Riverfront Times, August 3, 2022 by Chava Communications

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AUGUST 3-9, 2022

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AUGUST 3-9, 2022

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AUGUST 3-9, 2022

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TABLE OF CONTENTS Publisher Chris Keating Editor in Chief Rosalind Early

E D I T O R I A L Managing Editor Jessica Rogen Editor at Large Daniel Hill Digital Content Editors Jaime Lees, Jenna Jones Food Editor Cheryl Baehr Staff Writers Ryan Krull, Monica Obradovic, Benjamin Simon Copy Editor Evie Hemphill Contributors Thomas K. Chimchards, Joseph Hess, Reuben Hemmer, Andy Paulissen, Famous Mortimer, Delia Rainey, Mabel Suen, Graham Toker, Theo Welling Columnists Ray Hartmann, Dan Savage Editorial Interns Julian McCall, Carlos Mendoza, Lulu Nix, Kasey Noss, Olivia Poolos A R T

& P R O D U C T I O N Art Director Evan Sult Creative Director Haimanti Germain Production Manager Sean Bieri Graphic Designer Aspen Smit

COVER Reports from a Post-Roe Missouri

M U L T I M E D I A A D V E R T I S I N G Associate Publisher Colin Bell Account Manager Jennifer Samuel Directors of Business Development Rachel Hoppman, Chelsea Nazaruk Directors of Sponsorship Sales Deanna Schmidt

Where we stand now, a month after our near-total abortion ban

M A R K E T I N G Director of Marketing & Events Christina Kimerle Marketing Coordinator Sydney Schaefer

Cover photos by

B U S I N E S S Regional Operations Director Emily Fear

REUBEN HEMMER

C I R C U L A T I O N Circulation Manager Kevin G. Powers

Cover design by

EVAN SULT & PAIGE BRUBECK

INSIDE Hartmann News Missouriland Feature Calendar Cafe Short Orders St. Louis Standards Reeferfront Times Culture Film Music Stage Out Every Night Savage Love

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HARTMANN Hooray! It’s 1893 Again A new lawsuit trots out a 19thcentury residency rule to keep St. Louis native Mark Kummer off the citywide ballot Written by

RAY HARTMANN

f all else fails to restore the City of St. Louis to its former glory, there’s always this sci-fi strategy: Why not turn back the clock a century or two? Jumping into a time machine makes perfect sense. Today, the city ranks 72nd in population with 298,034 residents. But if everyone would hop back to say, 1890, they’d be transported to a City of St. Louis ranked fifth in the U.S. with a population of 451,770. What’s not to like? The city was half-again larger than today and was larger than Boston. It had more residents than Detroit and New Orleans combined. It had almost nine times more people than Los Angeles. Only New York, Chicago, Philadelphia and Brooklyn were more populous. Against that backdrop, I suppose it makes perfect sense to dust off the 1893 city charter to address governance issues today. Why not rely upon utopian times for guidance? So it is that laws of yesteryear determine whether someone qualifies to run for citywide office in 2022 — even though the rules were written 129 years ago. And I do mean “written,” since that happened shortly after the invention of the typewriter. A lawsuit was filed July 20 challenging the eligibility of businessman Mark Kummer to run for president of the Board of Aldermen. The seat became vacant in June when former President Lewis Reed resigned in the wake of his indictment on political-corruption charges. Three candidates submitted the necessary signatures to make the Tuesday, September 13, ballot for

the first round of approval voting for the vacancy. They are Alderman Jack Coatar, Alderwoman Megan Green and Kummer. (The two candidates with the most votes will advance to the general election in November.) Immediately after the city Board of Elections certified that Kummer had submitted the required number of signatures, Coatar filed the lawsuit arguing that Kummer failed to meet a five-year residency requirement under the charter. The case is pending and might even be resolved by the time you read this. I don’t have a dog in this fight. I’ve never met Kummer, although I did phone interviews with him and his lawyer in the past week for my KTRS radio show. Green has long been one of my favorite members of the board. Coatar’s a fine guy, albeit a bit too pro-developer for my taste. I know Kummer the least of the three. There’s no reason to take issue with Coatar for filing the lawsuit. A state appellate court ruled in 2014 that election boards could not make rulings on residency. He may have had no choice but to file and was certainly within his rights to do so. But by any common-sense interpretation of the spirit of residency laws, Kummer deserves a spot on the ballot. St. Louis’ 129-year-old rule is outdated and provincial today. Here’s the argument advanced by Coatar, who, unlike me, is a lawyer, according to reporting at stltoday.com: “Coatar in his suit alleged that Kummer doesn’t meet minimum city residency rules set for aldermanic president in the city charter. The charter says the aldermanic president shall have the same qualifications as the mayor. People holding either office ‘next before his election’ must be a resident of the city for five years and an assessed city taxpayer for two years. “Coatar in his suit said an 1893 court decision determined that ‘next before’ means the time period immediately preceding the event in question, in this case an election.” As a layperson, I’ll admit that I don’t know “next before” from “previously after.” I was never good at Scrabble. I do know that

With apologies to President Grover Cleveland’s followers, I just don’t understand how this native St. Louisan — whose apparent sin was to move away for 15 years — is somehow a carpet bagger today. What are we, Mayberry? in 1893, Green, as a woman, couldn’t have voted in a city election, much less run for office. For his part, Kummer told me that he and his husband live in his childhood home in Compton Heights, having settled there last December. It’s his parents’ home, but they are away most of the year. Kummer also says he is the sole beneficiary of the trust that owns the house. Kummer argues that he lived in the same home from 1985 to 1997 and paid taxes on his vehicle for at least two years. He also told me that he was the only one of the three candidates who grew up in St. Louis. That might be the most ironic part of the story. Have we forgotten the dreaded “St. Louis question” by which perfect strangers are accosted obnoxiously with “Where did you go to high school?” I hate that question. Green and Coatar are, fortunately, proud residents of the City of St. Louis even though no one here would recognize their high schools. I believe they moved here in the early 2000s from New York and Chicago, respectively. Meanwhile, Kummer’s answer is “Clayton High School.” He says his parents were divorced, and though he attended school across

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the county border, he also spent at least half of his time in the city. With apologies to President Grover Cleveland’s followers, I just don’t understand how this native St. Louisan — whose apparent sin was to move away for 15 years to pursue a successful business and academic career — is somehow a carpetbagger today. What are we, Mayberry? Consider that the residency rules for the city were enacted when most people didn’t own telephones. The few that existed, mounted on walls, didn’t even have dials. Telecommunications have evolved just a bit, and so should laws related to the consequence of distance from home. Kummer’s presumed disconnection from St. Louis came when he went to Boston for an MIT fellowship in 2020. I don’t know what train-passenger service was like in 1893, but I do know that folks mostly got around by horse and buggy. The first Model T Ford went on sale nearly two decades later. How long do you suppose it took to travel to Boston? Look, if the judge finds Kummer legally blew up his residency with travels to faraway places, so be it. But by any common-sense test, a native of the city having lived in it for two-thirds of his 44 years on the planet ought to be able to run for office here. I do understand how sensitive people in the city can be on the topic of residency. Many will take umbrage that a county resident like me — living fully two miles outside the city line — should weigh in at all. Never mind that I founded the Riverfront Times in the city, tragically (from my point of view) before any of these three candidates was born. And I still pay the city’s earnings tax. So, even though I live an hour’s carriage ride across the county border today, I’d like to suggest that the city modernize itself on the subject of residency rules. After all, the 1904 World’s Fair is right around the corner. n

Ray Hartmann founded the Riverfront Times in 1977. Contact him at rhartmann1952@ gmail.com or catch him at 7 p.m. on Thursdays on Nine PBS and St. Louis in the Know with Ray Hartmann from 9-11 p.m. Monday thru Friday on KTRS (550 AM).

AUGUST 3-9, 2022

RIVERFRONT TIMES

NEWS

FBI Raids Black Liberation Group

ussian nationalist who is in ussia,” eshitela said. “They have claimed that they were investigating the African People’s Socialist Party that I lead and the huru Movement because of some association that we might have with the ussian government.” The raid appears connected to one in St. Petersburg, Florida. The Tampa Bay Times reports that federal law enforcement and St. Petersburg police performed searches at multiple locations in Florida, under search warrants seemingly related to an indictment against a

ussian national. According to a federal indictment obtained by the Times, Aleksandr iktorovich Ionov is alleged to have worked with unnamed officers of ussia’s Federal Security Service to use members of .S. political groups as foreign agents. Ionov recruited members of various political groups to attend government-sponsored conferences in ussia, the indictment states. The indictment does not explicitly name eshitela or the African People’s Socialist Party but describes two co-conspirators who

are residents of St. Petersburg, Florida, and St. Louis. The indictment against Ionov identifies him as the founder and president of the Anti- lobali ation Movement of ussia, a Moscow-based organi ation that advocated for “sovereignty of nation-states including the sovereignty of ussia.” eshitela said he visited ussia in 20 as part of a conference organi ed by a ussian organi ation but denies any other involvement. eshitela founded the African People’s Socialist Party in 2 to free African and oppressed populations from “ .S. capitalist-colonialist domination.” The huru Solidarity Movement is for whites who stand in solidarity with lack liberation. The F I raided the group’s huru Solidarity Center in south St. Louis. hen asked if he had ever accepted money from the ussian government, eshitela replied, “ o.” hya Fogerty tells the RFT that the F I took the phones and laptops of some involved with the movement. Fogerty works with lack Power lueprint, an initiative connected to the African People’s Socialist Party. “The whole thing is about the right of African people to be free to be in control of their labor, land, communities, resources,” Fogerty says. n

neighborhood.” Mayor Tishaura Jones, Lieutenant Governor Mike Kehoe and Congresswoman Cori Bush as well as several aldermen and state representatives were at the Francis R. Slay Park to survey damage from the flash flooding earlier in the week. The crowd of about 25 residents expressed gratitude to the elected officials for coming. They just really wanted them to do something about MSD and about the River Des Peres, which MSD operates. “We just keep getting the same thing, sewer water,” said a third resident. “Runoff water is one thing. Sewer water is a whole different ball game.” Numerous residents also told the elected leaders that they’d been calling MSD for help but had not been able to get through. The Ellendale neighborhood is much longer than it is wide, and running through it lengthwise is the River Des Peres, which is essentially an openair sewer system. It conveys rain and

wastewater from as far away as Creve Coeur through south city and into the Mississippi. (Reporter Danny Wicentowski once called the River Des Peres a “concrete-lined creek for human waste” in a 2019 RFT story.) When the River Des Peres backs up into Ellendale, a high volume of sewage makes its way into people’s homes and onto the streets, residents said. “I was carrying my three kids, my three dogs and my wife on my shoulders through neck-high sewage,” said Ellendale resident Andrew Schafer. He said he made the first trip from his house to higher ground with the dogs as a “test run” to make sure he could do it. He went back and got his children, then his wife. “And there’s shit underneath, there’s fences, there’s bushes,” Schafer said. “There’s one spot where I had to go under and bounce back up because it was so high.” Neighborhood association president Matthew Sisul said that Ellendale had never seen flooding to the extent it did

earlier this week. However, more minor backups in basements are all too common. “The last decade has been rough,” said Sisul. “There have been flooded basements. I’ve heard 18 to 20 inches, which to me is still a lot. But nothing like four or five or even seven feet of water.” Sisul said he didn’t know the exact reason the River Des Peres was so prone to flooding in Ellendale. “We’ve been asking that for a while,” he said. “I suspect that’s because we’re on a combined sewer system.” He added that sometimes sewage comes into people’s homes through their toilets, more commonly it’s up through their storm drains. One man recounted to Kehoe that he had to float his children to safety atop a door that had come off its hinges. Ellendale residents Jeff and Debbi Boshans said they have tangled with MSD more than their fair share of times throughout the 30 years they’ve been in Ellendale. They live on Odell Street, be-

Group allegedly has ties to Russia Written by

MONICA OBRADOVIC

ederal investigators raided the offices and homes of leaders involved with local lack liberation group under suspicion of ussian collusion on the morning of July 2 . fficials of the huru Solidarity Movement and African People’s Socialist Party say the F I performed a “violent” raid with ash grenades and drones at a.m. At a news conference later that day, Chairman mali eshitela said he and his wife were handcuffed during the raid and the F I did not knock or show him a search warrant. “ hat the F I have claimed is that they are indicting someone, a

Residents Fuming Over River Des Peres Flooding Many blame MSD for sewage flowing into their homes Written by

RYAN KRULL

hen top elected officials visited the south-city neighborhood of Ellendale last Wednesday afternoon, residents made it clear who they blamed for the severe, sewage-laden floodwaters that ruined their homes and submerged their streets. “MSD has failed us,” one woman said, referring to the Metropolitan St. Louis Sewer District. “MSD needs to be held accountable,” said another resident. “They’ve failed our

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Omali Yeshitela founded the African People’s Socialist Party in 1972. | SCREENGRAB/FOX2

AUGUST 3-9, 2022

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St. Louis County Auditor Gives Herself a Raise Allegations were made by a fellow councilman Written by

RYAN KRULL

t. Louis County Councilman Ernie Trakas (R-Mehlville) is making serious allegations about St. Louis County Auditor Toni Jackson.

In a letter to Council Chair Rita Heard Days, Trakas accuses Jackson of “unilaterally” increasing her own salary without council permission. He also says she has failed to disclose outside clients, despite his requests. Jackson did not respond to a voicemail message seeking comment. Jackson is a certified public accountant as well as an audit and tax adviser. The council appointed her auditor in a 5-0 vote in November, just a few months after firing the previous person to hold the role. At that point, the salary was raised to $120,000, which Trakas says was an increase from $85,000. In the letter, Trakas begins with concerns that Jackson has not disclosed any

A geyser erupted outside Jeff and Debbi Boshans’ house. | COURTESY DEBBI BOSHANS tween the River Des Peres and McCausland Avenue. A while back they moved their bedroom into the basement as they did some work on the first floor of their house. Jeff tells the RFT that when his phone began buzzing in the early hours of July 26, he thought it was an Amber Alert. Then, when he got out of his bed, his feet touched water. Soon, water was nearly to the top of their basement steps. Outside the Boshanses’ house, a geyser had erupted out of a manhole. When the mayor and other officials came to the park last Wednesday, the Boshans were sure to be there. Wearing a cap emblazoned with the name of the carrier he served on while in the Navy, Jeff explained why it was that MSD had drawn so much ire from the neighborhood. “The issue was we were dealing with not just our rainwater, we were dealing

with water that starts all the way up in Richmond Heights, Maplewood. This system isn’t designed to take our rainwater, plus all their rainwater,” Jeff told the mayor, congresswoman and lieutenant governor at the park. The River Des Peres acts like the narrow part of a funnel. Water makes its way to the River Des Peres through a series of tributaries. The river then takes all that water — and sewage — to the Mississippi. But when St. Louis sees nine inches of rain in one day (almost a quarter of the average rainfall in a year), all that water has to pass by Ellendale on its way to the river. Residents here say the system just can’t handle it. Mayor Jones said that concerns about River Des Peres were already on her radar prior to last week’s floods. She said that a few weeks ago, she’d been at some neighborhood meetings further

outside clients. He continues: “What is most concerning to me now is that County Auditor one morning last week accessed the County’s MUNIS database and unilaterally increased her own salary for the proposed budget outside permitted increases in violation of County ordinance.” The MUNIS system is the county’s financial-management software. The county auditor’s salary comes out of the county council’s budget. A source familiar with the situation said that Jackson apparently made the discrete change to her salary in the MUNIS system around 5 a.m. on the day that the county council was supposed to submit its proposed budget to the County Budget Office.

In his letter, Trakas alleges that budget office staff discovered Jackson’s “improper action.” In addition to Days, Trakas copied the rest of the County Council on the letter, in which he also expresses concern about Jackson’s performance in the eight months since she took the job. “Since being hired, the County Auditor has not conducted, concluded and/or submitted an audit of any kind to the Council,” Trakas writes. “Given how adamant some council members were about the former auditor’s productivity, I would be shocked if the Council is satisfied with the current auditor’s similar level of productivity.” Neither Trakas nor Days returned messages seeking comment. n

Mayor Tishaura Jones, left, and Lt. Governor Mike Kehoe hear from residents about flooding. | RYAN KRULL south in the city, around Interstate 55, when the issue of the River Des Peres flooding came up as a point of frustration. “I went back to my staff and said, ‘Why isn’t MSD applying for any of this bipartisan infrastructure money about to come down the pipeline?’” Jones said. She added: “This is an opportune time to apply for this money and to fix River Des Peres once and for all.” “We will also be reaching out to the Army Corps of Engineers to see whatever else [we] can make happen,” Congresswoman Bush told the RFT. “I think that if everybody is working, we will be able to make something happen. Because this can’t keep happening.” State Representative Donna Baringer (D-South Hampton) said that she’ll soon be introducing legislation to help ameliorate the River Des Peres’ flooding

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problems. “The River Des Peres was built in a time when all this concrete did not exist,” Baringer said. “We need to start thinking about giving tax credits out to corporations and people for pulling up their concrete so that we now have a permeable surface that can take in and absorb the rain that’s coming down.” After the flooding last Wednesday, the Boshanses, clutching their cat wrapped in a towel, were evacuated from their home in a boat. Jeff Boshan collects and restores vintage motorcycles, which if he can even find them are now severely — perhaps irreparably — damaged. When asked if it was any comfort to have the politicians here, he said that, yes, it did help. “The relief is that I think now the cat is out of the bag,” he said. “People know that there’s a real problem.” n

AUGUST 3-9, 2022

RIVERFRONT TIMES

MISSOURILAND

Sun’s Out Buns Out World Naked Bike Ride takes to the streets to promote safe bike culture Words by

ROSALIND EARLY Images by

THEO WELLING

he 14th annual World Naked Bike Ride kicked off in the Grove on Saturday, drawing large crowds that were, shall we say, creatively attired. The event started in 2008 and continues to this day as a protest against oil dependence and as a way to promote cyclist safety and body positivity. People are encouraged to come as bare as they dare for the 12-mile bike loop around St. Louis. The ride started at 6 p.m. in the Grove and wended its way through Lafayette Square, down Washington Avenue, through Soulard, along Cherokee Street and down South Grand Boulevard. The ride terminates in the Grove where cyclists can get refreshments and be entertained by local artists and musical acts. n

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A C E L E B R AT I O N O F T H E U N I Q U E A N D FA S C I N AT I N G A S P E C T S O F O U R H O M E

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AUGUST 3-9, 2022

RIVERFRONT TIMES

The End of the Beginning

More than a month after Missouri’s near-total abortion ban, the matter is far from settled By Rosalind Early and Monica Obradovic

or a moment, the room fell silent. Only the sound of cameras clicking could be heard in a conference room at Central West End’s Planned Parenthood, as people read from their phones. It was June 24. Abortion-rights activists, elected representatives and Planned Parenthood higher-ups had gathered to discuss solutions to an expected abortion crisis. In May, Politico had leaked a draft opinion from the Supreme Court overturning Roe v. Wade. The real ruling was expected soon but not during this press conference. “It just dropped, it just dropped,” people said over and over. “The decision just came down.” The Supreme Court had overturned Roe v. Wade and returned decisions about abortion rights to the states. Attorney General Eric Schmitt immediately triggered Missouri’s abortion ban. Many in the room were former abortion patients turned activists. They had shouted in the streets and legislative chambers and courthouses for the right to abortion access, and now they’d fallen silent. But they did not stay silent for long. Hundreds of St. Louisans gathered outside of theCentral West End facility a day

after the Supreme Court’s decision. They chanted “What do we want? Health care!” and carried signs with slogans such as, “If my uterus shot bullets you would not regulate it!” But for most Missourians, the state has felt like a post-Roe reality for years. According to the Guttmacher Institute, the number of abortions performed in the state decreased from 4,710 in 2017 to 170 in 2020. Missouri faced the starkest fall out of all 50 states in those three years with a plunge of 96 percent. Even before the ban, most abortion seekers in Missouri have ed to Illinois for care. There, providers are working to boost clinic staff and operational hours to accommodate an increasing in ux of need. “As expected, we’ve seen a surge in abortion patients from the south and Midwest, and we are doing our best to keep up with demand and ensure every patient who needs care is able to get it,” says Julie Lynn, a spokesperson for Planned Parenthood. Abortion access is not returning to the state anytime soon. But Ryan Krull found a discrepancy in Missouri law. While the justification for anti-abortion legislation is that a fetus is a person, in divorce law a

fetus is not considered a person, thus preventing any divorce from being finali ed if one of the parties is pregnant. Daniel Hill was there when Resist STL broke in on an anti-abortion fundraiser in booty shorts. rgani ers say abortionrights advocates are finding new ways to protest. Monica Obradovic writes about how you can still get a legal abortion in Missouri, while Olivia Poolos explains how doulas are starting to offer assistance in terminating a pregnancy. Finally, Victor Stefanescu writes about how the LGBTQ community reacted to the overturn of Roe v. Wade and Justice Clarence Thomas’s supporting opinion that advocated for more precedents to be overturned. The devastation implicit in that silent moment on June 24 is still here in Missouri, where maternal mortality rates are among the highest in the country (34.6 per 100,000) and will likely rise with the new restrictions. It is a battle with incredibly high stakes, and the resistance is only getting started.

Above: Young St. Louisans protest the recent loss of their bodily autonomy via the US Supreme Court. | REUBEN HEMMER

TRIGGER

LIFE IN A POST-ROE M

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AUGUST 3-9, 2022

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Pregnancy and Divorce: A Tricky Mix In Missouri, pregnant women can’t get divorced because a fetus isn’t viewed as a person By Ryan Krull This reporting was supported by the International Women’s Media Foundation’s Reproductive Rights Reporting Fund.

ecember 2020 was a turbulent month for Danielle Drake, 32, of Lake of the arks. n ecember , her husband said he was going out with a friend, but he lied. He was actually having an affair. She filed for a divorce less than a week later, on December 7. Then, not long before Christmas, Drake found out she was pregnant. Drake knew immediately she had to file a second, amended petition for divorce. She also knew the impact her pregnancy would have on the divorce proceedings. Drake, who earned a law degree from University of Missouri-Kansas City and has been practicing family law for two years, knew that in Missouri, women who are pregnant can’t get a divorce. Missouri law states that a petition for divorce must provide eight pieces of information, things such as the residence of each party, the date of separation and, notably, “whether the wife is pregnant.” If the answer is yes, Drake says, “What that practically does is put your case on hold.” There is a lot of disagreement online about whether pregnant Missouri women can get divorced. The RFT spoke to multiple lawyers who handle divorce proceedings and they all agreed that in Missouri a divorce can’t be finali ed if either the petitioner (the person who files for divorce or the respondent (the other party in the divorce) is pregnant. an Mi ell, an attorney in Leba-

Attorney Danielle Drake couldn’t finalize her divorce due to pregnancy. | VIA DANIELLE DRAKE non, Missouri, who has been practicing law since 1997, says that certain aspects of the divorce can proceed, but everything having to do with custody of the unborn child is fro en in place until birth or a pregnancy-ending event like a miscarriage. The court can issue temporary orders related to things like dividing up property, Mi ell says. “ ut they can’t do a final decree of divorce until she delivers the baby.” Drake says that this is true even in the case of a divorce that is completely uncontested. “If the couple is not fighting, and they’re just saying, ‘Nope, she’s gonna take the baby and 100 percent of the things,’ they still cannot go before a judge and have that fi-

nali ed until after there’s a baby born,” she says. “It is a shock to some people,” Mi ell adds. “Sometimes it comes up at the very last minute, because the wife is usually asked to say under oath whether she is pregnant or not, which can be offensive at times and also a bit ridiculous at others.” Drake also points out what seems to be a double standard in regards to how the state treats an unborn child in a divorce proceeding versus the way it is handled under abortion law. She says that the whole basis for Missouri putting the pause on a divorce proceeding until a child is born is because Missouri divorce law “does not see fetuses as humans.” “You can’t have a court order that dictates visitation and child support for a child that doesn’t exist,” she says. “I have no mechanism as a lawyer to get that support going. There’s nothing there because that’s not a real person.” This aspect of Missouri divorce law has gotten more attention since the Supreme Court overturned Roe v. Wade, triggering a ban on abortion in Missouri except in cases of medical emergency (though what is meant by medical emergency is still ambiguous). Each abortion done here is reviewed by the state. The state then decides whether to prosecute the doctor. “This all goes back to the fact that we don’t trust women,” says Jess Piper, an outspoken advocate for reproductive rights who is running as a Democrat to be the state representative for Missouri’s First District in the rural northwest corner of the state. “I’ve heard actual reports of women who have been in domestic-violence situa-

“You can’t have a court order that dictates visitation and child support for a child that doesn’t exist.” tions where their husbands withheld birth control from them, purposely creating a pregnancy so that she can’t leave.” Piper adds that for some women, the new abortion law in Missouri will be just another obstacle in what can already be a fraught process of leaving a marriage. rake and Mi ell both say the law is in need of updating. Mi ell says that even if the woman is pregnant by a man other than her husband, the divorce is still on hold. Drake says that this outdated law is symptomatic of a much larger issue in family law, which is that the “large and clunky legal system” provides only a one-si efits-all approach, when no two families are alike. “It’s very, very hard to write broad, sweeping laws with families, because every family is different. Every family has unique circumstances.” Drake’s divorce is still working its way through the courts. Her son was born in August 2021, and she filed a third petition, this time affirming to the state she is in fact not pregnant.

R STATE

E MISSOURI

BY RFT STAFF

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AUGUST 3-9, 2022

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Good Trouble Resist STL infiltrates an anti-abortion fundraiser in booty shorts By Daniel Hill

ast week, attendees of Coalition Life’s annual benefit dinner got more than they bargained for when the evening’s programming was interrupted by a group of protesters, who took the stage and the mic in a booty-shorted, twerktacular display of pro-choice resistance to the group’s anti-abortion agenda. The benefit dinner and decisively disruptive spectacle each took place in an event space in Terminal 1 at Lambert Airport last Wednesday night and were the result of a considerable amount of planning on both sides. For the pro-life group, which organizes and helps fund the people who hang out around abortion clinics and bother the women walking inside, there were tables to set up and centerpieces to be made, logistics to consider, and all the usual work that goes into hosting a fundraising event drawing between 600 and 800 people. For the protesters, who operate under the banner of Resist STL, there was a lot of that exact same work — because members of this group had fully infiltrated the other, working as event volunteers before making their actual intentions known loudly and proudly via an onstage dance party during a speech by a former abortion doctor. The subterfuge had two primary effects. For one, it helped the protesters make their plans, as they were able to see the event space and learn about the evening’s programming in the lead-up to the big night. They also found themselves helping to assign seating, which meant, most notably, they were able to position protesters at tables near the stage in order to ensure their plans would go off without a hitch. Secondly, and perhaps most importantly to members of Resist STL, the fact that some of the evening’s volunteers were actually protesters was meant to have a destabilizing effect on the anti-abortion group members, who would then not know whom they could trust within their own ranks. “And that worked really well,” says Emily Ehley, one of the protest organizers and a member of Resist STL. “At some point, they just kicked out all of their volunteers because they weren’t really sure how to know who was real and who wasn’t. So that also

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Resist STL stormed a Coalition Life fundraiser to stand up for abortion rights. | VIA RESIST STL helped to destabilize their efforts, because then they just didn’t have any of those volunteers to help them [for] the rest of the event or breaking it down or anything like that. So it was really nice.”

wo days before the fundraiser, a group of 18 protesters gathered in the backyard of a south-city home to put the finishing touches on their plans. It was a cool summer night, with the rain just barely holding at bay, and one of the attendees brought vegan tacos for the group to enjoy. After sorting through some of the logistics, the group turned to the role-play portion of the night’s proceedings, in which the protesters practiced the disruptions they’d be taking part in at the event. The plan was for there to be multiple protests at staggered intervals, with the onstage dance party being the capstone for the night. In keeping, participants were encouraged to practice the disapproving patter they’d say after others were booted from the building, in order to maintain their cover. “How are they ever going to get a 401k?” laughed one in a mock-

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ing tone. “How uncivilized.” A long-handled dustpan served as a makeshift microphone stand, where one protester stood and played the part of one of the event’s speakers. “Blah blah blah, sacred babies,” he said to the assembled crowd. “Blah blah blah, something about crosses. Blah blah blah blah, give us money.” Suddenly, the rousing speech was interrupted. There were sirens, whistles, a banner that read “God bless abortion,” and balloons to be used as pregnant bellies, which would then be popped to the shock and horror of the attendees. Some protesters disrobed. There were a few different chants at play, and some discussion as to which would be easiest for a crowd to make out. “Pro-life is a lie, you don’t care if people die,” was one. “Fuck the church, fuck the state, you can’t make us procreate,” was another. Eventually, the commotion was brought to an end by people role-playing as security. The still-incognito protesters who remained in their seats dutifully cheered for the authorities and booed the troublemakers. “Can I get another round of applause for the police?” the protester at the dustpan said into his

makeshift mic. “As we all know, Jesus was once a cop.”

oalition Life’s theme for its benefit dinner this year was airports, in keeping with its location. The programs were made to look like passports, the centerpieces had airplanes on them, and the food was essentially inedible. “Destination Life,” as it was dubbed, featured a few speakers, and tickets ranged from free to $10,000 for two tables — assuredly the most anyone has ever paid for the privilege of eating warmedover chicken out of a steam tray. For just 10 bucks, you could buy a cape with the words “Pro-life superhero” screenprinted on it. Seated at a table near the stage were three protesters and five pro-lifers, as well as two reporters. Kay, an older lady wearing a black and white dress with a sweater draped over her shoulders, was there with her husband, Cliff, who had a head full of gray hair and a blue suit jacket pulled on over a striped shirt with a pen in the pocket. Staying with the airport theme, the two discussed how the Lufthansa airline had canceled nearly all of its ights

that week due to a strike among its workers. “It’s a different society now,” Kay lamented. “I worked two jobs to put my kid through school. It’s amazing they don’t just go to work.” Following a prayer, Coalition Life Executive Director and Founder Brian Westbrook kicked off the proceedings with a quote from the Good Book. “‘Any idiot can cut costs, but you can’t always build sales, and that’s what I’m doing.’ – Tom Monaghan, Domino’s Pizza,” Westbrook said to the assembled crowd. “Tom Monaghan, he wrote in his book, Pizza Tiger, he explains how he repeatedly pushed the limits of his company, his team and especially his finances. Tonight, our guarantee is that we will be stretching, much like Tom Monaghan and Domino’s Pizza, and instead of just building sales, we will be stretching to save absolutely every life possible, maximizing on every single dollar we can.” With the crowd fully warmed up, the night’s speakers took the stage. There was a woman named Lauren Kammerer who spoke about the years that she’s worked as a “sidewalk counselor,” the group’s term for the people who hang around outside of Planned Parenthood and bother people. There was video of a woman who had been bothered into not having an abortion by one of those folks, in which she talked about how glad she was to have had her baby. Next up was keynote speaker Dr. Anthony Levatino, a former abortion doctor, who brought some clamps as a prop and spoke in graphic detail about the abortions he performed 40 years ago, before he changed his ways. But meanwhile, elsewhere in the building, the protesters had begun their disruptions. Two erstwhile volunteers stepped into a bathroom and changed into crop tops — out of place at the churchformal event — and re-emerged with literature about reproductive justice, which they began passing out to people in attendance along with condoms and lube. Security soon caught on, and they were escorted out. Following that, Coalition Life staffers asked all of the volunteers to leave, since they couldn’t be sure who was a plant. “After that happened, the staff really started to crack down,” Ehley explains. “They were walking around, eyeing everyone. They were really, really nervous about potentially having been infiltrated.” They surely had been, but send-

All of the protesters gathered for a group photo after the fundraiser. | VIA RESIST STL ing their volunteers packing didn’t solve the problem. Midway through Levatino’s speech, a group of protesters rushed the stage in various states of undress, some twerking in booty shorts, some holding a banner that read “Abortion is holy,” all of them shouting the chants they’d practiced. One wore a shirt with the slogan “Faggots Against Fascism” emblazoned across it, and all of them openly identified as queer. Since the police were still distracted with the first group of disrupters, it took a good while for any type of official security to get to the commotion, so when one protester grabbed the mic and started reciting the “prolife is a lie” chant, it was regular staffers that started grabbing and pushing them off the stage. One attendee saw fit to throw a fruit cup at the group. Two of the protesters on the stage came from the table Kay and Cliff were sitting at, and a third stood up and filmed the action without breaking cover. Her video shows the cops escorting the group out and ultimately putting some protesters in handcuffs before a middle-aged woman in a red ower dress approached and told the officers that Coalition Life didn’t want to press charges or see anybody get arrested. With that, the officers took down some names and sent everybody on their way. The kicker? The woman in the red ower dress was also with the protesters, deep undercover. The mood at the table was tense after the disruption, with Kay seemingly in disbelief at what she

saw. “I think that was part of the programming,” she mused, “to show what we’re up against.” Meanwhile, police and staff hovered nearby for the rest of the night, suspicious of everyone in the area where the troublemakers had been seated. At the end of the event, Westbrook again took the stage to shake everyone down for money — it was the whole reason people were there, after all. He helpfully explained that if you donated $71,500 you could get a $50,000 tax credit before asking everyone to pray to God for a dollar amount they should give. That money would be used to bring Coalition Life’s mission to as many blue states, where abortion is likely to remain legal, as possible —– in addition to St. Louis, Coalition Life operates in Fairview Heights, Illinois, and a suburb outside Chicago. Westbrook then gravely implied that giving generously was the only sure way to avoid bloodshed in the streets. “We cannot do this work without you,” he intoned. “This is critically important. And we are at a crossroads in our country like never before. I do not want to solve this abortion issue, like slavery, with bitter civil war.” The talk of armed con ict is not idle chatter. Keith Rose, one of the protesters, says he’s heard it mentioned repeatedly from those in the anti-abortion movement in recent weeks. Moreover, it’s a possibility that some on his side of the issue are preparing for as well. “I was having a deep conversa-

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tion with someone like two weeks ago who was passing through town,” Rose says. “And he was like, ‘Yeah, I’m just kind of going from area to area teaching people survival skills. We’re going to need these hard skills, because we’re looking at like an eight-year trajectory for, you know, collapse.’ Basically, he was like, ‘I think there’s gonna be some kind of urban-versus-suburban or urban-versus-rural civil war skirmishes within about eight years from now.’ I don’t feel that way, but that’s a whole damn thing.” In the meantime, though, it’s going to be up to activists and organi ers to take up the fight. For this group, the efforts at Coalition Life’s event are just the continuation of a long and ongoing battle. “ e cannot fight them in the courts anymore,” Rose says. “They’ve made that impossible. We can’t really fight them in the legislature, at least here in Missouri, anymore — they’ve made that impossible, even though we are a majority of the national population. So we’re going to be fighting them in a more guerilla style. That’s what they’ve done. They’ve forced us to have to use asymmetrical tactics like infiltration, because they’re not willing to play fair.” After the members of Resist STL left the airport, their mission completed, they met up for a group photo that they intend to make into a postcard to send to the people in charge of Coalition Life. As one of them put it, their mom had taught them to always send people a thank-you note after an event. After all, just because it’s a fight doesn’t mean it can’t be fun. In fact, for Ehley, a key element of the protest was its joyful, danceparty vibe. “We spent quite a bit of time planning this,” she says. “It was really important to us to create an atmosphere of joy and celebration, and to show them: You don’t control us, you don’t control our bodies. You don’t get to say how we live, how we should be. And we are going to be our full selves here in this space, and we are going to try to stop you from consolidating power, consolidating money and doing the work that you’re doing.” Ehley hopes that some in the crowd who might have been on the fence or in some way were coerced into attendance saw the freedom and happiness inherent in the disruption and that there’s another way to live. “It’s OK to be yourself,” she says. “It’s OK to be loud and queer and take up space and make your own decisions for your body. These people don’t have to speak for you.”

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Shepherding the Flock Doulas are trying to protect communities of color from the inequities of a post-Roe world By Olivia Poolos

hen Roe v. Wade was overturned, Carmen SouthallWhamoff says she felt like she was walking in a fog all day. She wasn’t shocked, exactly –– more sad and wondering what was to come. Soon after, however, she decided she was going to do what she does every day: just keep moving forward. “I don’t know if it’s just birth work in general that makes you just [say] … ‘OK, that happened. Let’s pivot and put feet on the ground and get to moving,’” Southall-Whamoff says. She’s an area doula, a woman who assists other women during pregnancy, labor and postpartum. The overturn of Roe has concerned area doulas, who say that it will increase health disparities between white and Black mothers. The St. Louis Doula Project has long been working toward eliminating health disparities in Black and brown communities. The collective provides resources for historically oppressed pregnant people in St. Louis. LaKisha Redditt, chair of the board, points toward a report published in 2021 by the Missouri Department of Health and Senior Services that found Black women had a pregnancy mortality rate more than four times greater than white women in 2018. She says that the overturn of Roe, which outlawed abortion in Missouri except in the case of medical emergency, will only increase this disparity. Redditt says: “These are forced births. These are people who are probably going to be in poverty a little bit longer than they would otherwise.” Southall-Whamoff, a St. Louis Doula Project board member, explains that women of color in St. Louis often face a myriad of factors that contribute to higher mortality rates and greater stress levels while pregnant and giving birth. Unstable housing, food deserts in segregated neighborhoods and lack of transportation for medical care are just a few. “You have a mom who’s pregnant, maybe has a child, and now, ‘Oh, wow, there’s a formula shortage on top of it,’” she says, referring to the recent national run on

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LaKisha Redditt, left, and Trish Gray are part of the St. Louis Doula Project, which helps women through abortions. | THEO WELLING

“We’ve just jumped in with no hesitation. I think inherently we know that parenthood looks different for very many people. And people want the access to choose what parenthood looks like for them.” baby formula. Southall-Whamoff says the project helps moms by offering a full range of services for pregnant people. A doula might schedule rides to doctor appointments, act as a cultural translator between doctor and patient, or provide emotional support during birth. Southall-Whamoff says that supporting these choices and processes looks different for every woman. And they have to be exible, dealing with whatever gets thrown their way. “Once you enter that birthing space, you are there whether it’s three hours, or 56 hours. There’s no talking about, ‘I’m tired, I’m

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gonna go home.’ A good doula doesn’t go home,” SouthallWhamoff says. The doula project, however, offers another, more controversial service: support through an abortion. According to Redditt, the project expanded its services when a fellow doula reached out to the group in 2019 asking for assistance getting clients rides to abortion appointments. The St. Louis Doula Project agreed to help. “We’ve just jumped in with no hesitation. I think inherently we know that parenthood looks different for very many people. And people want the access to choose what parenthood looks like for

them,” Redditt says. The day of an abortion procedure, a doula may offer a hand to hold if the client doesn’t have someone to go with them. The doula may drive a patient home afterwards. Doulas may simply “hold space,” as Redditt calls it, for the woman to process what happened. As of right now, the project aims to do whatever it can, legally, to continue its full range of services to clients. This may include driving people across state lines to Illinois in order to access abortive procedures. Currently, Redditt says her organi ation feels confident that doulas won’t be penalized. “The law looks like right now it doesn’t [apply to] support people. I mean, we’re not telling people that they need an abortion, or that they should get one. And we’re not providing the medication,” she says. Redditt advocated for doulas to openly claim support for the prochoice movement, in order to encourage people to ask questions and come to them for support. “We don’t know how long these laws are going to be in place –– and how many generations are going to have to endure this,” she says. “Doulas need to not be afraid to say ‘I support abortion.’”

How to Access a Legal Abortion

With the internet, there are still ways to get a safe and legal abortion By Monica Obradovic This reporting was supported by the International Women’s Media Foundation’s Reproductive Rights Reporting Fund. After the Supreme Court overturned Roe v. Wade, web traffic to Elisa Wells’ online abortion-medication locator jumped drastically. The website she cofounded, Plan C, helps connect people to online pharmacies where abortion pills are sold. “The day before the announcement we had 3,400 visitors to our website,” Wells says. “The day of the announcement, we had 209,000.” As states like Missouri restrict or outright ban access to abortion, legal experts and pro-choice advocates say more people will turn to medication abortions. The pills cost less than traveling to states where abortion is legal and, location depending, can be fairly easy to access. Missouri has banned abortion with only one exception (unspecified medical emergencies , but Missourians can still access abortion medication online with some strategic maneuvering. The term “abortion medication” commonly refers to a two-pill regime that ends a pregnancy. Mifepristone prevents an embryo or fetus from growing. Misoprostol, taken a day or two after Mifepristone, empties the uterus. The federal Food and Drug Administration allows the medications for pregnancies up to 10 weeks. “Abortion pills are safe and effective, even if you use them on your own without medical supervision,” Wells says. “They are available in all 50 states — even states that have regulations banning them. They are available through alternate routes of access.” Buying pills online Wells’ website, Plan C, provides an extensive state-by-state search to help locate abortion-pill providers. Wells and her team tested delivery from each provider that Plan C lists and then lab tested all the medication received, she says. The medication from each provider listed on Plan C’s website all offer legitimate and safe options. Plan C directs Missouri residents to several online pharmacies and a website called Aid Access, an online-only service run by a team

Residents of states with abortion bans are turning to online pharmacies. | FLICKR / ROBIN MARTY of European doctors who prescribe abortion-medication pills to Americans. They primarily ship pills from a pharmacy in India. To receive pills from online pharmacies and states that allow telehealth, some abortion seekers have used “virtual mailboxes,” Wells says. Through websites such as iPostal1 and PostScan Mail, users can create virtual mailboxes in abortion-legal states. For example, abortion seekers can pay $15 a month to use PostScan Mail’s address in Swansea, Illinois. Once the pills arrive, PostScan Mail allows users to forward the content of their mailbox to any address. This way, an abortion seeker can give telehealth providers an address where sending medication is legal and receive the medication without traveling. Virtual mailbox websites are common among travelers or small-business owners who do not want to use their personal address. They typically cost less than $30 in monthly fees. Traveling to haven states Traveling to a state where abortion is legal remains the legally safest option for residents in trigger states, according to Farah Diaz-Tello, senior counsel and legal director for legal advocacy group

If/When/How. “People who have the ability to travel to another state are more insulated from legal risks than people who are self-managing,” Diaz-Tello says. Telehealth abortion-medication consultation is not legal in Missouri. Patients of Planned Parenthood in Fairview Heights, Illinois, must be in state at the time of their telehealth visit, and Planned Parenthood asks patients to confirm this. Traveling out of state is the most financially burdensome option and often not possible for the most marginalized, but several Missouri organizations are providing resources to interested individuals. The Missouri Abortion Fund has partnerships with St. Louis-area abortion clinics in Illinois to help cover the costs of abortions performed there. In the aftermath of Roe, abortion providers are working to bring more options closer to people in restricted states. Just the Pill, a medication-abortion provider with clinics in four states, plans to set up mobile clinics near states with abortion bans. Each mobile clinic offers telehealth consultations and delivers medication.

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The organization recently launched two mobile clinics in Colorado, and a spokesperson for Just the Pill tells the RFT it’s working on bringing a clinic closer to Missouri. “We are currently fundraising for our second eet in Illinois,” Kathryn Mavengere says. “We have plans to expand and add more clinics year after year.” State law doesn’t ban traveling across state lines to clinics such as these or Planned Parenthood, according to Diaz-Tello. However, she and other legal experts fear ambiguous abortion laws similar to Missouri’s could be used to target abortion seekers. “Once a prosecutor decides they want to punish somebody for having an abortion, they’ll find a way to do so in spite of what the law says,” Diaz-Tello says. She continues: “The concern is that as the scrutiny on abortion intensifies, and abortion is seen as a criminal matter, whether or not the pregnant woman is the intended target of the law, they’re likely [going] to get swept into criminal prosecution.” Missouri legality As it’s widely interpreted now, Missouri’s law does not punish individuals who receive abortions. Only those who “perform or induce” an abortion face the risk of a class B felony charge. However, legal experts question whether those who take abortion medication and therefore induce their own abortions could face legal punishment. “The trigger law says that a woman shall not be prosecuted for a ‘conspiracy’ related to an illegal abortion,” says Sidney Watson, a specialist in health law and professor at Saint Louis University. “However, there are other crimes, like accessory to an abortion.” Last month, Missouri Attorney General Eric Schmitt has clarified some ambiguity in Missouri’s abortion law. A spokesman for his office said the law does not prohibit the use or provision of Plan B or contraception, though there was no mention of abortion medication. Missourians could wait and see how the law is interpreted, Watson says, or alternatively, “The

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attorney general could issue an opinion making it clear that women will not be prosecuted, which would be very helpful.” Even before the near-total abortion ban in Missouri, the state did not allow telemedicine abortion care. During the pandemic, the FDA temporarily lifted its in-person requirement for Mifepristone. The lifted restriction allowed providers to prescribe abortion pills remotely. Yet Missouri and at least a dozen other states never allowed it. A state law enacted in 2013 required

patients to be in the same room and “in the physical presence” of the physicians who provided the abortion medication. Watson says prosecuting online abortion-pill providers who continue to serve Missourians, such as Aid Access, would be difficult. “That website is still up and running, partially because European doctors don’t feel like they are at particular legal risk of prosecution in the U.S.,” Watson says. “It’d be very, very difficult to prosecute physicians operating outside the U.S.”

Online pharmacies have been seemingly undeterred by legal risks. When asked if any online pharmacies have stopped serving restrictive states out of legal fears, Wells said she’s seen the opposite reaction. “They see the need for this, and a lot of people want to help and get around this real injustice,” Wells says. To navigate this legal landscape, Diaz-Tello’s website If/When/How offers a legal helpline, where attorneys answer abortion-related legal questions and provide legal

representation if needed. Abortion restrictions are meant to spark confusion, Diaz-Tello says. But she wants pregnant people who are seeking abortions to know they are not alone. “This moment is intensely frightening for a lot of us, but there is help out there,” she adds. “People will continue to need abortions, and people will continue to support those who need abortions. I don’t want anybody who’s out there and pregnant and needing an abortion to feel like they’re alone because they’re not.”

Am I Next?

The LGBTQ community responds to the overturn of Roe v. Wade and saber rattling from Justice Clarence Thomas By Victor Stefanescu

he Supreme Court overturned Roe v. Wade on Friday, June 24, the day before Pride St. Louis’ PrideFest. Amileia Ladd and others in St. Louis’ LGBTQ community spoke to the RFT about fears that their rights are under threat. “It’s a very scary feeling right now, to live here and be queer, gay — whatever you are,” says Ladd, who identifies as pansexual. “It’s so scary, because it’s just, they don’t care about us right now.” Moments after Roe was overturned, Missouri Attorney General Eric Schmitt signed an opinion which ended nearly all legal abortions in the state. By the evening, hundreds — including Congresswoman Cori Bush — had gathered at Planned Parenthood in the Central West End to demonstrate against the decision. In a concurring opinion, Justice Clarence Thomas argued that the court should reconsider its prior rulings in Lawrence v. Texas and Obergefell v. Hodges — which guaranteed the right to engage in samesex relationships and marriage, respectively — as they are based in the same legal reasoning as Roe v. Wade: a right to privacy. The court’s majority opinion, written by Justice Samuel Alito, insisted that overturning Roe v. Wade did not put other precedents in jeopardy, but Thomas’ concurring opinion, and the fact that most of the justices who just overturned Roe said during their confirmation hearings that they wouldn’t, has many people concerned. (Thomas also suggested the court revisit Griswold v. Connecticut, which

At PrideFest, people were concerned about the recent overturn of Roe v. Wade. | THEO WELLING prevents states from making laws against contraception.) Carly Smurphat, a high school senior from Union, Missouri, went into Central Library before that Saturday’s festivities. There, people wished her happy Pride and told her to stay safe. She says she felt supported. The morning before, though, Smurphat cried when she heard the news about the decision and concurring opinion, and then became angry. “I just came out when gay marriage [was] legalized federally,” says Smurphat, who identifies as bisexual. “And at that point, I didn’t really understand everything. I was still super young, but now that I’ve been able to appreciate it for the past six, seven years, the idea of losing it is horrifying.” Ariah Tevis, a Ferguson resident, was attending the celebration with

her nephew, who was celebrating his first Pride. She says she did not sleep that Friday night because of the decision and Thomas’ opinion. “Myself, I identify as bisexual,” she says. “I have very close relatives that are in same-sex relationships that have been together for years. I have aunts that are lesbians that are married, and it’ll tear families apart.” Ladd and her transgender boyfriend have long-term plans to get married. But with the growing threat to gay marriage from the Supreme Court, she says they might have to make the decision to tie the knot sooner than expected. Kyle Brewer, a north-city resident, attended Pride with his husband and son. He says the Friday prior was “catastrophic” for him. “I went through a lot of emotions,” says rewer, who identifies

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as gay. “And I called anyone and everyone that was close to me, and explained to them that maybe I’m overreacting, but this is the first step to other people losing their rights.” In the wake of the verdict, Tevis says gatherings like PrideFest remind LGBTQ people of what they fight for. For Smurphat, Pride helps show elected officials that the public supports LGBTQ rights. “I feel like it would be a disservice to each representative’s citizens to be able to see all of these people show up — like hundreds, 1,000 people — show up and be like, ‘These people don’t matter,’” she says. Ladd, who came out of the closet while quarantining during the earlier days of the COVID-19 pandemic, was celebrating her first Pride this summer. She says it was nice to see a big community show up on that Saturday. “I just feel like I can be my true self here,” she says. “There’s no judgment. Everyone is so open. I can start conversations with anybody. Everyone is so here for everyone.” Sarah Downey — a Sullivan, Missouri, resident who also identifies as pansexual attended Pride with her daughter and granddaughter. She says Pride gatherings are fantastic places where LGBTQ people can feel accepted. After the Supreme Court’s decision, she wants to see more such gatherings. “We need more events like this to celebrate who we are and show the world that we’re here to stay, and we’re not going away,” she says. n

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CALENDAR

BY JENNA JONES

THURSDAY 08/04 Shakespearean Summer

tex (4245 Duncan Avenue, tickets through Eventbrite) at 6 p.m. The pool party happens at Collinsville Aqua Park (10 Gateway Drive, Collinsville, Illinois) at 8 p.m. Tickets for the weekend begin at $60.

We’re well on our way to summer nearly being over it’s midsummer. Right on time, St. Louis Shakespeare Festival’s A Midsummer Night’s Dream is going on a 24-park tour. The play follows two couples in the woods who have run away from Athens. A fairy, Puck, stumbles across the couples and makes both men fall in love with the same woman. He also finds a group of amateur actors rehearsing a play and gives one of them the head of ass to help his master play a trick on the Fairy Queen. Chaos and hilarity ensue. Directed by St. Louis– and New York City–based theater artist Tre’von rffith and featuring costumes created by local fashion designer Brandin Vaughn, this rendition of the comedy is a “highly musical afro-futurist adaptation” lasting 90 minutes. A Midsummer Night’s Dream is free to attend at 9 Mile Garden (9375 Gravois Road, stlshakes.org/ production/midsummer-tour) on Thursday, August 4, beginning at 6:30 p.m. There are several more stops on the tour if you can’t catch this one.

Beer and Beyond

FRIDAY 08/05 Body Positive Party A group dedicated to the empowerment of plus-sized women hosts a weekend full of fun and empowering events. GRL Weekend! dedicates two days to celebrating women who identify as plus-sized and their allies in a summer jamboree. Put on by the Fluffy GRL Movement, the event kicks off with a cocktail hour where the ladies can mix and mingle and watch a panel discussion on health versus weight. The dress code for the cocktail hour is “summertime fine,” so doll up and head over. The event continues the next day with a pool party in Collinsville, Illinois, at a local water park. The festivities begin on Friday, August 5, at Aloft St. Louis Cor-

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This weekend is your last chance to catch this pop-up beer garden. Beer Outside winds down for the summer with a tap trailer stocked with locally crafted beers. A local food truck will provide bites in case you need something to tide you over. Previous vendors included Sando Shack and New York Tom’s Foodtruck. The event takes place at Laumeier Sculpture Park (12580 Rott Road, laumeiersculpturepark. org/calendar) on Friday, August 5. Stroll through the park for free. The event runs from 4 to 8 p.m., and food-truck availability is based on the weather and stock.

The roller derby players don skates for the Missouri Abortion Fund. | ARCH RIVAL ROLLER DERBY

As You Wish Mid-30s never looked so good. The Princess Bride, which is approaching its 35th anniversary this October, will be part of the Saint Louis Science Center’s First Fridays. Not only will the movie play in the center’s OMNIMAX theater, but you can also dabble in the science behind potions and poisons, discover the magic behind storytelling, and learn what it means to be truly in love at the activities before the screening. Pre-show activities include trivia, a sword-fighting demonstration courtesy of the St. Louis School of Arms, and a scavenger hunt with riddles for clues. Browse handmade artworks and products from local vendors or meet rabbits of “unusual size” with the House Rabbit Society of Missouri. One of the center’s exhibits will give you the chance to find out what “mostly dead is still partly alive” means. With a screening at 6 p.m. and another at 8:30 p.m., the evening will be as long “as you wish” but guests are encouraged to wear costumes and try each activity. Most activities are free, and preferred parking is available for $5. Visit the Saint Louis Science Center (5050 Oakland Avenue, slsc.

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St. Louis Shakespeare Festival is going on a 24-park tour. | NICHOLAS COULTER org event first-friday-the-princessbride) from 5 to 9 p.m on Friday, August 5.

SATURDAY 08/06 Get Ready to Rumble Rollerblades and reproductive rights smash together this week-

end. Arch Rival Roller Derby is hosting Rumble for Reproductive Rights as a fundraiser for the Missouri Abortion Fund. The roller derby team is donating $500 and 10 percent of the night’s profits to help fund abortion access. The team will also be selling shirts. The competition boils down to three teams the Pro oellers, the Dissenters and the Criminal odies that will each play one another followed by a face-off

WEEK OF AUGUST 4-10 tor so you can craft a pure masterpiece. All you have to do is show up and nurture your artistic side all while sipping some delicious booze. (A complimentary drink is part of admission.) The Pat Connolly Tavern hosts the event in its 1942 Room (6400 Oakland Avenue, see Eventbrite for tickets) on Sunday, August 7, from 2 to 5 p.m. Tickets cost $15, and space is limited to 20 painters. The bar will be open for cash orders of food and drink.

WEDNESDAY 08/10 In Wonderland

The Robert Classic French Film Festival spans three weekends. | COURTESY OF THE FRENCH FILM FESTIVAL between the two teams with the highest differentials. Rumble along with the Arch Rivals at Midwest Sport Hockey (570 Weidman Road, see Eventbrite for tickets) on Saturday, August 6, at 6:30 p.m; doors open at 6 p.m. Tickets are free for children under 10, and adult general admission costs $12. Tickets at the door are $15.

SUNDAY 08/07 France on Film Oui, oui, it is that time of the year. The 14th annual Robert Classic French Film Festival is coming to the city and once again celebrating St. Louis’ Gallic history and France’s legacy in cinema. Featured films French language with English subtitles shown at the fest will range from the 1920s through the 1990s. The festival will also include seven restoration works, including Luis Buñuel’s The Discreet Charm of the Bourgeoisie, a film celebrating its 50th anniversary. ot only does the film festival aim to celebrate these cinematic

pieces, but it’s also planning to honor St. Louis’ own Josephine Baker by showing her debut silent film Siren of the Tropics Saturday evening, August 6. The Rats & People Motion Picture Orchestra will provide live accompaniment with a performance of the original score. Sunday’s showing is Beau Travail, Claire Denis’ powerfully rendered tale of desire in the French Foreign Legion starring the unmissable Denis Lavant. Each program is paired with discussions by scholars and critics of French or film. The film festival spans three weekends. One opportunity to catch the festival is at 7:30 p.m. Sunday, August 7, at Webster University’s Winifred Moore Auditorium in Webster Hall (470 East Lockwood Avenue, cinemastlouis.org/robert-classic-frenchfilm-festival . eneral admission is $15.

Demigods Galore Greek mythology with a modern twist comes to life on stage with The Lightning Thief: The Percy Jackson Musical. Based on the

popular book series, the musical follows Percy Jackson, a teenager who discovers that his father is actually the Greek god Poseidon. Percy is the sole suspect after Zeus’ lightning bolt is stolen, and he must work to recover it. The quest won’t be an easy one Percy must battle mythical creatures and travel the underworld, prove his innocence and grapple with being abandoned by his father. Follow Percy and his friends on their journey, and try not to tap your foot to the catchy rock score. A bit of a trip awaits you for this musical. Bring on the monsters at the Hettenhausen Center for the Arts, located at McKendree University (400 North Alton Street, Lebanon, Illinois; goshentheatreproject.org) at 3 p.m. on Sunday, August 7. Tickets range from $10 to $20.

Drink, Drank, Draw Artists and those who love a bit of alcohol while they create are in for a real treat. Drink and Draw Night will provide the raw materials, fun activities and an instruc-

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Fall down the rabbit hole across the river with the Alice in Cottleville pop-up bar, which is back this month providing access to a little piece of Wonderland. Themed cocktails, beers and appetizers are all ready for you to eat or drink: no instructions on the bottles are necessary. Each table is reserved for two hours, and guests must be 21 or older to purchase tickets. Public School House (5546 Chestnut Street, Cottleville; see Eventbrite for tickets) doubles as Wonderland for the night on Wednesday, August 10. Reservations begin at 5 p.m., and tickets start at $15.

Statehood Soiree nce upon a time 20 years ago to be precise a big piece of land became the entity we all know as Missouri. Yes, it’s the state’s birthday, and while 201 years isn’t a landmark occasion as was last year, it is still a cause for celebration. For Statehood Day, Missouri’s first capital, St. Charles, is celebrating with historical demonstrations, a concert and self-guided tours of the First Capitol building. There will also be activities in the building’s backyard. The outdoor concert begins at 7 p.m. Sing “Happy Birthday” to Missouri and pour one out for all its aws and strengths on ednesday, August 10, at the First Missouri State Capitol State Historic Site (200 South Main Street, St Charles; 636-940-3322). The event is free and open to the public. n

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CAFE

Havana’s Cuisine’s Tampa Cuban sandwich includes roasted pork, ham, salami, Swiss cheese, mustard and pickles. | MABEL SUEN

Magic Between Bread Tamara Landeiro’s brings revelatory Cuban food to St. Louis with Havana’s Cuisine Written by

CHERYL BAEHR Havana’s Cuisine 1131 Washington Avenue, 314-449-6771. Mon.-Thurs. 11 a.m.-4 p.m.; Fri.-Sat. 11 a.m.7 p.m. (Closed Sundays.)

had never had a Cuban sandwich in St. Louis before dining at Havana’s in late July. It’s not for lack of trying; I’d eaten many sandwiches that called them-

selves Cubanos, featuring pressed bread stuffed with pork, ham, mustard and pickles, but having finally experienced Tamara Landeiro’s glorious dish, I can now say, with absolute certainty, that this was my first time. hile the others that came before it can be classified as riffs on or homages to the Cubano, Landeiro’s is truth — the quintessence and what all others are trying to be when they stack all the right ingredients on Cuban-esque bread yet somehow fall short. There are several reasons for this. The first centers on the bread, a vital marker of authenticity that simply cannot be subbed out or phoned in. Landeiro is uncompromising in this department, procuring hers from the iconic La Segunda Central akery in Tampa, Florida, a fourth-generation bakeshop that has been making authentic Cuban bread since 1915. Fluffy on the inside and crusty on the outside so that it de-

velops the perfect crispness when pressed, it’s the basis of Cubano sandwiches for Florida’s large Cuban community and no different than what you’d get in Havana. Landeiro’s other key component is the pork, a slow-cooked meat so outrageously delicious you’d likely choose it over any of the city’s excellent barbecue pulled pork in a game of “would you rather.” Slowcooked with garlic, orange bitters and spices for 12 hours every single day, Havana’s meat is where your mind goes when asked to describe what pork tastes like. Piled onto the traditional Cuban bread, with ham, molten Swiss cheese, tangy mustard and pickles, it’s not just a sandwich; it’s a revelation. St. Louis might have never experienced such glory were it not for the game of chess. Back home in Cuba, Landeiro was doing everything she could to support her daughter Thalia’s prodigy-level talent by the age of seven, Thalia was showing signs of becoming a

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major force in the game and was winning continent-wide championships by the time she was 13. Feeling that there were better opportunities outside of Cuba, Landeiro moved the family to St. Louis in 2014 so that her daughter could study at the city’s world-renowned chess club, where she has since gone on to become a woman grandmaster, international champion and a silver medalist with the U.S. Olympic chess team. Landeiro was thrilled with the opportunities the move to St. Louis afforded her daughter, but she was less thrilled with the city’s Cuban food scene. Craving the avors she and her family had left behind, she began sketching out plans for a restaurant of her own while working as a materials and planning manager at an area factory. Eventually, her dream of a restaurant became too strong to deny, so she contacted the Hispanic Chamber of Commerce to help

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Tamera Landeiro is the chef and owner of Havana’s Cusine. | MABEL SUEN

The ropa vieja sandwich includes shredded beef and Swiss cheese. | MABEL SUEN

HAVANA’S CUISINE Continued from pg 23

her bring her vision to life. Havana’s began as a stall at the Soulard Farmers Market about three years ago with the goal of growing into a brick-and-mortar restaurant. However, when the pandemic put the future of indoor dining in question, Landeiro decided to launch Havana’s as a food truck instead, serving her first customers in March of 2020. But she never lost sight of her storefront dreams and was finally able to put down roots in a permanent restaurant in the heart of downtown’s Washington Avenue district last October. With a permanent space, Landeiro is now able to make Havana’s into the restaurant she has always wanted — and what St. Louis has always needed. Her Cuban sandwich may be the restaurant’s signature, but Landeiro shows that she can make anything magical between two slices of bread. Like the Cuban, her Pan Con Lechon features the succulent, slow-cooked pork; here, she shows it off in its purest form, simply piled atop the Cuban bread and topped with semi-cooked white onions. It’s the pulled pork of your dreams. The Turbano sandwich is another excellent offering; similar to the Cuban, the sandwich pairs the signature bread with ham, Swiss, mustard and pickles but subs in shockingly juicy turkey for the pork. An accompanying garlic aioli adds subtly sweet richness to the dish. Havana’s also serves a selection of medianoche sandwiches, which are similar to the Cuban save for a slightly different bread. Here, the base is medianoche bread, a slightly uffier, sweeter eggy bread that’s similar to brioche and

Havana’s Cuisine offers a selection of sandwiches, entrees, appetizers and more. | MABEL SUEN pairs stunningly with the Cuban sandwich ingredients. Somehow, when pressed and mingled with the juicy pork, the medianoche develops a magical sheen that makes it seem as if the bread has been glazed in butter. In addition to sandwiches, Havana’s offers two different platters. Mojo-roasted pork is the same pork served on the Cuban sandwiches, just in its purest, most awe-inspiring form. Equally outstanding is Landeiro’s ropa vieja, a succulent braised beef that is a national dish of Cuba. Here, the shredded, tomato-and-bell-pepper- avored meat is piled onto a platter alongside black beans, smashed yucca and plantains. Like the pork, you can also get the ropa

vieja on a sandwich, though there is something wonderful about experiencing it unadorned. For appetizers, Landeiro serves outstanding croquettes, a mozzarella-stick-shaped fritter made from a creamy ham-and- our concoction with a texture that resembles whipped potatoes. Equally stunning are her Cuban-style empanadas, which pair a slightly thick, hand-pie-style dough with juicy, seasoned ground beef that is the texture of a Caribbean sloppy Joe. It’s yet another example of Landeiro’s undeniable talent for encasing impossibly juicy meat in carbs — the hope we all need in these dark times. Landeiro says she’s been preparing for Havana’s ever since she was

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a little girl — that her grandmother would often regale her with stories of her great-grandfather who owned a casual little takeout spot in 1950s Cuba. Growing up when such private enterprises were outlawed, such an endeavor seemed like a magical dream to Landeiro, one she never stopped believing in no matter where life took her. Thankfully, her path led to St. Louis, where we’re the ones now pinching ourselves, wondering if such a masterpiece of Cuban sandwich-making is actually real. The answer is yes. n

Havana’s Cuisine Cuban sandwich ....................................... $12 Medianoche ........................................... $8.50 Ropa vieja plate ........................................ $13

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HAPPY HOUR SPECIALS MONDAY-FRIDAY 11AM-4PM

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SHORT ORDERS

[FIRST LOOK]

Eat a D*ck Naughty Bits STL, an adult-themed waffle company, aims to spread joy, one penis-shaped treat at a time Written by

CHERYL BAEHR

ustin Blankenship and Corey James want St. Louis to know one very important thing. “We have the best-tasting dicks in St. Louis.” Soon, folks throughout the metro area will be able to taste that assertion for themselves thanks to the husband-and-husband team’s new adult wa e brand, Naughty Bits STL. The company, which specializes in penis- and vagina-shaped wa es, launched last week and will hold its first pop-up tee hee event on Saturday, August 27, at Bella’s Sweet Treats & Boozy Shake Shop, the downtown storefront the pair have owned for the past four years. As James explains, the idea for Naughty Bits came to him and Blankenship thanks to a friend who had encountered the anatomically correct edible delights on a trip to Europe. She shared her experiences with Blankenship and James when she arrived back in the nited States. At first, they found the concept hilarious, but their laughter quickly turned to intrigue as they wondered whether they might bring such an idea to life in St. Louis. The pair began researching the concept and found only a few places doing something similar in the country; there were a couple of bakeries on the East and West coasts and one in Chicago offering P- and -shaped wa es, but nothing like it in St. Louis. It was a hole in the market they were eager to stuff. “Every time we go online thinking we will see something great, we see that everything is going to shit,” James says. “ e definitely see this project as a fun distraction

Naughty Bits STL features freshly made penis- and vagina-shaped waffles. | STEFANIE GRAHAM from that — for ourselves, too. This just really spoke to us, and we said, ‘OK, we are doing this.’ We kind of rushed it a bit because we kept seeing it get closer and closer to us as we did research. e figured that if we didn’t do it, someone else will.” According to James, the burgeoning penis- and vaginashaped-wa es cra e began in Japan with an event called the Festival of the Steel Phallus, also known as the Festival of the Peen, an annual event held in Kawasaki that is said to date back to the 17th century. During the festivities, revelers feast on a variety of phallus-shaped foods, including wa es. The idea caught on in Europe and grew to include vaginashaped wa es. James can’t help but laugh when he describes the wide range of avors he’s seen come out of European bakeshops: There’s everything from haute delicacies at traditional European bakeries to raspberry-filled, honeypot-shaped treats called Aunt Flo. Blankenship and James are having fun coming up with creative names and avors. Though they are still in the process of rounding out their offerings, current penisshaped varieties include the Nut Job, which features Nutella and

Naughty Bits STL’s Cookie Monster waffle has eyes for you. | STEFANIE GRAHAM coconut shavings, and the Mr. oodhead, a cream-cheese-filled wa e garnished with marionberry syrup and Fruity Pebbles. For the vagina-shaped offerings, called Lady Bits, the pair have come up with such fun avors as the Pussy Galore, featuring Nutella, vanilla ice cream, white chocolate and crushed Oreos, and the Cougar, which pairs the wa e with vanilla ice cream, dark choco-

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late, caramelized peanuts and salted caramel. Naughty Bits STL even has some savory offerings, such as the ot Cock, a mo arella-filled wa e topped with hot honey, ed ot iplets and dill-ranch dri le. The partners are excited about the endless potential they see with Naughty Bits STL. In addition to their first pop-up, they will be serving their wa es at Tower Grove Pride and plan on doing a series of subsequent pop-up events at different restaurants around town. Eventually, Blankenship and James see the brand growing to its own storefront or food truck, as it is already getting substantial buzz in the short time it’s been public. They know that they will surely be a hit with bachelor and bachelorette parties, and they are even thinking about doing a special delivery option that will allow people to send a box of dicks. Whatever path they take with Naughty Bits STL, James insists that they will never lose sight of their mission. “We just want to have fun with it,” James says. “It just comes from us wanting to be fun and not take ourselves too seriously. Things like this bring a smile to people’s faces. ... We’re really excited about it.” Clearly, the wa es are too. n

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[FIRST LOOK]

A Taco Apart After a split with his wife, former Tower Taco owner opens Divorce Tacos on Cherokee Street Written by

RYAN KRULL

he best new taco in town is the product of divorce. Twelve years ago, Fernando De La Torre Velasquez owned Tower Taco on Cherokee. His then wife was the general manager. The business survives to this day. The marriage doesn’t. In 2010, not long after De La Torre Velasquez and his wife parted ways, he sold Tower Taco after running it for four years and got out of the restaurant game altogether. He worked construction, flipping houses and buying property around Cherokee. He moved into a space above a commercial property he owned on Cherokee. Then, last year, Fernando and his wife finalized an acrimonious divorce. (Court records show that his ex filed for an order of protection — and, later, his wages were garnished for child support.) His past as

[FIRST LOOK]

The Scoop Serendipity ice cream shop brings frozen delights and more to the Grove Written by

CHERYL BAEHR

early two decades ago, Beckie Jacobs set up shop in Webster Groves, determined to build one of the area’s premier ice cream brands, Serendipity Homemade Ice Cream (4400 Manchester Avenue, 314-833-3800). Now, she’s bringing her brand to a new home in the Grove, determined to build on her success and make her stretch of Manchester Avenue a little bit sweeter. “Webster Groves was really good to me for 19 years, but the city has also been very welcoming,” Jacobs says. “It’s been great to see such a diversity of new customers and all of the requests we are getting for new and interesting flavors.” Jacobs opened the new Serendipity location on July 17, seven months after she shuttered her Webster Groves storefront. As she explained to the RFT in an interview last December, the decision was not her own; after failing to come to

Fernando De La Torre Velasquez opened Divorce Tacos on Cherokee Street. | RYAN KRULL a restaurateur was closely linked in his mind to the divorce, which had been his second time one of his marriages hadn’t worked. It was a painful reality he couldn’t escape. So he decided to own it. The result is Divorce Taco (3410 California Avenue), which had its soft opening the second-to-last week in July. Its logo is a taco split in two. Thus far, the restaurant is proving to be a hit. “The salsa is excellent because it’s not made from canned products. It’s authentic, fresh,” says Cherokee resident

a lease agreement with her former landlord, her lease was terminated, and she was unable to find and alternate space nearby. She had originally wanted to stay in Webster Groves, but her new landlords in the Grove, real estate developers Amy and Amrit Gill, made her an offer she couldn’t refuse. “Amy and Amrit came to me and asked me to come to the Grove,” Jacobs says. “They made it so easy for me to do it, and I am super appreciative. They went above and beyond the extra mile to make this happen for me.” The new Serendipity occupies the ground-floor storefront of the Gills’ new mixed-use Gateway Lofts development at the corner of Manchester and Newstead avenues. For Jacobs, this built-in customer base has given her the opportunity to think through some additional offerings, such as breakfast items and a robust coffee program. “We’re hoping to be an amenity to the people in this building and the other nearby one,” Jacobs says. “Nobody was doing coffee service in the lobbies, so we said we would offer it. The closest coffee shop was Rise, and now it’s gone. Sweetwaters [Coffee & Tea] is all the way at the other end of Manchester; we’re not trying to take business from them, but there are a lot of people nearby who just want some good coffee and approachable breakfast pastries, which we will make in house.” While the new coffee and breakfast offerings are not yet up and running, Ja-

Maria, who had already been to Divorce twice in its first week. “Everybody on the street has salsa. But it’s not this salsa.” Maria is referring to the Divorce Taco red sauce, which definitely has a kick to it but doesn’t overpower the tacos. Right now, Divorce Taco has a little bit of a stereotypical, Kirk Van Houtendivorced-dad vibe. The grill is outside. There’s an elegant bar that servers will eventually take orders from but is currently covered in ingredients, empty cups and takeaway boxes. Seating is minimal

and ad hoc, all on the sidewalk. This is all a big part of its charm. De La Torre Velasquez owns the adjoining two buildings, which up until recently were rented out to a clothing store and a different restaurant. He is currently renovating them into dining space. But he didn’t want to wait for renovations to open. The current menu is no-nonsense. Ten dollars gets you three tacos with any combination of chicken, beef, steak or chorizo. You can also get the Divorce Taco, which somewhat counterintuitively is a union of all four meats. It’s delicious. The meats are all well seasoned without being spicy. Onion, cilantro and lime are the only additions on offer, but there’s nothing else that’s needed. If you go on the right day, enchiladas are on the menu. They have a subtle sweetness to them and are maybe even better than the tacos. On my second visit to Divorce Taco, there’s more of a crowd than the first time. De La Torre Velasquez is eating lunch after spending the morning on a roofing project. I ask him which he likes better: the construction business or the restaurant business. “Restaurant,” he says, without hesitation. “It’s all about putting good food in front of people and seeing them smile.” I ask him if there is going to be a third Mrs. De La Torre Velasquez. “I already met her,” he says. n

Serendipity recently relocated from its longtime home in Webster Groves. | CHERYL BAEHR cobs and her team are focusing on what people have come to love and expect from Serendipity: outrageously good ice cream. The new shop still offers Serendipity’s signature premium ice cream in a variety of flavors, like Salty Caramel Swirl, rum raisin, mint chip and butter pecan, as well as its Delectable Delights, such as Waffle Nachos, which pair wafflecone pieces with ice cream, chocolate and caramel sauces, strawberries and almonds. Ice cream sandwiches, bon bons, shakes, floats and poffertjes, or tiny Dutch pancakes, are also available. In addition to the forthcoming coffee

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and breakfast offerings, Jacobs plans on adding boozy concoctions to the menu. She’s bringing real-deal bagels to the neighborhood, sourced from the Bagel Factory. These additions, together with a much larger production space that allows Serendipity to provide wholesale ice cream to area restaurants, have filled Jacobs with a sense of excitement at all of the new opportunities afforded to her by the move. “I’ve had a lot of people come through who’ve told me that they’ve lived in the neighborhood for a long time and are so glad we are here,” Jacobs says. “It’s really exciting.” n

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RIVERFRONT TIMES

ST. LOUIS STANDARDS

[ S T. L O U I S S TA N D A R D S ]

Frozen Gold Mama Lucia’s is the standard by which St. Louis-style frozen pizzas are measured Written by

CHERYL BAEHR Mama Lucia’s 10989 Gravois Industrial Court, 314-843-2553 Founded 1981

ot long after taking over the iconic St. Louis-style pizza label Mama Lucia’s, Scott Ashby learned the hard way that one simply does not mess with a classic. “We took off the picture of [Mama Lucia’s founder] Miss Tumminello very brie y, and boy, did we get so much ack for it,” Ashby says. “The previous owner had taken it off for a short time, too, and both times, she went right back on. I didn’t think the picture was as important as it turned out to be, but people got really riled up when it came off. On our current label she’s a silhouette, but she is on there. I don’t see Mama coming off the label.” In retrospect, Ashby should have known that the departure of Lucia Tumminello’s likeness from the front of the Mama Lucia’s pizza label would be met with such angst. For 40 years, the brand has been a source of civic pride, occupying a special place in St. Louisans’ hearts as the gold standard by which all other frozen, St. Louis-style pizzas are judged. With its thin crust, zesty tomato sauce, meat-heavy topping choices and Provel-like processed cheese, Mama Lucia’s sits proudly as a little bit of the Lou in a freezer section chock-full of big-name national offerings. Tumminello never imagined that she’d be founding an icon when she started selling her pizzas in 1981. A native of Italy, Tumminello immigrated to St. Louis and settled in the Hill neighborhood where she would make her special pizza recipe for family and friends. Her pizza was so good that word

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The pizzas are sent through a machine that instantly freezes them and prepares them for packaging. | ANDY PAULISSEN began to spread around the neighborhood, and soon, those who had the joy of experiencing her cooking encouraged her to start selling her wares in grocery stores. Prior to Tumminello’s arrival on the frozen-pizza scene, there were no St. Louis-style offerings in grocery freezer cases. She found great success in filling that void and operated the company with two of her sons. To the best of Ashby’s knowledge, the trio ran the business for roughly 20 years before selling it. That operator kept things running, business as usual, until selling it to Ashby in 2015. Ashby admits he is an unlikely steward of such a beloved St. Louis-style pizza brand. A Chicago native, Ashby had never really heard of St. Louis-style pizza — let alone tasted it — until roughly a year before he bought the pizza’s parent company, Lucia’s. A businessman who’d previously owned two other frozen-pizza companies and a crust brand, Ashby got to know Lucia’s because it was where he was having a product made for another endeavor. He got to talking to the then owner and casually asked how long he planned on continuing to operate Lucia’s when the

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“I love the city, the people, the pace. I just love the city and have grown to love St. Louis-style pizza. It took me a little while to get used to it, but it really grows on you. I eat it every day, believe me.” man told him he only had about another year in him, Ashby told him to call when he was ready to sell. Sure enough, when that year was up, Ashby received a call from

the owner asking if he was still interested. He said yes, a decision that set him on a course that would change his life both professionally and personally. “I moved here when I bought Lucia’s, met the woman of my dreams, married her, adopted her daughter and have become a St. Louis person,” Ashby says. “I love the city, the people, the pace. I just love the city and have grown to love St. Louis-style pizza. It took me a little while to get used to it, but it really grows on you. I eat it every day, believe me.” Ashby ran Lucia’s for a few years before selling it to another company, Sinzenard International Food Manufacturers, which does business as the popular south St. Louis food manufacturer Maria & Sons. Though he no longer owns the company, he still is president, serving as a steward of the beloved pizza label. The expertise he’s learned over his years has given him keen insight into what people expect of a Mama Lucia’s pizza, and he is careful that any changes he makes do not veer too far off course from what people have come to know and love. He knows better than to remove Miss

[

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ICONIC PEOPLE, PLACES & DISHES T H A T A N C H O R S T L’ S F O O D S C E N E

All of the pizza dough is hand rolled and formed in house. | ANDY PAULISSEN

Scott Ashby is president of Mama Lucia’s. | ANDY PAULISSEN

Mama Lucia’s Supreme pizza includes sausage, pepperoni, olives, onion and peppers. | ANDY PAULISSEN Tumminello from the packaging, but he also understands that there are quality tweaks that can make for a better product. Under his watch, Mama Lucia’s has gone from using sliced to shredded cheese, and he’s also cleaned up some of the ingredients to make it a more wholesome product. He’s also made the crust thinner and

crispier and added more toppings to each pizza, making it heartier than its closest competitor. Ashby is also proud to have helped spearhead a partnership between Lucia’s and the popular St. Louis craft brewery 4 Hands. Through a separate label that bears the 4 Hands name, Lucia’s has engaged in creative collabo-

rations with fellow iconic brands such as Old Vienna, Mission Taco Joint and Sugarfire. Though the pandemic put plans for even more collaborations on hold, Ashby is excited to be again ramping up these collaborative products and has three new ones on deck: a chicken tikka masala pizza in partnership with India Rasoi, a

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cheeseburger pizza in partnership with Hi-Pointe Drive-In and a gyro pizza courtesy of Michael’s Bar & Grill. Another innovation Ashby has just launched is a three-day workweek, something he hopes will allow his employees to find a worklife balance. As he explains, the new schedule, which launched at the end of July, was a response to staffing shortages having no luck finding employees simply by raising wages, Ashby decided to think creatively and listen to the mood of the labor force. In addition to the three-day, 36-hour-per-week schedule, he’s paying his employees for a full 40-hour workweek, and so far, the response has been overwhelmingly positive — so much so that he believes it can be a model for other businesses to provide a good quality of life for their employees. Ashby hopes that, with moves like this, he can continue to grow the company while remaining true to its legacy. One of the things he first noticed after moving to St. Louis from Chicago is how fiercely loyal to its own and how proud the metro area is. He understands that Mama Lucia’s means something to people, and he doesn’t want to mess that up. In fact, it’s what guides every decision he makes. “It’s just been this steady thing out there that’s like an Old Faithful,” Ashby says. “People brought up their kids on it, so it goes through families. We feel a responsibility to that. This brand will be around a lot longer than I will.” n

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REEFERFRONT TIMES

[ W E E D L AW S ]

Down for the Count Unofficial totals show Missouri marijuana legalization initiative short on signatures Written by

RUDI KELLER This article was originally published by the Missouri Independent.

n initiative to legalize recreational marijuana use in Missouri will need help if it is going to be on the November ballot. Reports from every county in the state, delivered to Secretary of State John Ashcroft’s office, show the petition is short of its goal in two of the six congressional districts needed to qualify for the ballot. It is 1,131 signatures short in the Sixth Congressional District, which runs from Kansas City to the Iowa border, and 1,144 signatures short in the Seventh Congressional District in southwest Missouri around Springfield and Joplin. The same reports show that a proposal to bring ranked-choice voting to Missouri failed to obtain the necessary signatures in any congressional district. The figures are unofficial and subject to amendment until the final Tuesday, August , deadline for Ashcroft to determine whether the campaign succeeded or not, spokesman Madison Walker writes in an email. But Legal Missouri 2022, which pushed the ballot measure with a . million campaign effort, isn’t yet ready to admit the effort is finished. John Payne, Legal Missouri’s campaign manager, says the reports of local election authorities are being double checked to identify possible errors. Roughly 400,000 signatures were submitted for the petition to legalize adult use of marijuana and automatically expunge most

Reports show that a petition to get legalization on the ballot is short of signatures in two of six congressional districts. | VIA FLICKR ELSA OLOFSSON

“We have 16,000 liquor licenses in this state. I don’t see why we should be treating cannabis any differently,” says Representative Ron Hicks, sponsor of the legislation. nonviolent past cannabis offenses, he says. “As we continue to see more signature counts submitted by counties, it’s become crystal clear that we have more than enough signatures to qualify our citizens’ initiative for the November gen-

eral-election ballot,” Payne says. “The Legal Missouri 2022 campaign continues to work to ensure that every valid voter signature is counted properly, and is excited that Missouri voters will soon have their opportunity to decide.” The Legal Missouri initiative would expand the current medical-marijuana businesses program by allowing existing licensees to serve both medical and non-medical purchasers. There would be an additional 144 licenses for what will be known as “microbusiness facilities,” with six dispensaries and 12 wholesale facilities in each congressional district. It would also require expungement of marijuana offenses from criminal records. Supporters of Legal Missouri lobbied heavily against a bill introduced in the Missouri House that would have legalized marijuana use and set up a fairly simple licensing system similar to that used to license liquor businesses. “We have 16,000 liquor licenses in this state. I don’t see why we should be treating cannabis any differently,” says state Represen-

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tative on icks - efiance , sponsor of the legislation. Told that the initiative is currently short of the needed signatures, Hicks says it is “wonderful news.” Hicks is leaving the Missouri House due to term limits, but he urges lawmakers to pass a simple legalization bill in the coming year. License limits that are artificially low hurt small entrepreneurs, especially minority businesses, he says. “If we do it the right way, through the legislature, the state will be better off,” Hicks says. Both the Legal Missouri and Better Elections initiatives were proposed constitutional amendments, meaning they needed signatures from registered voters equal to 8 percent of the vote from the 2020 gubernatorial election in six of the state’s eight congressional districts. Legal Missouri succeeded in the First, Second, Third and Fifth districts. f the , signatures submitted for those districts, 52.1 percent were deemed valid. Signatures are checked by local county clerks and election boards.n

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RIVERFRONT TIMES

CULTURE

Jamie Bonfiglio’s mural of a basketball player with outstretched arms adorns a wall outside a new basketball court. | BLACK POWER BLUEPRINT MEDIA

[COMMUNITY BUILDING]

Black Power and Basketball A mural and community basketball court opening in north St. Louis Friday are Black Power Blueprint’s latest endeavors Written by

KASEY NOSS

hile most of St. Louis was looking for ways to beat the heat this July as temperatures crept into triple digits, muralist Jamie onfiglio spent her summer bathed in it. onfiglio could be found daily in an empty lot at the corner of College and West Florissant avenues, deep in concentration as a basketball player with unyielding eyes and outstretched hands took shape under her brush. A colorful beach umbrella stood between her and the sun, often left unused as she moved from one section of her artwork to another. Cars honked their support as they drove by. Neighbors stopped to extend their commentary, their praise and even their gratitude. Thanks to onfiglio, what started as a dilapidated white wall along the West Florissant corridor has been transformed into a celebration of Black power and basketball set against an eye-catching,

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lime-green background. The mural features two players, one male and one female, each with a ball in hand; to their left is the St. Louis skyline. A red, black and green ribbon winds its way through the mural, culminating in a logo bearing the name of the court’s future team: the Vanguards. The mural accompanies a brand new, state-of-the-art basketball court nearing completion at 4368 College Avenue. onfiglio, originally from Alabama, says she is proud of the work she’s done in St. Louis. But she didn’t work alone. The outdoor community basketball court is the latest undertaking of the Black Power Blueprint, a joint program of the African People’s Education and Defense Fund and Black Star Industries, that’s aimed at cultivating institutions of social, political and economic empowerment “by and for the Black community” in north St. Louis. To this end, the nonprofit has led a series of renovations and restorations along and around the West Florissant corridor, demolishing condemned buildings and rebuilding them to house community-oriented establishments such as a banquet hall, a cafe, a women’s health center and a public vegetable garden. “We want to [be] able to bring commerce back into our community, to circulate or own resources within our community, not just extract them to the south side of St. Louis,” says Ona Zené Yeshitela, president of the African People’s Education and Defense Fund and architect of the Black Power Blueprint. According to Yeshitela, the impetus to construct a court came from watching neighborhood kids play makeshift games in the surrounding streets, constantly

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“It’s inspiring people. It’s giving a sense of pride to the residents of the community.” thwarted by limited space and passing cars. Unlike on the south side of St. Louis, where parks and recreational facilities abound, few alternatives exist for children and young adults in north St. Louis. Yeshitela hopes to change that. “It’s going to be a state-of-theart basketball court just like you would see in any south-side St. Louis park,” Yeshitela says. “We’re gonna have tournaments for the kids, bleachers — everything.” With the court, she also aspires to help close the racial health gap, targeting disproportionate rates of diabetes, obesity and hypertension among African people. “It was really about rebuilding a community and giving the kids a sense of pride and a place where they can be healthy — basketball is about health as well,” Yeshitela says. She names communication skills and teamwork as a few more of the many important, nonacademic lessons children can learn through recreational sports. onfiglio’s basketball mural marks her second collaboration with the Black Power Blueprint. er first, a vibrant garden vignette, overlooks the Gary Brooks Community Garden a couple of blocks away. As a portrait artist, onfiglio says her favorite aspect of her murals is the people. It’s a sentiment that extends beyond the painting itself.

“All of the work that this organization is doing in the community is obviously making an impact because people are responding daily, people of all different ages,” onfiglio says. “It’s uplifting the morale, from what I can tell. It’s inspiring people. It’s giving a sense of pride to the residents of the community.” eshitela shares onfiglio’s optimism. “Being able to walk down the street now and see a beautiful mural that they would normally see on the south side of St. Louis — to see it in their own community gives [residents] the greatest sense of pride,” Yeshitela says. The Black Power Blueprint relies almost entirely on contributions from large and small donors alike, which are returned directly to the community by way of undertakings such as 4368 College Avenue, which the organization bought from the City of St. Louis. It enlisted the help of local contractors and volunteers to raze the dilapidated buildings on the property and install all the necessary features of a functioning basketball court, from rubber ooring to electricity for lights and a scoreboard. By the time of its unveiling in late August, the community court will have taken several months and $145,000 to build. “It has been a real labor of love,” says Kitty Reilly, projects coordinator of the Black Power Blueprint. The court’s home team’s name, the Vanguards, is one that Yeshitela is both proud of and confident in. “We just want to instill dignity and pride in our kids,” Yeshitela says, nodding to the proud faces ga ing out from onfiglo’s mural. “It’s not just basketball. It’s something much bigger than that.” n

FILM

[REVIEW]

Unpeeling Personal Loss Apples is a dark, comedic meditation on amnesia worthy of the big screen Written by

EILEEN G’SELL Apples Directed by Christos Nikou. Starring Argiris Bakirtzis, Sofia Georgovassili, Anna Kalaitzidou and Aris Servetalis. Available for purchase on streaming services and DVD/Blu-ray.

gray skyline, an empty couch, lonely bed pillows, a clutter of coffee cups, the antique lace that adorns the bust of a woman’s negligee. The first five, five-second shots of Christos Nikou’s Apples march forth to the staccato beat of what sounds like a drum but as we find out in the sixth shot — is actually the thud of a man’s forehead deliberately knocking against a wall. For a film overtly devoted to the mystery of what goes on inside our minds, the terse montage feels eerily apropos, launching questions that the rest of narrative slowly, and only sparingly, seeks to address. One of the most original, if understated, movies of the year, ikou’s directorial debut relies upon the potency of the image above ponderous dialogue or showy closeups. Bereft of celebrity mythos or discernible setting, the movie follows Aris Aris Servetalis , a pensive loner who, after falling asleep on a city bus with a bouquet of owers, can’t recall who he is or where he’s from. “Where were you supposed to get off?” asks the driver gently. “ hat’s your name, do you remember?” Transported via ambulance to the “Disturbed Memory Department of the Neurological Hospital,” Aris soon finds himself in the clueless company of other amnesiacs, each the victim of sud-

Aris attempts to recapture his memory by completing a series of human milestones, including riding a child’s tiny two-speed at a skate park. | COHEN MEDIA GROUP den memory loss, each dressed in a blue uniform that resembles grandpa pajamas. Based on his doctors’ — and new roommates’— nonplussed affect, it would seem that the entire region is enduring a pandemic of lost identity. Unclaimed by relatives, Aris is enrolled in the city’s New Identity Program, which aims to retrain patients to forge lasting memories and start new lives. Though taciturn and skittish, Servetalis cuts a striking figure — a more elegant, resigned Greek version of a bearded Joaquin Phoenix — and his befuddled expressions across the film can be as funny as they are anguished. Prompted by his medical team to match a picture-book image to the score of Swan Lake, Aris confidently presents a drawing of a man in a sombrero, his eyes sinking in defeat when his answer is quickly marked incorrect. Placed in his own at as part of the hospital’s program, he is asked to complete a series of human milestones and document them with a Polaroid camera. Aris calmly follows doctors’ orders, which range from riding a child’s tiny two-speed at a skate park to receiving a lap dance at a local

Apples refuses tidy categorization in the same way as Boots Riley’s Sorry to Bother You, or the poetry of the late John Ashbery. strip club, placing each Polaroid into his official scrapbook and forming a chronicle of new memories of which to be proud. Gradually realizing that his new friend and fellow New Identity student, Anna Sofia eorgovassili , is more invested in checking off assigned milestones than building a relationship, Aris finds companionship in a dying old man whose bedside visits are yet more events to capture and archive. “I would like a homemade pastry,” the old man confides as Aris serves him spoonfuls of hospital gruel, “like the ones my wife used to make.” Dubbed by critics as both an “esoteric black comedy” and “gentle

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absurdist drama” (both assessments true , Apples refuses tidy categorization in the same way as Boots Riley’s Sorry to Bother You, or the poetry of the late John Ashbery. ith minimal camera movement and an Academy ratio, the movie maintains a quiet stillness at odds with the seemingly dramatic stakes of the plot. The conspicuous lack of digital devices, advertisements and screens lends each scene a meditative quality, tempering what would otherwise seem to be a dystopian mass amnesia and lost identity. Apples’ delicious strangeness might earn Nikou comparisons to Greek auteur Yorgos Lanthimos, whose Dogtooth wowed and disturbed in 200 long before starstudded hits such as 2018’s The Favorite. But if Lanthimos’ dark sense of humor comes with the cost of occasional cruelty, Nikou’s is suffused with almost shocking kindness. Through Aris’ patient eyes, we piece together his life prior to amnesia, which proves just as devastating as his memory’s abrupt disappearance. By the end of its taut 90 minutes, Apples takes on an elegiac tone that reminds us of the incredible gift — and burden — of having a past to begin with. n

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MUSIC [DIY PUNK]

Friendship and No Fucks Hippyfuckers’ new album Pink Eye Demo and its upcoming tour embodies the DIY, punk ethos Written by

DELIA RAINEY

here is a dichotomy in DIY music: truly caring for another and not giving a fuck. New local punk band Hippyfuckers embodies that ethos. “I think being punk is about critical thinking, community care and avoiding some of the tropes and cliches of the music and art world,” lead vocalist Sandy Uhrich says. Hippyfuckers have been together for just over a year, establishing themselves with frisky live sets. Its sound incorporates intuitive chaos: snotty and bratty vocals, fast and unexpected song structures, and humorous and unfiltered messages about sex and “the void.” Hippyfuckers is composed of hrich, Kathleen uffield, irdie Edge and Olivia Gibb, all experienced rockers and artists in their late 20s and early 30s who moved to St. Louis sometime in the past three years or so. The Hippyfuckers all had good friends here from DIY music and chose St. Louis for the humble and accepting scene just as much as the lower living costs and central location for touring. “I wanted to move [to St. Louis] for many reasons,” drummer uffield says. She hails from Atlanta, where she played in the bands ag and Lemon Crush. “ ut mainly the friends I met while on tour and the old-city vibes make me feel less stressed about the booming-city world that makes no sense to me.” Lead guitarist Edge moved from irmingham, Alabama, where they made music with hardcore band ad Example. They also have a solo-guitar project titled irdie. “ oth [cities] have this thing where the scene is small enough that every-

Hippyfuckers released an album, Pink Eye Demo, in early March and kick off a tour in early August. | COURTESY HIPPYFUCKERS one supports each other’s projects despite musical or aesthetic differences,” Edge says. “The STL scene is more collaborative than anywhere I’ve lived,” uffield adds. “ ith that comes less pack mentality. Anywhere else I felt like I didn’t wear enough of a uniform.” hrich moved from Los Angeles and is originally from Minneapolis, where they sang for queer punk group oyal rat. assist Gibb moved from Kansas City in 20 . She has played in Eye, the eAsTieS and garage-punk band arm odies, which Pitchfork praised as “cartoonish” and “wild.” Hippyfuckers came together in March 2021. In their urgency to play, the four Fuckers quickly wrote a handful of songs last year, combining their ideas and unique approaches to music. Gibb describes band practice as a “chummy affair,” a space for creation and also building friendship. “It’s a special dynamic,” Edge says. In early March, the band premiered those collaborative new songs in Pink Eye Demo, an aggressive-yet-fun-filled swirl of highenergy punk. Engineered by local

musician Nick G and mastered by raham Tavel in Atlanta, the six tracks are loud and snarling, picking at topics such as sexual identity and the “illusions of choice” of living in a capitalist culture. “I am always looking to write lyrics about things I haven’t seen represented in our genre or at all and putting my own lens in it,” Uhrich says. “For me, that meant talking about my experience as a queer, nonbinary person. I love to write about sexuality and gender identity, power dynamics, and four of the songs are concerned with that. I wrote ‘ ilt’ about my experiences in suburban corporate America. I think there’s a playfulness in the music composition which lends itself to balancing against some of the darker content.” Pink Eye Demo’s songs often reveal strange dreams or nights of apathy and longing, while Edge’s rock & roll guitar zigzags in and out of its harsh noise. The song “Punisher” holds rhythmic play with vocals against instrumental cadence, describing the inner dialogue of a sadomasochist dynamic “ hen do I get my reward Is it me who’s hunting you down ”

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In the brutal ballad of “Guillotine,” Hippyfuckers grow imagery of festering blooms. The lyrics stir with unkempt foliage stinky owers, un-mowed grass, performative bouquets and rotten seeds. In a lower register of confession, Uhrich states: “Those petals grow fractal gender is exoskeletal.” The song buries a poetic observation about gender and nature: how we carry our expression on our bodies as our own way to structure ourselves. The Pink Eye Demo tape features artwork by Gibb: a colorful marker drawing of a framed sexy moon lady, tits out, hanging in a mountain desert landscape. A bird-person and devil lurk nearby, sneering. As local artmakers in town, Gibb and Uhrich make all of Hippyfuckers’ merch and share a studio for their practices; Gibb makes ceramics and prints in her creepycrawly style, and Uhrich creates smut-inspired, screen-printed Tshirts as Truth Lizard. They both agree that making small-run and wacky stuff relates a lot to their relationship to DIY music. “I think the visual component of the band is a fun way for me and Olivia to use our shared studio and collaborate in really off-thecuff ways,” says Uhrich. Hippyfuckers did a short spring tour to celebrate Pink Eye’s release, then a small Southern sprint in June, and has an East Coast tour in August that starts at ff roadway on Sunday, August , and ends at C on ednesday, August . After a long break of not touring, the band’s recent traveling this spring allowed the Hippyfuckers crew to see out-of-town pals not seen in years and play out-of-the-ordinary shows. “The most important and special part about it all is the people and friends who work together to make this all possible,” Gibb says of the spring 2022 tour. ack at home, Hippyfuckers are gearing up for the next tour adventure and writing new music. ith the band’s welcoming and fun spirit, maybe it’ll will convince more freaks to move to St. Louis. “Everyone should start a band,” Edge says. “You never know what kind of friendships you’ll form.” n Catch Hippyfuckers at 7 p.m. Sunday, August 7, at Off Broadway (3509 Lemp Avenue, offbroadwaystl.com).

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RIVERFRONT TIMES

MUSIC… MONEY… MADNESS…

JIMI HENDRIX IN MAUI

SPECIAL SCREENING

Fri, August 5 89.1 KCLC PRESENTS

COURTNEY BARNETT

PLUS LUCY DACUS & QUINN CHRISTOPHERSON

Tue, August 9

OLIVER TREE

PLUS JAWNY AND HUDDY

Sat, August 13

BOZ SCAGGS

SPECIAL GUEST THE ROBERT CRAY BAND

WED, AUGUST 17

THE DRIVER ERA

PLUS SUMMER SALT, ALMOST MONDAY

FRI, SEPT 2 89.1 KCLC PRESENTS OH, INVERTED WORLD - 21ST BIRTHDAY TOUR

THE SHINS PLUS JOSEPH

Tue, Sept 06 THE

AUSTRALIAN PINK FLOYD SHOW Sat, Sept 10 40TH ANNIVERSARY TOUR

CHRISTOPHER CROSS Fri, Sept 16

TROMBONE SHORTY & ORLEANS AVENUE Thurs, Sept 22

JUDAH & THE LION

PLUS SMALLPOOLS

Fri, Sept 23

RIVERFRONT TIMES

AUGUST 3-9, 2022

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STAGE

Robert Mellon plays Falstaff and Karen Kanakis is Alice in Falstaff. | DAN DONOVAN

[REVIEW]

Fat Chance Union Avenue Opera’s Falstaff reminds us of the pleasures of silly plots and glorious Verdi Written by

SARAH FENSKE Falstaff Music by Giuseppe Verdi, with libretto by Arrigo Boito. Directed by Jon Truitt. Presented by Union Avenue Opera through Saturday, August 6. Tickets $25 to $55.

ong before Nikki Glaser took a bunch of bad bros on the HBO reality show FBoy Island, Shakespeare gave us The Merry Wives of Windsor — and then Verdi put the story to (glorious) music as Falstaff. Women teaming up to block men on the make? The tale is as old as time. In Verdi’s opera, now winningly brought to stage by Union Avenue Opera, our selfish lout shamelessly professes his love to two women, when in both cases, he’s really after money. When the women get wise to his bullshit (the guy’s not subtle), they destroy him. Even after they have him (literally) tossed in the Thames with the dirty laundry, these righteous sisters aren’t done — and lure him to the forest for further humiliation. There’s a double wedding where someone in a white dress is not who they claim to be, a deception involving forest nymphs and a whole lot of fat jokes. In the end, Sir John Falstaff is utterly defeated — but like any good reality TV villain,

he’s also strangely triumphant. “Everything in the world is a joke,” he proclaims, and who can argue with that? No wonder this icon of debauchery went from supporting character to starring in his own spinoff. Now, there are a few differences between reality TV and Falstaff, and it’s not only that Union Avenue’s production runs three hours including two leisurely intermissions, which is a lot for viewers used to the pace of HBO. On TV, everyone has gorgeous hair and glistening muscles. Not only is our anti-hero famously corpulent, but here baritone Robert Mellon plays him with a Sammy Hagar permand-goatee combo. Mellon also sports a rather ridiculous fat suit, and in some ways it’s essential for the part (Falstaff must be Falstaffian or none of those jokes make any sense). But it also feels like a prop from another time, the body equivalent of yellowface makeup. This sort of thing likely won’t survive another decade. Good riddance. Even so, Mellon triumphs, and he’s supported by an enormously talented cast. High honors go to Brooklyn Snow, whose thrilling soprano makes for a dazzling Nannetta, and Janara Kellerman, who nearly steals the show as Dame Quickly. Karen Kanakis provides the opera’s intelligent center as Alice, the married woman Falstaff somehow thought he might profitably seduce. You’ll wonder how he ever thought he had a chance. But isn’t that always the things about these fatuous bros on the make? They seem far beneath the women they’re trying to seduce, and yet sometimes they still pull it off. Love is blind. (That’s Shakespeare — and these days, it’s a reality show, too.) At Union Avenue Opera, you can revel in the silly soapiness and also get your Verdi. What fun! n

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RIVERFRONT TIMES

OUT EVERY NIGHT

ach 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. And of course, be sure that you are aware of the venues’ COVID-safety requirements, as those vary from place to place and you don’t want to get stuck outside because you forgot your mask or proof of vaccination. Happy showgoing!

[CRITIC’S PICK]

THURSDAY 4

A-GAME: 8:30 p.m., $10. Blue Strawberry Showroom & Lounge, 364 N Boyle Ave, St. Louis, 314-256-1745. BROTHER FRANCIS AND THE SOULTONES: 7 p.m., free. Das Bevo Biergarten, 4749 Gravois Ave., St. Louis, 314-224-5521. COMEDY BANG! BANG! LIVE: 7 p.m., $39.75-$59.75. The Pageant, 6161 Delmar Blvd., St. Louis, 314-726-6161. A GARDEN OF SOUND: 5:30 p.m., free. Missouri History Museum, 5700 Lindell Blvd., St. Louis, 314-746-4599. GEORGE BENSON: 7 p.m., $59.50. The Factory, 0 uter 0 d, Chesterfield, - 2 - 00. GRAHAM CURRY & THE MISSOURI FURY: 7:30 p.m., free. The Frisco Barroom, 8110 Big Bend Blvd., Webster Groves, 314-455-1090. HORSE JUMPER OF LOVE: w/ Babehoven, Sadurn 7:30 p.m., $15/$18. The Sinkhole, 7423 South Broadway, St. Louis, 314-328-2309. IZAAK OPATZ: w/ Little Cowboy 8 p.m., $12-$15. Off Broadway, 3509 Lemp Ave., St. Louis, 314-498-6989. POTTERLESS: 8 p.m., $20. Blueberry Hill - The Duck Room, 6504 Delmar Blvd., University City, 314-727-4444. RESTLESS ROAD: w/ Jenny Teator 8 p.m., $10/$15. Old Rock House, 1200 S. 7th St., St. Louis, 314-588-0505.

zFRIDAY 5

ACE OF SPIT ALBUM RELEASE: w/ Roadhouse, Skin Effect, Liquid Lunch, Nick G Band, Crisis Walk-ins 7:30 p.m., $8-$10. The Golden Record, 2720 Cherokee Street, St. Louis, N/A. BEAU DIAMOND: w/ The Centaurettes, Chainsaw Boyz 8 p.m., $10. Blueberry Hill - The Duck Room, 6504 Delmar Blvd., University City, 314-727-4444. BONNIE RAITT: w/ Mavis Staples 8 p.m., $43.50$126. The Fox Theatre, 527 N. Grand Blvd., St. Louis, 314-534-1111. CHRIS BROWN: 7 p.m., $29.50-$249.50. Hollywood Casino Amphitheatre, I-70 & Earth City Expwy., Maryland Heights, 314-298-9944. FAIR WEATHER FRIENDS: 6 p.m., $10. The Attic Music ar, 2 S. Kingshighway, 2nd oor, St. Louis, 314-376-5313. HITCHCOCK & THE HITMEN: 7:30 p.m., free. The Frisco Barroom, 8110 Big Bend Blvd., Webster Groves, 314-455-1090. JIMI HENDRIX EXPERIENCE: LIVE IN MAUI SCREENING: 7:30 p.m., $12. The Factory, 17105 N Outer 40 d, Chesterfield, - 2 - 00. JUSTINE PETERSEN’S 25TH YEAR ANNIVERSARY BLOCK PARTY: w/ Murphy Lee, KY Juan, DJ Boogie Corleone, EL-TRA!N 4 p.m., free. Justine Petersen, 1023 N Grand Blvd, St. Louis, 314-533-2411. KING OF PAIN: A TRIBUTE TO THE POLICE: w/ Ashes to Stardust 8 p.m., $20. Delmar Hall,

RIVERFRONT TIMES

George Benson is just one player in a murderer’s row of jazz talent coming to the Factory on Thursday. | VIA UNITED TALENT AGENCY

George Benson w/ Eric Marienthal, Randy Brecker, George Whitty 7 p.m. Thursday, August 4. The Factory, 17105 North Outer 40 Road, Chesterfield. $59.50. 314-423-8500. In what has become an all-too-common occurrence these past two years, legendary singer-guitarist George Benson had to swiftly and suddenly postpone his show at the Factory back in May. Thankfully the 10-time Grammy Award winner rescheduled for a simmering summer date in St. Louis, which also includes an opening set by three re6133 Delmar Blvd., St. Louis, 314-726-6161. RUBY JUBILEE: A BURLESQUE BIRTHDAY BASH: 7 p.m., $20. The Crack Fox, 1114 Olive St., St. Louis, 314-621-6900. SKAMASALA: 7 p.m., free. Das Bevo Biergarten, 4749 Gravois Ave., St. Louis, 314-224-5521. STARLIGHT SOIREE AT CITY MUSEUM: 8 p.m., $25. City Museum, 750 N. 16th St., St. Louis, 314-231-2489. THRE3: UNPLUGGED: 8 p.m., $15-$25. The Dark Room, 3610 Grandel Square inside Grandel Theatre, St. Louis, 314-776-9550. WHITEHALL: w/ Bleach Balta 8 p.m., $12/$15. The Sinkhole, 7423 South Broadway, St. Louis, 314-328-2309.

SATURDAY 6

BOXCAR: 4 p.m., free. Alpha Brewing Company, 4310 Fyler Ave., St. Louis, 314-621-2337. BUFFALO ROSE: 7:30 p.m., $15-$20. The Focal Point, 2720 Sutton Blvd., Maplewood, 314-560-2778. DAYTIME TELEVISION: w/ Stoker, Sweetheart 8 p.m.,

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nowned jazzmen including Eric Marienthal, Randy Brecker and George Whitty. If that seems like too much heat for a single night, keep in mind that Benson will likely keep things cool with “Breezin’” — his chart-topping track that went on to become a jazz-fusion standard following its original release in 1976. This is a man with a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame, a well-deserved honor considering how influential he’s been across the R&B, pop and jazz communities since his mainstream breakout in the late ’70s. Whether he’s writing solo or working in tandem with other worldclass musicians, Benson has pumped out hit after hit for the better part of six

decades, which has rightfully earned him accolades such as an honorary doctorate of music from Berklee and the title of “Jazz Master” via the National Endowment of the Arts. To say that the 79-year-old music pioneer is worth seeing live is an understatement — Benson is essential listening for any fan of jazz (or any other genre, for that matter). Starting Off Strong: This show would come highly recommended even without Benson on the bill. The opening band features a trio of prolific players and frequent collaborators who have amassed hundreds of recordings between them. You’re guaranteed a night of incredible jazz. —Joseph Hess

$10. Off Broadway, 3509 Lemp Ave., St. Louis, 314-498-6989. DEVIN THE DUDE: w/ Willy J Peso 8 p.m., $20. The Old Rock House, 1200 South Seventh St., St. Louis. GRACE BASEMENT: 8 p.m., $15. Joe’s Cafe, 6014 Kingsbury Ave, St. Louis. JOE PARK & THE HOT CLUB OF ST. LOUIS: 7:30 p.m., free. The Frisco Barroom, 8110 Big Bend Blvd., Webster Groves, 314-455-1090. LANY: w/ Surfaces 7 p.m., $39.50-$69.50. St. Louis Music Park, 750 Casino Center Dr., Maryland Heights, 314-451-2244. MAMMOTH PIANO: 9 p.m., $10-$20. The Dark Room, 3610 Grandel Square inside Grandel Theatre, St. Louis, 314-776-9550. MUNA: 8 p.m., $31-$36. Delmar Hall, 6133 Delmar Blvd., St. Louis, 314-726-6161. NITE FRVR: 8 p.m., $10. The Heavy Anchor, 5226 Gravois Ave., St. Louis, 314-352-5226. ONE REPUBLIC: w/ NeedtoBreathe 7 p.m., $29.50-$149.50. Hollywood Casino Amphitheatre, I-70 & Earth City Expwy., Maryland

Heights, 314-298-9944. PATRICK CLARK BAND: 8 p.m., $8. Blueberry Hill - The Duck Room, 6504 Delmar Blvd., University City, 314-727-4444. ROCK INC.: 7 p.m., free. Das Bevo Biergarten, 4749 Gravois Ave., St. Louis, 314-224-5521. SALTY GINGER & THE SURFERS: 6 p.m., $10. The Attic Music Bar, 4247 S. Kingshighway, 2nd oor, St. Louis, . WHEN WE WERE LOCAL FEST: 7 p.m., $8-$10. Pop’s Nightclub, 401 Monsanto Ave., East St. Louis, 618-274-6720. ZYI LI MUSIC’S 2-BAND FUNDRAISER SHOWCASE: 7 p.m., $20-$25. Blue Strawberry Showroom & Lounge, 364 N Boyle Ave, St. Louis, 314-256-1745.

SUNDAY 7

CHARLIE BERRY PROJECT: w/ the Maness Brothers 8 p.m., $15. Blueberry Hill - The Duck Room, 6504 Delmar Blvd., University City, 314-727-4444. COHEED AND CAMBRIA: w/ Alkaline Trio 6:30 p.m., $29.50-$79.50. St. Louis Music Park, 750 Casino

[CRITIC’S PICK]

COURTNEY BARNETT: w/ Lucy Dacus, Quinn Christopherson 7 p.m., $36. The Factory, 17105 uter 0 d, Chesterfield, - 2 - 00. FIVE FOR FIGHTING: w/ The Verve Pipe 8 p.m., $39.50-$49.50. The Pageant, 6161 Delmar Blvd., St. Louis, 314-726-6161. JAKE RICHTER QUARTET: 7 p.m., $10-$15. The Dark Room, 3610 Grandel Square inside Grandel Theatre, St. Louis, 314-776-9550. SPIDER GANG: 7 p.m., $25-$49.50. Red Flag, 3040 Locust Street, St. Louis, 314-289-9050.

WEDNESDAY 10

The release party for Ace of Spit’s long-awaited debut LP gets underway at the Golden Record on Friday. | JESSICA KARABELL

Ace of Spit Album Release Show w/ Roadhouse, Liquid Lunch, Nick G, the Crisis Walk-Ins, Skin Effect, DJ Ghost Ice 7:30 p.m. Friday, August 5. The Golden Record, 2720 Cherokee Street. $8 to $10. No phone. Known affectionately as Gabe the Babe to fellow rock & roll lifers and concertgoers alike, the lead guitarist of power trio Ace of Spit has for years been responsible for putting together a number of punk shows inside myriad spaces throughout south St. Louis. His latest band is a surfrock act landlocked by the dry landscape of the American Midwest, inclusive of the trash and debris lining the long lonely highways between major cities. When the pandemic hit and the band was forced to lock itself away from the packed dive bars of yore, its members dutifully

jammed out for months on end to build a set of songs rife with searing riffs. On this night Ace of Spit celebrates the release of this self-titled debut record via Sophomore Lounge, a label with a reputation for releasing your favorite band’s favorite albums — a real collection of underrated sonic oddities that spans multiple genres. Gabe and his cohort will welcome like-minded rockers Roadhouse (of Jefferson, Indiana) and Liquid Lunch (of Minneapolis, Minnesota) alongside a slew of local basement dwellers for a marathon of loud guitars, punchy bass and pounding bass drums. Don’t Call It a Comeback: This show marks the first appearance by Skin Effect, the brainchild of St. Louis musician and sound artist Steve Whetstone, who is returning to live performance after a long hiatus. Expect droning, dark ambient music crafted with handmade instruments — a standout in this already-eclectic mix of bands. —Joseph Hess

Center Dr., Maryland Heights, 314-451-2244. INNER PEACE: w/ Rob Funkhouser, Hippyfuckers, Fried E.M. 8 p.m., $12. Off Broadway, 3509 Lemp Ave., St. Louis, 314-498-6989. THE JAZZ TROUBADOURS: 11:30 a.m., free. Evangeline’s, 512 N Euclid Ave, St. Louis, 314-367-3644. RED FANG: 7 p.m., $20. The Ready Room, 4140 Manchester Ave, St. Louis, 314-833-3929.

DOLL SPIRIT VESSEL: w/ Yuppy, No Antics 8 p.m., $10-$12. Off Broadway, 3509 Lemp Ave., St. Louis, 314-498-6989. LAURENCE LEVY AND PROFESSOR LONGHAIR: 7 p.m., $10-$15. Blue Strawberry Showroom & Lounge, 364 N Boyle Ave, St. Louis, 314-256-1745. SCOUT GILLETT: w/ Punk Lady Apple, Inches from Glory 8 p.m., $10. The Sinkhole, 7423 South Broadway, St. Louis, 314-328-2309.

MONDAY 8

TUESDAY 9

COUNT BUCKLEY’S ROYAL RASCALS: 7 p.m., free. Yaqui’s on Cherokee, 2728 Cherokee St, St. Louis, 314-400-7712.

BLACK PISTOL FIRE: w/ Lillie Mae 8 p.m., $20. Delmar Hall, 6133 Delmar Blvd., St. Louis, 314-726-6161.

ANDREW BIRD: w/ Iron & Wine, Meshell degeocello 0 p.m., . Chesterfield Amphitheater, 631 Veterans Place Drive, Chesterfield. THE BARFLIES: 6:30 p.m., free. Candicci’s Italian Restaurant & Bar, 100 Holloway Road, Ballwin, 636-220-8989. DISPATCH: w/ O.A.R., G. Love 7 p.m., $25. St. Louis Music Park, 750 Casino Center Dr., Maryland Heights, 314-451-2244. DRIVIN’ N CRYIN’: w/ the Minks 7:30 p.m., $25. Lincoln Theatre, 103 E. Main St., Belleville, 618-233-0123. MACHINE GUN KELLY: 7:30 p.m., $26.50-$126.50. Enterprise Center, 1401 Clark Ave., St. Louis, 314-241-1888. MURDER BY DEATH: w/ Amigo the Devil, Samantha Crain 8 p.m., $27.50. Red Flag, 3040 Locust Street, St. Louis, 314-289-9050. THE SPILL CANVAS: 8 p.m., $20/$22. Off Broadway, 3509 Lemp Ave., St. Louis, 314-498-6989. VOODOO EAGLES: 9 p.m., $12. Broadway Oyster Bar, 736 S. Broadway, St. Louis, 314-621-8811.

THIS JUST IN ACE OF SPIT ALBUM RELEASE: W/ Roadhouse, Skin Effect, Liquid Lunch, Nick G Band, Crisis Walkins, Fri., Aug. 5, 7:30 p.m., $8-$10. The Golden Record, 2720 Cherokee Street, St. Louis, N/A. ADAM MANESS & FRIENDS: Tue., April 11, 10 a.m., $20-$23. Wed., April 12, 10 a.m., $20-$23. The Sheldon, 3648 Washington Blvd., St. Louis, 314-533-9900. ANAT COHEN: Fri., Oct. 14, 8 p.m., $31-$41. The Sheldon, 3648 Washington Blvd., St. Louis, 314-533-9900. THE BARFLIES: Wed., Aug. 10, 6:30 p.m., free. Candicci’s Italian Restaurant & Bar, 100 Holloway Road, Ballwin, 636-220-8989. Sun., Aug. 21, 2 p.m., free. The Little Bar, 6343 Alabama Ave., St. Louis, 314-875-0607. Sun., Sept. 25, 2 p.m., free. Cheers Bar and Grill, 61 National Way Shopping Center, Manchester, (636) 220-8030. Sun., Oct. 9, 2 p.m., free. The Little Bar, 6343 Alabama Ave., St. Louis, 314-875-0607. Sun., Nov. 13, 2 p.m., free. Cheers Bar and Grill, 61 National Way Shopping Center, Manchester, 636-220-8030. BOKYUNG BYUN: Sat., Sept. 17, 7:30 p.m., $20$39. The 560 Music Center, 560 Trinity Ave., University City, 314-421-3600. BONNIE RAITT: W/ Mavis Staples, Fri., Aug. 5, 8 p.m., $43.50-$126. The Fox Theatre, 527 N. Grand Blvd., St. Louis, 314-534-1111. BOXCAR: Sat., Aug. 6, 4 p.m., free. Alpha Brewing Company, 4310 Fyler Ave., St. Louis, 314-621-2337. THE BROKEN HIPSTERS: Thu., Aug. 18, 7 p.m., free. Das Bevo Biergarten, 4749 Gravois Ave., St. Louis, 314-224-5521. BROTHER FRANCIS AND THE SOULTONES: Thu., Aug. 4, 7 p.m., free. Das Bevo Biergarten, 4749 Gravois Ave., St. Louis, 314-224-5521. BUFFALO ROSE: Sat., Aug. 6, 7:30 p.m., $15-$20. The Focal Point, 2720 Sutton Blvd., Maplewood, 314-560-2778. CARY MORIN: Fri., Aug. 19, 8 p.m., $16. The Focal Point, 2720 Sutton Blvd, St. Louis, 314-560-2778. CHRIS BROWN: Fri., Aug. 5, 7 p.m., $29.50-

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$249.50. Hollywood Casino Amphitheatre, I-70 & Earth City Expwy., Maryland Heights, 314-298-9944. COHEED AND CAMBRIA: W/ Alkaline Trio, Sun., Aug. 7, 6:30 p.m., $29.50-$79.50. St. Louis Music Park, 750 Casino Center Dr., Maryland Heights, 314-451-2244. COUNT BUCKLEY’S ROYAL RASCALS: Mon., Aug. 8, 7 p.m., free. Yaqui’s on Cherokee, 2728 Cherokee St, St. Louis, 314-400-7712. DAS BEVO LUAU AND PIG ROAST: W/ Rock and the Wranglers, Sat., Aug. 20, 4 p.m., free. Das Bevo Biergarten, 4749 Gravois Ave., St. Louis, 314-224-5521. DAYSEEKER: W/ the Word Alive, Moodring, Sun., Sept. 4, 7:30 p.m., $22-$39.50. Red Flag, 3040 Locust Street, St. Louis, 314-289-9050. DEBBY LENNON: Tue., May 9, 10 a.m., $20-$23. The Sheldon, 3648 Washington Blvd., St. Louis, 314-533-9900. EMO NITE LA PRESENTS EMO NITE: Sat., Oct. 22, 9 p.m., $16-$31. Red Flag, 3040 Locust Street, St. Louis, 314-289-9050. ERIC SLAUGHTER GROUP: Fri., Aug. 26, 9 p.m., $10-$15. The Dark Room, 3610 Grandel Square inside Grandel Theatre, St. Louis, 314-776-9550. THE FORESTWOOD BOYS: Fri., Aug. 19, 7 p.m., free. Das Bevo Biergarten, 4749 Gravois Ave., St. Louis, 314-224-5521. FOXY SHAZAM: Tue., Oct. 4, 8 p.m. Red Flag, 3040 Locust Street, St. Louis, 314-289-9050. GRUB AND GROOVE: Sat., Aug. 13, 3 p.m., free. Francis Park, Eichelberger St. & Donovan Ave., St. Louis. HARD BOP MESSENGERS ALBUM RELEASE: Sat., Aug. 20, 10 p.m., $10-$25. The Dark Room, 3610 Grandel Square inside Grandel Theatre, St. Louis, 314-776-9550. JAKE RICHTER QUARTET: Tue., Aug. 9, 7 p.m., $10-$15. The Dark Room, 3610 Grandel Square inside Grandel Theatre, St. Louis, 314-776-9550. THE JAZZ TROUBADOURS: Sun., Aug. 7, 11:30 a.m., free. Evangeline’s, 512 N Euclid Ave, St. Louis, 314-367-3644. KENDALL DAVIDSON: UNPLUGGED: Sat., Aug. 20, 9 p.m., $10-$20. The Dark Room, 3610 Grandel Square inside Grandel Theatre, St. Louis, 314776-9550. KEVIN BUCKLEY: Tue., March 14, 10 a.m., $20$23. Wed., March 15, 10 a.m., $20-$23. The Sheldon, 3648 Washington Blvd., St. Louis, 314-533-9900. KEVIN BUCKLEY AND FRIENDS: Sun., Aug. 21, 10 a.m., free. Das Bevo Biergarten, 4749 Gravois Ave., St. Louis, 314-224-5521. LADY J’S “MUSIC AT THE INTERSECTION SAMPLER SPECIAL”: Sat., Aug. 13, 9 p.m., $10-$20. The Dark Room, 3610 Grandel Square inside Grandel Theatre, St. Louis, 314-776-9550. LANY: W/ Surfaces, Sat., Aug. 6, 7 p.m., $39.50$69.50. St. Louis Music Park, 750 Casino Center Dr., Maryland Heights, 314-451-2244. LOCAL H: W/ Here Comes the Zoo, Sat., Oct. 29, 8 p.m., $20. Red Flag, 3040 Locust Street, St. Louis, 314-289-9050. THE LONE BELLOW: Wed., Nov. 2, 8 p.m., $26-$30. The Sheldon, 3648 Washington Blvd., St. Louis, 314-533-9900. MAMMOTH PIANO: Sat., Aug. 6, 9 p.m., $10-$20. The Dark Room, 3610 Grandel Square inside Grandel Theatre, St. Louis, 314-776-9550. MISS JUBILEE & THE YAS YAS BOYS: Tue., Oct. 18, 10 a.m., $20-$23. Wed., Oct. 19, 10 a.m., $20$23. The Sheldon, 3648 Washington Blvd., St. Louis, 314-533-9900. NAPALM DEATH: W/ Brujeria, Frozen Soul, M.D.C., Fri., Oct. 21, 7:30 p.m., $25. Red Flag, 3040 Locust Street, St. Louis, 314-289-9050. NITE FRVR: Sat., Aug. 6, 8 p.m., $10. The Heavy Anchor, 5226 Gravois Ave., St. Louis, 314-352-5226. ONE REPUBLIC: W/ NeedtoBreathe, Sat., Aug. 6,

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Devin the Dude will bring his brand of stoner rap to Old Rock House this weekend. | ALBUM COVER ART

Devin the Dude w/ Willy J Peso 8 p.m. Saturday, August 6. Old Rock House, 1200 South Seventh Street. $20. 314-588-0505. Houston’s Devin Copeland, better known to rap aficionados as Devin the Dude, has never really achieved mainstream success, in spite of a work ethic that could be reasonably described as tireless. It’s somewhat perplexing, really: The rapper has long been lauded by critics and has worked with everyone from De La Soul to Gucci Mane to Tech N9ne. His most prominent feature came on Dr. Dre’s classic Chronic 2001, on which he lent some unforgettable bars to the track

THIS JUST IN

Continued from pg 43 7 p.m., $29.50-$149.50. Hollywood Casino Amphitheatre, I-70 & Earth City Expwy., Maryland Heights, 314-298-9944. THE PEACE, LOVE, MUSIC CONCERT: Fri., Aug. 19, 7:30 p.m., $15. Florissant Civic Center, Parker Road & Waterford Drive, Florissant, 314-921-5678. PYROMANIA: Sat., Sept. 17, 2 p.m., $30-$150. Cedar Lake Cellars, 11008 Schreckengast Road, Wright City, 636-745-9500. REAL FRIENDS: Sun., Aug. 28, 7:30 p.m., $22$39.50. Red Flag, 3040 Locust Street, St. Louis, 314-289-9050. RED BARAAT: Fri., April 21, 8 p.m., $35-$45. The Sheldon, 3648 Washington Blvd., St. Louis, 314-533-9900. ROCK INC.: Sat., Aug. 6, 7 p.m., free. Das Bevo Biergarten, 4749 Gravois Ave., St. Louis, 314-224-5521. SKAMASALA: Fri., Aug. 5, 7 p.m., free. Das Bevo Biergarten, 4749 Gravois Ave., St. Louis, 314-224-5521. SOMI KAKOMA: Sat., Jan. 21, 8 p.m., $35-$45. The Sheldon, 3648 Washington Blvd., St. Louis, 314-533-9900. ST. LOUIS CELEBRATES ANGELA WINBUSH: Fri., Sept. 9, 8 p.m., $25. The Sheldon, 3648 Washington Blvd., St. Louis, 314-533-9900. STARLIGHT SOIREE AT CITY MUSEUM: Fri., Aug. 5, 8 p.m., $25. City Museum, 750 N. 16th St.,

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“Fuck You,” and yet household-name fame has continued to elude him. With an unassuming and humorous delivery, the Dude often rhymes about marijuana — evidently his favorite lyrical subject matter — and chasing women. Despite never breaking through to rap’s upper echelons, Copeland maintains a steady cult following that will surely fill Old Rock House with smoke this Saturday. Smoked Out: Fellow lover of weed Willy J Peso will bring his cannabis-fueled rhymes to the stage alongside Devin the Dude for this outing. With albums including Danksgiving, 12 Plants, Indica, Sativa and Stoned Like Willy, Peso just might give the headliner a run for his money on the marijuana rap front. —Daniel Hill St. Louis, 314-231-2489. STONE CRAZY: Fri., Aug. 19, 7 p.m., free. Fri., Oct. 21, 7 p.m., free. Fri., Dec. 16, 7 p.m., free. Cheers Bar and Grill, 61 National Way Shopping Center, Manchester, 636-220-8030. SWAMP RATS: Fri., Sept. 2, 6:30 p.m., $10. The Attic Music Bar, 4247 S. Kingshighway, 2nd oor, St. Louis, . THRE3: UNPLUGGED: Fri., Aug. 5, 8 p.m., $15$25. The Dark Room, 3610 Grandel Square inside Grandel Theatre, St. Louis, 314-776-9550. TIFFANY ELLE: Fri., Aug. 12, 8 p.m., $10-$25. The Dark Room, 3610 Grandel Square inside Grandel Theatre, St. Louis, 314-776-9550. TIM SCHALL: Tue., Dec. 6, 10 a.m., $20-$23. Wed., Dec. 7, 10 a.m., $20-$23. The Sheldon, 3648 Washington Blvd., St. Louis, 314-533-9900. TODD SNIDER: Sat., Nov. 19, 8 p.m., $31-$41. The Sheldon, 3648 Washington Blvd., St. Louis, 314-533-9900. TUBA SKINNY: Fri., March 17, 8 p.m., $25. The Sheldon, 3648 Washington Blvd., St. Louis, 314-533-9900. VOICES OF MISSISSIPPI: Fri., Feb. 10, 8 p.m., $40-$50. The Sheldon, 3648 Washington Blvd., St. Louis, 314-533-9900. WHEN WE WERE LOCAL FEST: Sat., Aug. 6, 7 p.m., $8-$10. Pop’s Nightclub, 401 Monsanto Ave., East St. Louis, 618-274-6720. WIZ KHALIFA: W/ Logic, Fri., Sept. 2, 6:30 p.m., $29.50. Hollywood Casino Amphitheatre, I-70 & Earth City Expwy., Maryland Heights, 314-298-9944. n

SAVAGE LOVE That Husband Over There BY DAN SAVAGE This is a preview of this week’s Savage Love. The full version is now exclusively available on Dan’s website savage.love. Hey Dan: I’m a 36-year-old married woman who fantasizes about her husband of 10 years being intimate with other women. This isn’t a new thing for me. I’ve fantasized about this for years, but we’ve never acted on it. He is intrigued but afraid that it might somehow damage our relationship. But I’ve done some research on it and it’s something I’m eager to try. (With my husband’s consent, of course!) But in all my research, I’ve found different and sometimes con icting definitions of what it means to be a “cuckquean.” I’m interested in watching my husband pleasure and be pleasured by another woman in a purely physical way. I’m not interested in being “cheated on.” No irty texts no unsanctioned coffee dates. I’ve read accounts of women who are turned on by the humiliation and insecurity of their partner being with others, often women the husband knows “in real life,” either through work or through social life. In my case, I would rather my husband not even know the name of the other woman. And he would only be able to sleep with her with my consent and I would want to be “in control” of the situation. So, what does that make me? Do cuckqueans come in all different proclivities? I feel like the end result is the same — my partner bedding someone else — but my motivation is different than what I’ve seen. What The Cuck Am I? “The scenario WTCAI describes sounds more like hotwifing with the gender roles reversed than cuckolding,” said Venus, host of The Venus Cuckoldress Podcast. “She’s interested in hothusbanding!” Let’s quickly define terms A man into hotwifing enjoys “sharing” his wife with other men, WTCAI, and a woman into hothusbanding enjoys “sharing” her husband with other women. (All this sharing, of course, is consensual.) Cuckolds, on the other hand,

JOE NEWTON aren’t sharing their wives. They’re being “cheated on” by their wives. And cuckqueans aren’t sharing their husbands. They’re being “cheated on” by their husbands. Cuckolds and cuckqueans, by definition, don’t just wanna see their spouses fucking another person, they also want their partners to humiliate and degrade them. (I put “cheated on” in quotes because the “cheating” is consensual and symbolic; likewise, “sharing” is in quotes above because spouses aren’t property.) “But cuckolding and hotwifing have a really wide spectrum of practices and dynamics,” said Venus. “Some cucks are submissive and get into degradation, and some cucks really aren’t subs or into degradation at all. I don’t see why hothusbanding/cuckqueaning can’t be just as varied. umiliation, submission and degradation don’t have to be involved!” enus is right There are guys out there who call themselves cuckolds but aren’t subs and don’t wanna be humiliated or degraded. But I would argue that these guys aren’t cuckolds, TCAI, just as I would argue that you aren’t a cuckquean. We have lots of words to describe letting your partner fuck other people — open, monogamish, swinging, mate-swapping, hotwifing, hothusbanding, stag and vixen, CNM — but we only have one word to describe letting

your partner fuck other people while getting off on being humiliated and degraded cuckolding. And since most people understand cuckolding to involve humiliation and degradation, telling someone you’re a cuckold when you’re not into those things is like telling someone you’re a power bottom when you don’t like anal or telling someone you’re into impact play when you don’t like having your ass so much as tapped. It confuses rather than clarifies. What’s worse, tell someone you’re a cuckold/cuckquean and they might start degrading you while they’re fucking your partner, which would ruin everything for everybody. As for setting up a sex date for your husband with an anonymous woman, Venus had a practical suggestion. “There are a lot more men out there looking for casual sex than there are women,” said Venus, “which makes WTCAI’s fantasy difficult to pull off. ut I know a woman whose wife wanted to be blindfolded and then have a group of women come in — all strangers to her — and go down on her. Not an easy fantasy to pull off either! So, they hired a sex worker to facilitate things and it was amazing. Perhaps this would be an ideal solution — hiring a sex worker — because then WTCAI would be in total control.”

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Since most people understand cuckolding to involve humiliation and degradation, telling someone you’re a cuckold when you’re not into those things is like telling someone you’re a power bottom when you don’t like anal. Finally, WTCAI, re-reading your letter just now it sounds to me like what you really wanna do is whore your husband out. It’s an expression I’ve heard gay men use to describe setting up an anonymous encounter for their boyfriends or husbands. ou find someone you wanna see fuck your husband — taking care to find someone your husband would wanna get fucked by — and all your husband needs to know is when and where. Cuckolds and cuckqueans are subs and a sub can “top from below,” as the saying goes, but at least officially a cuck doesn’t have the power. Someone who’s whoring his husband out, on the other hand, has all the power. And that’s what you want, right? Follow Venus on Twitter @CuckoldressV, and check out her podcast, blog, dating advice and more at venuscuckoldress.com. Hey Dan: I am a woman married to a man. Many years ago, I told him that I was attracted to a mutual friend of ours … Go to Savage.Love to read the rest! questions@savagelove.net Check out the Savage Lovecast @FakeDanSavage on Twitter

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Riverfront Times, August 3, 2022

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