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TABLE OF CONTENTS FEATURE

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Hustle and Joke

Chris Cyr wants to make “comedian” his day job — or at least make you laugh Written by

THOMAS CRONE Cover by

KELLEY WALKER

NEWS

CULTURE

DINING

MUSIC

The Lede

Your friend or neighbor, captured on camera

This Autumn, the Arts

Get out your calendar and add these fall arts events to your schedule now

Ban? What Ban?

The city has cited just two bars for smoking Doyle Murphy reports — even as patrons at others puff up with impunity

Calendar

Seven days worth of great stuff to see and do

A Super Taxi’s Impossible Dream

A new cab company enters the St. Louis market at a fraught time for taxi service. Sarah Fenske meets an entrepreneur who won’t be stopped

Film

Robert Hunt views Southside with You, a slight little film about when Barack met Michelle

Stage

Paul Friswold may hate Andrew Lloyd Webber, but he still loves New Line’s Any Given Sunday

The Secret Life of Tacos

Cheryl Baehr finds a new hotspot in a truly surprising place

Side Dish

Rob Connoley is back in St. Louis and ready to start cooking again

Food News

Assault and Conquer

Full Terror Assault is a Europeanstyle open-air metal festival in rural Illinois. Kevin Korinek has the scoop

B-Sides

Pü Fest returns for year three

Homespun

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The Vondrukes On This Ride Together

First Look

Lauren Milford checks out the new Comet Croissanterie in Kirkwood

Out Every Night

The best concerts in St. Louis every night of the week

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This week’s new concert announcements

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NEWS

St. Louis Smoking Ban Snares Just Two Bars Written by

DOYLE MURPHY

he city inspectors got Bernie’s Place in June. The bar, which stands out in bright blue and yellow among the drab brick warehouses and machine shops of the Near North Riverfront neighborhood, didn’t have “No Smoking” signs posted, and an inspector spotted ashtrays, according to the city health department. Owner Bernie Anderson says patrons were smoking outside and somebody carried the ashtray inside with them so as not to leave the butts out on the sidewalk. “They weren’t even smoking inside,” Anderson tells the Riverfront Times. Either way, it seemed pretty lame to the 62-year-old proprietor, and further proof that the city’s spottily enforced prohibition on lighting up in bars is fatally flawed. (Unless, of course, you want to smoke at the casino or in the tony Missouri Athletic Club, which were both exempted by the ordinance. Smoke away there!) “It’s based on fanaticism and hypocrisy,” Anderson says. His place is one of just two bars cited since January, when the city’s five-year exemption for small bars expired. The other, Tin Cup in south city’s Carondelet neighborhood, was cited in July when an inspector dropped by late one night, owner Randall Prater says. “It was closing time,” Prater says. “People have got a few in them, and they forget. They start lighting up.” The Tin Cup caters to the 50-andolder crowd — people who decided long ago they like to sit at the bar and have a smoke with their beer, Prater says. Continued on pg 12

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At many St. Louis bars, you can still openly smoke, despite a ban in place since January. Only two bars have been cited by the city. | JEFFERY STONE

NEW CAB CO. IS FIGHTING TOUGH ODDS

arlier this year, Mehari G. Tekle did something that no one in St. Louis has done for more than a decade: He opened a new taxi company. His brand-new operation, A Super Taxi, has an office in an old union hall on South Jefferson, 31 drivers and fully functional app ready for downloading — one of the first taxi companies in the city you can hail by smartphone. Tekle’s company is entering the market at a particularly precarious time for cab companies in St. Louis. UberX, which entered the market in defiance of regulators almost a year ago, has cratered local taxi business — and the Metropolitan Taxi Commission, or MTC, is trying to persuade a

AUGUST 24-30, 2016

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St. Louis County judge to shut down its operations. And if ride-sharing wasn’t a big enough threat to Tekle’s new company, the MTC is also, in some ways, aligned against him: The taxi commission only allowed A Super Taxi into the market in the first place because of a lawsuit. Even then, the MTC agreed to end its long-standing moratorium on new taxi companies in St. Louis only if new applicants met onerous conditions — app service among them (even though it’s not currently required of the older taxi companies). A Super Taxi must also hold twice the insurance coverage of older cab companies — even though it’s been strictly limited in the number of cabs it’s permitted to operate, says attorney Drew Baebler. The very fact of A Super Taxi’s existence, then, feels something like a miracle. To Tekle, it is a dream come true — his American dream, in the flesh.

Now 55, Tekle came to St. Louis 26 years ago as a refugee from war-torn Eritrea. To him, in spite of everything, America is the land of opportunity. He thinks he can defy the odds. “We established this company, A Super Taxi, and it was a dream come true,” he says. “I could not control my tears at the time.”

n addition to its app, and its newness, there is one big thing that separates Tekle from other St. Louis cab companies: its ownership structure. The way that traditional taxi companies work in St. Louis is a source of great frustration to many cabbies. For a weekly fee — typically about $650, Mehari says — they get the right to drive a taxi on behalf of one of the companies licensed to work in the area by the MTC. But that doesn’t really get them anything other than that. They own their cars. They buy Continued on pg 10

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Mehari G. Tekle, far right, with Chuck Cole, left, and attorney Drew Baebler, center. | SARAH FENSKE

AContinued SUPER TAXI from pg 8 their own gas. In many cases, the taxi company doesn’t even dispatch them on calls — they have to hustle for them at airports or hotels. This was Mehari’s life for more than two decades. After being settled here by the International Institute, he worked for Acme Battery in south city. But soon after he got married and started his family — he now has three children — he got laid off and the battery company shut down. An acquaintance steered him toward the taxi business. He knew nothing — about driving, about the city. “It took me six months to know about St. Louis,” he says. “Now taxi is my life.” But he was frustrated by the cab company owners, who were happy to take his money but otherwise seemed to do nothing. “I have dream,” he recalls. “One day I will own mine.” In 1998, in fact, he applied to the city of St. Louis to work for himself, to have his own cab company. They turned him down. But nearly two decades later, when they were settling that lawsuit over the moratorium, they got in touch. Was he still interested? He definitely was. Tekle’s goal was to stop the gouging he experienced. He vows to charge A Super Taxi drivers the bare minimum to cover insurance and the costs of the app. Baebler, who filed the lawsuit forcing the MTC to drop its moratorium, now represents A Super Taxi. He describes it as something like a mutual insurance company, with profits, if any, to be shared at the year’s end. Of the 31 drivers who’ve banded with

Mehari, he says, “they’re all owners.” The MTC didn’t make it easy to get started. Among other things, they required the new company to have a free-standing office, not just a suite, and to staff it 24/7, says Baebler. Still, he says, “these guys pooled their resources and got it done.” “They keep setting hurdles,” says Chuck Cole, a longtime cabbie who’s been working with Tekle as something of a consultant. “But in every case — hurdle jumped.” Mehari has drilled his drivers. Dress clean, look sharp. Take care of your vehicle. Don’t complain about how little money you’re making. He knows that consumers have complained that the city’s taxi service is lacking. He is determined to change that. Still, it’s tough out there. “When they come,” he says of Uber, “they destroyed the business.” In October, a St. Louis County Circuit Court will consider whether to issue a permanent injunction against UberX operating in the St. Louis area. But Mehari isn’t waiting for that decision. His taxi drivers are out there on the road now, and he’s beginning a push to get the word out about A Super Taxi’s app beginning this week. He’d like a level playing field, sure — it’s not fair his drivers have to jump through regulatory hoops when Uber’s do not. But regardless of what happens in the courtroom or among his more established competitors, he’s all in. And he believes he’s found the American dream — right here in this old union hall-turned-cab-company headquarters in the heart of south city. “The place you stay if you’re happy, that’s your home,” he says. “I made St. Louis my home.” —Sarah Fenske

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Bernie Anderson, owner of Bernie’s Place, says the smoking ban is “fanaticism.” | DOYLE MURPHY

SMOKING BAN Continued from pg 8 “I got people who stay home, because they can’t smoke,” he says. “It’s killing my business. They’re going to run out all the little corner bars.” Anderson and Prater can’t help but feel singled out. Both say they know of bars that go unnoticed despite far more serious problems than smoking, although they decline to tattle as to whom. (“I’m not no snitching bar owner,” Anderson says.) So far, city enforcement has relied on called-in complaints. In the past year, the Citizens Service Bureau has fielded 55 complaints about illicit smoking, according the health department. “Each was investigated,” according to a statement from the city. “Many complaints investigated find no evidence of violation.” The number of citations is also low because inspectors dished out educational warnings from January to May, the city says. Meanwhile, smoking continues at dozens of bars throughout St. Louis. It’s as if nothing has changed in some of the city’s watering holes. Others make minimal attempts to hide the newly prohibited activity by stashing ash trays behind the bar or providing decapitated beer cans for the ashes. Prater thinks the city should just license smoking and focus on bigger problems, like the heroin users he sees driving in from the county. He figures the ban is about the government taking more of bar owners’ money anyway — might

as well charge bars that want to stay smoky $500 a year for a smoking license and be done with it. “They’d bring in some more revenue,” he says. “Probably bring in another couple hundred grand a year that somebody could steal.” The exemption for casinos and the Missouri Athletic Club particularly irk the owners of the city’s blue-collar taverns. Herb Krischke, owner of the Trophy Room at the edge of the Hill neighborhood, sued the city in December under the premise that his bar’s license to operate Keno qualified it as a gaming facility, protected from the ban. A judge granted a temporary restraining order that briefly shielded the Trophy Room from enforcement, but Krischke lost the case in July. The formerly hazefilled Trophy Room has now been non-smoking for months. Krischke filed an appeal on August 5, but the other owners who hoped to follow his lead were disheartened. “I was like, ‘If he lost, ain’t even no sense in pursuing it,’” Anderson says. The ordinance still doesn’t make any sense to him. If city leaders are really worried about the health of patrons and workers, why does Anderson still gag on smoke any time he decides to go to the casino? Was it really worth it have an inspector work late to investigate his bar? “Either you’re going to enforce the law or you aren’t,” he says. “And if you’re not, you need to go around and pay damages to all the bars you’ve hurt.” n

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Hustle and Joke

Chris Cyr wants to make “comedian” his day job — or at least make you laugh

hris Cyr is an accountant by trade. But lately, he’s been spending more time writing ad and marketing copy. And he’s been dedicating his off-hours to performing live comedy around St. Louis, regularly night-crawling through three, four, five sets a week in clubs across town. With luck and hard work, he hopes to replace his many jobs with just one: stand-up comedian. Cyr turned 40 last week, making him ten years older than the typical St. Louis comedian — and twenty years older than the youngest performers in the scene. His life plan shifted hard three years ago, when he went to an open mic, signed up and caught the performance bug. Fueled by Jameson (a.k.a. “comedy juice”), he’s now been battle-testing his sets with the tenacity of someone building a career. The freelance writing gigs he’s been taking on of late are part of a bigger transition. As Cyr says, “I’ve always enjoyed writing, so this makes sense. I have a few accounting clients, with an ultimate

BY THOMAS CRONE PHOTOS BY HOLLY RAVAZZOLO

goal of getting away from that entirely. I guess I should clarify that I really hated accounting, but it took me a long time to realize it.” His wife of eighteen years, Veronica Rivera-Cyr, has been supportive. He’s a night owl; she’s not. But they resolved any potential tension on their different lifestyles a long time ago. When he first started doing open mics, he was out every night of the week. Now he’s being more strategic. He says, “I have a couple nights a week at home. She understands that it’s something I’m trying to make a job. We don’t have kids. That’s probably the only reason it works.” We followed Cyr through a week in the trenches, one in which he performed six times over five nights and, on one of his rare nights off, even got to enjoy a set by Louis CK at the Funny Bone, a nice karmic reward for, arguably, St. Louis’ nicest comic. Not cleanest; nicest. He’s plenty dirty, plenty funny and plenty humble about where he’s at and where he wants to go. He tries hard not to be that guy; you know, the avuncular old-timer. “Everyone knows you’re older than them,” he says. “You don’t

want to keep drawing that out. You don’t feel that much older, until you hang out and party with them. Then you feel it.”

MONDAY AUGUST 1

HEAVY ANCHOR On the first night of a marathon week for Cyr, he’s at the Heavy Anchor for the first of two consecutive nights. Tonight is an open mic called Comedy Shipwreck; tomorrow, he’ll be back as part of the “Decraplon,” a game show experience that’s one of many comedy events that have sprung up inside this funky, two-room venue on Gravois. Run by Jodie and Joshua Timbrook, the club has changed its programming a lot over five years. It’s still mostly a music venue, but its movie nights, trivia games and early-week punk rock have mostly been replaced by a wide range of comedy. “If it was strictly a music venue, it would get really monotonous,” Jodie Timbrook says. The rotation “keeps me entertained and it keeps our customers entertained.” Unlike other “bar mics,” where customers may be there for reasons other than comedy, the riverfronttimes.com

Anchor’s performance space separates those who want to imbibe in laughter from those who don’t. On Mondays, comic Chad Wallace has taken on emcee duties for Comedy Shipwreck; other nights and concepts are constantly being pitched to Timbrook. Somewhere in the neighborhood of 75 local comics mix-andmatch sets in St. Louis these days. The best-paying are the dedicated comedy rooms at Funny Bone, Hey Guys and Helium, but a growing roster of venues in town, including the Heavy Anchor, Foam, Fitz’s and Foundation Grounds, also host nights of comedy. The list is ever-changing, as some come (Purple Martin) and some go (Melt). And it’s more often the comics, not the clubs, that make events happen, as they seek out new rooms, audiences and time-on-mic. “I have had to say ‘no’ to some people,” Timbrook says. “Obviously, we’re a bar, a business, and we need to sell drinks. That’s how we make rent and pay bills. For any comedy event, the bottom line is that it has to be mutually beneficial. And if it’s an off-night and someone’s got an idea, by all means, go back there and do it and we’ll see.” Continued on pg 16

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HUSTLE & JOKE Continued from pg 15 For this edition of Shipwreck, about 45 people are in the audience. Most are themselves comics. In five-minute sets, they take the stage, run through their material and then introduce the next act. Eventually, most comics do their bit, then move to the other side of the wall, kibitzing in the main bar room. On this evening, before holing up on the bar side, Cyr incorporates a few of the bits he’s working on into his full set. As usual, the jokes are largely based on personal experiences, rather than on absurdities, and come in small, themed bursts. These days, he’s being regularly booked into support slots at places like Helium and Funny Bone, slots that pay. Open mics

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like this still serve a valuable purpose: “You want to have material you know like the back of your hand, you want to show proficiency in your material. Here, you can try something new, the brand new stuff, see if people get into it and see what works.” Like a lot of open mic shows, the performer demographic tonight is white, male and clustered from late-twenties to mid-thirties. That’s something Cyr says is being addressed. “Gender-wise, it’s still very male-dominated,” he says. “Even though there’s diversity, racially, you don’t always see that on shows. You’ll see a show and it’s three white dudes, or three black comics. People are trying to fix that; even the clubs are. I know a lot of people are consciously trying to make events that mix up race

and gender on stage, and that works for the audience as well. I try to bring in comics from out of town, or that no one’s heard of, just to diversify points of view. And racial and gender diversity makes it even better.” On this night, though, it’s a bit of a boys club and the dick jokes are flying. Later in the week, they’ll really go airborne.

WEDNESDAY, AUGUST 3

HELIUM COMEDY CLUB AND THE CROW’S NEST

The new heavy-hitter in town, Helium Comedy Club, is part of a chain of five clubs from Portland to Philadelphia. Since opening earlier this year, it’s brought in name comics, including the upcoming Gilbert Gottfried

and Josh Wolf. Attached to a restaurant and lounge on the lower-level of the Galleria, the room’s built for comedy shows. Along with touring acts, the Galleria also runs a few local showcases, often built on themes. There’s nothing tricky about a show called “Dirty”: It’s made to be dirty. As in durrrrty. Comics of all races, genders and ages are invited to bring their dirtiest material to this paying gig. (Admittedly, the attempt to open up gender fell short, with only the shining Amy Milton on the female ledger.) The audience, as you might guess, buys into the program and wants it as durrrrty as possible, too. Cyr brings his dirty act, sure, as do another dozen comics. The night starts off slow, though, and the first few acts play to a pretty cold crowd. Most performers are given a

short four minutes to win over the audience. Brian McDowell is among the few granted a couple extra and he centers his six minutes on a hilarious riff about dating single moms. Long, lanky, wearing a suit and emphasizing a somewhat awkward vibe onstage, McDowell is seemingly able to flip a night that had been heading the wrong way. If not roaring with laughter, the audience is at least entertained and chuckling. “I would love to say the dazzling brilliance of my jokes is what turned them,” McDonald says later, “but my low self-esteem won’t let me. It’s more about connecting with the audience early, so they will accept what you put in front of them. I can tell within 30 seconds of being on stage whether or not I am going have a good set. It’s all the energy that you bring on riverfronttimes.com

stage and the confidence in what you’re going to say. “I was a little worried about that audience, because there were some funny comics that they didn’t like that much. I was very relieved and slightly surprised that they seemed to dig me.” It’s a tough night for Cyr, and once his set at Helium is finished, it’s not over yet. Instead of lingering after the show in the neighboring lounge to accept his $20 payout and commiserate or celebrate, he’s headed to Maplewood with at least half the comics who performed in Brentwood. There, at the Crow’s Nest, Cyr and co-host JC Sibala preside over Wild Card Wednesday. It’s a standup show, an open mic with a twist: At the last minute, the comics pull an oversized Continued on pg 18

AUGUST 24-30, 2016

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HUSTLE & JOKE Continued from pg 17 card and have to do whatever is suggested; one, for example, has to drink every time the comic does; comics can also win extra time, or be forced to go clean or do crowd work. Cyr, before or after a set, is generally unflappable. Often carrying a notebook and sipping at a Jameson, he’s especially in his element when hosting a show, laughing at other comics, greeting newcomers and chatting up friends. If he’s ever nervous, it must happen on the way to the gig. On this evening, Cyr is back to some of his material from the earlier Dirty show. On stage, he’s not much different from his day-to-day self. He’s invariably dressed in blue Levis and a black shirt. There’s a light sing-song quality to his delivery. It’s a curious experience to hear the exact same jokes time and again, only at different venues. For Cyr, it is what it is. “If you follow a comic from open mic to open mic, you’re hearing what they’re working on right now,” he says. Recently, he was panhandled at a gas station. Bingo. His set now in-

cludes the encounter — including the panhandler’s weirdly specific request for 62 cents. “I do observational stuff,” he says. “If I get panhandled at the gas station, I get five more minutes of material.”

FRIDAY, AUGUST 5

FIREBIRD

There are nights when comedy is just going to work, sometimes for the simple fact that people are in the room to take in, yes, comedy. On this Friday night, Cyr is slotted into a twenty-minute gig, in the sweet spot between emcee Brandon Judd’s ten-minute opening salvo and headliner Kurt Braunohler’s hour-long headliner. About 60 gather inside this simply-appointed rock & roll room and, to their credit, they’re properly in the mood. True for Judd, for his buddy Cyr and for the traveling Braunohler. “A big part of the crowd being so receptive is that it’s a full comedy show. The crowd is primed to see comedy,” Judd notes. “They know they’re going to see people tell jokes the whole time and they’re ready to laugh.

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“It’s easier with a larger crowd because psychology works to get people to laugh more readily and more often when a larger group of people are laughing. I feel I can play around more with material and go off on tangents with a larger crowd because if something is kinda funny, there’s a bigger response than if something was kinda funny with a group of ten or two people, which I’ve had before.” Cyr’s set, like Judd’s, just seems to work this evening. Jokes that Cyr used in other contexts over the week to tepid or flat responses get over on this room. Tonight, they’re unabashedly laughing out loud. “Comedy is subjective,” Judd notes. “Chris is very funny and he’s worked at his material, revised it and rewritten it to get the best response. I saw Chris at his first open mic and he’s come a long way. His experiences are relatable and the crowd can identify with them easily. Even if he’s talking about something unique to him, he can get a crowd on board and make them understood his feelings in that situation.” Rollicking laughter is in the air tonight. As Braunohler approaches his closer, he launches into a minutes-long routine in the voice of a

beaver, humble-bragging about his tail. Audience members are visibly rocking in their chairs, wiping away tears, cracking up without a trace of self-consciousness. Braunohler kills it, and for the warm-up comedians, Judd and Cyr, it feels like their victory, too. It’s hard to imagine any place in St. Louis being happier at that second in time. To see a moment like this, the highest of highs, gives you a sense of why comics risk the lowest of lows. Sometimes, those linger in the distance; other times, they’re your very next show.

SUNDAY, AUGUST 7

NICK’S PUB You wouldn’t think the meanest human beings in the world would all find themselves inside the same bar in Dogtown on a random Sunday night. But you’d be wrong, as three different groups of friends recently gathered at Nick’s Pub with what had to have been a secret psychic agreement forged among complete strangers to torture the on-stage comedians. And Cyr is not just a performer. Continued on pg 20

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HUSTLE & JOKE Continued from pg 19 He’s also a co-host, filling in with Sibala for the usual emcee Kenny Kinds even as a middle-aged couple, a birthday party of ten and a random crew of five all take turns at basic, merciless heckling. Even before the gig, Sibala, now five years deep into his career, is positive the big table in back is going to get stupid; Cyr, ever the optimist, is less sure. He’ll find out soon enough. Cyr warms up to passiveaggression. He starts with a joke that killed a few nights ago. “My mom was fourteen when she had me, and my dad was seventeen. My grandma says that I love the miracle that brought you here. And I alway reply: ‘Grandma, that’s a really statutory miracle.’” Silence. “The president of Comedy City asked me to tell that joke again,” he says, and this time, there is laughter — a bit. “That told me that the room was going to be a weird crowd,” he says later. “They listened and chuckled, but wouldn’t actually laugh.” He actually fares better than opener Rocco Hogan — by now the audience drops the “passive” and opts for pure “aggressive,” badly knocking the young comic off his plan; in what is at least his third set of the week, Hogan takes it on the chin. Next up, the frenetic Ella Fritts winds up arguing with the nearest table of hecklers; Sibala, from his seat, has to threaten one patron after he vows to kill Fritts if she isn’t done in two minutes. So that happens. The gregarious Justin Luke follows a short, crowd-calming set from Sibala, but Luke is so aggravated by the heckling that his last words are aimed directly at a guest: “Your mother should’ve aborted you.” That couldn’t have been Luke’s planned closer, but the night has taken him to what feels like the edge of madness. At times, during the worst of the heckling, Sibala and Cyr can do little more than exchange knowing glances, sipping at their Jamesons and hoping for a change in luck. The Nick’s gig is one of the tougher “bar mics” in town, as a big portion of the audience isn’t there to specifically catch comedy, Kinds notes. “You try to keep them engaged,” he says. “Fatigue can set in, once you get about ten comics into a night. So you use music, effects, anything you can to try to make it an event.” 20

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A comedian prepares: Cyr readies for his set backstage at Helium.

Still, he adds, “it’s a real nice room, it’s really intimate.” Completely sealed, Nick’s comedy space is a patio in name only, a classification that allows relief from the city’s smoking ban. It’s also a quirky room: A life-sized Captain Morgan now blocks the mini-backstage area and the microphone can (and does) get affected by the radio frequencies of passing trains. Luke, already suffering the nightmare of heckling, has his mic completely spazz during this set as the locomotive rumbles past, adding to the mania of his five minutes in Satan’s kitchen. A few folks shine despite the obstacles. Swimming against the evening’s tide, Ben Johnson has his moments, as does Stryker Spurlock. And Milly Naeger is a true beacon, riffing in a fastpaced, surrealistic style. If her material requires a bit more thought than the room wants to offer, it’s a case of pearls cast before swine, really. It happens, Cyr figures, and those who live through it are better for the experience. They’ll last beyond the three-months-and-out syndrome that many open mic warriors suffer — even if, as survivors, they’ll carry scars. “There’s a confrontational part of our culture,” Cyr figures. “We’re loving this idea of having something in our back pocket, which we’re just dying to say. It’s the live-action version of an internet comment.”

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MONDAY, AUGUST 15

STARBUCKS When Cyr watches a comic bomb, he views the scene with the detachment of a scientist. He feels something for that person on stage; hell, he’s been there and knows the feeling. But he’s watching, always watching, how one comic can turn it all around, while another falls deeper, ever deeper, into the pit. “From a sitting-in-the-audience perspective,” Cyr says, “I don’t know if the word is schadenfreude, but there’s something about watching someone fall apart on the stage. You know it’s not physically going to hurt. They could have an anxiety attack about it later, or they might cry at breakfast. But at that moment, they have to deal with it. It can be very entertaining to watch. Bombing has helped me become a better person. Learning to fail at something is really important.” When he’s writing, Cyr generally lingers over iced coffees at the South Kingshighway Starbucks; heck, he takes meetings there. Relaxed and tapping at his heavily stickered laptop, Cyr seems content with the pace of how his new could-be-a-career is going. He knows that the last week’s epic run of shows won’t be unusual going forward; in a few days, he and another comic, Eric Brown, at heading to a contest in Peoria; there’s an episode of his Impolite

Comedy show at Crack Fox to promote; a weekend run as a feature at Helium is almost booked; and he’s always hitting the bar mics. On some nights, like his most recent open mic at the Crow’s Nest, when comic after comic plays to little laughter, perfecting the same riffs for weeks on end, you might wonder why anyone would do it, why they’d put themselves in a position that many people find terrifying. Cyr knows. It’s not the chance for financial gain. “If you’re getting into this for the money,” he says, “it’s just like starting a band: don’t.” Instead, it’s the euphoria of making people laugh, the sheer joy of holding the audience in your hand and making them react. “Someone might give you a deeper philosophical answer to all that, but when you make it flow and it’s funny and they like it, it’s definitely lovely for the narcissism that every performer has on some level.” The moment when your jokes work, he says, makes you feel “great. It just makes you ... feel … great. Especially because I don’t like crowds; I detest being in a crowded place. But I also like attention. “To me, being on stage, I’m making myself the center of attention on my own terms. Plus you’ve made people laugh, providing them an involuntary response. Physically, viscerally, it just feels great.” n

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This Autumn, the Arts

Thirteen new arts events in St. Louis this fall will challenge, PAUL FRISWOLD intrigue and maybe even thrill you

hat great autumn weather is nothing but myth in St. Louis anymore. Early fall is more like early summer, and late fall is essentially spring, only with the leaves jumping off the trees rather than springing forth. But the fall arts season, well, that remains unchanged by the vagaries of climate or massive weather systems. By now, the local theater companies are already rehearsing season-opening shows, and the musicians are rosining bows and selecting new reeds in hopes of a flawless opening night. Practices become a little more urgent, and the technical director’s first cigarette break of the day is a little bit shorter than yesterday. Because sooner than you think the tickets are getting ripped and the audiences are taking seats with a little buzzy anticipation. Start booking the babysitter now, friend — it’s all about to happen, and you’d be a fool to miss any of it. See you in the lobby.

1. LOVE? ACTUALLY... If news of Hamilton coming to St. Louis has you aching for a little of that Lin-Manuel Miranda magic, you can get an early fix at the start of September, courtesy of R-S Theatrics. The company opens its season with Love? Actually … An Evening of Musical One-Acts. The first show is the audience-controlled “Out of A Bowl,” and the second is Steven Serpa’s short opera “Thyrsis & Amaranth,” based on the La Fontaine fable of the same name, about young shepherds in love. The finale is Miranda’s “21 Chump Street,” a musical about a high school student infatuated with the new kid at school — who is actually an undercover cop. You may have heard both the musical and the real-life story that inspired it on This American Life, but now you can hear and see it live and in person. Westport Playhouse (635 Westport Plaza, Maryland Heights; www.r-stheatrics.com). September 2-18. $15-$25.

2. AMERICAN RENEGADE Chamber Project St. Louis continues to promote chamber music for a 21st-century audience. The group performs in non-traditional venues (clubs, galleries and the like), collaborating with a wide range of artists to expand the boundaries of what has long been considered classical music. Its season opener is dedicated to the very American idea of going your own way. American Renegade includes performances of the “racing dance” “Zango Badango” by Pulitzer Prize-winning composer Jennifer Higdon, Bryce Dessner’s folksy “Murder Ballades” (you might know Dessner as the guitarist for the National, or the guy who scored The Revenant) and big daddy Aaron Copland’s Appalachian Spring. 560 Music Center (560 Trinity Avenue, University City; www.chamberprojectstl. org). September 9. $5-$15.

3. REAL/RADICAL/PSYCHOLOGICAL: THE COLLECTION ON DISPLAY Washington University’s Sam Fox School of Design & Visual Arts and the Mildred Lane Kemper Art Museum both celebrate their tenth anniversary this year. The birthday duo share a joint party with the opening of Real/Radical/Psychological: The Collection on Display, an exhibition that showcases work drawn from the museum’s deep collection, which was begun in 1881. Three curators have organized the show into three sections that explore how our ideas of what’s real, what’s radical and what’s psychological (artistically speaking) has changed. The opening reception includes live music, food trucks, open studios and demos by Sam Fox School artists and a special commission designed by alumnus Ebon G. Patterson in conjunction with La Patisserie Chouquette. Mildred Lane Kemper Museum (1 Brookings Drive on Washington University’s campus; www.kemperartmuseum.org). September 9-January 17. Free. 22

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Karl Zerbe (American, b. Germany, 1903–1972), Armory, 1943. Encaustic on canvas, 62 1/2 x 40”. Mildred Lane Kemper Art Museum, Washington University in St. Louis. University purchase, Kende Sale Fund, 1946.

4. KELLEY WALKER: DIRECT DRIVE American artist Kelley Walker will have his first solo American museum show right here, thanks to the Contemporary Art Museum St. Louis. The museum is throwing wide its doors for Walker, allowing him to take over the entire building with works both old and new. Walker likes to explore the ways an image travels from one culture to the next, and how each culture perceives the image once it is theirs. His new series, Black Star Press, digitally prints chocolate (white, milk and dark) on canvas, depicting images of racial strife in a very unusual medium. As the images in the series are rotated 90 degrees, the power dynamic on display is obscured, altered and eventually reversed. Contemporary Art Museum St. Louis (3750 Washington Boulevard; www.camstl.org). September 16-December 31. Free.

5. MAKING A SCENE: A ST. LOUIS THEATRE EXPO St. Louis has an exceptional theater scene. If you haven’t partaken of it yet, you can rectify that buffet-style at Making A Scene: A St. Louis Theatre Expo. The event is a deep dive into how theater gets made, with demonstrations in how a show is costumed, the arts of makeup and stage combat, and discussions with Repertory Theatre of Saint Louis artistic director Steven Woolf, actor Joneal Joplin and actor/the-

Saint Louis Ballet does high fashion this October. | COURTESY TOUHILL PERFORMING ARTS CENTER.

ater professor Lara Teeter. Making A Scene also gives you a chance to meet and talk with members of Opera Theatre of St. Louis, New Line Theatre, St. Louis Actors Studio, New Jewish Theatre and other companies. The Fox Performing Arts Teens and the Improv Shop round out the day with performances. Loretto-Hilton Center (130 Edgar Road, Webster Groves; www.repstl.org). September 17. Free.

6. VISION: WHERE BALLET + FASHION MEET Costuming is important for dancers because what they wear tells a visual story, even as it enhances (or hinders) their movements. The nexus of fashion and motion is explored in the Saint Louis Ballet show Vision: Where Ballet + Fashion Meet. Choreographers Emery LeCrone and Tom Gold fuse classical ballet and innovative thinking in two new pieces featuring costumes designed by Jordana Warmflash and Emily Brady Koplar. Touhill Performing Arts Center on the University of Missouri-St. Louis Campus (1 University Drive at Natural Bridge Road; www.stlouisballet.org). October 8. $24-$59.

7. TRIBUTE TO PRINCE Prince was a once-in-a-century talent, and it’s still difficult to believe he’s gone. Your ongoing transition to living in a Prince-less world can be aided by conductor Brent Havens and the Saint Louis Symphony Orchestra’s Tribute to Prince. The program includes the Minnesota Maestro’s greatest hits and most beloved songs — “When Doves Cry” and “U Got the Look” among them. Is it too much to ask for Havens and company to go deep and break out some of that Black Album nastiness? Powell Hall (718 North Grand Boulevard; www.slso.org). October 9. $35-$98.

8. UNTIL THE FLOOD If we have any hope of understanding what’s going in St. Louis, it comes through the arts. Department of Justice reports, newscasts, lengthy journalistic breakdowns and oral histories can tell us what happened at a certain point in time, but true illumination must be found in a concert hall, in a gallery or on the stage. Playwright Dael Orlandersmith, a Pulitzer Prize finalist, visited St. Louis in order to interview anybody who was willing to speak with her about life in St. Louis during the unrest that followed Ferguson. Her mission was not to find blame or absolve anyone of guilt — she wanted only to hear what St. Louisans had to say about St. Louis. The resulting play, Until the Flood, is a complex piece that tells the St. Louis story — which is really a series of stories — in a symphony of voices. The Repertory Theatre of Saint Louis commissioned the work to give us a chance to hear ourselves think. We’d be fools not to take advantage of that. Loretto-Hilton Center (130 Edgar Road, Webster Groves; www.repstl.org). October 12-November 6. $18-$81.50

9. THE ROCKY HORROR SHOW The Rocky Horror Picture Show is that rare cult classic musical that deserves to be called “iconic” — it’s so big, Fox is broadcasting a celebrity-studded version live this October. (Does that mean middle America is finally comfortable with Dr. Frank N. Furter?) But to really feel the show, you need to see it in its original, theatrical format. That’s where Stray Dog Theatre comes in. The company opens its new season with Richard O’Brien’s Rocky Horror Show, one of the greatest live experiences you can have on this planet. The cast has yet to be officially announced, but if you’re a close reader of local theater programs you may have already seen who’s playing the good doctor. No spoilers, but let’s just say it’s going to be a hoot. Tower Grove Abbey (2336 Tennessee Avenue; www.straydogtheatre.org). October 13-29. $20-$25. Continued on pg 24 riverfronttimes.com

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FALL ARTS Continued from pg 23

The cast of Fun Home. | © JOAN MARCUS

10. CONFLICTS OF INTEREST: ART AND WAR IN MODERN JAPAN The Saint Louis Art Museum now has one of the world’s largest collections of Meiji-period military art, thanks to a gift of more than 1,400 Japanese prints donated by Charles and Rosalyn Lowenhaupt. Conflicts of Interest: Art and War in Modern Japan will include more than 180 objects that demonstrate the technical excellence of Japanese woodblock printing before the advent of modern technological innovations. Among the works on display are many made by Kobayashi Kiyochika, the acknowledged master of print art from the Meiji era. Saint Louis Art Museum (1 Fine Arts Drive; www.slam.org). October 16-January 8.

11. NOSFERATU WITH THE INVINCIBLE CZARS

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AUGUST 24-30, 2016

Cheers, the long-running sitcom from the powerhouse Charles/Burrows/ Charles production company, has stayed fixed in American pop culture consciousness with the tidy shorthand “Sam-Diane relationship.” The phrase is based on the show’s initial romantic premise — that ex-jock Lothario Sam Malone and refugee-from-academia Diane Chambers were destined to end up together despite their fractious work relationship. This unique stage adaptation uses the scripts for the show’s first season as the basis for its story, which sees Coach, Carla, Cliff, Norm and, yes, Sam and Diane slinging wisecracks, suds and barbs in Boston’s friendliest bar. Peabody Opera House (1400 Market Street; www.peabodyoperahouse. com). October 28-30. $30-$82.

13. FUN HOME

F.W. Murnau’s Nosferatu may be just a rehash of Bram Stoker’s Dracula with a bestial monster in place of the suave vampire, but it’s a rehash with impeccable style. The silent film is moody and atmospheric, and Max Schreck’s legendary performance as the foul Count Orlock is supremely eerie. It’s even better with a new soundtrack. The Invincible Czars is an Austin, Texas, band that has composed a modern score for the film that incorporates violin, music box, glockenspiel and several other unusual instruments. Their music also interpolates Bela Bartok’s Romanian Folk Dances. The band also encourage the audience to dress in Halloween-appropriate outfits for the screening; it should be an incredible night of sound and vision. Webster University’s Moore Auditorium (470 East Lockwood Avenue, Webster Groves; www.webster.edu/ film-series). October 22. $10. 24

12. CHEERS LIVE ON STAGE

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Alison Bechdel’s graphic novel memoir Fun Home tackles growing up in rural Pennsylvania as the daughter of a closeted funeral home director. Bechdel’s recursive narration and meticulous sense of detail allow the reader to see familiar events in new ways as the narrator ages and gains perspective on things that confused her when younger. Translating that shifting sense of time and awareness to the stage is no easy task, but Lisa Kron and Jeanine Tesori’s musical adaption of the book was very well received — to the tune of five Tony Awards, including Best Musical. Fox Theatre (527 North Grand Boulevard; www.fabulousfox.com). November 15-27. Single ticket price TBA. For more things to do this fall, and every week throughout the year, check out our online calendar at www.riverfronttimes.com/stlouis/EventSearch. To submit an event, please visit posting.riverfronttimes.com/ stlouis/Events/AddEvent.

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Tuesday, August 30— ’80s Disco Tribute Featuring the Melvin Turnage Band Tuesday, September 6—Starlifter: The U.S. Air Force Band of Mid-America (pop, rock, and soul) Tuesday, September 13—First Call Band Featuring Courtney Loveless: A Tribute to Phyllis Hyman Tuesday, September 20— Gerald Warren’s Soul Steppers Revue Tuesday, September 27—Queens Blvd. (’80s rock music) Tuesday, October 4—Fabulous Motown Revue Featuring STL’s best food trucks! No barbecue grills, tents, large umbrellas, or unauthorized solicitation In the event of inclement weather, call (800) 916-8212 after 3pm, or listen to iHeartMedia radio stations. riverfronttimes.com

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WEEK OF AUGUST 26-31

iple eek. OCA

The murals that once covered shattered storefronts in Ferguson return to multiple locations this week. | COURTESY OF COCA

BY PAUL FRISWOLD

FRIDAY 0826 Camp Lik-a-Twa-TaLotta 2 Summer is coming to an end, and so are the Randy Dandies. The St. Louis burlesque troupe calls it a day with a return visit to Camp Lik-a-Twa-Ta-Lotta. The camp is broke and the counselors are running out of options to save the day. Meanwhile, the rich kids across the lake at Camp Kik-A-Dong still have everything. Desperate times call for desperate measures, and those Lik-a-Twa-Ta-Lotta gals and guys fight dirty. Expect shenanigans in Camp Lik-a-Twa-TaLotta 2: Beating Around the Bush,

which takes place at 9 p.m. at the Bootleg at Atomic Cowboy (4140 Manchester Avenue; www.atomiccowboystl.com). Get there at 8 p.m. to see Narvel P. Tuffnuts’ hot dog eating contest and Blyre Cpanx’s hula hoop competition. Tuba-andukelele duo Sophisticated Babies round out the pre-show fun. Tickets are just $15.

The Heir Apparent The wealthy Geronte is sadly dying. He’s very old, and he’s been dying for a long time now, but this is surely the end. Still, he bravely soldiers on with his plan to wed the lissome Isabelle. But Isabelle loves Eraste, Gerona’s upstanding and penniless would-be heir. Their

plan was to wait out the old man and then live happily ever after on Eraste’s inherited wealth. Now what? Geronte’s servant Lisette conspires with the youngsters and Eraste’s servant Crispin to make sure their dream wedding comes true — and if Geronte has to die, let him die. David Ives’ witty update of The Heir Apparent, a little-known French farce written by the even lesser-known Jean-François Regnard, took Off-Broadway by storm in 2014. Now St. Louis Shakespeare presents The Heir Apparent at 8 p.m. Friday and Saturday and 2 p.m. Sunday (August 26 to September 4) at the Ivory Theatre (7620 Michigan Avenue; www.stlshakespeare.org). There is one 7:30 p.m. show on Thursday, September 2. Tickets are $15 to $20. riverfronttimes.com

SATURDAY 0827 Outside In: Paint for Peace In the aftermath of the unrest following the death of Michael Brown, artists of all skill levels and backgrounds came together to transform the boarded-up storefronts in Ferguson and along South Grand through the power of art. Those blank plywood facades went from being grim reminders of our failings to colorful and hopeful signposts on the way to reconciliation and mutual empathy. Those original murals of doves and mandalas and affirmations of

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Festival of Nations brings the world to Tower Grove Park. peace and community were taken down and preserved during the rebuilding process so that they could go on display at a later date. The time is now. Outside In: Paint for Peace, the new exhibition in the Millstone Gallery at the Center of Creative Arts (524 Trinity Avenue, University City; www.cocastl.org), is a selection of those Ferguson murals. More of them will be displayed concurrently at the Ferguson Youth Initiative, Missouri History Museum, Vaughn Cultural Center, University of Missouri-St. Louis’ Gallery 210 and the Sheldon. Outside In: Paint for Peace remains up at COCA from August 27 to October 30. Admission is free.

STARTING AS LOW AS $20

SATURDAY 0827 Festival of Nations

Bill T. Jones / Arnie Zane Company Sept 30 & Oct 1, 2016 Romeo & Juliet Starring Grand Rapids Ballet nov 4 & 5, 2016

It’s no secret that the International Institute’s Festival of Nations is one of the best two-day parties in the city. With more than 40 booths serving dishes from around the world, live music and dance from places as diverse as Mexico (Mariachi Nuevo Azteca), North and West Africa (Tribe Azuka) and Bulgaria (the Bulgarian School of St. Louis), along with a marketplace selling things you’ve never seen before and yet can suddenly not imagine living without, the Festival of Nations celebrates the great American rite of immigration. Many of the people on stage and working the booths are new Americans or in the process of becoming Americans, just like those of us who were born here. Come on down and meet the new neighbors — they’re just like

PNC Arts Alive New Dance Horizons V: Women Who Inspire march 3 & 4, 2017 Taj Express: The Bollywood Musical Revue march 31 & april 1, 2017 10th Annual Emerson SPRING TO DANCE® FESTIVAL 2017 may 26, 27 & 28, 2017 memorial day weekend Tickets: 314.534.6622 | dancestlouis.org All performances at the Touhill Performing Arts Center

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us, having fun at the Festival of Nations. The festival is open from 10 a.m. to 7 p.m. Saturday and 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. Sunday (August 27 and 28) at Tower Grove Park (4256 Magnolia Avenue; www.festivalofnationsstl.org). Admission is free.

SUNDAY 0828 Raiders! How much do you love your favorite movie? Can you quote it all the way through? Do you dress up as your favorite character for Halloween? No matter how great your love for Mannequin (we’re assuming here), Chris Strompolos, Eric Zala and Jayson Lamb loved Raiders of the Lost Ark even more. The trio channeled that love into a shot-for-shot recreation of the film — as twelve-year-old kids. With Strompolos as Indiana Jones, Zala doubling as producer and the villainous Belloq, and Lamb serving as cinematographer, the trio spent the next seven summers finishing their version of the film. All that was missing was the fight between Indy and the hulking Nazi underneath and on the Flying Wing. Twenty-five years later, the boys returned with a Kickstarter campaign to raise the necessary funds to get that final shot. It sounds insane, but it’s all true. Jeremy Coon and Tim Skousen reveal the truth behind the childhood obsession in the documentary Raiders! The Greatest Fan Film Ever Made. The doc is part of a double feature with the boys’ summer project, Raiders of the Lost Ark: The Adaptation, at the Webster Film Series. Screenings take

place a Sunday 4) at W Auditor Avenue series).

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UniverSoul Circus sets up downtown. | BOON VONG place at 7:30 p.m. Friday through Sunday (August 26 to September 4) at Webster University’s Moore Auditorium (470 East Lockwood Avenue; www.webster.edu/filmseries). Tickets are $4 to $6.

TUESDAY 0830 Yoga Hosers Kevin Smith left Jersey behind in his last few films (the Canadian horror flick Tusk, and the teens vs. religious fundamentalists thriller Red State), with mixed results. He returns to Canada for his new film Yoga Hosers, which stars Harley Quinn Smith (his daughter) and Lily-Rose Depp (daughter of Johnny) as Colleen McKenzie and Colleen Collette, a pair of sophomores who just want to go to the senior dance. The two Colleens work in a Winnipeg convenience store, play in a band and spend a lot of time on their phones. But when they discover an ancient evil lurking underneath the store, they realize it’s up to them to save Manitoba. A special screening of Yoga Hosers takes place at 7 p.m. tonight at the Wehrenberg Ronnies 20 Cine (5320 South Lindbergh Boulevard; www.fathomevents. com), prior to the film’s general release. Tickets are $15.

WEDNESDAY 0831 UniverSoul Circus The St. Louis region has long been a stop on UniverSoul Circus’ never-ending tour of the world. But this year the circus will set up in downtown St. Louis in addition to playing its traditional stand at Jamestown Mall. From Tuesday through Monday (August 29 to September 5), the UniverSoul tent will be staked out on the parking lot at 111 North Broadway (www. universoulcircus.org). Ringmaster Lucky Malatsi, the multi-talented acrobat, dancer and contortionist, welcomes you to an evening of family-friendly fun ranging from a Chilean comedy dog act to the Airborne Motorcycles of California. There are two shows daily; see the website for details. Tickets are $15 to $35. Planning an event, exhibiting your art or putting on a play? Let us know and we’ll include it in the Night & Day section or publish a listing in the online calendar — for free! Send details via e-mail (calendar@ riverfronttimes.com), fax (314-754-6416) or mail (6358 Delmar Boulevard, Suite 200, St. Louis, MO 63130, attn: Calendar). Include the date, time, price, contact information and location (including ZIP code). Please submit information three weeks prior to the date of your event. No telephone submissions will be accepted. Find more events online at www.riverfronttimes.com.

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AUGUST 24-30, 2016

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FILM

[REVIEW]

When Barry Met Michelle An unnecessary origin story for the first family does no harm, but little good either Written by

ROBERT HUNT Southside With You

Written and directed by Richard Tanne. Starring Tika Sumpter, Parker Sawyers and Vanessa Bell Calloway. Opens August 26 at multiple theaters.

ne summer day in 1989, a young Chicago attorney spent a long day with one of her firm’s temporary associates. They visited an art museum, attended a community organization meeting and saw Spike Lee’s just-released Do the Right Thing. The slight new film Southside With You is based on the events of that day (or date — the two characters disagree several times on how to categorize it). It rests on a gimmick which they waste no time in revealing. The woman is Michelle Robinson, and her companion is Barack Obama, just shy of 28 years. We all know the ending to the story: They married thirteen years later and remain a couple, arguably one of the world’s most admired, to this day. Southside With You, the feature debut of writer-director Richard Tanne, is an odd hybrid of a film, one that is simultaneously modest and ambitious. It is, first and foremost, a would-be idyll in which two attractive, likable people chat and get to know each other, with familiar Chicago locations providing the background. They talk about many things — their families, their career goals, the TV series Good Times and the comparative claims of Innervisions and Talking Book for Stevie Wonder’s best album. (At this point, one must weigh in to object to an obvious inaccuracy: Have neither of them heard Songs in the Key of Life?) But for all their talk, the dialogue remains

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Tika Sumpter and Parker Sawyers in Southside with You. | PAT SCOLA, COURTESY OF MIRAMAX AND ROADSIDE ATTRACTIONS

The film feels like a short that has been expanded to three times its proper size. almost deliberately insubstantial, functioning more as cultural and historical markers for the viewer than as real conversation. Though it clocks in at a mere 84 minutes, the film feels like a short has been unnecessarily expanded to three times its proper size. Much of the effectiveness of the film rests on the amiable performances of Tika Sumpter and Parker Sawyers as, respectively, Michelle and Barack, but this too is a mixed blessing. On one hand, we are to believe that we are watching two (relatively) young people siz-

AUGUST 24-30, 2016

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ing each other up as potential partners, expressing their feelings and carefully revealing themselves. But we’re also supposed to see in them the mannerisms and phrasings of the Obamas as we know them today, to recognize what are essentially their public personae. There are moments where the actors seem to become self-consciously aware of their real-life counterparts and come dangerously close to the line between acting and the kind of imitation one might see in a Saturday Night Live sketch. The centerpiece of the film is a neighborhood meeting in which Obama speaks, steering a crowd from unfocused anger to collective action as they discuss plans to petition the city for a community center. It’s a crucial moment for both the film and the couple: Dramatically, it’s the point at which Michelle sees through her date’s cool exterior and recognizes his political acumen; it’s also where we see Sawyers at his most assuredly Obama-like, working the audience and winning them over to his brand of practical problem-solving. But it’s hampered by stereo-

typical dialogue and a sense that the filmmakers have contrived a purely generic cause that allows the film to look political without actually offering any real sense of politics. It’s a safe, structured scene that ultimately places appearances over meaning. So while Southside With You is an affectionate and respectful tribute to our 44th President and his admirable wife, they deserve a more insightful one. Sumpter, who also produced the film, has described Southside With You as Obama’s “origin story,” reducing the narrative to one of the more tiresome conventions of comic book films, and perhaps that’s one of its problems. Once you look over a few of its more cliched aspects — Obama’s chain-smoking and his resentment of his African father — it doesn’t have much to say about the real Obamas, who they are or how they got that way. Super heroes are relatively easy to explain — we all understand that a radioactive spider bite is going to be a life-changing event for Peter Parker — but the real world is rarely so convenient or so simple. n

THE ARTS [ S TA G E ]

Immigrant Song A young Englishwoman alone in the U.S. makes for a surprisingly captivating musical in the hands of New Line Theatre Written by

PAUL FRISWOLD Tell Me on a Sunday

Music by Andrew Lloyd Webber lyrics by Don Black and Richard Maltby, Jr. Directed by Mike Dowdy-Windsor Presented by New Line Theatre through August 27 at the Marcelle Theater (3310 Samuel Shepard Drive; www.newlinetheatre. com). Tickets are $15 to $25.

ndrew Lloyd Webber’s Tell Me on a Sunday is nothing like an “Andrew Lloyd Webber” musical. There is no bombast, no cast of thousands and no stray cats wandering across stage to the cloying strains of “Memory.” Instead of overwhelming you with a barrage of sights and sounds, Webber seduces you with a delicate musical about an Englishwoman trying to make her way in America — and find love while she’s at it. Tell Me on a Sunday is as intimate as a handwritten letter, and as welcome, too. It’s a surprising change of pace for the man who ambushed the world with the monstrous Starlight Express. Of course it’s no surprise that New Line Theatre’s season-closing production of the show wrings so much joy from Tell Me on a Sunday; the company has a way with musicals. But this production is helmed by Mike Dowdy-Windsor in his solo directorial debut, not company founder and artistic director Scott Miller. It’s an auspicious beginning for Dowdy-Windsor, who demonstrates a deft touch for pacing and staging and a keen understanding of character. New Line stalwart Sarah Porter plays Emma, the young woman who leaves England for New York and then Los Angeles in search

Sarah Porter stars in Tell Me on a Sunday. | JILL RITTER LINDBERG of love despite breakup after breakup. Porter has a massive, thrilling voice often put to the test in showstopping, heart-inthroat songs, but here she’s given the opportunity to showcase an entirely different set of vocal skills. “Capped Teeth and Caesar Salad,” a song about the artificial nature of Los Angeles, is an honest-to-God bouncy pop song with a clockwork rhythm and Donovan’s old flute. Porter drifts through it breezily, and every time she hits the refrain “Have a nice day,” her voice gets breathier and more vacuous. Porter also deftly twists and turns through the rapid-fire accusations of “You Made Me Think

It’s as intimate as a hand-written letter, and as welcome, too. You Were In Love,” a song about deception couched in Hollywood terminology. (Most of the show’s riverfronttimes.com

lyrics are by Don Black, and they are sharp, witty and catchy.) Musical director/pianist Nat Jackson and the band do an excellent job supporting Porter throughout the show, not that there was a chance they would instead drown out her voice. The combination of cello (Eric Bateman), percussion (Clancy Newell), bass (Jake Stergos) and reeds (Harrison Rich) is an inspired one, giving the show a jazz feel that enhances its coziness. Rich in particular does MVP work, switching between flute and saxophone as needed. His saxophone work is downright tasteful in “Come Back with the Same Look in Your Eyes,” a slinky number about keeping the passion going through a protracted absence that is aided by Jackson’s dexterous electric piano. But even though it’s a onewoman show, this is no mere song recital. Porter shows off her acting chops in “Take That Look Off Your Face,” as she hears from a “friend” that her current beau has been spotted with someone else. Her surprise builds to anger, which she channels into a focused beam of rage at the bearer of bad news. Porter makes it look easy, but even at the peak of her pique she hews to the melody without cracking. It’s impressive work, even for her. At the opposite end of the emotional spectrum is her performance of the title track, a bittersweet song of loss and acceptance as another romance fizzles. Porter sings it tenderly, wrapping herself in melancholia as she once again finds herself alone in foreign country. It’s a private moment made public as Emma drops her tough-girl facade and abandons all her worldliness in favor of telling the truth — to her unfaithful boyfriend, and to herself. This is easily my favorite Andrew Lloyd Webber song, in what is easily my favorite Andrew Lloyd Webber show. That might sound like faint praise — but I hate Andrew Lloyd Webber the same way boys hate baths: Immediately, unthinkingly and with foot-stamping petulance. Dowdy-Windsor and Porter have trumped that hatred with a lovely little show that celebrates our human need for love. It’s an undeniable winner, even though it’s a Webber. n

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Sabor Si’s “Dirty Pig” tostada employs black beans, lettuce and pineapple pork. | MABEL SUEN [REVIEW]

The Secret Life of Tacos Some of the tastiest tacos in the city are being sold out of an unassuming corner market Written by

CHERYL BAEHR Sabor Si

1133 Bellevue Avenue (Inside the In & Out Market), Richmond Heights; 314-647-2696. Sat. 12-3 p.m.

very Saturday — sometimes at 11:45 a.m., sometimes a little after noon — Corrye Lopez pulls her black Honda SUV up alongside the In & Out Market and begins unpacking. Her daughter, mother-in-law and

sister-in-law jump out to join her, grabbing a cooler, some baskets and boxes of kitchen implements, as if they’re setting up for a family cookout in the park. Unlike the neighbors who frequent the In & Out, though, the Lopezes are not here to grab provisions. Instead, they head over to their usual corner spot, next to the soda fountain and alongside the ATM, to set up their taco stand. Lopez’s in-laws heat up the electric griddle and fill the portable food warmer with steaming mounds of pork, beef and chicken. Her daughter decorates the booth with brightly colored wicker baskets and silk flowers while Lopez directs and sets up the accouterments, chatting with the line of regulars that began to form even before she arrived. Almost always, Stevie Wonder is playing in the background. These are Saturday afternoons at the In & Out, a quintessential corner bodega that sits at the intersection of Wise and Bellevue

in Richmond Heights and has become the surprising home to one of the city’s most delicious dining secrets. Nicknamed “The Brodega” after the Mr. T painting that hangs over the cash register, the market has been around for 40-plus years, though Sabor Si has only been a part of the picture for the past few months. After tabling her idea of starting a food truck, Lopez approached the market owners about setting up a taco stand in the corner of the market, counter service only. For Lopez, the arrangement would be a way to test the restaurant business waters before diving in head-first. For the market’s owners, her presence would mean increased foot traffic from a crowd that’s all but guaranteed to walk out with a six-pack of Negra Modelo. The lines (at times stretching ten-deep, with waits approaching fifteen minutes just to order), show that the plan is working even better than Lopez anticipated. Some days, Sabor Si’s success riverfronttimes.com

gets a little overwhelming for Lopez. She’s not ready to quit her day job just yet — in fact, she may never be. A longtime pre-school and special education teacher, Lopez loves the kids at school like her own, but still needs to decompress after long days spent chasing after them. Nearly every night after work, Lopez comes home and heads to the kitchen to, in her words, “zen out” over the stove, perfecting her techniques and experimenting with recipes. She wanted to share the fruits of her labor with the community, so she set up Sabor Si for fun, with the intention of taking things slowly and seeing where things go. That’s why she operates the taco stand only one day a week, and even then only from roughly noon until 3 p.m. Though her authentic food (and impeccable Spanish) suggest otherwise, Lopez is not from Mexico. She fell in love with the cuisine through her husband and his ex-

AUGUST 24-30, 2016

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SABOR SI Continued from pg 33 tended family, who hail from a small town outside of Mexico City. On family trips to her husband’s homeland, Lopez was taken by the food, particularly the street taco culture, and tried to recreate it back home in St. Louis. She’s nailed it. Her signature street tacos, served two to an order, are made with soft flour tortillas, griddled right in front of you. She overstuffs them with either beef or chicken. The former is made from tender, marinated flank steak that has the dual zing of lime juice and black pepper; the latter is succulent pulled chicken spiked with warm chiles and garlic. Lopez dresses them to specification, but suggests just a sprinkle of white onion and fresh cilantro. She layers two, sometimes three, tortillas together because one can’t contain the juice from the meat, though I wonder who’d complain about getting their sleeves messy for something this wonderful. Sabor Si’s vegetarian taco consists of marinated mushrooms laden with so much garlic it’s laughable — in the sense that it makes you chuckle with glee. Lopez sautées them on the griddle to order so that the pungent umami steam perfumes the entire market. The plump portabellas, too, are as satisfying as any of her meat offerings. You’ll get laughed out of the market if you tell that to fans of her chorizo, though. Members of this loyal cohort tend to be the ones who arrive the earliest, and it’s clear why. Lopez’s version of the Mexican pork sausage is rich, fatty and flavored with smoky paprika, chiles and garlic. Though flour is the default on most of her tacos, she will put the chorizo in

The walk-up stand features some incredible (and affordably priced) tacos. | MABEL SUEN corn tortillas on request and even suggests this option to first-timers. The spicy meat drippings soak into the sweet corn tortillas for such a perfect experience, you won’t want any other condiments. Lopez diverges from the Mexican playbook with her Korean-style pork tacos, which could compete with anything served out of a trendy L.A. food truck. Tender pork belly is glazed with soy, ginger, garlic and chili, which forms a salty-sweet caramelized coating. The meat is placed in crunchy corn tortillas and dressed with tangy Asian-style slaw to balance the richness. It’s not hot, though — unless you ask Lopez to dress the dish with fresh jalapeno slices for a sweat-inducing kick.

The beauty of Lopez’s laidback operation is that she can add new things to her menu on a whim. The “Dirty Pig,” her most recent addition, is a traditional pork dish that she’s been playing around with for a while. She seasons the meat, wraps it in banana leaves and slow-cooks it to the point that it falls apart like pulled pork. The result is vibrant orange-hued meat reminiscent of a tangy, chile-spiked al pastor. You can order it on anything, though I recommend having her spread it liberally over the black bean enchilada. The pork-fat laden refried beans pack a heat that creeps up on you and serve as a beautiful backdrop for the pork’s sweet spice. Not one to limit herself, Lopez has been experimenting with handmade

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naan as an alternate edible canvas. A preschool teacher at heart, she offers these pillow-soft flatbreads with simple melted cheese as a kidfriendly option, or you can smother them with any of her other toppings. If you don’t seize this opportunity to make chorizo-covered cheesy bread, by god, something is wrong with you. Lopez calls this build-your-own naan option “The Queen,” as in “You’re the queen, so you get to do what you want.” But really, there is only one queen at the In & Out — and now that the word is out, her kingdom can only get bigger. n

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SHORT ORDERS

[SIDE DISH]

An Acclaimed Chef Returns Home Written by

CHERYL BAEHR

ob Connoley didn’t start foraging because he was following the trends or trying to emulate an acclaimed Danish chef. He did it out of necessity. “At first, I started out with a soup and salad cafe, but it wasn’t challenging for me for a lot of reasons,” the chef says of his New Mexico restaurant, the Curious Kumquat. “I started doing the dinner side, which tapped into my interests — that’s when the molecular gastronomy and locavore movements were taking off, so I jumped right in. But the foraged-food aspect evolved because I lived in such a remote community. I didn’t have the luxury of local farmers and food purveyors for seasonal ingredients, so I looked to the Apache culture to learn about foraging. At that point, the dinners just evolved.” For Connoley, the evolution of his kitchen is in line with the changes that brought him into the restaurant business in the first place. A Bridgeton native, Connoley spent eighteen years in nonprofit management, which moved him around from town to town and ultimately to the tiny town of Silver City, New Mexico. He and his husband Tyler decided to open a gourmet grocery store as a way to settle down in one place. Three years later, they opened a restaurant component as well. They hired a chef, but she got pregnant about three months in and decided to leave. Connoley had no choice but to take over the kitchen himself. “I had never worked in a restaurant before, but I was familiar with food and just jumped in,” Connoley recalls. The Curious Kumquat went on to be a phenomenal success. Gastronomica and the New York Times

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The James Beard nominee plans to open a St. Louis restaurant next year. | JAY HEMPHILL took notice, as did the James Beard Foundation when they nominated him for Best Chef: Southwest in 2014. Despite the accolades, Connoley felt the need to come back to his native St. Louis so he could be close to his family. He closed the Curious Kumquat this past summer and moved back to town with plans of opening a restaurant some time in 2017. “I’ve been gone 30 years, and I’m just at the age where it was time to come back,” Connoley says. “But from the food side, it’s such a good time to be back, because so much is going on.” Connoley explains that his vision is for “something special — that people will tell their coworkers about on Monday morning.” Ideally, the restaurant will offer small, ticketed seating nightly, where his guests will be seated at a table around him as he cooks. “It will give me a chance to tell the story of the food but also have the fun of a social setting,” Connoley says. “It will draw upon my passion for foraged food,

AUGUST 24-30, 2016

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and it will be a tasting menu, but I don’t want people to get hung up on that term. ... I’m not doing a tasting menu just for the sake of drawing out twenty chef orgasms.” Until then, Connoley will be traveling in support of his book Acorns and Cattails. This, too, was a project he never had any intention of doing. “I had people ask me all of the time if I was going to write a book and I kept saying no,” he says. “But finally I decided to put some stuff together and see if it would work. It’s none of that funky chef school stuff though. The whole point is if you want to go out into your backyard and gather some acorns, I’ll show you what to do with it.” Connoley took a break from his book tour to share his initial impressions on the St. Louis restaurant scene, his love of thin air and why you should always check your labels. What is one thing people don’t know about you that you wish they did?

I definitely suffer from Imposter Syndrome. Hardly a day goes by when I think I truly deserve the accolades and successes I’ve had over the years. I can have 99 glowing Yelp reviews, but the only one that sticks with me is the one negative. If you could have any superpower, what would it be? The ability to live without air — underwater, climbing mountains, everywhere. Air holds me back in so many ways. That and the need to sleep and eat. Pesky basic human needs. Who is your St. Louis food crush? Ryan Maher, forager and chef. He gets the importance of a chef being connected with their food. He understands seasons and how eating seasonally is so important to our bodies and our planet. Who’s the one person to watch right now in the St. Louis dining scene? Marika Josephson & Aaron Kleidon of Scratch Brewing (Ava, Illinois). Watch them grow. They’re primed to explode. Which ingredient is most representative of your personality? Butter is versatile in sweet and savory foods. It’s a workhorse. If you weren’t working in the restaurant business, what would you be doing? A park ranger in Alaska, or if I was a few years younger, a climbing guide. I could spend every waking moment in the mountains... emerging every now and then to have a few beers. What is your after-work hangout? My dogs demand walks. Before I returned home to St. Louis, we lived in a small, remote mountain town in New Mexico, and every single day our spoiled pooches would get two to three hours of remote mountain hiking. We’re having to adapt to the sidewalks and crowded parks, but the dogs still demand the mileage. Keeps me in shape. What’s your food or beverage guilty pleasure? Now that I’m back in town the answer is easily gooey butter cake. I love even the worst of them. What would be your last meal on earth? Mashed potatoes. Plenty of butter. A Close Encounters-sized n mound of mashers!

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Thank You St. Louis Riverfront Times Restaurant Guide Favorite BBQ 2016

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AUGUST 24-30, 2016

RIVERFRONT TIMES

[FIRST LOOK]

Comet Coffee Expands to Kirkwood Written by

LAUREN MILFORD

estled in a small retail center on a sleepy block in Kirkwood is Comet Croissanterie and Creamery (640 West Woodbine Avenue), a new venture from Mark Attwood and Stephanie Fischer. Since opening the original Comet Coffee, located at 5708 Oakland Avenue, just south of Forest Park, Attwood (the owner) and Fischer (his business partner and pastry chef ) realized the limitations of its small kitchen. They wanted to find a bigger space to work in. After winning a LaMarzocco espresso machine at an auction last year, they found a home for it in Kirkwood, where Mark lives. While the kitchen at the Croissanterie and Creamy is larger than the one at Comet, the space is tiny — just four stools and a small bar — as are the hours and menu. On Sunday, Monday, Wednesday, Thursday and Friday, they serve espresso and pastries from 7 to 10:30 a.m. (or ‘til they’ve sold out of croissants, as they did at 9:45 a.m. on the day we visited), as well as ice cream from 5:30-9:30 p.m. Friday through Monday. The Croissanterie’s espresso drink offerings include lattes, macchiatos, the flat white, an

OFF THE GRILL

Now That’s Delivery!

The new Comet Croissanterie serves coffee, pastries and ice cream. | LAUREN MILFORD

[FOOD NEWS]

THAI-STYLE FROZEN TREATS COMING TO THE LOOP Written by

SARAH FENSKE

ove over, Ted Drewes. A new shop in the Delmar Loop aims to serve a type of ice cream previously unheard of in much of St. Louis — and likely the entire Midwest. Snow Factory St. Louis (6602 Delmar Boulevard), which hopes to open in the next month in the space that previously held Cheeseology, will specialize in Thai pan-fry ice cream rolls. The style of ice cream is “cooked” on a hibachi table that’s kept at 10 degrees below zero. The ice cream is mixed with fruit or other ingredients, and then chopped and stirred until it’s crystallized. A recent import to New York City’s Chinatown, it’s been drawing lines around the block. The St. Louis iteration is the brainchild of Van Liu, a senior at University of Missouri-St. Louis majoring in finance and in-

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ternational business. Liu’s dad is from mainland China and his mom from Taiwan, and while they moved to the U.S. when he was sixteen, on annual trips back East he fell in love with the frozen delicacies on offer in Asia. After hearing of the Thai-style rolls’ success in New York and Atlanta, he also saw a business opportunity — and paid his friends who own shops there to teach him the art. He’s planning a simple menu, but with a few options beyond sweets. Crepes will be both sweet and savory, with exotic tea and sparkling drinks on offer as well. And then there’s that ice cream. “We have more than thirteen flavors, including vanilla, green tea, chocolate, mango, taro, coffee, sesame, strawberry, Thai tea, etc.,” he explains in an email. “Customers will have more than 30 toppings to choose from. More importantly, this ice cream is customizable, low-fat, organic, and healthy. You won’t be as guilty consuming the same amount of ice cream.” Liu says his team has been working on an overhaul of the Cheeseology space, which closed more than a year ago. With wood and brick, he’s hoping for a vintage, rustic look. “I have customers come in saying, ‘Damn!’” he reports. The shop is waiting for its permits from University City but hopes to be open within a month. Eventually, Liu hopes Snow Factory will become a chain with locations throughout the n Midwest and then on the coasts.

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Americano or, if you really need a caffeine kick, a double espresso. They’re starting out with a pastry menu of croissants, almond bear claws and pain au chocolat, but plan to add a few more options in the future. The Creamery’s ice cream is made from scratch with local cream and without extra gums or binders. They also offer vegan, dairyfree options like forbidden black rice ice cream, and sorbet made with cantaloupe from the Kirkwood farmers market. Their ice cream special is the “waffogato,” a play on affogato: a made-fromscratch waffle cone bowl filled with sweet cream ice cream and topped with espresso. n

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AUGUST 24-30, 2016

RIVERFRONT TIMES

11/18 & 11/19 ON SALE 8.26 AT 10AM

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10.22 TEGAN AND SARA 10.23 MAC MILLER 10.24 CHARLIE PUTH 10.25 SCHOOLBOY Q 10.29 & 10.30 UMPHREY’S MCGEE 10.31 TROYE SIVAN 11.2 SEVEN LIONS 11.4 REBELUTION 11.11 MACHINE GUN KELLY 11.12 AARON LEWIS 11.13 HANNIBAL BURESS 11.16 HENRY ROLLINS 11.17 GRIZ 11.23 JJ GREY & MOFRO 12.11 STEEL PANTHER 1.16 LUKAS GRAHAM

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AUGUST 24-30, 2016

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MUSIC

Assault and Conquer Full Terror Assault Open Air Festival returns to Southern Illinois Written by

KEVIN KORINEK Full Terror Assault II: Open Air Festival August 25 - 27, $65 for a two-day pass. Hogrock Campgrounds, Cave-In Rock, Illinois. fullterrorassault@gmail.com

hen Shane Bottens decided to put together a music festival celebrating all things metal, he had a very specific vision in mind. “I always wanted to try my hand at the open air festival,” he says. “It’s kind of a niche thing and there’s nothing around that fits the bill.” Having performed in bands at several open air metal festivals in Europe, Bottens decided to run with the idea, throwing the first iteration of the event last September. The Pekins, Illinois, native enlisted 75 bands to perform on three different stages at Cave-In Rock State Park in Illinois, some three hours from St. Louis. He dubbed it “Full Terror Assault: America’s First ‘True’ Open Air Festival.” Metalheads could camp, imbibe and enjoy an atmosphere free of security guards. Though well-received, it was a learning experience for Bottens, who works tirelessly to maintain an ethic about open air festivals. “To me, if you’re going to call yourself open air, you’ve got to have some national acts and a great facility,” he explains. “You can’t throw some generators up in a field and call it open air. It’s gotta be legit.” The term can be elusive. Many festivals claim they are “open air.” But Bottens says don’t be fooled — those are just outdoor concerts. “In Europe, the summer festival scene is huge: Wacken Open Air, Hell Fest — but over here, if you have shows outside, it’s not really a true open air fest, where you’re

The Lion’s Daughter is just one of the St. Louis acts performing at this year’s Full Terror Assault festival. | ADAM TAYLOR actually camping,” he says. “When you do that for a few days, you become part of a little community. You don’t see a lot of that here, especially for extreme music. “For the underground/grindcore/ death metal/punk scene,” he continues, “there’s nothing like Full Terror Assault in the United States.” This month, the Full Terror Assault Open Air Festival is back for a second go-round, with a slimmer lineup of 55 bands on two adjacent stages. There will be no shortage of talent, including St. Louis heavyhitters Thorhammer, Fister and the Lion’s Daughter — a proper soundtrack for a gore-porn snuff film or car crash fetish website. Bottens is proud of the work that’s gone into this year’s line-up. “There are a lot of great bands playing from the top to the bottom — there’s not a filler in the bunch.” Cost of admission for the twoday event includes camping and a mix of some of the best death metal, grindcore, hardcore, punk and metal in the country, because, let’s face it, the last thing you want to do is watch 50 grindcore bands in a row. That’s another characteristic Bottens is trying to recreate from

the European open air festivals — variety. He’s even managed to gain the attention of classic thrash metal band Sacred Reich, who released a series of records in the ‘80s and ‘90s and reformed in 2007 to perform the open air circuit in Europe. Bottens made a plea for them to come to his festival, and the band heeded his call. “He’s trying to establish a real open air U.S. metal festival,” says Sacred Reich bassist Phil Rind. “Our favorite memories are playing these small metal festivals that started out with a couple thousand people and grew to a hundred thousand people over time. So everyone has to start somewhere, and we’re happy to be a part of that.” Sacred Reich has been playing all over Europe and has grown enamored of the music scene there, rarely playing the States, but Rind has high hopes for Botton’s endeavor. “A lot of these things you see lately are big corporate festivals. It’s not what we’re familiar with in Europe, with something that’s grown organically,” he says. “And Shane seemed real earnest and honest so we said ‘Yes, let’s do it. This is who we are, let’s be a part riverfronttimes.com

of it.’” And for Bottens, his dream of growing the festival seems to be taking off. “The more people I get involved, then the bigger-name bands I can get, and this thing will really start to grow,” he says. What would be a bigger name band? “I’d love to get Slayer there, man,” he laughs. But rest assured — he’s not kidding. Though he’s excited for this year’s festival, he knows there’s a lot more work to do. “When you’ve got to build something, like a band or a festival, it takes time to do that,” he says. “If it were easy, everybody would be doing it, but it’s not an easy thing to pull off.” Ticket sales have nearly doubled from last year, but because of the expansive campgrounds, there’s no danger of selling out just yet. Bottens admits it would be great to get to that point in the future, as the campground could conceivably hold 15,000 people. And that would mean he’s doing something right. “If I didn’t believe it, I wouldn’t keep doing it,” he says. “I think it’s going to be massive in the years to come.” n

AUGUST 24-30, 2016

RIVERFRONT TIMES

B-SIDES

More Pü for You Pü Fest returns for its third year, bringing a diverse lineup with it Written by

DEREK SCHWARTZ Pü Fest 3

8 p.m. Friday, August 26, 2 p.m. Saturday and Sunday, August 27 and 28. Blank Space, 2847 Cherokee Street. $20 to $30. 314-3008831.

y most standards, the St. Louis music scene is a small one. This isn’t the kind of city where somebody is likely to get lost in the crowd at a concert. It’s a city where you might see the same 50 people at shows three nights in a row, and you might run into your favorite band at the grocery store. And yet, take a stroll down Cherokee Street on just about any night of the week and the scene won’t feel small at all. Walk past the people sitting in clusters on the sidewalk outside Foam, smoking cigarettes as they wait for the next band to take the stage. Listen to that screaming mechanical whine of a synthesizer that seeps through the front door of 2720. Take a peek through the cassette tapes and vinyl records and fanzines from local artists on display at the Kismet Creative Center. Whatever St. Louis lacks in size, it has made up for with a tightly knit community of musicians who look past barriers of genre or expectations to create some of the most immersive and original projects around. You don’t need to stray very far to find a band that challenges your most basic understanding of what music can do. “This place, it’s a small scene, but the people who really care about it aren’t afraid to do really incredible, weird shit without even thinking about it,” says Mike Herr. “I don’t know if it’s because there’s less people to go around here, but it seems like there’s just less judgment.”

RIVERFRONT TIMES

Tropical Trash, performing at last year’s fest. | TOM BREMER In addition to playing drums in the local weirdo-rock band Demonlover, Herr and his friends Patrick Boland and Luc Michalski are in the midst of organizing Pü Fest, a two-and-a-half day music festival that will take place this weekend at Blank Space. While the festival brings together bands from across the country, one of its ultimate goals is to show off the diverse range of local talent right here in St. Louis, which often goes unrepresented at larger commercial music festivals. “The goal of the fest was always to represent St. Louis, to be a mirror in a sense,” says Boland. “We make a conscious effort to have a diverse lineup in every way possible. “When I was growing up playing in bands, the scenes were very divided,” Boland continues. “There was no crossover of different genres. Hardcore bands played with the hardcore bands and metal bands played with metal bands. But people have grown up and the scene’s grown up. Now people just play music together and it creates weird shit. We wanted to create a fest that showcases all of that.” Of course, in order to properly

AUGUST 24-30, 2016

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reflect the St. Louis music scene, the organizers knew that they needed to do more than just include a diverse selection of genres. This year Pü Fest will celebrate its third event, but the first festival went down just a month after the shooting of Michael Brown and subsequent unrest in Ferguson, bringing the need for diversity and equality to the forefront of St. Louis’ collective consciousness. Since then, Herr, Boland and Michalski have been careful to ensure that women and people of color are properly represented at Pü Fest. “I don’t want to just watch four white dudes play rock music all weekend; that would be boring as fuck,” says Boland. “If you’re just hearing the same thing all the time from the same people, I don’t want to see that. I don’t think it’s representative either. I like playing music with people who don’t look like me and don’t have the same ideas as me. That makes for way better music.” To this, Herr nods emphatically. “I think that’s important because we want all different people to come and participate in this. We

want it to reflect the community, and I think if a woman goes to the fest and sees 27 bands of all men playing, she’s probably going to feel pretty discouraged and think, ‘Well clearly this isn’t made for me.’ I think it’s important for people to want to take part in DIY music and feel encouraged — that doesn’t happen if it’s all one type of person.” Whether you’re a longtime fan of the thriving St. Louis DIY scene or you’ve never been to a show in your life, at Pü Fest you’re almost guaranteed to find something that sounds unlike anything you’ve ever heard before. And it’s not just locals. The show will feature fifteen local bands, plus another twenty touring bands from across the nation. “One of the things I’m most excited about is getting to watch all these people from out of town check out the bands I see every week and just be blown away by them,” says Herr. “Here’s this scene that I think is fucking amazing, and I get to show it off to all these people. It’s like DJing and putting on a great record on that nobody knows about.” n

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719 N. 2ND STREET ON THE LANDING 314-833-5495 WWW.GATEWAYSPORTSEMPORIUM.COM riverfronttimes.com St. Louis Riverfront Times 08-24-16.indd 1

AUGUST 24-30, 2016

RIVERFRONT TIMES

7/21/16 10:32 AM

44 “St. Louis pioneers of craft beer and live music” THURSDAY, AUGUST 25 TH

FRESH hosted by So’N’So and DJ Smitty - Hip Hop 9pm - $5

FRIDAY, AUGUST 26

CD Release Sean Coray with Nick Bifano & The Innocents, and Kevin Babb - Rock - 7pm - $8 adv/$12

SATURDAY, AUGUST 27 TH

TROY, Bright Righteous, Struck Down By Sound, Patrick Jr - Rock - 8:30pm - $10

SUNDAY, AUGUST 28 TH

Sunday’s with Stout: Anything Goes Open Mic Variety - 7pm - FREE Cover (50% off select Stout Beer In The Venue)

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Jamz Mixtape Release - Hip Hop - 8pm -$5

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Geeks Who Drink Pub Trivia - Trivia - 8:30pm - FREE

UPCOMING SHOWS

Sept 3rd - Fly Method Sept 10th - Pepperland- A Beatles Revue Sept 15th - The Maension and Witch Doctor

6691 Delmar

In the University City Loop

314.862.0009 • www.ciceros-stl.com

RIVERFRONT TIMES

HOMESPUN

THE VONDRUKES On This Ride Together thevondrukes.bandcamp.com

Vondrukes Record Release Show

8 p.m. Saturday, August 27. Off Broadway, 3509 Lemp Avenue. Free. 314-773-3363.

quick list of true-blue, dyed-in-thewool, I’m-so-St.-Louis bona fides may include any of the following metrics: recognition of local high school mascots, tolerance for extreme humidity and the presence of Provel in the bloodstream. But another local rite of passage extends beyond the city limits and has long been a defining tradition of Missouri summers: the float trip. The cost of admission is low — all that’s needed is a canoe, a cooler of beer and a willingness “A lot of bands will record things they can’t reproduce live. We wanted to play the to let the mighty Huzzah or Black rivers music live, as intended. | COURTESY OF THE BAND take you where they will. In the case of Vondrukes’ bassist and co-lead vocalist Jeff Griswold, a leisurely weekend That the group has a somewhat chameleonic characof camping and floating with his wife turned into a ter is due in part to playful instrumentation — Ellis’ kind of backwoods Caligula. On their first night, the trumpet offers mariachi flair here and there — but couple settled in for an evening of card-playing and also Griswold’s and McKee’s differing approaches to gentle boozing. Their neighbors, two young women, songwriting. proceeded to goad and tease Griswold, culminating “Bob’s style is lyrically very poetic and symbolic, and in loud, performative copulation that Griswold calls mine is more of a storytelling style,” says Griswold. “audio porn.” “His stuff is less of a literal meaning — sometimes you “Two girls were heckling us and being rude,” says have to search for the meaning of the song.” Griswold. “We just kind of laughed it off. We ended McKee’s song “On This Ride Together” serves as an up going to bed, and they started to loudly make love urban counterpoint to Griswold’s river sojourn, takfor hours on end; they were obviously overdoing it ing its inspiration from an Orange Line ride through just to annoy us.” Chicago on his way to Midway Airport. The clang of The next morning, likewise, didn’t go as planned. Baker’s ride cymbal and the raw tone of the guitars Their initial two-hour trip down the river turned into helps mirror the setting, which picks up speed as the a 24-mile odyssey that culminated in Bourbon, Mis- narrator gets closer to his destination. Nothing much souri, with salvation coming in the form of a good-ol’ exciting happens, but the ride gives him time to pause and ruminate — the best moments on the record show boy truck driver with a faulty engine. Such a story might normally be the stuff of campfire the songwriters, McKee in particular, taking stock of tales, but for the Vondrukes, Griswold’s saga became life as middle age approaches, as he does on “Disensong fodder. The two-part travelogue “Garrison’s chanted Always.” Griswold describes the recording of the album, Trip” acts as a bifurcated centerpiece to the Americana sextet’s new LP, On This Ride Together, and it which was done at Jacob Detering’s Red Pill Studios, taps into the band’s uniquely Midwestern blend of as an attempt to recreate the band’s on-stage energy. “We wanted to see if we could hold true to the live, rock riffs, story-songs and skewed humor. Together marks the Vondrukes’ third release overall rugged feel,” he says. “A lot of bands will record things and its first since 2012’s album Runaway, Goodbye Love they can’t reproduce live. We wanted to play the music and a relatively recent lineup change. Griswold and live, as intended. We went for more of a classic-rock Bob McKee still split the lead vocal and songwriting approach.” The four-year gap between recordings from the Vonduties, but its former three-guitar attack is trimmed to two, with McKee and Jason Kettler digging into drukes is partially due to the lineup shift but is more more riff-oriented rock & roll this time around. Allison a byproduct of six adults, all with full-time jobs and Williamson’s backing vocals and Justin Ellis’ work on families, trying to find time to chase their respective trumpet and organ help fill out the contours of the muses. If the band members find themselves on real songs, and former Kentucky Knife Fight drummer and metaphorical journeys, the Vondrukes seem to James Baker is an able traffic controller of the more be doubling down on their commitment to the music and the relationships within the band. dynamic, dramatic moments on the album. “Both as a band and all of us in the world, we are The Vondrukes sprung from the ashes of McKee, Griswold and Kettler’s old band Ten High in 2010, and on this ride together,” says Griswold. “We thought over the years the band has refined its reliance on the that the song title was very fitting for this album.” –Christian Schaeffer rugged and twangy earmarks of alternative country.

AUGUST 24-30, 2016

riverfronttimes.com

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AUGUST 24-30, 2016

RIVERFRONT TIMES ST LOUIS RFT WEDNESDAY, AUGUST 24

OUT EVERY NIGHT

THURSDAY 25

CHAKA KHAN: w/ El DeBarge 7 p.m., $35-$55.

BB’s Jazz, Blues & Soups, 700 S. Broadway, St.

TOM HALL: 7 p.m., $5. BB’s Jazz, Blues &

BRUXISM #20: w/ Brett Williams, Wiggpaw,

The Fox Theatre, 527 N. Grand Blvd., St.

Louis, 314-436-5222.

Soups, 700 S. Broadway, St. Louis, 314-436-

UFO vs USA 9 p.m., free. Schlafly Tap Room,

Louis, 314-534-1111.

KIM MASSIE: 7 p.m., free. Kirkwood Park,

5222.

2100 Locust St., St. Louis, 314-241-2337.

DEF LEPPARD: w/ REO Speedwagon, Tesla 6

Geyer & Adams, St. Louis.

CAUCHE MAR: w/ Mother Bear, Musth Bardo

p.m., $25-$125. Hollywood Casino Amphi-

NELLY: 7 p.m., $35. The Pageant, 6161 Delmar

SUNDAY 28

9 p.m., $7. Kismet Creative Center, 3409 Iowa

theatre, I-70 & Earth City Expwy., Maryland

Blvd., St. Louis, 314-726-6161.

BENEFIT FOR ASHURII GURI FUNERAL EXPENSES:

Ave., St. Louis, 314-696-8177.

Heights, 314-298-9944.

PÜ F3ST: 2 p.m.; Aug. 28, 2 p.m., $20-$30.

w/ Ellen the Felon, The Company She Keeps,

DRAKE BELL: w/ Ophelia Grey, Captains Coura-

DOGS OF SOCIETY: 7:30 p.m., free. Chesterfield

Blank Space, 2847 Cherokee St., St. Louis.

Musth Bardo, The Spiders, Slightly Less Infect-

geous 7 p.m., $20-$50. Fubar, 3108 Locust St,

Amphitheater, 631 Veterans Place Drive,

PEPPERLAND: 6 p.m., free. Lafayette Square,

ed 4 p.m., $5. Mangia Italiano, 3145 S. Grand

St. Louis, 314-289-9050.

Chesterfield.

Park & Mississippi avenues, St. Louis, 314-

Blvd., St. Louis, 314-664-8585.

RANDY MCALLISTER BAND: 9:30 p.m., $10. BB’s

FANFARE BAND: 7 p.m., free. St. Ferdinand

772-4644.

BJ BARHAM: 7 p.m., $15. Off Broadway, 3509

Jazz, Blues & Soups, 700 S. Broadway, St. Louis,

Park, 25 St. Ferdinand Park Dr., Florissant,

SAMANTHA CRAIN: w/ Matthew Milia, The Fog

Lemp Ave., St. Louis, 314-773-3363.

314-436-5222.

314-839-7670.

Lights 9 p.m., $10. The Heavy Anchor, 5226

CHERYL BROWN: 6 p.m., free. Ivory Perry Park,

SINCLAIR: w/ Zach Michael, Clayton Jones 8

THE GENERATORS: w/ Sweat Shoppe, The Kuh-

Gravois Ave., St. Louis, 314-352-5226.

800 Belt Ave., St. Louis.

p.m., $10. The Firebird, 2706 Olive St., St. Lou-

lies, DEAD to begin with, The Radio Buzzkills

THE VONDRUKES CD RELEASE: w/ Grace

ELVIS DEPRESSEDLY: w/ Teen Suicide, Nicole

is, 314-535-0353.

7 p.m., $10-$12. Fubar, 3108 Locust St, St.

Basement, Adam Reichmann 8 p.m., free. Off

Dollanganger 7 p.m., $13. The Firebird, 2706

Louis, 314-289-9050.

Broadway, 3509 Lemp Ave., St. Louis, 314-

Olive St., St. Louis, 314-535-0353.

KILBORN ALLEY BLUES BAND: 10 p.m., $10.

773-3363.

LOVE JONES “THE BAND”: 8:30 p.m., $10. BB’s

FRIDAY 26 ARVELL AND COMPANY: 5 p.m., free. Saint Louis

Jazz, Blues & Soups, 700 S. Broadway, St. Lou-

Zoo, Forest Park, St. Louis, 314-781-0900.

is, 314-436-5222.

BEDLAM BROTHERS: 7 p.m., free. Plaza 501, 501

PÜ F3ST: Aug. 27, 2 p.m.; 2 p.m., $20-$30.

S Ferguson Road, Ferguson.

Blank Space, 2847 Cherokee St., St. Louis.

BETTY WRIGHT: 7 & 9:30 p.m., $35-$40. Lumiere

ROCKY & THE WRANGLERS: 6 p.m., $5. BB’s Jazz,

Place Casino & Hotel, 999 N. Second St., St.

Blues & Soups, 700 S. Broadway, St. Louis,

Louis, 314-881-7777.

314-436-5222.

BUTTERCUP: w/ Opposite Day, Pat Sajak As-

SLOPPY SECONDS: w/ Ultraman, Scene Of Iro-

sassins 9 p.m., free. Schlafly Tap Room, 2100

ny, The Radio Buzzkills 7 p.m., $12-$14. Fubar,

Locust St., St. Louis, 314-241-2337.

3108 Locust St, St. Louis, 314-289-9050.

GRAFFITI BRIDGE: A TRIBUTE TO PRINCE: 8 p.m.,

STONECUTTERS: w/ Dibiase, The Judge, Hard

$15-$17.50. The Pageant, 6161 Delmar Blvd., St.

Graves 7 p.m., $10. Fubar, 3108 Locust St, St.

Louis, 314-726-6161.

Louis, 314-289-9050.

IVAS JOHN BAND: 10 p.m., $5. BB’s Jazz, Blues & Soups, 700 S. Broadway, St. Louis, 314-436-

MONDAY 29

5222.

ANGEL PRESENTS SOUL SEARCHING: 7 p.m., $10.

LEROY JODIE PIERSON: 7 p.m., $5. BB’s Jazz,

BB’s Jazz, Blues & Soups, 700 S. Broadway, St.

Blues & Soups, 700 S. Broadway, St. Louis, 314-

Louis, 314-436-5222.

436-5222.

BARRIE ROSE: w/ Isaac, Centipede, QWEGG 8

LOOPRAT: w/ Scotty Woo, Armani 9 p.m., $10.

p.m., $5. Foam Coffee & Beer, 3359 Jefferson

Fubar, 3108 Locust St, St. Louis, 314-289-9050.

Ave., St. Louis, 314-772-2100.

LUKE BRYAN: w/ Little Big Town, Dustin Lynch

SOULARD BLUES BAND: 9 p.m., $5. Broadway

6 p.m., TBA. Hollywood Casino Amphitheatre, I-70 & Earth City Expwy., Maryland Heights,

Oyster Bar, 736 S. Broadway, St. Louis, 314-

[CRITIC’S PICK]

621-8811.

314-298-9944. SKELETONWITCH: w/ Thorhammer 7 p.m., $15.

Robbie Fulks. | ANDY GOODWIN

The Firebird, 2706 Olive St., St. Louis, 314-5350353. VEIN: w/ I Disappear, Polterguts, Ecclesiast 8

Robbie Fulks

p.m., $5. Foam Coffee & Beer, 3359 Jefferson

8 p.m. Thursday, August 25.

Ave., St. Louis, 314-772-2100. THE VIGILETTES CD RELEASE SHOW: w/ Soma, Traveling Sound Machine, Town Cars 8 p.m., free. Off Broadway, 3509 Lemp Ave., St. Louis, 314-773-3363.

SATURDAY 27 8TH ANNUAL GMSH TOUR: 8 p.m., $10-$15. Fubar, 3108 Locust St, St. Louis, 314-2899050. APEX SHRINE: w/ Red Francis and The Langaleers 9 p.m., free. Schlafly Tap Room, 2100 Locust St., St. Louis, 314-241-2337. AVA, WAIT: w/ Last Night’s Vice, New Lingo, City of Parks 8:30 p.m., $10-$12. The Firebird, 2706 Olive St., St. Louis, 314-535-0353.

RIVERFRONT TIMES

Off Broadway, 3509 Lemp Avenue. $15 to $17. 314773-3363.

Of all the insurgents to emerge from the alt-country scare of the mid-’90s, Robbie Fulks was the most versatile and, in certain moments, the most irreverent. A songwriting, singing and guitar-playing triple threat, Fulks penned definitive takedowns of Music City (“Fuck This Town”), rockist snobbery (“Every Kind of Music But Country”) and glitterati bathos (“She Took A Lot of Pills and Died”) — and that was just

AUGUST 24-30, 2016

riverfronttimes.com

on his first album. At his best, Fulks is a chronicler of American (often, but not always, Southern) lives and loves that play out hard and bittersweet on the margins. It’s not surprising that the prettiest song on his latest album Upland Stories is the tale of a fiercely honest and unrepentant musician rake. Fulks never misses the mark, even when the target might be himself. Solo Shot: A deadly witty songwriter (and connoisseur of between-song banter) in his own right, Brian Henneman of the Bottle Rockets opens the night. – Roy Kasten

TUESDAY 30 DEAN MINDERMAN & SOUL SUPPLIERS: 10 p.m., $5. BB’s Jazz, Blues & Soups, 700 S. Broadway, St. Louis, 314-436-5222. ETHAN LEINWAND & FRIENDS: 7 p.m., $5. BB’s Jazz, Blues & Soups, 700 S. Broadway, St. Louis, 314-436-5222. GUITAR WOLF: w/ Hans Condor 8 p.m., $15-$18. The Firebird, 2706 Olive St., St. Louis, 314-5350353. JAMAICA LIVE TUESDAYS: w/ Ital K, Mr. Roots, DJ Witz, $5/$10. Elmo’s Love Lounge, 7828 Olive Blvd, University City, 314-282-5561. THE MELVIN TURNAGE BAND: 6 p.m., free. Missouri History Museum, Lindell Blvd. & DeBaliviere Ave., St. Louis, 314-746-4599. MULTICULT: w/ Hardbody, Kenshiro’s, Mike Herr 9 p.m., $7. Foam Coffee & Beer, 3359 Jefferson Ave., St. Louis, 314-772-2100. S.N.A.F.U.: w/ Tropical Storm 7 p.m., $10. Fubar, 3108 Locust St, St. Louis, 314-289-9050.

[CRITIC’S PICK]

Samantha Crain. | CONCERTED EFFORTS BOOKING

Samantha Crain 9 p.m. Saturday, August 27. The Heavy Anchor, 5226 Gravois Avenue. $10. 314352-5226.

Shawnee, Oklahoma, native Samantha Crain has spent the better part of a decade populating her albums and live shows with folks songs filled with carefully rendered detail and the emotional ballast necessary to sell them. On last year’s Under Branch & Thorn & Tree, Crain’s voice can shake like crinkled

paper or stiffen like a taut rope, and she needs little but spare guitar and violin to paint the rest of the picture. On this tour Crain will be joined by Matthew Milia of the emphatic folk/rock band Frontier Ruckus, whose recent collection of lo-fi home recordings bears the sympathetic title Even Fuckboys Get the Blues. The Fog Lifts: Local duo the Fog Lights, comprising Justin Johnson and Jim Peters, will open the show. – Christian Schaeffer

WEDNESDAY 31

p.m., $18-$20. The Ready Room, 4195 Manches-

THE BLUES CRUSHERS: 10 p.m., $5. BB’s Jazz,

ter Ave, St. Louis, 314-833-3929.

Blues & Soups, 700 S. Broadway, St. Louis, 314-

BIT BRIGADE: W/ Thor Axe, Thu., Sept. 22, 9

436-5222.

p.m., $10. Off Broadway, 3509 Lemp Ave., St.

BOB “BUMBLE BEE” KAMOSKE: 8 p.m. Beale on

Louis, 314-773-3363.

Broadway, 701 S. Broadway, St. Louis, 314-621-

BLOOD INCANTATION: W/ Narcotic, Unspeakable,

7880.

Mon., Sept. 26, 7 p.m., $10. Fubar, 3108 Locust

BOTTOMS UP BLUES GANG: 11:45 a.m., free.

St, St. Louis, 314-289-9050.

Citygarden, 801 Market St, St. Louis.

BUG CHASER: Sat., Oct. 22, 8 p.m., free. Off

IKARAY: w/ Sough, Our Lady, Handsaw, Stag-

Broadway, 3509 Lemp Ave., St. Louis, 314-773-

horn, Laika 6:30 p.m., $7. Kismet Creative

3363.

Center, 3409 Iowa Ave., St. Louis, 314-696-8177.

CHILD BITE: W/ Troglodyte, Sun., Oct. 2, 7 p.m.,

THE JACK MOVES: w/ DJ Hal Greens 8 p.m.,

$10-$12. Fubar, 3108 Locust St, St. Louis, 314-

$7-$10. The Bootleg, 4140 Manchester Ave., St.

289-9050.

Louis, 314-775-0775.

THE CRABFEAST: Sat., Oct. 22, 9 p.m., $18. Blue-

KDHX BLUES ALL-STAR BAND: 7 p.m., $5. BB’s

berry Hill - The Duck Room, 6504 Delmar Blvd.,

Jazz, Blues & Soups, 700 S. Broadway, St. Louis,

University City, 314-727-4444.

314-436-5222.

CRUEL HAND: W/ Eternal Sleep, Will to Die,

MULTICULT: w/ Wet Ones, Hardbody 9 p.m., $7.

Wed., Nov. 2, 7 p.m., $12. Fubar, 3108 Locust St,

Foam Coffee & Beer, 3359 Jefferson Ave., St.

St. Louis, 314-289-9050.

Louis, 314-772-2100.

DAN ANDRIANO IN THE EMERGENCY ROOM: W/

SHOOK TWINS: 8 p.m., $10-$12. Old Rock House,

Dan Potthast, Derek Grant, Sun., Oct. 16, 7

1200 S. 7th St., St. Louis, 314-588-0505.

p.m., $12-$14. Fubar, 3108 Locust St, St. Louis,

SOMOS: w/ Free Throw, High Waisted 7 p.m.,

314-289-9050.

$12. Fubar, 3108 Locust St, St. Louis, 314-289-

DIPLO: W/ Basscrooks, Noah Zarque, Sat., Oct.

9050.

22, 9 p.m., TBA. Ameristar Casino, 1 Ameristar

THIS JUST IN

Blvd., St. Charles, 636-949-7777. DOYLE BRAMHALL II: Fri., Oct. 28, 8 p.m., $20.

AVATAR: Fri., Sept. 30, 6 p.m., $15-$18. Fubar,

Old Rock House, 1200 S. 7th St., St. Louis, 314-

3108 Locust St, St. Louis, 314-289-9050.

588-0505.

BEAR HANDS: W/ Savoir Adore, Fri., Oct. 14, 8

Continued on pg 48

riverfronttimes.com

AUGUST 24-30, 2016

RIVERFRONT TIMES

OUT EVERY NIGHT Continued from pg 47

THIS W

8TH ANNU

[CRITIC’S PICK]

289-9050.

ANGEL PR

S.N.A.F.U. 7 p.m. Tuesday, August 30.

$10-$15. F

29, 7 p.m.

Broadway

S.N.A.F.U.’s current tour, coming to St. Louis this week, definitely started off on the wrong foot. At 5 a.m. on the morning of Friday, August 19, the band loaded its van and prepared to make the drive from its hometown Detroit to Boston for the outing’s first date, when, according to its Facebook page, “our van spilled its guts all over the streets.” After hours spent trying to fix the problem, S.N.A.F.U.’s members threw up their

hands and rented a different vehicle — a sizable and unexpected cost. “We don’t do crowd funding, go fund me, or beg for help,” the band continued in its post, asking only that fans come to the shows, pay the cover and buy some merch. With all the blistering talent and huge riffs this crossover thrash act is packing, that isn’t really a big ask at all. No Coast, No Problem: A reconstituted Tropical Storm, St. Louis’ only surfthemed thrash band reborn, will open the show. – Daniel Hill

THE FAT BABIES JAZZ BAND: Mon., Dec. 19, 8 p.m.,

Sat., Sept. 24, 8 p.m., $15-$20. Fubar, 3108

ed, Sun., A

$10-$12. Off Broadway, 3509 Lemp Ave., St.

Locust St, St. Louis, 314-289-9050.

3145 S. Gr

Louis, 314-773-3363.

PAPER ROUTE: W/ HALFNOISE, Thu., Nov. 3, 8

BETTY WR

GEORGE WALLACE: Sat., Nov. 12, 7 & 9:30 p.m.,

p.m., $15. The Firebird, 2706 Olive St., St. Louis,

$35-$40. L

$45. Lumiere Place Casino & Hotel, 999 N. Sec-

314-535-0353.

Second St

ond St., St. Louis, 314-881-7777.

PÜ F3ST: Sat., Aug. 27, 2 p.m.; Sun., Aug. 28, 2

BJ BARHAM

GIN WIGMORE: Sat., Dec. 3, 8 p.m., $18-$20. Off

p.m., $20-$30. Blank Space, 2847 Cherokee St.,

Broadway

Broadway, 3509 Lemp Ave., St. Louis, 314-773-

St. Louis.

3363.

THE PINES: Sat., Sept. 24, 8 p.m., $10-$12. Off

THE BLUES

THE GOOD LIFE: W/ Field Mouse, Jake Bellows,

Broadway, 3509 Lemp Ave., St. Louis, 314-773-

$5. BB’s Ja

Sat., Nov. 26, 8 p.m., $13-$15. Blueberry Hill -

3363.

St. Louis,

The Duck Room, 6504 Delmar Blvd., University

RUSTED ROOT: W/ Devon Allman Band, Sun.,

BOB “BUM

City, 314-727-4444.

Nov. 6, 8 p.m., $25. Old Rock House, 1200 S. 7th

p.m. Beale

GUCCI MANE: Sat., Oct. 15, 8 p.m., $40-$60. Am-

St., St. Louis, 314-588-0505.

Louis, 314

bassador, 9800 Halls Ferry Road, North St. Louis

SAVAGE MASTER: W/ Scythian, bastard, Ani-

BOTTOMS

County, 314-869-9090.

mated Dead, Satan’s God, Tue., Sept. 6, 6 p.m.,

a.m., free

JOHN D. HALE BAND: W/ Evan Webb & The Rural

$15-$20. Fubar, 3108 Locust St, St. Louis, 314-

BRUXISM

Route Ramblers, Fri., Sept. 16, 8 p.m., $10-$12.

289-9050.

UFO vs US

Off Broadway, 3509 Lemp Ave., St. Louis, 314-

SHELLAC: W/ Shannon Wright, Sun., Oct. 30, 8

Tap Room

773-3363.

p.m., $15. The Firebird, 2706 Olive St., St. Louis,

2337.

JOSH GARRELS: Thu., Dec. 15, 7 p.m., $20-$35.

314-535-0353.

BUTTERCU

The Ready Room, 4195 Manchester Ave, St.

SKELETONWITCH: W/ Thorhammer, Fri., Aug.

sins, Fri.,

Louis, 314-833-3929.

26, 7 p.m., $15. The Firebird, 2706 Olive St., St.

Room, 210

K. FLAY: Sun., Nov. 6, 8 p.m., $12-$14. The Fire-

Louis, 314-535-0353.

CAUCHE M

bird, 2706 Olive St., St. Louis, 314-535-0353.

TOOTHGRINDER: W/ Auras, Moon Tooth, Tue.,

Thu., Aug

KYNG: Tue., Nov. 1, 8 p.m., $15. Old Rock House,

Oct. 18, 6 p.m., $12. Fubar, 3108 Locust St, St.

ter, 3409 I

1200 S. 7th St., St. Louis, 314-588-0505.

Louis, 314-289-9050.

CHAKA KH

MARC FORD & NEPTUNE BLUES CLUB: Sun., Nov.

TRANS-SIBERIAN ORCHESTRA: Sun., Dec. 4, 3 & 7

p.m., $35-

27, 8 p.m., $12-$15. Old Rock House, 1200 S. 7th

p.m., $40-$76. Scottrade Center, 1401 Clark Ave.,

Blvd., St. L

St., St. Louis, 314-588-0505.

St. Louis, 314-241-1888.

MARSHMELLO: W/ Ookay, Slushii, Speaker of the

THE URGE: Fri., Nov. 18, 8 p.m.; Sat., Nov. 19, 8

House, Sat., Dec. 3, 8 p.m., $25-$28. The Pageant,

p.m., $25-$35. The Pageant, 6161 Delmar Blvd.,

6161 Delmar Blvd., St. Louis, 314-726-6161.

St. Louis, 314-726-6161.

MURDER BY DEATH: Sat., Dec. 31, 9 p.m., $30. Off

VEIN: W/ I Disappear, Polterguts, Ecclesiast, Fri.,

Broadway, 3509 Lemp Ave., St. Louis, 314-773-

Aug. 26, 8 p.m., $5. Foam Coffee & Beer, 3359

3363.

Jefferson Ave., St. Louis, 314-772-2100.

NOTS: Mon., Oct. 24, 9 p.m., $10. Off Broadway,

WILLIAM FITZSIMMONS: W/ Laura Burhenn,

3509 Lemp Ave., St. Louis, 314-773-3363.

Mon., Oct. 31, 8 p.m., $18-$20. The Firebird,

OLD SALT UNION: W/ Head for the Hills, Fri.,

2706 Olive St., St. Louis, 314-535-0353.

Oct. 28, 7 p.m., $12-$15. The Ready Room, 4195

XERXES: W/ Slow Mass, Thu., Oct. 6, 7 p.m.,

Manchester Ave, St. Louis, 314-833-3929.

$10-$12. Fubar, 3108 Locust St, St. Louis, 314-

OVER THE RHINE: Fri., Nov. 4, 8 p.m., $30. Old

289-9050.

Rock House, 1200 S. 7th St., St. Louis, 314-588-

YEASAYER: W/ Lydia Ainsworth, Sat., Nov. 5, 8

0505.

p.m., $25. The Ready Room, 4195 Manchester

THE PABLO CHAPO PROJECT: W/ DJ Jenny Craig,

Ave, St. Louis, 314-833-3929.

Fubar, 3108 Locust Street. $10. 314-289-9050.

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BARRIE RO

Mon., Aug

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Plaza 501

BENEFIT F

W/ Ellen t

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fri. aug. 26 10PM Neil Ghanti and the East Side Rhythm Band Saying so long to Neil after 10 years!

sat. aug. 27 10PM The Aquaducks Funk from Nashville

wed. aug. 31 9:30PM The Voodoo Players Tribute to Phish

fri. sep. 2 10PM Brass A Holics One of our favorite bands from Quarter Fest in NOLA

thur. sep. 8 9:30PM Red Baraat from New York NPR called them “the best party band in years”

736 S Broadway St. Louis, MO 63102 (314) 621-8811 48

RIVERFRONT TIMES

AUGUST 24-30, 2016

riverfronttimes.com

SAVAGE LOVE HAD TO GET AWAY BY DANIEL SAVAGE DEAR READERS: This is the final week of my summer vacation— but you’ve been getting a new column every week I’ve been gone, all of them written by Dan Savage, none of them written by me. Our final guest Dan Savage is an independent designer, illustrator, and animation director based in Brooklyn, New York. He created Yule Log 2.0 (watchyulelog.com), a collaborative art project where animators around the world reimagine the famous Yule log fireplace. He has worked with the New York Times, Herman Miller and Google, he’s taught design and animation at NYU and SVA, and he’s won a bunch of design industry awards you probably haven’t heard of. “I was excited to do this, even though I have no authority on the topic,” said Daniel Savage, award-winning independent designer. “But I surprisingly felt pretty confident in my answers, as ridiculous as they may be.” Hey, Dan: I’m a 41-year-old straight woman who stayed a virgin way longer than I should have (thank you, church and cultural slut shaming). I wasn’t 100 percent

“good,” i.e., I was one of those “not PIV = not really sex” girls, so I indulged in outercourse and other “cheats.” When I finally realized that “not until marriage” wasn’t working for me and did the real thing, I discovered I loved it. Go me, right? Unfortunately, I’m not good at dating, so I usually go a long time between relationships. The relationship I’m in now is the first one I’ve had in two years. “Guy” is nice to me — calls me beautiful, sticks up for me, comes to watch me play with a community orchestra (my own family and friends don’t even come to my shows). But we don’t have much in common (hobbies, political outlook, religious beliefs) and sometimes our conversations feel labored. But that’s OK, right? At least I’m getting my sexual needs met, right? Well, no. Every single time we’ve tried to have sex, Guy either can’t get hard or stays hard for only a few minutes. I’ve tried going down on him, using my hands, different positions — nothing works. He’s never had an orgasm with me. We don’t even kiss that much. I don’t say anything because I don’t want to hurt his feelings and because I’m really grateful to him for wanting to be with me and being nice to me. He says sorry and that he’s asked the doctor about it, but we don’t get anywhere. It feels lonelier than when I was single.

To be blunt, I don’t want to date him anymore. But I feel too guilty to break up with him. He really cares about me, and he didn’t do anything wrong. We’ve dated for four months, and I don’t know if I’m giving up too soon. Where would I be if previous boyfriends had ditched me for being inexperienced instead of showing me the ropes? Don’t I owe Guy the same thing? Too Down To Be Witty First off, I think a long time between relationships is good. I also think not having things in common can be okay if you create new hobbies and experiences you can share. Having said that, TDTBW, four months is plenty of time to know if it’s working. He sounds super boring. The sooner you break it off with him the better. You don’t want to hurt him any more than you have to, especially if he’s really into you, and the longer you draw it out, the more it’s going to hurt. No amount of “training” is going to get this dude hard. The only rope being shown here is his flaccid ding-dong. It doesn’t seem like you’d even want to be his friend if you broke up. I wouldn’t feel guilty at all about dumping him. Sometimes you gotta think about number one.

riverfronttimes.com

Hey, Dan: My girl and I are both 26, and we opened up our marriage. Now I’ve got a girlfriend with whom I am getting to have some of the kinky fun that was lacking at home. Here is my question: Things are really casual between me and this new girl. I want to do some pegging, but I don’t know who should buy the strap-on. Me, because it’s my ass and my idea? Or her, because she would wear it and would also think it was super hot? Should I buy the dildo and she buys the harness? Going halfsies on the whole rig? What is the equitable way of doing this? Purchasing Erotic Gear Good Etiquette, Dan? You’re 26 years old, PEGGED. Buy the damn thing. How much could it possibly cost? I know if I were in your situation, I would want full control over what goes up my ass. If she owns it, would she use it while you weren’t around? With strangers? No thanks. Plus if you split the cost, who gets to keep it when you break up? Just buy it and enjoy. If you struggle with picking it out, might I suggest starting small? Listen to Dan’s podcast at savagelovecast.com mail@savagelove.net @fakedansavage on Twitter

AUGUST 24-30, 2016

RIVERFRONT TIMES

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100 Employment 103 Auditions/Show Biz

MODELS

for Uptown Magazine and Fashion Show. TWO Paid gigs Female 16 and over. Aug 27th ~ 3 to 5pm facebook.com/Cosmomodels

105 Career/Training/Schools THE OCEAN CORP. 10840 Rockley Road, Houston, Texas 77099. Train for a new career. *Underwater Welder. Commercial Diver. *NDT/Weld Inspector. Job Placement Assistance. Financial Aid avail for those who qualify 1.800.321.0298

120 Drivers/Delivery/Courier

DRIVERS NEEDED H H H ASAP H H H

Requires Class E, B or A License. S Endorsement Helpful. Must be 25 yrs or older. Will Train.

ABC/Checker Cab Co CALL NOW 314-725-9550 167 Restaurants/Hotels/Clubs FOOD SERVICE WORKERS Needed ASAP for School Cafeterias. Background Check req. 314-863-7400

190 Business Opportunities

Avon

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For Appointment or Details Independent Avon Rep.

193 Employment Information CDL-A DRIVERS and Owner Operators: $2,000.00 sign on, company safety bonuses. Home weekly, regional runs. Great benefits. 1-888-3009935

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530 Misc. Services WANTS TO purchase minerals and other oil & gas interests. Send details to P.O. Box 13557, Denver, Co 80201

600 Music 610 Musicians Services

MUSICIANS Do you have a band? We have bookings. Call (314)781-6612 for information Mon-Fri, 10:00-4:30

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(314) 781-6612 M-F, 10:00-4:30

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365 Comm Rentals BENTON-PARK/SOULARD $1,250 314-258-0585 2000ft2 - 2218 Cherokee St., 1st Flr, 63118 ~ Historical Antique District of St. Louis~ BUSINESS OWNERS-A MUST SEE! High Ceilings, Alarm, Hdwd Flrs, 1/2 BA, C/A. Price negotiable! BENTON-PARK/SOULARD $1,250 314-258-0585 2000ft2 - 2218 Cherokee St., 1st Flr, 63118 ~ Historical Antique District of St. Louis~ BUSINESS OWNERS-A MUST SEE! High Ceilings, Alarm, Hdwd Flrs, 1/2 BA, C/A. Price negotiable!

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Unless otherwise limited, prices are good through Tuesday following publication date. Installed price offers are for product purchased from Audio Express installed in factory-ready locations. Custom work at added cost. Kits, antennas and cables additional. Added charges for shop supplies and environmental disposal where mandated. Illustrations similar. Video pictures may be simulated. Not responsible for typographic errors. Savings off MSRP or our original sales price, may include install savings. Intermediate markdowns may have been taken. Details, conditions and restrictions of manufacturer promotional offers at respective websites. Price match applies to new, non-promotional items from authorized sellers; excludes “shopping cart” or other hidden specials. © 2016, Audio Express.

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August 24-30, 2016

AUDIO EXPRESS!

RIVERFRONT TIMES

Lowest Installed Price In Town — Every Time!

MODELS

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