Riverfront Times, March 1, 2023

TABLE OF CONTENTS

Publisher Chris Keating

Editor in Chief Rosalind Early

EDITORIAL

Managing Editor Jessica Rogen

Editor at Large Daniel Hill

Digital Content Editor Jaime Lees

Dining Editor Cheryl Baehr

Staff Writers Ryan Krull, Monica Obradovic, Benjamin Simon Theater Critic Tina Farmer

Music Critic Steve Leftridge

Contributors Thomas K. Chimchards, Mike Fitzgerald, Reuben Hemmer, Andy Paulissen, Mabel Suen, Graham Toker, Theo Welling Columnists Chris Andoe, Ray Hartmann, Dan Savage Editorial Interns Katie Lawson, Braden McMakin

ART & PRODUCTION

Art Director Evan Sult

Creative Director Haimanti Germain Graphic Designer Aspen Smit

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Associate Publisher Colin Bell

Game On!

Account Manager Jennifer Samuel

Directors of Business Development Tony Burton, Rachel Hoppman, Chelsea Nazaruk

BUSINESS

Regional Operations Director Emily Fear

CIRCULATION

Circulation Manager Kevin G. Powers

EUCLID MEDIA GROUP

Chief Executive Officer Andrew Zelman

Chief Operating Officers Chris Keating, Michael Wagner

Executive Editor Sarah Fenske

VP of Digital Services Stacy Volhein

Audience Development Manager Jenna Jones

VP of Marketing Cassandra Yardeni www.euclidmediagroup.com

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Founded by Ray Hartmann in 1977

FRONT BURNER 6

TWO QUESTIONS for Pickleball Champion Teri Clemens

Teri Clemens won seven national championships in a legendary 14-year span as a Washington University volleyball coach. Then she had to retire as her health deteriorated. But that wasn’t the end of her sports career. Instead, at 67, she returned to become a national champion in pickleball. This interview has been edited for length and clarity.

What happened when you were sick?

When I was young, I drank turpentine by accident, and it scarred my lungs, and it came back to haunt me with repeated pneumonia –– and not just light pneumonia but very serious. I was on a respirator 13 times and [had] 24 blood clots. You name it, I had it. I had pulmonary embolisms. I had massive blood infections, MRSA infections –– too many for me even to remember. I’m gonna guess I spent 135 days a year in the hospital for about eight years. I finally had to retire from coaching because of my health. Otherwise, I’d probably still be coaching and not playing pickleball.

Pickleball was a blessing for me because I always missed coaching. Something in my blood, you know, I’m a coach. “I’m born to coach” is kind of how I feel. I love competing. I love coaching. When I lost coaching, a part of my heart went with it. I was fortunate –– I had six kids and now I have a lot of grandkids, and that was all really important to me. But I also lost a part of my heart when I lost that. Then to find pickleball, many years later, is just an everyday joy for me.

How did you become able to play competitive pickleball?

When I got at my very worst, my doctor found a medicine in [Canada], like an [IV administered] chemotherapy-type drug, that was having a good effect. I had to go to Canada because it wasn’t FDAapproved here. I was on it for a year. During that year it really wrecked my body so much that I had to still be on really high steroids. The combination of it all made me not be able to walk for almost a year. I was in a wheelchair. At one time, they did a muscle biopsy of my leg and told me I would never walk again.

Well, long story short, obviously they were wrong. I was learning to walk and they were like, “Don’t stop once you learn to walk.” I was afraid to stop. So then I started running. Since I love to compete, I ran 5ks, then 10ks, then I ran four half marathons. I was like, “I’m gonna run a marathon.” I’m not a runner by any means. But I wanted to achieve it. When I ran the [Cincinnati marathon nine years ago], that was when I said, “OK, I can compete again.” That’s when I knew I was OK, and I was an athlete. —Benjamin Simon

Previously On

LAST WEEK IN ST. LOUIS

MONDAY, FEBRUARY 20 KSDK’s Christine Byers breaks the story of the month: The tragic double amputation of a visiting teen volleyball player is due to a St. Louis driver named Daniel Riley — and despite facing felony charges over allegations he stole a gun at gunpoint in 2020, Riley was not in jail, allowing him to instead wreak havoc on the St. Louis streets. Blame Kim Gardner! In response, Gardner tries to blame the judges who failed to revoke Riley’s bond after repeated violations. Aware of the total dysfunction in Gardner’s office, no one’s buying it.

TUESDAY, FEBRUARY 21 Riley appears in court, charged with second-degree assault and armed criminal action over Saturday’s car crash. This time the judge orders him to stay in jail. N.B.: Apparently judges do have the power to do that!

WEDNESDAY, FEBRUARY 22 Remember you are dust, and to dust you will return! Catholics face an annual dilemma: Return to the office with ashes on and risk looking pious or wipe them off and risk feeling duplicitous. You can’t win. Meanwhile the Post-Dispatch publishes no fewer than nine stories about Kim Gardner. Newly minted political columnist Joe Holleman even finds an anonymous source who doesn’t like Gardner’s press releases.

THURSDAY, FEBRUARY 23 Gardner fails to resign by noon — and at noon-ohone, Missouri Attorney General Andrew Bailey files for removal. Gardner makes clear at her 2:30 p.m. press conference

ESCAPE HATCH

that she isn’t going to resign, and she can’t be forced into providing a coherent answer for anything. So we get a pack of supporters shouting down a pack of reporters. Fun.

FRIDAY, FEBRUARY 24 What have we missed while spending a week glued to The Kim Gardner Show? Let’s see …. A plan to expand Medicare coverage for lowincome moms is in trouble; Republicans added language barring women from benefits if they have abortions, and that could doom it with the feds. Meanwhile, other Republicans want to amend the state constitution to make clear that Missouri neither funds nor will tolerate abortion, two things already fully in evidence.

SATURDAY, FEBRUARY 25 A meeting of the St. Louis County Council devolves into filibuster and chaos after Chairwoman Shalonda Webb insists that any meaningful discussion of the Sunshine Law must happen in private session. Because nothing is so good for transparency as closed doors. Also: St. Louis City SC takes its first match, besting Austin 3-2. The roar from the standing-room-only crowd at Amsterdam Tavern could be heard for a half-mile.

SUNDAY, FEBRUARY 26 Four people are killed and four more injured after a crash at the worst intersection in the city, Forest Park and Grand. This one ain’t Kim Gardner’s fault. But who do we scapegoat for broken infrastructure, total absence of traffic enforcement and drunk, high St. Louis drivers?

We ask three St. Louisans what they’re reading, watching or listening to. In the hot seat this week: three folks involved in music, art or literature.

Griffin Reed, marketing associate, University of Chicago Press

Listening to: The Goldberg Variations by Glenn Gould

“The perfect music for March — spare, reflective, beautiful, timeless.”

Amy Miton, filmmaker, The Brothers Go to Sleep

Watching: Magic Spot (2022, Roxburgh)

“A funny and strange DIY movie that demands you live in its universe and rewards you for doing so.”

Taylor Fogel, keys and vocals, Glory N’ Perfection

Watching: Hee Haw

“Everyone is always smiling and laughing, and I like when they do a big sing-a-long.”

Terri Clemens. | COURTESY PHOTO

WEEKLY WTF?!

Car Watch

Date and time of sighting: February 21 at 4:03 p.m.

Location: Highway 44 and Jefferson

Tires remaining on car: one

Total tires on scene: two — one is being used to prop up the car to possibly take the remaining tires

Why it makes you say WTF: The natural lifecycle of a crashed car in St. Louis is abandonment followed by scrappers stripping it for parts.

How long will it stay here?: given the state of our municipal government, any time between a month and forever.

SOST. LOUIS

Walking While Black

An anonymous story about something that could only happen in the Gateway City

He was a Black man in Plaza Frontenac just walking around, but I wasn’t with him. I was with my mom and sister in the Junior League Christmas Bazaar. We were eyeing kitschy holiday decor. Transported, I didn’t even realize my dad had left. He was aimlessly walking around, killing time till his mesmerized daughters and wife came out of their spell.

We finally did, and my mom asked “Where’s your father?” Then we saw the police but didn’t think it had anything to do with us. Not this law-abiding family that had lived in white neighborhoods for as long as I’d been alive. We regularly visited Frontenac (not the mall but the city) because that’s where the Junior League’s offices were, and my mom was a

member. So this couldn’t be us.

But it was us. My mom started yelling, and I worried my dad was being arrested. Maybe we were all being arrested. I wasn’t sure why, but I was 10 and terrified.

My dad and I walked everywhere together in our white neighborhood. “I’m going to walk the dog. Come with me,” he’d say. Or “I’m going to the corner grocers, come with me.” It was for the company, he said, but also because he thought a Black man with a kid looked less threatening, more likely to be presumed innocent.

But that day I wasn’t with him, and he was presumed guilty. This did not turn into a deadly altercation. But a Pandora’s box had opened for us, though we didn’t know it, and the world had shifted for me, and I did know it.

Send your So St. Louis story to jsrogen@riverfronttimes.com.

St. Louis Is Not Missouri’s Only Crime Problem

Complicit politicians continue to distort a situation they helped create

BY RAY HARTMANN

Victory has a hundred fathers, and defeat is an orphan.”

That was one of President John F. Kennedy’s many great lines, uttered in the wake of the Bay of Pigs fiasco. And although Missouri’s state government is not home to much success these days — it’s a perpetual Bay of Pigs — the words are apropos in at least one respect.

That would be crime in Missouri. It is an abandoned orphan in this state.

Public officials in Jefferson City — mostly but not exclusively Republican — have elevated the volume of their fear-and-resentment politics to ear-shattering decibels on this subject. Almost exclusively as it pertains to the City of St. Louis.

It’s an essential talking point these days, with a bullseye on the city in general and its Democratic leadership in particular. Whether it’s about re-seizing control of the city’s police department or removing Circuit Attorney Kim Gardner, the message is unmistakable: “Those people” are running their city into the ground and the state must act to protect its white people. Sorry, scratch that. That’s what they’re thinking. They’re actually saying intervention is necessary “to protect the rest of the state’s citizens from getting dragged down financially by the impending failure of the city.”

It’s a breathtaking case study in obliviousness. The very politicians whose actions and inactions contribute to crime — not only in

the city but throughout Missouri — are the loudest to proclaim their indignation about it all.

The proven causes of crime read like a laundry list of what’s coming out of Jefferson City. Poor education? We got it. Underfunding health care for the poor, and mental health services for everyone? Snicker at social services? That’s us.

How about underpaying and undertraining police? Yep. Why, we’re in the bottom 10 in state troopers’ salaries nationally. That’s part of our proud status as the cheapest state in America when it comes to compensating its workforce.

And then there are our guns. We are the most firearm-crazed state in the nation, at least from the standpoint of our politicians. We stand alone as the only place where police departments can get defunded for the crime of cooperating with federal authorities to enforce federal gun laws.

When it comes to packing heat, we have no age limits. Missouri is the one state where your toddler can protect her binky with an AK-47.

So, let’s look a little closer at Missouri’s statewide crime problem. As just one example, Wallet Hub ranked us the 43rd safest state not long ago. We should have celebrated.

Let’s start with some definitions. In part due to lazy journalism, we have a national fixation on the homicide rate in cities across America. More often than not, it’s the only statistic people seem to care about.

By the metric of homicide, the City of St. Louis tragically ranks at or near the top of national statistics. It is often described as “the murder capital of the nation,” and one cannot argue with that.

But homicide isn’t the only crime tracked by the FBI and other law-enforcement agencies. Statistics are also gathered for categories such as rape, robbery and assault. They are as available as they are ignored.

The best online source I’ve found on the subject — one that relies upon the official crime statistics but localizes and presents them effectively — is Neighborhood Scout. It has been around nearly two decades and describes itself as “the most comprehensive database of hyper-local real estate

data available today.”

Crime statistics represent just a part of the data it provides about cities, so it’s not clickbait. And it reports the categories to which I alluded: murder, rape, robbery and assault.

On each city’s page, there is a metric — based on those categories and presented in all caps — that I find quite significant:

“MY CHANCES OF BECOMING A VICTIM OF A VIOLENT CRIME.”

For the state of Missouri that number is “1-in-187.” In a vacuum, that doesn’t tell us anything. But start comparing cities, and it comes to life.

Here are three examples that you mind find enlightening:

• Springfield, Mo.: 1-in-63

• St. Louis city: 1-in-67

• Kansas City: 1-in-69

This is not just a function of population density. Columbia tracks as safer than the statewide average at a 1-in-196 chance of becoming a victim of a violent crime. Independence is just below the state average at 1-in-181. Cities vary widely. St. Joseph is 1-in-152. Cape Girardeau is 1-in-148.

Most suburban cities fare better. Chesterfield comes in at a stunningly low 1-in-1,420, Clayton 1-in-1,412. The cities in St. Charles County, which often lead with their safety as a selling point, perform better than the state average, although not so dramatically. St. Charles is 1-in-369, St. Peters is 1-in-395 and Wentzville 1-in-421.

Perceptions about crime vary as greatly as these statistics. But

while most of the conversation centers around murder in the city, when it comes to the real story, the other Big Three crime statistics are not the Big One.

Violent crime is as much an unacceptable problem in Springfield and Kansas City as it is in St. Louis. No matter what the news says.

Yes, a resident of Springfield is much less likely to be murdered than a resident of the City of St. Louis. But a woman is more than twice as likely to be raped in Springfield — in per-1,000 statistical terms — than a woman in the city. Why is that not relevant?

Imagine if the homicide rate dropped to zero in the City of St. Louis in 2024, but the city recorded the worst rates of rape, robbery and assaults in America. Would that make people feel safer while they are being assaulted or victimized by carjackers or otherwise held up at gunpoint?

The point here is hardly to minimize the city’s crime crisis. The homicide rate most certainly will not be dropping to zero anytime soon. It is one of the most dangerous cities in which to live in both the state and the nation.

But St. Louis’ problems are not unique.

Springfield is located in Greene County, where a Republican named Dan Patterson has served as the prosecuting attorney since 2010. I don’t know much about the man other than that he graduated from the University of Missouri Law School — which I like — and that one person told me he’s a good guy.

I can’t imagine blaming him for Greene County’s violent-crime problem. Kansas City is booming in many ways, but crime reduction is not one of them. Its police department is controlled by Missouri’s state government.

That would be the same government run by the same people who are now proclaiming that the only way to save St. Louis is if they reseize control. You know, from “those people.”

Personally, I think it would be a better use of our time to help the orphan of crime find his biological parents. n

Ray Hartmann founded the Riverfront Times in 1977. Contact him at rhartmann1952@ gmail.com or catch him at

The very politicians whose actions and inactions contribute to crime — in the city and throughout Missouri — are the loudest to proclaim their indignation about it all.

Sheriff Caught on Tape Using Racial Slurs

St. Louis city sheriff uses racial slurs against co-worker

Written by RYAN KRULL

St. Louis City Sheriff Vernon

Betts grew so enraged that an employee failed to support him politically that he boasted of demoting the staffer, repeatedly referred to him using racial slurs and said he could have fired him for his actions, according to audio obtained by the Riverfront Times. The employee has now filed a lawsuit against Betts.

Deputy Sheriff Steve Chalmers, 65, was demoted from the Civil Process Servers Unit to the Security Unit in November 2020 after seven years as a deputy, according to the lawsuit Chalmers filed last September. When Chalmers asked Betts why he’d been demoted, he was told it was because he didn’t have a single sign supporting Betts’ candidacy in his yard.

The suit also alleges that Betts regularly referred to Chalmers using the racial slurs “n****r,” “ni**a,” “negro,” “boy” and “Black ass.” Chalmers’ suit accuses Betts of expecting political loyalty from him because Chalmers is Black; Betts, who is also Black, didn’t expect similar loyalty from white deputies.

The demotion changed Chalmers’ daily schedule, forcing him to work evenings as well as Saturdays and Sundays.

A person who knew both men called Betts after the demotion and confronted him about his treatment of Chalmers. Three minutes of the call were made available to the RFT under the condition that the interlocutor remain anonymous and his voice disguised.

In the audio, Betts seems agitated that he has been interrupted by the caller while he was watching

the Disney film Mulan

“Know what else I’m gonna do? Know what else I’m going to do? Since you called me, and I was sitting watching Mulan the movie with my family and since you interrupted me, what I’m going to do, since he gonna tell you shit — I’m going to do his ass worse than that when I see him on Monday. Running around the city telling everyone what done happened to his Black ass when I should have fired his Black ass,” Betts says.

On the tape, Betts says numerous times that he feels he was wronged by Chalmers because of a lack of political support.

“Whether you love me or not, you don’t mess with me,” Betts says a little later in the conversation. “And that’s what he did. And that’s what he is. And he gonna get worse than that if he act out one more person to call me and bother me about what somebody done to that Black ass n****r. I got one more. He better go somewhere and sit his ass down and be glad he got a job because he fucked with me. And he didn’t get out there and help me do what he should have been doing.”

“That negro didn’t help me,” Betts adds a little later. “That negro didn’t put out one damn [sign].”

The RFT has published four snippets of the recorded conversation. Much of the audio obtained by the RFT consists of cross talk between the caller and Betts, which makes it impossible to release without compromising the caller’s identity. Multiple times during the heated exchange, the caller attempts to take Betts to task as Betts denies

he’s done anything wrong.

“What’s worse than the white folks doing it to us, is us doing it to ourselves,” the caller says.

Betts replies, “The n****r is lucky I didn’t fire him.”

Betts was elected sheriff in November 2016 and took office the following January. He won reelection four years later. The St. Louis Sheriff’s Office serves eviction notices and court papers, and is the security service for the 22nd Judicial Circuit Court.

Sheriff’s office spokesman Gregg Christian says that the office can’t comment on pending litigation.

Chalmers’ attorney, Jerryl Christmas, says his client has the right to support whomever he wants politically and that Chalmers has “managed the ground game” for numerous local campaigns in the past.

Of Betts’ use of the n-word, Christmas says, “People may think that because [Betts] is Black, it’s not racist. But it is. It’s very racist.”

The lawsuit notes that Chalmers is dark-skinned and that lighterskinned Black employees in the office were not subjected to the same treatment as Chalmers was.

“Colorism is a real issue still in the Black community,” Christmas says. “It’s a relic of slavery and the favoritism of people with light skin tones.”

The lawsuit also alleges that Chalmers drew his boss’s ire when Chalmers supported Michelle Sherrod in her 2018 state senate campaign against Steve Roberts Jr., who the lawsuit says Betts referred to as his “money man.” At

the time, Betts’ chief deputy was Roberts’ father, Steve Roberts Sr.

The fact that the lawsuit was filed in the 22nd Judicial Circuit Court means that it would likely be litigated in one of the very buildings Betts is charged with keeping safe. The suit claims Betts is guilty of workplace discrimination and retaliation.

Both the lawsuit and the recorded phone call paint a portrait of the sheriff as a man inclined toward braggadocio. At one point during the phone call, Betts says, apropos of nothing, “I got more votes than any politician in the state of Missouri.”

One day in December 2020, Betts pointed to a judge and told Chalmers that the judge was so scared of Betts that if Betts told the judge “to shit in the middle of the court building,” he would, according to the suit.

In February 2021, a lawyer requested Chalmers’ employment records from the sheriff’s office, which tipped Betts off that his deputy was planning legal action. The lawsuit says that Betts subsequently banned Chalmers from working at the Civil Courts building, referred to him as “a clown” to local media, and denied two requests Chalmers made for secondary employment as a security officer.

In the audio, Betts can be heard saying of Chalmers, “I should have fired his Black ass.”

The caller asks, “For what?”

“For fucking with me,” Betts says. n

Vernon Betts was recorded using racial slurs to refer to one of his deputies. | DOYLE MURPHY

“ He better go somewhere and sit his ass down and be glad he got a job because he fucked with me. And he didn’t get out there and help me do what he should have been doing.”

Embattled Kim Gardner Faces the Press

The Circuit Attorney is facing a fight for her job after an out-of-town teen gets maimed by a suspect with 50 bail violations

Written by RYAN KRULL

Amid increasing calls for her resignation, embattled Circuit Attorney Kim Gardner dug in Thursday afternoon, hosting a press conference that at times turned contentious, with supporters taking it upon themselves to shout out answers to questions reporters put to Gardner.

With several dozen of her supporters gathered on the fourth floor of the Carnahan Courts Building, Gardner’s own demeanor was measured, but some of the supporters were feisty in their defense of her, applauding much of what Gardner had to say and jeering at several questions asked by reporters.

At the press conference, Gardner doubled down on her strategy of blaming Judge Bryan Hettenbach for 21-year-old Daniel Riley remaining free on bond even after he violated that bond dozens of times.

On February 18, Riley struck a teenager visiting from out of town, leading to both her legs being amputated. The blowback against Gardner’s office was swift, with critics saying Riley was not in jail due to Gardner’s mismanagement. Yesterday, Mayor Tishaura Jones said that Gardner “needed to do some soul searching” and had lost the trust of the people.

On Thursday Gardner, after expressing sympathy for the victim Janae Edmondson and saying that she is holding Edmondson’s family in her thoughts and prayers, said that “on three separate oc-

casions my office requested the defendant’s bond be revoked. The court either denied or ignored each of these requests.”

One of the instances cited by Gardner happened on August 10, 2022, when Gardner says that Riley was taken into custody by the court but released again on his own personal recognizance against her office’s wishes.

One reporter asked, “Why doesn’t the court record show one example of a motion to revoke bond?”

“It’s in Casenet, you must not have looked at it,” said a Gardner supporter.

Gardner replied that it is “normal practice” for such motions to be made orally, not in writing.

A transcript of the August 10 hearing obtained by the RFT shows the judge asking Assistant Circuit Attorney Jonathan Phipps, “What does the state propose we do with Mr. Riley this time around?”

Phipps replied that he had reached a deal with Riley’s defense attorney for Riley to be released on house arrest and GPS monitoring, according to the transcript.

If Phipps made a case for Riley to be held in jail, the transcript does not capture it.

In her remarks this afternoon, Gardner said that Riley subsequently left his home multiple times in direct violation of his bond. “In spite of this, the court modified the bond, allowing him to leave home for work against the state’s objections,” she said.

A question from a reporter about Mayor Jones’ statement that

Gardner had lost city residents’ trust brought a chorus of shouts from Gardner’s supporters. “We are the public,” said a supporter. “She hasn’t lost it,” said another.

After they died down, the reporter asked the question again.

“We answered for her!” someone shouted, to applause.

“Ask the mayor why she’s not at the press conference,” shouted a member of the crowd.

The reporter put the question to

Cori Bush Gets Hitched in Private

The progressive congresswoman married Cortney Merritts in St. Louis in February

Written by ROSALIND EARLY

U.S. Representative Cori Bush got married earlier this month in a private ceremony in St. Louis. The progressive Democrat signed a marriage license with the St. Louis Recorder of Deeds on February 11 before she wed in a private ceremony.

Bush’s chief of staff, Abbas Alawieh, released a statement last night about the nuptials.

“With heartfelt congratulations, I am happy to confirm that Congresswoman Cori Bush married the love of her life, Cortney Merritts, this month. Mr. Merritts, a veteran of the U.S. Army and a

Gardner a third time.

Gardner replied that she wasn’t going to speak to what the mayor said, but that the people would have their chance to make their voices heard at the next election.

“While it is true my office could have done more, to say we did nothing is not only disingenuous but it’s willfully ignorant of the reality of our court system,” Gardner said.

Gardner ended her remarks by saying that the myriad efforts in Jefferson City to remove her from office were akin to voter suppression.

Missouri Attorney General Andrew Bailey filed a quo warranto action seeking to remove Gardner from office.

If Gardner resigns or is removed from office, Governor Mike Parson, a Republican, would choose her successor.

After Gardner’s remarks, a brief chant of “No Justice, No Peace” went out among her supporters.

Former prosecutor and noted defense attorney Jerryl Christmas shouted to the crowd through a bullhorn: “Only judges can set a bond and revoke bond. Only judges can set a bond and revoke bond.” n

security professional, has been Congresswoman Bush’s partner since before her Congressional tenure and is not employed by her Congressional office. Our team has come to know and appreciate Mr. Merritts as a loving and caring Congressional spouse.”

Merritts previously worked for Bush’s campaign as a security guard.

According to social media posts that have since been taken down, Merritts and Bush have known each other since at least 2021, when he was seen at her inauguration. He also accompanied her on several other trips, including to the Ed Sullivan Theater in New York, where she appeared on The Late Show with Stephen Colbert

Merritts was then hired in 2022 and paid $62,359 in direct payments, with more than $2,000 of that consisting of cash reimbursements, according to campaign finance records. It is illegal to use campaign funds for personal use, but family and friends can earn money from a campaign if they are providing a “bona fide service,” according to election commission rules.

House ethics rules also prohibit a con-

Continued on pg 12

Kim Gardner held a press conference last week after calls for her resignation. | RYAN KRULL

Win Free Rent on Cherokee Street

The Cherokee Street Community Improvement District is offering one business six months of free rent

Written by SARAH FENSKE

Retail or experiential businesses longing for a space of their own might want to take a look at Cherokee Street — where the Cherokee Street Community Improvement District will choose one lucky company to take up residence for free.

The offer is good for six months, no strings attached and no obligation for further payments unless the business chooses to stay on site after that. And it comes in a high-profile storefront, 2616 Cherokee, on the first block of Cherokee west of Jefferson in Gravois Park.

For decades, the 4,000-square-foot building was home to Rent One. In

CORI BUSH

Continued from pg 11

gressperson from purchasing goods and services from a family member unless there is a “bona fide need” and the campaign doesn’t pay more than fair market value.

Security has been a flashpoint for Bush ever since her campaign started spending more on it in mid-2020. Bush advocates for defunding the police, but, conservatives point out, she has spent more than $600,000 on security for herself. Her office says the expense is

March 2022, the vacant space was acquired by South Side Spaces, which has renovated numerous historic spaces in and around Cherokee, including what is now the co-working space Nebula.

South Side Spaces is dividing the building to include three storefronts and six residential spaces. It’s now offering up the center storefront, which clocks in at 900 square feet.

“We’re looking to give a leg up for a new business that will complement the eclectic mix of existing businesses on Cherokee Street,” owner Jason Deem says in a statement. “This program is a continuation of our commitment to fostering an environment that is conducive to unique, locally owned, independent businesses — and resistant to uses that are predatory, corporate or unoriginal. This project is a great example of that commitment, as one predatory rent-toown chain gives way to three new storefronts and six residential spaces.”

South Side Spaces intends to give preference to businesses opening their first brick-and-mortar location. Applications are currently open and will close on March 31. A winner will be chosen by the neighborhood community improvement district in April.

See southsidespaces.com/contest for more info. n

required, due to violent threats.

The statement from Bush’s office concludes: “Those who know the Congresswoman personally and have followed her inspiring story know that she is a survivor of multiple forms of violence, including intimate partner violence. That she has married someone who supports her in all that she does, including as Representative of the incredible people of St. Louis, is cause for great celebration.

“Our team hopes that everyone will join us in celebrating the Congresswoman during this joyous time while respecting her privacy as she and her husband begin this new chapter together.”

Businesses could win rent-free space for 6 months on Cherokee. | COURTESY OF SOUTHSIDE SPACES

MISSOURILAND

Styling

Saint Louis Art Museum’s Age of Armor shows off everything from Medieval chain mail to Black Panther’s vibranium suit

Words by JESSICA ROGEN

Photos by BRADEN MCMAKIN

Shiny surfaces flooded with engravings. Fluted metal armor. Broad, billowing breastplates. Those elements were in style in the late 1400s and early 1500s.

“You want to look good, everywhere you go,” says David Conradsen, Saint Louis Art Museum curator of decorative arts and

design. Highly decorated armor wasn’t only for impressing at court but for real use, both tournaments and on the battlefield.

Visitors to SLAM’s new exhibit, Age of Armor, can check out how armor changed from the Middle Ages to present day. The show, which is open through May 14, pairs armor and weaponry from the Higgins Armory Collection at the Worcester Art Museum with works from SLAM’s collection.

Each room of the exhibit advances armor’s story, and the show includes contemporary armor, both the real stuff — such as a tactical vest for women — and the fantastic — such as Star Wars’ stormtroopers and Black Panther. But regardless of era, armor is a crowd pleaser that can’t be denied.

“There’s clearly something that is continuously appealing to our sense of imagination,” Research Assistant Katherine Feldkamp says. “There’s a powerful cultural zeitgeist that continues to inspire us.”

A CELEBRATION OF THE UNIQUE AND FASCINATING ASPECTS OF OUR HOME

GAME

GAME DAY

St. Louis will always love the Cardinals, but before the team’s home opener on March 30, the city has some other games to catch. Notably, the first-ever game for our new Major League Soccer team, the St. Louis CITY SC, will happen March 4 at 7:30 p.m. against Charlotte FC. Though soccer fans have already christened the new CITYPARK stadium (and broken the elevator) during a friendly match between the MLS Next team and the German team Bayer Leverkusen, this is the first home game that matters. To say that the city is hyped is an understatement. Single tickets to the home opener sold out in five minutes, and excitement has only increased after CITY won its opening match against Austin FC. But soccer isn’t the only game in town (pun intended). The Battlehawks XFL team, which saw its first season cut short due to COVID-19, has come roaring back, winning its first two games. The Battlehawks will take on the Arlington Renegades at the Nest, a.k.a. the Dome at America’s Center, on Sunday, March 12, at 3 p.m. Learn about the teams, the fandom and even the food in this ultimate game day guide.

—Rosalind Early

Dominating the Electronic Pitch

St. Louis City SC already has one of the top soccer players in the world, but he won’t be on the field

BY BENJAMIN SIMON

In June 2022, the brass for CITY SC held an intervention. Something wasn’t working.

The problem, though, had nothing to do with the field. It had to do with eMLS, the American virtual soccer league. CITY SC had had an eMLS player since 2020, but he wasn’t winning. And the front office needed to know why.

“What [does] eMLS mean to the club moving forward? And how are we going to approach it

and get into a winning position?”

Peter Wood, vice president of creative and content for CITY SC, remembers people asking. Wood didn’t just want to host an eMLS team for fun. He wanted to win. Although teams don’t need an eMLS player, nearly every team has one. Some have two. LA United even has three.

During the meetings, Wood explained the virtues: Signing an eMLS player elevates the entire program.

Continued on pg 18

Esports as an industry is on pace to break $1 billion in revenue, according to Insider Intelligence, and FIFA is only gaining steam. In its first seven days of availability, FIFA 23 surpassed 10 million players. There are virtual leagues tied to professional leagues across the world in Europe, Africa and Australia. Major League Soccer in America started its league in 2018.

Millions of people watch these games. Twitch streams of the eMLS League Series 2 tournament in February drew nearly 500,000 viewers. The 2022 eChampions League final received nearly 5 million views on Youtube.

Wood knew that a good eMLS player wouldn’t only be fun — the person could bring more eyes, money and energy to the entire organization.

“When you have a winning player on your team, it lifts the whole club,” Wood says. “Everybody gets excited about it. The players get behind it. It brings a lot of pride to the city.”

The brass listened. They gave Wood the go-ahead. Get who you want, they said. So Wood started doing research, Twitter DMing different players, studying records, scouring past games and scheduling multiple interviews.

That’s when he found Niklas Raseck, a 24-year-old esports FIFA player who had never visited St. Louis, who resided in Germany, who had won multiple international tournaments, qualified for the FIFA World Cup three times and earned more than $215,000 in prize winnings during his career.

In short, CITY SC signed one of the best virtual soccer players on the planet.

Wood was drawn by Raseck’s success on a global scale, in big games, in front of live crowds. (He’s “somebody that’s got that winning mentality ingrained in them. Niklas isn’t here to participate. He wants to win competitions for St. Louis.”) Wood was drawn to his playing style. (“Niklas’ style was very similar to [CITY SC]. He’s a real brute when he gets behind the controller. He wants to attack, attack, attack.”)

But Wood interviewed plenty of talented players. What stood out was how little Raseck talked about his skills.

“He’s a very humble guy,” Wood says.

Raseck, who goes by NRaseck7 and NR7, spoke to the RFT via phone from New York City in

late January, just hours from his first tournament with CITY SC. The stakes are high. Raseck, the first European to play in eMLS, is tasked with reviving the team’s eMLS program.

But this doesn’t seem to phase Raseck. He is calm over the phone, soft-spoken and quiet, as if he has answered questions and prepared for tournaments many times.

“I didn’t really plan to get into it. It just, like … ” he says, pausing, “happened to be my job at some point.”

Raseck grew up in Recklinghausen, a German city with more than 114,000 people. He was a solid goalie — until he broke his arm at 13 and found himself play-

ing video games more frequently.

“I realized that I was getting better at the game,” he says.

Getting better is an understatement. At 14, he signed up for a FIFA tournament: the national German championship.

Raseck, somehow, someway, reached the semi-finals.

“That’s how it all started for me,” he says.

Still, he didn’t plan to become a professional FIFA player. He wanted to attend college. But he kept winning. Two years later, Raseck captured the 2016 German FIFA championship. That same year, he signed his first professional contract and flew to New York City. A year after graduat-

ing from high school, in 2019, he won the FIFA Ultimate Team 20 Champions Cup. In 2021, he was a finalist for Globe Soccer Awards esports player of the year.

As he kept winning, it was time for a change.

In October, after two months of vetting, CITY SC officially announced that it had signed Raseck as its eMLS player for the 2022 season. The year started in January with League Series 1 and League Series 2 in February. The two tournaments lead up to the championship, the eMLS Cup, from March 11 to 12, where Raseck will enter as the four seed out of 26 players.

“This year my plan is obviously to bring a trophy home to St. Louis,” he says.

But he also has a larger goal in sight, the grand prize of them all.

“The big goal from everyone,” he says, “is to win a [FIFAe] World Cup.”

Raseck still lives in Germany with his parents, and he commutes to America for tournaments. But Raseck doesn’t fly across the world, click some buttons and magically finish in first place. Video games are his full-time job.

Raseck spends at least five hours every day playing FIFA in his work office, which features a PC, PS5 and three monitors. When he’s done, he rewatches the games, analyzes them and looks for errors. He tries not to practice more because it could hurt his performance.

“I’m really careful with it because at some point if you play too much, you [overplay], and that can be really bad for creativity in the attack,” he says.

When Wood first started working with professional video gamers, he was floored by the amount of preparation necessary.

“I didn’t really understand the dedication that goes into being a top-level gamer,” Wood says.

In late January, Wood flew out to New York to meet Raseck and watch him compete. He watched the players smash away at their controllers, just inches away from their computer screens — until, bam, in a matter of milliseconds, a defensive player slides just a step late and the ball drops in the goal, and one player screams in triumph while the other player’s head drops in defeat.

“It almost gave me a heart attack,” he says.

Watching these games, Wood felt the weight of the sport. This isn’t just a video game. These are athletes, just like the rest of CITY SC.

Niklas Raseck is a 24-year-old esports FIFA player. | COURTESY PHOTO

“When you have a winning player on your team, it lifts the whole club. Everybody gets excited about it. The players get behind it. It brings a lot of pride to the city.”

Not Your European Football Club

Soccer fans have a bad rep, but St. Louis fans are all about inclusivity

BY MONICA OBRADOVIC

St. Louis soccer fans are a lot of things. Dedicated, a little crazy, the loudest crowd in the bleachers. But there’s one thing St. Louis soccer fans are not — the bigoted, bro-ey assholes that sometimes emerge from European clubs.

At least, that’s the goal.

St. Louligans, the largest club soccer supporter organization in St. Louis, is an inclusive and welcoming group, longtime member Sarah Robertson says. As a so-called Louligan Lady, Robertson says the Louligans pride themselves on making sure fans of all backgrounds feel welcome at games.

But in the stands with other soccer fans, sometimes it can feel not-so-2023.

“You hear all sorts of stuff in the stands,” Robertson says. “I’ve probably heard everything under

A Guide to Dining at CITYPARK Stadium

the sun, from people calling dibs on pretty girls walking by to calling them derogatory names.”

These comments aren’t the overt misogynist barbs that have almost become cliches, such as “make me a sandwich” or “get in the kitchen.” It’s more subtle, Robertson says. It’s the assumption that women fans are dragged to soccer games by their male partners and that they’re only there to watch attractive players run across the field.

The supporter section can be a bit intimidating anyway for female fans, says Danielle Hibbert, a member of Saint Louis City Punks, another St. Louis CITY supporters club. The section, which has no chairs and encourages fans to be as loud as possible, is often filled with dudes.

“But the good thing about [U.S.] soccer culture is it’s not just guys

bumping their chests and slamming beers back,” Hibbert says. Hibbert leads a subgroup of Saint Louis City Punks called Saint Louis City Punks Riot Grrrls. Members channel the riot grrrl subculture movement that began in the 1990s, with politics fusing with feminism and punk music.

“At the root, it’s really about representation and making sure that we have a seat at the table when it comes to building this culture in the St. Louis community around the new team and the sport,” Hibbert says.

Inclusivity was taken into account when building St. Louis

CITY SC’s CITYPARK stadium downtown. Fan focus groups were held to ensure all fans would feel welcome, according to Michelle Baker, a soccer fan in St. Louis since 2015. The stadium includes gender-neutral bathrooms and more women’s stalls than men’s. The supporter section may seem like a rowdy bunch at first, Baker says, but the Louligans and other fan groups are there to help all fans enjoy games.

“If you’re not sure if it’s for you, or you feel like you’re going to feel left out, give it a shot,” Baker says. “There’s always somebody who’s going to welcome you.” n

if you don’t know Craft by name, your tastebuds likely know his food; he’s the mind behind Pastaria, Brasserie, Cinder House and more.

Toward the end of 2022, Craft and CITY SC announced the details of the CITY Flavor program — all local restaurants.

“Our goal with the CITY Flavor program was to ensure that we highlighted the different cultures of our St. Louis food community,” Craft said in October. “Through the food, fans get a feel for the diverse neighborhoods that make our city so special.”

BY

When it came time for St. Louis CITY SC to design its food program, the brand-new stadium’s creators clearly surveyed the fakecheese nachos, hotdogs and weak lagers taking up space on menus at other stadiums and realized fans deserve better.

To avoid the pitfalls of mediocre-yetexpensive fare, the stadium tapped James Beard Award-winning chef Gerard Craft as chief flavor officer. Even

There are 52 spots in the stadium for soccer-goers to order food, plus a CITY mobile app that allows you to order ahead. With all those options, it’s hard to know what to go for, so here are some that caught our eye at the RFT.

BALKAN TREAT BOX

Erna’s Loaded Fries have creamy feta; kajmak, which is kind of like clotted cream; ajvar, a roasted pepper sauce; suho, a dried meat; fefferoni, a pepper; and green onions.

BEAST CRAFT BBQ CO.

The pork steak sandwich includes hicko-

ry-smoked pork steak “torched for maximum caramelization” with house-made pickles and, of course, a bun.

FARM TRUK

The Farm Truk burger consists of local Missouri beef topped with smoked bacon, cheddar (the best burger cheese, fight us), hydroponic lettuce, tomato, crispy fried onions and homemade pickles on an egg bun from Vitale’s on the Hill.

PADRINOS

Tacos de Papa are three crispy-shelled corn lovelies filled with potato, lettuce, shredded cheese and sour cream.

STEVE’S HOT DOGS

The St. Louis CITY Dog is smoked and then grilled before being covered by grilled peppers and onions, banana peppers, bacon, provolone and smoky pepper mustard.

But if none of those five catch your eye, don’t despair. Many more delicious offerings will be on hand from Anthonino’s Taverna, the Block, Bold Spoon Creamery, DD Mau, Chez Ali, Crown Candy Kitchen, Dewey’s Pizza, the Fattened Caf, the G.O.A.T. Brand, Ices Plain & Fancy, Malinche, Mayo Ketchup, Nudo House, Pie Guy, Wally’s, Kaldi’s Coffee and G&W Sausage and Meats. n

The new soccer team is lifting up St. Louis in every way possible

JESSICA ROGEN

St. Louis soccer fan clubs want to welcome all comers. | COURTESY PHOTO Grab gourmet game day eats at CITYPARK stadium. | VIA ST. LOUIS CITY SC

Why Battlehawks Hate the Vipers

The rivalry is as bizarre as it is passionate

BY RYAN KRULL

St. Louis Battlehawks fans are looking forward to March 25, when the team will finally play its first game against the Las Vegas Vipers (formerly the Tampa Bay Vipers). Any XFL fan knows that the rivalry between the two teams is intense, despite the fact this will be their first time meeting on the field (assuming this XFL season is not marked by financial or viral catastrophe, as has been the case in years past).

Typically, a rivalry develops between two teams based on proximity (St. Louis Cardinals vs. Chicago Cubs) or as they meet again and again on the field in bitterly

contested battles (see the Philadelphia Eagles and the Dallas Cowboys). Hard-fought wins and losses stack up on both sides. The rivalry becomes more bitter, the shit-talk more specific, the memes more self-referential. Eventually, the two sides forget how the rivalry began, and as far as everyone is concerned one team has always despised the other.

The Battlehawks seem to have managed to do almost all of that to the Vipers without the teams ever actually having played a game against each other. They were set to face off in 2020, but COVID had other ideas. It didn’t matter; within weeks of the Battlehawks becoming a St. Louis XFL team in

Get Weird With It

A look

2019, fans started creating a rivalry with the Vipers.

“The Vipers have been rapidly singled out as the Battlehawks’ arch enemies, owing both to the simple nature of birds and snakes (the former find the latter to be a tasty snack) as well as their fans’ apparently unorthodox bathroom habits,” RFT’s Daniel Hill wrote in 2019. Vipers fans were rumored to “poop standing up” and “eat wings with a spoon,” according to Facebook fan page messages. “In keeping, the hatred that Battlehawks fans hold for the detestable Vipers burns with the intensity of a thousand suns,” Hill concluded.

The Vipers fans, then in Tampa Bay, may not have ever even been

aware of the rivalry. If they were, it’s unlikely they bothered to tell anyone in Las Vegas about it when the team moved there.

Many Vipers fans in Las Vegas were reportedly confused by the vitriol being hurled their way by St. Louis on message boards. Despite the move, the Las Vegas Vipers exhibit the same vices as their Tampa Bay counterparts: Vipers fans still shit standing up and their players wear ballet slippers, size 7 1/2.

March 25 will be a day people finally find out which is the better team — but for this rivalry, what happens on the field seems less important than what happens on the message boards. n

at

why one viewer is watching the XFL

BY RYAN KRULL

When I caught up with St. Louis stand up comedian and huge football fan Jake Beckman, he was reeling and wallowing in despair.

Beckman, 31, is a longtime Philadelphia Eagles fan. We talked on the day after the Eagles took a tough loss in the Super Bowl against the Kansas City Chiefs.

“There’s a spot right next to my couch where I stand, and when I stand there, the Eagles do well,” he says. Despite Beckman dutifully standing where he needed to, “we started playing referee-ball in the last two minutes of the game. And I totally threw up. I cried. It was a whole lot.”

However, more football was on the horizon. The St. Louis Battlehawks kicked off their 10-game season February 19.

It would be a stretch to say that Beckman is taking solace in this. But he will be watching. He’s hoping that things get weird.

“I don’t know if ‘sideshow’ is going to be the right word for it,” he says. “But it’s going to be fun and it’s going to be stuff that you’re not expecting, stuff that you wouldn’t normally see in a football game.”

Every Sunday, the NFL season features the world’s best football players squaring off against each other. While XFL players are very good, they’re not elite, which leads to some idiosyncratic play.

“I’m not saying this is going to happen every game, but there’s going to be players who are just going to consistently dominate the person that’s lined up across from them,” he says.

He compares play in the XFL to a professional version of college football’s Sun Belt Conference, a collection of not-household-name teams like the Coastal Carolina University Chanticleers and the University of South Alabama Jaguars.

“You get these incredibly bizarre plays where the center snaps the ball over the quarterback’s head. And you’re just like,

‘Oh my god, this is going to be a disaster.’ But the quarterback ends up grabbing the ball, pitching to a running back who takes it for 75 yards,” Beckman says.

Weirdness was on full display during the Battlehawks’ first game this year against the San Antonio Brahmas. The Battlehawks were down 15-3 with a minute and a half left. Quarterback A.J. McCarron was able to complete an 18yard pass for a touchdown. Then the Battlehawks went for a threepoint conversion.

In the XFL, teams can attempt a 4th and 15 from their 25-yard line. The Battlehawks were able to convert the 4th and 15, and with 16 seconds left pulled ahead to win the game 18 to 15.

Fans were stunned, and the game was the most viewed in the XFL with 2.3 million viewers. The Battlehawks second game was also a come-from-behind win.

“It’s fun,” Beckman says about XFL play.

XFL owner Dwayne “The Rock” Johnson has hired a number of coaches who have had distinguished careers in the NFL or in elite college programs. They’re coming to this league with their legacies secured. Beckman says that he’s hoping this will lead to teams playing fast, loose and, most importantly, entertaining games.

“I’m hoping that the Rock sat all the head coaches down and said, ‘Hey, get weird with it guys. Like, get really weird with it.’” n

Fans want more than passes in the XFL, McCarron, they want drama. | VIA BATTLEHAWKS

incredible edibles

8 ways to eat your weed without resorting to gummies

BY ROSALIND EARLY

The first time I tried to smoke a cigarette was a disaster. I, like Bill Clinton, did not inhale. I puffed on it and just liked the glamour of holding it between my fingers and waving it around. It smelled terrible, though, and when I’d raise it to my lips, I’d gag a little.

Next, I tried menthols because regular cigarettes were too foul. This time, a friend successfully described how to inhale, but then I swallowed the smoke and felt wretched while she laughed at me. Cloves were up next, and I mastered the art of smoking but still did not enjoy it. Finally, the illustrious joint came into my life (well, actually a blunt first), and the whole puffing and passing felt a little unsanitary.

But then my friends told me you could just bake your weed into brownies, and I left smoking behind. I’ve been an edible eater ever since, which I know for the sticklers means I’m not a true weed connoisseur. But I’d venture to say I’m an edible aficionado.

When adult-use came on the market, I was able to try some professional weed edibles that were much more sophisticated than my home-kitchen concoctions. But like a lot of people who prefer to eat their weed rather than smoke it, I grew sick of gummies. There’s a whole world of food out there to put THC into, so here are some ways to branch out beyond gummies for more edible enjoyment.

For newcomers

POP SOME PILLS

There’s a lot to like about 1906 Drops For starters, you can buy two pills for $5 if you want to give them a try before fully committing to a 20- or 30-pill vial, which costs around $40. Another advantage is that they go straight down the hatch — no chewing, no calories — and promise to get you high in 20 minutes (though individual results may vary). THC is only one part of the equation: They include CBD and other medicinal plants. The Go pill, for instance, includes 5 mg THC and 5 mg CBD as well as caffeine and L-theanine, an amino acid found in green tea. The pill is supposed to give you focus and avoid caffeine crashes. The Genius pill helps with brain power by not only including a 2.5 mg THC:CBD blend but also rhodiola, bacopa and galangal for brain function, memory and alertness, respectively. There’s even one called Love that can help get you in the mood. Another option is Vivid’s Rush Capsules, which offer 10 mg of THC and 30 mg of caffeine, so you can truly wake and bake and still get on with your day.

SODA HIGH

It can be challenging to find a good THCinfused drink if you’re a heavyweight partaker. But for the novice, these are a great option, particularly if you’re gathering with friends and don’t want to get drunk but still want to relax. Wynk brand drinks start off at a 2.5 mg THC:CBD blend per can and go up to 5 mg THC:CBD. The gentle doses and palatable flavors can hit the spot for lightweights. If you are more of a heavy-hitter, then check out Keef. The brand’s line of sodas only includes 10 mg of THC per can, but the Life H20 and mocktails go up to 100 mg of THC per bottle. They’re supposed to be taken as shots and include multiple doses — but to each his own.

CHOCOLATE DELIGHTS

If you get a Honeybees chocolate bar, then be prepared to exercise some willpower after taking a dose or two. Created by Proper Cannabis’ Dave Owens, a former Bissinger’s chocolatier, these bars are high-class and high-inducing. Choose from flavors such as sticky bun, peanut and pretzel, and cherry pistachio. The regular bars contain 100 mg of THC and cost about $30, while the high-potency options contain 300 mg and cost about $60. Several bars, such as the salted brownie batter, include 100 mg of THC and 100 mg of CBD per bar, while the espresso, caramel and toffee bars contain 100 mg of CBD only.

FRESH BREATH AND GOOD TIMES

Microdose mints are a great option to keep your breath squeaky fresh and maintain a small high throughout the day. Ratio’s mints are generally 2.5 mg THC per mint and are a hybrid with varying amounts of CBD. The Active mints are meant to get you off the couch, while Relax mints are heavy with CBD, 2.5 mg per mint, and lighter on the THC, promising to give you a relaxing afternoon. The vials of 40 mints cost $25.

JUST EAT SNACKS

Missouri’s Own has come out with a de-

lightful array of snack food that happens to be infused with THC. There are the “twice-baked” Red Hot Riplets, which RFT’s Tommy Chims noted upon release “quickly became one of the hottest tickets in Missouri’s medical marijuana market, flying off the shelves at every dispensary at which they are sold. It’s easy to see why. Show me a cannabis enthusiast who doesn’t like to tear into a bag of chips when they’re ripped, and I’ll show you a unicorn. The time-honored act of stuffing one’s face with greasy salty crunchiness while high as a kite spans generations; this development simply streamlined the process. Each package contains about 20 milligrams of THC and costs $14 before taxes. As for flavor, these things are 100 percent Riplet, with that familiar crunchy, spicy kick and just enough sweetness to light up the taste buds.”

Following that success, Missouri’s own released Red Hot Riplet Brownies, which come in a two-pack and retail for $18, with a total of 30 milligrams of THC per package. “The instructions on the back of the bag suggest that you eat only a quarter to a half of a brownie and then wait an hour to evaluate its effects, which frankly is a hilariously impossible test of willpower that only the strongest among us could possibly endure,” Chims wrote before declaring the “Red Hot Riplet Brownies a worthy successor to their popular parent product. While they admittedly bring a bit less novelty than the chips themselves, their unique flavor profile and smooth, energetic high make them a must-try among fans of THC-infused sweet treats.”

Missouri’s Own also released Cannabis Coffee pods, K-cups of coffee infused with marijuana. The resultant high is low-key and allows you to go about your day.

Experienced

GET COOKING

Anything can be an edible with the right attitude, and Sweet Stone olive oil demonstrates that. A 100-gram bottle will set

you back nearly $50 but contains 225 mg of THC. A teaspoon is the equivalent of a 10 mg dose. The upside of olive oil THC is that you are no longer held back by the constraints of edibles on offer; now you can mix it in with your morning eggs or evening stir fry. The drawback is, of course, that you have to whip something up with it. (While we understand if you take a teaspoon of straight oil, there are certainly more pleasant ways to get a dose of THC.) But you don’t have to cook anything. You can drizzle it over a salad or blend it in a smoothie.

MEDICATE WITH FECO OR RSO

While FECO, or full-extract cannabis oil, is mostly a medical-marijuana offering, it is worth tracking down any that are adult-use. The oil includes all of the cannabinoids and terpenes that you’d find in the flower in the exact same ratio. (RSO stands for Rick Simpson Oil, and like FECO, it is a highly potent cannabis oil.) As such, FECO is sold by the strain like the Blue Dream or Cantaloupe Haze, both by Flora Farms. The liquid is thick and needs to be warmed up before ingesting either in your hands or under warm water. Then you can add it to yogurts, smoothies, peanut butter cups and more, or take it by itself in a small, rice-grain-sized dose. You can also bake it into treats so long as you keep the temperature of your cooking under 225 degrees. Mostly recommended for experienced users because of its potency, this concentrate can make anything into an edible.

GET OLD TIMEY WITH A TINCTURE

Tinctures seem to work for some and not for others, but if you want to try something different that sounds vaguely like something from the 1800s, try a tincture. Taken sublingually (that means you hold it under your tongue), it bypasses getting processed by your liver and can get you high in only 15 or 20 minutes. Everyone has a different reaction to cannabis, but tinctures are particularly finicky. Some advice for getting it to work includes holding it under your tongue for a while or simply mixing the tincture into a drink or food (though you won’t get high quickly — it will act more like an edible). A few to check out are Zen Cannabis’ Fresh Mint 10:1 Hybrid Tincture, which has 16 mg of THC and 1.6 mg of CBD per 1 ml dose, and 500 mg of THC and 50 mg of CBD per 30 ml bottle. The bottle will set you back $50. For a cheaper, lower-dose option, Zen Cannabis also has the Fresh Mint 4:1 Sativa Hybrid that has 100 mg of THC per bottle and 25 mg of CBD. It costs $15.

Cutline goes here followed by Art Credit, in All Caps. | ART CREDIT

Dispensary Directory

Ready to start exploring the wonders of legal weed? Check out our guide to all the dispensaries in the St. Louis area selling marijuana for recreational or medicinal use.

Medical Marijuana

DELMAR/THE LOOP

JANE Dispensary: 6662 Delmar Blvd, University City, MO. 314-464-4420. www. janedispensary.com. JANE touts itself as a “sophisticated cannabis boutique” offering products including flower, edibles, beauty products, oils, and accessories to Missouri medical marijuana patients. Some products are available for delivery.

UNIVERSITY CITY

Star Buds Dispensary: 7555 Olive Boulevard, University City, MO. 314-335-7928. starbuds.us. With one location in Festus and another in University City, Star Buds vows that their “compassionate and knowledgeable staff is here to help you get exactly what you need at the best possible price.” As of press time, the U. City location was still waiting for the municipality to authorize recreational sales.

Swade Cannabis: 6166 Delmar Boulevard, University City, MO. 314-924-6502. swadecannabis.com. Swade Cannabis touts itself online as “Missouri’s premiere luxury cannabis company, created to restore and enliven mind, body and spirit as one.” Flower starts at $12 for a gram and includes offerings such as Jungle Cookie and Skunk Dust. Swade’s locations also stock concentrates, prerolls, vape cartridges, accessories and edibles.

JEFFERSON COUNTY

BKind Dispensary: 1229 Main Street, Imperial, MO. 636-467-2323. bkindstl. com. With two Missouri locations now open for recreational as well as medical sales, BKind is intent on “providing you with the all-natural, non-pharmaceutical, alternative medicine that is cannabis.” Flower starts at $25 for an eighth, with offerings including Blueberry Headband and Sticky Buns.

N’Bliss Dispensary: 3 Walter’s Place, House Springs, MO. 314-627-2566. nblisscannabis.com. At N’Bliss, eighths start at $25. Flower includes Purple Trainwreck, Miracle Alien Cookies and Poontang Pie, among others. N’Bliss also offers the usual pre-rolls, edibles, accessories and vape cartridges.

N’Bliss Dispensary: 2285 Highway 67 South, Festus, MO. 314-627-2599. nblisscannabis.com. At N’Bliss, eighths start at $25. Flower includes Purple Trainwreck, Miracle Alien Cookies and Poontang Pie, among others. N’Bliss also offers the usual pre-rolls, edibles, accessories and vape cartridges.

Star Buds Dispensary: 1168 West Gannon Drive, Festus, MO. 636-638-2089. starbuds.us. With one location in Festus and another in University City, Star Buds vows that their “compassionate and knowledgeable staff is here to help you get exactly what you need at the best possible price.” The staff pharmacist is on site in Festus every second Thursday of the month from 5 to 7 p.m.

BELLEVILLE/FAIRVIEW HEIGHTS

Ascend Cannabis Dispensary: 114 Commerce Lane, Fairview Heights, IL. (217)492-8030. letsascend.com. At this Illinois dispensary, flower starts at $40 for 3.5 grams. Offerings include Wedding Cake Reserve and Banana Daddy Popcorn.

AIRPORT

Greenlight Dispensary: 4451 Brown Road, Berkeley, MO. 844-785-9333. greenlightdispensary.com. Greenlight Dispensary is a regional chain with nearly twenty locations either currently open or in process in Missouri and Arkansas. Flower begins at $30 for an eighth, with a stock that includes Skunk 1, Gorilla Glue, True OG and Superglue, among others.

FERGUSON

Greenlight Dispensary: 517 South Florissant Road, Ferguson, MO. 844-7859333. greenlightdispensary.com. Greenlight Dispensary is a regional chain with nearly twenty locations either currently open or in process in Missouri and Arkansas. Flower begins at $30 for an eighth, with a stock that includes Skunk 1, Gorilla Glue, True OG and Superglue, among others.

FLORISSANT

Cookies St. Louis: 11088 New Halls Ferry Road, Florissant, MO. (314) 8822569. www.cookiessaintlouis.com. The Bay Area lifestyle brand’s first Missouri dispensary drew long lines at its 2022 opening and is now also open for recreational sales. The big draw here is Cook-

ies’ own strains, which include Ocean Beach, Sticky Buns and Pancakes.

Feel State: 444 Howdershell, Florissant, MO. 314-254-0044. www.myfeelstate. com. Based in Florissant, Feel State is committed to understanding how cannabis works so patients can make more informed decisions about their health and their medicine. They offer a free fifteenminute or half-hour cannabis consultation at myfeelstate.com, which includes information about getting your medical card.

ST. ANN

Heya Wellness: 10417A St. Charles Rock Road, St. Ann, MO. 636-344-0767. heyawellness.com. With five Missouri locations, Heya stresses the use of cannabis for “holistic whole-being.” Flower starts at $25 for 3.5 grams, with brands like Slippery Susan, Jigglers and Apple Fritter on the higher end. Choose from among vaporizers, tinctures, concentrates and topicals to find what works best for you.

OUTSTATE MO

Green Releaf Dispensary: 109 North Lincoln Drive Suite-E, Troy, MO. 636775-2708. greenreleafdispensary.com. At this dispensary chain with locations throughout rural Missouri, an eighth of flower starts at $30. Magic City Kush and Cookie-Dos are among the offerings.

Missouri Health and Wellness: 901 East First Street, Washington, MO. 636-2660055. mhwdispensaries.com. Missouri Health and Wellness now offers recreational sales at its four locations, which includes one in Washington.

Proper Cannabis: 711 North State Highway 47, Warrenton, MO. 636-255-8943. www.propercannabis.com/. Proper Cannabis offers a warm, modern apothecary approach to its dispensaries, which are stocked with the shop’s own brand of flower. Strains include Leafly.com’s 2020 strain of the year Runtz, in addition to Sunset Sherbet, Purple Punch, Trop Cookies and many more. Eighths of flower range from $40 to $60.

AFFTON/CONCORD

BKind Dispensary: 5519 South Lindbergh Boulevard, Concord, MO. 314-729-7059. bkindstl.com. With two Missouri locations including the Concord location in south St. Louis County, BKind is intent on “providing you with the all-natural, non-phar-

maceutical, alternative medicine that is cannabis.” Flower starts at $25 for an eighth, with offerings including Blueberry Headband and Sticky Buns.

Organic Remedies: 11420 Concord Village Ave., Affton, MO. 314-834-0420. www.OrganicRemediesMO.com. Organic Remedies has three cannabis dispensaries, with locations in Cape Girardeau, Sedalia and St. Louis. Check the website for daily specials and online sales. They’ll even give you a birthday discount.

CRESTWOOD/SUNSET HILLS/SAPPINGTON/ SOUTH LINDBERGH

High Profile Cannabis Shop: 10425 Watson Road, St. Louis, MO. 314-353-9922. highprofilecannabis.com. High Profile is Missouri’s premier cannabis dispensary offering premium medical marijuana products for every price point. Visit our St. Louis dispensary to check out our wide selection of flower, pre-rolls, edibles, concentrates and more. Centrally located in St. Louis! Convenient registration for Missouri medical marijuana cards available. Land access to the Show-Me State’s go-to Sunset Hills marijuana dispensary today!

FENTON

Kind Goods: 180 Gravois Bluffs Circle, Suite B, Fenton, MO. 636-492-6400. thekindgoods.com. With three locations in the St. Louis area, Kind Goods’ website says that the brand “see[s] marijuana as a powerful tool for helping our neighbors live better.” Flower begins at $30 for .5 grams, and their stock includes Chemacho Kush, Cobalt Fire, GMO and Klingon Kandy.

MEHLVILLE/OAKVILLE/LEMAY

NatureMed St. Louis: 234 Kingston Drive, St. Louis, MO. NatureMed has five Missouri locations, including one in Affton and one in O’Fallon, Missouri. On offer are pre-rolls, vaporizers, concentrates and flower. Happy hour specials currently run Monday through Friday, 1 to 3 p.m., and include half-off pre-rolls.

Proper Cannabis: 7417 South Lindbergh Boulevard, St. Louis, MO. 314-328-0446. www.propercannabis.com. Proper Cannabis offers a warm, modern apothecary approach to its dispensaries, which are stocked with the shop’s own brand of flower. Strains include Leafly.com’s

2020 strain of the year Runtz, in addition to Sunset Sherbet, Purple Punch, Trop Cookies and many more. Eighths of flower range from $40 to $60.

O’FALLON, MO

Bloom Medicinals: 6700 Highway N, O’Fallon, MO. 636-270-2600. bloommedicinals.com. The only St. Louis-area location of a Florida-based chain, Bloom offers one-on-one consultations as well as drive-through service. Recreational users will find that flower starts at $35 for 3.5 grams. Edibles include chocolates, taffies and gummis.

Missouri Wild Alchemy: 2173 West Terra Lane, O’Fallon, MO. 636-887-0977. missouriwild.com. Missouri Wild Alchemy’s website describes the operation as “a small, local and family-owned business dedicated to providing Missouri medical marijuana patients with high-quality cannabis and education.” In addition to the usual slate of edibles, accessories, pre-rolls and disposable vapes, Missouri Wild also carries an assortment of crystals and cool rocks for staring at after you’ve ingested their products.

NatureMed-O’Fallon: 1193 Bryan Road, O’Fallon, MO. 636-385-6638. NatureMedMo.com. NatureMed has five Missouri locations, including one in Affton and one in O’Fallon, Missouri. On offer are pre-rolls, vaporizers, concentrates and flower. Happy hour specials currently run Monday through Friday, 1 to 3 p.m., and include half-off pre-rolls.

Terrabis Dispensary: 1172 W. Terra Lane, O’Fallon, MO. 314-287-0384. www.terrabis.co. According to Terrabis’ website, its mission is to “seek to better the lives of our patients and communities.” The shop offers newcomers 15 percent off on their first visit, 20 percent off on their second and 25 percent off on the third. Flower starts at $16 for one gram. Try the drive-thru option.

ST. CHARLES

High Profile Cannabis Shop: 1416 Harvestowne Industrial Drive, St. Charles, MO. 636-224-6033. highprofilecannabis.com. High Profile’s St. Charles dispensary is Missouri’s premier cannabis dispensary offering premium medical and adult-use, 21+ marijuana products for every price point. Visit our St. Charles location to check out our menu wide selection of flower, pre-rolls, edibles, concentrates & more. Centrally located on Harvestowne Industrial Drive! Convenient registration for Missouri medical marijuana cards available. Land access to the Show-Me State’s go-to marijuana dispensary today!

ST. CHARLES COUNTY

The Source: 859 Robert Raymond Drive, Lake St. Louis, MO. TheSource-mj.com.

The Source has dispensaries in Arkansas, as well as Lake St. Louis, Raymore

and West Plains, Missouri. Each dispensary promises a “deli-style” shopping experience, as well as a pick-up window for online orders. Cash only.

ST. PETERS

Kind Goods: 3899 Veterans Memorial, Suite J, St. Peters, MO. 636-626-2300. thekindgoods.com. With three locations in the St. Louis area, Kind Goods’ website says that the brand “see[s] marijuana as a powerful tool for helping our neighbors live better.” Flower begins at $30 for .5 grams, and their stock includes Chemacho Kush, Cobalt Fire, GMO and Klingon Kandy.

Root 66: 3004 S. St. Peters Parkway, St. Peters, MO. 636-373-8329. root66cannabis.com. Root 66 Cannabis bills itself as “your fast lane to the Midwest’s premier cannabis shopping experience.” Its St. Peters dispensary, one of the first to open in St. Charles County, is now open for recreational sales, too. Flower starts at $19.99 for 3.5 grams, with strains including Gorilla Pie, Purple Chem and Diesel Train on offer. Additionally, Root 66 carries a variety of vape cartridges, pre-rolls, edibles and accessories.

Swade Cannabis: 146 Jungermann Road, St. Peters, MO. 314-924-6500. swadecannabis.com. Swade Cannabis touts itself online as “Missouri’s premiere luxury cannabis company, created to restore and enliven mind, body and spirit as one.” Flower starts at $12 for a gram and includes offerings such as Gelato Skunk and Peach Crescendo. Swade’s locations also stock concentrates, prerolls, vape cartridges, accessories and edibles.

ST. LOUIS - DOGTOWN

Root 66: 6660 Manchester Avenue, Saint Louis, MO. 314-282-7978. www. root66cannabis.com/. Root 66 Cannabis bills itself as “your fast lane to the Midwest’s premier cannabis shopping experience.” That now includes recreational sales, too. Flower starts at $29.99 for 3.5 grams, with strains including Diesel Punch, Mac and Cheese and Magic City Kush on offer. Additionally, Root 66 carries a variety of vape cartridges, pre-rolls, edibles and accessories.

ST. LOUIS - FOREST PARK SOUTHEAST

Luxury Leaf: 1463a S. Vandeventer Avenue, St. Louis, MO. Missouri’s first Blackowned dispensary promises a “high-end, comfortable vibe that invites curiosity and discovery,” with security always on site to ensure you feel safe exploring. An eighth of flower starts at $25, although occasional “staff picks” may offer further discounts.

ST. LOUIS - SOUTH CITY

3Fifteen Primo: 5501 Chippewa Street, St. Louis, MO. 314-330-2007. 3fifteenprimo.com. According to its website,

3Fifteen Primo aims to be “the best cannabis product and service provider in the world by demonstrating exemplary customer service and cannabis knowledge.” Flower starts at $35 for 3.5 grams and includes offerings such as Ice Cream Social and Mac Stomper.

Swade Cannabis: 2316 Cherokee Street, St. Louis, MO. 314-924-6504. swadecannabis.com. Swade Cannabis touts itself online as “Missouri’s premiere luxury cannabis company, created to restore and enliven mind, body and spirit as one.” Flower starts at $12 for a gram and includes offerings such as Blueberry Muffin and Platinum Grape Runtz. Swade’s locations also stock concentrates, pre-rolls, vape cartridges, accessories and edibles.

ST. LOUIS - SOUTH GRAND

Root 66: 3737 South Grand Boulevard, Saint Louis, MO. 314-257-0816. www. root66cannabis.com. Root 66 Cannabis bills itself as “your fast lane to the Midwest’s premier cannabis shopping experience.” That now includes recreational sales, too. Flower starts at $23.99 for 3.5 grams, with strains including Cantaloupe Haze, Biscotti and Bubba Fett on offer. Additionally, Root 66 carries a variety of vape cartridges, pre-rolls, edibles and accessories.

ST. LOUIS - THE GROVE

Swade Cannabis: 4108 Manchester Avenue, St. Louis, MO. 314-924-6503. swadecannabis.com. Swade Cannabis touts itself online as “Missouri’s premiere luxury cannabis company, created to restore and enliven mind, body and spirit as one.” Flower starts at $12 for a gram and includes offerings such as Soul Planet and Gelato Skunk. Swade’s locations also stock concentrates, prerolls, vape cartridges, accessories and edibles.

ST. LOUIS - TOWER GROVE

Sunrise Cannabis: 6407 Michigan Avenue, St. Louis, MO. 314-353-9817. showmesunrise.com. At this south city dispensary, flower starts at $25 for 3.5 grams. Strains include Power Sherb and Peach Crescendo.

CHESTERFIELD

Hippos Marijuana Dispensary: 17409 - G, 17409 Chesterfield Airport Rd Suite B, Chesterfield, MO. With locations in Chesterfield, Columbia and Springfield, Hippos describes itself as a “modern cannabis company curating fresh information, products and experiences around cannabis.” An eighth of flower starts at $19.99, and, for the stoner who has everything, offerings include cannabis-infused soda.

CREVE COEUR

Terrabis Dispensary: 11062 Olive Blvd Suite A, Creve Couer, MO. 314-9440240. terrabis.co. According to Terrabis’ website, its mission is to “seek to better

the lives of our patients and communities.” Flower starts at $16 for one gram, with offerings such as Lemon Icing and Super Glue.

HAZELWOOD/BRIDGETON/ EARTH CITY

Terrabis Dispensary: 7766 N. Lindbergh Blvd, Hazelwood, MO. 13142870384. www.terrabis.co. According to Terrabis’ website, its mission is to “seek to better the lives of our patients and communities.” Flower starts at $15 for one gram, with offerings such as Lemon Tree Punch and Gorilla Pie.

MANCHESTER/BALLWIN

Kind Goods: 14173 Manchester Road Suite M, Manchester, MO. 636-4849400. thekindgoods.com. With three locations in the St. Louis area, Kind Goods’ website says that the brand “see[s] marijuana as a powerful tool for helping our neighbors live better.” Flower begins at $30 for .5 grams, and their stock includes Chemacho Kush, Cobalt Fire, GMO and Klingon Kandy.

N’Bliss Dispensary: 1266 Old Orchard Center, Manchester, MO. 314-627-2499. nblisscannabis.com/. At N’Bliss, eighths start at $25. Flower includes Purple Trainwreck, Miracle Alien Cookies and Poontang Pie, among others. N’Bliss also offers pre-rolls, edibles, accessories and vape cartridges.

VALLEY PARK

3Fifteen Primo: 839 Meramec Station Road, Valley Park, MO. 314-924-0101. 3fifteenprimo.com. According to its website, 3Fifteen Primo aims to be “the best cannabis product and service provider in the world by demonstrating exemplary customer service and cannabis knowledge.” Its Valley Park location was the second medical dispensary to open in the state and is now open for recreational sales. Flower starts at $35 for 3.5 grams and includes offerings such as Ice Cream Social and Mac Stomper.

WILDWOOD

N’Bliss Dispensary: 15396 Manchester Road, Ellisville, MO. 314-627-2699. nblisscannabis.com. At N’Bliss, eighths start at $25. Flower includes Purple Trainwreck, Miracle Alien Cookies and Poontang Pie, among others. N’Bliss also offers the usual pre-rolls, edibles, accessories and vape cartridges.

Swade Cannabis: 16075 Manchester Road, Ellisville, MO. 314-924-6501. swadecannabis.com. Swade Cannabis touts itself online as “Missouri’s premiere luxury cannabis company, created to restore and enliven mind, body and spirit as one.” Flower prices start at $12 for a gram, with a selection that includes Fo Chouteau and Kosher Kush. Swade’s locations also stock concentrates, prerolls, vape cartridges, accessories and edibles.

Recreational Marijuana

BRENTWOOD

CBD Kratom: 2077 St. Louis Galleria St., St. Louis, MO. 314-476-9938. www.shopcbdkratom.com. St. Louis’ largest cannabis firm now operates shops in Chicago, Dallas, Houston, New York, Philadelphia, as well as numerous locations across the metro. But what CBD Kratom sells is neither medicinal marijuana nor the recreational version. Instead, it offers hemp-derived products, including CBD, a non-intoxicating cannabinoid used to assist a variety of conditions, Delta-8 THC, CBG and other minor cannabinoids. CBD Kratom also carries more than 20 strains of herbal supplement kratom.

RICHMOND HEIGHTS

Bloc - Richmond Heights: 1026 Brentwood Boulevard, Richmond Heights, MO. www.blocdispensary.com. Now open for recreational sales, Bloc boasts that it “explores, curates and celebrates all things cannabis from a place of openness, inclusivity and fun, with the idea that we all deserve to feel good.”.

OLIVETTE/OVERLAND

CBD Kratom: 9201 Olive Blvd., Olivette, MO. 314-733-5012. www.shopcbdkratom.com. St. Louis’ largest cannabis firm now operates shops in Chicago, Dallas, Houston, New York, Philadelphia, as well as numerous locations across the metro. But what CBD Kratom sells is neither medicinal marijuana nor the recreational version. Instead, it offers products made with CBD, a non-intoxicating marijuana extract used to treat a variety of conditions, Delta-8 THC, CBG and other minor cannabinoids. CBD Kratom also carries 50 strains of herbal supplement kratom.

UNIVERSITY CITY

CBD Kratom: 6331 Delmar Blvd., St. Louis, MO. 314-659-8547. www.shopcbdkratom.com. St. Louis’ largest cannabis firm now operates shops in Chicago, Dallas, Houston, New York, Philadelphia, as well as numerous locations across the metro. But what CBD Kratom sells is neither medicinal marijuana nor the recreational version. Instead, it offers hemp-derived products, including CBD, a non-intoxicating cannabinoid used to assist a variety of conditions, Delta-8 THC, CBG and other minor cannabinoids. CBD Kratom also carries more than 20 strains of herbal supplement kratom.

CBD Kratom: 8506 Olive Blvd., St. Louis, MO. 314-736-4121. www.shopcbdkratom.com/. St. Louis’ largest cannabis firm now operates shops in Chicago, Dallas, Houston, New York, Philadelphia, as well as numerous locations across the metro. But what CBD Kratom sells

is neither medicinal marijuana nor the recreational version. Instead, it offers hemp-derived products, including CBD, a non-intoxicating cannabinoid used to assist a variety of conditions, Delta-8 THC, CBG and other minor cannabinoids. CBD Kratom also carries more than 20 strains of herbal supplement kratom.

Swade Cannabis: 6166 Delmar Boulevard, University City, MO. 314-924-6502. swadecannabis.com. Swade Cannabis touts itself online as “Missouri’s premiere luxury cannabis company, created to restore and enliven mind, body and spirit as one.” Flower starts at $12 for a gram and includes offerings such as Jungle Cookie and Skunk Dust. Swade’s locations also stock concentrates, prerolls, vape cartridges, accessories and edibles.

JEFFERSON COUNTY

BKind Dispensary: 1229 Main Street, Imperial, MO. 636-467-2323. bkindstl. com. With two Missouri locations now open for recreational as well as medical sales, BKind is intent on “providing you with the all-natural, non-pharmaceutical, alternative medicine that is cannabis.” Flower starts at $25 for an eighth, with offerings including Blueberry Headband and Sticky Buns.

N’Bliss Dispensary: 2285 Highway 67 South, Festus, MO. 314-627-2599. nblisscannabis.com. At N’Bliss, eighths start at $25. Flower includes Purple Trainwreck, Miracle Alien Cookies and Poontang Pie, among others. N’Bliss also offers the usual pre-rolls, edibles, accessories and vape cartridges.

N’Bliss Dispensary: 3 Walter’s Place, House Springs, MO. 314-627-2566. nblisscannabis.com. At N’Bliss, eighths start at $25. Flower includes Purple Trainwreck, Miracle Alien Cookies and Poontang Pie, among others. N’Bliss also offers the usual pre-rolls, edibles, accessories and vape cartridges.

Star Buds Dispensary: 1168 West Gannon Drive, Festus, MO. 636-638-2089. starbuds.us. With one location in Festus and another in University City, Star Buds vows that their “compassionate and knowledgeable staff is here to help you get exactly what you need at the best possible price.” The staff pharmacist is on site in Festus every second Thursday of the month from 5 to 7 p.m.

BELLEVILLE/ FAIRVIEW HEIGHTS

Ascend Cannabis Dispensary: 114 Commerce Lane, Fairview Heights, IL. (217)492-8030. letsascend.com. At this Illinois dispensary, flower starts at $40 for 3.5 grams. Offerings include Wedding Cake Reserve and Banana Daddy Popcorn.

CBD Kratom: 10300 Lincoln Trail, Fair-

view Heights, IL. 618-213-8838. www. shopcbdkratom.com. St. Louis’ largest cannabis firm now operates shops in Chicago, Dallas, Houston, New York, Philadelphia, as well as numerous locations across the metro. But what CBD Kratom sells is neither medicinal marijuana nor the recreational version. Instead, it offers hemp-derived products, including CBD, a non-intoxicating cannabinoid used to assist a variety of conditions, Delta-8 THC, CBG and other minor cannabinoids. CBD Kratom also carries more than 20 strains of herbal supplement kratom.

CBD Kratom: 2630 Mascoutah Avenue, Suite 102, Belleville, IL. 618-416-4722. www.shopcbdkratom.com. St. Louis’ largest cannabis firm now operates shops in Chicago, Dallas, Houston, New York, Philadelphia, as well as numerous locations across the metro. But what CBD Kratom sells is neither medicinal marijuana nor the recreational version. Instead, it offers hemp-derived products, including CBD, a non-intoxicating cannabinoid used to assist a variety of conditions, Delta-8 THC, CBG and other minor cannabinoids. CBD Kratom also carries more than 20 strains of herbal supplement kratom.

GRAFTON/GODFREY/ALTON

CBD Kratom: 2801 Homer Adams Pkwy., Alton, IL. (618) 433-8711. shopcbdkratom.com. St. Louis’ largest cannabis firm now operates shops in Chicago, Dallas, Houston, New York, Philadelphia, as well as numerous locations across the metro. But what CBD Kratom sells is neither medicinal marijuana nor the recreational version. Instead, it offers hemp-derived products, including CBD, a non-intoxicating cannabinoid used to assist a variety of conditions, Delta-8 THC, CBG and other minor cannabinoids. CBD Kratom also carries more than 20 strains of herbal supplement kratom.

AIRPORT

Greenlight Dispensary: 4451 Brown Road, Berkeley, MO. 844-785-9333. greenlightdispensary.com. Greenlight Dispensary is a regional chain with nearly twenty locations either currently open or in process in Missouri and Arkansas. Flower begins at $30 for an eighth, with a stock that includes Skunk 1, Gorilla Glue, True OG and Superglue, among others.

FERGUSON

Greenlight Dispensary: 517 South Florissant Road, Ferguson, MO. 844-7859333. greenlightdispensary.com. Greenlight Dispensary is a regional chain with nearly twenty locations either currently open or in process in Missouri and Arkansas. Flower begins at $30 for an eighth, with a stock that includes Skunk 1, Gorilla Glue, True OG and Superglue, among others.

FLORISSANT

CBD Kratom: 3325 N. Hwy 67, Floris-

sant, MO. www.shopcbdkratom.com. St. Louis’ largest cannabis firm now operates shops in Chicago, Dallas, Houston, New York, Philadelphia, as well as numerous locations across the metro. But what CBD Kratom sells is neither medicinal marijuana nor the recreational version. Instead, it offers products made with CBD, a non-intoxicating marijuana extract used to treat a variety of conditions, Delta-8 THC, CBG and other minor cannabinoids. CBD Kratom also carries 50 strains of herbal supplement kratom.

Cookies St. Louis: 11088 New Halls Ferry Road, Florissant, MO. (314) 8822569. www.cookiessaintlouis.com. The Bay Area lifestyle brand’s first Missouri dispensary drew long lines at its 2022 opening and is now also open for recreational sales. The big draw here is Cookies’ own strains, which include Ocean Beach, Sticky Buns and Pancakes.

Feel State: 444 Howdershell, Florissant, MO. 314-254-0044. www.myfeelstate. com. Based in Florissant, Feel State is committed to understanding how cannabis works so patients can make more informed decisions about their health and their medicine. They offer a free fifteenminute or half-hour cannabis consultation at myfeelstate.com, which includes information about getting your medical card.

ST. ANN

Heya Wellness: 10417A St. Charles Rock Road, St. Ann, MO. 636-344-0767. heyawellness.com. With five Missouri locations, Heya stresses the use of cannabis for “holistic whole-being.” Flower starts at $25 for 3.5 grams, with brands like Slippery Susan, Jigglers and Apple Fritter on the higher end. Choose from among vaporizers, tinctures, concentrates and topicals to find what works best for you.

OUTSTATE MO

Green Releaf Dispensary: 109 North Lincoln Drive Suite-E, Troy, MO. 636775-2708. greenreleafdispensary.com. At this dispensary chain with locations throughout rural Missouri, an eighth of flower starts at $30. Magic City Kush and Cookie-Dos are among the offerings.

Missouri Health and Wellness: 901 East First Street, Washington, MO. 636-2660055. mhwdispensaries.com. Missouri Health and Wellness now offers recreational sales at its four locations, which includes one in Washington.

AFFTON/CONCORD

BKind Dispensary: 5519 South Lindbergh Boulevard, Concord, MO. 314-729-7059. bkindstl.com. With two Missouri locations including the Concord location in south St. Louis County, BKind is intent on “providing you with the all-natural, non-pharmaceutical, alternative medicine that is cannabis.” Flower starts at $25 for an eighth, with offerings including Blueberry

Headband and Sticky Buns.

Organic Remedies: 11420 Concord Village Ave., Affton, MO. 314-834-0420. www.OrganicRemediesMO.com. Organic Remedies has three cannabis dispensaries, with locations in Cape Girardeau, Sedalia and St. Louis. Check the website for daily specials and online sales. They’ll even give you a birthday discount.

CRESTWOOD/SUNSET HILLS/SAPPINGTON/ SOUTH LINDBERGH

CBD Kratom: 3729 Lindbergh Blvd., St. Louis, MO. 314-287-6916. www.shopcbdkratom.com. St. Louis’ largest cannabis firm now operates shops in Chicago, Dallas, Houston, New York, Philadelphia, as well as numerous locations across the metro. But what CBD Kratom sells is neither medicinal marijuana nor the recreational version. Instead, it offers hemp-derived products, including CBD, a non-intoxicating cannabinoid used to assist a variety of conditions, Delta-8 THC, CBG and other minor cannabinoids. CBD Kratom also carries more than 20 strains of herbal supplement kratom.

FENTON

Kind Goods: 180 Gravois Bluffs Circle, Suite B, Fenton, MO. 636-492-6400. thekindgoods.com. With three locations in the St. Louis area, Kind Goods’ website says that the brand “see[s] marijuana as a powerful tool for helping our neighbors live better.” Flower begins at $30 for .5 grams, and their stock includes Chemacho Kush, Cobalt Fire, GMO and Klingon Kandy.

MEHLVILLE/OAKVILLE/LEMAY

NatureMed - St. Louis: 234 Kingston Drive, St. Louis, MO. NatureMed has five Missouri locations, including one in Affton and one in O’Fallon, Missouri. On offer are pre-rolls, vaporizers, concentrates and flower. Happy hour specials currently run Monday through Friday, 1 to 3 p.m., and include half-off pre-rolls.

Proper Cannabis: 7417 South Lindbergh Boulevard, St. Louis, MO. 314-328-0446. www.propercannabis.com. Proper Cannabis offers a warm, modern apothecary approach to its dispensaries, which are stocked with the shop’s own brand of flower. Strains include Leafly.com’s 2020 strain of the year Runtz, in addition to Sunset Sherbet, Purple Punch, Trop Cookies and many more. Eighths of flower range from $40 to $60.

O’FALLON, MO

Bloom Medicinals: 6700 Highway N, O’Fallon, MO. 636-270-2600. bloommedicinals.com. The only St. Louis-area location of a Florida-based chain, Bloom offers one-on-one consultations as well as drive-through service. Recreational users will find that flower starts at $35 for 3.5 grams. Edibles include chocolates, taffies and gummies.

Good Day Farms: 1140 Technology Drive, O’Fallon, MO. 636-317-1184. www.gooddayfarmdispensary.com. Now open for recreational sales, Good Day Farms boasts that it’s “the South’s No. 1 dispensary brand.” In addition to locations in Arkansas and Mississippi, it now has nineteen Missouri shops, including ones in the Central West End, St. Ann and O’Fallon, Missouri.

Missouri Wild Alchemy: 2173 West Terra Lane, O’Fallon, MO. 636-887-0977. missouriwild.com. Missouri Wild Alchemy’s website describes the operation as “a small, local and family-owned business dedicated to providing Missouri medical marijuana patients with high-quality cannabis and education.” In addition to the usual slate of edibles, accessories, pre-rolls and disposable vapes, Missouri Wild also carries an assortment of crystals and cool rocks for staring at after you’ve ingested their products.

NatureMed-O’Fallon: 1193 Bryan Road, O’Fallon, MO. 636-385-6638. NatureMedMo.com. NatureMed has five Missouri locations, including one in Affton and one in O’Fallon, Missouri. On offer are pre-rolls, vaporizers, concentrates and flower. Happy hour specials currently run Monday through Friday, 1 to 3 p.m., and include half-off pre-rolls.

Terrabis Dispensary: 1172 W. Terra Lane, O’Fallon, MO. 314-287-0384. www.terrabis.co. According to Terrabis’ website, its mission is to “seek to better the lives of our patients and communities.” The shop offers newcomers 15 percent off on their first visit, 20 percent off on their second and 25 percent off on the third. Flower starts at $16 for one gram. Try the drive-thru option.

ST. CHARLES

CBD Kratom: 1550 Veterans Memorial Pkwy, St. Charles, MO. 636-757-5551. www.shopcbdkratom.com. St. Louis’ largest cannabis firm now operates shops in Chicago, Dallas, Houston, New York, Philadelphia, as well as numerous locations across the metro. But what CBD Kratom sells is neither medicinal marijuana nor the recreational version. Instead, it offers hemp-derived products, including CBD, a non-intoxicating cannabinoid used to assist a variety of conditions, Delta-8 THC, CBG and other minor cannabinoids. CBD Kratom also carries more than 20 strains of herbal supplement kratom.

High Profile Cannabis Shop: 1416 Harvestowne Industrial Drive, St. Charles, MO. 636-224-6033. highprofilecannabis.com. High Profile’s St. Charles dispensary is Missouri’s premier cannabis dispensary offering premium medical and adult-use, 21+ marijuana products for every price point. Visit our St. Charles location to check out our menu wide selection of flower, pre-rolls, edibles, concentrates & more. Centrally located on Harvestowne Industrial Drive! Convenient registration for Missouri medical marijuana cards available. Land access to the Show-Me State’s go-to marijuana dispensary today!.

ST. CHARLES COUNTY

The Source: 859 Robert Raymond Drive, Lake St. Louis, MO. TheSource-mj.com. The Source has dispensaries in Arkansas, as well as Lake St. Louis, Raymore and West Plains, Missouri. Each dispensary promises a “deli-style” shopping experience, as well as a pick-up window for online orders. Cash only.

ST. PETERS

CBD Kratom: 318 Mid Rivers Mall Dr, St. Peters, MO. 636-387-0263. www.shop-

cbdkratom.com. St. Louis’ largest cannabis firm now operates shops in Chicago, Dallas, Houston, New York, Philadelphia, as well as numerous locations across the metro. But what CBD Kratom sells is neither medicinal marijuana nor the recreational version. Instead, it offers hemp-derived products, including CBD, a non-intoxicating cannabinoid used to assist a variety of conditions, Delta-8 THC, CBG and other minor cannabinoids. CBD Kratom also carries more than 20 strains of herbal supplement kratom.

Heya: 4300 North Service Road, St. Peters, MO. 636-706-5286. HeyaWellness. com. With five Missouri locations, Heya stresses the use of cannabis for “holistic whole-being.” Flower starts at $25 for 3.5 grams, with brands like Slippery Susan, Jigglers and Apple Fritter on the higher end. Choose from among vaporizers, tinctures, concentrates and topicals to find what works best for you.

Kind Goods: 3899 Veterans Memorial, Suite J, St. Peters, MO. 636-626-2300. thekindgoods.com. With three locations in the St. Louis area, Kind Goods’ website says that the brand “see[s] marijuana as a powerful tool for helping our neighbors live better.” Flower begins at $30 for .5 grams, and their stock includes Chemacho Kush, Cobalt Fire, GMO and Klingon Kandy.

Root 66: 3004 S. St. Peters Parkway, St. Peters, MO. 636-373-8329. root66cannabis.com. Root 66 Cannabis bills itself as “your fast lane to the Midwest’s premier cannabis shopping experience.” Its St. Peters dispensary, one of the first to open in St. Charles County, is now open for recreational sales, too. Flower starts at $19.99 for 3.5 grams, with strains including Gorilla Pie, Purple Chem and Diesel Train on offer. Additionally, Root 66 carries a variety of vape cartridges, pre-rolls, edibles and accessories.

Swade Cannabis: 146 Jungermann Road, St. Peters, MO. 314-924-6500. swadecannabis.com. Swade Cannabis touts itself online as “Missouri’s premiere luxury cannabis company, created to restore and enliven mind, body and spirit as one.” Flower starts at $12 for a gram and includes offerings such as Gelato Skunk and Peach Crescendo. Swade’s locations also stock concentrates, prerolls, vape cartridges, accessories and edibles.

WENTZVILLE

CBD Kratom: 12682 Veterans Memorial Pkwy., Wentzville, MO. 636-887-2270. www.shopcbdkratom.com/. St. Louis’ largest cannabis firm now operates shops in Chicago, Dallas, Houston, New York, Philadelphia, as well as numerous locations across the metro. But what CBD Kratom sells is neither medicinal marijuana nor the recreational version. Instead, it offers hemp-derived products,

Buy all the edibles and flower your heart desires at area dispensaries. | ELSA OLOFSSON/FLICKR

including CBD, a non-intoxicating cannabinoid used to assist a variety of conditions, Delta-8 THC, CBG and other minor cannabinoids. CBD Kratom also carries more than 20 strains of herbal supplement kratom.

ST. LOUISCENTRAL WEST END

CBD Kratom: 115 N. Euclid, Suite B, St. Louis, MO. 314-312-6220. www.shopcbdkratom.com. St. Louis’ largest cannabis firm now operates shops in Chicago, Dallas, Houston, New York, Philadelphia, as well as numerous locations across the metro. But what CBD Kratom sells is neither medicinal marijuana nor the recreational version. Instead, it offers hemp-derived products, including CBD, a non-intoxicating cannabinoid used to assist a variety of conditions, Delta-8 THC, CBG and other minor cannabinoids. CBD Kratom also carries more than 20 strains of herbal supplement kratom.

ST. LOUIS - DOGTOWN

Root 66: 6660 Manchester Avenue, Saint Louis, MO. 314-282-7978. www. root66cannabis.com/. Root 66 Cannabis bills itself as “your fast lane to the Midwest’s premier cannabis shopping experience.” That now includes recreational sales, too. Flower starts at $29.99 for 3.5 grams, with strains including Diesel Punch, Mac and Cheese and Magic City Kush on offer. Additionally, Root 66 carries a variety of vape cartridges, pre-rolls, edibles and accessories.

ST. LOUISFOREST PARK SOUTHEAST

Luxury Leaf: 1463a S. Vandeventer Avenue, St. Louis, MO. Missouri’s first Blackowned dispensary promises a “high-end, comfortable vibe that invites curiosity and discovery,” with security always on site to ensure you feel safe exploring. An eighth of flower starts at $25, although occasional “staff picks” may offer further discounts.

ST. LOUIS - SOUTH CITY

3Fifteen Primo: 5501 Chippewa Street, St. Louis, MO. 314-330-2007. 3fifteenprimo.com. According to its website, 3Fifteen Primo aims to be “the best cannabis product and service provider in the world by demonstrating exemplary customer service and cannabis knowledge.” Flower starts at $35 for 3.5 grams and includes offerings such as Ice Cream Social and Mac Stomper.

CBD Kratom: 2644 Cherokee St., St. Louis, MO. www.shopcbdkratom.com.

St. Louis’ largest cannabis firm now operates shops in Chicago, Dallas, Houston, New York, Philadelphia, as well as numerous locations across the metro. But what CBD Kratom sells is neither medicinal marijuana nor the recreational version. Instead, it offers hemp-derived products, including CBD, a non-intoxicating cannabinoid used to assist a variety

of conditions, Delta-8 THC, CBG and other minor cannabinoids. CBD Kratom also carries more than 20 strains of herbal supplement kratom.

Swade Cannabis: 2316 Cherokee Street, St. Louis, MO. 314-924-6504. swadecannabis.com. Swade Cannabis touts itself online as “Missouri’s premiere luxury cannabis company, created to restore and enliven mind, body and spirit as one.” Flower starts at $12 for a gram and includes offerings such as Blueberry Muffin and Platinum Grape Runtz. Swade’s locations also stock concentrates, pre-rolls, vape cartridges, accessories and edibles.

ST. LOUIS - SOUTH GRAND

Root 66: 3737 South Grand Boulevard, Saint Louis, MO. 314-257-0816. www. root66cannabis.com. Root 66 Cannabis bills itself as “your fast lane to the Midwest’s premier cannabis shopping experience.” That now includes recreational sales, too. Flower starts at $23.99 for 3.5 grams, with strains including Cantaloupe Haze, Biscotti and Bubba Fett on offer. Additionally, Root 66 carries a variety of vape cartridges, pre-rolls, edibles and accessories.

ST. LOUIS - ST. LOUIS HILLS

Greenlight Dispensary: 6497 Chippewa Street, St. Louis, MO. 844-STL-WEED. GreenLightDispensary.com. Greenlight Dispensary is a regional chain with nearly twenty locations either currently open or in process in Missouri and Arkansas. It sells eighths of flower for between $39 and $60 before tax, with a stock that includes Skunk 1, Gorilla Glue, True OG and Superglue, among others.

ST. LOUIS - THE GROVE

Swade Cannabis: 4108 Manchester Avenue, St. Louis, MO. 314-924-6503. swadecannabis.com. Swade Cannabis touts itself online as “Missouri’s premiere luxury cannabis company, created to restore and enliven mind, body and spirit as one.” Flower starts at $12 for a gram and includes offerings such as Soul Planet and Gelato Skunk. Swade’s locations also stock concentrates, prerolls, vape cartridges, accessories and edibles.

ST. LOUIS - TOWER GROVE

CBD Kratom: 3161 Morganford Road, St. Louis, MO. 314-202-8330. www.shopcbdkratom.com/. St. Louis’ largest cannabis firm now operates shops in Chicago, Dallas, Houston, New York, Philadelphia, as well as numerous locations across the metro. But what CBD Kratom sells is neither medicinal marijuana nor the recreational version. Instead, it offers hemp-derived products, including CBD, a non-intoxicating cannabinoid used to assist a variety of conditions, Delta-8 THC, CBG and other minor cannabinoids. CBD Kratom also carries more than 20 strains of herbal supplement kratom.

Sunrise Cannabis: 6407 Michigan Avenue, St. Louis, MO. 314-353-9817. showmesunrise.com. At this south city dispensary, flower starts at $25 for 3.5 grams. Strains include Power Sherb and Peach Crescendo.

CHESTERFIELD

Hippos Marijuana Dispensary: 17409G, 17409 Chesterfield Airport Rd Suite B, Chesterfield, MO. With locations in Chesterfield, Columbia and Springfield, Hippos describes itself as a “modern cannabis company curating fresh information, products and experiences around cannabis.” An eighth of flower starts at $19.99, and, for the stoner who has everything, offerings include cannabis-infused soda.

CREVE COEUR

CBD Kratom: 13035 Olive Blvd., St. Louis, MO. 314-548-6754. www.shopcbdkratom.com. St. Louis’ largest cannabis firm now operates shops in Chicago, Dallas, Houston, New York, Philadelphia, as well as numerous locations across the metro. But what CBD Kratom sells is neither medicinal marijuana nor the recreational version. Instead, it offers hemp-derived products, including CBD, a non-intoxicating cannabinoid used to assist a variety of conditions, Delta-8 THC, CBG and other minor cannabinoids. CBD Kratom also carries more than 20 strains of herbal supplement kratom.

Terrabis Dispensary: 11062 Olive Blvd Suite A, Creve Couer, MO. 314-9440240. terrabis.co. According to Terrabis’ website, its mission is to “seek to better the lives of our patients and communities.” Flower starts at $16 for one gram, with offerings such as Lemon Icing and Super Glue.

DES PERES

CBD Kratom: 12306 Manchester Road, Des Peres, MO. www.shopcbdkratom. com. St. Louis’ largest cannabis firm now operates shops in Chicago, Dallas, Houston, New York, Philadelphia, as well as numerous locations across the metro. But what CBD Kratom sells is neither medicinal marijuana nor the recreational version. Instead, it offers hemp-derived products, including CBD, a non-intoxicating cannabinoid used to assist a variety of conditions, Delta-8 THC, CBG and other minor cannabinoids. CBD Kratom also carries more than 20 strains of herbal supplement kratom.

HAZELWOOD/BRIDGETON/ EARTH CITY

Terrabis Dispensary: 7766 N. Lindbergh Blvd, Hazelwood, MO. 13142870384. www.terrabis.co. According to Terrabis’ website, its mission is to “seek to better the lives of our patients and communities.” Flower starts at $15 for one gram, with offerings such as Lemon Tree Punch and Gorilla Pie.

MANCHESTER/BALLWIN

CBD Kratom: 15320 Manchester Rd., Ballwin, MO. www.shopcbdkratom.com.

St. Louis’ largest cannabis firm now operates shops in Chicago, Dallas, Houston, New York, Philadelphia, as well as numerous locations across the metro. But what CBD Kratom sells is neither medicinal marijuana nor the recreational version. Instead, it offers hemp-derived products, including CBD, a non-intoxicating cannabinoid used to assist a variety of conditions, Delta-8 THC, CBG and other minor cannabinoids. CBD Kratom also carries more than 20 strains of herbal supplement kratom.

Kind Goods: 14173 Manchester Road Suite M, Manchester, MO. 636-4849400. thekindgoods.com. With three locations in the St. Louis area, Kind Goods’ website says that the brand “see[s] marijuana as a powerful tool for helping our neighbors live better.” Flower begins at $30 for .5 grams, and their stock includes Chemacho Kush, Cobalt Fire, GMO and Klingon Kandy.

N’Bliss Dispensary: 1266 Old Orchard Center, Manchester, MO. 314-627-2499. nblisscannabis.com/. At N’Bliss, eighths start at $25. Flower includes Purple Trainwreck, Miracle Alien Cookies and Poontang Pie, among others. N’Bliss also offers pre-rolls, edibles, accessories and vape cartridges.

VALLEY PARK

3Fifteen Primo: 839 Meramec Station Road, Valley Park, MO. 314-924-0101. 3fifteenprimo.com. According to its website, 3Fifteen Primo aims to be “the best cannabis product and service provider in the world by demonstrating exemplary customer service and cannabis knowledge.” Its Valley Park location was the second medical dispensary to open in the state and is now open for recreational sales. Flower starts at $35 for 3.5 grams and includes offerings such as Ice Cream Social and Mac Stomper.

WILDWOOD

N’Bliss Dispensary: 15396 Manchester Road, Ellisville, MO. 314-627-2699. nblisscannabis.com. At N’Bliss, eighths start at $25. Flower includes Purple Trainwreck, Miracle Alien Cookies and Poontang Pie, among others. N’Bliss also offers the usual pre-rolls, edibles, accessories and vape cartridges.

Swade Cannabis: 16075 Manchester Road, Ellisville, MO. 314-924-6501. swadecannabis.com. Swade Cannabis touts itself online as “Missouri’s premiere luxury cannabis company, created to restore and enliven mind, body and spirit as one.” Flower prices start at $12 for a gram, with a selection that includes Fo Chouteau and Kosher Kush. Swade’s locations also stock concentrates, prerolls, vape cartridges, accessories and edibles. n

CALENDAR

BY RIVERFRONT TIMES STAFF

THURSDAY 03/02

One Deadly Night

Called an “orgy of sadism” when it came out in 1968, George Romero’s Night of the Living Dead immediately sparked controversy, not least because it came out before MPAA ratings were a thing and a lot of young kids were crying in the aisles while the zombies ate everyone. The flick takes place at the start of a zombie apocalypse, with several strangers finding themselves stranded at a farm house while undead cannibals try to kill them. In the ensuing chaos, the humans lose their humanity as much as the ghouls, and the dead keep stacking up. Catch the restored original at Webster University’s Winifred Moore Auditorium (470 East Lockwood Avenue, Webster Groves; 314-968-7485) at 7:30 p.m. Tickets are $6 to $8.

FRIDAY 03/03 Flower Power

For three days this week, you won’t just find fine art in the Saint Louis Art Museum: You’ll also find flowers. From Friday, March 3, to Sunday, March 5, the popular exhibition Art in Bloom will return in-person to SLAM — after two years of virtual programming — with 30 floral designs on display. Each of the arrangements are paired with a specific piece of art in the museum. The exhibition is free, and doors open to the public at 10 a.m., though members can get in as early as 8 a.m. Each day will also feature special events that require tickets. On Thursday, March 2, from 6 p.m. to 9 p.m., the museum will host a preview party for $175. On Friday, March 3, at 7 p.m., featured presenter Gabriela Salazar will host a lecture on the artistry of floral design. Tickets cost $25 for non-members and $15 for members. On Saturday, March 4, the museum will provide a “Flowers After Hours” program, with live music, a photo booth and cocktails. Tickets cost $35 for nonmembers and $45 for members. On the final day, Sunday, March

5, visitors can participate in a free scavenger hunt and activities from noon to 4 p.m. For tickets and more information, visit slam. org/event/art-in-bloom-2023.

Blue Ballin’

The Saint Louis Billikens basketball program wants a sea of blue for its final game of the 202223 season. At 6 p.m. this Friday, March 3, Saint Louis will take on Dayton at Chaifetz Arena (1 South Compton Avenue; 314-977-5000) with a special “Blue Out” night. And SLU needs it. SLU heads into the last weekend jockeying for

the top spot in the Atlantic 10 ––with Dayton close behind. The game could be the deciding factor in SLU receiving a bye and an extra day of rest. After an upand-down season, SLU needs to win the A-10 tournament to make the big dance –– and a win on Friday could spark the momentum it needs. OK, but what if you’re not a sports fan? That’s cool, too: The game will feature a half-time performance from the magnificent acrobat Red Panda, who rides a unicycle around the court while balancing ceramic bowls on her head and feet. Tickets and more info at chaifetzarena.com.

Laugh and Cry

“The pandemic made people crazy,” comedian and Daily Show host Trevor Noah pontificates in his Netflix comedy special I Wish You Would. “I thought if humans were ever threatened with an existential threat, we would abandon every single fight we were having, and we would come together to win … but we fought each other, and we lost.” It’s proof that in between his jokes and wisecracks, Noah can really make you think. So if you’re in the mood for a riveting night of comedy and thought, catch Noah at Stifel Theatre for his Off the Record tour this Friday, March 3, or Saturday, March 4. Tickets prices range from $50 to $260. More info at stifeltheatre.com.

SATURDAY 03/04

This Game We Play

If you’re old enough to remember MySpace, you’re old enough to have a mid-life crisis. And why not kick it off in style at an event honoring your embarrassing younger self? Celebrate your years of swooped bangs

Saint Louis Art Museum pairs elaborate floral displays with its collection during Art in Bloom. | COURTESY PHOTO

Spells of the Sea plays at the Grandel through Sunday, March 5. | COURTESY PHOTO

and studded white belts at the Emo Bingo event at 9 Mile Garden (9375 Gravois Road, 314390-2806) on Saturday, March 4. They’ll be playing some jams from your former favorites such as My Chemical Romance, Taking Back Sunday and Dashboard Confessional while you play bingo and win free drinks. The bingo is free to play, but your outfit is definitely something you’ll want to put some money into. If you want to show up in proper emo style, you’ll need to order some fashion necessities in advance, such as striped clip-in hair extensions, some fingerless gloves and a graphic tee with something like

Emily the Strange or “Jesus Is My Homeboy” printed on it. Hosted by Think & Drink Entertainment, the party kicks off at 8 p.m. inside the Cantina, and you must be at least 21 years old to attend. That means that some elder emos can bring their grown kids with them to show how they spent their youth. Ah, the circle of life.

Monkey Tricks

Music fans know David Yow as the electric frontman for bands including Jesus Lizard, but film fans have a whole different relationship with him. The multi-talented singer is also an accomplished ac-

tor with dozens of credits to his name. His latest, Seymour Ruck, is a short film by local director Peter Bolte, and it will be having its debut at Alamo Drafthouse (3765 Foundry Way Suite 275, 314-6692079) this Saturday, March 5, at Untitled: An Evening of Short Films. The screening also features shorts from Jim Jarmusch, Denis Villeneuve and more. Bolte will host a Q&A with Yow following the screening of Seymour Ruck, which features not just Yow but also fellow actor/musician/artist Gibby Haynes of the Butthole Surfers. General admission is $23, and each ticket will be entered to win a $25 Alamo Drafthouse gift card. Visit EventBrite for tickets and more information.

SUNDAY 03/05

A Musical Adventure

Childhood and imagination: They just go together. It’s a cliche for a good reason. But childhood and grief and loss — that’s a harder combination to tackle but one that’s no less real. Yet Metro Theater Company takes on the challenge of combining all of those things adeptly in its production of Spells of the Sea. A new musical aimed at younger audiences, it follows main character Finley Frankfurter as she goes on a quest to save her father after he

has a health crisis. Finley gets her hands on a secret map that will lead to an elixir that can save her dad. She embarks, making friends along the way. Our theater critic Tina Farmer calls the script and production “wonderful,” “imaginative” and “thoroughly engaging.” The show runs through Sunday, March 5, at the Grandel (3610 Grandel Square, 314-533-0367) and tickets begin at $25 for adults and $20 for children. More info at metroplays.org.

TUESDAY 03/07 The Long Con

Catch up-and-coming literary star (and Southern Illinois University professor) Rafael Frumkin as he discusses his debut novel Confidence . Described as a queer take on the thriller genre, this page-turner limns the absurdity of the American Dream via myriad schemes and scams centered around two best friends (and occasional lovers) who found a company that offers its clients instant enlightenment. The reading and launch party takes place this Tuesday, March 7, at 7 p.m. at Left Bank Books (399 North Euclid Avenue, 314-367-6731). The event is free, but buying a copy of the book is a great way to support both the author and the independent bookseller. RSVPs are encouraged; more info at left-bank.com.

Catch Night of the Living Dead at Webster University this week. | POSTER ART

Trevor Noah will be in St. Louis on Friday, March 3. | VIA TICKETMASTER

‘Soccer Heaven’

The Pitch Athletic Club & Tavern opens across from the soccer stadium

Written by JESSICA ROGEN

Dark green walls, a bustling dining room, a long bar, artfully arrayed sports memorabilia and more widescreen televisions than can be counted greet visitors entering the brand new the Pitch Athletic Club & Tavern (2 South 20th Street, 314802-3400, thepitch-stl.com).

It’s a bit like walking into a highend man cave — one so upscale that even the man-cave averse will happily enter — and it gives out serious sports-watching vibes. But that’s not too surprising since being the perfect place to watch a game is the whole point of the Pitch.

Located catty corner from the new CITYPARK stadium in Union

SHORT ORDERS

Station, the bar and eatery from Lodging Hospitality Management bills itself as “a bit of soccer heaven in St. Louis,” according to a statement. It opened up to the public on Monday, February 27, but it held soft openings the previous week to test out its gears.

Crowds of eager St. Louisans took advantage of the preview opportunity, filling the 200-seat soccer bar’s dining room, bar and private rooms. A cheerful staff greeted attendees, and despite this being a test run, service was fast and smooth throughout the night (aside from a few tiny hiccups with figuring out who ordered what in our private room).

Open seven days a week, the Pitch has a lunch and dinner menu. It will also serve breakfast, though the menu is not quite ready; it will include classics such as biscuits and gravy, a breakfast sandwich, pancakes and an Irish slinger.

The lunch and dinner menu is launched and is filled with the sort of well-executed crowd pleasers that you’d expect from an upscale sports bar: starters such as chicken wings and loaded smashed potatoes, sandwiches such as a classic Italian, Philly cheesesteak, burger and so on. Prices range from $8 for chicken noodle soup to $16 for a fish-and-chips entree.

But throughout, there are unexpected touches that add creative

interest. For example, one of the starters is biltong, a traditional South African-style beef jerky, but this one is made in St. Louis.

There are New York-style Carnegie deli sandwiches. There’s a salad (Elaine’s) that has to be a Seinfeld call out.

The Pitch’s drinks include a smaller wine list that hits the required notes and can be purchased by the glass ($11 to $13) or bottle ($44 to $48). That’s paired with an extensive beer list that’s broken down by style. Offerings

[FOOD NEWS]

Don’t Go

King & I eyes April for the moving date from its longtime South Grand home

Written by RYAN KRULL

The King & I is planning to make its move from South Grand to Richmond Heights this April.

The restaurant announced in October that the move would be happening this spring, but now south-city fans of the legendary Thai spot have a better sense of

begin at $5 for a domestic beer and range to $11 for an Ommegang Three Philosophers. There’s plenty of local brews represented, including a nonalcoholic: Wellbeing’s Match Day Light.

The restaurant is open Monday through Wednesday from 11 a.m. to 11 p.m.; Thursday and Friday from 11 a.m. to 1 a.m.; Saturday from 6:30 a.m. to 1 a.m. and Sunday from 6:30 a.m. to 10 p.m. Those early weekend hours are so fans of international matches can come in and catch the game.

just how long they have to get in another visit (or two) to the iconic South Grand space for some Pad Thai, curry or spring rolls.

“As of now, April-ish is what we’re aiming for, so we should be operating on South Grand for a little bit longer,” Shayn Prapaisilp told the RFT. Prapaisilp, along with his family, owns King & I and Chao Baan.

On a recent Sunday night patrons were packed into the Thai SELECT awardwinning restaurant’s dining area. It remains open for takeout as well.

Prapaisilp told the RFT in October that the move to Richmond Heights stemmed from the pandemic as well as the success of Chao Baan in the Grove.

“To be open as long as we have is just incredible,” Prapaisilp said. “We have been thinking through our business model to make sense for how people dine in 2022.”

St. Louisans packed in the Pitch for the soft opening last week. | JESSICA ROGEN

You can’t have a St. Louis spot without t-ravs. | JESSICA ROGEN

[FOOD NEWS]

Bottoms Up!

La Crazy Margarita, open on South Grand, promises “real, real” Mexican food on the weekends and margaritas every day

Written by RYAN KRULL

South Grand patrons rejoice. La Crazy Margarita is now open at the corner of Hartford Street and Grand, enlivening a piece of restaurant real estate that had sat worryingly empty for months.

Now, the atmosphere in the restaurant is bright and lively. Its seating includes a bar to slide up to, booths to get cozy in and a spacious back room for big groups.

The menu includes Mexican restaurant mainstays such as chimichangas, tacos and enchiladas. The burritos come smothered with cheese and topped with avocado slices.

In addition to the old reliables, on Saturdays and Sundays coowners Benito Rodriguez and Romel Mayahua will serve up what they call “real, real Mexican food.”

A recent “real, real” menu included adobo chicken and seafood soups.

Mayahua and Rodriguez have created an atmosphere where diners will want to hang out after their meal, enjoying a dessert of fried ice cream or — more likely — a margarita. As the restaurant’s name suggests, the margs will be a key part of its appeal.

“I want to do margaritas differently,” Rodriguez says.

‘Culinary Playground’ Coming

Food wunderkind Juwan Rice’s Rated Test Kitchen will be a downtown cafe and dinner club

Written by RYAN KRULL

St. Louis culinary wunderkind Juwan Rice started his own catering company when he was in high school. In 2021, he founded JRice Spice, a spice and sauce company. More recently, he’s hosted a series of pop-up dining experiences.

Last week, Rice, 21, announced his most ambitious endeavor yet: opening Rated Test Kitchen, a combination cafe and dinner club in downtown St. Louis.

During the day, Monday through Friday, Rated Test Kitchen will operate as a cafe. Thursday through Sunday nights, the space will transform into a dinner club where patrons will be encouraged to channel their inner food critic.

is currently waiting on its liquor license. Once they get that, Rodriguez says, “We’ll do the grand

that corner of Grand. Kenny’s Up stairs is set to open above La Crazy Margarita later this spring. n

served over two seatings. Each dinner will be seven courses, with each course followed by rating cards, which will allow diners to rate the previous dish.

Menus will change month to month, and Rice will be partnering with area farmers to bring in local produce and meat. But the food on offer any given night will take its inspiration from all over the world.

“We’re going to focus on a bunch of different cuisines,” Rice says. “You might have a [meal] that’s inspired by Italian food the first course, and then the second course will be something inspired by Japanese cuisine. We want to keep it really diverse, which keeps us on our toes.”

Rice says he imagines the space as “huge culinary playground.”

Rice’s new endeavor will occupy the space where Dave Bailey once ran Shift, Test Kitchen & Take Out at 313 North 11th Street.

Rice saw the space was available and, he says, “Literally as soon as I walked into the space, I knew exactly the concept I wanted to do.”

Dinners will be intimate affairs, Rice says, with roughly 20 to 35 people being

Right now, the plan is for Rated Test Kitchen to be open by the end of April. In the coming weeks, Rice says he’ll be posting plenty of behind-the-scenes photos and updates to his social media. n

Benito Rodriguez and Romel Mayahua are the co-owners of La Crazy Margarita. |

Juwan Rice’s new Rated Test Kitchen will be in downtown St. Louis. | COURTESY PHOTO

[REVIEW]

Made Right

Inspired by a childhood favorite, Lousies on the Loop turns out flawless loose meat sandwiches

Written by CHERYL BAEHR

Lousies on the Loop

567a Melville Avenue, University City; 314-696-2002. Mon.-Sat. 9 a.m.-6 p.m.

(Closed Sundays)

My dad loved Mark Twain, though I suspect his semiregular insistence on day trips to Hannibal had more to do with ground beef than Mr. Clemens’ wit. The evi-

dence for this was our ritual stop at the Mark Twain Dinette before doing any other activities. An institution dating back to the early 1940s, the dinette was known for a lot of things — its status as the city’s oldest restaurant, its location next to Twain’s boyhood home and its homemade root beer — but the eatery’s biggest claims to fame were its Maid-Rites, a hamburgeradjacent concoction that’s generically known as a loose meat sandwich, which consists of seasoned ground beef tucked into a basic burger bun and classically dressed with pickles and yellow mustard. My dad would add onions, order two and wash them down with a root-beer float before hitting the river for a paddleboat tour.

Daniel Boyer has similar childhood memories, though his center around pool rather than Mark Twain. A native of Bowling Green in northeast Missouri,

Boyer would regularly travel the area with his dad, who was an avid pool player and equally avid Maid-Rite fan. Growing up on the Missouri side of the Iowa border, the elder Boyer had fallen in love with the region’s signature loose meat sandwiches; he carried that love with him into adulthood and would seek out the specialty anywhere he’d go, particularly at Maid-Rite franchises that specialized in the dish. Though they tried Maid-Rites at just about every location they were offered, Boyer’s favorite place to eat them was the Mark Twain Dinette, and it was not long before he shared his father’s love for the humble loose meat sandwich.

That love and nostalgia are the basis for Boyer’s debut restaurant, Lousies on the Loop, a loose meat sandwich shop that he and his wife, Kelle, opened in University City last October. Though it presents as

a small, unassuming counter-service shop, Lousies is actually the culmination of Boyer’s lengthy culinary career, which began when he was just a teenager working at a Bowling Green pizzeria, carried through to culinary school in Austin, Texas, followed by stints with the Ritz-Carlton locations in Colorado and New Orleans, and blossomed during his time working at various fine-dining establishments around the Big Easy.

Boyer loved New Orleans; it’s where he met Kelle, honed his craft, founded a pickle company called the French Pickler, bought a house and had his kids. However, once the pandemic hit, things felt really difficult, and he and Kelle decided that, if they wanted to try to do their own thing in the restaurant business, it made sense to be near Boyer’s family in St. Louis.

The pair landed in the Univer-

Lousies on the Loop features a selection of loose meat sandwiches including a vegan Lousie along with a variety of sides, desserts and breakfast options. | MABEL SUEN

sity City area in the beginning of 2021, intent on opening a restaurant that would pay homage to the loose meat sandwiches of Boyer’s youth. Initially, they’d planned on having a larger, more involved concept, but when they found the storefront on Melville in the Delmar Loop that used to house Bing Bing, they decided instead to tailor their idea to the smaller digs, opening Lousies on the Loop as a fast-casual sandwich counter with a compact menu of loose meat sandwiches, a handful of rotating side dishes, desserts and New Orleans snacks.

In keeping Lousies’ menu small, the Boyers have given themselves the energy to be able to focus on the little things that make their restaurant such an unexpected joy. Though he is committed to paying homage to the Maid-Rites he grew up eating, Boyer lets his culinary background shine through with a number of tiny details, like freshly grinding the beef, cooking it with seasoning and diced white onions so that they soak in all of the meat’s drippings and add subtle flavor. The result is a sandwich that tastes like a classic diner smashburger, only here, in the loose meat version, you get the pleasure of its slightly crispy, lacy meat edges in every bite. Boyer offers these “lousies” plain, which he and Kelle recommend dressed with housemade pickles, classic yellow mustard, lettuce and tomato. However, you can also add Swiss or American cheese, which meld the meat together and add richness, or blue cheese crumbles that give each bite a bit of earthy funk.

Lousies’ loose meat is not only limited to its Maid-Rite riffs, though. The delightfully seasoned crumbled beef is served atop the restaurant’s Louchos, which are to the classic bar nacho what a cheeseburger pizza is to a traditional pie. Here, Backer’s brand potato chips are smothered in meat, melted American that’s evocative of stadium nacho cheese, housemade pickles, lettuce and tomatoes. Boyer adds a chef’s touch by placing sprigs of fresh dill on top of the concoction. This marries beautifully with the pickles and mustard, giving an otherwise decadent dish a punch of refreshment.

Boyer also offers two breakfast items (served all day) utiliz-

ing the ground meat. The Lousie Omelet Sandwich pairs the loose meat with two beautifully folded eggs and melted American cheese. There is a wonderful black peppery undertone that evokes spicy breakfast sausage. The same meat makes an appearance on the grits bowl, which is a spiritual twin to the Slinger. Here, creamy grits are topped with the crumbly, seasoned meat, gooey cheese, an over-easy egg and scallions; the egg yolk, cheese and grits almost form a mouthwatering sauce that coats every bit of the ground beef.

Lousies does not limit itself to its namesake meat, however. The restaurant’s vegan Lousie, made with finely diced mushrooms and onions, is rich, earthy and satisfying. Pork and shrimp boudin balls, a daily special, are flawless in texture — the shrimp, though diced, is still snappy and marries well with the sweet pork and cajun spices that dust the balls’ exterior. Vegan risotto is a master class in texture, marrying the snap of individual rice grains with creaminess. And Boyer makes a traditional cabbage coleslaw infi-

nitely more interesting by adding red beets and blue cheese, a stunning combination of flavors.

Desserts are no less thrilling. Boyer masterfully marries lighthearted nostalgia with culinary technique in his Jello dessert, a whimsical jar of cherry Jello topped with gelatinized condensed milk. He uses carbonated water to make the Jello, giving it a light, almost effervescent texture that dances on the tongue. Whereas the Jello is joyful, the bread pudding is positively awe-inspiring. Unlike wetter versions, Boyer’s is more like a biscuit or scone; he cooks the pecan- and raisin-flecked dessert as an individual round so that each diner has the pleasure of enjoying the crisped-up edge pieces. My dining companion was so smitten, he said he needed a cigarette after such a pleasurable experience.

That we floated out of Lousies basking in the afterglow of bread pudding as much as the delicious loose meat sandwiches shows the depth of the Boyers’ talent. There may be no Huck Finn references or paddle boats to speak of, but dad would still be impressed. n

Husband and wife Daniel and Kelle Boyer are the owners of the shop. | MABEL SUEN

Side options include wild-rice risotto, blue-cheese coleslaw with pickled beets, boiled potato salad and roasted sweet potato. | MABEL SUEN

MUSIC 35

Grief and Jazz

A year after her twin died in a car crash, Claire Maue releases an album honoring her life

Written by STEVE LEFTRIDGE

Hana Maue was almost home. She had just finished her Monday night shift at Target in Fenton and was heading south on Highway 21 to Hillsboro, where she lived with her parents and identical twin sister, Claire Maue.

About five miles from the Hillsboro exit, Hana was struck headon by a 16-year-old drunk driver going the wrong way in the southbound lanes. Hana was transported to a hospital where she died several hours later. She was only 19 years old.

Hana’s death left her twin sister alone on an uncanny date: 2/22/22.

In the aftermath of the tragedy, the grief of losing Hana threatened to overwhelm Maue. She had to deal with it the only way she knew how — through her music.

“After Hana passed away, writing music was a really good channel,” Maue says. “It was a way for me to express my emotions.”

A year later, she’s carrying on for herself and for Hana through the Claire Maue Quartet, which features her father, Shane Maue, on guitar; Funky Butt Brass Band’s Ron Sikes on drums; and local jazz hero Bob DeBoo on bass.

The quartet is set to release an album, Gemini, fueled from the grief of Hana’s loss. The band will perform the songs from Gemini live on Wednesday, March 8, at Jazz St. Louis to mark the album’s release and to pay tribute to Hana’s life.

Long before this album, Maue loved music. Years earlier, she’d started taking saxophone lessons as a middle schooler from Joel Vanderheyden, director of jazz at Jefferson College in Hillsboro,

who immediately knew that his new student was special.

“She was already playing extremely well,” Vanderheyden remembers. “You could just tell that she was much more advanced on the instrument than her age would indicate.”

Maue combined her talent with hard work and a single-minded focus; for her, it was all jazz all the time. “I went through a phase in middle school where I would refuse to listen to anything but jazz, which really annoyed my friends,” Maue says with a laugh.

At Hillsboro High School, she continued to impress as a saxophone wunderkind, making Jazz St. Louis’s JazzU All-Stars, gigging around town and joining Jefferson College’s official jazz ensemble while she was still in high school.

After graduating from high school in 2020, Maue and Hana both enrolled at Jefferson College, where their parents had studied music years before. While Maue entered the jazz program to study under Vanderheyden, Hana focused on visual arts — she was an avid painter, photographer and dressmaker. At the time of her death, Hana was in her last semester at JeffCo, with plans to pursue

a career in fashion design.

At JeffCo, Maue continued her steep trajectory on the saxophone. “Her sound is one of the most mature sounds I have ever heard,” Vanderheyden says. “The tone, the air support, the concepts — she already sounds like a pro.”

According to Vanderheyden, much of Maue’s musical mastery comes from her strength as a listener. “Claire listens to music all the time — she absorbs it, internalizes it,” he says. “As a person, she would rather listen than talk. She is humble and quiet and just plays her butt off.”

Her approach is working: Maue was recently named lead saxophonist for the Missouri All-Collegiate Jazz Ensemble, receiving the top recognition for tenor sax players among all colleges in Missouri.

Just over a year ago, Maue took another musical step. “Joel [Vanderheyden] encouraged me to start composing my own songs,” she says. “So I started writing music a little bit before Hana died.”

For her first song, Maue worked out chord progressions on the piano and then wrote saxophone melodies as her dad adapted the chords for guitar. Does that mean that she gave her dad a writing

credit? “No,” she says, laughing. That writing process proved to be vitally important in the aftermath of Hana’s death. “When the accident with Hana happened, I was trying to think what would be good for Claire to help direct her energy in a positive way and cope with it,” Vanderheyden says. He helped Maue move through the grieving process by encouraging her to write.

She threw herself into composing new songs. One of the songs is a ballad called “Little Flower,” written specifically for Hana. “It’s not supposed to be a really sad ballad,” Maue says. “I was trying to show her beauty. And Hana’s name means ‘flower.’”

Eventually, Maue had enough material for a whole album of original songs. Last October, she gathered a combo and cut the album live in the studio in a single afternoon. Renowned jazz drummer Adam Nussbaum dropped by and appears on the opening track, “Lavender Moon.”

“Claire was just a total pro,” Vanderheyden says. “I’m sure she was nervous, but she didn’t let it show. She had a clear plan of attack. She would say, ‘This is how we’re doing it — here’s the intro, you’re soloing first and then I’ll solo.’ It was pretty incredible.”

The collection covers a spectrum of jazz styles from bossa nova to Afro-Cuban, up-tempo bebop to straight-ahead swing, jazz waltzes to funk charts. Maue titled the album Gemini, after the sisters’ twinaffiliated astrological sign.

“Hana was really an outgoing and positive person,” Vanderheyden says. “And a lot of her life was about helping and giving to other people.”

That spirit lives on in Maue. Gemini announces the arrival of an exciting new talent in St. Louis jazz, but for her the project is primarily an extension of the gifts that her sister brought to everyone around her.

“The music reflects Hana’s beauty,” Maue says. “She just had a really bright outlook on everything. She saw so much beauty in the world.”

Catch the Claire Maue Quartet at 7:30 p.m. on Wednesday, March 8, at Jazz St. Louis (3536 Washington Avenue, 314-571-6000, jazzstl. org). Tickets are $17 to $22.

Claire Maue’s new album, Gemini, is fueled from the grief of her sister’s death. | COURTESY PHOTO

True/False Returns

Preview the beloved Columbia documentary fest’s films, music, art and more

Written by STEVE LEFTRIDGE

True/False Film Fest is back: all the bumpers and buskers, panels and parties, field sessions and filmmaker fêtes.

And, ah yes — the films. The nation’s premiere nonfiction film festival, True/ False — now celebrating its 20th anniversary — has documentary aficionados flocking to Columbia, Missouri, each March for the latest innovative and thought-provoking docs, and the spirited traditions that have made the festival famous.

Held from Thursday, March 2, to Monday, March 6, in a variety of downtown Columbia venues, this year’s fest will feature 33 new feature films and 25 short films, including eight world and seven North American premieres among the feature-length docs. Roughly 85 percent of the films’ directors and other guests will be on hand for post-film Q&As and other panel discussions.

It’s a lot to take in, so we’ve highlighted some of our favorite aspects of the fest below.

The Vibe

Four days and nights sitting in dim theater spaces watching dozens of hours of nonfiction films that often deal with serious, sometimes harrowing, subject matters might sound like a sober, emotionally exhausting way to spend a long weekend.

Yet True/False is a decidedly festive affair, filled with active revelry including concerts, parades, game shows, libationfriendly happy hours, dance parties and campfire storytelling sessions. And all the festival events are within walking distance of each other.

Chloé Trayner, artistic director of the Ragtag Film Society, which produces True/False, says the festival’s trademark balance of serious subjects and joyful merrymaking makes sense.

“Life is a spectrum, and it’s about enjoying both ends of those emotions,” Trayner says. “We try to create a space where there is a balance of joy and fun that surrounds these sometimes-heavier films.”

True/False Director of Development & Sponsorship Stacie Pottinger adds: “You walk out of an emotionally exhausting film and are embraced by the community at a parade or a music event. So you experience all these big highs and lows and everything in between.”

The Theme

True/False incorporates a unique theme each year, which informs the festival’s films and art designs. This year’s is “This Is a Test.” It is a broad concept, but Festival Co-Custodian Barbie Banks says it’s one that fits the challenge of engaging with a range of filmgoers.

“This festival means so much to so many different people,” Banks says. “We have to speak to an international audience and to real cinephiles and to people who just want to participate in the pop culture side of a film festival. That is the test we give our curation team every year, and this year they have really done it.”

The Films

While True/False strives to present cutting-edge and experimental docs, fest programmers also want to present plenty of crowd-pleasing films. The idea is to make the festival accessible to as many people as possible while “still pushing the form of documentary filmmaking,” Trayner says.

Banks points out that there has been an explosion in documentary filmmaking during True/False’s existence, so the festival has had to adapt accordingly.

Additionally, the way the public views documentaries has changed. Twenty years ago, True/False had to convince people the films were entertainment. But “now there’s a new documentary every week on Netflix,” Banks says.

As a result, the screening committee

watched more than 1,200 films this year as part of its selection process.

“The film industry is finding its peak again [after the setbacks of COVID-19],” Trayner says. “This year’s films are very mobile, very international. There are not as many of the internal types of films that people had to revert to during the lockdowns. It feels more like a return to form.”

The Music

Musically, the festival strives to push boundaries. Music Curator Ashwini Mantrala says that this year’s buskers and showcase musicians also connect to the theme.

“We have an emphasis on electronic and improvisational music, as well as some low-key rock & roll and folk projects that have been directly influenced by the pandemic and how folks have had to reorient their creative approaches,” Mantrala says.

Among the notable musical acts are buzzy indie-Americana band Good Looks, who will headline a showcase at Rose Music Hall; Seattle futurist rapper Stas THEE Boss, who will perform at Cafe Berlin; and internationally known singer/ producer Jessy Lanza, who is set to DJ a late-night dance party at the Blue Note.

“The folks who come to True/False have an expansive and adventurous-enough palette that they will take a flyer on music they may not even know,” Mantrala says. “[We’ll have] some acts they wouldn’t normally be able to see in this area, that don’t operate anywhere except the coasts or Europe.”

The Art

This year’s visual representations of the theme include 17 art installations, four exhibits and two artists-in-residence.

Niki Dionne will be presenting fiber

workshops at Orr Street Studios, where participants will learn how to needle felt and will contribute to a large community mural.

Trial and Error, curated by photographer Rebecca Allen, spotlights True/False photographers over the past 10 years. Each has selected what they feel are their best shots of the festival to include.

Elsewhere, Mami Takahashi, a multidisciplinary artist from Tokyo, will incorporate photography, installation and urban intervention into performance art.

“She camouflages herself in a mirrored dome and interacts with the public,” Art Installations Curator Sarah Nguyen says. “It creates this awareness of being invisible and being extremely visible, echoing her own experiences as an Asian woman living outside of her home country.”

The New

This year, True/False introduces a new artist support program. The Confluence Fellowship selected four Midwest-based nonfiction filmmakers who are in development on their first feature-length nonfiction film. These directors will participate in this year’s True/False, receive creative support throughout the year and meet with other industry professionals. In this way, the festival hopes to build for the future by connecting area directors with the wider film community.

According to Trayner, community is at the heart of the fest. “Columbia really comes out and comes to life for True/ False. We couldn’t exist without our local community,” she says. “We love to have all of these people come into town for these four days and talk about films and music and art. That element of community is really where the joy of True/False comes from.” n

Anhell69 by Theo Montoya is one of the 2023 films. | FILM STILL

Uncle Vanya Is Mesmerizing

St. Louis Actors’ Studio’s production of the Chekhov classic finds passion and fire in lives of desperation

Written by TINA FARMER

Uncle Vanya

Written by Anton Chekhov. Adapted by Neil LaBute. Directed by Annamaria Pileggi. Presented by St. Louis Actors’ Studio through Sunday, March 5. Showtimes vary by date. Tickets are $35 to $40.

The sense of gravity is particularly strong in playwright Anton Chekhov’s works, including the layers of sadness and resignation that permeate Uncle Vanya. The smoldering production at St. Louis Actors’ Studio, adapted by Neil LaBute, is compelling and heartbreaking. The story comes to life in sighs, wails, complaints and sharp glances, culminating in a confrontation that is at once terrifying in potential and comic in execution.

Sonya and her Uncle Vanya manage Sonya’s deceased mother’s farm in the country. They live modestly along with Sonya’s grandmother, Nana, a loyal servant and Telegin, their friend. Doctor Astrov is a regular, though not frequent, visitor. That was everyone, until the last month or so, when Sonya’s aging father Aleksandr Serebryakov, a retired professor, and his young, beautiful wife, Yelena, arrived for an extended visit.

The visit creates incredible tension, and the farm falls into neglect as nearly every man who meets Yelena is instantly besotted, helplessly in love. Sonya is devastated that she isn’t more like Yelena, and the young woman’s love for the doctor

is unnoticed by everyone except Yelena. Neither the professor nor his wife enjoy country life or the business of running a farm, however they need money to return to the city. Confessions of love tumble out, and the suggestion of the sale of the property is floated. Sadness-flavored chaos ensues, but no one will get what they want, and nothing much will change.

Director Annamaria Pileggi guides a superb cast that finds and dissects each line of dialogue to its most striking effect. John Pierson, as Vanya, and Michael James Reed, as Astrov, command your attention. Pierson is dissatisfied to the point of feeling deceived, with few future prospects and little to show for his efforts. And he is infatuated to the point of awkward distraction befitting a teenage boy. Pierson expertly captures Vanya’s varying emotions and twisted reasoning. Reed is jaded and drunken, yet still sympathetically conflicted. He knows better, he sees possibility, but he chooses the unattainable. Reed brings a lot of nuance to the role that adds a touch of kindness to his edge.

Bryn McLaughlin gives Sonya a touch of the ethereal with her kind, patient and preternaturally resigned persistence. Her brief glimmers of hope, and the realization that her feelings for the doctor may be better left unstated, pull at your heartstrings with simple eloquence. Jennelle Gilreath Owens is gorgeously stoic as Yelena and surprisingly passionate when she allows her character to finally give in to her feelings for a fleeting moment. The characters believe they have contained their desire, however, a fuse has been lit, and the explosion is inevitable.

Though the cultural references and time period are far removed from today, the themes, conflicting passions and realities of life persist. Chekhov’s heart-wrenching drama Uncle Vanya will likely remain potent and resonant for as long as humans continue to have relationships. St. Louis Actors’ Studio’s exceptionally gripping and engaging production connects all the dots for a great night of drama and perhaps a few sympathetic tears. n

St. Louis Actors’ Studio’s Uncle Vanya is gripping and engaging. | PATRICK HUBER

OUT EVERY NIGHT

Each week, we bring you our picks for the best concerts of the next seven days! To submit your show for consideration, visit https://bit.ly/3bgnwXZ. All events are subject to change, especially in the age of COVID-19, so do check with the venue for the most up-to-date information before you head out for the night. Happy showgoing!

THURSDAY 2

ANDY COCO’S NOLA FUNK AND R&B REVUE: 9:30

p.m., $12. Broadway Oyster Bar, 736 S. Broadway, St. Louis, 314-621-8811.

THE BOTTLESNAKES: 8 p.m., $15-$20. Joe’s Cafe, 6014 Kingsbury Ave, St. Louis.

CLAYBOURNE ELDER: 7:30 p.m., $30. Blue Strawberry Showroom & Lounge, 364 N Boyle Ave, St. Louis, 314-256-1745.

DASTOOR-WOODS DUO: 7 p.m., $25. World Chess Hall of Fame, 4652 Maryland Ave, St. Louis, 314-367-9243.

GOOD LOOKS: w/ Bo and The Locomotive 8 p.m., $12. Off Broadway, 3509 Lemp Ave., St. Louis, 314-498-6989.

HIGHLY SUSPECT: 8 p.m., $32.50-$45. The Pageant, 6161 Delmar Blvd., St. Louis, 314-726-6161.

PIERCE CRASK: 4 p.m., free. Broadway Oyster Bar, 736 S. Broadway, St. Louis, 314-621-8811.

REVEREND HORTON HEAT: w/ Scott H. Biram 8 p.m., $25. Red Flag, 3040 Locust Street, St. Louis, 314-289-9050.

ROCKIN’ ROD MCCARRON AND COMPANY: 5 p.m., free. The Attic Music Bar, 4247 S. Kingshighway, 2nd floor, St. Louis, 314-376-5313.

SIERRA FERRELL: 8 p.m., $26-$36. The Sheldon, 3648 Washington Blvd., St. Louis, 314-533-9900.

TELEPATHY CLUB: w/ Lucky Shells, Static Paisley 8 p.m., $10. The Sinkhole, 7423 South Broadway, St. Louis, 314-328-2309.

FRIDAY 3

ARIANNA QUARTET: 7:30 p.m., $29. Blanche M Touhill Performing Arts Center, 1 University Dr at Natural Bridge Road, Normandy, 314-516-4949.

AUDIEN: 10 p.m., $15-$450. RYSE Nightclub, One Ameristar Blvd, St. Charles.

THE BITTER ENDS: w/ Gary Robert and Community, Blinded By Stereo 8 p.m., $10. The Heavy Anchor, 5226 Gravois Ave., St. Louis, 314-352-5226.

BRAD HUFFMAN: 4 p.m., free. Broadway Oyster Bar, 736 S. Broadway, St. Louis, 314-621-8811.

BROTHER FRANCIS AND THE SOULTONES: 10 p.m., $12. Broadway Oyster Bar, 736 S. Broadway, St. Louis, 314-621-8811.

DR. ZHIVEGAS: 5 p.m., $10. The Attic Music Bar, 4247 S. Kingshighway, 2nd floor, St. Louis, 314-376-5313.

GARZA: 8 p.m., $25. Blueberry Hill - The Duck Room, 6504 Delmar Blvd., University City, 314-727-4444.

JAY JET: MOVING PICTURES: w/ Nite Fvr, DJ Shake

Uranus 8 p.m., $5. Blank Space, 2847 Cherokee St., St. Louis.

KATIE HUBBARD ALBUM RELEASE: 7:30 p.m., $15. Blue Strawberry Showroom & Lounge, 364 N Boyle Ave, St. Louis, 314-256-1745.

LUMINAL: w/ Nine Volt, With Glee 7 p.m., $10. Off Broadway, 3509 Lemp Ave., St. Louis, 314-498-6989.

THE RURAL ALBERTA ADVANTAGE: 8 p.m., $20$25. Old Rock House, 1200 S. 7th St., St. Louis, 314-588-0505.

SKAMASALA: 7 p.m., free. Das Bevo Biergarten, 4749 Gravois Ave., St. Louis, 314-224-5521.

SUGAR: THE NU-METAL PARTY: 9 p.m., $12-$25. Delmar Hall, 6133 Delmar Blvd., St. Louis, 314-726-6161.

THREE DOG NIGHT: 8 p.m., $60-$100. Linden-

CITY Block Party w/ Metro Boomin, Anderson .Paak, Mvstermind, Kennedy Holmes, DJ Mahf

6 p.m. Friday, March 3, and 4 p.m. Saturday, March 4. Lou Fusz Plaza, 2100 Market Street. Free with ticket. No phone.

Soccer is here in St. Louis — and the party is ready to start. In the lead up to CITY SC’s historic first home game against Charlotte FC on Saturday, the team, fans and local businesses will host a number of festivities to hype up fans. Events kick off on Friday at CITY PARK Stadium for a two-day pregame dubbed the “CITY Block Party.” At 6 p.m., CITY SC will provide performances by a slate of heavy-hitter artists, including St. Louis native and

wood University’s J. Scheidegger Center for the Arts, 2300 W. Clay St., St. Charles, 636-949-4433.

TREVOR NOAH: 8 p.m., $36.50-$112. Stifel Theatre, 1400 Market St, St. Louis, 314-499-7600.

VOICE OF ADDICTION: w/ Modern Angst, Stinkbomb 8 p.m., $10. The Sinkhole, 7423 South Broadway, St. Louis, 314-328-2309.

SATURDAY 4

ALL ROOSTERED UP: noon, $11. Broadway Oyster Bar, 736 S. Broadway, St. Louis, 314-621-8811.

BLUSH: w/ Seashine 8 p.m., $10. The Heavy Anchor, 5226 Gravois Ave., St. Louis, 314-352-5226.

CHEAT CODES: 11 p.m., $40-$64. Bally Sports

Live!, 601 Clark Ave #103, Saint Louis.

producer Metro Boomin; world-renowned artist Anderson .Paak, who will take the stage under the name DJ Pee .Wee; rapper and St. Louis SC Musical Experience Director Mvstermind; and St. Louis artist Kennedy Holmes. The block party continues on game day Saturday, March 4, with a return to Lou Fusz Plaza and more activities. The party will begin at 4 p.m. with music from St. Louis artist DJ Mahf, leading up to kickoff at 7:30 p.m. The whole affair will feature local food and beverage vendors, Skee Ball and plenty of opportunities to win CITY SC merchandise.

314-977-5000.

SELF POLLUTION: TRIBUTE TO PEARL JAM: w/

Wicked Type Thing: A Tribute to STP 8 p.m., $5. Red Fish Blue Fish, 7 Hawks Nest Plaza, St Charles, 636-947-4747.

STORMRULER: 7:30 p.m., $12. Blueberry HillThe Duck Room, 6504 Delmar Blvd., University City, 314-727-4444.

SUPERJAM DUO: 5 p.m., $10. The Attic Music Bar, 4247 S. Kingshighway, 2nd floor, St. Louis, 314-376-5313.

TERRY BARBER: 8 p.m., $20. Blue Strawberry Showroom & Lounge, 364 N Boyle Ave, St. Louis, 314-256-1745.

TRIVECTA: 10 p.m., $15-$17. Old Rock House, 1200 S. 7th St., St. Louis, 314-588-0505.

YUSA: 8 p.m., $20-$30. Joe’s Cafe, 6014 Kingsbury Ave, St. Louis.

SUNDAY 5

ALLY GIA: 4 p.m. Blue Strawberry Showroom & Lounge, 364 N Boyle Ave, St. Louis, 314-256-1745.

BROKEN JUKEBOX: 9:30 p.m., free. Broadway Oyster Bar, 736 S. Broadway, St. Louis, 314-621-8811.

CRASH TEST DUMMIES: 8 p.m., $40-$50. Delmar Hall, 6133 Delmar Blvd., St. Louis, 314-726-6161.

E.T.: w/ The Girlfriend Experience, DJ Limewire

Prime, DJ Ashley Hohman, Dour 8 p.m., $10. William A. Kerr Foundation, 21 O’Fallon St., St. Louis, 314-436-3325.

HANDEL’S MESSIAH: 3 p.m., $10-$55. First Presbyterian Church of Kirkwood, 100 E. Adams, St. Louis, 314-965-0326.

JEREMIAH JOHNSON: 2 p.m., $15. South Broadway Athletic Club, 2301 S. Seventh St., St. Louis, 314-776-4833.

MUSE: 6:30 p.m., $39.50-$159.50. Chaifetz Arena, 1 S. Compton Ave., St. Louis, 314-977-5000.

NEIL SALSICH (OF THE MIGHTY PINES) WITH BETH

BOMBARA: 7 p.m., $15. Blue Strawberry Showroom & Lounge, 364 N Boyle Ave, St. Louis, 314-256-1745.

POST SEX NACHOS: 8 p.m., $15. Blueberry HillThe Duck Room, 6504 Delmar Blvd., University City, 314-727-4444.

SEAFORTH: 8 p.m., $10-$15. Old Rock House, 1200 S. 7th St., St. Louis, 314-588-0505.

MONDAY 6

BODYSNATCHER: 7 p.m., $18. Red Flag, 3040 Locust Street, St. Louis, 314-289-9050.

DAN ALTEN: w/ June Dempsey 7 p.m., $10. The Heavy Anchor, 5226 Gravois Ave., St. Louis, 314-352-5226.

MONDAY NIGHT REVIEW: 7 p.m., free. Hammerstone’s, 2028 S. 9th St., St. Louis, 314-773-5565. SOULARD BLUES BAND: 9 p.m., $8. Broadway Oyster Bar, 736 S. Broadway, St. Louis, 314-621-8811.

TUESDAY 7

ANDY COCO & CO.: 5 p.m., free. Broadway Oyster Bar, 736 S. Broadway, St. Louis, 314-621-8811.

Simon

Play Ball: St. Louis CITY SC enters its first home game 1-0 after a thrilling, comefrom-behind 3-2 victory over Austin FC on Saturday night. Let’s hope they keep that momentum going. —Benjamin

CHRIS BOTTI: 7:30 p.m., $49.50-$99.50. The Factory, 17105 N Outer 40 Rd, Chesterfield, 314-423-8500.

DJANGO KNIGHT: 7 p.m., $25. National Blues Museum, 615 Washington Ave., St. Louis.

FAMILY MEDICINE: w/ Wnderer, Polterguts, Swamp Lion 8 p.m., $10. The Sinkhole, 7423 South Broadway, St. Louis, 314-328-2309.

NOAH HICKS: 8 p.m., free. Tin Roof St. Louis, 1000 Clark Ave, St. Louis, 314-240-5400.

POLKA PARTY: 7 p.m., free. Das Bevo Biergarten, 4749 Gravois Ave., St. Louis, 314-224-5521.

ROYAL COMEDY 2023: w/ Sommore, Bruce Bruce, Lavell Crawford, Arnez J 8 p.m., $64-$255. Chaifetz Arena, 1 S. Compton Ave., St. Louis,

BADFLOWER: w/ Des Rocs, Blood Red Shoes 7 p.m., $30. Red Flag, 3040 Locust Street, St. Louis, 314-289-9050.

ELLE KING: 8 p.m., $40-$55. The Pageant, 6161 Delmar Blvd., St. Louis, 314-726-6161.

NAKED MIKE: 7 p.m., free. Hammerstone’s, 2028 S. 9th St., St. Louis, 314-773-5565.

PONY BRADSHAW: 8 p.m., $12. Blueberry HillThe Duck Room, 6504 Delmar Blvd., University City, 314-727-4444.

STEVE BAUER & MATT RUDOLF: 9 p.m., free. Broadway Oyster Bar, 736 S. Broadway, St. Louis, 314-621-8811.

WEDNESDAY 8

CLAIRE MAUE QUARTET: 7:30 p.m., $17. Jazz St. Louis, 3536 Washington Ave, St. Louis, 314-571-6000.

DREW LANCE: 4:30 p.m., free. Broadway Oyster Bar, 736 S. Broadway, St. Louis, 314-621-8811.

Anderson .Paak. | VIA IMRAN MALIK PUBLICITY

[CRITIC’S PICK]

Voice of Addiction w/ Stinkbomb, Modern Angst

8 p.m., Friday, March 3. The Sinkhole, 7423 South Broadway. $10. 314-328-2309. In a lot of ways, Voice of Addiction feels as if it’s of another era. The Chicago power trio’s brand of politically charged pop-punk would have been right at home on the Fat Wreck or Punk-O-Rama compilations of yore, nestled nicely between Lagwagon and 88 Fingers Louie tracks. Mercifully, though, the band sets itself apart from the cookie-cutter NOFX ripoffs that era of music inspired through considerable musicianship and songwriting chops that go beyond the four-chordsplayed-fast model, with elements that

JOHN MCVEY BAND: 7 p.m., free. Hammerstone’s, 2028 S. 9th St., St. Louis, 314-773-5565.

MARGARET & FRIENDS: 3 p.m., free. Hammerstone’s, 2028 S. 9th St., St. Louis, 314-773-5565.

MOLECH: w/ Feticide, Extinctionism, Socket 7 p.m., $10. The Sinkhole, 7423 South Broadway, St. Louis, 314-328-2309.

SORRY PLEASE CONTINUE: 8 p.m., $10. The Heavy Anchor, 5226 Gravois Ave., St. Louis, 314-352-5226.

VOODOO PHISH: 9 p.m., $10. Broadway Oyster Bar, 736 S. Broadway, St. Louis, 314-621-8811.

THIS JUST IN

BYRNE & KELLY: Mon., March 13, 7:30 p.m., $35-$75. The Focal Point, 2720 Sutton Blvd., Maplewood, 314-560-2778.

DEBBIE GIBSON: Fri., June 30, 8 p.m., $25-$45. River City Casino & Hotel, 777 River City Casino Blvd., St. Louis, 314-388-7777.

DIGABLE PLANETS: Thu., May 11, 8 p.m., $40. Delmar Hall, 6133 Delmar Blvd., St. Louis, 314-726-6161.

FEIST: Sat., May 6, 8 p.m., $40-$70. The Pageant, 6161 Delmar Blvd., St. Louis, 314-726-6161.

GUNS N’ ROSES: Sat., Sept. 9, 6 p.m., $49-$375.

sound downright proggy at times. The group’s latest, 2022’s Divided States, plays like a lost Propagandhi record released somewhere between Less Talk More Rock and Supporting Caste, all socially conscious lyrics and punk attitude, but with guitar work that’s surprisingly intricate without stepping too far into math-rock territory. It’s fast, it’s catchy, it’s Voice of Addiction.

Go Ahead, Punk: Local punk stalwarts Stinkbomb and Modern Angst will open the show, the former delivering its patented straightforward, dumb-as-shit rippers and the latter serving a mix of punk and rock & roll with a polished sheen. Make sure you arrive on time.

—Daniel Hill

Busch Stadium, 700 Clark Ave, St. Louis, 314-345-9600.

LARRY THE CABLE GUY: Sun., April 16, 7 p.m., $35-$79.50. The Factory, 17105 N Outer 40 Rd, Chesterfield, 314-423-8500.

LITTLE FEAT: Sat., July 15, 6:30 p.m., $49-$79. Chesterfield Amphitheater, 631 Veterans Place Drive, Chesterfield.

MR. CLIT AND THE PINK CIGARETTES: W/ Horse Magik, Buck Fever, Thu., April 20, 9 p.m., free.

CBGB, 3163 S. Grand Blvd., St. Louis.

OBVIOUSLY OFFBEAT RECORD RELEASE SHOW:

W/ Banks and Cathedrals, Crystal Lady, Fri., April 21, 8 p.m., $10. The Heavy Anchor, 5226 Gravois Ave., St. Louis, 314-352-5226.

OFF!: Tue., May 9, 8 p.m., $22. Off Broadway, 3509 Lemp Ave., St. Louis, 314-498-6989.

PIRATE SIGNAL: Fri., April 7, 8 p.m., $10. Blueberry Hill - The Duck Room, 6504 Delmar Blvd., University City, 314-727-4444.

TINSLEY ELLIS: Thu., March 16, 8 p.m., $18-$20. Old Rock House, 1200 S. 7th St., St. Louis, 314-588-0505.

Sun., March 12, 7 p.m., $25.64-$45.64. The Pageant, 6161 Delmar Blvd., St. Louis, 314-726-6161. n

Voice of Addiction. | VIA ARTIST WEBSITE

[CRITIC’S PICK]

SAVAGE LOVE

Charades

BY DAN SAVAGE

Hey Dan: I found out by accident that my husband is emotionally cheating on me with his ex. I know you are critical of the concept of emotional cheating, but I’m talking about long love letters explaining that he wishes he would have married her, how she is the best person in the world, how he will always love her, etc. He sends her gifts behind my back and communicates with her frequently and hides it from me.

I broke down when I found out and confronted him, and he was apologetic at first. But he quickly started to accuse me of “just being jealous.” He continues to lie and hide. I can’t bring it up because he just gets angry, and I’ve resigned to participate in the charade that is my marriage. I’ve told him that I don’t have a problem with him being friends with her so long as he treats her like other friends. That would mean, for example, no longer professing his undying love for her. But he continues to do so, and I’ve come to realize that this will never change. She will always be his romantic fantasy, while I’m the idiot who’s more practical for everyday use.

My self-esteem was crap before we met, after being abused by my kids’ alcoholic father, and I felt rehabilitated when my husband asked me to marry him. I felt chosen. Then I found out that I was being played for a fool. But I stayed with him, thus proving even more to the world how little I’m worth. Anyway, I don’t think I should leave. I want to preserve what is mostly a functioning family unit and not disrupt my kids’ lives again. But any advice on how I can live with myself for the decades to come before I’m finally allowed to just roll over and die?

Can’t Hack Another Really Aggravating Divorce Experience

I’m not so much critical of the concept of emotional cheating, CHARADE, as I am critical of concept creep where emotional cheating is concerned.

Basically, I think it’s foolish to tell people cheating is absolutely unforgiveable and then turn around and tell people that absolutely fucking everything from looking at porn to sending an ex a brief happy birthday message via text — counts as cheating. So while I don’t think a husband who has a work friend of the opposite sex or sometimes confides in someone about his marriage is guilty of having an emotional affair (all examples

drawn from articles about emotional cheating), a husband who sends love letters to an ex … and tells that ex she’s the love of his life … that asshole is definitely having an emotional affair.

If I were you, CHARADE, I would leave that asshole. Your husband’s behavior exposes a streak of emotional cruelty so devoid of empathy that it’s hard to imagine it not manifesting in other ways, CHARADE, and you may not be able to live with (or want to expose your kids to) his shit over the long term. But if you do decide to stay for the sake of your kids — which is something people do and something people insist no one should ever do — then you’ll need to radically adjust your expectations. You’ll have to accept your marriage for what it is now, i.e., a strictly limited partnership about raising kids, and then find a way to be at peace with that … which is a much heavier lift.

Passionately felt romantic love is a wonderful and often fleeting thing, CHARADE, and no one wants to discover that the person who said they loved them passionately — and promised to keep loving them passionately — is now (or always was) passionately in love with someone else. But a deep sense of security can grow between two people in a committed, long-term, companionate, low-conflict relationship, and that particular kind of intimacy can be its own consolation. Or its own consolation prize. Now, that kind of intimacy is harder to achieve when one person in a relationship is a selfish and callous asshole … like the one you married. But we go to marriage counseling with the husband we’ve got, CHARADE, not the husband we might like or want to have.

If you can get past your hurt and your anger which, again, is going to be a very, very heavy lift — you aren’t required to participate in a charade. Your marriage is what it is, and you don’t have to pretend it’s something else. But if you can’t get past the hurt and anger, CHARADE, or if your husband finds new ways to make you miserable, don’t stay for your kids. (Have you ever spoken to an adult whose parents stayed in a high-conflict marriage for them? Most wish their parents had gotten a divorce.)

No more charades. Your goal is mutual respect, shared responsibilities, separate bedrooms, and all the personal happiness you can achieve for yourself in this marriage. The latter — personal happiness — may seem like the heaviest lift of all. To get there, CHARADE, do whatever it takes to untangle your sense self-worth and self-esteem from feeling “chosen” by some man. Choose yourself. So your husband has a pen-pal, and he’s keeping her. What do you want? A dick-pal? Get one. Do you wanna spend

more time with your girlfriends? Let them know. Do you wanna go back to school and get a degree or some professional training that would make it easier for you to leave your asshole husband after your kids are grown or sooner if you decide staying was a mistake? Do it.

You can choose yourself every single day, CHARADE, without neglecting your kids or being an asshole to your spouse about it. If you do decide to stay, do your kids the favor of letting them see their mother flourish.

Hey Dan: I recently came out to my husband as asexual. I’m a 56-year-old female. He is 57. We have been in a monogamous relationship for 35 years. We both come from culturally traditional families. We married young and raised two boys who are now adults. Our oldest son came out to us as bisexual five years ago when he fell in love with a man. This was a catalyst for me to look into the nature of my sexuality. My husband’s response to my asexuality was, “Of course you are — we aren’t having sex anymore.” Before I came out to him, he urged me over and over to look into remedies for my situation so we could have intercourse. Menopause has made intercourse unbearably physically painful for me and he is not open to other forms of sexual intimacy. He doesn’t understand asexuality. After all, for many years, we did have sex. I felt that it was part of my duty as a wife. In hindsight, I believe I was more interested in having children than having sex. I have

a lot of guilt that I somehow “duped” him into a relationship. This was not my intention. Asexuality was not part of my vocabulary any more than bisexuality was. I have suffered for years with depression, thinking there was something wrong with me for not being interested in sex. We love each other, and we want to stay together. I know he has sexual needs that need to be satisfied. I have urged him to find other outlets. I’ve told him that I’m open to an open relationship. He said that he is afraid that if he had sex with anyone else that he would fall in love with them. He doesn’t want to do that because he loves only me. He still thinks there is some remedy and that I could find that would make it possible for us to still have sex. What do you advise?

Asexual Characteristic Explains Dilemma

Your letter — your question, your predicament, your marriage — demonstrates why the awareness-raising conversations we’ve been having about asexuality over the last decade-and-change are so important. If “asexual” had been a part of the conversation 40 years ago, ACED, you wouldn’t have spent 35 years wondering what was wrong with you. With “asexual” part of the conversation now, people who are asexual are likelier to know who they are, know there’s nothing wrong with them and know they’re free to make different choices — more informed ones. Likewise, allosexuals who date asexuals are free to make informed choices of their own. (Allosexual is the opposite of asexual … and, yes, you could call allosexuals plain ol’ sexuals, but confusing new terms that have to be unpacked in parentheticals > simple and clear language that doesn’t have to unpacked in a parenthetical.)

But what do you do now, ACED? Nothing. You know who you are after all these years, you’ve explained who you are to your husband and your husband has your permission to seek sex elsewhere, if he so chooses. If he needs to feel a deep emotional connection in order to experience sexual attraction — if your husband just realized he’s demisexual (sigh) — he can seek out women who are … I don’t know … unhappily married to emotionally obtuse men they don’t wanna leave for the sake of their kids and might be seeking some dick and affection elsewhere. Romantic love isn’t a zero-sum game loving someone else doesn’t mean your husband has to love you any less, or any differently, than he does right now.

Send your burning questions to mailbox@savage.love Podcasts, columns and more at savage.love

Your husband’s behavior exposes a streak of emotional cruelty so devoid of empathy that it’s hard to imagine it not manifesting in other ways, and you may not be able to live with his shit over the long term.

Loyola Academy of St. Louis is requesting bids to operate its food service program for the 2023-24 school year. Loyola Academy of St. Louis serves breakfast, lunch and afternoon snack to approximately 80 students Monday through Friday under the guidelines of the USDA federal school lunch guidelines set by DESE (Missouri Department of Elementary and Secondary Education.

Interested companies may visit the school for a walk through on Wednesday, March 22, 2023 between 9:00 am –11:00 am.

Bid proposals will be due on Friday, April 7, 2023 by 10:00 am. Bid opening on Friday, April 7, 2023 at 3:00pm.

Loyola Academy is located at 3851 Washington Blvd., St. Louis, MO 63108. Please contact the school at (314) 531-9091 for any additional information needed.