SEPTEMBER 1–7, 2022 I VOLUME 41 I NUMBER 31 I NASHVILLESCENE.COM I FREE THE TEAM IS HEALTHY. THE ROSTER THEISCOMPETITIVE.ISTHISTHEYEARTITANSPUTITALLTOGETHER? CITY LIMITS: HOW AFFECTINGSHORTAGESTEACHERAREMNPS PAGE 7 CITY LIMITS: CASADA AND COTHREN INDICTED, ARRESTED PAGE 9 FOOD & DRINK: ALEBRIJE BRINGS MEXICO CITY STREET FOOD TO NASHVILLE PAGE 24 CULTURE: TENNESSEE’S FIRST LADIES OF BASEBALL PAGE 30 THEREMEMBERTITANS
nashvillescene.com | SEPTEMBER 1 – SEPTEMBER 7, 2022 | NASHVILLE SCENE 3 CITY7 LIMITS Teacher I Need You 7 How teacher shortages are affecting MNPS staff and students BY KELSEY BEYELER Medical Providers Speak Out as Abortion Ban Goes Into Effect 7 Physicians gathered at the Justice A.A. Birch Building on Thursday to speak out against the law BY HANNAH HERNER Renewal House Helps More Women and Children in New Space .............................. 8 Nonprofit helps mothers recover from substance abuse, doubles its capacity and looks forward to the future BY ALEJANDRO RAMIREZ Pith in the Wind 8 This week on the Scene’s news and politics blog Playing With House Money ....................... 9 Ex-Speaker Glen Casada arrested, faces October trial alongside top aide Cade Cothren BY STEPHEN ELLIOTT COVER10 RememberSTORYthe Titans Front Office .............................................. 10 GM Jon Robinson is doing his best to keep the Titans’ Super Bowl window open BY MICHAEL GALLAGHER Offense 12 It all comes back to Tannehill, whose career is at another crossroads BY ADAM VINGAN Defense .................................................... 13 Titans defense looked strong last year. Can they keep it up? BY J.R. LIND CRITICS’17 PICKS Live on the Green, Abortion Access Variety Show, Shades of Black Theatre Festival, Muddy Roots 2022, Body of Work, TRAINS! Enchanted Express, UB40 w/The Original Wailers, Havana Nights Gala, Olivia Newton-John Double Feature: Grease & Xanadu and more FOOD24AND DRINK Something to Taco Bout ......................... 24 Edgar Victoria is bringing Mexico City street food to Nashville BY KELSEY BEYELER Sphere of Wingfluence 25 Adam Kurtz is on a mission for fried chicken accountability BY ELI MOTYCKA VODKA26 YONIC The Life You Save May Be Your Own The fall of Roe has sent a shock through the bodies of women who recall when abortion was a crime BY KAY WEST ART29 Crawl Space: September 2022 September’s First Saturday displays at Zeitgeist, Unrequited Leisure and Tinney Contemporary anticipate autumn after a hot summer art season BY JOE NOLAN CULTURE30 Shine Bright Like a Diamond A look at the Tennesseans of the All-American Girls Professional Baseball League and beyond BY ANIKA ORROCK BOOKS32 Outwardly Fine, Inwardly Lost Katie Kitamura’s international novel Intimacies hits close to home BY YURINA YOSHIKAWA AND CHAPTER 16 MUSIC35 Flying Solo 35 Warner Hodges’ best-of collection proves he’s more than a six-string wizard BY DARYL SANDERS Lab Rats................................................... 35 Reflecting on three decades of Stereolab BY CHARLIE ZAILLIAN Another Look 36 The Scene’s music writers recommend recent releases from Ronin Black, Kelsey Waldon, The Medium and more The Spin 37 The Scene’s live-review column checks out My Chemical Romance at Bridgestone Arena and Blondie at the Grand Ole Opry House BY CORY WOODROOF AND CHARLIE ZAILLIAN FILM38 Primal Stream 80 38 Elder gods, Blaxploitation horror and found footage, now available to stream BY JASON SHAWHAN On God 39 Honk for Jesus. Save Your Soul. shoots fish in a barrel BY CRAIG D. LINDSEY 41 NEW YORK TIMES CROSSWORD MARKETPLACE42 ON THE COVER: Derrick Henry Photo: Donald Page / Tennessee Titans CONTENTS SEPTEMBER 1, 2022 THIS WEEK ON THE WEB: Caitlin Rose Works the Night Shift in ‘Black Obsidian’ People in Nashville Are Not ‘Just Starting to Understand’ Diversity Chaatable Closes Amid Employee Organizing Efforts Nashville Film Festival Unveils 2022 Lineup 4210 Charlotte Ave. | 615 678 4086 ottos nashville.com Best Patio Best Cocktails Best Neighborhood Bar917A Gallatin Pike S, Madison,TacosyMariscosLindoMexicoPanaderiayPasteleriaLopezTN615-669-8144615-865-2646 Call take-out!for Authentic Mexican Cuisine & Bakery...Side by Side!
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Physicians gathered at the Justice A.A. Birch Building on Thursday to speak out against the law
INTOBANASSPEAKPROVIDERSMEDICALOUTABORTIONGOESEFFECT
Norwood substituted for a class in the second week of the school year, and says her students told her they hadn’t yet done any work. She says that last year, one teacher had to miss a lot of school due to COVID-19, and “students were without a math teacher for a good portion of the year.”
MNPS will host a hiring fair Saturday, Sept. 10, from 9 a.m. until noon at Hillsboro High School. teacher shortages are affecting MNPS staff and students
nashvillescene.com | SEPTEMBER 1 – SEPTEMBER 7, 2022 | NASHVILLE SCENE 7 CITY LIMITS
“The abortion provider can mount an affirmative defense for acting to save the mother’s life,” says pri mary care physician Amy Gordon Bono. “The scales of justice are tipped in favor of the state with an affirma tive defense instead of an exception to the law.”
“Today, I must choose between my medical training and obeying the law; between malpractice and crimi nalization,” Brown says. “As a physician I am not per fect. And I certainly share that grace with politicians who are not perfect. We need to fix this and win back the right to patient-centered, evidence-based care.”
“Women of color and who are socioeconomically disadvantaged are at the greatest risk,” the state ment reads. “Today, the Tennessee Human Protection Act goes into effect that will likely further exacerbate these health care disparities. ... VUMC will continue to monitor future legislative efforts and strongly advo cate for legislative solutions that evidence has shown are in the best interest of women’s health.”
“It’s heartbreaking to know that she must decide if she wants a pregnancy to prevent adverse outcomes for her and her baby,” Andreson says. “In this case, and in many other clinical situations, the risks for remaining pregnant outweigh the benefits. For this woman, the best medical decision is an abortion. And sadly, termination of pregnancy will put me at risk of being charged with a felony.”
T he issues that dominated headlines during the last school year are still playing out in Metro Nashville Public Schools and beyond. Students and teachers are still getting COVID-19, teachers must now spend precious time cataloging classroom libraries due to state censorship laws, and schools are seeing an increased police presence in response to the Uvalde, Texas, school shooting in May. High pressure and low pay have led some teachers to leave the profession, which is exacerbating another issue — teacher shortages. Teacher shortages are not unique to Nash ville, but rather part of a nationwide crisis. MNPS currently has 128 full-time teacher vacancies, and the district is utilizing ev ery option it has to attract more educators. According to an MNPS spokesperson, this includes partnering with local universities to recruit teachers, training existing Metro schools staff to become teachers through Tennessee’s Grow Your Own program, hir ing college graduates who are not yet certi fied to teach but permitted to do so through temporary teaching licenses, and recruiting retired staff based on a new state law that allows them to return to work without losing their benefits. The district also has 320 sup port staff openings for both preexisting and newMNPSpositions.isalso leaning on substitute teach ers to pick up the slack, though McGavock High School teacher Susan Norwood tells the Scene there is “a woeful shortage of subs.” As such, qualified teachers can also pick up additional courses for the school year or substitute teach during their plan ning periods, for which they receive addi tional compensation. Additionally, if there aren’t enough subs, school administrators can fill in, and principals can also adjust school schedules to balance class sizes, though they must still adhere to state classsize requirements — those range from 25 to 35 students depending on the grade. Norwood tells the Scene she’s had up to 38 students in one of her classes this year, though her roster changed a lot in the first couple weeks of school. Even though Nor wood has picked up extra classes as a sub stitute, she’d “prefer to have the planning time. … You need that break to refresh, be able to think.” Norwood says teachers also need that time to tend to tasks like grading papers, calling parents and more.
Despite relaxed guidelines both inside and outside of schools, teacher vacancies are further compounded by COVID-19.
Dur ing the week of Aug. 22-28, 110 staff mem bers tested positive for COVID-19 while another 36 were reported as being in quar antine. (The district, which cites state law, no longer requires those who have been ex posed to COVID to quarantine.) That same week, 422 students were confirmed positive while another 99 quarantined. The intersection of COVID, teacher short ages and security issues is creating new prob lems for educators. Norwood says that due to security-related concerns, teachers keep doors closed and locked. But when classrooms that are packed with students have their doors shut, that means a lack of ventilation.
“I don’t have enough information to be able to say, ‘Here’s what would solve the problem,’ except I do know that if you want to attract more people into a profession, you pay them better,” says Norwood. “But would you want to work in a profession where you knew that you would probably never make enough independently to buy a house in Nashville?”Norwood goes on, referencing the recent controversy involving Gov. Bill Lee’s edu cation adviser Larry Arnn insulting public school“Wouldteachers.youwant that job if your governor sat by while someone else said — someone that he holds in esteem — ‘teachers are edu cated in the dumbest parts of the dumbest schools and anybody can do it.’ Would you be attracted to that?
MNPS-certificated employee salaries start at $48,121.84 and increase with qualifica tions and experience. MNPS employees received a 4 percent cost of living increase this year, though inflation eats into that in crease as well.
Dr. Mary Jane Brown, emergency medical physi cian at Ascension Saint Thomas, says in medical school she was taught that the life of the mother should take priority during a life-threatening situation. She also raises concerns about women who may be thrust into this debate: those who miscarry a wanted pregnancy and those who are sexually assaulted.
BY HANNAH HERNER
While state officials, including Gov. Bill Lee, de scribe an “exception” under the law for protecting the life of a pregnant person, the law provides only an “af firmative defense” for doctors charged with the felony.
Franklin-based OB/GYN Laura Andreson gives examples of past patients whose situations would have been complicated by the new law, especially in cases where the fetus still has a heartbeat, yet will not remain viable or is endangering the life of the mother.
When asked by the Scene if she feels pressure to take on extra classes, Norwood responds: “Think about it, if your boss calls you and says, ‘Can you sub third period?’ What are you going to say knowing that that’s the person who evaluates you? Yeah, and of course you want to help out … you know, be there for your school. But again, you also need your planning period.”
“Aside from feeling personal pressure myself, and fear of getting COVID … it makes me sorry for students because I don’t see them getting the best education that they can,” says Norwood. The solution to all this? Norwood thinks increasing teacher pay would help. Though Nashville’s teachers are the highest paid in the state, their compensation doesn’t stack up to Nashville’s high cost of living. The Massachusetts Institute of Technology esti mates that individual expenses are $35,312 for those without children and $62,367 for households with one parent and one child.
“What keeps me there is that I do care about the students,” says Norwood. “Our children are the future of our country. And if we don’t take care of them, I don’t know where that future will be.”
EMAIL EDITOR@NASHVILLESCENE.COM TEACHER I NEED YOU How
BY KELSEY BEYELER SUSAN RELATEDSAYSNORWOODTHATDUETOSECURITY-CONCERNS,TEACHERSKEEPDOORSCLOSEDANDLOCKED.BUTWHENCLASSROOMSTHATAREPACKEDWITHSTUDENTSHAVETHEIRDOORSSHUT,THATMEANSALACKOFVENTILATION. MASTERSMATTHEWHAMILTONPHOTO:
Agroup of physicians say they want the deci sion of whether to terminate a pregnancy to be between them and their patients. Tennessee’s abortion ban went into ef fect Thursday — the procedure is now banned for any reason and at any stage of pregnancy. Also on Thurs day, medical providers from a coalition called Protect My Care gathered at the Justice A.A. Birch Building in Nashville to describe the law’s ramifications for physicians.TheRepublican-led Tennessee legislature passed the Human Life Protection Act in 2019. Its 30-day abortion ban countdown was triggered a month ago by the official recording of the U.S. Supreme Court’s decision overturning Roe v. Wade Under the state law, those who perform or attempt to perform an abortion could be charged with a class-C felony.
While current Nashville District Attorney Glenn Funk and the Metro Nashville Police Department have both said they don’t intend to prosecute those performing or assisting someone performing an abor tion, another state law allows the state to appoint a special prosecutor for crimes that a district attorney refuses to Anti-abortionprosecute.state legislators, and at least one counterprotester at the event Thursday, see the legis lation as a Vanderbiltwin.University Medical Center put out an internal memo obtained by Associated Press reporter Kimberlee Kruesi saying the organization instituted policy changes intended to mitigate some of the health care and health equity concerns around the abortion ban while staying consistent with federal and state law, though VUMC did not provide specifics.
The new space already includes a playroom with an adjoining observation space so social workers and staff can offer feedback and insight to mothers about interacting with their children. Sessions says keeping families together is “critical” — and it’s a unique part of the nonprofit’s work.
… The Tennessee NAACP called for a federal investigation into the Metro Nashville Police Department, citing a list of recent episodes that suggest stricter police accountability. Metro’s Community Oversight Board is currently reviewing an incident in which MNPD, at the board’s request, passed on body-cam footage that was later found to have been censored by MNPD for language. Two weeks ago, COB chair Jill Fitcheard filed a complaint against Metro that included allegations of digital surveillance — Metro has requested the complaint be dismissed, claiming it has no basis in fact.
CEO Pamela Sessions says Renewal House’s mission has four pillars: working with women to get sober, improving their parenting skills, helping them find a vocation or job, and supporting their search for stable housing.
“I see people come in at the worst time in their lives and leave in the best place that they have been, and that’s pretty amazing,” Sessions says. After getting treatment at Renewal House, clients can move into recovery housing at a different location owned by the nonprofit, paying $450 a month for a twobedroom apartment.
… Demolition has started at RiverChase apartments in McFerrin Park. Surrounded by rapid gentrification and adjacent to the muchhyped East Bank, the once-affordable East Nashville neighborhood has become ground zero for aggressive development. … FEMA has been unresponsive to an appeal by Metro for $7.2 million in reimbursements related to police overtime accrued in the six months following the March 2020 tornado. Police billed for activities like “debris management” and “roving patrols of tornado damaged areas” in an overtime program that ended in September 2020. … Daniel Phoenix Singh will take over as new executive director at Metro Arts. Singh succeeds director Caroline Vincent, who resigned in April amid accusations of racial bias and creating a toxic work environment. …
The new space at 3600 Clarksville Pike includes 34 two-bedroom apartment units, a playground and office space for staff. The old location next door is undergoing repairs and will be converted into 17 units of permanent housing.
Nonprofit helps mothers recover from substance abuse, doubles its capacity and looks forward to the future BY ALEJANDRO RAMIREZ
The Cooper administration kicked off a weeks-long PR tour for its billion-dollar plans to redevelop the East Bank, giving local media handy flash drives stocked with new renderings and a lengthy Vision Plan. Uncertainty about a new (or improved) Titans stadium looms over negotiations while Metro councilmembers and advocacy groups question the mayor’s priorities. Metro will solicit the public’s feedback at East Bank engagement sessions held over the next two weeks. … School board members Fran Bush, John Little and Gini Pupo-Walker presided over one final meeting as elected representatives. They will be replaced by Berthena Nabaa-McKinney, Cheryl Mayes and Erin O’Hara Block — all Democrats elected in the city’s first partisan school board elections.
Renewal House has served almost 8,000 women and children since opening in 1996. The construction for the new building cost $7.5 million, and was funded with private donations and a $1.8 million grant from the city’s Barnes Fund Housing Trust. The new facility sits on 14 acres, and Sessions is eager to make the most use of that space. Her next big goal is setting up a day care or early learning center to benefit both clients and the broader community.
One former client — who asks to be identified as “Ann” to protect her identity — attests to the help she received at Renewal House. “I’ve been clean one year, two months and 24 days, and I feel like I can go out in the world now because I have all the tools from the program,” Ann says. Ann was in Renewal House’s residential treatment for a year at the old space, and is currently renting a unit in the nonprofit’s recovery housing. While in treatment, Ann found a job and was promoted to a managing position. She says the biggest lesson she learned was “how to be a mother,” as well as the importance of having sponsors to help her maintainRenewalsobriety.House was also important for Ann’s 5-year-old son. “He gets to have a mom that he [doesn’t] have to see use drugs or leave him,” she says.
Sessions says 95 percent of the women who enter Renewal House have experienced some type of trauma — including domestic violence, homelessness or human trafficking. But treatment is still tailored to each individual. Some women may focus more on their sobriety, others on job skills or on navigating a case with the Tennessee Department of Children’s Services. Nationally, substance abuse and overdoses have increased since the start of the COVID-19 pandemic, and Nashville was no exception to the trend. Sessions says the clients who entered Renewal House during the pandemic “are in much more crisis than they were when I started working here six years ago. Their anxiety levels have increased, they’re using moreSessionsfrequently.”believes the need for Renewal House’s services won’t soon go away. Fortunately, the nonprofit has allies all over town. “This is a community-based problem, and people are really rallying around us,” shePlaquessays. adorn the walls of the new facility recognizing various donors. Dell donated PCs to the computer lab, and various nonprofits offer supplies and direct assistance. Community partners include Nurses for Newborns, Interfaith Dental, Second Harvest Food Bank and many others.
Renewal House is also setting up a salon room so volunteers can host spa nights.
Sessions adds that while Renewal House provided support, Ann helped herself: “She wanted this for her and her son.”
Clients who enter Renewal House typically stay in the apartments for about six months as part of the Family Residential Program, and during that time they are eligible to find a job and get training from the Renewal House staff. Extended stays are possible for women who need additional time as well. The apartments come stocked with new appliances, furniture and supplies for the women and their children.
S ince 1996, Renewal House has helped thousands of women recover from addiction while also providing them with housing and a place to raise their children. This year, the nonprofit continues its mission at a brandnew facility that doubles its capacity and offers new resources and opportunities.
THIS WEEK ON OUR NEWS AND POLITICS BLOG: NASHVILLESCENE.COM/PITHINTHEWINDEMAIL:PITH@NASHVILLESCENE.COMTWEET:@PITHINTHEWIND MEIGSDANIELPHOTOS: A RENEWAL APARTMENTHOUSE SESSIONS SAYS KEEPING FAMILIES TOGETHER IS “CRITICAL” — AND IT’S A UNIQUE PART OF THE NONPROFIT’S WORK.
Renewal House’s biggest fundraising event is its annual Thanksgiving luncheon, which is scheduled to take place on Nov. 2. Visit renewalhouse.org for more information.
8 NASHVILLE SCENE | SEPTEMBER 1 – SEPTEMBER 7, 2022 | nashvillescene.com CITY LIMITS
Sessions has a career in social work and says she “never planned to be a CEO.” But she says her six years working at Renewal House have been among the most rewarding jobs she ever had.
In conversation with Gustavo Arellano of the Los Angeles Times, Tennessean executive editor Michael Anastasi relied on reductive stereotypes of the South in an embarrassing pander to Californians, according to our own Betsy Phillips. His words did not land well: ”All of us from California understand the power of diversity. People here are just starting to understand it.”
RENEWAL HOUSE HELPS MORE WOMEN AND CHILDREN IN NEW SPACE
Chaatable, a Charlotte Avenue restaurant specializing in Indian street food owned by celebrity restaurateur Maneet Chauhan, abruptly closed on Friday amid active union organizing efforts by employees. Chauhan’s restaurant group, Morph Hospitality — which also owns downtown spots Tànsuŏ, Mockingbird, and Chauhan Ale and Masala House — released a statement saying, “Unionization efforts had absolutely nothing to with this difficult decision.”
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It feels like we’ve reached the end credits for Glen Casada’s career. But as Cothren said to reporters on his way out of court last week, “The truth will come out.”
The tainted Casada decided to stick around in the House, easily winning re election in 2020 despite all the noise. But he opted to leave the House this year and instead sought a Williamson County clerk position, for which he was badly beaten in the GOP primary earlier this year.
EMAIL EDITOR@NASHVILLESCENE.COM PLAYING WITH HOUSE MONEY Ex-Speaker
N o one was all that surprised when federal agents showed up to arrest Glen Casada last week in Franklin. What was surprising, at least from 30,000 feet up, was what he went down for. Casada was arrested and charged with 20 counts of bribery, wire fraud, theft and money laundering related to a fraudulent company he and his former top aide, Cade Cothren, allegedly set up after Casada resigned as speaker of the Tennessee House of Repre sentatives in 2019.
The duo — plus co-conspirator Robin Smith, a House Republican who was in dicted and resigned earlier this year — are accused of establishing Phoenix Solutions, with Cothren acting as a made-up figure head named Matthew Phoenix, in an elabo rate ruse to capture some of the thousands of dollars spent by lawmakers on constitu ent mail. In a Caponian twist, the alleged crimes were mundane when compared to the myriad crimes and colorful ethical lapses Casada had been accused of prior to hisItdownfall.wasn’t(allegedly) trying to bribe a National Guard colonel with the promise of promotion to general on the House floor. It wasn’t (allegedly) bugging the legislative office building. Or (allegedly) setting up a slush fund to buy off lawmakers with pet projects. Not for his liberal use of the state plane, either. It wasn’t even the tawdry scan dal that led to the end of his term as speaker but not his arrest. Now Casada and Cothren, who both pleaded not guilty in initial appearances, face a scheduled Oct. 25 trial and up to 20 years in prison. For a pair whose careers were torpedoed by unprofessional, racist and sexist text messages, they didn’t seem to learn their lesson. In 2019, months after both stepped down after their lewd texts to one another were published, they were texting again, this time in an effort to make sure that their new company couldn’t be traced to them.
“We just have to make sure no one knows it’s me involved,” Cothren wrote to Casada, according to court filings. “Just remember that you have zero connection to it and don’t even know that much,” Cothren advised Casada. They had to disguise the company be cause of the toxic reputation Cothren had garnered during their brief time running the House together, and because lawmakers are not allowed to seek caucus business for their own Casada’sbenefit.fallwas rapid and noisy. He had spent nearly two decades working his way up the ladder in the House, falling short in a speaker bid in 2011 before finally achiev ing the top prize in 2019. He ascended from the Williamson County Commission to one of the most powerful positions in the state, but it didn’t last long. Though Republicans dominate the state legislature, and he had won their support, the snowballing scandals and his reported strong-arming of fellow GOP members were enough to ensure that his own party gave him the boot.
nashvillescene.com | SEPTEMBER 1 – SEPTEMBER 7, 2022 | NASHVILLE SCENE 9
Glen Casada arrested, faces October trial alongside top aide Cade Cothren CASADA
BY STEPHEN ELLIOTT CITY LIMITS ENGLANDERICPHOTO:GLEN
THEREMEMBERTITANSTHETEAMISHEALTHY.THEROSTERISCOMPETITIVE.ISTHISTHEYEARTHETITANSPUTITALLTOGETHER?
FRONT OFFICE
GM Jon Robinson is doing his best to keep the Titans’ Super Bowl window open
Sure, the way the Titans’ 2021 season ended — in the playoffs, at home, as the No. 1 overall seed, with his defense earning a playoff-record nine sacks — is about as demoralizing as it gets. But the run Tennessee went on to get there can’t be overlooked. And that started in the front office.
PAGEDONALDPHOTO: DERRICK HENRY
“That’s what keeps me up at night, is … the trust that ownership has put in me, our fans,” Robinson said with a quivering lip before trailing off. “I mean, that stadium was rocking. And you can only imagine what it would have been like the next week. So [there’s] a pretty long list of stuff that I’ve got to be better at.”
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BY MICHAEL GALLAGHER
Robinson, who typically communicates in a no-nonsense, machine-like fashion, displayed a rare moment of vulnerability when asked to reflect on what he could have done better following the Titans’ 19-16 playoff loss to the Cincinnati Bengals at Nissan Stadium in January.
It’s evident that controlling owner Amy Adams Strunk believes in what Robinson and head coach Mike Vrabel are building. She locked both up to multiyear contract extensions in early February, citing the Titans’ improvement since the duo took charge.
“Together they have developed a culture within our organization that has been essential to our success,” she said. “Their values align with mine and what I want the Titans to be. They demand excellence from themselves and others, work well together, are always striving to improve, and they care deeply for our players andThroughstaff.”
the combined efforts of Robinson, Vrabel, VP of player personnel Ryan Cowden and director of player personnel Monti Ossenfort, the Titans pieced together a competitive roster in 2021 that weathered a storm that included the midseason loss of All-Pro running back Derrick Henry and the use of an NFL-record 91 players. Cowden and Ossenfort even parlayed Tennessee’s 2021 success into their own interviews for general manager openings in early January. But for all of 2021’s triumphs, the Titans still find themselves in the midst of what could potentially be a franchise-defining offseason. Among the team’s top priorities, a new state-of-the-art, enclosed roof stadium is in the works for 2026. It has been reported that the Adams family is considering “liquidating almost everything they have” to raise an estimated $700 million in funding for the new stadium project. Of course, that kind of investment isn’t made if the on-field product — the crux of Robinson’s job — isn’t putting rear ends in seats, something the Titans had no issue with last season. The team ranked eighth in the NFL in total attendance (617,102) and 12th in both average attendance (68,566) and percentage of tickets soldObviously,(99.2). the results on the field have a lot to do with that. Since Robinson’s arrival in 2016, the Titans have had four playoff appearances, six straight winning seasons, an AFC Championship appearance and back-toback AFC South titles. Only six teams have more wins than the Titans during that span, and only four active GMs have more wins than Robinson’s 59. Then there’s the roster building itself. Robinson has more than a decade of experience as an NFL scout, including five years as the director of college scouting for the New England Patriots. This is where he shines. Much of Tennessee’s current nucleus — Derrick Henry, Kevin Byard, Harold Landry, Jeffery Simmons, Nate Davis, Amani Hooker, David Long, Kristian Fulton — are all Robinson draft picks. Of the Titans’ 22 offensive and defensive starters last season, Robinson drafted nine of them and signed two more as undrafted freeTheagents.Union City, Tenn., native has also started stockpiling talent for the future. Rookie third-round picks Malik Willis and Chig Okonkwo, plus rookie fourthround pick Hassan Haskins, look to be a strong trio of future building blocks.
Words could not have described the pressure Tennessee Titans general manager Jon Robinson placed on himself heading into the 2022 offseason better than a 31-second pause during the NFL Scouting Combine.
Robinson also made the bold move to trade away a budding superstar in A.J. Brown, electing to not let the team be held hostage by the overinflated contracts of the wide-receiver market. He then used his acquired draft capital to pick a Brown clone in Treylon Burks. Time will tell if that was the right call, but for now, Robinson is choosing to be more of a live-in-the-moment kind of GM. “Keep winning and try to punch a ticket into the tournament and see where we go,” Robinson said recently. “I’m not really a ‘look down the road at where we need to end’ [kind of guy], because the only way you’re going to get there is working hard tomorrow and trying to have a better day tomorrow than you had today.” ■
DEFENSE Titans defense looked strong last year. Can they keep it up?
12 NASHVILLE SCENE | SEPTEMBER 1 – SEPTEMBER 7, 2022 | nashvillescene.com
OFFENSE
It all comes back to Tannehill, whose career is at another crossroads BY ADAM VINGAN W hen Ryan Tannehill closed his eyes, he saw the interceptions. The one on his first pass of the game. The one in the red zone before halftime. The one near midfield with 20 seconds left and the score tied. The quarterback’s nightmarish, threepick performance in the top-seeded Titans’ divisional-round loss to the Bengals on Jan. 22 played on repeat in his head for weeks afterward. Sleepless nights were the norm. Tannehill was in a “dark place” during the offseason, he told reporters in May — so much so that he sought therapy to move past the pain. “It took me a while and a lot of work to get out of it,” Tannehill said in May. “It wasn’t something that went away easily. It’s still a scar that I’ll carry with me throughout the rest of my life.” For Tannehill to achieve redemption, he first must lead the Titans back to the playoffs, which he has done three times since taking over for Marcus Mariota early in the 2019 season. Along the way, Tannehill will be under intense scrutiny. Titans fans have not forgotten that January day at Nissan Stadium, and some have not forgiven Tannehill for blowing a real shot at the Super Bowl. As a result, every decision he makes will be micro-analyzed. Every turnover will lead his naysayers to call for bazooka-armed rookie Malik Willis, even though the Liberty product is far from ready. Tannehill has been around long enough to know that pressure comes with the territory of being a quarterback. But it is going to reach another level this season. “It’s fuel for me,” Tannehill said. “[I have] a desire to win like I’ve never had before.”
This time last year, there was talk around town that the Titans’ offense had “Greatest Show on Turf” potential. Tannehill accounted for 40 touchdowns in 2020. Running back Derrick Henry was coming off a 2,000-yard season, the NFL’s first in eight years. A.J. Brown was emerging as a standout No. 1 wide receiver. Titans general manager Jon Robinson traded for future Hall of Famer Julio Jones. But it never came together. Tannehill threw 14 interceptions, twice as many as the year before and one more than he had in the previous two years combined. Henry broke his foot and missed nine games, proving for the first time that he is not superhuman. Brown had his moments, but when the Titans balked at his contract demands, they shipped him to Philadelphia on draft day. Jones’ bum hamstring rendered him useless, and the Titans cut him after he caught one touchdown in 10 games. During his time in Tennessee, Tannehill has grown accustomed to having a rotating cast of targets. In the first round of April’s draft, the Titans traded up to take Treylon Burks, a 225-pound receiver out of Arkansas with 4.55 speed and big-play ability who has drawn comparisons to Brown. His pro career got off to an inauspicious start when he arrived out of shape for mini camp, but he eased concerns about his conditioning during the preseason. Former Rams wideout Robert Woods replaces Jones as the veteran pass-catcher. Woods, whose 2021 season ended because of a torn ACL, is a steady hand in the passing game and is expected to be the Titans’ leading receiver this season. One thing has not changed: The Titans’ identity still revolves around Henry. The team got by when Henry was sidelined last season, but they were much less threatening without him monopolizing the attention of opposing defenses. At 28, Henry is at the age when questions about a running back’s mortality begin to arise. Even after missing half a season, Henry’s 900 carries since 2019 are nearly 100 more than the next-closest ball carrier. A physical marvel, Henry is able to withstand (and dole out) punishment better than most players at his position. Even so, his workload will be a weekly topic of discussion. Frankly, the Titans cannot afford to limit Henry’s time on the field if they want to contend in the AFC. But it all comes back to Tannehill, whose career is at another crossroads. His salary is no longer guaranteed after this season, and his dead cap hit would be manageable if the Titans were to release him. The conditions around Tannehill have to be favorable for him to succeed. Henry has to stay healthy. The receiving corps, though less heralded than a year ago, has to be more reliable. The offensive line, which surrendered the seventh-most sacks in the league last season, has to provide better protection.IfTannehill gets all of that, then he should have a bounce-back season. All that matters, however, is what he does come playoff time. ■
Vrabel, who often faces criticism that he’s loath to change and bring in outsiders, had to make a move once 2020 wrapped up. A new coordinator? Well, not exactly. He simply gave the title to the guy who was already calling the plays, and Bowen, who faced more criticism than did Vrabel, was suddenly where the buck stopped. (If the defense could stop a buck, that is, which was an open Vrabelquestion.)didbring in former Titans DC and veteran NFL coach Jim Schwartz as the “pass rush coordinator.” It was a wholly new title for the organization, but frankly, one whose time had probably come given the NFL’s evolution into a pass-happy air show. There were personnel changes meant to shore up the pass rush too — notably outside linebacker Bud Dupree and defensive tackle Denico Autry. Cornerback Janoris Jenkins came in to help out the back end while the team’s young defensive backs got up to speed. Still, there was trepidation. But the moves paid off. The new players were instant contributors. Second-year de fensive end Jeffery Simmons developed into one of the league’s best at his position. David Long, Harold Landry and Jayon Brown were a formidable linebacker rotation. The young DBs came along. And Byard? He showed 2020 was a blip and returned to form. The Titans were able to grab linebacker Zach Cunningham, a Vanderbilt product, off waivers from division rival Houston in what
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All-Pro safety Kevin Byard looked oftenmediocre, and fans pointed to the departure of Pees, under whose tutelage the MTSU man had become one of the league’s best backstops. Opposing third downs were more a reason to grab another beer — and gosh, did the fans need another beer — than to stick around and watch the defense make a stop. After years of consistency and success under Pees, the fans weren’t so sure about this power-sharing arrangement Vrabel had developed.Butthat isn’t to say there weren’t glim mers of something, even in the defense’s dark 2020 season. The team was top-10 in the league in generating turnovers, which was good, because they sure as heck weren’t generating many three-and-outs.
RYAN TRAININGDURINGTANNEHILLTITANS
BURKSTREYLON
ennessee Titans defensive co ordinator Shane Bowen faced a lot of questions and a lot of scrutiny in his first season on the job in 2021. After the departure of de fensive Yoda Dean Pees in 2019, head coach Mike Vrabel let the DC title and many of its incumbent duties escheat to him, but said Bowen — then the outside linebackers coach — would handle the play-calling. That first season with that arrangement? 2020? Not a year to remember for the TwoTone defense. Statistically it was abysmal. The defense ranked 28th in the NFL in yards allowed, 29th in pass defense, 19th in run defense and dead last in third-down conver sion percentage. It was a time when the numbers backed up the eye test. And the defense failed the eye test too.
BY J.R. LIND T
nashvillescene.com | SEPTEMBER 1 – SEPTEMBER 7, 2022 | NASHVILLE SCENE 13 Nightfall at the Hall AN AFTER-HOURS PARTY FOR TROUBADOUR MEMBERS PRESENTED BY GAMES • COCKTAILS • LIGHT BITES SEPTEMBER 7, 2022 • 6:00 pm FEATURING A PERFORMANCE BY LAUREN ALAINA Become a member at CountryMusicHallofFame.org/Troubadour SPONSORS MEDIA PARTNERS HOSPITALITY PARTNERS
14 NASHVILLE SCENE | SEPTEMBER 1 – SEPTEMBER 7, 2022 | nashvillescene.com proved to be one of the savviest in-season roster moves of the year. Suddenly, the Titans were in the conversa tion as one of the league’s best defenses, and with an inconsistent offense riddled with in juries (particularly Henry’s, which cut short what looked like another 2,000-yard cam paign), they became a game-winning unit. No one can blame the defense for the unexpected flameout in the playoffs. In the 19-16 divisional round loss to the Cincinnati Bengals, the Tennessee defense recorded a remarkable nine sacks, setting the re cord for the most sacks without victory (once held by the Frankish forces in the Crusades).Sonowwhat?TheTitansactually head into the season with the core of the defense still together. Jenkins is gone, but he was little more than a stopgap until those youngsters were ready for full-time duty anyway. Vrabel and gen eral manager Jon Robinson have gushed about Caleb Farley and his ability to step into the void left by Jenkins. Kristian Ful ton and Elijah Molden both showed enough improvement to settle fans’ stomachs, and there’s an above-average cadre of backups who can step in when the time is right. Up front, the fantastic four of Simmons, Autry, Dupree and Harold Landry is back after accounting for 32.5 of the team’s 43 sacks last season. Naquan Jones and Teair Tart — both diamonds found by Robinson in the undrafted free-agent rough — return to join the rotation up front. Byard has spoken consistently through out the offseason that this year’s defense aims to be even better than last year’s — a group he said was simply trying to find its identity under a sorta-first-year coordinator and with lots of new players in critical roles. Heading into the autumn last year, most Titans fans would have been thrilled if that identity was simply “good enough to keep the team in games,” as there was plenty of confidence in Henry and, at the time, Ryan Tannehill and the now-departed A.J. Brown. Plus, the Titans had brought in future Hall of Famer Julio Jones. Between injuries, par ticularly to Henry and Jones, and Tannehill’s well-documented woes, the defense had no choice but to be the game-winning unit. Faced with the challenge, they met it. Now the question is, can they keep it up? If they can, and the Titans offense returns to form — or even a significant percentage of the 2020 performance — there could be foot ball on the East Bank deep into January.
HAANDEBIERENSALEXPHOTO:SIMMONSJEFFERY SEPTEMBER 7 WITHJUNGLEPAUL CHERRY SEPTEMBER 24 TODD SNIDER WITH RAMBLIN’ JACK ELLIOT SEPTEMBER 21 CONCERT FOR CUMBERLAND HEIGHTS STEVE EARLE & THE DUKES WITH THE KENTUCKY HEADHUNTERS OCTOBER 11 ONYESSALE FRIDAY AT 10 AM OCTOBER 8 JIM JEFFERIES SEPTEMBER 25 WITHCAMAMYTHYST KIAH AND JILLIAN JACQUELINE SEPTEMBER 4 WITHSPOONWATER FROM YOUR EYES
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nashvillescene.com | SEPTEMBER 1 – SEPTEMBER 7, 2022 | NASHVILLE SCENE 15
16 NASHVILLE SCENE | SEPTEMBER 1 – SEPTEMBER 7, 2022 | nashvillescene.com Live at the Schermerhorn GO NOW! THE MUSIC OF THE MOODY BLUES October 7 INGHOSTBUSTERSCONCERT October 14 to 16 VANESSA WILLIAMS October 20 to 22 SINATRA AND BEYOND WITH TONY DESARE November 10 to 12 CHRIS BOTTI November 29 & 30 LEDISI SINGS NINA November 6 RONNIE MILSAP November 8 DAVIDCELEBRATINGBOWIE: Live In Concert Featuring Todd Rundgren, Adrian Belew, Angelo Moore November 7* *Presented without the Nashville Symphony. coming soon WITH SUPPORT FROM Presented without the Nashville Symphony.September 2 BONEY JAMES Presented without the Nashville Symphony.September 18 HOLST’S THE PLANETS WITH THE NASHVILLE SYMPHONY Giancarlo Guerrero, conductor | Tucker Biddlecombe, chorus director September 29 to October 2 100+ Concerts On Sale Now BUY TICKETS : NashvilleSymphony.org/Tickets615.687.6400Giancarlo Guerrero, music director
MUSIC [DIRT DON’T HURT] MUDDY ROOTS
Public Square Park LIVE ON THE GREEN SANTIGOLD WETHERBYCRAIGPHOTO:
General admission is free as always, but there’s an array of upgrade options includ ing VIP passes, the Lightning Lounge and the new Premium Lawn Seat option, which gets you assigned seats each night.
SEPT.
BOOKS [A BEAT BEYOND] MAJOR JACKSON IN CONVERSATION WITH DESTINY BIRDSONG Major Jackson directs the creative writ ing program at Vanderbilt University, and is the author of five volumes of poetry. His new book, A Beat Beyond, is his first col lection of prose. In this collection of essays, interviews and notes, Jackson revels in the work of poetry not only to limn and assess the intellectual and spiritual dimensions of poets, but to amplify the controversies and inner conflicts that define our age: politi cal unrest, climate crises, the fallout from
It’s hard to top a variety show, especially when the eclectic evening of entertain ment also benefits a good cause. Thurs day’s Abortion Access Variety Show, hosted and produced by comedian Cortney Warner, will do exactly that, raising funds for Abor tion Care Tennessee. Tickle your funny bone with sets from comedians Taylor Williams, Jessica Carter, C.J. Walton, Allie Thomas and MK Gannon, and enjoy tunes from co medic musician Marie Cecile Anderson and singer-songwriter Ellisa Sun. Not enough for you? There’s pole-dancing too, courtesy of Mel Hyde. Tickets are $10 and all proceeds benefit ACT. 8 p.m. at The East Room, 2412 Gallatin Ave.
AMY STUMPFL
The immensely popular Live on the Green music fest, helmed by indie radio station Lightning 100, is among the last of Nashville’s big public events to return in the wake of COVID lockdown. But it will finally be back in Public Square Park in front of the Metro Public Courthouse this year, with a massive lineup of rock, Americana, R&B, electronically enhanced pop and more, spread across the full extent of the Labor Day weekend. Things kick off on Thursday, Sept. 1, with Sheryl Crow and Jenny Lewis among the headliners on the main stage, nat urally dubbed the Main Stage. Other Main Stage acts throughout the weekend include Moon Taxi and Seratones on Friday, Santi gold and Ruby Amanfu on Saturday, Coin and Devon Gilfillian on Sunday, and Yola and Susto on Monday. Each night’s lineup includes performances on a second smaller 615 Stage, featuring lots of great locals like primo vocal duo The Watson Twins, R&B maestros The Shindellas, rapper extraordi naire Daisha McBride, pop megaband Tayls and the soulful and chooglin’ LadyCouch.
WEEKLY ROUNDUP OF THINGS TO DO
/ 9.01 MUSIC [GOT LIVE IF YOU WANT IT] LIVE ON THE GREEN
THURSDAY
nashvillescene.com | SEPTEMBER 1 – SEPTEMBER 7, 2022 | NASHVILLE SCENE 17
BRITTNEY MCKENNA THEATER [CELEBRATING BLACK THEATER] SHADES OF BLACK THEATRE FESTIVAL
2022 Torrential rains in the wake of Hurri cane Ida resulted in the cancellation of Bonnaroo in 2021, which was set for Labor Day weekend. Thankfully, the Cookeville site that’s been home to Muddy Roots since 2010 was spared from flooding, and the indie music fest — known for its mix of rocka billy, hardcore punk, heavy psych and more — was able to stage a triumphant comeback. This year, the fest begins with a pre-party on Thursday headlined by rocking string-band songsmith Joseph Huber. All the stages get in gear on Friday with sets including two heavy hitters from Nashville: thunderous punks Hans Condor and Waxed, who ride the line between hardcore and thrash metal. They share the bill with oddball rap king Kool Keith and OG hardcore provacateurs Fear, who will perform 1982’s The Record in full. Sludge-coated Swedish power trio Monolord will headline on Saturday, with other highlights including noisy Atlanta outfit Whores. and Middle Tennessee’s own Goddamn Gallows, and IV and the Strange Band (that’s the hard-charging, twangkissed band led by Coleman Williams, son of Hank III). Muddy Roots wraps on Sunday with sets from folks like H.R. of punk leg ends Bad Brains — whose solo work focuses on reggae — and headliners Stöner, a heavypsych supergroup of sorts led by Kyuss’ Brant Bjork and Nick Oliveri. Sept. 1-4 at Junebug Boogie Ranch, 115 Waterloo Road, Cookeville STEPHEN TRAGESER
The 16th annual Shades of Black Theatre Festival opens this weekend, kicking off a monthlong celebration of Black the ater in Nashville. Showcasing a wide range of topics and genres, the always popular event features everything from full-length plays and one-acts to an open-mic poetry night. There’s also a free opening celebra tion mixer (Sept. 6), along with various workshops and other special events. The 2022 lineup includes a great mix of new and familiar faces — including SistaStyle Pro ductions, Dream 7 Productions, The Destiny Theatre Experience, Tennessee Playwrights Studio and the Global Education Center. You can start off this weekend with Preston Crowder’s Don’t Look Black: A Moral Story (running Sept. 1-3), and be sure to keep an eye out for other upcoming titles, including Sheila Ashton’s The Oh Bitch, You Worry Club and Michael L. Walker’s signature work Cultural Millennium. Sept. 1-Oct. 1 at Darkhorse Theater, 4610 Charlotte Ave.
Sept. 1-5 at Public Square Park, Union Street and Third Avenue North STEPHEN TRAGESER COMEDY [ACT UP] ABORTION ACCESS VARIETY SHOW
CRITICS’ PICKS 1-5
UB40 made a dent in the charts in its native U.K. with 1983’s reggae-pop crossover Labour of Love. But the multiracial Birmingham combo didn’t catch a break Stateside until five years later, when Arizona radio DJ Guy Zapoleon flooded the dial with a track he’d obsessed over that few had heard then — a Neil Diamond cover that almost everyone now would instantly recognize. Its title: “Red Red Wine.” From there, the UB40 songbook is a chooseyour-own-adventure situation. Those enamored of the band’s pop side can’t go wrong with 1993’s Promises and Lies and its classy rendition of Elvis’ “Can’t Help Falling In Love.” Rat in the Kitchen from 1986, meanwhile, is emotionally and politically charged, delivering grooves, hooks and gallows humor in spades. Back in ’81, years before its mainstream-radio salad days, UB40 named itself for a government-issued card (“Unemployment Benefit, Form 40”) carried by each of its founding members, and built that name on jilted-generation dubreggae — the track “One in Ten” is my pick — perfectly apropos of Thatcher’s England at that time. Bob Marley’s guitarist Al Anderson, 71 years young, leads The Wailers, with Maxi Priest on frontman duty; San Diego collective Big Mountain completes the bill. 6:30 p.m. at The Caverns, 555 Charlie Roberts Road, Pelham CHARLIE ZAILLIAN
Nashville photographer Joseph Patrick II is one of my favorite local Instagram follows (@thephotojojo), and I’m thrilled he’s back with an exhibition at the Slim & Husky’s-adjacent Nka Gallery. The Socialized Experiment, which exhibited at TSU’s Hiram Van Gordon Gallery in 2018, featured photographs of nude Black women covered in grease paint who posed like dancers against pure white backgrounds. The photos resembled Rorschach inkblot tests, encouraging reflection about mental states. Body of Work is the next phase in the project, and one in which Patrick explores body politics as they affect Black people in physical and digital spaces. His fine-art photography is almost always black-and-white, but added to his usual emphasis of light and form are pops of color. Patrick is deliberate and precise, willing to take lots of risks to grow and evolve. He’s an artist you can’t help but cheer on. Opening reception 6 p.m. Sept. 2-3; through Sept. 30 at Nka Gallery, 915 Buchanan St. ERICA CICCARONE
This week, music showcase Íntimo Nashville celebrates five years as one of the premier recurring events in Nashville to catch live music in Spanish. Latin pop, rock en español, reggaeton and more — from local and touring acts — have graced the stages of Íntimo events across town. The fifth anniversary show will feature a live tribute to Dominican singer-songwriter Juan Luis Guerra by the orchestra A Son de Guerra. Raul Oyarce, who co-founded Íntimo with his wife Paola, will also make a special appearance onstage as part of the band Aprendiz. 7:30 p.m. at Brooklyn Bowl, 925 Third Ave. N. ALEJANDRO RAMIREZ
RELEASEALBUM [LET’S GET SMALL] LOU TURNER ALBUM RELEASE
Singer-songwriters who hit their stride in the 1970s made a deep and lasting impact. Much pop music that has been made since then bears the influence of troubadour types who wrote about understanding themselves, often leaving someplace or someone in the process and seldom putting down roots. Though Joni Mitchell is revered by many, her 1976 record Hejira — which was written as she tried to come to terms with herself during a cross-country trip — rarely gets considered as part of this influential canon. Nashville songsmith Lou Turner, who you’ll also know from inventive rock outfit Styrofoam Winos, noticed that Mitchell is a lot braver than many of her contemporaries in how she confronts herself in the songs on Hejira. That was one significant inspiration for the songs that became Turner’s third LP Microcosmos, out Friday via Spinster Sounds. Throughout the album, she flips the script on the troubadour archetype, using familiar forms and styles as she sings about seeking the spiritual sustenance of small, good things. She’ll celebrate the album’s release at Third Man Records, with two fellow incisive songsmiths and their bands supporting: Get there on time to hear Ziona Riley and Kyle Hamlett Cinco. 8 p.m. at The Blue Room at Third Man Records, 623 Seventh Ave. S.
MUSIC [FELICIDADES] ÍNTIMO NASHVILLE FIFTH A TRIBUTE TO JUAN LUIS GUERRA
18 NASHVILLE SCENE | SEPTEMBER 1 – SEPTEMBER 7, 2022 | nashvillescene.com bewildering traumas, and the social function of the art of poetry itself. On Thursday, Jackson will be in conversation with poet, novelist and essayist Destiny O. Birdsong for an in-store event at Parnassus Books. It’s a free event, but space is limited — registration via parnassusbooks.net/event is required. 6:30 p.m. at Parnassus Books, 3900 Hillsboro Pike KIM BALDWIN FRIDAY / 9.02 ART [THE BODY BEAUTIFUL] BODY OF WORK
STEPHEN TRAGESER SATURDAY / 9.03
There is no better name for an exhibit about trains than TRAINS! Professional writers are trained (sorry) to use exclamation points judiciously, and to use all capital letters even more judiciously. But when you are talking about trains, only TRAINS! will do. Why? Because when you see trains, you don’t say “trains.” You say “TRAINS!” Trains are awesome. Steam, electric, whatever, retro, modern, model (as is the case at Cheekwood), freight, passenger. They all kick ass. Cheekwood has its cool TRAINS! exhibit as part of its permanent collection, and now there’s a new expansion: the Enchanted Express. Just uphill of the legacy TRAINS! exhibit, Enchanted Express has a train station that looks like it grew from a tree, and inside there are three new model setups. Plus there’s a tunnel that kiddos can climb through for a “worm’s-eye view” of the surrounding forest and garden. On Saturday, Cheekwood is celebrating its new expansion with crafts, talks with Conductor Chuck and popsicles from King of Pops. And TRAINS! 10 a.m.-2 p.m. at Cheekwood, 1200 Forrest Park Drive J.R. LIND MUSIC [UB22] UB40 W/THE ORIGINAL WAILERS
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ART [HEY, SOUL SISTER] CHEEKWOOD CELEBRATION OF TRAINS! ENCHANTED EXPRESS
CRITICS’ PICKS HARRISCAITLINPHOTO:NIKRANTTREVORPHOTO:LOU TURNER ENCHANTEDTRAINS! EXPRESS
SEPTEMBER 1 – SEPTEMBER 7, 2022 | NASHVILLE SCENE 19 ADIA VICTORIA • AMERICAN AQUARIUM • ANGEL OLSEN • ASLEEP AT THE WHEEL • BLACK OPRY REVUE JADE BIRD • JAIME WYATT • JAMES MCMURTRY • THE JERRY DOUGLAS BAND • JOHN FULLBRIGHT JOSHUA RAY WALKER • KELLY WILLIS • KELSEY WALDON • LEYLA MCCALLA • LORI MCKENNA LUKAS NELSON & POTR • MIKO MARKS • THE MILK CARTON KIDS • MOLLY TUTTLE & GOLDEN HIGHWAY NIKKI LANE • NORTH MISSISSIPPI ACOUSTIC • OLIVER WOOD • THE PO' RAMBLIN' BOYS • SIERRA FERRELL TAJ MAHAL • TOWN MOUNTAIN • THE WAR AND TREATY • WILLIAM PRINCE • WILLIE WATSON PHOSPHORESCENT PERFORMING SONGS FROM THE FULL MOON PROJECT 49 WINCHESTER • AARON RAITIERE • ALEX WILLIAMS • ALISA AMADOR • AMY SPEACE • ANDY MCKEE BETTE SMITH • BOWEN YOUNG • BRE KENNEDY • BRENNEN LEIGH • BRIT TAYLOR • BRUCE MOLSKY • BUFFALO NICHOLS CAROLINE SPENCE • CHARLES WESLEY GODWIN • CHUCK MEAD • CORDOVAS • CORY BRANAN • DEAD HORSES THE DESLONDES • EMILY SCOTT ROBINSON • FISK JUBILEE SINGERS • JESSE DANIEL • JESSICA WILLIS FISHER JIM LAUDERDALE • JOE PURDY • JOSH ROUSE • LINDSAY LOU • MADELINE EDWARDS • MARGO CILKER THE MCCRARY SISTERS • MICHAELA ANNE • MICHIGAN RATTLERS • MINDY SMITH • NICKI BLUHM • RISSI PALMER RIVER WHYLESS • ROB ICKES AND TREY HENSLEY • S.G. GOODMAN • SARAH SHOOK & THE DISARMERS • SETH JAMES SISTER SADIE • SUNNY SWEENEY • SUNNY WAR • TALL HEIGHTS • TIM BAKER • TIM KELLY WITH RUSTON KELLY TROUSDALE • WADE BOWEN (ACOUSTIC) • WHITEHORSE • THE WILD FEATHERS • WILL HOGE ABBY HAMILTON • ABE PARTRIDGE • ABRAHAM ALEXANDER • THE ABRAMS • THE ACCIDENTALS • ADEEM THE ARTIST • ALEX WONG ALI MCGUIRK • ALLISON DE GROOT & TATIANA HARGREAVES • AMANDA RHEAUME • ANDREW DUHON • AUTUMN NICHOLAS THE BALLROOM THIEVES • BANDITS ON THE RUN • BEE TAYLOR • BELLA WHITE • BEN CHAPMAN • BLUE DOGS • THE BONES OF J.R. JONES CHRIS PIERCE • CHRISTIE LENÉE • COLIN LILLIE • THE CONTENDERS • DAN RODRIGUEZ • DAVID STARR • THE DAVISSON BROTHERS THE DEER • DIGGING ROOTS • DRAYTON FARLEY • EARLY JAMES • EMILY KINNEY • ERIN ENDERLIN • FANNY LUMSDEN • FERRIS & SYLVESTER FIRESIDE COLLECTIVE • GABY MORENO • HANNAH JUANITA • THE HEAVY HEAVY • HENRY WAGONS • HONEY HARPER • JAKE BLOUNT JD CLAYTON • JEDD HUGHES • JOBI RICCIO • JONNY MORGAN • JOSHUA HEDLEY • KAIA KATER • KAITLIN BUTTS • KAYLA RAY KIELY CONNELL • KINGSWOOD • KYSHONA • LADY NADE • LANEY LOU AND THE BIRD DOGS • LARRY MCCRAY • LAUREN HOUSLEY LILLI LEWIS • LISA MORALES • LUKE SCHNEIDER AND FRIENDS: A PEDAL STEEL SHOWCASE • LULLANAS • MARK WILKINSON MATT HILLYER • MEGAN NASH • MELISSA CARPER • MELODY MOKO • MEMORIAL • MICHELLE MALONE• MIKE COMPTON • MY POLITIC MYRON ELKINS • NAT MYERS • NATHAN GRAHAM • NORA BROWN • ORDINARY ELEPHANT• OSHIMA BROTHERS • PAT BYRNE PETE MULLER AND THE KINDRED SOULS • PETER ONE • THE PINE HEARTS • RACHEL BROOKE • RAINBOW GIRLS • RASCAL MARTINEZ REV. GREG SPRADLIN AND BONNIE MONTGOMERY • THE REVEREND SHAWN AMOS • RYLAND MORANZ • STACY ANTONEL • THE SWEET LILLIES TAMI NEILSON • TAMMY ROGERS & THOMM JUTZ • TAYLOR RAE • THEM COULEE BOYS • THEO LAWRENCE • TOMMY MCLAIN TOMMY PRINE • TRAY WELLINGTON BAND • TROUBADOUR BLUE • THE WEEPING WILLOWS • THE WILDER BLUE • WILLI CARLISLE ON SALE NOW! GET YOUR PASS FOR $175
MONDAY / 9.05
MUSIC [PLEASE READ THE LETTER] ROBERT PLANT AND ALISON KRAUSS
MUSIC [IT’S HARD TO BE HUMAN] MARISSA NADLER With a full nine studio albums to her credit, Marissa Nadler hardly needed to move to Nashville to “make it” as a singersongwriter. The 41-year-old Boston expat, who recently became a Nashvillian, makes music that is both sweetly nostalgic and agonizingly eerie, as if listeners are being haunted by a specter with a mystical mezzosoprano voice. While her incredible work defies neatly defined genres, she’s worked with a far-reaching list of collaborators: harpist Mary Lattimore, composer/Velvets mastermind John Cale, Angel Olsen and Cave-In’s Steven Brodsky. Nashville Ambi ent Ensemble opens the show. 7:30 p.m. at The End, 2219 Elliston Place P.J. KINZER MUSIC [RIDE IT] NASHVILLE OLD SKOOL FESTIVAL FEAT. GINUWINE & MORE Ginuwine will headline this year’s Nash ville Old Skool Festival, which celebrates the sounds of late-’90s and early-Aughts hiphop and R&B. Ginuwine began his career as part of the all-star Swing Mob label and compound, whose ranks included Missy El liott, Stephen Garrett and Timbaland, and has created a number of classic releases — most notably his debut single “Pony.” He became famous for a smooth yet energetic and soulful vocal style, one that’s remained popular even after the hit albums stopped coming. Most recently he received the Ur ban Music Icon Award at the 2021 Black Mu sic Honors. Others on the Old Skool lineup include Case, Bubba Dub, Lil-G and Young Buck. It’s a chance to revisit some premier sounds from the past. 4 p.m. at Riverfront Park, 100 First Ave. RON WYNN MUSIC [BITE IT, YOU SCUM] ELECTRIC PYTHON W/ LJ & THE SLEEZE
20 NASHVILLE SCENE | SEPTEMBER 1 – SEPTEMBER 7, 2022 | nashvillescene.com CRITICS’ PICKS
TURE: GREASE & XANADU
COMMUNITY HAVANA NIGHTS GALA
CRITICS’ PICKS GREASE
The Hispanic Family Foundation’s an nual fundraiser will take place this weekend at Plaza Mariachi’s private event space Xenote. The event promises a night of music, dancing and food, all to raise funds for the foundation’s work for families across Nashville, from bilingual education to disaster-relief efforts. It’s an all-white dress code, so plan the outfit ac cordingly. 7 p.m. at Plaza Mariachi, 3955 Nolensville Pike ALEJANDRO RAMIREZ
ROBERT PLANT AND ALISON KRAUSS
WEDNESDAY / 9.07
Last year, Alison Krauss and Robert Plant followed up their landmark and Grammy-winning 2007 LP Raising Sand — a
From Pale Houses’ golden-voiced Aaron Robinson to Okey Dokey’s tryanything-once tag team of Aaron Martin and Johny Fisher, Nashville is replete with alternate-universe power-pop gods. Subur ban D.C.-raised, Music City-residing singersongwriter-producer Benjamin A. Harper cited Okey Dokey and Pale Houses as per sonal faves in a September 2020 Scene Q&A commemorating the release of his Smart Objects project’s long-gestating self-titled debut. Harper’s own work is just as vital. The tears come fast and furious with the 11song LP’s wistfully jaunty opener “The Au tumn Man,” but Smart Objects has too much ground to cover to wallow in one place. With British Invasion pop as its bedrock, “Astro Freak” showcases Harper’s vocal range and flair for combining new and old keyboard sounds. “White Under Blacklight” makes a solid pass at anthemic garage punk. “The Afterlife,” with its piano flourishes, subtle shredding and assured midtempo gait, is a clear descendant of Tears for Fears’ nevernot-comforting “Everybody Wants to Rule the World.” The new Smart Objects single “Something Happened” adds a funkier layer to the proceedings. Baltimore quintet Super City supports. 9 p.m. at The Basement, 1604 Eighth Ave. S. CHARLIE ZAILLIAN SUNDAY / 9.04 MUSIC [TIME PASSAGES] SPOON As you might expect from a band that has always been able to rock out while sounding a bit paranoid, Spoon’s latest album, Lucifer on the Sofa, stands as an exploration of post-classic rock that also functions as a post-COVID record. Lucifer combines modified rock shuffles that evoke the Stones and ZZ Top with more expansive tracks that — somewhat mysteriously — manage to evoke, say, Roxy Music wander ing the streets of Austin, Texas, during the height of the pandemic. The title track is atmospheric and a little spooky, and front man Britt Daniel mentions alt-country singer Dale Watson during the proceedings. That slight dissonance underlies Lucifer, which neatly splits the difference between rock ’n’ roll and pop. In “The Hardest Cut,” Daniel sings: “The neighborhood watch knows the score / And they’re knocking at your door.” Rock serves as a way to escape isolation throughout Lucifer, but it’s the record’s more reflective moments that stick with you. “Astral Jacket” and “Satellite” are Spoon at their catchiest, while “On the Radio” is about losing track of time — a con dition that does sound like fun. Brooklyn’s
If you’re looking for an enlightening evening and an opportunity to better your self mentally, physically and emotionally,
you would do well to avoid The East Room on Sunday. Nashville bong rippers Electric Python have written a whole new set of the dankest heavy jams since the release of their stoner-rock slab Into the Night two years ago. The Python will be paired with an equally questionable touring act. What Virginia’s LJ & The Sleeze lack in tact, they make up for in sloppy riff-rock scumminess. You’ll probably wake up the next day with a throbbing head, an unexplainable rash and an infected stickand-poke GG Allin tattoo. 9 p.m. at The East Room, 2412 Gallatin Ave. P.J. KINZER
FILM [OLIVIA TREMOR CONTROL] OLIVIA NEWTON-JOHN DOUBLE FEA
MCCLISTERDAVIDPHOTO:
We lost a precious one when Olivia Newton-John died from cancer — a disease she dealt with on and off for 30 years — in August at age 73. The Belcourt will celebrate the England-born, Australia-bred pop leg end’s big-screen career with a double fea ture (that’ll be shown twice) of her two most noteworthy films. Of course they’ll start with Grease, the iconic 1978 musical starring ONJ, John Travolta and a bunch of middleaged people playing 1950s high-schoolers. After that comes the notorious 1980 bomb/ Starlight Express test run Xanadu, in which Newton-John, Gene Kelly and that dude from The Warriors sing on roller skates. Belcourt staff member James Spence will introduce the 5 p.m. Xanadu showing, while singer Cidny Bullens (who appears on the Grease soundtrack) will introduce the 7 p.m. Grease showing, and Scene contributor Ja son Shawhan introduces the Xanadu screen ing at 9:20 p.m. Monday at the Belcourt, 2102 Belcourt Ave. CRAIG D. LINDSEY
[SOCIAL CLUB]
MUSIC [OBJECTIFIED] SMART OBJECTS
Water From Your Eyes opens. 7:30 p.m. at the Ryman, 116 Rep. John Lewis Way N. EDD HURT
nashvillescene.com | SEPTEMBER 1 – SEPTEMBER 7, 2022 | NASHVILLE SCENE 21 NASHVILLENASHVILLE NASHVILLENASHVILLE FULL BAR & RESTAURANT THE ONLY THROWINGTHROWINGAXEBARINDOWNTOWNNASHVILLE#1AXEBARINTHEUS $5 OFF Throwing with www.badaxenash.comAd629.203.6158PRESENTED BY TOP 3 LIVE MUSIC | URBAN WINERY | RESTAURANT | BAR | PRIVATE EVENTS 609 LAFAYETTE ST. NASHVILLE, TN 37203, NASHVILLE, TN 37203 @CITYWINERYNSH . CITYWINERY.COM . 615.324.1033 80’s Brunch MixTapefeaturing 9.4 WHO’S BAD: THE ULTIMATE MICHAEL JACKWSON TRIBUTE BAND 9.6 DELVON LAMARR ORGAN TRIO, CAUGHT ON CLINE & DOLLIE MEREDITH KEEP ON KEEPIN’ ON FUNDRAISER 9.7 AL DI MEOLA 9.8 THE BAREFOOT MOVEMENT IN THE LOUNGE 9.9 MANDY BARNETT SINGS PATSY CLINE A SPECIAL CELEBRATION HONORING PATSY’S 90TH BIRTHDAY 9.10 SCHATZI’S LOVE LOUNGE BURLESQUE 9.18 HERB ALPERT AND LANI HALL 9.20 I DRAW SLOW IN THE LOUNGE Spyro Gyra CMT “Night Out Nashville” Presents Next Women of Country9.289.13Smokie Norful Funk, Love, Soul - A Celebration of ‘I Need You9.03Now’ Judith Hill 9.08 9.209.11Victor Wooten & the Wooten Brothers *WITH FOOD PURCHASE ALL DAY, EVERYDAY, ALL SUMMER LONG! BRING YOUR PUP TO OUR PATIO & RECEIVE HALF OFF YOUR FIRST GLASS OF WINE BOOK YOUR RESERVATION AT CITYWINERY.COM 9.21 LEO KOTTKE 9.22 JIMMY WEBB 9.24 GLENN TILBROOK 9.25 NASHVILLE BEATLES BRUNCH FEATURING FOREVER ABBEY ROAD 9.25 AN EVENING OF WINE, FOOD, AND MUSIC WITH THE SPILL CANVAS 9.26 JOACHIM COODER 9.27 CARBON LEAF 9.29 WMOT ROOTS RADIO PRESENTS DARRELL SCOTT WITH ROBBIE FULKS 9.30 J. BROWN UPCOMING EVENTSTHURSDAY, SEPTEMBER 1 6:30PM MAJOR JACKSON with DESTINY O. BIRDSONG at PARNASSUS A Beat Beyond SATURDAY, SEPTEMBER 3 10:30AM SATURDAY STORYTIME with HEATHER & SHOP DOG MARLEE at PARNASSUS TUESDAY, SEPTEMBER 6 6:30PM TORI BOVALINO, HANNAH WHITTEN, & ERICA WATERS at PARNASSUS The Gathering Dark TUESDAY, SEPTEMBER 13 6:30PM ANDREW MARANISS at PARNASSUS Inaugural Ballers WEDNESDAY, SEPTEMBER 14 6:00PM JONATHAN ESCOFFERY at FACEBOOK LIVE & YOUTUBE LIVE If I Survive You THURSDAY, SEPTEMBER 15 6:30PM R.J. JACOBS at PARNASSUS Always the First to Die FRIDAY, SEPTEMBER 16 6:30PM SOPHIE BLACKALL with ANN PATCHETT at PARNASSUS Farmhouse FOR TICKETS & UPDATES VISIT PARNASSUSBOOKS.NET/EVENT 3900 Hillsboro Pike Suite 14 | Nashville, TN 37215 (615) 953-2243 Shop online at parnassusbooks.net an independent bookstore for independent people @parnassusbooks1 @parnassusbooks @parnassusbooks1 Parnassus Books PARNASSUSBOOKS.NET/PARNASSUSNEXT SEPTEMBER PICK OCTOBER PICK NOVEMBER PICK DECEMBER PICK CHECK OUT OUR UPCOMING SUBSCRIPTIONYA BOX PICKS!
BOOKS [DON’T YOU FORGET ABOUT ME] BIRTHING THE BOOK: A CONVERSATION WITH JULIAN R. VACA In Nashville author Julian R. Vaca’s YA novel The Memory Index — which debuted last month — a mysterious, plague-like ill ness has struck all of humankind, stripping people of their memories and dividing soci ety into a new caste system. There are those who remember, and those who don’t. One corporation has created devices that allow people to artificially recall their own memo ries — those they’ve lost and those they are in danger of losing. The book plays with the dystopian genre by setting the story in the past — 1987, to be exact — and while corpo rate takeover seems imminent, the teenage heroes are up to the challenge of exposing the truth. This crafty foursome has been sent to a special high school, where the corporation is testing out a new device, but they’re savvy enough to realize something else is at play. It’s a story with plenty of surprises and cultural touchstones that’s a joy to read. Vaca will discuss the book from conception to publication at The Porch Writ ers’ Collective’s Birthing the Book series. 5:30 p.m. at The Porch, 2811 Dogwood Place ERICA CICCARONE
PICKS gorgeous showcase for their strengths in a collection of rootsy, rocking songs that draw on the common ground between string-band music and R&B — with Raise the Roof. It’s great to have another matchup of two peer less interpreters of song and producer T Bone Burnett; it’s also awesome to have more chances to see the duo in person. They tour with a crack band including unflap pable bassman Dennis Crouch and drummer Jay Bellerose — whose kit looks like some thing the Wright Brothers might try to fly off in — and secret weapon J.D. McPherson, no slouch of a singer himself, who coaxes a gobsmacking variety of rich sounds from his guitars. During the group’s appearance at Bonnaroo, it felt almost like Plant and Krauss were engaged in a good-natured battle to see whose pipes were best; would she carry the day with her honeyed tone and mellifluous fiddle, or would he emerge victorious by softening his delivery and not being afraid to let his age show a little in his leonine grace? In the end, the audience won, of course — which is why you want to make sure to get to Wednesday’s show on time. McPherson and his band open. 8 p.m. at FirstBank Amphitheater, 4525 Graystone Quarry Lane, Franklin STEPHEN TRAGESER
22 NASHVILLE SCENE | SEPTEMBER 1 – SEPTEMBER 7, 2022 | nashvillescene.com
CRITICS’
One of the more unclassifiable Amer icana-identified singer-songwriters currently working the circuit, Shannon McNally has been releasing albums for 20 years. Starting Wednesday at Dee’s Country Cocktail Lounge, McNally will slip into a September residency that promises to be a highlight of the Americana season. (Her Sept. 14 performance at Dee’s will be part of the venue’s AmericanaFest week shows.) What distinguishes McNally from the run of Americana-adjacent performers is her superb taste — she’s worked with great producers on the order of Mac Rebennack, Jim Dickinson and Mark Bingham. In fact, I regard her 2010 album with Bingham, West ern Ballad, as an atmospheric masterpiece. But it’s not only her taste that sets McNally apart. Her unsentimental vocal style is al ways pleasurable, and you get a sense of re straint and intelligence from her approach to singing. Her foray into the work of Way lon Jennings, 2021’s The Waylon Sessions, skirts the usual impediments Nashville artists face when they take on familiar ma terial originally performed by well-known artists. On the album, the backing — by mu sicians as experienced as guitarist Kenny Vaughan and pedal-steel player Fred Newell — is hard and concentrated, with few flour ishes. McNally is an artist of considerable range — this is a residency worth checking out. 8 p.m. Wednesdays Dee’s Country Cocktail Lounge, 102 E. Pales tine Ave., Madison EDD HURT
RELEASEALBUM [TOUGH LOVE] LAUREN BALTHROP ALBUM RELEASE
One of the first things you notice about Things Will Be Different, the new album by Nashville singer Lauren Balthrop, is its consistency of tone. Producer Nick Kinsey, who has worked with Waxa hatchee and Kevin Morby, adds strings, keyboards and bits of electric guitar to Balthrop’s songs, which evoke the pop-folk stylings of Paul Simon and Joni Mitchell. Because Balthrop doesn’t always come across like a pop artist, Things Will Be Dif ferent isn’t quite different enough to grab you by the ear — every song is catchy and well-sung, but the album flirts with onedimensionality. However, it improves with repeat listens, and at its best Things Will Be Different does contain some of the let’s-goback-to-1972 magic you assume Balthrop is aiming for. It’s an excellent, subtly dis
MUSIC [SONGS OF AMERICA] SHANNON M C NALLY RESIDENCY
turbed relationship album, and a tune titled “You Linger” does bring, say, John Lennon and Carole King to mind. Meanwhile, “Hon eysuckle Wine” is the record’s most inspired track — the advanced harmonic moves of its guitar part are very satisfying. It’s a smooth album that’s also pretty tough, and that’s gratifying. 7 p.m. at Analog, 1808 West End Ave. EDD HURT
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nashvillescene.com | SEPTEMBER 1 – SEPTEMBER 7, 2022 | NASHVILLE SCENE 23 This week at... Thursday through Saturday 623 7TH AVE S. NASHVILLE, TENN. OPEN WEEKLY DISCOVERY NITE TO-GO PRESENTS: LEGEND OF THE STARDUST BROTHERS CREATURE FEATURE FILM NIGHT JACK SILVERMAN QUARTET with ZIONA RILEY & KYLE HAMLETT CINCO LOU TURNER 8/31 WEDNESDAY 9/1 THURSDAY 9/2 FRIDAY 9/3 SATURDAY ALBUM RELEASE DOWNTOWN Museum Membership Museum members receive unlimited Museum admission, concert ticket pre-sale opportunities, and much more. JOIN TODAY: ofCheckCountryMusicHallofFame.org/Membershipourcalendarforafullscheduleupcomingprogramsandevents. Saturday, September 3 Sunday, September 4 COMPETITION PERFORMANCEAND Grand ChampionshipFiddlerMaster 9:45 am · FORD THEATER Saturday, September 3 Sunday, September 4 PERFORMANCE The Farmer & Adele SATURDAY - 12:30 pm SUNDAY - 1:00 pm FORD Saturday,THEATERSeptember 10 SONGWRITER SESSION Max T. Barnes NOON · FORD THEATER Saturday, September 10 HATCH SHOW PRINT Block Party 3:30 pm · HATCH SHOW PRINT SHOP SOLD Sunday,OUTSeptember 11 MUSICIAN SPOTLIGHT Pam Gadd 1:00 pm · FORD THEATER Saturday, September 24 SONGWRITER SESSION Jeannie Seely NOON · FORD THEATER Sunday, September 25 MUSICIAN SPOTLIGHT Ellen Angelico 1:00 pm · FORD THEATER Friday, September 30 INTERVIEW PERFORMANCEAND Dave Alvin 2:30 pm · FORD THEATER
“That’s a space where I felt like I was able to express myself when it comes to cooking, and I was honestly able to make some of the best dishes I’ve ever done in my whole ca reer,” says Victoria. It was at Bastion he met folks like Benja min and Max Goldberg, the owners of Stra tegic Hospitality who later asked Victoria to sell tacos at Geodis Park, the new home of Nashville SC. At a farmers market, he met Honeytree Meadery co-owner Dru Sousan, who invited him to park a food truck outside the meadery. Alebrije also started getting attention from major publications like Bon Appétit (not to mention a Best of Nashville award from the Scene) Alebrije now has several locations around town, including a food truck that stays parked outside Honeytree Meadery, two lo cations in Geodis and one at Bar Sovereign. Alebrije also has a presence at the weekly Richland Park Farmers’ Market with his wife Dora Martinez’s Panecito booth, which sells Mexican desserts, fruits and aguas frescas at several markets throughout the week.The Scene visited the Honeytree Mead ery location on a recent Sunday and ordered a pollo asado taco and the day’s special — chicken mole enchiladas. The marinated pollo asado was bright and flavorful, while the mole enchiladas featured a deep, rich flavor with a touch of earthy sweetness and blueParttortillas.ofwhat makes Alebrije’s food so special is its tortillas. Leaning on ancient traditions, Victoria serves nixtamalized tortillas using heirloom corn from Mexico. Soaking the dried corn in a mixture of water and calcium hydroxide softens the kernels so they can be processed through a mill and made into masa, or dough, which can then be shaped and cooked in a variety of ways. Despite its namesake, Alebrije’s branding leans away from fantastical folk art and to ward a heavy metal aesthetic. “It’s my whole self as a person into the branding,” says Victoria. “So if you see something heavy metal, that’s because I used to listen to a lot of heavy metal.” You might also see a cartoon character eating a taco with the phrase “CDMX Ta cos.” Victoria would like to develop and ex pand that brand across Nashville as a more casual taqueria while allowing Alebrije to grow into its own restaurant. “I’m cooking food that I had as a kid,” he says. “I’m cooking food that I’m very passionate about. I’m cooking food that I believe in. I’m cooking food that I think people should try. I’m not cooking food with the mentality of, ‘Oh, don’t do it like that be cause white people don’t like that.’ ” EMAIL ARTS@NASHVILLESCENE.COM
BOUTTOSOMETHINGTACO
24 NASHVILLE SCENE | SEPTEMBER 1 – SEPTEMBER 7, 2022 | nashvillescene.com
Edgar Victoria is bringing Mexico City street food to Nashville BY KELSEY BEYELER A n alebrije is a Mexican folk creature that combines ele ments of different animals — and it’s also the name of a Mexican food spot here in Nashville. AlebrijehisthatriaEdgarownerVictoimpartednametotacotruck based on a childhood memory in Mexico City. As a boy, as he was taking a bite of a carnitas taco, he looked up and saw alebrijes on the taco stand. “I will never forget that taco because it was just so good,” Victoria tells the Scene He keeps that memory alive through a growing food brand that showcases authen tic Mexican street food. Leaning on almost 20 years of experience cooking all kinds of cuisines, Victoria is working to present Nashvillians with the same kinds of food experiences he had in his native Mexico, serving tacos, huaraches, tlayudas, tostadas and“Don’tmore.get me wrong, there’s really good types of spots in Nashville,” says Victoria. “I have a favorite place myself. But in my head, I was like, ‘I’m craving something dif ferent. I’m craving something very authen tic, like Mexico City tacos.’ … I decided to create it Victoriamyself.”introduced Alebrije to Nashville through a variety of pop-ups soon after the pandemic started, at farmers markets and restaurants like Bastion, Arnold’s Country Kitchen and Joyland. Eventually, Victoria landed a residency at Bastion, serving food on the days the restaurant was closed. What started as a one-month commitment lasted the better part of a year.
FOOD & DRINK ALEBRIJE ALEBRIJENASHVILLE.SQUARE.SITE MEIGSDANIELPHOTOS:
VICTORIAEDGAR
SPHERE WINGFLUENCEOF
nashvillescene.com | SEPTEMBER 1 – SEPTEMBER 7, 2022 | NASHVILLE SCENE 25
Adam Kurtz is on a mission for fried chicken accountability BY ELI MOTYCKA San Antonio Taco Company is best known for ice buckets of beer and dense orange queso, the stuff of nostalgia for two genera tions of Vandy grads. In its nearly 40 years of operation, SATCO has also earned a sort of cult follow ing for its crispy and well-sauced Buffalo wings.
Kurtz has built a respected platform of chicken criticism using a few principles that should guide any independent media: Define the scope, earn trust, develop a voice, and stick to the mission. His specific flavor of rant-review often incorporates tangents on society, politics, sex, childhood trauma and human nature. I know at least one vegetarian who follows him. If Kurtz has one discernible mission, it’s to push others to fry better wings. He does this through a combination of shame and praise, an act of public service that improves the overall quality of wings across the city. “I have considered running for mayor,” Kurtz tells the Scene, close to finishing his order at SATCO. “My platform will have two parts: All wings have to be good, and country music has to have pedal steel. Otherwise it’s not country music. Legally.” If Kurtz wanted to eat the best wings, he’d simply stick to his own recipe, refined over decades, around which he organizes semiregular Wing Nights — primal celebrations of the wing, like medieval feasts, with Miller Lite on tap. Unlike the tidy content of the other local foodsta grams that sometimes pop up in Kurtz’s comments — @nashvillehiddengems and @nashvillehotchickenclub, to name two — Wingdom reviews resemble found literature. His erratic divergences from recognizable sentence structures and complete abandonment of the strict confines of AP Style read like the ramblings of an obsessive, drawing from an encyclopedia’s worth of reference points. Kurtz mops his brow midbite. “Wings” is always capitalized. With the occasional foray into hot chicken sub culture (hot chicken wings), Kurtz adds a novel local angle to the national discourse around Nashville’s signature food. For the hot Nashville wing, he recom mends 400 Degrees and Slow Burn, both relatively latter-day additions to Nashville’s hot chicken scene, and both Black-owned. Each has earned top marks on multiple visits. (400 Degrees once got an 11 on Kurtz’s 10-point scale.) Fried chicken has been a flashpoint for the city’s orientation toward tourist money, not to mention the accompanying erasure of Black Nashvillians’ contributions to the city. Wingdom reviews confirm that while white restaurateurs have aggressively gobbled up market share in hot chicken, there’s a superior Black-owned wing outpost in every corner of the city. On Kurtz’s watch, good chicken gets hype and bad chicken gets panned. Good chicken is crispy and sauced. Bad chicken is bland, soggy, dry, not crispy enough, or simply doesn’t qualify as a Wing. Particu lar resentment for boneless wings (“adult chicken nuggets”) and cauliflower wings (“Wyngs,” “10/10 offended,” “stop using this sacred word and kicking it around like a hackysack”) reinforce the commitments to purity and ideals that have earned Kurtz credibility with“Whatfollowers.if,ina couple years, because of my scathing and glorifying reviews, Nashville becomes another Buffalo?” Kurtz tells the Scene. “There needs to be accountability.” EMAIL ARTS@NASHVILLESCENE.COM
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“THERE’S JUST SOMETHING ABOUT DISCOVERING a hidden gem that makes you feel downright superior to others, a god among lowly mortals,” writes Adam Kurtz. He starts his review with a meditation on expec tations and ends it by awarding SATCO a respectable 8 out of “Perfect10.fry job,” Kurtz tells the Scene as he makes his way through a drumstick (a “one-boner”). “It’s crispy — that’s how it’s supposed to be. Saucy. This is exciting. My only comment is that I wish they had moreHissauces.”Instagram account — the Wingdom™ (@thewingdomreview) — is closing in on 2,000 fol lowers. College in upstate New York helped Kurtz build his palate. His dad gave him a George Foreman Grill in college, which he promptly traded in for a deep fryer. Life as a touring pedal-steel guitarist allows Kurtz regular access to new spots around the country, and having bandmates means he can try even more orders of wings — the perfect shareable. “You got to just tell it like it is,” says Kurtz, beard flecked with Buffalo sauce, explaining his simple philosophy. “Making wings is not hard. You just have to care. You have to like wings, and know what’s good. The perfect wing is super crispy on the outside, and it’s saucy. The chicken is juicy and moist.”
n a June 24 ruling — with a spiteful, hostile and patronizing majority opinion written by Justice Samuel Alito — nearly a half-century of women’s agency over their own bodies was tossed aside like a used, wadded-up tissue by six members of the Supreme Court. The shock reverberated through the bodies of women who recall their world pre-Roe, as well as those of women who have never known a world without it.
THE LIFE YOU SAVE MAY BE YOUR OWN The fall of Roe has sent a shock through the bodies of women
Vodka Yonic features a rotating cast of women and nonbinary writers from around the world sharing stories that are alternately humorous, sobering, intellectual, erotic, religious or painfully personal. You never know what you’ll find in this column, but we hope this potent mix of stories encourages conversation.
In the latter group is my 32-year-old daughter, who first obtained birth control through Planned Parenthood, went to Wash ington for the Women’s March in January 2017, donates monthly to reproductive rights organizations and serves as an escort to shield patients seeking an abortion in the city where she lives. At women’s marches, she carries a sign with a photo of me carrying a sign at the Women’s March for Choice in Washington on April 25, 2004. When I got back to Nashville, I found out that while I was in D.C. marching for choice, her science teacher at her MNPS middle school invited a representative of a Williamson County pro-life group to speak to her class about “abortionists,” as physicians were referred to in the literature my daugh ter brought home. My body morphed into an exploding ball of fury that rocketed me to the principal’s office the next morning, demand ing to know why parental permission to be subjected to such ideology was not required. I left with an agreement to invite a Planned Parenthood representative to make an ageappropriate, medically accurate, nonjudg mental presentation to the same class. On June 24, 2022, I was crushed by the decision that stripped away the hard-won reproductive rights that members of my generation and previous generations fought so relentlessly to achieve. Like my daughter, I was feeling defeated, demoral ized and hopeless. That night, I watched The Janes, the documentary about the Jane Collective, an organization of women who facilitated more than 11,000 illegal abor tions in Chicago from 1969 to 1973, pre-Roe My memory rewound to fall 1972, when I was starting my senior year of high school in Wilmington, Del. A friend was pregnant and did not want to carry the child and give up her college scholarship. A group of us pooled enough money to put her on an Am trak to New York City and pay for her legal abortion. We felt empowered. On Jan. 22, 1973, the day before my 18th birthday, I watched Walter Cronkite an nounce on CBS Evening News the Supreme Court decision that granted the constitutional right to abortion. We felt jubilant. On Jan. 8, 1974, I had a legal abortion in my physician’s office. He had prescribed my birth control, and we were all shocked at its failure. I remember the date not because it was traumatic, but because that night my boyfriend and I went to see Bob Dylan and The Band at the Spectrum. We felt relief. Six months later, I moved to New York City with no money, no job, no boyfriend and no baby. I felt brave. That was my only abortion, but not my only abortion story. Over the years, I ac companied many friends to their legal abor tions, settling them into their beds afterward with tea and cookies. When I was pregnant with my first child at 34, I had an amniocentesis to check for chromosomal abnormalities. I didn’t know if I would abort if the test was positive. It was negative, so I wasn’t faced with that decision, but I had the legal option. Preg nant again a year later, I knew that with the exception of life-threatening conditions, I would carry the baby to term. Both choices were mine to make. For decades it never occurred to me that a right granted by the Constitution could be taken away, but anxiety simmered as the pro-life movement gained advocates in courts, Congress and state legislatures. I co-founded a PAC to raise funds for progres sive women running for office in Tennessee. One of our endorsement litmus tests was support for abortion rights. Yet there I was on June 24 of this year, awash with despair, at a loss for words to rally myself and my daughter. So I watched The Janes. Witnessing those brave women — students, mothers, housewives — risk com munity standing and arrest to help women exercise agency over their bodies and fu tures, I was resolved anew. I live in North Carolina now, where abor tion is still legal. I signed up with my local Planned Parenthood to be an escort at their clinic and donated to groups that help resi dents of states with no access to abortion travel to states that do have access. I reached out to friends in Nashville to tell them I will assist those in Tennessee who need to take a “camping trip” to North Carolina. My mother had five children before she turned 30; to have her tubes tied in 1963, she had to produce notarized letters from three doctors attesting that she understood the choice she was making. All three doc tors were men. One late night, sitting together at the kitchen table, she told me the story of her friend who got pregnant their senior year of high school in 1952. The illegal abortion she had killed her. She was 18. Twenty-one years later, she could have received a safe, legal abortion and lived her life. Just as her boyfriend went on to live his. EMAIL ARTS@NASHVILLESCENE.COM who recall when abortion was
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26 NASHVILLE SCENE | SEPTEMBER 1 – SEPTEMBER 7, 2022 | nashvillescene.com
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EAST NASHVILLE On the East Side, Red Arrow Gallery opens Aaron Worley’s Your Arm on My Shoulder with a Saturday night reception from 6 until 9 p.m. This display of colorful action paintings is Worley’s first solo show at the gallery.
2022SEPTEMBERSPACE:CRAWL
September’s First Saturday displays at Zeitgeist, Unrequited Leisure and Tinney Contemporary anticipate autumn after a hot summer art season BY JOE NOLAN I
DOWNTOWNTinneyContemporary gallery manager Joshua Edward Bennett will be getting his own turn on the walls in September. Bennett’s solo exhibition, Oazo, opened on Aug. 27, and Tinney will hold an opening reception for the show this Saturday from 2 until 8 p.m. According to his website, Bennett has done at least two other iterations of shows titled Oazo: a 2016 show of blackand-yellow paintings and sculptures at Good Children Gallery in New Orleans, and Bennett’s 2019 MFA thesis exhibition at Carroll Gallery at Tulane University. Oazo means “oasis” in the Esperanto language — an auxiliary tongue meant to aid in international communications, constructed by Polish ophthalmologist L.L. Zamenhof in 1887. Zamenhof mixed Indo-European vocabulary, syntax and semantics with additional vocabulary from Romance languages, contributions from Germanic languages, and the influences of Slavic grammar and phonology to create the world’s most widely spoken constructed language. Bennett mixes a similar gumbo of elements with this latest version of Oazo, mixing objects, design, text, sound, smell and light to create an ambiguously charged ritual space that’s both a utopia and a mirage.
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ART
LEEWOLFECARLYLE“GOLDEN,”
WEDGEWOOD-HOUSTON No September show speaks as directly to the shift from summer to fall as Carlyle Wolfe Lee’s Golden exhibition at David Lusk Gallery. Lee’s painterly practice has always found inspiration in natural forms, hues and textures. And Golden’s drawings, watercolors on paper and painted panels combine saturated colors and diffuse light to capture these moments when the long, hot summer gives way to the harvest season.
OAZO
BENNETTEDWARDJOSHUABRANDED,”“OFERO
nashvillescene.com | SEPTEMBER 1 – SEPTEMBER 7, 2022 | NASHVILLE SCENE 29
GOLDEN AT DAVID LUSK GALLERY AT CONTEMPORARYTINNEY
David Lusk will hold its regular hours this Saturday from 10 a.m. until 5 p.m. Zeitgeist is coming off of its Shipmates and Keep Dreaming shows. On their surfaces, Shipmates’ excavations of Moby Dick and Keep Dreaming’s high-and-low-art sendups might seem unrelated. But both shows are collaborations created by collections of artists in service of broad cultural explorations across disciplines, genres and history. For September, Zeitgeist is back to its old trick of displaying sideby-side solo exhibitions in its expansive Wedgewood-Houston location. This pair is another example of shows that seem like opposites, but these two fit together like a pair of tarnished, grimy spoons. Alena Mehić’s highly look-at-able paintings offer post-socialist cultural landscapes informed by architecture and political photographs to capture the memory politics of the former Yugoslavia. Dark Humor is smart and funny, but I’m mostly about these paintings for their own sakes. David Piñeros’ Skullcap takes its name from the artist’s upcoming book of candid street portraits. The show includes 10 black-and-white photographs that capture the dark delights of late-night living among various subculture scenes right here in Nashville. The gallery is open from 10 a.m. until 6 p.m. this Saturday. Unrequited Leisure’s excellent summer run included Raheleh Filsoofi’s visceral video art and sculpture installation, Artifacting, and Sarah Lasley’s mesmerizing and hilarious Dirty Dancing homage video, How I Choose to Spend the Remainder of My Birthing Years. The gallery’s September show, Mediating, includes a combination of videos in a conversation about history and ritual in spiritual practices, and the manner in which these are documented, distorted, expanded and experienced by and through new-media technologies. Mediating includes contributions from Nashville native, artist and educator Maria Molteni, as well as Vidya Girl, whose art explores the overlap of her Indian heritage and the culture of her home base in Houston. The gallery will host an opening reception on Saturday from 5 until 8 p.m. Coop Gallery opens Infinite Views: Matthew Willie Garcia Saturday night. Garcia’s prints shimmer with cosmic colors and swirl in galactic gestures, exploring our universe from quantum quarks to big bangs and back again — these remind me of the great John Buscema’s art in vintage Silver Surfer comics. Garcia will be on hand for Saturday’s opening and taking advantage of Coop’s big, newish space at The Packing Plant to drop a little knowledge on gallerygoers with a demonstration of his Japanese woodcut printing techniques. The gallery will host an epic reception from 1 until 9 p.m., and Garcia’s demonstration is scheduled to start at 3. Margaret Timbrell’s conceptual needleworks combine traditional images with satirical messaging to send up capitalist ideals in homespun displays from the heart of the consumerist dystopia. Timbrell’s meticulous creations include all the fluffy birds, cuddly creatures, flowers and plants you can find on the abandoned needleworks at your local thrift store. But then she adds text like “Head of Demand Generation” or “CEO of Failure Management” to create works that are as cheeky as they are critical. Open will host a reception for her work from 6 until 9 p.m. Saturday night. Local designer Ana Carolina Mönnaco brings her abstract paintings to Modfellows’ Wedgewood-Houston outpost at The Packing Plant in September. Mönnaco’s eponymous display is another September exhibition inspired by the cycles of the natural world, featuring multimedia paintings blossoming with flowery palettes and vigorous mark-making.
t’s not technically fall yet, but kids are back in school, there are orange-frosted pumpkin-shaped sugar cookies at Kroger, Bass Pro Shops is already almost finished with its Fall Hunting Classic Sale, and I’m getting the itch to start saving horror films to ye spooky and wicked olde DVR. Autumn is in the air, even if not yet on the calendar, and September’s First Saturday events feel like a reset following a pretty great summer art season.
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The truth is, women have coached, man aged, umpired, scouted and played baseball for as long as the sport has existed. Some of the best and most compelling, like Jackie Mitchell, played right here in Tennessee.
W ith runners on first and third base, the New York Yankees’ “Sultan of Swat” emerged from the dugout. Four-thou sand fans, packed into sunny Engel Park for the 1931 spring exhibition, roared in anticipation as Babe Ruth tipped his cap to the replacement pitcher and stepped to the plate, eager to give the good people of Chat tanooga, Tenn., a show. The first pitch was called a ball. Then came a strike. Then another. Painting the outside corner, the next pitch brought forth a big, empty swing — and The Babe struck out. “Iron Horse” Lou Gehrig came right behind him, and in unexpectedly short or der, one-third of the six-man batting lineup known as “Murderers’ Row” would be re tired — by a woman. Sports pages all over the country buzzed about the “Girl Pitcher,” 17-year-old Mem phis native Jackie Mitchell, on her first professional outing with the all-male Chatta nooga Lookouts. But few took the hardwork ing prodigy seriously. Despite skeptical, paternalistic coverage, Mitchell’s debut wounded the pride of the Yankees, prompt ing Ruth to scoff, “I don’t know what’s going to happen if they begin to let women in base ball. … They are too delicate. It would kill them to play ball every day.”
The greatest example is the Negro Southern League, a semi-pro funnel for the Negro Major Leagues — the constellation of professional Black baseball teams in the 1920s through 1960s, born from brilliance and resilience that racial segregation could not extinguish. Five Tennessee cities had teams in the league, where Hall of Famers like Satchel Paige, Willie Mays and Nash ville’s Norman “Turkey” Stearnes kicked off their storied careers. The Southern League was also the first in the system to sign women — at least three players and a coach — to its men’s teams, starting with pitcher Georgia Mae Williams for the Chat tanooga Choo-Choos in 1945. Four years later, the incredible Toni Stone would play four seasons in the Southern League before signing on to become the first woman in the Negro Major Leagues. Little is known about Williams and the women of the Southern League, but recollections from Stone and other women of the Negro Leagues assure us their experiences were not easy and were often lonely. At the height of their playing years, a professional women’s league was formed — the first and (still) only of its kind. But exacting “beauty standards,” intended to exclude anyone who wasn’t white, for the All-American Girls Professional Baseball League denied Black and brown women the opportunity to play — and thus denied itself of their Popularlycontributions.knownas the inspiration be hind Penny Marshall’s 1992 film A League LIKE A DIAMOND A look at the Tennesseans of the All-American Girls Professional Baseball League and beyond BY ANIKA ORROCK
SHINECULTURE BRIGHT
For never having a major league team, Tennessee has some great baseball cities and teams — a good reminder that Major League Baseball will never be the only game, or even the best game, in town — and a rich baseball history, composed mostly of legends, heroes and misfits banished from baseball’s white male institutions.
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of Their Own (and now a series with the same name on Amazon Prime), the AAGPBL was created in 1943 to boost recreation and morale during World War II. Of the hundreds who tried out that year, only 60 athletes made the inaugural cut. Five of them (plus two team chaper ones from Nashville) were Tennesseans, including infielder Mary Louise Lester, outfielder Lillian “Bird Dog” Jackson and catcher Irene “Choo-Choo” Hickson, the oldest to sign on at 27. Before her impressive nine-year baseball career as “Choo-Choo,” Hickson was known by most as “Tuffy,” the only woman boxer in Chattanooga.FourmoreTennesseans would later play in the league. In eight seasons, twotime MVP Doris “Sammy” Sams of Knox ville earned a season batting title and a home run title, and thrice made the AllStar team — as an outfielder and a pitcher. She’s also one of two pitchers in the league to throw a perfect game. (The other, Jean Faut, is the only professional pitcher in history to throw two.) Despite having to play in lipstick and skirts — bare lips on the field warranted a fine, but bare legs on packed gravel were no problem — the 600 women of the league played legit, pro-level hardball in 12 exciting seasons. Their experiences and paychecks afforded them access to education and careers other women of their generation did not have. They also had something crucial that other women playing baseball did not: each other. For Jackie Mitchell, the women of the Negro Leagues and nearly every woman since, the dream of baseball was and is a lonely pursuit. Those who persevere are inevitably met with a level of backlash for proving themselves worthy of a spot in the “male domain.” Their significant “firsts” are rarely followed by seconds or thirds. It’s hard to maintain a blazed trail with out resources or opportunities — particu larly when every resource is dedicated to funneling girls away from baseball and toward softball. But baseball and softball are not the same sport. Girls who want and deserve to play baseball must often give it up for the sport that will allow them time off the bench and a shot at college. Even Mo’ne Davis — according to sports jour nalist Mark Hyman, Philadelphia’s “most talked about player on earth,” who pitched a two-hit, eight-strikeout, complete-game shutout over South Nashville in the 2014 Little League World Series — sat on the bench her one year of varsity baseball and had to recalibrate to softball. Every so often, the predictable gate keepers of American baseball history will rise up from their armchairs to question the legitimacy of the Negro Leagues or the validity of women like Jackie Mitchell and Toni Stone — a ceremonial seventhinning stretch to assert the “integrity” of theirButdomain.ifbaseball is truly our national pastime, it only stands to reason that more than a small percentage of athletes should have the opportunity to play — for as long and as high as their joy and dedication will take them. Tennessee seems like a good place to do it.
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ORROCKANIKAILLUSTRATION:
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LOSTINWARDLYFINE,OUTWARDLY Katie Kitamura’s international novel Intimacies hits close to home BY YURINA YOSHIKAWA BOOKS CUBITTCLAYTONPHOTO:INTIMACIES: A NOVEL BY KATIE 240RIVERHEADKITAMURABOOKSPAGES,$16
32 NASHVILLE SCENE | SEPTEMBER 1 – SEPTEMBER 7, 2022 | nashvillescene.com
F rom the outside, the unnamed protagonist of Katie Kitamura’s fourth novel, Intimacies, is an elite woman who is excellent at her job as an interpreter for the International Criminal Court in The Hague. She is fluent in English and Japanese through her parents, learned French through a childhood in Paris and is competent in Spanish and German from her years living in other European cities. As an interpreter, she makes full use of her multilingual abilities. The job also requires precision, speed and, most importantly, the kind of poised, thickskinned personality that allows her to listen and reiterate stilted legalese and horrifying testimonies on a day-to-day basis.
Kitamura’s narrator is what some of us would call a third-culture kid, someone who grew up in a culture different from their parents’. My résumé is hardly as impressive as this character’s, but I identify as a third-culture kid, having spent much of my life going back and forth between Japan and various parts of the U.S. For this reason, reading Intimacies felt strikingly resonant. The narrator says she moved around so much that “there was no place I would think of as my childhood home.” In The Hague, she notes, “A place has a curious quality when you have only a partial understanding of its language.” She muses that while interpreting, “language loses its meaning.” Kitamura’s writing is impeccable, which is both a compliment and an observation about the choice she made for the voice of this particular narrator, whose work is all about the accuracy of words. To truly understand the artistry of this novel, however, it isn’t enough to appreciate what’s on the page. Everything the narrator omits is just as important. The dark matter of this novel, if you will, sheds more light on what’s really happening inside this polished character’s head. In the opening paragraphs, the narrator summarizes her situation concisely, perhaps to a fault: She chose to accept a one-year contract to work at The Hague because she was eager to get out of New York, a place she associates with the recent passing of her father. After her father’s death, her mother quickly moved to Singapore. These details are mentioned matter-of-factly and not reiterated again for a long time, which signals to me that the underlying current of this book is grief — not only for her father, but for the proximity to her mother, and most of all, for the hope of ever having a place she could call home. This kind of grief for something that never existed is so difficult to articulate to begin with, yet Intimacies gets close to it, or at least inside the head of someone struggling to come to terms with it. After a particularly grueling day at the ICC, the narrator notes, “It is surprisingly easy to forget what you have witnessed, the horrifying image or the voice speaking the unspeakable, in order to exist in the world we must and we do forget, we live in a state of I know but I do not know.” This could just as well be a statement about witnessing her father’s death in New York, though I’m sure the narrator would be quick to deny it. It is no wonder that, under her circumstances, the narrator might constantly be second-guessing the words and body language of Jana, a friend of a friend who also feels like an outsider in The Hague as a Black woman from London. When the narrator embarks on a romantic relationship with a Dutch man named Adriaan, she realizes that he too is impossible to interpret. She wants to understand, and she says she understands — but that doesn’t mean she does.
I read the book when it came out in the summer of 2021, and my initial enjoyment of it was tied to the feeling of escapism. I have never been to the Netherlands, and since international travel was still risky for our family, the book felt like an opportunity for my mind, at least, to wander outside of our isolation in Nashville. Rereading it now, about a year later, Intimacies left me with a different interpretation. As the world seems to be hurrying itself back to crowded events to make up for all that lost time, I can’t help but feel like we are meant to interact with each other with a tacit agreement to pretend the past two-and-a-half years didn’t happen. As though many of us didn’t experience lifeshattering grief for a person, or perhaps a thing that cannot be named. We seem to be past the stage of genuine concern when we ask each other, “How are you?” We are back to treating that phrase like a mere formality. Intimacy — to borrow from Kitamura’s title, a word that is reiterated and analyzed throughout the book — is elusive to me in this current world. There must be others who also feel as perplexed about how to navigate this new yet sort of old world, who feel alone in not knowing how to process it all. Kitamura’s novel might not provide answers, but it will offer kinship and acknowledgement. In that way, Intimacies might be timelier than ever. For more local book coverage, please visit Chapter16.org, an online publication of Humanities Tennessee. EMAIL ARTS@NASHVILLESCENE.COM
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“You know, going back and listening to that stuff was fantastic, ’cause you don’t sit at home listening to yourself,” Hodges says with a laugh. “But I put those records on and go, ‘Whoa! Good Lord, that was good.’ ” Almost all of his live work is across the pond, including an October tour, which follows up a seven-week U.K.-Europe trek earlier this year. Fittingly, the other cur rent members of The Warner E. Hodges Band — drummer John Powney, bassist Jason Knight and guitarist Ben Marsden — are based in England. The three tracks included from Just Feels Right and the six new tracks included on Boots Up feature Hodges’ U.K. bandmates. “All three guys are monster talents,” Hodges says. “They’re really great.” Unfortunately, because they don’t have work visas for the U.S., that group isn’t able to join him for the upcoming show. Don’t think of the band he’s put together as a con solation prize, though: He’ll be accompanied by Blanton on guitar and vocals, former Homemade Sin bandmate Sean Savacool on bass and Bluefields bandmate Brad Pem berton on drums. “We’re going to do, like, seven or eight Bluefields songs,” Hodges says, “so I’ll sing about half the songs, and Joe will sing about half the songs.”
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Between its 1990 inception and its 10-year hiatus that began in 2009, the English group’s co-founders — guitarist-composer Tim Gane and singer-keyboardist Laetitia Sadier — laid waste to the idea that “hardcore music lover” automatically translates to “snob.” The group made efforts to lower casual listeners’ barrier of entry to krautrock and Tropicália, French pop, space-age lounge, ’60s psych and other so-called “out” music genres. Over time, these influences crystallized into a signature sound that transcends pastiche. Following the release of Pulse of the Early Brain [Switched On Vol. 5] — the fifth installment in an ongoing series compiling non-album singles and other rarities — Stereolab headlines at Marathon Music Works on Tuesday. In a 1993 MTV interview, Gane explained the group’s eclecticism as a strategy to keep flighty, distracted bandmates engaged and involved just enough to not jump ship. “It was despera tion, really,” said Gane, then 29. “We just needed people to play on our records, and a few more to play concerts.” Near the end of the talk, Gane effectively summed up Stereolab’s M.O.: “I like messing around in the studio, just to see what we can come up with.” Tentative as Sadier and Gane might’ve once seemed about their sound and lineup, following their instincts and taking a band-as-collective ap proach have suited them well. Stereolab alumni include Slint’s David Pajo, The High Llamas’ Sean O’Hagan and the late Mary Hansen, who came on as singer and multi-instrumentalist in 1992. Were it not for her untimely 2002 bike-accident death, Hansen would’ve likely been a lifelong member. Sadier and Gane eulogized Hansen on “Feel and Triple,” a track from 2004’s Margerine Eclipse LP. There’s no “best” Stereolab album — its catalog offers myriad points of entry. Listeners unwilling to accept that synths may be outselling guitars these days are likely to side with 1993’s heavily Neu!inspired Transient Random-Noise Bursts With An nouncements and its 1994 follow-up Mars Audiac
Boots Up also reveals that Hodges’ musi cal range extends beyond the roots rock he’s best known for. The majestic “Never Alone” from Right Back Where I Started is a good example of this. “Dan Baird and Homemade Sin were down in Australia, and we had, like, four off days in a row,” Hodges says, remembering when he wrote the song. “It was pouring down rain that day, I was missing my wife, and I ended up writing that song. When I got back home, Dan read through the song, read through it again, and maybe changed one little word or something. He looked at me and went, ‘Wow, dude, you’ve actually written a real song here. It’s not about going to the bar or your wife dancing or anything.’ And I was actually really proud because normally, you know, I’m a guitar player, not a lyric guy.” Of the 14 originals in the collection, Hodges co-wrote 10 with either Baird or Blanton or both. Baird and Blanton co-wrote one of the songs, and the other three cuts were written solely by Blanton.
FLYING SOLO Warner Hodges’ best-of collection proves he’s more than a six-string wizard BY DARYL SANDERS I n “Right Back Where I Started,” the opening track of Boots Up: The Best of the Warner E. Hodges Band So Far, Hodges sings, “Ratz in the cellar / Electric Boys onstage.” It’s a reference to a double bill in the late ’70s at Phrank ’n’ Steins Rathskeller, ground zero for Nashville’s burgeoning punk rock community. Hodges was the guitarist for The Electric Boys, who would soon team up with singer Jason Ringenberg, change their name to The Scorchers, and ignite the local rock Hodges’scene.work with Jason and the Scorch ers is now legendary, and the recordings he has made outside that band with The Bluefields and Dan Baird and Homemade Sin have only added to his legacy.
Boots Up illuminates another part of Hodges’ long career: the albums he has made under his own“I’mname.aguy that’s always looking to the fu ture,” Hodges says. “So it’s really hard to go back and listen to older stuff — ‘Oh, I should have done this, I should have done that,’ and it makes it very difficult to just listen to it and enjoy it. “But I’m pretty pleased with [Boots Up], because 11 of the 12 ‘best of’ selections have been remixed or remastered, and they all sound quite a bit better. It was nice to hear those songs with a fresh mix and a fresh mastering.”Thetwo-disc set was released in the U.K. and Europe late last year, but will be made available via record stores in the U.S. for the first time on Sept. 9 and to the major streaming services on Oct. 28. To celebrate the stateside release, Hodges will perform at Eastside Bowl on Sept. 15.
Boots Up has an abundance of what any one familiar with Hodges’ long career would expect: monster riffs, hot licks and plenty of rock ’n’ roll swagger. But the collection also reveals the cow-punk pioneer to be so much more than a six-string wizard. Hodges has a strong voice and is more than capable as a lead vocalist. In addition, the set show cases the informal songwriting team he is part of that includes Baird and Joe Blanton, his bandmates in The Bluefields. Baird and Blanton are co-producers on much of the material included, and Blanton handled the remixing and remastering of the tracks for the“Thecompilation.waywework, it’s literally like, ‘This is The Bluefields pile, this is the Dan Baird and Homemade Sin pile, this is the Warner pile,’ ” he explains.
Reflecting on three decades of Stereolab BY CHARLIE ZAILLIAN Emerging at the height of grunge-mania, Stereolab brought something a bit classier and more exotic to the table.
BOOTS UP: THE BEST OF THE WARNER E. HODGES BAND SO FAR WILL BE SELF-RELEASED FRIDAY, SEPT. 9; PLAYING EASTSIDE BOWL SEPT. 15 PLAYING TUESDAY, SEPT. 6, AT MARATHON MUSIC WORKS
LAB RATS
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The collection features 18 tracks in all, including the aforementioned dozen from Hodges’ four studio albums: Centerline (2008), Gunslinger (2014), Right Back Where I Started (2017) and Just Feels Right (2020). The other six sides have never before been released, including studio-recorded covers of “Polk Salad Annie” by Tony Joe White, “Good Hearted Woman” by Waylon Jen nings and Willie Nelson, “Set Me Free” by Sweet and a mashup of the Sex Pistols’ “Hol iday in the Sun” with George Jones’ “White Lightning.”
THE MEDIUM, FOR HORSES (YK RECORDS)
If you ask me, The Medium could have titled their new album Space Horse, which might convey the essence of a very strange piece of rock ’n’ roll better than the perfectly serviceable For Horses. (“Space Horse,” is in fact the name of one of the songs.) The music on For Horses comes straight out of late Beatles and post-Beatles work of ’70s bands like 10cc, The Wackers and Paul McCartney’s Wings. Nearly every chord change and melodic cadence on For Horses is slightly askew, and the lyrics for “Space Horse” conflate horses with space travel. For Horses is a crazed masterpiece of super-formalist rock, and if original space cowboys The Byrds got back together next week to make a new record, they could do worse than to listen hard to this one for inspiration.
A s the end of acrossapproaches,summermusiciansNashville’sarray of scenes continue offering up outstanding releases. The Scene’s music writers have six new recommendations for you — add ’em to your streaming queue or pick them up from your favorite local record store. The next (inFridayBandcamppromotionwhichthe platform waives its cut of sales for a 24-hour period) is set for Sept. 2, and many of our picks are available to buy directly from the artists via that service too.
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The Scene ’s music writers recommend recent releases from Ronin Black, Kelsey Waldon, The Medium and more BY EDD HURT, P.J. KINZER, BRITTNEY M c KENNA AND STEPHEN TRAGESER MUSIC Quintet. Rewarding those who’ve turned the corner: 1996’s spirited Emperor Tomato Ketchup and 1997’s lush, tranquil Dots & Loops; in tandem, those re leases document the group hitting its creative stride. Issued in September 1999, Cobra and Phases Group Play Voltage in the Milky Night makes up for what it lacks in cohesion with an exciting juxtaposi tion of percussive jazz freakouts like opener “Fuses” and ambient excursions like “Blue Milk,” the latter of which is a multi-part epic in the spirit of Kraftwerk’s “Autobahn” or Sonic Youth’s “The Diamond Sea.” A glance at recent set lists reveals they’ve been drawing heavily on this record, so it might be good to brush up on. A pair of similarly expansive tracks from 1997 — “Simple Headphone Mind” and “Trippin’ With the Birds,” recorded in collaboration with industrial guru Steven Stapleton, aka Nurse With Wound — open the newEasycompilation.asStereolab’s albums are to get lost in soni cally, deeper meaning lies therein should one wish to venture. Gane and Sadier have made a career of clueing listeners in on what the radio won’t. Still, they’re seldom explicit, preferring to show rather than tell. The socialist lyrical slant of tunes like “Crest” from Transient Noise and “Ping Pong” from Mars Audiac Quintet is sure to resonate with those already attuned and stoke interest among the curious. Yet the mes sage is delivered so subtly that someone not listening for it could play the track for years before noticing, regardless of personal politics. Any way you slice it, Stereolab’s influence is tough to overstate. Fans run the gamut from big-name admirers like Donald Glover — who prominently fea tured Dots and Loops standout “The Flower Called Nowhere” in episode 8 of Atlanta’s third season, released earlier this year — to avowed Nashville fans like hip-hop leading light Namir Blade, guitaristabout-town Sean Thompson and ex-Bostonian psychpop aces Total Wife. Sadier and Gane bringing the band to Nashville is a big deal — and as of press time tickets are still available.
EDD HURT JULIA GOMEZ, AREN’T WE ALL SO INCOMPLETE (SELF-RELEASED) The opening track of Julia Gomez’s debut album is called “Late Summer,” which is perfectly fitting for the music she makes. Her breezy tone is perfect for a warm September evening on a patio as she contemplates the tension between fantasies — like spending forever in this pleasant time of year — and the stubborn reality that keeps creeping in. Gomez uses her voice in a fashion that recalls The Cranberries’ late, great frontwoman Dolores O’Riordan, bending her notes around the beats in evershifting ways. The 12-track album swings from the simple and spacious to the complex and dense. If you’re looking for a pop record to take you from here to sweater weather, Aren’t We All So Incomplete is the perfect selection. P.J. KINZER VARIOUS ARTISTS, IMAGINATIONAL ANTHEM XI: CHROME UNIVERSAL — A SURVEY OF MODERN PEDAL STEEL (TOMPKINS SQUARE) Nashville is the place where the iconic sound of the pedal steel as a country instrument was perfected. It’s also the home of Luke Schneider, who has excelled in both country contexts and in cultivating new ways to use the instrument, as heard on recordings like his New Age-inspired solo debut Altar of Harmony. He’s far from the only practitioner who’s been pushing the boundaries of what the pedal steel can do, and indie label Tompkins Square invited him to curate a new installment of its Imaginational Anthem series, which features a rainbow array of special performances. Its nine tracks begin with an expansive piece called “Ely Revisited” by B.J. Cole (who you heard on Elton John’s “Tiny Dancer”). Other standouts include Susan Alcorn’s contemplative “Gilmor Blue,” which plays with the idea of pedal steel as the ultimate harmony instrument, and Maggie Björklund’s “Lysglimt,” which gets deeply dark and immensely heavy.
KELSEY WALDON, NO REGULAR DOG (OH BOY)
STEPHEN TRAGESER
ANOTHER LOOK
RONIN BLACK, “GEHENNA,” “DIG DAT” AND “STARFACE” (LIFE MUSIC ENTERTAINMENT) It’s been cool in the past year or so to see at least a little more multi-scene crossover, in which indie concert bills feature artists from more than one genre. Rapper Ronin Black has been on the lineup for a couple of noteworthy rock-ish concerts in recent months, most recently the album release party that thrashy punks Waxed threw at Compound Skate Shop, and his combination of dark and nimble production and witty, swaggering bars makes him a perfect fit. He’s released a handful of excellent singles this year, starting with the brooding “Gehenna” in February. Released in July, “Dig Dat” has a kinetic beat that’s difficult not to bounce along with. Arguably the strongest of the bunch is the off-kilter “Starface,” released in August, in which Black raps, “Everybody hatin’ on me / I got a lot to hate.”
Kelsey Waldon follows her critically acclaimed 2019 album White Noise/White Lines with No Regular Dog, the Nashville singer-songwriter’s finest project yet. Her second LP with the late John Prine’s Oh Boy Records, No Regular Dog is a dynamic collection that showcases what Waldon does best: honest, narrative songwriting with a traditional country bent, which especially stands out on the touching Prine tribute “Season’s Ending.” Best of all, it’s a richly immersive album that rewards repeated listens, so kick back and enjoy.
BRITTNEY McKENNA SUNKEN BASILICA, SUNKEN BASILICA (MOONLIGHT CYPRESS ARCHETYPES) As with many heshers, Edward Longo’s solo work explores more ambient tones and spectral synthesizers. Longo, who has been a part of noise-metal vanguard Skin Tension and the trancelike folk and black metal experiment Primeval Well, has recorded seven new tracks under the name Sunken Basilica. With its cues from a variety of composers including Debussy and Charles Ives, this new endeavor is far more ambitious than your run-of-the-mill dungeon-synth project. Part Jacques Cousteau documentary score, part Christopher Young horror soundtrack, the record is full of curious, otherworldly sounds and melodies that are simultaneously unnerving and magnetic. Sunken Basilica is a testament to the benefit of artists reaching further than what listeners expect from them. P.J. KINZER
ANY OF YOU SEE THE THIEF WHO GOT MY POM-POMS?: MY CHEMICAL ROMANCE STUBBSAMIEEPHOTO:ONE WAY OR ANOTHER: BLONDIE
MASTERSMATTHEWHAMILTONPHOTO:
I f time doesn’t move fast enough for you, consider the fact that My Chemi cal Romance is on a reunion tour. Somehow, it has been 12 years since the theatrically inclined poppunk troupe released its last fulllength album of all-new material. In 2013, the band officially called it quits, but reig nited the flame in 2019 with the announce ment of a grand reunion tour that would start in 2020. Though delayed by COVID, it’s been back in full force this year, and tour stops have already spanned continents. The current leg of the tour rolled into Bridgestone Arena on Aug. 23 with support from a couple of younger bands who started to come into their own around the time MCR broke up. Playing first was Toronto’s Dilly Dally, a dark and intense grunge-schooled rock quartet founded by high school friends circa 2009. Following them was Turnstile, a Baltimore hardcore punk outfit of about the same vintage that has exploded onto the scene in the post-lockdown era. They’ve played progressively bigger shows in Nash ville over the past year or so, and most re cently sold out Brooklyn Bowl back in May. While many of My Chemical Romance’s peers in the realms of punk, rock and emo have faded away in the intervening years — and the culture of toxicity that some par ticipated in remains important to confront — MCR has stuck around like gum under a middle school desk. Chalk it up to their pat ented grandiosity, 2006’s catalog-defining rock opera The Black Parade serving as something like Sgt. Pepper’s for Aughts emo kids, or the band’s persistent relevance on the radio. Maybe it’s simply easier to revisit a gem like “Famous Last Words” than forget table, copy-pasted screamo songs with lyrics that don’t live up to the title. (There are some things that one is glad to realize have van ished along with one’s old iPod.) In any case, MCR’s frontman Gerard Way — who’s now 45 and rocked a cheerleader outfit with aplomb — and his merry band of thrashers brought a high-octane show to the ’Stone, making it feel like not a minute had passed since the second BushTheadministration.setlistspanned most of the band’s 20-year career, kicking off with “The Foun dations of Decay,” a new single the band sur prise-released in May. The main set came to a close with a riveting rendition of 2004’s emo staple “Helena.” If you just came for the radio singles, you sure as hell got ’em. “Welcome to the Black Parade,” the hit that helped cement MCR as part of the zeitgeist in 2006, appeared in grand fashion near the end of the set, and it was a thrill to watch the entirety of the nearly packed arena collec tively fall apart as the opening piano notes trickled out of the speakers. Anthemic favorites like “Teenagers,” “I’m Not Okay (I Promise)” and “Thank You for the Venom” were interspersed with deeper cuts like “This Is the Best Day Ever” and “The World Is Ugly,” a song the band hadn’t played live since it made a brief appearance in the set in 2008. For The Black Parade fans, the band threw out great renditions of the swaggering “House of Wolves,” operatic “Mama” and haunting “Sleep.” As rockers like The Rolling Stones have proven time and again, the best bands can defy the clock. When there’s another My Chemical Romance roadshow, it will not be a shock to see Way & Co. bringing an equal level of fury and excitement. Even as age reshapes Way’s vocals, he’s still got the showman’s attitude — and his band the gusto — to keep the wheels rolling for years to come. As we get older, we might not bang our heads as hard, and we might grumble a bit more about concerts ending close to mid night. But the electric zing of those songs that meant so much keeps bringing us back.
MUSICTHE SPIN
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NEVER TELL ME
THE ODDS BY CHARLIE ZAILLIAN
T hroughout Blondie’s Aug. 24 con cert at the Grand Ole Opry House, after the gig, and even into the next morning, I couldn’t get the number 77 off my mind. In rock parlance, 1977 is synonymous with punk. Somehow, 45 years have passed since The Clash and the Sex Pistols led the charge for intrepid young bands with fresh ideas about rock putting their work out into the world and taking it on the road — among them Blondie, whose self-titled December ’76 debut got a rerelease with wide distribu tion that year. The Damned, whose Nick Loweproduced first LP Damned Damned Damned also dropped in ’77, opened Wednesday’s show. Singer Dave Vanian was in full ferocious voice as I found my seat. In July, Debbie Harry — Blondie’s name sake, voice and face — celebrated her 77th birthday. That marks a half-century removed from the “27 Club,” the grim moniker for the array of well-known musicians who died at 27, succumbing to pressures from fame and other issues. Harry, guitarist Chris Stein and drummer Clem Burke had already reached their 30s by the time Blondie broke big with 1978’s mega-hit Parallel Lines, which was certified platinum within nine months of its release and has sold millions of copies worldwide. Naturally, with success comes stress, and Blondie’s history reveals how close the core trio came to being swallowed whole by the rock ’n’ roll lifestyle. Too many of their peers are gone, and it doesn’t feel like a stretch to say the hiatus they took be tween 1982 and 1997 saved their lives. Sadly, some health issues forced Stein to pull out of the band’s spring tour, and he’s having to sit out this leg as well; Andee Blacksugar filled in admirably. The natural chemistry and cama raderie the group gave off Wednesday — just a couple of days before the release of a mas sive retrospective box set fittingly named Against the Odds — was years in the making. Brushes with death, of course, build per spective about what’s important. It’s easy to downplay the trauma we’ve collectively fought our way through these past two-and-ahalf awful years. As recently as two summers ago, the threat of concerts like this never happening again felt frighteningly real. This wasn’t lost on Harry, who took her sweet time taking it all in between songs. During breaks in the 19-song set, she engaged so casually with the crowd that on a couple occasions, Burke interjected mid-tangent to count off the next tune, reminding Harry that this was the Opry, not a houseTheparty.show could’ve passed for a house show, immaculate acoustics notwithstanding — even from the nosebleeds it sounded clear as a bell. The set didn’t meander, but parceled out Blondie’s cavalcade of hits from the late ’70s and early ’80s in strategic fashion. The calypso-styled Paragons cover “The Tide Is High” and discopunk “Atomic” — my personal fave — came early. Spirited performances of “Rapture, “Heart of Glass,” “Call Me” and “One Way or Another,” meanwhile, rewarded showgoers’ pa tience. The less-familiar material de serves mention too. Before the show, I’d never heard the bracing “Detroit 442,” melodious “Maria” — from 1999’s reunion LP No Exit, and one of keyboardist Jimmy Destri’s choice contribu tions to Blondie’s catalog — or “Long Time,” an irrepressibly funky co-write with Blood Orange’s Dev Hynes that appeared on 2017’s Pollinator. I’m glad I have now. Spend enough time in Nashville, and you become wary of touring acts waxing rhapsodical from the stage, with varying degrees of sincerity, about performing on hallowed ground. Harry & Co. began their encore with “Ring of Fire,” which has been in Blondie’s repertoire since the early ’80s, but they avoided that potential pitfall. From what I heard eavesdropping on post-show conversations as the nearly sold-out crowd made its way to the exits, few if any stones remained unturned. For me, the prospect of seeing bands on the rise, trying to catch lightning in a bottle, will keep me seeking out live music till I physically can’t any more. To witness a legacy act of this ilk, however — holding it down this capably, with this much gusto, this late in the game — is moving in its own way, making the case that being truly successful means having nothing left to prove. EMAIL THESPIN@NASHVILLESCENE.COM
THEY/THEM ON PEACOCK Arriving on the scene with the wittiest title for our current era, They/Them has been racking up a lot of online discourse, with a lot of people deeply angry at it. Writer-director John Logan (who wrote Penny Dreadful and Alien: Covenant, which are good, but also Star Trek: Nemesis) has ambition, tackling a slasher on the loose at a conversion camp for queer teens. It’s a concept that at its best should feel some thing like an unholy collision between But I’m a Cheerleader and Friday the 13th, and there are a few moments that scrape up against that — especially with OG Friday camper Kevin Bacon presiding here, run ning this mysterious place designed to kill children’s authentic selves and remake them as something acceptable to the out side world. The biggest plus is national treasure Carrie Preston, who finds the elegance in perfectly coiffed evil. The big gest minus is the scene toward the end that is exactly the point in which I said out loud, to the TV, “Oh, for fuck’s sake.” There are films to be made about the clash between reconciliation and retribution, but given how methodical They/Them is in laying out the dehumanizing process of unmaking someone, this isn’t the place for it.
38 NASHVILLE SCENE | SEPTEMBER 1 – SEPTEMBER 7, 2022 | nashvillescene.com
Virginia Gardner (Starfish, Halloween 2018) is awesome as always as the live-wire best friend, and Jeffrey Dean Morgan has about three minutes of screen time, but he plays daddy very well in the literal and figurative sense. Grace Caroline Currey serves believ able endurance as our lead. Even if you’re not acrophobic, in a theater, this film will likely fuck you up.
INCANTATION ON NETFLIX Here’s the deal. Incantation is awesome, but I don’t want to tell you why, because that would wreck some of the malign pleasures lurking within. I don’t even want to say what subgenre this film occupies for the same reason. Let’s just say, at this point, that this Taiwanese shocker is imaginative and freaky and will stick around in your subcon scious. Don’t watch the English dub. Last chance, ye who would avoid spoilers … Incantation is like Sinister or The Empty Man, where the act of watching the film binds you to the mythos it presents and dooms the viewer. It is also like that excep tional teaser for 2007’s The Hills Have Eyes II, where it reveals that the film has already killed you before you even watched it. In cantation is a work of the cruelest genius that also incorporates passive peer pressure and the response to trypophobia in a way that you can’t help but be in awe of. Direc tor and co-writer Kevin Ko is not playing games with this film, and he goes hard with unbridled terror herein. EMAIL ARTS@NASHVILLESCENE.COM
A lesser-known Blaxploitation horror offering, this 1975 tale of Yoruba religion versus Christianity is notable for two dis tinguishing factors: It was shot in East Ten nessee’s Friendsville, and it stars Marlene Clark, from Bill Gunn’s Ganja and Hess, as a mother who turns to other options besides the church after the tragic death of her daughter’s beloved. There’s a lot going on here, with strong characterization on the individual and community levels, and it dwells much more in the process of super natural revenge than most films exploring that milieu do in their rush to splatter some walls. Clark is, as always, iconic in a role she gives 110 percent to, and the end result is a tidy, EC Comics-style narrative that feels somehow more affecting than one might ex pect. If nothing else, Lord Shango deserves a place in the pantheon of Tennessee horror. Note: Practitioners of Santeria, Obeah or Voodoo will likely be frustrated by the way the film picks and chooses aspects of each of those practices and makes an emotional coat of many colors out of them.
There are two stalls in the men’s room of this Mississippi rest stop. In one is Wes (True Blood’s Ryan Kwanten), fleeing the fallout from the catastrophic end of a rela tionship, now homeless and ready to start a new life bound only by the open road and his car. In the other stall is the elder god Ghat anothoa (voiced by J.K. Simmons), a sham bling horror caught in a cosmic dilemma. Will there be shocking violence? Yes. Will we have a demonstration of what happens when foolish mortals gaze upon an eternal and undying thing? Also yes. Will we as an audience get a new spin on Lovecraftian horror that doesn’t overplay its hand or end up disappointing us? Most certainly. Glori director Rebekah McKendry loves hor ror and has a gift for absurdist comedy, and those two impulses keep this film spry and spiky, like the many eldritch tentacles that keep this ghoulish engine turning.
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FALL, NOW IN THEATERS If this movie had been in 3D, it would have had to have been rated NC-17. Not since 1990’s Arachnophobia at the old Lion’s Head theater or the next-to-last hurrah for 70 mm film at the Opry Mills IMAX with the Burj Khalifa sequence in Mission: Im possible — Ghost Protocol have I been this sweaty and terrified in my seat for no literal reason. But a good movie, or even an effec tive one, can do that. Just reach inside your mind with the interplay of sound and vision and shake the hippocampus until your own nightmares come out to play with what ever’s on screen. Fall features two friends, trapped at the top of a 2,000-foot broadcast tower — it’s shaky and woozy and terrify ing and, honestly, about 20 minutes too long. There’s way too much backstory getting in the way of the existential terror — there are aspects of the 47 Meters Down template that can be jettisoned with nothing of value lost.
LORD SHANGO VIA THE CRITERION CHANNEL
hat ancient curse about living in interesting times becomes more and more relevant with each day that passes. If you’re reading this, then you have an interest in how the human or ganism metabolizes its fears and awareness of mortality into works of art, and with that in mind, we’re delving into the darker side of things. Our next Primal Stream install ment will be comedy-emphasizing, ideally. But things are unpredictable, and you know that. So with this week’s recommended titles let’s embark upon a journey through different pathways by which to discharge that unease, like an emotional lightning rod, or getting drunk and playing Skee-Ball where there’s no danger of accidentally nailing someone in the side of the face with a reinforced plasticine ball. So have a mental margarita and take a trip through this column’s meander into chaos.
HORROR IN THE HIGH DESERT ON AMAZON PRIME VIDEO Starts like Lake Mungo, ends like REC. Horror in the High Desert is not as fully amaz ing as that combo sounds, but it’s still a re markable work of found footage that covers a lot of emotional ground. When a YouTube explorer disappears, his family, fans, friends and secret lovers try to figure out exactly what happened. The answer is this: Fuckedup stuff happened. Horror in the High Desert delivers sad wig moments and night vision shenanigans, and despite the mercenary sequel setup, I’m intrigued by what writerdirector Dutch Marich is getting up to in the realm of found fiction and its variants.
PRIMALFILM Elder gods, Blaxploitation horror and found footage, now available to stream BY JASON SHAWHAN THEY/THEM
GLORIOUS ON SHUDDER
STREAM 80
FILM HONK FOR JESUS. SAVE YOUR SOUL. R, 102 SEPT.OPENINGMINUTESWIDEFRIDAY,2 The Produce Place | 4000 Murphy Rd | Nashville, TN You are so Nashville if... You BAYOU a AVAILABLE AT THE PRODUCE PLACE $ 59 99$ 59 99 $15 OFF$15 OFF $ 10 OFF$ 10 OFFFREEFREE $ 8 9 99$ 8 9 EXPEABS99RTS 9/29/22. 9/29/22. 9/29/22. 9/29/22.9/29/22. $ 59 99$ 59 99 $15 OFF$15 OFF $ 10 OFF$ 10 OFFFREEFREE $ 8 9 99$ 8 9 EXPEABS99RTS 1/4/2021. 1/4/2021. 1/4/2021. 1/4/2021.1/4/2021. $ 59 99$ 59 99 $15 OFF$15 OFF $ 10 OFF$ 10 OFFFREEFREE $ 8 9 99$ 8 9 EXPEABS99RTS 1/4/2021. 1/4/2021. 1/4/2021. 1/4/2021.1/4/2021. $ 59 99$ 59 99 $15 OFF$15 OFF $ 10 OFF$ 10 OFFFREEFREE $ 8 9 99$ 8 9 EXPEABS99RTS 1/4/2021. 1/4/2021. 1/4/2021. 1/4/2021.1/4/2021. $ 59 99$ 59 99 $15 OFF$15 OFF $ 10 OFF$ 10 OFFFREEFREE $ 8 9 99$ 8 9 EXPEABS99RTS 1/4/2021. 1/4/2021. 1/4/2021. 1/4/2021.1/4/2021. $ 59 99$ 59 99 $15 OFF$15 OFF $ 10 OFF$ 10 OFFFREEFREE $ 8 9 99$ 8 9 EXPEABS99RTS 1/4/2021. 1/4/2021. 1/4/2021. 1/4/2021.1/4/2021. $ 59 99$ 59 99 $15 OFF$15 OFF $ 10 OFF$ 10 OFFFREEFREE $ 8 9 99$ 8 9 EXPEABS99RTS 1/4/2021. 1/4/2021. 1/4/2021. 1/4/2021.1/4/2021. Columbia 1006 Carmack Blvd Columbia TN 931-398-3350 Follow Us on Instagram
ON GOD Honk for Jesus. Save Your Soul. shoots fish in a barrel BY CRAIG D. LINDSEY
T he people behind Honk for Jesus. Save Your Soul. have gotta be ecstatic that a video of a Kansas City pastor call ing his congregation “poor, broke, busted and disgusted” for not getting him an expensive watch has recently gone viral. You know the filmmakers are thinking the people who have been clowning this video on social media will hopefully take a chance on their movie. However, that brief clip succinctly (and inadvertently hilariously) breaks down what Honk spends an hour-and-40-some-odd minutes trying to satirize. With Honk, twin filmmak ers Adamma and Adanne Ebo take their 15-minute 2018 short film of the same name and expand it to feature length, even getting Jordan Peele and Daniel Kaluuya on board as producers. Stars/ producers Sterling K. Brown and Regina Hall step in as the central couple, an Atlanta pastor and his loyal wife, who are trying to make a come back after a very public, very indecent scandal had them losing followers and closing up their church. They even have to deal with a rival, more progressive husband-and-wife pastor team (Nicole Be harie and Conphidance) who are opening up a newJustchurch.likethe short, the movie is done in mockumentary fashion. But Honk also throws in moments when the “documen tary” cameras aren’t filming, giving us Larry Sanders-esque scenes in which the real shit goes down. (We know this because the aspect ratio changes on screen when ever said real shit happens.)
Brown and Hall do bring their A-game, creating a flashy, deluded chemistry as partners-in-crime scheming to get their flock back, doing such ass-backwards stunts as starting up a “roadside ministry” and getting passing motorists to honk in praise.
nashvillescene.com | SEPTEMBER 1 – SEPTEMBER 7, 2022 | NASHVILLE SCENE 39
As much as you can tell the Ebos wanted to make a Christopher Guest movie in the hood, Honk may be the most shooting-fishin-a-barrel movie you’ll see this year. Every one should know by now that swagged-out preachers are the most corrupt hypocrites out there, easy to take shots at. Hell, I’m from Houston — home to Joel Osteen’s megachurch, which has been known to keep money stored in its bathroom walls. Honk for Jesus. Save Your Soul. seems to think it’s breaking new ground by revealing how Black, so-called men of the cloth are taking money and destroying lives in their own communities. But these days, all you have to do is scroll through YouTube and/or TikTok and see actual Black men of the cloth doing it in real time. EMAIL ARTS@NASHVILLESCENE.COM
(For some reason, this movie seems to be set in an alternate universe where there is no internet, and no one uses the World Wide Web for immediate publicity.) Both actors have monologue-filled moments that actu ally elicit sympathy for these poor souls. But then you remember that these charac ters are heavily in denial about the damage they’re causing to everyone and each other. The Ebo twins don’t know whether to take pity on them or vilify them for the material istic heathens that they are.
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nashvillescene.com | SEPTEMBER 1 – SEPTEMBER 7, 2022 | NASHVILLE SCENE 41 ACROSS 1 Like some face creams and serums, supposedly 6 Cost for a commercial 9 Class now known as Family and Consumer Sciences, informally 14 W.N.B.A. star Taurasi with five Olympic gold medals 15 “___ qué?” 16 Over 17 Strip, as a ship 18 emotionalExtravagantly 20 Rouse to action 22 Close behind, as a canine 23 N.L. West team, on scoreboards 24 Dearest partner? 27 Plant used to make mescal 28 “Go ahead, try this!” 32 Pear cultivar 35 Rumble in the Jungle promoter 37 Gal in Hollywood 39 Tube rider, e.g. 40 Port of Alaska 42 Word with memory or bike 43 Antilles resident 45 Finish off 46 Sign 47 1985 benefit concert watched by nearly two billion people 49 Fastidious roommate of classic TV 51 One way to administer a tranquilizer 53 To boot 56 Electronics whiz 59 Opposite of ruddy 61 Engaged in some amorous behavior 64 Creator of Heffalumps and Woozles 65 Sing ___ 66 Swear words? 67 It has options for “cc” and “bcc” 68 Newsroom positions 69 With the circled letters, a hint to solving seven Across clues 70 True-blueDOWN 1 Actress Uzo 2 Montana, once 3 Ankle bones 4 Still a contender 5 Putting in an enclosure 6 Loan letters 7 “Why did I do that?!” 8 Exhibit grandiloquence 9 Character that’s popular on social media 10 Instrument with a bell 11 Most frequent number, in math 12 “May the forces of ___ become confused on the way to your house”: George Carlin 13 Partner of Parks 19 Ritzy 21 Has a experience?novel 25 Sidestep 26 Lease 27 End of Arthur Miller’s “The Crucible,” e.g. 29 Courage under fire 30 Cheese wrapped in wax 31 Abstainer’s amount 32 Largest TV network in the world, by number of employees 33 Word-of-mouth 34 Cortana : Microsoft :: ___ : Apple 36 Scraping (out) 38 What you get when you put your hands together? 41 Scottish noble in “Macbeth” 44 Ones always taking cover? 48 Military move 50 Crown covering 52 One of many in Indiana possessionJones’s 53 Quell, as concerns 54 First name on the Supreme Court 55 “Just peachy” 56 Chaucer chapter 57 Chimp who orbited Earth in 1961 58 Go kaput, with “out” 60 “The Beast” for the U.S. president, for one 61 No-goodnik 62 See 63-Down 63 With 62-Down, end of a college address Online subscriptions: Today’s puzzle and more than 9,000 past puzzles, nytimes.com/ crosswords ($39.95 a year). Read about and comment on each puzzle: Crosswordsnytimes.com/wordplay.foryoung solvers: nytimes.com/ studentcrosswords. EDITED BY WILL SHORTZ CROSSWORD NO. 0728 ANSWER TO PREVIOUS PUZZLE PUZZLE BY BILL PIPAL AND JEFF CHEN P C T C O B P O L I S C I O O H A D O E V E N P A R O M I C R O N R A T F I N K H I G H P R O F H A D E S C H I B I G G A M E S C H O L A R L Y R E V H A V E T O E R E M A I O C E L O T S R E L E A S E L E T P O I N O T N E W D R O P D O W N M E N U P A R T N E R D O C S T O R Y S T O R E C R E H A W K I S H O N E S E E D A T E I N T O A C E A M I D A R T G U N D E F N E T 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 26 27 28 29 30 31 32 33 34 35 36 37 38 39 40 41 42 43 44 45 46 47 48 49 50 51 52 53 54 55 56 57 58 59 60 61 62 63 64 65 66 67 68 69 70 25 White Bridge Rd., Nashville, TN 37205, 615-810-9625 www.MyPleasureStore.com *Offer Ends 10/25/2022 Cannot be combined with any other offer. Discount Code: NSSCHOOL25 INPRIVATESTUDIESSESSION PURCHASEENTIREWHENYOUSPEND$100 OR MORE 25% OFF PRB_NS_QuarterB_081522.indd 1 8/12/22 7:29 AM Sign up for your daily dose via the Daily Scene Newsletter Because Nashville is so much more than honky-tonks bachelorettes...and
It is ordered that said Defendant enter HIS appearance herein with thirty (30) days after September 8, 2022 same being the date of the last publication of this notice to be held at the Metropolitan Circuit Court located at 1 Public Square, Room 302, Nashville, Tennessee, and defend or default will be taken on October 10, 2022. It is therefore ordered that a copy of this Order be published for four (4) weeks succession in the Nashville Scene, a newspaper published in RichardNashville.R.
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to file your defense with the clerk of court and send a copy to the Petitioners’ attorney, Sarah Reist Digby, at Digby Family Law, PLC, 5123 Virginia Way, Suite C 22, Brentwood, TN 37027, and show cause why this termination and adoption should not be granted. In case of your failure to defend this action by the above date, a judgment by default will be rendered against you for the relief demanded in the judgment.
In this cause it appearing to the satisfaction of the Court that the defendant is a non resident of the State of Tennessee, therefore the ordinary process of law cannot be served upon ALVARO JACAL ROSAS
42 NASHVILLE SCENE | SEPTEMBER 1 - SEPTEMBER 7, 2022 | nashvillescene.com SlRentaceneMarketplace SERVICES EARN YOUR HS DIPLOMA TODAY For more info call 1.800.470.4723 Or visit our website: www.diplomaathome.com littleBackpage!AdvertiseontheIt’slikebillboardsrightinfrontofyou! Contact: fwpublishing.comclassifieds@ Welcome to Gazebo Apartments Your Neighborhood 141 Neese Drive Nashville TN 37211 | www.Gazeboapts.com | 615.551.3832 Local attractions: TheBroadwayNashville Zoo · The Escape Game Neighborhood dining and drinks: Big Machine Distillery 12-South Tap Room Tin Brother’sRoof SouthsideBurgersKitchen & Pub Eastern Peak Enjoy the outdoors: Centennial Park Fair Park Dog Park · Radnor Lake State Park Best place near by to see a show: Zanies Comedy Favorite local neighborhood bar: Southside Kitchen and Pub Best local family outing: The Nashville Zoo Your new home amenities: Brand New Wellness Center & Outdoor Turf Space 3 Sparkling Salt Water Swimming Pools 35-Acres of Lush Green Space Social Events & Instructor Led Fitness Classes Off Leash Pet Park & Pet Spa Tennis Courts · Gated Community FEATURED APARTMENT LIVING Call the Rental Scene property you’re interested in and mention this ad to find out about a special promotion for Scene Readers Call FREE615-425-2500forConsultation www.rockylawfirm.com McElhaneyRockyLawFirm InjuRyAuto dAWACCIdEntsRongFuldEAthngERous And dRdEFECtIvEugs BestVotedAttorneyinNashville EMPLOYMENT LEGAL Non Resident Notice Third Circuit Docket No 22D649 SABRINA MARIE JACAL ALVAROvs. JACAL ROSAS
It is ordered that said Defendant enter HIS appearance herein with thirty (30) days after September 8, 2022 same being the date of the last publication of this notice to be held at the Metropolitan Circuit Court located at 1 Public Square, Room 302, Nashville, Tennessee, and defend or default will be taken on October 10, 2022. It is therefore ordered that a copy of this Order be published for four (4) weeks succession in the Nashville Scene, a newspaper published in RichardNashville.R. Rooker, Clerk L. Chappell, Deputy Clerk Date: August 11, 2022 Sabrina Jacal NSCPlaintiff8/18, 8/25, 9/1, 9/8 2022
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To: Stephenie Renne Raymer and William Lamont Drake, Senior: You are hereby notified that a Petition for Adoption and Termin ation of Parental Rights has been filed against you in the Circuit Court for Davidson County, Tennessee, 1 Public Square, Suite 302, Nashville, TN 37201 (mailing address: P.O. Box 196303, Nashville, TN 37219 6303), and your defense must be made within thir ty (30) days from the last date of publication of this notice. You are directed to file your defense with the clerk of court and send a copy to the Petitioners’ attorney, Sarah Reist Digby, at Digby Family Law, PLC, 5123 Virginia Way, Suite C 22, Brentwood, TN 37027, and show cause why this termination and adoption should not be granted. In case of your failure to defend this action by the above date, a judgment by default will be rendered against you for the relief demanded in the judgment.
IN THE FOURTH CIRCUIT COURT OF DAVIDSON COUNTY, TENNESSEE AT NASHVILLE
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In re: Arianna Lamonte Drake Raymer (D.O.B. 02/21/2021) Upon the Petition of Timothy Wayne O’Donnell, Petitioner, and Ashley Marie O’Donnell (Laney) (Fredericksen), Petitioner. Stepheniev Renne Raymer, Biological Mother/Respondent, and William Lamont Drake, Senior, Putative Father/Respondent.
Rooker, Clerk L. Chappell Deputy Clerk Date: August 11, 2022 Sabrina Jacal NSCPlaintiff8/18, 8/25, 9/1, 9/8 2022 ordinary process of law cannot be served upon ALVARO JACAL ROSAS
nashvillescene.com | SEPTEMBER 1 - SEPTEMBER 7, 2022 | NASHVILLE SCENE 43 eRntalSceneColony House 1510 Huntington Drive Nashville, TN 37130 liveatcolonyhouse.com | 615.488.4720 4 floor plans The James 1 bed / 1 bath 708 sq. ft from $1360 2026 The Washington 2 bed / 1.5 bath 1029 sq. ft. from $1500 2202 The Franklin 2 bed / 2 bath 908 1019 sq. ft. from $1505 2258 The Lincoln 3 bed / 2.5 bath 1408 1458 sq. ft. from $1719 2557 Cottages at Drakes Creek 204 Safe Harbor Drive Goodlettsville, TN 37072 cottagesatdrakescreek.com | 615.606.2422 2 floor plans 1 bed / 1 bath 576 sq ft $1,096-1,115 2 bed / 1 bath 864 sq ft. $1,324-1,347 Studio / 1 bath 517 sq ft starting at $1742 1 bed / 1 bath 700 sq ft starting at $1914 2 bed / 2 bath 1036 - 1215 sq ft starting at $2008 2100 Acklen Flats 2100 Acklen Ave, Nashville, TN 37212 2100acklenflats.com | 615.499.5979 12 floor plans Southaven at Commonwealth 100 John Green Place, Spring Hill, TN 37174 southavenatcommonwealth.com | 629.777.8333 The Jackson 1 Bed / 1 bath 958 sq ft from $1400 The Harper 2 Beds / 2 bath 1265 sq ft from $1700 The Hudson 3 Bed / 2 bath 1429 sq ft from $1950 3 floor plans Brighton Valley 500 BrooksBoro Terrace, Nashville, TN 37217 brightonvalley.net | 615.366.5552 1 Bedroom/1 bath 800 sq feet from $1360 2 Bedrooms/ 2 baths 1100 sq feet from $1490 3 Bedrooms/ 2 baths 1350 sq feet from $1900 3 floor plans Gazebo Apartments 141 Neese Drive Nashville TN 37211 gazeboapts.com | 615.551.3832 1 Bed / 1 Bath 756 sq ft from $1,119 + 2 Bed / 1.5 Bath - 2 Bath 1,047 1,098 sq ft from $1,299 + 3 Bed / 2 Bath 1201 sq ft from $1,399 + 5 floor plans lease,foravailablepropertyyouradvertiseTocontact WrightKeith at 615-557-4788 or kwright@fwpublishing.com
44 NASHVILLE SCENE | SEPTEMBER 1 - SEPTEMBER 7, 2022 | nashvillescene.com Get a RECIPEFREEfrom Lovele Cafe! SCAN FOR YOUR FREE RECIPE Sign up for your daily dose via the Daily Scene Newsletter Because Nashville is so much more than honky-tonks bachelorettes...and ERROR 404 nothing to do calendar.nashvillescene.com Nashville is a diverse city, and we want a pool of freelance contributors who reflect that diversity. We’re looking for new freelancers, and we particularly want to encourage writers of color & LGBTQ writers to pitch us. Read more at our new pitch nashvillescene.com/pitchguideguide: PITCH USPITCH US Flat. Studio. Apartment. Home. Whatever you call it, find yours in the Rental Scene. NashvilleMarketplaceScene’s on pages 42 - 43. Reach more than 400,000 Scene readers. Plugged-in, educated, active consumers who support local businesses. Email Mike at msmith@nashvillescene.com to get started planning for a BIG 2022!
