of late summer that fall between harvests in Mexico or somewhere when there was simply no weed available, when you went down your list of dealers and struck out on every one with a “call me back in a week or two” response. The droughts have been less regular since the advent of home grows, although the vagaries of the growing cycles can sometimes still throw your timing off. That said, right now Michigan is in the midst of an August drought. A couple of weeks ago a text message came out from Corktown provisioning center BotaniQ saying that they were out of owers. Since then the location’s co-owner Anqunette Jamison Sarfoh has been in the media saying that they have only a few selections of owers at the location. Few others seem to be able to have adequate supplies either. Jerry Millen, an owner of the Greenhouse in Walled Lake, reports that location has about 21 varieties, but not much of any of them. “We probably have about two weeks’ worth of ower left, he says. Then we’ll be totally out. There is no ower to be had anywhere.” That may depend on where you are, and what and how much you’re looking

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for. A perusal of the Facebook ichigan Medical Marijuana Growers page shows some evidence of the search for owers. One frustrated member posted Straight up Fuckin sic D S ASO . DT D O T Another member responded, “I live in the Amsterdam of ichigan Ann Arbor and it has been super dry for at least a month now. Can’t find lbs. anywhere.” There are several posts that belie that sentiment, but those tend to be from the southwest part of the state. There are other posts that question the quality of what is available. One narrative around the drought is that caregiver owers of uestionable uality are used to make extracts, while only best buds are sold in their natural state. Of course, product has always been scarce in the ichigan system. For years, growing your own or using caregivers was the only way to legally access medical cannabis. When a medical system came in, some administrators were unfriendly and downright antagonistic to getting it going. as there ever been enough medical marijuana? A quick perusal of media this past year shows headlines pointing out a medical marijuana shortage last ovember, and in January, ay, and June of this year. So maybe there is always a medical marijuana shortage. owever, the level of complaining has intensified in recent weeks. aybe that intensification is due to the ari uana egulatory Agency tweaking how caregivers’ products enter the medical marijuana market. Previously, caregivers’ products could be sold in provisioning centers if customers signed a document acknowledging that the cannabis is untested. ow that policy has changed, resulting

metrotimes.com | August 14-20, 2019

CULTURE in less product available. There seems to be plenty of edibles and oils on the shelves of provisioning centers. Michigan is not yet a “mature” mari uana market, and old school owers remain the product of choice for the majority of users. People are used to using it that way, and like it. They understand how to use it and what to

bis produced in the country — across 25 states passes through the Confident Cannabis lab testing platform. The company is moving into Michigan and has collected some interesting information about the cannabis market. The initial findings are that there’s not enough product, the caregiver and retail relationship is changing, and

Maybe there is always a medical marijuana shortage. However, the level of complaining has intensified in recent weeks. expect when they use it. ew ways of doing that have not yet replaced the tried and true methods. Although most of this drought talk is anecdotal, it’s backed by information distributed by Confident Cannabis, a company with software that helps marijuana businesses to test, sell, and buy wholesale cannabis. According to press materials, 50 percent of the legal canna-

there is an abundance of extracts. We kind of knew that already, but it’s nice that other folks are backing up what we’re seeing. One thing we do need in our system is more growers. ost people who want to enter the marijuana business system want to sell the product rather than grow it. That makes sense. At a basic level, growing looks more complicated

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than selling. iterally speaking, growers get about three harvests per year per space. ou can’t make the plants grow that much faster, and if you stagger the plantings it just means less product at a time whereas the prospect of retail sales presents a possibility for unfettered sales. ut where are you going to get it ot from Oregon, where a reported surplus of marijuana exists, and prices are at least half of what they are here. That all points to the fact that Michigan’s medical marijuana system still hasn’t gotten its legs under it yet. The so-called black market is still vibrant, and people seem to have more trust in the folks they’ve been buying from the past decade or more. The medical marijuana system should be delivering for patients with an unbroken supply. They should never have to worry about where they can find what they need. The idea of a marijuana drought should be a thing of the past, but it is emphatically a thing of the present. This August drought looks like it could well extend into September, as headlines of the past year indicate. Personally, ’m not affected by this yet because I made a bulk acquisition a couple of months back that is seeing me through all this. ot everybody can

do that. From the perspective of the average patient, things don’t seem to be getting better.

No Ohio

There was a chance that a constitutional amendment in nearby Ohio would be on the fall ballot in that state, but it is now officially a no go. At this point it looks like Ohio Families for Change, the group backing the amendment, has gone dormant. That doesn’t mean legal marijuana isn’t an issue there. A new law legali ing hemp in Ohio has caused some confusion. emp is partially defined by having less than 0.3 percent THC, the cannabinoid that produces the marijuana high. The problem in Ohio is that police equipment can detect the presence of T C, but not the amount. So any given sample could be hemp — until proven otherwise. An idea to ship the stuff to other states for testing runs into the roadblock of interstate commerce with mari uana, which is doable, but it takes paperwork that has not been processed. n the final analysis, mari uana is not legal in Ohio, but police will not pursue marijuana misdemeanors until this is all cleared up or until they get a better testing lab.

metrotimes.com | August 14-20, 2019

Savage Love

CULTURE Q:

I’m an otherwise healthy male of 54. When I was a teen, my cock measured about six-and-a-half inches. Not small, not huge, pretty average. I never kept track of the situation down enly n my n re r in er r in e . i n rmal men l e i e ir a ey a e m nly m m re a e l e e re n ey n m in le n an enly I’m afraid to be intimate with women I formerly would have embraced without a second thought out of embarrassmen . y n en e i a an all ime low. I’m actually afraid to ask anyone out for fear of “exposing” the evidence.

NOW NG YI CARR D B C UCTS PROD

What’s your Pleasure?

I assume there are no pills for this, but please tell me there are options. —Shrinking In Seattle

A : “We have to make a distinction

between observed penile length and actual penile length,” says Dr. Ashley Winter, a board certified urologist in Portland, Oregon. “Penis length changes in real time based on a number of factors, factors that include level of arousal, stress, and ambient temperature. For this reason, researchers like to limit variability by measuring the stretched accid length’ in a warm room.” eedless to say, most men aren’t observing — much less measuring — their dicks when they’re soft. “We know that almost ZERO home dick measurements are done in the accid state, says Dr. Winter. ut unless SIS jotted down the room temp or precise level of arousal when he measured his teenage penis, it’s unlikely he’s comparing apples to apples. Another issue — and a far less appreciated one — is that the penis is anchored to the undersurface of your pelvic bones, so nearly one-half of the average penis length is hidden’ along the undersurface of the pelvis.” There’s a very special tendon the suspensory ligament — that runs from the base of your penis to your pelvis. In addition to providing you with some degree of control when you’re erect, SIS, the suspensory ligament also holds some of your dick up and inside the body. Men who want their cocks to look larger when they’re soft and who don’t mind if their hard cocks are harder to control or op around during intercourse will sometimes have this suspensory ligament cut, which causes the penis to drop. Their cocks aren’t as useful for sex, it’s true, but there’s more “observable” cock for other men to admire in locker rooms and at urinals. “The most dramatic cause of lost observed’ penile length with aging is weight gain,” says Dr. Winter. “As the average guy gains weight, more of his fixed penile length gets hidden, as the crucial sit-bone-to-skin distance gets longer.” So your dick may not be any smaller than it was in your teens, S S it’s ust that more of it may be hidden inside your now-middle-aged body thanks to weight gain and that damn ligament. ut hey, let’s say you’re no thicker today than you were in your teens and that your arousal levels are constant and that you’ve kept your apartment at a constant temperature over the decades. Could something be causing your cock to actually shrink? “The main causes of actual penis

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By an a a e

shrinkage are having your prostate removed, Peyronie’s disease pla ue development that narrows or bends the penis), or the scarring of erectile tissue, something called corporal fibrosis, Dr. Winter says. S S would know if he’d had prostate surgery, and he would have a noticeable lump’ or change in erection shape if he had Peyronie’s. So the main concern here is corporal fibrosis. t can be insidious and is usually associated with conditions that make blood vessels unhealthy — like high blood pressure, high cholesterol, and diabetes. S S says he’s healthy, but the penis is often the first body part to manifest signs of the above conditions because it is so dynamic. Which means the penis, wonderfully and tragically, is often the canary in the coal mine’ for cardiovascular health.” et’s say your canary is shrinking, SIS. What can you do about it? “First and foremost, he should realize that far less women would care about his penis length than he does,” says Dr. Winter. “Studies including 52,000 individuals showed that 85 percent of women were satisfied with their partners’ penile length, while only percent of men were satisfied with their own length.” And unlike you, SIS, the women you sleep with today aren’t going to be comparing the dick you’ve got now with the dick you had or thought you had) then. ut if S S wants to maximi e his observed’ penile length, he should shed extra weight if he’s overweight — and should also check in with his doc for a test of his cholesterol, blood pressure, and a diabetes screen,” says Dr. Winter. “Regular erections do help keep the penis healthy, so if he has some D, a iagra or similar med can preserve length.”

Q : I am 66 years old and a gay man.

er a ery r mi y a e settled down a lot as far as sex and m ly ma r a e i a ri the baths every few months. I have a question about orgasms. I have noted, since I’ve gotten older, that my orgasm from masturbation is very intense and eem la a e min e a er e a la e rin i eel r a mi feelings in my penis, legs, and sometimes my whole body. I’ve never had this e re. i n rmal r. i y in i

The uestion of normalcy in sexual function is hammered into us from the start but it’s pe orative and irrelevant,” says Dr. Winter. “As a physician, the relevant uestion here is Does SFS find this distressing or harmful ’

t doesn’t sound like five minute total body masturbation-induced orgasms are painful for MSFS, nor are they interfering with his day to day uality of life. So by definition they are nothing to worry about.’ Furthermore, they are not the harbinger of any dangerous medical condition. As you like to say, Dan, this is more of a A T ’ than a problem.” Anecdotal evidence — my own, a huge pile of it, gathered over the years indicates that you’re something of an outlier, MSFS; most of the older men hear from with uestions about their orgasms are concerned about their slow and steady deterioration, MSFS, not their sudden improvement. rections are harder to get, their orgasms are less intense, and their jizz is less abundant.) ut even if this isn’t a problem even if this is a yahtzee — what might be going on? That’s the far more interesting uestion Why is this happening says Dr. Winter. don’t have a lot of uotable studies on that one, but I have a few thoughts. First off, this may have nothing to do with age and everything to do with his position. Contraction of the muscles in the pelvis, thighs even calves!), and the muscles at the base of the penis or clitoris can contribute to strength of erection and intensity of orgasm, and certain positions may allow more effective muscle recruitment.’ So differences in position or stance during partnered versus masturbatory activities may hold clues for MSFS.” Another possible explanation — and another definite aht ee is that you’re ever so suddenly multi orgasmic. “While it is more common for women to be multi-orgasmic, there are men who can do this too,” says Dr. Winter. “Longer duration of arousal — common with porn watching — and certain medications that prevent prolactin surge in the brain and strong Kegels those muscles again may lead to the condensed multi orgasm,’ a phenomenon that may fit the description SFS is providing.” ut finally and again, SFS, so long as those powerful, long-lasting, allbody orgasms aren’t diminishing your uality of life, they’re nothing to worry about. Enjoy! Follow Dr. Ashley Winter on Twitter @AshleyGWinter. Dr. Winter co-hosts e ll elea e thefullreleasepod. com , a terrific, funny, and informative sex-and-relationship advice podcast, with comedian Mo Mandel. On the Lovecast— Get on your nee a a el e a . m. e i n mail@savagelove.net. Impeach the mofo alrea y . r .

metrotimes.com | August 14-20, 2019

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metrotimes.com | August 14-20, 2019

CULTURE ARIES: March 21 – April 20 Well, you have a lot going on. Caught between the past and the future, you’re letting go of one thing and moving on to whatever’s next. As you try to figure out where things are going, certainty is hard to come by. In your quieter moments, there are doubts that prompt you to think that maybe it’s best to stick with the plan. Many of you try to dull the intensity of the moment by putting yourself to sleep with one thing or another. This is no time to go into a coma. Wake up to the fact that your life is on the line. Grab yourself by the cojones and be brave enough to start anew.

Horoscopes

LEO: July 21 – August 20 You have so much going for you. All of it is being supported by aspects that would inspire most people to wake up. How this is working for you could be easy or hard, depending on how you relate to yourself. Many of you are too fiery to be receptive to forces that are even more powerful than your ego; it would be so great if you could back off and let life show you how it needs to go. Those of you who are lighter and less forceful in your methods will have a much easier time tuning in to the winds of change and making the most of things that could turn your life around.

By Cal Garrison SAGITTARIUS: Nov. 21 – Dec. 20 You’re in the middle of something that you will not fully understand for at least 10 years. By the time you figure it out, you will reali e that this is where everything came out in the wash. For better or worse, here you are, wrestling with the crux of your purpose for living, walking the fine line between love and fear. The only thing that matters right now is where you decide to place your trust and the extent to which you understand that we are living in a time when love has to be the guiding principle in everything we do. Seen from that point of view, your choices seem clear.

TAURUS: April 21 – May 20 You can’t expect other people to stop playing games when it’s all they know how to do. Waiting around for anyone to wake up doesn’t make sense. After all this time, you’d think that it would be easier to tell the truth about what’s going on, but you seem to be afraid of what will happen if you do. At this point things could use a kick in the butt, so it won’t hurt to bring up subjects that aren’t half as sore as the one no one’s ready to discuss. Underneath it all there’s enough love in this situation to keep it real, but before that can happen you’ve got to be able to tell the truth.

VIRGO: August 21 – Sept. 20 Things are about to lighten up. It’s been so long since you’ve had a break, it’ll take time to adjust to what it’s like to be free. That being said, there’s no way to tell you how the next couple of weeks will unfold: once you calm down enough to relax, anything could happen. The law of serendipity, and the arrival of people you haven’t seen in a coon’s age, will stir up opportunities and possibilities that enliven your life and remind you that you didn’t come here to die on the treadmill. As things start to ow, the oyful part of your being will reunite your spirit with light and love.

GEMINI: May 21 – June 20 ou are better at biting off more than you can chew than anyone I know. How does it feel to be overwhelmed and under the gun? If anything, it’s time to call a halt to whatever it is that has gone over the top. Reassessing recent decisions will come with a need to dig a little deeper into your psyche, enough to get to the bottom of what brought all of this on. The essence of your current situation has little to do with what’s been playing out on the surface. This story goes all the way back to day one, and to things that have always made you feel like everything depends on you.

LIBRA: Sept. 21 – Oct. 20 The company we keep and the ways in which our friends and associates feed us or bleed us is a big theme for many of you right now. It’s hard to know whether to keep hanging in there for people or whether it’s better to break things off. Decisions like this were never your strong suit. The one that’s currently pending is riddled with emotional overtones that make it hard to see straight. There is no right or wrong way to handle this, but one thing’s for sure: love doesn’t mean putting up with anything. Don’t allow yourself to be diminished by the company you keep.

AQUARIUS: Jan. 21 – Feb. 20 Things have gotten tense. It looks like you’re too wound up to get real. Others aren’t sure where you’re coming from, and the situation will get better or worse, depending on your willingness to come clean about what’s going on. A lot of this has to do with them, as much of it has to do with you. Before you can get on with the show, the truth has to come out. The last thing you want to do is hurt people’s feelings, so find a way to say, or do whatever you’ve got to do without blowing too many minds. None of this has to come to an end, but it can’t go on in this condition.

CANCER: June 21 – July 20 Too much is piling up, and if you’re going to be the one to handle it all, you’ve got to rearrange a few things. This could include telling people you can’t be at their beck and call; it could also involve explaining to them that you are not a machine. To say nothing will keep them expecting a regular outpouring of miracles from a spirit who hasn’t had time to replenish much of anything for far too long. If a break is in order, take one. If you’re not getting the support you need, ask for it. And if you’ve had it with all this nonsense, it’s OK to fall apart and let someone else deal with it.

SCORPIO: Oct. 21 – Nov. 20 The next big thing is making you wonder if it’s worth it to be this involved with outer things, or if it’s time to go within and forget about it. You’re not sure where you stand. At this point, the need to walk in both worlds is being impacted by the fact that we seem to be half-past-human, stranded somewhere between this dimension and the next. I don’t know how to explain this, but it looks like you’re about to crack the code that will allow you to take the best of both worlds and make something new and beautiful with what is already in place. How that works is up to you.

PISCES: Feb. 21 – March 20 There are times when you feel like a lost soul. It is in these moments that we have the chance to go one step beyond whatever our current definition of reality happens to be. I am here to say that you are on the brink of discovery. If you are able to see it that way, what happens next will open the space for you to go within and connect with deeper reasons for living. In the meantime, it may be necessary to stop the madness and detach from other people and their demands. Kids in particular, yours or other people’s, may need to be left to their own devices for the time being.

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CAPRICORN: Dec. 21 – Jan. 20 If the stakes are getting higher, or the pressure is too much, it’s because you’re at a huge moment of truth. The business of reaping what we sow meets all of us head on, sooner or later. Those of you who have remained in alignment with the Golden Rule may very well be sweating bullets, but when it’s all said and done, you will make it through this gauntlet in one piece. Those of you who have been skipping over your blind spots — exploiting other people’s goodness, making excuses, or who owe too much allegiance to the God of Greed and Control — will have Hell to pay.

metrotimes.com | August 14-20, 2019