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CONTENTS //
FEBRUARY 11-17, 2015 • VOLUME 28 • NUMBER 46
MAIL Blame the Greedy Union
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More drivel from Julie Delegal (and her husband) [Citizen Mama, “How to Lose $500K a Week,” Jan. 28]. Current benefits to cops and firemen have to change. The taxpayers cannot afford nor is it their responsibility to fund $5 million cops/firemen. Hey Julie (and Tad), don’t put this criminal activity on the City Council. Put it on the avarice, narcissistic, selfish and appallingly greedy John Keane and the $5 million retired cops/firemen. Change the current payments. Change them! Reduce the current payments. These payments are so high, it is the equivalent to the theft of taxpayer dollars. Reduce all current payments. Cheryl Campbell
Avoid the Dark World
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24 Joan Mitchell Champs, oil on canvas, 1990.
EDITOR’S NOTE FIGHTIN’ WORDS NEWS MUSIC ISSUE
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EDITORIAL
EDITOR • Jeffrey C. Billman jbillman@folioweekly.com / ext. 115 SENIOR EDITOR • Marlene Dryden mdryden@folioweekly.com / ext. 131 A&E EDITOR • Daniel A. Brown dbrown@folioweekly.com / ext. 128 WRITERS-AT-LARGE Susan Cooper Eastman sceastman@folioweekly.com Derek Kinner dkinner@folioweekly.com CARTOONIST • Tom Tomorrow CONTRIBUTING WRITERS Rob Brezsny, John E. Citrone, Julie Delegal, AG Gancarski, Dan Hudak, Shelton Hull, MaryAnn Johanson, Pat McLeod, Nick McGregor, Cameron Meier, Jeff Meyers, Kara Pound, Scott Renshaw, Chuck Shepherd, Abigail Lake VIDEOGRAPHERS • Doug Lewis, Ron Perry INTERNS • Jessica Gilpin, Darby Moore
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Folio Weekly is published every Wednesday throughout Northeast Florida. It contains opinions of contributing writers that are not necessarily the opinion of this publication. Folio Weekly welcomes both editorial and photographic contributions. Calendar information must be received two weeks in advance of event date. Copyright © Folio Publishing, Inc. 2015. All rights reserved. Advertising rates and information are available on request. An advertiser purchases right of publication only. One free issue copy per person. Additional copies and back issues are $1 each at the office or $4 by U.S. mail, based on availability. First Class mail subscriptions are $48 for 13 weeks, $96 for 26 weeks and $189 for 52 weeks. Please recycle Folio Weekly. Folio Weekly is printed on recycled paper using soy-based inks. 27,000 press run. Audited weekly readership 97,085.
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I’m pretty sure that as Christians we’re supposed to avoid the “dark world” or whatever she’s calling it and not feed into it [Fightin’ Words, “The Devil and Kimberly Daniels,” AG Gancarski, Feb. 4]. Just saying. It’s a little confusing to me why a Christian would be researching something so in-depth that they’d be able to write a book about it and that they would write a book on it, publish it and purposely put ideas of that nature into other people’s heads. Kind of freaks me out. I’m not looking for a debate. I’m just expressing my beliefs. I don’t mean to offend anyone. I’m sorry that she used our money to do it, too. Not cool. Rachel Marie, via Facebook
Leave Her to Her Demons
Daniels is a flat-out mess and embarrassment to Jacksonville [“The Devil and Kimberly Daniels”]. She sure does her part to keep the city looking ignorant. Time to vote this woman out of office. Every registered voter can vote in this group seat race. Anna Brosche — seriously, the only sane and honest choice. Let’s leave Daniels to her demons, please. Diane Melendez, via Facebook
Artificial Moneymen
We must not be charmed by money being translated into power when voting for our next mayor. I’m shocked hearing comments that Lenny Curry is a frontrunner simply because of the vast amount of financial support he’s getting [Fightin’ Words, “Like a Boss,” AG Gancarski, Jan. 7]. Ordinary citizens of Jacksonville don’t have tons of money to throw at their favorite candidate. Curry’s money is coming from Big Business and those who want him to win because he is a staunch Republican. Bill Bishop, on the other hand, is running on limited funds; his primary mission is to improve Jacksonville [Cover Story, “The Insurgent,” Susan Cooper Eastman, Jan. 14]. My admiration goes out to this longtime Jacksonville resident who has a grasp on what our city really needs. Bishop has been a city councilman and knows how this city works and where we need to be in the future. Don’t be blindsided by TV ads, cleverly created by an advertising agency. Because someone can pay to be “in your face” doesn’t make him the best person to run our city. If we’re fooled and don’t want to dig into facts about each candidate, we’ll end up with another figurehead making decisions to bolster his own popularity. Bishop knows how the city works. He has great ideas to help us grow. He’s not afraid to speak up about important issues. He isn’t bowing and scraping to an image he wants to project. You won’t see Bishop on your TV screen too much — unless you watch him working hard at City Council meetings. Do your own research; don’t have it spoon-fed to you by artificial moneymen. Hazel Clery, via folioweekly.com If you’d like to respond to something that appeared in Folio Weekly, please email us, with your address and phone number for verification purposes only, at mail@folioweekly.com.
EDITOR’S NOTE
THE MORAL MINORITY
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week ago Sunday, former Arkansas governor/ former Fox News talk show host/Beyoncé critic/once and future presidential candidate Mike Huckabee was in town to score the wink-wink quasi-endorsement of the politically powerful First Baptist Church of Jacksonville (quasi only because an actual endorsement might endanger the church’s lucrative taxexempt status). There he signed copies of his latest pre-campaign book, God, Guns, Grits and Gravy, was — ahem — encouraged by Senior Pastor Mac Brunson to seek the Oval Office, and inveighed against the coastal liberal hegemony that is apparently suffocating wholesome heartland Christian values. “Sometimes, because the culture that we are surrounded with and bombarded with is so overwhelming, we just don’t think anybody believes like us any more,” the Times-Union quoted him as saying. “We think that we are marginal, insignificant, that we simply don’t even matter.” But they do matter, Huckabee continued: “I would suggest to you that we make a huge mistake when we walk away and simply don’t show up and take the stand God wishes us to take.” He was referring most directly to same-sex marriage. But he also was speaking to a larger sense, a fear, really, that coastal elites are leaving Middle America — conservative, patriotic, religious Middle America — behind. And I don’t think that, for the Mike Huckabees of this world, that fear is misplaced. Consider this: Huckabee is never going to be president. Neither is Ben Carson nor Rick Santorum nor any of the other Republican hopefuls whose primary appeal is rooted in opposing gay marriage or abortion or putting prayer back in schools. Sure, the eventual Republican nominee will nod in that direction, just enough to keep interest groups in line, but those aren’t the issues on which the 2016 election will turn. They weren’t the issues on which the 2014 midterms turned, either. Real talk: Huckabee won’t even place in Iowa, and he’ll probably be back on Fox by this time next year. His shtick no longer has agency. The culture war is now a sideshow. You see that same dynamic playing out, to some degree anyway, in the Jacksonville mayoral contest. Yes, the city’s religious inclinations seep into the political sphere; this cannot be denied — witness, for instance, City Council President Clay Yarborough’s temper tantrum over a Museum of Contemporary Art Jacksonville exhibit he deemed pornographic late last year, or Mayor Alvin Brown’s refusal to endorse an expansion of the human rights ordinance for fear of riling the antigay bigots. But while Lenny Curry is hardly a fullthrottle champion of antidiscrimination, neither is he actively campaigning against it, choosing instead the cautious middle ground of nothingness that has defined so much of his candidacy to date. And given that the JAX Chamber — whose political arm recently endorsed Curry — and the Jacksonville Civic Council both supported
the HRO last time around as an economic necessity, and given the changing moral tides over the last two-and-a-half years and the fact that the last effort fell only one vote short, it’s not unlikely that the next City Council will get it right on the second try, no matter how many blue-ribboned protesters First Baptist carts down to City Hall. And when that happens, the city will respond just like the state responded last month, after a federal court ruling allowed gay couples to marry: not with outrage, but with a shrug. Perhaps the so-called Moral Majority isn’t going away. Maybe it’s just not that much of a majority any more.
Reefer Madness
Speaking of moralizing do-gooders, let’s talk for a moment about Florida Sheriff ’s Association, which last week announced under what conditions it would be OK with the residents of this fine state partaking of “medical” marijuana (scare quotes theirs): basically none. Well, OK, that’s not really true. If you have cancer, epilepsy, HIV/AIDS, Lou Gehrig’s disease, multiple sclerosis, or paraplegia or quadriplegia, maybe. Also, “exceptions could be made for the terminally ill,” according to the association’s press release. Could be made. How generous of them. Oh, and the state’s sheriffs, being medical experts, have determined that “smoked marijuana is not medicine,” so while pot may have medicinal components, the state should mandate that patients stick to edibles. By the way, “A patient must not receive medical marijuana for general ‘pain’ because pain is not a disease.” (Perhaps they’d rather you take oxycodone, or maybe just toughen up and deal?) And if you don’t agree, the bad guys win. “Florida Sheriffs and their staff put their lives on the line to ensure public safety,” Pinellas County Sheriff Bob Gualtieri said in a statement. These guidelines would ensure “safe and effective marijuana legislation that is both compassionate and appropriate.” See, the sheriffs opposed Amendment 2 last year because they knew better than 58 percent of you; they knew the amendment had “too many loopholes,” and these loopholes would drive addiction and crime and general terribleness, as St. Johns County Sheriff David Shoar, president of the sheriff ’s association, said in the release. And so, any legislation that comes out of the Florida Legislature this year that moves the needle on medical weed must not move it that much, lest the state go to hell in a handbasket. How about this: What if, instead of letting the cops dictate our medicinal use of a substance that is, according to government data, far safer than alcohol or tobacco, we start thinking about getting the state out of the moral approbation business? Because so long as you’re not bothering or endangering anybody, I couldn’t care less what David Shoar thinks about what you do in the privacy of your own home.
“A patient must not receive medical marijuana for ‘pain’ because pain is not a disease.” Perhaps they’d rather you take oxycodone, or maybe just toughen up and deal?
Jeffrey C. Billman twitter/jeffreybillman jbillman@folioweekly.com FEBRUARY 11-17, 2015 | FOLIOWEEKLY.com | 5
FIGHTIN’ WORDS
DEFICIENT AND OBSOLETE Our infrastructure, our politics, ourselves: On the collapse of Liberty Street
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s I write this, we are about a week out from the collapse of a section of South Liberty Street on Jacksonville’s Northbank, and there’s still no timetable for repair. Those affected by the situation — specifically, the nearby residents of townhomes — have taken to social media to complain about being without power indefinitely, and about no one from the city or JEA coming forth to offer some type of restitution. This is not an optimal situation for them, but that’s not the larger story here. The larger story is what the Liberty Street collapse says about our area’s infrastructure — both the problems with it and the problems with our municipal approach to infrastructural issues in general. The Liberty Street collapse should be a wakeup call, a strong signal from the mountaintop that our approach to road maintenance is flawed. Beyond that, it is an indictment of our urban planning since consolidation, of our casual neglect of Downtown, and ultimately of our leadership class for being so interested in expanding outward with new roads and new subdivisions that we’ve failed when it comes to maintaining the infrastructure of the most important neighborhood in Jacksonville. How can this be a surprise? It’s been decades in the making. Go back with me to the period after consolidation. Fifty years ago, Downtown was thriving — department stores throughout. By the time we got to the mid-1980s, the department stores had closed. The hot areas: the malls of Regency and Orange Park. That momentum didn’t last. But the trend did. By this I mean Jacksonville has continued to build out to the hinterlands, in the process largely neglecting the urban core. Things have gotten better on this front during the current administration, but the problem facing Alvin Brown’s team is that they are having to deal with not just presentday neglect, but the neglect of the political class for decades prior. The irony about Jacksonville and Northeast Florida is that it is such a vehicular culture, yet roads and bridges are somewhere south of optimal. There are dozens of deficient and obsolete spans in all parts of town, but especially on the Northside and Westside. It’s easy to get caught up in the nomenclature. To say a bridge is deficient or obsolete does not mean its collapse is imminent. But it does mean that attention needs to be paid to it. At some point. John Delaney’s Better Jacksonville Plan has come and gone, and some of its promises have been fulfilled while others have been forgotten. Right
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now, Jacksonville has three major mayoral candidates, and they talk primarily about the pension issue and whether or not Mayor Brown has raised taxes. Insurgent candidate Bill Bishop has talked more than anyone about infrastructure. But it’s not really a sexy issue. We need to get serious — as a city and a state both — about road and bridge maintenance and repair. We also need to figure out a funding source. Ironically, given the stereotypes, it’s the Republican Party agitating for a tax increase right now. (Witness last week’s JAX Chamber’s endorsement of Lenny Curry, predicated — according to the mayor’s campaign, anyway — on Brown’s refusal to endorse tax hikes. The Chamber denies this.) We need to figure out a dedicated revenue source, or several revenue sources. A sales tax increase and a property tax increase both need to happen. And we may need to think about tolls again, too. (Sorry, Tommy Hazouri; I know toll removal is your legacy, but it wasn’t a good idea.) Perhaps tolls at the St. Johns County line, to soak commuters, might help recoup the costs of suburban sprawl. If this weren’t a prison-industrial state with contractually mandated occupancy levels in our gulags, we could also consider marijuana decriminalization, regulation and taxation; seems to work in Colorado. But this is Florida, and progressive solutions that we see on the other side of the Mason-Dixon Line don’t fly here. We have a 20th-century mindset. And 21st-century problems. AG Gancarski twitter/aggancarski mail@folioweekly.com
NEWS
BEAT YOUR CHILDREN WELL Activists and UF researchers want the state’s school districts to finally end corporal punishment
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ost Florida public school kids will never be whacked with a paddle for misbehaving. The number of students subjected to corporal punishment statewide has dropped dramatically in recent years, from 65,050 in 1988-’89 to 4,274 in 2008-’09 and 2,966 in 2011-’12. But Florida is still one of 19 states that nonetheless allow schoolchildren to be spanked, and now there’s a new push to end what critics call a form of institutionalized violence. A recent study by two University of Florida College of Education professors — and funded by the Southern Poverty Law Center — recommends that the entire state retire the paddle once and for all. “It’s never proven to be effective,” says UF associate professor Joseph Gagnon, who co-authored “Corporal Punishment in Florida Schools: Trends in Reactive, Punitive and Ineffective Approaches to Youth Behavior.” “In fact, what you’re showing kids, what you’re modeling is that the best way to deal with a problem is violence. It actually sends the wrong message.” Twenty-eight of the state’s 67 school districts avail themselves of this disciplinary option, most of them in rural and conservative regions, including Clay and Nassau counties in Northeast Florida. The school district in Suwannee County, about an hour’s drive west of Jacksonville, with a student population of about 6,000, paddled the most — 359 times in 2012-’13. Duval County, once the state’s paddling leader, abolished corporal punishment in 2005. (At the time, according to a contemporaneous Times-Union story, nearly 80 percent of paddled students just so happened to be black.) Gagnon describes paddling as being on a spectrum of punitive, negative and reactive forms of punishment that fail to teach young people how to deal with social and emotional challenges in their lives. “Paddling might teach them what not to do, but it doesn’t teach them what to do,” he says. “Suspension is also punitive. What we need to do is help to promote what these kids need to be doing and how they need to act.” In Clay County, each school decides whether or not to use corporal punishment, and just eight of the district’s 41 schools choose to do so, says Mike Wingate, the district’s director of K-12 academic support. Most administrators bring out the paddle when a parent or guardian requests it, he says, and it is only employed after discussions with both parent and student. “You have parents, for example, who in lieu of two days’ suspension will ask if you can use corporal punishment,” he says. “It’s been left in the policy as an option, but it is very rarely used. … We understand the ramifications. We read the studies, also. That’s why there is extensive dialogue. It’s not like the schools do this as a first option. This is a last option.” But leaving it up to schools makes for lopsided discipline. Of the 67 Clay students who were paddled in the 2011-’12 school year, 41 went to one school — Wilkinson Junior High. The Nassau County School Board decided to keep corporal punishment on the books
when it last voted on the practice in 2014. (State law requires school districts to consider their corporal punishment policies every three years.) The number of students spanked in Nassau has declined steadily, however. In 2010-’11, it was 25; the next school year, 21; the year after that, 13; and 2013-’14, just six. Nassau County schools use corporal punishment sparingly, says Sharyl Wood, executive director of administrative services for the district — and usually at a parent’s request. That’s not uncommon in the districts that spank. “The pressure to paddle,” the UF report says, “often comes from the pull of tradition and the appeal of a practice rooted in seemingly simpler times. Administrators interviewed for this report described supporting corporal punishment out of a belief that ‘sparing the rod can spoil the child.’ Even administrators who disagreed with corporal punishment reported feeling pressure to use it. As this report notes, there are some parents who encourage administrators to ‘tear my kid’s tail up’ if they misbehave.” And many adults recall their own childhood paddlings as positives: They brought them into line and didn’t cause any lasting harm. But the data suggest otherwise — and that’s why the practice is opposed by organizations as varied the National Education Association, the American Bar Association, the American Medical Association, the American Psychological Association, the American Academy of Childhood & Adolescent Psychiatry, and national associations for elementary and secondary school principals, among others. It’s also why the UF report calls for the state legislature — and school districts, and Congress — to immediately ban paddling in schools. “Based on research and the opinions of experts and professional organizations across disciplines, the abolishment of [corporal punishment] should be undertaken at the federal, state legislative, school district, and school levels,” the report concludes. “Legally prohibiting the use of [corporal punishment] is necessary to support and enforce a cultural shift away from practices based on tradition and toward evidence-based, child-centered approaches to discipline.” Spanking may be an effective way to control behavior in the short term, but educational research indicates that in the longer term, it’s actually counterproductive. Kids who are paddled are actually more likely to get into trouble down the line. They disconnect. Instead of instilling a fear of authority in them, Gagnon says, the goal should be fostering a sense of connection with a community of caring adults. The paddle doesn’t do that. “Even if it’s effective at stopping behavior, it fails them,” he says. “And here’s the big thing. Just because you experienced it and you are OK, doesn’t make it effective. I don’t think we can cave to cultural pressure and ignore science.” Susan Cooper Eastman seastman@folioweekly.com
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D
aniel A. Brown, this esteemed publication’s A&E editor, and I are both recovering musicians, though I’ve kicked the habit a little more completely than he has. We both played in bands — mine seldom escaped Central Florida, his toured internationally, but whatever — and made records and tried to hock those records to people in varying stages of inebriation at whatever bar we happened to be playing. (I’d guess that, here again, Dan’s efforts were more successful than mine. The bastard.)
I mention this to give some context to what I hope will be the annual Folio Weekly (Mostly) Local Music Issue, a chance for us to devote our space and energy to the bands and venues and music scene that keep us entertained all year-round. Sure, we spend quite a bit of our space and energy talking about local and national musicians each and every week — we did so last week, we’ll do so next week — and have been known to spotlight local notables on our cover (see Twinki, Jamison Williams). That’s as much a part of our mission as the hardest-hitting 3,000-word investigation we’ve ever run. But music scenes — both the local bands they breed and the venues that bring in national
acts — are intrinsic to the cultural fabric of a place, and Northeast Florida is no different. If you’ve been part of a music scene — even a relatively insignifi cant part, as I was — playing smoky bars on a Tuesday night for $50 and a couple shots of Jameson and hoping 15 of your closest friends would show, emptying your savings into studio time and merch, eyes peeled for that elusive break that seems just around the corner, frustrated and broke but having the best goddamned time of your life, then you know that a vibrant music scene is a thing to be celebrated. That’s what this Music Issue is all about. And so we look back at our favorite concerts, albums and music-related books from last year,
while also highlighting some local bands we think you should keep an eye on in 2015 and offering you a carefully curated mark-the-date calendar of kick-ass concerts coming up in the next few months. Dan, meanwhile, gives us an ode to the timelessness of vinyl, and Kara Pound explores what the digital age means to emerging local musicians. (The business model has, needless to say, been completely upended in the last decade.) Before we begin, a quick admonition: Scenes are only as strong as the support they engender. Go see a show. Buy a T-shirt. Support your local musician. Your community will be a better place for it. — Jeffrey C. Billman
the best albums of 2014 Speaking Cursive, Speaking Cursive
Speaking Cursive’s self-titled debut album has been a long time coming. Rick Grice, the band’s frontman, wrote the songs for the 11-track LP almost four years ago, but was waiting for the right line-up of musicians to make it a reality. Since forming over the past few years, and the long-awaited album’s release last fall, the Jacksonvillebased band snagged a spot at The Big Ticket Fest, playing their mix of Something Corporate-style pop-punk and Fountains of Wayne – or even Cheap Trickesque power-pop – alongside genre heavyweights Fall Out Boy and Weezer. The first single on the album, “Rorschach Dress,” is indicative of the group’s polished and heavily produced sound, a super-peppy breakup song with squeaky-clean three-part harmonies, simple hand-clap-style drumming, and a catchy earworm-worthy chorus. — Janet Harper 8 | FOLIOWEEKLY.com | FEBRUARY 11-17, 2015
S, Cool Choices
A walk up and down a piano chord accompanied by the lyric “This is how losers feel/I am a loser” is how S, aka Jenn Ghetto, chose to open up “Cool Choices,” and it works, grabbing the listener’s attention and taking him through 12 tracks of breakup songs and general sadness. The title track, “Losers,” is the antithesis of Jimmy Eat World’s “The Middle,” and the tracks get better as the album goes on. “Vampires” is a tongue-in-cheek look at what we all deal with in our daily lives. “Brunch” is bitterness at its finest, a great addition to the “he/she is with someone else” canon, with lines like “I can do things that hurt you too” and “I know about the girl you fucked.” Ghetto uses “Cool Choices” to release some teenaged-girl demons, with a shy but unapologetic ferociousness. — Danny Kelly
Sondre Lerche, Please
I get about 50 emails a week about upcoming releases from publicists and record labels. At that rate, it’s pretty hard to listen to everything, so sometimes a great record can slip through the cracks. Please, by Norwegian pop master Sondre Lerche, did not. From the funky albumopener “Bad Law” to the beautiful waltz “Sentimentalist” to the sincere ballad “Lucky Guy,” Lerche blends hi-fi and lo-fi by combining polished production with a wide variety of instrumentation, including what I think are keys jangling, some sort of synth-driven booms, and maybe a chainsaw or some other landscaping tools. Please is one half groovy, dance-floor fun and one half love songs for friends. And the album artwork is awesome. — Danny Kelly
the (mostly) local music issue 7 NORTHEAST FLORIDA
BANDS TO WATCH IN 2015
THE JO THE TH JOHN HN CAR ARVE RV VEER BA BAND AND ND
THE JOHN CARVER BAND soundcloud.com/the-johncarver-band
Self-described as “Hobo-Core,” the boys from The John Carver Band are really something else entirely. TJCB (Dan McLintock on guitar/vocals, Eric Denton on guitar/vocals, Casey Teate on bass/vocals, Tim Grisnik on drums/ vocals, and no one named John Carver) could more accurately be described as Jacksonville’s best contribution to folk-pop. Their latest release, Everywhere Is Home, is a collection of beautiful and precise harmonies, quirky chord changes and
acoustic bliss. Everywhere Is Home is about, well, home, hope and idiots. Highlights include the harmonies on “Half to Death,” the lilting piano intro to “Idiots” and the twee title track. McLintock and crew are as Garfunkian as they can be with their harmony work, and they bring the same care to their stage work as they do to their albums. Though you can usually find them rocking softly under the bridge at Riverside Arts Market, you can also catch them at the upcoming Natural Life Music Festival at Metropolitan Park on March 15. — Danny Kelly
BANDS TO WATCH Continues on Next Page >>>
the best albums of 2014 David Bazan, Bazan + Passenger String Quarter, Volume 1
As the face and voice of Pedro the Lion, David Bazan was perhaps the face and voice of the cool, shoegaze indie-rock youth-group set of the late ’90s and early 2000s, the ones who maybe struggled with their faith but still believed – until, that is, he decided that religion is bullshit and broke up his band in favor of a solo career that is better viewed as a continuation than a departure. In fact, if you listen closely to the latter-day PTL tracks, especially beginning around his quintessential 2002 record Control, his in-progress evolution is pretty evident. Bazan is still a masterful songwriter who still writes about faith and doubt and (more and more) politics and the intersection of all three, and those skills have never been better showcased than here, a collection of 10 songs spanning his PTL and post-PTL career, all stripped-down and rearranged for an impossibly lush string section that only highlights Bazan’s lilting, emotive baritone. — Jeffrey C. Billman FEBRUARY 11-17, 2015 | FOLIOWEEKLY.com | 9
the (mostly) local music issue 7 NORTHEAST FLORIDA
BANDS TO WATCH IN 2015
<<< Continued from Previous
HOT SAUCE SANDWICH hotsaucesandwich.bandcamp.com
They originate from Ocean City, Maryland, so one might get the impression that the band Hot Sauce Sandwich would comprise a handful of spray-tanned, spiked-haired, bodybuilder 20-somethings looking to make it big. Not so. Hot Sauce Sandwich boasts its own unique style and sound, dabbling in jazz, funk, and psychedelic rock ’n’ roll. Aj Fox and Zach Engh provide lead vocal and guitar skills, and are joined by bass player Jesse Harman and drummer Cory Chavis. Hot Sauce Sandwich has expanded its reach from their hometown on Maryland’s Eastern Shore to create a local following in St. Augustine. In 2014, they released their three-song Treehouse Demo, which highlight the group’s strength of merging a retro, psychedelic sound with more progressive, modern beats. Fox and Engh provide unmistakably strong and weathered vocals for each track, laid over complex and haunting guitar riffs that demand the listener’s attention. — Darby Jane Moore
THE DEWARS dewars.bandcamp.com
It’s hard to say when The Dewars formed.
D ED DR DGE GER GER
Maybe it was in the womb. Or it could have been as toddlers, beating pots and pans in the kitchen. But for the sake of argument, twin brothers Anthony and Zachary Dewar officially became The Dewars in 2009. “Everybody called us the Dewars growing up partly because they couldn’t tell the difference between us,” Anthony says. West Palm Beach-bred, The Dewars describe their music as “unfamiliar yet nostalgic, slightly dream-like and corky.” Living in St. Augustine for three years — sadly, the band just headed back to South Florida, and will eventually go to Atlanta, but we still claim them — The Dewars have gigged everywhere in the area. They released a 2010 album, Songs from the Neverglades, and have a brand-spankin’ new album set to drop this month, All a Part of the Show. “It’s time to really take this thing seriously,” Anthony says. “We’re moving to Atlanta to make films, art and music. I have a good feeling about this year.” — Kara Pound
folk mode, with his antiwar ode “Going To Get Hot” a tune with an ominous modal feel that sounds like a “Midnight Rider” rewrite. Warmth of inspiration is out front as well. — Arvid Smith
DREDGER dredger904.bandcamp.com
A semi-regular fixture at Shanghai Nobby’s in St. Augustine, Dredger is a punk-hardcore quintet made up of mostly dads who wear a lot of black and have some quite impressive day jobs (e.g., director of marketing sciences at a global market research company). Oh, and these guys know how to kick some ass, too. Formed in 2013, Dredger’s current lineup consists of Jason Holloway (bass), Mike Carpenter (vocals), Jake Brown (drums), and Jeremy Rogers and Ryan Murphy on guitar. Over the past year-plus, the five-piece has gigged at Fest 13 and The Atlantic in Gainesville and The Space in Orlando. They’ve also released a five-song demo cassette, Steady State, released at Nobby’s Holiday Cheer Fest on drummer Brown’s label, Computer Club. Asked how he’d describe the band’s sound, Rogers says simply, “Short. Loud. Fast.” So what does 2015 hold for this band of hardcore dads with white-collar jobs? For one, a split 7-inch with hardcore trio False Flag is in the works. And “more shows. More play dates. More amplifiers. We like loud,” Rogers says. — Kara Pound
AL MONTE al-monte.net
Labeling Al Monte a guitarist/singer/songwriter does the man no justice. I had Al pegged mostly as a jazzman from the start, but his self-titled CD is a showcase for gifts above and beyond the fray of today. Al Monte’s gifts lie in superb jazz chops and an eerie songwriting style that sees him penning tunes that wind up sounding as if Sinatra or Bennett had him on retainer. Songs like “A New Day is Coming” and “Forever” (backed by a Gary Starling-led ensemble of JU and UNF players) serve as vehicles for Al’s own silky-rich-intoned voice, with a romance right out of the Great American Songbook. But there’s a lot more than meets the ears … just when you’re ready for more swing, he shifts gears into
BURNT HAIR burnthair.bandcamp.com
the best albums of 2014 Civil Brute, Civil Brute
This self-titled, five-track EP is a well-rounded collection of songs, exposing Civil Brute’s forte for capturing both raw emotion in lyricism and masterful clarity in sound. Though Civil Brute (fondly known to their friends and peers as “Civ Biv”) specializes in melancholic, dreamy ballads, they manage to maintain their sentimentality while providing an undeniably catchy and kinetic quality. The indie-rock quartet appeals to a diverse crowd, combining the fun of pop, and the fury of rock, completed by the earnest, powerful vocals of Colin Adkins. — Jessica Gilpin 10 | FOLIOWEEKLY.com | FEBRUARY 11-17, 2015
Michael Bloomfield, From His Head to His Heart to His Hands
photo by boboRose
BU B URN NT H HA AIR R
Local lovers of dark synth music — and who isn’t? — need look no further than Burnt Hair. The duo, comprising the mononymously named Matthew and Trenton Tarpits, formed in 2013 and became an instant presence on the local scene. “I had recorded some songs with my first synthesizer and immediately received an invitation to play a noise show,” says Matthew of the band’s beginnings. “I asked Trenton Tarpits to join because he’s my favorite vocalist in this city, and I like the duo dynamic in groups.” In a short time, the band has gigged heavily, sharing bills with national acts like Mr. Quintron & Miss Pussycat as well as local “fellow travelers” such as Koas
Considered by many (this writer included) to be the one of the greatest white blues guitarists, Michael Bloomfield (1943-1981) was equally at home playing with blues elder Sleepy John Estes as he was with Bob Dylan, who hired Bloomfield to add some serious six-string voltage to his mid-’60s cuts, including “Like a Rolling Stone.” Lovingly assembled by Bloomfield collaborator Al Kooper, this box set features 30-plus tracks that follow the arc of the Chicago-born Bloomfield’s career from his earliest days to his stint with the Paul Butterfield Blues Band, The Electric Flag and beyond. — Daniel A. Brown
and Severed+Said at more than a half-dozen local venues ranging from CoRK to Karpeles Manuscript Museum Library. Matthew acknowledges that the band performs “out of personal boredom if nothing else,” with a crowd response that runs the gamut from appreciation to alienation. “People sometimes approach us after shows and say nice things, and then sometimes they say weird things like we remind them of the song that Buffalo Bill dances to in Silence of the Lambs” — the song he’s looking for is “Goodbye Horses” by Q Lazzarus — “or asking why we don’t have a drummer.” — Daniel A. Brown
SOUTHERN ALABAMA PIE COOKOFF (SAPCO) facebook.com/SouthernAlabama PieCookoff
No band in Northeast Florida does it harder, faster, louder, stronger and with more love (and a longer name) than Southern Alabama Pie Cookoff. The catalyst of their powerful sound is drummer Allen Dixon, who drives the high-octane chaos that skillfully transitions into and out of funk interludes. Singer John “Navy Jay” Bridges’ lyrics and the band’s spirit are inspired by the philosophies of Karl Marx and Noam Chomsky, but informed by their own experience. Guitarist Lucas Buttner and bassist Mike “Woody” Brannon complete the crew. Jacksonville residents and their parents probably hoped these genetic hellraisers would be tamed by their military service. But what these guys experienced there hardened their conviction that the United States’ role in the world is a disaster. And their musical anger is not solely directed at U.S. foreign policy, but also cops, fake people, and, of course, grape soda. But don’t think they’re all brains and no dick. In their lighter moments, they admit to being “over the hill punk rockers living in denial.” The best news is that SAPC is not based in Alabama and does not engage in pie competitions. They make camp in Northeast Florida and crank out some of the best music in the area. — J. Scott Gaillard
Gross Evolution, ...Then Take Bread
Gross Evolution is not just a great punk band; it is a cause, a humanitarian cause that does not apologize for getting in your face. Their fulllength release, …Then Take Bread, includes a call for brotherhood and unity. “Together we’re everything, apart we’re nothing,” howls lead singer and Venezuelan guitar master “Speedy” Segovia on “Camaraderie.” But … Then Take Bread is also a powerful indictment of the system. The album includes a plea for social justice and a warning of revolution. Fortunately, the music is as rowdy as their cause is serious. Come for the mosh pit, stay for the message. — J. Scott Gaillard
THE
BEST SHOWS OF 2014
UNKNOWN HINSON AND GRANDPA’S COUGH MEDICINE • FEB. 27 AT JACK RABBITS • The mutant chimera of a trailer-park gene pool and Conway-Twitty-off-his-meds, at his recent Northeast Florida appearance neo-psychobilly artist extraordinaire Unknown Hinson delivered a righteous concert to a devoted crowd. Following a blistering set by openers GCM, Hinson and his band kicked through such classics as “I Ain’t Afraid of Your Husband,” “Pregnant Again,” “Peace, Love and Hard Liquor” and “Hippie Girl.” Sporting his signature jet-black pompadour and equally obsidian and downright menacing eyebrows, Hinson (born Stuart Daniel Baker) did not disappoint. — Daniel A. Brown PAUL MCCARTNEY • OCT. 25 AT VETERANS MEMORIAL ARENA • Yeah, OK, Sir Paul’s an obvious choice: Dude’s a freakin’ Beatle, the last living Beatle who isn’t Ringo, and after The Beatles came Wings and his long-running solo career — which, let’s be honest, is pretty hit-and-miss (without the ballast of John Lennon, McCartney’s pop sensibilities can skew toward the saccharine) — and now denim-clad collabs with Kanye and Rihanna. And yeah, my review ticket was gratis, and 12 rows back — my neighbors said they paid something in the ballpark of $500 a pop to be there — so I’m probably biased. So what? Paul killed it, from the opening “Magical Mystery Tour” to the string of Beatles classics (and the one Wings song I care about) that wrapped up his fi rst set to the two encores, 39 (39!) songs in all, 24 of which were from the Fab Four, almost three hours of music from a 72-year-old who first played Jacksonville a half-century ago and knows how to put on a show. — Jeffrey C. Billman IRON & WINE • MARCH 1 AT PONTE VEDRA CONCERT HALL • Sam Beam, the lanky Texan with the angelic voice behind the misleading name Iron & Wine, strolled out on the stage with just his guitar and, when the applause died down, asked, “What would you like me to play first?” Someone shouted, “Such Great Heights” – the Postal Service song that he so righteously covered, of course – and Beam laughed and said, “Of course.” From that point on, any time Beam spoke or, better yet, sang, everyone in the room was quiet. He wove stories about weed and traveling and not understanding why people were yelling “Duuuuuvvvaaalll” at him earlier that day, with great, soul-shaking renditions of “The Boy With a Coin,” “Walking Far From Home,” “Cinder and Smoke” and “Grace for Saints and Ramblers.” If he messed up, he stopped and started over. Sometimes he laughed between verses if someone said something. It wasn’t the perfect performance – which can be a cold and replicated experience – but it was intimate. He connected, and I’m not sure I’ve ever been as entranced by a performer as I was by Sam that night. — Danny Kelly STEVE HACKETT PERFORMING GENESIS REVISITED • APRIL 2 AT PONTE VEDRA CONCERT HALL • I am an admitted nerd for early ’70s prog rock, so the chance to witness guitarist Steve Hackett play a concert of prime Genesis songs was akin to
receiving an art rock speedball. The now-64-yearold Hackett and band delivered a jaw-dropping three-hour set that included epics like “The Cinema Show” and “Watcher of the Skies.” Bonus points for my girlfriend and me meeting an understandably exhausted-but-still-personable Hackett afterward and having him autograph our old Genesis and solo Hackett vinyl. Geeks! — Daniel A. Brown JUSTIN TOWNES EARLE AND CORY BRANAN • NOV. 15 AT COLONIAL QUARTER • The son of country outlaw Steve Earle and godson of Townes Van Zandt, Justin Townes Earle has always intrigued me. So when I heard that the Americana singer-songwriter was going to be playing the Colonial Quarter in downtown St. Augustine, I grabbed a group of friends and headed that way. First of all, I totally dig the Colonial Quarter as a venue. Second, Earle’s opening act, Cory Branan, is magnifi cently entertaining. Finally, Earle was everything I imagined – oddly optimistic and quirky. He’s proved himself time and again to be one of the best storytellers of my generation. — Kara Pound 7 SECONDS AND POOR RICHARDS • NOV. 4 AT JACK RABBITS • Early in November last year, a musical tsunami swept over Jacksonville. It originated on the West Coast in 1980 and slammed into San Marco’s Jack Rabbits with the force of a freight train. Punk band 7 Seconds created a tidal surge so intense it did not pause in between the first 10 songs. The band’s non-stop energy was refl ected in the crowd’s enthusiasm. The young punks swiftly formed a circular mosh pit that spun faster as the music accelerated. The audience sang along to “Walk Together, Rock Together,” “We’re Gonna Fight,” and “Regress, No Way.” Twentysomething skankers formed a bond with the fiftysomething band members and exalted a night for Jax punk history. — J. Scott Gaillard KRISHNA DAS • APRIL 4 AT KARPELES MANUSCRIPT LIBRARY MUSEUM • The term “New Age music” can make one immediately think of snooze-inducing recordings of cheesy synthesizers, mashups blending whale mating calls with pygmies chanting, or, God forbid, an orchestra of wind chimes. Vocalist Krishna Das – KD to his fans – was nominated for a 2012 Grammy Award for Best New Age Album, but his music dispels the kind of fluffy, coma-causing soundtracks that are part and parcel of the genre. His is based on a form of Hindu devotional music known as the kirtan, a kind of calland-response between the singer and his audience. At his Karpeles performance, joined only by tabla player Arjuna Bruggeman and electric bassist Mark Gorman, KD wove hypnotic drones on a harmonium as he led a capacity crowd through two hours of music ranging from the Hare Krishna mantra to “Jesus on the Main Line,” as the audience sang along to centuries of spiritual music from several faiths. While many musicians try to “raise the roof,” Krishna Das elevated the consciousness of a couple hundred people on a Friday night in Springfield. —Daniel A. Brown
the best albums of 2014 John Coltrane, Offering: Live at Temple University
Finally officially released to the public, this much-bootlegged recording from Nov. 11, 1966, captures Coltrane deep in the hurricane of his mid-’60s melodic and harmonic explorations, displaying the skills that made him an acknowledged master at reinventing saxophone techniques. Over the course of five tracks, Coltrane is supported by his core band of wife Alice Coltrane on piano, saxophonist Pharoah Sanders and percussionist Rashied Ali, who are joined by bassist Sonny Payne and guest horn players Arnold Joyner and Steve Knoblauch, as well as percussionists Umar Ali, Algie DeWitt, Robert Kenyatta and Charles Brown. Coltrane standards like “Crescent” and “Leo” have chord changes, but in these ferocious performances, Coltrane and company detonate them into motivic shards of melody and unrelenting emotion that shed greater light on Coltrane’s restless search, which was as much spiritual as it was musical. — Daniel A. Brown FEBRUARY 11-17, 2015 | FOLIOWEEKLY.com | 11
the (mostly) local music issue
LOW DOWN ON THE DOWNLOAD The STREAMING revolution is changing
I
how LOCAL bands do BUSINESS
n a recent piece in The Guardian titled “The internet will suck all creative content out of the world” — no subtlety in headlines across the pond, is there? — David Byrne (of the Talking Heads, of course) argues that streaming services like Spotify and Pandora, while good for labels and great for consumers, pay such a miniscule amount of revenue to artists that it’s killing artistry. He’s not alone. Radiohead singer Thom Yorke famously called Spotify “the last desperate fart of a dying corpse,” referring to its relationship to the major labels. Garth Brooks, AC/DC, Led Zeppelin and Tool all refuse to carry their music on streaming services. In 2013, Cracker/Camper Van Beethoven mastermind David Lowery wrote a screed about how, although his hit “Low,” which he co-wrote, had been played more than 1 million times on Pandora, he’d been paid a pathetic $16.83 in royalties. And most recently, gajillionairess Taylor Swift, who’s been on top for nine years and counting, publicly pulled all of her music off Spotify, explaining that “I think there should be an inherent value placed on art.” (Her newest album has climbed back in the No. 1 spot, BTW.) Taylor Swift hardly exemplifies the poor, put-upon artist; she doesn’t need to offer her music for free (or nearly free) in return for wider exposure. The same, however, cannot be said for bands just starting out. Jimmi Bayer, owner of Infintesmal Records and vocalist/multiinstrumentalist in the Jacksonville-based Memphibians, says that he was a digital holdout until realizing that “we were never going to win that battle.” Bayer’s label has released an impressive 44 albums to date, including efforts by such local artists as Hand Sand Hands, C.W. Martin and I Hope You’re a Doctor. “I’m personally very proud of our catalog as an archive of the finest underground music
MR.. AL PET MR ETEE
that’s rattled the walls of Duval dives over the past six years,” he says. “When we started the label, we were always committed to a physical product. We didn’t want downloads. We were clinging desperately to our nostalgic
principles of what made good music.” Yet, like anything that moves forward, change is necessary. All 44 Infintesmal releases are now available for digital download via Bandcamp
the best albums of 2014 Stephen Malkmus & the Jicks, Wig Out at Jagbags
On his sixth release with his band the Jicks, former Pavement honcho Malkmus and crew offer a collection of a dozen rockers and ballads that just touch on the outer edges of rock. The single “Cinnamon and Lesbians” offers lyrics like “I’ve been trippin’ my face off since breakfast/taking in this windswept afternoon,” backed up with psych-tinged guitar tones and odd time breaks that owe more to Malkmus’ admitted love of old-school prog like The Groundhogs or even mid-’70s Grateful Dead than to the efforts of any of his peers. It’s an odd mesh of influences, which seems fitting since his initial work with Pavement, and his subsequent solo releases, seem to remain in their own hermetically sealed galaxies. Which isn’t a bad place to visit at all — Daniel A. Brown 12 | FOLIOWEEKLY.com | FEBRUARY 11-17, 2015
D’Angelo and The Vanguard, Black Messiah
Last year I picked the Miley Cyrus album Bangerz as the year’s best. It was a protest pick, as I think the album is a concept as obsolete as Rick Scott’s hairdresser. This year, though, D’Angelo’s Black Messiah jumped out at me – not as shtick, but as a real, rewarding full-length album. R&B music has been de-politicized and synthesized for decades now; D’Angelo’s new effort presents an alternative, with a sound that’s been compared to Sly Stone’s, but one that reminds me more of Lovesexy-era Prince. The lyrics are on point. The album is cohesive. And it holds up through repeated listenings — A.G. Gancarski
— some for as low as $3 and $5 each. “Bandcamp seemed like the most legit, as well as convenient, of all options available,” Bayer explains. “In the chance that somebody decides to purchase and support your music, the money goes to the artist.” Local hip-hop artist, music promoter and all-around Renaissance man Mr. Al Pete has been on the Jacksonville scene since the mid2000s. He’s also co-founder of GrownFolk Entertainment and DJs and emcees locally at spots like 1904 Music Hall, Underbelly and Duke’s Place Blues Bar & Lounge. For Mr. Al Pete, releasing his music via digital download is a “necessary evil.” In October 2014, he offered his mixtape Evelyn Flow 2 for free on his website and Bandcamp. “It was a hold-up until I finished my studio album, G3.5, a collaborative album with producer and film director Notsucal,” Mr. Al Pete says of his New Year’s release. “Plus, I think it’s cool to have a ‘lyrical exercise’ and give the folks that admire your work something to hold on to that doesn’t require funds until you have something concrete — the difference between mixtapes and studio albums.” For Mr. Al Pete, giving away a tease to build up buzz before a release is worth the lack of a payday. In fact, he makes significantly more money from the business side of his musical persona than from the music itself. “I have other avenues where I make money from doing music, and honestly, the emcee side of Mr. Al Pete doesn’t draw as much as the DJ/ business side of Mr. Al Pete,” he says. “Granted, I want to get to a position where I make some good money off being a hip-hop artist, but as far as what my lane is now? Yeah, I understand that and act accordingly to it.” “It’s slowly becoming a chicken-or-theegg-type situation, but I’d have to say [the digital-music revolution is] definitely helping more musicians to be heard,” says Bayer. “But that has its own side effects, though. I think
there’s a healthy debate on oversaturation versus exposure. As music becomes more expendable to society, the value of local music or identity seems to suffer a bit.” Sure, big-time artists are fighting for more control and a bigger piece of the pie. But local, independent artists don’t lose sleep over royalties. “Most of the people complaining about these lacks of royalties seem to be people backed by major corporations, which may seem a little backwards,” says Bayer. “With the Internet leveling the playing field so drastically, it’s put a lot of musicians on a similar digital level.” Take Grant Nielsen of local alt-folk band JacksonVegas, for example. He says that it’s delusional to think, as a musician, that your music won’t be found for free at one point or another. “If your music is sought after, people are gonna steal it,” he says. “The best thing you can do as an artist is to inspire them to be honest, or to give them enough incentives not to steal it in the first place.” And while Nielsen uses tools like Bandcamp and Soundcloud to put out tunes, he’s never been “famous enough to feel the sting” of having content hijacked on a grander scale. Bayer believes that it ultimately still comes down to creative quality rather than convenience or quantity. “If your records are terrible, uninspired, glorified promotional tools, they will still sound like that long after you’ve gone,” Bayer says. “I may be a little behind on the digital end of things, but I believe in honest, sometimes filthy, always passionate recordings. Go ahead and put my Bandcamp URL on my headstone. And if one of those Spotify checks ever shows up, you may be able to buy a couple flowers as well.” Kara Pound mail@folioweekly.com photos by Dennis Ho
“As music becomes more EXPENDABLE to society, the value of LOCAL music or identity
seems to SUFFER a bit.”
JIMM JI MMI MM MI BA AYEER FEBRUARY 11-17, 2015 | FOLIOWEEKLY.com | 13
the (mostly) local music issue
FOR THE
RECORD
In which we WAX poetic about the sundry
C
14 | FOLIOWEEKLY.com | FEBRUARY 11-17, 2015
PLEASURES of needle-on-VINYL
like Vintage Vinyl, Wag’s Record Hound and Yesterday & Today, my all it anachronistic if you want, but vinyl continues to be collection hit a growth spurt that just hinted at future unmanageability, a long player in the music industry. A Jan. 1 Wall Street as I had to rearrange the furniture in my room to accommodate the Journal article, for instance, noted that an impressive 9.2 growing cluster of albums now taking up space. million vinyl LPs were purchased in 2014, a 52-percent In the late ’80s, I fell headfirst into the subterranean galaxy of increase over the previous year’s sales. Curiously enough, underground, experimental and free jazz music. In those pre-online and a Dec. 11, 2014, article in the WSJ revealed that while the eBayless days, I amassed releases through the ancient art of mail order demand for new and reissued albums pressed on highfrom distributors like NYC’s Midnight Records, Hoboken, New Jersey’s quality vinyl is rock solid, the issue now is supply: The Pier Platters, and Forced Exposure in Waltham, Massachusetts. I also roughly 15 mastering plants in the U.S. are having problems keeping discovered the delights of bootlegs, finding slots in my growing collection up with audiophiles’ desire for new platters of polyvinyl chloride. for such illicit gems as The Yardbirds’ Last Rave-Up in L.A. box set and Music is today a digital enterprise, no doubt about it. Sure, purists The Velvet Underground’s high-and-holy Sweet Sister bitch about the sound quality of CDs, not to GET INTO THE GROOVE: the incomparable Ray, a double LP featuring four live versions of the mention MP3s and streaming sites, but as of Velvet Underground vinyl bootleg VU’s drone rock masterpiece “Sister Ray.” 2013, iTunes was nonetheless reporting 21 Sweet Sister Ray. Like many socially awkward wallflowers, million song sales every single day. The purists the lifeboat that helped me sail through my are vastly outnumbered. Still, the Jan. 1 WSJ story notes a curious trend: Digital-download youth was steered by sitting alone in my room, album sales actually dropped 9 percent in 2014, spinning albums. Records helped me define even while LPs enjoyed a banner year. myself, influencing the development of my The record isn’t dead, even if it’s gone niche, personality, perception and even understanding and even if digital and streaming have made of life. This is an “outsider” experience that’s housing a wall of space-consuming LPs seem about as original as a busted lip in a slam pit, but ludicrous. For me — and countless others like for me it offered a kind of comfort and inclusivity me — the experience of owning, collecting, that made me feel less alone, particularly in an searching for and listening to vinyl records is intimidating world that didn’t seem to easily a passion that borders on the fetishistic, if not share my slobbery excitement about Quicksilver mystical. Messenger Service’s Happy Trails. My love affair with vinyl dates back to 1977. In the early ’90s, I experienced firsthand a When I was a lad of 5 in Louisville, Kentucky, shifting currency of music formats. In 1992, I left my dad bought my older brother and me Jax Beach for Memphis and joined the bluestwo albums: The Beatles’ Sgt. Pepper’s Lonely punk band ’68 Comeback. We had a slew of vinyl Hearts Club Band and K-Tel Records’ The Best releases issued on labels ranging from Sympathy of Creedence Clearwater Revival. Nearly 40 years later, I for the Record Industry to Sub Pop, selling these gems on still own these records (scrawled with my then-tentative tour for much-needed gas money, or trading them to other signature of “Danny Brown”) and, in hindsight, I see that bands that we met on the road for their own LPs and 45s. Two both surely helped guide my subsequent music tastes. years later, I hooked up with Royal Trux, who, in the wake of the In the early ’80s, I blew all of my allowance on albums Nirvana-created feeding frenzy when major labels courted every bought at The Music Shop in Jacksonville Beach, a store band that could make sound come out of their instruments, owned by the Faircloth family, who would go on to open were signed by Virgin Records. As bands (including us) began to essentially “sell out,” it seemed as if many groups became up the now-legendary all-ages rock club Einstein-A-Go-Go. increasingly indifferent to having their music issued on vinyl, Cool cover art was key to my preteen sensibilities, so forays a sensibility that drove the vinyl scene deeper underground. into buying records by early black metal bands like Venom Looking back on it now, I think this development probably saved and Mercyful Fate somehow led to my 1985 discovery of The and sustained the medium, since the diehards began to release Grateful Dead, a band that I thought no one on else on the planet highly inventive limited releases that created a demand for unique liked. (I was mistaken.) items that blurred the line between record and collectible art. When a chain record store opened in Atlantic Beach that same While touring in bands provided me with interesting — year, my addiction fully kicked in. I bought armloads of bargainahem — life experiences, one priced reissues and cutouts, my of the greatest benefits, discernment forged through unsurprisingly, was to buy studying song titles and more goddamned records. liner notes for clues as to I flipped through albums whether I should drop in record stores as far $11.99 for an Emerson, afield as Iowa City Lake & Palmer tripleand Copenhagen, LP live recording. The Denmark, on a crazed answer? An expensive hunt for that elusive side and strong no. Insanity by avant-garde bassist Alan is defined as repeating the same mistakes and Silva. expecting different results In my late 20s and early — I experienced that maxim 30s, I began to cool my jets. eBay firsthand by purchasing every became the bane of my existence, Yes album. as I found myself locked into furious After discovering local music bidding battles with other vinyl-hungry stores selling new and used vinyl, geeks. I had a de facto moment of clarity
after realizing that I was once again pawning the same PA mixing board to pay the piper after “winning” an overpriced bidding war. I currently own more than 3,000 LPs and 300 45s. Obsessive weirdness loves company; I have friends who own collections that easily dwarf mine. Sealed in plastic bags yet completely disorganized, there’s no rhyme or reason to this inexplicable wall of records that is a direct reflection of my somewhat
fragmented personality. But the intimate ritual of removing a record from the sleeve, scrutinizing the label and plummeting into the singular bliss of needle-crackling-on-vinyl remains as intoxicating as ever, momentarily shutting out the rest of the world as I dive within to a serenity served up at 33 rpms. Daniel A. Brown dbrown@folioweekly.com
COOL ASS
UPCOMING SHOWS
L
ook, we know that there are countless reasons to stay home: lying around eating peanut brittle and watching Moonshiners – don’t act like you don’t know – mood disorders, teaching your ferret mixed martial arts, being on “curtain patrol” as you peer through the windows looking for Shadow People in the trees, etc. But the greatest antidote to anthrophobia, sloth and hygiene-indifference is to check out some good live music. And there’s a lot of it coming our way over the next few months. With that in mind, we’ve assembled a list of the upcoming concerts we’re most looking forward to – the ones surely worth the effort of getting off your ass and supporting the offerings at local music venues.
NORTH MISSISSIPPI ALLSTARS AND ANDERS OSBORNE • FEB. 19 AT PONTE VEDRA CONCERT HALL • What do you get when two of the best alt-blues rock acts join forces? A helluva good gig, that’s what.
here, love them, because you can’t help yourself – there’s no denying that the local-boys-turned-rock-legends have carved out a place in music history. This two-night stand of concerts is being filmed for an upcoming TV special and DVD release.
GURF MORLIX • FEB. 20 AT MUDVILLE MUSIC ROOM • Multi-instrumentalist Gurf Morlix is hardly a household name, but if you’re into Americana, you’ve surely heard him. Lucinda Williams, Robert Earl Keen, Ray Wylie Hubbard and Warren Zevon are just a few of the musicians Morlix has worked with as a producer or collaborator.
THE BASEBALL PROJECT AND CHUCK PROPHET • APRIL 3 AT COLONIAL QUARTER • The Baseball Project is a supergroup featuring Scott McCaughey of The Young Fresh Fellows and Steve Wynn of The Dream Syndicate. These indie-rock Hall of Famers (if there is such a thing) formed the band only to celebrate baseball, which is as odd as it is inviting.
LUCERO, RYAN BINGHAM AND TWIN FORKS • FEB. 21 AT FREEBIRD LIVE • Memphis alt-country gods (we are tempted to use a capital G here) Lucero always deliver the goods and are tireless road dogs: They play between 150 and 200 gigs a year in North America.
WANEE MUSIC FESTIVAL: WIDESPREAD PANIC, GREGG ALLMAN, GOV’T MULE, EARTH, WIND & FIRE, CHEAP TRICK, HOT TUNA ELECTRIC, JJ GREY & MOFRO, GALACTIC, ZAPPA PLAYS ZAPPA, LEFTOVER SALMON, MORE • APRIL 16-18 AT SPIRIT OF THE SUWANNEE MUSIC PARK • Considering that this year’s impressive line-up includes Widespread Panic and Cheap Trick, we’re wondering if the promoters were higher than the audience when they picked the bands.
THE DOOBIE BROTHERS AND THE MARSHALL TUCKER BAND • FEB. 27 AT ST. AUGUSTINE AMPHITHEATRE • What has 100 legs and 15 teeth? The front row at a Marshall Tucker Band concert. (We kid because we love.) SOUTHERN CULTURE ON THE SKIDS, THE WOOLLY BUSHMEN AND RIVERNECKS • MARCH 8 AT COLONIAL QUARTER, ST. AUGUSTINE • These roots-rock-psychobilly maestros are no strangers to Northeast Florida. Maybe it’s because local fans go completely apeshit over their killer, greasy sound and unrivaled live shows. MAVIS STAPLES • MARCH 21 AT THE RITZ THEATRE & MUSEUM • Soul and gospel great Mavis Staples is considered a legend on the strengths of her work with The Staple Singers as well as her activism for civil rights. THE B-52S • MARCH 21 AT THE FLORIDA THEATRE • More than once, the New Wave gods and goddesses known as The B-52s have left local fans sweaty and exhausted after a night of dancing and singing along to the band’s many hits. This one should be no exception. Tiiiiiiiiin roof … rusted! ELVIS COSTELLO • MARCH 14 AT THE FLORIDA THEATRE • A veritable Pope of Power Pop (we’re sure he’d love that alliterative title), Elvis Costello is a kind of weird bridge between Johnny Rotten and George Jones (with whom EC has worked) who is revered for writing lyrics that are confessional and kick-ass rock, sometimes in the same tune. And he did a record with The Roots, which was great. And he’s doing this show all by himself, which will assuredly serve as a showcase for his songwriting talents, and that will be awesome. ELTON JOHN • MARCH 14 AT VETERANS MEMORIAL ARENA • While his days of dressing up like Donald Duck for his concerts are sadly over, Elton John is still Elton John, and he’s still got a catalog that few musicians can rival. AGNOSTIC FRONT AND COLDSIDE • MARCH 22 AT BURRO BAR • If you wanna hear some destroying NYHC, Agnostic Front will deliver a head slam of brutal punk rock. Protective headgear is optional. SLIDE INTO SPRING MUSIC & CRAFT BEER FESTIVAL: THE WAILERS, TRAE PIERCE & T-STONE BAND, MATISYAHU, RAILROAD EARTH, TURKUAZ, SUPERVILLAINS, THE FRITZ, SPIRITUAL REZ AND CORBITT BROTHERS • MARCH 28 & 29 AT MAIN BEACH, FERNANDINA BEACH • Fernandina Beach gets in on the festival action with a cool line-up of national and local jam band-ish acts. BILL ORCUTT • MARCH 29 AT SUN-RAY CINEMA • In the early ’90s, guitarist Orcutt formed Miami band Harry Pussy, who released a handful of records that nearly defied description, not unlike kindred spirits the Sun City Girls. As a solo artist, Orcutt keeps that same enigmatic mojo flowing, with an experimental approach to the guitar that is downright sphinxlike. SWANS • MARCH 31 AT JACK RABBITS • The Swans were once known for pioneering a bone-crushing and visceral style of music, but over the years, they’ve softened their sound for more ethereal heights. Now the band has merged the assaultive with the atmospheric, and their upcoming gig here is certain to be one for the books. LYNYRD SKYNYRD • APRIL 2 & 3 AT THE FLORIDA THEATRE • Love ’em or loathe ’em – and you, being from
SPRINGING THE BLUES: CHUBBY CARRIER & THE BAYOU SWAMP BAND, SELWYN BIRCHWOOD, EDDIE SHAW & THE WOLF GANG, TINSLEY ELLIS, JOHN NEMETH, AND MORE • APRIL 17-19 AT SEAWALK PAVILION, JAX BEACH • Now in its 25th year, this festival never fails to satisfy blues followers. THE WHO HITS 50! TOUR WITH JOAN JETT & THE BLACKHEARTS • APRIL 19 AT VETERANS MEMORIAL ARENA • Dude, it’s The Who. Need we say more? OK, fine. Joan-freaking-Jett. Dude. WELCOME TO ROCKVILLE: SLIPKNOT, KORN, GODSMACK, SLAYER, MARILYN MANSON, MINISTRY, SLASH, MYLES KENNEDY & THE CONSPIRATORS, PAPA ROACH, BREAKING BENJAMIN AND SUICIDAL TENDENCIES • APRIL 25 & 26 AT METROPOLITAN PARK • An invading horde of metal bands swarms Downtown Jacksonville, much to the delight of diehard fans Don Redman and Clay Yarborough, who will no doubt be singing along to every guttural utterance of “Angel of Death.” WILCO • MAY 1 AT ST. AUGUSTINE AMPHITHEATRE • Quite possibly the only band both Pitchfork and the Wall Street Journal drool over, these Chicago alt-rock stalwarts are pushing middle age (just like some of us!), but still got it (just like some of us!). NEUTRAL MILK HOTEL • MAY 7 AT PONTE VEDRA CONCERT HALL • These vanguards of the ’90s neo-psych and lo-fi scenes took a sudden hiatus during the height of their popularity, but in the past few years have returned to live performance, a development that has surely pleased fans devoted to the band’s tripped-out sound. WARPED TOUR: ALIVE LIKE ME, AS IT IS, BABY BABY, BEAUTIFUL BODIES, BEING AS AN OCEAN, BLACK BOOTS, BLACK VEIL BRIDES, BLESSTHEFALL, BORN CAGES, BOYMEETSWORLD, CANDY HEARTS, CROSSFAITH, ESCAPE THE FATE, FAMILY FORCE 5, FIT FOR A KING, HANDGUNS, HANDS LIKE HOUSES, HUNDREDTH, I KILLED THE PROM QUEEN, ICON FOR HIRE, KOO KOO KANGA ROO, KOSHA DILLZ, LE CASTLE VANIA, LEE COREY OSWALD, M4SONIC, MATCHBOOK ROMANCE, METRO STATION, NECK DEEP, NIGHT ARGENT, NIGHT RIOTS, PALISADES, ROTTING OUT, SPLITBREED, THE RELAPSE SYMPHONY, TRANSIT, THE WONDER YEARS, TROPHY EYES, WHILE SHE SLEEPS AND YOUTH IN REVOLT • JULY 6 AT MOROCCO SHRINE AUDITORIUM • One can consider Vans Warped Tour, with its army of punk and thrash bands, as a kind of loud and visceral sibling of the many jam-band fests. However, playing hacky sack in the parking lot might get you pummeled. Also, you will notice two bands in the line-up named after television shows starring Savage brothers, so we suppose that’s a thing now. “WEIRD AL” YANKOVIC • AUG. 16 AT THE FLORIDA THEATRE • Oddly enough, Yankovic’s career has outlasted many of the very acts that he’s parodied so very well over the years, which could say as much about the universal power of irony as much as his comedic brilliance. MARK KNOPFLER • OCT. 27 AT ST. AUGUSTINE AMPHITHEATRE • The original Sultan of Swing, Knopfler is now heading toward his fourth decade of delivering the goods with Dire Straits and as a solo, finger-pickin’ favorite. FEBRUARY 11-17, 2015 | FOLIOWEEKLY.com | 15
the (mostly) local music issue THE
PRIMO MUSIC BOOKS OF 2014
Dance of Death: The Life of John Fahey, American Guitarist by Steve Lowenthal
Between 1959 and 2001, John Fahey released more than 40 albums of acoustic six-string guitar music that touched on everything from the prewar country blues of Charley Patton to interpretations of the music of Romantic-era composer Antonín Dvorák. Author Steve Lowenthal’s slim-yet-fascinating bio of Fahey (1939-2001) follows the flatpicking polymath’s journey from his earliest days in Takoma Park, Maryland, through a near-mystical quest centered on music that put him in the orbit of everyone from blues icons Skip James and Bukka White to Vedanta guru Swami Satchidananda. Fahey, who self-released his first record at age 20, is considered one of the first truly American DIY artists. His immense talent and pioneering spirit were matched only by his prolonged depressions and addictions, yet these obstacles never truly hindered his determination in taking solo acoustic guitar and pushing it to the point of pure transcendence. — Daniel A. Brown
Jerry Lee Lewis: His Own Story, by Rick Bragg
Rick Bragg’s biography of Jerry Lee Lewis is more love letter than comprehensive history of the man who almost single-handedly invented rock and roll. Jerry Lee (never just Jerry) attracted throngs with raw, combative songs with bawdy lyrics – his own cousin, Jimmy Swaggart, preached against the devil’s music in general and Jerry Lee’s interpretation in particular. This book, by Southern writer Bragg, consistently supports, excuses and elides Jerry Lee’s decades of violence against fans, spouses, fellow musicians and total strangers. Bragg’s treatment borders on fawning accolade; he cautions that the tales within are Jerry Lee’s remembrances and as such aren’t necessarily the whole truth. The retelling of events – gigs in chicken-wired honky tonks, the conquests of girls and women throughout the Bible Belt, the alcohol-and-drug-fueled fisticuffs – are tinged with the privilege of age, or just plain wishful thinking, looking back on what should have happened, could have happened, or didn’t really happen. — Marlene Dryden
Tom Petty: Rock ‘n’ Roll Guardian, by Andrea M. Rotondo This paperback bio of Tom Petty, written by Andrea M. Rotondo, has grammatical errors – “heart-trending” to describe the effect George Harrison’s death had on Petty – and oft-repeated anecdotes galore, some woefully inaccurate. Take the tired tale of how Little Tommy met Elvis Presley in 1961, when Presley was filming Follow That Dream near Gainesville. Tommy’s Uncle Earl, being the sole film processor in North Florida, was working on the set and Aunt Evelyn took her kids and Cousin Tommy to see a real Hollywood movie being made. Tom was born Oct. 20, 1950, so in ’61, the lad was 11. Rotondo says as much on page 22. Flip to page 24 and it’s like Marty McFly is reporting the life-altering incident: All of a sudden, Tom Petty is a 14-year-old seeing the King of Rock & Roll with adoring fans; the teenager instantly becomes a worshipper at the altar of popular music. New math? Rotondo lists scads of concert details, though, and just about every Tom Petty recording there is, though I didn’t find “Girl on LSD.” — Marlene Dryden
A Man Called Destruction: The Life and Music of Alex Chilton, From Box Tops to Big Star to Backdoor Man by Holly George-Warren Holly George-Warren’s exhaustive tome on singer-songwriter Alex Chilton explores his earliest days in Memphis as a teenaged, blue-eyed soul singer in The Box Tops, his guiding force in helming innovative power pop-rockers Big Star, on through his sometimes-shaky yet always fascinating solo career. The child of upper-middle-class bohemian parents who encouraged his creative endeavors, Chilton grew up blessed with an independent spirit that seemed to also be his greatest curse. Throughout the course of his career, Chilton took chances that bordered on self-sabotage, anchored by an indifference or even cantankerous and jaundiced view toward “success” in the music business. Chilton has been lauded by countless bands (The Replacements, Teenage Fanclub and The Posies, to name just a few) and has now become increasingly canonized since his death of a heart attack in 2010, yet he will most likely be forever relegated to a kind of artistic ghetto, a destination where devotees and practitioners of restlessly creative risk-taking music would do well to visit. — Daniel A. Brown
Please Be with Me: A Song for My Father, Duane Allman by Galadrielle Allman
One part memoir and one part biography, Galadrielle Allman’s celebration of the father she barely knew is a touching and fascinating look at Duane Allman (1946-1971), a Southern-born musician who pushed jazz-rock and the blues into forms that current musicians are still trying to decipher. Through the testimonies of surviving bandmates, family members (Duane’s younger brother Gregg is particularly open and revealing) and Duane’s peers, Galadrielle is given full access in her efforts to understand a music icon as well as her longing to claim a sense of the father she lost. The Allman Brothers are given much page space, but the virtuoso slide guitarist’s days at Muscle Shoals and time spent with players like Delaney and Bonnie and Herbie Mann are equally captivating. Allman was an eager participant in the free love and dope vibes of the ’60s; there’s enough heroin and Jack Daniel’s to send the heartiest of readers to rehab. But Galadrielle never dips into the sensational, instead focusing on her father’s creative temperament, daunting work ethic (which included touring and recording schedules that would have broken a lesser soul), and passion for spinning out innovative and aweinspiring riffs on his ever-present Gibson Les Paul. — Daniel A. Brown 16 | FOLIOWEEKLY.com | FEBRUARY 11-17, 2015
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Whether it’s a first date or the celebration of a 50-year relationship, our Wine, Dine & Gift Guide is here to help make your special Valentine’s Day time together as memorable and delightful as possible. Simply center your romantic plans around one of these fine choices and let Cupid be your guide to the perfect evening.
Mezze Bar & Grill
2016 Hendricks Ave., San Marco 683-0693 | MezzeJax.Com
Start your romantic evening with our famous Fresh Basil Martini or one of the more than 35 brews we have on tap, accompanied by delicious, tapas-like hummus, baba ghanouj and kibbe. Indulge in lamb and chicken kabobs, or any of our other classic Middle Eastern specialties. Treat your sweetie to our homemade Baklawa, and round out your evening by relaxing on our outdoor Hookah patio. Now, this is an unforgettable Valentine’s Day. Call for reservations today.
Allure Thai Bistro & Bar 1004 Hendricks Ave., San Marco 674-0190 | AllureThai.Com
Here is what we have planned for your romantic dinner: $3.99 cocktails special and $49 Valentine’s Day Special, which includes • one (1) appetizer • two (2) entrées • one (1) bottle of wine or champagne • one (1) dessert. Reserve your table today. Celebrate Valentine’s Day in a sensual and spicy style! Your special someone will fall in love with you all over again during your romantic meal of our delicious Thai cuisine, the food of love. Beautifully fragrant, enchantingly exotic and authentic, just the way you like it.
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Kaluby’s Dance Club Two Locations 338-9200 | Kalubys.Com
Walk in ... and dance out! That’s been Kaluby’s motto for over 30 years of teaching dance. We specialize in popular social dances, all areas of ballroom and Latin dance for singles and couples, offering private lessons, group classes and dance parties. You’ll meet new people, build confidence, exercise, and decrease stress…dancing simply gives you more fun out of life! Rediscover your passion for each other…give the gift of dance this Valentine’s Day. Gift certificates available.
True Hue Salon
983 Atlantic Blvd., Atlantic Beach 265-8546 | TrueHueSalon.com Introducing True Hue Salon! A chic new studio salon by Allison Klimek and Brittany Hettler. With more than a decade of stylist experience and color expertise in the Jacksonville Beaches area, we feature Schwarzkopf Color, as well as the full line of Verb and Unite products. Look your best for your special someone. We’re currently accepting new clients. Gift certificates for any of our services or our custom product gift bags are available today! Pick up something special for your Valentine!
Restaurant Orsay
3630 Park St., Riverside 381-0909 | RestaurantOrsay.Com
Owner Jon Insetta’s restaurant eloquently combines French cuisine with Southern American influences to create a menu that spotlights fresh, local ingredients. Steak frites, mussels and Alsatian pork chops are served in an elegant setting with an emphasis on locally grown organic ingredients. The restaurant’s farm-to-table dishes earned Orsay a Snail of Approval recommendation from Slow Food First Coast and Orsay’s a 2014 Folio Weekly Best of Jax winner. Now offering brunch on Saturday and Sunday. Call for reservations today.
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Our Picks Reasons to leave the house this week
COMEDY
OLD-SCHOOL METAL
JERRY SEINFELD
Considered the reigning king of observational comedy, Jerry Seinfeld has created a veritable empire on the strengths of his undeniable skills at humorously pointing out the sometimesaggravating minutiae of everyday life. Best known for co-creating, co-producing and starring in Seinfeld, since that Emmy-andGrammy-award-winning TV sitcom ended, the now 60-yearold funnyman has gone back to his roots doing standup, cinema voiceover and commercials. And now he’s creating and starring in the excellent web series Comedians in Cars Getting Coffee. 7 p.m. Feb. 13 at Times-Union Center for the Performing Arts’ Moran Theater, 300 Water St., Downtown, $48.50$124, ticketmaster.com.
ANVIL
In the late ’70s and early ’80s, metal was king and Anvil forged a place on the scene on the strength of their no-BS style of metalloid riffage and high-energy live shows. Like many of their hard rock and metal peers, these Canadian rockers fell into semi-obscurity during the grunge years, yet they continued to record and tour. The 2006 warts-and-all (and highly enjoyable) documentary Anvil! The Story of Anvil brought the fellers back into prominence. Founding members Steve “Lips” Kudlow and Robb “Robbo” Reiner are riding this second wave of rock glory, bringing their hammering, headbanging sound to diehards and newbies alike. 8 p.m. Feb. 12, with Lord Dying and Sunlord at Freebird Live, 200 N. First St., Jax Beach, advance tickets $15; $20 day of show, freebirdlive.com.
A STORIED LIFE GARRISON KEILLOR
MARITAL BLISS
LGBT WEDDING EXPO
Northeast Florida has received (let’s not kid ourselves, earned) some negative attention after some local county courts’ brief-but-highly-embarrassing uproar over same-sex marriages – see The Daily Show pummeling of our fair city – but it’s a relief to know that matrimonial equality for the local LGBT community is now a reality. And with that progress comes an absolute boon to the local economy. Getting dibs on the entrepreneurial tip, the inaugural LGBT Wedding Expo features 50 LGBT-friendly exhibitors offering a variety of wedding preparation items and services, from event-planning and floral needs to catering and photography. Noon-4 p.m. Feb. 15 at Crowne Plaza Riverfront, 1201 Riverplace Blvd., Southbank, mygayjacksonville.com.
Since 1974, Garrison Keillor and his A Prairie Home Companion has been providing public radio listeners with a popular mix of storytelling, music, comedy skits and news from the fictitious town of Lake Woebegon, Minnesota, broadcast in a winning blend that harks back to the golden years of radio. Keillor’s spiel could be described as an audio equivalent of wandering around aimlessly in a Cracker Barrel gift shop, yet he’s earned scads of accolades as a radio star and author. Keillor’s mellifluous vocal talents, which can be downright narcotic when he describes the ineffable joy of, say, a rhubarb pie, have even been featured in Ken Burns’ documentaries. The now-72-year-old Keillor’s local appearance promises to be a night of music and song sure to satisfy any hankerin’ for homespun entertainment. 8 p.m. Feb. 17 at Times-Union Center’s Jacoby Symphony Hall, $38-$80, jaxsymphony.org.
ÜBER DIVA
DIANA ROSS
R&B legend Diana Ross first hit the stage at age 15 as a member of the Detroit girl group The Primettes. Eventually that quartet met Motown Records guru Berry Gordy, who signed them to his label and rechristened them The Supremes. The girls went on to top the charts with a dozen tunes, opening the door to mainstream success for other African-American pop musicians. Starting in the ’70s, Ross was featured on the big screen in films like Lady Sings the Blues, Mahogany and The Wiz. Acknowledged as an influence by artists Michael Jackson, Beyoncé, Mary J. Blige and The Pointer Sisters, in recent years, the Rock and Roll Hall-of-Famer has received a Grammy Lifetime Achievement Award. 8 p.m. Feb. 14 at The Florida Theatre, 128 E. Forsyth St., Downtown, $70.50-$126, floridatheatre.com.
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A&E // MOVIES
THE SPY WHO BORED ME
Even a decent cast can’t save this espionage-action flick
T
his is not a gentlemanly movie. Now, most movies are not very gentlemanly, and this isn’t necessarily a problem — except, perhaps, to those of us who lament the passing of true gentlemanliness as a thing a dude might aspire to. But it’s a huge problem for Kingsman: The Secret Service. Because this movie makes such a big deal about how gentlemanliness is a thing a dude must exude, certainly if he wants to become a member of the titular elite society of gentleman spies and international men of mystery who answer to no government, only to the highest causes of justice, global peace and elegance, in bespoke attire. And the movie ultimately betrays the foundations of its own premise in horrendously unforgivable ways. It’s like this: Harry (Colin Firth), codename Galahad, recruits Eggsy (Taron Egerton), a kid from the wrong side of the London tracks, to be a member of the Kingsmen. Eggsy doesn’t seem to be a good fit, what with all the other Kingsmen so posh and at least figuratively noble. The society is funded by royal families across Europe, and they all have Knights of the Round Table spy names: Michael Caine, their leader, is Arthur; Jack Davenport is an agent codenamed Lancelot; even their Q, played by Mark Strong, is called Merlin. Eggsy instantly sees that he doesn’t belong, even if he has a genius-level IQ, could’ve been an Olympic contender (as a gymnast), and dabbled in the Marines. But Harry assures Eggsy — director Matthew Vaughn appears to underscore this scene as containing A Very Important Message — that being a gentleman has nothing to do with where you come from or what your accent sounds like or any of that sort of thing. Being a gentleman is about how you behave. It’s about manners. And bespoke suits, too, sure; but mostly manners. For a good half of its running time, Kingsman is a fairly mundane wannabe spoof of spy stories, as Eggsy goes through a testing regimen to see if he will be able to cut it. I didn’t find it too clever: Characters keep selfreferentially discussing the clichés of old spy movies yet insisting that “this isn’t that kind of movie,” when in fact it is totally that kind of movie, rife with the same old clichés, including the clichés that insist they’re about busting other clichés. (A lot of it feels like it has lifted beats and lines of dialogue from Men in Black.) Still, as I watched, I wasn’t hating it, and was truly enjoying Samuel L. Jackson as Valentine, the villainous yet squeamish tech mogul who’s out to do something bad to the world and obviously must be stopped. And I was loving Firth, who, if there is any justice in moviedom, will soon be heading up a reboot of The Avengers as John Steed, now that we know how great he looks in custom-tailored Savile Row finery and what a gentlemanly action hero he can be. But then the movie gave me pause: Eggsy is subjected to a test, and it has the completely wrong solution, if the Kingsman (Kingsmen?) are truly the gentlemen they say they are. It was then that the movie left me cold. Vaughn loves him some ultraviolence, and he offers us a scene of mass slaughter of innocents intended to be cool and funny and awesome, taking glee in barbaric carnage so bloody, even
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the characters involved in it and witnessing it are utterly appalled, and absolutely do not find it cool or funny or awesome. The scene is part of Valentine’s evil plan, meant to convey just how evil that plan is ... so why does Vaughn want us cheering it? Finally, once Eggsy has become a fullfledged Kingsman (oh, you knew that was inevitable, so it’s hardly a spoiler), donned the tailored suit and assumed the mantle of the gentleman, he does something that no
an end. I was actually enraged. It’s almost as if gentleman would do. No gentleman ever. This Kingsman wants to obnoxiously defy itself. is the film’s final grand joke, played for huge Or else Vaughn is saying, laughs, and it was like a punch “Screw manners. Screw gentility. in the gut to me. It would be a KINGSMAN: Screw kindness. Take whatever terrible misfire even in a movie THE SECRET SERVICE you can get, and smirk about it. that hadn’t ostensibly been *@@@ Be a smug nasty bastard, and crafting Eggsy into a gentleman, Rated R own it.” In which case, I hate this but in this context, it’s positively movie even more. nightmarish. I cannot recall a film that left me with such MaryAnn Johanson a sour taste in my mouth by the time it came to mail@folioweekly.com
COSMIK DEBRIS
them at their worst. As much as one appreciates their creation of their own Star Wars-inspired mythology, the surplus of characters, betrayals, and family drama both on Earth and in outer space gives the film a heaviness that makes it harder to appreciate. The Wachowskis are operating on an epic scale here — reports say one draft of the script was 600 pages — and one gets a sense that they tried to incorporate so many elements that the finer points got away from them. Here’s something else to consider: Going into the Feb. 22 Oscars, Redmayne is the favorite for best actor (for The Theory of Everything) and Julianne Moore, whose fantasy adventure film Seventh Son just opened, is the favorite for best actress (for Still Alice). Neither new release is going to earn them much regard with Academy members, who have until Feb. 17 to cast their votes. But the rightful heir to own Earth is Jupiter (the will it actually cost Redmayne and Moore person, not the planet), Titus sends Caine to votes? It’s possible. In 2007, Eddie Murphy protect her from Balem’s henchmen, but they’re was the favorite to win supporting actor for captured. Complications ensue. Dreamgirls, but the abominable Norbit opened Even when they’ve struggled to tell a story, and dashed his hopes (he lost to Alan Arkin the Wachowskis have always been great at for his work in Little Miss Sunshine). Similarly, wowing us with action, and they do so again in 2013, Jessica Chastain was nominated for here. The first major set piece starts high best actress for Zero Dark Thirty but likely above the Chicago skyline and plummets in, slipped in the Academy’s esteem with the around and sometimes through release of Mama shortly before the high rises, only to plunge the ceremony (she lost to JUPITER ASCENDING into the Chicago River and Jennifer Lawrence for her turn **@@ then high atop the city again. in Silver Linings Playbook). How Rated PG-13 As we hear Michael Giacchino’s this may affect Redmayne and pulse-pounding score, we watch Moore — if at all — remains the scene in IMAX 3D; the aerial action is to be seen, but I’m curious to see if anyone superbly shot and combined with visual points to these films in case either loses. effects to render a truly breathtaking sequence. Back to Jupiter Ascending. It’s a popcorn This, in addition to other solid but not summer movie in the dead of winter and, once spectacular action, showcases the Wachowskis more, we’re left yearning for the Wachowskis at their best. to be great again. The metaphysical high-mindedness the Dan Hudak couple brings to the story, however, reveals mail@folioweekly.com
The Wachowskis’ overreaching sci-fi epic is an overwrought piece of intergalactic slop
J
upiter Ascending is bloated sci-fi cheese, an intergalactic and extravagantly over-thetop saga that simultaneously wows and confounds. We can see every cent of a $150 million budget on the screen, but that’s not always a good thing. Written and directed by Andy and Lana Wachowski (The Matrix trilogy), the story centers on Jupiter Jones (Mila Kunis), a woman destined for great things and true love but, as the movie opens, she’s cleaning toilets. Even Chosen Ones have to make a living. Soon her life is saved by good guy half-man/half-wolf Caine (Channing Tatum); we know he’s good because he’s unfairly ambushed by three space goons and heroically/inexplicably fights his way through the attack. Then comes all the space drama, and it feels like a soap opera. Interplanetary siblings Balem (Eddie Redmayne), Titus (Douglas Booth) and Kalique (Tuppence Middleton) control planets throughout the solar system. Earth belongs to Balem, though Titus covets it. Knowing that
A&E // MOVIES FILM RATINGS
GUN-METAL GREY **** GREY SQUIRREL ***@ GREY SKIES **@@ GREY’S ANATOMY *@@@
SCREENINGS AROUND TOWN
FERNANDINA LITTLE THEATRE The fifth annual Oscar Nominated Short Films Festival, showing 15 short films up for Academy Awards starts at 8:15 p.m. Feb. 13 and runs through Feb. 15, at the theater, 1014 Beech St., Fernandina Beach; individual screenings are $10; Early Bird passes (first two screenings on Feb. 14 and 15, a total of four sessions) are $30; 206-2607, ameliaflt.org. SUN-RAY CINEMA A Most Violent Year and Birdman screen at Sun-Ray Cinema, 1028 Park St., 5 Points, 359-0049, sunraycinema.com. The Walking Dead at 9 p.m.; Better Call Saul 10 p.m. Feb. 15, free. Oscar Nominated Shorts run through Feb. 12. I Am Eleven screens 7 p.m. Feb. 12. Kingsman: The Secret Service starts Feb. 13. Amélie runs 7 p.m. Feb. 14. Check website for details. LATITUDE 360 MOVIES Penguins of Madagascar, The Hobbit and Fury screen at Latitude 360’s CineGrille Theater, 10370 Philips Hwy., Southside, 365-5555, latitude360.com/jacksonville-fl. THE CORAZON CINEMA & CAFÉ Boyhood and Ida, through Feb. 12; Nightcrawler and Men, Women & Children start Feb. 13 at Corazon Cinema, 36 Granada St., St. Augustine, 679-5736, corazoncinemaandcafe.com. WGHF IMAX THEATER Jupiter Ascending, The Seventh Son, Game of Thrones, Hidden Universe, Deep Sea Challenge and Humpback Whales screen at World Golf Village Hall of Fame IMAX Theater, 1 World Golf Place, St. Augustine, 940-4133, worldgolfimax.com.
NOW SHOWING
BLACKHAT *@@@ Rated R Overwritten and underwhelming, Michael Mann’s Blackhat should’ve been a taut cyber thriller of espionage and intrigue. It’s not. It’s a cyber bore full of nonsense, held together with a plot that’s denser than it needs to be. Costars Viola Davis, Chris Hemsworth, Leehom Wang and Wei Tang. — Dan Hudak BLACK OR WHITE *G@@ Rated PG-13 Writer/director Mike Binder seems confident that he’s on to something great. Elliott Anderson (Kevin Costner), a successful attorney who’s been raising his 7-year-old granddaughter, Eloise (Jillian Estell) with his wife, Carol (Jennifer Ehle), ever since their daughter died during childbirth. As the film opens, Carol has died in a car accident; Elliott’s grief-stricken, turning to alcohol for comfort. He gets an offer to help take care of the child from Rowena (Octavia Spencer), Eloise’s other grandmother, but Elliott has a grudge against her son, Eloise’s absentee, drug-addict dad, Reggie (André Holland). When Gramps resists sharing custody, Rowena heads to court. It’s a superficial way to capitalize on an edgy premise, and it’s hard to watch it tossed around casually by a filmmaker who seems to have no clue how to take it seriously. — Scott Renshaw BLACK SEA ***@ Rated R Robinson (Jude Law) gets fired from the only job he’s ever had, a submarine captain for a salvage company. He’s a neversay-die kinda guy, so he assembles a team of 12 seafarers to search for two tons of gold allegedly left behind by the Nazis deep in the Black Sea. Director Kevin Macdonald is steady and assured as he fashions the submarine into both another character and a metaphor. The deeper the sub sinks, the more despair seeps into its crew — the morale and desperation increase as the sub reaches new depths. This is a subtle touch, but skilled filmmaker Macdonald pulls it off. — D.H. THE BOY NEXT DOOR Rated R Remember the ’80s genre of “from hell” movies? Nanny From Hell (The Hand That Rocks the Cradle), Roommate From Hell (Single White Female) and Mistress From Hell (Fatal Attraction). The Boy Next Door makes a late entry in that sleazy bunch: the Himbo Jailbait From Hell. Jennifer Lopez plays a single mom entangled with her underage stud muffin neighbor, only to find he’s just too psychotically clingy. — Steve Schneider CAKE Rated R Jennifer Aniston is getting a lot of buzz for her portrayal of Claire, a woman with debilitating chronic pain who becomes overly obsessed by another woman from her support group who killed herself. Costars Anna Kendrick, Mamie Gummer, Felicity Huffman and William H. Macy. FIFTY SHADES OF GREY Rated R At last: the movie version of the book that made a nation of foosball moms feel dirrrrrty! It has all the prerequisites to be just as much of a howl-fest as its source material: The director hasn’t been entrusted with a feature since her first one five years ago. The male lead is best known for TV’s Once Upon a Time. And his female costar is Melanie Griffith’s kid. So this is
destined for a swift descent into ignominious obscurity, right? With a ludicrously tasteless Valentine’s Day opening as the rancid cherry on the shit sundae? Hate to burst your bubble, sweetheart, but it’s Fandango’s top R-rated advance seller of all time. Ain’t it always, always the way? — S.S. FOXCATCHER ***G Rated R The sordid tale of John DuPont’s (Steve Carell) great wealth and unfulfilled desires focuses on his amateur wrestling philanthropy. John lures 1984 Olympic gold medalist Mark Schultz (Channing Tatum) to his Foxcatcher Farms to train; DuPont thinks he’s a coach and providing training facilities for future Olympic champions makes him a great American. John invites Mark’s more celebrated brother, fellow Olympic champion Dave Schultz (Mark Ruffalo), to train at Foxcatcher, but Dave declines. Good thinking, Dave. — D.H. JUPITER ASCENDING **@@ Rated PG-13 Reviewed in this issue. KINGSMAN: THE SECRET SERVICE *@@@ Rated R Reviewed in this issue.
RIVER SONG
S
THE LOFT Rated R This is an example of Crises Befalling People You Don’t Give a Rat’s Ass About. A dilemma befalls a bunch of fellas who keep a loft apartment as party pad – only to have it all threatened when a chick turns up dead there. Out here in sane America, this sort of film is known as a Serves You Right movie, but expect lots of hand-wringing and teeth-gnashing from the four people who worried what was going to happen to Tom Cruise in Eyes Wide Shut. Adulterous goons with excessive real-estate budgets – they’re just like us! — S.S. MORTDECAI Rated R When a successful actor like Johnny Depp does an iffy project like this, they say “Maybe he just likes to work.” The kinds of “work” Cap’n Jack could’ve done instead: 1) building homes for Habitat for Humanity; 2) delivering parcels for UPS; 3) dealing dope out of the back of a Twistee Treat. Here he’s an art dealer evading cops and robbers as they all hunt for Nazi gold. — S.S. A MOST VIOLENT YEAR **G@ Rated R Director/screenwriter J.C. Chandor’s new film stars Oscar Isaac, as Abel Morales, a hard-working immigrant battling
MAGIC LANTERNS
ometime in my formative years, I saw the 1951 version of Show Boat on TV and loved it. The only specific scene I can recall, though, was the final one: The camera focused on Ava Gardner’s radiant face while the strains of “Ol’ Man River” brought the film to a close. I listened to the soundtrack often over the years, but I never took the opportunity to actually watch the movie again until recently, occasioned by my first viewing of the 1936 version of Show Boat, which most authorities deem the best. Unavailable on either VHS or DVD until this year, the 1936 film wasn’t the first. That honor goes to a 1929 half-silent/half-talkie version based on the 1927 play (in turn derived from a novel by Edna Ferber), which has been called “the first great serious Broadway musical.” In 1936, director James Whale (Frankenstein, The Invisible Man) made the classic adaptation, retaining the story, which covers 30 to 40 years of the life of an ingénue actress on a Mississippi steamboat as she falls in love, loses her man, makes it big and sees her daughter do the same. It ends with the aged actress, restored with the family on a Broadway stage. Unlikely and sentimental as it might sound, Show Boat also broached significant racial themes, including miscegenation. Featuring three members of the original stage musical, including Irene Dunne as the heroine Magnolia and legendary actress Helen Morgan as the tragic Julie, the film’s first half is reinforced with prominent roles for Paul Robeson and Hattie McDaniel. She would go on to win the first Oscar awarded an AfricanAmerican (for Gone with the Wind); Robeson was the most famous actor of his race until the emergence of Sidney Poitier in the ’50s. Though the second half of Whale’s film (with the exception of one number by Morgan) mostly relies on clichés, the first half is truly memorable, highlighted by Robeson’s stirring version of “Ol’ Man River,” which the director underscores with some expressionist touches more reminiscent of his masterful horror films. But here Whale chooses to emphasize the racial themes inherent in the song’s lyrics and earlier brought front and center in the character of Julie, a woman of mixed race, and her fateful marriage with a white man who loves her despite her racial mix. On a lighter note but equally memorable is a charming, witty love song sung by Robeson and McDaniel, both of whom then completely
disappear in the film’s second half. For the lavish 1951 color version, MGM pulled out all the stops for production numbers, but in the process jettisoned much of the original plot, particularly in the second half, which now covers only five or six years instead of two generations. Actually relying far more on musical numbers than the earlier version, the Technicolor Show Boat is more musical than dramatic, almost the exact opposite of its predecessor. A big plus in this regard are the additional song-and-dance numbers (including “Life Upon the Wicked Stage”) by Marge and Gower Champion, who are far more accomplished than their comic versions in the earlier film. Stepping into the considerable shoes of Robeson but in a much-diminished role, William Warfield nonetheless gives an even better rendition of “Ol’ Man River” in the film’s most memorable sequence, the only one NOT directed by the otherwise pedestrian George Sidney. In a nutshell, these are the highlights of the 1936 version — Paul Robeson, Helen Morgan, Hattie McDaniel and James Whale. Here are their counterparts in 1951 — the music, the dancing, the color process and Ava Gardner. Pat McLeod mail@folioweekly.com
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A&E // MOVIES the odds, and his social station, in New York City. Through persistence and discipline, he’s the head of the city’s fastest-growing heating-oil business. But he’s facing his biggest challenge: his delivery trucks are being hijacked at gunpoint by thugs who don’t even want the vehicles, just the heating oil. Fighting by Abel’s side are his wife, Anna (Jessica Chastain), and his friend and lawyer, Andrew (Albert Brooks). Belying its title, A Most Violent Year is surprisingly non-violent. This is a story not of bloodshed, but of emotional brutality in a world of urban and moral decay. To tell that tale, Chandor employs a subtle, slowbuilding tension, helped by atmospheric production design and cinematography. — Cameron Meier OLD FASHIONED Rated PG-13 Hey, here’s an alternative to Fifty Shades for your Valentine dollar! It’s an old-fashioned (what are the odds?) love story in which a young woman falls for an antique shop owner who’s a “reformed frat boy” – my favorite character description ever. This level-headed, unexploitative, anti-sensationalist Christian picture is a flick in which the chief narrative complication is its hero’s wholesome determination to keep coitus within the bounds of holy matrimony. Wow. — S.S. PADDINGTON Rated PG The comedy about a very clever bear living with a British family features Nicole Kidman, Hugh Bonneville, Julie Walters and Ben Whishaw as the voice of the Paddington. SEVENTH SON Rated PG-13 America finally admits en masse that Jeff Bridges has become an awful actor. Oh, I know you have his face on a T-shirt – along with a slogan claiming that he “abides.” But be honest: When was the last time you found him remotely believable as any character whatsoever – even “Jeff Bridges”? In this one, the scion of the Sea Hunt empire plays an ancient knight searching for an apprentice; apparently, he’s affecting a vocal delivery that’s equal parts Anglo pretension and talking with your mouth full. Porridge time at Hogwarts? Universal should be so lucky. What we’ve got here looks a lot less like Harry Potter and a lot more like Highlander. The second one. — S.S. SHAMITABH Not Rated The Bollywood com/dram/thriller costars Amitabh Bachchan, Dhanush and Akshara. In Hindi. THE SPONGEBOB MOVIE: SPONGE OUT OF WATER Rated PG Back in 1998, what did you think you’d be doing in 2015? If you say “Eagerly awaiting the second SpongeBob Squarepants movie,” then this is our week to howl. And if you never stopped loving Guns ’n Roses, then you’ll be tickled pink that “Welcome to the Jungle” is the soundtrack to the promos for this second foray into (and then away from) Bikini Bottom. I don’t have a problem with any of that – got no beef with Le Sponge, and I’m always in the mood for Axl. I’m worried that 2016 is going to bring a Teletubbies movie. With music by Candlebox. — S.S. STILL ALICE ***G Rated PG-13 Open your heart to this sad, beautiful film starring Julianne Moore as Alice, a linguistics teacher at Columbia University, who’s just turned 50. She’s getting forgetful. The diagnosis: Early-onset Alzheimer’s disease. The reaction: complete shock and terror – it’s rare for someone her age to be afflicted with the debilitating disease. Moore, who’s absolutely phenomenal, goes from energetic and vibrant to flustered and defeated. It’s a heartbreaking transition, progressing quickly for Alice and her family. Co-writers and directors Richard Glatzer and Wash Westmoreland give ample time to the substantial effect her condition has on her family. This movie punches you in the gut with inevitabilities and life’s unfairness, leaving us with tears in our eyes and the hope that it doesn’t happen to us. — D.H. STRANGE MAGIC Rated PG Once upon a time, calling something a musical meant you’d actually written some original songs for it. Now, all you do is mash a bunch of pop hits from the last six decades, and you have Strange Magic, which, on the basis of that description, sounds like an animated Moulin Rouge. But the comparison LucasFilm is making is actually to A Midsummer Night’s Dream, with fairies and other fantastic creatures in pursuit of a powerful potion. Not only is George Lucas the film’s executive producer, he gets a story credit. The voice cast includes Alan Cumming, Alfred Molina and Kristin Chenoweth. — S.S. THE THEORY OF EVERYTHING ***G Rated PG-13 This Stephen Hawking biopic, directed by James Marsh and starring Eddie Redmayne as the brilliant physicist, shows the progression of his motor neuron disease, which ravages his body but leaves his mind intact. The more Stephen’s disease progresses, the better the movie gets, mostly due to Redmayne’s Oscar-worthy performance. Costars Harry Lloyd, Charlie Cox and Maxine Peake. — D.H.
24 | FOLIOWEEKLY.com | FEBRUARY 11-17, 2015
A&E // ARTS
MARKED EXPRESSIONS A current exhibit at the Cummer features an overview of one of the most powerful movements in art
I
f you were one of the richest men or women in Jacksonville, what would you do with all your money? Maybe you’d buy a yacht. Maybe you’d buy enough gold chains to make Mr. T jealous. Or perhaps you’d purchase boatloads of artwork and then lend it out for others to enjoy. Damn philanthropists. If you’re Preston Haskell (very much one of the richest men in Jacksonville), you prefer to spend your greenbacks on art. Collecting art for more than 40 years, both for himself and on behalf of The Haskell Company, Haskell has acquired quite an impressive collection of pieces from the abstract expressionism period, including works of some of the era’s most important artists, like Karel Appel, Helen Frankenthaler, Hans Hofmann, Franz Kline and Morris Louis. And as many great art lovers do, Haskell has lent out a large portion of his collection — formerly to the Princeton University Art Museum and currently to The Cummer Museum of Art & Gardens. Running through April 22 at the Cummer’s Mason Gallery, Rothko to Richter: MarkMaking in Abstract Painting is a selection of 27 paintings from the Collection of Preston H. Haskell and organized by the Princeton University Art Museum. (Haskell is a Princeton alumni.) “As soon as we heard that there was going to be this show at Princeton and Preston was talking about the catalog and the other work that was going into it, I asked, ‘Are there any plans to travel this exhibition?’” says Holly Keris, chief curator at The Cummer. “And he said, ‘You know, I haven’t really thought about that.’” So Keris kept up the conversation with Haskell until he agreed to bring Rothko to Richter to Jacksonville. Kelly Baum, curator of Modern and Contemporary Art at the Princeton University Art Museum and main author of the exhibition’s accompanying catalog, is the one who identified the idea of mark-making as the theme tying the various pieces together. “The easiest way to think about markmaking is [that it’s] any act of applying paint on the canvas is a mark,” says Keris. “There are many ways, obviously, that that can happen and it can manifest itself. But if you think about that, just the act of applying paint on the canvas as being one of the artist’s marks.” Keris says that artists may make lively, gestural marks from which, when viewers stand before a piece of work, they get a sense of the artist’s creation process. Then there’s the other end of the spectrum that occurs when an artist might use an industrial spray gun or gravity to apply the paint — literally, leaving few or no marks on the canvas. One way to understand the idea of markmaking is to consider abstractionist Jackson Pollock’s style of drip painting — giving the viewer a very real sense of the marks that Pollock used to create his works. “That idea of looking at these 27 pieces through that idea of mark-making and kind of tracing that trajectory from one extreme to another is really the main concept that Kelly put into the exhibition,” Keris says. “It sounds like such an esoteric thing when you say, ‘Mark-making in an abstract expressionist painting.’ But as soon as you think about it as
Michael Goldberg, The Keep, oil on canvas, 1958.
the person being involved in that process, it prominent abstract artists, including Joan does make it a little bit more tangible.” Mitchell, Robert Motherwell, Robert Rauschenberg, Gerhard Richter and Rothko. It Developed in New York in the 1940s, also features various public programs held in abstract expressionism (also called Action painting) is a post-World relation to the exhibit. War II art movement “On one end of in American painting the spectrum, you ROTHKO TO RICHTER: that brought artists have works like MARK-MAKING IN ABSTRACT like Pollock, Willem the Frankenthaler PAINTING FROM THE COLLECTION de Kooning and Mark or Richter, where OF PRESTON H. HASKELL Rothko to the forefront it is clear that the Cummer Museum of Art & Gardens, of the art world. paint has been 829 Riverside Ave., on display through April 22. applied with heavy The heyday of gesture — thick abstract expressionism, Conversations & Cocktails with Collector Preston paint, thin paint, which lasted from the Haskell and Curator Kelly Baum staining, sweeping, 1950s to the 1990s, is 6:30-8:30 p.m. Feb. 12, $35; museum members smearing, building usually distinguished $25; Up & Cummers members $20; registration required. cummer.org. up and knocking by an artist’s departure down,” Keris says from traditions such of the collection. as narrative and “In contrast, Jack Goldstein has gone to great symbolism, instead exploring the literal act of lengths to eliminate all traces of his process applying paint to canvas. from the finished works. Using a variety of The new Rothko to Richter exhibition is a tools, like commercial spray guns, the process welcome addition to the Cummer’s offerings. behind his work is almost invisible to the “One of the things that I really love most naked eye.” about the Cummer’s permanent collection Regardless of the technique practiced is that we’ve got 2,000 years of art history all under one roof, so the nature of our permanent by the artists, Rothko to Richter offers local art lovers a chance to experience incredible collection is very diverse and very farworks from one of the greatest movements in reaching,” Keris says. “But we don’t have a lot art history. of direct correlations with abstract art in our permanent collection.” Kara Pound Rothko to Richter features several works by mail@folioweekly.com
PERFORMANCE
A&E // ARTS & EVENTS
heavy hors d’oeuvres and silent auction, 6:15 p.m. Feb. 14 at Main Library, 303 N. Laura St., Downtown, $75; proceeds GARRISON KEILLOR benefit children and families of the Bridge of Northeast Radio show host Keillor (A Prairie Home Florida, 354-7799 ext. 137, bridgejax.com. Companion) offers storytelling and music, 8 p.m. Feb. 17 at HARRY CONNICK JR. The Grammy Award-winning piano man, Times-Union Center’s Jacoby Symphony Hall, 300 Water St., crooner and actor performs, 7 p.m. Feb. 15 at T-U Center’s Downtown, $38-$80, 354-3578, jaxsymphony.org. Moran Theater, 633-6100, $44-$124, ticketmaster.com. ELVIS: AN EVENING WITH THE “KING OF HEARTS” MUSIC OF FLORIDA & THE ST. JOHNS RIVER Al Poindexter Kevin Mills stars as the legendary rocker, 6 p.m. Feb. 11-15, performs original songs and Florida folk music, 4:30 p.m. Feb. at 11 a.m. Feb. 14 and noon Feb. 15. The production is 17 at Brentwood Branch Library, 3725 Pearl St., Northside, accompanied by a themed menu created by Executive Chef 630-0924, jaxpubliclibrary.org. DeJuan Roy at Alhambra Theatre & Dining, 12000 Beach Blvd., THE RITZ CHAMBER PLAYERS The celebrated ensemble plays, Southside, 641-1212, $64, alhambrajax.com. 6:30 p.m. Feb. 17 at Beaches Museum & History Park, 413 REIGNITING THE REVOLUTION Writer-director Tonia Bell’s Beach Blvd., Jax Beach, 241-5657; $10 donation suggested, Reigniting the Revolution: The Giants Whose Shoulders We beachesmuseum.org. The group performs Tragedy Toward Stand Upon, honoring Montford Point Marines, the first AfricanPeace, 7:30 p.m. Feb. 18 at Main Library’s Hicks Auditorium, Americans in the U.S. Marine Corps, 3 and 6:30 p.m. Feb. 15 630-2353, jplmusic.blogspot.com. at The Ritz Theatre & Museum, 829 N. Davis St., Downtown, 632-5555, $33, ticketmaster.com. THE CAPITOL STEPS The musical comedy troupe which skewers American politics appears at 7:30 p.m. Feb. 11 and 12, 8 p.m. Feb. 13, 2 and 8 p.m. Feb. 14 and 2 and 5:30 p.m. Feb. 15 at Wilson Center for the Performing Arts, 11901 Beach Blvd., Southside, 633-6110, $44.50, artistseriesjax.org. A LESSON BEFORE DYING Romulus Linney’s adaptation of Ernest Gaines’ novel about racial injustice in the 1940s, is staged at 8 p.m. Feb. 13 and 14 at Players By the Sea, 106 Sixth St. N., Jax Beach, 249-0289, $23; $20 seniors, military, students; through February, playersbythesea.org. GREASE Amelia Community Theatre stages the Tony-winning Broadway musical about 1950s high school life and love, 8 p.m. THE RITZ CHAMBER PLAYERS perform Feb. 17 at Beaches Feb. 12, 13 and 14 at 207/209 Cedar Museum & History Park. On Feb. 18, the ensemble performs St., Fernandina Beach, 261-6749, Tragedy Toward Peace at Main Library’s Hicks Auditorium. $20; $10 students; through February, ameliacommunitytheatre.org. WILD KRATTS LIVE! Based on the kid-friendly TV show; 1 and 4 p.m. Feb. 16 at A-TRAIN Four-time BET All-Star is on 7 p.m. Feb. 12 at Comedy The Florida Theatre, 128 E. Forsyth St., Downtown, 355-2787, Club of Jacksonville, 11000 Beach Blvd., $15, 646-4277, $20-$50, floridatheatre.com. jacksonvillecomedy.com. IMPRACTICAL JOKERS ERIK RIVERA Rivera, who’s been on Tonight Show with Jay Four comedians bring their hijinks to the stage, 8 p.m. Feb. Leno and Last Comic Standing, is on at 8:04 and 10:10 p.m. 12 at T-U Center’s Moran Theater, 633-6110, $35-$45, Feb. 13 and 14 at Comedy Club of Jacksonville, 11000 Beach ticketmaster.com. Blvd., $8-$15, 646-4277, jacksonvillecomedy.com. VALENTINE REVUE CARL STRONG Impressionist Strong blends song and True Love/Love Stinks, featuring songs, sketches and poetry comedy, 8 p.m. Feb. 11 and 12, 8 and 10 p.m. Feb. 13 and about “both sides of love,” 7:30 p.m. Feb. 14 at Amelia 6:30, 8:30 and 10:30 p.m. Feb. 14 at the Comedy Zone, 3130 Musical Playhouse, 1955 Island Walkway, Fernandina Beach, Hartley Rd., Mandarin, $15-$25, 292-4242, comedyzone.com. 277-3455, $15; $10 students, ameliamusicalplayhouse.com. VALENTINE’S DINNER & COMEDY SHOW A romantic dinner SWEET BIRD OF YOUTH and show package includes prime rib and crab leg buffet, a Tennessee Williams’ story is staged at 7:30 p.m. Feb. 12, 13 glass of champagne and performance by Carl Strong, 6:30 and 14 and 2 p.m. Feb. 15 at Limelight Theatre, 11 Old Mission and 8:30 p.m. Feb. 13 and 9 p.m. Feb. 14 at the Comedy Ave., St. Augustine, 825-1164, $15, limelight-theatre.org. Zone, $55, 292-4242, comedyzone.com. BOBBY HORTON: SONGS & STORIES OF THE CIVIL WAR BILLY RAY BAUER The comic veteran performs at 7:30 and Using period musical instruments, Horton presents music and 10 p.m. Feb. 13 and 7 and 10 p.m. Feb. 14 at Latitude 360, stories from the era, 7:30 p.m. Feb. 13 and 14 at Thrasher10370 Philips Hwy., Southside, 365-5555, latitude360.com. Horne Center for the Arts, 283 College Dr., Orange Park,
COMEDY
276-6750, $25, thcenter.org. A TOBY SHOW The comedy about a rube who wants to “right the wrongs” is staged at 8 p.m. Feb. 13 and 14 and 3 p.m. Feb. 15 at Orange Park Community Theatre, 2900 Moody Ave., 276-2599, $15, $10 students; through Feb. 22, opct.org. BUTTERFLIES ARE FREE Lisa Whelchel (The Facts of Life) stars in the Tony-winning comedy about a woman who befriends a blind neighbor. The production is accompanied by a themed menu created by Executive Chef DeJuan Roy; Feb. 18-March 22. Dinner 6 p.m., curtain 8 p.m. Tue.-Thur. and Sun. $49.95 plus tax; Fri. and Sat., $55 plus tax; brunch 11 a.m., show 1:15 p.m. Wed. and Sat. and brunch at noon, show 2 p.m. Sun., $47 plus tax; at Alhambra Theatre & Dining, 12000 Beach Blvd., Southside, 641-1212, alhambrajax.com.
CLASSICAL, CHOIR & JAZZ
ORCHESTRA CONCERTO SHOWCASE Dr. Simon Shiao conducts the student orchestra, 7:30 p.m. Feb. 11 at University of North Florida’s Robinson Theater, 620-2878, $10, unf.edu/coas/music/calendar. POPS IN LOVE Guest conductor Stuart Chafetz leads the Jacksonville Symphony Orchestra and vocalists Dee Donasco and John Cudia in a concert of romantic music, including hits from Phantom of the Opera, West Side Story and Gone With the Wind, 11 a.m. and 8 p.m. Feb. 13, 8 p.m. Feb. 14 and 3 p.m. Feb. 15 at Jacoby Hall, $16-$72, 354-3578, jaxsymphony.org. SOLO RECITAL AT JU Pianist Harsha Abeyaratne plays, 7:30 p.m. Feb. 13 at Jacksonville University’ Terry Concert Hall, 2800 University Blvd. N., Arlington, 256-7386, arts.ju.edu. AIJF BIG BAND BASH The 17-piece Les DeMerle Orchestra featuring Bonnie Eisele play a romantic-themed concert, 6:30 p.m. Feb. 14 at Omni Resorts Amelia Island Plantation, 39 Beach Lagoon Road, Fernandina Beach, $85 includes dinner; proceeds benefit Amelia Island Jazz Festival’s scholarship program, 504-4772, ameliaislandjazzfestival.com. JAZZ ON THE BRIDGE The fundraiser features jazz by Miles J. Davis, Marcus Johnson and Alyson Williams, open bar,
CALLS & WORKSHOPS
HISTORIC PRESERVATION AWARDS NOMINATIONS The Jacksonville Historic Preservation Commission requests nominations for its annual awards recognizing outstanding projects and services that promote area historic preservation. Categories include Heritage Education/Publication/Film, Archaeological/ Historic Landscape, Residential Rehabilitation, Commercial or Institutional Rehabilitation, Architecturally Compatible New Construction, Preservation Projects & Services by individuals or organizations and Great Save (honoring projects that save a historic building from demolition). Completed nomination forms with all the required support documents must be submitted by March 2. For forms and details, go to coj.net/preservationawards. ART & WINE SAMPLER The workshop, featuring beginner basics of art-making and wine sampling, is 3-6 p.m. Feb. 14 at The Cultural Center at Ponte Vedra Beach, 50 Executive Way, 280-0614, $35 fee includes art supplies and wine, ccvb.org. ACTING WORKSHOP AT ABET Atlantic Beach Experimental Theatre presents Dave Alan Thomas’ workshop, “An Actor Begins: Duet Scenes,” Feb. 15 and 22 and March 1 and 8 at Adele Grage Cultural Center, 716 Ocean Blvd., Atlantic Beach, 249-7177, $70-$80, register at abettheatre.com. FOUNDATION GRANTS The Community Foundation of Northeast Florida accepts submissions for Childcare Providers in Duval County grant (deadline Feb. 26), Art Ventures (May 15) and Dr. JoAnn Crisp-Ellert Fund (May 15); jaxcf.org. POSTER CONTEST Students ages 4-6, 7-8 and 9-12 may submit artwork for the Concert on the Green poster contest. The theme is “A Celebration of Symphonic in an Outdoor Setting.” Deadline is Feb. 27; concertonthegreen.com. ONE SPARK CREATOR REGISTRATION Creators registration is open. Fees are $95 through Feb. 14; onespark.com. JAX JAZZ FEST SEEKS ARTISTS A call for artists to submit samples of work and a statement for consideration for its 2015 poster; jaxjazzfest.com. CANDY-MAKING WORKSHOPS Sweet Pete’s offers weekly and monthly classes for all ages at 400 N. Hogan St.,
FEBRUARY 11-17, 2015 | FOLIOWEEKLY.com | 25
A&E // ARTS & EVENTS Downtown, 376-7161, sweetpetescandy.com.
ART MARKETS
COMMUNITY FARMERS & ARTS MARKET Homemade baked goods, preserves, local honey, crafts, sauces, yard art, handcrafted jewelry and more are featured 4-7 p.m. every Wed. at 4300 St. Johns Ave., Riverside/Avondale, 607-9935. DOWNTOWN FRIDAY MARKET Arts and crafts, local produce, 10 a.m.-2 p.m. every Fri. at The Jacksonville Landing, 2 Independent Dr., Downtown, 353-1188. WINTER ARTS MARKET Local and regional art, and a farmers market, 10 a.m.-1 p.m. every Sat. under Fuller Warren Bridge, 715 Riverside Ave., free admission, 389-2449, riversideartsmarket.com.
MUSEUMS
AMELIA ISLAND MUSEUM OF HISTORY 233 S. Third St., Fernandina Beach, 261-7378, ameliamuseum.org. The opening for the Willie Mae Ashley exhibit, Portraits of American Beach, is 2 p.m. Feb. 15. AMERICAN BEACH MUSEUM American Beach Community Center, 1600 Julia St., Fernandina Beach, 277-7960, nassaucountyfl.com/facilities. The Sands of Time: An American Beach Story, celebrating the beach and the life and activism of MaVynee Betsch, “The Beach Lady” is on display. CUMMER MUSEUM OF ART & GARDENS 829 Riverside Ave., 356-6857, cummer.org. The exhibit Rothko to Richter: Mark-Making in Abstract Painting from the Collection of Preston H. Haskell is on display through April 22. The exhibit 450 Years of French History in Florida is on display through Feb. 22. The exhibit All Together: The Sculpture of Chaim Gross is displayed through Oct. 4. The exhibit British Watercolors runs through Nov. 29. KARPELES MANUSCRIPT MUSEUM 101 W. First St., Springfield, 356-2992, rain.org/~karpeles/jaxfrm.html. The exhibit A Collection of Works: Exhibition in Oils by Leilani Leo is on display through Feb. 27. LIGHTNER MUSEUM 75 King St., St. Augustine, 824-2874, lightnermuseum.org. Curator-led monthly tours are featured at 10 a.m. every first Wed. Thirty paintings by 19th-century artist Felix F. de Crano are being shown through March 1. MUSEUM OF CONTEMPORARY ART JACKSONVILLE 333 N. Laura St., Downtown, 366-6911, mocajacksonville.com. The exhibit WHITE, featuring 11 20th-century and contemporary artists working with the color white, is on display through April 26. The exhibit Erica Mendoza: Visual Love Letters is on display through March. The exhibit Project Atrium: Angela Strassheim runs through March 1. John Hee Taek Chae, the featured artist in the sixth annual Barbara Ritzman Devereux Visiting Artist Workshop, displays work in MOCA’s UNF Gallery through April 26. MUSEUM OF SCIENCE & HISTORY 1025 Museum Circle, Southbank, 396-6674, themosh.org. The exhibit Odyssey’s SHIPWRECK! Pirates & Treasure is being shown through March. Skies Over Jacksonville, a detailed live star show, screens at 2 p.m. daily in the Planetarium. ST. JOHN’S CATHEDRAL 256 E. Church St., Downtown, 356-5507, jaxcathedral.org. Fabricio Farias’ installation Grace is on display.
GALLERIES
44 MONROE ART STUDIO & GALLERY 44 Monroe St., Downtown, 881-0209. The exhibit Look & Sea, featuring work by Dana Hood and Jerri Roszak, runs through February. ALEXANDER BREST GALLERY Jacksonville University, 2800 N. University Blvd., Arlington, 256-7371. The exhibit Encumbered, featuring works by Karen Kurycki and Shelley Sloan Ellis, is on display through Feb. 11. ANASTASIA BOOKS 81C King St., St. Augustine, 824-8460. Kenneth Barrett’s exhibit Time Frames is currently on display. ARCHWAY GALLERY AND FRAMING 363 Atlantic Blvd., Atlantic Beach, 249-2222. Works by Vicki Lennon are on display through February. THE ART CENTER II 229 N. Hogan St., Jacksonville, 355-1757. The exhibit Shadows and Light is on display through March 9. BUTTERFIELD GARAGE ART GALLERY 137 King St., St. Augustine, 825-4577. An exhibit of new works by painter Tanya Englehard and sculptor Bruce Carr is on display through March 3. CRISP-ELLERT ART MUSEUM 48 Sevilla St., St. Augustine, 826-8530, flagler.edu/crispellert. The exhibit Re-Riding History: From the Southern Plains to Matanzas Bay is on display through February. A daylong Re-Riding symposium, featuring nine Native American artists and curators, starts at 10 a.m. Feb. 12 at Flagler College’s Virginia Room, Ringhaver Student Center, 50 Sevilla St.; reridinghistory.org. THE CULTURAL CENTER AT PONTE VEDRA BEACH 50 Executive Way, 280-0614, ccvb.org. Legendary pop artist Peter Max appers at meet-and-greets 4-7 p.m. Feb. 14 and 1-4 p.m. Feb. 15. FIRST STREET GALLERY 216-B First St., Neptune Beach, 241-6928. The Mermaid Show is on display through April 1. FLORIDA MINING GALLERY 5300 Shad Rd., Southside, 535-7252. Water Appears and Disappears, featuring works by multidisciplinary artist Geoff Mitchell, runs through February. PLUM GALLERY 10 Aviles St., St. Augustine, 825-0069. An exhibit of new works by Gary Borse, Eileen Corse and Rosamond Parrish displays through February. RITZ THEATRE & MUSEUM 829 N. Davis St., Downtown, 6325555, ritzjacksonville.com. Through Our Eyes 2015: Wouldn’t Take Nothing for My Journey (Artistic Revolution), featuring the work of 20 local African-American artists, is on display through July. The permanent exhibit celebrates Northeast
26 | FOLIOWEEKLY.com | FEBRUARY 11-17, 2015
Florida African-America heritage through the stories of James Weldon and John Rosamond Johnson, Eartha M.M. White and photographs of Ed Weems. SHAFFER GALLERY 35 San Marco Ave., St. Augustine, 806-8858. Mary St. Germain’s works on display through February. SOUTH GALLERY FSCJ’s South Campus, 11901 Beach Blvd., Southside, 646-2023. MetaVisual: The Graphic Art of Jim Harrison displays through Feb. 17. SOUTHLIGHT GALLERY 201 N. Hogan St., Ste. 100, Downtown, 438-4358, southlightgallery.com. Sara Pedigo is the featured artist through March 4. Picturing Italy II, featuring works by the 2014 UNF Department of Art & Design Study Abroad Program, is featured through February. STELLERS GALLERY AT SAN MARCO 1409 Atlantic Blvd., 396-9492. Painter Megan Cosby’s works are displayed. ST. AUGUSTINE ART ASSOCIATION 22 Marine St., St. Augustine, 824-2310, staaa.org. The exhibit Figures and Faces is on display through March 1. ST. AUGUSTINE VISITOR INFORMATION CENTER 10 W. Castillo Dr., 825-1000, staugustine-450.com. The First Coast Through the Eyes of Masters features St. Augustine-themed works by 19th and early 20th century painters. THRASHER-HORNE CENTER FOR THE ARTS 283 College Dr., Orange Park, 276-6815, thcenter.org. Photographic tribute The American Solider: From the Civil War to the War in Iraq runs through Feb. 14. UNIVERSITY OF NORTH FLORIDA GALLERY 1 UNF Drive, Southside, 620-2534. Art + Design Student Juried Annual Exhibition is on display through Feb. 27.
EVENTS
LGBT WEDDING EXPO This inaugural LGBT wedding expo, featuring 50 LGBT-friendly exhibitors offering wedding preparation items and services, is noon-4 p.m. Feb. 15 at Crowne Plaza Riverfront, 1201 Riverplace Blvd., Southbank, 638-9044, mygayjacksonville.com. CITY COUNCIL CANDIDATE FORUM Beaches area voters meet and question Democratic Party candidates seeking five at-large City Council seats – Kimberly Daniels, incumbent Group 1; John Crescimbeni, incumbent Group 2; Tommy Hazouri and Mincy Pollock, Group 3; Juanita Powell-Williams, Group 4; and Ju’Coby Pittman, Group 5. Terry Reed, seeking the Group 1 seat, will have a representative speak on his behalf – 6:30 p.m. Feb. 17 at Beaches Library, 600 Third St., Neptune Beach, free, 249-2468. ROCSTART ROCKABILLY PROM The ’50s-themed event, features live music by Go Get Gone, full bar, closed bid art auction, services and prom photography, 7 p.m. Feb. 14 at Southside Women’s Club, 2560 Club Terrace, 861-7075, 861-5107, $55 includes two cocktails, hors d’oeuvres; 1950s attire encouraged; proceeds support for local oral cancer patients and survivors, rockabillypromjax.eventbrite.com. RETHREADED CELEBRATION The fourth annual Mukti Fundraiser Celebration features celebrity poetry readings by Delores Barr-Weaver and Melissa Ross, cocktails and food, 6:30-11 p.m. Feb. 14 at 220 Riverside Ave.; proceeds benefit Rethreaded’s programs that help break the cycle of the local and international sex trade while providing work opportunities for survivors, 438-8109, $50-$62.50, eventbrite.com. MOTORCYCLE SWAP MEET Motorcycle stuff, live music and food are featured 9 a.m.-4 p.m. on Feb. 15 at St. Augustine Flea Market, 2495 S.R. 207, 824-4210. The meet is held every third Sun. of the month. staugustinefleamarket.com. FLIGHT TO FREEDOM Volunteer historical reenactors from Florida Living History present the retelling of the saga of travellers fleeing the English slavery of the Carolinas and Georgia to freedom in Spanish Florida, 10 a.m.-3 p.m. Feb. 14 at Fort Mose Historic State Park, 15 Fort Mose Trail, St. Augustine, 877-352-4478, floridalivinghistory.org. BAG LADY LUNCHEON FUNDRAISER The Friends of the Arts Bag Lady Luncheon, featuring a silent auction, is 10:45 a.m. Feb. 18 at Beach Club at Sawgrass, 10034 Golf Club Dr., Ponte Vedra, $40, 280-0614, ccpvb.com. BIKER NIGHT Motorcycles and live music by Spanky, 6-10 p.m. Feb. 12 at The Jacksonville Landing, 2 Independent Dr., Downtown, 353-1188. BOOK SIGNING Author Brooke Stephens signs and discusses her book Men We Cherish, featuring 30 stories by AfricanAmerican women, 3 p.m. Feb. 14 at Main Library, 303 N. Laura St., Downtown, 630-4655, jaxpubliclibrary.org. AMELIA RIVER CRUISES Tours of Cumberland Island and Beach Creek are held Mon.-Sat. from Amelia River Cruises, 1 N. Front St., Fernandina Beach, 261-9972; for scheduling and fees, go to ameliarivercruises.com. BRIDGE IN A DAY An introductory program covers bridge basics 9:30 a.m.-3:30 p.m. Feb. 28 at Jacksonville School of Bridge, 3353 Washburn Rd., Intracoastal West, 859-8381, LBIAD@gmail.com. GARDENING TIPS Experts from UF Duval County Extension Services discuss springtime garden and plant care, 6 p.m. Feb. 12 at West Regional Library, 1425 Chaffee Rd., Westside, 693-1448, jaxpubliclibrary.org. YPO AT LIGHTNER The Young Professionals Organization of St. Augustine holds a mixer for ages 21-39, featuring live music, cocktails and food, 6-8 p.m. Feb. 12 at the Lightner Museum, 75 King St., 824-2874, visitlightner@bellsouth.net. ORANGE PARK RUMMAGE SALE Orange Park Junior High Student Council holds its annual rummage sale, 8 a.m.-noon Feb. 14 at 1500 Gano Ave. Donations – household items, movies, books, gently used clothing – can be dropped off from 7:30 a.m.-3 p.m. at the school’s front office or by appointment. Proceeds benefit student council; unsold items donated to Haven Hospice, 278-2000.
A&E // MUSIC
HANDFULS OF KEYS Two jazz piano icons swing through the River City
T
he jazz industry’s relationship with Obama at the White House. Jacksonville goes back nearly a century, No other jazzman of his generation has maybe more. Some of the earliest black had such total crossover appeal, except maybe territory bands working the Deep South were Wynton Marsalis. Both were child prodigies passing through here years before the first jazz who emerged from New Orleans in the early records had even been made; that was around ’70s before bum-rushing a New York City 1917. Swing bands ranging from Cab Calloway’s scene that thought that NOLA style was dead to Dizzy Gillespie’s played here during the ’30s and buried — nope. Both waxed classics for and ’40s, and of course the Jacksonville Jazz Columbia Records; both are currently touring Festival has hosted at least 100 hall-of-famers in with big bands. (Connick actually made three its epic four-decade run. albums for a label run by Branford Marsalis, As the saying goes, the more things change, who, at one point, did A&R for Columbia. the more they stay the same — that’s certainly Small world!) Harry Connick Sr. was the district true for jazz, which has weathered commercial attorney of New Orleans for 30 years, and his and critical storms for 40 years, withstanding wife Anita was a pioneering female judge in that the loss of so many legends and would-be city; and now, their talented son is also a judge legends, holding fast against seismic changes in — on American Idol. the music business, the rise of On Feb. 20, The Florida new genres and sub-genres, Theatre hosts Marcus HARRY CONNICK JR. a relentless wave of change Roberts, a man many 7 p.m. Feb. 15 at Times-Union that some observers thought consider the greatest Center for the Performing Arts’ had already rendered jazz musician this city has ever Moran Theater, Downtown, irrelevant. Some still believe produced. He, too, was a $44-$124, ticketmaster.com that today. Yet here we are, prodigy, as documented last in 2015, and some of the year on 60 Minutes by — of MARCUS ROBERTS TRIO best jazz music of the past course! — Wynton Marsalis, 8 p.m. Feb. 20 at 40 years has been made in who put the kid over in New The Florida Theatre, the last five, often by people York City 30 years ago and 128 E. Forsyth St., Downtown, in their 20s and early 30s. now calls him “the greatest $25-$55, floridatheatre.com The New York City scene American musician most has undergone a creative people have never heard of.” renaissance that has, in turn, reinvigorated the Roberts won the inaugural Great American Jazz global market, and the effects can be felt right Piano Competition at the 1983 Jax Jazz Fest. here in Northeast Florida. Roberts tours in support of his 2014 album The jazz scene in Jacksonville is doing as well Romance, Swing and the Blues, his 24th as a as the local music scene in general — which is leader, recorded with his own big band, the to say, fantastic, as readers of this publication Modern Jazz Generation. That group features already know. Jacksonville has a good dozen his regular trio (with Rodney Jordan on bass live music venues that are ideally suited for and Jason Marsalis on drums) augmented by 10 jazz music, from perspectives both aesthetic of the genre’s rising talents, including trumpeter and auditory. Those venues have hosted a lot of Tim Blackmon, saxophonist Ricardo Pascal, really good shows in recent years. The month baritone saxophonist Tissa Khosla, Jacksonville of February presents a special opportunity for University’s own Corey Wilcox on trombone, the cognoscenti and the casual fan, as two of the as well as Marcus Printup on trumpet. It’s a very best ever in the business swing through The perfect example of giving back to the business, River City within a week of each other. a jazz tradition, and traditionalism is his stock Savvy couples should extend their Valentine’s in trade. Day festivities through the weekend, capping Roberts and Connick are two very different off with Harry Connick Jr. at the T-U Center on pianists linked not only by common allies, but Feb. 15. Connick sports one of the most wellby a common legacy: Each has played his own unique and specific role in helping take jazz rounded résumés in all of show business: three music into the 21st century. Both first-ballot Grammys and 11 nominations; 30 albums and hall-of-famers, men who don’t just draw critical eight concert DVDs; 20-plus appearances (in dramatic and comedic roles) on non-musical TV acclaim — they draw money, and in so doing, help confirm the commercial viability of jazz shows, ranging from Will & Grace and Cheers music in an increasingly diffuse and diversified to Law & Order: SVU and This Old House; five market. With stacked itineraries for the year, and TV specials for three networks; 22 movies (Hope ticket prices running into the hundreds in some Floats and Copycat come to mind) and three cases, clearly they’re doing something right. Broadway musicals. He’s sung our national anthem at the Super Bowl, World Series and Shelton Hull Daytona 500; he even performed for Michelle mail@folioweekly.com FEBRUARY 11-17, 2015 | FOLIOWEEKLY.com | 27
A&E // MUSIC
DEATH FROM ABOVE P
Orlando’s Golden Pelicans fly way above their punk rock peers
erhaps you remember Golden Pelicans from their Halloween show last year at rain dogs. where they performed a set covering AC/DC’s album Powerage in its entirety. Or maybe you’ve been to one of the band’s other previous Jacksonville shows — mostly at Shantytown Pub. Formed in the fall of 2011 in Orlando, Golden Pelicans is a punk quartet featuring drummer Rich Evans, guitarist Scott Barnes, bassist Sammy Meneses and singer Erik Grincewicz. The band describes their sound as “loud, abrasive rock and roll,” with tunes highly influenced by the day-to-day occurrences in the Orlando punk scene. On the band’s Facebook page, they lay claim to the title of “Orlando’s oldest pile of trash.” “We’re old and we smell like garbage,” Evans elaborates.
While savvy to the current punk scene, instead of the whiplash-speed of hardcore or melodic, anthemic sing-alongs, Golden Pelicans exude a more measured and lurching style of musical menace. Songs like “Two Feathers” and “Burn Everything” come across like the deranged descendants of the buzzsawriffage and snarling vocals of late-’70s U.S. bands like The Pagans, The Controllers and The Dead Boys. And fans are digging Golden Pelican’s sonic assault. “Our LP sold out in about a month’s time,” Evans says of the 12-inch vinyl run, which was limited to 500 copies. “We got a lot of good reviews and made quite a few end-of-year lists. [Our album’s] repress is coming out this March and we are recording a follow-up at the end of February.”
“We had an old band called Slippery Music critic Evan Minsker, who covers new Slopes,” Evans says of the group’s genesis. garage releases for Pitchfork’s “Shake Appeal” “Our guitarist quit and we had Scott fill in for column, called “Burn Everything” an “absolute our last show. It went well, so we decided to shredder,” advising, “Go ahead and skip to keep playing under a new the 1:10 mark and listen to that name.” The band’s updated guitar solo ... actually, nah, start GOLDEN PELICANS, appellation pays tribute to a at the beginning, otherwise you’ll NUTRITIONAL BEAST, fittingly scuzzy source. miss the build-up and the part ELECTRIC WATER & “The [new] name is a where they talk about watching THE SUPER SUPER reference to a ’60s garage you burn everything you own FUNKY FUNK, SALYUT 2 because you’ve got to move on song called ‘Rat’s Revenge 9 p.m. Feb. 13 at rain dogs, Part I/Part II.’ It’s the sole 45 past the depressing stuff.” 1045 Park St., Riverside, from a group called The Rats. And styrofoamdrone.com, 379-4969, $7 The song is about a gang which focuses on underground called The Rats and their vinyl albums, gave the band’s rivals The Golden Pelicans.” debut LP big props, praising For the past few years, the guys have been Golden Pelicans’ powers at delivering “blistering gigging hard — playing music festivals like punk in the most pissed-off way possible.” Atlanta Mess-Around, Meltasia in North Though all of the guys have day jobs, Evans Georgia, Gonerfest in Memphis, Total Punk says that finding time to tour isn’t difficult. Total F*ck Off in Orlando and New Orleans’ Vocalist Grincewicz is an elementary school Pelican Pow Wow. This summer, the group teacher with a lot of vacation time, and the kicks off a two-week tour at Get Lost Fest in other three work odd jobs, giving them the Hamburg, Germany. flexibility they need. This Friday, though, Golden Pelicans return “For local shows, it’s usually just kind of to rain dogs. for a show with St. Augustine thrown together,” Evans says of forming a set punks Nutritional Beast and Jacksonville’s list for shows. “For tour, though, we usually Electric Water & The Super Super Funky Funk try to build a set list in the weeks preceding, and Salyut 2. so we can have it tight by the time we hit the Golden Pelicans also have a bunch of road. Sometimes on the road you get pretty recorded tunes under their belts. In 2014, exhausted, but some Jäger always seems to do the band released a string of singles and their the trick.” first LP, S/T (also called self-titled or just Kara Pound Golden Pelicans). mail@folioweekly.com 28 | FOLIOWEEKLY.com | FEBRUARY 11-17, 2015
Volatile Valentine’s Day: Baltimore-based HC punks TURNSTILE (pictured) perform with SUPERHEAVEN, FIRE & ICE and FREEDOM on Feb. 14 at 1904 Music Hall.
LIVE + LOCAL MUSIC CONCERTS THIS WEEK
SPADE McQUADE 6 p.m. Feb. 11 at Fionn MacCool’s Irish Pub, Jacksonville Landing, Ste. 176, Downtown, 374-1247. NEIL DIXON 7 p.m. Feb. 11 at Ragtime Tavern, 207 Atlantic Blvd., Atlantic Beach, 241-7877. THE WAILERS, 418 BAND 7 p.m. Feb. 11, at Ponte Vedra Concert Hall, 1050 A1A N., 209-0399, $28 (SRO). COYOTE UNION, THIS FRONTIER NEEDS HEROES, SPIRAL BOUND, THE SEA THE SEA 8 p.m. Feb. 11 at Jack Rabbits, 1528 Hendricks Ave., San Marco, 398-7496$8. DENNY BLUE 6 p.m. Feb. 11 and 18 at Paula’s Beachside Grill, 6896 A1A S., Crescent Beach, 471-3463. KIRSTIE LOVELADY, THEM DIRTY ROSES, PRESTON SUMMERVILLE 6 p.m. Feb. 12 at Mavericks at The Landing, 2 Independent Dr., Downtown, 356-1110, $10. FISH OUT OF H20 7 p.m. Feb. 12, Ragtime Tavern. JON SHAIN, RUPERT WATES 7:30 p.m. Feb. 12 at Mudville Music Room, 3104 Atlantic Blvd., San Marco, 352-7008, $10. BE EASY 7:30 p.m. Feb. 12 and 8:30 p.m. Feb. 14 at Latitude 360, 10370 Philips Hwy., Southside, 365-5555. ANA POPVIC, THE YANKEE SLICKERS 8 p.m. Feb. 12, Ponte Vedra Concert Hall, advance tickets $29; $30 day of show. GENEVIEVE, RUSTY SHINE, RAMONA QUIMBY 8 p.m. Feb. 12, Jack Rabbits, $10. ANVIL, LORD DYING, SUNLORD 8 p.m. Feb. 12 at Freebird Live, 200 N. First St., Jax Beach, 246-2473, advance tickets $15; $20 day of show. CARINA POINT 8 p.m. Feb. 12 at Underbelly, 113 E. Bay St., Downtown, $4, underbellylive.com. THE CONTORTIONIST, REVOCATION, FALLUJAH, TOOTHGRINDER 6 p.m. Feb. 13 at 1904 Music Hall, 19 Ocean St., Downtown, $14. SEAN DANIELSEN (SMILE EMPTY SOUL) 7 p.m. Feb. 13, Underbelly, $10. SAVANNA LEIGH BASSETT 8 p.m. Feb. 13 at Fionn MacCool’s Irish Pub, Downtown. DARRELL RAE 7:30 p.m. Feb. 13, Latitude 360. WAKE THE SUN, PRIMITIVE HARD DRIVE, FINBAR, DETACHED 8 p.m. Feb. 13, Jack Rabbits, $8. MINDSLIP, GENERATOR, JUST LIKE HEAVEN 8 p.m. Feb. 13, Freebird Live, $8. CHERRY POPPIN’ DADDIES Salute the Music of the Rat Pack 8 p.m. Feb. 13, Ponte Vedra Concert Hall, advance tickets $27; $30 day of show (SRO). GOLDEN PELICANS, NUTRITIONAL BEAST, ELECTRIC WATER & THE SUPER SUPER FUNKY FUNK, SALYUT 2 9 p.m. Feb. 13 at rain dogs, 1045 Park St., Riverside, 379-4969, $7 PAUL LUNDGREN 10 p.m. Feb. 13 & 14, Ragtime Tavern. RESIGNATED 10 p.m. Feb. 13 & 14 at Lynch’s Irish Pub, 541 First St. N., Jax Beach, 249-5181. ROCstart Rockabilly Prom: GO GET GONE 7 p.m. Feb. 14 at Southside Women’s Club, 2560 Club Terrace, 861-7075, 8615107, $55; $100 for couples; price includes two cocktails, hors d’oeuvres, rockabillypromjax.eventbrite.com. TURNSTILE, SUPERHEAVEN, FIRE & ICE, FREEDOM 7 p.m. Feb. 14, 1904 Music Hall, $13. SAMUEL SANDERS DUO 7 p.m. Feb. 14, Latitude 360. BLASTED TOWER, OMNIPRESENT 7:30 p.m. Feb. 14 at Murray Hill Theatre, 932 Edgewood Ave. S., 388-7807, $10-$12. A VERY BILL MANSPEAKER VALENTINE’S EXTRAVAGANZA 8 p.m. Feb. 14, Underbelly, $10-$12. Love Your Country: MUDTOWN, SNAKE BLOOD REMEDY,
COUGAR BARREL, JACKIE STRANGER 8 p.m. Feb. 14, rain dogs, $7. HIGHER GROUND 8 p.m. Feb. 14, Freebird Live, $8. CONNOR HICKEY, RICK GRICE, RICK KENNEDY, ADRIAN KENNEDY 8 p.m. Feb. 14, Jack Rabbits, $5. DIANA ROSS 8 p.m. Feb. 14, Florida Theatre, $70.50-$126. YONDER MOUNTAIN STRING BAND, HORSE FEATHERS 7 p.m. Feb. 15, Freebird Live, $25. HARRY CONNICK JR. 7 p.m. Feb. 15 at T-U Center’s Moran Theater, 300 W. Water St., Downtown, 633-6100, $44-$124. MID-LIFE CRISIS 7 p.m. Feb. 15, Ragtime Tavern. MURIEL ANDERSON 7:30 p.m. Feb. 15, Mudville Music Room, $10. JORDAN DAVIS DAY: CUBA GOODING SR. (Main Ingredient), CHARLI BALTIMORE, BLUFF CITY, CROWN, B. DEVINE Noon Feb. 16, Jacksonville Landing. DADS, RUNAWAY BROTHER, ON GUARD 7 p.m. Feb. 16, Jack Rabbits, $10. CARL & THE BLACK LUNGS 10 p.m. Feb. 13 & 14 at Flying Iguana, 207 Atlantic Blvd., Neptune Beach, 853-5680. BAY STREET 7 p.m. Feb. 17, Ragtime Tavern. SOJA, THE GREEN, LEILANI WOLFGRAMM 7:30 p.m. Feb. 17, P.V. Concert Hall, $29.50 advance; $35 day of show (SRO) BRIDGING THE MUSIC SHOWCASE 7 p.m. Feb. 18, 1904 Music Hall, $13. BILLY BOWERS 7 p.m. Feb. 18, Ragtime Tavern. SWEAR AND SHAKE, SEA FLOOR EXPLOSIVES 8 p.m. Feb. 18, Jack Rabbits, $10.
UPCOMING CONCERTS
Palatka Bluegrass Festival: DAILEY & VINCENT, RHONDA VINCENT, DOYLE LAWSON & QUICKSILVER, RUSSELL MOORE & IIIRD TYME OUT, SPINNEY BROTHERS, ALAN SIBLEY & THE MAGNOLIA RAMBLERS, BOXCARS, JIMMY FORTUNE, DRY BRANCH FIRE SQUAD, GRASCALS, GIBSON BROTHERS, MARTY RAYBON & FULL CIRCLE, LITTLE ROY & LIZZY Feb. 19-21, Rodeheaver Boys Ranch JASON MRAZ Feb. 19, Times-Union Center’s Moran Theater PLASTIC CUP BOYZ Feb. 19, Ritz Theatre THE SPLINTERS Feb. 19, Ragtime Tavern HANS YORK Feb. 19, Mudville Music Room NORTH MISSISSIPPI ALLSTARS, ANDERS OSBORNE Feb. 19, Ponte Vedra Concert Hall FULL SERVICE, ROOT OF ALL Feb. 19, Café Eleven JOHN HAMMOND, WILLIE GREEN, RICK LEVY Feb. 20, Ponte Vedra Concert Hall BOOGIE FREAKS Feb. 20 & 21, Ragtime Tavern NEW KINGSTON, THROUGH THE ROOTS Feb. 20, Jack Rabbits MARCUS ROBERTS TRIO Feb. 20, The Florida Theatre SOMMORE, TONY ROCK, GARY OWEN, HUGGY LOWDOWN Feb. 20, Times-Union Center DALTON STANLEY BAND Feb. 20 & 21, Lynch’s Irish Pub REBIRTH BRASS BAND Feb. 20, Ritz Theatre MICHAEL FRANTI, ETHAN TUCKER Feb. 20, Freebird Live GURF MORLIX Feb. 20, Mudville Music Room DENNIS DeYOUNG & Music of Styx Feb. 21, Florida Theatre BLOWFLY, TWINKI, TOUGH JUNKIE Feb. 21, Burro Bar HEADBANG FOR THE HIGHWAY Feb. 21, 1904 Music Hall DANCING WITH GHOSTS, RADAR VS. WOLF Feb. 21, Jack Rabbits AL DI MEOLA Feb. 21, Ponte Vedra Concert Hall LUCERO, RYAN BINGHAM, TWIN FORKS Feb. 21, Freebird Live MAGIC MIKE MALE REVUE Feb. 21, Mavericks
ANCIENT DEEP, ROCKS N BLUNTS, $BIG BUCKS CREW$, VLAD THE INHALER, MATT CAULDER Feb. 22, 1904 Music Hall R.L. GRIME, DJEMBA DJEMBA, TOMMY KRUISE, SIR CHARLES Feb. 22, Freebird Live MAGIC!, SIDEREAL Feb. 22, Ponte Vedra Concert Hall PLAN B Feb. 22, Ragtime Tavern AMBER Feb. 22, Hamburger Mary’s THE BUNNY THE BEAR, ROSEDALE Feb. 22, Jack Rabbits MASTERS OF ILLUSION Feb. 22, The Florida Theatre JACKSON BROWNE Feb. 23, The Florida Theatre PVRIS Feb. 23, 1904 Music Hall THE NORTHERNERS, MASTER RADICAL Feb. 23, Jack Rabbits MOD SUN, HUEY MACK, BLACKBEAR, KR, KARIZMA, DJ GNASH Feb. 24, Jack Rabbits KURT LANHAM Feb. 25, Ragtime Tavern THE EXPENDABLES, BALLYHOO Feb. 25, Freebird Live TOMBOI, BOYFRIEND Feb. 25, 1904 Music Hall THE MIDTOWN MEN Feb. 25, The Florida Theatre CHRIS CAGLE Feb. 26, Mavericks LEO KOTTKE Feb. 26, Ponte Vedra Concert Hall SHPONGLE, PHUTUREPRIMITIVE Feb. 26, Freebird Live CAM MEEKINS Feb. 26, Jack Rabbits CHRISTOPHER DEAN BAND Feb. 26, Ragtime Tavern WANDA SYKES Feb. 26, The Florida Theatre THE DOOBIE BROTHERS, MARSHALL TUCKER BAND Feb. 27, St. Augustine Amphitheatre TAB SPENCER Feb. 27, Burro Bar CHILLULA Feb. 27, Lynch’s Irish Pub BIG SANDY & HIS FLY-RITE BOYS, DIRT FLOOR KRACKERS Feb. 27, Jack Rabbits CLOUD 9 Feb. 27 & 28, Ragtime Tavern 20th annual Scottish Games & Festival: CLEGHORN, MOTHER GROVE, PICTUS, RON DAVIS Feb. 28, Clay County Fairgrounds Great Atlantic Festival: SHANE DWIGHT, CORBITT BROTHERS, MISSISSIPPI HEAT, GRACE & TONY Feb. 28, SeaWalk Pavilion ’68, THE AMITY AFFLICTION Feb. 28, Underbelly KOTA MUNDI Feb. 28, Lynch’s Irish Pub THE BASTARD SUNS Feb. 28, Jack Rabbits DENDERA BLOODBATH, WOVEN IN, DAGGER BEACH Feb. 28, Burro Bar Folio Weekly Grand Opening: AUSTIN PARK Feb. 28, Club Retro Music for Meows: GRANDPA’S COUGH MEDICINE, PHILIP PAN, DIXIE RODEO, BLUE VERONICA, ROCK HELL VICTORY, JOEL LAND March 1, Jack Rabbits MONKEY WRENCH March 1, Ragtime Tavern K. MICHELLE March 1, The Florida Theatre STRINGFEVER March 5, Café Eleven LORETTA LYNN March 5, The Florida Theatre MOPE GROOVES March 5, Shantytown Pub CRAIG MORGAN March 5, Mavericks Aura Music & Arts Festival: MOE, THE DISCO BISCUITS, PAPADOSIO, SNARKY PUPPY, THE MAIN SQUEEZE, PIGEONS PLAYING PING PONG, McLOVINS, GHOST OWL March 6-8, Spirit of the Suwannee Music Park FRONT PORCH STEP, HAVE MERCY, ALCOA, BRIGADES, HEAD NORTH March 6, 1904 Music Hall NIGHT FEVER (Bee Gees Tribute) March 7, Thrasher-Horne Center STRANGER March 6 & 7, Lynch’s Irish Pub Great Guitar Gathering: MARTIN TAYLOR, RICHARD SMITH March 7, The Florida Theatre TANNAHILL WEAVERS March 7, Mudville Music Room SOUTHERN CULTURE ON THE SKIDS, THE WOOLLY
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LIVE + LOCAL MUSIC BUSHMEN, RIVERNECKS March 8, Colonial Quarter KALIN & MYLES March 8, Jack Rabbits DAN & SHAY, CANAAN SMITH March 8, Freebird Live AVA MENDOZA March 9, rain dogs THREE DOG NIGHT March 10, The Florida Theatre GIN BLOSSOMS March 11, Mavericks REV. PEYTON’S BIG DAMN BAND March 10, Jack Rabbits JOURNEY, STEVE MILLER BAND, TOWER OF POWER March 12, Veterans Memorial Arena FULLSET March 12, Mudville Music Room LA LUZ, THE SHIVAS, WET NURSE March 13, Colonial Quarter St. Augustine Celtic Music & Heritage Festival: ALBANNACH, DUBLIN CITY RAMBLERS, RATHKELTAIR, SEARSON, WHISKEY OF THE DAMNED, POOR ANGUS, MAKEM & SPAIN, IRISH ECHOES March 13-15, St. Francis Field YAMADEO March 13 & 14, Lynch’s Irish Pub Swingtime: THE JIVE ACES, THE TINSELTOWN JITTERBUGS March 13, Thrasher-Horne Center for the Arts ELVIS COSTELLO March 14, The Florida Theatre ELTON JOHN March 14, Veterans Memorial Arena COREY SMITH March 14, Mavericks DEON COLE March 14, Ritz Theatre JOHN MELLENCAMP March 15, Times-Union Center Natural Life Music Fest: THE HOWLIN’ BROTHERS, MANDOLIN ORANGE, TALL TALL TREES, JUDAH & THE LION, HORSE FEATHERS March 15, Metropolitan Park MASON JENNINGS March 15, Ponte Vedra Concert Hall DUBLIN CITY RAMBLERS March 16, Culhane’s Irish Pub BALANCE & COMPOSURE, CIRCA SURVIVE March 17, Underbelly Suwannee Spring Fest: WOOD BROTHERS, SHOVELS AND ROPE, INFAMOUS STRINGDUSTERS, KELLER WILLIAMS & TRAVELIN’ McCOURYS, BLIND BOYS of ALABAMA, THE LARRY KEEL EXPERIENCE, DONNA the BUFFALO, JOE CRAVEN, JIM LAUDERDALE March 19, Spirit of the Suwannee SUICIDE SILENCE, EMMURE, WITHIN THE RUINS, FIT FOR AN AUTOPSY March 19, Freebird Live BUCKWHEAT ZYDECO March 19, Colonial Quarter CYRUS CHESTNUT March 20, Ritz Theatre THE B-52s March 21, The Florida Theatre MAVIS STAPLES March 21, Ritz Theatre JACKIE EVANCHO March 22, The Florida Theatre RECORD FAIR March 22, St. Augustine Amphitheatre AGNOSTIC FRONT, COLDSIDE March 22, Burro Bar FRNKIERO & THE CELLABRATION, HOMELESS GOSPEL CHOIR, MODERN CHEMISTRY March 24, Jack Rabbits GET THE LED OUT March 24, The Florida Theatre ATMOSPHERE March 24, Freebird Live
Reggae greats THE WAILERS (pictured) perform on Feb. 11 at Ponte Vedra Concert Hall). SARAH McLACHLAN March 25, Ponte Vedra Concert Hall NICKELBACK March 25, Veterans Memorial Arena THE ORIGINAL WAILERS March 25, Café Eleven TOM PAPA March 26, Ponte Vedra Concert Hall ERIC CHURCH March 26, Veterans Memorial Arena MANATEES, THE MOLD, NUTRITIONAL BEAST March 26, rain dogs THIRD DAY, BRANDON HEATH March 26, St. Aug. Amphitheatre THE AUSTRALIAN BEE GEES March 26, The Florida Theatre SPRAY PAINT, SALYUT March 27, rain dogs WILLIE SUGARCAPPS, SETH WALKER March 27, Colonial Quarter THE TONY G-5, TIM DAVIS March 27, The Florida Theatre Slide into Spring Music & Craft Beer Fest: THE WAILERS, TRAE PIERCE & T-STONE BAND, MATISYAHU, RAILROAD EARTH, TURKUAZ, SUPERVILLAINS, THE FRITZ, SPIRITUAL REZ, CORBITT BROTHERS March 28 & 29, Main Beach, Fernandina BILL ORCUTT March 29, Sun-Ray Cinema BRONX WANDERERS March 29, The Florida Theatre COBALT CRANES March 29, rain dogs GUNS OUT AT SUNDOWN March 30, Jack Rabbits KNOCKED LOOSE, NO ZODIAC, April 1, Jack Rabbits LYNYRD SKYNYRD April 2 & 3, The Florida Theatre 1964: Tribute to The Beatles April 3, St. Augustine Amphitheatre BASEBALL PROJECT, CHUCK PROPHET April 3, Colonial Quarter SouthEast Beast Fest: NEW FOUND GLORY, CAPSIZE, COUNTERPARTS, H20, CITIZEN, DEFEATER, TURNSTILE, THIS WILD LIFE, CRIME IN STEREO, FIREWORKS, GIDEON, A LOSS FOR WORDS, THE ORPHAN, THE POET, ARTIFEX PEREO, BAD LUCK, BOYS NO GOOD, VILLAINS, XERXES, LIFE of AGONY, BIOHAZARD, WISDOM in CHAINS, EARTH CRISIS, THE BANNER, ROTTING OUT, TRUE LOVE April 4 & 5, Aqua Nightclub PIECES OF DREAM April 4, Ritz Theatre DELLA MAE April 4, Colonial Quarter THE STEEP CANYON RANGERS April 8, P.V. Concert Hall One Spark After Dark: CANARY IN THE COALMINE, THIS FRONTIER NEEDS HEROES, HA HA TONKA, DJ LIL’ BOY, ON GUARD, EMPIRE THEORY, SUNBEARS!, WILDER SONS, DOMINO EFFECT, SOMEBODY ELSE, GOLD LIGHT, SLEEPWALKERS, KOPECKY FAMILY BAND April 8-10, Jax Chamber Parking Lot JANIS IAN, TOM PAXTON April 9, Ponte Vedra Concert Hall Stringbreak Music Fest: STEEP CANYON RANGERS, WILLIE SUGARCAPPS, THE RAGBIRDS, HAVE GUN WILL TRAVEL, GATORBONE, BRIAN SUTHERLAND BAND, 8 BALL AITKEN, GRANT PEEPLES, GRANDPA’S COUGH MEDICINE, THE LAGERHEADS April 9-12, Sertoma Youth Ranch, Brooksville THE MAVERICKS April 10, The Florida Theatre WEED, BLUNT GUTZ April 10, Shantytown Pub THE ORCHESTRA April 11, The Florida Theatre KID INK, JEREMIH, DEJ LOAF April 11, T-U Center Wanee Music Fest: WIDESPREAD PANIC, GREGG ALLMAN, GOV’T MULE, EARTH, WIND & FIRE, CHEAP TRICK, JAIMOE’S JASSSZ BAND, BUTCH TRUCKS & FRIENDS, THE WORD (ROBERT RANDOLPH, JOHN MEDESKI, LUTHER DICKINSON, CODY DICKINSON, CHRIS CHEW), HOT TUNA ELECTRIC, JJ GREY &
MOFRO, OTEIL & FRIENDS, GALACTIC, ZAPPA PLAYS ZAPPA, LEFTOVER SALMON, YONDER MOUNTAIN STRING BAND, IVAN NEVILLE’S DUMPSTAPHUNK, RICH ROBINSON & DOYLE BRAMHALL II, RAW OYSTER CULT, DRAGON SMOKE, THE
30 | FOLIOWEEKLY.com | FEBRUARY 11-17, 2015
REVIVALISTS, HOME AT LAST, BOBBY LEE ROGERS, PINK TALKING FISH, ERIC LINDELL & COMPANY, ROYAL SOUTHERN BROTHERHOOD, NATURAL CHILD, JACOB JEFFRIES BAND, JUKE April 16-18, Spirit of the Suwannee Music Park HERITAGE BLUES ORCHESTRA April 17, Ritz Theatre Springing the Blues: CHUBBY CARRIER & the BAYOU SWAMP BAND, SELWYN BIRCHWOOD, EDDIE SHAW & the WOLF GANG, TINSLEY ELLIS, JOHN NEMETH, SAMANTHA FISH, SHARRIE WILLIAMS, THE LEE BOYS, CEDRIC BURNSIDE, LIGHTNIN’ MALCOLM, KARA GRAINGER, BETTY FOX BAND, BACKTRACK BLUES BAND, HOMEMADE JAMZ BAND, BRADY CLAMPITT, LINDA GRENVILLE, JIM McKABA & AFTER HOURS BAND, PARKERURBAN BAND, WOODY & the PECKERS, BAY STREET, UNCLE JONNY’S BLUES MACHINE April 17-19, SeaWalk Pavilion THE LACS April 18, Mavericks THE WHO HITS 50! TOUR, JOAN JETT & THE BLACKHEARTS April 19, Veterans Memorial Arena DICK DALE April 21, Jack Rabbits ALAN JACKSON, JON PARDI, BRANDY CLARK April 24, St. Augustine Amphitheatre HOME FREE A CAPELLA GROUP April 24, P.V. Concert Hall RAIN April 24, The Florida Theatre Welcome to Rockville: SLIPKNOT, KORN, GODSMACK, SLAYER, MARILYN MANSON, MINISTRY, SLASH, MYLES KENNEDY & the CONSPIRATORS, PAPA ROACH, BREAKING BENJAMIN, SUICIDAL TENDENCIES April 25 & 26, Metro Park THE MOWGLIS, FENCES, HIPPO CAMPUS April 26, Jack Rabbits RONNIE MILSAP April 26, The Florida Theatre THE ROBERT CRAY BAND, SHEMEKIA COPELAND April 27, Ponte Vedra Concert Hall CHRIS BOTTI April 30, The Florida Theatre WILCO May 1, St. Augustine Amphitheatre IRATION May 2, Mavericks HOZIER May 5, The Florida Theatre NEUTRAL MILK HOTEL May 7, Ponte Vedra Concert Hall ZZ TOP, JEFF BECK May 9, St. Augustine Amphitheatre JENNY LEWIS May 9, Ponte Vedra Concert Hall LISA LOEB, FLAGSHIP ROMANCE May 10, P.V. Concert Hall J. RODDY WALSTON & THE BUSINESS May 14, Jack Rabbits RODNEY CARRINGTON May 14, T-U Center PIERCE PETTIS May 14, Café Eleven NEEDTOBREATHE, BEN RECTOR, COLONY HOUSE, DREW HOLCOMB & the NEIGHBORS, May 14, St. Augustine Amphitheatre ED KOWALCZYK May 15, Ponte Vedra Concert Hall IGGY AZALEA May 18, Veterans Memorial Arena Jax Jazz Festival: SNARKY PUPPY, THE SOUL REBELS, TITO PUENTE JR. ORCHESTRA, FELIX PEIKLI & the ROYAL FLUSH QUINTET, ROMAN STREET, ELISHA PARRIS, MAMA BLUE May 21-24, Downtown TODD RUNDGREN May 22, Ponte Vedra Concert Hall Florida Country Superfest: ZAC BROWN BAND, KEITH URBAN, BRANTLEY GILBERT, COLE SWINDELL, TYLER FARR, DAVID NAIL, COLT FORD, DANIELLE BRADBERY, THE SWON BROTHERS June 13 & 14, EverBank Field SEAWALK MUSIC FEST June 20, SeaWalk Pavilion, Jax Beach Warped Tour: ALIVE LIKE ME, AS IT IS, BABY BABY, BEAUTIFUL BODIES, BEING AS AN OCEAN, BLACK BOOTS, BLACK VEIL
LIVE + LOCAL MUSIC BRIDES, BLESSTHEFALL, BORN CAGES, BOYMEETSWORLD, CANDY HEARTS, ESCAPE THE FATE, FAMILY FORCE 5, FIT FOR A KING, HANDGUNS, HANDS LIKE HOUSES, I KILLED THE PROM QUEEN, KOO KOO KANGA ROO, KOSHA DILLZ, LE CASTLE VANIA, LEE COREY OSWALD, M4SONIC, MATCHBOOK ROMANCE, NECK DEEP, NIGHT ARGENT, NIGHT RIOTS, PALISADES, SPLITBREED, THE RELAPSE SYMPHONY, TRANSIT, THE WONDER YEARS, TROPHY EYES, WHILE SHE SLEEPS, YOUTH IN REVOLT July 6, Morocco Shrine Auditorium “WEIRD AL” YANKOVIC Aug. 16, The Florida Theatre MARK KNOPFLER Oct. 27, St. Augustine Amphitheatre
Bluff City, Crown, B. Devine at noon Feb. 16 MARK’S DOWNTOWN, 315 E. Bay, 355-5099 DJ Roy Luis every Wed. DJ Vinn every Thur. DJ 007 every Fri. Bay Street every Sat. MAVERICKS, Jax Landing, 356-1110 Kirstie Lovelady, Them Dirty Roses,, Preston Summerville 6 p.m. Feb. 12. Joe Buck, Big Tasty Thur.-Sat. UNDERBELLY, 113 E. Bay St., 699-8186 Carina Point 8 p.m. Feb. 12. Oscar Mike, Sean Danielsen 7 p.m. Feb. 13. Bill Manspeaker 8 p.m. Feb. 14
LIVE MUSIC CLUBS
WHITEY’S FISH CAMP, 2032 C.R. 220, 269-4198 Big Engine 9 p.m. Feb. 13. Pierce in Harmony 5 p.m. Feb. 14. Live music Fri. & Sat. DJ Throwback 8 p.m. every Thur. Deck music 5 p.m. every Fri. & Sat., 4:30 p.m. every Sun.
AMELIA ISLAND, FERNANDINA BEACH
DAVID’S RESTAURANT & LOUNGE, 802 Ash St., 310-6049 John Springer every Tue.-Wed. Aaron Bing 6 p.m. Fri. & Sat. GREEN TURTLE TAVERN, 14 S. Third St., 321-2324 Buck Smith every Thur. Yancy Clegg Sun. Vinyl Record Nite every Tue. HAMMERHEAD, 2045 S. Fletcher Ave., 491-7783 DJ Refresh 9 p.m. every Sun. PALACE SALOON, 117 Centre. St., 491-3332 Wes Cobb every Wed. Schnockered every Sun. Buck Smith every Tue. THE SURF, 3199 S. Fletcher Ave., 491-8999 Black Jack Feb. 13 & 14. Live music every Fri. & Sat.
AVONDALE, ORTEGA
CASBAH CAFÉ, 3628 St. Johns Ave., 981-9966 Goliath Flores 9 p.m. every Wed. Live jazz every Sun. Live music every Mon. ECLIPSE, 4219 St. Johns Ave. KJ Free 9 p.m. Tue. & Thur. Indie dance at 9 p.m. Wed. ’80s & ’90s dance at 9 p.m. Fri. MELLOW MUSHROOM, 3611 St. Johns Ave., 388-0200 Mark O’Quinn Feb. 12. Samuel Sanders Duo Feb. 13. Paul Miller Duo Feb. 14. Live music every Thur.-Sat.
THE BEACHES
(All venues in Jax Beach unless otherwise noted)
BILLY’S BOATHOUSE, 2321 Beach Blvd., 241-9771 Jetty Cats Feb. 13. Incognito Feb. 14. Alpha Centauri Feb. 14 BLUE WATER ISLAND GRILL, 205 First St. N., 249-0083 S.P.O.R.E., The Psychedelic Monks 9 p.m. Feb. 13 BRASS ANCHOR PUB, 2292 Mayport Rd., Ste. 35, Atlantic Beach, 249-0301 Joe Oliff 8 p.m. Feb. 11 CASA MARINA HOTEL, 691 First St. N., 270-0025 Ryan Crary 7 p.m. Feb. 11. Charlie Walker 3 p.m. Feb. 15 CULHANE’S IRISH PUB, 967 Atlantic Blvd., A.B., 249-9595 Irish music 6:30 p.m. every Sun. DJ Hal every Sat. FLYING IGUANA, 207 Atlantic Blvd., Neptune Beach, 853-5680 Carl & the Black Lungs 10 p.m. Feb. 13 & 14. Red Beard & Stinky E 10 p.m. Thur. Darren Corlew 8:30 p.m. every Sun. FREEBIRD LIVE, 200 N. First St., 246-2473 Anvil, Lord Dying, Sunlord, Sylent Vylentz 8 p.m. Feb. 12. Mindslip, Just Like Heaven, Generator 8 p.m. Feb. 13. Higher Ground Feb. 14. Yonder Mountain String Band, Horse Feathers Feb. 15 GREEN ROOM BREWING, 228 Third St. N., 201-9283 DiCarlo Thompson 9 p.m. Feb. 14 HARMONIOUS MONKS, 320 First St. N., 372-0815 Live music 9 p.m. every Fri. & Sat. Dan Evans, Spade McQuade 6 p.m. every Sun. Back From the Brink 9 p.m. every Mon. LILLIE’S COFFEE BAR, 200 First St., N.B., 249-2922 Tina & Her Pony Feb. 13. Ernie & the Session Feb. 14. Live jazz/soft rock music every Fri. & Sat. LYNCH’S IRISH PUB, 514 N. First St., 249-5181 Resignated 10 p.m. Feb. 13 & 14. Dirty Pete every Wed. Split Tone every Thur. Live music every Fri. & Sat. Who Rescued Who every Sun. MELLOW MUSHROOM, 1018 N. Third St., 246-1500 Dan Hunting Feb. 11. Uncle Buffalo Feb. 12. Tomboi, Wellfed Boy Feb. 14 MEZZA RESTAURANT & BAR, 110 First St., N.B., 249-5573 Neil Dixon 6 p.m. every Tue. Gypsies Ginger 6 p.m. every Wed. Mike Shackelford & Steve Shanholtzer 6 p.m. Thur. NIPPERS BEACH GRILLE, 2309 Beach Blvd., 247-3300 Mystic Dino Feb. 11. Fat Cactus Feb. 13. Mr. Natural Feb. 14 NORTH BEACH BISTRO, 725 Atlantic Blvd., A.B., 372-4105 Katie Fair Feb. 12. Kristen Lee Feb. 13. Larry Lemier Feb. 14 OCEAN 60, 60 Ocean Blvd., A.B., 247-0060 Taylor Roberts 7 p.m. Feb. 11 & 12. Erin & the Project Feb. 13 RAGTIME TAVERN, 207 Atlantic Blvd., A.B., 241-7877 Neil Dixon 7 p.m. Feb. 11. Fish Out of H2O 7 p.m. Feb. 12. Paul Lundgren 10 p.m. Feb. 13 & 14. MidLife Crisis Feb. 15. Bay Street 7 p.m. Feb. 17. Billy Bowers Feb. 18. Live music Thur.-Sun. ROYAL PALM VILLAGE WINE & TAPAS, 296 Royal Palms Dr., A.B., 372-0052 This Frontier Needs Heroes 6 p.m. Feb. 12
FLEMING ISLAND
INTRACOASTAL WEST
CLIFF’S BAR & GRILL, 3033 Monument Rd., 645-5162 Medal Militia 8 p.m. Feb. 11. DJ Big Rob Thur., Sun. & Tue. JERRY’S SPORTS GRILLE, 13170 Atlantic Blvd., 220-6766 Rick Arcusa 8:30 p.m. Feb. 13. Boogie Freaks 8:30 p.m. Feb. 14 YOUR PLACE, 13245 Atlantic, 221-9994 RadioLove Feb. 12
St. Augustine’ GO GET GONE, led by Angi and Mike, perform at the ROCstart Rockabilly Prom Feb. 14 at the Southside Women’s Club. All proceeds raise funds for local oral cancer patients and survivors.
MANDARIN, JULINGTON
HARMONIOUS MONKS, 10550 Old St. Augustine Rd., 880-3040 Open mic: Synergy 8 p.m. every Wed. World’s Most Talented Waitstaff 9 p.m. every Fri.
ORANGE PARK, MIDDLEBURG
THE HILLTOP, 2030 Wells, 272-5959 John Michael Wed.-Sat. PREVATT’S SPORTS BAR, 2620 Blanding Blvd., 282-1564 DJ Tammy 9 p.m. every Wed. THE ROADHOUSE, 231 Blanding Blvd., 264-0611 Boogie Freaks 10 p.m. Feb. 11 & 18. DJ Corey B Wed. DJ Big Mike Thur.
RIVERSIDE, WESTSIDE
ACROSS THE STREET, 948 Edgewood Ave. S., 683-4182 Dirty Reggae Punx Feb. 11. Backwater Bible Salesmen Feb. 16 MURRAY HILL THEATRE, 932 Edgewood Ave. S., 388-7807 Blasted Tower, Omnipresent 7:30 p.m. Feb. 14 rain dogs, 1045 Park St., Riverside, 379-4969 Golden Pelicans, Nutritional Beast, Electric Water Super Funk, Salyut 2 9 p.m. Feb. 13. Mudtown, Snake Blood Remedy, Cougar Barrel, Jackie Stranger 8 p.m. Feb. 14
TOM & BETTY’S, 4409 Roosevelt Blvd., 387-3311 4syTe, Chelle Wilson 7 p.m. Feb. 13
ST. AUGUSTINE
THE CELLAR UPSTAIRS, 157 King St., 826-1594 Oh No Feb. 13. Ain’t Too Proud to Beg Feb. 14. Vinny Jacobs 2 p.m. Feb. 15 CAFE ELEVEN, 501 A1A Beach Blvd., St. Augustine Beach, 460-9311 Full Service, Root of All 8 p.m. Feb. 19 DOS GATOS, 66 Hypolita, 825-0502 Denny Blue 6 p.m. Feb. 13 MILL TOP TAVERN, 19-1/2 St. George, 829-2329 Denny Blue 5 p.m. Feb. 14. A Dam Shame 9 p.m. Feb. 13 & 14. John Winters 1 p.m. Feb. 15 PAULA’S BEACHSIDE GRILL, 6896 A1A S., Crescent Beach, 471-3463 Denny Blue open mic jam 6-9 p.m. Feb. 11 & 18 TEMPO, 16 Cathedral Place, 342-0286 Denny Blue 5 p.m. Feb. 21 TRADEWINDS, 124 Charlotte St., 829-9336 Those Guys 9 p.m. Feb. 13 & 14
SAN MARCO, SOUTHBANK
INDOCHINE, 1974 San Marco Blvd., 503-7013 Dance Radio Underground, Sugar & Cream, Black Hoodie, Bass Therapy
DOWNTOWN
1904 MUSIC HALL, 19 Ocean St. N. A Vibrant Lye Feb. 12. The Contortionist, Revocation, Fallujah, Toothgrinder 6 p.m. Feb. 13. Turnstile, Superheaven, Fire & Ice, Freedom 7 p.m. Feb. 14. Bridging The Music Showcase Feb. 18 DOS GATOS, 123 E. Forsyth St., 354-0666 BlackJack every Wed. DJ Brandon every Thur. Dance music every Fri. DJ NickFresh Sat. DJ Randall 9 p.m. Mon. DJ Hollywood every Tue. DUKE’S PLACE BLUES BAR, 521 W. Forsyth St., 339-5015 Fonix 8 p.m. Feb. 12 FIONN MacCOOL’S, Jax Landing, Ste. 176, 374-1247 Spade McQuade 6 p.m. Feb. 11 & 18. Savanna Leigh Bassett 8 p.m. Feb. 13. Live music Fri. & Sat. THE JACKSONVILLE LANDING, 2 Independent Dr., 353-1188 Spanky 6 p.m. Feb. 12. Seventh Street 7 p.m. Feb. 14. Jordan Davis Day: Cuba Gooding Sr. (Main Ingredient), Charli Baltimore,
FEBRUARY 11-17, 2015 | FOLIOWEEKLY.com | 31
LIVE + LOCAL MUSIC Sessions, Allan GIz-Roc Oteyza, TrapNasty, Cry Havoc, Sat. JACK RABBITS, 1528 Hendricks Ave., 398-7496 Coyote Union, This Frontier Needs Heroes, Spiral Bound, The Sea The Sea 8 p.m. Feb. 11. Genevieve, Rusty Shine, Ramona Quimby 8 p.m. Feb. 12. Wake the Living, Primitive Hard Drive, Finbar, Detached 8 p.m. Feb. 13. Connor Hickey, Rick Grice, Rick Kennedy, Adrian Kennedy Feb. 14. Dads, On Guard, Somos 8 p.m. Feb. 16. Swear and Shake, Sea Floor Explosives Feb. 18 MUDVILLE MUSIC ROOM, 3104 Atlantic Blvd., 352-7008 Jon Shain, Rupert Wates 7:30 p.m. Feb. 12. Muriel Anderson 7:30 p.m. Feb. 15
SOUTHSIDE, BAYMEADOWS
CORNER BISTRO, 9823 Tapestry Park Cir., 619-1931 Matt Hall every Wed.-Sat. Steve Wheeler every Fri. LATITUDE 360, 10370 Philips Hwy., 365-5555 Be Easy 7:30 p.m. Feb. 12, 8:30 p.m. Feb. 14. Darrell Rae 8 p.m., Blonde
Ambition 8:30 p.m., VJ Tos 11:30 p.m. Feb. 13. Samuel Sanders 7:30 p.m., DJ Shotgun 11:30 p.m. Feb. 14. Radio Love Feb. 15. Big Band Jazz Feb. 16 MELLOW MUSHROOM, 9734 Deer Lake Ct., Ste. 1, 997-1955 Charlie Walker 10 p.m. Feb. 12. Wes Cobb Feb. 13 WILD WING CAFÉ, 4555 Southside Blvd., 998-9464 Chris Brinkley 7:30 p.m. Feb. 11. Open mic & jam 9 p.m. Feb. 12. Fratello Feb. 13. DJ Alberto Diaz Feb. 14 WORLD OF BEER, 9700 Deer Lake Ct., Ste. 1, 551-5929 Who Rescued Who 9 p.m. on Feb. 13. Mitch Kuhman 9 p.m. Feb. 14
SPRINGFIELD, NORTHSIDE
SHANTYTOWN PUB, 22 W. Sixth St., Springfield, 798-8222 In Defence 7 p.m. Feb. 14 THREE LAYERS COFFEEHOUSE, 1602 Walnut St., 355-9791 Mama Blue 6 p.m. Feb. 17. Open mic every Thur.
THE KNIFE THE KNIFE
A SLICE OF FIERCE PUNK
B
ack in the early 2000s, my band played a fundraiser to send a local musician to New York to further his career in the business. We were joined by then-local hip-hop/punk trio Whole Wheat Bread for the show. We all donated our time, as it seemed a good way to show some solidarity between bands of disparate styles in one evening and raise a few dollars for a mutual friend. Evidently, the fans didn’t see it that way. My band went on first, to be followed by Whole Wheat Bread. As we neared the end of our set, I realized we wouldn’t have enough time to fit in the final two songs we had prepared. If we were lucky, we’d get one done. So, over the microphone, I casually asked the guys in Whole Wheat Bread if we could go over a few minutes and complete our set. And then … chaos. The crowd, which looked like an even mix of all of our fans, suddenly divided. The Whole Wheat Bread side began chanting “Whole … Wheat … Bread!” Our fans began throwing T-shirts and CDs all over the place. At a loss, and as debris flew in all directions, I turned to the band and said, “We have three minutes left. Play three minutes of noise.” And that’s what we did. I threw my guitar onto the stage and started hammering it into feedback. The crowd became more agitated. For three full minutes — an eternity on stage when the audience revolts — it was utter madness. I’ve got it all on videotape. After our set, the guys from Whole Wheat Bread approached me. They apologized for their fans’ behavior and told me they would not have minded at all were we to have played out our set. That’s why we were all there: To support each other. I told them it was cool, and that I thought it made for some great theatrics. I also told them they should be glad to have such dedicated fans. Whole Wheat Bread has since gone on to national success, combining rap, punk and metal influences into something akin to Kings X meets the Ramones. Great stuff, and worth remembering in a look back at their debut album, Punk Life, released on Fighting Records in 2006. The album featured three originals and three rap covers. Most noticeable about Whole Wheat Bread, to me anyway, is how tight they are. Punk bands can be respectably sloppy and get away
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with it, but this trio is straight solid. Track 1 on Punk Life, called “206,” is crunchy, heavy and fast, and anything but sloppy. Catchy and melodic, and skirting the edge of metal, “206” combines clever lyricism with balls-out riffage. Aaron Abraham is a meaty vocalist, and he digs in on this one. “Grass,” a Green Day-ish tribute to weed, follows. Well, it’s better than any Green Day song, really, full of chunk and grit Green Day only wishes they had. The mid-tune bong-hitsand-partying scenario is forgivably clichéd if mildly humorous. In truth, it has more in common with David Lee Roth’s sexy-hooker banter in “Everybody Wants Some” than Billie Joe Armstrong’s fake suburban angst. The cheeseball humor is abandoned by track 3, though, with the face-grinding “Symbol of Hope,” where darker humor prevails. A Bush-era anti-politics/anticorporation/anti-racism rant opens the high-velocity rebel yell, with guest vocals by Suicide Machine’s Jason Navarro. Here the production shines, full of thick, distorted guitars and meter-bleeding drums. On its heels are the three hip-hoppiest of the album’s six tunes, covers all. Little Scrappy’s “No Problem” goes first. All the trappings of heavy rap are here, including a call-and-response section, and several references to the “Dirty South” and “904 — Dooval!” Those references are also in Lil Jon’s “I Don’t Give a Fuck,” as the band challenges other bands like Good Charlotte with the battle cry “We’ll crush the niggas!” Closing the album is Bone Crusher’s “Never Scared.” Another tune built on ferocious production, “Never Scared” seals Whole Wheat Bread’s position as the worthy successors of similar ’90s acts like Public Enemy and 24-7 Spyz. They didn’t call it “crunk” back then. It was just a weird blending of rap and metal, funk and punk. Whole Wheat Bread continues to record and tour, and has worked with a number of rap heavyweights in various collaborations. But I’ll always remember them for this record — and, of course, the time their fans tried to kill my band. John E. Citrone theknife@folioweekly.com
The easy-to-miss but hard-to-mistake THE PIG BAR-B-Q, on Beach Boulevard on the Southside, serves a full breakfast menu, as well as ribs, chicken, burgers, turkey, shrimp and oysters. Photo: Dennis Ho
DINING DIRECTORY AMELIA ISLAND, FERNANDINA BEACH, YULEE
29 SOUTH EATS, 29 S. Third St., 277-7919, 29south restaurant.com. F In historic downtown, Chef Scotty Schwartz serves traditional regional cuisine with a modern twist. $$ L Tue.-Sat.; D Mon.-Sat.; R Sun. BARBERITOS, 1519 Sadler Rd., 277-2505. 463867 S.R. 200, Ste. 5, Yulee, 321-2240, barberitos.com. Southwestern fare; burritos, tacos, quesadillas, salsa. $$ BW K TO L D Daily BRETT’S WATERWAY CAFÉ, 1 S. Front St., 261-2660. F Southern hospitality, upscale waterfront spot; daily specials, fresh local seafood, aged beef. $$$ FB K L D Daily CAFÉ KARIBO, 27 N. Third St., 277-5269, cafekaribo.com. F Family-owned spot in a historic building. Veggie burgers, seafood, made-from-scratch desserts. Dine in or on oak-shaded patio. Karibrew Pub next door. $$ FB K TO R, Sun.; L D Daily CHEZ LEZAN BAKERY CO., 1014 Atlantic Ave., 491-4663, chezlezanbakery.com. Fresh European-style breads, pastries: croissants, muffins, cakes, pies. $ TO B R L Daily CIAO ITALIAN BISTRO, 302 Centre St., 206-4311, ciaobistroluca.com. Owners Luka and Kim Misciasci offer fine dining: veal piccata, rigatoni Bolognese, antipasto. Specialties: chicken Ciao, homemade meat lasagna. $ L Fri., Sat.; D Nightly DAVID’S Restaurant & Lounge, 802 Ash St., 310-6049, ameliaislanddavids.com. Historic district fi ne dining. Fresh seafood, prime aged meats, rack of lamb. $$$$ FB D Wed.-Mon. DICK’S WINGS & GRILL, 474313 E. S.R. 200, 491-3469. 450077 S.R. 200, Callahan, 879-0993. BOJ winner. SEE PONTE VEDRA.
ELIZABETH POINTE LODGE, 98 S. Fletcher Ave., 277-4851, elizabethpointelodge.com. BOJ winner. Award-winning B&B. Seaside dining, inside or out. Hot buffet breakfast daily. Homestyle soups, sandwiches, desserts. $$$ BW B L D Daily JACK & DIANE’S, 708 Centre St., 321-1444, jackanddianes cafe.com. F In renovated 1887 shotgun house. Jambalaya, French toast, mac-n-cheese, vegan/vegetarian items. Dine in or on porch. $$ FB K B L D Daily LULU’S at Thompson House, 11 S. 7th St., 432-8394, lulus amelia.com. F Po’boys, salads, local seafood, local shrimp. Reservations. $$$ BW K TO R Sun.; L D Tue.-Sat. MARCHÉ BURETTE, 6800 First Coast Hwy., 491-4834, omnihotels.com. Old-fashioned gourmet food market and deli, in the Spa & Shops, Omni Amelia Island Plantation. Continental breakfast; lunch features flatbreads. $$$ BW K TO L D Daily MOON RIVER PIZZA, 925 S. 14th St., 321-3400, moonriver pizza.net. F BOJ winner. Northern-style pizzas, 20+ toppings, by the pie or the slice. $ BW TO L D Mon.-Sat. THE MUSTARD SEED CAFE, 833 TJ Courson Rd., 277-3141, nassaushealthfoods.net. Casual organic eatery, juice bar, in Nassau Health Foods. All-natural organic items, smoothies, juice, herbal tea. $$ TO B L Mon.-Sat. THE PECAN ROLL BAKERY, 122 S. Eighth St., 491-9815, thepecanrollbakery.com. The bakery, near historic district, offers sweet and savory pastries, cookies, cakes, bagels and breads, all made from scratch. $ K TO B L Wed.-Sun. PLAE, 80 Amelia Village Cir., 277-2132, plaefl.net. Bite Club. Bistro-style venue serves whole fried fish, duck breast. Outside. $$$ FB L Tue.-Sat.; D Nightly
THE SALTY PELICAN Bar & Grill, 12 N. Front St., 277-3811, thesaltypelicanamelia.com. F BOJ winner. 2nd-story outdoor bar. Owners T.J. and Al offer local seafood, Mayport shrimp, fish tacos, po’boys, cheese oysters. $$ FB K L D Daily SLIDERS SEASIDE GRILL, 1998 S. Fletcher Ave., 277-6652, slidersseaside.com. F Oceanfront; handmade crab cakes, fresh seafood, fried pickles. Outdoor dining, open-air 2nd floor, balcony. $$ FB K L D Daily TASTY’S Fresh Burgers & Fries, 710 Centre St., 321-0409, tastysamelia.com. Historic district. Freshest meats, hand-cut fries, homemade sauces, hand-spun shakes. $ BW K L D Daily T-RAY’S BURGER STATION, 202 S. 8th St., 261-6310. F BOJ. In an old gas station; blue plate specials, burgers, biscuits & gravy, shrimp. $ BW TO B L Mon.-Sat. THE VERANDAH, 6800 First Coast Hwy., 321-5050, omni hotels.com. Extensive menu of fresh local seafood and steaks; signature entrée is Fernandina shrimp. Many herbs and spices are from onsite garden. $$$ FB K D Nightly
ARLINGTON, REGENCY
DICK’S WINGS & GRILL, 9119 Merrill Rd., 745-9300. BOJ winner. SEE PONTE VEDRA. LA NOPALERA, 8818 Atlantic, 720-0106. BOJ winner. SEE MANDARIN.
LARRY’S GIANT SUBS, 1301 Monument, 724-5802. F SEE ORANGE PARK.
THE SHEIK DELI, 9720 Atlantic Blvd., 721-2660. Familyowned-and-operated for 40+ years, with a full breakfast (pitas to country plates) and a lunch menu. $ TO B L D Mon.-Sat.
AVONDALE, ORTEGA
BAGEL LOVE, 4114 Herschel St., Ste. 121, 634-7253, bagellovejax.com. BOJ winner. Locally-owned-and-operated. Northern style bagels, sandwiches, wraps, bakery. Freshsqueezed orange juice, lemonade; coffee, tea. $ K TO B L Daily THE CASBAH CAFÉ, 3628 St. Johns Ave., 981-9966, the casbahcafe.com. F BOJ winner. Middle Eastern/ Mediterranean fare. Patio, hookah lounge, bellydancers. $$ BW L D Daily CLAUDE’S CHOCOLATE, 3543 St. Johns Ave., 829-5790. F In Green Man Gourmet. SEE PONTE VEDRA. $$ TO FLORIDA CREAMERY, 3566 St. Johns Ave., 619-5386. Premium ice cream, waffle cones, milkshakes, sundaes and Nathan’s grilled hot dogs, served in a Florida-centric décor. Low-fat and sugar-free choices. $ K TO L D Daily THE FOX Restaurant, 3580 St. Johns Ave., 387-2669. F Owners Ian & Mary Chase offer fresh diner fare: burgers, meatloaf, fried green tomatoes, desserts. Breakfast all day. Local landmark for 50+ years. $$ BW K L D Daily HARPOON LOUIE’S, 4070 Herschel St., Ste. 8, 389-5631,
To get listed, call your account manager or Sam Taylor at 904.260.9770 ext. 111 or staylor@folioweekly.com. DINING DIRECTORY KEY
Average Entrée Cost $ = Less than $8 $$ = $8-$14 $$$ = $15-$22 $$$$ = $23 & up BW = Beer/Wine FB = Full Bar K = Kids’ Menu TO = Take Out B = Breakfast R = Brunch L = Lunch D = Dinner Bite Club = Hosted free FW Bite Club tasting. To join, go to fwbiteclub.com. 2014 Best of Jax winner F = FW distribution spot
harpoonlouies.net. F Locally owned and operated for 20+ years, the American pub serves 1/2-pound burgers, fish sandwiches, pasta. Local beers. $$ FB K TO L D Daily LA NOPALERA, 4530 St. Johns, 388-8828. F SEE MANDARIN. MELLOW MUSHROOM, 3611 St. Johns Ave., 388-0200. F Bite Club. BOJ winner. SEE BEACHES. MOJO NO. 4 Urban BBQ & Whiskey Bar, 3572 St. Johns Ave., 381-6670. F BOJ winner. SEE BEACHES. PINEGROVE Market & Deli, 1511 Pine Grove Ave., 389-8655, pinegrovemarket.com. F BOJ winner. 40+ years. Burgers, Cuban sandwiches, subs, wraps. Onsite butcher cuts USDA choice prime aged beef. Craft beers. $ BW TO B L D Mon.-Sat. PULP, 3645 St. Johns Ave., pulpaddiction.com. SEE SAN MARCO. RESTAURANT ORSAY, 3630 Park St., 381-0909, restaurant orsay.com. BOJ winner. French/Southern bistro; emphasis on locally grown organic ingredients. Steak frites, mussels, pork chops. Snail of Approval. $$$ FB K R, Sun.; D Nightly SIMPLY SARA’S, 2902 Corinthian Ave., 387-1000, simply saras.net. F Down-home fare, from scratch: eggplant fries, pimento cheese, baked chicken, fruit cobblers, chicken & dumplings, desserts. BYOB. $$ K TO L D Mon.-Sat., B Sat.
BAYMEADOWS
AKEL’S DELICATESSEN, 7825 Baymeadows Way, 733-4040. F SEE DOWNTOWN. AL’S PIZZA, 8060 Philips Hwy., Ste. 105, 731-4300. F SEE BEACHES.
BROADWAY Ristorante & Pizzeria, 10920 Baymeadows Rd. E., 519-8000, broadwayfl.com. F Family-owned-andoperated Italian spot. Calzones, wings, brick-oven-baked pizza, subs. $$ BW K TO L D Daily INDIA’S Restaurant, 9802 Baymeadows Rd., Ste. 8, 620-0777, indiajax.com. F BOJ winner. Authentic Indian cuisine, lunch buffet. Curries, vegetable dishes, lamb, chicken, shrimp, fish tandoori. $$ BW L Mon.-Sat.; D Nightly LA NOPALERA, 8206 Philips Hwy., 732-9433. F BOJ winner. SEE MANDARIN. LARRY’S SUBS, 3928 Baymeadows Rd., 737-7740. 8616 Baymeadows Rd., 739-2498. F SEE ORANGE PARK. NATIVE SUN Natural Foods Market & Deli, 11030 Baymeadows Rd., 260-2791. SEE MANDARIN. PIZZA PALACE Restaurant & Pizzeria, 3928 Baymeadows Rd., 527-8649, pizzapalacejax.com. F Casual, familyowned; homestyle faves: spinach pizza, chicken spinach calzones, lasagna. Outside dining. $$ BW K TO L D Daily SNEAKERS Sports Grille, 8133 Point Meadows Dr., 519-0509. BOJ winner. SEE BEACHES. TEQUILAS Mexican Restaurant, 10915 Baymeadows Rd., Ste. 101, 363-1365. Salsa, guacamole, chips, beans, rice and meat dishes made fresh daily. $$ FB L D Mon.-Sat. ZESTY INDIA, 8358 Point Meadows Dr., 329-3676, zesty india.com. Asian/European; tandoori lamb chops, rosemary tikka. Vegetarian cooked separately. $ BW TO L D Tue.-Sun.
BEACHES
(Locations are in Jax Beach unless otherwise noted.)
AL’S PIZZA, 303 Atlantic Blvd., Atlantic Beach, 249-0002, alspizza.com. F New York-style, gourmet pizzas, baked dishes. All-day happy hour Mon.-Thur. $ FB K TO L D Daily ANGIE’S SUBS, 1436 Beach Blvd., 246-2519. ANGIE’S
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DINING DIRECTORY GROM, 204 Third Ave. S., 246-7823. BOJ winner. Subs made with fresh ingredients for more than 25 years. One word: Peruvian. Huge salads, blue-ribbon iced tea. $ BW TO L D Daily BOLD BEAN Coffee Roasters, 2400 S. Third St., Ste. 201. BOJ winner. SEE RIVERSIDE. BUDDHA THAI BISTRO, 301 10th Ave. N., 712-4444, buddhathaibistro.com. The proprietors are from Thailand; every dish is made with fresh ingredients. $$ FB TO L D Daily BURRITO GALLERY Express, 1333 Third St. N., 242-8226. BOJ winner. SEE DOWNTOWN. CANTINA MAYA Sports Bar & Grille, 1021 Atlantic Blvd., A.B., 247-3227. Popular spot serves margaritas, Latin food, burgers. Sports on TVs. $$ FB K L D Tue.-Sun. CASA MARIA, 2429 S. Third St., 372-9000, casamariajax. com. F Family-owned-and-operated place offers authentic Mexican fare: fajitas and seafood dishes, hot sauces made inhouse. The specialty is tacos de asada. $ FB K L D Daily CULHANE’S Irish Pub, 967 Atlantic Blvd., A.B., 249-9595, culhanesirishpub.com. Bite Club. Upscale pub/restaurant owned and run by sisters from County Limerick. Shepherd’s pie, corned beef; gastropub fare. $$ FB K R Sat. & Sun.; L Fri.-Sun.; D Tue.-Sun. ESPETO BRAZILIAN STEAKHOUSE, 1396 Beach Blvd., 388-4884, espetosteakhouse.com. Just relocated, serving beef, pork, lamb, chicken and sausage, and a full menu and bar fare, craft cocktails, Brazilian beers. $$ FB D Daily EUROPEAN STREET, 992 Beach Blvd., 249-3001. BOJ winner. SEE RIVERSIDE. FLYING IGUANA Taqueria & Tequila Bar, 207 Atlantic Blvd., N.B., 853-5680, flyingiguana.com. F Latin American fusion, Southwest taste: tacos, seafood, carnitas, Cubana sandwiches. 100+ tequilas. $ FB L D Daily HARMONIOUS MONKS, 320 First St. N., 372-0815, harmoniousmonks.net. F SEE MANDARIN. LA NOPALERA, 1222 Third St. S., 372-4495. F BOJ winner. SEE MANDARIN. LARRY’S SUBS, 657 Third St. N., 247-9620. F SEE O.PARK. LILLIE’S COFFEE BAR, 200 First St., N.B., 249-2922, lilliescoffeebar.com. F Locally roasted coffee, eggs, bagels, flatbreads, sandwiches, desserts. Dine indoors or out, patio and courtyard. $$ BW TO B L D Daily MELLOW MUSHROOM Pizza Bakers, 1018 Third St. N., Ste. 2, 241-5600, mellowmushroom.com. F Bite Club. BOJ winner. Hoagies, gourmet pizzas: Mighty Meaty, vegetarian, Kosmic Karma. 35 tap beers. Nonstop happy hour. $ FB K TO L D Daily METRO DINER, 1534 Third St. N., 853-6817. BOJ winner. SEE SAN MARCO.
MEZZA Restaurant & Bar, 110 First St., N.B., 249-5573, mezzarestaurantandbar.com. F Near-the-ocean eatery, 20+ years. Casual bistro fare: gourmet wood-fired pizzas, nightly specials. Dine inside or on the patio. Valet parking. $$$ FB K D Mon.-Sat. MOJO KITCHEN BBQ Pit, 1500 Beach Blvd., 247-6636, mojo bbq.com. F BOJ winner. Pulled pork, Carolina-style barbecue, Delta fried catfish, sides. $$ FB K TO L D Daily M SHACK, 299 Atlantic Blvd., A.B., 241-2599, mshack burgers.com. F BOJ winner. David and Matthew Medure flip burgers, hot dogs, fries, shakes. Dine in or out. $$ BW L D Daily NORTH BEACH BISTRO, 725 Atlantic, Ste. 6, A.B., 372-4105, nbbistro.com. Bite Club. Chef-driven kitchen; hand-cut steaks, fresh local seafood, tapas menu. HH. $$$ FB K R Sun.; L D Daily OCEAN 60, Wine Bar, Martini Room, 60 Ocean Blvd., A.B., 247-0060, ocean60.com. BOJ winner. Continental cuisine, fresh seafood, dinner specials and a seasonal menu in a formal dining room or casual Martini Room. $$$ FB D Mon.-Sat. POE’S TAVERN, 363 Atlantic Blvd., A.B., 241-7637. American gastropub, 50+ beers, gourmet hamburgers, ground in-house, cooked to order; hand-cut French fries, fish tacos, Edgar’s Drunken Chili, daily fish sandwich special. $$ FB K L D Daily RAGTIME TAVERN & Seafood Grill, 207 Atlantic Blvd., A.B., 241-7877, ragtimetavern.com. F For 30+ years, the iconic seafood place has scored many awards in our BOJ readers poll. Blackened snapper, sesame tuna, Ragtime shrimp. Daily happy hour. $$ FB L D Daily SALT LIFE Food Shack, 1018 Third St. N., 372-4456, saltlife foodshack.com. BOJ winner. Specialty items: signature tuna poke bowl, fresh rolled sushi, Ensenada tacos, local fried shrimp, in a modern open-air space. $$ FB K TO L D Daily SLIDERS Seafood Grille & Oyster Bar, 218 First St., N.B., 246-0881, slidersseafoodgrille.com. Beach-casual. Faves: Fresh fish tacos, gumbo. Key lime pie, ice cream sandwiches. $$ FB K L Sat. & Sun.; D Nightly SNEAKERS SPORTS GRILLE, 111 Beach Blvd., 482-1000, sneakerssportsgrille.com. BOJ winner. More than 20 beers on tap, TV screens, cheerleaders serving the food. Happy hour Mon.-Fri. $ FB K L D Daily TACOLU BAJA MEXICANA, 1712 Beach Blvd., 249-8226, tacolu.com. BOJ winner. Fresh, Baja-style fare with a focus on fish tacos, tequila (more than 135 kinds) and mezcal. Bangin’ shrimp, carne asada, carnitas, daily fresh fish selections. Made-fresh-daily guacamole. $$ FB K R Sat. & Sun.; L D Tue.-Fri.
DOWNTOWN
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AKEL’S DELICATESSEN, 21 W. Church St., 665-7324, akelsdeli.com. F New York-style deli offers freshly made subs (3 Wise Guys, Champ), burgers, gyros, breakfast bowls, ranchero wrap, vegetarian dishes. $ K TO B L Mon.-Fri. BURRITO Gallery & Bar, 21 E. Adams, 598-2922, burritogal lery.com. BOJ winner. Southwestern burritos, ginger teriyaki tofu, beef barbacoa, wraps, tacos. $ BW TO L D Mon.-Sat.
CASA DORA, 108 E. Forsyth St., 356-8282. F Chef Sam Hamidi has been serving genuine Italian fare for 35+ years: veal, seafood, gourmet pizza. The homemade salad dressing is a specialty. $ BW K L Mon.-Fri.; D Mon.-Sat. CASA MARIA, 12961 N. Main St., Ste. 104, 757-6411. F SEE BEACHES.
CHOMP CHOMP, 106 E. Adams St., 762-4667. F Chefinspired street food: panko-crusted chicken, burgers, chinois tacos, bahn mi and barbecue. $ L Tue.-Sat.; D Thur.-Sat. FIONN MacCOOL’s Irish Pub & Restaurant, The Landing, Ste. 176, 374-1547, fionnmacs.com. Casual dining with an uptown Irish atmosphere, serving fish and chips, Guinness lamb stew and black-and-tan brownies. $$ FB K L D Daily OLIO MARKET, 301 E. Bay St., 356-7100, oliomarket. com. From-scratch soups, sandwiches. Home to duck grilled cheese, seen on Best Sandwich in America. $$ BW TO B R L Mon.-Fri.
FLEMING ISLAND
GRASSROOTS Natural Market, 1915 East-West Pkwy., 541-0009. F BOJ winner. SEE RIVERSIDE. LA NOPALERA, 1571 C.R. 220, 215-2223. F BOJ winner. SEE MANDARIN.
MELLOW MUSHROOM, 1800 Town Center Blvd., 541-1999. F Bite Club. BOJ winner. SEE BEACHES. MOJO SMOKEHOUSE, 1810 Town Center Blvd., Ste. 8, 264-0636. F BOJ winner. SEE BEACHES. WHITEY’S FISH CAMP, 2032 C.R. 220, 269-4198, whiteys fishcamp.com. F Real fish camp. Gator tail, freshwater catfish, daily specials, on Swimming Pen Creek. Tiki bar. Come by boat, bike or car. $ FB K TO L Tue.-Sun.; D Nightly YOUR PIE, 1545 C.R. 220, Ste. 125, 379-9771, yourpie.com. Owner Mike Sims’ concept: Choose from 3 doughs, 9 sauces, 7 cheeses, 40+ toppings. 5 minutes in a brick oven and ta-da: It’s your pie. Subs, sandwiches, gelato. $$ BW K TO L D Daily
INTRACOASTAL WEST
AL’S PIZZA, 14286 Beach Blvd., Ste. 31, 223-0991. F SEE BEACHES.
DICK’S WINGS & GRILL, 14286 Beach Blvd., 223-0115. F BOJ winner. SEE PONTE VEDRA. LA NOPALERA MEXICAN RESTAURANT, 14333 Beach Blvd., Ste. 39, 992-1666. F BOJ winner. Tamales, fajitas, pork
GRILL ME!
GILMON’S BAKERY, 11362 San Jose Blvd., Ste. 13, 288-8128, gilmonsbakery.com. Custom cakes, cupcakes, gingerbread men, pies, cookies, coffee, tea. $$ B L Tue.-Sat. HARMONIOUS MONKS, 10550 Old St. Augustine Rd., Ste. 30, 880-3040, harmoniousmonks.net. F American steakhouse: Angus steaks, burgers, ribs, wraps. $$ FB K L D Mon.-Sat. KAZU Japanese Restaurant, 9965 San Jose Blvd., Ste. 35, 683-9903, kazujapaneserestaurant.com. BOJ winner. Wide variety of soups, dumplings, appetizers, salads, bento boxes, sushi, entrées, maki handrolls, sashimi. $$ BW TO L D Daily LA NOPALERA, 11700 San Jose Blvd., 288-0175. F BOJ winner. Tamales, fajitas, pork tacos. $$ FB K TO L D Daily LARRY’S SUBS, 11365 San Jose Blvd., Ste. 3, 674-2945. F SEE ORANGE PARK. NATIVE SUN Natural Foods Market & Deli, 10000 San Jose Blvd., 260-6950, nativesunjax.com. Natural, organic soups, sandwiches, wraps, baked goods, prepared foods, juices, smoothies. Juice, smoothie and coffee bar. All-natural, organic beers, wines. Indoor, outdoor dining. $ BW TO K B L D Daily THE RED ELEPHANT PIZZA & GRILL, 10131 San Jose Blvd., Ste. 12, 683-3773, redelephantpizza.com. F Casual, family-friendly eatery serves steaks, seafood, chicken grill specials. Five topping selections. Salads, sandwiches, pizza. Gluten-free friendly. $ FB K L D Daily STEAMIN, 9703 San Jose Blvd., 493-2020, eatsteamin. com. Classic diner serves steam burgers, fat dogs and chili, 50+ craft beers. $ FB TO B Sat.-Sun.; L D Daily
ORANGE PARK
ARON’S PIZZA, 650 Park Ave., 269-1007, aronspizza. com. F Family-owned restaurant has eggplant dishes, manicotti, New York-style pizzas. $$ BW K TO L D Daily DICK’S WINGS & GRILL, 1540 Wells Rd., 269-2122. BOJ winner. SEE PONTE VEDRA. THE HILLTOP, 2030 Wells Road, 272-5959, hilltop-club.com. Southern-style fine dining. New Orleans shrimp, certified Black Angus prime rib, she-crab soup, desserts. $$$ FB D Tue.-Sat. LA NOPALERA, 9734 Crosshill Blvd., 908-4250. 2024 Kingsley Ave., 276-2776. F BOJ winner. SEE MANDARIN. LARRY’S GIANT SUBS, 1330 Blanding Blvd., 276-7370. 1545 C.R. 220, 278-2827. 700 Blanding Blvd., Ste. 15, 272-3553. 1401 S. Orange Ave., Green Cove, 284-7789, larryssubs.
OUR WEEKLY Q&A WITH PEOPLE IN THE FOOD BIZ
NAME: Courtney Thompson RESTAURANT: Horizons, 5422 First Coast Highway, Fernandina Beach BIRTHPLACE: New Orleans YEARS IN THE BIZ: 30 FAVORITE RESTAURANT: Arnaud’s, New Orleans BEST CUISINE STYLE: Southern European GO-TO INGREDIENTS: Fresh fish, herbs IDEAL MEAL: Dry aged tenderloin WILL NOT CROSS MY LIPS: My daughter’s mac & cheese INSIDER’S SECRET: Love what you do. CULINARY TREAT: Chips and dip anytime.
tacos. Some La Nops have a full bar. $$ FB K TO L D Daily LARRY’S GIANT SUBS, 10750 Atlantic Blvd., Ste. 14, 642-6980. F SEE ORANGE PARK. TIME OUT SPORTS GRILL, 13799 Beach Blvd., Ste. 5, 223-6999, timeoutsportsgrill.com. F Locally-ownedand-operated. Hand-tossed pizzas, wings, wraps. Daily drink specials, HDTVs, pool tables. Late-nite menu. $$ FB L Tue.-Sun.; D Nightly
JULINGTON CREEK
DICK’S WINGS & GRILL, 525 S.R. 16, Ste. 101, 825-4540. BOJ winner. SEE PONTE VEDRA. METRO DINER, 12807 San Jose Blvd., 638-6185. F BOJ winner. SEE SAN MARCO. PIZZA PALACE, 116 Bartram Oaks Walk, 230-2171. F SEE BAYMEADOWS.
MANDARIN
AKEL’S DELICATESSEN, 12926 Gran Bay Pkwy. W., 880-2008. F SEE DOWNTOWN. AL’S PIZZA, 11190 San Jose Blvd., 260-4115. F SEE BEACHES. ATHENS CAFÉ, 6271 St. Augustine Rd., Ste. 7, 733-1199. F Dolmades (stuffed grape leaves), baby shoes (stuffed eggplant). Greek beers. $$ BW L Mon.-Fri.; D Mon.-Sat. BROOKLYN PIZZA, 11406 San Jose Blvd., Ste. 3, 288-9211. 13820 St. Augustine Rd., 880-0020. Brooklyn Special. Calzones, white pizza, homestyle lasagna. $$ BW TO L D Daily THE COFFEE BARD, 9735 Old St. Augustine Rd., Ste. 13, 260-0810, thecoffeebard.com. New world coffeehouse has coffees, breakfast, drinks. $$ TO B L D Tue.-Sun. DICK’S WINGS, 10391 Old St. Augustine, 880-7087. F BOJ winner. SEE PONTE VEDRA. GIGI’S RESTAURANT, 3130 Hartley Rd., 694-4300, jaxramada.com. In Ramada. Prime rib, crab leg buffet Fri. & Sat., blue-jean brunch Sun., daily breakfast, lunch and dinner buffets. $$$ FB B R L D Daily
com. F For 30+ years, they pile ’em high and serve ’em fast. Hot/cold subs, soups, salads. $ K TO B L D Daily POMPEII COAL-FIRED PIZZA, 2134 Park Ave., 264-6116. Family-owned-and-operated, offering pizzas and wings made in coal-fired ovens. Espresso, cappuccino. $ BW TO L D Daily THE ROADHOUSE, 231 Blanding Blvd., 264-0611, roadhouseonline.net. F For 35-plus years, Roadhouse has been offering wings, sandwiches, burgers, quesadillas; 75+ imported beers. $ FB L D Daily THE SHEIK, 1994 Kingsley Ave., 276-2677. SEE ARLINGTON.
PONTE VEDRA, NW ST. JOHNS
AL’S PIZZA, 635 A1A N., 543-1494. F SEE BEACHES. CLAUDE’S CHOCOLATE, 145 Hilden Rd., Ste. 122, 829-5790, claudeschocolate.com. Hand-crafted premium Belgian chocolate, fruits, nuts, spices. Cookies, popsicles. $$ TO DICK’S WINGS & GRILL, 100 Marketside Ave., 829-8134, dickswingsandgrill.com. F BOJ winner. NASCAR-themed; 365 kinds of wings, 1/2-lb. burgers, ribs. $ FB K TO L D Daily LARRY’S GIANT SUBS, 830 A1A N., 273-3993. F SEE O.P. PUSSER’S BAR & GRILLE, 816 A1A N., Ste. 100, 280-7766, pussersusa.com. BOJ winner. Bite Club. Innovative Caribbean cuisine features regional faves: Jamaican grilled pork ribs, Trinidad smoked duck, lobster macaroni & cheese dinner. Tropical drinks. $$ FB K TO L D Daily RESTAURANT MEDURE, 818 A1A N., 543-3797, restaurant medure.us. Chef David Medure offers global flavors. Small plates, creative drinks, happy hour. $$$ FB D Mon.-Sat.
RIVERSIDE, 5 POINTS, WESTSIDE
13 GYPSIES, 887 Stockton St., 389-0330, 13gypsies. com. BOJ winner. Intimate bistro serves authentic Mediterranean peasant cuisine updated for American tastes,
DINING DIRECTORY specializing in tapas, blackened octopus, risotto of the day, coconut mango curry chicken. $$ BW L D Tue.-Sat. AKEL’S DELI, 245 Riverside Ave., 791-3336. F SEE DOWNTOWN. AL’S PIZZA, 1620 Margaret St., Ste. 201, 388-8384. F SEE BEACHES.
BLACK SHEEP RESTAURANT, 1534 Oak St., 355-3793, blacksheep5points.com. New American fare has a Southern twist, made with locally sourced ingredients. Rooftop bar. $$$ FB R Sat. & Sun.; L D Daily BOLD BEAN COFFEE ROASTERS, 869 Stockton St., Stes. 1 & 2, 855-1181. BOJ winner. F Small-batch, artisanal coffee roasting. Organic, fair trade. $ BW TO B L Daily BREW FIVE POINTS, 1024 Park St., 714-3402, brewfive points.com. Local craft beer, espresso, coffee and wine bar. Rotating drafts, 75+ canned craft beers; sodas, tea. Rotating seasonal menu of waffles, pastries, toasts, desserts to pair with specialty coffees, craft beers. $$ BW K B L Daily CORNER TACO, 818 Post St., 240-0412. Made-fromscratch “Mexclectic street food,” tacos, nachos, gluten-free and vegetarian options. $ BW L D Daily. DICK’S WINGS & GRILL, 5972 San Juan Ave., 693-9258. BOJ winner. SEE PONTE VEDRA. EDGEWOOD BAKERY, 1012 S. Edgewood Ave., 389-8054, edgewoodbakery.com. BOJ winner. 66+ years, full-service
bakery. Fresh breakfast, pastries, petit fours, pies, cakes. Espresso, sandwiches, smoothies. $$ K TO B L Tue.-Sat. EUROPEAN STREET CAFÉ, 2753 Park St., 384-9999, europeanstreet.com. BOJ winner. 130+ imported beers, 20 on tap. NYC-style classic Reuben, sandwiches. Outside seating at some EStreets. $ BW K L D Daily GRASSROOTS NATURAL MARKET, 2007 Park St., 384-4474, thegrassrootsmarket.com. BOJ winner. F Juice bar; certified organic fruits, vegetables. 500+ craft/import beers, 250 wines, organic produce, humanely raised meats, deli, raw items, vegan, vitamins, herbs. $ BW TO B L D Daily HAWKERS ASIAN STREET FARE, 1001 Park St., 508-0342, hawkerstreetfare.com. BOJ winner. Authentic dishes from mobile stalls. $ BW TO L D Daily JOHNNY’S DELI & GRILLE, 474 Riverside Ave., 356-8055. This casual spot offers sandwiches, classic salads, homefries. One word: Reuben. $ TO B L Daily KNEAD BAKESHOP, 1173 Edgewood Ave. S. Locally-owned, family-run bake shop; made-from-scratch pastries, artisan breads, pies, specialty sandwiches, soups. $ TO B L Tue.-Sun. LARRY’S SUBS, 1509 Margaret, 674-2794. 7895 Normandy, 781-7600. 8102 Blanding, 779-1933. F SEE ORANGE PARK. METRO DINER, 4495 Roosevelt Blvd., Ortega, 999-4600. F BOJ winner. SEE SAN MARCO.
Photos by Caron Streibich
BITE-SIZED
BITE SIZED
PERSIA AT HOME
Baymeadows kabob restaurant is inspired by Persian spices and flavors
E
ver get a hankering for grilled meat on a and onion mingled in a tomato-based skewer? Oddly enough, I occasionally do. sauce. I spooned it over the rice and didn’t After recently learning about Café want to share. There was also a mayo-based mixture of Kabob, tucked behind a McDonald’s on a busy chicken, potato and egg salad, called Salad stretch of Baymeadows Road between Philips Olivie ($8), that I had to try. Studded with Highway and I-95, I knew I wanted to put capers and green peas, and served atop organic their titular treats to the test. spinach and finely sliced red peppers, it was We started with a fresh herbed hummus surprisingly good. You get a little bit of the platter ($4), which arrived with thin, warm best of all three worlds, assuming you like pita bread squares (I preferred these to the chicken, potato and egg salad. standard thick, triangular pitas most places For dessert, we shared a triangle of serve). So far, so good. On to the main event. traditional baklava ($2), You can choose and though it was good, from five kabob entrée CAFÉ KABOB PERSIAN it was a bit too sweet for selections, or you can CUISINE my liking. order à la carte. I decided 8600 Baymeadows Rd., Lunch and dinner are on the bone-in joojeh Southside, 739-9410 available Monday through kabob ($12), with grilled Saturday. When you’re Cornish hen marinated in the Baymeadows area, in saffron, then skewered, check it out. The décor is minimal and it’s the and accompanied by a generous portion of type of spot where you can hear conversations saffron basmati rice and two juicy grilled from the next table over, but the service is tomato wedges. It was solid. equal parts friendly and attentive, and the The khoresht gheymeh bademjoon ($8) — menu items are reasonably priced and fresh. say that three times fast — which is a Persian eggplant stew, caught my eye. It too was Caron Streibich served with rice and arrived in a bowl: Thick biteclub@folioweekly.com facebook.com/folioweeklybitesized pieces of sautéed eggplant, beef, yellow peas FEBRUARY 11-17, 2015 | FOLIOWEEKLY.com | 35
ASTROLOGY
DINING DIRECTORY MONROE’S Smokehouse BAR-B-Q, 4838 Highway Ave., 389-5551, monroessmokehousebbq.com. Wings, pulled pork, brisket, turkey, ribs. Homestyle sides: beans, baked beans, mac-n-cheese, collards. $$ K TO L Mon.-Sat.; D Fri. MOON RIVER PIZZA, 1176 Edgewood Ave. S., 389-4442. F BOJ winner. SEE AMELIA ISLAND. MOSSFIRE GRILL, 1537 Margaret St., 355-4434, mossfire.com. F Southwestern fish tacos, enchiladas. Happy hour Mon.-Sat. upstairs lounge, all day Sun. $$ FB K L D Daily O’BROTHERS IRISH PUB, 1521 Margaret St., 854-9300, obrothersirishpub.com. F Traditional shepherd’s pie with Stilton crust, Guinness mac-n-cheese, fish-n-chips. Patio dining. $$ FB K TO L D Daily THE SHEIK, 7361 103rd St., 778-4805. 5172 Normandy Blvd., 786-7641. SEE ARLINGTON. SUN-RAY CINEMA, 1028 Park St., 359-0049. F Beer (Bold City, Intuition), wine, pizza, hot dogs, hummus, sandwiches, popcorn, nachos, brownies. $$ BW Daily SUSHI CAFÉ, 2025 Riverside Ave., Ste. 204, 384-2888, sushicafejacksonville.com. Sushi variety: Monster Roll, Jimmy Smith Roll; faves Rock-n-Roll, Dynamite Roll. Hibachi, tempura, katsu, teriyaki. Indoor or patio. $$ BW L D Daily
ST. AUGUSTINE
AL’S PIZZA, 1 St. George St., 824-4383. F SEE BEACHES. AVILES, 32 Avenida Menendez, 829-2277 F Hilton Bayfront. Progressive European menu; made-to-order pasta night, wine dinners, chophouse nights, breakfast buffet. Sun. champagne brunch bottomless mimosas. $$$ FB K B L D Daily CARMELO’S Marketplace & Pizzeria, 146 King St., 494-6658, carmelosmarketplace.com. F NY-style gourmet brick-oven-baked pizza, fresh rolls, Boar’s Head meats, cheeses, garlic herb wings. Outdoor dining, Wi-Fi. $$ BW TO L D Daily CLAUDE’S CHOCOLATE, 6 Granada St., 829-5790. In The Market. Wine and chocolate pairings, soft-serve ice cream, coffee bar, fresh fruit ice pops, cookies. $$ TO THE FLORIDIAN, 39 Cordova St., 829-0655, thefloridian staug.com. Updated Southern fare; fresh ingredients. Vegetarian, gluten-free. Fried green tomato bruschetta, grits with shrimp, fish or tofu. $$$ BW K TO L D Wed.-Mon. GYPSY CAB COMPANY, 828 Anastasia Blvd., 824-8244, gypsycab.com. F A local mainstay for 25+ years. The menu changes twice daily. Signature dish: Gypsy chicken. Seafood, tofu, duck, veal. Sun. brunch. $$ FB R Sun.; L D Daily THE ICE PLANT BAR, 110 Riberia St., 829-6553, iceplant bar.com. Farm-to-table, locally sourced fare, hand-crafted drinks, house-made bitters, syrups. $$$ FB TO D Nightly MELLOW MUSHROOM, 410 Anastasia Blvd., 826-4040. F Bite Club. BOJ winner. SEE BEACHES. MOJO OLD CITY BBQ, 5 Cordova, 342-5264. F BOJ winner. SEE BEACHES. PACIFIC ASIAN BISTRO, 159 Palencia Village Dr., Ste. 111, 808-1818, pacificasianbistro.com. F Chef Mas Lui creates 30+ sushi rolls; fresh sea scallops, Hawaiian-style poke tuna salad. Sake. $$-$$$ BW L D Daily SALT LIFE FOOD SHACK, 321 A1A Beach Blvd., 217-3256, saltlifefoodshack.com. BOJ winner. SEE BEACHES. TEMPO, 16 Cathedral Place, 547-0240. Latin American fusion wine bar and restaurant offers traditional American fare with a Latin flair; sandwiches, too. $$ BW L D Tue.-Sun.
ST. JOHNS TOWN CENTER
BENTO CAFE Asian Kitchen & Sushi, 4860 Big Island Dr., Ste. 1, 564-9494, bentocafesushi.com. Pan-Asian, wok stir-fry, fire-grilled, sushi bar. $$ K FB TO L D Daily MOXIE KITCHEN+COCKTAILS, 4972 Big Island Dr., 998-9744, moxiefl.com. BOJ winner. Chef Tom Gray does contemporary American cuisine – seafood, steaks, pork, burgers – locally sourced when possible. $$$ FB K L Mon.-Fri.; D Nightly M SHACK, 10281 Midtown Pkwy., 642-5000, mshack burgers.com. F BOJ winner. SEE BEACHES. OVINTE, 10208 Buckhead Branch Dr., 900-7730, ovinte. com. European-style dining influenced by Italy, Spain, the Mediterranean. Small plates, entrée-sized portions, selections from the cheese a charcuterie menu. $$$ BW TO R D Daily
SAN MARCO, SOUTHBANK
ALLURE THAI & SUSHI, 1004 Hendricks Ave., 674-0190, basilthaijax.com. F Authentic dishes: Pad Thai, curries, sashimi, fresh sushi, daily specials. $$ FB L D Mon.-Sat. BISTRO AIX, 1440 San Marco Blvd., 398-1949, bistrox. com. Mediterranean and French inspired cuisine includes steak frites, oak-fired pizza and a new raw bar with seasonal selections. $$$ FB TO L D Daily DICK’S WINGS, 1610 University Blvd. W., 448-2110. BOJ winner. SEE PONTE VEDRA. FUSION SUSHI, 1550 University Blvd. W., 636-8688, fusionsushijax.com. F Upscale sushi spot serves a variety of fresh sushi, sashimi, hibachi, teriyaki, kiatsu. $$ K L D Daily THE GROTTO Wine & Tapas Bar, 2012 San Marco Blvd., 398-0726. F Artisanal cheese plates, empanadas, bruschetta, cheesecake. 60+ wines by the glass. $$$ BW Tue.-Sun. HAMBURGER MARY’S Bar & Grille, 3333 Beach Blvd., Ste. 1, 551-2048, hamburgermarys.com. Wings, sammies, nachos, entrées, specialty drinks, burgers. $$ K TO FB L D Daily LA NOPALERA, 1631 Hendricks, 399-1768. F BOJ winner. SEE MANDARIN. MEZZE BAR & GRILL, 2016 Hendricks Ave., 683-0693, mezzejax.com. Classic cocktails, fresh basil martinis, 35 draft beers, local/craft brews, Mediterranean cuisine. Hookah patio. Happy hour. $$ FB D Daily
36 | FOLIOWEEKLY.com | FEBRUARY 11-17, 2015
MATTHEW’S, 2107 Hendricks Ave., 396-9922, matthews restaurant.com. Chef Matthew Medure’s flagship. Fine dining, artfully presented cuisine, small plates, martini/wine lists. Happy hour Mon.-Fri. Reservations. $$$$ FB D Mon.-Sat. METRO DINER, 3302 Hendricks Ave., 398-3701, metrodiner.com. F BOJ winner. Original upscale diner. Meatloaf, chicken pot pie, soups. $$ B R L Daily MOJO BAR-B-QUE, 1607 University Blvd. W., 732-7200. F BOJ winner. SEE BEACHES. PIZZA PALACE, 1959 San Marco, 399-8815. F SEE
BAYMEADOWS.
PULP, 1962 San Marco Blvd., 396-9222, pulpaddiction. com. The juice bar offers fresh juices, frozen yogurt, teas, coffees, 30 kinds of smoothies. $ TO B L D Daily TAVERNA, 1986 San Marco, 398-3005, tavernasanmarco. com. Chef Sam Efron’s authentic Italian; local produce, meats. Craft beers, handcrafted cocktails. $$$ FB K TO R L D Daily
SOUTHSIDE, TINSELTOWN
360° GRILLE, Latitude 360, 10370 Philips Hwy., 365-5555, latitude360.com. F Popular place serves seafood, steaks, burgers, chicken, sandwiches, pizza. Patio, movie theater. $$ FB TO L D Daily AKEL’S, 7077 Bonneval Rd., 332-8700. F SEE DOWNTOWN. ALHAMBRA THEATRE & Dining, 12000 Beach Blvd., 641-1212, alhambrajax.com. USA’s longest-running dinner theater; Chef DeJuan Roy’s themed menus. Reservations. $$ FB D Tue.-Sun. BARBERITOS, 4320 Deerwood Lake Pkwy., Ste. 106, 807-9060. SEE AMELIA ISLAND. BENTO CAFE Asian Kitchen & Sushi, 9734 Deer Lake Ct., Ste. 11, 503-3238. SEE ST. JOHNS TOWN CENTER. CASA MARIA, 14965 Old St. Augustine, 619-8186. SEE BEACHES DANCIN DRAGON, 9041 Southside Blvd., Ste. 138D, 363-9888. BOGO lunches and an Asian fusion menu. $$ FB K L D Daily DICK’S WINGS, 10750 Atlantic Blvd., 619-0954. BOJ winner. SEE PONTE VEDRA. THE DIM SUM ROOM, 9041 Southside, Ste. 138D, 363-9888, thedimsumroom.com. Shrimp dumplings, beef tripe, sesame ball. Traditional Hong Kong noodles, barbecue. $ FB K L D Daily EUROPEAN STREET, 5500 Beach Blvd., 398-1717. BOJ winner. SEE RIVERSIDE. HZ CAFE, 6426 Bowden Rd., Ste. 206, 527-1078. Healthy concept cafe: juices, smoothies, traditional vegan, vegetarian, gluten-free meals and desserts. $ K TO B L Mon.-Fri. LARRY’S SUBS, 3611 St. Johns Bluff S., 641-6499. 4479 Deerwood Lake Pkwy., 425-4060. F SEE ORANGE PARK. MELLOW MUSHROOM, 9734 Deer Lake Ct., 997-1955. F Bite Club. BOJ winner. SEE BEACHES. MONROE’S Smokehouse BAR B-Q, 10771 Beach Blvd., 996-7900, monroessmokehousebbq.com. SEE RIVERSIDE. PAPI CHULO’S, 9726 Touchton Rd., Ste. 105, 329-1763, ilovepapichulos.com. Tinseltown restaurant offers fresh, authentic Mexican street food, top-shelf tequilas, specialty drinks. Kids eat free. $$ K FB L D Daily THE PIG BAR-B-Q, 11925 Beach Blvd., Ste. 5, 619-0321, thepigbarbq.com. Fourth-generation barbecue institution has been family-owned for 60+ years. The signature item is mustard-based “pig sauce.” $ BW K TO B, L D Daily SEVEN BRIDGES Grille & Brewery, 9735 Gate Pkwy., 997-1999, 7bridgesgrille.com. F Local seafood, steaks, pizzas. Brewer Aaron Nesbit handcrafts ales, lagers. $$ FB K TO L D Daily TAVERNA YAMAS, 9753 Deer Lake Ct., 854-0426, tavernayamas.com. F Bite Club. Char-broiled kabobs, seafood, wines, desserts. Belly dancing. $$ FB K L D Daily TOMMY’S Brick Oven Pizza, 4160 Southside, Ste. 2, 565-1999, tbopizza.com. New York-style thin crust, brickoven-baked pizzas (gluten-free), calzones, sandwiches. Boylan’s soda. Curbside pick-up. $$ BW TO L D Mon.-Sat. THE VISCONDE’S Argentinian Grill, 11925 Beach Blvd., Ste. 201, 379-3925. The area’s only Argentinian place. Traditional steaks, varieties of sausages, pasta, sandwiches, empañadas, wines. $$$ BW TO L D Tue.-Sun. WORLD OF BEER, 9700 Deer Lake Court, Ste. 1, 551-5929, worldofbeer.com. F Burgers, sliders,flatbreads, German pretzels, hummus, pickle chips. Craft German, Cali, Florida, Irish drafts. Wines. $$ BW L D Daily
SPRINGFIELD, NORTHSIDE
HOLA Mexican Restaurant, 1001 N. Main St., 356-3100, holamexicanrestaurant.com. F Fajitas, burritos, enchiladas, daily specials. Happy hour; sangria. $ BW K TO L D Mon.-Sat. LARRY’S SUBS, 12001 Lem Turner Rd., 764-9999. SEE ORANGE PARK.
SAVANNAH BISTRO, 14670 Duval Rd., 741-4404. F Low Country Southern fare, taste of Mediterranean and French. Crowne Plaza Airport. Crab cakes, NY strip, she crab soup, mahi mahi. $$$ FB K B L D Daily THE SHEIK, 2708 N. Main St., 353-8181. SEE ARLINGTON. UPTOWN MARKET, 1303 Main St. N., 355-0734, uptown marketjax.com. Bite Club. Fresh quality fare; farm-totable selections, daily specials. $$ BW TO B L Daily To get listed, call your account manager or Sam Taylor at 904.260.9770 ext. 111 or staylor@folioweekly.com. DINING DIRECTORY KEY Average Entrée Cost $ = Less than $8 $$ = $8-$14 $$$ = $15-$22 $$$$ = $23 & up BW = Beer/Wine FB = Full Bar K = Kids’ Menu TO = Take Out B = Breakfast R = Brunch L = Lunch D = Dinner Bite Club = Hosted free FW Bite Club tasting. To join, go to fwbiteclub.com. 2014 Best of Jax winner F = FW distribution spot
PAUL CÉZANNE, VIRGINIA WOOLF & SEX ON THE BEACH ARIES (March 21-April 19): There are many facets to your intelligence, and each matures at a different rate. For example, your ability to think symbolically may evolve more slowly than your ability to think abstractly. Your wisdom about why humans act the way they do may ripen more rapidly than insight into your emotions. In the weeks ahead, one particular aspect of your intelligence has a growth spurt: knowledge of what your body needs and how to get it.
gift in appreciation of his talents: a gallon of wine every day for the rest of his life. That’s not what I’d have wanted if I’d been Chaucer. I’d never get any work done if I quaffed 16 glasses of wine every 24 hours. Couldn’t I get a regular stipend instead? Remember this story as you contemplate the benefi ts or rewards that might be available. Ask for what you really need, not necessarily what the giver offers.
OVERSET
TAURUS (April 20-May 20): What’s the proper blend for you these days? Like 51 percent pleasure, 49 percent business? Or would you be wiser to shoot for 49 percent pleasure, 51 percent business? It’s up to you. Try to interweave business and pleasure often. You’re in one of those action-packed phases when fun dovetails well with ambition. You make productive connections at parties and spice up your social life by taking advantage of what comes through work. GEMINI (May 21-June 20): In 1900, the world’s most renowned mathematicians met at a Paris conference. German whiz David Hilbert introduced his master list of 23 unsolved mathematical problems. At the time, no one had done such an exhaustive inventory. His well-defined challenge set the agenda for math research throughout the 20th century. Today, he’s regarded as an influential visionary. Make a list of your top unsolved problems. You have extra insight about catalytic projects you’d be wise to work on and play with in the future. CANCER (June 21-July 22): Scientists use the adjective “spanipelagic” to describe creatures in deep water which float up to the surface on rare occasions. The term isn’t a perfect metaphorical fit for you, since you come up for air more often than that. You do go through phases when you’re inclined to linger a long time in the abyss, enjoying dark mysteries and fathomless emotions. According to my astrological omen-reading, it’s what you’ve been doing. Any day now, you’ll rise up from the Great Down Below and head topside for an extended stay. LEO (July 23-Aug. 22): When faced with a big decision, you may say you want to “sleep on it.” You postpone a final determination until you gather more information and ripen your understanding of pressing issues. That could involve a good night’s sleep. What happens in your dreams may reveal nuances you can’t pry loose with a waking consciousness alone. Even if you don’t recall the dreams, your sleeping mind is busy processing and reworking possibilities. Make liberal use of the “sleep on it” approach in the weeks ahead. Revel in wisdom that wells up as you lie down in the dark. VIRGO (Aug. 23-Sept. 22): In 1962, Edward Albee published his play Who’s Afraid of Virginia Woolf? It won several awards and is still performed by theater groups. Albee says the title came to him as he was having a beer in New York City bar. When he went to the restroom, he saw the words “Who’s Afraid of Virginia Woolf?” scrawled in soap on the mirror. Be alert for that kind of inspiration in the days ahead: unexpected, provocative, out of context. You never know when and where you may be given clues about the next plot twist in your life. LIBRA (Sept. 23-Oct. 22): Medieval English King Edward III’s favorite poet was Geoffrey Chaucer. In 1374, the king promised Chaucer a
SCORPIO (Oct. 23-Nov. 21): To make the cocktail Sex on the Beach, you mix cranberry juice, orange juice, pineapple juice, peach schnapps and vodka. There’s an alternative “mocktail” called Safe Sex on the Beach. It has the same fruit juices, but no alcohol. Given the chance your inner teenager plays an important role in upcoming adventures, favor the Safe-Sex-on-the-Beach metaphor instead of Sex-on-the-Beach approach. At least for a bit, it’s best to show a bit of protective restraint toward the wild and sometimes erratic juvenile energy pushing to be expressed. SAGITTARIUS (Nov. 22-Dec. 21): In Herman Melville’s short story “Bartleby, the Scrivener,” a lawyer hires a man named Bartleby to work in his office. At first Bartleby’s a model employee, carrying out his assignments with dogged skill. One day it all begins to change. When his boss asks him to do a specific task, Bartleby says, “I would prefer not to.” As the days go by, he does less and less, until he stops altogether. Be inspired by his slowdown. Haven’t you done enough for now? Haven’t you been exemplary in your commitment to the daily struggle? Don’t you deserve a break in the action to recharge your psychospiritual batteries? Yes. Consider this your battle cry: “I would prefer not to.” CAPRICORN (Dec. 22-Jan. 19): “All life is an experiment. The more experiments you make the better.” That’s what American philosopher Ralph Waldo Emerson advised. Even if you’re not naturally inclined to see its potential wisdom, play with it for the next three weeks. You don’t need to do it forever. It doesn’t have to be a permanent part of your philosophy. Experiment with the possibility that trying lots of experiments leads to new truths that are fun, interesting and useful. AQUARIUS (Jan. 20-Feb. 18): The art of French Aquarian painter Armand Guillaumin (1841-1927) hangs in prestigious museums. He isn’t as famous as fellow Impressionists Paul Cézanne and Camille Pissarro, but he had a big influence on them. His career developed slowly; he had to work a day job to earn a living. When he was 50, he won a wad of free money in the national lottery, and then devoted himself full-time to painting. Not saying you’ll have a windfall like that, but anything’s possible. At the very least, your income may rise. PISCES (Feb. 19-March 20): “It isn’t normal to know what we want,” said pioneering psychologist Abraham Maslow. “It is a rare and difficult psychological achievement.” That’s the bad news. The good news? You may be on the verge of rendering that theory irrelevant. In the weeks ahead, you’re better primed to discover what you really want than you’ve been in a long time. Do a ritual; vow to unmask this treasured secret. Write a formal statement to declare your intention to achieve full understanding of reasons you’re alive. Rob Brezsny freewillastrology@freewillastrology.com
NEWS OF THE WEIRD GOOD OL’ BOY A miles-long traffic jam on I-20 near Tuscaloosa, Alabama, on Jan. 25 and on into the next morning was caused by an 18-wheeler that jackknifed and overturned when the 57-year-old driver took his hands off the wheel to pull out a tooth with his fingers. Hauling the truck off the roadside required an hours-long detour of traffic off the highway. The driver had the tooth in his pocket when rescued. UNCLEAR ON THE CONCEPT Luis Moreno Jr., 26, was pursued by police in Fort Lee, New Jersey, after he entered the carpool lane approaching the George Washington Bridge in January because he seemed to be alone in his SUV. After ignoring several signals to pull over, he finally stopped and, when told his offense, said to the cop, “I have two passengers in the back” and rolled down a window to show them in the vehicle’s third row, apparently satisfying the officer. As Moreno pulled away, one passenger began screaming and banging on the back door. Moreno sped off with his hostages, but was stopped again and charged with kidnapping and criminal restraint — but no HOV violation! Mike Montemayor, until recently a county commissioner in Laredo, Texas, pleaded guilty to bribery charges in June; in January, he’d argued he should get a light sentence because, after all, he’d subsequently helped FBI agents in a sting against three other officials accused of bribery. The prosecutor countered that Montemayor had in fact tried to steal the recording devices and Apple computer the FBI lent him to do the undercover work. He got six years in prison and a $109,000 fine. NEW CHILD-PORN POSSESSION EXCUSE In January, poet Les Merton, 70, denied he’d ever abused children, but had a more difficult time explaining why a child-porn website had his credit card information. Merton holds the appointed title of Cornish bard in Cornwall, England, and is the author of the
Official Encyclopedia of the Cornish Pasty — and explained in Truro Crown Court that he must’ve mindlessly entered his credit card information while researching the 19thcentury Russian figure Rasputin. YA PAYS FOR IT ONE WAY OR ANOTHER British tourist Peter Cousins, 55, is dealing with a medical bill of $250,000 after deciding the middle of a Nevada desert was a good place to have sex — which provoked a heart attack, leading to emergency rescue and a fiveday hospital stay (and, eventually, a breakup with his then-girlfriend). NEXT YEAR IN ISRAEL! Last year in Middle East school markets, worldwide publishing giant HarperCollins was selling a popular atlas whose maps didn’t show Israel as a country. The space was merged into Jordan, Syria and Gaza. The company said it was honoring “local preferences” of potential atlas purchasers, whom HarperCollins presumed were Arabs wishing Israel didn’t exist. In January, the company finally changed course, publicly “regretted” its decision and recalled all existing stock. SAME AS THE OLD BOSS In November, Montanan John Abarr told the Great Falls Tribune his Rocky Mountain Knights of the Ku Klux Klan opposes the “new world order” pushing a “one government” system on the planet — but also stands against discrimination based on race, religion or sexual orientation. “White supremacy is the old Klan,” he said. “This is the new Klan.” He also said robes and hoods will still be required, along with “secret rituals.” SHE SAID YEEEEESSS In January, a tourist visiting the Spanish island of Ibiza with her boyfriend jumped up joyously as he proposed marriage to her, lost her balance and fell 65 feet off a cliff to her death. Chuck Shepherd weirdnews@earthlink.net
FOLIO WEEKLY PUZZLER by MERL REAGLE. Presented by
SAN MARCO 2044 SAN MARCO BLVD. 398-9741
PONTE VEDRA
THE SHOPPES OF PONTE VEDRA
330 A1A NORTH 280-1202
SOUTHSIDE
AVONDALE 3617 ST. JOHNS AVE. 10300 SOUTHSIDE BLVD. 388-5406 394-1390 AVENUES MALL
Double Dating
83 Parakeet’s eats 84 Floodgates 86 All the lothario had left after his bed was repossessed? 89 Poem part ACROSS 90 Love personified Chin feature 91 “That feels good” Do a yard job 92 Mormon letters A band coming or going 93 Ex-speechwriter Peggy 96 Celebrity gossip show Sahara slitherers 99 Designer of D.C.’s French textiles city L’Enfant Plaza Prohibition, for one 101 What the lovestruck Bay window astronomers had? Conscious 107 Aid criterion Horse play 111 Canine’s neighbor What the smitten card 112 Good to go players often did? “Father Goose” actress 113 Told too often 114 Like much of Kansas Idlers in a jam 115 Became the steady date Ocean motions of a wrestler? Heavyweight champ with 118 Grinned broadly a 49-0 record 119 Formal identification Arena section 120 Tools for duels Like Frankenstein and 121 Not là his bride? Girl compared to cider, in 122 Bygone gas brand 123 Dict. companion a song 124 Clancy hero Pub crawler? 125 Water tester Think highly of 126 In it to ___ Old LAPD alert Word with “weigh” DOWN Offer as proof 1 Slip preventer Billy Joel’s ___ Out 2 ___DATING What the Invisible Man thought his girlfriend was 3 Remove by dissolving doing behind his back? 4 ___DATING Warehouse purpose 5 Hardy heroine Just slightly 6 Bombay-born maestro From another museum, 7 Tater Tots maker perhaps 8 Thoreau work Hindu epic hero 9 Name in Notre Dame Healthy look lore Prentiss of Catch-22 10 53 Across container Misguesses, e.g. 11 Snorer’s victim Outside the rules 12 French wine region Like the two electricians’ 13 Look forward to dating status? 14 Rom-com-drama, Math problem number Forgetting ___ Marshall Knight’s protection 15 Predisposed Doodad 16 Man of la casa 19 Very, very Protected goose 20 ___DATING Hall of famer Wilhelm Fake ID carriers, perhaps 23 Nimble-fingered
With an eye on Valentine’s Day, here’s a puzzle with two themes. They have nothing in common, but they make a cute couple.
1 6 9 13 17 18 19 20 21 22 24 25 26 27 29 30 33 35 36 37 40 42 43 48 53 55 56 57 59 60 62 63 65 70 72 73 77 78 80 1
2
3
4
5
6
17
18
21
22
25
26
29
8
38
39
48
A M A J
B A S E
E D E I A E R
A R I S E
N E W T S
T H E R E
T H U D
H O P E
A S T A
N O T S O
12
51
43
52
53
68
79 86
89
58
94
P I A N O
S C R A P
M O O R
S P R Y
I N S E T
N O S E S
13
14
15
16
44
45
46
47
74
75
76
59 64
69 73
80
81
82
87
83 88
90 93
M A P
N E E D
54
63
67
85
H E R B
O N C E
32
42
78
Y E S
E A N S R G O N E R V I A P O C K U L P R O S A S O L S E L E O U D R S P I S D O L L E F L O C Y T O OM R U I S S I O S T E L I E N E T R A
28
72
77
L A S T L A P
36
71
84
S U P E R B U G
A B A I A S M T H E C O A T H E C E H S C I H A D E P O E T I L L A T P A N T L O O R O N T O S O D A F O R A N C R H T H E A G E T O R
24
62 66
11
B L O N D E
20
57
61
70
C I T E D
E S T A D T O A O U S F R L O A R O U N S A U S K I S S I N T H E N S A C S H O P E P I N Y O U N G A P E F O T U S N A L L I R U I S I P A L E S SW I M P O U P A N M
27
50
65
S A R A
10
56
60
I N V O K E
23
41
49
55
H A R D C
19
35
40
S T E N O
31
34
___DATING Fervor Road to recovery Line on a horse Foreign policy grp. Holy-ark contents Greek letter Parts of a tour ___DATING Abstainer’s choice ___ Loves You Tendency toward chaos Friction reducer Wild ass of Asia It rides the rails in Spain “I ___ this time!” Louisiana music ___DATING Nautical pole Straight dope Tree house Abbr. after Scott Brown’s name when he was a senator Bearded flower Steve’s longtime singing partner Shirley of Goldfinger ___DATING Boarding place Sub side A caddy may hold it Confident solver’s prop
Solution to Four Little Words (2/4/15) A S N E R
9
30 33
37
7
28 Baseball scoreboard 71 letters 74 30 Chutney ingredient, 75 often 76 31 Old stage line? 77 32 Perfume compound 79 34 Racket 81 82 37 Lickety-split 85 38 Animal lovers’ org. 87 39 Steady guy 88 41 Govt.-issued ID 90 42 Simple soups 94 44 Key player? 95 45 ___DATING 96 46 Horror-film helper 97 47 Shiny, perhaps 98 49 “Go ahead, make my 100 day!” 101 50 Mrs. with a cow 102 51 Memento ___ 103 52 Pull down, in a way 104 53 Urban woe 54 “Cheerio” 58 Not digital 105 61 What Vanna might reveal 106 64 Garden of Eden tree 66 Court great 108 67 Nursery sounds 109 68 April Love composer 110 Sammy 113 69 Done, in Verdun 116 70 Creme/creme insert 117
91
95
96
101 102 103 104
105
111
112
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92 99
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107 108 109 110 113
114
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116 117
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FEBRUARY 11-17, 2015 | FOLIOWEEKLY.com | 37
HELP WANTED
HELLO, YOUNG LOVERS (aka ISU writers)! The limit for ISU notices is 40 words ONLY. No messages with more than 40 words will be accepted. Please keep your message short & sweet. Thanks! NICE TO MEET YOU You: Tall, handsome, broken wrist. Me: Cute, athletic, long sandy hair. Helped me sign out paddleboard; said it was nice to meet. Maybe you caught my name; don’t know yours. Meet 11 a.m. Feb. 13 at the lake. When: Jan. 31. Where: UNF Lake Oneida. #1506-0211 ASIAN GODDESS SNAP FITNESS Me: Purposefully stretching longer, in safe creeping distance. You: Gleaming from sweat, holding handstand a respectable amount of time! Took off shoes, socks; caught me watching. Kept gaze. You smiled, continued poses. Left before drool commenced. When: Jan. 20. Where: Snap Fitness. #1505-0204 HOTTIE IN A HAMMOCK You: Tall, leggy, brunette, great skin, rocking in hammock by her pool. Me: Scotch-loving bald guy who still loves a Fierce Polish Viking. Hoping you’ll rock me tonight like your body rocks in that hammock. When: Jan. 28. Where: Beside the pool. #1504-0128 HOT COFFEE MAN You: tall, dark hair, carrying Starbucks. Me: tall, yellow shirt. ISU at Starbucks 20 minutes earlier; again in parking garage stairwell. You held door open for me, I smiled, thanked you. Did you remember me? Let’s get coffee. When: Jan. 22. Baptist Medical Ctr. Garage. #1503-0128 BAYMEADOWS BUSINESS You: Bald white guy, sharp dresser, older white Saturn. Me: Slim white guy. Had my eye on you; said hi when you wished me Happy Holidays on Christmas Eve. Let’s have lunch sometime! When: Dec. 24. Where: Baymeadows management company. #1502-0114 FILL HER UP You: Tall, handsome, blue shirt that said “Refill.” Me: Sexy, in orange dress. Looking for headphones; made small talk. Wanted to request your number, but you looked exhausted from work. Let’s make beautiful music, Mr. Refill. When: Dec. 30. Where: Best Buy. #1501-0107 LOVER FOUND AT WALMART REGISTER? Sunday, 0:45 a.m., S’s register. You: Tan jacket, eyeglasses, nice-looking man, very friendly, holiday spirit. Me: Blue jeans, jeans jacket, right behind you. Should’ve carried conversation further. Looked for you later. When: Dec. 21. Where: Normandy Walmart. #1500-0107 8-8-14; MEANING OF TIME? Easy answer. Time means nothing, absolutely nothing outside context of you. Hours seem like hours, days like days. Dice don’t match. Cards on my heart’s table come up different. Don’t fret; the UNIverse loves us; it’s MASTER of time. When: Aug. 8. Where: Pagan Idol. #1436-1224 TELL[ER] ME ABOUT YOU You: Nice, redheaded, long braid bank teller, remembered my papa’s last name. Me: Young, blonde-bearded, with white-bearded retired police officer. Let’s have coffee sometime; offi cially meet! When: Dec. 19 FOP Christmas Party. Where: FOP Lodge #530. #1435-1224 LOVED THE SHOW... You: Brunette, glasses, stunningly beautiful; upstairs with some guys. Loved watching you put on lipstick; you looked at me, eyes communicated deep hunger. My girlfriend told you I thought you were beautiful. I’d love to talk. Me: Long-sleeved green shirt. You know. When: Dec. 13. Where: OP Kennel Clubhouse. #1434-1224 HOPE WOMAN I SAW READS THIS... You: long, black, curly hair, glasses, tan complexion, beautiful smile!; headed to NY. Me: Non-descript white guy. Not sure if you saw me; thought we locked eyes. Couldn’t keep my eyes off you! Remember? When: Dec. 4. Where: Jax International Airport. #1433-1224 DEM PINSTRIPES THO ... Light glittered off your beautiful bald head. Gave me that look, poured drink. Hands touched as you gave me the glass. Instantly knew you’re my only bartender. Liked big orange you gave me. Personal bartender? When: Dec. 13. Where: Time Out Sportsbar & Grill. #1432-1217
38 | FOLIOWEEKLY.com | FEBRUARY 11-17, 2015
V. AND T. AT TOWN CENTER ISU at Aeropostale and American Eagle where we introduced one another. I didn’t want to ask you for your number in front of my daughter. I’d love to see you again, T. When: Dec. 10. Where: Town Center. #1431-1217 SAMSUNG MAN AT BJ’s We both purchased Samsung Chrome on Sunday. You said I’d like keyboard. I said: hope I can get used to it; wanted to ask are you married? Me: Tall, light-skinned. You: Brown, handsome. If unattached, look me up. When: Dec. 7. Where: BJ’s Atlantic Blvd. #1430-1217 MISSING TOOTH GIRL You: Attractive girl, purple dress, missing a front teeth. Me: Handsome devil, orange tank top. I commented I liked your gap before I realized it was a missing tooth. Let’s hop back, get a fountain drink together? When: Dec. 4. Where: Kangaroo San Pablo. #1429-1210 LIBRARY LOOKER There was nothing spooky about you staring at me, the redhead, on Halloween from Deerwood library check-out line. Tall guy in jeans, what would’ve happened had I held your lengthy stare? Let me know. When: 11:30 a.m. Oct. 31. Where: Southeast Regional Library. #1428-1203 CAN’T GET U OUTTA MY MIND ISU at hospital visit; made my heart pump fast. You: prettiest nurse in white and blue; finest shape, lips, hips, face. If you were mine, I’d hold you in my arms, treat you like a queen. When: Nov. 26. Where: St. Vincent’s Hosp. #1427-1203 LOML – SKY OCEAN GALAXY Handsome professional, great shoulders and electrifying smile wearing a tie. All others hands-off! When: Nov. 23. Where: Southside. #1426-1203 HANDSOME DOG LOVER AT INTUITION You: Handsome man, orange shirt, lots of friends. Me: Short, green-eyed brunette, blue shirt. You asked about my dog, white German shepherd, seemed to like you. Single? Meet at Intuition 11/28, same time? When: Nov. 21. Where: Intuition Ale Works. #1425-1126 YOU DIDN’T LEAVE! We stared across bar, like we knew it was beginning of deepest connection, friendship, and love we’d ever know. Haven’t left... Slainte! kanpai! Drink your Dirty Girl Scout. Here’s to finding each other again. Really like you! When: April 2011. Where: Bomba’s. #1424-1126 CUTIE ON A SUZUKI You: Stylish, curly-haired cutie on Suzuki cafe racer. Me: Raven-haired lass, gray VW Jetta. Sipped coffee at light, turning on Riverside. Looked left, noticed Suzuki. Liked your shoes, style, dirty-blonde locks under helmet. Meet for drink? When: Nov. 12. Where: Riverside Ave. #1423-1119 BEARDED HOTTIE, SILVER FORD You: Behind me on 95N from Baymeadows to I-10 interchange on 11/4 at 3 p.m.; Nassau tag, dark beard, ball cap, amazing smile. Me: Brown SUV. Can’t get you out of my mind. Can we meet? When: Nov. 4, 3 p.m. Where: Baymeadows & I-95. #1422-1112 I SAW U Connection Made!
PULLING FOR ORIOLES You: Cranberry shirt, said to me, “I was pulling for them” referring to my Orioles T-shirt. Me: Orioles T-shirt, I said “Yeah” and kept walking. Wish I would have started a conversation. Let’s talk! When: Oct. 26. Where: Publix on Hodges. #1421-1105 I SAW U Connection Made!
RUNNING SHIRTLESS You: It was around 6:20, you were running through Memorial Park. Caught me checking you out. Me: Wearing the blue shirt. We smiled, I watched you run off – quite a sight. We need to run together. When: Oct. 22. Where: Memorial Park. #1420-1029
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BACKPAGE EDITORIAL
THE TWO SOULS OF ST. AUGUSTINE
As it heads into its 450th anniversary, The Ancient City needs to own up to the dark side of its history
W
henever I travel and tell people I am from St. Augustine, the almost universal response is “I love St. Augustine!” Pleasant as it is to have one’s hometown gushed over, I must admit that the praise puts my mind into overtime, wondering exactly which St. Augustine they love. Is it the beautiful historic city, or the place where “preservation by bulldozer” was long the dominant approach? Is it the place where Spaniards, Africans and Greeks settled centuries ago (as Johnny-Come-Latelys to those who had already been here thousands of years), or the place that became notorious in the 1960s for some of the most violent confrontations in the Civil Rights Movement? St. Augustine is definitely a place of two souls, and to herald only one is to miss half its significance, for better or for worse. In the 1950s, amid postwar prosperity, the nation was swept with a dreadful program called “Urban Renewal” that resulted in the wholesale demolition of historic buildings from coast to coast. Its legacy is universally reviled by preservationists today. St. Augustine did not escape this plague, but there was a twist: Here it was called “restoration.” It involved bulldozing more than a hundred years’ worth of old buildings. What replaced these structures were not high-rise housing projects, but rather small buildings in Spanish colonial garb that clustered together around St. George Street in what became the heart of the modern-day tourist ghetto. There were a handful of authentic buildings restored, dating back to the 1700s, but most of what the visitors would wind up seeing was about as authentic as Main Street Disneyworld. Over the years, some of the first generation of small fake buildings have also met the bulldozer and been replaced with larger — and more profitable — fakes. The original game plan was to populate those buildings with artisans and craftisans in “period dress” demonstrating past ways of doing things. That proved to be not riveting enough for a tourist audience and, one by one, the buildings were repurposed as T-shirt shops, rubber alligator emporiums, ice cream vendors and the like. It was a local joke, but it pumped money into the economy. It should have been an eerie warning when the 1959 enabling legislation establishing the “restoration” program described St. Augustine as “the oldest community of the white race,”
because things were happening simultaneously that would make that kind of language stick out like a sore thumb. A black dentist, Dr. Robert Hayling (beaten by the Ku Klux Klan in 1963, home shot up in 1964, inducted into the Florida Civil Rights Hall of Fame in 2014), led a movement to overcome the noxious effects of racial segregation in the Ancient City. I imagine the organizers of St. Augustine’s 400th birthday celebration, scheduled for 1965, thought a major question was whether enough cash registers could be crammed into town to hold all the money that visitors were going to be spending here. That proved not to be a problem. National attention, instead of highlighting the costumed birthday, was grabbed instead by a series of dramatic episodes in a great moral drama acted out on the city’s streets for an audience that learned what was wrong with the old way of doing things, racially speaking. The 1963 arrest of the St. Augustine Four, young black teenagers who spent six months in jail and reform school for seeking a hamburger and Coke at the Woolworth’s lunch counter, resulted in protests by Jackie Robinson and Martin Luther King Jr. and a host of disapproving editorials from Miami to New York and beyond. The arrest of Mrs. Peabody, the 72-year-old mother of the governor of Massachusetts, for attempting to be served in an interracial group at the Ponce de Leon Motor Lodge was front-page news around the country on April Fools’ Day, 1964. The largest mass arrest of rabbis in American history took place at the Monson Motor Lodge on the bayfront in June, just a week after Dr. King’s only arrest in Florida took place at the same site. The day the U.S. Senate went to vote on the landmark Civil Rights Act of 1964, a Washington newspaper ran a front-page picture of the manager of the Monson (and president of the Florida Hotel & Motel Association) redefining “Southern hospitality” by pouring acid into his pool while a racially integrated group was swimming in it. It has become the most famous photograph ever taken in the Ancient City, and surely must have solidified any possible wavering votes in the Senate. President Lyndon Johnson said the whole foreign policy of the United States was going to hell over a motel swimming pool in St. Augustine, Florida. Our heroes were heroic, and our villains were villainous. Never had events on our streets
had such widespread effect, changing America and inspiring the world. When the excitement was over, and the media decamped, first for Mississippi and then for Selma, the Ancient City’s powers-that-were tried to sweep it under the rug and return to its comfort zone of fake buildings, funny costumes and all-white history. That era lasted through the end of the century and beyond, with nationally important Civil Rights landmarks like the Monson and the Ponce de Leon Motor Lodge demolished in 2003 and 2004, respectively, to great delight in City Hall. Times change, people change, age and die, and demographics change. The county that housed 40,000 in the 1970s doubled, tripled, quadrupled and quintupled, particularly with the real estate boom that followed on the heels of 9/11. Where you used to regularly run into people whose families had been here for 13 generations, you now increasingly heard people boast, “I’ve been here for five years,” or “I’ve been here for two years,” or “I’ve been here for six months,” as if that qualified them as locally savvy old-timers. The segregationists whose notions were socially acceptable (indeed, de rigueur among many whites) in the 1960s have been marginalized, and now they decline opportunities to be publicly interviewed. The city sprouted a Freedom Trail of historic sites of the Civil Rights Movement (though it was privately funded, without a dime of public support), and after seven years of (again private) fundraising, an artistic monument to the movement’s foot soldiers was erected in the downtown plaza in 2011. Then the city itself began, very belatedly, to do things with “civil rights” in the name. A major intersection was renamed for the Rev. Andrew Young, Dr. King’s lieutenant who got his first beating here in St. Augustine in 1964. Bronze castings of Young’s footprints now lead the way into the plaza. A documentary film he made called Crossing in St. Augustine has been shown around the world. It was instructive that after a packed local premiere, many people came out in tears, saying, “I had no idea that happened here.” That was how complete and effective the sweeping under the rug had been. In 2014, the aged, surviving rabbis, arrested a half-century earlier, returned and were honored by the city. They chuckled when I read them a 1964 newspaper report saying: “A local official who is investigating the religious affiliation
of about a dozen Jewish rabbis arrested here yesterday during demonstrations said it is very possible that none of these people are rabbis, and, in fact, it is possible that several are not even Jewish.” Such was the temper of those times. The city did an exhibit on black history for the first time in the Visitors Center, and some of those who ducked bricks and rocks during demonstrations and avoided being splashed with acid in the Monson pool were invited to lunch with the mayor and other city officials. So far, so good. But St. Augustine, of course, is a city of two souls. A new documentary by Andrew Young that aired in Jacksonville in December points out that St. Augustine is going into its hyped 450th birthday year with an all-white city commission, all-white school board, all-white county commission, all-white police department and all-white fire department. That record calls to mind the words of Henry David Thoreau: “Some circumstantial evidence is very strong, as when you find a trout in the milk.” There have been popping up around town some expensive (and publicly funded) “Wayfinding” signs listing the 46 buildings you will want to see in St. Augustine. You guessed it: Every single one of them deals only with white history. None touches on black history or the Civil Rights Movement. After this defect was pointed out, they went ahead and erected more and more of them, as if thumbing their noses in the face of any kind of inclusive history. There is always this balance. Just because we are the Ancient City does not mean that our children grow up aspiring to earn a PhD in history. Most would settle for making money. Are we, on the one hand, a history-teacherat-large to the world, dedicated to seeking out the facts and promoting the true and whole story? Or do we have a God-given obligation to shake loose every possible dime from our tourists, even if it takes all the imaginary ghosts, costumed pirates and closely watched parking meters in the Western Hemisphere to accomplish that goal? Next time you visit St. Augustine, look around and decide for yourself how that balance is working out. David Nolan mail@folioweekly.com
The author is a St. Augustine author and historian.
Folio Weekly welcomes Backpage Editorial submissions. Essays should be no more than 1,200 words and on a topic of local interest or concern. Email your Backpage to mail@folioweekly.com. Opinions expressed on the Backpage are those of the author and do not necessarily reflect those of the editors or management of Folio Weekly.
FEBRUARY 11-17, 2015 | FOLIOWEEKLY.com | 39