INDY Week 2.13.19

ION ECT GS SIN RTI DVE LA CIA SPE

E: SID

IN of L ift eG Th

ove

RALEIGH 2|13|19

BUZZKILL North Carolina’s craft spirits are ready to take off like craft beer did a decade ago—unless the ABC Commission gets in the way

BY LEIGH TAUSS, P. 10

CHICKEN POOP! P. 7

CANNABIS CRACKDOWN? P. 8

DOOM PATROL CONFIDENTIAL! P. 26

2 | 2.13.19 | INDYweek.com

WHAT WE LEARNED THIS WEEK RALEIGH

VOL. 36, NO. 7

6 A decade ago, the Durham jail housed 600 inmates a day. On Sunday: 395.

7 North Carolina is home to 515 million agricultural birds, many of whom live near each other.

8 CBD in food is not illegal, says the head of the state hemp association. The hell it’s not, says the Department of Agriculture.

10 Distiller Jonathan Blitz once asked an ABC official why the state treats liquor differently from other alcoholic beverages. The response: “Beer is food, wine is sacrament, and whiskey is the devil.”

DEPARTMENTS 6 News 18 Food 20 Music 21 Arts & Culture 28 What to Do This Week 30 Music Calendar 33 Arts & Culture Calendar

19 As author Kara Newman details in her new book, a nightcap doesn’t have to end a night—it can also keep it going.

22 A recent documentary about fashion icon André Leon Talley explores the good and bad sides of his young life in Durham.

24 Lana Garland, director of the Hayti Heritage Film Festival, was inspired to become a filmmaker by one small scene in Do the Right Thing.

26 The seminal Doom Patrol comic the new TV show is based on was drawn in the Triangle and features coded references to places like Alamance County.

On the cover: Esteban McMahan, “spirit guide” and co-owner of TOPO Organic Distillery (see page 10)

Jonathan Blitz, co-owner of Mystic Farm & Distilling, samples bourbon in his barrelhouse (see page 10).

PHOTO BY BOB KARP

PHOTO BY BOB KARP

INDYweek.com | 2.13.19 | 3

Raleigh Durham | Chapel Hill PUBLISHER EDITORIAL

Susan Harper

EDITOR IN CHIEF Jeffrey C. Billman ARTS+CULTURE EDITOR Brian Howe STAFF WRITERS Leigh Tauss, Sarah Willets ASSOCIATE ARTS+CULTURE EDITOR Sarah Edwards FOOD+DRINK EDITOR Layla Khoury-Hanold EDITORIAL ASSISTANT Cole Villena COPY EDITOR Laura Bullard THEATER+DANCE CRITIC Byron Woods CONTRIBUTORS Amanda Abrams, Jim Allen,

Elizabeth Bracy, Timothy Bracy, Jameela F. Dallis, Khayla Deans, Michaela Dwyer, Katie Jane Fernelius, Spencer Griffith, Howard Hardee, Corbie Hill, Laura Jaramillo, Kyesha Jennings, Glenn McDonald, Josephine McRobbie, Samuel Montgomery-Blinn, Neil Morris, Emily Pietras, Marta Nuñez Pouzols, Bryan C. Reed, Dan Ruccia, David Ford Smith, Zack Smith, Chris Vitiello, Ryan Vu, Patrick Wall INTERNS Leah Abrams, Cliff Jenkins, Sarah Kiser, Lucy Marcum, Ahmed Mohamed, Erin Williams

ART+PRODUCTION

PRODUCTION MANAGER Christopher Williams ART DIRECTOR Steve Oliva

CIRCULATION

CIRCULATION DIRECTOR Brenna Berry-Stewart DISTRIBUTION Laura Bass, JC Lacroix,

Richard Lee, Marshall Lindsey, Gloria McNair, Terrance Phipps, Timm Shaw, Freddie Simmons, Trudi Vass, Hershel Wiley

ADVERTISING

DIRECTOR OF SALES John Hurld MARKETING EXECUTIVES Kathryn Cook, Kim Cordray,

Hanna Smith

CLASSIFIEDS ACCOUNT EXECUTIVE Amanda Blanchard

WWW.INDYWEEK.COM

P.O. Box 1772 • Durham, N.C. 27702 DURHAM 320 East Chapel Hill Street, Suite 200 Durham, N.C. 27701 | 919-286-1972 RALEIGH 227 Fayetteville Street, Suite 105 Raleigh, N.C. 27601 | 919-832-8774 EMAIL ADDRESSES

first initial[no space]last name@indyweek.com DISPLAY ADVERTISING SALES advertising@indyweek.com RALEIGH 919-832-8774 DURHAM 919-286-1972 CLASSIFIEDS ADVERTISING 919-286-6642

Your Week.

Every Wednesday. indyweek.com 4 | 2.13.19 | INDYweek.com

CONTENTS COPYRIGHT 2018 INDY WEEK

All rights reserved. Material may not be reproduced without permission.

ll

s ards

n,

nnings,

s,

Smith, rick Wall ah Kiser, Williams

ms

art

Nair, mmons,

m Cordray,

nchard

200

k.com eek.com 1972

backtalk

Black Games

In last week’s cover story, Brian Howe profiled Omari Akil, a Durham man breaking into the predominantly white world of tabletop games with the forthcoming Rap Godz. Much to our surprise, some people got really, really upset about it.

We’ll start with BlackSombrero: “For the love of God, shut up. As a tabletop gamer, let me make this clear: I don’t care about what color the developer’s skin is. It is irrelevant.

It is only how well the game plays that matters to me. The second you start going ‘muh diversity,’ that will only guarantee that I will pass your game straight. You are using idiotic marketing tactics aimed toward [social justice warriors] who will not buy your games. And that particular opinion comes from somebody who isn’t just black but also a girl. Seriously, sod off with that nonsense.

If you want to promote a game, fine. Don’t go on this nonsense rant about how ‘the majority of game designers are white.’”

Next, Chris M Mixis: “The gaming scene is changing everywhere. It’s not just German Euros anymore but games coming from Spanish, French, Greek, and Polish designers, and I think that’s great. So what, you’re telling me that Germans prevented these other countries from putting out games? I was just thinking the other day that I can’t wait to see what comes out of Africa and other countries. The left’s diversity for the sake of diversity is an open door to anything, including what can be detrimental to society. There is a diversity of organs in my body. Can I introduce poison into my system and hope it will just get along with everything? I couldn’t care less whether a woman or a man designs a game.

I’ll judge it by its quality and interest to me; however, I draw the line when a game is disguised as liberal propaganda. As far as this guy’s game based on rap, I hate rap and do not consider it music, so I won’t look at it twice. It has nothing to do with the race of the designer. There is no need to push women or minorities to design games as if something is blocking them. It’s called inspiration. Like a cat, you can’t force it to come to you. You have to let it come when it wants to.”

“When I see a game on a shelf or website and it looks interesting, I start researching it. I don’t care who made it, as long as the

“The left’s diversity for the sake of diversity is an open door to anything.”

game is solid,” says commenter R. “The fact that you made a ‘black game’ is only going to create a diversity problem you claim exists already; trust me, it doesn’t. Nobody will look weird at a group of black people playing Catan (even though ‘Settlers of Catan is fundamentally a white one,’ according to you), but people will look weird at four white guys playing your game, because you probably put in some words that are unacceptable if said by white guys.

“Board gaming is the most inclusive hobby around. I’ve seen people of all ages, all sexes, all economical layers, all political directions, play together for hours on end, because they share the same interest: board games. You creating this ‘black game’ (your words, btw) is creating a diversity this hobby doesn’t need. Seriously, the diversity problem you are describing here is stupid and nonexistent until you started developing a ‘black game.’ Stop feeling so sorry for yourself and just enjoy this inclusive hobby.”

In response to Sarah Willets’s story on ICE blaming its “more visible presence” in North Carolina on new sheriffs’ lack of cooperation with the agency, Katie Mgongolwa writes: “It is incredibly critical that we work to create a Durham where everyone can live free from fear. This means taking a stand strong against the presence of ICE in our city. As a member of the People’s Alliance Racial Equity Action Team, I and my team members applaud Sheriff Clarence Birkhead’s resolute stand in the face of this invasion by federal agents. It is up to us as Durhamites to support Birkhead’s decision to end the 287g program and encourage all local and state officials, including Governor Cooper, to condemn ICE activity in North Carolina.”

Want to see your name in bold? Email us at backtalk@indyweek.com, comment on indyweek.com or our Facebook page, or hit us up on Twitter: @indyweek.

Live Your Best Life Duke Integrative Medicine Drop-In Classes Experiencing Mindfulness Every Wednesday | 12:00 pm

Gentle Yoga

Every Friday | 10:30 am & 12:00 pm

Public and Professional Programs Currently Registering Tapping into Health: Emotional Freedom Techniques (EFT) for Self-Healing Starts Feb. 21 | Register now through Feb. 19

For Those Who Hurt: Managing Chronic Pain Starts Mar. 9 | Register now through Mar. 6

Healing Yoga for Back and Neck Pain Starts Mar. 12 | Register now through Mar. 8

Planning for Your Best Health: Group Coaching Series Starts Mar. 13 | Register now through Mar. 11

Reiki: Level One Starts Apr. 6 | Register now through Apr. 3

Urban Retreat Starts Apr. 29 | Register now through Apr. 25

Leading Others In Writing For Health Starts May 2 | Register now through Apr. 26

Mindful Yoga for Cancer Starts Jun. 18 | Register now through Jun. 12 For information, pricing, or to register for a program visit DukeIntegrativeMedicine.org Duke Center for Living Campus 3475 Erwin Road, Durham • (919) 660-6826 INDYweek.com | 2.13.19 | 5

indynews

A Kinder, Gentler Jail

SHERIFF BIRKHEAD HAS BIG PLANS FOR THE DURHAM COUNTY DETENTION FACILITY, INCLUDING GIVING DETAINEES MORE AUTONOMY BY SARAH WILLETS

P

roblems at the jail took center stage in the 2018 primary for Durham County sheriff. Under incumbent Mike Andrews’s administration, nine people had died in the facility, three by suicide, and Andrews frequently clashed with protesters. When Clarence Birkhead defeated Andrews by a 2–1 margin, it was a mandate to do things differently.

The jail’s population has been decreasing for years, down from about six hundred a day a decade ago to an average of 481 in fiscal year 2016. On Sunday, about two months into Birkhead’s term, it housed 395 people. That’s not his doing. He credits judges, the District Attorney’s Office, and diversion programs for working to keep people out of the system.

But he wants to overhaul the jail’s operations to build relationships between staff members and detainees and help detainees leave better off than they came in.

The first tangible reform on Birkhead’s agenda is to finish modifications started in the late nineties to reduce suicide risks.

It took nearly twenty years for the Durham County Sheriff’s Office to modify the windows six detainees used to hang themselves. Nearly five hundred HVAC grates and 159 beds still need to be replaced, as do as some towel racks. The remaining work should be completed in about nine months.

More broadly, however, Birkhead hopes to change the facility’s culture and run it as a direct supervision facility, a concept introduced by the National Institute of Corrections in the 1980s.

The Durham County Detention Facility was designed as a direct supervision facility when it opened in 1996, which means that it’s built to encourage continuous interaction between detainees and guards.

But the second element of direct supervision—how those interactions should take place—was never fully implemented.

Under direct supervision, jail staff members place more trust in detainees, offering incentives for positive behavior rather than 6 | 2.13.19 | INDYweek.com

Sheriff Clarence Birkhead simply punishing bad behavior. The idea is to create a community with social norms detainees are expected to meet, and where officers are more attuned to the people in their care and can spot budding problems.

So instead of rationing toilet paper on designated days, jail staffers would make supplies available to grab as needed. Instead of making detainees earn “privileges” like TV time or phone time, they’d all start out with those privileges and only lose them if they caused problems. Instead of locking an entire pod in their cells if a detainee acts out, only that individual would face consequences. Eventually, officers wouldn’t even escort detainees around the facility.

In 2016, following regular protests against conditions at the jail, Andrews asked the NIC to conduct an operational assessment of the facility. The NIC reviewer notified the jail’s administrators that the jail wasn’t operating as a true direct supervision facility and offered to provide

free training, which began in January 2018.

Andrews embraced the idea, but Birkhead has given it new energy, jail officials say.

“Direct supervision allows for that interaction where it’s not just us against them, where they’re locked up and we tell them what to do,” Birkhead says.

A 2006 review of research on direct supervision facilities found they are “consistently perceived by staff and inmates to have safer environments and in fact experience fewer violent or security-related incidents.”

The evidence was less clear, however, on whether detainees in direct supervision were less likely to re-offend or whether employees have more job satisfaction.

Birkhead says the facility needs more staff to fully implement the model—and it needs staff members who see working in the jail as more than just a stepping stone in their careers. In recent years, DCSO recruits had to start in the jail in order to move to other positions. As a result, the

facility frequently lost staffers to agencies willing to put them on the streets. From now on, Birkhead says, the DCSO will recruit detention and patrol officers separately.

Right now, the agency has the budget for 240 positions, 216 of which are filled. The DCSO has asked county commissioners for another 29 employees in next year’s budget to fully implement direct supervision.

In the current system, officers rotate among the housing pods on a particular floor. Under direct supervision, they would stick with a pod for two or three months; administrators are still pinpointing a timeframe that would allow detainees and staff to strike a rapport without burning out or becoming too friendly.

It’s going to be an adjustment for detainees as they get more autonomy and for staff as they find the balance between being mentors and being in charge. The administration is implementing more activities, such as talent shows and chess tournaments (high school equivalency and lifeskills classes are already offered). Officers will be trained in conflict resolution and verbal de-escalation, as well as how they should conduct themselves with detainees, regardless of what charges they may face.

“We have to instill in them it’s not your job to be judge, and it’s not your job to treat them any differently than anyone else in that facility,” says Colonel Anthony Prignano, the detention director.

Of course, the facility is still a jail— there are rules, consequences, and a power structure. But Birkhead hopes the direct supervision model will improve the quality of life for both officers and detainees, and reduce the likelihood that people will be detained again.

“Hopefully those soft skills of being a part of something bigger than themselves, being responsible for their own behavior but knowing that it could have an impact beyond them—hopefully, that translates when they’re released,” he says. swillets@indyweek.com

news

Home to Roost

HAS THE STATE IGNORED THE RISKS OF POULTRY’S PROLIFERATION? BY LEIGH TAUSS

W

hile activists have focused on the public health issues posed by North Carolina’s pork industry, poultry farms have enjoyed rapid, unchecked growth, particularly in coastal areas already threatened by hogwaste disposal methods, according to a new report from the Environmental Working Group and the Waterkeeper Alliance.

The report, released Wednesday but previously obtained by the INDY under an embargo, says the state ignored the proliferation of poultry operations for more than a decade, resulting in dense concentrations of poultry and hog farms and a lack of oversight of waste-management practices.

Poultry farms outnumber hog farms two-to-one in North Carolina, with more than 735 poultry farms added since 2008.

The state is now home to at least 515 million agricultural birds. Nearly a quarter of the new poultry operations are in Duplin and Sampson Counties, which also house 43 percent of the state’s hogs. Ninetythree percent of the poultry farms there are within three miles of at least twenty other pig or poultry farms.

Cramming these operations together exacerbates the environmental problems posed by these industries, says EWP spatial analysis director Soren Rundquist.

“This area is well-known for this contentious relationship with the folks who live there and the hog industry, and the fact that it’s being piled upon with the poultry industry growing—it’s pretty eye-opening to me,” Rundquist says. “It’s ground zero, but they’re still adding insult to injury.”

Unlike the hog industry, whose farms store liquefied hog feces in unlined dirt pits the size of Olympic swimming pools, most poultry farms produce what’s called dry waste—a combination of chicken feces, feathers, sawdust, bedding, and dead chickens—which is stored in massive piles. The “litter,” as it’s called, is then spread over fields as fertilizer or burned for energy.

Poultry farms that use dry waste systems— all but seven in the state as of 2013, according to the Department of Environmental Quality—don’t need a state permit, and the DEQ doesn’t inspect them unless there’s a complaint. So, although the waste is only allowed to remain uncovered for fifteen days, the report says, that rule goes unenforced. The state doesn’t require those farms to report the volume of litter they’re producing, the composition of the waste, or where the litter is disposed of.

(The remaining farms use a wet wastemanagement system, in which waste is stored in ponds and discharged into fields, similar to hog farms’ standard method.)

Dry waste poultry farms follow a wastemanagement formula—essentially, how much waste can be applied to fields as fertilizer—that’s based on the number of birds on a property. It doesn’t take into account nearby poultry and hog operations and the nitrogen and phosphorus they produce, says Bob Ford, executive director of the North Carolina Poultry Federation.

Other than having some farmers add litter-storage sheds, Ford doesn’t believe additional measures are necessary to protect the environment.

“If you go by the nutrient-management plan, that plan includes the number of birds you are growing,” Ford says. “That’s just the way it is. Nothing else you can really do.”

That’s not good enough, says Waterkeeper Alliance attorney Will Hendrick. A shed doesn’t prevent over-application of fertilizer or runoff. As with hog waste, hurricanes and other flooding events can wash the waste into waterways and groundwater. Last fall, Hurricane Florence flooded thirty-five poultry operations in the state.

The DEQ is currently reviewing its wastemanagement standards for hog farms. As part of that process, the EWG and the Waterkeeper Alliance are calling on lawmakers to stop “turning a blind eye” to the poultry industry and to impose stricter regulations. ltauss@indyweek.com INDYweek.com | 2.13.19 | 7

WEIHENSTEPHANER BRAUPAKT 6 PACK $3.99 LBC HOP ON TOP 4 PACK $11.99 STONE BREWING IMPERIAL MEXICAN HOT CHOCOLATE STOUT 6 PACK $15.99

v

Voted BEST BEER SELECTION in the Triangle year after year!

BELL’S HOP SLAM 6 PACK $19.99 BELL’S LARRY’S LATEST FRUIT FIGHT 6 PACK $9.99 WE HAVE KEGS! A FANTASTIC ASSORTMENT OF CRAFT BEERS, IMPORTED BEERS, AND DOMESTICS WITH SPECIAL PRICING. 1/6, 1/4 AND 1/2 SIZES AVAILABLE.

BE SURE TO CHECK OUT OUR IMPRESSIVE WINE SELECTION - WITH PLENTY OF GRAB & GO CHILLED WINE AVAILABLE!

“We carry all Clove & International Cigarettes”

LINENKUGELS SNOWDRIFT VANILLA PORTER 12 PACK $5.99

804 W. Peace St. • Raleigh • 834-7070

YOUR WEEK. EVERY WEDNESDAY. FOOD • NEWS • ARTS • MUSIC

INDYWEEK.COM 8 | 2.13.19 | INDYweek.com

news

In the Weeds

IN AN “EDUCATIONAL CAMPAIGN”—NOT A CRACKDOWN!—THE STATE IS WARNING BUSINESSES NOT TO SELL CBD-INFUSED PRODUCTS BY KATIE JANE FERNELIUS

T

his week, state regulators will send letters to businesses that manufacture and sell CBD products warning them that the Food and Drug Administration still considers the hemp-derived compound a drug, and selling any CBD-infused product in food, beverages, pet food, nutritional supplements, or anything that makes health claims is illegal.

“Once you place products into the marketplace,” the letters say, “you have a responsibility to comply with all state and federal laws. Failure to comply could result in legal action being taken against you, including, without limitation, embargo, seizure, and injunction.”

Despite the ominous language, North Carolina Department of Agriculture assistant commissioner for consumer protection Joe Reardon says that’s all it is—a warning, not a crackdown.

But ever since the announcement was reported on February 6, he says, “The phone ain’t stop ringing.”

The state won’t take any punitive actions, he insists. At least not yet.

“This is just an educational campaign to show what the laws are right now,” Reardon says. “What we haven’t done is send anyone out and embargo this stuff like in Ohio and New York. We don’t intend to do that unless something changes.” (The Department of Health in New York City ordered restaurants not to use CBD in their food and embargoed $1,000 worth of CBD edibles at a restaurant last week. A similar situation is playing out in Ohio.)

The news came as a surprise to the Triangle’s CBD sellers. Medicine Mama’s Farmacy in Raleigh sells gummies, hard candies, and brownies, as well as lotions, oils, and bath bombs. One of its more popular items is “critter cookies” for pets.

Those—along with the CBD-infused foods—could soon be forbidden.

“We’re confused,” says Medicine Mama’s co-owner Jimmie Terry, who is planning to open a storefront next month in Raleigh.

“Over the course of the last few weeks, we’ve been working alongside the Department of Agriculture in order to technically be considered the first CBD processors to have their operation inspected and cleared for human food consumption.”

The laws surrounding CBD are anything but clear.

The Farm Bill President Trump signed last year permitted widespread hemp cultivation, reclassified hemp and CBD as agricultural commodities, and allowed the sale of hemp-derived products across state lines so long as they don’t contain more than 0.3 percent THC, the psychoactive element of marijuana. But the FDA had previously approved CBD for use in a drug to treat seizures. Since CBD is classified as a drug, the FDA says it can’t be listed as an active ingredient in products, nor can it be sold or marketed as a dietary supplement or food, and businesses aren’t allowed to promote its health benefits. In December, the FDA issued a press release asserting its right to regulate cannabis and cannabisderived products.

But FDA regulations cover only interstate commerce. Medicine Mama’s website boasts of using North Carolina hemp, and state law allows for CBD derived from hemp “produced and used in compliance with the rules issued by the North Carolina Industrial Hemp Commission.” On the other hand, as

the letter going to CBD sellers notes, “North Carolina has routinely adopted by reference the federal Food, Drug & Cosmetic Act and implementing regulations. The violation of these federal regulations would equally be a violation of state laws and regulations.”

“North Carolina–produced CBD put into food products is not illegal,” Blake Butler, the executive director of the hemp association, told the INDY Monday. “But there’s nothing to say that it’s legal.”

That’s not quite correct, according to Reardon: “CBD is now a drug, and you can’t infuse a drug into a food product.

We’re seeing CBD being infused into gummy bears, lollipops, ice cream, all things traditionally consumed by children. That’s our main concern.”

It also contradicts what Reardon said in a press release Friday: “North Carolina laws mirror federal laws.

This means that CBD cannot legally be added to any human food or animal feed that is for sale,” nor can a CBD product make health-related claims. Stores will still be able to sell tinctures of CBD or hemp extract.

Again, Reardon continued, the goal is education, not punishment. “We are taking an educate-before-regulate stance with industry,” he wrote. “We know they may not be aware of the state laws regarding the addition of a drug to a food product. However, we reserve the right to be more assertive, as other states have been, if we need to be in the future.”

Butler hopes the state’s approach will at least help clarify the rules.

“We have over seven hundred growers in our state right now who want to do right,” he says. “We are really trying to work with these guys in Raleigh. We have reached out to state officials and plan to work with them as we figure out how to bring clarity to some of the gray areas. We plan to adopt best practices and standards in our state so North Carolina is a safe haven for hemp and CBD.” backtalk@indyweek.com

The Lofts at White Furniture

Historically Affordable.

Modern on the inside, historical on the outside and wonderful all around.

Short and Long term leases available

Burritos-Tacos-Nachos-Housemade Salsa-Margaritas!

711 W Rosemary St • Carrboro • carrburritos.com • 919.933.8226

Call us today to find your affordable apartment home.

Downtown Historic Mebane (919) 717-0400 • www.loftsatwhitefurniture.com

INDYweek.com | 2.13.19 | 9

BUZZKILL North Carolina’s craft spirits are ready to take off like craft beer did a decade ago— unless the ABC Commission gets in the way

BY LEIGH TAUSS • PHOTOS BY BOB KARP

R

ytas Vilgalys discovered the recipe for Krupnikas in an old cookbook a generation after his family fled Sovietoccupied Lithuania following World War II. In their home in Durham, where the family settled after Rytas became a Duke biology professor, his son Rim remembers watching him hunched over a pot on the stove, stirring herbs into a sweet syrup, a thick aroma of honey, nutmeg, and cinnamon flooding the kitchen.

10 | 2.13.19 | INDYweek.com

Rim Vilgalys Then Rytas would add Everclear—Rim’s mother’s cue to leave the room.

The liqueur became a family holiday tradition. Rim took the recipe with him to college at the University of California at Santa Barbara. It became a hit at parties.

When he graduated and returned to Durham in 2008 and friends kept asking for it, he had an idea. He took business classes, got permits, and opened The Brothers Vilgalys distillery out of a windowless warehouse on the outskirts of downtown with some money from family and friends.

Krupnikas hit the shelves at Triangle ABC stores at the end of 2012, selling about nine thousand bottles the first year. The brand slowly spread across the state, and over the next few years, Vilgalys expanded to six products lines: different blends of the

Lithuanian concoction, like Zaphod, a fruit and herbal liqueur, and Beatnik, a savory, beet-flavored drink.

Despite his early success, Vilgalys struggled to get his products shelved in Charlotte, Winston-Salem, and Asheville. He spent three years driving all over the state to pitch the 168 local ABC boards to invest in his product, often without luck. It was a chicken-and-egg problem, he says. If he couldn’t demonstrate big sales numbers, the boards wouldn’t stock his products unless bars and restaurants demanded them. But bars and restaurants wouldn’t order them unless they were already on ABC shelves.

What he needed, Vilgalys says, was a way to reach customers directly—to sell cocktails directly out of his distillery, just as breweries have their beers on draft. But North Caro-

lina law doesn’t allow that. Unable to turn a profit, Vilgalys took a second job in software development two years ago.

“Until there’s regulatory change or reform, we’re not going to be able to really find a good growth curve,” Vilgalys says.

Now he’s staring down another hurdle.

In June, the Alcoholic Beverage Control Commission will begin enforcing a longstanding rule that could knock all of his blends except Krupnikas out of the state’s warehouses. That would make local ABC boards even less likely to pick them up. And if he can’t sell them in stores, that leaves just two options: convincing his customers to order by the case through a convoluted process, or trying to sell out of his distillery at a maximum of five bottles per person per year.

Neither is a viable business model.

The rule, which has been on the books for at least a decade but has never been enforced, requires all products in stock to net the ABC system at least $5,000 a year in profit. Once it goes into effect, a third of North Carolina distillers could see their access to the market diminish, and nearly a quarter of North Carolina–made spirits—about fifty of 209— could soon be out of stock.

For small distillers—and new ones—this threshold could make it nearly impossible to get their products in front of consumers. And that could stunt the industry’s burgeoning growth, advocates say. Since 2010, North Carolina’s market has grown from seven distillers to eighty-one, echoing a national trend that has seen the number of distillers nearly triple since 2013 to more than eighteen hundred, according to the American Craft Spirits Association.

‘WHISKEY IS THE DEVIL’ Once, Mystic co-owner Jonathan Blitz says, he asked an ABC official why the state treats liquor so differently from other alcoholic beverages.

The official’s response: “Beer is food, wine is sacrament, and whiskey is the devil.”

“Spirituous liquor is treated as this extreme evil, when in reality, it’s the same product,” Blitz says. “Wine and beer are in every gas station and Quickie Mart. Spirits are in this parallel universe, where, gosh, you may not be responsible for yourself if you have a drop of this devil juice.”

In 1909, North Carolina became the first Southern state to go dry, a decade before the Nineteenth Amendment took

Jonathan Blitz Any change will have to come from the General Assembly. Scott Maitland, the founder of Top of the Hill’s brewery (in 1996) and TOPO Organic Distillery (in 2012), is gearing up for a fight. He was instrumental in the Pop the Cap legislation that kicked off the craft beer movement in 2005, and in 2017, as president of the North Carolina Distillers Association, he led the effort to pass the so-called Brunch Bill, which allowed liquor sales before noon on Sundays at restaurants and let distillers sell five bottles per person per year, as opposed to one, from their distilleries.

“Everyone sees the success of craft brewing,” Maitland says. “Memories are short, so they don’t know the history, that it took us twenty years to get the laws to [this] point. The raising of the distribution cap, the Pop the Cap effort—I don’t think that people truly appreciate the blocking and tackling that happened by earlier pioneers of the industry.”

He adds, “We have a long, long way to go.”

Prohibition nationwide. Like everywhere else, government-enforced temperance didn’t always go over well. By the 1920s, North Carolina’s chief enforcement official bemoaned the underground epidemic of moonshiners: “We have more illicit distilleries than any other State in the Union, and the number is increasing.”

Four years after the Prohibition ended in 1933, the General Assembly created the Alcoholic Beverage Control Commission, a state-run monopoly on the sale and distribution of alcohol. Nationally, seventeen states (as well as Montgomery County, Maryland) use some version of this model.

North Carolina’s system generates more than $430 million a year— just under 2 percent of the state’s $24 billion budget— on more than $1 billion in sales a year. On every bottle, the state collects a 30 percent excise tax, a 7 percent sales tax, and fees, as well as a mixed beverage tax if the bottle is sold to a restaurant or bar.

INDYweek.com | 2.13.19 | 11

Scott Maitland To get onto a store shelf, a product has to pass through two gatekeepers: the Commission, a three-person body appointed by the governor to oversee permits, distribution, enforcement, and set policy; and the 168 local boards, appointed by county or municipal officials, which act as franchises and sell to customers, bars, and restaurants.

After obtaining permits from the state, distillers produce a pallet of their product for storage in one of two ABC warehouses.

Then, they need a local ABC board to order it. Once a spirit reaches the store, North Carolina products are typically relegated to a “local” shelf in the store, sometimes referred to as the moonshine section. (They can be placed alongside national brands, but that’s up to the local board.)

The ABC Commission says it decided to enforce the profitability threshold for two reasons: to provide local boards with “the most appealing product options,” and, more important, because its warehouses are running out of room.

But this isn’t accurate, distillers say: A state audit last year found that LB&B, the company with which the Commission contracts to operate warehouses in Raleigh and Clayton, was utilizing less than a quarter of the space in its Clayton warehouse.

The audit also found that poor contract negotiations and a lack of monitoring have cost taxpayers $14 million.

The Commission disputed the auditor’s findings, arguing that the Clayton warehouse reaches capacity in spring and summer, and the auditors showed up in December. Still, it plans to seek bids for a new contractor when LB&B’s contract expires in 2021.

The ABC announced its decision in November, and the rule was scheduled to go into effect at the end of 2018. It was delayed until June following pushback from the 12 | 2.13.19 | INDYweek.com

Distillers Association and its new president, Southern Distilling Company owner Pete Barger.

Once the rule takes hold, Vilgalys will have to sell 1,320 bottles of Krupnikas a year to hit that mark, which shouldn’t be an issue.

Last year, that product netted the state about $22,000, he says. But his other five blends, which come in smaller bottles, have to sell a lot more, and they’re not even close.

And while the new rule is particularly problematic for small distilleries, even the big guys are concerned. Maitland says not all of TOPO’s products may make the cut.

The same goes for Barger.

“Not all of our [products] meet that threshold,” Barger says. “So yeah, we’re impacted, and frankly, the five-thousanddollar requirement is a pretty high bar for a small brand, for [a product] that we’re just trying to get set up and develop.”

In principle, they say, earning one’s keep makes sense, and having to store products no one wants would drain the state’s resources. But they also see the threshold as arbitrary and argue that the Commission should make exceptions for North Carolina distillers.

Negotiations between the Distillers Association and the Commission are ongoing, says Agnes Stevens, the Commission’s staff administrator.

“We want nothing but success for them, and I think they know that,” Stevens says.

“We are trying to work cooperatively to do what we can to make sure that their businesses have every chance for success.”

While Barger convinced the ABC Commission to delay its enforcement, he acknowledges that’s a temporary victory.

“We may have won the point but lost the war,” Barger says, “because no one is going to order the product because it is going to be too difficult for them to get.”

‘IT WAS A DISASTER’ While distillers hope the ABC Commission will find ways to accommodate them, Chuck McGrady just wants to get rid of the damn thing.

McGrady, a Republican state representative from Henderson County, sees the state’s monopoly as anathema to his freemarket principles. “Getting government out of the sale and distribution of distilled spirits is the best thing, I think,” McGrady says. “I think the private sector can handle it better than we can.”

He says he’ll introduce a bill this session to privatize the sale and distribution of liquor, though he doesn’t like the term privatize, nor does he offer many specifics.

of the red tape, McGrady says, craft distillers would be better able to compete.

You might think the Distillers Association would be his biggest champion. But that’s not the case. Barger likes being in a control state. His group just wants the Commission to make things easier for them.

In North Carolina, Barger says, a product at least has a chance at exposure. Even with the profitability threshold in place, products will still have a year to prove their viability.

In a private system, craft distillers have to compete against the handful of companies that manufacture most major brands and have massive marketing budgets, and they wouldn’t get the state-mandated local shelf.

In fact, craft distillers tend to fair better in control states, according to the National Alcohol Beverage Control Association,

In short, though, the state would oversee enforcement of liquor laws like most states do, through a licensee system in which retailers and distributors would apply for a permit from the state.

To McGrady, part of the problem is the lack of parity between how the state treats spirits, wine, and beer. The latter you can buy in grocery stores and gas stations, even on Sundays. But not booze. Why not treat all alcohol the same? he asks. And if you got rid

because the state opens up broader access to the market than do private retailers, marketers, or wholesalers.

“It’s not a surprise craft producers have done well in a control jurisdiction,” says Steven Schmidt, vice president of the NABCA. “One of the values to those systems is that with one phone call or one contact, you have the ability to interact with a much larger jurisdiction than you may if you have to go through individual retailers.”

“The free market doesn’t necessarily benefit the little guy, because when you go private, the guy with the biggest marketing budget is the guy that wins the shelf space,” Barger says. “It’s counterintuitive, but the system we have today, as challenging and frustrating as it is, does give us access to the market that we would not necessarily get in a true private system.”

Previous attempts to privatize liquor sales in North Carolina have been unsuccessful, in part due to moralistic concerns, and also because legislators are worried about losing revenue.

It’s unclear whether McGrady’s latest initiative will fare any better. But the General Assembly is considering its options—including what privatization would look like.

A report from the Program Evaluation Division, released Monday, found that, while most North Carolinians want to abolish the ABC system, privatization would lead to lost revenue (unless the state raised liquor taxes), more liquor stores, and more booze consumption. The report also argued that the existing regime is working: Of Southeastern states, North Carolina takes in the most money per gallon of liquor, has the lowest number of liquor stores per population density, and is second to last in its consumption rate.

The report looked at what happened in Washington State, which, in 2012, switched from a control to a licensure system, as McGrady is proposing. There, the number of liquor stores quadrupled, but craft distillers took a big hit.

“It was a disaster,” Maitland says. “Washington State very unwisely did away with being a control state, then just allowed the Wild West to come in, and it wasn’t good.

When you go from being totally regulated to free, the pendulum swings all the way the other way, and so what does the free market, the unfettered free market, do? Well, the eight-hundred-pound gorillas in the free market set up the distribution systems, and what you end up getting is lots more alcohol but much fewer selections because they’re selling their stuff, and they’re selling their most cost-effective stuff, and because of the scale of the operations, the idea of creating actors that could provide true choice gets squeezed out.”

‘BURN IT ALL DOWN’ The distillers may not want to throw the ABC Commission baby out with the bathwater, but they do want what they consider a few simple fixes.

“The real issue with our existing ABC system is the act of omission—the failure to understand what an economic powerhouse the distilling industry in North Carolina could be,” Maitland says.

For starters, they argue, the state could let them sell more of their bottles and cocktails at their distilleries. Currently, they can give out quarter-ounce samples of raw spirits—not always the best sales pitch for, say, gin. They can’t mix it with anything. They can’t serve food. And those restrictions, they say, don’t allow them to create the ambiance or customer experience that would help build their brands.

Removing the cap on direct sales to consumers out of distilleries would also pad profit margins. And surely, distillers say, the Commission could take a cut and put it toward warehouse space.

The Distillers Association is still finalizing its agenda for the legislative session, but it will likely focus on creating equity with breweries, including lifting the five-bottle cap and allowing for limited self-distribution.

Right now, the distillers say, the system is preventing them from growing. Their products comprise less than 1 percent of all liquor sales in the state. After the Pop the Cap and other reforms, they point out, craft breweries claimed more than 10 percent of the state’s beer sales.

They might get some of what they want.

On Monday, a joint legislative oversight committee backed a bill—supported by the authors of the report from the Program Evaluation Division—that would permit distillers to hold tastings in ABC stores and allow customers to place special orders for a single bottle rather than an entire case.

The bill would also require the ABC Commission to seek bids for a new warehouse contractor this year instead of 2021, force counties with multiple ABC boards to consolidate them, and enable Sunday liquor sales with local approval.

Whether the bill can win over the rest of the General Assembly—or whether legislative leaders choose to make it a priority—remains to be seen.

While all of this plays out, uncertainty abounds for Vilgalys. Come June, the new rule could cut into a third of his sales, he says, and he’s not sure how he’ll recoup those losses.

For now, he’s waiting it out—and hoping reforms are on the way.

“I want to hang on to it because, like, our customers love it. I am optimistic we’ll improve,” Vilgalys says. “If I’m in a bad mood, I’m just like, burn it all down. But most the time, I’m seeing the whole picture.” ltauss@indyweek.com INDYweek.com | 2.13.19 | 13

The Gift of Love love stories: We asked you to tell us your crifices made, odes, sa how you met, romantic epis has triumphed. ve lo w ho d an s ie tt di s ou or hum s.

Here are some of your storie

Back in 1976 Jerry met Darlene at their work place (McDonald’s). They hit it off pretty fast and began to date.

Darlene was head over heels in love.

Jerry loved her and he loved her family. In 1980, they were married and ended up with 5 kids altogether.

Their love was inseparable. Always dressing alike (which they still do) and hanging out with friends and family. Two peas in a pod!

In 2005, Jerry was diagnosed with a brain tumor and Darlene had to care for him. This was a tough time; but she was able to manage.

Jerry and Dar lene The kids were all grown and out of the house by this time. Jerry would still work when he could, but years later he had to stop. Darlene had to take on another job in order for them to stay afloat.

A few years later, Jerry was involved in an accident when he had a stroke, leaving him without the mobility of his left arm. Hard as it was Darlene and Jerry worked it out time after time again. A love that surpasses everything. They stuck together and are still two lovebirds to this day.

They call their Fridays Freaky Friday, with a special dinner every Friday night.

After over 30 years of marriage, they now have 8 grandchildren, ranging from 19 to 5 years old.

- Jerry and Darlene, Durham s and this cute guy behind me asked I was in the checkout line at Trader Joe’ I was wearing kayaking shoes). Turns me if I kayaked (he assumed because d es and I found out his name and aske out I don’t kayak but we were both nurs e. sinc we’ve been together ever a mutual friend to set things up, and - Karley & John, Chapel Hill

14 | 2.13.19 | INDYweek.com

Audrey and A

ssaad

Boston, Massachusetts to Durham, North Carolina: 700 miles I moved back to Durham from Boston broken-hearted. I bought a house on Buchanan Boulevard and was in search of a housemate.

Durham to Mexico City, Mexico: 2,200 miles One of my dearest friends, Sarah, had also recently returned to the Triangle following adventures in Mexico City.

Cali, Colombia to Mexico City: 1,800 miles While in Mexico, Sarah had befriended Carlos, an ex-pat from Cali, Colombia.

Sarah told him to definitely stay in touch if he was ever visiting the U.S. Cali to Durham: 2,200 miles Carlos called Sarah out of the blue to ask, “Do you live anywhere close to Duke University? And do you know anyone who needs a roommate?” Carlos’ childhood friend, Rubèn, was moving to the States to pursue studies at Duke and needed somewhere to live. Sarah knew I could use a housemate and connected us.

Beirut, Lebanon to Durham: 6,000 miles Assaad also moved to Durham for a PhD program. Assaad and Rubèn met while taking their entry English proficiency exam, and Rubèn invited Assaad over to drink tequila on the back porch of his new place. Rubèn convinced me to come out back for just one drink, despite my broken-heartedness (and already being in pajamas).

Whether we have Sarah, Rubèn or the tequila to thank, 12,900 miles later, Assaad and I fell in love and are now at home on Buchanan Boulevard.

- Audrey and Assaad, Durham SPECIAL ADVERTISING SECTION

The first time we talked, he was borrowing a bike pump to fix the flat on his truck long enough to make it to the gas station. I thought he was an idiot, but apparently it worked. I’d seen him before, I used to go to bike polo (think street hockey on a bike), and I’d noticed him, skinny white guy who quite frankly is a little hood, and little country. Shortly after teaching me bike pumps work on car tires, he moved to Cincinnati after cutting off the tip of his right finger at work. Because of this newly severed finger, Scotty had to return to our then home of Atlanta for physical therapy.

He also returned for the best music festival in the southeast; Shakey Knees (to which he has free admission, another story), that I also had tickets to. A mutual friend suggested we meet up, and I had never been so attracted to and intrigued by someone before. All of our friends thought this was a terrible idea, he was workin g music festivals, living mostly out of his truck and didn’t believe in deodorant. I was working a 9 – 5 office job, showered on a daily basis and was positive this was a short-li ved fling that would go nowhere. We’ve been dating for coming on two years, and neither of us had experienced a relationship with passion, trust and a mutual respect .

So, if he didn’t lose 1/2 a finger, we’d probably never have kissed.

- Sara and Scotty, Raleigh It snowed nearly a foot in January 2017 and found myself quarantined in a small apartment on W. Chapel Hill Street, while schools were closed and cars were buried on the sides of roads. I passed the time listening to records, coloring and building Magnatile structures with my son. Later, I found myself mindlessly scrolling through Facebook and there she was. Directly under ‘People You May Know’ was a picture of my biggest crush in high school. A year earlier, I had ran into her friend at a bar in Asheville and drunkenly confessed how huge of a crush I had on her while in high school as her friend stared unsurprisingly.

We were in the same art class for two years. My heart once nearly exploded when she gave a positive critique of an embarrassing and melodramatic collage I made.

I once asked the class for any volunteers for a photo project and she had volunteered for it, while I nervously held the camera. I admired her from across the classroom, but was always too shy to speak to her. She was electrically funny, wildly creative, intelligent, beautiful and remained that way according to my scanning of her profile after boldly requesting her electronic friendship—something I would have never done at 17.

Days later after she accepted my friend request, we started commenting on each other’s posts, which led to direct messages, texting and eventually a phone call.

She had lived in Portland, Oregon for the past 9 years, though she had recently attempted to apply for a job teaching English in France, which had been hijacked due to a record snowfall in Portland—keeping her from being able to get to the post office to mail in her application.

It seemed like record snowfalls were responsible for bringing us together. We started sending mixtapes in the mail and eventually I booked a flight to see her.

We fell in love and talked every day. We visited each other monthly and, after 7 months, she moved across the country for us to share a home in a 1940s home in Old West Durham and, later, elope beside an old oak tree in Hillsborough.

Every time it snows, it reminds us how wild and unpredictable life and finding love can be.

- Kim and Seth, Durham SPECIAL ADVERTISING SECTION

e, le searching for that special someon I moved to the States in 1991, and whi ther ano met I , ead the Internet”. Inst travelled to Israel to meet “a guy from proposed, but I did not accept it. We he , days 3 guy in the airport, Arthur. In ther. ended up spending about a month toge rt over, Arthur and I decided to meet After a year of fighting to win my hea US citizenship, I could not travel far again. As I was expecting to receive US, so we decided to meet in the and he was denied a visitor visa to the of us can speak a language well enough “middle”, Canada, where at least one to be understood by locals. et a trip on the rowing boat to enjoy swe Little did I know that when we took on up d stoo He decided to propose. blueberries on the islands, Arthur had ver on this island”. While it soundfore stay or his knee and said: “Marry me, el ng wild blueberries, I took a high-lev ed romantic to die on the island amo risk and told him yes! cafe and the owner spoke Russian. He We stopped by for gyros in the local two fantastic Russian speaking offered us to find witnesses and we met artist in Nashville painting US presipeople, one became a really famous n in Canada, and my hubby returned dents. We got married in a small tow ed the White House, they helped to back to serve in the Army. After I call able to immigrate to the US two push his documents through so he was weeks prior birth of our son.

- Lilia and Arthur, Chapel Hill

INDYweek.com | 2.13.19 | 15

Be my Valentine!

We met at a floor hockey co-ed pickup game at the Jewish Community Center in Farmington Hills, Michigan. I had met a guy on E-Harmony that decided he didn’t want to date me anymore, but invited me to play on his floor hockey team.

(we Tony was the goalie and I was a mean cherry picking winger & top scorer and year a over for didn’t have offsides rules). We played on the same team hung out at bars downtown Detroit and places nearby after the game.

One day I had a fence party and invited Tony, singles from my Catholic Social Club, and neighbors for a cookout. I had a new wood fence erected and used that as an excuse to have my first party at my newly purchased house. seeTony and I were getting food and I blurted out, “you know that guy I was me in on kiss a planted ing? Well, he’s out of the picture now.” That night, Tony during butt cute my at the kitchen and let me know how much he liked to look the games. That night he didn’t leave, and I couldn’t get rid of him since.

Your week.

Every Wednesday.

Come join us for a night of drinking beer and saving animals at Hugger Mugger in Sanford, NC from 4-8 pm on February 16th, 2019.

16 | 2.13.19 | INDYweek.com

From Durham, North Carolina, at the apartment complex we stayed at that had racquetball, as well as the Raleigh Street Hockey League nearby (lures forTony used to strongly persuade me to move in with him), I contacted my my sell to y attorne of mer QuickBooks real estate client and gave him power but started had I ements house. His handyman finished all the home improv a not completed, and a friend from high school packed up my essentials in table. glass moving service truck: couch, washer & dryer, and fancy Two years later, still not engaged and living in a co-owned house inside the City of Durham, Eastside, I kept asking for a ring. One day after eating dinner We at the Cheesecake Factory at Crabtree Valley Mall, I said let’s look at rings. him told and couch the on bought one and I handed him the box while we sat to ask me to marry him, which he did. his When I asked him why he had not asked sooner, he said that the ring that small. too was of, care mom gave him, an heirloom from a woman she took a Silly man. I had it appraised and it’s a custom-made carriage top ring with nice sized diamond which I wear on my left index finger.

All proceeds from the night benefit Lending Paws a Hand Animal Rescue.

To find out more information about Pints for Paws people can visit lpah.org/pints

a Within 3 months of us dating, he got laid off and moved to North Carolin sunny was it when to work for Performance. I visited him on Thanksgiving and 70 degrees. I felt something strong between us, so I turned in my 2-week notice at Electronic Data Systems in Troy upon my return and fled the cold state. I figured I could take my accounting knowledge anywhere, and if things didn’t work out at least I’d never have to shovel snow again.

in I bent to my fiancé’s will and planned a wedding on the side of the mounta ed le-Them Whovil our at Eagle’s Nest at a ski resort in Vail, Colorado. I made helmet. ard snowbo my of invitations, as well as my wedding veil that stuck out I also found a woman, who healed from a brain injury and now scaled mountains, to perform the ceremony. Afterwards, we snowboarded down the mountain. We had our reception in the back bowl of Eagles Nest because I wanted the beginning and ending of our wedding to be at the same place.

- Juliet and Tony, Durham

INDYWEEK.COM SPECIAL ADVERTISING SECTION

Joe and I met my last semester at UNC. Between him wrapping my bandaged stubbed toe and writing hilarious, overly sappy emails to me every time he wanted to take me out, we quickly began dating. Three years later, he’s finishing up pharmacy school at UNC and I’m now excelling at work in a new position. We will be moving next month to start our next chapter together in Charlotte.

- Isabella and Joe, Chapel Hill

It all started one very late night in March 1993.

I had been out with my friends and had to be at work at 11PM to work the graveyard shift at a local grocery store. My friend, needless to say, was whining about leaving the party to give me a ride to work. She begged me to call in sick. I mean, after all, we were 17 and it was spring break. As she was begrudgingly driving me to work, I joked about all the things that could happen during my graveyard shift. When I got out of my disgruntled friends’ car, I teased her “who knows I could even meet the guy I’m going to marry tonight.” Sure, enough around 3:30 AM, two guys walked into the store. When they came through my register to check out, I noticed how especially charming one was. He had the bluest eyes I had ever seen and was so confident. We flirted a bit, but then both boys went on their way.

Over the next few weeks I noticed this same boy showing up in the store to purchase items. I knew I worked at a grocery store and people needed to eat, but no matter how long my check out line was, he always seemed to wait in my line even if there were shorter ones available.

One day he mentioned that they were hiring where he worked and that I should check it out. I applied and was hired. He asked me out several times. I was not interested in going out with him, because he had a reputation. Girls were always stopping by to bring him food or, here’s the kicker, his key because they had done his laundry and cleaned his apartment. I finally replied to him if I go out with you will you stop asking me?

Our date went great and we continued our romance. He was so thoughtful and made the most gallant gestures. He would leave sunflowers (my favorite flower) on my doorstep in Corona bottles every night. He continued to surprise me with kind and generous acts. The night that clinched it for me was the night we danced in the street under a street lamp. I know how cliché but this was the early 90s and it was not so cliché without social media and the internet.

We were married on February 28, 1994 and have been married ever since. We have had to grow up together and I would not change it for the world. We will celebrate our 25th anniversary this month and sometimes you do get your happy ending.

- Mari and Brandon, Cary SPECIAL ADVERTISING SECTION

T S E B LE TH E F O

TRIANG2019

E V I L O G S N O I T A !

N H I T M 8 O 1 N Y R A U R FE B DY W E E K.C O M N I .

W W W INDYweek.com | 2.13.19 | 17

indyfood

BIG SPOON ROASTERS

919-309-9100, www.bigspoonroasters.com

Causing a Stir

HOW DURHAM’S BIG SPOON ROASTERS TOOK ITS NUT BUTTERS AND BARS FROM FARMERS MARKETS TO AMAZON BY CHRISTINE BYRNE

A

The Overbays founded Big Spoon in Janun hour into my tour of Big Spoon ary 2011, renting space in various commercial Roasters’ newly expanded Durham kitchens to make coarse-ground nut butter production facility on Hillsborsimilar to what Mark had eaten while living ough Road, I ask Mark Overbay, cofounder in rural Zimbabwe as a Peace Corps volunand owner, if his nut butters are no-stir. teer. Megan, a triathlete, started making her “I’m so glad you asked,” he says in the own energy bars with the nut butter. The most passionate tone I’d heard from him butters and bars were a hit among friends, so yet. (And the guy is pretty passionate about they started selling a few dozen each week at the entire operation, which he and his wife their Carrboro Farmers Market booth.

Megan have built from scratch over the last eight years.)

“When you see ‘no-stir’ on a jar, it means there’s either hydrogenated vegetable oil (trans-fat) in there, or palm oil,” Overbay explains. “Palm oil is notoriously destructive to the environment—it’s the number one source of deforestation in Southeast Asia, which just makes me mad. It’s an ingredient for convenience, but how hard is it just to stir a jar? So, no, our jars aren’t no-stir.”

(Overbay wrote a blog post on palm oil in June 2016, two years before the New York Times and ProPublica published a huge investigation and Big Spoon Roasters’ peanut pecan butter PHOTO BY ERIC WATERS brought national attention In 2013, they moved into their own proto the issue.) duction facility, using industrial equipment All of this to say: Big Spoon’s ethos is to make the nut butters and bar “dough,” but built on meticulous ingredient sourcing, still spooning nut butter into jars and handenvironmental and social responsibility shaping bars on a slab table. They used cash (it’s also part of Durham’s Living Wage flow and took out loans to add machines Project), and quality without cutting corgradually, and slowly expanded into local ners. In 2011, the Overbays’ first year, they specialty stores like Foster’s Market and sold 4,100 jars of nut butter and 650 handParker and Otis. Now, their goods are sold shaped bars, mostly from a farmers marin all forty-two Whole Foods stores in the ket booth. Now, they’ve expanded their region, a few North Carolina grocery chains, facility to meet increasing demand from and specialty grocers nationwide. across the country, but they are more com2018 was a huge year for Big Spoon. It mitted than ever to maintaining the stanreceived a $10,000 grant from Burt’s Bees dards that made them so popular in the Natural Launchpad. It hired operations first place.

18 | 2.13.19 | INDYweek.com

director Mike Silver from Raleigh-based restaurant Neomonde. It expanded its facility to more than double its original size and added a few more machines—one to shape bars, another to wrap them, and one that lids jars. The bar offerings grew from two, Apricot Pepita and Cherry Pecan, to four, with the addition of Figgy Chai and Cranberry Cashew. The company currently sells eleven nut butter varieties and often collaborates with similarminded companies on limited-edition offerings, such as Tigerwalk Espresso Nut Butter crafted with beans from Californiabased Equator Coffees and Teas, and an AB&J package featuring Tigerwalk alongside jam from Oregonbased Vintner’s Kitchen. To put its growth into context: Big Spoon sold 4,100 jars and 650 bars in 2011; 87,000 jars and 26,000 bars in 2015; and 140,000 jars and 42,000 bars in 2018.

It’s noteworthy that, in a world of relentless influencer marketing and targeted ads, Big Spoon has grown mostly through word of mouth. Its nut butter was first featured in Bon Appétit in 2011 and has since become a favorite among food editors. It also sponsors ultramarathoner Michael Wardian and obstacle racer Amelia Boone, who tweeted about wanting to find the world’s best peanut butter and ended up choosing Big Spoon.

A far cry from its farmers market days, you can now pick up Big Spoon products at any Whole Foods in the region, countless specialty stores, or online through their website (the bars are also available on Amazon). Just remember, oil separation occurs naturally in non-stabilized nut butters: Stir before eating. food@indyweek.com

food Forty Winks

IN NIGHTCAP, KARA NEWMAN OFFERS DOZENS OF DREAMY COCKTAILS TO END THE NIGHT—OR TO KEEP IT GOING

BY LAYLA KHOURY-HANOLD

The Amari-O Brothers cocktail PHOTO BY ANTONIS ACHILLEOS

“H

ow about a nightcap?”

There’s a lot wrapped up in that question, but whether you’re looking to close out the night or keep it going, the nightcap is not just a singular entity. As author Kara Newman explores in her latest book, Nightcap (Chronicle Books), the modern nightcap is much more nuanced than its ‘wink, wink’ reputation, and it’s gaining a larger foothold in our drinking culture. To wit, the book showcases more than forty recipes from bartenders around the country: some that are boozy, some that could double as dessert, a few to keep the conversation going, some that aid digestion, and several to send you to sleep.

We spoke to Newman by phone in advance of her upcoming book event at The Durham on February 19, when the bar team will be mixing up cocktails inspired by the book and featuring spirits from Durham distiller The Brothers Vilgalys (snacks are provided, cocktails available for purchase).

Here, Newman shares her definition of the modern nightcap, how it got a bad rap, and the book’s best surprises and rule-breakers.

INDY: You’ve written books about batch cocktails (Cocktails for a Crowd), equal parts cocktails (Shake. Stir. Sip.), making cocktails on the go (Road Soda), among others. What made you want to write about nightcaps?

KARA NEWMAN: The short answer is that there hadn’t been anything done on it recently. It just seemed it was time for a more modern take on the nightcap and its role in our drinking landscape.

As you point out, nightcaps aren’t really a category or a style. It’s more about timing and personal circumstances. How did you end up defining the nightcap?

I talked to a lot of bartenders, and I thought about the role of a nightcap and finally landed on the idea that it’s not just a singular style

of drink. Sometimes, it’s not even a cocktail at all; sometimes it’s just a simple, straight pour.

How people interact with a nightcap was interesting to tackle. For some, it’s about ending an evening at home, for some it’s about winding down a meal at a restaurant, for others, it may play more of a dessert-style role.

It also plays a role in extending conversation.

I thought that a nightcap was always going to be something stirred and boozy. One of the big surprises for me was that sometimes people prefer a low-alcohol or even a no-alcohol nightcap. Or it can be caffeinated, because people take coffee at the end of a meal. There were a surprising number of nightcap recipes that had caffeine.

Is there one that was particularly surprising to you?

The Fernet Flip was one of the catalysts for the book. I was in Chicago for a work event, and my husband and I were having a nice end-of-night drink at the bar. I was astonished that there were so many people still up on a random Tuesday night, and everyone was ramping up. The bartender made this drink for me from the “end of the night” part of the menu. It’s made with cream, eggs, and a local fernet that was a collaboration with a local coffee roaster. It tasted like espresso in a glass; it was comforting and dessert-like.

The bartender said to me, “We sell a lot of this drink and a lot of drinks off this portion of the menu, because lots of people are coming in for a ‘nightcap,’” and he said that in air quotes. They’re really pausing before they party on for the rest of the night.

Your book is about the modern-day nightcap. What is the nightcap’s historical significance, and how has the nightcap changed?

The earliest nightcaps weren’t called nightcaps. They’ve been around for as long as we’ve had access to alcohol or any kind of drinking culture. The word “night cap”— something to keep your head warm when you’re sleeping—came into existence in the 1800s well before “nightcap” as a drink.

In terms of nightcap as a drink, I came across a book from the 1800s from Oxford University called Nightcap. The drinks in there are not specifically nightcaps, but they’re still drinks that would’ve been appropriate for drinking as a nightcap, like a lot of port, a lot of drinks made with eggs and cream—a lot like that Fernet Flip. It

wasn’t uncommon in the 1800s and early 1900s for drinking to take place at the beginning of the day or to take place all day long, right until the Temperance movement when things became a little more regulated and drinking became a nighttime thing with a bit of festive daytime drinking here and there.

At that point, there’s this whole mid-century “wink wink, come back to my place and have a nightcap baby.” It doesn’t do the nightcap any favors. It’s not about the drink, it’s about what it’s for—I’ll leave that to your imagination.

The Paper Planes Shots is an interesting, modern take. What’s the story there?

The Paper Plane is a lovely drink on its own.

It’s a riff on the Last Word cocktail, which is a classic equal parts cocktail. It’s Aperol, bourbon, amaro, and lemon juice. I went to the Four Seasons bar (now The Grill) and was sitting at this long, elegant bar in midtown Manhattan. There were two couples partying hard. They’d been there for a while, and the bartender was clearly ready for them to go, but he was trying to send them off in a good frame of mind. He gave them their check and poured out four little shots of this pink liquid. They toasted and cheered, then they paid their bill and left. It turned into a very festive sendoff. It was their nightcap.

At the same time, here’s this drink that kind of violates every “rule” you might have set up for the nightcap genre. It’s a sour, it’s not a straight pour of anything, it’s bright pink, and it seems a little too stimulating, but it was perfect in that moment.

What nightcaps will be served at your upcoming event at The Durham?

The bar team came up with cocktail specials inspired by the book and featuring spirits from The Brothers Vilgalys. They are doing an interpretation of The Nineteenth Century, called The Fifteenth Century. It will have tequila and mezcal instead of bourbon, as well as Zaphod, a tropical fruit liqueur.

They’re also doing the Suppressor No. 246, which is a style of lower-alcohol cocktails.

Instead of honey, they’re using the Krupnikas honey liqueur, and in lieu of the chai infusion, they’re adding a chai-inspired infused vermouth. They’re putting a local spin on it, which I’m 100 percent in favor of. laylakh@indyweek.com

NIGHTCAP HAPPY HOUR WITH KARA NEWMAN AND BROTHERS VILGALYS February 19, 6 to 8 p.m., free with RSVP The Durham Hotel, Durham www.thedurham.com

INDYweek.com | 2.13.19 | 19

indymusic

PARTY ILLEGAL FEAT. SINISTARR Saturday, Feb. 16, 10 p.m.–2 a.m., $10 The Pinhook, Durham www.thepinhook.com

Drum and Basics

AS BREAKBEAT TRENDS COME AND GO, SINISTARR KEEPS HIS FEET PLANTED IN DETROIT HISTORY AND HIS VISION TRAINED ON THE GLOBAL FUTURE BY DAVID FORD SMITH

Sinistarr PHOTO COURTESY OF THE ARTIST

I

n 2002, James Stinson—half of the enigmatic, pioneering Detroit electronic duo Drexciya—gave a rare interview to WDET. In it, Stinson described his knotty fixation with cryptic ocean imagery as a desire for limitless sonic exploration. He wanted to transport his audience to uncharted worlds beyond Detroit.

“I don’t want to ride the image of a place,” Stinson said. “I want to take people somewhere else, instead of giving them the same things they see every day. Yes, I was born here, but I want to give a different feel.”

20 | 2.13.19 | INDYweek.com

For decades, this adventurous impulse drove the best strains of Detroit electronic music. Even now, in the ever-expanding realms of this decade’s dance music, when the internet has rendered crate-digging as effortless as downloading Soulseek and plugging a panoply of on-trend SoundCloud mixes, the curative act of stepping outside the tried and true is more crucial than ever.

Despite unlimited options, the signal-tonoise ratio in the algorithm-driven streaming age makes singular voices feel like priceless gifts. Oliver Long, cofounder of

Charlotte’s Detroit-influenced techno label Abstracta Audio, sums up the ethos nicely: “I often want to hear sounds where I question how the fuck the producer did this,” he says.

Detroit’s Jeremy Howard, aka Sinistarr, is a varied and prolific drum-and-bass producer who has released records on seminal labels like Metalheadz, Hospital Records, and Exit Records. On February 16, he performs with Long, DJ Jules, and Treee City at Party Illegal’s latest Pinhook show. As Sinistarr, he has long acknowledged the need to chart his own atlas through dance music.

“I think modern internet trends lead to groupthink, especially in drum-and-bass and jungle circles,” Howard says. “As a result, you get ten of the same deejays playing ten of the same tracks off of one mix they heard. So I do my best to stay out of most of it in order to keep a clear head.”

As far back as his earliest releases in the mid-aughts, Sinistarr’s smeared take on breakbeats revealed his interest in crossing genres and boundaries. On cuts like 2008’s “Detroit Diesel,” he interlaced the complex, anarchic spirit of drum-and-bass with a no-genre menagerie of sounds that felt true to his influences: classic off-kilter jungle breaks, roughshod ambient samples, and the blippy plinks of early video game soundtracks.

Almost thirteen years later, his productions are polished by a lifetime of music obsession. Growing up as a curious kid in Detroit, Howard voraciously sifted through mixtapes his parents received from friends, which provided exposure to genres like soca, Nigerian highlife, and house music. There was also the magnetic attraction of local radio, which helped him key in to Detroit’s dance-music legacy, including area staples such as Underground Resistance.

“I would listen to live-mix shows on Detroit radio stations like WJLB and WDTJ in the late nineties on the weekends,” Howard says.

“We knew drum-and-bass as ghettotech, which is a style of deejaying in Detroit that also has its own dance called jit. Their style is

wild because it’s literally a mix of everything, set to a fast tempo—you get Miami bass, juke, jungle, and house tunes sped up to match the faster tracks. Only later on did I understand that there was a strong connection between Detroit and London, from digging deeper for both techno and drum-and-bass records and finding samples that were originally techno songs in the drum-and-bass tunes.”

Howard began to gain traction in his production career around 2010. Jungle, drum-and-bass, and other breakbeatfocused forms of music have never entirely disappeared from public view, but they maintained a lower profile throughout much of the aughties, after the rave era of the mid-nineties dissipated and trends like “breakcore” sputtered.

But in the last decade, there has been a strong move towards innovation and experimentation along this axis, thanks to savvy UK labels like Creative Source and Exit Records, both of which have released records

by Sinistarr. Other internet-beloved outposts like Night Slugs began to subtly incorporate breaks into their post-genre stew. At the same time, dance music was being pulled into the proclivities of EDM, and a number of less-than-nuanced producers began to adapt drum-and-bass, often in formulaic, ham-fisted productions designed to appeal to the burgeoning EDM festival market. I ask Howard where he thinks this cluster of genres has landed ten years later, now that some of the noise has died out.

“I think this music has gone back to being experimental rather than sticking to a certain formula or label, and to uniqueness being considered niche,” he says. “Hiphop and dance music have become the two primary genres on the radio, and there are edits, original songs, and remixes that cover both in a really creative manner, especially with footwork, ghettotech, and jungle. I think mixing the two makes music much more accessible and can really grab the interest of both old and new listeners.” music@indyweek.com

indystage

BULLTOWN COMEDY SERIES Tuesday, Feb. 19, 9 p.m., free Fullsteam Brewery, Durham www.fullsteam.ag

Comedy Monger

FROM FISHMONGER'S TO HUNKY DORY, DEB ARONIN KEEPS STAND-UP COMEDY IN DURHAM ON THE MOVE

BY KATIE JANE FERNELIUS

D

coordinate the weekly show with Aronin uring the early years of downtown before he moved out to Los Angeles. “The Durham’s current wave of develaudience was a couple of friends, our partopment, the best place in town for ners. We actually went down and talked to stand-up comedy was a makeshift stage on the people in Fishmonger’s and told them the top floor of Fishmonger’s Restaurant & Oyster Bar on Main Street.

Calling it a stage was generous; it was a couple of pallets stacked together. There was no proper lighting. It smelled like shellfish. But Fishmonger’s was generous with its bourbon: charging for one shot, but pouring at least two. And, more important, the restaurant agreed to give every Saturday night to Deb Aronin, a local comedian who was eager to establish a weekly open mic. She called it “Comedy Mongers.”

Then, Aronin was a newly converted stand-up comedian. After graduating from Duke in 2008, where she studied history and documentary studies, she worked part-time at a café. At the behest of her musician boyfriend, who liked the humorous notes that she would leave around the apartment, she performed her first few stand-up sets at The Broad Street Café before her fondness for the C-word prevented her from performing there again. But no matter: By then, she was already hooked on comedy. She started attend- Deb Aronin PHOTO COURTESY OF THE SUBJECT ing a Monday open mic at The Tavwe were going to be upstairs doing comedy. ern, but was puzzled by the lack of weekend We were also on the street barking at people shows in Durham. It seemed like a gap. and got some people that way. It was not a “Nobody used to come to Durham for comroaring success, but it was a fun show. And it edy,” Aronin says. “You had to go to Raleigh. showed us there was an audience for comedy You had to go to Chapel Hill. Or you had to in Durham.” go to Greensboro. And I really liked DurAt first glance, it might not seem like ham. I saw where it was going, and it’s grown Aronin was destined for comedy. The into this awesome place that everybody loves daughter of neuroscientists, she grew up now. Somebody had to!” in Newton, Massachusetts, a suburb of To produce her first show, Aronin purBoston (home, notably, to the Fig Newchased a used PA system from a friend’s ton). She has two older sisters, both overband, made a poster, and spread the word far achievers in their own right—one recently and wide. competed in the Boston Marathon. But “The first show was an oddball affair,” Aronin says she was the entertainer of says comedian Tyler Meznarich, who helped

the family, always angling to make her mom, who she says has a trademark laugh, crack up. In imitation, Aronin breaks into a wide, open grin and gasps for air while squeaking intermittently. Her mother, she

says, has continued to be supportive of her comedy aspirations, despite being a bit prone to exaggeration.

“My mom tells her friends that I run a comedy club,” Aronin says. She doesn’t—at least, not yet—but she might as well. She has run her Saturday open mic for more than five years, migrating from Fishmonger’s to Tootie’s to Sam’s Quik Shop (R.I.P. times three). She wonders whether her open mic cursed these establishments. (Another name for that curse might be gentrification.)

Now, the open mic has found a new home at Hunky Dory on Ninth Street. On March 2, the first show there kicks off at 8:00 p.m.

“If you’re a comic in Durham, there’s definitely a ceiling on opportunities where there are only so many clubs, there are only so many paid spots or spots where you could go and do more than a five-minute open-mic set,” Meznarich says.

“What Deb did was beyond just starting a show and providing affordable entertainment. She was also giving a lot of quality stage time to newer comedians who didn’t have that access before.”

Three years ago, Aronin took over the Bulltown Comedy Series and now programs a monthly line-up of stand-up comedians at Fullsteam Brewery (the next installment is on Tuesday, February 19). She has brought big comedians like Beth Stelling and Dulcé Sloan to Motorco and The Pinhook, promoting the shows herself and investing her own money in the process.

“Deb is a real tenacious person,” Meznarich says. “Once she had that sense that she could do it on her own, she just did it on her own. She found Motorco, negotiated a deal with them, and started talking to comics. She just went and booked these comics herself.”

Aronin believes her comedy has mellowed with age; she no longer drops quite so many C-words. But at a recent Bulltown Comedy Series—which she programmed, emceed, and performed at— she made a joke about her pubic hair that somehow cogently linked to the Gaza strip and the Israel-Palestine conflict, so the jury is out on her claim that she has “mellowed.” But her enthusiasm for making space for comedy in Durham has not mellowed in the least.

“There are times that I get really frustrated because I will lose a lot of money or people won’t show up for a show, and I’m like, ‘I can’t keep doing this!’” Aronin says. “But then I have a sold-out show I’m hosting in front of two hundred people, and I just get sucked right back in.” arts@indyweek.com INDYweek.com | 2.13.19 | 21

indyscreen

THE GOSPEL ACCORDING TO ANDRÉ Sunday, Feb. 17, 7 p.m., $10 Hillside High School, Durham www.dpsnc.net/Hillside

Home Style

FASHION ICON ANDRÉ LEON TALLEY RETURNS TO DURHAM TO SIFT THROUGH MEMORIES BOTH POIGNANT AND PAINFUL IN A RECENT DOCUMENTARY BY LAYLA KHOURY-HANOLD

B

efore becoming a food writer, I worked in fashion in New York City in the early aughts. Going to fashion shows was one of the perks, but even more than the beautiful clothes and the models sashaying down the runway, I looked forward to seeing André Leon Talley, Vogue’s then editor-at-large. The man had such presence— literally. He towered over the diminutive A-listers who shared his front-row status, but there was also something regal about the way he carried himself (though the flowing capes and custom kaftans likely helped). He is revered in the industry for his flamboyance and witty fashion commentary—he’s been called “the Kofi Annan of what you got on”— in a career that spans five decades.

Talley comes home on February 17 to hold court at Hillside High School for a Q and A and screening of The Gospel According to André, a fashion documentary that spans his childhood in Jim Crow-era Durham and his rise through “the chiffon trenches,” as he calls the industry. The event concludes the Hillside Legacy Weekend honoring Talley and his former teacher, Wanda Garrett, who appears in the film, and a portion of the proceeds will benefit programs at his alma maters, Hillside and North Carolina Central University.

We spoke by phone with the film’s director, Kate Novack, to learn why Durham is the heart and soul of the film, and why Talley is a documentarian’s dream.

INDY: I’ve read that you’re a fan of fashion documentaries. What made you want to make one telling Talley’s story, and what made you feel that the timing was right?

KATE NOVACK: The fashion documentary genre is often about the act of becoming who one wants to be in the world. At the same time, they’re great vehicles to reflect the culture in which we’re living. So, that’s part of why the genre appealed to me.

You go to a fashion show, and, somehow, there’s nothing like seeing André. He’s such an anomaly in the world of fashion, which is 22 | 2.13.19 | INDYweek.com

part of what makes him such an interesting character. The movie is meant to show that his journey wasn’t always as easy as he made it look. He’s kind of a documentarian’s dream: He’s a larger-than-life character; he’s funny; he’s unpredictable. But at the same time, there is so much more to him than what you see on the surface. And I felt that, in many ways, the portrait that existed of him was a lot about his surface.

How did you approach him about the project, and how you were able to reveal some of those interior layers?

My producing partner and husband, Andrew Rossi, directed and produced a film called The First Monday in May about the Costume Institute at the Met. André was in that movie and helped promote it. I went to one of those screenings, and a young man in the audience stood up and said, “I moved to New York City to study fashion. My parents don’t believe that what I do is real, but I know that it is because I saw you do it.” It was a very poignant and moving moment. It felt like a glaring omission that there had never been a film about André made before.

I read his memoir before our meeting, and I said to him, “If we do this movie, I want to show another side of you. Really, the heart of the movie is going to be Durham.” The first thing he said to me was, “OK, if we do this, I have to take you behind my childhood church and walk you through the woods to the spot where I was baptized.” So, it was very clear from the beginning that I didn’t want to do a rehash of what we had seen of him already.

Can you share more about the tone you wanted to strike and how you achieved that by choosing to have Durham at the heart of the movie?

I wanted to situate André on the front porch of his home in Westchester, outside of New York City, and have him tell his own story.

He’s a natural storyteller, and so the film, and the reason it’s called The Gospel According to André, is André’s telling of his own story.

André Leon Talley PHOTO BY COLIN GRAY/COURTESY OF MAGNOLIA PICTURES

He was born in D.C. but went as a very young boy to Durham, so it begins in Durham, and Durham is very much in André still. His front porch is meaningful to him partly because he grew up sitting on a front porch with his relatives listening to their stories.

Maybe it was also painful to go back because he grew up during Jim Crow; he talked about getting hit with stones crossing Duke University’s campus. How were you able to explore the tension between coming from the segregated South into this very exclusive, largely white world of fashion?

I think “gospel” is poignant, too, because By having him tell his story, it helped the church plays a role in his upbringing, bring to light where he came from, what and it lends itself to dividing the film into he dealt with as a boy, and, in many ways, chapters. dealt with throughout his career. We no In André’s memoir, he talks about a song longer have legalcalled “Precious ized segregation, but M e m o r i e s ” — i t ’s he still faced racism actually the song as an adult in very that plays at the very “sophisticated” cirend of the film—and cles. Over the course how when he heard of the movie, we it in church, he would go from President always cry. That song Obama, the first is about how memoAfrican-American ry can be a sustainpresident, to Presiing force. And André dent Trump. In the loves gospel music, so beginning, when there was the gospelAndré would speak music piece of it, and about how he wished then this idea that that his grandmoththis is André telling er had seen Michelle his story; this is his Obama on the cover gospel. It was just this of Vogue, there was lightbulb moment of, a sense of, “Look “Oh, that’s the perfect how far our country title for the movie.” I has come.” By the also like it because it end of filming, that feels big and grand, had changed. We and that’s very much Kate Novack COURTESY OF MAGNOLIA PICTURES filmed when Donald André to me.

Trump was being sworn in, and André doesn’t go quiet very Can you share more about capturing Duroften, but, in that moment, he becomes very ham for Talley as a child, and how it’s conquiet. I really feel his pain. In some ways, tinued to be this sustaining force?

I think it helped bring that historical traIn his memoir, he talks about some of his jectory to light. But it made the urgency of friends from childhood, some of his teachers, André’s story even clearer. so there were people that I wanted him to get back in touch with. Anne Bibby is a friend; she What was it like working with Talley? was sort of his first muse. And then, Bruce André goes back and forth between havWeaver, who is one of André’s best childhood ing childlike wonder and trust to being friends. Seeing André with Bruce, I loved, very self-protective. And in some ways, because they’re like boys again. One of my the movie is meant to unpack that, and to favorite parts is when Bruce and André go show how adeptly he can move between back and see Mrs. Garrett, who had been such those two states. André needs space at a formative force in both of their lives. times, and André needs to be embraced at The Durham trip wasn’t easy for André. times, and it was a question of a rhythm He loves Durham—it’s in his soul; it’s in his and really understanding that. When you heart—but I think there are painful memories make a film, especially about someone’s there. His beloved grandmother who raised life, it’s also an exercise in empathy. I him—he still owns and maintains her home understand that André was looking back there—passed away many years ago. One at a wonderful time in his life, but also of the most difficult shoots was when he telling a story about having rocks thrown returned to her house and spoke about the at him, or remembering his grandmother’s difficulty of that loss. But it was one of the death, that’s really difficult. most important and poignant moments of arts@indyweek.com the film.

screen

BRIEF

CAPERNAUM ½

F E B R UARY

FR 15 THE BREAKFAST CLUB W/ BAD INC 8p SA 2/16 • 7P

Opening Friday, Feb. 15 W/ MAJ DEEKA / PEGASUS PLUS

FR 22 CORROSION OF CONFORMITY W/ CROWBAR/THE OBSESSED/ MOTHERSHIP 6:30p

SA 23 MAYDAY! & RDGLDGRN W/ LITTLE STRANGER 8p

SU 24 ASLEEP AT THE WHEELSTRING BAND TOUR 7p

WE 27 JJ GREY AND MOFRO W/ CRIS JACOBS BAND 7p

PHOTO BY CHRISTOPHER AOUN/COURTESY OF SONY PICTURES CLASSICS

The winner of the Jury Prize at the 2018 Cannes Film Festival, Capernaum tells the grim story of Zain, a twelve-year-old Lebanese boy born into extreme poverty.

When he fails to rescue his younger sister from a terrible fate, he runs away from home, disappearing into the crowded slums of Beirut.

Living off his wits and a kind of brainstem survival instinct, Zain improvises clever solutions to lethal dilemmas. He eventually finds a friend in Rahil, an African refugee who lives in a crumbling shantytown with her toddler son, Yonas.

When Rahil vanishes, Zain becomes the child’s fierce guardian, wheeling tiny Yonas through the slums in a bucket strapped to a skateboard.

Capernaum (the word means “chaos”) moves with the speed and verve of an adventure movie while also capturing a street-level view of brutal poverty and despair. Lebanese director Nadine Labaki shot the film vérité-style over the course of six months, using handheld cameras, natural light, guerrilla improvisations, and nonprofessional actors.

In fact, the real-life stories of the performers parallel events in the film. In one critical scene, refugee mother Rahil is jailed for being undocumented. Three days later, the woman playing Rahil was arrested for the same thing.

The story behind the story of Capernaum is an important part of it.

Unfortunately, director Labaki kneecaps her own endeavor with a didactic framing narrative that doesn’t really work. You may read elsewhere that this film is about a kid who sues his parents. Ignore that. It’s technically accurate but terribly misleading. Roger Ebert had a perfect line for situations like this: "A movie is not about what it is about. It is about how it is about it." —Glenn McDonald

MAR C H

SA 2 WHO’S BAD – THE ULTIMATE

MICHAEL JACKSON EXPERIENCE 7:30p

SU 3 Y & T 7p FR 8 WHISKEY MYERS

DIE ROCKIN’ TOUR

W/ BONES OWEN 7p AT THE RITZ

FR 8 JULIA MICHAELS W/ TBA 7p SA 9 CITIZEN COPE 7p MO 11 CRANK IT LOUD & LINCOLN

THEATRE PRESENT: THE DECIBEL MAGAZINE TOUR 2018 6p THE HIP ABDUCTION 7p

WE 13 FR 15 ADRIAN BELEW

W/ SAUL ZONANA 7:30p

SA 16 WEEKEND EXCURSION 7p SU 17 KELLY HOLLAND MEMORIAL SHOW 5p

TH 21 FAILURE & SWERVEDRIVER 7:30p

FR 22 TODD SNIDER 7:30p SA 23 LYRICAL LEMONADE PRESENTS:

LIL MOSEY NORTHSBEST TOUR 7p

TU 26 GETTER PRESENTS VISCERAL 7p WE 27 SHALLOU & SLOW MAGIC: INTO THE WILD TOUR 7p

FR 29 RECKLESS KELLY & PAUL THORN 7:30p

SA 30 BOULEVARDS W/ KOOLEY HIGH/ ZACK MEXICO 7:30p

CO M I N G S O O N

4/1 BUCKETHEAD 7p 4/4 VEGABONDS 7p 4/5 BARCODE SILENT HEADPHONE 4/7 4/10 4/11 4/18 4/20

PARTY 9p TAB BENOIT 7p ROBERT EARL KEEN 7p BAD SUNS W/ TBA 7p THE BAND OF HEATHENS 7p 420 REGGAE FEST FT. TREEHOUSE! & MORE FEATURING TREEHOUSE!, SONS OF PARADISE AND MORE 7p

4/24 BLUE OCTOBER, THE KING TOUR W/ TBA 7p

4/26 DAVID ALLAN COE W/ BIGGINS /

AARON HAMM & BIG RIVER BAND 7p

5/11 TRAVERS BROTHERSHIP W/ TBA 6:30p

6/19 THE RECORD COMPANY 7p 7/20 LONG BEACH DUB ALLSTARS

W/ AGGROLITES / MIKE PINTO 7:30p

ADV. TICKETS @ LINCOLNTHEATRE.COM & SCHOOLKIDS RECORDS ALL SHOWS ALL AGES

126 E. Cabarrus St.• 919-821-4111 www.lincolntheatre.com INDYweek.com | 2.13.19 | 23

screen

HAYTI HERITAGE FILM FESTIVAL

Thursday, Feb. 14–Saturday, Feb. 16, free–$50 Hayti Heritage Center, Durham www.haytifilmfest.org

Claim to Frame

deep dive

UNDER LANA GARLAND, THE HAYTI HERITAGE FILM FESTIVAL STILL ENSURES THE SOUTH WON’T BE EDITED OUT OF BLACK CINEMA

BY KHAYLA DEANS

EAT • DRINK • SHOP • PLAY

The INDY’s monthly neighborhood guide to all things Triangle

Coming February 20:

DOWNTOWN DURHAM For advertising opportunities, contact your ad rep or advertising@indyweek.com 24 | 2.13.19 | INDYweek.com

Lana Garland

T

PHOTO COURTESY OF THE SUBJECT

his week marks the twenty-fifth anniversary of the Hayti Heritage Film Festival, presented by the Hayti Heritage Center with the support of St. Joseph’s Historic Foundation. The annual event is one of the nation’s longest-running film festivals focusing on Black films and storytellers. Since its inception, the festival has screened many narrative films and documentaries, providing a platform and an audience for emerging and established filmmakers. The festival was created to be the premier event for films by Southern filmmakers from the African diaspora.

Since last year, the festival has been led by director and curator Lana Garland, a Philadelphia native who now lives in Durham, where she is the executive producer at Insibah Media and an educator in film.

“Soon as I got to Durham, I just got plugged into anything relating to film,” Garland says.

“This film festival was one of the events that I would come to. I came for several years, and then I just had an idea of how it could be. So I begged Angela Lee, the executive director of [the Hayti], to trust me with it.”

Garland’s love of film began early, when she spent hours of adolescent summer breaks watching classic Hollywood movies.

It wasn’t until 1989, with the release of Spike Lee’s iconic Do the Right Thing, that Garland decided to be a filmmaker. She describes a scene in the movie in which a little girl draws on the street with chalk.

“It’s a very innocuous scene, and no one ever remembers this,” she says. “Eventually there’s the big reveal that she is writing her name, and it is Lana. I took that as a sign.”

Thirty years later, Garland is including the film in the festival, with a free screening on Thursday morning. Although she was not a part of the festival at its inception, she under-

stands why the founders created it when they did, as Black independent cinema was thriving in big cities but less prominent in the South.

“If you think about twenty-five years ago, that was a time when we were getting into the vanguard of the Black independent film vis-à-vis Spike Lee and others,” Garland says. “If they are doing that there, meaning the city centers like New York and Los Angeles, why can’t we do that here? Build it, and it would grow.”

Garland earned her chops on the festival circuit as a producer for HBO, where she became a critical advocate and partner for the American Black Film Festival, Martha’s Vineyard African American Film Festival, and Urbanworld Film Festival. Primarily, she experienced festivals that cater to the industry or to artists who live in major film hubs. The Hayti Heritage Film Festival

stands out because of its commitment to uplifting local stories about the American South.

“When you talk about Black content, there is no film festival that is trying to forefront Black Southern storytelling,” Garland says. “That has to happen. Why? The South is ancestral land for African Americans.”

The significance of the festival being held at the original St. Joseph’s AME Church, now run as the Hayti by St. Joseph’s Historic Foundation, cannot be overstated.

A national historic landmark, the former church anchors the Hayti district of Durham, which, from the 1880s to the 1940s,

each other on Saturday afternoon. Cole has worked as a cinematographer on critically acclaimed films such as JINN and Solace, which are both screening at the festival, and Wilson is a filmmaker whose live-action short, My Nephew Emmett, was nominated for an Oscar.

The schedule contains a wide array of programming. On Thursday, the opening day, there will be a sneak peek of television and online projects by North Carolina filmmakers, including The Land of Fish and Grits

by Justin Robinson, which tells a story of Southern food rooted in Black and indigenous culture, and Mr. Soul!, a documentary

SUMMER MAGIC Summer Camps | Ages 4-18 June 17- July 26

Active, healthy summer days filled with fine arts, fort-building, woodwork, crafts, skateboarding, nature exploration, and more on our 54 acres of fields, forests, and farm.

Hair Wolf

(919) 967-1858 • emersonwaldorf.org 6211 New Jericho Rd, Chapel Hill, NC 27516 PHOTO COURTESY OF THE HAYTI HERITAGE FILM FESTIVAL

was an independent and self-sufficient Black community. But the advent of “urban renewal” in the 1950s began to disrupt and displace businesses and neighborhoods in the district. Fast-forward to the present day, Durham is once again undergoing gentrification and rapid change. With the rise of new development, neighborhoods such as Hayti are again affected. Garland, however, is intent on holding onto its resilient spirit.

“I feel like there are so many places that do not have a Hayti, something that has lasted as long as it lasted,” she says. “It is really important. It almost feels like whenever we have an institution like Hayti, we almost have to grab on to it even more and uphold it.”

Garland hopes the festival can put Black Southerners on the film-industry map and help them receive the support that they need.

“Coming back down South for African Americans is like coming to the village,” Garland says. “This is where you get your sustenance. This is where you get your light. If there is anything that the African-American community needs, it’s that. We need to come back, circle the ranks, and support who we are and what we have.”

The idea of returning home holds true for Durham natives Bruce Francis Cole and Kevin Wilson Jr., two independent filmmakers who will be in conversation with

on landmark television show Soul!, which captured the Black experience in the late sixties to the seventies.

On Friday, standout options include While I Breathe, I Hope, a feature-length documentary about Bakari Sellers and Southern democratic politics, and a series of short films that explore Afrofuturism and science fiction, including the hysterical Hair Wolf, a zombie-esque film that takes place in a hair salon. Saturday is also chock-full of good options, including a sci-fi-cartoon writing workshop for kids. Two international films will also screen: Black Orpheus, a love story set during Carnaval in 1960s Rio de Janeiro, and the North Carolina premiere of Bakosó, a documentary on the rise of Afrobeat in Cuba. Director Eli Jacobs-Fantauzzi will be in attendance, and after the screening, Oakland-based artist DJ Leydis will deejay an Afro-Cuban dance party.

“It’s a pretty robust group of films,” Garland says. She encourages everyone to map out a schedule of programming they want to attend in advance. “Don’t come to just one film block. You will not get the full experience. Come out to the festival and we won’t let you down. We are the festival that Black cinema and Black Southern filmmaking deserves.” arts@indyweek.com

W

WEDDING GUIDE

The INDY’s guide for whomever, wherever, however saying “I Do” means to you.

Highlighting wedding possibilities around the Triangle

ISSUE: 3/13 • RESERVATIONS: 3/8

CONTACT YOUR AD REP OR ADVERTISING@INDYWEEK.COM INDYweek.com | 2.13.19 | 25

H po

C ADV

screen

Prophet of Doom

HILLSBOROUGH ARTIST RICHARD CASE PUT AN INDELIBLE STAMP ON COMICS’ WEIRDEST HEROES, NOW HEADING FOR TV BY ZACK SMITH INDY: How do you feel about the new Doom Patrol television series? Have you had a chance to see any of it?

RICHARD CASE: I’m quite excited, but also cautiously optimistic. I’ve only seen a brief trailer, so it’s tough to judge how the characters will really deliver the lines and which storylines they’ll pursue. Crazy Jane, for instance, is a character that is very dear to me, and I’d imagine it’ll be a very difficult role for anyone to play well, given that she has sixty-four separate personalities. Is Diane Guerrero capable of pulling it off? Will the transitions of her switching personalities be directed smartly or will it come off as cheesy? Won’t be able to say until we see it.

But I’m hopeful!

ILLUSTRATION BY CHRISTOPHER WILLIAMS

M

ore than thirty years ago, Richard Case, an artist currently based in Hillsborough, drew an exceedingly strange series for DC Comics that now serves as the basis for a new TV show. Doom Patrol, which premieres Friday, February 15, on the DC Universe streaming channel, promises to bring that strangeness to life.

Case’s comic was a revival of a 1960s title that took a typical superhero premise— people given freakish powers by an accident defend a world that hates and fears them— and added an oddball edge, with characters including Robotman, a human brain in a robot body; Negative Man, radioactive and wrapped in bandages; and M. Mallah, the French gorilla sidekick of a disembodied brain. (Yeah, a lot of loose brains.)

26 | 2.13.19 | INDYweek.com

The Doom Patrol run by Case and soon-tobe-famous Scottish surrealist Grant Morrison skewed deeper and darker, drawing on everything from philosophy and mythology to mental illness, pitting genuinely troubled heroes against genuinely weird threats. New members included the likes of Crazy Jane— an abused woman with sixty-four personalities, each with their own superpower—and a being made of sentient architecture called Danny the Street. New foes included a fictional city come to life, The Painting that Ate Paris, and the Brotherhood of Dada. But at the book’s heart was the touching family the team members formed. Morrison’s first and last issues were bookended with the empathetic line, “Come in out of the rain.”

The series carried on after Morrison and Case departed and had several more revivals,

but they left an indelible impression on the characters. The most recent revival was written by My Chemical Romance front man Gerard Way, who cited Case and Morrison’s run as a formative work for him. (Way’s Doom Patrol-influenced comic, The Umbrella Academy, also has a live-action adaptation premiering this Friday, on Netflix.) But this cult favorite is poised to make its biggest impression on the mainstream yet with the new series, which features Brendan Fraser voicing Robotman and draws heavily from Case and Morrison’s run, from the inclusion of Crazy Jane to Robotman’s largeshouldered leather jacket. Speaking with Case about his time on Doom Patrol and his thoughts on the new series, we also learned the unexpected ways in which the Triangle found its way into the comic.

Tell us a bit about how you came on board the comic in the eighties.

I was working on Dr. Strange for Marvel at the time, in 1988, and my wife and I had recently decided to move away from New Jersey to North Carolina, since I now had regular freelance work and we were looking for a bit of a change. Before doing that, though, I thought it best to meet as many editors as possible at both Marvel and DC to continue building relationships with both of the major comics companies at the time, both of which were located in New York.

Shortly after we moved to the Triangle, I received a letter from Bob Greenberger from DC. He’d seen some of the samples I’d left with another editor and thought I might be a good fit for a book that they were taking in a new direction. The book turned out to be Doom Patrol.

While I liked the original, the recent direction of the book had left me kind of flat. But then, he mentioned that a new writer by the name of Grant Morrison, who was only just making his break in American comics, would be taking over, and he had a radical new approach to the characters. I was intrigued, and Bob sent me Grant’s original pitch treatment and synopsis outlining the first year.

It was roughly sixty pages, and it blew me

“When kids dream of being a superhero, it’s usually Spider-Man or Batman or Wonder Woman—athletic, good-looking, almost supermodel physiques.

But the Doom Patrol were not heroes that you would want to be, or even want to be in the same room with.” away. It was pretty much a manifesto, defining how he meant to return the Doom Patrol to its roots of being truly strange characters, uncomfortably strange characters, and making them be reluctant heroes. When kids dream of being a superhero, it’s usually Spider-Man or Batman or Wonder Woman— athletic, good-looking, almost supermodel physiques. But these characters were not heroes that you would want to be, or even want to be in the same room with, in some cases. They were freaks and weirdos.

How did you try to convey this visually?

Because these were not typical superheroes, we definitely didn’t want to give them traditional superhero tights as costumes. Grant suggested Robotman wearing clothing, particularly the leather jacket with pads—it was the late eighties, all jackets had shoulder padding—and torn jeans and big boots, to make him feel more human. I was keen on bringing angular geometric shapes into some of the uniforms, as evidenced by Crazy Jane’s original costume.

Then I stumbled onto the fashion designer Jean-Paul Gaultier’s work. He was later known as the designer of all of the costumes on The Fifth Element, but even in the late eighties, he was designing postmodern clothes that had a futuristic feel, using big shapes and contrasting materials. His designs definitely influenced some of the shapes in the costumes. A number of the characters wore big, baggy clothes, just to offset the skintight norm of superheroes at the time.

It’s thirty years later, and your Doom Patrol stories are still in print. There’s the TV show; there’ve been things like Gerard Way’s revival that draw very explicitly from your run. It’s proven to be a lasting work and a big part of your career. How would you describe the book’s impact on your life, and what are some of the things you feel have made it particularly enduring?

Thirty years! Yeah, more than half a lifetime ago for me. Certainly, it seems that it was the comic that I’m most remembered for, and as it was early in my career, it definitely opened many other opportunities for me down the road. And in many ways, it’s the most fun I’ve ever had on a book. I genuinely love the characters, and I always awaited the day a new script would show up just to see what we were going to be putting them through this month—once I wrestled it away from my wife, who often would read them before I did. Knowing that Gerard and Nick built from our stories and took them in new directions, it has been fun for me to follow along. Some of the other creators that have taken the Doom Patrol in new directions just didn’t work for me, and some even felt like they were ignoring the work we did on the book. With those, I just felt like, well, that’s a different thing, and I’ve moved on. But the current book, and hopefully, the TV show, carries a lot of the spirit we were pursuing.

Tell us about your work today.

I’ve been here in the Triangle for over thirty years now, moving here just before I got the Doom Patrol gig. I even managed to put hints of my new North Carolina home in the book. As early as the first issue, the hospital Larry Trainor is recovering in is named after Alamance County. Danny the Street is at least partially modeled after Hillsborough, where I lived and where my studio was at the time, and the main street in Graham. These days, I don’t do a whole lot of comics work, making my living as a concept artist for Red Storm Entertainment in Cary, helping create games like Tom Clancy’s The Division 2.

That said, I did just finish illustrating an adaptation of Edgar Allan Poe’s The Fall of the House of Usher, written by Peter Milligan for Ahoy Comics, that will be out in late February. arts@indyweek.com INDYweek.com | 2.13.19 | 27

WHAT TO DO THIS WEEK 2.13–2.20 SATURDAY, FEBRUARY 16

JOHN JAMES AUDUBON’S THE BIRDS OF AMERICA

Before the gig economy solidified itself as a talisman of late capitalism, there was John James Audubon, a struggling naturalist who paid his bills by teaching dance lessons and working with taxidermy. Then came his big break: The Birds of America, a bound collection of 435 life-size watercolors of birds so big that, when opened—an act that required two people—it was nearly the wingspan of a mountain hawk. Today, only two hundred copies of the book still exist; in 1864, the state of North Carolina acquired one of them. NCMA will host the book through the end of the year, coupled with “The Audubon Experience,” an immersive multimedia room on display through September which recreates the sounds and sights the naturalist might have encountered.

(Speaking of late capitalism: Many of the stunning birds that he painted are now extinct.)

At 9:00 a.m. on opening day, February 16, NCMA will participate in the Audubon Society’s Great Backyard Bird Count, held at the museum park. Two other shows also open: photography exhibit Within the Frame and multimedia exhibit Sayler Morris: Their World Is Not Our World. —Sarah Edwards NORTH CAROLINA MUSEUM OF ART, RALEIGH 9 a.m., free, www.ncartmuseum.org

John James Audubon’s “Red-Throated Diver” from The Birds of America PHOTO COURTESY OF NCMA

THURSDAY, FEBRUARY 14–TUESDAY, FEBRUARY 19

FRIDAY, FEBRUARY 15–SUNDAY, MARCH 3

STEW & THE NEGRO PROBLEM

THE WOLVES

VON DER HEYDEN STUDIO THEATER, DURHAM 8 p.m. Thu.–Sat./7 p.m. Sun., $10–$25, www.dukeperformances.com

SONOROUS ROAD THEATRE, RALEIGH Various times, $14–$20 www.sonorousroad.com

Over the past five years, James Baldwin seems to be showing up everywhere: in documentaries and movie adaptations, in bookstores and magazine pages. Despite having died more than thirty years ago, his observations of and commentaries about race in the U.S. remain as vital and relevant as ever. Baldwin has been a critical inspiration for the Tony Award-winning playwright and singer Stew, and Notes on a Native Song is his way of paying homage. Originally conceived in 2015 as part of Harlem Stage’s celebration of the ninetieth anniversary of Baldwin’s birth, this song cycle treats the activist and artist as a sort of prism, obliquely recounting episodes from his life and then folding in Stew’s own reactions to Baldwin and the modern world. The music, which Stew wrote with his frequent collaborator Heidi Rodewald, plants itself squarely between genres, blending rock, jazz, and blues into a unified whole, a metaphor for Baldwin’s own genre-defying works. —Dan Ruccia

In Sarah DeLappe’s coming-of-age play, The Wolves, nine girls on an indoor soccer team process local gossip, news of the world, and the challenges of adolescence while warming up before a series of winter season matches. They volley jokes, jibes, and developing views on everything from the internet in China and the detainment of immigrant children to their periods and their slack coach’s hangovers with a verbal velocity that zings—and stings, whenever fellow players are the targets. It is, as the playwright detailed in a 2017 interview, a rare exploration of teenage girls as “complicated, nuanced, very idiosyncratic people who weren’t just girlfriends or sex objects or manic pixie dream girls, but who were athletes and daughters and students and scholars and people who were trying actively to figure out who they were in this changing world around them.” Michelle Murray Wells directs this dramatic comedy, which was a finalist for the 2017 Pulitzer Prize in drama. —Byron Woods

WHAT ELSE SHOULD I DO?

BLACK HISTORY MONTH READING AT THE ORANGE COUNTY PUBLIC LIBRARY (P. 34), BULLTOWN COMEDY SERIES AT FULLSTEAM BREWERY (P. 21), MARGIE GILLIS AT THE RUBY (P. 35), THE GOSPEL ACCORDING TO ANDRÉ AT HILLSIDE HIGH SCHOOL (P. 22), HAYTI HERITAGE FILM FESTIVAL AT THE HAYTI HERITAGE CENTER (P. 24), IT’S COMPLICATED AT THE CARRACK (P. 33), MINDING THE GAP AT THE CAROLINA THEATRE (P. 36), NIGHTCAP HAPPY HOUR AT THE DURHAM HOTEL (P. 19), SINISTARR AT THE PINHOOK (P. 20) 28 | 2.13.19 | INDYweek.com

SUNDAY, FEBRUARY 17

INAUGURAL SUNDAY SERVICE WITH JAKI SHELTON GREEN

The vision of Durham’s illustrious Freelon family, the new NorthStar Church of the Arts has a mission to become “a nexus at the intersection of creativity and spirituality.” Located in the historic Ephphatha Church buildilng on Geer Street, NorthStar is rolling out a variety of arts programming, including musical performances, art exhibitions, and storytelling. It will also fulfill its spiritual appellation with a monthly Sunday service, the first of which, this Sunday, will be led by none other than North Carolina poet laureate Jaki Shelton Green, whose community focus aligns closely with NorthStar’s. “I am very mindful of wanting to make spaces for the poetry of the nontraditional writer, the poetry of the non-academic writer, and helping with the validation process for those voices,” she told the INDY last year. As it happens, Green’s poet laureate induction ceremony also takes place this week, on February 18, in a ceremony at the State Capitol. Other opening events at NorthStar this week include an art exhibit curated by Marcella D Camara and a performance event featuring Kamara Thomas and several others. —Sarah Edwards NORTHSTAR CHURCH OF THE ARTS, DURHAM | 10:30 a.m., free, www.northstardurham.com

2/14 SPAFFORD W/ PSYLO JOE ($17.50/$20) 2/15 COPELAND W/ FROM INDIAN LAKES, MANY ROOMS 2/16 MATT NATHANSON LD W/ BLU SANDERS SO OUT 2/23 HOUNDMOUTH W/ BEN KWELLER, MODERN LOVE CHILD 2/25 TOO MANY ZOOZ W/ ZOOCRU ($17/$19) 2/26 JUKEBOX THE GHOST, THE MOWGLI'S W/ARRESTED YOUTH ($22/$25) 2/27 WET, KILO KISH W/ HANA VU ($25/$28) 3/2 COLE ESCOLA W/ HELP! I’M STUCK! ($20) 3/4 WATSKY W/ BEAU YOUNG PRINCE 3/6 COLD CAVE W/ ADULT AND VOWWS

THURSDAY, FEBRUARY 14–SATURDAY, FEBRUARY 23

HORSES

What do Patti Smith, Leonard Cohen, Nick Cave, PJ Harvey, and Kate Bush have in common?

“They’re uncompromising people,” says longtime performer, director, and deviser Dana Marks. “They don’t give a shit, and even if they do, they keep making their work, no matter what.” The central character in Marks’s new work combines traits from all five singers as a post-punk songwriter embarking on a world tour. In this pseudo-documentary, interviews with journalists on her history and process are leavened with original music and strategic covers of the songs that have most influenced her. Marks says Horses is about “how you stay the course through anything: poverty, the death of friends and family, controversy, and social sea change.” The show is circulating through the Triangle this week—Thursday at Slim’s in Raleigh, Friday at King Street Bar in Hillsborough, and Saturday at Gibson Girl Vintage in Durham—before closing with a three-night run at the Pinhook next week. William Dawson leads the band. —Byron Woods VARIOUS VENUES, TRIANGLE-WIDE | Various times, free, www.littlegreenpig.com

3/7 STRFKR W/ SHY BOYS ($25) 3/8 CHELSEA CUTLER LD W/ ANTHONY RUSSO SO OUT 3/15 THE GONE GHOSTS W/THE

ANTIQUE HEARTS, AND OWEN FITZGERALD ($7/$8)

3/19 TREVOR HALL W/ DIRTWIRE, WILL EVANS ($22/$25) 3/21 ANDREA GIBSON W/ ASHLEE HAZE ($20/$22)

CAT'S CRADLE BACK ROOM 2/13 DAYDREAM NATION A SONIC YOUTH CONCERT FILM BY LANCE BANGS WITH STEVE SHELLEY, LANCE BANGS, MAC MCCAUGHAN AND BILL MOONEY IN CONVERSATION 2/14 DANILEIGH

SOLD OUT

3/30 CARBON LEAF ($20/$25)

4/15 BLACK LIPS W/QUINTRON & MISS PUSSYCAT ($15/$17) 4/16 AND 4/17 MITSKI LD W/ JAY SOM SO OUT 4/18 TOM ODELL W/ LUCIE SILVAS 4/19 THE CHURCH ($25/$28) 4/25 LAURA JANE GRACE & THE DEVOURING MOTHERS W/ MERCY UNION AND CONTROL TOP ($20 / $23) 5/2 FOXING & NOW, NOW W/ DADDY ISSUES ($18/$20) 5/5 JAPANESE BREAKFAST W/ EX HEX AND ETERNAL SUMMERS ($23/$25) 5/6 RIVERSIDE ($20/$25) 5/7 ELI "PAPERBOY" REED ($15/$18) 5/13 THE DRUMS W/ TANUKICHAN 5/14 PUP W/ RATBOYS 5/24 THE JAPANESE HOUSE ($18/$20)

HANK, PATTIE & THE CURRENT 4/4 JUICE 4/10 CHARLIE HUNTER & LUCY WOODWARD ($20/$23) 4/15 BAYONNE W/PALM DAZE ($12/$14) 4/16 THIS WILD LIFE ($16/$18) 4/17 THE WILD REEDS ($14/$16) 4/18 TELEKINESIS W/ SONTALK ($13/$15) 4/21 VALLEY MAKER ($12)

2/21 BAY LEDGES W/ THE DEAD BEDROOMS ($10)

4/13 DURAND JONES & THE INDICATIONS W/ DIVINO NINO ($15)

THE RITZ, RALEIGH | 8 p.m., $29, www.ritzraleigh.com

8/27 ELECTRIC HOT TUNA W/ ROB ICKES & TREY HENSLEY ($45/$50)

2/20 DEAD HORSES & THE BROTHER BROTHERS ($12/$14)

4/11 RUBBLEBUCKET W/ MIKAELA DAVIS

Interpol will never outdo—nor will it ever outlive—its debut, 2002’s Turn on the Bright Lights, which set the metric for what a cool early-aughts New York City band should look, sound, and act like. For the past seventeen years, the trio hasn’t been trying to reinvent itself so much as it’s tried to replicate that turn-of-the-millennium élan, to little avail. (Possibly because Interpol never bothered to replace bassist Carlos D, whose elegant bass parts gave Bright Lights as much verve as Paul Banks’s modish, roguish non sequiturs.) Marauder, released last summer, probably comes closest, if maybe only because of proximity: Its recording sessions bookended the fifteenth-anniversary tour of the band’s debut. It doesn’t quite capture urban malaise or transcendently brooding hedonism the way Bright Lights did—I mean, Paul Banks is forty, you guys—but it’s immediately identifiable as Interpol, and it doesn’t ring as hollow as, say, El Pintor. —Patrick Wall

6/27 PARACHUTE W/ BILLY RAFFOUL ($20/$23)

3/29 SLUGWIFE TAKEOVER TOUR ($20/$25)

4/9 OF MONTREAL W/ YIP DECEIVER ($17)

INTERPOL

6/9 THE LEMONHEADS, TOMMY STINSON ($25/$28)

2/16 THE PARROTS / MOZES AND THE FIRSTBORN W/ JIMMY ($12)

4/8 RIVAL SONS W/ SHEEPDOGS

THURSDAY, FEBRUARY 14

6/2 THE DISTILLERS W/ STARCRAWLER (ON SALE 2/14)

3/25 ADHOC PRESENTS: HOMESHAKE W/ YVES JARVIS

4/5 ELLIS DYSON & THE SHAMBLES ALBUM RELEASE PARTY FT THE TAN & SOBER GENTLEMEN, CRYSTAL BRIGHT & THE SILVER HANDS ($12/$15)

PHOTO COURTESY OF MATADOR RECORDS

FR 2/15

COPELAND

2/15 HANK, PATTIE & THE CURRENT W/ GRAVY BOYS

3/31 THE MIDNIGHT ($20/$22)

MO 2/25

TOO MANY ZOOZ

FR 2/15 @ CAT’S CRADLE BACK ROOM

3/22 NOVO AMOR W/ GIA MARGARET

4/4 BETTER OBLIVION LD COMMUNITY CENTER SO OUT

Interpol

TH 2/14

SPAFFORD

2/22 WORK CLOTHES / DOVE LEGS AND TEGULCIGALPAN 2/23 LOWLAND HUM W/ ANNA TIVEL 2/24 THE ACES

SOLD OUT

2/25 LILY & MADELEINE W/ BROTHER BIRD 2/26 WILLIAM RYAN KEY W/ SELFISH THINGS AND CORY WELLS ($15) 2/27 RED HERRING REUNION ($15/ $18) 3/1 WILLIAM TYLER W/ JAKE XERXES FUSSELL ($15) 3/2 FUTURE THIEVES 3/7 SEAN MCCONNELL W/CALEB ELLIOT 3/8 MIKE KROL, SPIDER BAGS ($10/$12) 3/9 MATT KEREKES W/ JETTY BONES, JACOB SIGMAN 3/10 HOT FLASH HEAT WAVE W/ VACATIONS ($13/$15) 3/11 MEN I TRUST W/ MICHAEL SEYER 3/12 SEAN MCCONNELL ($10/$12) 3/14 UPSTATE 3/15 THE GONE GHOSTS EP RELEASE SHOW W/THE ANTIQUE HEARTS, OWEN FITZGERALD ( $7/$8) 3/21 FIRESIDE COLLECTIVE W/ HONEY MAGPIE ($12/$14) 3/26 EMILY SCOTT ROBINSON W/ TATIANA HARGREAVES, SIMONE FINALLY ($8/$10) 3/28 MAX FROST($15/$17) 3/29 PARKER MILSAP ($15/$18) 4/2 OLD SEA BRIGADE 4/3 AARON LEE TASJAN W/ ROREY CARROLL

4/22 KOLARS ($12/$15) 4/25 ACID MOTHERS TEMPLE W/ YAMANTAKA, SONIC TITAN 5/1 STEVE GUNN ($15/$17) 5/2 JULIA JACKLIN W/ BLACK BELT EAGLE SCOUT ($14/$16) 5/6 PEDRO THE LION W/JOHN VANDERSLICE ($20) 5/7 MURS W/ LOCKSMITH ($15/$17) 5/15 THE SUITCASE JUNKET ($10) 5/16 HENRY JAMISON 5/21 SHAME ($14) 5/23 MARTI JONES & DON DIXON 6/14 EILEN JEWELL ARTSCENTER (CARRBORO)

2/20 JONATHAN RICHMAN FT TOMMY LARKINS ON THE DRUMS 4/29 JOY WILLIAMS (OF THE CIVIL WARS) W/ ANTHONY DA COSTA LOCAL 506 (CHAPEL HILL)

3/11 MASKED INTRUDER CAROLINA THEATRE (DUR)

9/26 JOSH RITTER & THE ROYAL CITY BAND W/ SPECIAL GUEST AMANDA SHIRES MOTORCO (DUR)

2/24 MIKE DOUGHTY PLAYS SOUL COUGHING’S "RUBY VROOM" 25 YEAR ANNIVERSARY TOUR 3/24 ALL THEM WITCHES ($15) 5/14 THANK YOU SCIENTIST W/KINDO AND IN THE PRESENCE OF WOLVES ($16.50/ $20) FLETCHER OPERA THEATER (RAL)

4/3 GRAHAM NASH RED HAT AMPHITHEATER (RAL)

4/27 RAINBOW KITTEN SURPRISE HAW RIVER BALLROOM

3/18 TEENAGE FANCLUB W/ ERIC BACHMANN AND THE LOVE LANGUAGE ($25/$28) 3/31 PATTY GRIFFIN W/ SCOTT MILLER ($35) 4/6 NICK LOWE’S QUALITY ROCK & ROLL REVUE STARRING LOS STRAITJACKETS

5/3 THE JAYHAWKS 5/9 SON VOLT ($25/$28;)

CATSCRADLE.COM  919.967.9053  300 E. MAIN STREET  CARRBORO INDYweek.com | 2.13.19 | 29

music 2.13–2.20

FRI, FEB 15

KINGS: 4th Ave, Rayla, AJA9; $10-$12. 7 p.m.

BLUE NOTE GRILL: Good Juju; 9 p.m.

LINCOLN THEATRE: The Breakfast Club, Bad Inc.; $10. 9 p.m.

CAROLINA THEATRE:

LOCAL 506: Andrés; $12. 7 p.m.

[$10–$55/ 8 P.M.]

THE MAYWOOD: The Sherman Neckties, Propersleep, Dead Casual, LunchBox Hero; $8. 8 p.m.

Susana Baca

Susana Baca’s storied background boasts everything from a stint as Peru’s Minister of Culture to two decades of releases with David Byrne’s Luaka Bop label. She’s more than a beloved chanteuse of Afro-Peruvian music: She is a stateswoman and spokesperson. Born in a fishing village near Lima, Baca turned her early love of Peruvian musical history into a career as an ethnomusicologist. Her ambassadorship is joyful and deep as she performs, backed by a band playing traditional Peruvian instruments.

—Josephine McRobbie CAT’S CRADLE:

Copeland

[$20–$23/ 8 P.M.] On Copeland’s brand new full-length, Blushing, the veteran Florida outfit continues to soften the rock elements surrounding Aaron Marsh’s stirring, ethereal vocals and tender, evocative lyricism. Instead, the lush, moody LP leans more into both the electronic and orchestral sides explored on Ixora. From Indian Lakes and Many Rooms open. —Spencer Griffith CAT’S CRADLE BACK ROOM: Hank, Pattie & The Current, Gravy Boys; $12-$15. 8 p.m.

Jonathan Richman

THE CAVE:

PHOTO BY ANGELINA CASTILLO

WED, FEB 13

THU, FEB 14

THE CAVE: The Basic Unit; 8 p.m.

DUKE’S SPECIAL COLLECTIONS GALLERY: Allan Ware, clarinet; Free. Noon.

CAT’S CRADLE: Spafford, Psylo Joe; $18-$20. 8 p.m.

CAT’S CRADLE BACK ROOM: DaniLeigh; $15-$17. 8 p.m.

KINGS: The Funky Knuckles, Niito; $10-$12. 8 p.m.

THE CAVE: Okapi, Ciera Mackenzie; 9 p.m.

NIGHTLIGHT: Reese McHenry, Stephen’s Pharmacy; $7. 9 p.m.

NIGHTLIGHT: Crazy Doberman; $7. 10 p.m.

THE NIGHT RIDER: The Ugly Architect; 8 p.m.

THE PINHOOK:

POUR HOUSE: Ciera Mackenzie; $5-$8. 9 p.m.

[$10/ 8 P.M.]

SLIM’S: Car Crash Star, Aneurysm, Shadows; $7.

9 p.m.

30 | 2.13.19 | INDYweek.com

Pinhook is for Covers Durham’s volunteer-run NC Women’s Prison Book Project sends books, letters, and other resources to the nearly three

Al Riggs Release Show thousand people incarcerated in the women’s jails and prisons around the state. This benefit spreads love via letter writing, while celebrating the so-called “most apathetic” bands of the ‘90s. Members of Real Dad, Stevie, Bombadil, and more cover Weezer’s Green Album while Charles Latham and Abby Sheriff do The White Stripes.

Other locals tackle Hole and Operation Ivy. —Spencer Griffith

RUBY DELUXE:

Dream Date 90s Dance Party [FREE/ 10 P.M.]

POUR HOUSE: Local Band Local Beer: Lonnie Walker, Echo Courts, AUTOSPKR; $5. 8 p.m.

Let’s face it: Valentine’s Day is overrated. Instead of staying home with a pint of ice cream or paying too much for a prix-fixe dinner, why not give dancing a spin? D N L T M S and Luxe Posh are serving up ‘90s jams for every V-Day mood. Bring your sweetheart or come solo and find a new friend.

—Elizabeth Szypulski

THE RITZ: Interpol, Sunflower Bean; 8 p.m.

UNITY CENTER OF PEACE: The Kennedys; $15-20. 7 p.m.

[$5 SUGGESTED/ 9 P.M.]

Godkiller, the new full-length album from Durham mainstay Al Riggs, is not the Richard Dawkins tribute it might sound like. Instead, we have his inventive alt-country entry into their rapidly blossoming oeuvre, dense with blissed-out guitar walls; entrancing, spacious hooks; and classic Riggsian song titles like “Gender Reveal Party.”

The soaring U2-meets-theinternet pop of Real Dad make this a Fugazi-approved bargain at five dollars. —David Smith DUKE’S BALDWIN AUDITORIUM: Duke Jazz Ensemble with Chris Potter; 8 p.m.

MEYMANDI CONCERT HALL:

Music of Whitney Houston

[$40+/ 8 P.M.] No one can match Whitney Houston’s talent and charisma, but Amanda Cole might come close. Together with the NC Symphony, the former En Vogue vocalist is bringing some of the legend’s greatest hits to life, including “I Will Always Love You.” If you never got your chance to see the real Ms. Houston perform, this might be the next best thing.

—Elizabeth Szypulski MOTORCO: The Post-Valentine Hangover Party: Maseo of De La Soul, Rapper Big Pooh, Fin the DJ; $15-$20.

10 p.m.

NEPTUNES PARLOUR: The Love Hangover: Chelley Godwin & Sam Cox, John Howie Jr. & Daniel Chavis, Reese McHenry & Thomas McNeely, Sara Bell & Jeffrey Dean Foster, Lisa Wood & Matt Wood, Caroline Mamoulides & Scott Phillips; $10. 7 p.m.

NIGHTLIGHT: Joseph Decosimo & Luke Richardson, Adam Hurt & Beth Hartness; $10. 8 p.m.

THE POUR HOUSE:

Aether Realm

[$10–$13/ 9 P.M.] Aether Realm’s 2017 fulllength album, Tarot, is nothing if not ambitious. Over the course of eleven tracks, the Greenville-based band uses the symbology of the Tarot as a motif while coursing fluidly through strains of neoclassical, folk, and melodic death and black metal. It was also enough to capture the attention of the European label Napalm Records, which announced in November that Aether Realm would be joining a roster of acts that also includes Alestorm, Satyricon, and Candlemass.

Tonight, the quartet kicks off a Southeast tour with a headlining slot at The Pour House. Wilderun, Infinity Fortress, and Final Sign open.

—Bryan Reed

RECENTLYWED ANNOUNCED:29THE 4TH ANNUAL @ PM, $12/$15 WED JUN JUN 29 FAMILY @ 8:00 8:00 OF PM,THE $12/$15 SOPHOMORE SLUMP FEST, YEAR, HOT MULLIGAN, GANGSTAGRASS WED 2/13 Museum of Life & Science Presents TINKERING & DRINKERING w/ POISON ANTHEM w/ POISONBACCHUS ANTHEM& THE LUCKIEST GIRLS RICHARD FRI 2/15 POST VALENTINE HANGOVER PARTY WITH RICHARD BACCHUS & THE LUCKIEST GIRLS MASEO (of De La BIG POOH AND FRI 7/1 LOOK HOMEWARD Soul), / THE MIDATLANTIC FRI 7/1 LOOK HOMEWARD / THE MIDATLANTIC FIN THE DJ. TUE2/167/5 Crank It Loud: NOTHING / CULTURE ABUSE SAT TUE 7/5YARN Crank It Loud: NOTHING / CULTURE ABUSE / Chris Holloway Band WAILIN STORMS / HUNDREDFTFACES

RICHIE RICHIE RAMONE RAMONE

2/16

TRANSACTORS IMPROV: THE LOVE SHOW MUSICAL

2/17

FEB 48 (PRESENTED BY ONE SONG)

POPUP BROADWAY (MARY POPPINS) PAST IMPERFECT: VOICES FROM NC HISTORY 2/24 (PRESENTED BY ODYSSEYSTAGE) 3/1 JEANNE JOLLY 2/21

RICHARD SHINDELL

3/2

3/15-24 THE DEVIL AND MARK TWAIN 3/28

WILLIAM FITZSIMMONS

3/29

LA PATRONAL Get tickets at

artscenterlive.org

WAILIN STORMS / HUNDREDFTFACES FRI 7/8 SolKitchen & The Art of Cool Project: SAT 2/16 FRI 7/8 SolKitchen & The Art of Cool Project: The Art of Noise #Durham The of Noise #Durham Band W/ArtChris Holloway MON 7/11 Regulator Bookstore presents TUE MON2/197/11DEERHOOF Regulator Bookstore / B|_ank /presents No Parking HEATHER HAVRILESKY: Ask Polly Live HEATHER HAVRILESKY: Ask Polly Live TUE 7/12 DANNY SCHMIDT / REBECCA NEWTON with WES COLLINS TUE 7/12 DANNY SCHMIDT / REBECCA NEWTON with WES COLLINS THU 7/14 Storymakers: Durham, Community Listening EventTUE 2/19 THU 7/14 Storymakers: Durham, Community Listening Event SAT 7/16 PINKERTON RAID / ST. ANTHONY & THE MYSTERY TRAIN SAT 7/16 PINKERTON RAID / ST. ANTHONY & THE MYSTERY TRAIN W/B|_ank / NoJUL Parking SUN 17 SUN JUL 17 @ 8:00 PM THU 2/21 LEE THE RAGBIRDS PERRY @ 8:00 PM “SCRATCH” THE RAGBIRDS $12/$15 $12/$15 Riddim Macka Sound System

300-G East Main St., Carrboro, NC Find us on Social Media: @artscenterlive

YARN

DEERHOOF

THE THE RAGBIRDS RAGBIRDS

MON 7/18 MAIL THE HORSE MON 7/18 MAIL THE HORSE FRI THU JUL 2/21 22 FRI JUL 22 @ 8:00 PMJOHN COWAN @ 8:00 PMJOHN COWAN $25/$30 $25/$30 W/ Riddim Macka Sound System

LEE “SCRATCH” PERRY

JOHN COWAN Black Sugar Dance Party feat. GEMYNII JOHN COWAN Cat’s Cradle&Presents MIKEALDRIDGE DOUGHTY Plays w/ DARIN BROOKE w/Soul DARIN & BROOKE ALDRIDGE Coughing’s “Ruby Vroom” 25 Year

SAT 2/23

SUN 2/24

Shana Tucker

RHYTHMS LIVE: Marcus Anderson & Adam Hawley; $30. 8 p.m.

SHARP NINE GALLERY: Peter Bernstein Quartet; 7 p.m.

SLIM’S: Jenny Besetz, No One Mind, HNDCLW; $5. 9 p.m.

UNC’S MEMORIAL HALL: Christian Scott aTunde Adjuah; 8 p.m.

SAT, FEB 16 BLUE NOTE GRILL: Joe Bell & The Stinging Blades; 8 p.m.

CAT’S CRADLE:

Matt Nathanson [SOLD OUT/ 8 P.M.]

New England troubadour Matt Nathanson has been bringing out his brand of pop smarts, soulful vocals, and organic production since the ‘90s, scoring the occasional hit but always remaining indie enough to sidestep any music-biz interference. On his latest run around the States, you can expect his latest LP, Sings His Sad Heart, to be well represented in the set list but accompanied by enough back catalog cuts to keep his fans happy. —Jim Allen

CAT’S CRADLE BACK ROOM: The Parrots, Mozes and The Firstborn; 12 9 p.m.

HAW RIVER BALLROOM: Town Mountain, Big Fat Gap; $12-$15.

8 p.m.

THE CAVE: Mellow Swells, Scrub Pine, T.J.Deux; 9 p.m.

IMURJ: Rookie of the Year, Smoke From all the Friction, Tyler Bradford Wright, Infinite Eve; 6 p.m.

BALDWIN AUDITORIUM:

Ciompi Quartet [FREE/ 8 P.M.]

This classical quartet is made up of professors at Duke University, as it has been since Italian violinist Giorgio Ciompi founded the group in 1965. The tradition continues with “Lost and Found,” a program exploring rediscovery and featuring a mix of well-known and littleknown works by nineteenthcentury composers Marie Jaëll and Guillaume Lekeu.

Where, after all, would Bach be had Mendelssohn not repopularized his music with his performance of the “St. Matthew Passion” in 1829, amirite? —Howard Hardee DUKE’S EAST DUKE BUILDING: Duke University String School: Violin and Cello Choir Concert; Free. 4 p.m.

S D R I B G A R E TH SAT 7/23Anniversary Girls Rock Showcase with special SAT 7/23 Girls RockTour Showcase

PHOTO BY SONIA SEELINGER

KINGS: Bring Back the Scene Emo Night; $5-$40. 9 p.m.

THE KRAKEN: Dirty Remnantz, Junior Jr, Fractured Evolution; 9 p.m.

LINCOLN THEATRE: Nantucket, Maj Deeka, Pegasus Plus; $15-$25. 8 p.m.

LOCAL 506: The Spinns, The Ghost of Rock, Sneakers Award; 10 9 p.m.

guest Wheatus Juane/ Kris Noël TUE 7/26 Motorco Comedy Night: THU 2/28 RYAN ANDY WOODHULL / /ADAM COHEN MONTBLEAU Jason Adamo ANDY WOODHULL / ADAM COHEN FRI 3/1 BELLA’S BARTOK / Emma’s Lounge tt er s -P op Ma FRI 7/29 YOUNG BULL Album Release Show er s el er s" tr avRelease -P op Ma tt FRI 7/29 YOUNG BULL Album er s"Show tis tic e ar SUN 3/3 tr av elPun at mm tic w/ ALIX AFF / DURTY DUB su The 2019 Great Durham Championship! tis on ar "C e AFF / DURTY DUB w/ ALIX su mm at TUE 1K PhewNight: / Byron TUE2/267/26NOBIGDYL Motorco/Comedy

"C on

COMING SOON: Chris Gethard, Smallpools, SUN JUL17 COMING SOON: JULIETTE LEWIS, YARN,Brother JARED &Ali,THE MILL, SUN JUL17 COMING SOON: JULIETTE LEWIS, YARN, JARED & THE MILL, Alice Phoebe Lou, Southern Culture on the Skids, Jared & the Mill, All HAL KETCHUM, NRBQ, LIZ VICE, WINDHAND, Doors: 7pm HAL KETCHUM, NRBQ,Tobe LIZ Nwigwe, VICE, WINDHAND, Doors: 7pm Them Witches, Rhett Miller, Strand Of Oaks, CODY CANADA & THE DEPARTED, RUSSIAN CIRCLES, BAND OF SKULLS, Show: 8pm TheCANADA Accidentals, Okilly Dokilly, Girlpool,CIRCLES, The Murlocs, Xiu, CODY DEPARTED, RUSSIAN BAND Xiu OF SKULLS, Show: 8pm& THE SISTER SPARROW & THE Turkington, DIRTY BIRDS, KING, $12 ADV 723 RIGSBEE AVE DURHAM, NC MOTORCOMUSIC.COM Tim Heidecker & Gregg Bear’s Den, Thank You Scientist, SISTER SPARROW & THE DIRTY BIRDS, KING, $12 ADV 723 RIGSBEE AVE DURHAM, NC MOTORCOMUSIC.COM DOYLE LAWSON & QUICKSILVER, THE RECORDMono, COMPANY, Flotsam and Jetsam, Superorganism, MarkADRIAN Farina, LEGG, $15 DAY OF DOYLE LAWSON & QUICKSILVER, THE RECORD COMPANY, ADRIAN LEGG, $15 DAY OF REBIRTH BRASS BAND, MY BRIGHTEST DIAMOND, The Crystal Method, Cavetown, SonataKARLA ArticaBONOFF, !!

W O REBIRTH BRASS BAND, MY BRIGHTEST DIAMOND, KARLA BONOFF, N LE B W A O IL N A TALIB KWELI, LOUDON WAINWRIGHT III V Also co-presenting at Cat’s A BLE M U ILACradle: A LB TALIB KWELI, LOUDON WAINWRIGHT III V A H" A W T E M R U N A E LB H A Japanese Ex Hex and Eternal Summers (on E TH" H T R5th) NEWBreakfast, & EAMay H LD E O H H T S E & R H T OLD HE "T THRE E RIGSBEE AVES-HDURHAM, NC - MOTORCOMUSIC.COM "TH723

EAT • DRINK • SHOP • PLAY

The INDY’s monthly neighborhood guide to all things Triangle

The Threshold & The Hearth THE RAGBIRDS

OM 723 RIGSBEE AVE - DURHAM, S. NC C- MOTORCOMUSIC.COM E R A G B I R D S. C O M

The Threshold & The Hearth THE RAGBIRDS

W W .T H AGBIRD W W W W .T H E R

$10 Coming February 20:// $10 advance advance

$12 $12 day day of of

DOWNTOWN DURHAM

For advertising opportunities, contact your ad rep or advertising@indyweek.com

Present this coupon for

THE MAYWOOD:

Member Admission Price

Blatant Disarray [$10/ 8 P.M.]

As the band reaches its twentieth anniversary, the members of Raleigh’s Blatant Disarray have proven that they’re not ready to settle down just yet. The band’s third full-length album, Ebon Path, is every bit as ferocious as their previous output—2010’s Everyone Dies Alone, and 2014’s Harbinger. Ebon demonstrates a palpable urgency in speed metal riffs and gruff hooks

deep dive (Not Valid for Special Events, expires 01-19)

919-6-TEASER for directions and information

www.teasersmensclub.com 156 Ramseur St. Durham, NC

TeasersMensClub

@TeasersDurham

An Adult Nightclub Open 7 Days/week • Hours 7pm - 2am INDYweek.com | 2.13.19 | 31

that suggest thrash icons like Corrosion of Conformity, Testament, and Voivod. The album release show lineup includes local outfit King Hitter, and traditional metal warriors Knightmare.

—Bryan Reed MEYMANDI CONCERT HALL: N.C. Symphony: The Music of Whitney Houston; 8 p.m.

MOTORCO: Yarn, The Chris Holloway Band; $12-$15. 9 p.m.

NIGHTLIGHT: WXYC/New Science Experience Valentine’s Dance; $8-$10.

9 p.m.

THE PINHOOK: Sinistarr, Oliver Long, DJ Jules, Treee City; $10. 10 p.m.

POUR HOUSE: Of Good Nature, LITZ; $8-$10. 8 p.m.

THE RITZ: Los Acosta; 9 p.m.

SCHOOLKIDS RECORDS: Pnltybx, Through The Tallwoods, Springfield Tire Fire; 6 p.m.

SHARP NINE GALLERY: Victor Haskins’ Skein Showing Up CD Release; 8 p.m.

SLIM’S: Shay Martin Lovette, Chris Frisina; 5 9 p.m.

SUN, FEB 17 ARCANA: Charles Latham Residency with Simone Finally, John Howie, Jr.; 8 p.m.

DUKE’S BALDWIN AUDITORIUM: Duke University String School: Orchestra Concert; 6 p.m.

HAW RIVER BALLROOM:

Shana Tucker [$15/ 7 P.M.]

A couple of years ago, after putting in time performing with Cirque du Soleil, the cellist and songwriter Shana Tucker returned to North Carolina to develop a genre of her own. Dubbed “ChamberSoul,” the music is a dynamic, intricate blend of her jazz and classical training, squared with her love of pop and R&B. Tucker, hailed by All About Jazz for her keen lyricism and compelling lyrics, has this Haw River Ballroom bill all to herself. —Lucy Marcum KINGS: Benefit for the Nightbird; $10. 6 p.m.

NEPTUNES PARLOUR: Resonancy: Strange Bug, matt sokol; $10. 8 p.m.

POUR HOUSE: Day Party: Imperfect Son, Smoke From All the Friction, Bruteus; $5. 1 p.m.

32 | 2.13.19 | INDYweek.com

Deerhoof

PHOTO BY JOE SINGH

POUR HOUSE: Michael Glabicki, Dirk Miller & Blake Christiana; $18-$20.

8 p.m.

THE RITZ: In Flames, All That Remains, All Hail the Yeti; 7 p.m.

SLIM’S: Origami Angel, Commander Salamander, Green Aisles; $5. 8 p.m.

ST. STEPHEN’S EPISCOPAL CHURCH: An Homage to Handel; $30. 3 p.m.

MON, FEB 18 POUR HOUSE: Road to Shakori Hills, Swamp Kids, The Blind Spots; $7-$10. 7 p.m.

THE WICKED WITCH: Hide, Hanz Mall Prowler; $10-$15. 8 p.m.

TUE, FEB 19 KINGS: Chrome Sparks, Kalbells, Lip Talk; $18-$20. 8 p.m.

MOTORCO:

Deerhoof

[$15–$17/ 8 P.M.] Over the last fifteen years, inscrutable San Francisco avant-rock mainstays Deerhoof have swirled their blasts of strident pan-genre rock chaos into more unique records than many entire indie labels can boast. On 2017’s Mountain Moves, the band trafficked in yet another Voltron of their sound-world of demented pop, this time scraping hiphop against the scree of free jazz. Drummer Greg Saunier remains one of the brawniest in the biz, and the spiritual backbone of their pronged quiet-loud attack. With Bl_ank, No Parking.

—David Smith NIGHTLIGHT: Sibling Tape Release with Das Drip, Floor Model, Secret Boyfriend; $7. 9 p.m.

POUR HOUSE: Cosmic Punk, Goddamn Wolves, Indiobravo; $6-$8.

9 p.m.

THE RITZ: Alan Walker; 7 p.m.

SHARP NINE GALLERY: Africa Unplugged; 7 p.m.

WED, FEB 20 THE ARTSCENTER:

frontman of the Modern Lovers has influenced many other provocateurs and goofballs, including Mac DeMarco, Jens Lekman, and even the Sex Pistols. —Josephine McRobbie CAT’S CRADLE BACK ROOM: The Brother Brothers & Dead Horses; $12-$14. 8 p.m.

THE CAVE: Rodney Henry; 9 p.m.

DUKE ENERGY CENTER:

Jonathan Richman ft. Tommy Larkins

I’m With Her

“Humor has no place in music,” quoth Jon Wurster’s alias Ronald Thomas Clontle on “The Best Show On WFMU.” The satirical rock critic might have a point: Often, musical humor falls flat. But Jonathan Richman’s wild guitar style and charming crooning provide a worthy template for how to sing the funny, the sad, and the honest. His work as both a solo troubadour and

The three singers who perform as I’m With Her—Sara Watkins (formerly of Nickel Creek), Sarah Jarosz, and Aofie O’Donovan—have an enchanting chemistry. Their sum exceeds their parts; their brilliance found in simple, single-microphone purity. Their upaithric harmonies are so effortlessly transcendent and their instrumental interplay so intrinsic that their songs sparkle, not so much refined

[$16–$18/ 8 P.M.]

[$42+/ 7:30 P.M.]

by skill as simply blinked into being. So-called supergroups are rarely this exquisite. Mipso opens. —Patrick Wall DPAC:

Alan Parsons Live Project [$39.50+/ 7:30]

In the ‘70s and ‘80s, English band the Alan Parsons Project ran the gamut from art rock and AOR to perfectly sculpted pop, scoring major hits along the way. While Parsons was always the brains behind the band, he was never the frontman. And though the voice of the late Eric Woolfson is missed by fans, Parsons and his revamped lineup know how to deliver those nuanced tracks live, which is no easy feat.

—Jim Allen SLIM’S: Slashers, Gorbash; $5. 9 p.m.

WALL OF SOUND: Chelsea Williams, Roan Yellowthorn; 7 p.m.

FOR OUR COMPLETE COMMUNITY CALENDAR INDYWEEK.COM

art

2.13–2.20

submit! Got something for our calendar? Submit the details at:

https://indyweek.com/submit#cals DEADLINE: 5 p.m. each Wednesday for the following Wednesday’s issue.

The Beautiful Brain: The Drawings of Santiago Ramón y Cajal: Thru Apr 7. Ackland Art Museum, Chapel Hill. ackland.org.

John Bechtold: BEIRUT: Photos. Thru Feb 22. Horse & Buggy Press and Friends, Durham. horseandbuggypress.com.

Carrboro Town Hall Group Exhibition: Paintings, mixed media, and glass mosaics from local artists Chrystal Hardt, Robert Votta, and Kim Campbell. Thru March.

Carrboro Town Hall, Carrboro. townofcarrboro.org.

FRIDAY, FEBRURARY 15

IT’S COMPLICATED: A PROJECT ABOUT LOVE AND INTIMACY It might seem like an artifact of the early aughts, but Facebook’s “It’s Complicated” option is still available on a drop-down menu. Fifteen years ago, this option might have represented something merely sticky about college relationships, but the phrase has also come to stand as a catchall for the many iterations and, well, complications of modern love. More than twenty local artists and storytellers, including Jamila Davenport, Derrick Beasley, and Monét Noelle Marshall, are featured in this showcase, which includes photography, paintings, song, and dance. The performances will explore intimacy’s many forms, and they don’t shy away from the harder parts (promised topics include death and toxicity). The exhibition runs on weekends through March, kicking off with this opening reception on February 15 and concluding with a closing reception, which will include an artist talk, on March 1. —Sarah Edwards

THE CARRACK MODERN ART, DURHAM | 6 p.m., free, www.thecarrack.org

PHOTO COURTESY OF THE CARRACK

John James Audubon: The Birds of America: Ornithological engravings. Feb 17-Dec 2020. NC Museum of Art, Raleigh. ncartmuseum.org.

Jean Michel Dissake: Recycled and found objects

by Cameroonian ArtistIn-Residence Jean Michel Dissake and students from the Arts Village. Thu, Feb 14, 6 p.m. Gregg Museum of Art & Design, Raleigh.

Paintings from the Estate of Wladimir de (Wlodzimierz) Terlikowski: Reception: Feb 17, 1-4 p.m. Feb 15-Mar 27.

Gallery C, Raleigh. galleryc.net.

Joseph Cave: Paintings and prints. Thru Feb 23. Adam Cave Fine Art, Raleigh. adamcavefineart.com.

Color and Light: Susan Filley, Sasha Bakaric, Sudie Rakusin, and Peg Bachenheimer. Thru Apr 6. FRANK Gallery, Chapel Hill.

Scott Eagle: Lost in the Liminal See: Thru Mar 9.

Reception: Feb 15, 6-8 p.m.

Durham Arts Council, Durham. durhamartguild.org.

Arsis Fruritch: Thru Feb 28.

United Arts Council of Raleigh & Wake County, Raleigh. vaeraleigh.org.

A contribution to It’s Complicated by Derrick Beasley

OPENING

Dorrie Casey: I He(art) Art: End date TBA. The Chatham Arts Council, Pittsboro. chathamartscouncil.org.

Ian Griffin: Sutured Compositions: Thru Mar 9.

Reception: Feb 15, 6-8 p.m.

Durham Arts Council, Durham. durhamartguild.org.

Susannah Sayler and Edward Morris: Their World Is Not Our World: Video installation. Feb 15-Jul 7. NC Museum of Art, Raleigh. ncartmuseum.org.

ONGOING

Mariam Stephan: In the Arches, We Cave: Paintings.

Feb 15-Apr 6. Artspace, Raleigh.

Marie Arondeau: HagerSmith: Photos. Thru Feb 28. VAE Raleigh, Raleigh. vaeraleigh.org.

Douglas Vuncannon: Ladyboys: Photos. Reception: Feb 15, 6 p.m. Feb 15-Mar 12.

Through This Lens, Durham. throughthislens.com.

bauhaus.photo: Photos.

Thru Feb 15.

NCSU Campus: Brooks Hall Gallery, Raleigh. design.ncsu.edu.

I AM A MAN: Civil Rights Photographs, 1960-1970: Thru May 31. Center for the Study of the American South, Chapel Hill. south.unc.edu.

Within the Frame: Photos. Feb 16-Jul 21. NC Museum of Art, Raleigh. ncartmuseum.org.

Calvin Brett: General Labor: Trash agglomerations. Thru Mar 16. Lump, Raleigh. lumpprojects.org.

Elizabeth Keckley: It’s All About the Story: Thru Feb 20.

Hillsborough Arts Council Gallery, Hillsborough.

All the Pop: Thru Jun 2.

Nasher Museum of Art, Durham. nasher.duke.edu.

Ben Hamburger: Medicine Cabinet: Paintings and mixed media.Thru Feb 28.

The ArtsCenter, Carrboro. artscenterlive.org.

Left-Handed Liberty: Multiple artists. Thu Jun 23. Gregg Museum of Art & Design, Raleigh. gregg.arts.ncsu.edu.

Marlowe: DIMENSIONALIA: Mixed media. Thru Mar 1.

Gallery C, Raleigh. galleryc.net.

MEGAGRAPHIC: Drawings.

Thru Feb 28. Durham Arts Council, Durham. durhamarts.org.

Murmurations: Melinda M. Fine, Kiki Farish, and Ross Ford. Thru Feb 24. Horace Williams House, Chapel Hill.

National Print Invitational: Curated by Bill Fick and Judy Jones. Thru Apr 6.

Artspace, Raleigh.

No Citation Needed: Jessica Burke, Melinda Fine, Rene Galvan, Denise Holland, Bridget Leslie, and Cara Smelter. Thru Mar 23. VAE Raleigh, Raleigh. vaeraleigh.org.

Renzo Ortega: What I Left and What I Brought: Paintings. Thru Feb 16.

Reception and acoustic concert: Feb 15, 6 p.m. Power Plant Gallery, Durham. powerplantgallery.com.

Susan Harbage Page: Borderlands: Documentary photos and found objects from the US-Mexico border.

Thru Jul 28. Gregg Museum of Art & Design, Raleigh. gregg.arts.ncsu.edu.

Hobson Pittman and His Contemporaries: End date TBA. Lee Hansley, Raleigh.

Portraying Power and Identity: A Global Perspective: Thru Mar 31. 21c Museum Hotel, Durham.

21cmuseumhotels.com. reNautilus: Thru Jul 31. 21c Museum Hotel: Durham.

21cmuseumhotels.com.

The Secret Ingredient: Thru Mar 31. Reception: Feb 15, 6 p.m. Pleiades Gallery, Durham.

SENTINELS [l]: INFILTRATE: Amy Sacksteder, Christopher Martin, Eli Gfell, Emily Swanberg, Everything Is Collective, Marc Mitchell, Prerna, and Rebecca Steele.

Thru Mar 16. Lump, Raleigh. lumpprojects.org.

Some Twilight Land: Laura Charlton, Harrison Haynes, and Louis Watts Various media.

Thru Apr 6. Oneoneone, Chapel Hill. oneoneone.gallery.

Strictly NC: North Carolinabased printmakers. Thru Feb 23. Artspace, Raleigh. artspacenc.org.

SuperGraphic Print Lab: Thru Apr 6. Artspace, Raleigh. artspacenc.org.

Susie Silver: Paintings. Thru Apr 15. Aloft Hotel, Chapel Hill. vaeraleigh.org.

Telvin Wallace: Portraits.

Thru Feb 28. The ArtsCenter, Carrboro. artscenterlive.org.

Jan-Ru Wan: The Noise We Make and the Shadow We Create: Mixed media. Thru Mar 24. Cary Arts Center, Cary. janruwan.com.

Jan-Ru Wan: Observing the Inner Voice: Thru Mar 5.

Meredith College: Weems Gallery, Raleigh. meredith.edu.

Christina Lorena Weisner: Explorations: Science sculptures. Thru Jul 28. Gregg Museum of Art & Design, Raleigh. gregg.arts.ncsu.edu.

Kim Wheaton: WILD RIDE: Paintings. Thru Feb 24.

Reception: Feb 15, 6-9 p.m.

Pleiades Gallery, Durham. pleiadesartdurham.com.

Signals: Photos. Thru Feb 28.

Atomic Fern, Durham. japenet.net.

Where We Find Ourselves: The Photographs of Hugh Mangum, 1897-1922: Thru May 19. Nasher Museum of Art, Durham. nasher.duke.edu.

Barbara Rohde: French Connections: Paintings. Thru Feb 28. Durham Arts Council, Durham.

Tom Willis: Journey: Paintings.

Thru Apr 12. Durham Convention Center, Durham. durhamarts.org.

INDYweek.com | 2.13.19 | 33

page READINGS & SIGNINGS

TUESDAY, FEBRUARY 19

AFRICAN-AMERICAN POETRY, PAST & PRESENT The Triangle poetry community has historically been recognized as a powerhouse in providing an elite level of innovative performers on the national scene. In celebration of Black History Month, on February 19, the Orange County Arts Commission presents “African-American Poetry, Past & Present.”

The event features several up-and-coming poets on the scene, including former youthslam competitor Ashley Harris, whose debut chapbook, If the Hero of Time Was Black, wove themes from classic video game The Legend of Zelda into incisive racial commentary, and was published this past summer.

The performance also features Fred Joiner, a two-time winner of the Larry Neal Award for Poetry, among others. The event is free and open to the public; come for an evening of melodic, Southern-fried poetry at the library. —Kevin J. Rowsey II

ORANGE COUNTY PUBLIC LIBRARY, HILLSBOROUGH 6 p.m., free, www.orangecountync.gov

2.13 2.14 2.15 2.16 2.19

Open Discussion Project, Melting Pot or Civil War?: A Son of Immigrants Makes the Case Against Open Borders 7pm Literary Horror Book Club discusses Beloved by Toni Morrison 7pm A YA Fantasy Panel with Leigh Statham, Nicole Conway and Jodie Zdrock 7pm Laura King Edwards Run to the Light 3pm Jasper Fforde Early Riser 7pm (Reserved Seating Available)

Laura King Edwards: Run to the Light. Sat, Feb 16, 3 p.m.

Quail Ridge Books, Raleigh. quailridgebooks.com.

Jasper Fforde: Early Riser. Tue, Feb 19, 7 p.m. Quail Ridge Books, Raleigh. quailridgebooks.com.

Judy Goldman: Together: A Memoir of a Marriage and a Medical Mishap. Tue, Feb 19, 7 p.m. Flyleaf Books, Chapel Hill. flyleafbooks.com.

Devi S. Laskar: The Atlas of Reds and Blues. Wed, Feb 13, 7 p.m. Flyleaf Books, Chapel Hill. flyleafbooks.com.

Debbie Moose: Cookbook Carolina Catch. Sun, Feb 17, 2 p.m. McIntyre’s Books, Pittsboro. mcintyresbooks.com.

Robin Yocum: A Perfect Shot. Sat, Feb 16, 11 a.m.

McIntyre’s Books, Pittsboro. mcintyresbooks.com.

LECTURES ETC. Ruby Friday: Finding Why: Art Making After Duke: With visual artist and Duke alumna Rebecca Kuzemchak.

Fri, Feb 15, noon. Ruby Lounge at Rubenstein Arts Center, Durham. artscenter.duke.edu.

James Forman Jr.: The Ethics of Now: Fri, Feb 15, 7 p.m.

Durham Arts Council, Durham. kenan.ethics.duke.edu.

Jerry Gershenhorn and Andre D. Vann.: NCCU professor and archivist discuss AfricanAmerican history. Free. Fri, Feb 15, 6 p.m. Museum of Durham History Durham. museumofdurhamhistory.org.

Stew: Tony-winning playwright and singer Stew in conversation with Duke Theater Studies’ Talya Klein. Fri, Feb 15, noon.

The Pinhook, Durham. thepinhook.com.

YA Fantasy Panel: With Leigh Statham, Nicole Conway, and Jodie Zdrok. Fri, Feb 15, 7 p.m.

Quail Ridge Books, Raleigh. quailridgebooks.com.

nnuuaall n A n t A s t 1 s s 1 ’ s k ’ e k Weee IINNDDYYW

RECYCLE THIS PAPER

t n e v E l a v i t s e F y r o t c e D i r chh 2277,, 22001199 &&

MMaarrc

UPCOMING: North Carolina Book Festival, February 21-24.

Visit www.ncbookfestival.com for more info www.quailridgebooks.com • 919.828.1588 • North Hills 4209-100 Lassiter Mill Road, Raleigh, NC 27609 CHECK OUT OUR NEW PODCAST: BOOKIN’ w/Jason Jefferies

BILL BURTON ATTORNEY AT LAW Un c o n t e s t e d Di vo rc e

SEPARATION AGREEMENTS Mu s i c Bu s i n eDIVORCE ss Law UNCONTESTED In c o r p oBUSINESS r a t i o n / LLAW LC / MUSIC Pa r t n e r s h i p INCORPORATION/LLC Wi lls WILLS

C o l l967-6159 ections (919)

967-6159

bill.burton.lawyer@gmail.com 34 | 2.13.19 | INDYweek.com

Howard E. Covington Jr.: Fire and Stone: The Making of the University of North Carolina Under Presidents Edward Kidder Graham and Harry Woodburn Chase. Tue, Feb 19, 4 p.m.

UNC Campus: Wilson Special Collections Library, Chapel Hill. lib.unc.edu.

Stephen Lane: No Sanctuary: Teachers and the School Reform That Brought Gay Rights to the Masses. Mon, Feb 18, 7 p.m.

Flyleaf Books, Chapel Hill. flyleafbooks.com.

To be considered for inclusion please forward Name of Event, Date of Event, and URL for more information about the event to festivals@indyweek.com Listing are FREE OF CHARGE and must be submitted by 3/15.

Don’t miss this chance to be listed in front of our 90,000 weekly readers!

For advertising opportunities, please contact your INDY Week representative or advertising@indyweek.com

nt

o

s!

Week

stage OPENING 13 Tales of Love and Revenge: Burlesque, live music, sideshow, comedy, and more. Thu, Feb 14, 9 p.m. Watts & Ward, Raleigh.

Annie Get Your Gun: Feb 13-17. Meredith College: Jones Auditorium, Raleigh.

Jimethan Blounte Album Release Party: Stand-up, improv, music, and more. $5.

Thu, Feb 14, 9 p.m. The Peoples Improv Theater, Chapel Hill. thepit-chapelhill.com.

The Body Party: $5. Sat, Feb 16, 10 p.m. Ruby Deluxe, Raleigh. rubydeluxeraleigh.com.

Cabaret: Musical. Feb 20-24.

NCSU Campus: Stewart Theatre, Raleigh.

Cary African-American Celebration: Musical performances and more. Sat, Feb 16, 11 a.m. The Cary Theater, Cary. thecarytheater.com.

Cary Players: Men Always Leave: Wed, Feb 13, 3 p.m.

The Cary Theater, Cary. thecarytheater.com.

Farruquito: Dance. $10-$55.

Tue, Feb 19, 8 p.m. Duke Campus: Page Auditorium, Durham. dukeperformances. duke.edu.

Little Green Pig: Horses: Play with music. Feb 14: Slim’s, Raleigh. Feb 15: King Street Bar, Hillsborough. Feb 16: Gibson Girl Vintage, Durham. Feb 21-23: Pinhook, Durham. Thu, Feb 14, 8 p.m. littlegreenpig.com.

Sounds Good to Me!: Musical improv. $10. Sat, Feb 16, 6 p.m.

The Peoples Improv Theater, Chapel Hill. thepit-chapelhill.com.

Stew and The Negro Problem: Notes of a Native Son: Song cycle on James Baldwin’s 1955 essay collection. $10$25. Feb 14-17. Rubenstein Arts Center von der Heyden Studio Theater, Durham. dukeperformances.duke.edu.

The Wolves: Feb 15-Mar 3. Sonorous Road Theatre, Raleigh. sonorousroad.com.

ONGOING 462 Stand Up Comedy Showcase: Sat, Feb 16, 9 p.m.

The Peoples Improv Theater, Chapel Hill.

A Life in the Theatre: $19-$27.

Thru Feb 24. Theatre In The Park, Raleigh.

Carolina Ballet: Love in the Times of the Day: Thru Feb 17. Fletcher Opera Theater, Raleigh. dukeenergycenterraleigh.com.

Demetri Martin: Comedy. $40. Sun, Feb 17, 8 p.m.

Carolina Theatre, Durham. carolinatheatre.org.

Charlie and the Chocolate Factory: Thru Feb 17. Durham Performing Arts Center, Durham. dpacnc.com.

Mark Normand: Comedy. Feb 14-16. Goodnights, Raleigh. goodnightscomedy.com.

Sonny Kelly: The Talk: Oneperson show. Feb 14-17. UNC Campus: Historic Playmakers Theatre, Chapel Hill. bulldogdurham.org.

One Song: Feb 48: 48-hour play festival. $8-$10. Sun, Feb 17, 7 p.m. The ArtsCenter, Carrboro. artscenterlive.org.

B. Simone: Sun, Feb 17, 7 p.m. Goodnights, Raleigh. goodnightscomedy.com.

The Smokin’ Mic: Now Here or Nowhere: Music and comedy with host John Lee. Wed, Feb 13, 8 p.m. The Peoples Improv Theater, Chapel Hill. thepit-chapelhill.com.

FRIDAY, FEBRUAY 22

MARGIE GILLIS Canadian modern dancer and choreographer Margie Gillis has created and performed more than one hundred solos over the course of an expansive career, one which took her to China in 1979, making her the first Western artist to introduce modern dance in the wake of the cultural revolution. Now, she comes to Durham for a weeklong residency at Duke University’s dance program. The week includes several public events, including “Dancing from the Inside Out,” a lecture on February 22 which will feature four selections from Gillis, who will also take questions from the audience. Gillis has a signature mane of hair that flows free while she dances; her holistic, visionary approach to dance has earned her the moniker “philosophess.” Gillis will also give an advanced modern dance class on February 26 and a lunch lecture on February 27; both events are open to the public, but registration is required. —Sarah Edwards

RUBENSTEIN ARTS CENTER, DURHAM 7 p.m., free, danceprogram.duke.edu

Mamma Mia: Thru Feb 17.

Memorial Auditorium, Raleigh. dukeenergycenterraleigh.com.

Men On Boats: $10-$22. Thru Feb 24. Umstead Park United Church of Christ, Raleigh. thejusticetheaterproject.org.

Mettlesome: Wit: Improv comedy game show. Wed, Feb 13, 7 p.m. Fullsteam, Durham. obligatorywebsite.com.

Margie Gillis PHOTO BY MICHAEL SLOBODIAN

FOR OUR COMPLETE COMMUNITY CALENDAR

INDYWEEK.COM

INDYweek.com | 2.13.19 | 35

screen SPECIAL SHOWINGS 10 to Midnight: $7. Wed, Feb 20, 7 p.m. Carolina Theatre, Durham. carolinatheatre.org.

2019 Oscar-Nominated Short Films: Full list of films available online. Feb 10-14.

Alamo Drafthouse, Raleigh. drafthouse.com/raleigh.

Alien: Fri, Feb 15, 7 p.m.

Alamo Drafthouse, Raleigh. drafthouse.com/raleigh.

The Wedding Singer and When Harry Met Sally: Thu, Feb 14, 7 p.m. Ponysaurus Brewing Co., Durham. ponysaurusbrewing.com.

An Affair to Remember: $5.

Mon, Feb 18, 7 p.m. Rialto Theatre, Raleigh. newsite. ambassadorcinemas.com/ rialto-theatre.

Who Will Write Our History: $8-$10. Fri, Feb 15, showtimes TBA. Carolina Theatre, Durham. carolinatheatre.org.

The Birdcage: Thu, Feb 14, 8 p.m. Alamo Drafthouse, Raleigh. drafthouse.com/ raleigh.

OPENING

Desk Set: Wed, Feb 13, 10 a.m.

Chelsea Theater, Chapel Hill. thechelseatheater.com.

Detour: Thu, Feb 14, 7 p.m.

Rubenstein Arts Center Film Theater, Durham. ami.duke. edu.

The Hitch-Hiker: Sun, Feb 17, 7 p.m. Rubenstein Arts Center Film Theater, Durham. ami. duke.edu.

Interstellar: With scientific consultant to the film Kip Thorne. Free. Sun, Feb 17, 2 p.m. Varsity Theatre, Chapel Hill. varsityonfranklin.com.

Jeanne Liotta: Past/Present/ Live: Short experimental films.

Mon, Feb 18, 7 p.m. Rubenstein Arts Center Film Theater, Durham. ami.duke.edu.

Pretty in Pink and Valley Girl: $10. Fri, Feb 15, 7 p.m.

Carolina Theatre, Durham. carolinatheatre.org.

Royal Opera House: Queen of Spades: Sun, Feb 17, 2 p.m.

Alamo Drafthouse, Raleigh. drafthouse.com/raleigh.

Royal Opera House: Queen of Spades: $12-$15. Sun, Feb 17, 2 p.m. The Cary Theater, Cary. thecarytheater.com.

The Telephone Book: Wed, Feb 13, 8 p.m. Alamo Drafthouse, Raleigh. drafthouse.com/ raleigh.

36 | 2.13.19 | INDYweek.com

Alita: Battle Angel—Robert Rodriguez’s cyberpunk thriller is based on an influential post-apocalyptic manga.

Rated PG-13. ½ Capernaum— Reviewed on p. 23. Rated R. Isn’t It Romantic?—Rebel Wilson stars in this very meta rom-com about romcoms. Rated PG-13.

N OW P L AY I N G The INDY uses a five-star rating scale. Read reviews of these films at indyweek.com. ½ Aquaman—This ludicrous DC Comics film runs on seawater and flop sweat. Rated PG-13.  Destroyer— Karyn Kusama’s bleak, bludgeoning cop drama features Nicole Kidman in a mode we’ve never seen.

Rated R.  The Favourite— Yorgos Lanthimos (The Lobster) infuses this lurid period melodrama with his unmistakable sensibility of cruelty and absurdity.

Rated R. ½ Glass—In the conclusion of Shyamalan’s sort-of superhero trilogy, the big reveal is that there was never much to reveal at all. Rated PG-13.

 Green Book— There’s some rose-tinting at play in this cross-racial buddy comedy set in the Jim Crow South, but it’s nice to see the good guys get a rare win.

Rated PG-13. ½ The Lego Movie 2: The Second Part—Though there’s a live-action subplot, the little plastic people and their incessant pop-culture references remain the heart and soul of the franchise.

Rated PG.  Mary Poppins Returns—While charming, the new version of the beloved Disney film apes the original so much that it’s hard to see the point.

Rated PG.

THURSDAY, FEBRUARY 14

MINDING THE GAP If skate videos are about enshrining glory, skate documentaries tend to be bleaker, illuminating the dark backdrop of the joyous oblivion all pushers seek. Most skate docs are about great skaters: My favorite is Rising Son: The Legend of Skateboarder Christian Hosoi, which chronicles the rise and fall of the skate artist whose soulful bravado played counterpoint to Tony Hawk’s robotic precision back in the day. But Minding the Gap, returning to the local screen in the Full Frame Road Show, is something else again: It’s a doc about a group of average skaters. With the glory stripped away, only the question remains: Why do they abuse their bodies by leaping around sharp bits of concrete and metal on finicky wheeled boards? The answer is that it shoots them out of a grim gantlet of child abuse, racism, parental neglect, and postindustrial decay. It becomes easy to see why improvised families take shape in such an inhospitable void. Bing Liu’s debut feature-length doc earned national plaudits for its sensitive, searching portrayal of the wounds and the will that drive him and his friends to keep testing themselves against unforgiving structures both concrete and societal. —Brian Howe

THE CAROLINA THEATRE, DURHAM | 7:30 p.m., free, www.carolinatheatre.org

Minding the Gap PHOTO COURTESY OF KARTEMQUIN FILMS

½ Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse—Not only is it a good SpiderMan story, this animated film introduces welcome diversity to the tale of Peter Parker. Rated PG.

food & drink

 Stan & Ollie—Steve Coogan and John C. Reilly do honor to the classic comedy duo’s physical slapstick and close relationship. Rated PG.

Farmhouse Cider & Wine Tasting: Saturdays and Sundays, 2-6 p.m. Botanist & Barrel, Cedar Grove. botanistandbarrel.com.

 Vice—Christian Bale’s mimicry is the best thing in this cynical, shallow film about lizard-hearted former Vice President Dick Cheney. Rated R.

Museum of Life & Science’s Tinkering and Drinkering: Drinks and activities.

Wed, Feb 13. 6 p.m. Motorco Music Hall, Durham. motorcomusic.com.

Pinhook Presents: Weekly PopUp Series: Jeddah’s Tea and The Purple Fence, guest vendors.

8 a.m.-4 p.m. Thu-Sat. The Pinhook, Durham. thepinhook.com.

Wine Tasting at Mandolin: Exploring Terroir with Pinot Noir: Wednesdays, 6 p.m. Mandolin, Raleigh. mandolinraleigh.com.

Valentine’s Day Chocolate Tasting Party: Truffle tasting, champagne, and live music. $10. Thu, Feb 14. 6 p.m.

Special Treats, Chapel Hill. specialtreatsnc.com.

indy classifieds employment FTCC: PARALEGAL/ EXECUTIVE SECRETARY NEEDED Fayetteville Technical Community College is now accepting applications for the following positions: Paralegal/Executive Secretary For detailed information and to apply, please visit our employment portal at: https:// faytechcc.peopleadmin.com/ Human Resources Office Phone: (910) 678-7342 Internet: http://www.faytechcc.edu An Equal Opportunity Employer

HEALTHCARE CAREER TRAINING ONLINE Start a New Career in Medical Billing & Coding. Medical Administrative Assistant. To learn more, call Ultimate Medical Academy. 877-6259048 (AAN CAN)

misc. misc.

APPLYING FOR SOCIAL SECURITY DISABILITY OR APPEALING A DENIED CLAIM? Call Bill Gordon & Assoc., Social Security Disability Attorneys, 1-888-989-4947! FREE Consultations. Local Attorneys Nationwide Mail: 2420 N St NW, Washington DC. Office: Broward Co. FL (TX/NM Bar.)

AUTO INSURANCE STARTING AT $49/ MONTH! Call for your fee rate comparison to see how much you can save! Call: 855-780-8725 (AAN CAN)

notices NOTICE All persons firms and corporations having claims against the Estate of Rowland M Shelley, deceased of Wake County NC, are notified to exhibit the same to the undersigned on or before February 25, 2019. Debtors of the decedent are asked to make immediate payment. This 14 day of January 2019. Lourdes Shelley Executor 3708 Tree Side Court Raleigh NC 27607.

services body • mind • spirit critters tech services DIRECTV NOW

No Satellite Needed. $40/ month. 65 Channels. Stream Breaking News, Live Events, Sports & On Demand Titles.

No Annual Contract. No Commitment. CALL 1-855730-4044

misc.

LUNG CANCER? AND AGE 60+?

You And Your Family May Be Entitled To Significant Cash Award. Call 844-898-7142 for Information. No Risk. No Money Out of Pocket. (AAN CAN)

for sale auctions

PENN FISHING-REELS, SALT-FRESHWATER, AUCTION:

stuff GET A SMARTPHONE FOR $0 DOWN*

t n e & v & E l F e s t i va c t o r y D i r eh 2277,, 22001199 MMaarrcch

To be considered for inclusion please forward Name of Event, Date of Event, and URL for more information about the event to festivals@indyweek.com Listing are FREE OF CHARGE and must be submitted by 3/15.

Don’t miss this chance to be listed in front of our 90,000 weekly readers!

For advertising opportunities, please contact your INDY Week representative or advertising@indyweek.com

Book your ad • Email amanda: classy@indywEEk.com

Claire

DISH SPECIAL! Save $480 on your TV Bill!

Starting at $49.99/mo. FREE Next-Day Installation + FREE $50 giftcard with signup courtesy of SatelliteDeals Call 855-402-1615

Fly Fishing, Antique & Vintage Rods & Reels mostly NIB, Gear, Tackle, Lures, Knives, Bidding ENDS February 19th @ 6:00PM www.HouseAuctionCompany. com 252-729-1162 NCAL#7435

11ssttAAnnnnuuaall ’s k ’s e k e e e W Y W D Y IN IND

To adopt: 919-403-2221 or visit animalrescue.net

with AT&T NextÆ and AT&T Next Every Year? $250 Gift Card for Switching to AT&T! (*Req`s well-qualified credit.

Limits & restr`s apply.) 1-866720-0650

is a complete snuggle-bug!

919-416-0675

www.harmonygate.com counseling/ therapy STRUGGLING WITH DRUGS OR ALCOHOL? Addicted to PILLS? Talk to someone who cares. Call The Addiction Hope & Help Line for a free assessment. 888537-9106

holistic health TAI CHI Traditional art of meditative movement for health, energy, relaxation, self-defense.

Classes/workshops throughout the Triangle. Magic Tortoise School - Since 1979. Call Jay or Kathleen, 919-968-3936 or www.magictortoise.com

medical services DENTAL INSURANCE Call Physicians Mutual Insurance Company for details.

NOT just a discount plan, REAL coverage for 350 procedures.

844-496-8601 or http://www. dental50plus.com/ Ad# 6118

START SAVING BIG ON MEDICATIONS! Up To 90% Savings from 90DAYMEDS! Over 3500 Medications Available!

Prescriptions Req’d. Pharmacy Checker Approved. CALL Today for Your FREE Quote.

844-290-0096

misc.

ATTENTION: OXYGEN USERS! Gain freedom with a Portable Oxygen Concentrator! No more heavy tanks and refills!

Guaranteed Lowest Prices! Call the Oxygen Concentrator Store: 855-969-1456

products ATTENTION VIAGRA USERS: Generic 100 mg blue pills or Generic 20 mg yellow pills.

Get 45 plus 5 free $99 + S/H. Guaranteed, no prescription necessary. Call Today 1-844879-5238

CRAFTMATIC ADJUSTABLE BEDS FOR LESS! Up to 50% Off Leading Competitors. #1 Rated Adjustable Bed. Trusted Over 40 Years. All Mattress Types Available. Shop by Phone and SAVE! CALL 1-855-993-4302

Sponsored by

housing REALTORS

own/ elsewhere AFFORDABLE - CONDOS/ HOMES/LOTS MID-$50S $700,000+!

Gated, OF cabana, golf, amenities, low HOAs, the higher ground of luxurious, safe Tidewater Plantation, North Myrtle Beach. New Way Properties: 843-424-9013.

Get your listing in 25,000 copies of the INDY! Run a 30 word ad with color photo for just $30/week. Call Amanda at 919-286-1972x133 or email classy@indyweek.com

NEED A ROOMMATE? Roommates.com will help you find your Perfect Match today!

(AAN CAN)

PENIS ENLARGEMENT PUMP Get Stronger & Harder Erections Immediately. Gain 1-3 Inches Permanently & Safely. Guaranteed Results.

FDA Licensed. Free Brochure: 1-800-354-3944 www.

DrJoelKaplan.com (AAN CAN)

Bolinwood Condominiums Affordability without compromise

Convenient to UNC on N bus line 2 & 3 bedroom condominiums for lease

www.bolinwoodcondos.com • 919-942-7806

contact amanda for ads!

classy at indyweek dot com

entertainment #1 CHAT IN RALEIGH

Instant live phone connections with local women & men. Try it FREE! 18+ 919.899.6800, 336.235.7777 questchat.com

100’S OF HOT URBAN SINGLES

are waiting to Chat1 Try it FREE! 18+ 919.861.6868, 336.235.2626 www.metrovibchat.com

INDYweek.com | 2.13.19 | 37

3 1 4 9 6 7 8 2 5

crossword If you just can’t wait, check out the current week’s answer key at www.indyweek.com, and click “puzzle pages” at the bottom of our webpage.

1

8 1

3

8

2

1 9 2 5 72 4 7 1 5 8 4 3 5 9 6 4 9 8 4 7 3 6

9 1 5

7

4

8 7 1 6 9 3 1 3

9

3 6

5

5

2

MEDIUM © Puzzles by Pappocom

# 53

2 6 7

2 8

8 2 7

4 3 2

4 1

4 9

9

MEDIUM

# 54

There is really only one rule to Sudoku: Fill in the game board so that the numbers 1 through 9 occur exactly once in each row, column, and 3x3 box.

The numbers can appear in any order and diagonals are not considered.

Your initial game board will consist of several numbers that are already placed. Those numbers cannot be changed. Your goal is to fill in the empty squares following the simple rule above.

4

1 3 6 3 4

7

1

6 9

7 2

7 3

8 52

7 8 6 8 5 6

2 4

8

7 2 1

9 2

# 24

8 4 3 5 6 8 8 7 6 5 1 2 3 9 4

4

this week’s puzzle level:

3 9

6 3 2

7 8 3

# 22

su | do | ku

5

# 24

2 5 9 4 3 8 6 7 1

MEDIUM

7 5 8 1 3 9 6 4 2

6 1 2 5 8 4 7 3 9

4 9 3 6 2 7 5 1 8

8 6 5 9 1 3 2 7 4

1 3 7 4 6 2 9 8 5

2 4 9 7 5 8 3 6 1

3 8 4 2 7 5 1 9 6

9 2 1 3 4 6 8 5 7

5 7 6 8 9 1 4 2 3

1 8 4 1 7 8 5

5 7

9

# 55

1 2 7 4 3 5 6 9 8 8 6 5 9 4 3 1 7 2 3 1 2 6 5 7 4 8 9

MEDIUM

# 56

CLASSY AT INDYWEEK DOT COM

Best of luck, and have fun! www.sudoku.com

30/10/2005 # 54 9 8 3 1 7 6 5 2 4

| 38 | 2.13.19 6 5 4 2INDYweek.com 9 8 7 1 3

3

If you just can’t wait, check out the current week’s answer key at www.indyweek.com, and click “puzzle “Puzzle pages.”

Pages.”

2.13.19

solution to last week’s puzzle

# 53

8 7 9 2 8 1 7 2 7 8 9 3 5 9 9 3 5 2 3 6 9 7 3 5 1 9

1 5 2 4 9

4 3 6 2 5

7 8 9 1 6

5 4 3 9 1

9 1 8 5 7

2 6 7 8 3

6 9 4 3 2

3 2 5 7 8

8 7 1 6 4

# 55

6 3 2 5 9

9 5 8 7 1

7 1 4 2 3

8 7 5 9 2

2 6 3 4 7

4 9 1 6 8

3 8 7 1 6

1 4 9 3 5

5 2 6 8 4

# 56

6 3 4 7 5

5 9 1 8 2

8 2 7 6 3

1 7 9 2 3 4

B8ook 5 4your 1 7 ad 6 • Email amanda: classy@indywEEk.com 6 3 2 5 9 8 9 2 5 4 1 3 4 8 1 7 6 9

PLACE YOUR AD ON THE

advertise on this page!

back page

reserve this space for $100! classy@indyweek.com

CONTACT AMANDA: CLASSY@INDYWEEK.COM last week’s puzzle

Book your ad • Email amanda: classy@indywEEk.com

INDYweek.com | 2.13.19 | 39

THOUGHTFUL WILDMEN

Men’s nude Yoga, Triangle + Triad, NC http://www.meetup.com/Skyclad-Yoga-of-the-Triangle/

DANCE CLASSES IN LINDY HOP, SWING, BLUES

At Carrboro ArtsCenter. Private lessons available.

RICHARD BADU, 919-724-1421, rbadudance@gmail.com/

TRANSGENDER TRANSITION COACH Voice, nonverbal, 18 years’ experience New Podcast! https://transgendertransitioncoach.com/

VALENTINES DAY CHOCOLATE TASTING PARTY Details - FB:specialtreatschapelhill

INDEPENDENT JEWELRY APPRAISER

YOUR PERFECT ESCAPE AWAITS

Upscale Japanese Spa. Private Outdoor Salt Tubs, 26 massage therapists, overnight accommodations, hot cedar sauna and more. Starting at $45.

Shojiretreats.com 828-299-0999

Graduate Gemologist 919-260-3686 www.ncjewelryappraiser.com

LEARN TAI CHI IN 2019!

HISTORY TRIVIA: *A dominant figure in the heyday of Durham’s blues scene, Blind Boy Fuller died in Durham on February 13, 1941 at age 34. *Dissatisfied with the slow pace of racial reform at Duke University, African American student activists occupied the university’s main administrative building, Allen Building, on February 13, 1969 Courtesy of the Museum of Durham History

Acrylic portraits from cell phone photos.

Three-week delivery schedule. Gift certificates possible. contact@artbyminhvu.com 919-995-3213

Weekly deadline 4pm Monday classy@indyweek.com

MOOMOO WANTS TO BE YOUR VALENTINE– HER OWNER DIED AND SHE’S LONELY!

Improve balance, flexibility, strength.

New classes start in January and February throughout the Triangle.

Call 919-787-9600 or visit www.taoisttaichi.org for details.

WANT A 20X24 INCH FRAMED PORTRAIT OF YOUR PET?

back page

HAPPY VALENTINE’S DAY, JASON!

4yo 43lbs. Spayed, vaccinations current, neg heartworm & prevention. Good w/other dogs & cats. She is extremely sweet & would love a home w/either retiree or someone who works from home, preferably w/a fenced yard.

Please contact Noelle at 919-815-8956. K-9 R&R Pet Resort-919-732-2979.

I love you so much and am so happy we’re married.

Simon, Claire, & I are lucky to have you. Love, Emily

WWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWW MARUZZELLA A thank you R for sharing U your days Z your nights Z this life E I still L and love L and you Always xoxo Erin

WWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWW TWO TINGS:

W

Happy Valentine’s Day and I love you very much.

XOXO, Beffie

Ten taps.

Two floors of records. High-end smoking goods.

OG Durham shirts. @hunkydorydurham

CECI N’EST PAS UNE PUBLICITÉ!

Did that get your attention? Place your ad or announcement on the INDY Back Page and get views.

Contact Amanda: classy@indyweek.com

WEDDING GUIDE

Durham’s Leading Art Supply Store & Classes Formerly known as HappymessART artpostnc.com 718 Iredell St. 919.286.9763

The INDY’s guide for whomever, wherever, however saying “I Do” means to you.

Highlighting wedding possibilities around the Triangle

ISSUE: 3/13 • RESERVATIONS: 3/8

CONTACT YOUR AD REP OR ADVERTISING@INDYWEEK.COM

Hi pos

CO ADVE