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It doesn’t feel like it, but it’s been just two weeks since an election that saw former President Trump hand the Democrats a total ass whooping. Last Friday at Ybor City’s Cuban Club, Tampa’s Tiger Bay Club gathered for its last meeting of 2024 where local politicos—plus Bay area political scientist Dr. Susan MacManus, and this writer—did a mini-autopsy on the ballot. Tampa Bay Young Republicans’ Jake Hoffman took home the session’s Garfield award for his question about whether or not the Democrats’ decision to not hold a primary after Joe Biden dropped out of the race hurt the party (TLDR: Yeah, it did.). See more photos via cltampa.com/ slideshows.—Ray Roa
Double Smash Burger
Served on a potato bun with American cheese, paired with a charred lime aioli and bacon onion jam, served with crispy rosemary garlic fries
Only available during Tampa Bay Burger Week from Nov. 14th-24th
do this
Tampa Bay's best things to do from November 21-27
Let it snow
Tropical climes never stopped anyone from celebrating the holidays, and Tampa is getting into the spirit next month with Winter Village, a magical wonderland with themed ice skating nights, tree decorating contests, winter train rides through downtown and historic Ybor City, and other fun festivities. New this year is the Tampa Bay Ice Show, where on select nights, skaters will showcase their dazzling skill during 10-minute performances in front of the backdrop of the Hillsborough River and the University of Tampa minarets. There’s even a tree decorating contest, and the new Winter Village Express train ride, which offers a onehour, round trip journey on the TECO Streetcar complete with sing-a-longs, trivia, milk and cookies, and festive surprises for riders of all ages. Only five trips are scheduled; Tickets go on sale Nov. 1 for $10.
Winter Village openings: Friday, Nov. 22. No cover. Curtis Hixon Waterfront Park, 600 N Ashley Dr., Tampa. wintervillagetampa. com—Anthony Ozdemir
Get there
“I’ve been to the mountaintop… And I’ve seen the promised land. I may not get there with you.” Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. spoke those tragically prescient words in Memphis on April 3, 1968 in support of the city’s striking sanitation workers—the day before he was assassinated on the balcony of his room at the Lorraine Motel. Katori Hall’s play—which closes this weekend in St. Pete—imagines an encounter in the motel room the night before his death, in which the civil rights leader shares his hopes and dreams with a sassy chambermaid. The two-character play has been widely praised for Hall’s “wartsand-all” portrayal of King as an ordinary man who did extraordinary things.
‘The Mountaintop’:
Through Sunday, Nov. 24. $23 & up. American Stage Theatre Company, 163 3rd St. N, St. Petersburg. americanstage. org—David Warner
Mutual aid is on a lot of minds lately, and Tampa Bay has a long history with the practice of taking care of each other by sharing resources. One bastion of the ideal is Ybor City’s Sociedad La Union Martí-Maceo. Founded more than a century ago—and still located on 7th Avenue—the club served the community’s Afro-Cuban population who found themselves more or less ex-communicated during Jim Crow. To mark the club’s 124th anniversary, Sociedad La Union Martí-Maceo—pictured here hosting a party in 1940—breaks out the dominoes for a fundraiser organized in conjunction with the Tampa Heights Junior Civic Association. The Cuban-style of play will be utilized (two-on-two, double nine), and if you’re not up on slang (or able to drink rum), know that novices are welcome, with tutorials available. Teams can compete for a $500 grand prize (there’s a $40 entry fee) while casual play is available for $10. Kids 15 years old and under play for free.
Sociedad La Union Marti Maceo Cuban Club Domino tournament: Saturday, Nov. 23. 11 a.m.-4 p.m. $10. Sociedad La Union Martí-Maceo, 1226 E 7th Ave., Ybor City. martimaceocc.org—Ray Roa
The count
on
Say no more
If you’re not allowed to discuss politics at the Thanksgiving table, let the pie do the talking. Members of St. Petersburg’s Uhuru chapter—an arm of the African People’s Socialist Party that supports Black power by protesting policing, colonialism and racism—regularly bake pies for St. Pete’s Saturday market, Friday’s Jiko Kitchen, and for Thanksgiving (pickup happens in South St. Pete, Tuesday-Wednesday, Nov. 26-27). Nearly a dozen pie varietals are available, including Georgia pecan, chocolate bourbon, pumpkin, peach, and the Africa Apple whose crust is topped with a pastry version of the continent.
When nana asks what Uhuru means, tell her that local members of the organization were recently acquitted of failing to register as Russian agents after the feds argued that they were part of a seven-year conspiracy to sow division in American politics (four members of group, however, were convicted of a lesser charge of conspiring to act as agents of the Russian government)—that should get everyone talking!
Uhuru Holiday Pie Campaign: $11-$24. Holiday pickup at Uhuru House or St. Pete Saturday Market, uhurupies.org—Ray Roa
Pounds and pavement
Last year, for the first time in its 13-year history, Tampa’s Cranksgiving charity bicycle scavenger hunt broke the one-ton mark in single-day food donations. The race finds solo riders and teams crisscrossing local neighborhoods to buy groceries that are delivered immediately to Metropolitan Ministries. When the competition wraps, Cranksgiving organizers expect their all-time haul for groceries donated to surpass the 20,000-pound threshold. To sweeten it all up, there’s also a raffle, which this year helps neighbors at the nonprofit Reach St. Pete, still operating in a rental after being forced out of their home last year. The ride starts and ends at Coppertail Brewing, just outside of Ybor City.
Cranksgiving 2023: Sunday, Nov. 24. 11 a.m. Bring $15-$20 to buy food. Coppertail Brewing, 2601 E 2nd Ave., Tampa. @CranksgivingTampa on Facebook—Ray Roa
Meat me there
Give your arteries a little warm up before Thanksgiving. Each year, Creative Loafing Tampa Bay teams up with dozens of local bars and restaurants to offer foodies a variety of unique burgers and accompanying sides. In addition to several take-out and dine-in burger deals, this 10 day-long collaboration—which kicked off last week—also features drink specials, social media giveaways and the chance to vote for your favorite burger in Tampa Bay. From local institutions like El Cap (pictured), American Social, and Coppertail Brewing Company to more elevated fare like Union New American, Boulon, and Copper Shaker, plus scenic, waterfront restaurants including St. Pete Pier’s Teak, Birchwood Canopy, and Hula Bay, there’s something for everyone this year. All you have to do is ask an employee about its featured Burger Week special.
Tampa Bay Burger Week: Through Sunday, Nov. 24. Various venues. tampabayburgerweek.com—CL Staff
POLITICS ISSUES OPINION
Skipping Townsend
Leader of Hillsborough Democrats won’t seek re-election.
By Mitch Perry/Florida Phoenix
Hillsborough County Democratic Executive Committee Chair Ione Townsend announced last Thursday that she will not run for reelection to her post next month, ending her nine-year run as party leader.
Meanwhile, Florida Democratic Party (FDP) Chair Nikki Fried took to the op-ed pages of the Miami Herald that same day to speak out for the first time since the state party suffered its latest electoral setback, writing that the final result “wasn’t enough, but it’s a start.”
Also, Miami filmmaker Billy Corben, who briefly competed earlier this year to serve as chair for the Miami-Dade County Democratic Executive Committee before dropping his candidacy, announced that he was quitting both the Miami-Dade County Party as well as Florida Democratic Party and reregistering as an NPA (no party affiliation).
“It is my sincere hope, if you have a modicum of pride or shame after last week’s electoral bloodbath, you will resign from your positions as well,” he wrote in a letter addressed to Fried and Miami-Dade Democratic Executive Committee Chair Shevrin Jones.
As for Hillsborough, during the second part of the 2010s the county emerged as one of the strongest performers for Democrats in the state with Townsend at the helm but, like every other county in the state, it performed poorly in the past two election cycles.
“This county is turning red,” Townsend told the Phoenix in a phone conversation shortly after she released an email to party members announcing that she will not run next month for another term, after initially saying that she would.
“The demographics in this county have significantly changed. When you look at the migration, it’s significantly people over the age of 55, mostly white, 70% of them are registering as Republicans,” she added. “The demographics in the state of Florida and in Hillsborough are changing pretty dramatically, and they don’t favor Democrats.”
As the Phoenix noted going into last week’s election, Hillsborough had seen a voter registration advantage of more than 70,000 during the 2020 election reduced to fewer than 5,000 before Election Day 2024.
That’s a factor in why former state attorney Andrew Warren lost to Republican Suzy Lopez
by 6 points last week. In 2020, the Democrat won re-election to his seat by more than 6 percentage points. But that change in voter registration, as well as an onslaught of television and direct mail ads attacking his tenure in office, doomed the man dubbed just three years ago as a rising star in the Florida Democratic Party.
Flow and ebb
In her statement to party members, Townsend reflected that monthly party meetings in early 2016 could often barely fill 30 seats. Voter engagement turned around rather dramatically later that year after Donald Trump took the White
“This county is turning red.”
media by local Democrats to step aside, saying she never looks at Facebook.
“So, I’m totally unaware of it,” she said of the criticism being a factor. “Absolutely not.”
‘In play’
Although no longer a swing state, Fried and other party leaders frequently maintained in news conferences throughout the year that Florida “was in play,” but the results from last week’s election proved that is definitively not the case.
Not only did Donald Trump and Rick Scott breeze through their races, winning by 13 percentage points each, the party failed to achieve its goal of breaking the Republican Party of Florida’s supermajority in the state House, and in fact lost a seat in that chamber.
The party didn’t lose seats in the Senate, but didn’t add any either as their hopes of ousting Republican Corey Simon in District 3 fell
House that November (Trump lost by more than seven points to Hillary Clinton in Hillsborough that year and by seven points to Joe Biden in the county in 2020. Trump won Hillsborough by more than three points last week).
She remarked that the party’s bank balance was $4,000 in 2016 and now is over $100,000. And she is proud that despite key losses last week in county commission and clerk of the court races, Democratic voter turnout rose to nearly 80% last week, “the best we ever had.”
Townsend insists her decision not to run for re-election was not because of calls on social
woefully short. That means the GOP maintains supermajority status in that chamber as well, with a 28-12 advantage.
“In the middle of a nationwide Democratic collapse, Florida moved six points to the left from the 2022 election,” Fried writes, noting that Kamala Harris’ losing margin was better than Charlie Crist’s 19-point loss to Ron DeSantis in the 2022 gubernatorial election. “It wasn’t enough, but it’s a start.”
Despite the party being badly outspent in legislative races, the FDP “netted one loss” in the Legislature and didn’t lose any of the
eight congressional districts that Democrats hold, she added.
‘On you’
Not every Florida Democrat agrees, obviously. Take Corben.
“To be fair, you inherited a dumpster — but all you’ve done is light a match,” he wrote in his letter to Fried and Jones.
“This mess is entirely on you now. You’ve achieved the unthinkable: dragging the state and local party from rock bottom to the abyss. Sucking the last breath (and penny) from a moribund brand, putting the final nail in its coffin, burying it and writing its obituary. You’ve never missed an opportunity to miss an opportunity.”
Fried’s op-ed on Thursday wasn’t exactly welcomed by some observers.
“This is the most insane cope I have ever seen,” said Benjamin Freeman on X. (Freeman has a YouTube channel where he makes election predictions). “’Yes, Florida shifted 10+ points right from the last Presidential election, but we’re still counting this as a win’????”
When reached later last Thursday, Sen. Jones told the Phoenix that he’s aware that Democrats in Miami, in Florida and across the nation remain frustrated with last week’s election results.
“You have a couple of things that are happening,” he said. “You have those individuals who are pointing fingers… and there are those who are saying collectively what does it look like to reset and restart who we are? And I think there’s a place for both of them. I think Billy [Corben] has been very vocal about the DEC, even prior to me coming on. I’ve only been the chair fulfilling the past chair’s role after he was ousted over the past five months, and so we were able to raise half a million dollars for a full program, hire a field organizer, hire an executive director and really put a structure in place, so that whomever the chairman who comes in after that, they can continue to do infrastructure, create a deeper bench and engage with people within Miami-Dade County. We weren’t going to see that change under my leadership while this election cycle was happening. If we had not done the programming that we had done, the numbers probably could have been far worse in Miami-Dade County but that’s because we did put up a fighting chance with the resources that we had.”
Florida Phoenix is part of States Newsroom, a nonprofit news network supported by grants and a coalition of donors as a 501c(3) public charity. Follow Florida Phoenix on Facebook and X.
NINE IS FINE: Ione Townsend led Hillsborough Democrats for nearly a decade.
No worries
At NLC Summit in Tampa, no outward concerns of total GOP control in D.C.
By Mitch Perry/Florida Phoenix
Should mayors and city administrators be concerned when it comes to federal support for issues like climate change, affordable housing, and public safety now that the Republican Party will claim complete control in Washington in January?
No one is admitting to that publicly at the National League of Cities (NLC) Summit—but one official acknowledged it is something the more than 4,000 mayors and city officials that gathered last week in Tampa were pondering.
“I can tell you that we spend a year preparing for this moment, regardless of the outcome of this election,” said David Sander, mayor of the northern California city of Rancho Cordova and president of the National League of Cities, responding to a question the Phoenix posed to him last Wednesday.
That includes a presidential election task force report that Sander said allows the NLC to prepare to work with what will now be a Donald Trump administration starting in January.
clean, emergency disaster supplemental bill with additional funding for FEMA, the Small Business Administration, and several other government agencies. Members of the Florida congressional delegation made a similar request before the election, but Speaker of the House Mike Johnson said that could be handled after the election.
“This bill is essential, and I mean, truly essential, for helping communities impacted by more than 160 major disaster declarations since 2023. Including Hurricane Helene and Hurricane Milton,” said Steve Patterson, the mayor of Athens, Ohio.
ELECTIONS
Under President Joe Biden, state and local governments have received financial and technical support on issues like climate change through laws like the Inflation Reduction Act. It’s questionable whether any such efforts will take place in the next couple of years under complete GOP control of Washington, but NLC officials weren’t keen to discuss that while engaging with the media.
“The NLC is a nonpartisan organization,” said NLC CEO & executive director Clarence Anthony. “Our mission is to focus on city issues, issues that may impact the residents that live in cities. And so, we have a 100-day plan that we will work with the Trump administration to be able to align our mission and policies with those that they may have an interest in, and we’ll work with that administration.”
“NLC’s advocacy targets essential programs like FEMA’s public assistance program, the Department of Transportation’s Emergency Assistance program for highways and roads, and HUD’s community development block grant disaster recovery grant program, among many others.”
Patterson also went on to recognize the “fundamental role” that the National Flood Insurance Program plays in helping communities affected by flooding and said the NLC is “rigorously lobbying” Congress for its “swift reauthorization,” as well.
Harassment
“The NLC is a nonpartisan organization.”
Tacoma, Washington, Mayor Victoria Woodards acknowledged how the nation had just endured one of the most contentious election cycles in U.S. history and said an updated NLC survey found that 89% of mayors, city council members, and city managers had experienced some form of harassment on social media on during public meetings as well as at their homes.
“We’re committed to housing,” Anthony added. “We’re committed to environmental policy that’s outlined in our national municipal policy. And so, we look forward to staying focused on our mission and our values, and I think that’s where we’re going to go.”
‘This bill is essential’
Following the devastation from hurricanes Helene and Milton that hit Florida and other parts of the Southeast this fall, the NLC in partnership with the U.S. Conference of Mayors and other organizations recently sent a letter to Congress urging passage of a comprehensive,
“Local officials face everything from racist, homophobic attacks online, to city council meetings that devolve into screaming matches,” she said, adding that the NLC is about to release a report on how to rebuild trust and improve civil discourse in local communities.
Tampa Mayor Jane Castor thanked the NLC for “sticking with us through all of these years of delays and planning, but I do believe as I said before that the wait was certainly worth it.”
Florida Phoenix is part of States Newsroom, a nonprofit news network supported by grants and a coalition of donors as a 501c(3) public charity. Florida Phoenix maintains editorial independence. Contact Editor Michael Moline for questions: info@floridaphoenix.com. Follow Florida Phoenix on Facebook and X.
THINKING: NLC CEO & Executive Director Clarence Anthony.
Reasons We Lack Flexibility
• Inactivity reduces flexibility.
• Repetitive muscle overuse in sports like tennis, golf, and running also decreases flexibility.
• Accidents, injuries, or surgery can lead to loss of mobility.
Why Stretching?
• Stretching helps to enhance mobility and range of motion, speed up recovery, and improve posture and circulation.
• Top athletes regularly incorporate stretching into their lives.
• Stretching improves your general wellbeing.
Ruh ROH
USF students report stolen belongings after not being allowed in dorms for a month.
By Riley Benson
University of South Florida students in St. Petersburg say some of their belongings were stolen while their dorms were closed for post-hurricane repairs.
The students were forced to live either offcampus or in on-campus temporary shelter while USF’s Pelican Apartments (referred to by most as “RHO”) was closed for most of October due to water damage from the hurricane. Regardless of their choice, students were not allowed to enter their rooms in RHO, unless for approved medical needs, to gather any personal items while the building was closed.
“To make matters worse, the school had told us that we had to be out of our dorm buildings by Monday, [Oct. 7] at noon, and I went to leave my room and got locked out. I left my keys on my bedroom desk, and all my roommates had already left. The housing team locked my room and just left,” Rivera told Creative Loafing Tampa Bay.
Students like Rivera, who had already evacuated the building during the week of Milton, and a week prior for Hurricane Helene, were told that they could stay where they were, sheltered with friends or family, or stay at an on-campus shelter.
While USF will be providing RHO residents with a credit towards a future semester for the number of weeks they’ve been missing from the dorm, the physical and mental strain, alongside the theft, the student said, isn’t enough compensation.
LOCAL NEWS
The closure started on Oct. 7, and lasted three weeks before a phased reopening started on Oct. 27. Some residents—like this writer, who is a RHO resident, in full disclosure—returned as late as Nov. 1. But some students returned to find personal items, like cash and electronics, missing from where they had been left.
Anthony Rivera, an out-of-state student, who was staying in Atlanta, Georgia for the entirety of the closure, came back to find that his Apple Watch was missing.
“I called multiple numbers, but they all said the school was closed. It was at least an hour before they said they’d be closing the building, so I had no choice but to leave important personal items, and my watch behind,” he said.
The “Find My” app, which allows all Apple users to track their products, showed Rivera that his watch was turned off, but was last detected at an apartment complex in Kissimmee—a city he’s never been to.
“The school just let it happen, they were supposed to be watching over our stuff, but they just let these strangers take our belongings and invade our personal space,” Rivera said.
After learning that his watch had been stolen, Rivera filed a police report with the University Police Department and has yet to receive an update.
Another student, who requested to remain anonymous, stated that they had personal belongings taken, but is primarily upset at USF’s lack of security and monitoring of the team working on campus. They mentioned that there were over 100 workers on site every day and minimal supervision from campus security in monitoring the construction workers that went into every room.
“They were supposed to be watching over our stuff.”
Pelican, aka RHO, houses 352 students, according to USF.
“I really think [the situation] reflects onto the leadership,” they said. “Even if just one construction member is unvetted and unqualified, they have now gained access to 350 people’s personal rooms.”
“We took this situation very seriously and connected these students with our University Police Department (UPD) for the incidents to be investigated. It is unfortunate that someone would take advantage of students who were temporarily displaced and facing significant challenges due to a hurricane,” a rep for USF told CL.
“Our Housing and Residential Education team maintained close communication with students to ensure any concerns were addressed,” the rep continued. “We are now in the process of working with the construction company to replace any items that were reported missing or damaged by students. We continue to provide support to these students, and the incidents reported to UPD remain under active investigation.”
Golfera Spicy Italian Salami
Horseradish Mustard
Mimolette France
Quince Paste
Apricots
Baguette
Berbician Kangaroo Salami
Date Almonde Cake
Midnight Moon
Mixed Olives
Cornichons
34o Degree Crisps
Acorn Fed Fermin Iberico Ham
Levoni Fennel Salami - Italy
Piedras de Coco
Dalmatia Fig Spread
Drunken Goat Cheese
Ham
Midnight Moon
Cambozda Black
Marcona Almonds
Bucheron Brûlée
Cornichons
Smoking Goose Toscano Salami
Duck Foie Mousse
Berbician Ostrich Salami Brie
Couronne
Golfera Truffle Mortadella
Primo Sale Walnut
Prosciutto Di Parma - 24 MONTH -
Mitica Fig and Almond Roll
Italian Orange Blossom Honey
Pistachio Pecorino
34o Degree
Crisps
RESTAURANTS RECIPES DINING GUIDES
Can do
Beer Can Building staple announces Pinellas location, plus more local food news.
By Riley Benson and Kyla Fields
ATampa staple for over 50 years is opening a second location on St. Pete Beach. Malio’s Prime Steakhouse, first opened in 1969 by Malio Lavarone along South Dale Mabry Highway, is now located along the Tampa Riverwalk, on the ground level of Rivergate Tower (aka The Beer Can Building). The restaurant is known for its high-end steaks, seafood, wine and other dishes.
In 2005, the original Malios Steakhouse on Dale Mabry Highway closed, before a Riverwalk revival two years later, helmed by Lavarone’s son, Derek Lavarone.
A social media post says the new Malio’s restaurant will be located at 4945 Gulf Blvd. in St Pete Beach, taking the place of Prima Cantina, a Mexican restaurant that opened in early 2023. The Cantina has not officially posted online that they’ve closed, and is still listed on its website as being open— with users able to still place orders.
also specializes in a variety of Puerto Rican dishes like mofongo, rice and beans and fried pork chops.
There’s a few pastas, quesadillas, loaded sandwiches, salads and soups on the menu, too.
45 Sports Bar & Restaurant is also home to another business called A.C. Frappe that sells acai bowls, milkshakes, smoothies and other sweet treats during daytime service.
OPENINGS
Some patrons online have complained about the lack of transparency at Prima Cantina and have placed orders without being notified that the restaurant is closed.
Regardless, Malios—which hopes to open on the beach in 2025—has already moved along in renovating the new location, with signage reported up by patrons earlier this month.
The exact opening date is yet to be announced.
Clearwater’s new 45 Sports Bar & Restaurant dishes out Puerto Rican fare and sti drinks
There’s a new spot for classic bar food with a Caribbean twist right outside of downtown Clearwater. Located inside of an unassuming plaza at 1409 Cleveland St., 45 Sports Bar & Restaurant celebrated its grand opening over the summer and has been dishing out homestyle Puerto Rican food and stiff drinks ever since.
The full-service liquor bar and restaurant also offers a lounge area, several pool tables, and a variety of streamed sports games on its many TVs.
45 Sports Bar & Restaurant offers an expected spread of bar classics like mozzarella sticks, nachos, boneless wings and burgers, but
The spot also hosts late night events like karaoke, dancing, DJs and themed parties as a part of its “Night Life” programming. According to 83 Degrees, the newly-opened bar and restaurant “emerged as a flagship business” for a Clearwater chamber-associated initiative meant to create local support systems for Latino and Hispanic business owners. Head to @45sportsbar on Instagram or its Facebook page for the latest information on events, new menu items and more.
45 Sports Bar & Restaurant is now open in Clearwater from 11 a.m.-10 p.m. MondayThursday, 11 a.m.-2 p.m. Friday and Saturday, and 11 a.m.-midnight on Sunday.
Tampa will be home to first-ever dog-friendly cruise in 2025
Avast, ye scurvy dogs, a literal cruise for dogs and their humans is sailing out of Tampa next year.
Typically, only service dogs are allowed on cruise ships, but this morning, Cruise Tails and Expedia Cruises of West Orlando announced the “first-ever dog-friendly cruise,” departing from Tampa in November 2025.
The cruise, which be hosted on the Margaritaville at Sea’s Islander ship, will accommodate 250 seaworthy dogs and their parents and include “gifts and samples from top vendors, dog shows and trainings, guest speakers, costume contests, parades, and more,” says a press release.
“Guests may participate in many onboard special activities with or without their dog, and a full support team will be available to ensure it’s easy-breezy sailing for everyone,” the release said. “While vacationing with their
pet, guests can book with dog groomers, enjoy puppy massages, visit dog-friendly splash stations, and more.”
If you’re wondering how 250 dogs will go to the bathroom at sea, the company says each cabin will come with a “private relief station” on each balcony, and guests will also have their own “Pet Butler” to help keep the rooms and ship sanitary.
“I consider my Yorkie, Louis, to be part of my family, and for years I missed out on the ‘family reunion’ cruise because I will not travel without him,” said Steve Matzke of Cruise Tails in
a statement. “I want to change that for myself and other dog lovers.”
All dogs must be leashed at all times, says the cruise, and owners must also agree to an all encompassing photo waiver, be up-to-date on all shots and vaccinations and also agree to not bring their pup inside any dog-free areas, like the Margaritaville Casino, pool decks, and dining areas. No begging!
No exact prices, itinerary info, or cruise dates were announced, but interested guests can sign up for the company’s email list for updates.—Colin Wolf
RIVER RUNS: Malio’s now on the ground floor of Rivergate Tower, has plans for expansion.
VOTED
Gobble me up: Thanksgiving specials across Tampa Bay
It’s been a hellacious month-and-a-half in Tampa Bay, and now you’ve got to think about making Thanksgiving dinner. If your first reaction is, ‘Nah’ then there are quite a few Tampa Bay restaurants that want to help. Have a look below for local spots who’ll help you and your family get stuffed this holiday. Did we miss your restaurant’s special? Send rroa@ cltampa.com and email to let us know.
4 Rivers Add a BBQ twist to your Thanksgiving table this year with the 4 Rivers Smokehouse holiday special. Whether it’s the slow-smoked turkey or the 18-hour smoked beef brisket, the riv’offers stress-free holiday meals for this month’s big feast. For $67.69, the smokehouse will give you “The Fixins Package”, which feeds up to six people and includes one quart each of mashed potatoes, gravy, sweet potato casserole, cornbread stuffing, and southern green beans (plus a pint of cranberry chutney ). Pre-order the meal before 5 p.m. on Wednesday, Nov. 23 to pick it up on Thanksgiving day. Multiple locations. 4RSmokehouse.com.
Billy’s Stone Crab Billy’s is back open just in time for the holidays. The past couple months have been rough for the local business, but they’re excited to announce they’ll be back for a special Friendsgiving weekend. From Nov. 22-24, guests are invited to celebrate a Thanksgiving dinner with Billy’s everyday menu of fresh seafood favorites. Owner Ed medley says everything is back up and running and that his team is ready to welcome everyone back. From stone crab, peel-and-eat shrimp, to their famous $3.99 margaritas, Billy’s has it all to make this Thanksgiving a waterfront wonderland. 1 Collany Rd., Tierra Verde. billysstonecrab.com
Boulon Brasserie Water Street Tampa’s French connection wants you to put its pie on your table this month. Three options—including salted caramel apple pie, pumpkin spice cheesecake, and the “Spiced Orange Dream” featuring gingerbread cookie crust, toasted marshmallow fluff on top of Florida orange custard—are available for $45 each. Advance orders can be picked up on Wednesday, Nov. 27 starting at 8 a.m. 1001 Water St., Tampa. boulontampa.com
The Columbia The Columbia has locations in Ybor City, Sand Key at Clearwater Beach, Sarasota, St. Augustine, and Celebration— and they’re all open on Thanksgiving, offering a $30 dinner that includes sliced turkey, great-grandma’s stuffing, casserole, veggies and more. The Bay area’s famed Spanish and Cuban restaurant also offers a $195 take-home package that feeds 10 people. A 12-pound Vermont turkey is the centerpiece, but it also includes the beloved 1905 salad, signature stuffing, three sides (green beans and onions, mashed potatoes, sweet potato pecan casserole), plus house-made cranberry sauce, turkey gravy, a loaf of Cuban bread, and choice of a whole pumpkin or Key Lime pie. Orders must be placed by 2 p.m. on Thursday, Nov. 21 at any location. Pickup happens on Wednesday, Nov. 27 between 11 a.m.-6 p.m. columbiarestaurant.com
Cooper’s Hawk Cooper’s Hawk wants to ease your stress this Thanksgiving with their 2024 holiday special: “Feast Without the Fuss,” a full dine-in Thanksgiving meal as well as a heat-and-serve take-home package that serves up to six people. The take-home kit is $199.99 and includes a selection of seasonal dishes like turkey, butternut squash soup, mashed potatoes, stuffing, carrots and green beans, and for dessert, a six-sliced pumpkin praline cheesecake. You can collect your kit either in-restaurant or curbside Wednesday-Thursday, Nov. 27-28. Pre-ordering is required by Nov. 22 due to limited quantities. The dine-in Thanksgiving menu offers the same dishes and is $34.99 for adults and $14.99 for kids 12 & under. Reservations are encouraged. 4110 W Boy Scout Blvd., Tampa. chwinery.com/ reservations
The Dan The opportunity to have an award-winning chef present your Thanksgiving meal doesn’t come often. But this year, The Dan in downtown Tampa offers a Thanksgiving Day menu curated by renowned Executive Chef Dernier Buleje. His special holiday menu includes roasted butternut squash bisque, roasted turkey, short ribs, pork chop, and an array of desserts that capture the fall flavor. 905 N Florida Ave., Tampa. dineatthedan.com
Eddie V’s Prime Steakhouse This month, Eddie V’s welcomes you for the holidays with its traditional Thanksgiving dinner menu. The dine-in special includes sliced turkey, roasted butternut squash, cranberry chutney, mashed potatoes, pumpkin pie tartlet with pecan ice cream, and more. The offer starts at $55 for adults and $20 for children. Reservations are encouraged. 4400 W Boy Scout Blvd., Tampa. eddiev.com
Élevage SoHo Kitchen & Bar South Tampa’s Élevage has a family-style feast available ($80 adults; $25 for kids 6-12 years old). The family-style offering (11 a.m.-8 p.m., Thanksgiving Day) includes lavender focaccia with apple jam and salted butter, three entrees (turkey roulade with confit leg and pan gravy, bone-in short rib in madeira sauce, and smoked ham with molasses barbeque), sides (truffle mashed potatoes with crispy mushroom and idiazábal cheese, roasted sweet potatoes with hot honey, cornbread stuffing, cranberry sauce, brussels sprouts with candied pecans and apricots, and green beans with mushroom sauce), plus desserts (pumpkin cheesecake with maple whipped cream, flourless brownie with white chocolate sauce, and apple cobbler with vanilla ice cream). 1207 S Howard Ave., Tampa. epicureanhotel.com
Fresh Kitchen The A-based chain, which originated in Tampa, Fresh Kitchen offers its classic menu staples, like cauliflower potato mash, maple sweet potatoes, basil mushrooms and sesame green beans, for catering this Thanksgiving. Its entire menu is gluten-free and all meats are antibiotic-free and hormone-free. Delivery is available for orders over $100 and catering inquiries can
be placed online. Multiple locations. eatfreshkitchen.com/catering
Hew Parlor & Chophouse From 11 a.m.-8 p.m. on Turkey Day, Dunedin’s beautiful waterfront hotel will offer not just decadent mains (seafood cannelloni in creamy rose sauce with tobiko, smoked rotisserie turkey with white wine gravy, sherry glazed pearl onions and stuffing, and pork chop au poivre with sweet fig mostarda), but mouth-watering starters and salads (baked brie en croute, a lyonnaise salad with warm apple cider vinaigrette), fancy sides (including smokey sweet potatoes with chorizo foam, creamy squash casserole with graham cracker crust), plus cheesecake (turtle pecan) and pie (bourbon caramel pumpkin). Adults ($85) and children ($25, 6-13 years old) are welcome, and reservations are recommended 453 Edgewater Dr., Dunedin. fenwayhotel.com
Hotel Haya This Thanksgiving, enjoy a three-course family-friendly dining experience at Flor Fina, located inside Ybor City’s Hotel Haya. The hotel offers a first course with bread baskets and salads, a main feast with turkey, salmon, and prime rib, and a dessert platter with pumpkin pie, pecan bars, and apple cobbler. Haya’s got everything you need to get in the holiday spirit, including a kids buffet full of picky-eaters favorites. Adults are $95 per person, children 6-12 are $15, and children five and under eat free Reservations are open from 11 a.m.-5 p.m. on Thanksgiving day. 1412 E 7th Ave., Ybor City. hotelhaya.com.
Hyatt Regency Clearwater Beach Resort & Spa The Clearwater Beach Hyatt’s Shor American Seafood Grill (stylized in all-caps) will offer a buffet with “turkey with giblet
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Gobble me up: Thanksgiving specials across Tampa Bay (continued)
continued from page 33
gravy and cranberry sauce, a build-yourown pot pie station, a fresh seafood station, and several traditional side dishes including sweet potato casserole, Yukon whipped potatoes, pimento macaroni and cheese, and more.” 301 S Gulfview Blvd, Clearwater Beach. hyatt.com
Juno & the Peacock Recently opened last August in the heart of Beach Drive in Downtown St. Petersburg, Juno & the Peacock offers a Thanksgiving prix fixe meal— for $125 per person and $35 for kids 12 & under, with reservations needed ahead of time. Some of the offerings available include, Joyce Farms roasted turkey breast, crab-crusted florida black grouper, along with pecan or apple cranberry pie. 400 Beach Dr. NE, St. Petersburg. junoandthepeacock.com
Oystercatchers This month, Tampa restaurant Oystercatcher invites you to dine-in for the holiday with a four-course Thanksgiving menu. The restaurant will offer various meals like a seafood platter, oyster rockefeller, and lobster and crab bisque, along with the more traditional roasted turkey and prime rib, sweet potato casserole, and whipped cheese potatoes. For desserts, Oystercatchers has holiday classics like pumpkin cheesecake, sweet potato pie, and pecan pie. Reservations are recommended. 2900 Baypoint Dr., Tampa. oystercatchersrestaurant.com
Pane Rustica This month, Pane Rustica is offering a Thanksgiving to-go holiday special with five different pie options, four specialty bread options, and a classic Thanksgiving dinner that serves four. The $180 package includes turkey (light and dark meat), gravy, sweet potatoes, stuffing, carrots, green beans, mashed potatoes, cranberry sauce, and fresh baked rolls. The deadline to order its to-go Thanksgiving dinner is Saturday, Nov 23, with pick-up happening Wednesday, Nov 27. 3225 S MacDill Ave, Suite 119, Tampa. 813-902-8828. panerusticabakery.com
The Pearl Any classic Thanksgiving dinner isn’t complete without a pie on the table. Whether you’re more of a classic Dutch apple and pumpkin pie enjoyer, or looking to try a new staple, like a brown sugar or “buckeye” pie, The Pearl has you covered. Its homemade pies range from $40-$55 each. Place your orders by calling 813-709-7776 at least 48 hours in advance. 823 Water St., Tampa. thepearlrestaurant.com
Sal Rosa From 11 a.m.-10 p.m., downtown Tampa’s Best of the Bay-winning Sal Rosa offers a $29 Thanksgiving special featuring a choice of confit turkey leg or herb-roasted turkey breast, plus sides (garlic whipped potatoes, stuffing, baby carrots, with gravy and cranberry sauce). 601 N Florida Ave., Tampa. salrosatampa.com
Seasons 52 Seasons invites you to enjoy traditional holiday classics this month with a dine-in Thanksgiving dinner menu. Starting at $42 for adults ($18 for kids), the restaurant
offers roasted turkey, gravy, mashed potatoes, sweet potatoes, stuffing, green beans, and pumpkin pie. Seasons 52 also offers a warm-and-serve Thanksgiving Green Box option for folks who’d like to stay in for the holiday feast. The box features everything on the Thanksgiving menu plus a salad to start and and six pumpkin pie indulgences to end. The to-go box serves up to six people people and is $230. Order by Monday, Nov. 25, to pick your boxes Tuesday-Wednesday, Nov. 26-27. Pick-up times are from 11a.m. to 4 p.m. Dine-in reservations are recommended. 204 N Westshore Blvd, Tampa. seasons52.com
Tampa Edition Whether it’s festive pies to-go or dinner feasts, Tampa Bay’s only five-star hotel brings a unique spin to Thanksgiving. Patrons can attend a prix fixe dinner on Thanksgiving from 4 p.m.-9 p.m. at Tampa Editon’s Lilac restaurant where it’ll be serving Mediterranean-inspired dishes. For those looking for a different spin on the classic dinner, Market at Edition will serve an Italiancoastline-inspired menu from 5:30 p.m.-10:30 p.m. on Thanksgiving. Reservations are needed and can be booked via OpenTable online for ‘Lilac’ here, and ‘Market at Edition’ here. Meanwhile, those needing a quick dessert can order pickup for pies and quiche on Nov. 28-29 from noon-4 p.m. from Edition’s festive pastries to-go site. 500 Channelside Dr., Tampa. editionhotels.com/tampa
Timpano Hyde Park From entrees to dessert, Timpano in Tampa’s Hyde Park has you covered with flavors inspired by Italy. Start off with cheese tortellini, and turkey polpettini or savor the seasonal roasted honey nut squash. For an entree, put an Italian spin on the Thanksgiving classic, with its herbroasted turkey with sweet potato buttermilk biscuits and cranberry compote. Timpano’s Thanksgiving dinners are $75 a person, with options for dine-in and to-go, but orders and reservations in advance are recommended and available online. 1610 W Swann Ave, Tampa. timpanohydepark.com
Tradewinds Bask in a classic Thanksgiving brunch buffet at the Tradewinds Resort for the traditional holiday experience. With roast turkey, an array of seasonal delicacies, and holiday favorite desserts, the resort is set to bring the holiday spirit to the Bay area. Located in the Grand Palm Colonnade at Island Grand, reservations for hour-long dining windows are available at 11 a.m. and 1 p.m. for $97.75 per person. Wine, beer, and cocktails are available for purchase, but note that Tradewinds is a cashless resort. 5 500 Gulf Blvd., St Pete Beach. tradewindsresort.com
The Vinoy The historic hotel’s grand ballroom is the setting of a Thanksgiving feast with two seating options (noon-2 p.m., 3
p.m.-5 p.m.; $140 for adults, $55 for kids 3-12 years old). Stations include a soup kettle, seafood bar, charcuterie and cheese boards, salads, plus turkey and ham. And yes, there’s a kid’s station. The Vinoy also offers a $485 Thanksgiving meal to go—”apple cider brined roast turkey, cornbread and sausage stuffing, buttermilk whipped potatoes, citrus glazed sweet potatoes, charred brussels sprouts with bacon and caramelized onions and pumpkin and pecan pie for dessert,” feeds eight-10 people— that must be pre-ordered and picked up on Thursday, Nov. 28 between 11 a.m.-2 p.m. 501 5th Ave. NE, St. Petersburg. thevinoy.com
Willa’s Go “Big Willa Style” for turkey day with a $500 package that includes four appetizers, turkey main (with gravy and cranberry sauce, duh), tahini Caesar, four sides (macaroni au gratin, fingerling potatoes, brioche stuffing, rosemary focaccia), and a chocolate oat pie for dessert. Everything is available a la carte, too with prices ranging from $15-$75. Orders must be complete by Sunday, Nov. 24 at 5 p.m. Pickup happens in North Hyde Park on Wednesday, Nov. 27 from noon-8 p.m. 1700 W Fig St., Tampa. willastampa. com—Creative Loafing Tampa Bay’s fall interns, Riley Benson and Anthony Ozdemir, plus staffer Ray Roa, contributed to this listing.
WILLA’S
MOVIES THEATER ART CULTURE
The toad’s stool
Sam Tallent on breaking into book clubs, the state of comedy, and more.
By Ray Roa
Sam Tallent is hungry.
He devours contemporary fiction, and even penned a 2020 novel that’s widely regarded as the finest literary depiction of the messy lives traveling stand-up comedians lead. “Running The Light”—which has sold more than 15,000 copies—is being made into a movie, too. But he’s hoping for more.
“I really want to be talked about in the fucking magazines that I subscribe to,” Tallent, 37, told Creative Loafing Tampa Bay, alluding to publications like the New York Review Of Books. He doesn’t regret any aspect of releasing the book himself, but the literati shits on self-published work, perhaps to protect the sacred rights of MFA programs across the world. It’d be nice, he admitted, to be invited to fancy dinner parties or sit on author panels.
His audiences are better for it. A lot of the gig Tallent brings to five shows at Side Splitters in Carrollwood this weekend is riffing and looking into the crowd for stimuli to respond to. He’s proud of it, but he’s not precious about the act either.
“I wouldn’t call myself an artist for doing stand-up. I’m a craftsman,” he said. “But I have one intent. I’m not trying to get an emotional response. If they’re not laughing, I’m failing.”
INTERVIEW
Sam Tallent
Thursday-Saturday. Nov. 21-23. $22 Side Splitters Comedy Club 12938 N Dale Mabry Hwy., Tampa sidesplitterscomedy.com
And when the improvisation ends, Tallent— who grew up in Colorado before traveling the country DIY style and even living at an anarchist compound in Ithaca— will deploy what calls a new hour of jokes that he’s proud of.
“All that pretentious shit that no one is reading—I am actively engaged in that world. It would just be fun to be fully submerged in it,” Tallent added. “And I want everyone to say, ‘Good job. You can hang out at our table.’ That’s all it is.”
His fortunes might change after next year. The draft of Tallent’s forthcoming novel, “Petillant Brut,” is due in the summer. He doesn’t even like tote bags, but now uses the one he got on a visit to his new publisher, Random House, on the daily.
“Only because it’s a very, very simple flex on my behalf. If anyone ever asked, like, ‘Oh, where did you get that? I can be like, Oh… you know,” he laughed, adding that he senses himself becoming more bizarre.
“I think they’re the smartest jokes I’ve ever done, and definitely come the most from me, as opposed to just trying to write funny jokes like Dave Attell and crush,” he said.
In a world where some comedians have started to use platforms like “The Joe Rogan Experience” to spew “anti-woke” ideals while playing the victim and punching down in a gross, bigoted win-win, Tallent’s comedy stands apart, while pushing crowds to the point of discomfort.
“I think it’s just empathy versus lack of empathy.”
“ I’m OK with it,” Tallent said. “I don’t know, maybe I’m being more OK with the person I am.”
Two decades into his career, Tallent is a more popular comedian than he’s ever been.
“It would be very irresponsible to take my foot off the gas right now, after achieving momentum from almost 20 years in stand up,” he said about the notion of hanging up the jokes to focus on writing should his new book take off.
Early in his 2021 special, “Waiting for Death to Claim Us,” he makes an Alabama audience think about police brutality. On 2023’s “The Toad’s Morale”—released by rising comedic giant Shane Gillis—he confronts misogyny with a trans joke that insiders are still talking about. Just this month in San Diego, Tallent did 20 minutes on his wife being an abortion provider— much to the shock of his managers who came to check out a set.
“They were like, ‘Holy shit, you’re really talking about a lot of things up there.’ And I’m like, ‘Yeah, but it’s very funny.’ And they’re like, ‘We’re not at all saying it’s not; it was just very impressive to see you navigate that in front of a traditionally conservative San Diego comedy crowd,’” Tallent explained, adding that he’s not
scared to take audiences to those places. “And if it’s not funny, I will get on all fours and act like a human pig.”
Tallent thinks treating comedians like modern pundits goes a little too far. He’s not sure if the issue in comedy is woke or anti-woke, either.
“I think it’s just empathy versus lack of empathy,” he added. It’s perplexing, he said, to see people who’re all about freedom and liberty not wanting others to have freedom and liberty with their own bodies. Same for folks openly taking drugs and hallucinogens pushing back on body autonomy, or those who’re working out to get their bodies to look a certain way.
“You definitely understand that you’re not in the body that you want to be in, and then you do what you have to to achieve that body,” he added. “I don’t know. It seems like A leads to B leads to C, and the cognitive dissonance in between is very weird to me.”
Tallent’s values, he explained, can be attributed to a good upbringing, with two parents, and a network of family who all led by example. Reading books played into his sense of empathy, along with another element of his growing up.
“LSD was huge. Mushrooms were a big part of that, too,” he said, adding that he took his first hit at 16 years old and didn’t really shy away from it until he turned 32. It’s hard to tell if Tallent is joking about that, but he said that it definitely helped him cope with loneliness and feel connected to the world—and people— around him.
“I’m always very intrigued by people,” he said about his habit of talking to strangers on the street.
This weekend, Tampa comedy fans get a chance to have Tallent talk to them. There’s a very good chance that the conversation will be mind-blowing, too.
THE FUTURE, RIGHT NOW: Sam Tallent has five shows at Side Splitters.
Balls
The Rays are moving to Tampa, for now.
By Ray Roa
While the City of St. Petersburg has plans to pay $55 million to fix Tropicana Field in time for the 2026 season, the Tampa Bay Rays now have plans to give baseball-loving Tampeños what they’ve been crying about for what feels like forever.
A press release from the team says the Rays will play its 2025 home games at Tampa’s domefree George M. Steinbrenner Field. The venue, located at 1 Steinbrenner Dr. across from Raymond James Stadium, is the Spring Training home of the New York Yankees, and home turf for New York’s Single-A affiliate, Tampa Tarpons (who are expected to play at nearby fields according to WFTS).
“Existing season members will be contacted regarding their 2025 season membership options and do not need to complete the form,” according to the team. A rep for the team would not tell Creative Loafing Tampa Bay how many season ticket holders it has.
In case you just moved here or hate sports, Tropicana Field, which has been home for the Rays since 1998, saw its roof ripped open last month during Hurricane Milton. Parts of the Teflon dome quickly ended up for sale online.
SPORTS
In a statement, Rays Principal Owner Stuart Sternberg thanked the Yankees for the loaner.
“The hurricane damage to Tropicana Field has forced us to take some extraordinary steps, just as Hurricanes Helene and Milton have forced thousands of families and businesses in our community to adapt to new circumstances as we all recover and rebuild,” Sternberg—a multi-millionaire with a team worth more than a billion dollars—wrote.
The capacity at Tampa’s Steinbrenner field is approximately 11,000, according to the release. The team averaged 16,515 fans per game in 2024, according to ESPN.
The Rays are set to open the 2025 campaign on March 27 against the Colorado Rockies, and there’s a form for anyone interested in tickets.
Before the storms, the City of St. Petersburg and Pinellas County controversially committed about $600 million to helping the Rays build a new stadium. Everything got complicated after Milton, and the release of a damage assessment that said it would cost $55.7 million to repair the roof (The Athletic said the roof could’ve been shored up for the storm if the team had replaced it in years prior).
The Rays said Steinbrenner Field is the “best-prepared facility in the Tampa Bay region to host regular-season Major League Baseball games.” The club also touted recent upgrades to lighting, the locker room, and training facilities, but did not mention how it would reschedule or postpone games if it rained.
“Additional improvements are expected to be made before the regular season to ensure fans continue to have a wonderful experience at Rays games,” the team added.
HOLE-Y SHIT: The Trop’s roof ripped open last month during Hurricane Milton.
Thursday, November 21 / 7:00-9:00 pm
Ybor Arts Tour @ Gasparilla Distillery & Cocktail Bar 2102 East 4th Avenue
Free and Open to the Public
Friday, November 22 / 8:00 pm
Bop to the Top @ The Ritz Ybor 1503 E 7th Ave
$20 for General Admission https://bit.ly/BoptotheTopRitz
Saturday, November 23 / 7:30 pm
HCC’s 48 Hour Play Festival @ Studio Theater, YPAB, HCC 1411 E. 11th Ave.
$15 in advance • $17 at the door
Free to HCC students and faculty www.onthestage.tickets/show/hillsborough-community -college-theatre
Saturday, November 23 / 11:00 pm
Harry Potter Rave @ The Ritz Ybor 1503 E 7th Ave
$10 for General Admission https://wl.seetickets.us/event/harry-potter-rave
Monday Nov 25, 2024 / 7:00 PM - 9:00 PM EST
Friendsgiving @ 7th & Grove 1930 E 7th Ave
$55 Early Bird • $65 General Admission
Dress Code STRONGLY RECOMMENDED: Monochromatic fall colors. See color palate and examples attached. Browns, Olives, Burnt Oranges, etc. bit.ly/GroveGang
Wednesday, Nov. 27, 2024 / 8:00pm
Drunken Turkey Fry @ Crowbar 1812 N 17th St
$10 per plate www.facebook.com/crowbarlive
Wednesday, Nov. 27, 2024 / 9:00 pm
Rich the Kid @ 1920 Ybor 1920 East 7th Avenue
$25 General Admission • $65 VIP bit.ly/RichTheKid1920Ybor
Wednesday, Nov. 27, 2024, Two Seating Times
Friendsgiving Buffet @ Lara Apothecary Bar & Bazaar 1919 East 7th Avenue
Friday, Nov. 30, 2024 / 7:00pm
Gwansgiving @ Crowbar 1812 N 17th St
$12.50
www.facebook.com/crowbarlive
Sunday, Dec. 1, 2024 / 12:00pm - 4:00pm
Indie Flea @ The Cuban Club
2010 N Avenida Republica de Cuba
Open to the Public
Lara Apothecary Bar & Bazaar (opening soon) 1919 East 7th Avenue www.tampalara.com
Copper Shaker Ybor
Check out the Bison Chili Brisket Burger for Burger Week until Nov. 24 1502 E 7th Ave www.coppershaker.com
The Attic Cafe 1920 E 7th Ave
Check out local artists work displayed, awesome locally brewed craft beer and delicious bites. Featuring the Pancho Burger for Burger week through 11/24. www.atticcafe.net
vintage clothing store instagram.com/lafranceybor Ybor City Museum 1818 E 9th Ave Explore Ybor’s rich history through the decades www.ybormuseum.org
By Josh Bradley & Ray Roa
THU 21
C Snõõper w/Real People/Cabo Boing In Spotify years, 15 months is a decade. Snõõper knows this and has spent the days between the release of its debut LP and this November tour giving fans nearly half-adozen releases (including a ridiculous cover of Devo’s “I Think I ’m Falling In Luv Again”) to hold them over. The art-punk outfit that went from self-releasing music to pressing it on hometown label Third Man Records, and it comes to Tampa with Hollywood, Florida heavy-hitter Real People and Cabo Boing, the experimental project of Yip-Yip’s Brian Esser in tow. (Crowbar, Ybor City)
C Sunshine Hootenanny Music & Art Festival w/Moe./Dogs In A Pile/Karina Rykman/Bobby Lee Rogers Trio/Tru Phonic/more
Florida Sand Music Ranch (formerly Sertoma Youth Ranch) is an 80-acre music-lover’s playground, and next week hosts two nights from Buffalo jam-rock favorite Moe. (stylized in all-lowercase), which headlines Friday and Saturday. Close to three-dozen acts are on the bill, and the party gets started on Thursday.
FRI 22
C Bayboro Brewing’s hurricane relief concert: Greymarket w/Pet Lizard/ Parriss & the Night/Bad Smoke To the dismay of no one, there hasn’t been a shortage of hurricane-related benefit concerts in the last few months. Through drag bingo, pool events, and a gig at Tampa’s Shuffle, the Hurricane Haters Club, a group of local organizers that came together in between Hurricanes Helene and Milton, has raised and donated over $3,600 to the likes of Tampa Bay Rapid Response Fund and the American Red Cross. The group’s final event of the year—which hopes to bring in the remaining amount it needs to hit $5,000 in donations— will see a quadfecta of local rock and R&B outfits hit the stage alongside live screenprinting of Hurricane Haters-related t-shirts from Sick Dope Fresh Print Company on site. (Bayboro Brewing, St. Petersburg)
Dreamcatcher When a band or artist announces a limited run of U.S. shows, Tampa Bay doesn’t typically luck out (well, unless that band is My Chemical Romance and it’s 2024—more on p. 47). But this K-poprock outfit winds down a year-long tour with a penultimate show across from the Dalí Museum. To promote its latest, ultraanthemic EP Virtuous , the girl group posted coordinates in Seoul to social media, which fans actually headed to, just to receive an AirDrop with information about the EP. In
THU NOV. 21–THU NOV. 28
short, if bringing fans physically together like that is the future of new music announcements, we’re here for it. (Mahaffey Theater, St. Petersburg)
C Ed Woltil & Kirk Adams Just under 1,400 miles now separate the Bay area from expat songwriter Ed Woltil, but the power-pop maestro is coming home for the holidays. For this show, both Woltil and Kirk Adams bring all-star bands to the stage to showcase original music before coming together for choice covers performed by both ensembles. Expect the creme de la creme of Pinellas county folk and rock—think, Matt Walker, Steve Connelly, Jeremy Douglass, Ashley & Taylor Galbraith, Dave Hamar, Rob Pastore—to all lend a hand. (Side Door Cabaret at Palladium Theater, St. Petersburg)
Feyleux w/Fjshwjfe/Offerings/DJ
Winters You never would have thought that darkwave would make you feel eerily nostalgic, yet here we are. Feyleux mixes the whimsy synth and guitar licks of ‘80s new wave with witchy lyrics that will make you want to take your partner on a moonlit date in a graveyard, or at least crack out the old Ouija board for a quick seance. If you need an extra night of Halloween after the tumultuous
last few weeks, Mauve Gilstrap and Laurie Ruroden headline their North Carolina duo’s Tampa debut with support from Brianna Bullock’s equally synthy, Siouxsie Sioux-inspired project Offerings, and local “softcore torch singer” Fjshwjfe. (Music Hall at New World Brewery, Tampa)
Lauren Flax w/Brian Busto/Rat Galactic
This weekend is DJ Brian Busto’s cake day, and Lauren Flax—a Detroit-based DJ who can be seen regularly tearing up The Good Room in Brooklyn—headlines this bitch of a rave full of “relentless, acidic, streetlaced techno that sends the crowd into a fever pitch.” Consider bringing some sticker donations for the walls of New York’s Lot Radio station, where Flax normally live streams, too. (The Nest at St. Pete Brewing Co., St. Petersburg)
C Suncoast Jazz Festival: Diego Figueiredo w/Jason Marsalis/Ken Peplowski/New Black Eagle Jazz Band/ Wally’s Warehouse Waifs/Wycliffe Gordon/Daniela Soledade/more More than anything, Suncoast Jazz Festival just feels good. The multi-day festival has been a staple of the Bay area music scene for more than three decades and brings jazz fans to the beach for jazz in ballrooms, bars and
more. Sand Key would really use a boost right now, too, after back-to-back hurricanes that decimated tourism in the neighborhood. A New Orleans-style parasol parade kicks things off poolside on Friday, and locals— think James Suggs, La Lucha, Nate Najar and Daniele Soledade, plus more—are just part of a lineup that brings in musicians from around the world including Brazilian guitar god Diego Figueiredo, vibraphonist Jason Marsalis, and others. (Sheraton Sand Key Resort, Clearwater)
Wolfgang Amadeus w/Cozy In The Black/Kyah Robinson As a poet, Dennis Amadeus is a full-on force on the mic. Now he’s got a band that finally gets to play after seeing its live debut postponed by the hurricanes. Wolfgang Amadeus finds the Growhouse Collective co-founder channeling a lot of his poetic fire into hard-rock (“Rage”), but songs like “First Chance, Last Chance” wear some of the melodic and carefree energy of movies like “Dude Where’s My Car,” too. Amadeus—together with drummer Denny Umphreys, guitarist Zach Katz and DJ Afro Blanco, and Austin O’Neal on bass— tapped Kyah Robinson and Cozy In the Black to play support. (Hooch and Hive, Tampa)
continued on page 44
C CL Recommends
Pet Lizard
SAT 23
BBMak Twenty-five years after its single “Back Here” became a Total Request Live staple, U.K. boy band BBMak, is, well, back, and here in the Bay area with up updated version of the tune. Mark Barry, Christian Burns and Stephen McNally split up in 2003, but reunited for a new album 15 years later. Is it weird that the hit song has been repurposed for a Bumble Bee tuna snack meal jingle? Yes, but that won’t stop boy band obsessives with disposable income from packing St. Pete’s best listening room for this one. (Bayboro Brewing, St. Petersburg)
C Ben Folds Hecklers are gonna love this. During the show, fans of the 57-year-old songwriter, arts advocate and founder of Ben Folds Five are encouraged to launch their requests onto the stage via paper airplane (you haven’t forgotten how to fold one have you?). A rep for Folds told Creative Loafing Tampa Bay that he plays a setlist for the first 45 minutes. An intermission gives fans time to get paper from the merch table and work on requests from Folds' vaunted catalog. “At the end of intermission, there will be a countdown for the launch of the paper airplanes. Folds then returns to the stage to spend the second 45 minutes of the show randomly picking up planes and playing song requests gleaned from those that landed on stage,” Harper Beattie of Big Hassle Media added. Pour your heart out and evaporate for him, Tampa Bay. (Ferguson Hall at David A. Straz Center for the Performing Arts, Tampa)
Black Violin Kev Marcus and Wil B of this Grammy-nominated duo from Fort Lauderdale met in a high school music class, and continue to share their love of hip-hop and classical music. And it’s not just in the background instrumentals, either. Most of the duo’s albums have featured at least a few songs where a frenetically-played violin fills in for where a rapper’s voice would normally be. The boys have Alicia Keys, Aerosmith, and Tom Petty on their collaboration resume, and while their latest single “Legends In The Making” does show off their vocal side, don’t be shocked if more global icons tap Kev and Wil to add their strings to new music in years to come. (Morsani Hall at Straz Center for the Performing Arts, Tampa)
C Bonnie Raitt w/James Hunter Just Like That…, Bonnie Raitt’s seemingly endless tour supporting her 2022 of the same name is about to wrap up. The 75-year-old, 13-time Grammy winner added more dates to the already extensive run last spring, and finally winds it down with this penultimate gig of the year (there are less than a handful of U.S. dates booked for 2025 so far). It wouldn’t be too out of the question to see a few younger faces in the crowd either, since a sample of Raitt’s 1989 hit “Nick Of Time” appears on a Charli XCX's new remix album. “They did a really artful job—I was very honored,” Raitt told Rolling Stone about hearing her vocal isolated on the track “I Think About It All the Time” (stylized in lowercase, produced by Bon Iver's Justin Vernon). Bluesman James Hunter and his six-piece band open the Clearwater show. (Ruth Eckerd Hall, Clearwater)
The Day Players Band The soaps, man, they’re still a thing and some of the boys from “Days Of Our Lives” and “General Hospital” (Carson Boatman, Wally Kurth, Brandon Barash, Eric Martsolf) are in a band that plays 90 minutes of unserious acoustic pop (they cover “Let It Go”). In true soap opera fashion, this gig is a daytime matinee that kicks off at 2 p.m. (Funny Bone, Ybor City)
C Will Quinlan w/Shae Krispinsky Early this month, Will Quinlan took his and Jim Blaisdell’s American Dreaming project out for a spin. It was a treat to hear the tenured Tampa songwriter’s melancholia-cana backed by synthesized drums, and’ll be even better to see Quinlan on a bill alongside another talented, homegrown songsmith, Shae Krispinsky, who wields a potent strain of Southern Gothic folk, but is fully capable of doing rap and rock when she breaks out a side project. (Deviant Libation, Tampa)
WED 27
Punks for Paws: Bargain Bin Heroes w/Thee Butcher Cabal/No Plea/Human Error/Dissentors/more A no-kill animal shelter can never have enough resources, and this dog-loving-brewery raises some extra cash for Friends of Strays thanks to some help from more than a dozen punk bands. (Pinellas Ale Works, St. Petersburg)
C Sauce Pocket After a rousing set at Hulaween last month, Sauce Pocket kicks off Turkey Day week with a duo of shows at Florida’s oldest microbrewery. The first one is Saturday’s “Saucegiving” show, while a “Sunday Service” set in the brewery’s Moon Tower warehouse promises to see the “psychedelic space funk” ensemble “debut some extra ThiQQ primordial Dub Sauce.” Both gigs will cost you just $0 to get in. (Dunedin Brewery, Dunedin)
SUN 24
C Animals As Leaders w/Plini Animals
As Leaders’ latest album Parrhesia could easily be the soundtrack to a dystopian action film. It’s loaded with angry guitar riffs, a few softer, synth-led moments, and as usual, no bass guitar present. But that album won’t be on the Washington D.C. instrumental prog-metal trio’s mind at all until the encore, because this year marks the 10th anniversary of its third album The Joy of Motion , which saw a few special-edition vinyl reissues emerge last year. Australian guitarist and songwriter Plini opens. (Jannus Live, St. Petersburg)
C Claudio Simonetti’s Goblin Simonetti, along with his prog-rock four-piece Goblin, soundtracked a good chunk of 20th century Italian horror films, including “Phenomena” and the international cut of 1978’s “Dawn Of The Dead.” On the heels of the 50th anniversary of the band’s soundtrack debut—for 1975’s “Deep Red”—the 72-year-old has been bringing a career retrospective tour across the U.S., with clips from the films showing behind him. Unlike in other cities, he won’t play the entire “Demoni” score, but if you’re a horror aficionado, you might learn a thing or two about international perceptions of the genre. (Orpheum, Tampa)
C Drunken Turkey Fry: DJ Dfaz w/Kid Loki/Psych Montano/Louis Junior If you’re dreading hearing your weird aunt ramble about how Donald Trump is gonna save America next weekend, some deep fried turkey (expertly crafted by the likes of Sean Pomeroy, Clam Master Jay, and Crowbar boss Tom DeGeorge) will probably do you some good. It’s free to get in, but considering the healthy amount of MCs set to hit the stage, a plate of food is gonna cost you $10. Thanks, Joe Biden. (Crowbar, Ybor City)
C Fowler and Friends Holiday Show: Damon Fowler w/JP Soars/Ed Wright/ Dan Signor/Chuck Riley/Chris Peet It’s always a treat to see Dan Signor on a bill. The gruff-voiced songwriter is sort of a vagabond these days, and he parks the van at The Skipperdome to play keyboards in a band that’s a straight up who’s who of the Bay area blues and roots scene thanks to the additions of bassist Chuck Riley, The Red Hots’ Chris Peet and JP Soars, plus guitarist Eddie Wright. (Skipper’s Smokehouse, Tampa)
Thanksgiving Eve: DJ Knox People drink less these days, but if if you’re gonna throw down on one of the biggest party nights of the year, Knox is one of the best choices for selector. He tops the bill powered by one of the best sound systems in town. (Hooch and Hive, Tampa)
See an extended version of this listing via cltampa.com/music.
Claudio Simonetti’s Goblin
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My Chemical Romance has announced ten dates to celebrate the impending 20th anniversary of its groundbreaking rock opera The Black Parade , one of which will be in Tampa. This brief run of shows will see Gerard and Mikey Way, Frank Iero, and Ray Toro perform the 2006 album coverto-cover, along with the other bangers that made up the playlists of your emo friend’s high school years.
While there’s no telling if these shows will be as theatrical as the original Black Parade tour, this run of shows also has different opening acts for each city, with the Tampa show getting alt-metal outfit Evanescence to warm things up. The last time MyChem rolled into
The California Honeydrops Friday, Jan. 24. 7 p.m. $29.50. Jannus Live, St. Petersburg
Homeshake Friday, Jan. 31. 7 p.m. $22. Music Hall at New World Brewery, Tampa
Venom Inc. w/Salem’s Childe Saturday, Feb. 1. 6:30 p.m. $25 & up. Brass Mug, Tampa
Camping In Alaska w/Catalyst Friday, Feb. 7. 7 p.m. $25. Crowbar, Ybor City
Aaron Lewis and the Stateliners Tuesday-Wednesday, Feb. 11-12. 8 p.m. $85 & up. Hard Rock Event Center at Seminole Hard Rock Hotel & Casino, Tampa
Glaive Tuesday, Feb. 11. 8 p.m. $25. Crowbar, Ybor City
Andrea Bocelli Thursday, Feb. 13. 8 p.m. $81 & up. Amalie Arena, Tampa
Levity Friday, Feb. 14. 10 p.m. Sold out, waitlist is open. The Ritz, Ybor City
The Backfi res Saturday, Feb. 15. 7 p.m. $15. Hooch and Hive, Tampa
The Main Squeeze Wednesday, Feb. 19. 7 p.m. $22.50. Crowbar, Ybor City
town was in 2011 at the ol’ Gary amphitheater, with Blink-182 on the “Honda Civic” tour.
Before that, it had performed at 97X Next Big Thing thrice (with a headlining slot in 2010), opened for Green Day’s American Idiot tour at USF Sun Dome in 2005, and brought its sophomore album Three Cheers For Sweet Revenge to Ybor City’s late, great Masquerade.
Tickets to see My Chemical Romance play Tampa’s Raymond James Stadium on Saturday, Sept. 13 went on sale last week and are now priced starting at $265. See more newly announced 2025 concerts below.—Josh Bradley
bbno$ Saturday, March 1. 6:30 p.m. Sold out. The Ritz, Ybor City
Dropkick Murphys Saturday, March 8. 7 p.m. $42.50 & up. The BayCare Sound, Clearwater
ZZ Top Wednesday. March 12. 8 p.m. $120 & up. Hard Rock Event Center at Seminole Hard Rock Hotel & Casino, Tampa
Air Supply w/Taylor Dayne Friday, March 14. 7 p.m. $30 & up. The BayCare Sound, Clearwater
Larry Gatlin Friday, March 14. 8 p.m.
$24.50 & up. Central Park Performing Arts Center, Largo
Foreigner w/.38 Special Saturday, March 15. 7:30 p.m. $39.50 & up. The BayCare Sound, Clearwater
Missio w/Layto Tuesday, March 18. 7 p.m. $22. Music Hall at New World Brewery, Tampa
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Fool’s errand
By Caroline DeBruhl
On the night of the election, I watched an Agatha Christie movie and went to bed by 9 p.m., uninterested in watching Donald Trump win in real-time. I didn’t have any psychic insights into the election, but I know plenty of men—across nation, creed, and political spectrum—who hate women and plenty of white folks who dig fascism and are nervous around Black people, so I went to bed assuming that I would not wake up to the news that America elected its first Black woman president.
There’s no joy in having your most cynical thoughts confirmed. It just leads to a numbing fire, something that hollows you out and makes you want to give up on your fellow human being.
I’ve written columns before about political upheaval (after the insurrection, gun violence, when Roe V. Wade fell) and talked about how to move forward as a united front.
But people must want to be united, and I’m not sure that’s the case. So, this is not a column for the country as a whole. This is for anyone who has felt the cancerous growth of cynicism over the past four years, eight years, decade, 20th century. My question, for myself and anyone else wanting to combat it, is this: how do we keep hope? Because, honestly, I don’t know.
I drew five pairs: Six of pentacles (reversed), King of Pentacles; Ten of Wands, Full Moon; Three of Swords, Knight of Pentacles (both reversed); Last Quarter, Ten of Pentacles; The Fool (reversed) The Star
The first step is a triage of care. Both King of Pentacles and Six of Pentacles can mean charity, but they exist within a power structure: there is the giver and the receiver. Plenty of people will need resources, and we need to figure out who needs what first and provide it, grassroots style. It’s a call towards anarchist ethos, the kind that brought us Food Not Bombs and free stores. We have to take care of each other because the price of “freedom” is responsibility.
This exact moment feels completely overwhelming, with the burden of the Ten of Wands and intensity of the full moon. Right now, it may seem like there is no future without the heavy weight of this tomfuckery crushing us down. But, while the Ten of Wands is brutal, it is survivable. We have to see clearly by the light of the moon and figure out how to keep going.
We can hold space for grief and anger but must keep going. As both cards are reversed, we must bear the responsibility and balance our grief with our momentum for some time.
What we are striving towards in the Last Quarter and the Ten of Pentacles. The Last Quarter is about connection—to each other and the divine—and letting go and letting serendipity move us. In that sense, I don’t think the Ten of Pentacles represents “family” in the traditional way but in the all-encompassing way of Anima Mundi, The World’s Soul.
ORACLE OF YBOR
Send your questions to oracle@cltampa.com or DM @theyboracle on Instagram
The belief that everything is connected, that everything has in it a pinch of the divine, is a hopeful one. It doesn’t allow for dehumanization, but it does allow for evil, which keeps things from getting too Pollyanna. All beings—good, evil, or indifferent—are part of this web. We exist in a spec of time. We come from a past of great love and great violence, and we’ll probably have a future of that too. We have to strive for love even though evil exists alongside it. The world is a collective, like it or not.
And that path leads us to the all-connected, every-hopeful card of The Star. After nearly 20 years of reading tarot for people, The Star is still the hardest card for me to explain. Inside The Star is this divine spark, one that comes when the unconscious mind, conscious mind, and outer world are in balance. It’s what the Gnostics call pneuma, a connection to the divine that you’ve probably felt before when listening to music, reading fiction, or floating in the ocean. It’s when everything—the light, the sounds, your feelings—clicks into place, and for a fleeting moment, you feel the oneness of the universe.
It’s a moment of hope realized. And that is what we must strive towards, even if it feels like a fool’s errand. That is how to combat cynicism. We have to feel that hope and feel that connection to all.
When situations are dire, when we’re in danger or have been deeply betrayed, it can feel impossible to imagine a future where things work out—irresponsible, even. If you’re there, give yourself grace. Hope, like cynicism, is learned.
The way to move forward is to ride this bronco from hell as the Knight of Pentacles. This knight is a doer, a builder, someone who is steady and calm and can handle the pressure and responsibility needed for them in a time like this. And with the Three of Swords, this is something we must do despite our mourning. This is what we have to do because we are mourning. The Three of Swords is a card of loss, heartsick, betrayal but also of survivors.
Which brings us to the two cards overarching this entire spread: The Fool reversed and The Star. The Fool, as an archetype and in history, existed outside the rigid social order. There could be holy fools, who heard the words of God, or court jesters, who could say mad shit to a king and live. The Fool in Tarot is often the start of a journey, but it can also be staying on a path that doesn’t make logical sense.
To be connected means that there are others who share our hope, even if we haven’t met them. Our journey, then, will be to find them, to discover that truly, we aren’t alone. Perhaps when we find each other, we can build a better world. If we can’t, perhaps we can help each other survive this one.
I hope we won’t have to look long, that we’ll see each other, like little fireflies glowing in the dark.
See more from Caroline, and learn about her services, via carolinedebruhl.com.
Quickies
By Dan Savage
This debate is raging again, Dan, and we need you to issue a ruling: Do straight women belong in gay bars?
Some (straight women, gay bars), not all (straight women, gay bars).
Why do men keep ghosting me after sex? I’m a 25-year-old woman.
No clue. You could’ve had a string of bad luck—and fucked half a dozen (or more) shitty guys in a row—or it could be something you’re doing wrong. Even if you don’t think you’re doing anything wrong, once you’ve noticed a pattern of behavior and/or results that makes you unhappy, it’s a good idea to make some changes. Make an effort to meet different kinds of guys in different kinds of ways, slow your roll/slow your hole, and take some time along the way to engage in constructive introspection and make further changes/course corrections, as needed.
How do I stop people from falling in love with me when they meet me?
Put that MAGA hat on.
Do all straight men secretly want something up the ass?
Considering that not all gay men want something up the ass—not tongues, not dicks, not toys—I feel pretty confident saying not all straight men want something up the ass. What’s different now is that straight men who do want something up their asses are less likely to feel shame and more likely to ask people—randos, FWBs, sex workers, romantic partners, spouses, etc.—to put something up their asses.
How do you stop wanting what you can’t have? By focusing on something you can actually get—or someone you can actually get—and then willing yourself to believe you wanted this other something/someone as much or more than you wanted the something/someone you couldn’t have.
How do I stay GGG even though I hate getting any kind of hair—including mine—in my mouth? The longer the hair, the worse it feels!
Three options come to mind: seek out sex partners with alopecia; keep a hair clipper in on bathroom sink and tell new sex partners a quick trim gets them oral; or make a kinky virtue of irrational hangup and actively pursue perverts who get off on being ordered to keep their bodies hairless.
Are friends of exes or exes of friends always off limits?
No and no—and since anyone who believes they can declare exes or friends off limits needs to learn that they don’t actually have the power
to do that, you’re doing people like that a favor when you fuck their friends and exes.
Is it OK to set up an online dating profile just to see what’s out there?
It is—but going places and doing things, e.g., joining and volunteering and partying, remains the single best way to see what’s out there.
My wife lost all interest in sex 10 years ago but insists I remain monogamous. Arguments often end with her angrily saying, “No one owes you sex.” What can I say in response to that?
“No one owes you celibacy.”
How do you discreetly sniff an uncut cock? Dick cheese is awful.
When someone says, “I wanna inhale your cock,” it’s typically not meant literally. (No one wants to aspirate a dick.) Another expression that usually isn’t meant literally: “Passing the smell test.” But if you’re gonna be face down in someone’s crotch, you’re gonna inhale at some point... so, why not inhale right away? And if someone fails that smell test, tell them to go jump in the shower — unless you consider showing up with a dirty dick in the first place to be disqualifying, in which case you can and should tell them to take their dirty dick elsewhere.
How to keep the sex life alive on the long, hard road to conceiving with infertility issues? If you’ve been trying to conceive the oldfashioned way for a while, vaginal intercourse may feel like a chore. If you’ve moved on to fertility treatments like IUI or IVF, vaginal intercourse—at least for the moment—may symbolize of your failure to conceive without assistance. My advice: take PIV off the menu and enjoy other kinds of sex that symbolize (and provide) pure pleasure, i.e., oral sex, mutual masturbation, frottage, anal play (if you’re into that), etc.
I’ve always wanted a straight man to use me as the faggot I’m meant to be used as. I wanna beg him to stop and for him to just get rougher the more I beg. I’m done when he says I’m done.
Thanks for sharing—and since very few actual straight men would ever wanna use you the way you describe wanting to be used, you can jack off all you want about this CNC scene, secure in the knowledge that it’s never gonna happen.
SAVAGE LOVE
A friend drunkenly confessed having feelings for me. This person happens to be a close childhood friend’s ex-partner. We actually met through my childhood friend. Part of me feels giddy about this confession (I like this person!), but I would never want to hurt or betray my childhood friend. Should I tell my childhood friend what happened and seek their blessing? Or should I distance myself from the friend that confessed feelings?
opening things up is unlikely to make you feel better in the short or long term, since your primary partner wouldn’t be any more interested in fucking you than they already are.
I’m a 35-year-old married transgender man. I started my transition when I was in my 20s. My wife is 100% straight. I’ve recently started being open about being queer and being attracted to men. As I get older, I keep finding myself longing to fuck a cis man. At times it’s the only thought that gets me turned on. I’ve been married for ten years. My wife is pretty uptight. Open relationships and ENM is NOT an option. What do I do? Suck it up?
You have exactly three options: honor the monogamous commitment you made (and suck it the fuck up), dishonor the monogamous commitment you made (and risk getting caught), or issue an ultimatum and demand some degree of openness (and risk getting divorced). I wish there were another option—people write every day hoping that I’ll find a magical fourth option that doesn’t involve going without, becoming a cheating piece of shit, or issuing painful ultimatums that could blow up their marriages—but there are only these three options.
Just went exclusive with a new partner last night and this morning an old sexy fling hit me up. For fuck’s sake! What do I do?
If a single text message from a long-ago fling was all it took to make you regret going exclusive with your new partner last night… it was quite obviously a mistake to go exclusive with your new partner at all.
What websites should I use to post my foot photos to make $$$?
“I’ve done it—I’ve sold some foot pics— and there can be some money in it,” said Tyler Tanner, who has been creating, sharing, and monetizing his adult content online for three years. “The best places to post foot photos would be OnlyFans and maybe Feetfinder. But whether you make money or not really depends on how good you are at marketing, just like any other product!” Tyler Tanner is on Instagram and YouTube @TylerTannerX.
How admirable is it to work as a fetish porn star in 2024?
A fetish porn star—or a humble porn content creator—is more admirable than a rightwing standup comic.
If you wanna date this person, you should date this person. You should give your close childhood friend a heads up—as a courtesy—but your childhood friend doesn’t have a veto and, if they’re a good friend, they won’t want a veto.
What’s the best way to find a loaf of gay bread and make a fuck sandwich? Gay guy here who wants to be the meat in one.
My single gay friends are constantly complaining to me—of all people—that they never meet single-and-available guys online or out in the bars. All they’re meeting are partnered guys in open relationships and/or couples seeking thirds for an evening, a weekend, or a lifetime. So, finding that loaf of gay bread—finding a gay couple seeking meat—shouldn’t be that hard. Get on the apps, go the bars.
His libido is much lower than mine. Could this work over the long term? I feel rejected. If what you were feeling was deprived, opening the relationship up could resolve those feelings, since being with your partner wouldn’t mean being deprived of sex, allowing the relationship—barring other issues—to work over the long term. But if what you’re feeling is rejected,
I’m a mid-30s gay male. I recently finally came to terms with my sexuality. I was previously married to a woman for 10 years and we were monogamous the whole time and had a pretty normal sex life. But as soon as I had gay sex, it felt natural to me. My biggest concern is that I get so in my head when I have sex with men, especially when it comes to topping. This often results in me losing my erection. I’ve tried Viagra and Cialis, and they’ve helped but there have been times that I take the meds and even then, I’ll lose the erection. How do I enjoy the moment if I’m constantly worried I’ll lose my erection? By telling yourself you can enjoy the moment—and enjoy the man—even if you don’t have an erection.
Is it OK to use the same sex toys you’ve used with your ex when you’re with a new person? Yes.
I started dating a guy seven months ago and three months in we were arguing. Every time something went wrong, he would say he was done with me, and I would block him. Then he would text me from a different number, claim he didn’t mean it, and tell me he loved me. What should I do?
Stop falling for it/him.
Can I eat ass and pussy in the same session? You can but you shouldn’t.
Got problems? Email mailbox@savage.love! Or record your question at savage.love/askdan! Podcasts, columns and more at Savage.Love
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___ of one’s own medicine
___ budget
Monk’s title
Freeway nightmare
Devout guy?
Weird guy?
Ms. Fitzgerald
“Purty” one
“He will ___” (I Sam. 7:8) 29 Subterfuge 30 Nudist colony guy? 33 Laude lead-in
Boater, for one
Teal, for one
Explosive guy?
Snow fort of a sort
Symbol
Boss, often
Tallahassee sch.
Guy with an oil fortune?
52 Him, to Henri
Inhuman
Smoothness
Get the picture
Hell-raising guy?
Bear witness
“Boy, you weigh ___!”
“Okay by moi”
Fiery saint
Dentistry guy? 70 1969 Alan Arkin film
75 Firstborn
Guy who backed into a cactus?
Grille cover
Culture medium
Most risqué
Photog’s original
Guy who sticks up for the little guy?
TNT finish
Hurls
Mardi, in Eng.
Dicey
Guy who’s just plain useless? 98 Airport monitor?: abbr.
Scot’s cap
Above, in one syllable
Guy who worries about waiting?
Marshy wasteland
Of a blood vessel
Fantastic flyer
Restaurant ending
Guy who doesn’t fix stick shifts?
Puzzle editor’s sweaty brother?
Keaton and Ladd
Sweet Betsy’s guy
Hairy guy
Join
Property in toto
Director Craven
Comedian Leary
Walking sticks
Die Fledermaus chambermaid
Lace mat
Five Pillars faith
Letter from London
7 Bag capacity, often: abbr.
Tampa or San Francisco, e.g.
“The bitter wormwood ___” (Boccaccio)
“Well done!”
Hawthorne’s birthplace
Some 2 BR places
Douglas, e.g.
73 Intro to Asia 74 “The wolf ___ the door” 67 Avis
Part of a directsunlight energy system
in Spain?
Actress Lucci
Flabbergast
“___ I love thee!” (Shak.)
Cries of realization
Actor MacDonald
Carrie’s mom
“I saw ___ today, oh boy” (Beatles lyric) 39 Secondhand, as a car, in Spanish
Stubborn one
“The very” thing
Zodiac zoo member
A Deadly Sin
Curved molding
Explain
“My” cousin
Actress Ryder
A direction, in Italian
Lunar event of
“Neato!”
Autocrat ACROSS 1 Southernmost Spanish province 6 Anagram of 9 Across 9 Out-of-date, in the dict. 12 1954 Faulkner novel
No later than
Ghost line
Mayberry matron
Malice
___ year (not too often) 72 Omega preceder
Surreal guy 77 Clashers in Hollywood 78 Went down 79 Card name 80 Little bird
81 Trophy of a sort
82 “You rang?”
84 Assisted-living centers
88 Island feast 89 Corps group?
92 Did needlepoint
93 Art colony of the Southwest 96 Ridicule, in a way
97 Romeo and Juliet setting 98 Fuses (metals) by melting
