Metro Times 10/30/19 by Chava Communications

2 October 30-November 5, 2019 | metrotimes.com

VOL. 40 | ISSUE 4 | OCT. 30â&#x20AC;&#x201C;NOV. 5, 2019

metrotimes.com | October 30-November 5, 2019

on sale friday:

coming soon:

coming soon concert calendar:

10/31 – peter hook & the light 11/3 – jj wilde @ the shelter

w/ eva under fire & the lows

11/4 – bea miller w/ kennedi, kah-lo

mar. 5

st. andrew’s

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oct. 30 twiztid w/ jelly roll & many more! st. andrew’s

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11/5 – big freedia

w/ low cut connie

11/6 – ghostemane w/ 3teeth, horus the astroneer & parvo

11/8 – pigeons playing ping pong w/ dizgo 11/10 – sasha sloan

@ the shelter w/ winnetka & bowling league

11/12 – white denim acacia strain aug. 320 the mar. r.lum.r w/ kublai khan st. andrew’s the shelter

@ the shelter w/ spaceface

nov. 1

ryan bingham

st. andrew’s w/ jamestown revival

11/13 – cannibal corpse w/ thy art is murder perdition temple

11/14 – clairo low tickets 11/16 – domo wilson @ the shelter 11/16 – la dispute & touche amore w/ empath 11/17 – pj morton apr. 10 lawrence the shelter

nov. 9

knocked loose

st. andrew’s w/ rotting out, candy &

4 October 30-November 5, 2019 | metrotimes.com

seeyouspacecowboy

w/ asiahn & brik.liam

11/18 – dreamers @ the shelter w/ arrested youth & irontom

metrotimes.com | October 30-November 5, 2019

Vol. 40 | Issue 4 | Oct. 30-Nov. 5, 2019

News & Views Feedback/Comics ................. 8 Informed Dissent ................ 12 Feature Pit bull attacks shine light on owner negligence, city enforcement ........................ 14 Food Blue Nile .............................. 18 Hammer & Nail ................... 20 What’s Going On ............... 22 Halloween parties .............. 27 Livewire: Local picks ......... 29 Fast-Forward....................... 30 Music Kash Doll.............................. 31 Extra Arms .......................... 32 Arts & Culture Jason Alexander ................. 34 Stage & Canvas................... 36 Hustlers ............................... 38 Higher Ground .................... 40 Savage Love ........................ 44 Horoscopes .......................... 50

On the cover: Photo via Shutterstock

Printed on recycled paper Printed By

6 October 30-November 5, 2019 | metrotimes.com

248-620-2990

Publisher - Chris Keating Associate Publisher - Jim Cohen

EDITORIAL Editor in Chief - Lee DeVito Digital Editor - Sonia Khaleel Investigative Reporter - Steve Neavling Music and Listings Editor - Jerilyn Jordan Copy Boy - Dave Mesrey Contributing Editors - Michael Jackman, Larry Gabriel Editorial Interns - Brooklyn Blevins, Miriam Francisco, Marisa Kalil-Barrino, Gabriel Silver, Lindsey Yuchna

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EUCLID MEDIA • Copyright - The entire contents of the Detroit Metro Times are copyright 2019 by Euclid Media Group LLC. Reproduction in whole or in part without written permission of the publisher is prohibited. Publisher does not assume any liability for unsolicited manuscripts, materials, or other content. Any submission must include a stamped, self-addressed envelope. All editorial, advertising, and business correspondence should be mailed to the address listed above. Prior written permission must be granted to Metro Times for additional copies. Metro Times may be distributed only by Metro Times’ authorized distributors and independent contractors. Subscriptions are available by mail inside the U.S. for six months at $80 and a yearly subscription for $150. Include check or money order payable to - Metro Times Subscriptions, 30 E. Canfield St., Detroit, MI 48201. (Please note - Third Class subscription copies are usually received 3-5 days after publication date in the Detroit area.) Most back issues obtainable for $5 at Metro Times offices or $7 prepaid by mail.

metrotimes.com | October 30-November 5, 2019

NEWS & VIEWS Feedback Readers react to stories from the Oct. 23 issue Our story about the leaked deposition of a racial discrimination lawsuit against Founders Brewing (“Founders Brewing manager claims he didn’t know Black employee is Black”) engendered a lively debate. Since the publication of this story, dozens of local bars have dropped Founders from their menus. The company announced it was closing its Detroit taproom until further notice, and it pulled out of the Michigan Brewers Guild Fall Beer Festival. Founders’

8 October 30-November 5, 2019 | metrotimes.com

diversity and inclusion director, Graci Harkema, also announced her resignation from the company. Tim Adams: Monty Python-esque. Robert Klemme: Isn’t that the whole point of “not seeing color?” Talisa Rafferty: The point isn’t to not see color. The point is to respect all colors, not just the colors that you [choose] to respect. By not seeing color you are not acknowledging who a person is. Have an opinion? Of course you do! Send feedback to letters@metrotimes.com.

metrotimes.com | October 30-November 5, 2019

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10 October 30-November 5, 2019 | metrotimes.com

metrotimes.com | October 30-November 5, 2019

NEWS & VIEWS

ANDREW CLINE / SHUTTERSTOCK.COM

Informed Dissent

What does the final straw look like? By Jeffrey C. Billman

Last week, as I read the un-

equivocally damning 15-page opening statement William B. Taylor gave to House investigators, I wondered what the final straw would look like, and more specifically, whether one would ever exist. In other words, what would it take for Republicans to decide that enough is enough — that there is a line and Donald Trump has crossed it? We know what hasn’t done the trick. It hasn’t been the deluge of lies and unremitting narcissism, the multiple instances of obstruction of justice documented in the Mueller report, the allegations of sexual misconduct and assault, or the sustained attacks on the free press. It hasn’t been siding with white supremacists or ripping migrant children from their parents or abandoning the Kurds in northern Syria to slaughter at the behest of autocrats in Turkey and Russia.

And now, with increasing clarity, we know that he used American foreign policy to push foreign governments to dig up dirt on his political enemies. Taylor, the top American diplomat in Ukraine, detailed how Trump had made hundreds of millions of dollars in military aid contingent on a public statement from Ukraine’s president that his government was investigating Joe Biden and a debunked conspiracy theory about Ukrainian interference into the 2016 U.S. election, things Trump could then use to muddy the waters of his own corruption next year. This was the clearest evidence yet of a quid pro quo, and it came not from a faceless whistleblower but from a Republican with whom Trump’s secretary of state had pleaded to take the Ukraine gig. To get a sense of how bad this was, consider the administration’s reaction:

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On Tuesday, the day Taylor testified, Trump rage-tweeted that the impeachment proceedings were a “lynching”; his press shop halfheartedly called it a “coordinated smear campaign from far-left lawmakers and radical unelected bureaucrats,” ignoring the fact that this particular bureaucrat was their own guy. On Wednesday, with the White House’s encouragement, a group of Republican congressmen made a clownish spectacle of storming a secure room in the Capitol to disrupt a deposition, some breaching national security protocols by bringing their cell phones. And on Thursday, the Department of Justice leaked that its investigation into the origins of its own Trump-Russia probe had suddenly become a criminal investigation, as if a blind man couldn’t see through that charade. If there’s any coherence to Trump’s strategy, it’s no longer convincing the public at large that he did nothing wrong. It’s keeping enough Senate Republicans in line and giving them any thread to cling to. Right now, that thread is process — the notion that House Democrats are being unfair to Trump.

Process arguments tend to be weak — the place you go when you can’t argue the merits — and this one’s no different. Democrats are abiding by rules Republicans set when they held the House following the tea party wave of 2010, and Republicans eliminated a requirement for a full House vote before committees can authorize their staffs to conduct depositions. So, yes, depositions are taken behind closed doors — as they were during the endless Benghazi investigations — but that makes sense, since you wouldn’t want witnesses being intimidated or coordinating their stories. And Republicans on the three committees involved in the inquiry can participate in the depositions. Most important, all of this will be replayed in public hearings before the House votes to impeach, and Trump will get to defend himself during a Senate trial. Still, process is good enough for now. Last week, all but three Republican senators — Mitt Romney, Susan Collins, and Lisa Murkowski — cosponsored Lindsey Graham’s resolution condemning the House’s impeachment inquiry. But five other Republicans declined to do so right away, and Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell reportedly had to water down the resolution’s initial commitment to vote against removing Trump to get the caucus on board, focusing instead on the alleged lack of “due process.” At least some Republicans, it seems, were worried about tying themselves so closely to Trump at such a precarious moment. But right now, they’re still in his corner — and looking for any excuse to stay there. When Democrats went to the wall for Bill Clinton 20 years ago, Clinton was a popular second-term president accused of lying about an affair. Trump is accused of something far more consequential, and at about 40 percent approval, he’s anything but popular — about 20 points below where Clinton was in the run-up to his impeachment. Clinton was presiding over a surging economy; Trump inherited a recovery that is slowing down and showing signs of wear. Longer-term, Trump’s coalition — old, white, evangelical — represents America’s demographic past, not its future. The Republican Party is following a pied piper over a cliff, and its leaders are either too ignorant to see it or too cowardly to stop it. Of course, if this hollowed-out shell of moral depravity is what the Party of Lincoln has become, its collapse can’t come soon enough.

metrotimes.com | October 30-November 5, 2019

mma Hernandez, a 9-year-old girl who loved to play outside, was riding her pink bike near her home on Detroit’s west side when three undernourished pit bulls leaped over a neighbor’s imsy fence and attacked her in August. eighbors heard mma scream and rushed to help, hurling bricks and other objects at the dogs. As the dogs ed, mma’s dad, Armando Hernandez, ran to the rear of his home and found his daughter. “I picked her up in my arms and I couldn’t believe she was just lifeless,” her father said a month later during a court hearing for the dog’s owner, Pierre Cleveland, who has been charged with second-degree murder and involuntary manslaughter. “I started crying. I can’t believe my baby’s gone.” Hernandez attempted CPR on his daughter and used a Tshirt to try to slow the blood spilling from a large gash in her neck. It was too late. mma was pronounced dead less than a half hour after the attack. The cause of death was a fractured cervical spine. “ our dogs just killed my daughter,” Hernandez says he told the owner, who had just returned home after a trip to the store. Just eight days after mma’s death, two pit bulls slipped under a fence in Southwest Detroit and killed a small dog

er, Lucille Strickland. Through an opening in a fence, the dogs snatched the boy from his mother’s arms, dragged him under the fence, and brutally mauled him for nine minutes. The Strikland family said they had warned the neighbor, Geneke Lyons, about the dogs getting out of the fence in the past and once attacking avier’s -year-old sister. Lyons was convicted of involuntary manslaughter and sentenced to a year in jail with work release and five years of probation. City o cials pledged to get serious about neglectful owners. In the summary of the revamped ordinance, the new law was intended to “demonstrate the commitment by the City of Detroit that the circumstances which led to avier Strickland’s tragic death are adequately and permanently corrected.” At the time, dog rescue groups applauded the ordinance as a strong step forward. Under the new law, pet owners must monitor their dogs and cannot tether them for more than three hours. Owners also are prohibited from letting their dogs loose without secure fencing. To give the ordinance teeth, the city empowered animal control and police o cers to seize dogs that are neglected or not properly secured. ollow-up inspections are also required. But the problems persisted: eglected dogs were still unre-

and injured his owner, Jimmy Sanchez. Since January 201 , more than 1,2 0 dog bites have been reported in Detroit. In the city’s neighborhoods, vicious dogs are all too common — a perilous consequence of irresponsible pet owners and a city without the resources to adequately handle an abundance of neglected and stray canines. one of this surprises Theresa Sumpter, director and founder of Detroit Pit Crew Dog Rescue, which routinely picks up neglected dogs roaming around the city — a job that should belong to the notoriously understaffed Detroit Animal Care and Control. In the six years that Sumpter’s rescue group has been picking up and caring for strays, she has observed a dangerous pattern: People neglect and abuse their dogs, and the city fails to do much about it. “With no consequences, people just continue to abuse these animals,” Sumpter tells Metro Times. In a good home, pit bulls are usually docile and obedient companions. But in the wrong environment, they can be extremely dangerous. Sumpter estimates that 0 of the dog bites in Detroit are the result of companion dogs that “haven’t been properly trained” or are left outside on chains. “They’re made to be mean or made to be protective because people want them to protect their property,” Sumpter says. “In general, that can make a dog become very territorial and very protective because they make that their job. So if you enter that property or if the dog gets off the property, yes, they can definitely be harmful to the community.”

strained in yards with inadequate fencing. Had the city enforced the ordinance, mma may still be alive. In ovember 201 , just seven months after the new ordinance was adopted, Armando Hernandez said that police came to his house after he called about the dogs being loose. But, he told WWJ- 0AM, police “didn’t follow up on it.” “The dogs stayed loose, wild, and the guy didn’t feed them,” Armando Hernandez said. In March 201 , animal control o cers responded to a complaint about two of the dogs roaming free, but failed to do anything because the owner wasn’t home, city o cials confirmed. The lack of enforcement goes beyond the dogs that killed mma. Between June and September 201 , the city issued no tickets for violations under the new ordinance, according to public records obtained by Detroit Pit Crew Dog Rescue. “They can’t even enforce the laws that are on the books,” Sumpter says. “With no consequences, people just continue to abuse these animals,” she adds. Two weeks after the attack, City Council President Brenda Jones, who worked on the tougher ordinance, lashed out at Mayor Mike Duggan’s administration for not enforcing the law. “People are losing their lives. When does this stop ” Jones angrily asked during a Sept. council meeting. “We can write the laws all day long, but if there is nobody enforcing the laws it doesn’t matter, and clearly that’s what is happening. o one is enforcing the laws on the books.” Jones added, “I’m livid. I’m mad. I’m hurt.” Jean Ingersoll, Detroit’s interim health director, said Duggan’s administration is “working diligently” to “put together the best, strongest ordinance possible.”

COMPANIONSORKILLERS? Pit bull attacks shine light on owner negligence, city enforcement By Steve Neavling and Lee DeVito

Cracking down

In April 201 , city o cials adopted a tougher dog ordinance aimed at preventing maulings after pit bulls attacked and killed 4-year-old avier Strickland in front of his moth-

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A boy plays with a pit bull mix dog at a park.

Inadequate staffing

Detroit Animal Care and Control handles nearly 500 animal complaints a week, runs a shelter, and provides other services. For years, the department has been notoriously understaffed and unable to respond promptly to calls about dangerous dogs. But last year, the city increased the department’s budget from 2. million to . million and recently hired nine new animal control o cers, bringing its staff to 1 . But even that isn’t enough. On most days, the animal control o cers are only available for five hours, from 10: 0 a.m. to : 0 p.m. The department recently extended its hours from a.m. to p.m. from Tuesday through Thursday. But shortly after 4 p.m. on a recent Tuesday afternoon, no animal control o cers were working when police reported “two people being chased” by a dog, according to police radio tra c. Animal Care and Control spokeswoman Tamekia ixon says the department will expand its hours to a.m. to p.m. seven days a week early next year and be staffed with 14 officers and seven investigators. “That’s 21 trained o cials ready to protect the health and safety of Detroiters, respond to citizens’ complaints, pick up stray dogs, and write tickets to enforce city ordinances,” ixon tells Metro Times. “The increased patrol, community presence and enforcement will help curb the number of dog bites.” When animal control o cers aren’t available, the responsibility to respond to dangerous dog complaints falls on police o cers, who are often too busy to respond in a timely fashion to the most serious crimes. A quick response time is critical if someone is being chased or cornered by a vicious dog. An analysis of emergency records found that Detroit police averaged 14 minutes and 1 seconds to respond to the most

STEVE NEAVLING

violent and urgent urgent crimes in 201 . Response times to priority two calls, which typically involve emergencies such as dangerous dogs, robberies, and hit-and-run crashes, were a whopping 4 minutes and 42 seconds. Until recently, some police precincts didn’t even have catch poles used to contain dogs. When police capture dangerous dogs, the canines are transported to the city’s shelter in the rear of patrol cars. Handling dog complaints can tie up police, making them unavailable for other emergencies in a city with the highest violent crime rate in the nation. In the late morning of Sept. 5, police chased three loose pit bulls across several streets for nearly an hour in Southwest Detroit until animal control o cers arrived. About 10 minutes later, at 11:2 a.m., police o cers in another part of the city were sent to a reported dog attack. It was the fifth call about dangerous dogs in a three-hour period in which animal control o cers weren’t immediately available.

Revolving door of directors

In the past four years, the city has gone through three Animal Care and Control directors and hired its fourth in early September. The department had been without a director since May. The new director, Mark umpf, has a checkered past. He was fired from his longtime job as animal resources director in Ohio’s Montgomery County following several lawsuits, one of which alleges he and his department were negligent in the 2014 mauling death of -year-old londa Richey and then destroyed records in the case. The victim’s family says that umpf, the county, and its animal resources center failed to act after Richey called to complain about the dogs at least two dozen times. According to the family’s attorney, Richey “was brutally and savagely killed by dogs as a result of

Detroit officials estimate there are roughly 150,000 dogs in 92,000 households. That’s not counting thousands of stray dogs that roam neighborhoods where children play and walk to school. Last year, animal control officers picked up 4,136 homeless dogs — an average of more than 11 a day.

metrotimes.com | October 30-November 5, 2019

FEATURE Mark umpf’s failure to fulfill his statutory duties and heed her many, many, many pleas for help.” The lawsuit also alleges umpf and his department destroyed “key documentary evidence” in the case in violation of the law. umpf also came under fire for the county’s high euthanisia rate and the crowded, deplorable conditions at the shelter, where some dogs were stuffed in cages filled with their own feces. According to a scathing report by Team Shelter USA, the county’s shelter was manipulating records and not doing enough to adopt healthy pets that were later put to death. mployees were mistreated, creating distress and a high turnover rate, the report states. Inspectors witnessed inhumane practices, such as “dogs being dragged by their neck with a rabies pole.” The stench of “deceased bodies thawing in the freezer” was so strong it reached beyond the euthanisia room. Duggan’s o ce prevented Metro Times from interviewing umpf and would only answer questions via email. City o cials defended the hiring of umpf. “We hired Mark based on his 0year career, during which he has been widely recognized for his abilities and accomplishments,” health o cer Denise air says in an email. “He was recommended by and has the strong endorsement from the Michigan Humane Society. We support him 100 percent and will continue to.” air added: “We know that there are concerns among certain animal welfare groups, primarily ones based far outside of Detroit about Mark based on news reports they have read. However, I think that the improvements we plan to roll out very soon should satisfy even the harshest critics that Detroit Animal Care and Control is turning a real corner. In time, we welcome the opportunity to meet with these groups in order for them to hear firsthand his plans for improvement. Mark’s leadership is going to play an important role in this turnaround, which has been long overdue.”

Brutal attacks

Detroit o cials estimate there are roughly 1 0,000 dogs in 2,000 households. That’s not counting thousands of stray dogs that roam neighborhoods where children play and walk to school. Last year, animal control o cers picked up 4,1 homeless dogs — an average of more than 11 a day. Since 200 , at least six people have

been mauled to death by dogs in Detroit. The victims ranged in age from three weeks old to 1 years old. Three of the victims were attacked in their homes by their pets, and the other three were attacked by a neighbor’s dog. In July 201 , lizabeth Rivera, 1, was fatally attacked by her pit bull at her home in Southwest Detroit. In October 2012, -week-old Tarilyn Bowles was mauled to death by the family’s pit bull in her west-side home. And in December 200 , 1-year-old Mary Stiles was fatally attacked at home by her pit bull mix. In August 200 , Robert Howard, , was killed by a pit bull while trying to protect a woman from being mauled on the east side. The pit bull, who had attacked the woman’s dogs, bit the main artery in Howard’s leg, causing him to

Since 2005, at least six people have been mauled to death by dogs in Detroit. The victims ranged in age from three weeks old to 91 years old. Three of the victims were attacked in their homes by their pets, and the other three were attacked by a neighbor’s dog. bleed to death. In a study titled “Pit Bull Mauling Deaths in Detroit,” researchers analyzed six fatal attacks between 1 and 200 . In all of the cases, the victims bled to death from neck injuries. In one of the fatalities, a 1-month-old boy was decapitated in his living room. “There is a tendency for these animals to attack the neck region and destroy the blood vessels of the neck and cause extensive avulsions of the scalp and ears,” the researchers wrote. “The forces exerted by the animal may be strong enough to snap the vertebral spine, fracture the skull, or even cause decapitation.” In June 201 , a pit bull busted through a screen door on Detroit’s

16 October 30-November 5, 2019 | metrotimes.com

Stray dogs rummage through trash in Detroit.

east side in June and severely mauled 11-year-old Monet Shaw, who lost her arm in the attack. She had just gotten her hair braided for a fifth-grade graduation ceremony. Here are other serious attacks since 201 : April 201 : A pit bull attacked a postal worker on the west side for about five minutes before witnesses were able to chase the dog away. May 201 : A -year-old girl was viciously attacked while walking with her grandparents on West uclid. The pit bull bit her on the head and leg. She was taken to the hospital and listed in stable condition. July 201 : A 4-year-old was mauled by a family pit bull and spent four nights in the hospital with at least 20 stitches. Her face was attacked. July 201 : A pit bull slipped under a fence on erris Street and killed a woman’s 10-pound mini schnauzer. March 201 : A pit bull attacked a family’s black lab and was still in their yard when police arrived more than an hour later.

Companions or security systems?

Pit bulls are likely the most popular breed of dogs in Detroit, largely because they’re inexpensive and effective guard dogs, says canine trainer Steve Liggens, who owns Inkster-based Motor City . Pit bull puppies sell for as low as 0 a dog, Liggens says. “Instead of a companion, people look at them as an alarm system,” Liggens tells Metro Times. “The dog will bark or deter people.” Liggens says careless owners often leave their dogs chained in the backyard and deprive them of “love and affection.” To teach pit bull owners about proper care, Liggens recently held a free

STEVE NEAVLING

four-week class in Detroit. “Being chained in the yard is doing the dog a disservice,” Liggens says. “If they were to walk the dogs more and get the dogs moving and actually give the dogs love and affection, that would help with the amount of destructive behavior that we’re seeing.” Liggens adds that dogs who are shown love and affection are better for protection because it “makes them want to do more for me.” Detroit City Councilman Scott Benson says more education is needed. “I’m really hoping we can change the perception and philosophy of dog ownership,” Benson says. “Dog ownership should be a privilege.” Wayne County Prosecutor ym Worthy, who filed criminal charges against the owner of the dogs that killed mma, says more enforcement is urgent. “It is high time the City of Detroit shines a light on the owners of these dangerous animals that sometimes roam and wreak serious havoc — none worse that what happened” to mma, Worthy said in a statement. Sumpter encourages residents to speak out when they witness neglect or abuse. “If you see something, say something,” Sumpter tells Metro Times. “If you say something to animal control and they don’t respond to you, please reach out to a local rescue. eep calling until help is found for these animals because they cannot speak for themselves. And that’s one of the biggest things. ou know, we see these dogs in such tragic conditions. They have no capability to speak for themselves. We must speak for them.” October is National Pit Bull Awareness Month.

metrotimes.com | October 30-November 5, 2019

FOOD

An Ethiopian feast.

Finger foods by Jane Slaughter

The Blue Nile opened in Trap-

per’s Alley in Greektown way back in the mists of time, in 1984. It was something completely new for Detroiters, both the cuisine and the happy experience of eating with your hands indoors in a restaurant. Plenty of folks fell in love with Ethiopian food and have stayed that way since. Several worthy competitors to the Blue Nile have sprung up over the years; I was surprised last year when I went to one where the food was actually not good — my first-ever such experience eating Ethiopian, in Detroit, Washington, or Philadelphia. I was pretty sure that that was just one bad apple, but I wanted to see if the Blue Nile, the granddaddy of them all, had withstood the test of time — and the test of serving essentially the same dishes night after night for 36 years. Yes, it has — it’s still fabulous and still fun — and with a way more elaborate drinks menu. Time was when the only alcohol you could get at the Blue Nile was too sweet Ethiopian honey wine. That’s still on

TOM PERKINS

the menu, but now there are 10 Michigan and international beers, a couple of dozen red, white, and sparkling wines from all over the world, and five cocktails made by blending Ethiopian tea with spirits. Cognac and tea? Gin and tea? Sounds awful, but someone must be ordering it. More appealing is a blend of Bailey’s, Jameson Irish whiskey, and high-altitude Ethiopian irgacheffe coffee. irgacheffe, if you believe its fans, has notes of oral, citrus, berries, nuts, chocolate, and wine. But that’s no reason not to try it. I went instead for a mini-bottle of Spanish cava and found its acidic bubbliness a perfect foil to both the rich meats and the pungent vegetables of Ethiopian cuisine, as well as the filling injera. The Blue Nile eventually moved to Ferndale after a run in Greektown, and opened an Ann Arbor branch in 1989 (221 E. Washington St.). A Downriver venture did not go well and had to be abandoned. The original setup was to offer two platters: all-you-can-eat vegetarian or, for a higher price, all-you-can-eat meat, legumes, and vegetables. Now the platters are vegetarian, but you can add meat dishes a la carte for $6, $7, or $11. It’s still the case that the best part of your meal can be eating the tablecloth — the big round under-layer of injera that all the rich juices from the meat and vegetables have soaked into. The Blue Nile serves two types of injera, one

18 October 30-November 5, 2019 | metrotimes.com

made with wheat our, which comes out white, and one with the traditional thiopian grain teff, which is nearly gluten-free. Either way, the spongy texture is perfect for absorbing the essence of all the dishes that have been arrayed around the circle. Those dishes are: two types of chicken, more and less spicy (but it’s a family-friendly spice level); lamb cooked with onions, garlic, and jalapeños; beef in berbere sauce, which is a heady mix of spices; collards, also with onions, garlic, and jalapeños; mixed vegetables (mostly potatoes, pretty bland); two versions of yellow split peas, one in berbere sauce, one simpler; cabbage; red lentils in berbere; and brown lentils served cool. If this sounds repetitious, it’s not. Each dish is distinctive. The milder chicken is reminiscent of chicken and dumplings — the bland injera adds to that idea. The lamb avor is strong, almost muttony. Of the vegetables, I liked the cabbage best, with its sweet, buttery avor. Collards are just acrid enough to be interesting and delicious. You can order a simple romaine and tomato salad with a lemon dressing for . This too is finger food. Colors are bright, not just on the table but throughout the restaurant. It’s decorated with big-eyed angels and umbrellas, which in the Ethiopian Orthodox Church symbolize the presence

Blue Nile 545 W. Nine Mile, Ferndale 248-547-6699 bluenileferndale.com Bathrooms not accessible 5-10 p.m. Tuesday-Thursday, 4-11 p.m. Friday-Saturday, 3-9 p.m. Sunday All-you-can-eat vegetarian $17.90; with one meat dish $22.90-$27.90

of the Holy Spirit. The traditional seating is at a mesob, a small round table, knee-height, that you lean into slightly to scoop up your food. Regular booths are available, too. When I interviewed owner Seifu Lessanework some years ago, he said the reason the Blue Nile had survived was that it was unique. That’s no longer so, but the same attention to detail is there: the steaming washcloths brought before and after the meal, the complimentary cup of cinnamon tea at the end of what feels like a ritual. “We don’t rush you,” Lessanework said. “We are a destination restaurant. Not a lunch place.” He goes so far as to say that the communal style of eating will break the ice on a first date, or “reignite weary ames.” Readers, if you have ideas for other old favorites you’d like to see revisited, let us know at tips@metrotimes.com.

metrotimes.com | October 30-November 5, 2019

FOOD

Detroit’s Hammer & Nail bar hits it on the head.

Nailed it By Mickey Lyons

I didn’t know I needed a Pink

Squirrel in my life until someone handed me one at Midtown’s new Hammer & Nail bar. The last time I’d tasted one was the disastrous result of my grandparents’ liquor cabinet, a bunch of broke college students, and a copy of l r. Bos on cial Bartenders Guide. This one was significantly better. And it reminded me that the cocktails of the 1950s and ’60s, like an Eames design, can be spankingly good if done right. The drink is indeed cotton-candy pink, but the creamy, chocolate notes are balanced by the nutty avor of the Cr me de Noyaux, specially ordered from San Francisco. The Pink Squirrel, like the rest of Hammer & Nail, is just the sort of playful take on vintage bars that Detroit needs. very inch of space in Hammer Nail, which opened to the public earlier this month, is meticulously planned. From the newly restored neon sign adorning the back bar, all the way down to the cocktail napkins and the straight-out-of-The Jetsons glassware, simplicity reigns. The bar is sleek and

elegant without being cold or unwelcoming, thanks to the giant windows and warm wood tones. The pared-down aesthetic re ects the 1 building’s vibe, recently restored by new owners the Roxbury Group. There’s also just the right amount of kitsch tossed in to keep bar guests from taking it too seriously. A five-ingredient Blue Hawaii pairs with a tuna melt or deviled eggs warm onion dip with Better Made chips accompanies a classic Gibson. Clad in white coats and bow ties, Hammer ail’s bartenders serve drinks not seen around here since Frank Sinatra last played Joe Louis (RIP both). Hammer ail serves a Harvey Wallbanger that tastes just about as good as a Harvey Wallbanger can be made to taste with the addition of a cask-aged sherry. One less familiar drink, though, stole my heart. The Moonwalk features crisp grapefruit, cava, rose water, and Grand Marnier in a delicate skyscraper of a glass. It’s modeled after a cocktail created at London’s Savoy Hotel for the triumphant Apollo 11 astronauts in 1 . Most of the drinks feature simple ingredients, carefully researched and prepared. With so few ingredients there’s also no room for error. Fortunately, the team of general manager Rick Paulger and head bartender Desmond Oliver bring a deft and confident touch and aren’t

20 October 30-November 5, 2019 | metrotimes.com

STEPHANIE RHOADES HUME

afraid to play around a little. Both are industry veterans and spent a lot of time at another Roxbury property, Buhl Bar, combing over every last detail for Hammer & Nail’s opening. It shows. The glassware, says Oliver, was the subject of long discussion. They knew exactly what they wanted for the tumblers and Collins glasses. Although they weren’t able to snag enough of the iconic midcentury Dorothy Thorpe roly poly glasses, “we just wanted to get as close as we could to that hand feel. I believe it gives a little space race, rocketship kind of vibe.” The martini glasses were modeled after one featured in a photo of rank Sinatra giving a toast. Those able to snag a seat in one of the walnut and leather banquettes that line the edges of the bar feel like ixon-era power brokers. Come spring, Hammer & Nail’s space will include a spacious patio facing Woodward Avenue, with plenty of spots to ogle the fashionable set attending Orchestra Hall right across the street. Draft cocktails include a Highball and a nitro-poured Black or White Russian made with house-made coffee liqueur. Says Oliver, “It’s all drinks that Grandma would’ve loved,” Oliver says. “They haven’t been touched by the craft scene, really, and I thought that it was due for a revival. We just took a stab at it and

Hammer & Nail 3800 Woodward Ave., Detroit Hours: 4 p.m.-midnight Mondays through Saturdays, and 2-8 p.m. on Sundays

we’ve kind of fallen in love with it.” Detroit’s cocktails scene is moving on from twee coupe glasses and denimapron-clad mustachioed bartenders waxing rhapsodic about 19th century genever recipes. ot that there’s anything wrong with that, but Detroit needs another baroque cocktail menu like it needs another surface parking lot. Royal Oak-based Bowlero’s funky retrofit is one example of our willingness to expand our horizons in Hammer ail, we have further proof that there’s more to cocktails than dusty ictorian recipe books. In fact, Oliver found some of his recipes in Good Housekeeping. “There’s a lot of the same cocktail bars,” Oliver says. “We wanted to do something less serious, a little kitschy, a little fun.” Simple and streamlined, and yes, a bit fun, the drinks and decor at Hammer & Nail are a refreshing leap for mankind — or at least for Detroiters looking to try the unfamiliar.

metrotimes.com | October 30-November 5, 2019

THIS WEEK

Big Freedia, Saint Andrew’s Hall, Nov. 5.

COURTESY OF BALLIN’ PR

What’s Going On

A week’s worth of things to do and places to do them FRIDAY, 11/1 James Murphy @ Red Door Digital

MUSIC James Murphy is many things: frontman of indie rock darlings LCD Soundsystem, restaurateur, and unfortunate doppelgänger of the former chief strategist to President Donald Trump and Breitbart brat, Steve Bannon. But most importantly, an appearance by Murphy guarantees one thing: you’re going to dance yourself clean. The last time Murphy passed through Detroit, it was 2017 with LCD in support of the band’s charttopping Grammy-nominated American Dream, which took post-2016 tension and anxiety and doused it all with Murphy’s penchant for levity and ruminations about endings, aging, and technology. While his latest stop will leave Murphy’s LCD crew behind, the 49-year-old dancepunk demigod will navigate the decks with a disco-infused set filled with all the shimmering, glitchy, and pulsing ingredients that have inspired some of LCD’s best work. —Jerilyn Jordan Event begins at 10 p.m.; 7500

Oakland St., Detroit; 313-875-9026; residentadvisor.net. Tickets are $25.

FRI., 11/1-SUN., 11/3 Stop Making Sense @ Detroit Film Theatre

James Murphy, Red Door, Nov. 1.

FILM Arguably the greatest concert film ever made and, by some analysis, could serve as the blueprint for the anti-concert concert film, Jonathan Demme’s Stop Making Sense is 88-minutes of high art. Demme filmed the David Byrne-fronted Talking Heads over a four-night run in Hollywood in support of the band’s stunning fifth record, Speaking in Tongues, resulting in a once in a lifetime audio-visual experience with elegantly sparse staging, emotive lighting, Byrne’s signature noodlely physicality, and, of course, the iconic “big suit.” For its 35th anniversary, Stop Making Sense will return to the Detroit Film Theatre, which sold-out the entire weekend during its original Detroit premiere in 1 4, a first in D T’s history. —Jerilyn Jordan

7900; dia.org. Tickets are $9.50 or $7.50 for seniors or DIA members.

Screenings begin at 7 p.m. on Friday, 4 & 7 on Saturday, and 2 & 4:30 on Sunday; 5200 Woodward Ave., Detroit; 313-833-

22 October 30-November 5, 2019 | metrotimes.com

MONDAY, 11/4 Sleater-Kinney @ Majestic Theatre

MUSIC When longtime Sleater-Kinney drummer Janet Weiss announced she was splitting from the band, weeks before the release of its St. Vincent-produced ninth studio album, The Center Won’t Hold, citing its “new direction,” it seemed to spell trouble for the rock ’n’ roll icons. Weiss’s drumming had become every bit a part of the Pacific orthwest trio’s sound, balancing the caterwauling of the band’s dual guitarists and frontwomen, Carrie Brownstein and Corin Tucker, with a thunderous undercurrent. The Center Won’t Hold did in fact turn out to be a new direction for S-K, with art-rock

RUVAN WIJESOORIYA

mastermind St. Vincent pushing the band in a darker, yet poppier direction. Forget about Brownstein’s slapstick stint as an actress and writer on Portlandia; the band embraces bleaker, synthpop-driven sound here, which at times calls to mind acts like Depeche Mode, Tears for Fears, and even ine Inch ails. ortunately, it still rocks. —Lee DeVito Doors open at 7 p.m.; 4120 Woodward Ave., Detroit; 313-833-9700; majesticdetroit. com. Tickets are $37.50+.

TUESDAY, 11/5 Celine Dion @ Little Caesars Arena

MUSIC ear, far, wherever you are, a Celine Dion ballad is probably playing, because she’s an unsinkable FrenchCanadian hit-making powerhouse whose

heart and incredible show-womanship will go on and on. The incomparable 51-year-old diva is closing the book on a massive record-breaking 16-year residency in Las Vegas, which was arranged by her late husband and longtime manager, René Angélil. With Sin City in her rearview, Dion can focus on her edgy genderneutral children’s clothing line, her always-fire Instagram account, shutting down body-shaming trolls, being a total lovable goo all on late night television, and her latest endeavor as the face of L’Oréal Paris. Oh, and she’s giving Vegas residency the ol’ rench kiss off with her first U.S. tour in more than a decade, in support of her highly anticipated 12th studio record, Courage (out Nov. 15). According to recent live reviews, la chienne est de retour. —Jerilyn Jordan

Saturday 11/2

BrEtT LuCaS & ToShA OwEnS ReCoRd ReLeAsEs Sunday 11/3

Doors open at 7:30 p.m.; 2645 Woodward Ave., Detroit; 313-471-7000; 313presents. com. Tickets are $95+.

DiXoN’S ViOlIn

TUESDAY, 11/5 Big Freedia

Jim Breuer, Sound Board, Nov. 6.

COURTESY OF SOUND BOARD

@ Saint Andrew’s Hall

MUSIC One nation, under azz: Bootyshaking icon and queen of New Orleans Bounce Big Freedia is twerking through the Motor City. For the unenlightened, Big Freedia is, well, kind of a big deal. Earlier this year, the 41-year-old New Orleans-based queer icon landed a Billboard magazine cover with fellow LGBTQ+ trailblazers Adam Lambert, Hayley Kiyoko, and Tegan Quin — a cherry-topper to an already long and eclectic list of accomplishments that includes leading her own reality show on Fuse for six seasons. To sweeten the pot, the twerk goddess landed her own Ben & Jerry’s ice cream avor, Big reedia’s Bouncing Beignets, which is why the ice cream giant has sponsored the tour. —Jerilyn Jordan Doors open at 7 p.m.; 431 E. Congress St., Detroit; 313-961-8961; saintandrewsdetroit. com. Tickets are $25+.

TUESDAY, 11/5 Steve Luxenberg: Separate: The Story of Plessy v. Ferguson, and America’s Journey from Slavery to Segregation @ Detroit Public Library

LIT In Steve Luxenberg’s latest book, the award-winning author and associate editor at The Washington Post examines the landmark 1896 case which led to the implementation of Jim Crow legislation. Described by The New York Times as an “elegant history” of the country’s path from emancipation to segregation,

Separate: The Story of Plessy v. Ferguson, and America’s Journey from Slavery to Segregation is a celebrated work that, in its earliest stages, earned the 2016 J. Anthony Lukas Award for excellence in nonfiction. Separate follows critical acclaim of Luxenberg’s first book, Annie’s Ghosts: A Journey into a Family Secret, which was honored as the 2013-2014 Great Michigan Read. —Jerilyn Jordan

MTV veejay SNL character, “Goat Boy,” experiences with solo travel, the problem with teenagers, and confessions of a colonoscopy. —Jerilyn Jordan

Event begins at 6 p.m.; 5201 Woodward Ave., Detroit; 313-481-1300; detroitpubliclibrary.org. Event is free.

Pentagram

WEDNESDAY, 11/6 Jim Breuer @ Sound Board

COMEDY Comedian Jim Breuer is cleaning up his act. The self-proclaimed “world’s biggest Metallica fan,” former Saturday Night Live cast member, and the squinty-eyed munchy-listing dude from Dave Chapelle’s stoner cult comedy, Half Baked, Breuer is taking the path less traveled for the latest incarnation of his stand-up aesthetic. He’s done swearing. That’s right, no more fucking curse words, man. Why? Well, Breuer’s upping his writing game, because not only is he a storyteller but also a father of three. Heeding the philosophy of comedy giant Jerry Seinfeld, who fancies himself a “clean comic,” Breuer’s Live and Let Laugh tour finds the 2-year-old New York native taking his observational humor to his droves of fans lovingly referred to as the “Breu Crew,” which may include his inspiration for his bleating

Doors open at 8 p.m.; 2901 Grand River Ave., Detroit; 313-309-4614; soundboarddetroit.com. Tickets are $25+.

WEDNESDAY, 11/6 @ Sanctuary

MUSIC Unfortunately, it seems like it’s always one step forward and two steps back with heavy metal icons Pentagram. Founded some 50 years ago in northern Virginia, the band earned a cult following thanks to its pioneering of a druggy, sludgy sound that would eventually be known as doom metal. The band eventually fizzled out due to frontman Bobby Liebling’s struggles with drugs, but made a triumphant return following the 2011 doc Last Days Here, which saw Liebling take control of his life and introduced the band to a whole new generation. But in 2017, the band kicked Liebling out; later that year he relapsed and pleaded guilty to assaulting his mother, and served 18 months in prison. Liebling is now back in the band, and claims he is “remorseful and rehabilitated.” Let’s hope so. The Lucid Furs, Midas, and Temple of the Fuzz Witch are also on the bill. —Lee DeVito oors open a p.m. Caniff St., Hamtramck; 313-462-4117; sanctuarydetroit.com. Tickets are $18+.

WsG ReAiAh TrUe & LaUrEn ElEnE

Thursday 11/7

YaM YaM

Friday 11/8

PhLuFfHeAd

Saturday 11/9

KuNg Fu

WsG ThE JaUnTeE

Wednesday 11/13

FrUiTbAtS

WsG SkYwAy MaN

Friday 11/15

TrAvErS BrOtHeRsHiP

WsG RoYaL GrAnD BaNd

Saturday 11/16

ThE NoRtH 41 WsG MeLoPhObIx

Saturday 11/23

RoOtS ViBrAtIoNs

Friday 11/29

RaIsInG ThE DeAd FoR TiCkEtS & DiNnEr ReSeRvAtIoNs

ViSiT OtUsSuPpLy.CoM 345 E 9 MILE RD

FeRnDaLe

metrotimes.com | October 30-November 5, 2019

The

Old

Miami

OUR PATIO NIGHTLY BONFIRES ON

FRIDAY, NOVEMBER 1ST

VALID “MIHAJLOWEEN” W/ MAYAENI, KETCH P, THE REAL MARQUISE PORTER, RASHID HADEE, & FRIENDS 9PM DOORS / $5 COVER

(HALLOWEEN, DAY OF THE DEAD, BOOTY SHAKING SKELETON BEATS & RAPS)

SATURDAY, NOVEMBER 2ND

UGLY FLANNEL, PHONY, JONATHAN FRANCO, PISTOL GANG 9PM DOORS / $5 COVER

THIS WEEK MUSIC Wednesday, Oct. 30 Halloween Mega Blitz 7 p.m. ; The Loving Touch, 22634 Woodward Ave., Ferndale; $5. Hamtramck Unplugged 2 p.m. ; Trixie’s, 2656 Carpenter St., Hamtramck; KING 810 • SMASH YOUR ENEMIES • MAMMON • CREWNECK 7 p.m. Sanctuary Detroit, 2 2 Caniff St., Hamtramck; $13. Milfie, Curtis Roach, Problematic Black Hottie 9 p.m. ; UFO Factory, 2110 Trumbull Ave., Detroit; $10. Psychopathic Soopa Party [Devil’s Night Edition] 10 p.m. ; El Club, 4114 W. Vernor Hwy., Detroit; $30+.

$12+. Peter Hook & The Light 7 p.m. ; Saint Andrew’s Hall, 431 E. Congress St., Detroit; $27.50. Saving Abel/Saliva/Trapt/Tantric 6 p.m. ; The Machine Shop, 3539 S. Dort Hwy., Flint; $25. Sorcerer Quartet with Dave Sharp & Time Haldeman 7 p.m. ; The Blue LLama Jazz Club, 314 S. Main St., Ann Arbor; Tales from the Crypt 11 p.m. ; Deluxx Fluxx, 1274 Library St., Detroit; Free. Thrg004: Good Eve 9 p.m. ; Marble Bar, 1501 Holden St., Detroit; $5. Titus Andronicus 7 p.m. ; Deluxx Fluxx, 1274 Library St., Detroit; $15.

Friday, Nov. 1

Psyclon Nine, Striplicker, Justin Symbol 7 p.m. ; Token Lounge, 28949 Joy Rd., Westland; $15.

American Horror Soiree Halloween Party 9 p.m. ; Lucky Strike Novi, 44325 West 12 Mile Road, Novi; $10.

FREE POOL MONDAYS! EVERY MONDAY!

Rasputina, Charming Disaster 7 p.m. ; El Club, 4114 W. Vernor Hwy., Detroit; $17+.

Diego Figueiredo Duo 7 & 9:30 p.m. ; The Blue LLama Jazz Club, 314 S. Main St., Ann Arbor; $20+.

FRIDAY, NOVEMBER 8TH

Season of the Witch - Devil’s Night Show 8 p.m. ; Third Man Records Cass Corridor, 441 W. Canfield St., Detroit; $25.

John 5, Jared Nichols James, Reverend Jack 7 p.m. ; Token Lounge, 28949 Joy Rd., Westland; $25.

(LOUD GUITAR, KEYBOARD, DRUM MACHINE, ACOUSTIC INDIE POP GOO-GAZE SOUNDS)

THE FUNK FACTORY, SECOND HAND MOJO, RIVER BOTTOM MUD JUNKIES

The Shroomhead 6 p.m. ; The Machine Shop, 3539 S. Dort Hwy., Flint; $20.

SATURDAY, NOVEMBER 9TH

STARSET 6 p.m. ; Majestic Theatre, 4140 Woodward Ave., Detroit; $25.

(DETROIT DJ DANCE PARTY)

Twiztid 6 p.m. ; Saint Andrew’s Hall, 431 E. Congress St., Detroit; $25.

NOTHING ELEGANT

FRIDAY, NOVEMBER 15TH

TRE LB (RECORD RELEASE), GUERILLA FIST RECORDS, ANT G, FURY, EGYPT, GOOFY MIKE, FLY YOUNG, EJ, BOSS BREAD, GOD ALLMIGHTY ENT., DOUGHBOYY, TRUTH HURTZ, HOSTED BY RUDE BOY + DJ CARLITO

SATURDAY, NOVEMBER 16TH THE FRUITS, WALLY DOGGER, ROTTENMOUTH

OPEN EVERY DAY INCLUDING HOLIDAYS INSTAGRAM & FACEBOOK: THEOLDMIAMI CALL US FOR BOOKING! 313-831-3830

The Old Miami

3930 Cass • Cass Corridor • 313-831-3830

24 October 30-November 5, 2019 | metrotimes.com

Yotto 9:30 p.m. ; Magic Stick, 4120 Woodward Ave., Detroit; $20+.

Thursday, Oct. 31 Balvin Bunny Bounce - A Haunted Latin Trap Party 10 p.m. ; El Club, 4114 W. Vernor Hwy., Detroit; $5-$40. Carrie Underwood 7 p.m. ; Little Caesars Arena, 2645 Woodward Ave., Detroit; $33+. Dateless 9 p.m. ; The Grasshopper Underground, 22757 Woodward Ave., Ferndale; $5-$10. Gryffin 7 p.m. ; Royal Oak Music Theatre, 318 W. Fourth St., Royal Oak; $35+. Holloweed Costume Party 9 p.m. ; 19446 James Couzens Fwy, 19446 James Couzens Freeway, Detroit; $0-$500. ICP’s Hallowicked 2019 3 p.m. ; The Russell, 1600 Clay Street, Detroit; $37.50+. Nosferatu + Live Music 7-11 p.m. ; The Cube, 3711 Woodward Ave., Detroit;

John Gorka 8 p.m. ; The Ark, 316 S. Main St., Ann Arbor; $20. Maxo Kream 7 p.m. ; El Club, 4114 W. Vernor Hwy., Detroit; $20-$50. The Ocean Blue 8 p.m. ; Magic Bag, 22920 Woodward Ave., Ferndale; $25. Oliver Tree 7 p.m. ; Majestic Theatre, 4140 Woodward Ave., Detroit; $22. Ryan Bingham 8 p.m. ; Saint Andrew’s Hall, 431 E. Congress St., Detroit; $30. Slowfoot’s 1st Annual Halloween Spooktacular 7-11:59 p.m. ; The PLAT (Pontiac Little Art Theatre), 47 N Saginaw, Pontiac; $10. yMusic 8 p.m. ; Rackham Auditorium, 915 E. Washington St., Ann Arbor;

Saturday, Nov. 2 Blimes and Gab & Dave B. 7 p.m. ; Underground @ DIME, 1265 Griswold St, Detroit; $17. Day of the Dead 10 p.m. ; Grand Circus Detroit, 1570 Woodward Ave, Detroit; $10-$15. Fisher: You Little Beauty Tour 9 p.m. ; Elektricity Nightclub, 15 S. Saginaw St., Pontiac; $45+. Illenium 7 p.m. ; Cathedral Theatre at the Masonic Temple, 500 Temple St., Detroit; $56+.

Sleater-Kinney, Majestic Theatre, Nov. 4.

COURTESY OF THE BAND

Jay Ungar & Molly Mason 8 p.m. ; The Ark, 316 S. Main St., Ann Arbor; $20.

Burch 7 p.m. ; Deluxx Fluxx, 1274 Library St., Detroit; $10.

Jeffrey Lewis & Los Bolts, Fat Angry Hens, Jheremie Jacque 8 p.m. ; PJ’s Lager House, 1254 Michigan Ave., Detroit; $10.

Bea Miller: Sunsets in Outerspace Tour 6 p.m. ; Saint Andrews Hall, 431 East Congress Street, Detroit; $18.

John Cameron Mitchell 8 p.m. ; Hill Auditorium, 825 N. University Ave., Ann Arbor; $14+.

Gregory Alan Isakov 7 p.m. ; Masonic Temple, 500 Temple St., Detroit; $35+.

Liszt & Tchaikovsky 8 p.m. ; Michigan Theater, 603 E. Liberty St., Ann Arbor; $75.

Jordan Rakei 7 p.m. ; El Club, 4114 W. Vernor Hwy., Detroit; $20-$25.

Lotus Land wsg The Muggs 7 p.m. ; Harpos, 14238 Harper Avenue, Detroit; $25.

Julia Michaels: Inner Monologue Tour 7 p.m. ; Royal Oak Music Theatre, 318 W. Fourth St., Royal Oak; $25-$30.

LowDown Brass Band 7 & 9:30 p.m. ; The Blue LLama Jazz Club, 314 S. Main St., Ann Arbor; $25+.

Mezz, Mac Saturn, Mustardmind (NYC), and Asphalt Flowers 8-11:59 p.m. ; PJ’s Lager House, 1254 Michigan Ave., Detroit; $8.

Mal Blum and River Spirit 8 p.m. ; Outer Limits Lounge, 5507 Caniff St., Hamtramck; $10.

Sleater-Kinney 7 p.m. ; Majestic Theatre, 4140 Woodward Ave., Detroit; $37.50.

Max Bemis, Perma, Museum Mouth 7 p.m. ; The Loving Touch, 22634 Woodward Ave., Ferndale; $17.

Tuesday, Nov. 5

Temples 6 p.m. ; The Shelter, 431 E. Congress St., Detroit; $27.75. Toro Y Moi 7 p.m. ; Majestic Theatre, 4140 Woodward Ave., Detroit; Sold-out.

Sunday, Nov. 3 Frankie & the Witch Fingers 7 p.m. ; Deluxx Fluxx, 1274 Library St., Detroit; $10. Icon for Hire, Veridia 6:30 p.m. ; The Loving Touch, 22634 Woodward Ave., Ferndale; $16. JJ Wilde 7 p.m. ; The Shelter, 431 E. Congress St., Detroit; $12. Savoy Brown 8 p.m. ; Magic Bag, 22920 Woodward Ave., Ferndale; $30.

Monday, Nov. 4 Amy O, Advance Base, Anna

Big Freedia 7 p.m. ; Saint Andrew’s Hall, 431 E. Congress St., Detroit; $25. Celine Dion: Courage World Tour 7:30 p.m. ; Little Caesars Arena, 2645 Woodward Ave., Detroit; $95+. Chris Webby 8 p.m. ; Blind Pig, 208 S. First St., Ann Arbor; $28. Crumb 7 p.m.; Majestic Theatre, 4140 Woodward Ave., Detroit; $21+. Dennis Coffey 8 p.m. ; Northern Lights Lounge, 660 W. Baltimore St., Detroit; Free. Neil Hilborn 7 p.m. ; The Crofoot Ballroom, 1 S. Saginaw St., Pontiac; $20. SEPTEMBER MOURNING 7 p.m. ; Token Lounge, 28949 Joy Rd., Westland; $12.

THEATER Evil Dead Detroit Thursday-Saturday, 8 p.m.; City Theatre, 2301 Woodward

Ave., Detroit; $38.50. Sasha Velour Presents: Smoke & Mirrors Wednesday, 7 p.m. ; Royal Oak Music Theatre, 318 W. Fourth St., Royal Oak; $68+. THE COLOR PURPLE Friday, 8 p.m. and Saturday, 2 & 8 p.m. ; The Whiting, 1241 E. Kearsley St., Flint; $35+. The Sweet Spot Detroit Sunday 6 p.m. ; The Garden Theater, 3929 Woodward Ave., Detroit; Free.

COMEDY 313 Comedy Night Sunday Nov. 3, 8 p.m. ; Detroit Shipping Company, 474 Peterboro St., Detroit; Free. All-Star Showdown Fridays, Saturdays, 8 & 10 p.m. ; Go Comedy! Improv Theater, 261 E. Nine Mile Rd., Ferndale; $20. Anjelah Johnson: Technically Not Stalking Saturday Nov. 2, 7 p.m. ; Royal Oak Music Theatre, 318 W. Fourth St., Royal Oak; $35-$65. Brewing For Comedy Every other Tuesday, 9-11 p.m. ; Craft Heads Brewing Company, 89 University Avenue West, Windsor; Free. Cat & Nat #MOMTRUTHS Live Sunday Nov. 3, 7 p.m. ; Sound Board, 2901 Grand River Ave., Detroit; $64+. Chris D’elia: Follow the Leader Tour Tuesday, 7 p.m. ; Royal Oak Music Theatre, 318 W. Fourth St., Royal Oak; $39+. Cocktail Comedy Hour Frdays, Saturdays, 8-9 p.m. ; The Independent Comedy Club at Planet Ant, 2320 Caniff Ave., Hamtramck; $10. Detroit to LA Comedy Challenge - SEMI FINALS Tuesday Nov. 5, 7:30 p.m. ; Mark Ridley’s Comedy Castle, 310 S. Troy St., Royal Oak; $10. Fresh Sauce Sundays, 9 p.m. ; Go

metrotimes.com | October 30-November 5, 2019

THIS WEEK Comedy! Improv Theater, 261 E. Nine Mile Rd., Ferndale; Free. Jane Fonda & Lily Tomlin Wednesday, 7:30 p.m. ; Fox Theatre, 2211 Woodward Ave., Detroit; $99+. Jim Gaffigan - Secrets And Pies Tour Sunday, 8 p.m. ; Caesars Palace Windsor - Augustus Ballroom, 377 E. Riverside Dr., Windsor; $77+. Jokermail Productions Presents Abla Fahita - Transit In USA Saturday Nov. 2, 8 & 9 p.m. ; The Music Hall, 350 Madison Ave., Detroit; $50-$125. Monday Night Improv Mondays, 8-10 p.m.; Planet Ant Black Box, 2357 Caniff Street, amtram ; 5. Name This Show Fridays, Saturdays, 11:45 p.m. ; Go Comedy! Improv Theater, 261 E. Nine Mile Rd., Ferndale; Free. Open Mic Night Wednesday 7:30 p.m. ; Mark Ridley’s Comedy Castle, 310 S. Troy St., Royal Oak; $5. Quinn Patterson Friday, 7:15 & 9:45 p.m. and Saturday, 7 & 9:30 p.m. ; Mark Ridley’s Comedy Castle, 310 S. Troy St., Royal Oak; $18. Sunday Buffet Sundays, 7 p.m. ; Go Comedy! Improv Theater, 261 E. Nine Mile Rd., Ferndale; $10. Thursday Night Live! Thursdays, 0 .m. ; Ant all, 2320 Caniff St., Hamtramck; $5. Tom Papa Friday Nov. 1, 7 p.m. ; Majestic Theatre, 4140 Woodward Ave., Detroit; $29.50+.

DANCE Joffrey Ballet: Beyond Shore Saturday, 7:30 p.m. & Sunday, 2:30 p.m. ; Detroit Opera House, 1526 Broadway St., Detroit; $35+.

FILM Brew and View- Rocky Horror Thursday, 8 p.m.; Emerald Theatre, 31 N. Walnut St., Mount Clemens; $10. Bladerunner Saturday, 8-11 p.m. ; Senate Theater, 6424 Michigan Ave., Detroit; $5. Hocus Pocus Movie with Q&A Wednesday, 7 p.m.; The Capitol Theatre, 140 E. Second St., Flint; $20.50+ Southeast Michigan Film Festival Friday, 6 p.m.; Sanctuary; 2932 Caniff St, amtram ; 5 . The Rocky Horror Picture Show Wednesday & Thursday, 7:45 & 10 p.m. ; Cinema Detroit, 4126 Third Street, Detroit; $10.

26 October 30-November 5, 2019 | metrotimes.com

Stop Making Sense, Detroit Film Theatre, Nov. 1.

ART

COURTESY PALM PICTURES

COMMUNITY

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

Detroit Club Art Auction: DAM Gala 5 Saturday, 7-10 p.m. ; The Detroit Club / The Library Club, 712 Cass Ave., Detroit; $100.

Educator Event | Guests of Honor: Jean-Antoine Houdon’s Portraits of Americans in the Age of Enlightenment Friday, 5:30 p.m. ; Detroit Institute of Arts, 5200 Woodward Ave., Detroit; Free to tricounty educators.

Laugh For Charity Friday, 7 p.m.; Silver Garden Events Center, 24350 Sout eld d., Sout eld; 25 .

Humble and Human: Impressionist Era Treasures from the Albright-Knox Art Gallery and the Detroit Institute of Arts, an Exhibition in Honor of Ralph C. Wilson, Jr. Tuesdays-Saturdays.; Detroit Institute of Arts, 5200 Woodward Ave., Detroit; Admission is free with museum admission to residents of Wayne, Oakland, and Macomb counties. Michigan Watercolor Society: 72nd Annual Award Recipients Exhibition Through Nov. 27; Alfred Berkowitz Gallery, U of M-Dearborn, Dearborn; Free. SMALL WORKS Juried All Media Exhibition Through Nov. 30. Northville Art House, 215 W. Cady St., Northville; Free. 14th Annual First Frost Arts & Fine Crafts Fair Saturday & Sunday, 10 a.m.; Flint Institute of Arts, 1120 E. Kearsley St., Flint; $5. 14th Annual First Frost Arts & Fine Crafts Fair Saturday & Sunday, 10 a.m.; Flint Institute of Arts, 1120 E. Kearsley St., Flint; $5. 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. Highlights of the Permanent Collection Thursdays, 1 p.m. ; Detroit Institute of Arts, 5200 Woodward Ave., Detroit; Free.

Metropolitan Museum of Design Detroit International Design Dare Reveal Saturday, 7 p.m. ; Belle Isle Aq uarium, Inselruhe Avenue, Detroit; $75.

LITERARY EVENT DPL Author Series : Steven Luxenberg Tuesday, 6 p.m. ; Main | Detroit Public Library, 5201 Woodward Avenue, Detroit; Free.

FUN FOR ALL Baby Shark Live! Sunday Nov. 3, 2 p.m. ; Fox Theatre, 2211 Woodward Ave., Detroit; $14.50-$64.50. Andy Gross Live Saturday, 7:30 p.m. ; Emerald Theatre, 31 N. Walnut St., Mount Clemens; $20. Detroit City Chess Club Open Play Fridays, 4 p.m. ; Detroit Institute of Arts, 5200 Woodward Ave., Detroit; Free. Youmacon Thursday-Sunday; Cobo Center, 1 Washington Blvd., Detroit; $70+.

SPORTS Detroit Lions Watch Parties Sunday, 3-8 p.m. ; Beacon Park, 1901 Grand River Ave, Detroit; Free. Florida Panthers at Detroit Red Wings Monday, 7:30 p.m.; Little Caesars Arena, 2645 Woodward Ave., Detroit; $20. International BigTime Wrestling Sunday, 6 p.m. ; Token Lounge, 28949 Joy Rd., Westland; $10.

THIS WEEK HALLOWEEN Events

No child’s play

Janella Reiswig and Alan Wigness from West St. Paul, Minnesota performed as the Third Fleet Master and The Huntsman from Monster Hunter World at Youmacon 2018. They secured a first place win in the International Cosplay League. JOHN L. MEDCALF

Youmacon enters the wild world of competitive cosplaying By Lee DeVito

Emily Wallin-Kale was

in love with costumes ever since she was young, thanks to all the dance classes she enrolled in as a child. So when she started getting into Japanese anime as a hobby, she asked her mom, who had a fashion degree, for help sewing costumes of her favorite characters. It soon became more than just a hobby. “I spent 18 hours painting a Sailor Moon costume because the skirt had a rainbow gradient,” she says. “And from there it just, it just snowballed.” Wallin-Kale soon started competing, and winning, in the world of cosplay — or competitive costumed performances based on anime and videogame characters that are popular at anime conventions like this week’s Youmacon in Detroit. But it wasn’t an easy road. “I didn’t start actually really winning anything until I buckled down and focused on my craftsmanship, probably a good five or six years since

it became a hobby,” she says. Now, she’s won more than 22 awards in cosplay competitions since 2012. Because of her experience, the Grand Rapids-based cosplayer was tapped to help Youmacon enter the international cosplay scene. Last year, the convention earned the rights to run the preliminary round for the United States for the International Cosplay League, which is held each September in Madrid. The con also hosts the preliminary round for Clara Cow’s Cosplay Cup, which happens every June in the Netherlands. And new this year, Youmacon is also hosting the preliminaries for the Cosplay World Masters Championship, which happens in Portugal in the spring. “I’ve actually been working behind the scenes to get Youmacon involved on the international stage for the last three years,” Wallin- ale says. “So we finally got it and I’m just like, let’s do this.” Wallin-Kale says cosplay competitions are typically broken into two categories: solos and teams. Both are judged primarily on craftsmanship. At Youmacon, the entrants meet with a panel of judges for private judging sessions. For teams, things get a little crazy, with the entrants judged on performing a skit. When she represented the U.S. in the Netherlands, Wallin-Kale and her partner Caitlin

Bannister performed “Some Things Are Meant to Be” from Little Women as characters from the anime Sword Art Online II. (“I was watching that part of the show and I just thought, ‘That right there, Little Women,’” she says.) Wallin-Kale is quick to point out that cosplay competitions, especially on the international stage, are not all fun and games. “The biggest thing you have to understand going in is that it is a long and grueling process,” she says. “Your schedule is grueling, and the time change is absolutely crazy.” Plus, there’s the logistical di culties of transporting elaborate, handmade costumes across the sea. “I actually put my competition stuff all in the carry-on,” Wallin- ale says. “I don’t even risk losing it. I’m just like, this is all I have to wear for the next three days, this is what I’m getting.” You also have to be ready to make last-minute adjustments without the comfort of your studio. “I had a friend, he was painting and gluing things in the hotel room the night before the competition,” she says. “I woke up at like 6 a.m. to, like, panicked messages going, ‘Does anyone have glue?’ And I’m just like, ‘Oh God, I’m so glad I’m not on that train right now because I’ve been on that train and I don’t like it.’” “You have to also realize that it is tough,” she adds. “It is tough as heck. Like, some people come out of it not being friends anymore, and you just have to be realistic about it.” Still, Wallin-Kale says it’s the passion for cosplay and the fellowship with other cosplayers that makes her go back to it each year — which is something that transcends borders. “I might not be able to speak Mandarin,” she says. “But I can sit there and geek out over China’s cosplay team and be able to write them an email and have them remember me.” Youmacon takes place Thursday, Oct. 31 through Sunday, Nov. 3 at TCF Center and Renaissance Center; see youmacon.com for full schedule. Threeday badges are $70, Thursday evening’s events are free and open to non-badge holders. Use promo code “METROTIMES” for a discount.

PARTIES Mr. B’s Karoke & Costume Bash Mr. B’s Gastropub, 215 S. Main St., Royal Oak; 248-399-0017; mrbspub.com. Wednesday, Oct. 30, 9:30 p.m.; No cover. Delux Lounge Freak Show Scarioke-karaoke Delux Bar & Lounge, 350 Monroe St., Detroit; 313-962-4200; deluxlounge.com. Wednesday, Oct. 30, 9 p.m.; No cover. Annual Halloween Dinner Adventure The Whitney, 34421 Woodward Ave., Detroit; 313-832-5700 thewhitney.com. Wednesday and Thursday, Oct. 30-31, 6:30-10 p.m., $150. Houdini’s All Hallows Eve Ball The Detroit Club, 712 Cass Ave., Detroit; detroithistoryclub.com. Thursday, Oct. 31; 7-11 p.m.; $100. Kapone’s Halloween Kapone’s, 24301 Harper Ave., St. Clair Shores; 586-200-5242; kaponesbar.com. Thursday, Oct. 31, 9:30 p.m.; No cover. Dooley’s Tavern Halloween 32500 Gratiot Ave., Roseville; 586-294-5331; dooleysirish.com. Thursday, Oct. 31, 8 p.m.; No cover. Checker Bar Boos, Brews, & Booze Checker Bar, 124 Cadillac Sq., Detroit; 313961-9249; checkerbar.com. Thursday, Oct. 31, 7 p.m.; No cover. Parkhouse presents: Tales from the Crypt Deluxx Fluxx; 1274 Library St., Detroit; deluxxfluxx.com. Thursday, Oct. 31; 11 p.m.; No cover. Haireoko: Scaryoke Edition with Cole Davis PizzaPlex, 4458 W. Vernor Hwy., Detroit; 313757-4992; pizzaplex.com. Thursday, Oct. 31, 9 p.m., no cover. Halloween Spectacular: Freaks, Frills, and Thrills Willis Show Bar, 4156 Third Ave., Detroit; 313788-7469; willisshowbar.com. Thursday, Oct. 31, performances at 8 & 10:30 p.m.; $15-$20, no cover after 11:30 p.m. Howlin’ Halloween Masquerade Tangent Gallery, 715 E. Milwaukee St, Detroit; 313-873-2955; tangentgallery.com Oct. 31; 7 p.m.-2 a.m.; $10. Nightmare Before Youmacon Ontario Ballroom of the Marriott at the Renaissance Center, 400 Renaissance Ctr., Detroit; youmacon.com. Thursday, Oct. 31; 8 p.m.-midnight; No cover. Hauntiac Party Paissa Wine Cellar, 31 N. Saginaw St., Pontiac; 248-952-9800; getlocalhop.com/hauntiac-party Friday, Nov. 1, 8 p.m.; $20+.

MUSIC Evil Dead: The Musical City Theatre, 2301 Woodward Ave., Detroit; 313471-3211; 313presents.com. Thursday-Sundays through Nov. 2, 8 p.m.; $38.50.

metrotimes.com | October 30-November 5, 2019

Runs Nov. 1-2; Starts at dusk; $30+.

Insane Clown Posse’s Hallowicked Earlier this year it was discovered that Juggalo makeup may thwart public surveillance and facial recognition software. What better way to stick it to the man than to celebrate Halloween in true Juggalo fashion? (Whoop whoop!) Entering its 26th year, Insane Clown Posse returns to Detroit to throw the stickiest, wickedest Halloween party around. What started out in the early ’90s during Detroit’s violent Devil’s Night heyday has become a tradition and, for some, a rite of passage for Juggalos and Juggalettes across the

Terrorfied Forest 145 Swarthout Rd., Pickney; 248-537-5788; terrorfiedforest.com. Runs Oct. 30 and Nov. 1-2; Friday and Saturday, 8 p.m.-midnight, Oct. 30, 8 p.m.-midnight., Nov. 1-2, 8- 11 p.m.; $20+.

nation. While ICP has acknowledged that their, uh, music, may not be fit for everyone’s tastes and they may tout themselves as a tight-knit family, the Juggalos might just be the most inclusive group around — which warms our hatchetman protected hearts. So, slap on some war paint and, as always, BYOF — bring your own Faygo. —Jerilyn Jordan ICP’s Hallowicked takes place at 3 p.m. on Thursday, Oct. 31; Russell Industrial Center, 1600 Clay St., Detroit ; 313-872-4000; ticketweb.com. $37.50+.

Twisted Fears Haunted House 24213 Harrison St., Clinton Twp.,michiganhauntedhouses.com Runs Oct. 31; 6 p.m.-midnight; Free. Xtreme Escape Rooms 14620 23 Mile Rd., Shelby Twp; 586-961-2604; xtremeescaperooms.com Runs seven days a week, Monday through Friday, 5 p.m.-9 p.m., Saturday and Sunday 12 p.m.-11 p.m.; $25+.

FAMILY FUN JOSH JUSTICE

Season of the Witch: Devil’s Night Third Man Records, 441 W. Canfield St., Detroit; 313-209-5205; thirdmanrecords.com. Oct. 30. 7 p.m., $25. Event is costume mandatory. Stuntie: Devil’s Night Deluxx Fluxx; 1274 Library St., Detroit; deluxxfluxx.com. Wednesday, Oct. 30; 10 p.m.; No cover. Halloween Mega Blitz Loving Touch, 22634 Woodward Ave., Ferndale; 248-820-5596; thelovingtouchferndale.com. Wednesday, Oct. 30, 7 p.m.; $5. Frightfest with Twizted and more Saint Andrew’s Hall, 431 E. Congress St., Detroit; 313-961-8961; saintandrewshalldetroit. com. Wednesday, Oct. 30, 6 p.m.; $25. Psychopathic Soopa Party: Devil’s Night Edition El Club, 4114 W. Vernor Hwy., Detroit; 313-2797382; elclubdetroit.com. Wednesday, Oct. 30, 8 p.m.; $30. 2nd Annual Outer Limits Halloween Cover Show Outer Limits Lounge, 4407 Caniff St., Detroit; 313-826-0456; outerlimitslounge.com. Thursday, Oct. 31, 8 p.m.; $4. Something Cold Halloween UFO Factory, 2110 Trumbull St., Detroit; facebook.com/ufofactorydetroit. Thursday, Oct. 31, 10 p.m.; No cover. Nosteratu + Live music The Cube, 3711 Woodward Ave., Detroit; 313576-5111; dso.org. Thursday, Oct. 31, 7 p.m.; $12+. Defiled Halloween: Thinning of the Veil Small’s, 1039 Conant St., Hamtramck; 313-8731117; smallsbardetroit.com. Thursday, Oct. 31, 9 p.m.; $3. Balvin Bunny Bounce: A Haunted Latin Trap Party El Club, 4114 Vernor Hwy., Detroit; elclubdetroit.com Thursday, Oct. 31, 10 p.m.; $5+. Halloween Battle of the Cover Bands Exferimentation Brewing Co., 7 N. Saginaw St., Pontiac; 248-648-1377; exferimentationbrewing.com. Thursday, Oct. 31; 7 p.m.; No cover. The Halloween Hangover with Icy Dicey, Motörbreath and Psychotic Paradise The Loft, 414 E. Michigan Ave., Lansing; theloftlansing.com. Nov. 1, 7:30 p.m.; $10+.

HAUNTED HOUSES AND ATTRACTIONS Awaken Haunted Attraction 4760 Churchill Rd., Leslie; 517-878-3030; awakenhaunt.com Runs Oct. 30-31, Nov. 1-2, 7- 11 p.m.; $22+. Azra: Chamber of Horrors 31401 John R Rd.,Madison Heights; 734-7180088; azrahaunt.com Runs Oct. 30-31, Nov. 1-2; 7 p.m.; $25+. Bates Haunted Sawmill 7240 State Rd., Millington; 989-860-5257. Runs Nov. 1-2, 7:30 p.m.-11 p.m.; $12+. Challenges East Lansing Adventure Rooms 3044 E. Lake Lansing Rd., East Lansing; 517679-0111; challengeseastlansing.com Runs seven days a week, Monday through Thursday 5-9 p.m., Friday 5 p.m.- midnight, Saturday, noon-midnight, Sunday 1-8 p.m.; $25+.

Haunted Farm of Terror 28405 26 Mile Rd., Lenox Twp.; 586-203-7222; hauntedfarmofterror.com. Runs Nov. 1-2; 6:30 p.m.; $17+. p.m. $14+. The Haunted Funeral Home 3880 Inkster Rd., Inkster; 734-833-7880; facebook.com/the-haunted-funeral-home. Runs Oct. 31 and Nov. 1-2; Friday-Saturday, 7 p.m.-midnight, Halloween, 8 p.m.-midnight; $12. Haunting in Irish Hills 7203 U.S. Hwy 12, Onsted; 419-654-5799. Runs Oct. 30-31, Nov. 1-2, Dusk; $10+. Hush 37550 Cherry Rd., Westland; 734-502-6026; hushhaunt.com Runs Oct. 30-31, Nov. 1-2; Friday, Saturday, and Halloween, 7 p.m.-midnight, Nov. 1-2, 7 p.m.midnight; $24.99+.

DarkSyde Acres 11375 Rowe Rd., Jonesville; 517-549-5100; darksydeacres.com Runs Oct. 31 and Nov. 1-2; 8-11:30 p.m.; $22+.

Jackson’s Underworld 1318 Wildwood Ave., Jackson; 517-936-5834; jxunderworld.com. Runs Oct. 30-31, Nov. 1-2; Halloween, 7 p.m.11 p.m. and Friday & Saturday, 7 p.m.-1 a.m.; $20+.

Decades of the Dead 119 S. Main St., Yale; facebook.com/decadesofthedead119. Runs Oct. 30-31, 6 p.m.-10 p.m.; $14+.

Morrow Road Haunted Trail 1890 S Bartlett Rd.,St Clair; 586-255-6036; morrowroad.com. Runs Nov. 1-2, 8 p.m.-midnight; $22+.

Edson Incident USS Edson,1680 Martin St., Bay City; edsonincident.com. Runs Nov. 1-2; Friday, 8 p.m., Saturday, 7 p.m.,; $15+.

Night Terrors Haunted Thrill Park 5565 Merritt Rd., Ypsilanti Twp., hauntedhousemichigan.com. Runs Oct. 31, Nov. 1-2; Halloween, 7:15-10 p.m. Friday and Saturday, 7:15-11:30 p.m.; $18-$20, or $37.99+ for four attractions.

Erebus Haunted Attraction 18 S. Perry St., Pontiac; 248-332-7884; hauntedpontiac.com. Oct. 30-31, Nov. 1-2; Monday-Thursday, 7:3010:30 p.m., Friday and Saturday 6 p.m.-1 a.m.; $20+. Escape Room Novi 44325 W. 12 Mile Rd. Suite H-175, Novi; 248308-2500; escaperoomnovi.com. Runs seven days a week, Sunday through Thursday 3-10 p.m., Friday 3 p.m.-1 a.m., Saturday noon-1 a.m.; $25+. Exit 13 Haunted House 6069 N. Saginaw St., Mount Morris; exit13hauntedhouse.com. Runs Oct. 30-31, Nov. 1-2; Sunday & Thursday, 8-11 p.m., Friday and Saturday, 7 p.m.-1 a.m. and Oct. 31, 9 p.m.-midnight; $27+. The Haunt 1256 28th St., Grand Rapids; the-haunt.com. Runs Oct. 31; 7 p.m.; $20+.

28 October 30-November 5, 2019 | metrotimes.com

Niles Scream Park 855 Mayflower Rd., Niles; 269-687-3327; haunted.org. Runs Oct. 31, 7-10 p.m.; $9+. Purgatory Haunted House 3131 Biddle Ave., Wyandot; 734-288-7024. Runs Nov. 1-2; Friday and Saturday 7 p.m.midnight; $10+. Rotten Manor 13245 Dixie Hwy., Holly;248-390-4195; rottenmanor.com. Runs Oct. 31 and Nov. 1-2; Friday and Saturday 7 p.m.- midnight, Halloween 8-11 p.m.; $26+ Scream Machine 23131 Ecorse Rd.,Taylor; 734-3090-0756; thescreammachine.com.. Runs through Oct. 31; $18+. Shawhaven Haunted Farm 1826 Rolfe Rd., Mason; 517-676-1649; shawhavenhauntedfarm.com.

Corn Maze Adventure Park & Pumpkin Patch 9391 Lindsey Rd., Casco; 586-365-9401; cornfun.com. Runs Nov. 1-3, Friday 5-10 p.m., Saturday, noon.-1 p.m., Sunday, noon-8 p.m.; $10+. Halloween at the Library Pontiac Public Library, 60 E. Pike St. #2225, Pontiac; 248-758-3942, pontiac.lib.mi.us. Thursday, Oct. 31, 3:30-7:30 p.m.; Free. Halloween at Rouge Park 11701 Burt Rd., Detroit; 313-224-1100; detroitmi.gov/recreation. Oct. 31; 5-9 p.m.; Free. Halloween Party Adams/Butzel Complex, 10500 Lyndon St., Detroit; 313-224-1100; detroitmi.gov/recreation. Thursday, Oct. 31; 4-8 p.m.; Free. Zombie Land Chandler Park, 12851 Frankfort St., Detroit; 313-224-1100; detroitmi.gov/recreation. Thursday, Oct. 31; 5-9 p.m.; Free.

FILM A Bowie Halloween: The Hunger The Film Lab, 3105 Halbrook Ave., Hamtramck; thefilmlab.org. Thursday, Oct. 31., 7 p.m., $8. Rocky Horror Picture Show Cinema Detroit, 4126 Third St., Detroit; 313482-9028; cinemadetroit.com Friday & Saturday, Oct. 25-26 & Wednesday & Thursday, Oct. 30-31, 7:45 p.m. & 10 p.m.; $10. Silence of the Lambs Main Art Theatre, 118 N. Main St., Royal Oak; 248-542-5198; landmarktheatres.com. Friday and Saturday, Nov. 1-2, midnight; $7.

TOURS AND LECTURES Eloise Asylum Tours 30712 Michigan Ave., Westland; 313-355-0721; eloisehauntedtours.com Dates and times vary; Various tours available. $65+. Haunted Detroit Bus Tour Coolidge Inn Bar, 1267 Coolidge Hwy, River Rouge; detroithistorytours.com. Through Nov. 10; $58+.

Día de Muertos Day of the Dead Celebration Clark Park, 1130 Clark St, Detroit; 313-2241100; detroitmi.gov/recreation. Thursday, Oct. 31; 5-9 p.m.; Free.

THIS WEEK

Kero Bonito, and Vivian Girls. Oh, this year she reunited with producer mastermind Fred Thomas to revive their elusive garage pop foursome via Failed Flowers for a Burch-penned track, “Faces.” For this performance, Burch will be joined by Amy O out of Bloomington, Indiana, and Chicago-based Owen Ashworth, who performs melancholic pop as Advance Base. (We dare you not to cry when listening to Advance Base’s 2018 release, Animal Companionship.) Doors open at 7 p.m.; 1274 Library St., e roi el .com. Tickets are $10.

WEDNESDAY, 11/6 Jesse Palter @ Willis Show Bar

Dixon’s Violin, Otus Supply, Nov. 3.

Livewire

Local music picks By Jerilyn Jordan

WEDNESDAY, 10/30 Soopa Villianz @ El Club

Not all heroes wear capes and not all warriors wear war paint. Then again, some sport both. Such is the case for superheroinspired Juggalo supergroup Soopa Villianz, which will perform on what we’re predicting to be a very sticky Devil’s Night. Formed in 2002 with Psychopathic Records royalty Violent J, Shaggy 2 Dope, Esham, and Lavel, Soopa Villianz went on hiatus in 2005 but found themselves reunited for the 20th annual Soopa Gathering of the Juggalos in Springville, Indiana, earlier this year. To commemorate the reunion, the group dropped a 17-track best-of record this year with Hit List, complete with gunshot sound effects, lyrics about deadbeat moms, migraines, and — a tale as old as time — falling in love with a “hooker.”

COURTESY OF ARTIST

man and his violin. Dixon, who first picked up the violin at 10 and maintained the hobby for 25 years, encountered an existential crossroads after feeling trapped in his corporate career. That is until he, like others, wandered to the Black Rock Desert in Nevada to attend Burning Man, where he says he was surrounded by people who acted a lot differently than he did. This year marked his 10th appearance at the festival and his lush and transportive one-man orchestra-style approach to his instrument, which he accomplishes with live looping techniques, has allowed him to travel the world, give numerous TED Talks, perform at spiritual events, and several incarnations of Electric Forest, one of which he recorded and released in 2018.

Doors open at 6 p.m.; 345 E. Nine Mile Rd., Ferndale; 248-291-6160; otussupply. com. Tickets are $12-$15.

MONDAY, 11/4 Anna Burch with Advance Base and Amy O @ Deluxx Fluxx

Since releasing her stunning and heartachey debut, 2018’s Quit the Curse, Anna Burch has taken her wry musings on closeness on the road and around the globe. At the time of its release, Burch separated from her membership in Matthew Milia-fronted folk mainstay Frontier Ruckus and signed to Polyvinyl, a label she shares with Xiu Xiu, Kero

West Bloomfield native singer-songwriter Jesse Palter found herself severing some ties this year with the release of her debut full-length solo record, Paper Trail, which took more than three years to materialize and serves as her formal transition from classic jazz to pop balladry. Having written music since the age of 13, with a handful of projects and collaborations under her belt, including her work with Sam Barsh — who went to work with Kendrick Lamar and Anderson Paak — as Palter Ego. In 2016, she was signed by the Artistry Music Division of Mack Avenue Records, an independent record label out of Grosse Pointe. Oh, if that’s not enough to pique your curiosity, Palter has performed with jurassic jazz zaddy Jeff Goldblum because, uh, jazz finds a way. Doors open at 8 p.m.;4156 Third St., Detroit; 313-788-7469; willisshowbar. com. Tickets are $20.

Doors open at 8 p.m.; 4114 W. Vernor Hwy., Detroit; 313-279-7382; elclubdetroit.com Tickets are $30.

SATURDAY, 11/3 Dixon’s Violin with Reaiah True and Lauren Elene @ Otus Supply

Do not underestimate the power of a

Jesse Palter, Willis Show Bar, Nov. 6.

COURTESY OF ARTIST

metrotimes.com | October 30-November 5, 2019

Snoop Dogg The Fillmore, Jan. 26, 8 p.m., $57+

AGWILSON/SHUTTERSTOCK

Fast-Forward Jonathan Van Ness The Fillmore, Nov. 7, 7 p.m., $45+

Devendra Banhart MOCAD, Nov. 31, 8 p.m., $31

Eddie Griffin Sound Board at Motor City Casino Hotel, Nov. 8, 8 p.m, $42+

Eric B and Rakim Sound Board, Dec. 1, 7:30 p.m, $42+

Joe Bonamassa Fox Theatre, Nov. 8, 8 p.m, $59+

Chance the Rapper Little Caesars Arena, Feb. 6, 7 p.m.; $59.95

Tool Little Caesars Arena, Nov. 9, 7 p.m., $125+

King Princess Royal Oak Music Theatre, Feb. 7, 7 p.m., $29+

Fantasia Fox Theatre, Nov. 10, 7:30 p.m, $48.50+

The Lumineers Little Caesars Arena, Feb. 7, 7 p.m., $37+

Gucci Mane Fox Theatre, Nov. 16, 8 p.m, $64+

Tim & Eric Masonic Temple, Feb. 19, 7 p.m., $47.50+

Moon Duo MOCAD, Nov. 19, 8 p.m., $15

Blake Shelton Little Caesars Arena, March 21, 7 p.m.; TBA

Elvis Costello & the Imposters Michigan Theater, Nov. 20, 7:30 p.m.; $69.50+

Billie Eilish Little Caesars Arena, March 23, 7 p.m., $94+

Nick Offerman The Fillmore, Nov. 21, 7:30 p.m., $59.50+ Brockhampton Masonic Temple, Nov. 30, 7 p.m., $45

30 October 30-November 5, 2019 | metrotimes.com

Elton John Little Caesars Arena, May 1-2, 7 p.m., $200+ Green Day, Weezer, Fall Out Boy Comerica Park, Aug. 19. 7 p.m., $81+

MUSIC Beyond the dollhouse

Detroit emcee Kash Doll on her first proper LP By Marquin Stanley

Earlier this month, friends and family of Detroit rapper Kash Doll gathered at Novi’s Taipei 101 for a private album listening party ahead of the release of her new record, Stacked, which dropped Oct. 18 on Republic Records. Local hip-hop and R&B artists like Neisha Neshae, Rocky Badd, Sino, Lana Ladonna, and others joined the celebration, and The Breakfast Club’s Angela Yee was even on hand to moderate the event and interview Kash Doll live. “This is history,” Yee said. “You guys don’t understand how much time it takes for Kash Doll to get to the point where she is.” With Stacked, Kash Doll, who performs in Kalamazoo on Friday, has reached a major landmark in her career. Born Arkeisha Knight, Kash Doll started her music career in 2013 when she first started rapping. A year later, her buzz began to quickly build as her remix of Tinashe’s summer smash “2 On” took Detroit radio by storm. Although Kash’s career in music began accelerating forward, label troubles caused the promising rapper to push pause on her progression. Due to a past legal battle with her former label BMB Records, Kash Doll was barred from sharing original music on streaming platforms. But Kash Doll’s fans understand that the release of her debut album represents her victory in the legal battle, which makes the release of Stacked even more special. Stacked follows the release of four mixtapes and EPs, with the latest, The Vault, being released in July 2018. The long-awaited album features big names like Trey Songz, Summer Walker, Teyana Taylor, and Lil Wayne, who appears on the track “Kitten,” which dropped this summer. It also includes “Ready Set,” an inspirational track that features fellow Motor City hometown hero Big Sean. In the video, which dropped in August, Kash Doll and Big Sean race cars on a track that Kash Doll says she rented out herself. “Being from Dexter and Joy Road, I feel like [“Ready Set”] shows people that what you go through doesn’t determine where you’re going,” Kash Doll tells Metro Times. “I feel like it gives

QUATIECE SALTER/ LXVE MEDIA

them some inspiration. We all the way in Cali with it now! We don’t have to just be in the D because we from the D. I want [the video] to inspire others to travel more, to know that there’s more to life, to just live and be happy, you know? We were just having fun. We were betting on who would win the race just for fun. I feel like you can pull a lot out of this video.” In recent years, an in ux of female rappers have entered the industry. This past year alone has been phenomenal for women rap acts, from Nicki Minaj’s crowning achievement of being the first femcee to sell over 100 million RIAA units to the Bay Area’s Saweetie becoming the seventh femcee on Billboard’s Hot 100, women in hip-hop are on the rise. Even though competition among femcees is stronger than ever now, Kash Doll has still managed to insert herself into the top tier of ladies in the lane today. Alongside fellow rappers Cardi B, Megan Thee Stallion, Lizzo, and City Girls, Kash Doll’s movement is knocking doors down in the male-dominated industry. “We are demanding it. Period,” Kash

Doll says. “There’s more girls, so no one is scared to do [hip-hop] anymore. At first, it seemed people were scared that [female rappers] wouldn’t do well or whatever, but I just feel like now we’re demanding it.” “I want to rap, so I’m going to rap,” she says. “Either you take it or leave it and not everyone was embracing that. I’m glad more people are embracing it now, but I feel like they don’t have a choice.” The progress Kash Doll has made over the past year is clear through the music and visuals she has dropped and appeared in. “Ice Me Out” was one of the first singles from Stacked to receive the visual treatment, and it was a clear indication that KD was evolving as an artist. The video, which dropped in November 2018, did not disappoint as the ice princess displayed awless looks while spitting bars in her smooth and subtle style. Following her album release, Kash shared the heartfelt visual for “ D Diary,” which finds the femcee telling her story with revealing lyrics and an insane beat drop. Through her journey, Kash has proven that she is

capable of taking her artistry to the next level. Kash Doll said she hopes Stacked will be much more than an album for the moment. “I don’t want to have that music that you put out, it’s hot for a summer, and then it’s gone,” she said. “I want music that you hear and think, ‘Damn, I can relate to this.’ You get mad at your man, you turn on this song. You love your man, you turn on this song. When you’re going through something personal in your life or when your mom pisses you off, you can turn this song on. I want to have the type of music that, regardless of the situation, you can turn on Kash Doll and be like, ‘Damn, this made me feel better.’” “I want my music to be forever.” Kash Doll will perform with Neisha Neshae, Malcolm Elliott, and DJ Chuck as part of Ladies Night Part II on Friday, Nov. 1 at Kalamazoo State Theatre, 404 S Burdick St., Kalamazoo; 269-3456500; kazoostate.com. Doors are at 7 p.m. Tickets are $35+ and $75+ for a VIP meet-and-greet.

metrotimes.com | October 30-November 5, 2019

MUSIC

Extra Arms.

JODI LYNN BURTON

Collaborative catharsis

Extra Arms gets personal on angsty new record, Up From Here By Jeff

On the opening track of Extra Arms’ new record, p rom ere singer and guitarist Ryan Allen sings, “Fuck last year.” Not to indulge in the cliché of “songwriting as therapy,” but in the case of the eightsongs that make up the band’s new release, the result is exactly that. “As violent or outwardly effecting as it can be to hear someone singing ‘Fuck last year,’ I just knew that in order for myself to heal, I had to purge all those feelings,” Allen says, sitting in a living room encircled by three dudes in majority black attire: Extra Arms lead guitarist Michael Gallacher, bassist Ryan Marshall, and recently joined drummer Daniel Stover. “I knew I couldn’t start to figure out how to navigate this situation without doing this.” “This” is the lyrical content that builds the new album by Extra Arms, out this week, and the “situation” is not

veiled in any metaphors in the album’s lyrics, as it includes, among other things, the end of a long-term relationship. The message from the band, upon encountering their singer in such a state, was, “Let’s keep going,” Gallacher says. “These songs are pissed off and mad, so let’s get loud.” During the process, the band “bonded,” says Allen, “And I think you can feel it on the new record. Like, OK, within the span of four months, we’re going to write an entire record, while also performing shows, and then record it entirely, but we’re also going to California to record it, and we’re going to lock ourselves into this industrial studio space and get everything done in five days.” “From writing the songs, to demoing, to actually recording them, it was so quick, so there wasn’t time to overthink

32 October 30-November 5, 2019 | metrotimes.com

ilo anything,” Gallacher says. It all started when the band sent last year’s very kick-ass ea ac er to California-based engineer and musician Paul Miner — whose production credits includes albums by punk heavyhitters like New Found Glory, Thrice, and Agnostic Front — to mix and master after all tracking was completed in Michigan. “He did an amazing job on that one,” Gallacher says. “So when it came time to do this new record, he said he really wanted to record the whole thing. But I told him, ‘Dude, you’re 2,000 miles away and this band never has any money … which is a byproduct of why we record so fast.” The band said “fuck it” and went and did it anyway because of how much they trusted Miner to capture the sound perfectly. Gallacher describes Miner as “the George Martin of punk rock,” referring

to the “Fifth Beatle.” Allen, meanwhile, posits that even if the whole California trip and the general tracking process was a whirlwind, they were still able to add a lot of textures and vocal harmonies to make this a unique standout in the developing canon of Extra Arms. He compares the end result to fitting somewhere between the punk aggression of the Ramones and the vocal theatrics of the Zombies. Allen has been around the Detroit music scene for 20 years (as has Gallacher), and his early synth-punk/noisepop band Thunderbirds Are Now! had a hot streak in the early 2000s. During that time, they managed to garner quite a bit of buzz from i c or and ollin one wound up getting on a national record label (Frenchkiss, home to Les Savy Fav, the Hold Steady, and Passion Pit, among others) and playing highprofile shows including tours with the

Allen’s brothers in rock weren’t just holding his hand or patting him on the back through this rough patch. Instead, the band’s input helped him navigate what is effectively a concept record. likes of early-aughts indie stalwarts like Minus the Bear and Enon, as well as an appearance at the very first Pitchfork festival in Chicago). While Thunderbirds have slowed to occasional one-off appearances over the years, Allen kept busy with other projects. He angled his knack for writing angular three-minute power-pop songs with indelible choruses into the Pixies-indebted Friendly Foes. Then, in 2010, he apprehensively — but as a personal challenge — presented himself as a “solo project.” While he was still making guitar-centric music in uenced by the likes of Superchunk and Guided By Voices, he consciously chose to wear his heart on his sleeve for the first handful of releases billed as “Ryan Allen & His Extra Arms,” writing songs about fatherhood and settling into domestic bliss. He played most of the instruments on the recordings himself. Before Headacher, Marshall (also of the new-wavy Palaces) and Gallacher (who was working on a project called Monarchs) hopped aboard to become permanent members, with Stover hitching a ride less than a year ago after original drummer Sean Sommer stepped back from the group. “This is definitely the punk-est’ record I’ve ever played on,” Marshall admits, who considers his comfort zone to be nearer to the hazier realms of shoegaze and dream-pop. “But I like doing something different. It’s fun to play a bunch of fast songs. And playing with Dan is the easiest time I’ve had playing with any drummer he’s super consistent and never has an attitude.” “I’m objectively in too many bands in Detroit,” says Stover, who plays drums with like-minded punks Break Anchor, Reuther, and Splitters. His union with the group seemed like destiny, though. Reuther shares a record label with Extra Arms, and all of his bands have shared a stage with Allen-led projects over the years. Stover even lived a mere half-ablock away from where Allen was living at the time. When Stover found out Sommer was taking a break from playing music, Allen recalls, “Dan basically said, I’ll play ’” “Hearing everything in context and what all these songs were about, I knew I couldn’t fuck this up,” Stover

says, referring to the lyrical content heard on Up From Here. “They gave me demos, and I got cracking.” “But also Stover didn’t know songs could be under 200 beats-per-minute,” Gallacher quips. “But yeah, there was a fast-forwarded intimacy with him joining and us getting right to work on the record.” Allen’s brothers in rock weren’t just holding his hand or patting him on the back through this rough patch. Instead, the band’s input helped him navigate what is effectively a concept record. There was one song — the crunchy but atmospheric “Space Jam” — that Gallacher admits “I hated,” at first. “It’s not in my job title to worry so much about the lyrics, so I think I’m always the first to say whether something isn’t a good idea or that we should take something in another direction.” “But you challenged me to think about it another way,” Allen says. “And now I think the song is better for it, fits perfectly in the narrative, is super meaningful, and one of my favorites on the record.” “You could have four people executing the same exact vision, but I prefer — as frustrating as it can be sometimes — having all of these different opinions and perspectives,” Allen says. “I mean, I’m going to write songs regardless of if it’s going to be used in a band or not. But there’s nothing like that overwhelming feeling of physically being in a room with other people and their instruments — just a mess of wires, drums, and amps. And it doesn’t matter if we always agree. What we are, and what you hear on this record, is this band.” Even if it starts in the depths of anguish, the chorus of the first song — “ UC LAST AR ” — forms the acronym “ .L. .” The chorus of the album’s closer and title track is “You can only go up from here.” And when the emotional rush of the album is over, there’s no other choice but to agree. Extra Arms celebrates a release party for Up From Here with Hidebehind on Saturday, Nov. 2 at Bowlero Lanes & Lounge, 4209 Coolidge Hwy., Royal Oak; 248-549-7500; bowlerodetroit.com. Doors at 8 p.m. No cover.

metrotimes.com | October 30-November 5, 2019

CULTURE Serenity now!

The art and zen of being Jason Alexander — the man who has it all By Jerilyn Jordan

At 60 years old, Jason Alexander

is the perfect physical specimen. The same Alexander who spent more than a decade inhabiting the neurotic, selfish, overly confident, miserable disaster-artist skin of George Constanza on the enduring self-referential sitcom Seinfeld — the show about nothing that defined a generation by making the banalities of everyday life worth paying attention to. or Alexander, everyday life involves activities that, had they been written into an episode of Seinfeld, would seem completely natural. For instance, his latest workout routine, which he describes as “deceptively exhausting.” “I just finished a fantastic workout. I’ve never looked better in my life, which is saying nothing,” Alexander says. “It’s called foundation training. I think of it as geriatric physical therapy. A guy who is so well-versed in how the body works that he takes someone like me and, in 10 minutes, he goes, ‘Ah, O . So you’ve done more things on your left than your right. This is how you walk wrong. This is how you sit wrong. This is how you lift wrong.’ And then he reprograms everything.” When it comes to reprogramming technology, well, that’s a different story. Alexander recently took to Twitter — as he often does when either railing against Trump and the GOP or when throwing his hat into the casting ring, vying to play the latest incarnation of Batman’s waddling villain, Penguin — to give Apple iPhone updates the bird. “I got in my car yesterday and I tried to make a phone call, and my car kept going, No you won’t. No, you won’t. I had to reboot the phone, I had to reboot the car. And then I went into my photos and apparently there’s a new setup for photos. All I was trying to do was move a photo from the main file into different files. It made antisemitic remarks at me, and that was it,” he says. “I’m a Luddite. I’m a complete Luddite.” While Costanza the aspiring architect may have, sort of, dabbled in marine biology, sitcom screenwriting, hand modeling, real estate, bra sales, computer sales, uno cial car valet, major league baseball, and professional unemployment, Alexander’s résumé is just as colorful but is entirely

non-fictional. A monkey whisperer, an award-winning magician (no, really), a really good poker player, Duckman, Shallow Hal’s misogynistic, eshytailed wingman, literally the worst part of Pretty Woman for obvious reasons , and a Tony Award-winning Broadway actor. It is the former entry that brings Alexander to Orchestra Hall for a twoshow run. The performance, which is one of two one-man-style musical shows he takes on the road, is part storytelling, part classic Broadway showtunes, with a healthy sprinkling of audience participation. Unlike his Q&A formatted show, as he’s been known to do in the past and jokes: “I find, if you start wasting the orchestra’s time they frown on that” , Detroit will get to experience his singing chops, which, for anyone who remembers Costanza’s off-key an-

this year, led him to direct a production of The Last Five Years for the Syracuse Stage. Constructed with more humor than a traditional pops orchestra show, Alexander says the show he has curated is not short of touching or “revealing” moments, yet perhaps the most revealing moment is the performance itself, which Alexander says might confuse people who see his name on an orchestra hall marquee. “I’ll be honest and tell you that I’m sure most of the places where I’ve played this show, when they put it on sale, people go, ‘Well, what the hell is he going to do?’ Cause they don’t think I sing. If they’ve seen me on Seinfeld singing, they go, ‘Oh, he’s a bad singer.’ So the idea of me being with a symphony orchestra, I think, probably strikes them as odd. And I can literally hear people after I do the first number in

The Seinfeld characters, more than Friends, more than Frasier ... our characters were a little more like cartoons than real human beings. swering machine number, might seem pretty surprising. “It was remarkably hard to sing poorly,” he says. “I mean, you can do it egregiously wrong and just be terrible. The trick is to be just bad enough that it looks real — and that’s harder than it looks. And, actually, in order to do it, like when I was doing some of the George phone machine, I had to rewrite the song a little bit. So I’d hit some wrong notes on purpose,” he says. “I would sharpen a note, atten a note, intentionally, but I had to learn it that way because otherwise I have pretty good pitch.” The show, which Alexander will share with conductor Robert Bernhardt, pianist and musical director Todd Schroeder, and guest soloist Carrie Schroeder, follows a loose autobiographical thread focusing on Alexander’s journey to the Broadway stage, where his love for performance began, to where he is now, which, as of earlier

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the show going, ‘Oh my God, he really sings.’ I guess to that extent it’s a bit of a shock.” What isn’t entirely shocking is that the likelihood of a future Seinfeld reboot is slim. In recent years, series with a cult following, not unlike Seinfeld’s, such as Arrested Development, Twin Peaks, and Veronica Mars, have all been revived or rebooted. More directly related, though, fellow ’90s sitcomgiants such as Friends and Frasier have teased reunions. Last month, Friends star Jennifer Aniston joined Instagram to share a photo of her with her mustsee TV castmates who reunited for a selfie, stoking years of reboot rumors. Earlier this year, Frasier’s Kelsey Grammer confirmed that a reboot of his long-running series is in the works, though, following the death of actor John Mahoney, who played Grammer’s on-screen father, adding that the show will take the characters down a different path than when we left off when

the show aired its final episode in 2004. As for Seinfeld, Alexander has a few reasons as to why the series could never really happen again, especially now. “Jerry Seinfeld and Larry David kind of always set the pace. They didn’t follow in somebody’s footsteps. They kind of blaze new trails,” he explains. “There have been so many reboots. I don’t think that they’re interested in being just another one of them. But neither one of them needs to do anything. I mean, Jerry is so happy just doing stand-up and cashing checks.” He continues, “It’s hard work, you know. So I don’t think that they’re inclined to do it, but also the Seinfeld characters, more than Friends, more than Frasier, more than some of the other really significant comedies of that era, our characters were a little more like cartoons than real human beings. And we were literally in our 0s and 40s when we made the show. So there was something about the immature grownup in their 0s and 40s, you know, the selfish, immature, that had a kind of charm. I don’t know how charming it is in your 50s and 60s. I think it just becomes pathetic. Why can’t these people get their act together? I think some of us are justifiably afraid that lightning doesn’t strike twice in the same place. Whatever the magic was that made the show y so beautifully in its initial run, I think we all could work together again terrifically, but we’re all 0 years older and we’re different people than we were then.” Though a reboot may not be in Seinfeld’s future, the show isn’t really going anywhere. In September, just a few months after the 0th anniversary of Seinfeld’s premiere, et ix came out victorious after a vicious bidding war for an undisclosed amount alleged to be upwards of 40 million, giving the platform global streaming rights to Seinfeld for five years starting in 2021. Hulu, the current home to all 1 0 episodes, shelled out just $130 million for a six-year streaming deal in 201 . The nearly $1 billion price tag is not the only testament to the show’s staying power, though neither Alexander nor his former castmates can easily identify why, 20 years after it went off the air, it continues to attract a young audience

Jason Alexander.

or what makes it funny in 2019. “I think if you talk to any of us, I think we’ve always believed that the show was funny. It really didn’t strive for anything other than that. So I believe that it is funny, but why it remains funny, I don’t know,” he says. “Why it remains interesting and compelling to people, why it attracts a young audience, a young demographic. And I’ve always wondered what it is they’re relating to. I mean, we didn’t have cellphones in the show, you know, so I often find that comedy, particularly from another time, another decade, another era, you can admire it, but it doesn’t usually speak to you. And for some reason that I can’t put my finger on,

COURTESY OF FRED STUCKER FOR THE NEW JERSEY SYMPHONY ORCHESTRA

this show continues to speak to people. Young, old, any ethnicity, and all over the world,” he says. “And if I knew why, I would bottle it and do it again.” The magic of Seinfeld and Alexander’s performance as one of the most relatable and unlikable characters in pop culture history, and what the New Jersey native brings to screen and stage might have something to do with his ability to keep audiences guessing. Rather than run from the inevitable reaction or expectation that the man breaking into a spirited rendition of “Don’t Cry For Me, Argentina” backed by a full symphony is the same man who appeared shirtless and writhing on a fainting couch in what could be con-

sidered one of the most awkward photo shoots of all time (resulting in an iconic image that remains a fixture of computer screen backgrounds and dorm room walls,) he leans into it. Which is why ending a discussion with a question about soup does not throw Alexander, who, like Costanza, is always on. “You know, I live in Los Angeles. There’s never a soup season. And if it is, it’s like, you know, gazpacho. We have no seasons, we just have color shift. We don’t have seasons in California or at least in this area. So it goes from a bright blue to hazy blue to gray, and then bluish gray. We don’t get, ‘Oh, it’s snowing. Let’s cozy up by the fire and have soup.’ It doesn’t happen,” he says.

“What is the soup? What is the Detroit soup? What do I need to do? Where do I need to go?” When it’s suggested that the Midwest, including Detroit, loves a good chili, not unlike the one Costanza orders when he’s denied by the Soup Nazi in a series-defining episode, Alexander knows better. “Chili is a bad idea before you perform, and I’m happy to go through the rest of my life challenge-free.” Jason Alexander will perform at 8 p.m. on Saturday, Nov. 2, and 3 p.m. on Sunday, Nov. 3 at Orchestra Hall; 3711 Woodward Ave., Detroit; 313-576-511; dso.org. Tickets start at $34.

metrotimes.com | October 30-November 5, 2019

CULTURE

“Budapest 1956” by Sam Durant.

Stage & Canvas By Lee DeVito

THURSDAY, OCT. 31 Iconoclasm @ Former Annunciation Church (presented by Library Street Collective)

There is perhaps no more of a visually dramatic marker of the clash of cultures and the end of eras than the destruction of monuments — from the toppling of the Column Vendôme in Paris in 1871 in the aftermath of the Franco-Prussian War, to the U.S. troops toppling a statue of Saddam Hussein during the invasion of Iraq, to the destruction of nonMuslim works under the Islamic State. Moments like these are depicted in the large-scale graphite drawings of the Berlin-via-Boston artist Sam Durant, which make up Library Street Collec-

tive’s latest exhibition. In the spirit of the public monuments depicted in the show, LSC has hung selected drawings in and around Detroit, and an exhibition will be held at East Village’s former Annunciation Church. A short film inspired by Durant’s work scored by Arcade Fire will also be screened. Opens to the public from noon-6 p.m. on Thursday, Oct. 31 at 1265 Parkview St, Detroit; lscgallery.com. Show runs through Nov. 23.

FRIDAY, NOV. 1 Chris Moore: Lyrics and More @ Lawrence Street Gallery

Original Negative Approach drummer Chris Moore started creating yers for the

36 October 30-November 5, 2019 | metrotimes.com

COURTESY OF LIBRARY STREET COLLECTIVE

pioneering punk rock band when he was just a teenager, marking the beginning of his career as an experimental visual artist as well as a songwriter. For his latest exhibition, Moore “re-writes” lyrics from the past 25 years of his songwriting over his paintings.

SATURDAY, NOV. 2-3 The Joffrey Ballet’s Beyond the Shore @ Detroit Opera House

Two concurrent solo shows at David Klein Gallery’s Birmingham spot.

The Michigan Opera Theatre presents Chicago’s renowned Joffrey Ballet company performing Beyond the Shore, which features works by Liam Scarlett, Nicolás Blanc, and Alexander Ekman, three of Europe’s most in-demand choreographers. While the musical may be classical, the themes are out of this world. For Blanc’s title piece, dancers move to the music of electronic music composer Mason Bates, traveling through six different backdrops, including the bottom of the ocean to outer space (the music even incorporates original recordings from NASA’s original 1969 moon landing). It’s the company’s first performance at the Detroit Opera House since 2014.

Both shows have an opening reception from 4-6 p.m. on Saturday, Nov. 2 at 163 Townsend St., Birmingham; 248-4333700; dkgallery.com. Both shows run until Dec. 21.

Showtimes are 7:30 p.m. on Saturday, Nov. 2 and 2:30 p.m. on Sunday, Nov. 3 at 1526 Broadway St., Detroit; 313-2377464; michiganopera.org. Tickets start at $35.

Opening reception from 6-9 p.m. on Friday, Nov. 1 at 22620 Woodward Ave., Ferndale; 248-544-0394; lawrencestreetgallery.com. Show runs through Nov. 29.

SATURDAY, NOV. 2 Richard Serra Finally Finished and Susan Goethel Campbell @ David Klein Gallery Birmingham

metrotimes.com | October 30-November 5, 2019

CULTURE Hustlers Rated: R Runtime: 110 minutes

Constance Wu and Jennifer Lopez star in Hustlers.

American women By George Elkind

Near Hustlers’ opening,

we’re granted a kind of vision. After a fine, though obvious and admirably athletic onstage striptease sequence, Jennifer Lopez as “Ramona” retires to the clear night air of her workplace rooftop. Still in costume but also draped in a crass, luxuriant fur coat the first of many , she invites the film’s starry-eyed lead Constance Wu, playing “Destiny,” also a performer out of the cold and into its folds. or these few minutes, the two women share not just warmth and intimacy but an identity and persona erected amid a blunt symbology of sex, power, and feminine self-possession, one rising from a cauldron astew with clashes of capital and class. In this scene, Lopez absorbs the full spectrum of the madonna whore dialectic, owning both a nurturing impulse and a magnetic attraction

that grips Wu’s character as it did the men in the scene before — evidenced therein by a clear, desirous gaze with undeniable reudian overtones. That’s all to say the scene’s subtext is blunt but complicated, and merits exploration. After her act, Ramona asks Destiny whether money “makes her horny.” Unfortunately, it never gets its due and its qualities are never to be repeated. Like P.T. Anderson’s Boogie Nights an old favorite , director Lorene Scafaria frames Hustlers as historical allegory, a story of America as much as of its characters’ rise and fall, straddling the unfettered, decadent excess and mournful, grimey desperation on either side of the 200 economic crash. As in Boogie Nights, its characters pursue wealth and class first through sex work and later after the crash through criminal malfeasance, but it errs in telling its

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ANNAPURNA PICTURES

story through a self-justifying, penitent frame: specifically, via an interview with a sympathetic journalist. mbarking on a crime spree in which they seduce and drug wealthy Wall Street types and rob them with credit charges, its leading women constantly defend their actions to an audience that would happily assess them unaided. Hampering the fun, Robin Hood-like air of pillaging the idle, male, and rich men all of Hustlers’ men are nobodies with wounded rationalizations — “Hurt people hurt people,” Wu murmurs — Hustlers is unwilling to set aside pushy moralizing to let its characters define themselves in less attering ways. Would it be so bad to depict career strippers who are incidentally, unrelatedly permitted to be bad ot a few of us saw Showgirls, and we’ve come quite far since then. Must all onscreen sex workers have hearts of purest gold The case Scafaria makes wouldn’t seem so ludicrous if she didn’t call attention both to its making and to her leads’ particular excesses. Though Lopez’s and Wu’s characters are both

single mothers early on, it quickly becomes clear that after ’0 their turn to crime serves not their own children but mountains of other accessories, acquired in a gleefully freewheeling, hyper-capitalist lifestyle. Still quartered in the high-rises they took up in before the crash, the two bemoan their lack of funds before shopping sprees cut much like most of the movie akin to music videos after each con, they celebrate their winnings. When they find just how well crime pays, their exes are basically macho “I was C O of my own fuckin’ corporation” in a manner evoking the brokers they live off of — and like any excecutives seeking growth, its pursuit justifies the recruitment of a host of new accomplices, not all of them reliable. A late scene of a Christmas party in Ramona’s palatial condo looks more like a commercial for Hallmark or JC Penney than a scene from any movie you’d want to sit down for, with the women toasting, dancing, and opening pricey gifts. If memory serves, there’s even a dog — it’s positively numbing in its grasps at sweetness. To be clear: the problem is not that these women’s con is any worse than what the Wall Streeters they’re exploiting have done to them, or to the rest of us, or — considering the drugging and robbing part — than what so many rotten frat boys do quite regularly. In fact, it’s really quite a lot better. The trouble is that this same conclusion is something most viewers could draw out, but Scafaria’s direction perhaps at the whim of her producers feels morally squeamish, striving to frame her real-life figures not just as relatively minor offenders but as morally upright. Time after time Scafaria fails to trust her audience, boldfacing connections and points that are simply obvious to most of us, going so far as to double back on the portrait of the characters we’re given. It’s a strange time in history to frame desperation to be rich as relatable or sympathetic. Greed stands more convincingly as an eternal, poisonously ubiquitous motivator, and one whose magnetism is never in doubt. If it’s what these women want, then let’s have them chase it wherever it takes them. It’s a desire, like lust, that needs no explanation — it’s better to simply show it and let us watch.

metrotimes.com | October 30-November 5, 2019

CULTURE Higher Ground

It’s 4:20 in America By Larry Gabriel

SHUTTERSTOCK.COM

There’s so much going on with marijuana these days that it’s hard to keep track of it all. The entire continent of North America just keeps moving closer and closer to becoming a legal marijuana zone. All of the major Democratic presidential candidates support some kind of marijuana law reform, and last week — at 4:20 p.m. on Friday — Sen. Bernie Sanders dropped his plan for that. We already knew that Sanders would legalize marijuana by executive decree, declassifying the Schedule 1 designation with the Drug Enforcement Agency. He also plans to nominate cabinet o cials “who will all work to aggressively end the drug war.” The drug war, at least as it applies to marijuana, gets the brunt of Sanders’ attention. His administration would fund the review of all state and federal marijuana convictions for possible expungement. There’s more money planned to make good on repairing the damage. Sanders’ plan allocates $20 million to the Minority Business Development Agency, $10 billion in grants for businesses that are at least 51 percent owned by people in communities heav-

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ily affected by the drug war, 10 billion in USDA grants for people with past criminal convictions to start marijuana farms, and a $10 billion “targeted economic and community development fund.” Quality control and safety would be under federal regulation. All this and more are part of the conversation that takes some of the best ideas for fixing the drug war mess and its effect on people’s lives. ow all this is a long way from ever coming to fruition. Sanders is but one of numerous potential candidates, and if he emerges the victor after the primaries, he faces President Trump in a national election. So none of this plan is even close to actual policy. However, Sanders has beaten Elizabeth Warren to the punch with “a plan for that” and made some very key issues part of the conversation moving forward. To date, no candidate has taken the idea this far. “When it comes to ending prohibition, we cannot go forward without looking back,” Queen Adesuyi, National Affairs Policy Manager for Drug Policy Action, said in a statement. “It is not enough to just legalize marijuana. We must do it the right way, and that

metrotimes.com | October 30-November 5, 2019

CULTURE means reinvesting in the communities that have been most harmed by the cruel and inhumane policies brought forth through the war on drugs.” The moment Sanders chose, Friday at 4:20 p.m., is the international moment for marijuana. 4:20 p.m. is the time of solidarity for marijuana users everywhere. It was also expressed on Friday by demonstrators outside the federal senate in Mexico City. Protestors lit up their joints as they did at 4:30 p.m. every day last week as part of a demonstration calling for a revision in the drafts of new Mexican laws legalizing marijuana. Last year, the Mexican Supreme Court struck down the country’s marijuana laws as unconstitutional. That, in effect, made marijuana legal there because there was no longer a law against it. Now the Mexican legislature is in the process of making legalization o cial. A couple of weeks back, the ruling Morena party circulated the proposed legislation that would set up the legal system for marijuana production and distribution. After seeing the drafts, Mexican activists called for the laws to do more to empower people rather than corporate interests. That’s what it’s come down to with marijuana legalization. It’s something of a foregone conclusion that we’re headed in that direction. Now we’re about distributing the money and seeing which communities will benefit. There’s a lot more to the marijuana movement than just who gets to smoke a joint and who doesn’t. The Mexico City event may seem far away and disconnected from Burlington, Vermont, where Sanders released his plan; however, they’re connected in many ways. The marijuana moment of 4:20 p.m. (although 4:20 in Burlington is 2:20 in Mexico City) and that the main thrust of both was to make marijuana legalization something that enhances communities as opposed to capitalists. It’s sort of a double-edged sword — legalize marijuana while not putting it solely into the hands of traditional money makers. There’s a third rail here: the thrust of North America as the worldwide leader in cannabis reform. Marijuana is legal in Canada. It will be definitively legal in Mexico. Sanders’ proposal, while it has no teeth, would bring the United States in line with the other major nations of the continent. Including the 11 states and the District of Columbia where recreational marijuana is legal, Canada, and Mexico, two out of three North Americans have access to legal

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recreational marijuana(252 million of the 367 million people in North America.) And if you leave it to Bernie Sanders, the entire continent (except for the Caribbean, where there is no problem accessing the stuff would be a marijuana legal zone. That’s pretty awesome. What’s even more awesome is that Sanders’ plan to legalize marijuana isn’t some outlier idea dependent on a presidency to realize it. His perspective on healing the wounds of war may not be the mainstream, but the major players are all in on legalization — as are 66 percent of Americans in general. The thing is, nobody’s leaving it to Sanders. Marijuana legalization is and has been a planet-wide grassroots movement. It is inextricably tied to social justice in this and every country. The case of marijuana prohibition shows how a government can just make something up, foist it on people, and use the policy to their detriment. It’s documented that President Richard Nixon created the war on drugs as a way of going after his ground-level political enemies. That war spread across the planet, and people have called for an end to it. The time has come. It’s 4:20 p.m. on the clock of U.S. presidential candidates, on the clock of Mexican activists, on the clock of Michigan, and indeed, on the clock of the world.

Mexican legal look

Mexico’s proposed marijuana laws look different from what we’ve been seeing here in several ways. One is that vertical integration of businesses stacking licenses for growing, processing, and sales by one entity is not allowed. However, one entity can own many licenses of the same class. One company could have many grow licenses, but could not have a sales license. Infused beverages and edibles are only allowed for medical marijuana patients. Any individual who wants to grow marijuana needs a license, even if they want to grow for personal use. People would need a license even just to possess seeds. And marijuana use by a pregnant woman is totally prohibited. Finally something that makes sense but hasn’t clicked here in the states. The law has provisions for importing and exporting the stuff. That can’t even be thought about here until the federal government gets on board. In the meantime, the people in Ontario have marijuana, and the people in Michigan have marijuana. Just don’t cross any borders with it.

metrotimes.com | October 30-November 5, 2019

Savage Love

CULTURE

By Dan Savage

men — her teachers, her boss, a police o cer an o er ol er men o ere in er o n or s a o ron or me (two of them were married). I am interested in your take on why she is dating me now. I’m a couple of years younger than she is — she is 30, and I am 28. She says she sees a future with me and I’m unlike anyone she’s ever met. Can what someone likes change in this way? —The Younger Man

My little dick has always held me back. I didn’t date in high school because I couldn’t stand the thought of girls discussing my tiny manhood. That said, I’ve adapted fairly well and become skilled with my tongue and hands. The biggest problem is that my dick is just small enough that the head pokes straight forward and can be seen through my pants. I never tuck in a shirt because of it. Because I am always in oversized shirts that hang past my waist, I never look professional. I’ve rie s n i soc s an i i n work. Do you know of anything that can mask a pathetic johnson? I’d love to move up in the world. —Physically Embarrassing Nub Isn’t cien

A : Have you considered packing?

Trans men, drag kings, butch dykes, and even straight cis women experimenting with gender expression will sometimes pack — that is, wear “packing dildos” that create the appearance of a masculine bulge. Packers are modeled on soft cocks, not hard cocks, and they come in a range of sizes and colors. And so long as you don’t engage in false advertising, PENIS — so long as you make it clear to new partners that the bulge in your pants is not a prologue — there’s no reason why you couldn’t pack, just as there’s no reason why you and other guys with small dicks can’t strap on a regular dildo when your partner wants a deep dicking.

I’m a mid-20s straight woman, and there’s a pattern in my life that I’m trying to break: Since high school, I’ve repeatedly ended up being friends with wonderful men who I shared an obvious sexual tension with at the start of our “friendships.” (Our mutual friends often noted the sexual tension.) Not a single one has ever turned into more than a one off r n en iss. ay e i s o m picking, but I’m starting to think that I’m the problem. An ex of mine (who I me on B m le ol me a i e off “don’t touch me” vibes. Looking back, I can see that all my relationships started in settings where romantic interest was implied — apps, blind dates, etc. I’ve been spending a lot of time with a classmate of mine. We get along well, and he’s hot and single. How do I (for lack of a better term) seduce him? —Dreading The Friend Zone

A : Don’t seduce, ask. Don’t put the

moves on someone, use your words — or think of your words as your move, DT . Since you give off “don’t

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touch me” vibes (that’s some valuable feedback from an ex!), and since we’ve asked men to do a better job of perceiving and respecting a woman’s “don’t touch me” vibes, you will have to make your interest clear and unambiguous: “Hey, classmate, we’ve been spending a lot of time together, and I was wondering if you might be interested in going on a date sometime.”

Q : I have had a very hot, sexy body-

il er rien i ene s or many many years. He’s Dominant and into really intense bondage and SM, and it’s fantastic. The harder he goes on me, the more aroused he gets. Sometimes he comes three times in one session, always with me in superintense and painful bondage positions. It turns him on so much — and it turns me on, too. The thing is, he hates my dick. We have so much fun during our sessions, but he won’t touch my dick and won’t let me touch it, either. —Bodybuilder Is Neglecting Dick

A : Ignoring your dick and not letting

you come and then seeing you crawl back for more abuse is most likely part of the power trip that turns your hot, sexy friend on, BIND, and he’s unlikely to start lavishing attention on your dick on my orders. And since it sounds like he gives you plenty of hot JO material for after your bondage sessions, it’s not like there isn’t something in it for you, right?

I am a public-school teacher in the United States. I love teaching, and I want to teach for the rest of my career. I am very good at it, but unfortu-

44 October 30-November 5, 2019 | metrotimes.com

na ely a oesn affec my pay in e slightest. After 10 years of poverty, I’m getting tired of going without. I thought perhaps I could do some sex work on e si e o elp pay off my s en loans and get some more money for classroom supplies. Thanks to de facto segregation, all of my students are one speci c e nici y an ery poor so think I could easily avoid accidentally servicing a parent or relative of a student. But how on earth does someone safely and discreetly embark on sex work as a side hustle? —Need a Second Job That Actually Pays

A : Someone you work with, someone

you went to school with, someone you used to date, someone who lives in your apartment building — it’s not just parents and relatives of your students you need to worry about, NASJTAP. Vindictive exes and small-minded, sex-negative busybodies of all stripes can be a problem for sex workers. And since the consequences of being outed as a sex worker are always swift and severe for someone who works with children, you’ll want to find another side hustle. ou should also get out there and support — we should all get out there and support — Democratic presidential candidates who are calling to forgive or cancel student-loan debt, like Elizabeth Warren and/or Bernie Sanders. And, yes, it’s possible to support more than one candidate at this stage of the political process.

My girlfriend and I have been going strong for almost 10 months. She told me that in the past she dated only older

ou may be the exception — the rare younger man your girlfriend finds attractive — or it could be that she was never attracted exclusively to older men. Just because someone dated a string of one type of person (older, younger, taller, shorter, maler, femaler), it doesn’t follow that someone isn’t interested in other types, too. Someone realizing they’re attracted to more types of people or acting on long-standing attractions to other types of people doesn’t mean they’ve changed, T M — it means they’ve grown.

I’m a 21-year-old woman. Yesterday I talked to a 26-year-old guy who won’t do cunnilingus but loves to get blowjobs. My friends judged him harshly. Does this go against the rule that people should be able to do what makes them feel good in bed without being judged? Guys who refuse to give oral sex but want to receive it make us feel as if our pleasure is not as important as theirs. Please tell me what you think. —Desperate Clitoris

A : I think there are enough women

out there who don’t like having their pussies eaten — some struggle with insecurity and shame, others simply don’t enjoy the sensation — that there’s no reason for this guy to in ict himself on women who do like having their pussies eaten. And if making your partner feel good doesn’t make you feel good — if giving pleasure as well as receiving pleasure doesn’t make you feel good — then you’re a lousy fucking lay. All that said, I agree that people should be able to do what makes them feel good in bed without being judged. But if what you’re doing in bed — or refusing to do in bed — makes other people feel bad about themselves or their bodies, well, then you should be judged harshly. On the Lovecast, Dan enlists straightboy help from Michael Ian Black: savagelovecast.com. Questions? mail@ savagelove.net. Follow @fakedansavage on Twitter. Impeach the motherfucker already: ITMFA.org.

metrotimes.com | October 30-November 5, 2019

46 October 30-November 5, 2019 | metrotimes.com

metrotimes.com | October 30-November 5, 2019

CULTURE ARIES: March 21 – April 20 If you’re a little antsy it would surprise me. Things have been in a holding pattern, and the level of frustration is pretty strong. You’re either waiting for things to pan out or wondering if you missed the boat entirely. Patience was never your strong suit, and not knowing where to go or what to do is driving you nuts. If you can get past the surface reactions, you will notice that as hard as this is, there’s a lesson in it. There are no easy answers, and no one can tell you how to handle it. Keep your own counsel and hold steady. Things will start to move as soon as you pass this test.

Horoscopes

LEO: July 21 – August 20 How much will it cost you to get real? When it’s time to dig deep, it helps to be willing to pull whatever it takes out of your guts and see it for what it is. It’s easier to be the soul of honesty when it comes to others; the truth is harder to come by when it comes to yourself. As far as that goes, the motivation to come to terms with the last thing you want to see will rise out of the awareness that it’s costing you a fortune to remain asleep to it. Waking up is number one on your list and right now, the potential for sudden change and illumination is equal to your desire for it.

By Cal Garrison SAGITTARIUS: Nov. 21 – Dec. 20 You just hit a wall and came out of the impact with a dose of instant enlightenment. It’s unusual to make such a quick turnaround without losing your grip. Now that your superpowers are no longer in question, don’t be surprised if more is expected of you. On any other day, life expecting “more from you” would make you want to crawl back into bed — but not these days. You’ve got too many good aspects giving you the power to do it all with a smile on your face. The sense that nothing is too much or too hard or impossible will supercharge your energy ow for a while.

TAURUS: April 21 – May 20 You’re in for a surprise or two. All kinds of adjustments are about to be made. Don’t be put off when others suggest that you re-work some of your plans. If it gets to be too much, do what you can to make light of what other people seem to need more than anything. Themes that speak to the idea of getting sidetracked, along with situations that crop up unexpectedly, will conspire to bring you exactly where you need to go. When it’s all said and done, you’ll look back on this as a point of miraculous change that, for the next few weeks, will feel more like a roller coaster.

VIRGO: August 21 – Sept. 20 At the moment, a raft of decisions need to be made, and the deeper part of you is reluctant to commit. If it’s hard for you to pin things down, it’s because you stand midway between one thing — or one phase — and another. It’ll take about three more weeks to get your bearings. If you can lighten up and relax enough to let life bring things together naturally, what’s currently driving you nuts will cease to be an issue. I’m pretty sure that the message in all of this is to take care of your inner being and be wise enough to know that God will cover the details.

CAPRICORN: Dec. 21 – Jan. 20 The reason this feels the way it does is because you’ve lost touch with something. There’s no need to panic, but you could use a good dose of the truth. Others are aware of your feelings. On some level they wish they could help, but this isn’t about them; it’s about you and how things have changed. On your way to the next thing, a few items are due to fall off the wagon. Don’t try to hang on to whoever you think you are. At this point, the only thing that matters is reigniting your passion and getting on with the business of finding out what it is that you came here to do.

GEMINI: May 21 – June 20 You keep thinking that your life is supposed to look like what we call “normal.” As you strive to achieve this, you are puzzled by the way things have turned out. In this dimension, there is no “one size fits all” formula for what life is meant to be. At the moment, you’re hung up wondering when it will be your turn to have everything fall into place. Let me remind you that the laws of arma are different for everyone. None of us came here to live a simple or trivial life. You would save yourself a heap of frustration if you could lose your “normal” pictures and start loving what is.

LIBRA: Sept. 21 – Oct. 20 You’re just beginning to tap into your reason for being here — here on this planet and here in your current situation. So much has been in limbo for so long, it’ll be good to feel like you know what’s going on. Some of it is bound to involve kids — your own or other people’s — along with the possibility of a new job or, in some cases, a new relationship. There is still a lot more that needs to come to light, but the openings that keep showing up to give you a reason to live have been heaven-sent. Keep watching the signs and remain cool and calm enough to see what’s needed.

AQUARIUS: Jan. 21 – Feb. 20 With all of your best intentions, what seemed like such a good idea at the time appears to be rolling to a halt. It’s your turn to decide whether to keep it going, or head off in another direction. In the midst of this quandary, other elements are materializing out of the blue. It’s too soon to tell, but it looks like one door is closing and another one is ready to open. How you feel about it is the main thing. If the thought of breaking new ground makes your heart sing, go for it. Yes, there are risks; everything is at stake. But the greater risk lies in choosing to get stuck in a rut that won’t pan out.

CANCER: June 21 – July 20 You already know what to do. There is no longer an ounce of doubt. The problem is, your old-fashioned standards and your fears about what will happen to your well-feathered nest if you follow your bliss are making it di cult to take this leap. I have to ask: What have you got to lose? And how can you talk about trusting life and listening to your heart when the bigger part of you is stuck on money and fear? You’re more than ready to go for it. All the angels in heaven are waiting for you to walk your talk. Now is the time. This chance won’t come around again.

SCORPIO: Oct. 21 – Nov. 20 You’re ready for something totally new and different. The rat race, the treadmill, and/or the same old thing is in need of a transplant. Anyone else would look at you and wonder where all this lack of contentment is coming from; after all, according to them, you’ve got it made. There’s some truth to this on the outside, but the deeper part of your being isn’t satisfied. When life gets like this, it’s good to know how to be still and wait. The next round of inspiration is always right in front of us. Stop long enough to read the signs and know that this is where your future lies.

PISCES: Feb. 21 – March 20 The only way to discharge all of the duties and responsibilities that have come up just to see how much you can handle is to take one thing at a time. It’s a good thing you have lots of experience when it comes to being patient with people because you’re being tested to the max. Within this set of variables, it’s your job to stay balanced and sane enough to make everyone else’s life work out for the best. How you deal with yourself at a time like this is another story. Stay clear enough to remain present and accounted for, and get good at knowing when it’s time to shut people off.

50 October 30-November 5, 2019 | metrotimes.com

metrotimes.com | October 30-November 5, 2019