Nashville Scene 9-3-20

SEPTEMBER 3–9, 2020 I VOLUME 39 I NUMBER 31

CITY LIMITS: WHAT WILL HAPPEN TO CHURCH STREET PARK’S DISPLACED RESIDENTS? PAGE 6

NASHVILLESCENE.COM I FREE

MUSIC: LOOKING BACK ON THE LIFE OF JUSTIN TOWNES EARLE PAGE 24

REASONS TO BELIEVE THE TITANS HAVE A CHANCE AT GREATNESS IN AN UNUSUAL SEASON

BY JOHN GLENNON

POWER UP cover_9-3-20.indd 1

8/31/20 3:25 PM

2

NASHVILLE SCENE | MONTH 1 – MONTH 2, 2018 | nashvillescene.com

CONTENTS

SEPTEMBER 3, 2020

6

23

Displaced Park Residents ‘Underserved,’ Advocate Says ............................................6

Fascinated, Not Afraid

CITY LIMITS

Church Street Park was quickly shuttered to make way for a suffrage celebration that never happened

BY STEPHEN ELLIOTT

Nashville’s COVID Numbers Are Trending the Right Way — for Now ..........................7

BOOKS

Erica Wright takes a sympathetic look at serpents in Snake

BY BRADLEY SIDES AND CHAPTER 16

24

MUSIC

Dr. James Hildreth: ‘Letting up when trends are favorable is a recipe for quickly undoing the recent progress’

Witch Crossing ........................................ 24

BY STEVEN HALE

BY CHARLIE ZAILLIAN

Pith in the Wind .........................................7

Justin Townes Earle, 1982-2020 ........... 24

This week on the Scene’s news and politics blog

Looking back on the life of a superlative songsmith who died in August

9

COVER STORY Power Up

Reasons to believe the Titans have a chance at greatness in an unusual season

Homegrown hard rockers All Them Witches take a trip to Abbey Road

BY BRITTNEY McKENNA

Gearing Up: Talking Shop ....................... 25 Marty Lanham, Manuel Delgado and Bryson Nelson discuss building, maintaining and selling custom and vintage instruments

A Second Look ........................................ 26

15

Our music scribes recommend releases you can buy right now from Dee Goodz, FU Stan, Brennan Leigh and more

Tune into Live on the Green’s Live on My Green FM Festival, build your own streaming John Singleton film festival, listen to hip-hop history with What Had Happened Was, contribute to Vote!! A Mail Art Project, learn something with Nashville Community Education, stream Live With Carnegie Hall and more

The Scene’s live-review column checks out livestreams by Molly Tuttle and Virghost

ON THE COVER:

Derrick Henry Photo by Donald Page

FILM

Identity Frog ............................................ 28

Former cupcake queen starts from scratch, this time with pies

A new documentary about the far right coopting Pepe the Frog is almost too sober for its own good

Two film critics take a deep dive on Claire Denis’ Beau Travail

BY JASON SHAWHAN

22

BY STEVE ERICKSON

Summer’s Black Swan Song

BY D. PATRICK RODGERS

Nashville’s go-go gallery scene says so long to summer

31

BY JOE NOLAN

The Personal History of David Copperfield — an Ideal Dickens Adaptation for Current Times

28

Gigi’s Second Act

ART

‘Arnold’s After Dark’ May Become a Regular Thing

BY STEVEN HALE AND STEPHEN TRAGESER

19

BY CHRIS CHAMBERLAIN

COVID-19 Reemerges in Tennessee Prisons

The Spin ................................................... 26

Primal Stream 24 ................................... 28

FOOD AND DRINK

Erin Rae, Devon Gilfillian and More to Play Musicians Corner’s Sundown Series

BY DAVID HOLLERITH

BY JOHN GLENNON

CRITICS’ PICKS

THIS WEEK ON THE WEB:

Thinking Problem.................................... 29 I’m Thinking of Ending Things is a disquieting riddle

NEW YORK TIMES CROSSWORD

31

MARKETPLACE

CIGARS FROM A. Fuente Ashton CAO Cohiba Davidoff Montecristo Padron Tatauje Zino & Many More

BELLE MEADE

䴀䄀匀䬀匀 刀䔀儀唀䤀刀䔀䐀

䤀一 匀吀伀刀䔀℀

PREMIUM CIGARS & GIFTS Belle Meade Plaza 4518 Harding Road, Nashville, TN

615-297-7963

nashvillescene.com | SEPTEMBER 3 – SEPTEMBER 9, 2020 | NASHVILLE SCENE

contents.indd 3

3

8/31/20 5:38 PM

FROM BILL FREEMAN

PET OF THE WEEK! FOLKLORE HERE! I’m a 3 year old German Shepherd Mix that all NHA Staff have a crush on ???? I just moved back to NHA from a Foster Home and here’s what they had to say about me: “Folklore made the perfect work-from-home co-worker! She does her own thing and is happy just to be near you.

She is the definition of a true companion. She absolutely LOVES being outside and sometimes, on walks, she will just plop down in the grass to bask in the sun. She is quick to learn and eager to please. She is going to make a wonderful addition to someone’s family!”

Call 615.352.1010 or visit nashvillehumane.org Located at 213 Oceola Ave., Nashville, TN 37209

Adopt. Bark. Meow.

Microchip. Neuter. Spay.

NASHVILLE STEPS UP AND HELPS OUT

I’ve been encouraged by Nashvillians’ efforts to support one another during these trying months. The stories are heartwarming and inspiring — stories of teachers who virtually checked on their students during the summer, of families helping each other with meals and more, and of elected officials who have helped their constituents in any way they can.

Our Metro government is working diligently to support us as well. I am proud of our elected officials and their efforts to make the best of a bad situation.

Metro continues to be aware of the many needs in our community. With unemployment rates still high and jobs still being lost, Metro is doing what it can to support Nashville residents and boost our economy.

Metro has acknowledged that, first and foremost, people need jobs. Keeping people working and helping those without jobs find work is the best route back to economic stability, and Metro has adapted to provide virtual job fairs with area companies th that have openings. They’ve expanded their reach with the Metropolitan Action Commission to provide three virtual job TENNESSEE EDUCATION LOTTERY CORPORATION fairs through their Nashville Works! Virtual OFFICIAL END OF GAME NOTICE TENNESSEE EDUCATION LOTTERY CORPORATION TENNESSEE EDUCATION LOTTERY CORPORATION OFFICIAL END OF OF GAME NOTICE Job Fair series. In a recent release, the OFFICIAL END GAME NOTICE Notice is hereby given that the Tennessee Education Lottery Corporation has is herebypursuant given thattothethe Tennessee declared and Notice established, powersEducation grantedLottery to it Corporation under the has Tennessee and established, to the powers granted to it under Lottery the Tennessee Noticedeclared isLottery hereby given pursuant thatAct the Tennessee Education Corporation hasmayor’s office reiterated the importance Education Implementation (T.C.A. §§ 4-51-101 et seq.), Friday, September 4, Lottery Implementation Act (T.C.A. §§ 4-51-101 et seq.), Friday, September 4, declared andasEducation established, pursuant tofollowing the powers granted togames: it under the Tennessee 2020, the end ofend game datedate forfor thethe instant ticket lottery 2020, as the of game following instant ticket lottery games: of providing as many opportunities for Education Lottery Implementation Act (T.C.A. §§ 4-51-101 et seq.), Friday, September 4, TENNESSEE EDUCATION LOTTERY CORPORATION OFFICIAL END OF GAME NOTICE 2020, as the end of game date for the following instant ticket lottery games: employment as possible, and of making it GAME NUMBER GAME NAME PRICE POINT Notice is hereby given that the Tennessee Education Lottery Corporation has 647 $1 Million Madness $20 as accessible as possible. Even during our declared and established, pursuant to the powers granted to it under the Tennessee 747 $100 Frenzy $2 Education Lottery Implementation ActGAME (T.C.A. §§ 4-51-101 et seq.), Friday, September 4, POINT GAME NUMBER NAME PRICE Jumbo Bucks $1 2020, as 751 the end of game date for theJunior following instant ticket lottery games: efforts to remain socially distant, applicants 753 Lady Jumbo Bucks $3 647 $1 Million Madness $20 756 Jumbo Bucks Crossword $3 747 775 $100 Frenzy $2 are able to participate via their home Payday! $2 751 777 JuniorWin Jumbo $1 Big Bucks $10 Tennessee Powerball & Mega $5 computers or at Goodwill Career Solutions 753 784 Lady Jumbo BucksMillions $3 & Gold $5 756 788 JumboGreen Bucks Crossword $3 797 15 Anniversary Cash $1 Centers throughout the area.

775 Payday! $2 803 10X $1 777 804 Win $10 20XBig $2 Metro has also realized that employment 784 805 Tennessee Powerball & Mega Millions $5 50X $5 100X $10 788 806 Green & Gold $5 opportunities are just one side of the coin Hit $500 $5 797 813 15 Anniversary Cash $1 820 Loteria $2 803 10X $1 when it comes to re-establishing financial 821 $5 All About The Bens 804 824 20X $2 Cash Explosion $2 805 825 50X $5 Cash Blast $5 security. The city has expanded its offerings Red Hot $100s $2 806 828 100X $10 Super 7s $5 813 829 Hit Hot $500 $5 for one-on-one financial counseling to 832 Payday Multiplier $2 820 Loteria $2 833 Big Orange 8s $5 all Nashvillians through the Financial 821 834 $5 All About Bens $1 Million MegaThe Multiplier $20 824 838 Cash Explosion $2 $200 in a Flash $2 Empowerment Center, a partnership $500 in aBlast Flash $5 825 839 Cash $5 $1 828 841 Red7-11-21 Hot $100s $2 842 Diamonds x10 $2 between Metro Nashville and the United 829 Super Hot 7s $5 845 Holiday Luck $1 832 Pursuant Payday Multiplier $2 846 $20,000 Holiday Cheerof lottery tickets for the $2aboveto T.C.A. § 4-51-123(c)(4)(B), holders Way of Greater Nashville. The partnership 833 847instant ticket lottery games must Big Orange 8s prize within ninety (90) days $5 referenced claim a cash Merry Money $5 after the of game date of Friday, September 4, Gifts 2020.

Neither the Tennessee Education Holiday $10 834end848 $1 Million Mega Multiplier $20 has been in effect since 2013, but Metro is Lottery 857 Corporation nor any lottery retailer may pay a prize for a winning instant lottery Giant Jumbo Crossword $5 838 $200 Bucks in a Flash $2 860 Millionaire Jumbo Bucks $20 839 $500 in a Flash $5 increasing its capability to assist anyone 881 Power Shot $5 841 7-11-21 $1 842 Pursuant Diamonds x10 of lottery $2 aboveto T.C.A. § 4-51-123(c)(4)(B), holders ticketstickets for the for abovewho needs help through a grant from the Pursuant to T.C.A. § 4-51-123(c)(4)(B), holders of lottery the referenced instant ticket lottery games must claim aLuck cash prize within ninety (90) days after 845 Holiday $1 referenced instant ticket lottery games must claim a cash prize within ninety (90) days after the end of game date of Friday, September 4, 2020. Neither the Tennessee Education national organization Cities for Financial 846game date of Friday, September $20,000 Holiday Cheer $2 the endLottery of 4,pay 2020.

Neither the Tennessee Education Corporation nor any lottery retailer may a prize for a winning instant lottery above-referenced instant ticket lottery December 847ticket Merry Money $5 lottery Lotterygame Corporation nor any lottery retailer may pay agames prizeafter forThursday, a winning instant game ticket for for the the above-referenced instant ticket lottery games after Thursday, December 3, 2020.

Empowerment. Mayor John Cooper has 3,848 2020.

Holiday Gifts $10 857 Winning lottery tickets Giantthe Jumbo Bucks Crossword $5 Winning lottery tickets for for the above-referenced above-referenced instant instant ticket ticket lottery lottery games games must must encouraged Nashvillians to seek assistance 860 Millionaire Jumbo Bucks $20 be received by the Tennessee Education Lottery Corporation or by a lottery retailer be received by the Tennessee Education Lottery Corporation or by a lottery retailer authorized to than 881 Power Shotof $5 authorized to pay pay the the prize prize amount amount no no later later than close close of business business on on Thursday, Thursday, December December 3, in stabilizing their finances, saying: “The 3, 2020.

2020. Tickets Tickets for for the the above-referenced above-referenced instant instant ticket ticket lottery lottery games games received received for for prize prize

Shop + Donate To Help Our Veterans

615-248-2447 1125 12 Ave. S.

GAME NUMBER

647 747 751 753 756 775 777 GAME NUMBER 784 788 647 797 747 803 751 804 753 805 756 806 775 813 777 820 784 821 788 824 797 825 803 828 804 829 805 832 806 833 813 834 820 838 821 839 824 841 825 842 828 845 829 846 832 847 833 848 834 857 838 860 839 881 841 842 845 846 847 848 857 860 881

GAME NAME

PRICE POINT

$1 Million Madness $100 Frenzy Junior Jumbo Bucks Lady Jumbo Bucks Jumbo Bucks Crossword Payday!

WinNAME Big GAME Tennessee Powerball & Mega Millions Green &Madness Gold $1 Million th 15 $100 Anniversary Frenzy Cash 10X Junior Jumbo Bucks 20X Bucks Lady Jumbo th 50X Jumbo Bucks Crossword 100X Payday!

Hit $500 Win Big Loteria Tennessee Powerball & Mega Millions All About Green & The GoldBens Explosion 15th Cash Anniversary Cash th Cash Blast 10X Red 20X Hot $100s Super Hot 7s 50X Payday Multiplier 100X Big HitOrange $500 8s $1 MillionLoteria Mega Multiplier in aThe Flash All$200 About Bens $500Explosion in a Flash Cash 7-11-21 Cash Blast Diamonds x10 Red Hot $100s Holiday Luck Super Hot 7s $20,000 Holiday Cheer Payday Multiplier Merry Money Big Orange 8s Holiday Gifts $1 Million Mega Multiplier Giant Jumbo Bucks Crossword $200 in a Flash Millionaire Jumbo Bucks $500 in a Flash Power Shot 7-11-21 Diamonds x10 Holiday Luck $20,000 Holiday Cheer Merry Money Holiday Gifts Giant Jumbo Bucks Crossword Millionaire Jumbo Bucks Power Shot

$20 $2 $1 $3 $3 $2 $10 PRICE POINT $5 $5 $20 $1 $2 $1 $1 $2 $3 $5 $3 $10 $2 $5 $10 $2 $5 $5 $5 $2 $1 $5 $1 $2 $2 $5 $5 $2 $10 $5 $5 $20 $2 $2 $5 $5 $2 $1 $5 $2 $2 $1 $5 $2 $2 $5 $5 $10 $20 $5 $2 $20 $5 $5 $1

$2 $1 $2 $5 $10 $5 $20 $5

COVID-19 public health crisis has strained finances for many Nashvillians. If you have questions about how to manage your budget during this time of historic challenge, or if you just want an objective review of your financial picture, do not hesitate to reach out to the Financial Empowerment Center for help. This service is free to all residents of Nashville and Davidson County.”

The FEC has an impressive track record in the work it has done for Nashvillians.

According to the center, a total of “8,000 Nashville clients have decreased their debt by $15.3 million dollars and increased their savings by $3 million dollars” over the past seven years. The partnership clearly brings real benefits through its financial counseling services.

Nashville has seen the highest unemployment increase out of Tennessee’s three largest cities, according to the Tennessee Department of Labor and Workforce Development. As of May 28, Nashville’s unemployment rate was 15.9 percent, a staggering increase from the 2.4 percent rate in March. Nashville’s July unemployment rate of 12.1 percent was an improvement from earlier numbers, but still a much higher figure than the same time last year, which saw the unemployment rate at 2.9 percent.

Though the unemployment rate is headed in the right direction, there is a lot that needs to be done. Nashville has stepped up to help connect people to jobs and to financial counseling.

It is in times of hardship that we have the opportunity to create a stronger community.

There’s a quote often attributed to Oprah Winfrey, one of the people Nashville is proud to claim as a native: “Where there is no struggle, there is no strength.”

We will emerge from this challenge together, stronger than we were before.

Editor-in-Chief D. Patrick Rodgers Senior Editor Dana Kopp Franklin Associate Editor Alejandro Ramirez Arts Editor Laura Hutson Hunter Culture Editor Erica Ciccarone Music and Listings Editor Stephen Trageser Contributing Editors Jack Silverman, Abby White Staff Writers Stephen Elliott, Nancy Floyd, Steven Hale, Kara Hartnett, J.R. Lind, William Williams Contributing Writers Sadaf Ahsan, Radley Balko, Ashley Brantley, Maria Browning, Steve Cavendish, Chris Chamberlain, Lance Conzett, Steve Erickson, Randy Fox, Adam Gold, Seth Graves, Kim Green, Steve Haruch, Geoffrey Himes, Edd Hurt, Jennifer Justus, Christine Kreyling, Katy Lindenmuth, Craig D. Lindsey, Brittney McKenna, Marissa R. Moss, Noel Murray, Joe Nolan, Chris Parton, Betsy Phillips, John Pitcher, Margaret Renkl, Megan Seling, Jason Shawhan, Michael Sicinski, Ashley Spurgeon, Amy Stumpfl, Kay West, Andrea Williams, Cy Winstanley, Ron Wynn, Charlie Zaillian Art Director Elizabeth Jones Photographers Eric England, Daniel Meigs Graphic Designers Mary Louise Meadors, Tracey Starck Production Coordinator Christie Passarello Events and Marketing Director Olivia Moye Promotions Coordinator Caroline Poole Publisher Mike Smith Senior Advertising Solutions Managers Maggie Bond, Debbie Deboer, Sue Falls, Michael Jezewski, Carla Mathis, Heather Cantrell Mullins, Stevan Steinhart, Jennifer Trsinar, Keith Wright Advertising Solutions Manager William Shutes Sales Operations Manager Chelon Hill Hasty Advertising Solutions Associates Emma Benjamin, Price Waltman Special Projects Coordinator Susan Torregrossa President Frank Daniels III Chief Financial Officer Todd Patton Corporate Production Director Elizabeth Jones Vice President of Marketing Mike Smith IT Director John Schaeffer Circulation and Distribution Director Gary Minnis For advertising information please contact: Mike Smith, msmith@nashvillescene.com or 615-844-9238 FW PUBLISHING LLC Owner Bill Freeman VOICE MEDIA GROUP National Advertising 1-888-278-9866 vmgadvertising.com

Copyright©2020, Nashville Scene.

210 12th Ave. S., Ste. 100, Nashville, TN 37203.

Phone: 615-244-7989.

The Nashville Scene is published weekly by FW Publishing LLC. The publication is free, one per reader. Removal of more than one paper from any distribution point constitutes theft, and violators are subject to prosecution. Back issues are available at our office. Email: All email addresses consist of the employee’s first initial and last name (no space between) followed by @nashvillescene.com; to reach contributing writers, email editor@nashvillescene.com.

Editorial Policy: The Nashville Scene covers news, art and entertainment. In our pages appear divergent views from across the community. Those views do not necessarily represent those of the publishers. Subscriptions: Subscriptions are available at $150 per year for 52 issues.

Subscriptions will be posted every Thursday and delivered by third-class mail in usually five to seven days. Please note: Due to the nature of third-class mail and postal regulations, any issue(s) could be delayed by as much as two or three weeks. There will be no refunds issued. Please allow four to six weeks for processing new subscriptions and address changes. Send your check or Visa/MC/AmEx number with expiration date to the above address.

In memory of Jim Ridley, editor 2009-2016

Bill Freeman Bill Freeman is the owner of FW Publishing, the publishing company that produces the Nashville Scene, Nfocus, the Nashville Post and Home Page Media Group in Williamson County.

payment payment after after close close of of business business on on Thursday, Thursday, December December 3, 3, 2020, 2020, shall shall be be null null and and void. void.

Pursuant to T.C.A. § 4-51-123(c)(4)(B), holders of lottery tickets for the abovereferenced instant ticket lottery games must claim a cash prize within ninety (90) days after the end of game date of Friday, September 4, 2020. Neither the Tennessee9, Education 3 – SEPTEMBER 2020 | NASHVILLE SCENE | SEPTEMBER Lottery Corporation nor any lottery retailer may pay a prize for a winning instant lottery

4

letter_9-3-20.indd 4

nashvillescene.com

8/31/20 5:47 PM

THE GULCH

The James thejamesnashville.com

The James offers an intimate collection of 31 condominium residences occupying a quiet, upscale address one block from the heart of The Gulch, Nashville’s most desirable downtown neighborhood.

The James features spacious, light-filled residences in one- and two-bedroom floorplans, including several two-story units. Owners enjoy striking downtown views from the expansive terrace and adjoining lounge.

GERMANTOWN

EAST NASHVILLE

WEST END

Elliott

Odyssey at The Park

East Greenway Park

Historic Elliott School residences + new modern Row Homes | Elliott Germantown is a residential project without equal in Nashville. The historic Elliott School residences and contemporary Row Homes bring together the best elements of historic preservation and modern design with urban living and extraordinary downtown views.

Odyssey at the Park, a 75-unit STR-only community, offers 1- and 2-bedroom condos in a variety of modern floorplans. Nestled next to Nashville’s Centennial Park and major thoroughfares, Odyssey at the Park will provide guests with easy access to all of the city’s most sought-after attractions.

East Greenway Park is Nashville’s first health & wellness community. 62 residences nestled between 5 Points & Shelby Bottoms Park. Beautiful community grounds with direct greenway access. Now selling Phase 4.

elliottgermantown.com

eastgreenwaypark.com

odysseyatthepark.com

Pictured above: Mark Deutschmann, Newell Anderson, Danielle Helling, Crystal Atkinson, Caroline Dean, Callie Hughes, Deborah Vahle, Anna Dorris, Devin Mueller, Giovanna Burchell

HELPING YOU F I N D VA L U E IN NASHVILLE R E A L E S TAT E

2206 21st Avenue South Nashville, Tennessee 37212 615.383.6964

NashvilleCityLiving.com

nashvillescene.com | SEPTEMBER 3 – SEPTEMBER 9, 2020 | NASHVILLE SCENE

5

CITY LIMITS

Walk a

With feet on the street, we discover Nashville’s with own unique beatJ.R.–Lind one mile at a time

Mile

Church Street Park was quickly shuttered to make way for a suffrage celebration that never happened

BY STEPHEN ELLIOTT

W

hen a plan to spruce up Church Street Park was rushed through the Metro Council earlier this year, Mayor John Cooper assured skittish councilmembers that the urgency was required to get the park ready for centennial celebrations for the 19th Amendment.

After the celebration, Cooper promised District 19 Councilmember Freddie O’Connell in a letter that the community would embark on a public process to determine the future of the park, located across the street from the entrance to the Nashville Public Library Downtown.

But the anniversary of Tennessee’s crucial ratification of the 19th Amendment has passed, no celebrations were held at the park, and little substantial work has been completed in the area where a group of unhoused people lived — until, that is, a wall went up around the park late last month.

“We’ve started some of the work in the park but have delayed the programming piece of it for the health and safety of everybody downtown with the [COVID-19] numbers being what they are,” says Alexia Poe, a spokesperson for the nonprofit group affiliated with nearby Hermitage Hotel spearheading the nearly $500,000 renovation. (The status of the pandemic’s spread in Nashville has actually improved by most metrics since the park was closed in late July.)

The group expects the work to be done in October.

In the meantime, most of the people who CHURCH STREET PARK

citylimits_9-3-20.indd 6

used to spend nights and days in the park — in part because of its proximity to the library and other services downtown — have migrated. That’s according to Andreos Chunaco, a street outreach and resource navigator at nonprofit group Open Table Nashville.

“From my understanding and what I’ve seen, most of the folks who were using and staying overnight at the library park migrated over to the People’s Plaza, since that’s a public space nearby, still central, still downtown,” says Chunaco, referencing an area near the state Capitol that, for several weeks over the summer, was occupied 24-7 by a group of activists protesting racial injustice. “[It was] one of the last few places where people can really be — at least before this new protest bill was passed — and not be accosted.”

The bill, passed in a special legislative session earlier this month to crack down on protests in the area, makes camping on state property a felony.

According to Chunaco, the people displaced by the work at the park are among the city’s most vulnerable due to “multiple layers of mental health conditions or other barriers.” The central location allowed those most in need easier access to food, shelter and other services.

“My heart really goes out to those folks, because they really are some of the most vulnerable that we have in Nashville, and they were completely underserved,” Chunaco says. “Now that they’ve had to move from that space, they’re having to find and occupy more tenuous spaces that are much less safe and much further away from their sources of

survival and support and well-being.”

Though Chunaco laments what he calls a lack of adequate communication about the changes, Metro Homeless Impact Division Director Judith Tackett says she notified service providers in the area on July 6, three weeks before the park’s closure, in addition to sending caseworkers to communicate the changes.

“I feel we’ve done our due diligence on that part,” Tackett says.

Some business owners and residents of high-rises in the area have long complained about the presence of unhoused people in Church Street Park. David Andrews, owner of D’Andrews Bakery and Cafe on Church Street, says people residing in the park used to harass his customers.

“They were just a constant — I don’t want to say nuisance — bordering on nuisance,” Andrews says. “It just wasn’t pleasant to be down here. … You sort of get to know them, and the ones who are nice and friendly you’re friendly back to them, and they become almost your neighbors. And the ones who are not nice, that’s when you’ve got to stand in the door and just say no.”

In the past month, Andrews says, “It’s gotten so much better with that park closed right now.”

Long-term planning at the park is key, Andrews says. If the group sponsoring the renovation gets its way, the park will be cleaner and will have a steady stream of programming. If downtown developer Tony Giarratana gets his way, a tower will rise on the land and he will build a park on the adjacent Anne Dallas Dudley Boulevard. Other options could be on the table as well in the public process promised by Cooper.

“That park has so much potential,” Andrews says. “It could either be a great park again, or it could be a great highrise. My biggest fear is that it’s good for a couple of months and then we’re back in the same situation.”

Open Table’s Chunaco is under the impression that the park’s former residents will be able to return in October when the work is complete.

And while Tackett says she is concerned for the people who used to live at the park, she approaches the issue from a more longterm point of view.

PHOTO: ERIC ENGLAND

DISPLACED PARK RESIDENTS ‘UNDERSERVED,’ ADVOCATE SAYS

8/31/20 5:07 PM

citylimits

CITY LIMITS “The focus always has to be housing, wherever that is,” she says. “It’s not one specific location, it’s everywhere where a person is experiencing homelessness. This is not just a Metro government issue. This is

NASHVILLE’S COVID NUMBERS ARE TRENDING THE RIGHT WAY — FOR NOW Dr. James Hildreth: ‘Letting up when trends are favorable is a recipe for quickly undoing the recent progress’

BY STEVEN HALE

N

ashville’s COVID-19 numbers have given reason for some tentative optimism in recent weeks. Several key metrics are trending in the right direction, even as others stubbornly remain at less-than-satisfactory levels.

On Monday, the Metro Public Health Department reported just 30 new cases in the preceding 24 hours — the lowest daily case count in months, and one that followed a 31-case day on Sunday. As usual, though, those numbers come with caveats. The latest results come from a relatively low number of tests (possibly due to the bad weather discouraging testing in recent days, or any number of other factors).

Still, the data is looking as good as it has in some time. At press time, the city’s seven-day moving aver-

a community issue, and our goal is to reduce homelessness for people — how long they are on the streets, in the shelter, wherever they are — and move them to housing.”

EMAIL EDITOR@NASHVILLESCENE.COM

age of new cases per 100,000 people is falling, as is the 14-day average positivity rate. Hospitalizations have also been trending down after peaking in late July. At the same time, three of Metro’s six key metrics for reopening the city remain at less-than-satisfactory levels, two of which — floor-bed and ICU-bed capacity — pertain to hospitals.

“Excellent work Nashville!” Meharry Medical College president and infectious disease expert Dr. James Hildreth said in a tweet Monday morning. “Let’s keep the COVID19 virus in retreat — letting up when trends are favorable is a recipe for quickly undoing the recent progress. Masks, hand washing, social distancing are still best weapons against COVID19. Nashville, we’ve got this!”

In an interview with the Scene last month, Hildreth expressed a similar warning about how easily the situation can turn, especially with winter and the flu season approaching.

“This could all go south very quickly if we don’t keep our foot on the gas pedal,” Hildreth said. “The mask thing is just singularly important. If we can just get people to wear the face coverings consistently, that would make all the difference.”

We’ll see how seriously Nashvillians take those warnings soon enough. Although Metro school students continue to attend virtual classes, loosened restrictions on gatherings went into effect in the city on Tuesday, allowing the return of pedal taverns and party tractors as well as increased capacity at bars and events like weddings and funerals.

THIS WEEK ON OUR NEWS AND POLITICS BLOG: As of Aug. 25, 115 incarcerated people at seven prisons across the state had tested positive for COVID-19, with 338 inmates still awaiting test results. The worst of the outbreaks is at Lois M. DeBerry Special Needs Facility in Nashville, where 39 prisoners have tested positive and three have died in the past month. The outbreak at DeBerry is particularly alarming, as the facility is reserved for people with serious and longterm medical problems or mental health issues.

There are also 14 confirmed cases at Riverbend Maximum Security Institution and six more at Debra K. Johnson Rehabilitation Center. Cases are also on the rise again at Bledsoe County Correctional Complex in East Tennessee, where 27 prisoners had tested positive. There are also more than 100 prison staff members who are out of work after testing positive for the illness. …

Metro bumped up bar capacity this week, with drinkeries able to serve an additional 25 patrons starting Tuesday, provided they are sitting outside.

In addition, restaurants can resume counter service, and weddings, funerals and “similar ceremonies” have a new cap of 125 guests.

And transpotainment vehicles can return to the road, provided transpotainees are masked while

standing. … Gov. Bill Lee drew outrage from Black lawmakers when he said he had not responded to a meeting request from the Tennessee Black Caucus of State Legislators because “we meet with those folks that are willing to work together to move forward.” A spokesperson has since said that his staff is “working to get one on the books.” Black caucus members fumed at Lee’s original response in a press conference, with Sen. Brenda Gilmore calling it “personally offensive.”

The caucus requested the meeting ahead of the special session during which the legislature passed an anti-protest bill. Memphis Rep. G.A. Hardaway said the Black caucus was seeking to serve as a mediator between the governor and the People’s Plaza protesters, who camped out near the state Capitol for several weeks this summer and also wanted a meeting with Lee. “A lot of the problems that arose on the plaza could have been avoided,” Hardaway said. “Those young people merely wanted to be heard, and for some reason the administration turned a deaf ear.” … The ugly, beloved and Instagrammable carpet at Nashville International Airport is saying its goodbyes, as workers began ripping it up last week — much to the general chagrin of everyone. It’s been long in the works, with the famous floor covering being replaced in some places by terrazzo flooring (which is easier to maintain and will save BNA some half-million dollars a year) and in others by new carpet, which is just as ugly as the old version but far less charming.

NASHVILLESCENE.COM/PITHINTHEWIND EMAIL: PITH@NASHVILLESCENE.COM TWEET: @PITHINTHEWIND

EMAIL EDITOR@NASHVILLESCENE.COM

The Temple presents

Democracy in Chains Discussion Panel September 10th at 7:00 pm Join these community leaders in a conversation about becoming more civically engaged and responding to present challenges and threats to our democracy.

Moderated by Rabbi Shana Mackler

Keel Hunt

Teresa Smallwood

Hedy Weinberg Dr. Teresa L. Smallwood, is the Postdoctoral Fellow and Associate Director of the Public Theology and Racial Justice Collaborative at Vanderbilt Divinity School.

Dr. Smallwood is licensed and ordained to public ministry in the Baptist tradition and is presently an active member at New Covenant Christian Church in Nashville where she serves as Social Justice Minister.

Keel is a columnist and author of two books: Coup, the Day the Democrats Ousted Their Governor, published in 2013, and now Crossing the Aisle, How Bipartisanship Brought Tennessee to the 21st Century and Could Save America. His column for the USA Today Tennessee Network appears regularly in The Tennessean editorial pages.

Hedy Weinberg is the executive director of the American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) of Tennessee.

She is a founding member and steering committee member of “Nashville For All of Us” a founding member and steering committee member of the Tennessee Coalition for Sensible Justice and serves on the Board of Directors of Tennessee Coalition of Open Government.

The Temple invites the entire community to attend this online event.

To register, visit thetemplehub.org.

5015 Harding Pike ~

The Temple ~ (615) 352-7620

a congregation of the heart, a community of the spirit

nashvillescene.com | SEPTEMBER 3 – SEPTEMBER 9, 2020 | NASHVILLE SCENE

citylimits_9-3-20.indd 7

7

8/31/20 5:07 PM

8

NASHVILLE SCENE | SEPTEMBER 3 – SEPTEMBER 9, 2020 | nashvillescene.com

POWER UP A

s the voice of the Tennessee Titans for more than two decades, radio broadcaster Mike Keith has seen his share of droughts in the stadium built on the banks of the Cumberland.

It wasn’t just that the home team was missing the playoffs on a regular basis — falling short eight straight years during one especially painful stretch — but that the product was, well, less than highly entertaining. A defensive-minded franchise shaped in Jeff Fisher’s likeness during his 17-year tenure as head coach, the Titans — even in the best of times — were never the kind of team that thrilled fans of flashy,

high-scoring offenses.

So it’s a little strange to hear analysts like Keith using words like “explosive,” “dynamic” and “crowd-pleasing” as we look ahead to the Titans of 2020, who begin their season Sept. 14 in Denver on Monday Night Football.

But who wouldn’t describe them as such after the show the Titans put on over the last 10 weeks of the 2019 season, when Tennessee averaged more than 30 points per game?

That team overwhelmed opponents with offense in reaching the AFC Championship game for the first time since 2002, falling just one victory short of reaching the Super Bowl.

All but one of the Titans’ 11 offensive starters from last season are returning in 2020, including the high-powered trio of quarterback Ryan Tannehill, running back Derrick Henry and wide receiver A.J. Brown. Keith may well find himself using more of one trademark phrase on the radio this season — Touchdooowwwn, Titans! — than his more defensive-minded Saaaack!

“It’s no secret that I love defense, right?”

Keith tells the Scene. “I love great defense.

I love to call a sack or a Kevin Byard interception. I love it.

“But that being said, offense is fun,” he continues. “Offense is really fun. And

when you have Derrick Henry breaking long runs and Ryan Tannehill throwing 91yard touchdown passes to A.J. Brown, it’s just fantastic.”

DARK AND DEFENSIVE

Just how dark were some of those offensively challenged years for the Titans?

Consider the fact that until last season, the Titans hadn’t finished a season ranked among the NFL’s top 10 in average points per game since 2003. They spent much more time closer to the bottom of the 32-team league in that department, finishing 30th in 2014, 28th in 2015 and 27th as recently as 2018.

In some of those years, it seemed the Titans were incapable of scoring more than 20 points or so in a game, reaching that mark on occasion and hanging on for dear life, in hopes the defense could turn it into a victory. More often than not — prior to the team’s current stretch of four straight 9-7 regular-season records — that wasn’t happening, as the low-scoring Titans posted just three winning seasons in a 12-year stretch between 2004 and 2015.

“I think it’s fair to say there were many more years that they were better defensively than offensively,” says Houston

Chronicle sportswriter John McClain, who’s tracked the team since before it moved from Houston to Tennessee in 1997. “I think when Jeff Fisher was there, being a former defensive coordinator, always wanting to run the ball and having a lot of running backs, that’s when they took on that reputation of being a defensive team — one that relied on the running game and holding onto the football.”

The level of excitement surrounding Titans football stumbled to a real low last season in the sixth week, when Tennessee — led at the time by quarterback Marcus Mariota — failed to score a point in a nationally televised loss at Denver. At that point, the Titans had scored just one touchdown in 10 quarters — a stretch of 150 minutes.

But in a span of just one week, a different Titans team emerged.

With Tannehill taking over for Mariota, the new-look Titans started pumping out points and producing wins. Tennessee dropped 35 points on eventual Super Bowl champs Kansas City, scored 42 against both Oakland and Jacksonville, then smashed into the playoffs with a 35-14 win over Houston.

Who were these guys?

In simple terms, the Titans’ “triplets” were working in unison. Tannehill’s ability

nashvillescene.com | SEPTEMBER 3 – SEPTEMBER 9, 2020 | NASHVILLE SCENE

9

PHOTOS: DONALD PAGE

REASONS TO BELIEVE THE TITANS HAVE A CHANCE AT GREATNESS IN AN UNUSUAL SEASON

BY JOHN GLENNON

FROM LEFT: A.J. BROWN, DERRICK HENRY AND RYAN TANNEHILL

coverstory_9-3-20.indd 9

8/31/20 4:27 PM

QUARTERBACK RYAN TANNEHILL DURING A 2019 GAME AGAINST THE TAMPA BAY BUCCANEERS

to throw the ball deep downfield — oftentimes to Brown — allowed Henry more room to run when he carried the football. In turn, Henry’s ability to trample opponents forced more defenders to pay attention to him, giving Tannehill and Brown more time to play catch with one another.

“When Tannehill started playing, and Henry was running as well as he was, and Brown emerged, they really started to click,” McClain says. “You don’t think of the Titans as being an explosive team. But when you look at the points they put up, starting with that Kansas City game and going from there, that was a damn impressive way to finish the season.”

MORE POINTS, MORE FANS

PHOTO: DONALD PAGE

The end results were impressive individually and collectively, on the football field and on the business side.

Tannehill posted the NFL’s best quarterback rating and was named the league’s Comeback Player of the Year, resurrecting a career that had stalled after seven seasons in Miami. Henry captured the NFL’s rushing title, running for a league-best 16 touchdowns to boot. Brown finished third in voting for the NFL’s Rookie of the Year, and was the league’s only first-year player to top 1,000 receiving yards in 2019.

Boosted by that three-headed monster — and getting contributions from the likes of wide receivers Corey Davis and Adam Humphries, as well as tight end Jonnu Smith — the Titans finished 10th in the league in scoring, the team’s highest finish in that category since 2003.

And the fans? They appreciated what they saw, both from a winning perspective and as pure entertainment. “[Football] is the kind of entertainment that a whole lot of us love,” season ticketholder Jay Yarbrough of Clarksville said during the team’s playoff run, which included upset victories at New England and Baltimore. “But you love it a lot more when the offense is putting up numbers like they are. I’d say probably over 75 percent of the enthusiasm comes from that, and obviously winning is the other 25 percent. But just being something that’s fun to watch makes a huge difference.”

The Titans’ big offensive surge didn’t really come in time to make a huge difference in ticket sales late in 2019, but more eyes were clearly on the product. Tennessee finished the regular season with an average television ratings share of 24.1 for its games, the highest such figure since 2013. Those numbers took a big leap for the Titans’ three playoff contests, as the team drew a 39.3 ratings share for its first game, followed by 42.3 for the AFC Championship loss to Kansas City.

Again, fans were jumping on board primarily for the team’s success, but the way the team was winning — scoring consistently from all over the field — played a big role as well.

“I think fans just like to see winning football first and foremost,” says Titans general manager Jon Robinson. “But from a fan’s perspective, when you see 40-yard runs or 60-yard catch-and-run plays, whatever it may be, that’s exciting. Those are big plays, explosive plays that really juice the fans up, and they like to see those types of plays happen.”

10

NASHVILLE SCENE | SEPTEMBER 3 – SEPTEMBER 9, 2020 | nashvillescene.com

coverstory_9-3-20.indd 10

8/31/20 4:27 PM

Will we see last season’s high-powered offense again in 2020, or will the Titans slide back to the kind of offense we saw in 2018, when the team failed to average even 20 points per contest?

A number of factors paint an optimistic picture.

There is first the matter of continuity, with 10 of 11 returning offensive starters.

The fact that so many of the players are familiar with one another — and the fact that so many are in second-year offensive coordinator Arthur Smith’s playbook — should be especially important this year. That’s because, due to the pandemic, all NFL teams canceled their traditional spring practices — typically known as “organized team activities.” Had the Titans been trying to find chemistry with new teammates or trying to learn a new playbook, the lack of time spent together in the spring would have made an even more significant impact than it did.

“Anytime you have continuity from year to year, it helps a lot,” Tannehill says.

“Bringing back a lot of familiar faces is a good thing. … We have a ton of [previous experience] with the guys we are going to be lining up next to. When you have that, you have that familiarity, comfortability with the guy that’s beside you, the guy you’re throwing to, the guy who’s handling the ball, and hopefully it helps you.”

It should be pointed out, too, there was no guarantee Tannehill and Henry would be back this season, as both were in the final year of their contracts in 2019. But Robinson ensured the show will go on, signing Tannehill to a new four-year contract worth $118 million and Henry to a new four-year deal worth $50 million.

“Those two guys worked hard,” Robinson says. “They came in and earned those extensions. They’re an important part of what we do offensively, and just the way they carry about their business within the organization.

We’ll lean heavily on those guys to make plays for us.”

RUNNING BACK DERRICK HENRY DURING A 2019 GAME AGAINST THE JACKSONVILLE JAGUARS

PHOTOS: DONALD PAGE

REASONS TO BELIEVE

MOTIVATED MEN

Another reason to expect the offensive fireworks will continue in 2020?

Tannehill, Henry and Brown have all shown an eagerness to improve upon their production — and increase their roles on the team — heading into this season.

Keep in mind that Tannehill didn’t arrive in Nashville via trade until March 2019, and he was immediately designated as the team’s backup quarterback. Tannehill deferred to Mariota when it came to voicing opinions on the offense, reasoning that he didn’t want to become a source of friction.

But Tannehill is in a far different place now, the result of 10 regular-season starts for the Titans, three playoff starts and his first training camp as the offense’s unquestioned leader.

“As that comfort level began to grow, he really expanded his leadership and then took off in the offseason,” Titans coach Mike Vrabel says of Tannehill. “I’d say it’s better now than what it was last year, and working with the guys and having a relationship with them — understanding that each receiver is going to run the same route a little differently, and where they’re going to be to be able to complete passes.”

Henry, meanwhile, was so frustrated about falling just short of reaching the

12

WIDE RECEIVER A.J. BROWN POINTS FOR A FIRST DOWN DURING A 2019 GAME AGAINST THE JACKSONVILLE JAGUARS

NASHVILLE SCENE | SEPTEMBER 3 – SEPTEMBER 9, 2020 | nashvillescene.com

coverstory_9-3-20.indd 12

8/31/20 4:25 PM

Super Bowl that — just moments after the Titans lost to Kansas City in the AFC Championship — he called his personal trainer, Melvin Sanders, from the locker room to deliver a terse message.

“He just said, ‘It’s time to get back to work,’ ” Sanders told Broadway Sports Media. “I said, ‘Dude, you just finished the season. Let your body recover first.’ But he didn’t want to hear any of that. I’m just like, ‘You know what? This kid’s different.’ ” Sure enough, Henry reported for duty at the Dallas-based fitness center within a matter of days, prepared to begin an offseason’s worth of maniacal training. In one video posted on social media, the 6-foot-3, 247-pound Henry alternates between lifting almost 500 pounds on a trap bar and making dynamic box leaps to the top of a 42-inch platform. In another, a shirtless Henry charges up a Dallas hill repeatedly, beginning the ascent with quick-footwork drills and then turning to catch a medicine ball a few steps later.

“You don’t see many guys out there running those hills, but Derrick loves it,” Sanders says. “To be that good and still work that hard, it goes without saying, is unreal. But the uphill work is just something that builds more speed and more power.”

Then there’s Brown, who — just days after exceeding all outside expectations for his rookie season — announced he’d fallen short of his personal goal of 1,500 receiving yards. He’s that kind of self-critical. While observers lavished praise upon him after finishing second in the NFL with an average of 20.2 yards per catch in 2019, Brown spent his offseason focused on what he felt he didn’t do well enough.

Specifically, Brown was irritated with some of his performances in the fourth quarters of games, reasoning that fatigue held him back from making even more big plays. He let his own criticism motivate him during the months he spent away from teammates, while recalling some advice future Hall of Fame quarterback Tom Brady had given him following a preseason scrimmage in 2019.

“He told me,work on the things you know you need improvement on, so you won’t have no weakness,” Brown says. “Everybody works hard, but everybody [else] knows what their weakness is. Work on your weakness, so you don’t have no weakness.”

MAKES MY JOB MORE FUN

One could make the argument that the Titans’ offense darn well better be just as good — if not better — than it was last season. Why? Because the defense, which was middle-of-the-road last year, will have to prove it can fill some sizable holes that have opened since the team played its last game.

At the top of the food chain, the Titans lost highly respected defensive coordinator Dean Pees, who embarked upon retirement at age 70. Vrabel will oversee the same defensive system, and either Vrabel or outside-linebackers coach Shane Bowen will call defensive plays in Pees’ absence.

Also gone are a pair of veteran standouts — defensive tackle Jurrell Casey, who was named to the past five Pro Bowls, and cornerback Logan Ryan, who intercepted four passes in 2019. Casey was traded to Denver in a cost-cutting move, while Ryan was allowed to depart as a free agent. The Titans will have to hope that rising young talents

like Jeffery Simmons, Rashaan Evans, Jayon Brown and Kevin Byard will step up as new leaders.

The Titans also have a question mark at the kicker position, which was a disaster last season. Tennessee believes Greg Joseph, who made his only field-goal attempt last season, will be the answer after the Titans missed more attempts (10) than they made (eight) in 2019.

But the thing about having one of the NFL’s highest-scoring offenses is that it can — at times — overcome a shaky defense or a shoddy special-teams performance. When the Titans are averaging 30 points per game like last year, as opposed to 20, their margin for error rises. Not every lead is tenuous, not every deficit insurmountable.

The other thing about powerful offensive teams? As Keith says, they’re just plain fun to watch, something the Titans fans should experience — for a whole season — in 2020.

“It’s more aesthetically pleasing to the fan,” says Keith. “It just is. It’s entertaining, it’s fun, and it makes my job more fun. I’m excited to see them every day at practice, and I can’t wait until we go out and see them play in September.”

EMAIL EDITOR@NASHVILLESCENE.COM

Want the Scene Delivered?

TENNESSEE TITANS’ OPENING-WEEK EVENTS

COVID-19 health and safety protocols must be followed at each Titans event. Event details are subject to change. Find more details and the latest information at tennesseetitans.com/kickoff.

SEPT. 7: Titans Happy Hour Tour To support National Beer Lover’s Day, Titans cheerleaders and mascot T-Rac will go on a Happy Hour Tour through Nashville, surprising patrons with giveaways at select Titans Hangout bars.

SEPT. 8-11: Titan Up the Town The Titans will distribute 15,000 free yard signs to fans during kickoff week. Fans can pick up a sign at all Academy and Tiff’s Treats locations in the Nashville area, and select Kroger stores. A full list of sign-pickup locations and times can be found at tennesseetitans.com/kickoff.

SEPT. 10: Titans Pop-Up Shop Featuring a specialty Titans clothing line available for one night only. There will also be a food truck, DJ and live artists. 6-10 p.m. at Fort Houston, 2020 Lindell Ave.

Order Now! nashvillesceneshop.com

SEPT. 11-12: Remember the Titans DriveIn Movie Screenings The Titans invite families to join them for a drive-in movie screening. Food will be available for purchase at both locations. Tickets available at tennesseetitans.com/kickoff. 8 p.m. Sept.

11-12 at OneC1TY, 8 City Blvd.; 6:30 and 9:30 p.m. Sept. 11 at The Field at Franklin, 1810 Columbia Ave., Franklin.

SEPT. 14: Titans Gameday Hangouts Enjoy appearances at three locations from Titans alumni and cheerleaders, plus food and Titans giveaways, as the team kicks off the season on the road against the Denver Broncos.

9:20 p.m. at Party Fowl Franklin (1914 Galleria Blvd.), Party Fowl Murfreesboro (127 Southeast Broad St.) and Jonathan’s Grille in Hendersonville (307 Indian Lake Blvd.). nashvillescene.com | SEPTEMBER 3 – SEPTEMBER 9, 2020 | NASHVILLE SCENE

coverstory_9-3-20.indd 13

13

8/31/20 4:25 PM

Y A D N MO ED! ADD AARON LEE TASJAN • ADIA VICTORIA • AMOS LEE • AMY SHARK • ANDERSON EAST • THE AVETT BROTHERS • BAILEN • BAND OF HEATHENS BAND OF HORSES • BEABADOOBEE • BECK • BELLE MT • THE BLACK KEYS • BLACK PUMAS • BRANDY CLARK • BRISTON MARONEY BRUCE HORNSBY • BRUCE SPRINGSTEEN • BULLY • BUZZARD BUZZARD BUZZARD • CAAMP • CAGE THE ELEPHANT • CAITLYN SMITH CAROLINA STORY • CATALINA • CAUTIOUS CLAY • CHARLEY CROCKETT • CHRISTONE “KINGFISH” INGRAM • CHUCK PROPHET • COLD WAR KIDS COLONY HOUSE • CORDOVAS • COURTNEY MARIE ANDREWS • DAWES • DEVON GILFILLIAN • DR. DOG • DREW HOLCOMB & THE NEIGHBORS DRUMMING BIRD • ERIC HUTCHINSON • FOALS • FRANK TURNER • FRUITION • FULTON LEE • FUTURE ISLANDS • G. LOVE • GHOST OF PAUL REVERE HALF MOON RUN • HAMILTON LEITHAUSER • HISS GOLDEN MESSENGER • HUMMING HOUSE • JACK JOHNSON & FRIENDS • JADE BIRD JAIME WYATT • JAMES ETHAN CLARK & THE RENEGADES • JASON ISBELL & THE 400 UNIT • JILL ANDREWS • JOAN JETT & THE BLACKHEARTS JOHN CRAIGIE • JOHN-ROBERT • JOSH RITTER • JOSHUA SPEERS • JUDAH & THE LION • KATHLEEN EDWARDS • KATIE PRUITT • LADYCOUCH LAKE STREET DIVE • LANGHORNE SLIM • LARKIN POE • LENNON STELLA • LIANNE LA HAVAS • LILLY HIATT • LINDSAY ELL • LIZA ANNE LOW CUT CONNIE • LP • LUTHI • MARCUS KING BAND • MARGO PRICE • METALLICA • MICHAEL FRANTI • MICHAEL KIWANUKA • MILKY CHANCE MLV OF DELTA SPIRIT • MOLLY MARTIN • MOLLY TUTTLE • MONDO COZMO • MOON TAXI • MT. JOY • MUMFORD & SONS • MUSE MY MORNING JACKET • NATHANIEL RATELIFF & THE NIGHT SWEATS • NEEDTOBREATHE • NICOLE ATKINS • NOAH CYRUS • NORAH JONES ODDNOTE • OKEY DOKEY • OVERCOATS • PERFUME GENIUS • PETE YORN • PHOEBE BRIDGERS • RAINBOW KITTEN SURPRISE RHETT MILLER OF OLD 97’S • RON GALLO • RUSTON KELLY • SARAH JAROSZ • SAVANNAH CONLEY • SCOTT MULVAHILL • SHERYL CROW SMOOTH HOUND SMITH • SONGHOY BLUES • SPOON • ST. PAUL & THE BROKEN BONES • STACEY RANDOL • SYLVAN ESSO • TAYLOR NOELLE TEDESCHI TRUCKS BAND • THE AQUADUCKS • THE FOXIES • THE HEAD & THE HEART • THE HEAVY HOURS • THE LONE BELLOW • THE MAVERICKS THE NATIONAL • THE REVIVALISTS • THE TESKEY BROTHERS • THE WAR & TREATY • THE WEEKS • THE WOOD BROTHERS • TODD SNIDER TRIGGER HIPPY • TWO DOOR CINEMA CLUB • US GIRLS • WAXAHATCHEE • WILL HOGE • ZACH HECKENDORF • ZZ WARD

LABOR DAY WEEKEND Thursday 9/3 - Monday 9/7.

14

NASHVILLE SCENE | SEPTEMBER 3 – SEPTEMBER 9, 2020 | nashvillescene.com

LISTEN at Lightning100.com, 100.1 FM, or the Lightning 100 app.

@LiveontheGreen

CRITICS’ PICKS R O U N D U P

T H I N G S

T O

D O

Singleton’s 2000 Sam Jackson-starring reboot of Shaft ($4 on Prime and iTunes) or 2003’s 2 Fast 2 Furious (ditto) — both feature great, cheesy, high-octane stunts and fun soundtracks (and the former features a wild performance from Jeffrey Wright … and Christian Bale is in it!). Bring your festival experience on home with 2005’s Four Brothers, which is also $4 on the aforementioned platforms. Despite lukewarm reviews and a violent, scattershot plot, that film features a real Murderers’ Row of great performers — including André 3000, Garrett Hedlund, Terrence Howard, Taraji P. Henson, Josh Charles and Chiwetel Ejiofor. Also, Mark Wahlberg is in it. D. PATRICK RODGERS

[IT’S NOT EASY]

TUNE INTO LIVE ON THE GREEN’S LIVE ON MY GREEN FM FESTIVAL

LIVE ON MY GREEN

COVID-19 has made it impossible to hold big in-person concerts safely this year, and that means Live on the Green, like pretty much every other festival in the U.S., isn’t happening in person. But the massively popular and frequently great annual free festival organized by local radio station Lightning 100 has been going for 11 seasons, and isn’t about to give up. The station has lined up a massive helping of material called Live on My Green FM Festival for your listening pleasure Sept. 3-6, and it will include archival performances, interviews and more. Festival veterans like The Weeks, Bully, Cage the Elephant, Dr. Dog and Aaron Lee Tasjan are among the nearly 150 artists taking part. A wide, wide variety of folks who haven’t played it are participating, too.

On the rootsier end of the spectrum, you’ll find Bruce Springsteen, Jason Isbell and the 400 Unit, Margo Price, Kathleen Edwards, Katie Pruitt and Lilly Hiatt. Want something heavier? Listen out for Adia Victoria, Liza Anne, Larkin Poe — oh yeah, and Metallica.

The abundance of video-related streaming content during the pandemic makes it worth mentioning that Live on My Green is audio-only, but you’ll be able to tune in any time during Labor Day weekend via 100.1-FM, smartphones and smart speakers and lots more. If you’re hiking, grilling or just chilling out inside, it’s easy to bring it with you. See liveonthegreen.com for the full lineup, more ways to listen and other updates. STEPHEN TRAGESER FILM

O F

SEPT. 3-6

PODCAST

liveonthegreen.com

[RICKY!]

BUILD YOUR OWN STREAMING JOHN SINGLETON FILM FESTIVAL JASON ISBELL installment No. 21, which we’re dedicating to an iconic voice in cinema: John Singleton.

Sadly, the writer/director/producer suffered a stroke last year and died days later, but he left in his wake a deeply influential catalog

LISTEN TO HIP-HOP HISTORY IN WHAT HAD HAPPENED WAS

Hip-hop has a reputation as a young person’s sport that rarely looks backward. But that’s not an entirely accurate assessment — Jay-Z, now 50, is still topping charts, while quadragenarian MCs Pusha T and Black Thought may be the sharpest rhyme-slingers alive (to say nothing of the age diversity of DJs and producers). Still, old-school rap doesn’t seem to command the same respect and market share as classic rock, which makes it easy to feel like there’s little regard for the genre’s history. So we’re all lucky that a new podcast is here to shine a light on one of its brightest artists. Prince Paul is among the most important and prolific producers in history — his work with De La Soul alone would qualify him for the hip-hop hall of fame — and he’s telling his story to underground rapper Open Mike Eagle for the What Had Happened Was podcast. Mike is a knowledgeable and curious host, and Paul is an open and energetic storyteller.

Each episode is roughly an hour, focusing on different aspects of the beatsmith’s illustrious career, from specific albums to of films. Naturally, we’ve got to kick off his collaboration with heavy-hitters like our streaming fest with Singleton’s 1991 MF Doom and RZA. Each episode offers a feature debut Boyz n the Hood ($4 to rent snapshot of important moments in music via Amazon Prime and iTunes), the South history, and Paul offers equal insight on Central L.A.-set coming-of-age drama the craft and business of music — though featuring Cuba Gooding Jr., Angela Bassett the latter topic sometimes involves lessons and Ice Cube. That one earned Singleton learned the hard way. If you’re Oscar nominations for Best Original looking for an episode to start on, I Screenplay and Best Director. recommend the June 8 release, (He was the first African EDITOR’S NOTE: AS A RESPONSE TO THE “3ft High and Rising,” which American and the youngest ONGOING COVID-19 PANDEMIC, discusses the origins of De person ever nominated WE’VE CHANGED THE FOCUS OF La Soul, the creation of their for the latter.) From there, THE CRITICS’ PICKS SECTION TO debut album and the notorious jump to 1993’s Poetic Justice INCLUDE ACTIVITIES YOU CAN sample-clearance issues that (also $4 to rent on Prime and PARTAKE IN WHILE YOU’RE AT HOME. continue to plague the crew’s iTunes), a love story featuring discography in the modern tender performances from icons streaming era. You can find it on Janet Jackson and Tupac Shakur, Spotify, iTunes or wherever you get your and a fantastic mid-’90s time capsule. podcasts. ALEJANDRO RAMIREZ The director’s lesser-seen 1997 historical drama Rosewood ($3 on Prime) is a heavy and critically acclaimed effort based on [GO POSTAL] the horrific events of 1923’s Rosewood CONTRIBUTE TO VOTE!! A MAIL ART massacre, and so after that you might crave PROJECT some lighter fare. For that, check out either Instagram, once simply a repository of ART

For the first few months of the pandemic, we at the Scene issued weekly build-your-own-streaming-film-fest Critics’ Picks, each of them based around the work of a different filmmaker. We ultimately made it to 20 straight weeks of recommendations before taking a little break in August. But now we’re back for

[HANDSOME BOY PODCASTING SCHOOL]

PHOTO: BRITTON STRICKLAND

MUSIC

W E E K L Y

BOYZ N THE HOOD

nashvillescene.com | SEPTEMBER 3 – SEPTEMBER 9, 2020 | NASHVILLE SCENE

criticspicks_9-3-20.indd 15

15

8/31/20 3:42 PM

[BEYOND THE HORIZON]

SEEK OUT EXPERIENTIAL AND EXPERIMENTAL MUSIC ON #BANDCAMPFRIDAY

One of the things I’ve missed greatly during the pandemic is the concerts organized by arts nonprofit FMRL. The organization makes sure we get a chance to see musicians who draw from an astonishing array of traditions and push at the boundaries of them, like Tatsuya Nakatani’s experiential percussion ensembles, Canadian protopunk legends Simply Saucer, Tuareg guitar master Mdou Moctar, Ivorian country-folk stars Jess Sah Bi and Peter One and many more. Frequently, FMRL pairs those artists with locals like long-running experimental folk group The Cherry Blossoms, jazzschooled wind instrument wizard JayVe Montgomery (aka Abstract Black) and phenomenal folk-leaning singer-songwriter Ziona Riley. Many of the artists who’ve played FMRL shows have work available on Bandcamp. The platform was already wellliked by artists for offering a convenient way to sell music directly to fans (who can also stream it), and it has extended the #BandcampFriday promotion, in which it waives its cut of artist fees on the first Friday of each month, through the end of 2020. Sept. 4 is the next #BandcampFriday, the perfect time to seek out forward-looking music from folks like Jaimie Branch, a fantastic trumpeter and composer who’s broadening the vocabulary of her instrument, or free-jazz group Irreversible Entanglements, who engage deeply with systemic racism and police violence.

Soloriens Native Unity Quartet, an ongoing project of James Harrar and Sun Ra Arkestra bandleader Marshall Allen, recorded the 2019 album Aerials and Antennas live at American Legion Post 82 during an FMRL show in 2016.

Take a look at the events archive at fmrlarts. org for many more. STEPHEN TRAGESER

16

[BAND AID]

BUY MERCH TO SUPPORT YOUR FAVORITE MUSIC VENUE

According to the National Independent Venue Association, the live event industry “is experiencing upwards of 90 percent revenue loss,” and “without support from Congress, 90 percent of NIVA’s independent venues across America say they will be forced to close their doors forever.” That would have a catastrophic effect on Nashville’s music community.

Want to help? Go to nivassoc.org, where you can send a message to elected officials and let them know you support the Save Our Stages and RESTART acts, both of which aim to offer financial assistance to temporarily shuttered indie venues. Want to do more? Purchase merch directly from your favorite clubs. The Bluebird Cafe, Drkmttr, The 5 Spot, the Station Inn and all

three Cannery Row clubs (The High Watt, Mercy Lounge and Cannery Ballroom) have shirts and more available on their websites.

You can snag a face mask or a “Save the Rock Block” tee from the Exit/In site, and a “We Will Rise” shirt that supports The Basement East and the Nashville service industry at nashvilletnstore.com. Marathon Music Works has read the room with a cheeky new tee that reads, “I supported live music during the 2020 quarantine,” and the Ryman’s online store is loaded with dozens of different T-shirt designs and all kinds of souvenir knickknacks. (They also have a great selection of cool Hatch Show Print posters.) And while Rudy’s Jazz Room, The East Room and Springwater Supper Club don’t currently have merch available online, all three venues have launched fundraisers to help the clubs, and their staffs, make it through the year — you can search for them at GoFundMe.com. MEGAN SELING [SCHOOL DAZE]

LEARN SOMETHING WITH NASHVILLE COMMUNITY EDUCATION

I coasted into the pandemic with many goals. I would learn puppetry, for example. Nearly six months later, a half-painted papier-mâché raccoon languishes on my bookshelf, her spindly arms lifelessly hanging at her sides. There are moments when her downturned eyes appear to be filled with consternation and disappointment. I can count this as a failure, or I can live by my old mantra: It’s never too late to start something you won’t finish. But a better option is to stay motivated by signing up for a class with Nashville Community Education. There was real fear that this low-cost program would be cut with the mayor’s budget. But thankfully, our Metro councilmembers found it worth saving. The NCE folks have worked up a roster of more than 100 classes, most of which will be held virtually. You can learn to play guitar, get tips for creative journaling or take a course in songwriting.

Are you a fan of fermentation? Take a class in making sourdough or kombucha. Learn French, Mandarin Chinese, American Sign Language and more in virtual language classes. I highly recommend the class on raising backyard chickens, because they are lovely and hilarious creatures that will teach you many life lessons. There are personal-development classes too, like How to Advocate for Yourself and Unconscious Bias and Your Relationships, plus classes on financial literacy and understanding Medicaid. Some single-day workshops cost as little as $15, and multiple-session classes are a bargain.

(Fifty bucks for three sessions on repurposing vintage jewelry? Yes please!) The program offers scholarships based on financial need, and you can also buy a gift card for a friend who needs a boost.

See the full schedule at nashville.gov/NashvilleCommunity-Education, and fill your days with learning.

ERICA CICCARONE

EXIT/IN MASK

BOOKS

PLAY/WATCH STEVEN SPIELBERG’S DIRECTOR’S CHAIR

COMMUNITY

[READY PLAYER ONE]

Cutscenes in video games have come a long way in recent years, aided by advances in motion-capture technology that allow developers to capture full performances — actors now lend not just their voices to gaming’s heroes and villains, but also their facial expressions and mannerisms. The attempts to insert full performances in video games goes back to the ’80s and ’90s, after someone had what surely seemed like a clever idea at the time: putting live-action footage of actors into games. Often called full-motion video, the result was frequently corny. In that era, the one and only Steven Spielberg attached his name to a 1996 semi-educational FMV game that tried to re-create the process of directing a film, including tackling logistical issues like the movie’s budget. The player was rewarded with a short film starring Jennifer Aniston, Quentin Tarantino, and magicians Penn and Teller, and it played out differently depending on pre-production choices. Steven Spielberg’s Director’s Chair flopped. But earlier in August, gamemaker Paolo Pedercini salvaged the live-action footage from the game, ditched the budgetsimulation gameplay and turned it into an interactive movie à la Black Mirror: Bandersnatch. At various points, you’re prompted to direct the tone and plot points of the short film — which revolves around a death row inmate (Tarantino) who chews the scenery while his out-of-his-league girlfriend (Aniston) searches for evidence that he was framed. These loopy choices range from performance styles (“Manic Tarantino” vs. “Calm Tarantino”) to minor plot points (“Shouty standoff” vs. “Shootout with many guns!”). The result is usually goofy, and it’s sometimes hard to distinguish the film’s intentional oddball humor from its so-bad-it’s-good moments — and I mean that in a good way. Play it at molleindustria.org/ directorschoices. ALEJANDRO RAMIREZ SHOPPING

MUSIC

fluffy-animal and sandwich pics, is now the most popular organizing platform for activists. But what’s more surprising is that the people I follow for their organizing around criminal justice reform, reproductive justice and climate change had a unified message last month: Buy stamps. Trump is straining the USPS to its breaking point in an attempt to — by his own admission just last month — undermine voting by mail. Channel your rage into Vote!! A Mail Art Project. Local artist Jason Brown has been supporting the post office for years by calling for mail art submissions on various themes. Back in May, he received hundreds of submissions from around the world on the theme of “my view from home.” Some people sent in drawings, others photography, others beer-label collages. In Brown’s latest effort, he put out the following call: “Let’s say this mail art is your ballot — what are you VOTING for?

What would you like to see changed?” As always, Brown will scan every piece of mail and upload it to the project’s website, and he’ll donate the art to Special Collections at Vanderbilt University Library. Can art save democracy? Of course not! That’s the job of our woefully incompetent elected leaders.

But it will feel good to articulate what you want to see in this country, and you’ll be supporting the USPS too. Learn more at votemailart.wordpress.com. ERICA CICCARONE

VIDEO GAMES

CRITICS’ PICKS [BIO DOME]

ATTEND A VIRTUAL BOOK EVENT WITH KISSINGER BIOGRAPHER THOMAS A. SCHWARTZ

Joint Maritime Facility St. Mawgan was a Cold War relic far beyond its sell-by date even when I was stationed there 15 years ago. Shoved under the Cornish soil, beneath so much concrete that road projects across Europe stopped when it was built, the massive facility was staffed by we happy few from the U.S. and Royal navies and the Royal Air Force, keeping our eyes open for a threat that wasn’t so much of a threat anymore. JMF closed in 2009, three years after I left, and I’ve often wondered what happened to its remarkably well-stocked library, a holdover from its ultra-top-secret glory days before the fall of the Soviet Union, when the threat was very real and the number of sailors and airmen stationed there was much larger.

By the time I arrived, it wasn’t a skeleton crew exactly, but there wasn’t much flesh left on the bone — but the library was still voluminous. Most of the time, I was its only patron, and I’d wander the stacks to find my next undertaking. Once, I grabbed a copy of Henry Kissinger’s 1994 tome Diplomacy, a 912-page behemoth covering international relations (well, Western relations) from the Thirty Years’ War through the end of the Cold War. As a person with a welldeveloped list of favorite treaties (the Peace of Westphalia ending the aforementioned Thirty Years’ War and the Congress of Vienna — a painting of which is on the cover of the Kissinger — top the list, if you must know), it was a fascinating read, imbued with a heavy sense of the chilly Realpolitik Kissinger is famous for and with plenty of personal asides from Kissinger’s own experience as a foreign service officer and secretary of state under Richard Nixon and Gerald Ford. Kissinger is and continues to be a deeply fascinating character. (Still living at press time, he was born in 1923 in the Weimar Republic, for God’s sake.) By many, he is derided as a war criminal now because of his high-level involvement and approval of all sorts of American malignity.

By many others, he’s recognized as one of the country’s most effective secretaries of state, what with detente and the opening of China and ending the Vietnam War and inexplicably winning the Nobel Peace Prize.

And by a certain group of weirdos, he’s lauded as a major factor in the rise of soccer in the U.S. Vanderbilt professor Thomas A. Schwartz is out with a new biography of Kissinger, Henry Kissinger and American Power.

Schwartz, a recognized authority on foreign relations and the history thereof, doesn’t dismiss Kissinger’s gifts and often laser-sharp insights. But he certainly doesn’t ignore Kissinger’s shortcomings (including his inborn need to be famous and involved in the rough-and-tumble of politics, contra previous holders of his office, and a style made into caricature by his current successor).

Schwartz will discuss his book and its subject

NASHVILLE SCENE | SEPTEMBER 3 – SEPTEMBER 9, 2020 | nashvillescene.com

criticspicks_9-3-20.indd 16

8/31/20 3:43 PM

CRITICS’ PICKS

mmm...

WATCH THE BIG FLOWER FIGHT ON NETFLIX

[A SPELLBINDING EXPERIENCE]

CHECK OUT BACKSTAGE WITH A MAGICIAN

Brooklyn-based magician Noah Levine has dazzled audiences at the Rainbow Room, the Metropolitan Museum of Art, Carnegie Hall, Lincoln Center and more. And back before COVID-19 shut down the city, he also hosted Magic After Hours — showing late-night guests around New York’s historic Tannen’s Magic Shop before putting on an intimate show. These days, you can find Levine online with Backstage With a Magician, an interactive virtual magic show that he presents in partnership with Atlas Obscura. Described as something of a “backstage tour,” the evening kicks off with Levine sharing a few stories and favorite magic books and gadgets. But before long, he settles in for the main event — with plenty of opportunity for guests to get in on the act. The unique virtual experience is recommended for ages 14 and older, and is available for $25 per device. Visit atlasobscura.com to learn more. AMY STUMPFL [GET THIS BREAD]

BUY BREAD FROM LA VIE BAKEHOUSE

I’m reluctant to share this information because stock often sells out every week as it is, but ... well, here goes: You must try the bread from La Vie Bakehouse. La Vie is Valerie Parker’s “underground” bakery — you place your order online early

Vodka Yonic

LA VIE BAKEHOUSE in the week, and then pick up on either Friday or Sunday at a designated Five Daughters Bakery doughnut shop — and this isn’t your average bake-at-home bread.

Parker uses freshly milled flour and a threeday fermenting process that results in an especially flavorful and tender dough. A loaf of her caprese sourdough — dotted with sun-dried tomatoes and fresh basil — is so addictive it barely survived a single day in my two-person household. We kept taking turns slicing off little slivers throughout the day just to get another taste. But what you absolutely cannot miss is La Vie’s gorgeous braided whole-grain babkas. They’re a bit of a splurge at $18 a pop, but each loaf is a hefty two pounds, and they come in both sweet and savory combinations — chocolate, brown sugar and cinnamon, peanut brittle with candied peanuts or Parmesan pesto.

For an extra $2, Parker will make your chocolate babka a “double-take” by swirling peanut butter inside and finishing it off with a caramel glaze. It is more than just a loaf of bread — it is absolute decadence. And you deserve it. MEGAN SELING [POST SECRETS]

SEE NEW ARTWORK BY LESLEY PATTERSON-MARX AT THE APPALACHIAN CENTER FOR CRAFT

Leave it to Lesley Patterson-Marx to make poetry out of a pandemic. The art in her solo exhibit Messages in Threads and Wings, currently on view at Appalachian Center for Craft in Smithville, Tenn. (about an hour east of Nashville), is filled with the kind of wistful green witchery she’s perfected over

the years. Take the silk apron that hangs on the gallery’s title wall like a winged nymph. It’s called “Pipevine Swallowtail and Hackberry Emperor Butterfly Collective Memory Protector Apron,” which should definitely be the title of a really amazing children’s fantasy story. Patterson-Marx has hand-marbled the silk or hand-dyed it with walnut, then sewn butterflies and appliques and digital prints of found photographs into its pockets. As a result, it becomes a ritual object of motherhood, caretaking, creation. As the artist says in the exhibition statement, to her an apron is “a container for ideas surrounding the protection of nature and one’s mind, body, and spirit.” It’s powerful stuff, but delivered with Patterson-Marx’s uncommonly gentle touch. The work is up through Oct. 2, but the artist plans to share videos and images of the show through Facebook and Instagram, and eventually archive the whole thing on her website. Through Oct. 2 at Appalachian Center for Craft, 1560 Craft Center Drive, Smithville, Tenn. LAURA HUTSON HUNTER

nashvillescene.com

Shop online at parnassusbooks.net Curbside pickup available!

@parnassusbooks1 @parnassusbooks @parnassusbooks1

UPCOMING VIRTUAL EVENTS THURSDAY SEP 3

MUSIC

MAGIC

A women’s column featuring a rotating cast of contributors

[FLOWER POWER]

If you’ve ever watched an episode of The Great British Bake Off, you know that the popular reality competition is known for its pleasant, soothing demeanor as much as it is the contestants’ fantastical confections.

And if you’ve already burned through all of GBBO, it’s likely that you’re in the market for similarly comforting fare. Enter The Big Flower Fight, a new reality competition on Netflix that features a diverse group of two-person teams designing and building outrageous, intricate works of art made entirely from plants, flowers and natural materials. The show’s structure borrows heavily from GBBO, with a similarly gentle tone and sweeping views of the English countryside. And the best part? Flower Fight won’t have you rushing to the kitchen on a mad hunt for sweets. BRITTNEY McKENNA

FOOD & DRINK

So Refreshing!

Refreshing!

ART

TV

with Patrick Ryan in a virtual event hosted via Zoom by Parnassus Books and the Tennessee World Affairs Council. 7 p.m.

Tuesday, Sept. 8 J.R. LIND

[LIVE AND LEARN]

STREAM LIVE WITH CARNEGIE HALL

With its striking architecture and extraordinary acoustics, Carnegie Hall may well be the world’s most prestigious concert venue. And while the storied hall is currently dark, music lovers can stay connected through a wide range of digital programs and performances. Start with the popular online series Live With Carnegie Hall — featuring a great mix of musical performances, candid conversations and behind-the-scenes stories, hosted by big names such as Audra McDonald, Michael Feinstein, Renée Fleming and Rosanne Cash. You might also check out some of the terrific educational resources available through Learn With Carnegie Hall, including everything from video workshops and master classes to musical games and activities. The Musical Explorers series — which showcases music from around the world — is especially fun to enjoy with little ones in grades K-2. Check out carnegiehall. org for complete details and archived episodes. AMY STUMPFL

6:00PM FACEBOOK LIVE with LISA PAPP Madeline Finn and the Therapy Dog

TUESDAY SEP 8 7:00PM JENNA BUSH HAGER with BROOKLYN DECKER Everything Beautiful in Its Time 7:00PM ZOOM with THOMAS SCHWARTZ Henry Kissinger and American Power

WEDNESDAY SEP 9 5:00PM JENNA BUSH HAGER with JON MEACHAM Everything Beautiful in Its Time 6:00PM ZOOM with SARA EVANS Born to Fly

THURSDAY SEP 10 6:00PM FACEBOOK LIVE with CHRISTINA BAKER KLINE The Exiles

GET TICKETS & LEARN MORE AT PARNASSUSBOOKS.NET/EVENT

THE BIG FLOWER FIGHT

nashvillescene.com | SEPTEMBER 3 – SEPTEMBER 9, 2020 | NASHVILLE SCENE

criticspicks_9-3-20.indd 17

17

8/31/20 3:44 PM

sept. 28 -oct. 4

Introducing

#SceneMargandTacoWeek

Enjoy $6 margaritas and 2 tacos for $6 at 15+ participating locations across town for one week only!

Participating Restaurants

And many more to come! t por Sup al! loc or in e din rryca ! out

Sponsored by

L tac et’s o-b ou a d eal t !

Visit SCENEMARGANDTACOWEEK.COM and follow @NASHVILLESCENE on social media for more details!

18

NASHVILLE SCENE | SEPTEMBER 3 – SEPTEMBER 9, 2020 | nashvillescene.com

FOOD AND DRINK

GIGI’S SECOND ACT

Former cupcake queen starts from scratch, this time with pies

E

ven if they don’t recognize the name Gina Butler, plenty of folks are familiar with her nickname — and her cupcakes.

“I’ve always been Gigi,” Butler explains.

She grew her eponPIES BY GIGI ymous cupcake 330 FRANKLIN ROAD, shop into a bakedBRENTWOOD PIESBYGIGI.COM goods empire with more than 120 locations before selling the operation to a Texas-based venture capital company in 2016. Butler still maintained her original Gigi’s Cupcakes store in Midtown Nashville until she finally closed it in February of this year. A serial entrepreneur, Butler is now starting from scratch again with the opening of her brand-new venture, Pies by Gigi, operating out of a storefront in Brentwood at 330 Franklin Road.

The winding tale of how Butler got here sounds a bit like a country song, an unsurprising fact considering she came to Nashville in 1994 to make it big as a singer and songwriter.

“I was singing and writing music, working at Red Lobster and cleaning houses to make ends meet,” she says. “I built up my cleaning company by working for a lot of stars, like Taylor Swift’s family, Lee Ann Womack and Lee Roy Parnell. I remember I was cleaning Taylor’s house one day when I was almost 30 and she was 15. She was on the bed practicing her guitar, and she played ‘Teardrops on My Guitar.’ I asked her if she wrote it, and she told me yes. I cried the whole ride home and wondered how I was going to make it in music if someone so young could write a song like that. I decided to quit, and I felt like a loser.”

But Butler didn’t give up on Nashville completely. She devoured business books and decided to double down on her side gig.

“I figured if I’m going to have a cleaning business, it’s gonna be the best cleaning business,” she says. “I hired five girls to work for me and learned how to manage.

I discovered that if you can do the small things very well with integrity, great things will come to you.”

Then another opportunity came her way in the form of a phone call from her brother.

He was visiting a bakery in New York City in 2007, during the height of the cupcake boom, and called to tell Gigi that she should open a cupcake shop. “I’d never made many cupcakes,” she recalls with a chuckle, “but I come from a long line of bakers. I decided right then to open a shop.”

With a recession looming, Butler was stymied in her search for backing. “Four banks laughed in my face, so I took out $100,000 in cash advances and had $33 left in my account when I opened my first store.” Operating out of a 999-square-foot space formerly home to a Steak-Out, Butler worked under a business plan that anticipated selling 250 cupcakes a day. To her surprise, she far exceeded those expectations.

“I was killing it,” she says. “We were

selling 1,000 to 1,750 cupcakes a day. Even in the middle of the recession when money was scarce, people would come in and treat themselves. I appealed to everyone, and I saw it was replicable.”

Her landlord had some experience in the franchise arena, so Butler consulted with him on the next steps. “The hardest thing was letting go, but the franchises came to me. They came out of the woodwork.

People came to Nashville and saw what we were doing and wanted to be a part of it.

During the financial crash of 2008, people were scared to death of the stock market and wanted their own little nest egg. We had great food costs, so it was a great place to put your money. I was in the right place at the right time, and stepped through the door that was opened.”

Sales remained as high as the icing on top of one of Gigi’s cupcakes, and new franchises came on board at a furious rate.

Butler even made an appearance on the CBS reality show Undercover Boss in 2015, including a segment featuring a bit of a “Lucille Ball at the chocolate factory” fiasco at her frosting supplier. That moment actually turned out to be sort of a high point in Butler’s reign as the CEO of Gigi’s.

As franchise growth continued to explode, Butler realized that she couldn’t maintain the pace: “I had a child by myself during all this, and after 65 stores I couldn’t keep up anymore. I wanted to spend more time with my daughter, and we were at a store opening every week. I wanted to get her off the road, and I really wasn’t creating anymore.

“We grew so fast and so strong, and I felt so blessed,” Butler continues. “But a lot of the business acumen I’ve acquired has come from mistakes I made. I sold out to a Texas company named KeyCorp, and that turned out to be not a good thing.”

Butler stayed on with the company in a franchise-relations role and continued to operate her original store, but the new owners of the company were not faring as well as she had.

“It was the hardest four years of my life,” Butler says. “I thought I was selling to people who could grow my company like I couldn’t anymore. In 2018 they refused to pay me the rest of the consulting fee they owed me, and then they went into bankruptcy. I saw so much backlash on social media saying I was letting the people down.

I was chastised, ridiculed, followed by cameramen. I was the face of the company because I am the creator.”

But she stuck with it. “Sales plummeted, and last February I finally sold my store,” she explains. “It was time to close that door, but it was also time to start something new from scratch, even in the midst of COVID. I needed to re-create myself. If I’m not creating, I don’t feel alive.”

Butler turned her attention to another baked-goods project. “Pies are my true love,” she says. “I always said if I could have just one pie shop where I could offer people comfort and minister to them, I’d

PHOTO: DANIEL MEIGS

BY CHRIS CHAMBERLAIN

GINA BUTLER be happy. I was listening to the news and everybody was making masks. I can’t sew, but I can cook!”

She put a menu together of pies, casseroles and pot pies — what she describes as “comfort food, but healthy” — and started taking orders for pickup from the Whole Foods parking lot in Franklin. “I would post the menus on Instagram and deliver them on Monday, Wednesday and Friday,” Butler says. “I know what people like, and I already have a name they can trust.” Her parking-lot venture has now expanded into a bricks-and-mortar operation in a

2,700-square-foot space. (“Mama’s grown up!” she jokes.)

The new Pies by Gigi offers a wide variety of sweet and savory items, from biscuits and quiches for breakfast, to muffins, scones and two casseroles per day for dining in or take-and-bake, and of course eight different pies per day, plus mini pies. Butler is especially proud of her dessert bars, listing them off like Forrest Gump’s Bubba Blue talking about shrimp dishes: “We’ll have lemon bars, peanut butter fudge, apricot crumble, Black Forest cheesecake, almond toffee and a

nashvillescene.com | SEPTEMBER 3 – SEPTEMBER 9, 2020 | NASHVILLE SCENE

food_9-3-20.indd 19

19

8/31/20 1:16 PM

FOOD AND DRINK

: Winners’ Reader poll

VOTED BEST FOR 15 YEARS! PRESENT THIS COUPON FOR

20% OFF YOUR TO-GO ORDER ONLY MUST BE PRESENT AT SITAR (EXP. 9/30/20)

vegan with gluten-free options

East Nashville

WE DELIVER WITH: GRUBHUB...POSTMATE DOOR DASH...UBER

Closed on Tuesdays Open 11am-10pm all other days

116 21st Ave. N. | 321-8889 | SitarNashville.com

Follow us on facebook or twitter to see daily specials!

FREE PARKING!

Call for take-out!

We Deliver: Call @ 526-9100

Authentic Mexican Cuisine & Bakery...Side by Side!

615-669-8144 PanaderiayPasteleriaLopez

615-865-2646 TacosyMariscosLindoMexico

PHOTO: DANIEL MEIGS

917A Gallatin Pike S, Madison, TN

Support Local Save the dishwashing for later

Visit nashvillescene.com for our daily takeout picks.

20

gluten-free Mississippi mud bar. I’m going to be famous for my bars.”

The location also operates as a small mercantile with items like Jams by Gigi, Gigi’s Jamming Spices, tea towels, candles and rolling pins. The store features a tea bar and a coffee bar, and Butler hopes people will take advantage of her WiFi to sit a spell and work. A woman of faith, she also plans to offer the space to churches for nighttime Bible studies. She hopes to start shipping her pies nationwide in the fall.

Butler is working on her second book — a follow-up to 2018’s The Secret Ingredient — about starting over from scratch and fighting fear in the business world, personal lessons she takes to heart. “Gigi’s grew so fast that I wasn’t able to stop and smell the

roses,” she says. “Now that I’ve grieved and suffered, I can appreciate all the things that we’ve done right. I travel the country speaking about fighting fear. If I don’t take my own advice right now, then who am I? Then I’m a fraud. If I say go out there and step on faith and be brave, and God will get your back, and now I don’t do it, then who am I?” Butler wants people to know one more thing: “Even though you’re afraid, and it’s a scary world, you still have to fulfill your purpose while you’re here on this earth and keep moving forward and re-creating yourself. After what I’ve gone through with Gigi’s, I have to start over again, and I want to!”

From scratch.

EMAIL ARTS@NASHVILLESCENE.COM

NASHVILLE SCENE | SEPTEMBER 3 – SEPTEMBER 9, 2020 | nashvillescene.com

food_9-3-20.indd 20

8/31/20 1:16 PM

20%

of sales benefit the participating restaurants’ staffs!

A collection of recipes from Music City’s best chefs

Preorder now at nourishnashville.com

nashvillescene.com | SEPTEMBER 3 – SEPTEMBER 9, 2020 | NASHVILLE SCENE

21

ART

SUMMER’S BLACK SWAN SONG Nashville’s go-go gallery scene says so long to summer

BY JOE NOLAN Editor’s note: Most of Nashville’s art spaces are open by appointment for in-person viewing. Visit nashvillescene.com for links to the galleries’ sites.

22

PHOTO: DANIEL MEIGS

T

MURAL BY JONATHAN EDELHUBER AT THE PACKING PLANT turning to what’s handy, and of course online ordering also means a surplus of packing materials and boxes in many of our houses.

Reuther’s latest sculptures, on view at David Lusk Gallery, are totemic works constructed out of wood — the pieces are inspired by Brutalist design and Scandinavian textile prints. The gallery is planning to create some videos of the show, which will be shared on social media and on its website.

Yanira Vissepo is Coop’s artist-in-residence for September and October. Vissepo’s multimedia practice focuses on printmaking and textile art, and her woodblock designs reflect time studying traditional techniques in Japan. Connect with Coop’s social media to follow along with Vissepo’s process and find out more about her third-culture experiences as a Puerto Rican living in the South.

Coop will also be hosting a three-day experimental film and video micro-cinema event on Sept. 10, 11 and 12.

The Packing Plant is the hub of the Wedgewood-Houston art scene and home to some of the city’s best galleries. The building’s back alley is also a highlight: The space has hosted multiple poetry readings, and The Packing Plant’s rear wall regularly displays exhibitions of wheatpaste poster art. Now, artist Jonathan Edelhuber has painted a mural on the back wall, and its out-of-the-way location has made it one of the best-kept secrets in the city’s art scene. The mural features Edelhuber’s signature alligator character with a colorful snake wrapping around its scary snout. The mural references another secret happening nearby — but see you later, alligator. My sources aren’t ready to

YANIRA VISSEPO AT COOP

go on the record.

The Red Arrow Gallery is continuing its group exhibition Breathless. If anybody wondered whether a tornado, a pandemic and the mainstreaming of the Black Lives Matter movement would inspire artists — this show has your answer. The diverse survey of 15 artists puts 2020 on notice, spotlighting the ennui of quarantine life, the persistence of police violence and the aftermath of Nashville’s most recent tornado. Red Arrow will be creating a new video of a gallery chat between many of the artists in the show.

Expect a dialogue that addresses how art can help us to understand and navigate shared trauma and communal confusion.

Full disclosure: I have a painting included in the exhibition.

EMAIL ART@NASHVILLESCENE.COM

COURTESY OF DAVID LUSK GALLERY; PHOTO: CHRISTOPHER WORMALD

KIT REUTHER AT DAVID LUSK GALLERY

“REFLECTING THE PLANETS ABOVE, “ YANIRA VISSEPO

his summer’s art schedule has been unlike any we’ve seen in the past. Noisy, crowded opening receptions were replaced by Instagram posts.

Isolated studio practices became YouTube channels. Gallery purchases went strictly online. So many events and exhibitions have been canceled or delayed indefinitely.

But if September’s art calendar has a collective theme, it’s this: Nashville’s gallery scene is still here. It’s been six months since the March First Saturday opening receptions — the last big gallery events Nashvillians attended in person. It’s been six months of dynamic adaptation and creative resilience, both of which are testaments to the city’s enduring art scene. These six months have also left me feeling optimistic about saying so-long to this strange summer.

Zeitgeist Gallery artist Lars Strandh invited Virtual Art Crawl viewers into his studio in Oslo, Norway, last month. I’m a longtime fan of the painter’s deceptively complex monochrome works, and getting an inside look at his process was one of the highlights of the August video compiled by the Nashville Gallery Association. There won’t be a Virtual Art Crawl video this month, but Zeitgeist will feature another abstract painter in its ongoing series of online exhibitions: Richard Feaster’s canvases are abstract explorations of painting materials and processes. Feaster’s paintings about painting make him one of my local favorites, and his latest works are monochrome affairs that emphasize the artist’s swirling lines and ethereal textures.

Eidetic crawlers might recall Mark Mulroney’s drawings hanging at the fondly remembered CG2 space in WedgewoodHouston back in 2017. The North Haven, Conn.-based artist’s Family Values show opened at Julia Martin Gallery last month, and the exhibition runs through Sept. 26. Mulroney’s paintings and collages borrow from and reference pop culture: Batman and Timmy the Timid Ghost both make appearances here, but my favorite comic-based work features a comic-strip couple in an intimate conversation along with the caption “America is in decline.” The collage reads like a 21st-century Lichtenstein in which parody has been replaced by prophecy.

Kit Reuther’s geometric abstract paintings are immediately recognizable, but the highlights of her recent shows have been the sculptures she builds out of materials like packing tape and Styrofoam. The pandemic lockdowns have seen lots of artists

NASHVILLE SCENE | SEPTEMBER 3 – SEPTEMBER 9, 2020 | nashvillescene.com

art_9-3-20.indd 22

8/31/20 4:35 PM

BOOKS

FASCINATED, NOT AFRAID Erica Wright takes a sympathetic look at serpents in Snake

BY BRADLEY SIDES

B

loomsbury’s Object Lessons series — which promises to deliver “concise, collectable, and beautifully designed books about the hidden lives of ordinary things” — returns with its latest offering in Snake, Erica Wright’s brand-new, deeply personal and highly readable essay collection.

Snake, much like the titular creature itself, takes many shapes, shifting fluidly from memoir to pop-culture criticism to academic insight. One of its 11 essays, for example, delves into the sexual symbolism associated with the snake by first taking a look at the famous (or infamous) MTV Video Music Awards performance in which pop icon Britney Spears draped a python over her shoulders. The next essay marks a stark contrast, opening with a quick anecdote about the author and her family preparing for a camping trip as a cat and a snake SNAKE

BY ERICA WRIGHT are in a standoff, beOUT THURSDAY, SEPT. 3, VIA fore the piece turns BLOOMSBURY ACADEMIC its attention to the 160 PAGES, $14.95 medicinal history of venom. The navigation among such disparate topics, often at a rapid pace, is decidedly easygoing, which has to be attributed to Wright’s accessible and captivating voice.

Wright, a Tennessee native and the current poetry editor at Guernica magazine, is an accomplished poet and writer of mystery novels, but she seems strangely destined to pen a book exploring the complexities of the much-maligned reptile. In the preface to Snake, she recounts one of her earliest childhood memories of moving into an old Victorian house and finding a snake draped across a doorframe. Of that experience, she writes: “It was sort of a sign. Snakes would continue to be, if not quite a problem, definitely a nuisance for us.” That sign, though, seems to have a dual purpose. It’s hard to imagine another writer showing the snake as much respect — and dare I say love — as Wright does within these pages.

It’s important to note that Wright isn’t someone who grew up with a deep attraction to snakes. In fact, like so many other people, she grew up with a fear of snakes, and she describes how her fear increased as she went through childhood: “I saw the occasional cottonmouth, but it was always in the neighbor’s creek and never seemed too interested in me. And yet I developed a deep fear of snakes. I would have nightmares about them hiding under my bed. I would run at the sight of a gnarled branch. I would change the channel if Raiders of the Lost Ark came on late-late television.”

This fear does not consume Wright, though. Rather, it challenges her, inspires her: “The more reptile facilities I’ve visited and festivals I’ve attended, the more photos I’ve browsed online, the more I’ve become fascinated rather than afraid.”

Throughout this slim collection, Wright works to ease her readers’ potential fear of

Couples that play together stay together

$20 off $50 or more in store & online

615-810-9625 | MyPleasureStore.com *Offer Ends 9/25/2020. Cannot be combined with any other offer. Discount Code: NSPL2G

PRB_NS_QuarterB_070120.indd 1

6/18/20 9:19 PM

ABS EXPERTS the snake just as her own slowly dissipates.

Certainly, she achieves this on one level by mentioning the ecological and medical good snakes do, but she’s most effective in this regard when she highlights the snake’s relationship with one of its deadliest predators: humans.

Whether in “Kingsnakes and Beauty Queens” (an essay that details a rattlesnake roundup where “wranglers capture thousands of rattlers and bring them to an arena where they are brandished, mutilated, milked, sold, slaughtered, and skinned”) or “Python Pocketbooks” (which touches on the cruelties of the python trade), Wright’s essential point seems to be that the creature we should fear most is not slithering in the grass, but looking back at us in the mirror.

Snake is full of power, packed with sobering reminders about the human-animal relationship and our responsibility in maintaining it. After all, as Wright reminds us, just because we don’t understand something doesn’t mean we have to fear it.

For more local book coverage, please visit Chapter16.org, an online publication of Humanities Tennessee.

EMAIL ARTS@NASHVILLESCENE.COM

$ 89 99

$ 59 99 FREE 09/30/20.

09/30/20.

$15

OFF $ 10 OFF 09/30/20.

09/30/20.

09/30/20.

nashvillescene.com | SEPTEMBER 3 – SEPTEMBER 9, 2020 | NASHVILLE SCENE

books_9-3-20.indd 23

23

8/31/20 1:13 PM

MUSIC

WITCH CROSSING Homegrown hard rockers All Them Witches take a trip to Abbey Road

BY CHARLIE ZAILLIAN

Looking back on the life of a superlative songsmith who died in August

BY BRITTNEY McKENNA

O

n Sunday, Aug. 24, news made its way through the music community that singersongwriter Justin Townes Earle had died at the age of 38. His sudden death broke the hearts of music fans worldwide, but it seems fair to say that the epicenter of this collective grief is Earle’s own hometown, Nashville. The son of living legend Steve Earle, the younger Earle was also a son of Nashville, one whose legacy will forever be woven into the fabric of the city’s rich musical history.

Following the dissolution of his acoustic band The Swindlers, Earle made his solo debut in 2007 with Yuma, a six-song EP of plainspoken blues and folk songs written with hard-earned wisdom and performed with an abundance of heart. He would shortly follow

24

2012. The quartet shared a house where they honed their hazy, distinctly Southern strain of hard psych rock through relentless rehearsing and recording. They self-released two full-lengths before signing with New West and leveling up with 2015’s stellar Dying Surfer Meets His Maker, which the Scene crowned Best Rock Album in 2016’s Best of Nashville issue.

McLeod is the only Witch still living in Tennessee full-time, but the band has never taken long breaks, even when Van Cleave departed between 2017’s Sleeping Through the War and 2018’s ATW. Not wanting to pass up an offer to hit the road with Primus and Mastodon, the other members quickly enlisted Jonathan Draper as interim keyboardist. After completing the touring cycle for ATW, the group decided to move forward as a threepiece and record what became album No. 6 at a converted church outside Nashville owned

by Staebler. Then, a friend offhandedly suggested a historic North West London studio

Yuma with the full-length The Good Life, an instant classic that no doubt influenced the white-hot Americana and roots scenes that currently dominate much of Nashville’s musical output. The Good Life would be the first of eight full-length albums, including 2019’s The Saint of Lost Causes, his final official release.

As Earle’s profile grew, so too did that of his home city — a complicated phenomenon he lamented in the title track of his 2017 album Kids in the Street. “From Wedgewood to Granny White / Oh, and Belmont to Eighth / All these songs was broke into a host of sights and shapes,” Earle sings. “I feel like I miss it most / Just ’cause I never thought that it could change.”

In many ways, Earle’s legacy points to the idea of “Old Nashville,” a perhaps overused (and certainly disputed) term that laments the city’s long-gone scrappier days. These were times when the original Sutler was still operating — in addition to places like Springwater, Earle performed at The Sutler regularly before the venue shuttered in 2005 — and woo-ing bachelorettes hadn’t made the city into their mimosadrenched Instagram playground.

Though Earle spent several years of his career living outside of Nashville, even in his absence he seemed to embody the collaborative, close-knit spirit that makes the local music community so special. In the wake of his passing, fellow artists, including Cait-

immortalized by Pink Floyd, The Zombies and a certain Liverpudlian foursome.

“The thought of going to Abbey Road had never entered my mind, but it was available,” Staebler says. Their four-album contract with New West was set to expire, so the time seemed right to give it a shot. “We figured out we could afford it, and were like ‘This is a once-in-a-lifetime thing — let’s do it.’ ” In February 2020, days before the pandemic would bring the world to its knees, Staebler, Parks, McLeod and producer Mikey Allred crossed the Atlantic and entered Abbey Road’s Studio Two. “It was kind of grungy, man,” the drummer remembers. “The piano The Beatles [played] was just sitting up against the wall. ... The Dark Side of the Moon board was propped up underneath a stairwell with a ladder leaning on it. ... Hundreds of thousands of dollars’ [worth] of mics were just in these drawers, in piles.”

The trio capitalized on Abbey Road’s ar-

JUSTIN TOWNES EARLE AT 2019’S PILGRIMAGE MUSIC FESTIVAL

PHOTO: STEVE CROSS

JUSTIN TOWNES EARLE, 1982-2020

PHOTO: ROBBY STAEBLER

A

ll Them Witches’ uncanny ability to improvise its way out of any situation is one of the band’s defining traits. So when the coronavirus torpedoed the Music City-bred heavy-psych masNOTHING AS THE IDEAL ters’ plans to tour OUT FRIDAY, SEPT. 4, VIA their forthcoming NEW WEST RECORDS sixth LP Nothing as the Ideal — recorded on location at Abbey Road — drummer Robby Staebler naturally went with the flow.

“I’ve actually never been so busy in my life,” Staebler, 35, tells the Scene over the phone from Los Angeles. He’s spent the quarantine months working on music videos for selections from Nothing and completing his side project UVWAYS’ 11-song debut Moses Lynx. In his spare time, he’s been making and selling prints of the hallucinatory Rorschach-inkblot artwork that adorns the Witches’ album covers and show posters (also under the name UVWAYS).

He’s also dating Drea de Matteo, known to Sopranos fans as Adriana La Cerva, star-crossed lover to Michael Imperioli’s troubled Christopher Moltisanti in the HBO mobster classic. Staebler produces de Matteo’s Sopranos rewatch podcast Gangster Goddess Broad-cast, and the couple co-directed the forthcoming music video for Nothing as the Ideal’s expansive closer “Rats in Ruin,” shot on 16mm film.

Staebler, guitarist Ben McLeod, bassistvocalist Charles Michael Parks Jr. and former keyboard player Allan Van Cleave formed All Them Witches in Nashville in

lin Rose and Andrew Combs, shared appreciations and stories of kindnesses Earle had shown them on the road, in the studio or simply as a friend.

senal of vintage gear, tracking and mixing eight songs in as many days. Allred, who previously helmed Dying Surfer, worked in tandem with in-house assistant engineer Neil Dawes. The final product is at once locked-in and far-out, crisp and streamlined but also loose and intuitive. Parks’ open-tointerpretation lyrics casually incorporate hundred-dollar words like “oubliette” and “hierophant” — no easy feat — while ambient curiosities culled from Staebler’s home demos help fill the sonic margins formerly occupied by keyboards.

With more than a half-dozen albums in just under a decade, All Them Witches’ potent hybrid of blues, prog and desert rock has ripened into an idiosyncratic body of work that swiftly rejects baseless claims that rock music is dormant, dying or dead.

When there’s mutual trust between a band and its fans to take the trip even when the destination isn’t predetermined, the reward is material like Nothing’s smoldering centerpiece “See You Next Fall.” The group wrote and recorded the song on the spot. “ ‘See You Next Fall’ was the last thing we did at Abbey Road,” Staebler explains.

“We had a few hours of studio time before we had to pack up and leave. We’d tracked everything else, so three out of five of us ate some mushrooms and just jammed.”

Asked if they took the obligatory crossingthe-street band photo on their way out, Staebler’s answer is a firm “absolutely not,” followed by a hearty laugh.

The jam that spawned “See You Next Fall” would be the group’s last for a while.

After flying home, Parks decamped to rural Arkansas, McLeod headed to his home state of Florida and Staebler got to L.A. two days before attempts to slow the spread of COVID-19 shut everything down.

“It’s the longest we’ve gone without seeing each other since the band started,” he says of the involuntary hiatus. “It’s weird not having anything to fight for or work towards at this moment … but at least we made a good record. We’ll see what happens next.”

EMAIL MUSIC@NASHVILLESCENE.COM

Earle was always open about his struggle with substance abuse, which began in his childhood and was a recurring difficulty throughout the rest of his life. Sobriety and substance abuse play key roles in Earle’s art. He neither glorifies nor moralizes about drug use, instead opting for a vulnerable kind of middle-path realism rarely heard in popular music. On 2010’s “Harlem River Blues,” one of his best-loved songs, Earle considers the possibility of redemption not as a guaranteed reward for reformed behavior but as an ever-shrinking window one must fight to fit through. As he sings: “I’m on a roll, mama, I gotta go / Gotta get there while I still can / Troubled days are behind me now / And I know they’re gonna let me in.”

While a cause of death hasn’t been confirmed

by Earle’s family or representatives, outlets including Rolling Stone Country report that the Nashville Metro Police Department believes Earle died from a “probable drug overdose.” According to police, Earle was found dead in his Nashville apartment during a welfare check called in by a close friend.

Earle is survived by his wife Jenn Marie Earle, daughter Etta St. James Earle, mother Carol-Ann Hunter, father Steve Earle and brothers Ian Earle and John Henry Earle. The family plans to hold a memorial in 2021.

EMAIL MUSIC@NASHVILLESCENE.COM

NASHVILLE SCENE | SEPTEMBER 3 – SEPTEMBER 9, 2020 | nashvillescene.com

music_9-3-20.indd 24

8/31/20 1:19 PM

MUSIC

GEARING UP: TALKING SHOP

Marty Lanham, Manuel Delgado and Bryson Nelson discuss building, maintaining and selling custom and vintage instruments

BY DAVID HOLLERITH

AUGUST IN A NORMAL YEAR for Marty Lanham would have kicked off with a trip to California’s Healdsburg Guitar Festival. The widely attended custom guitar show is the Nashville luthier’s primary source of new business. But with large events canceled due to COVID-19, Lanham changed his plans and spent the time in his workshop instead, trying to make as many guitars as he could.

As the sole proprietor and builder at Nashville Guitar Company, Lanham has made custom stringed instruments for clients like Steve Martin, Alan O’Bryant and Marty Stuart. Lanham also does repair work, specializing in what he calls “prewar Martin-esque” guitars, and he’s restored instruments that belonged to Johnny Cash and Jimmie Rodgers. Since March, the number of Lanham’s custom orders has fallen, and a gig teaching at the Nashville Guitar Academy also remains uncertain.

“In my business, you need to pass a guitar back and forth to give feedback,” says Lanham. “Not being able to do that has changed everything.”

With the extra time, Lanham does projects on spec, increasing his risk by making one-of-a-kind guitars before nailing down a buyer. Fortunately, Lanham has become well-acquainted with risk and how to manage it over nearly 50 years of working on guitars. As a touring banjo player in the early ’70s, Lanham performed on many stages, including on the Grand Ole Opry with Wilma Lee Cooper. He and his wife Charmaine were part of the group that opened the Station Inn before he left that

business to start his own venture.

Lanham hasn’t applied for any financial relief — yet. “It’s really just me, so a microbusiness applying for a government loan just doesn’t appeal to me. But in the future, who knows.”

EXACTLY ONE YEAR BEFORE the pandemic struck, Manuel Delgado opened a small music venue connected to his East Nashville guitar shop, Delgado Guitars. The space is a showroom during the day, and serves as the nonprofit Music Maker Stage venue in the evening. It currently serves as a platform for streaming performances.

“It was a community-building decision, not a business decision,” says Delgado.

He’s a remarkably keen entrepreneur, but he’s dedicated to following the principles of craftsmanship and business that have guided Delgado Guitars since 1928. Manuel’s grandfather and great-uncle started the company in Mexico, and handed it down

PHOTO: DANIEL MEIGS

BRYSON NELSON

MANUEL DELGADO ness Administration’s Paycheck Protection Program and Economic Injury Disaster Loan program, Delgado hasn’t laid off any of his employees, and isn’t considering it.

“If the ship were to sink, I’d rather know we continued to do the right thing for our customers and community regardless of what is happening in the world,” says Delgado.

to Manuel’s father. Today, Manuel uses the same old-world techniques. Each guitar is made from scratch, and even most of the tools are made from scratch. Delgado feels it’s crucial to foster a familial bond with employees and customers. Those who’ve owned Delgado instruments run the gamut from classical-guitar legend Andrés Segovia to members of Los Lobos and Old Crow Medicine Show.

Additionally, Delgado Guitars helps supply school music programs with its La Tradición brand, and presented the inaugural Music City Mariachi Festival. Delgado, several members of his family and their friends also make up Los Delgados, a mariachi band that’s performed at Exit/In, the Country Music Hall of Fame and Museum and on other stages around the city.

Delgado says his business has seen custom building and repair orders drop because most of his clients are not touring.

Thanks in part to funds from the Small Busi-

MARTY LANHAM

PHOTO: ERIC ENGLAND

A

s the pandemic continues, independent makers and sellers of instruments are beginning to see their businesses lose steam.

While the largest brands and retailers aim for a product consistency VISIT NASHVILLEGUITARCOMPANY.COM, that guarDELGADOGUITARS.COM AND antees NELSONDRUMSHOP.COM TO LEARN MORE better margins, these smaller outfits build, maintain, restore and sell characterful instruments that preserve the history of the craft and point toward its future. We’ve profiled two of Music City’s many small-scale instrument makers and one vintage instrument dealer to call attention to what will be lost if their businesses can’t survive.

PHOTO: ERIC ENGLAND

Editor’s note: While music stores continue to limit their availability to the public in an effort to slow the spread of COVID-19, we’re profiling some of the people around town who make, repair or sell the instruments and other equipment that musicians use. It’s an occasional series we’re calling Gearing Up.

EIGHTY PERCENT OF THE DRUMS at Nelson’s Drum Shop can be classified as vintage, meaning they were made between the late 1800s and the 1990s. For drum nerds — especially ones who are also Nashville studio musicians — vintage drums are an indispensable part of their arsenal. Age and use shape the wood and other materials, creating a coveted “worn” tone.

“Right now, we sell a lot of stuff from the 1920s,” says Bryson Nelson, the shop’s owner. “Most of all the big studio drummers in town have at least one ’20s snare.”

Before the pandemic, many of the shop’s buyers were out-of-town musicians stopping through during tour or before heading to the studio. According to Nelson, that means the shop’s average of 50 visitors per day has dropped to 10 or fewer. Though the PPP and EIDL funds have helped, Nelson has been forced to reduce the hours of some employees by half. At the beginning of 2020, he was giving them all raises.

Once the pandemic happened, Nelson and his team pivoted, as many have across so many industries, to selling from their online store. This means most of their time is now spent on e-commerce — writing product descriptions, taking photos, packing and shipping drum kits.

Though the change to selling mostly on the web is economically essential, Nelson doesn’t love it. It diminishes the store’s other vital purpose as a gathering place for drummers to meet as equals with a shared passion.

For now, even with setbacks, Nelson says he can still pay bills without making even bigger changes to his business. “There’s not a lot of other retail businesses in the country that do what we do.”

EMAIL MUSIC@NASHVILLESCENE.COM

nashvillescene.com | SEPTEMBER 3 – SEPTEMBER 9, 2020 | NASHVILLE SCENE

music_9-3-20.indd 25

25

8/31/20 1:20 PM

MUSIC

Our music scribes recommend releases you can buy right now from Dee Goodz, FU Stan, Brennan Leigh and more

BY EDD HURT, P.J. KINZER, OLIVIA LADD, SEAN L. MALONEY, STEPHEN TRAGESER, RON WYNN AND CHARLIE ZAILLIAN

W

hile the COVID-19 pandemic continues to make it unsafe to gather for live shows or shop as usual at local record stores, our music writers have periodically FIND LINKS TO BUY THESE revisited local RECORDS AT releases from NASHVILLESCENE.COM/MUSIC the past year or so that deserve a closer look. Find eight new recommendations below.

BRENNEN LEIGH, PRAIRIE LOVE LETTER (SELFRELEASED) Nashville singer and guitarist Brennen Leigh uses her vibratoless, mid-American vocal style to undercut the sentimentality that lies beneath the surface of her new full-length Prairie Love Letter. Like, say, country-bluegrass singer-songwriter Mary McCaslin, whose 1974 album Way Out West describes the post-countercultural haze of ’70s Los Angeles, Leigh knows how to turn the conventions of folkiedom to her own purposes. Leigh grew up in Minnesota and began her career in earnest in Austin, Texas, before moving to Nashville in 2017. She cut Prairie in Nashville and Chicago with altcountry singer and producer Robbie Fulks, and the record features turns from the likes of fiddle and mandolin ace Tim O’Brien and steel master Pete Finney. At its best — check out the beautiful track “There’s

THE SPIN SWEET STREAMS ARE MADE OF THIS

BY STEVEN HALE AND STEPHEN TRAGESER

A

mong the pandemic’s many lessons has been the importance of the ephemeral experiences in life, the moments that happen once and cannot be recreated or lived again. Nashville’s now-struggling independent music venues have long been hosts for these moments, where a performance of a song — even one you’ve heard dozens of times before — is a once-in-a-lifetime event.

This revealed itself in a small way Thursday night, when a connection issue at home caused the Scene to miss the first half of a livestream performance by the stellar instrumentalist and singer-songwriter Molly Tuttle. The master picker’s follow-up to 2019’s When You’re Ready is a collection of covers called ... but i’d rather be with you — an apt title for these isolated times. But due to the limitations placed on rights to cover songs, the performance is not immediately available to view again. It was kind of nostalgic in a way: Molly Tuttle played a show last night, and The Spin stumbled in a bit late. Still worth it, though.

26

DEE GOODZ a Yellow Cedar Waxwing on the Juneberry Bush” — Prairie Love Letter might make you long for a Minnesota home you probably never knew. EDD HURT

DEE GOODZ, BRONCO (THE ALLGOODZ COMPANY) The latest from ace rapper Dee Goodz is a soundtrack for sunset drives outside the city limits, beyond the reach of the pandemic, where it’s OK for the bass to be too loud and where the colors of magic hour make Before Times rap life seem even more mythical.

Goodz’s trunk-rattling full-length showcases his storytelling acumen and defiant independence — a welcome reprieve from the dire stakes of my COVID-obsessed daily routine. There’s legit drama in “On Silent” and “It’s Quiet,” and the album is threaded with real stresses and successes that give it gravitas that feels of-the-moment even as it stands outside of that moment. SEAN L. MALONEY

FU STAN, LOCKDOWN (SELF-RELEASED) The MCs who stand out in Nashville over the long haul tend to be top-shelf lyricists, and FU Stan is no exception. His latest EP Lockdown responds directly, articulately and passionately to the nearly six months of pandemic-related chaos we’ve been experiencing, coupled with the protests that call for an end to systemic racism. Lately, it’s reasonable to be totally confused about what to feel at any given moment — anxious, angry, hopeful or even just plain numb from the strain of trying to keep up — and FU Stan covers it all. STEPHEN TRAGESER

The stream was part of photographer Michael Weintrob’s ongoing Instrumenthead Live series. It’s produced at his East Nashville studio and borrows its name from a collection he released consisting of portraits of musicians with their instruments in place of their heads. In addition to the stream serving as an album-release show for Tuttle, a portion of the proceeds benefited the National Alopecia Areata Foundation.

Tuttle was diagnosed with alopecia areata at age 3 and has been open about the role it’s played in her life.

On Thursday night, Tuttle played her new record straight through, showcasing her bluegrass-folk take on songs by The National, Rancid, Harry Styles, Cat Stevens and more. If a collection of acoustic folk covers sounds unremarkable, that’s understandable, especially in a town partly built on workaday musicians banging out cover tunes. But Tuttle’s ability as a guitarist makes it impossible for these to be an exercise in karaoke. It’s an experiment in filtering great songs through her unique musical lens. Making the record was also an experiment for Tuttle in another way — the pandemic, and resulting lockdowns, forced her to learn how to record the songs herself, while working with a producer on the other side of the country.

After previewing the new record, Tuttle treated viewers to seven more songs, including “Good Enough” from her 2017 EP Rise and “Clue,” a standout track from When You’re Ready. To close the show, Tuttle was joined by Old Crow Medicine Show fiddler Ketch Secor

ERIC SLICK

MAKEUP AND VANITY SET, ROY (SELF-RELEASED) Makeup and Vanity Set’s Matt Pusti is a prolific electronic composer whose cultural influences extend far beyond music. Over the past two years, he’s created a four-part EP series inspired by Blade Runner, which concluded in April with Roy. Through a vast soundscape combining natural sounds, ambiance of the movie’s dystopian setting and layers of synthesizers, the EP explores the nuances of violent, tragic replicant Roy Batty’s character development. It’s ruminative, evocative sci-fi music at its very best. OLIVIA LADD

BENCHMARKS, SUMMER, SLOWLY (SELFRELEASED) On their second full-length, Benchmarks offer earnest, energetic, capital-P pop punk owing proudly to Diarrhea Planet (three guitars!) and Blink-182, with a hint of Replacements and Uncle Tupelo energy.

Frontman Todd Farrell Jr. and his band (who you might remember in a prior configuration as The Dirty Birds) conjure up sounds and sentiments that take you back to teenhood, and put a local spin on it: “When I get home we can go back to Sylvan Park and make out in your car / Or drive out to Dickson County and look out at the stars.” CHARLIE ZAILLIAN

CHRIS WALTERS, WHISPER & HOWL (SELFRELEASED) Bandleader and pianist Chris Walters joins a lengthy list of jazz artists who’ve skillfully utilized strings to fortify and punctuate their creations. His eight-track

for a cover of Neil Young’s “Helpless,” a song Tuttle says she likes to play as an encore. It hits a bit differently now, in a time when we’re all grasping onto Zoom calls and livestreams just to feel like we’re together the way we used to be. There’s something poignant, too, about releasing a collection of old favorites now, when so much that is familiar has been taken away.

NOT MANY OF US IN OUR 30s can point to something we wrote as a youngster and say we’re still proud of it. Virghost is the exception that proves the rule.

He warmed up for Thursday’s performance, the latest installment of the Scene’s No-Contact Shows series, by firing off some bars he wrote at age 21 to the beat from Wu-Tang Clan’s “C.R.E.A.M.” They landed just as hard as other songs in the set that came from more recent releases, like 2017’s No Sleep Under the Circumstances, 2018’s Good Intentions, and Ghost Tape, which dropped in June.

The recurring themes of looking problems in the face and filtering out distractions served as a reminder that the Memphis native (who moved to Nashville in 2014) has been serious about his business from the get-go. Though he rapped about some hard life lessons in his authoritative flow — in which you could hear a little of both Jay-Z and Nas, two legends who’ve been major influences on Virghost — he still kept the energy positive and kinetic. Even when he was putting fools who’d waste his time on notice (as in “Pharaoh”

album Whisper & Howl, issued in 2019, provides ample space for his alternately elegant and energetic keyboard flurries, which are presented and interspersed into a variety of settings designed to highlight the ebb and flow of contemporary life. Sometimes the settings are lush and sentimental, as in “Still She Speaks of You.” Other times there’s a frenzied backdrop, as on “Micromechanical Moment.” Whatever the theme or mood, Walters and his ensemble convey it memorably. RON WYNN PHOTO: JASON TRAVIS

A SECOND LOOK

IMPETUOUS BURIAL, DEMO 2020 (SELFRELEASED) In the recent worldwide death-metal renaissance, demo-tape trading has once again become the way a new band plants its flag. This cassette, which dropped in March, is one of the coolest metal releases Nashville has seen in a while. Impetuous Burial takes the dark, plodding, midtempo path to the dark side. The record is marked by vocals reminiscent of a clogged garbage disposal, with a few blast beats peppered in to break up the moody dirge — true back-tobasics OSDM (“old school death metal,” if you’re not in the know). P.J. KINZER

ERIC SLICK, WISEACRE (SLICK RECORDS) There are lots of ways you might know Eric Slick’s work: He’s played drums for Dr. Dog and for his wife Natalie Prass, for instance. He also has an interesting solo catalog that runs the gamut from free improvisation to a song cycle about the first Jewish American matador to the forward-leaning ’70s-schooled pop of Wiseacre, his new LP. The songs aren’t necessarily psychedelic, but they come from intriguing perspectives and warp oldschool pop conventions in fascinating ways.

STEPHEN TRAGESER EMAIL MUSIC@NASHVILLESCENE.COM

and “Take a Trip” from Ghost Tape), the bounce of the beat and the swagger of his delivery made it fun. That illustrates one of many, many reasons why we communicate through music and other forms of art.

Virghost was joined for the stream (whose start was pushed back about an hour thanks to an uncooperative internet connection) at ODDM Studio by Kxng Klxpsy and Soulman Snipes. The pair co-founded the label Capitol Minds with Virghost and joined in as hype men during the stream. Between songs, Virghost gave some insight into how he makes his records, including networking with producers like Indiana’s Lil Boobie and Toronto’s Talen Ted. Near the end of the set, he took a pause to acknowledge the ongoing protests against racism, stoked anew last week by the police shooting of Jacob Blake in Kenosha, Wis. Virghost performed “A Bad Dude,” a deliberate, focused spoken-word piece about police violence against Black people that he wrote in 2016.

“I feel like I can’t sit up here and do a whole show and not speak on what’s going on in our society right now — how people treat me and people like me in this country,” he said in his introduction. “As much as I love my artistry and my poems and my music and all that, this is a poem I did not want to be relevant four years later.”

The words hung heavy in the air, joining a chorus of calls for justice. If they remain unanswered, is it for any reason besides people not wanting to hear?

EMAIL THESPIN@NASHVILLESCENE.COM

NASHVILLE SCENE | SEPTEMBER 3 – SEPTEMBER 9, 2020 | nashvillescene.com

music_9-3-20.indd 26

8/31/20 1:20 PM

FILM

PRIMAL STREAM 24

Two film critics take a deep dive on Claire Denis’ Beau Travail

BY JASON SHAWHAN

O

ne of the Belcourt’s virtual offerings — opening Sept.

4 — is a new 4K restoration of Claire Denis’ 1999 film Beau Travail. It’s an exquisite ballet of flesh and fury that takes the foundation of HerBEAU TRAVAIL man Melville’s Billy NR, 92 MINUTES AVAILABLE FRIDAY, SEPT. 4, Budd and crafts a VIA BELCOURT.ORG scintillating drama about social structure, military taxonomy and why men are like that sometimes.

Seeing an opportunity to discuss the film with one its most passionate admirers, I decided to try something a little different for this week’s installment of my ongoing streaming-recommendation series: I contacted friend and colleague Dave White, co-host of the Linoleum Knife film podcast (linoleumknife.libsyn.com), to dig deep into this captivating and sweaty jewel.

For more streaming options, look back at the many scores of recommendations we’ve offered in this space over the past five months.

Jason Shawhan: I first encountered Billy Budd in high school English, and we watched the Ustinov film in class, and it was the first time I ever watched something and realized that even though we were watching the same thing, my straight classmates and I were not seeing the same thing. I loved the queer power of the story; it was the inverse of A Separate Peace.

Dave White: Oh God, A Separate Peace.

The preppiest high school closet literature.

We went straight into Moby Dick in my 11th-grade English class, so I didn’t read Billy Budd for the first time until about five years ago, after seeing this film several times and seeing the opera. Upon reading it I realized just what a loose, almost tangential adaptation Beau Travail really is.

I think the queerness of Budd is actually more explicit than the camera’s gaze in Beau Travail, even though we’re still being served quite a bit of buttock flex and choreographed grapple-hugging. Once you’ve witnessed the sheer quantity of muscular, half-naked men in this film, and the homo-

28

social world that’s been constructed for them, what you realize is that the conflict itself might very possibly contain the element of closeted queerness. But it’s also strongly about a man, in this case Sgt. Galoup (Denis Lavant), feeling abandoned, betrayed, by his chosen father, Cmdr.

Forestier (Michel Subor), and needing to destroy the new object of that father’s affection, Sentain (Grégoire Colin).

JS: It’s the Wilde quote from “The Ballad of Reading Gaol” about each man having to kill the thing he loves writ across the sands.

And Grégoire Colin as Sentain isn’t just respected by Forestier, it’s that he transcends the hierarchies Galoup defines his life by.

DW: And that’s the point. He’s quiet, which everyone always mistakes for mystery. More importantly, he is good, which I think is at odds with the traditional reputation of the French Foreign Legion. People think of it as a repository for the exiled, the last chance after doing something very wrong. When Galoup talks about there being a “trash can” inside everyone, it’s as though he was trying to find that in Sentain and couldn’t.

JS: Nobody does textures like Claire Denis. There’s something about when she and cinematographer Agnès Godard are working together that registers with the eyes and the soul differently than most other movies.

DW: She has a lot of gorgeous Djiboutian landscape to work with here — that juxtaposition of the desert and the ocean and these outpost ruins, populated by the stark human contrast of soldiers and then the people who live there just staring at them with detached curiosity, or even amusement. The colonizers and the colonized are also integral to this story, these men training, training, training to be on alert for a battle that’s already over. They’re inhabiting the shells of structures that used to mean something. And more than that, they’re all inhabiting a historical structure that affects everyone’s psychology and behavior.

JS: Denis having grown up in Cameroon, it makes sense that her films are always focused on the impact of colonization (see also: White Material, Chocolat ’88, Trouble

Every Day, U.S. Go Home). This was my first of her films, and I found it fascinating how the critical discourse at the time was having to aerobicize its language into shape to address perceived homoeroticism as rendered through a woman’s vision.

DW: I remember that, and I remember at the time thinking that male film critics, most of whom are not queer, always think of the camera as male. And that would mean that this was a queer male gaze, very much like in Derek Jarman’s Sebastiane (streaming now on FlixFling and Kanopy), a film that shares a lot in common with this one and was explicitly gay. Beau Travail, though, is very much the vision of a team of women (whose sexual orientations I don’t know) who are presenting a highly aestheticized idea of the male body in motion and the political ramifications of those specific bodies in that specific space. At this point in history, post-Stonewall, now that many queer people are speaking freely about our lives in public, I think we see any male physical contact as homoerotic, and cisgender heterosexual men are often socialized to feel quite uncomfortable with that. It becomes the overriding takeaway.

JS: This new restoration is really something. I’ve seen this movie on 35mm film twice, but the majority of my viewings have been from an unfortunate home-video edition that was ... let’s just call it messy.

DW: Same. I’ve been fortunate enough here in Los Angeles to see it a few times on a big screen, always in that 35mm format, and that’s a wonderful privilege.

But I agree this restoration is stunningly gorgeous and crisp, and it doesn’t feel like it’s been power-washed into something uncanny and difficult to look at. There’s a really perfect balance. But in every film they work on together, Denis’ and Godard’s collaboration — along with editor Nelly Quettier here and in several other Denis films — there’s a visual language that foregrounds itself. You remember images and human movements that feel powerful even more than you might remember spoken dialogue. I feel that way about filmmakers like Tsai Ming-liang as well. I’m thinking

IDENTITY FROG

A new documentary about the far right co-opting Pepe the Frog is almost too sober for its own good

BY STEVE ERICKSON

T

he pace of our lives sped up when reality and the internet merged in ways that have become impossible to pry apart.

Arthur Jones’ documentary Feels Good Man follows cartoon character Pepe the Frog from its creation by artist Matt Furie for his FEELS GOOD MAN cheerful online comic NR, 92 MINUTES AVAILABLE FRIDAY, SEPT. 4, series Boy’s Club in VIA VIDEO ON DEMAND 2005 to its eventual role as far-right meme. The film captures the warp-speed effect of internet culture over the past decade.

of the final scene in his film Vive L’Amour, where a woman simply cries uncontrollably for about five full minutes, or people dancing in Denis’ 35 Shots of Rum, or especially the final scene of this film, which is also entirely a dance.

JS: This was the movie that made it essential for film critics to understand the language of Eurodisco. In the intervening 20 years and change, I remain amazed by how often being a lifelong disco person has allowed me a way into some deliciously impenetrable art cinema. You wouldn’t think the greatest hits of Boney M. could be a denominator for rigorous and uncompromising work, but it is.

DW: I’ve read so many reviews of this film, even entire pieces solely about this final scene, where Corona’s “The Rhythm of the Night” is described as something unsettling or tacky — not only because it’s a sudden blast of upbeat music after a film of such dreamy quiet and rigid masculine sobriety, but because that’s how critics generally love to talk about any electronic dance music, whether it’s vintage disco or more recent house and techno. It’s dismissed: It’s pop music whose audience is largely women and gay men and that makes it worthless in the eyes and ears of so many … dudes. Of course the human movement in this film is very dance-like, even when people aren’t dancing. And the cues in this film are just really specific and meaningful: excerpts from Benjamin Britten’s opera Billy Budd, Neil Young’s “Safeway Cart,” and then “The Rhythm of the Night.”

So we’re not talking about just carelessly throwing any old song into the action. This song functions as a hugely emotional moment. It’s Galoup’s final reward, his freedom, his release, even if we don’t explicitly know if he’s even still alive.

JS: I don’t think I’ve ever asked this before. But my favorite Denis is Friday Night.

And sometimes Trouble Every Day, because I love that she helped define the New French Extremity. What’s yours?

DW: This one. I also love The Intruder because I’m a glutton for punishment.

EMAIL ARTS@NASHVILLESCENE.COM

Furie, who comes across as a sweet and mellow man, never could’ve imagined he was opening Pandora’s Box. Furie at one point decides to cash in on his icon’s popularity by ordering thousands of T-shirts to sell, only to be forced to leave them in his garage because Pepe has by then become an unmistakable symbol of hate.

Feels Good Man covers ground trod by books like It Came From Something Awful by Dan Beran — an interview subject in the film — and the recent documentary TFW No GF. Jones, who is an illustrator and animator, doesn’t go into his own background, but he does not come across as Extremely Online.

This is an outsider’s view of how the internet became increasingly hateful and right-wing. It also shows one artist’s disgust with the reception of his own work.

Pepe initially caught on as a meme due to a Boy’s Club comic strip in which he urinates into a toilet with his pants around his ankles, later explaining that it “feels good man.” The images were fairly benign at first, but “feels good man” soon got flipped around to “feels bad man.” The ease of drawing Pepe meant he could be rebranded by people other than Furie as depressed or smug.

A generation of NEET (that is, Not in Education,

NASHVILLE SCENE | SEPTEMBER 3 – SEPTEMBER 9, 2020 | nashvillescene.com

film_9-3-20.indd 28

8/31/20 1:17 PM

FILM

THINKING PROBLEM

I’m Thinking of Ending Things is a disquieting riddle

BY D. PATRICK RODGERS

C

PHOTO: KURT KEPPELER.

harlie Kaufman is capable of tapping into a deep well of existential delirium with his films. He deals in a relatable kind of sadness — often funny, but always truthful — that he depicts using characters I’M THINKING OF ENDING who are sometimes THINGS R, 134 MINUTES real people, like AVAILABLE FRIDAY, SEPT. 4, John Malkovich VIA NETFLIX in Being John Malkovich, or Kaufman himself (kind of) in Adaptation. Sometimes his sadsacks are self-deprecating everymen, like Jim Carrey’s Joel Barish in Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind, and sometimes they’re tortured artists, like Philip Seymour Hoffman’s Caden Cotard in the brilliant and punishingly sad Synecdoche, New York.

But they’re always profoundly troubled in a somehow accessible way.

Kaufman’s latest as both writer and director, I’m Thinking of Ending Things — set for release via Netflix on Friday — is the filmmaker’s first foray into horror.

Based on Canadian author Iain Reid’s 2016 novel of the same name, Kaufman’s adaptation takes some liberties with the source material, following young couple Jake (Jesse Plemons) and Lucy (Jessie Buckley), road-tripping across a vast, snowy plain that context clues lead us to believe is Oklahoma for dinner with Jake’s aging parents.

The couple hasn’t been together long — six or seven weeks, Lucy thinks — but they nevertheless have an odd sort of symbiosis.

Both are hyper-literate, referencing and quoting long passages by the likes of David Foster Wallace and Pauline Kael, opining with malaise about this or that, interrupting

each other’s thoughts and finishing one another’s sentences. Even so, that titular idea keeps ringing through Lucy’s head: “I’m thinking of ending things.”

Though it’s billed as psychological horror, I’m Thinking of Ending Things is a bit like a mumblecore film imbued with a creeping sense of horror — or “tinged” with horror, as Jake would put it. Once the duo reaches Jake’s parents’ farmhouse, the sense of dread becomes more and more palpable, with disquieting details laid out like breadcrumbs. The parents are played by Toni Collette and David Thewlis, a phenomenally gifted pair of actors whose knack for unsettling performances and peculiar mannerisms lends itself

very well to the horror idiom. Thewlis is so inherently creepy, and Collette is so eternally watchable, and both of them are just so goddamn good at acting weird. It’s hard not to put ourselves in Lucy’s shoes, to wonder how we might react, and to recall how we have reacted, when meeting a partner’s parents for the first time.

To reveal much more of the plot would rob you of the film’s peculiar effect. Its sequence of events unfurls strangely and with surrealistic imagery, like a long, complex dream conjured in a deep sleep. Some viewers will no doubt find its extended stretches of erudite dialogue exhausting. Others will find its third act vexing or pretentious. Indeed, even those who enjoy it may feel the need to seek out answers in Reid’s novel, which is tidier with its resolution than Kaufman’s film is.

Though Kaufman has had a long and fruitful career as a writer — he wrote for TV for nearly a decade before his

first film was produced — Ending Things is just his third as director. He’s been praised extensively for his skill at penning enthralling, unconventional narratives.

But here, it feels as though he’s reached a new level of comfort with directing. From its disturbing, near-psychedelic visuals to the performances he coaxed from his cast (particularly Buckley, who manages to keep the film grounded, even as its ideas get more and more far-out), I’m Thinking of Ending Things is Kaufman establishing himself as a director.

This is not a joyful film. It is dark, weird, depressive and extraordinarily creative.

You’ll puzzle over it for a day or two after viewing, and perhaps ultimately decide that you liked it. Or that you couldn’t stand it. As Collette’s character puts it, life is “a fast train to hell.” We might as well have something to ponder over while we’re on the long, bleak ride.

EMAIL ARTS@NASHVILLESCENE.COM

Employment or Training) young men took to 4chan to use Pepe to express their alienation. Furie’s humorous imagery was turned to something even darker when 4chan users’ love of shock value turned the character into a Nazi gassing a Jewish man (among countless other “ironic” Nazi memes).

By that point, Furie was a father who spent a year writing a children’s book. He was distant from the post-collegiate stoner atmosphere in which Pepe was created. The autobiographical roots of Pepe — and the other characters in Boy’s Club, one of whom was based on Furie’s then-roommate — were ripped away.

Whatever Pepe meant to the artist, the frog played a role in a deliberate attempt to make “meme magic” and help get Donald Trump elected.

Feels Good Man shoots for a triumphant note.

We see Furie suing conspiracy theorist Alex Jones to prevent him from selling merchandise including

the likeness of Pepe, and negotiating with the AntiDefamation League to get Pepe removed from its list of hate symbols. On a more hopeful note, we also see pro-democracy protesters in Hong Kong adopting the frog as a meme. But Feels Good Man is being released in a world where, for instance, QAnon devotees have incorporated furniture company Wayfair into their bizarre conspiracy theories.

Meaning itself seems up for grabs.

Despite Jones’ use of animation, Feels Good Man is almost too sober for its own good, determined not to give in to the chaos that co-opted Pepe. Even the film’s expert on memes’ occult power can’t fully explain it. This year feels so hellish in part because the power of narratives and images seems both carefully constructed by malevolent actors, and ultimately out of anyone’s rational control.

EMAIL ARTS@NASHVILLESCENE.COM

nashvillescene.com | SEPTEMBER 3 – SEPTEMBER 9, 2020 | NASHVILLE SCENE

film_9-3-20.indd 29

29

8/31/20 1:17 PM

PRESENTED BY

THANK YOU!

Thank you to all of our readers who entered to win parking passes to Movies in the Park-ing Lot! In true 2020 fashion, the weather washed us out for a couple of showings, but stay tuned for reschedule dates for our lucky winners!

THANK YOU TO OUR SPONSORS

T H A N K Y O U T O O U R PA R T N E R S

W W W. N A S H V I Lnashvillescene.com L E M O V I E S I N T H E PA R K . C O M

30

NASHVILLE SCENE | SEPTEMBER 3 – SEPTEMBER 9, 2020 |

#MIP20

Third Circuit Docket No. 20D700 MICHAEL JEROME WHITNEY vs.

IRIS BEST OATES

CROSSWORD EDITED BY WILL SHORTZ ACROSS 1&5

Fiancée

9 & 14

Recyclable metal

15 & 16

Real estate showing

17 & 18

19 & 20

21 & 22

1

2

Something neat, with “the”

23 & 25

Pasties, e.g.

26 & 27

Close with a handle

4

5

6

7

8

9

10

14

15

16

17

18

19

20

21 23

It’s all downhill from here Graphic artist’s medium

3

27

32 37

41

Non-Resident Notice Third Circuit Docket No. 20D644

28

29 34

38

39

42

43

45

46

48

49

50

51

55

56

33 & 35

Exhausts

57

58

59

36 & 37

Bunny hill, for one

60

61

62

39 & 41

“Hang on …”

42 & 43

Some perfume ingredients

51 & 54

55 & 56

Toppled by the wind Appropriate ratio for this puzzle?

Raised one’s paddle, say

57 & 58

Quaker in the woods

59 & 60

61 & 62

1

Boy on “The Andy Griffith Show”

38

___ Hubbard, Scientology founder

49

Choice in a sleepover game

7

$100 bills, in slang

40

50

Extolling poetry

8

Chemical suffix that’s also a direction

French department that borders Switzerland

52

Turkey piece

53

Casino calculation

9

Perform brilliantly

44

54

Greek consonant

Items set up in agility drills

45

55

Any of the Sierra Nevadas: Abbr.

10

11

“Wow, no manners!”

12

Warts and all

13

Smallest hail size, about a quarter-inch in diameter

Ones whose livelihoods are derived from agriculture or forestry work

22

High flier

24

Approximate shape of the British pound sign

25

Baby food form

Some retirement savings

26

Fish with a pointed snout

2

Charter member of OPEC

3

Genre for Joni Mitchell and Joan Baez

4

Photo lab request: Abbr.

5

Rental availability sign

53

6

Hayride seats

Connection you might miss while flying?

52

PUZZLE BY JOEL FAGLIANO

21

DOWN

31

40

54

47 & 49

30

35

Partisan divide, so to speak

What a considerate speaker tries to strike

27

Remained in effect

28

Source of power for a golf swing

29

Holder of a toothbrush, toothpaste, comb, etc.

30

Shacks

31

Ticket abbr. that’s found inside “ticket abbr.”

32

Buffoon

34

Faint from emotion

910

LEGALS

29 & 32

44 & 46

13

KIMBERLY YVETTE HORTON

33

47

12

25

26

44

11

22

24

36

NO. 0730

Sort who’s lost all hope Jesse who broke three world records in 45 minutes

46

Message that can be favorited

47

“Like a ___!”

48

Easy run

56

U S H E R

O L S T O R T B S P

R I P U P

N A O M I

S P T M A H E R O V E T M A Y A R C H E S H A L L E T A C L E B E C K S O N S I R T H F A R E T T I N E E C S D

E L I H U M T N T R U L Y

THOMAS DONNELL HORTON 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 THOMAS DONNELL HORTON. It is ordered that said Defendant enter HIS appearance herein with thirty (30) days after September 10, 2020 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 12, 2020. 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 Nashville.

Richard R. Rooker, Clerk M. De Jesus, Deputy Clerk Date: August 13, 2020 Laura Tek Attorney for Plaintiff NSC 8/20, 8/27, 9/3, 9/10/20

Non-Resident Notice Third Circuit Docket No. 20D700 MICHAEL JEROME WHITNEY

Sierra Nevada, e.g.

vs.

IRIS BEST OATES

ANSWER TO PREVIOUS PUZZLE S L U R P

Vs.

D R I O N T E C R T O U N R O E R W Y E E T N S B O M C N A M S E S

A M E R I C A

M I N U T E M E C N A R A L U O T S O S

A T S E A

S E L L

E D R A E T V E I L S

A S C O T

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: nytimes.com/wordplay.

Crosswords for young solvers: nytimes.com/ studentcrosswords.

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 IRIS BEST OATES. It is ordered that said Defendant enter Her appearance herein with thirty (30) days after September 24, 2020 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 26, 2020. 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 Nashville.

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 IRIS BEST OATES. It is ordered that said Defendant enter Her appearance herein with thirty (30) days after September 24, 2020 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 26, 2020. 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 Nashville.

Richard R. Rooker, Clerk W. North, Deputy Clerk Date: August 27, 2020 Jessica R. Simpson Attorney for Plaintiff NSC 9/3, 9/10, 9/17, 9/24/20

IN THE CHANCERY COURT FOR WILLIAMSON COUNTY, TENNESSEE AT FRANKLIN Adoption Case No. 2353A IN RE: THE ADOPTION OF A FEMALE CHILD Gladis Rosibel Sanchez Lorenzo 02/27/2005 By: Daniela Lorenzo Arciniega (Biological Mother) And Raymundo Ruiz Martinez (Stepfather) PETITIONERS, v.

Edwin Geovani Sanchez (Biological Father) ORDER FOR SERVICE BY PUBLICATION This cause came in front of the court on August 7, 2020, on a motion for publication filed by the Petitioners. In this cause it is appearing to the satisfaction of the Court that the ordinary process of law cannot be served upon Respondent. It is ordered that said Respondent be served by publication and that said Respondent enter his appearance herein within thirty (30) days from the last day of publication of this notice and defend or default will be taken against him. The hearing to be held at the Williamson County Chancery Court in Franklin, TN. It is therefore ORDERED that a copy of this Order be published for four (4) weeks in the local newspaper.

It is further ORDERED that said four (4) week succession publication will constitute service upon Edwin Geovani Sanchez in the above-captioned case.

Entered this the 7th day of August, 2020.

Judge: James G. Martin III By: Vanessa Saenz (#18875) Saenz & Maniatis, PLLC (615) 366-1211 Attorney for Petitioners NSC 8/20, 8/27, 9/3,& 9/10/20

A DON’T BE

Richard R. Rooker, Clerk W. North, Deputy Clerk Date: August 27, 2020 Jessica R. Simpson Attorney for Plaintiff NSC 9/3, 9/10, 9/17, 9/24/20

KAREN

be held at the Williamson County Chancery Court in Franklin, TN. It is therefore ORDERED that a copy of this Order be published for four (4) weeks in the local newspaper.

It is further ORDERED that said four (4) week succession publication will constitute service upon Edwin Geovani Sanchez in the above-captioned case.

Entered this the 7th day of August, 2020.

Judge: James G. Martin III By: Vanessa Saenz (#18875) Saenz & Maniatis, PLLC (615) 366-1211 Attorney for Petitioners NSC 8/20, 8/27, 9/3,& 9/10/20

Looking for a good granita?

SICK OF SOUS VIDE?

NashvilleScene.com

Sr. Analytics Engineer needed for HCA/Management Services, Nashville, TN. Engage in designing, developing, testing and deploying clinical data solutions across the enterprise in the form of business intelligence and custom data applications. Work with clinical data, EHR workflow and National Code Standards. Will be involved in data acquisition, data cleansing, data analysis, modeling and visualization. Will utilize Tableau and Power BI. Will utilize Python and R Languages and work with SQL Server and Teradata databases. The employee may work remotely from home within commuting distance of Nashville, TN up to 3 days per week. Must have a BS degree in computer science or engineering and 5 yrs. of overall progressive IT exp. which includes at least 2 yrs. of exp. in the skills listed above. Send resumes to: elaine.healy@hcahealthcare.com

Want to reach the best audience in Nashville?

Contact: classifieds@ fwpublishing.com today!

Advertise on the Backpage!

It’s like little billboards right in front of you!

Contact: classifieds@ fwpublishing.com

Rocky McElhaney Law Firm InjuRy Auto ACCIdEnts WRongFul dEAth dAngERous And dEFECtIvE dRugs

Voted Best Attorney in Nashville Call 615-425-2500 for FREE Consultation

www.rockylawfirm.com

QUIT COMPLAINING...

VOTE

FIND VOTING INFO AT NASHVILLE.GOV/ ELECTION-COMMISSION nashvillescene.com | SEPTEMBER 3 - SEPTEMBER 9, 2020 | NASHVILLE SCENE

crossword_9-3-20.indd 31

31

8/31/20 3:24 PM

thank you to our nurses, doctors, medical personnel and support staff on the front lines helping keep us safe!

!

Now Open

Wings...

Quarters...

Tenders...

Seafood...

Combo’s... and More!

BOTH LOCATIONS OPEN DAILY 11-8 FOR TAKE-OUT YOUR FAVORITE MEXICAN FOOD & ‘RITA, TOO! 2330 8th AVE. SOUTH 615-988-0404 ille Nashv ! e Fuer t

EAST/Five Points: 972 Main St. (615) 434-6000 Nashv ill stron e g!

2605 Jefferson St.

order online @ (below 1-40 Overpass) 615-730-6632 WingzandFriez.com

MUSIC CITY

PSYCHIC

20 special SPECIAL $

615-915-0515

Dine-In...Take-Out...Delivery (Doordash, UberEats)

284 White Bridge Rd

@Wingzfriez wingsandFriez.com

TAKE-OUT SPECIALS

BIG BOY BREAKFAST SANDWICH* $6.99 CHICKEN or BEEF KEBAB* $6.99

*”House-Cut” Fries Included Athens Family Restaurant 2526 Franklin Rd. Melrose 615-383-2848 Open Since 2004

WE !

ER DELIV

OUR LARGE & SPACIOUS DINING ROOM IS NOW OPEN! WRITERS’ R: CH NE

AUTHENTIC ASIAN CUISINE

CE OI

WI N

luchador regular is the font

20 18

SICHUAN & CANTONESE

OPEN DAILY FOR LUNCH & DINNER: SUN. THRU THURS. 11-9 | FRI./SAT. 11-10 32

NASHVILLE SCENE | SEPTEMBER 3 - SEPTEMBER 9, 2020 | nashvillescene.com

readers ’p ER: NN

WI

l ol

facebook/Luckybamboonash | B.Y.O.B. No Corking Fee! | ORDER ONLINE: luckybamboochinabistro.com 5855 Charlotte Pike | 760-5930 | 1/2 Mile West of White Bridge Rd. (“Up The Ramp on Left”)

20 18