INDY Week 7.12.17 by Indy Week

raleigh 7.12.17

raleigh•cary 1|27|16

HOGWASHED PART 3: THE FIX We know the solutions to the hog industry’s waste-management problem. Why aren’t they being used? p. 11

JUNIOR

MINT

Raleigh’s P.A.T. Junior keeps local hip-hop fresh by brokering beats and keeping the faith By Kevin Joshua Rowsey II p. 20

2 | 7.12.17 | INDYweek.com

WHAT WE LEARNED THIS WEEK | RALEIGH VOL. 34, NO. 25

Raleigh Durham | Chapel Hill

PUBLISHER Susan Harper EDITORIAL

6 Adjusted for inflation, the state’s school funding was about $300 less per student last school year than it was a decade ago.

EDITOR IN CHIEF Jeffrey C. Billman MANAGING EDITOR FOR ARTS+CULTURE Brian Howe DESIGN DIRECTOR Shan Stumpf NEWS EDITOR Ken Fine STAFF WRITERS Thomas Goldsmith,

10 Since 2008, Durham County conducted two hands-on audits of its Register of Deeds office. Wake County hasn’t—and its register’s office is now $600,000 short.

MUSIC EDITOR Allison Hussey COPY EDITOR David Klein FOOD EDITOR Victoria Bouloubasis LISTINGS COORDINATOR Kate Thompson THEATER AND DANCE CRITIC Byron Woods RESTAURANT CRITIC Emma Laperruque STAFF PHOTOGRAPHER Alex Boerner CHIEF CONTRIBUTORS Drew Adamek, Elizabeth

Erica Hellerstein, Sarah Willets

11 Of the thousands of hog farms in North Carolina, only ten use anaerobic digester technology that converts hog waste into energy.

Bracy, Timothy Bracy, Spencer Griffith, Corbie Hill, Jill Warren Lucas, Sayaka Matsuoka, Glenn McDonald, Michaela Dwyer, Neil Morris, Angela Perez, Hannah Pitstick, Noah Rawlings, Bryan C. Reed, V. Cullum Rogers, Dan Ruccia, David Ford Smith, Zack Smith, Chris Vitiello, Patrick Wall INTERNS Cole del Charco, Aditi Dholakia, Sammy Hanf, Sheldon Koppenhofer, Lydia McInnes, Maddy Sweitzer-Lammé

17 The agave plant typically becomes tequila or mezcal, but a Raleighfamous one is turning into beer instead.

PRODUCTION+DESIGN

PRODUCTION MANAGER Christopher Williams GRAPHIC+EDITORIAL DESIGNER Steve Oliva

20 Though many career-minded hip-hop artists move to bigger markets, Raleigh’s P.A.T. Junior is staying put in his adopted hometown. 23

OPERATIONS

BUSINESS MANAGER Alex Rogers

CIRCULATION

CIRCULATION DIRECTOR Brenna Berry-Stewart DISTRIBUTION Laura Bass, David Cameron,

The five mature women in Women’s Theatre Festival production The Woodstock Tontine break free from the stereotypes lazy playwrights have long favored.

Michael Griswold, JC Lacroix, Richard David Lee, Joseph Lizana, James Maness, Gloria McNair, Jeff Prince, Timm Shaw, Freddie Simons, Marshall Wade, Gerald Weeks

ADVERTISING

ADVERTISING DIRECTOR Shannon Legge SENIOR ACCOUNT EXECUTIVES Ele Roberts,

According to Raleigh Supercon guest Michael Rooker (aka Yondu from Guardians of the Galaxy), modern actors have to talk to tennis balls and puppets as if they’re loved ones.

Sarah Schmader

ACCOUNT EXECUTIVES Hillary Jackson, Joshua Rowsey CLASSIFIEDS ACCOUNT EXECUTIVE Mike Callahan

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DEPARTMENTS

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6 Triangulator

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10 News 17 Food 20 Music 23 Arts & Culture

Oak City Amaretto gives you a taste of an old family recipe (see page 17). PHOTO BY ALEX BOERNER

26 What to Do This Week 29 Music Calendar

On the cover:

PHOTO BY ALEX BOERNER

33 Arts & Culture Calendar

INDYweek.com | 7.12.17 | 3

4 | 7.12.17 | INDYweek.com

backtalk

Math Problems

We’ll begin this week’s Backtalk with David Straley, who believes he’s spotted some “inane math” toward the end of part 2 of our Hogwashed series. “I greatly appreciate the INDY’s report on hog farming,” he writes, “but it contains a bit of inane math. The authors estimate 110,000 pigs within a ten-mile radius and divide by the radius (?!) to get ‘ten thousand pigs per mile’ (nearly two pigs per foot), instead of by the area within that radius (314 square miles), which would give 350 hogs per square mile. That seemed low to me, and I find Wikipedia cites 2.2 million hogs in Duplin County’s 819 square miles, which gives almost 2,700 hogs per square mile, so the authors’ estimate of hogs per square mile is about one-eighth of the true concentration. That’s about four hogs per acre. “And I wonder how many of the CAFO operators are absentee owners? Do they live away from the stink while inflicting it on hapless neighbors? With Google Maps, you can see the hog CAFOs, usually away from the highway and with a driveway that doesn’t lead past any house. You’d think, if the owner were on site, then for convenience of access, a fair proportion of them would have a driveway from their homes to the CAFO site. To say nothing of the inhumanity to the hogs.” Speaking of hogs, Roger B. takes issue with Maddy Sweitzer-Lamme’s story on a North Carolina barbecue camp: “Despite being a double graduate from UNC and a bleeding heart Chapel Hill liberal who has never written any letter to the editor, I am moved to respond to the unfortunate article ‘White Meat.’ My attendance at the N.C. State Barbeque Camp, an N.C. State alumni-sponsored event, was a surprise birthday gift from my son, a UNC and N.C. State MBA graduate, whose father dabbles in smoked ribs and Boston butts. Although criticized as insufficiently diverse, I wore a UNC emblazoned hat throughout but was accepted by a clearly N.C. State crowd. “The camp was an excellent combination

of teaching about preparing cuts of meat for smoking, the flavoring process, and the cooking process, with a good mix of commentary on the history of barbecue, the ongoing evolution of the cooking styles, and a variety of related topics such as Dutch oven cooking, various smoker equipment, and barbeque competition cooking. It was not billed as nor expected to be a class on the anthropology of barbeque. “That an event of this sort would be criticized by a UNC Food Studies student as not adequately diverse and insufficiently attentive to the racial or political aspects of the history of barbeque in the South is simply unfair and, frankly, overanalyzed from a very biased perspective. It demonstrated the kind of unwarranted, out-of-place, ‘holier-than-thou’ attitude that sometimes gives UNC-Chapel Hill a bad name among many in our state.” Last week, we also reported that Governor Cooper had asked the State Board of Elections not to provide “sensitive information beyond what is public record” about the state’s voting rolls to a White House commission investigating voting integrity. (Earlier this week, following a lawsuit by the Electronic Privacy Information Center, the commission asked states to hold off.) “Good!” writes Marianne Eileen Wardle. “There’s plenty of information publicly available they can use. I have no confidence in Republicans or this White House not to abuse it.” “The vice president and Mr. Vote Suppressionist [i.e., Kansas secretary of state Kris Kobach, who is chairing the commission along with Vice President Pence] have no business investigating our party registrations,” writes Kathryn Welch. “This is what dictators do. What next? Will they make it illegal to be a Democrat or independent?”

“Will they make it illegal to be a Democrat?”

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

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triangulator

BIG BUCKS OR CHUMP CHANGE?

hen the $900 million in annual tax cuts the legislature passed this session are fully implemented, North Carolina Republicans will have succeeded in slashing $3.5 billion a year from the state’s coffers— almost 40 percent of the relatively low (compared to other states) amount it dedicates to schools. To make up for what the state lacks, local governments— particularly urban counties such as Wake—have raised taxes to better fund schools [“The Tax Man Cometh,” June 21]. The budget the legislature passed last month ups the state’s education funding from the current $8.7 billion to about $9.4 billion in the 2019–20 school year. Assuming North Carolina doesn’t add to the 1.54 million students it had in 2015– 16, the last year for which the Department of Public Instruction has data—an unlikely assumption—that’s a roughly $450 bump per student. But that’s not enough to appease critics. Governor Cooper called the budget “shortsighted and small-minded” when he announced his veto, which was quickly

overridden. Progressives (and most major editorial boards) across the state denounced the GOP budget on similar grounds, arguing that it shortchanges students while enriching the wealthy. The Republican line, espoused by Senate leader Phil Berger, is that the budget will “dramatically increase teacher pay and improve public education outcomes” and continues improvements Republicans have made in recent years. So who’s right? The best measurement of school funding, and increases thereof, isn’t raw numbers, but rather per-pupil spending adjusted for inflation. Fortunately, the good folks at N.C. Policy Watch have calculated just that, charting out inflation-adjusted per-pupil spending from 2005–06 to 2016–17. Perhaps unsurprisingly, spending spiked just before the Great Recession took hold, cratered, and has slowly started to tick up as the economy recovered. But even with the extra money added this year, the per-pupil amount still won’t rebound to its pre-Recession peak.

MONEY SPENT PER STUDENT IN NORTH CAROLINA, 2005-2017 $7,000

$6,300 $5,616 $6,000

$5,337

$5,980 $5,000

’05-’06

’06-’07 ’07-’08 ’08-’09 ’09-’10 ’10-’11

Source: N.C. Policy Watch; numbers adjusted for inflation

6 | 7.12.17 | INDYweek.com

’11-’12

’12-’13

’13-’14

’14-’15

’15-’16

’16-’17

+AND THEY’RE OFF

Raleigh’s citizen advisory councils have been around for decades. And while some people seem to think they’ve outlived their usefulness, the CACs—designed to advise the city on planning and other areas—have enough clout to be an early issue in the October 10 mayoral election. Mayor Nancy McFarlane, expected to file for her fourth term this week, will face at least one opponent, Raleigh banker and attorney Charles Francis. After filing his papers Friday at the Wake County Board of Elections, Francis called the mayor “aloof” and “disengaged” from many parts of Raleigh. He cited her backing of a task force report that originally would have meant the end of CACs as they’ve long existed. The proposed community engagement board, which critics said would have led to a top-down approach, had most of its detail stripped out before council members, including McFarlane, passed it on a 5–3 vote. A full council chamber of neighborhood activists heard McFarlane say on June 6 that she supports the CACs and will make sure their voices are heard as the council commences a two- or three-year process to fill in the framework of the new CEB on August 28. “I believe every member of this city council understands and values the important role the CACs have had and continue to play in citizen engagement,” McFarlane said. Francis, who grew up and attended public schools in Raleigh, says the mayor hasn’t responded to people’s basic concerns, cit-

ing traffic and affordable housing among other problem areas. McFarlane campaign consultant Perry Woods shot back, accusing Francis of launching his campaign with an “inaccurate personal attack.” It’s hard to know how much partisanship will affect the off-year race, but Francis proclaimed himself a “proud Democrat,” while McFarlane, who’s won by wide margins in previous races, is unaffiliated. Additional candidates can still file until July 21. Among the city council races, early filings found at-large member Russ Stephenson opposed by Shelia Alamin-Khashoggi (formerly Shelia Jones), District C incumbent Corey Branch facing James G. Bledsoe, District D incumbent Kay Crowder squaring off against Bobby Plott Jr., and District A incumbent Dickie Thompson running (so far) unopposed.

+VOTE SUPPRESSION, SUPPESSED

North Carolinians worried about a controversial request by President Trump’s election fraud commission can rest easy, at least for now. On Monday, the Presidential Advisory Commission on Election Integrity asked states to hold off on sending voter information to the White House until a lawsuit filed against the commission by the Electronic Privacy Information Center, a nonprofit privacy group based in Washington, D.C., is resolved. EPIC’s case isn’t about the commission itself but rather how the data will be stored. (On Monday, two civil liberties

groups filed a separate lawsuit alleging that the commission was violating government regulations on transparency.) The government originally planned to use a Pentagon website to accept the data but, in reaction to EPIC’s lawsuit, ditched that in favor of a White House system. This latest twist comes after the White House commission, headed by Vice President Pence and Kansas secretary of state Kris Kobach, sent a letter asking all fifty states to provide voters’ names, addresses, birthdays, political parties, last four digits of their social security numbers, and voting histories from 2006 onward. The request drew fire from some Democrats and civil rights groups, who said it would be used to validate voter suppression, particularly among minority voters. Some were quick to point out that the director of ACLU’s Voting Rights Project has called Kobach the “King of Vote Suppression.” A handful of states immediately rejected the request, and, as the INDY reported last week, North Carolina’s Board of Elections said it would only release information that was already publicly available on the board’s website, such as the name, address, party affiliation, and past participation of voters. (North Carolina has not yet released any data to the commission.) The request has already made many Tar Heels wary. According to The News & Observer, some have even gone so far as to cancel their registrations. triangulator@indyweek.com This week’s report by Jeffrey C. Billman, Thomas Goldsmith, and Erica Hellerstein.

PERIPHERAL VISIONS | V.C. ROGERS

INDYweek.com | 7.12.17 | 7

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he Glass Jug Beer Lab is your one-stop-shop for craft beverages in RTP. The retail store has over 500 different bottles and cans of beer, wine, cider, mead, and soda to choose from, allowing you to mix and match to create your perfect 6-pack. The bar features 20 taps of local and craft beer, plus dedicated taps for nitro beer, sour beer, cider, cold brew coffee, and kombucha. The bar also has a rotating selection of wine and mead by the glass. Additionally, all beers on draft can be purchased to-go via the high-tech counter-pressure growler filling system that ensures your beer stays fresh and carbonated for weeks instead of hours. This fall will see the introduction of an on-site brewery and outdoor beer garden as part of a move to a larger space in the same shopping center (Greenwood Commons). The brewery will produce experimental, one-off batches of beers that combine unique flavors and ingredients, including sours, barrel-aged beers, fruit beers, and IPAs with new experimental hops and hopping techniques. The beers will always be changing and will only be available at The Glass Jug. The new beer garden will provide a relaxing outdoor setting for enjoying your favorite beverage under market lights and sun shades, or while playing a game of corn hole or grabbing a bite to eat from a visiting food truck. Lastly, a new event space will be added that can be rented for private parties and events for up to 30 people. The space is perfect for corporate events, rehearsal dinners, or birthday parties, and the event space has an excellent view of the on-site brewery.

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indynews

Risk Aversion

UNLIKE WAKE AND ITS REGISTER OF DEEDS OFFICE, SOME COUNTIES STOP LOSSES WITH INTERNAL AUDITS BY THOMAS GOLDSMITH Since 2008, as Wake County’s Register of Deeds office was losing track of more than $600,000, Durham County performed two hands-on audits of its equivalent office, catching a few problems and moving on. The difference? Durham County—like Buncombe, Mecklenburg, and other North Carolina counties—has an internal audit department. Auditors working for the semiautonomous panel check everything from the way cash is handled to the people who carry out certain roles in the issuing of certificates and accepting payment, as in a 2008 audit of the Durham Register of Deeds office. “Losses, if they were to occur, can be quickly identified at the point at which they occurred,” Durham County audit director Richard C. Edwards wrote in an August 2008 report. “Supervision and segregation of duties is such that the risk of ongoing fraud or misconduct is limited.” Each North Carolina county uses external auditors to prepare a record of its financial affairs and other key facts, producing a comprehensive annual financial report, or CAFR. Such accountings can catch fraud, but they aren’t designed for that purpose. Wake County’s director of finance has said that the annual report filled a legal requirement for an audit of any department that handles cash and other payments. “That’s actually the register’s statutory responsibility,” says Greg Allison, a professor at the School of Government at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. “How they handle internal controls, that’s their purview.” According to Wake internal documents, then-register of deeds Laura Riddick habitually received bundles of uncounted cash, which she totaled while alone, then handed off to other staff members for recording. In March, Wake County District Attorney General Lorrin Freeman and county manager Jim Hartmann announced that Riddick, an elected official who had held the office since 1996, had resigned her post because of poor health. The office remains under inves10 | 7.12.17 | INDYweek.com

“There are legitimate questions to be asked about why this was missed for so long.”

tigation by the State Bureau of Investigation, with the probe likely to conclude in about two months, Freeman says. Riddick could not be reached for comment. Freeman says the former official is continuing to cooperate with the investigation. “There are legitimate questions to be asked about why this was missed for so long,” Freeman says. UNC’s Allison declined to comment specifically on the Wake case, but he says some county financial officers have shown reluc-

tance to probe too deeply into the accounts of county sheriffs or registers of deeds. Both are elected officials and thus may enjoy a different status from that of hired department heads. The office of a county’s elected district is a branch of state government and as such is subject to stringent review by the Office of the State Auditor. “It gets really odd when you are dealing with a register of deeds office or a sheriff's office,” Allison says. “Those individuals think, ‘That is my office; you leave my office alone.’”

George K. Quick, chief financial officer of Durham County, agrees with Allison’s statement about elected county officials. “Sometimes those departments are hard to bring under the financial wing of the county,” Quick says. Wake County spokeswoman Dara Demi says the county does not have an internal audit committee. She noted that the Wake County Board of Commissioners has a budget and audit/finance committee, which oversees the CAFR. The internal auditor, John T. Stephenson, reports to the county manager’s office. “We are in the process of completing a business process review of the Wake County Sheriff's Office, which was initiated at the [sheriff’s office’s] request,” Demi says. “We reviewed e-recording procedures within the Register of Deeds Office in 2013 to ensure proper deposit of funds at the request of the Register of Deeds.” Durham County audited both its Sheriff’s and Register of Deeds office twice during the past decade. In 2007, an auditor’s report found: “The lack of controls based upon sound principles in the Office of the Sheriff resulted in current estimated losses and misallocations of approximately $311.4K over a period of approximately 40 months from January 2004 through April 2007.” As the INDY first reported last week, Wake County did not perform detailed internal audits on the Register of Deeds office until word got out about the missing funds there. Freeman says the losses might have lasted a decade. Darryl Black, a former employee of the office, says he tried to bring into play more automation and computerized record keeping but got resistance from Riddick. “Where there are not sufficient detailed audits done, it opens up the opportunity for these things to occur,” Freeman says. “It can be as simple as the computer system is set up in such a way that it makes these kinds of things hard to be detected.” tgoldsmith@indyweek.com

HOGWASHED A powerful special interest. Shameless politicians. Failed regulations. A final look at Big Pork in North Carolina. by KEN FINE and ERICA HELLERSTEIN photos by ALEX BOERNER

Butler Family Farms in Lillington

EDITOR’S NOTE: This is the third of a three-part investigation into North Carolina’s hog-farming industry. The first story examined claims by lowerincome African-American residents of eastern North Carolina that neighboring hog farms have polluted their properties and efforts by lawmakers to shield pork producers from litigation. The second looked at the environmental impacts hog farming has had over the last two decades, particularly on waterways such as the Neuse River. This final piece discusses ways to make the multibillion-dollar hog industry more sustainable, both for the environment and the state’s rural population, and the political and financial reasons those steps have not been taken.

Part three: The FIX I. “Beware. You’re Entering Butler Hog Country” Tom Butler steps down from his trailer and into the glaring sun. It’s early afternoon in Lillington—a town of nearly thirty-five hundred, an hour’s drive southeast of Raleigh— and sticky hot. Butler, in neatly ironed khakis and a button-down, crosses the dusty road in front of his trailer and stops at a row of white hog houses, all built on land his father purchased in 1922. At capacity, the hog houses hold close to eight thousand pigs. And if Butler were standing on just about any other hog farm this size in North Carolina, the heat would exacerbate the already noxious odor of pig waste to an unbearable degree. But Butler Farms is different. There is no stench.

INDYweek.com | 7.12.17 | 11

Since 2007, Butler’s farm has employed what he describes as an environmentally sustainable system that has the added benefit of reducing the odor. Walking around, there’s the occasional whiff of pig feces—pungent, to be sure—but nothing close to the nauseating smell neighbors of farms in places like Duplin County say they’re forced to endure daily. The seventy-six-year-old snowy-haired farmer wears that distinction proudly when talking about his farm, which has drawn praise from the likes of Governor Cooper, former American Idol standout and congressional candidate Clay Aiken, and other highprofile individuals whose pictures are tacked onto the wooden door of his trailer. As he points to the photos, the dark lesions on his hands and the arthritis-induced hunch in his shoulders speak to decades of hard work. The story of Butler’s unexpected foray into sustainable hog waste management goes back decades, to 1994, the year he and his late brother decided to try their luck at contract farming. “Before then, we were traditional farmers,” he says, “transitioning from the tobacco buyout.” They had a construction business, but “we saw an opportunity to bring in income from the farm but in a different way. We’d contract livestock and wouldn’t be competing with the local economy.” In other words, they’d manage the hog houses and the waste produced by the animals living in them, but they wouldn’t have to worry about supply, processing, or sales. Things changed quickly, however. About a week after they brought their first several thousand hogs to the farm, they realized that managing waste meant coping with a pervasive stink that put them at odds with neighbors they’d known since childhood. “Immediately, we had two or three people that were really angry,” Butler recalls. “They’d call me at night and tell me, ‘My house smells like hog you-know-what,’ or ‘It’s coming in through my air conditioner. I can smell it.’ And then we had one other neighbor and he had a sign made but never put it up: ‘Beware. You’re entering Butler hog country.’ And we smelled it. And it wasn’t good.” At the time, there was no ready-made solution. But today, Butler’s farm is one of just ten in the state using technology that converts methane into energy. He’s proud of the system he’s put in place, although it wasn’t easy. He’s come under fire for his position that the industry, not the farmer, should foot the bill for technologies that make hog farms more environmentally friendly. He loves what he does, but he also believes the widely used lagoon-to-sprayfield system of waste management is a “black eye for the industry.” Butler chooses his words carefully. He 12 | 7.12.17 | INDYweek.com

Will Butler, son of Butler Farms owner Tom Butler, pumps freshwater that has collected atop the digestion field. doesn’t call himself an activist but rather an “advocate for change to a better waste-management system.” As a contract farmer who cares for hogs owned by Prestage Farms, he knows he must rely on the industry to keep his farm afloat. “I wish we could get growers to speak,” he says. “If I wasn’t seventy-six, I probably wouldn’t. [But] you get to a point that you’d rather do the right thing and lose than the wrong thing and win.”

II. “Get a Learjet”

Walking from Butler’s trailer to the hog houses across the street, you’d never know you were approaching thousands of hogs, or that beneath their feet lurked thousands of gallons of their waste. It took thirteen years and hundreds of thousands of dollars to even try to solve the problem. In 2007, Butler and his brother received a $320,000 grant from the Environmental Credit Corporation to cover their two lagoons; Environmental Fabrics Inc. installed the lagoon covers. Butler and his brother then spent about $50,000 on each lagoon to pay for the piping, the concrete, and longer-term maintenance. Since then, Butler has paid about $3,000 per year for

the lagoons’ maintenance. “I know that the industry could have all the lagoons covered, but it would be very expensive,” Butler says. “So you could either get a Learjet for your company, or you could cover lagoons.” He also introduced an anaerobic digester system, which converts the methane sequestered by covering swine lagoons into electricity. According to the EPA, just thirty-nine of the thousands of hog farms in the United States do that. Of them, only ten are located in North Carolina, the country’s second-largest pork producer. Of those, two belong to the state’s largest pork producer, Murphy-Brown LLC, which, according to court records, owns hogs at up to two-thirds of the state’s farms. In an email, Murphy-Brown’s parent company, Smithfield Foods, told the INDY that its hog division is “an industry leader in aggressively studying and implementing manureto-energy technologies, as well as other potential manure treatment technologies.” In a statement, N.C. Pork Council CEO Andy Curliss told the INDY that the industry strongly supports “the development of innovative approaches to managing hog manure, including the development of renewable energy projects. … North Caro-

lina currently leads the nation in producing renewable energy from swine manure, and two large-scale projects are slated to begin operations later this year.” (Curliss did not respond to a follow-up inquiry asking for more details about those operations.) Solutions do exist, both for the odor issues and the potential environmental problems examined in the first two parts of this series. And the hog industry is aware of them. In 2000, the state attorney general entered into the so-called Smithfield Agreement, in which the industry agreed to fund a $17.1 million experiment to find more sustainable methods of disposing of hog waste. But experts at N.C. State say that, even a decade after the results of that research came to light, not much has happened. The five solutions the study developed were deemed too expensive for existing farms. And because the legislature passed a temporary moratorium on the construction of new hog farms in 1997—followed by a permanent moratorium on lagoon construction in 2007—the solutions haven’t been widely adopted on North Carolina’s hog farms. In addition, says Mark Rice, an N.C. State professor who is part of the school’s Animal Waste Management team, funding has also

dried up for research into new technology. “We have a lot of things we’d like to do and research to pursue, but you’ve got to find somebody willing to fund that research,” Rice says. “The [Smithfield Agreement], that was an infusion of money specifically to look at alternative treatment technologies. Since that time, there’s been virtually no money, grant money, available for wastemanagement research.”

III. “They’re in Dire Straits” The Smithfield Agreement could have been a game-changer. According to N.C. State records, the agreement called for a “designee” to oversee the evaluation of eighteen potential technologies. Mike Williams, then-director of the university’s Animal and Poultry Waste Management Center, was chosen to fill the role.

ber 2005 majority report of the Smithfield Agreement advisory panel, was that these technologies were not economically feasible for existing farms, only for new farms. “New farms,” the majority report noted, “do not face the financial dilemma that existing farmers face in having invested already in a waste handling system.” In other words, existing farms had already spent money digging lagoons and constructing irrigation systems. They couldn’t afford to reinvent the wheel— even though, as the report pointed out, the new technology “could spawn a new set of industry leaders in waste handling technology, centered in North Carolina. This scenario for future competitiveness of the North Carolina industry is more than just plausible, it is likely to occur.” After all, the report said, hog production has external costs, such as pollution, “and as long as those costs are being imposed involuntarily on people, communities and

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“NEW FARMS DO NOT FACE THE DILEMMA EXISTING FARMS FACE.” The project defined “environmentally superior” technologies as those that met five standards: they eliminated the discharge of animal waste to surface water and groundwater through “direct seepage or runoff”; substantially reduced emissions of ammonia; substantially eliminated “the emission of odor that is detectable beyond the boundaries of the parcel or tract of land on which the swine farm is located”; eliminated the release of “disease-transmitting vectors and airborne pathogens”; and eliminated nutrient and heavy metal contamination of soil and groundwater. While the five-year-endeavor produced no silver bullet, Rice says, it did identify several technologies that lessened the hog farms’ ecological footprint. One was the anaerobic digester system used by Butler. Others included a system that flushed waste from the hog houses and used chemicals to remove the solids. The remaining liquid then flowed through tanks, where bacteria removed most of the nitrogen before chemicals removed the phosphorus. (Environmental groups have blamed nitrogen and phosphorus from hog lagoons and spray fields for fish kills in the Neuse River basin.) The problem, according to the Decem-

businesses outside the farm operation, there will be contingent liabilities (risks) facing the industry.” These new technologies would mitigate some of those risks—if only someone invested in them. It’s safe to say that hasn’t happenned. Or at least, no such industrywide reform has been realized. Since the initial moratorium on new hog farms passed in 1997, no new farms have been constructed in the state. Ten farms have implemented anaerobic digester technology. But only two farms in the state are using technologies that meet all of the criteria set forth in the Smithfield Agreement, according to Christine Lawson, manager of the N.C. Department of Environmental Quality’s concentrated animal feeding operations program. Because the onus for implementing these systems falls on the farmer, Butler says, many simply can’t afford it. The big pork companies could. (The $50 million the industry agreed to pay over twenty-five years as part of the Smithfield Agreement could help, were the money not tied up in a lawsuit filed by Civitas Institute president Francis De Luca, who argues it should go to public schools, like any INDYweek.com | 7.12.17 | 13

other fine the state collects. The state says the industry gave the money voluntarily.) “If somebody [from the industry] comes here and offers to put in a system at no cost to me, I’m at least interested,” Butler says. “Smithfield, they’re in dire straits with their waste. They’ve got the court cases. They need to be doing something. They need to solve their waste problem.”

IV. “Ham and Sausage and Eggs and Fried Chicken”

Jimmy Dixon doesn’t feel the same sense of urgency. Nor does he think the industry has much of a problem to address. On a Thursday afternoon in June, the Republican state representative swoops into his office in a neatly pressed suit, with perfectly coiffed white hair and pink cheeks. More than two months have passed since Dixon, a former poultry farmer who represents Duplin County, introduced House Bill 467 at the behest of the industry. HB 467 capped the amount of damages people living near agriculture and forestry operations, including hog farms, could collect in nuisance lawsuits at the reduction of their property’s fair market value. Dixon’s bill—which originally would have nullified twenty-six pending federal nuisance lawsuits against Murphy-Brown LLC, though that provision was later voted down— attracted strong opposition from environmentalists, industry critics, and neighbors of hog farms. But the pushback ultimately proved unsuccessful; the legislature overrode Governor Cooper’s veto on May 11. In public comments, Dixon—who has collected more than $115,000 from the industry throughout his political career, according to an INDY analysis of campaign finance records—was unsympathetic to HB 467’s critics. “Is there some odor? Yes,” he remarked at a hearing on the bill. “But I would like you to close your eyes and imagine how ham and sausage and eggs and fried chicken smell.” He also dismissed claims that pig feces landed on the houses of farms’ neighbors as “outright lies” and said that the plaintiffs involved in nuisance litigation were being “prostituted for money” by their attorneys. In a letter to the Goldsboro News-Argus, he argued that the bill’s opposition was fomented by “radical groups who have become vicious enemies of our hardworking farmers.” In person, Dixon is less bombastic. But he’s still unfazed by studies documenting the health and environmental impacts of hog operations. He also believes the state’s 14 | 7.12.17 | INDYweek.com

defense. But [they] want to take Mrs. Miller or any of these other folks out there and exaggerate or amplify or misrepresent. And that’s not right. Our industry has room and in some instances a need to improve. [But] when you compare where we are today with where we are when this industry started, it’s night and day. Does that justify if there are still abuses, if there are? No. It doesn’t.” Miller says she would welcome a visit from Dixon. “I would ask him, ‘How does it make you feel to get up and lie? Are you a Christian? What do you think waking up in the morning?’” Miller says. “I would just look him straight in the eyes. ‘Trade places with me. You step in my shoes and let me step in your shoes. You do it for one week and see how you feel. Come live in my house and I’ll live in yours.’” Above: Tom Butler has invested hundreds of thousands of dollars into a system that converts hog waste to methane. Below: Butler’s anaerobic digester system regulations are sufficient, and he’s skeptical of the lawsuits filed against Murphy-Brown. He brushes off claims that the farms’ odor prevents plaintiffs from enjoying everyday activities. “For people to say they can’t go outside, ‘I can’t barbeque, I can’t invite my neighbors over,’ those are exaggerations,” he says. But, when asked about plaintiff Rene

Miller—who lives down the street from a Warsaw hog farm whose odor she says prevents her from going outside—he says he would be “glad for an invitation to her place.” “Every single one of us inside and outside the industry should be concerned about Mrs. Miller,” he says. “People who care about Mrs. Miller should come to her

V. “They Don’t Have to Give Me a Dime” What would it take for the industry to step into Miller’s shoes—or to believe her? Those involved in the Murphy-Brown case present two starkly different versions of reality. The plaintiffs say hog farms are

making their lives miserable, and they contend that it’s no coincidence that nearly all of the plaintiffs are poor and black. As evidence, they point to the research of Steve Wing, a now-deceased professor of epidemiology at the University of North Carolina who linked proximity to hog farms to numerous health concerns and found that the state’s industrial hog operations disproportionately affect African American, Hispanics, and Native Americans. That argument has found some powerful allies, including U.S. Senator Cory Booker, a New Jersey Democrat who in a recent podcast interview denounced the North Carolina hog industry, which he called “evil,” for exploiting its African-American neighbors. “They fill massive lagoons with [waste] and they take that lagoon stuff and spray it over fields,” he told Pod Save America, recalling a trip to North Carolina late last year. “I watched it mist off of the property of these massive pig farms into black communities. And these African-American communities are like, ‘We’re prisoners in our own home.’ The biggest company down there [Smithfield] is a Chinese-owned company, and so they’ve poisoned black communities, land value is down, abhorrent. … This corporation is outsourcing its pain, its costs, onto poor black people in North Carolina.” Booker, whose father grew up in Hendersonville and graduated from N.C. Central, told the INDY in a statement: “I saw firsthand in North Carolina how corporate interests are disproportionately placing environmental and public health burdens on low-income communities of color that they would never accept in their own neighborhoods. In North Carolina, large corporate pork producers are mistreating small contract farmers and externalizing their costs onto vulnerable communities, polluting the air, water, and soil, and making kids and families sick while reaping large financial rewards. “And unfortunately, we know this is not just a problem in North Carolina. Similar environmental injustices are occurring right now all over the United States. This is unacceptable to me, and I’m in the process of finding ways for the federal government to start to meaningfully address this problem.” The industry casts doubt on the plaintiffs and their motives. Hog farmers are conscientious neighbors, the industry argues, and the plaintiffs just want money. As the Pork Council’s Curliss told the INDY, “Most farmers live on or adjacent to their farms and work hard to take good care of the land. They are an integral part of the communities in which they live. They do things the right way and strive to be good neighbors.” Dixon, meanwhile, discounts Wing’s research because it came out of UNC:

The Reformer

wo decades ago, Cindy Watson learned how hard it is to reform the hog industry from the outside. In 1994, Watson, a political neophyte from Duplin County, ran as a Republican for the state legislature. She found herself thrust into the swine debate during her campaign, fielding frenzied questions from constituents about her position on the “hog issue.” She had no idea what they were talking about; before running for office, she’d spent nearly two decades as a marketing agent in Wilmington, commuting to and from her home. Hog farming wasn’t on her radar. But she told her constituents she’d learn more about it. And learn about it she did. The race for the Tenth District seat was tight. Watson ultimately triumphed over her opponent, Democratic incumbent Vance Alphin, but just barely. Part of her unlikely success may well be attributed to the moment in which she ran. “That’s when Newt Gingrich had the Contract with America,” she explains. “Conservative thinking was on the rise.” After taking office, Watson began hearing about the hog issue yet again. She stopped by a meeting with a group called the Alliance for a Responsible Swine Industry, which recounted industry horror stories: crippling stenches, hogs loaded in dead boxes, swarms of flies so thick you couldn’t see through them. She was stunned. “I was thinking, What is going on here?” recalls Watson, who is now retired and lives in Rose Hill. “I said, I cannot believe that this is the way that we are doing things in this state.” Her line was flooded with calls from constituents describing deplorable conditions, she says. One came from Elsie Herring, a Duplin County resident who lived adjacent to a hog farm. Herring told Watson that waste was being sprayed all over her mother’s house. Watson says she visited the home and, upon arrival, came face-to-face with Herring’s neighbor, a hog farmer named Major Murray.

The conversation was fraught, Watson recalls, with the farmer defending the spraying and accusing Herring of stirring up trouble. Before the farmer stormed off, Watson says, he told her, “Just remember, I am a damn Democrat, and you must be just a nigger lover.”

Cindy Watson (Herring recalls this quote as well. A call to Murray, who is in his eighties and has since sold the farm, was answered by a woman who told a reporter he would not talk to her “today, tomorrow, or the day after” and then hung up. In a subsequent call, the woman said Murray did not remember Watson and did not want to talk about interactions with Herring. She ended the call by saying, “You better not call here no more. We got something, we can take care of all this now—them, you, whatever. Now don’t call here no more.”) “I really wished the ground had opened up and I had gone in it,” she says. “I looked at Elsie and she looked at me and said, ‘This is what we live with.’ I said, ‘I am so sorry, Elsie. We have got to change this.’” Soon after, Watson says, “Crap hit the fan. They began to watch me in the halls of the General Assembly, all the lobbyists.” Things got tenser after Watson successfully introduced a series of bills to

regulate hog farming, including legislation requiring a fifteen-hundred-foot buffer between hog operations and houses and, in 1997, a temporary moratorium on the construction of new hog operations. Through her legislative pursuits, Watson knew she was taking on a powerful industry. But she wasn’t prepared for the death threat she says she received on her phone’s answering machine. “It said, ‘If you don’t back off this hog situation and if you run any more legislation, you don’t know what you’re talking about,’” Watson says. “‘You might find yourself in that Cape Fear River floating facedown.’” Nothing ever came of the threat; to this day, she says she has no idea who left that message. She didn’t last long in politics. In the 1998 Republican primary, Watson was hit by a barrage of industry-funded attack ads. A coalition of the state’s largest hog producers called Farmers for Fairness spent $2.9 million targeting legislators deemed unfriendly to the industry, including an estimated $10,000 a week against Watson, according to a report by the left-leaning Democracy N.C. Watson narrowly lost to an industry-backed hog farmer named Johnnie Manning. Watson made her way back to Duplin, enrolled in a gardening class, got a handful of much-needed joint replacements, and focused on spending time with her family. But she says she was never able to shake what happened during her stint in the legislature. And she’s incredulous that, all these years later, the same systems that disturbed her then remain in place—and that people like Elsie Herring have been living with it ever since. —Ken Fine and Erica Hellerstein

INDYweek.com | 7.12.17 | 15

“Lots of these studies begin with the end product in mind. And then they construct it for the outcome.” Then there are the environmental questions. Environmentalists blame the farms for pollution in the Neuse River and Pamlico Sound and say lagoons have the potential to leak into groundwater. They, too, have research, some of it dating back two decades, that supports their claims. Once again, the industry denies this is even an issue. Smithfield claims that hog farming “is the most highly regulated sector in all of agriculture.” So we’re left to evaluate a reality consisting of diametrically opposed viewpoints. The industry says it’s doing its best to mitigate whatever damage exists. The Pork Council, for example, makes note of its support of voluntary buyouts of lagoons located inside the Neuse’s floodplain, similar to the buyouts that happened after Hurricane Floyd struck in 1999. Curliss says funding for these buyouts was included in this year’s recently passed state budget. But Governor Cooper, through spokesman Ford Porter, says the budget—which Cooper vetoed, only to have his veto overridden—didn’t include this funding, and that’s part of the reason he vetoed it. “The agriculture and forestry industries are vital to our economy, and we should

16 | 7.12.17 | INDYweek.com

encourage them to thrive,” Porter told the INDY. “But that shouldn’t come at the expense of clean land and water or the basic property rights of North Carolinians. That’s why Governor Cooper vetoed both a budget that shortchanged the Clean Water Manage-

perhaps restoring the number of annual inspections on hog farms to two. But none of those things seems likely to happen. Hunt’s idea was dead on arrival when he suggested it, and its prospects haven’t improved in the intervening eigh-

“HOW DOES IT MAKE YOU FEEL TO GET UP AND LIE? ”

ment Trust Fund [which allocated funds for the first voluntary buyout] and recent legislation [HB 467] that would limit environmental accountability of hog farmers and weaken the property rights of their neighbors.” If the legislature wanted to act, it could take a few decisive steps. There’s the option of phasing out lagoons altogether, a proposal floated by then-governor Jim Hunt in 1999. It could create incentives for environmentally superior waste-management technologies. It could also ratchet up oversight,

teen years. Dixon told the INDY he has no appetite for any new incentive program, and Republican leaders in the General Assembly aren’t known for endorsing multimillion-dollar environmental initiatives. As for bolstering regulations, well, they’re not known for that, either. This might not mean much for “Mr. and Mrs. Urbanite,” Dixon’s moniker for the city dwellers living worlds away from the farmers who grow the food they eat. But what of Rene Miller?

You met her at the beginning of this series, thousands of words ago, when she was getting ready to embark on the short but grueling journey to her family’s cemetery. Next to her family plot sits a hog farm that holds more than fifty-two hundred hogs, and the air was thick with the stench of pig feces. That smell, Miller said, has sucked the joy out of living on her family’s inherited land. And here we’re presented with one last contradiction. The industry says the lawsuits Miller and the other five hundred plaintiffs filed against Murphy-Brown are about greed—“a money grab,” as Smithfield told the INDY. Smithfield and the Pork Council both point out that the lawsuits don’t ask farmers to change specific behaviors. But Miller says, at least in her case, that couldn’t be further from the truth. “I want to be able to go outside,” she says, sitting inside her home with the windows closed. “It ain’t about money with me. I ain’t never been a money person. I ain’t never had a lot of money, so it’s not the money. I would like to go outside, chop my flowers, have a cookout, just sit out there under the tree and don’t have the smell of nothing. They don’t have to give me a dime. Just move this out of here.” backtalk@indyweek.com

indyfood

Sweet Inheritance

SNEAK A TASTE OF GRANDMA SCAL’S SECRET ITALIAN RECIPE IN OAK CITY AMARETTO BY KIM LAN GROUT

nthony Scalabrino’s story is a good ol’ American story. His grandmother, Giacamo “Jenny” Scalabrino, or Grandma Scal as the family calls her, was the daughter of Sicilian immigrants who found a new home in Michigan. Her husband (Scalabrino’s grandfather) played football on an All-America high school team alongside future U.S. president Gerald Ford, was a boxer, and worked on the railroad by day. Grandma Scal, a mother of three, worked second shift at the Keebler factory, climbing her way up the ranks over the years to become the line supervisor in charge of quality control for cookies, a detail that makes Scalabrino intensely proud. She worked hard and was very humble, often reminding Scalabrino to live by the golden rule: treat others how you want to be treated. Grandma Scal’s holiday tradition was to handcraft a bottle of amaretto for each of her sons. And that recipe provided the impetus for Scalabrino to start Oak City Amaretto in Raleigh. Scalabrino has now adopted the amarettomaking tradition, but, with blessings from the rest of the Scalabrino clan, he’s scaled it up. Inheriting Grandma Scal’s work ethic and dedication to service, Scalabrino, at eighteen, left his small suburb of Grand Rapids to join the United States Naval Academy in Maryland. He has since studied and served in the United States and abroad, including Djibouti, Italy, Scotland, Iceland, Greece, Bulgaria, and Spain. His current tour of duty is as a Naval ROTC professor at N.C. State, where he’s also pursuing a graduate degree in computer networks. Oak City Amaretto was born earlier this year. Scalabrino says Raleigh makes him feel more at-home than anywhere else he’s lived. “It’s nothing but open arms here,” he says. Throughout her lifetime, Grandma Scal insisted on keeping the amaretto recipe a secret within the family. Scalabrino is still tight-lipped about the ingredients, but his own recipe is almost exactly as Grandma Scal designed it, with only a minor tweak or two. The amaretto is light, delicately flavorful, and more nutty than fruity. Unlike more popular amarettos like Disaronno and Lazzaroni— the

Anthony Scalabrino started Oak City Amaretto. PHOTO BY ALEX BOERNER

only commercial brands that Scalabrino finds palatable, by the way—Oak City Amaretto has few cherry notes. It isn’t syrupy or overly sweet. A sip packs spice notes, with subtle, lingering flavors of honey. It doesn’t feel boozy, though it’s 27 percent ABV. Some amarettos have this cloying tendency to coat the inside of your mouth and overpower other flavors on your palate. Oak City Amaretto is not one of those, so it is just as delicious and enjoyable neat or on the rocks. It begs to be paired with a good scotch in a Godfather cocktail and would add a sweet kick in a savory dish, sauce, or dessert. Small-batch, handcrafted, secret-family-recipe amarettos aren’t often for commercial sale, which makes Oak City Amaretto even more special. Wake and Orange Counties’ ABC stores are among the few places where folks can find Oak City Amaretto. But, according to Scalabrino, the Durham ABC Board needs to see interest from Durham restaurants and consumers. “Go in and ask for it!” Scalabrino says, adding that you should ask for product code 66700. “It takes a village to raise a baby, and this is my baby.” Meanwhile, Scalabrino continues to work with several Raleigh bars and restaurants—Fox Liquor Bar, Beasley’s Chicken + Honey, Trophy Brewing Co., Sitti, Bida Manda, The Pit, Anchor Bar, and Foundation, to name a few—to either carry it or include Oak City Amaretto as an ingredient in one of their craft cocktails or desserts. Free tours and tastings take place every Saturday at two p.m. at Raleigh Rum Company with which Oak City Amaretto shares a warehouse and distillery space. Scalabrino says he wants to use his profits to give back to community efforts and is figuring out how. “I have a lot of ideas. Maybe ROTC scholarships, maybe building homes for people. It’s what Grandma would want,” he says, resolutely, holding back tears. Treat others how you want to be treated, she would tell him. “I think she’d be proud of me for that.” food@indyweek.com INDYweek.com | 7.12.17 | 17

food

An Agave Falls in Oakwood

A BOTANICAL LANDMARK FINDS LIFE AFTER DEATH IN GALLO PELÓN AND BOND BROTHERS’ NEW BEER BY LAURA WHITE

nder the blazing hot sun on a Wednesday afternoon, a monstrous agave plant lurches lazily over the curb on the corner of East and Boundary in Historic Oakwood. A group of people cluster around it, wearing gloves and long sleeves. They’re armed with an arsenal of tools: machetes, a hacksaw, a chainsaw, shovels. The agave’s quiote—the middle stalk that supports the budding flowers—is taller than the house behind it, quivering slightly as a man grabs hold of the broad leaves at its base and prepares to slice into them. Cars trickle past; many slow down and pull over to watch. The agave is about to be harvested. Agave are succulents—plants with thick, fleshy leaves and stems that retain water in arid climates. Native to the southwestern United States and Mexico, they are best known for their role as a star ingredient in the making of tequila and mezcal. This particular agave, though, will become beer, courtesy of a collaboration between Raleigh mezcaleria Gallo Pelón and Bond Brothers Brewing Company of Cary. This agave plant has flat, broad leaves several hand-widths wide. Called the “century plant” (though it doesn’t actually take a full century to bloom), or maguey in Mexico, it is also known as “American aloe” and is often confused with the healing plant because of its similar shape. But using it as aloe would be a grave mistake. “If the sap gets on you, it’s really, really bad,” says Marshall Davis, general manager of Gallo Pelón. “It’s like the opposite of aloe vera,” says Sean McKinney, head of blending at Bond Brothers. “It actually causes burns.” “And these things,” Davis chimes in, pointing at the tiny teeth that line the edges of each leaf, “are really sharp.” Hence all the protection and the tools. These are tough buggers. The brewers will actually get two beer styles out of the endeavor. The first will be a 18 | 7.12.17 | INDYweek.com

“The agave plant in Oakwood developed the prestige of local celebrity over the years.”

After more than twenty years, an agave gets cut down in Oakwood. PHOTO BY LAURA WHITE

tamarind-ginger-smoked agave saison that will be available in about five to six weeks on draft at Bond Brothers. For the second one, they’ll take the first beer, toss in a little lactobacillus bacteria and brettanomyces (wild yeast) to sour it, then pour it into a tequila barrel and leave it to age until Gallo Pelón’s anniversary next March, where it will be available exclusively by the bottle until they run out. The agave Americana plant in Oakwood has developed the prestige of local celebrity over the years. During its harvest, one woman, while walking her dog, called out that she thought neighbors would throw their bodies in front of it to protect it from the city. The plant’s owners, Joey and Kennan Hester, have lived in the house on the corner for five years. Joey calls the history of their dwelling “bald-faced luck.” When the Hesters were looking to rent, the house came up as one of the first available rentals. A couple of years later, when they were looking to buy, the owner just happened to be looking to sell. The yard came as-is, with exotic plants thriving on the lush property since before 2004. Joey estimates that the agave had been there for between twenty to twenty-five years. Then it began to bloom. It was not the first agave to bloom on their property. One did when the couple first moved in; another bloomed last year but rotted, so they dug it out. Agaves are

perennial, meaning they live for more than two years. They consist of rosettes, or a circular arrangement of leaves, that flower once and then die off. So this was the agave’s swan song. Just around the time the Americana began to sing, Joey happened to reconnect with an old friend—Davis—and they toyed with the idea of making mezcal with it.

to move it to the cooler until it could be transferred to Davis’s house to begin the roasting process. “Typically for mezcal it’s a five- to seven-day roast,” says Paul Wasmund, head of brewing at Bond Brothers and affectionately called the “chief roasting officer.” “Generally it’s a much lower heat smoke, so we’re going to be kind of Americanizing this

Gallo Pelón owner Angela Salamanca and a crew drag the agave. PHOTO BY LAURA WHITE Ultimately, they decided the process would be too involved and time-intensive. Then, a city mandate came—the plant was too big, a hazard, and was blocking a stop sign. It had to be taken down before June 30. The Hesters were resigned to digging it up and tossing it out. But an idea was brewing. Gallo Pelón and Bond Brothers first began to talk about collaborating more than six months ago, but it was only in the last few weeks that they sat down to discuss it—right around the time the agave began to bloom. They talked about doing a more traditional Mexican lager, but chose to get weird—and Davis just happened to know exactly where to get something weird. So Davis got in touch with Joey. Joey says he figured, “Man, if they’ll take it, then I don’t have to dig it up myself!” And just like that, the plant had a future, and the Hesters had a couple of extra hands to help take it down. Agave is traditionally harvested using a sharp, pointed shovel, a coa, and the pros can do it in a few quick thrusts. The process this day would take a little longer, with a chainsaw doing the final work of severing the agave’s pina, or core, from the ground. The pina was then transferred to the Bond Brothers brewery, where a forklift was used

process, taking hints from some of these barbecue lords, these pit masters.” The crew will use a pit smoker, crank up the temperature, and roast it for forty-eight to seventy-two hours to pull out the flavor. “This plant is too far gone for mezcal. Traditionally, when they are harvesting the plant they cut the flower,” McKinney says. “As soon as it starts to sprout they cut it, because it shoots too many sugars up the stem. You want that sugar to stay for proper fermentation.” He says it won’t necessarily provide a whole lot of fermentable sugars for brewing, either. But for Bond Brothers and Gallo Pelón, this beer is more about the story. And for the moment on that street corner, after close to an hour of chopping and sawing, machetes passing from one hand to the next, the hard work is done. “We need a beer!” Centro and Gallo Pelón owner Angela Salamanca says. “We have mezcal chilling!” Kennan calls back. In the end, they have both. Covered in sweat, with the chopped up pina in the road and the quiote perched atop the entire length of Salamanca’s truck, the harvesters toast to the future of this collaboration, one quite literally rooted in the community. food@indyweek.com INDYweek.com | 7.12.17 | 19

indymusic Junior Year

J U LY

WE 12 WHITEY MORGAN 7P TH 13 THE WAILING SOULS

RALEIGH RAPPER P.A.T. JUNIOR CONNECTS THE DOTS OF TRIANGLE HIP-HOP BY KEVIN JOSHUA ROWSEY II

W/FORLORN STRANGERS 8P

SU 16 NOAH’S ROAD TO NATIONAL CHAMPIONSHIP 3P TU 18 KING LIL-G W/ WHITTY/BTR 7P TH 20 JIDENNA 7P FR 21 GLOWRAGE DIMENSION OF

COLOR ULTIMATE PAINT PARTY TOUR

SA 22 INTERSTELLAR BOYS 8P FR 28 BERES HAMMOND 7:30P SA 29 EARL OF DUPLIN MOVIE PREMIERE & AFTER PARTY 5P SU 30 HELLYEAH W/ KYNG/CANE HILL

AU G U ST

WE 2 MICHELLE BRANCH FR 4 COSMIC CHARLIE TH 10 FR 11 SA 12 SA 19 TH 24 SA 26

(GRATEFUL DEAD) BADFISH: A TRIBUTE TO SUBLIME ZOMBOY: ROTT N’ ROLL TOUR DUMPSTAPHUNK 8P 90’S VS 00’S: LEO SEASON FINALE SAHBABII 7P

DELTA RAE

W/ LAUREN JENKINS 7P

CO M I N G S O O N

9/2 9/6 9/7-9 9/24 9/26 9/27 9/29 9/30 10/1 10/3

NEVERMIND W/ JOE HERO TANK – SAVAGE TOUR 7P HOPSCOTCH MUSIC FESTIVAL MIKE GORDON

IBMA RAMBLE

CHRIS ROBINSON BROTHERHOOD HARD WORKING AMERICANS MASTODON @ THE RITZ W/ EAGLES OF DEATH METAL

10/7 HORSESHOES & HAND GRENADES / KITCHEN DWELLERS 10/8 TROYBOI 10/7 COREY SMITH 10/21 CHICANO BATMAN/ KHRUANGBIN 10/27 RUNAWAY GIN 11/3 THE DEAD PHISH PANIC 11/11 SISTER HAZEL 11/12 THE MAINE 12/2 KIX W/ THE FIFTH 2/10 FAR TOO JONES ADV. TICKETS @ LINCOLNTHEATRE.COM & SCHOOLKIDS RECORDS ALL SHOWS ALL AGES

126 E. Cabarrus St.• 919-821-4111 www.lincolntheatre.com 20 | 7.12.17 | INDYweek.com

n the past few years, the Triangle’s music scene has undergone a surge in the realm of hip-hop. In a post“Raise Up” ecosystem, Rapsody has linked up with the likes of Kendrick Lamar and Dr. Dre, G Yamazawa has gone viral with his track “North Cack,” and The Beast’s emcee, Pierce Freelon, is running for mayor of Durham. But with all the commotion in the area, what other potentially abundant hip-hop seeds are germinating in the Triangle? One answer lies with Patrick Darius Mix Jr., also known as P.A.T. Junior. The twenty-eight-year-old rapper is connecting the dots within the swiftly expanding Triangle hip-hop scene, manifesting its progress and unity through his own music and by producing instrumentals that he makes available to other aspiring artists. Mix was born in Brooklyn, New York, but has called Raleigh home since his teens. Though many career-minded hiphop artists move up into bigger markets with more thoroughly developed hip-hop scenes, Mix has deliberately stayed in his adopted hometown. “The Raleigh-Durham area, I see it as a place to recharge artistically. I love the culture around here,” he says. “There’s so many dope artists, not just in music, to work with, collaborate with, converse with. That has definitely helped me in my artistic journey.” On his most recent full-length record, last August’s Learning to Live (In a Day), Mix demonstrates that there’s room for mature messages and introspection in contemporary hip-hop. Rather than the usual repetitive drug references or carbon-copied flows, Mix tackles topics like his own growth as a man, his relationship with his wife, and, most significantly, how his faith played a role in his development as an artist. Gospel music has long been in Mix’s blood, even if it doesn’t always directly come through in his work. His mother

P.A.T. Junior PHOTO BY ALEX BOERNER

FR 14 GALACTIC EMPIRE SA 15 SCYTHIAN

provided his introduction to A Tribe Called Quest, but she also introduced him to the gospel music he heard at church; his uncle played alongside star gospel singers Hezekiah Walker and Timothy

Wright. Though Mix could once identify his music with Christian hip-hop, as with the tracks “better days.” and “lighter.,” he noticed how the association with the subgenre kept him from reaching listen-

ers outside the Christian community. He started molding his music to have a more secular appeal, a decision that stemmed from Mix’s understanding of his faith. “Didn’t Jesus sit with people who didn’t believe the same way that he did and show love?” Mix posits. He doesn’t see any reason to separate his messages into a niche— he just wants to make an authentic appeal to his audiences. Those audiences have gotten bigger of late, thanks in large part to the power of Learning to Live (In a Day). It was strong enough to catch the attention of Oddisee, a Washington, D.C., hip-hop artist whose shape-shifting work has secured his reputation as one of the decade’s most skilled “indie” rappers. The record also netted Mix a coveted invitation to perform at A3C, the largest hip-hop festival in the United States, held each October in Atlanta. But even as he’s started to step up toward national recognition, Mix has maintained a strong local footing. Noting that “hiphop/urban” showcases mostly featured the same handful of artists on their bills, Mix knew he wanted a much larger platform. To get some advice, Mix turned to Joshua Gunn, aka J Gunn, one of just a few North Carolina hip-hop artists making a splash outside of his home state. “He asked me what my ceiling was, what is the height that I wanted to reach,” Mix recalls. Surprisingly, that height wasn’t the major-label superstar dream of most ambitious young artists. Rather, Mix told Gunn he wanted to attain a similar moderate level of recognition as Oddisee. “[Oddisee]’s living a comfortable life, making good enough money to take care of his family, but he can go out in public and still be able to live his life,” Mix says. Mix is using his live sets as his main tool to get to that level, building a more engaging presentation to win over crowds. Rather than rapping over his own lyrics, which is a common tactic for rap artists, Mix treats his voice as an instrument that’s part of an ensemble, alongside other vocalists, a d.j., and a drum kit. That approach has translated to a broad and multicultural appeal for Mix’s local audiences, and he seems poised to get the leg up that he wants. KRS-One, the legendary hip-hop artist and educator, once claimed that “hip-hop culture is all culture,” an assertion that’s becoming increasingly true locally as hiphop continues to gain a stronger footing, thanks to the work of Mix and his peers. But as Mix puts it on his June EP, black & mild, there’s only one direction for him to go: always forward. music@indyweek.com

MUSIC BRIEF

GNØER

Precepts 1-12 Self-released HHH½ Rock isn’t dead, but as trends go, traditional guitar rock is in a downswing, commercially comatose in the shadow of tastemaking hip-hop and dance acts that have co-opted rock’s swagger and youthful energy. History tells us that the pendulum will inevitably swing back, but for now, we all know at least one legacy rock act, local or otherwise, that has dressed up its music with gaudy synth elements or fumbled its way into electronic pop. In that respect, few Triangle acts deserve more praise than GNØER. This Raleigh electronic rock institution, formerly Goner, now pronounced “knower,” spent most of two decades valiantly ignoring trends and industry whims. On the new Precepts 1-12, the band spins out graceful instrumental electronica that’s brawny and textural, if played relatively straight. Goner was a vocals/drums/bass/keys affair that usually eschewed guitars, and the rebrand into GNØER marked its transition into a fully instrumental, fully digital trio. The Southern pop-rock vocals have receded into a barrage of MicroKORG chirps, bulked-up drum machines, and vocoder dust. Elegant, linear synth work is the foundation of most of these tracks, though they occasionally twist into emotive post rock and free-form synth jammery. “Misplaced Modular” is a spiraling, futurist psychedelic shredder that recalls Tangerine Dream. “Some Weird Gift” tightens the pulse into a paranoid 4/4 industrial techno stomp, and “Loaves Out” harkens back to the sauntering strut of Aphex Twin’s “We Are the Music Makers.” On “Blackmore” the band wriggles a Sega Genesis FM synthesis bass sound and overdrives it into a blown-out dystopian march. For deep electronic freaks, this music might not sound that groundbreaking or strange, as it stems from a fairly traditional perspective. But given GNØER’s temerity and lack of pretense, it isn’t hard to love this record for highlighting a sort of genuine, unmarketed creative expression, something all too rare in rock-influenced synth music these days. —David Ford Smith INDYweek.com | 7.12.17 | 21

music

JOHN MORELAND

Wednesday, July 19, $13–$15, 8 p.m. Cat’s Cradle, Carrboro www.catscradle.com

Oklahoma, OK

TULSA STRUMMER JOHN MORELAND BREAKS OUT OF HIS SAD-BASTARD SHACKLES ON THE REDEMPTIVE BIG BAD LUV

ver the past few years, John Moreland has often, and somewhat unfairly, found himself pigeonholed for penning “sad bastard music,” thanks to his lightly graveled voice paired with a penchant for storytelling that’s emotional, heavy, and honest. The first three records from the Tulsa, Oklahoma, singersongwriter featured him accompanied by a raucous backing band, but more recently he’s issued sparser solo affairs. His latest, May’s Big Bad Luv, may not be an overt effort to change the public’s perception of his work as morose, but the record might just do it anyway as a post-marriage Moreland finds himself over bright arrangements that blur the lines between folk, country, and roots rock. Fortunately, Moreland’s direct lyricism—which he credits to his upbringing in punk and hardcore circles— still resonates as powerfully as ever. He caught up with us about his winding career path and getting beyond the idea that he’s a permanent moper. INDY How did it change your approach to INDY: record Big Bad Luv with a full band rather than playing most instruments yourself? JOHN MORELAND: Recording felt way easier, almost like we were cheating. I’m used to spending a whole day trying to build up one song, so to go into a studio with a band and just play a song once or twice and be done was really amazing. I found myself wanting to keep adding stuff and keep messing with the songs after that because it felt too easy, but it was really nice to just realize that it was done. It also just changed the feel of the record to have other players on there, playing stuff

22 | 7.12.17 | INDYweek.com

John Moreland PHOTO BY MATT WHITE

BY SPENCER GRIFFITH

that I’m not capable of playing or that I wouldn’t have thought of playing. They all have their own experiences and reference points as musicians that are coming into play without me knowing about it, so it changes the feel a lot, but I couldn’t be happier with the way it turned out. It seems like you’re shifting more away from your DIY roots with the new record on 4AD. What’s your rationale in that? It’s just grown to the point where I can’t be the one in control of everything that I was in control of in the past. I love the DIY approach and that’s what got me where I am, so that rules, but it’s also a really nice luxury to just be able to focus on the music and not worry about the other stuff, which is really awesome. I’ve been slowly doing that over the past couple years and it was hard to relinquish that control at first, but at this point, it feels fine. How much do you attribute what you do today to your beginnings playing hardcore and punk music? In terms of songwriting, I think the main way I see that influence now is that I want to be really concise. I’m used to like minute-long hardcore songs, and mine may be four minutes, but that’s just because they’re slower. It’s the same level of getting in there, making your point, and be done. I think that’s that way that I can say consciously that I’m still being influenced by punk and hardcore, but I’m sure there are other ways that it influences me that I’m not even aware of. It’s definitely still an influence as far as my guitar playing goes. I’m a punk rock rhythm guitarist through

and through. It’s really shaped my guitar playing, and when I play with people like [current touring sideman] John Calvin Abney, he’s just coming from a whole different world where he learned how to play guitar in a completely different way and it’s really fascinating to me. Who are some recent songwriter discoveries that you’ve had? I don’t know that I’ve gotten into any singer-songwriters recently. In the scene that I exist in and tour in, I kind of feel like I’m drowning in Americana shit, so for the past year or so, I’ve been trying to listen to other stuff that I’ve neglected. I’ve been appreciating hip-hop a lot more lately, like the Kendrick Lamar album that came out this year, which is phenomenal. In the past week, I’ve really gotten obsessed with the Swet Shop Boys. I’m playing [Outside Lands] in San Francisco, so I was just checking out the lineup, and now I’m super into them. I’ve also been going back into hardcore stuff that I haven’t listened to in a while and catching up on the new stuff from bands that I listened to ten or fifteen years ago, like the new Terror EP, which I like a lot.

Have you ever seen the “Cheer Up, John Moreland” Instagram account? [Laughs] Yeah, I’ve seen that. I haven’t looked at it in a long time so I don’t really remember anything specific, but I remember a lot of cats and unicorns and rainbows. Now I’m more used to that kind of stuff and I just brush it off as funny, but when it first came out, I was like “Whoa,” because nobody knew who I was, you know? So I was like, Who did this? Am I famous enough to even warrant this? It’s weird and it can get kind of meta. I know it’s all in fun, but at the same time, I’m like, Man, do I really seem that sad that this is the appropriate response? Do you think having your music exposed to a larger audience will make you more hesitant to write such personal, vulnerable songs in the future? No, I don’t think so. That’s kind of been the case [where the audience has grown] with every album, but I don’t really think about writing music from that angle and it hasn’t ever really been a factor, so I don’t think that will change now. I think I’m safe from that. music@indyweek.com

indystage

PAUL TAYLOR DANCE COMPANY: RUSH HOUR | HHHH½ THE WEIGHT OF SMOKE | HHH½

Friday, July 7 & Saturday, July 8 Durham Performing Arts Center, Durham www.americandancefestival.org

STAGE BRIEF THE WOODSTOCK TONTINE HHH Through Sunday, July 16 Burning Coal Theatre, Raleigh www.womenstheatrefestival.com

Taylor Made

A LEGENDARY DANCE COMPANY OPENS ITS EXPERT RANKS TO BRILLIANT OUTSIDE CHOREOGRAPHERS IN TWO WORLD PREMIERES AT ADF BY BYRON WOODS

Paul Taylor Dance Company: Rush Hour PHOTO BY PAUL B. GOODE

magine a world-class visual artist having only four colored pencils and a small sheet of paper to work with, or a brilliant sculptor being forced to ration a six-inch cube of modeling clay. Some of our greatest choreographers routinely face such severe limitations. When a mind that could fill the Lincoln Center stage with interlocking dancers only has the resources to work with two to four, it can only hint at a larger vision: skeletons of structures, fragments of relationships, fractions of potential energy. So last year, when modern dance icon Paul Taylor began commissioning new works for the first time in his company’s sixty-two-year history, it provided choreographers Larry Keigwin and Doug Elkins much more than a generous stipend. It gave them the chance to bring their talents to bear upon a larger group of expert dancers than usual. When American Dance

Festival audiences saw these first commissions last weekend at DPAC, Keigwin had clearly unleashed something, in himself and in Taylor’s dancers, in Rush Hour. By comparison, The Weight of Smoke left us wondering if Elkins’s trademark modern, street, and hip-hop movement vocabulary was a bridge too far for Taylor’s classically trained performers. In Fritz Masten’s dun-colored, form-fitting costumes, Taylor’s corps of sixteen dancers crisply—sometimes ruthlessly— navigated the passages of a human maze in constant flux. Parts of it would instantly look familiar to all who’ve ever braved a subway platform at peak hours, but Clifton Taylor’s cold, innovative lighting also suggested worker drones in relentless transit in a futuristic dystopia. In Michelle Fleet’s solo, a character who had been brought to her knees transforms into an imperious demagogue with the power to swipe left

and right on other women’s careers. The sheer velocity of relationships in the work edged intimacy into violence, including an affecting duet for company veteran Parisa Khobdeh and Francisco Graciano. By comparison, Smoke seemed like a suit that never truly fit Taylor’s dancers, a faux-louche stroll through an urban landscape that segues into a polysexual dance party set to a phantasmagoric audio montage of Handel operas, subway sounds, and drum-and-bass. There’s a moment of unease when an alienated loner (Robert Kleinendorst) is surrounded by women dancing into his personal space, but matters are resolved long before three humorous dyads manage to maintain lip locks through extensive physical maneuvers. But is it really a party when no one ever truly loosens up? Sad to say, Smoke was still too weighty at its end. bwoods@indyweek.com

These are some of the people we’ve been waiting to meet: creative B.J. (Verlene Oates), smart Roberta (Judy McCord), vivacious Shelley (Lisa Leonard), world-traveling Trudy (Jennifer Kuzma), and Veronika (Julie Oliver), who always self-identifies as “the German.” None of these five mature women truly fit into the reductive ingenue-wife-crone troika that lazy playwrights have been fond of for so long. In Steffi Rubin’s drama, The Woodstock Tontine, these five friends assemble at the funeral of a sixth, Valerie, a free spirit who befriended them all at the Woodstock festival in 1969. The reunion permits them to assess the bonds they forged nearly fifty years before, seeing in one another’s lives the roads not taken in their own. Roberta suggests that they all make contributions to a fund the last surviving member will inherit—the tontine of the title. Then the countdown starts as the women bow out, one by one, in subsequent scenes. As always, Oliver is convincing as the self-deprecating Veronika, and though the playwright keeps Shelley too focused on sex, Leonard sparkles in the role. The dramatic gears initially grind a bit as Rubin unpacks a lot of exposition about things that such old friends should already know about one another. Revelations unsupported by character or plot materialize from nowhere; we never know what causes two characters to suddenly tell a third, none too kindly, to keep her hands off the husband of the deceased. The show also contains a miscalculation—in the script, Lucia Foster’s otherwise fine direction for the Women's Theatre Festival, or both—when Roberta comes off as far more judgmental than the relatively placid Trudy, who is said to be the self-appointed (and sometimes selfrighteous) moral compass of the group. Still, there’s a payoff when the survivors meditate more closely on last things and these women get closer to our hearts. —Byron Woods

INDYweek.com | 7.12.17 | 23

indypage+screen Rhapsody in Blue RALEIGH SUPERCON GUEST MICHAEL ROOKER IS AS FUN IN REAL LIFE AS HE IS AS YONDU IN THE GUARDIANS OF THE GALAXY MOVIES BY CURT FIELDS

hen my thirteen-year-old son heard that I was going to interview Michael Rooker, he asked me to pass on that he was left teary-eyed by Rooker’s performance as Yondu in Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 2. “That's my job! My job is to make little kids cry,” Rooker says with a laugh. He laughs often during our hour-long conversation about Guardians, his acting methods, and his visit this weekend to the new Raleigh Supercon. He tries to get to as many fan conventions as he can when he's not busy filming or doing press for a project. “I'm really into it,” he says. “I'll sign autographs, kiss some babies, answer questions. It's fun.” Even if you didn’t see the hugely successful Guardians films, you probably know Rooker. Fans of The Walking Dead know him as Merle Dixon. Others may recognize him as Rowdy Burns from Days of Thunder. If you’re a movie buff, you will recall him from Henry: Portrait of a Serial Killer (his first film, in 1986). He also has notable roles in Tombstone, JFK, Rosewood, and a host of other films and shows. One of those, 2006’s Slither, is where he first met Guardians writer-director James Gunn. Since then, the two have worked on multiple projects together and become great friends. (Check virtually any clip of them ribbing each other on a panel or red carpet for proof.) When Gunn began writing Guardians of the Galaxy, he knew exactly who he wanted to play Yondu, the blue-skinned leader of a group of space

pirates and a father figure to protagonist Peter Quill. “He wrote it for me,” Rooker says. “Even the artwork was with my face early on. The artists could have put just any face in there at that point, but Gunn had them put my face in there.” This seems like an appropriate spot to clarify something: despite what you may have read, the line of Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 2 came from Gunn’s pen. “It was not adlibbed,” Rooker stresses about his gleeful exclamation, “I'm Mary Poppins, y’all,” during the film’s climactic battle. “In my mind, I like everything to seem like it's ad-libbed. But sometimes people don't understand what I'm talking about and I get misquoted.” With any role, Rooker tries to reach a point when “it just becomes me, and [Guardians] was written so well it's even easier to become me. In my mind, it's no longer a line; it’s just something that comes out. The director may still think it's a line. The script supervisor may still think it's a line. But I never say lines. I'm sorry, it's no longer a line, buddy.” Rooker laughs, adding, “If it sounds like a line, I've royally screwed up.” That's one reason Rooker doesn't like to rehearse. “Once I start knowing my lines I don't like to say them out loud,” he explains. It helps make the words seem fresh. That’s important in this age of CGI wizardry, when creating a scene that feels organic

“You're talking to a tennis ball, or a puppet, or a stick. But it's got to be as real as talking to somone you love.”

24 | 7.12.17 | INDYweek.com

RALEIGH SUPERCON

Friday, July 14–Sunday, July 16 $20–$250 Raleigh Convention Center, Raleigh www.raleighsupercon.com

can be a challenge, especially when you find yourself having a dramatic moment with a tennis ball or a puppet. “That's where you're getting your memory and your imagination in there,” Rooker says. “It's very true that you're talking to a tennis ball, or a puppet, or a stick, or nothing at all. But it's got to be as real as talking to someone you love.” Of course, actors are used to similar approaches on non-CGI films. “When it's our closeup, many times, we’re looking at a piece of tape so we have the proper eye line,” Rooker explains. “You learn the technique; then you forget the technique to keep it as real as possible. We do it all the time.” Don’t expect a lot of “the actor’s craft”style talk at Raleigh Supercon, though. “I love doing Q and As,” Rooker says. “I'm pretty open to any sort of question. I just move on if I don't like them. If you hear me give three straight answers you've been to a very unusual event. I mean, oh my god, another actor up on stage talking seriously about their craft—how boring is that? I have fun at these things, and that's what I want the audience to come away with. They had fun and didn't fall asleep. If anyone walks out of my Q and A, they better be heading to my table.” arts@indyweek.com ILLUSTRATION BY CHRISTOPHER WILLIAMS

FIND YOUR FAN CRUSH AT RALEIGH SUPERCON Raleigh Supercon is a three-day cornucopia of activities designed to scratch almost any pop culture itch, whether you geek out over comics, TV, movies, or professional wrestling. Besides Rooker, guests include Star Trek actors LeVar Burton, Tony Todd, and Brent Spiner; former wrestling pros Ric Flair and Amy “Lita” Dumas; comics legends Mike Zeck and Neal Adams; Good Times’ Jimmie Walker, The Flash’s John Wesley Shipp, and The Six Million Dollar Man’s Lee Majors—the list goes on an on. There will be a celebrity autograph area, and some guests will be available at specific times for a “professional photo

opportunity.” If you have your heart set on telling specific celebs how much you love their work, check the Supercon website for the times they’re available. Also, be aware that some of them may not be appearing on all three days, so be sure to plan your visit accordingly. Other activities at the convention include arcade-game tournaments, a comic book grading area, screenings, cosplay contests, board gaming, and other pop pleasures. Some events, such as The Cosplay Dating Game, Drunk on Disney Live, and a Bad Fan Fiction Dramatic Reading, are only for people eighteen and older. —Curt Fields

Lee Majors PHOTO COURTESY OF RALEIGH SUPERCON INDYweek.com | 7.12.17 | 25

WHAT TO DO THIS WEEK SATURDAY, JULY 15

REESE MCHENRY SINGS WITH SPIDER BAGS

Just under a decade ago, Spider Bags and Dirty Little Heaters were the Triangle’s kingpins of raw, gritty rock ’n’ roll and labelmates on Durham’s Churchkey Records. [Disclosure: INDY graphic and editorial designer Steve Oliva plays in Spider Bags.] The former’s ramshackle, country-fried garage was dosed with punk and psych flavors, while Reese McHenry bolstered the latter’s primal, bluesy bluster with a powerhouse wail. McHenry now combines forces with Spider Bags on the full-length collaboration Bad Girl.. The record mixes a smattering of covers with originals by McHenry and Spider Bags front man Dan McGee, with McHenry’s blistering vocal versatility at the forefront of every song. McHenry credits McGee’s production for helping showcase her multifaceted pipes. “I never want to record vocals without him,” she says. “He believes I have a way more amazing voice than I do, and it helps me get out of my own little zone.” Guitarist Nathan Golub, who contributes pedal steel on Bad Girl,, opens with American Primitive fingerpicking. —Spencer Griffith

KEHLANI

It’s rare for a runner-up on a TV talent show to keep rising after their run ends. Happily, that isn’t the case for twenty-two-year-old Kehlani. The Oakland, California, native fronted a cover band called Poplyfe on America’s Got Talent, which made it to fourth place in 2011, getting the attention of then-host Nick Cannon. She’s released a pair of mixtapes, 2014’s Cloud 19 and 2015’s You Should Be Here, with the latter earning her a Grammy for best urban contemporary album. In January, she released SweetSexySavage,, her debut studio album, via Atlantic Records, and the effort lives up to its name. “Distraction” is an aggressive, intoxicating come-on number, while Kehlani spends “In My Feelings” wrestling with romantic complications. It looks as though she’s got a much bigger career ahead of her; she won’t be playing smaller rooms like The Ritz for much longer. —Allison Hussey THE RITZ, RALEIGH | 8 p.m., $23, www.ritzraleigh.com

FRIDAY, JULY 14–SUNDAY, JULY 30

DOGFIGHT

In this musical adaptation of the 1991 film starring River Phoenix and Lili Taylor, it’s 1963, and three marines are in San Francisco, just out of basic training and about to ship out to Vietnam. It’s their last day stateside, and they’ve decided to spend it in the cruelest way possible—in a game called Dogfight. The rules are simple. The guys ante up fifty bucks each to play; the pot goes to the one who brings the ugliest date to the party that night. Yes, it’s a degrading, humiliating experience for the women, and yes, someone’s going to get hurt. But all bets are off when one of the marines decides he isn’t playing anymore. Timothy E. Locklear directs in Raleigh. —Byron Woods NORTH RALEIGH ARTS AND CREATIVE THEATRE, RALEIGH 8 p.m. Fri. & Sat./3 p.m. Sun., $12–$20, www.nract.org 26 | 7.12.17 | INDYweek.com

Kehlani

SATURDAY, JULY 15

PHOTO COURTESY OF ATLANTIC RECORDS

THE PINHOOK, DURHAM | 9 p.m., $10, www.thepinhook.com

7.12-7.19 +

SATURDAY, JULY 15

THE REBIRTH OF PROTEST CINEMA

Cairo Medina, the protagonist of Dennis Leroy Kangalee’s 2002 film As an Act of Protest, is on the verge of giving up his acting career to take up violent revolution. Umar Bin Hassan of The Last Poets tells him, “If you, as an artist, believe in your craft … you can become more important to this world, this life, than any man or revolutionary. People’s minds are more open and receptive to us than anyone else, but we must not betray that trust.” The scene speaks to the importance of preserving the independent, genrebusting protest film in which it appears, which explores one man’s quest to fight racism and police brutality—issues that, sadly, are just as relevant fifteen years later. This Raleigh Film Underground event at Kings puts a screening of the film at the center of a Q and A with Kangalee, a performance, and an exhibit of new artwork. All the proceeds go toward creating a restored version of the film, which has resolution and sound issues after too many transfers (the master tapes have been lost for years), in an effort led by Christopher Everett, the acclaimed director of Wilmington on Fire. —Hannah Pitstick KINGS, RALEIGH | 7:30 p.m., $10, www.kingsraleigh.com

SATURDAY, JULY 15

HAYTI | HAITI | HISTORY

With new residents from all over the country flooding Durham’s shiny condos, the Bull City is in danger of becoming a polis without a past. Dasha Chapman and Aya Shabu, two artists and scholars with wide-ranging backgrounds in performance, won’t stand by and let that happen. Their ethnographic performance project, Hayti | Haiti | History, was developed over a six-week residency at Duke’s Power Plant Gallery that concludes this week. It draws upon the Hayti neighborhood’s historical links to Haiti, the first black republic, as well as Durham’s activist past from the civil rights era onward. Chapman, who is a dancer and a postdoc in African and African-American studies at Duke, and Shabu, an alum of the African American Dance Ensemble, used the gallery as a work-space, holding movement workshops, gathering oral histories, and building a storyboard of maps, photographs, and community writings. The project informs a multimedia performance event on Saturday afternoon. —Chris Vitiello POWER PLANT GALLERY, DURHAM 4–6 p.m., free, www.powerplantgallery.com

WHAT ELSE SHOULD I DO?

STEVE EARLE AT THE CAROLINA THEATRE (P. 29) DWANE POWELL AT CITY OF RALEIGH MUSEUM (P. 33) KIDD PIVOT AND ELECTRIC COMPANY THEATRE AT DPAC (P. 35) LICKED CUPCAKE AT SONOROUS ROAD (P. 35) JOHN MORELAND AT CAT’S CRADLE (P. 22) NO MORE HIDDEN FIGURES AT THE N.C. MUSEUM OF NATURAL SCIENCES (P. 36) BRIAN POSEHN AT GOODNIGHTS (P. 34) RALEIGH SUPERCON AT THE RALEIGH CONVENTION CENTER (P. 24) TEDESCHI TRUCKS BAND AT RED HAT AMPHITHEATER (P. 31) MICHAEL JACKSON’S THIS IS IT AT SAXAPAHAW RIVER AMPHITHEATER (P. 36) THE WOODSTOCK TONTINE AT BURNING COAL (P. 23)

INDYweek.com | 7.12.17 | 27

FR 7/14

KASEY CHAMBERS

FR 7/14 @CAT’S CRADLE BACK ROOM

JENNIFER KNAPP

SA 7/16

RAEKWON 8/18 BRICK + MORTAR W/ THE MOMS ($10/$12) 8/19 THE ROOSEVELTS

WE 7/19

TH 7/13 @CAT’S CRADLE BACK ROOM

JOHN MORELAND

RAVENEYE

7/14 KASEY CHAMBERS W/ GARRET CATO ($22/$25)

11/7THE STRUMBELLAS W/ NOAH KAHAN ($22/$25)

7/16 RAEKWON W/ DEFACTO THEZPIAN, SHAME ($25)

11/11 SAINT MOTEL ($22/$25)

7/22 CROWN THE EMPIRE W/ I SEE STARS, PALAYE ROYALE, OUT CAME THE WOLVES ($18/$20)

CAT'S CRADLE BACK ROOM

8/4 TOWN MOUNTAIN W/ BLUE CACTUS ($12/$15)

7/14 JENNIFER KNAPP W/ MKR ($15/$18)

8/9 THE MELVINS ($20/$22)

7/15 P3 LVL 3 EXP RAP/ HIP HOP SHOWCASE ($7)

8/26 BE LOUD! '17 SPRESSIALS, HEGE V, BILLY WARDEN AND THE FLOATING CHILDREN ($20) 9/1 ROKY ERICKSON W/ DEATH VALLEY GIRLS ($25/$28)

PET of the WEEK

9/2 ELLIS DYSON & THE SHAMBLES W/ KATHARINE WHALEN'S SWEDISH WOOD PATROL, YEAUX KATZ, PLUS BULLTOWN STRUTTERS AND IMAGINE CIRCUS ($10) 9/8 LAST PODCAST ON THE LEFT ($25/$28) 9/10 TANK AND THE BANGAS W/ SWEET CRUDE (MOVED FROM CAT'S CRADLE BACK ROOM) ($12/$15) 9/14 SWERVEDRIVER ($20) 9/21 QUICKSAND ($20/$24) 9/23 LIARS ($17/$19) 9/27 PSYCHEDELIC FURS W/ BASH & POP ($28/$30) 9/29 PINBACK AUTUMN OF THE SERAPHS 10TH ANNIVERSARY TOUR 9/30 TIMEFLIES: TOO MUCH TO DREAM TOUR W/ DAWIN, LOOTE ($25/$28) 10/2 RAC ($22/$25)

BRUNO is our pet of the week! Please help find a home for this 18 month old beautiful dog. The current owner’s job keeps him away from home too much and the owner feels Bruno deserves better. He is lab/pit mix, up to date with all shots. Bruno loves playing, is very outgoing, loves all kind of dogs, is well trained and socialized. Please help! IF YOU ARE INTERESTED IN BRUNO If you’re interested in featuring a pet for adoption, please contact eroberts@indyweek.com ALYCAT PHOTO AND VIDEO SERVICES

28 | 7.12.17 | INDYweek.com

10/7 LANY THE LANY TOUR PART 2 W/ DAGNY ($20/$23) 10/10 MURA MASA ($17/$20) 10/12 TURNOVER ($25/$28) 10/13 CHELSEA WOLFE**($20/$23) 10/14 RIVER WHYLESS ($14/$16) 10/16 KALI UCHIS W/ PHONY PPL ($15/$18) 10/20-21 YEP ROC 20 YEAR CELEBRATION ($14/$16) 10/24 TED LEO AND THE PHARMACISTS ($16/$18) 10/26 SAN FERMIN $15 10/31 JR JR ($16/$18)

8/25 ALL GET OUT W/ RATBOYS, WILD PINK ($10/$12) 8/28 SHABAZZ PALACES W/ PORTER RAY ($17/$19) 9/2 MCCAFFERTY AND REMO DRIVE ($10/$12)

11/18 CULTS ($19/$21)

7/19 JOHN MORELAND W/ TRAVIS LINVILLE SEATED SHOW ($13/$15)

8/25 BE LOUD! '17 DRIVIN' N CRYIN', THE BACKSLIDERS, BOOM UNIT BRASS BAND ($25)

8/22 DURAND JONES & THE INDICATIONS ($10/$12)

7/13 RAVENEYE W/ COME CLEAN, TOTALLY SLOW

7/16 RAEKWON AFTER PARTY FT.

9/13 FRANKIE ROSE W/ SPLASHH ($10/$12) 9/16 CRANK IT LOUD PRESENTS: JASON RICHARDSON

W/THE REIGN OF KINDO, STOLAS ($13/$15)

9/17 CAAMP ($10/$12) 9/25 THE CRIBS ($18/$20) 9/27 TOGETHER PANGEA W/DADDY ISSUES, LALA LALA($12/$14) 10/7 MAX FROST ($12)

KAZE AND DJ JOHNNY STORM

10/10 BANDITOS ($10/$12)

7/18 EVIL ENGLISH, NOTE ENSEMBLE, MONTHS OF INDECISION, SHANNON O’CONNOR ($7)

10/22 PICKWICK ($12/$15)

($5/FREE FOR TICKET HOLDERS)

7/20 THICK MODINE, THE DICK RICHARDS, HANK AND BRENDAN ($6) 7/21 HARDWORKER ALBUM RELEASE PARTY W/ ANNE-CLAIRE, RUN COME SEE 7/22 SHELLES, SUNNY SLOPES, SERVER

10/14 MATT POND PA W/ WILD PINK ($25/$28) 11/4 THE HOTELIER W/ OSO OSO, ALEX NAPPING ($13/$15) 11/13 DAVID BAZAN ($15)

CAROLINA THEATRE (DUR)

12/6 THE MOUNTAIN GOATS DPAC (DUR)

11/25 ST. VINCENT

MOTORCO (DUR)

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9/12 BLACK JOE LEWIS & THE HONEYBEARS ($15/$17)

7/23 CURTIS STITH AND THE SILVER LINING W/ GABRIEL DAVID, MAGGIE WALTON

11/4 BORIS’ “DEAR/25TH ANNIVERSARY TOUR” W/ MUTOID MAN, ENDON ($18/$20)

7/26 CYMBALS EAT GUITARS W/ ACTIVE BIRD COMMUNITY

10/2 THE HEAD AND THE HEART W/ THE SHELTERS

7/28 AMY O, LOVE & VALOR,

THOUSAND ARROWS

7/29 HONEY MAGPIE ALBUM RELEASE PARTY W/JOSH MOORE, BROTHERS EGG, MAGNOLIA STILL, HAMMER NO MORE THE FINGERS ($10) 7/30 ROZWELL KID W/ VUNDABAR, GREAT GRANDPA 8/3: TRIANGLE MEETS TRIAD:

SONGWRITERS IN THE ROUND: JON SHAIN & FJ VENTRE

VIOLET BELL, SAM FRAZIER, ABIGAIL DOWD 8/4 CANCELLED RASPUTINA W/ELIZA RICKMAN ($18/$20) TIX REFUNDED AUTOMATICALLY 8/8 LAETITIA SADIER SOURCE ENSEMBLE W/ ART FEYNMAN

RED HAT AMPH. (RAL)

LINCOLN THEATRE (RAL)

8./26 DELTA RAE W/ THE CHURCH SITTERS

NC MUSEUM OF ART (RAL)

7/22 MANDOLIN ORANGE W/ JOE PUG 7/31 BELLE AND SEBASTIAN SOLD AND ANDREW BIRD OUT 8/1 AMERICAN ACOUSTIC TOUR W/ PUNCH BROTHERS AND I’M WITH HER 8/12 SUPERCHUNK W/ WAXAHATCHEE, EX HEX 8/19 TIFT MERRITT AND FRIENDS W/ MC TAYLOR OF HISS GOLDEN MESSENGER, ERIC SLICK OF DR. DOG, ALEXANDRA SAUSER MONNING, AMY HELM, AND THE SUITCASE JUNKET

8/9 SLAUGHTER BEACH, DOG W/ SHANNEN MOSER ($10/$12)

SHAKORI HILLS COMM. ARTS CTR.

8/11 THE SECOND AFTER CD RELEASE PARTY

W/ TUNE-YARDS, WYE OAK, HELADO

9/30

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music WED, JUL 12

2ND WIND: Yeaux Katz; 7-9 p.m., free. • DUKE GARDENS: Music in the Gardens: Kelsey Waldon; 7 p.m., $5–$10, 12 and under free. • HUMBLE PIE: Sidecar Social Club; 8:30 p.m., free. • IRREGARDLESS: Nixon, Blevins, and Gage; 6:30 p.m. • LINCOLN THEATRE: Whitey Morgan; 8 p.m., $15–$17. • NEPTUNES PARLOUR: Sam Ob; 9 p.m., $10–$12. • POUR HOUSE: John Pagano Band, Gang of Thieves; 9 p.m., $7. • RUBY DELUXE: Goth Night with DJ Bela Lugosi’s Dad; 10 p.m.

THU, JUL 13 N’Kogniito NOT JUST With the release of a COVERS new self-titled EP and a strong performance at Art of Cool Fest, N’Kogniito has grown from a creative cover band to an ensemble that delivers captivating original music. The five-song EP is mostly solid, with impressive instrumental performances throughout, but the vocals sometimes fall flat.

7.12–7.19 With Shame, Danny Blaze, J-Alta, and DJ Micky Slicks. —CM [RUBY DELUXE, $3–$7/8 P.M.]

Jude Johnstone, Sam Frazier BLUES & Sam Frazier is a SOUL Greensboro guitarist, singer, and songwriter known for his work in the soul-bop band Tornado and, more recently, as the leader of a stellar Stax tribute. He sings a version of Otis Redding’s “Try a Little Tenderness” that Redding himself would have blessed. Singer-songwriter Jude Johnstone, who headlines, broke into her career when a chance meeting with E Street saxman Clarence Clemons on a plane ultimately landed her on Bruce Springsteen’s The River, as well as records with T Bone Burnett and Leonard Cohen. —GB [BLUE NOTE GRILL, $10–$12/7:30 P.M.] ALSO ON THURSDAY 2ND WIND: 2 fer; 7:30-9 p.m. • CAT’S CRADLE (BACK

FOR OUR COMPLETE COMMUNITY CALENDAR

CONTRIBUTORS: Jim Allen (JA), Grant Britt (GB), Elizabeth Bracy (TB), Timothy Bracy (TB), Spencer Griffith (SG), Allison Hussey (AH), David Klein (DK), Charles Morse (CM), David Ford Smith (DS), Patrick Wall (PW) ROOM): Raveneye, Come Clean and Trike; 8:30 p.m., $9–$10. • THE CAVE: The Singing Butcher, Pretend I’m a Genius; 9 p.m., $5. • DEEP SOUTH: Faith Bardill & The Backrow Saints, Justin West Band, Aaron Stone with Bryan May; 8:30 p.m., $5. • IRREGARDLESS: Multiples with Ellis and Matt; 6 p.m. • LINCOLN THEATRE: The Wailing Souls, Pure Fiyah Reggae Band; 9 p.m., $17. • NIGHTLIGHT: Cult Play, CBN, Effluvium, Mike Geary, DJ Spongebath; 9 p.m.-midnite. • THE PINHOOK: Yo NC Raps!; 9 p.m., $10. • POUR HOUSE: Local Band Local Beer: Chit Nasty Band, Downtown Abby Band, Michael Daughtry; 9:30 p.m. • SCHOOLKIDS RECORDS (RALEIGH): Figure Eight; 7 p.m. • SLIM’S: Koroidia, Aleph Naught, Unhenged; 9 p.m., $5. • THE STATION: The Paul Swest Residency; 9 p.m., $6.

FRI, JUL 14 Dierks Bentley MIDDLE As dominant figures COUNTRY in contemporary country music go, Phoenix-born Dierks Bentley is a proven hit maker conversant both in the

execrable escapist bro-tropes of songs like “Somewhere on the Beach” and the vaguely meatier fare of “What Was I Thinking?,” which could almost pass for the sort of wry cautionary tale that Hank Williams, Jr. used to specialize in. He may possess the talent to move beyond his frat-boy preoccupations, but having the incentive to do so is a different matter. Cole Swindell and Jon Pardi open. —EB [COASTAL CREDIT UNION MUSIC PAVILION AT WALNUT CREEK, $29–$191/7 P.M.]

Kasey Chambers AUSSIE Aussie alt-country ROOTS phenom Kasey Chambers has been making records for nearly two decades, but she’s really turned a corner with her latest, Dragonfly. Coproduced by her legendary countryman Paul Kelly, it blends her signature rootsy sound with a highly atmospheric, melancholy-tinged indie-pop vibe for a feel that marks an evolutionary leap for Chambers. It sure seems like too much care went into

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those tunes for her to not play a generous portion of them in concert. With Garret Cato. —JA [CAT’S CRADLE, $22–$25/8 P.M.]

The Conjure MAGIC Black and brown NIGHT women are some of the most abused and underrespected people in the United States. This dance party, which features No Eyes, Professor Wrecks, Gemynii, Luxe Posh, and ^M^RYLL^ GOLD, aims to be a corrective force. Show up to celebrate, encourage, and make even more space for the vital work and power of black and brown femmes. —AH [THE PINHOOK, $7/10 P.M.]

Folk Soul Revival MELLOW Like a mid-Atlantic ROOTS echo of Desperadoera Eagles, this charmingly energetic Virginia roots group favors lush harmonies and a combination of mandolin, banjo, and upright bass in order to flesh out its lightly rustic meditations

on Chinatown intrigues, love gone wrong, and the charm of the highway strip. Ellis Dyson opens. —EB [MOTORCO, $10–$12/9 P.M.]

Galactic Empire REBEL Cheerfully dedicated THRASH adherents to heavy metal’s long-standing tradition of costume drama, the five heroes of Galactic Empire have taken the trouble to reimagine John Williams’s classic soundtrack to the Star Wars movies as a series of hard-shredding hesher anthems. Perhaps unsurprisingly, Williams’s ominous, dark-hued compositions are retrofitted with relative ease into this thrashier context. Does the band dress up like Darth Vader and his underlings? Do you really even have to ask? Dangerkids open. —TB [LINCOLN THEATRE, $14.50/7 P.M.]

Cris Jacobs BUZZ Baltimore singerWORTHY songwriter Cris

FRIDAY, JULY 14

STEVE EARLE

Steve Earle

PHOTO BY TED BARRON

When Texas troubadour Steve Earle first made his way to Nashville in the mid-seventies, the outlaw country movement was busting out all over. The young Earle soaked it all up, and by the time he emerged to the wider world in the eighties, he represented a new generation of outlaws blending country roots and rock ’n’ roll edge. Three and a half decades down the line, Earle has decided to pay homage to those early outlaw influences on his latest album, So You Wannabe an Outlaw. Earle’s affection for Waylon Jennings’s signature seventies sound is one of the building blocks of the album. He taps into the Waylon beat and guitar style straight out of the gate on the record’s title track, but the album isn’t all about peeking fondly into the rearview mirror, either. Earle has acknowledged that much, if not all, of the album was informed by the process of picking up the pieces in the wake of his 2014 split with his wife, fellow Americana singer-songwriter Allison Moorer. Songs like “Lookin’ for a Woman,” “This Is How It Ends,” and “You Broke My Heart” certainly seem to bear that idea out.

Still, So You Wannabe An Outlaw isn’t merely the sound of a man ruminating over a wrecked romance. It also happens to contain some of the toughest-sounding tunes he’s cut in a good while—furious, fire-spitting tracks like “If Mama Coulda Seen Me” and “Fixin’ to Die.” Like the title tune, these cuts toy with the outlaw myth, turning in on itself and then back out again, and churning out some deliciously raw riffs in the process. It certainly seems reasonable to expect a representation of the new material in Earle’s live set, be it the rockers, the ballads, or both, but plenty of other worthy material has come from his camp recently. In fact, in the last couple of years before the new record’s release, Earle has made bolder artistic explorations than ever, encompassing his duo record with Shawn Colvin and his blues album, Terraplane Blues. So when Earle’s done playing the classics from his canon and the new tunes, he still has lots of other musical tricks to pull. —Jim Allen CAROLINA THEATRE, DURHAM 8 p.m., $35–$200, www.carolinatheatre.org INDYweek.com | 7.12.17 | 29

Jacobs has been getting some national attention lately for his rugged Americana blend of country, soul, and rock. The Chris Stapleton and Sturgill Simpson comparisons have been coming hard and heavy, but they really have more to do with what Jacobs isn’t— slick, commercial, radiofriendly—than what he is. Even so, fans of Stapleton and Simpson are still pretty likely to pick up on what the man is putting down. —JA [DURHAM CENTRAL PARK, FREE/6 P.M.]

Jennifer Knapp FOLK & A veteran FAITH singer-songwriter who achieved a considerable late-nineties following with her devotional folk anthems, Knapp has become a stronger and more interesting artist as her career has progressed. Her most recent material investigates the balance between her Christian faith and her commitment to progressive values.—EB [CAT’S CRADLE BACK ROOM, $15–$18/8 P.M.]

WE 7/12 TH 7/13

FR 7/14 SA 7/15 SU 7/16 TU 7/18

BLUE WED: THE HERDED CATS JUDE JOHNSTONE SAM FRAZIER DUKE STREET DOGS DEX ROMWEBER CHRIS O’LEARY BAND MYSTI MAYHEM TRIO TUESDAY BLUES JAM

Willie Nelson and Family

like “Trouble of the World” with characteristic degeneracy. —TB [BLUE NOTE GRILL, FREE/9 P.M.]

ROLL ME Willie Nelson is UP eighty-four, and by some miracle, the country legend is still trucking his songs across the United States (it probably doesn’t hurt to have your own line of weed products propelling you, though.). His sets these days include some of the three hundred thirty-something songs he’s written over the past several decades, plus a surprising handful of covers thrown in. Brooke Hatala opens. —AH [KOKA BOOTH AMPHITHEATRE, $49.50–$75/7 P.M.]

Dex Romweber STILL From his pioneering GNARLY work with the Flat Duo Jets to his unbroken run of sterling solo outings, Romweber’s surly, reverb-soaked roots rock essentially created from whole cloth the template for multiplatinum-selling followers like the Black Keys and occasional collaborator Jack White. Last year’s genially menacing Carrboro finds Romweber in fine fighting form, spitting out last-days-beforethe-apocalypse blues workouts

8PM 7:30PM $12 SEATED $10 STANDING 6-8PM

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OLD Call it New New SCHOOL Wave of British Heavy Metal, perhaps—the local metal vets who compose Walpyrgus have clearly digested their Priest, Maiden, Def Leppard, Praying Mantis, etc. The band’s new Walpyrgus Nights plays like a long-lost eighties metal dollar-bin score. “Palmystry” boasts Maiden-esque leads and gallop; a Judas Priest thrust marks “Somewhere Under Summerwind”; actual eighties metal band Witch Cross gets a shoutout via a cover of “Light of a Torch.” With Dark Design and Accelerator. —PW [THE MAYWOOD, $8/9:30 P.M.] ALSO ON FRIDAY BEYÙ CAFFÈ: Michael Ode Trio; 7 & 9 p.m., $13. • BLUE NOTE GRILL: Duke Street Dogs; 6-8 p.m., free. • BYNUM FRONT PORCH: Gray Matter; 7-9 p.m. • CAROLINA THEATRE: Steve Earle & The Dukes; 8 p.m., $35+. See box, page 29. • THE CARY THEATER: Jack Williams and Still on the Hill; 8 p.m., $20+. • THE

THE PAUL SWEST RESIDENCY W/ LAURA KING, TOMMY SIMPSON & GUESTS

8:30, $6, 21+

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LAYAWAY W/ SQUIDLORD 7:30, $6, 21+ JAZZ SATURDAY

MercyMe SPIRITMercyMe is best UALIZED known in mainstream circles for the sentimental balladry of its early aughts crossover hit, “I Can Only Imagine”—which is inexplicably in the process of being adapted into a feature film—but the veteran Christian band mixes upbeat, dance-friendly ditties that unabashedly lift from current pop-rock trends with the more expected adult contemporary fare. Fellow CCM stars and Grammy nominees Jeremy Camp and Natalie Grant support, while up-and-comers Meredith Andrews and Jimi Cravity round out this mega-bill. —SG [RED HAT AMPHITHEATER, $28-68/7 P.M.]

SAT, JUL 15 Blues & Barbecue: The Luxuriant Sedans DOUBLE Winston-Salem’s UP Luxuriant Sedans stuff a lot of horsepower under the hood, blasting out unique takes on obscure rock and R&B tunes that vocalist and harmonica player Mike “Wezo” Wesolowski and bassist Ed Bumgardner dove down rabbit holes to unearth. Live, the band rockets through songs, scattering

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embers in their wake with numbers like Ronnie Wood’s 1992 solo rocker “Knock Your Teeth Out.” With Andy Squint. —GB [THE STATION, $6–$8/7 P.M.]

CAVE: The Big Lonesome, Map the Sky, Juliana Finch; 9 p.m., $5. • DEEP SOUTH: Marvelous Funkshun; 10:30 p.m., free. • IRREGARDLESS: Half Past Six; 6:30 p.m. • KINGS: Ghostt Bllonde, Seabreeze Diner, The Dead Bedrooms; 9 p.m., $5–$7. • LOCAL 506: Ancient Cities, LAIRS, Noise Lights; 9 p.m., $8. • POUR HOUSE: Signal Fire, Resinated; 9 p.m. • RED HAT AMPHITHEATER: Tedeschi Trucks Band; 7 p.m. See box, page 31. • RUBY DELUXE: DJ DNLTMS; 10 p.m. • SHARP NINE GALLERY: Slide Effects; 8 p.m., $10–$15. • THE STATION: Layaway, Squidlord; 8 p.m., $6.

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promotion organization that puts on a variety of events featuring local artists, just turned ten, and it has enlisted an exhaustive lineup of acts—alt-metal band Waking Tera, posi-metal band Against Their Will, heavy rockers Elysium and Promo— to help celebrate. The show is also a benefit for family of Mike Swiney, a local metal promoter who died in March. —PW [THE MAYWOOD, $10–$15/8:30 P.M.]

Odeya Nini: A Solo Voice BODY & The Shed has VOICE earned a reputation as Durham’s bastion of jazz and experimental sounds, and tonight the venue continues to push the envelope. Odeya Nini is a Los Angeles-based performer who is a practitioner of a slew of dynamic vocal techniques. She incorporates her vocalizations, which resemble everything from reverberating wordless tones to birdcalls, with dance movements drawn from modern dance and vinyasa yoga. The result is multidimensional and way out of the ordinary. —DK [THE SHED, $12/8 P.M.]

RECYCLE RECYCLE RECYCLE RECYCLE RECYCLE RECYCLE RECYCLE RECYCLE RECYCLE RECYCLE RECYCLE RECYCLE RECYCLE RECYCLE RECYCLE RECYCLE RECYCLE RECYCLE RECYCLE RECYCLE RECYCLE RECYCLE RECYCLE

THIS THIS THIS THIS THIS THIS THIS THIS THIS THIS THIS THIS THIS THIS THIS THIS THIS THIS THIS THIS THIS THIS THIS

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FRIDAY, JULY 14

TEDESCHI TRUCKS BAND “I don’t really know how to describe what I do,” Susan Tedeschi says. “I just sing. I play guitar too, but the singing aspect is more of a gospel approach to singing over blues or country or R & B or soul music.” Her mix blends well with the guitar work of Derek Trucks, her bandmate and husband, which he says was mainly influenced by Bukka White and Charlie Christian. “He just had such an aggressive sound, but it wasn’t really over the top. It was really elegant while being urgent at the same time,” Trucks says of Christian. “With Bukka, you could tell he could unleash at any time, but a lot of his stuff was really melodic—you take little things from each guy.” The pair’s latest record, Tedeschi Trucks Band Live From the Fox Oakland, has only four original numbers, but all of the covers are magnificent. Tedeschi soaks Leonard Cohen’s “Bird on a Wire” with anguished gospel soul, and the pair resurrects the spirit of the Allman Brothers on “Leavin’ Trunk.” Tedeschi pays homage to Bobby “Blue” Bland, covering “I Pity the Fool” with throat-ripping intensity while

Scythian D.C. Scythian is a CELTIC high-energy band out of Washington, D.C., with a sound that blends Celtic traditions with a rock ‘n’ roll attack. The band is a family affair, dominated by Alexander, Dan, and Larissa Fedoryka. The crew courted controversy in 2013 when three members’ spinoff band—led by the brothers Fedoryka—played at an event against gay marriage. Whether you can compartmentalize music and politics or not will determine how that affects your desire to see Scythian do its ramshackle thing. —JA [LINCOLN THEATRE, $14/9 P.M.]

CW Stoneking BLUES OF Oddball Australian OZ bluesman C.W. Stoneking boasts a weathered rasp and a dark sensibility, recalling at times the haunted-theme-park weirdness of Sworfishtrombones-era Tom Waits and the irreverent bent-traditionalism of vintage Captain Beefheart. While the old-timey affectations can occasionally verge on parody (Stoneking favors a bow tie, for example), it’s difficult to deny the odd effectiveness of tracks like the mariachi-flavored “The Love Me Or Die” or the skewed-Dixieland tribute

Trucks surrounds her with a barrage of killer guitar licks. The Wood Brothers lend their considerable soul to the occasion, too, taking an opening slot. The group’s recent Live at the Barn echoes a

Derek Trucks and Susan Tedeschi

“Jungle Blues.” Curtis Eller opens. —TB [MOTORCO, $10–$12/9 P.M.]

Summerfest Beach Party with Jackie Gore and North Tower Band LOVE 2 An annual tradition SHAG hosted by the North Carolina Symphony, this year’s Summerfest Beach Party features the dulcet tones of Jackie Gore and the North Tower Band. Gore, who cofounded the Raleigh-based doo-wop stalwarts The Embers in 1958, has spent decades plying his trade as something like the Carolinas’ answer to the feel-good vibes of Jimmy Buffet. Similarly beloved locals the North Tower Band tend toward the easy-listening grooves of seventies-era Chicago. —EB [KOKA BOOTH AMPHITHEATRE, $30–$35/7:30 P.M.] ALSO ON SATURDAY BEYÙ CAFFÈ: Mitch Butler, Leroy Barley Quintet; 7 & 9 p.m., $12. • BLUE NOTE GRILL: Chris O’Leary Band; 8 p.m., $10. • CAT’S CRADLE (BACK ROOM): P3 LVL 3 EXP; 9 p.m., $7. • DEEP SOUTH: Lake Chamberlain, Young Yonder, DRISKILL; 8:30 p.m., $7–$10. • GROWLER GRLZ: Martin Eagle, Ben Palmer; Jul 15, 7-10 p.m. • IRREGARDLESS: Gary Brunotte Duo with Beverly

Botsford; 6-9 p.m. Noah Powell Quintet; 9 p.m. • LOCAL 506: Lines in the Sky; 9 p.m., $7. • LORRAINE’S COFFEE HOUSE: Faster Horse - An Acoustic Tribute to Neil Young; 7:30-9:30 p.m., free. • MOTORCO: Girls Rock NC Showcase; 1 p.m., $10. • THE PINHOOK: Reese McHenry Sings with Spider Bags, Nathan Golub; 9 p.m., $10. See page 26. • POUR HOUSE: Dr. Bacon, Duk Tan; 9 p.m., $7–$10. • THE RITZ: Kehlani; 8 p.m. See page 26. • RUBY DELUXE: DJ Bitchcraft; 10 p.m. • SCHOOLKIDS RECORDS (RALEIGH): President Sam; 7-9 p.m. • SHARP NINE GALLERY: Keith Ganz, Gabe Evans Duo; 8 p.m., $10–$20. • SLIM’S: Gunpowder Gray, Pyre, Apes with Fire; 9 p.m., $5. • THE STATION: Jazz Saturdays; 2 p.m., free.

SUN, JUL 16 Captain, We’re Sinking SUBURB Emo has long been PUNKS the province of the overeducated and oversensitive, so it makes sense that its locus points have migrated to the suburbs. Captain, We’re Sinking comes from the same Scranton scene that birthed The Menzingers (Captain, We’re Sinking’s Bobby Barnett is Menzinger frontman Greg Barnett’s little brother), Tigers Jaw, and Three Man Cannon, and plays similarly

stripped-down version of The Band’s sound, recorded at Levon Helm’s Woodstock Studio, where it had played many times as Helm’s special guests. Before forming the Wood Brothers in 2004, brother Oliver played slithery swamp

RED HAT AMPHITHEATER, RALEIGH 7 P.M., $50–$349, www.redhatamphitheater.com

PHOTO BY STUART LEVINE

rangy, twinkling indie-punk. With Almost People and Pictures of Vernon. —PW [KINGS, $5–$8/9 P.M.]

Fruit Snack FRESH “Asking For a Friend,” SNAX the first single from irreverent Raleigh power-pop trio Fruit Snack, clues us in to the band’s entertaining, defiantly homespun style of indie. The band’s vocalist fires off loaded questions like, “Are you poly?” behind a din of fuzzy guitar slashes and shambling drums. The whole package sounds like it could fall apart at any moment, but it is bratty, infectiously sunny rock ‘n’ roll in the best way. With Those Lavender Whales, Kid Trails, and Shelles. —DS [THE PINHOOK, $7/8 P.M.]

In This Moment METAL- Ostensibly creepy CORE Los Angeles-based goth-medal weirdos In This Moment do a credible job of reimagining early-Sabbath through the prism of Marilyn Manson’s tedious industrial provocations. Should the band ever take a deeper turn into its influences, a great doom-boogie ensemble is just waiting to emerge. Motionless In White and Little Miss Nasty Open. —TB [THE RITZ, $28–$46/7 P.M.]

funk in King Johnson, while Chris Wood spent two decades in Medeski, Martin and Wood’s jazz groove ensemble. The two added Jano Rix on vocals, percussion, keys, and another contraption he calls a “shuitar.” This summer tour is sweetened even further with a charitable element: the Wheels of Soul tour is sponsored by Craft for Causes. The nonprofit teams up with local brewers who create limited-edition brews to benefit the Mr Holland’s Opus Foundation, a charity that preserves and promotes musical education. In every host city, a participating local brewery also helps with fundraising to provide instruments for underprivileged youth. Those beers have already been underway: Raleigh Brewing Company tapped its Rye Kolsch for the occasion on June 1, and Raleigh’s Crank Arm Brewing put out its Kolsch on June 14. Cary’s Bond Brothers Beer Company also jumps onboard with its Blueberry Vanilla Berliner Weisse on June 14. —Grant Britt

Jonah ParzenJohnson SAX Raised in Chicago MACHINE and now based in Brooklyn, Jonah Parzen-Johnson makes a curious and mesmerizing marriage of saxophone and synthesizer sounds. “Cabin Pressure,” from his new LP, I Try to Remember Where I Come From, expands and contracts in tense circles; the details of his intoxicating playing should bloom in Technicolor in The Shed’s cozy space. With Cyanotype and Hoverist. —AH [THE SHED, $7/7:30 P.M.]

Raekwon SET THE Calling Raekwon, aka BARS The Chef, “legendary” is lazy use of a buzzword that doesn’t do justice to the importance of his contributions to rap. At the time of his emergence, his effortless flow and multisyllabic delivery made him a standout emcee, but twenty years later, those elements have become standard skill sets for hip-hop songwriting. Defacto Thezpian and Shame open. —CM [CAT’S CRADLE, $25–$28/7:30 P.M.] ALSO ON SUNDAY BLUE NOTE GRILL: Mysti Mayhem Trio; 5-7 p.m., free. • CAT’S CRADLE (BACK ROOM):

Raekwon After Party: Kaze, DJ Johnny Storm; 10:30 p.m., $5. • DEEP SOUTH: Live & Loud Weekly; 9 p.m., $3. • IRREGARDLESS: Douglas Babcock; 6 p.m. • JUDEA REFORM CONGREGATION: Women’s Voices Chorus Welcome Home Concert; 3-4 p.m., $10 donation. • LINCOLN THEATRE: Noah’s Road to the National Championships Benefit; 4 p.m. • LOCAL 506: Failure Anthem; 7:30 p.m., $12–$15. • POUR HOUSE: Dear Brother; 8 p.m. • RUBY DELUXE: Dragons and Titties Viewing Party; 9 p.m. DJ Mindspring; 10 p.m. • ST MATTHEWS EPISCOPAL CHURCH: Stephen Smith; 3 p.m., $10. • WEST END WINE BARDURHAM: Eric Meyer, Noah Sager & Friends; 4-6 p.m., free.

MON, JUL 17 Dollhands CLT Melodic, feral, and GARAGE noisy, Charlottebased garage-punk outfit Dollhands demonstrates great promise, whether echoing the mind-bending shoegaze of My Bloody Valentine on tracks like “The Greeter” or channeling the manic offhand urgency of SST Records-era Meat Puppets on the blink-and-it’s-gone ninetysecond temper-tantrum “Dynamite.” Crave on and Futurists open. —EB [THE CAVE, $5/9 P.M.] INDYweek.com | 7.12.17 | 31

Western Dragon Teas

and

Tisanes

www.westerndragonteasandtisanes.com

ALSO ON MONDAY BEYÙ CAFFÈ: Verses and Versus DJ Series; 6 p.m. • EMPRESS ROOM: Gary Brunotte plays and sings from The Great American Songbook; 8-10 p.m. • IMBIBE: Grewen and Griffin; 7-10 p.m., free. • LOCAL 506: Detriment Dwell, Hangman, DMP, Kwaidan; 9 p.m., $10. • PITTSBORO ROADHOUSE: Big Band Night with the Triangle Jazz Orchestra; 7 p.m., $10. • POUR HOUSE: Lone Pilgrims; 8 p.m. • RUBY DELUXE: DJ Lord Redbyrd; 10 p.m. • THE SHED JAZZ CLUB: Sessions at the Shed with Ernest Turner; 8 p.m., $5.

TUE, JUL 18

GUITAR LESSONS

Evil English

Beginner, Intermediate, Advanced - all ages

GURU GUITARS 5221 Hillsborough St, Raleigh, NC 27606 (919) 833-6607 www.guruguitarshop.com

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

EVIL The closest analog URGES for Durham duo Evil English is probably Faun Fables, Dawn McCarthy’s long-running arty and witchy folk project. The duo’s spartan, Gothic folk lacks the cabaret influence and avant-garde filigrees, but the song-as-story focus and ambitious concepts are there. The forthcoming The Tallest Towers is, per the band, inspired by tarot cards and mythologist Joseph Campbell and “finding strength in being the empowered, free-thinking, dreamers, builders, artists, healers and lovers of the Earth that we are.” With Ghost Note Ensemble, Months of Indecision, and Shannon O’Connor. —PW [CAT’S CRADLE BACK ROOM, $7/8 P.M.]

Lil King G L.A. HIP- Inspired by the HOP G-Funk sound that made his hometown of Los Angeles a hip-hop powerhouse, King Lil G brings the same heartfelt yet aggressive storytelling techniques made famous by NWA, but from the often ignored Mexican side of town. Lil G raps with a guttural pain with a glimmer of hope that’s common in hip-hop, and his lyrical ability makes those emotions tangible to listeners. With Whitty and BTR. —CM [LINCOLN THEATRE, $20/8 P.M.]

Primus

INDYWEEK.COM 32 | 7.12.17 | INDYweek.com

STAY Is Primus—one of WEIRD the original and most distinctive alt-metal groups, and a whimsical party band with chops that absorbed punk,

thrash, and funk—a funkadelic post-punk Rush, willfully weird and wickedly humorous à la Zappa? Or is it only a slightly less campy Red Hot Chili Peppers, whose punk-funk and adolescent innuendos and double entendres mark the worst aspects of Zappa and Rush? The short answer? Yes. Long-running hard rock troupe Clutch opens, a pairing that’s sure to have a certain subset of nineties children frothing at the mouth. —PW [RED HAT AMPHITHEATER, $20–$302/7 P.M.] ALSO ON TUESDAY THE CARRACK: Polyorchard: The Exsufflation Series; 8 p.m. • IRREGARDLESS: Bruce Emery; 6:30 p.m. • NEPTUNES PARLOUR: Craig Hilton Samba Das Sombras; 9 p.m., $8. • POUR HOUSE: The Kickback, Junior Astronomers; 8 p.m. • RUBY DELUXE: Oshwa with Al Riggs; 9 p.m. Experimental Tuesday: Floor Model; 11 p.m.

WED, JUL 19 John Hammond SEATED John Hammond has BLUES worked with numerous musicians, and was playing with a band of hell-raising rockabillians known as Levon and the Hawks when Bob Dylan hired them to be his Band. Hammond regrouped with a hot young guitarist by the name of Jimi Hendrix, and the two played together at New York’s’ Cafe Au Go Go in the Village. But when Hendrix was offered a chance to go to Europe and record, Hammond took to a stool and an acoustic guitar, becoming a cult figure for his rural blues interpretations. With Tad Walters. —GB [BLUE NOTE GRILL, $30–$35/7:30 P.M.]

Lacy Jags PSYCH & By turns engagPOP ingly abrasive and gratingly irresistible, Chapel Hill’s Lacy Jags weds a penchant for full-blown Small Faces-style mod rave-ups to an obvious love of effects-heavy nineties Britpop. In the process, the band synthesizes four decades of English pop as effectively as could reasonably be expected from four North Carolina fellows. Standout tracks like the barnstorming

“Sooth Sayer,” from the EP Scodes, fully ratify the enormity of the band’s promise. Fruit & Flowers open. —TB [THE STATION, $7/8 P.M.]

Idina Menzel SUPER She originated the PIPES roles of Rent’s Maureen Johnson and Wicked’s Elphaba on Broadway, but most recently this actress and powerhouse vocalist has enjoyed maximum limelight for singing the inescapable “Let It Go” from Disney’s Frozen. Expect plenty of Menzel’s signature contemporary show tunes as well as a handful of diva-friendly hits. —AH [RED HAT AMPHITHEATER, $24–$175/8 P.M.]

River Whyless AVL Amid the current glut BEAUTY of fiddle-incorporating, folk-pop-leaning groups, Asheville’s River Whyless manages the neat trick of standing out, winning over audiences with its deft, nuanced tunes. With a firm appreciation of its North Carolina musical traditions, the quartet spruces up earnest, harmony-laden songs with hints of indie rock and a firm rhythmic undercurrent. These warm tunes should make for a fine soundtrack to a balmy evening on the lawn. —DK [DUKE GARDENS, $5–$10, 12 AND UNDER FREE/7 P.M.]

The Steel Woods HOOKS The Steel Woods is OF STEEL one of those bands with a name that aptly conveys its music. The group specializes in country-fried roots rock with a hard, polished edge. Its cover of “Wild and Blue” beefs up John Anderson’s original with a pummeling power, transforming the country scorcher into a twangy battering ram. Americanize opens. —AH [LOCAL 506, $12/9 P.M.] ALSO ON WEDNESDAY CAT’S CRADLE: John Moreland, Travis Linville; 8 p.m., $13–$15. See page 22. • HUMBLE PIE: Peter Lamb & the Wolves; 8:30 p.m. • IRREGARDLESS: The Piedmont Pea Pickers; 6:30 p.m. • THE PINHOOK: King Draft, Reuben Vincent, MBALLA, DJShawnandSoul; 9 p.m., $10. • POUR HOUSE: Indiobravo, Arctic Blonde, The Pre-Raphaelites; 8 p.m. • RUBY DELUXE: Cosmic Liberation Front with DJ Mike D and Sponge Bath; 10 p.m.

art

FOR OUR COMPLETE COMMUNITY CALENDAR WWW.INDYWEEK.COM

7.12– 7.19

ONGOING Abstract Vision: Paintings by Sam Ezell. Thru Aug 25. Whitted Building, Hillsborough. SPECIAL Annual Consignor EVENT Invitational: Ceramics by Carmen Elliott and Cathy Kiffney; textiles from Elaine O’Neil; paintings by Henryk Fantazos, Anne Gregory, and Rosie Thompson; jewelry by Rebecca Neigher. Thru Aug 5. Reception: Fri, Jul 14, 6-9 p.m. FRANK Gallery, Chapel Hill. www. frankisart.com. Barely Civilized: Folk art by Cher Shaffer. Thru Aug 24. Alexander Dickson House, Hillsborough. www.historichillsborough.org. Beyond the Front Porch 2017: Exhibition of work by twelve senior undergraduates. Thru Nov 12. Duke Campus: Center for Documentary Studies, Durham. www.cdsporch.org.

Dwane Powell: “Impass” PHOTO COURTESY OF THE CITY OF RALEIGH MUSUEM WEDNESDAY, JULY 19

DWANE POWELL In his thirty-plus years as The News & Observer’s political cartoonist, Dwane Powell had plenty of chances to skewer Jesse Helms—then a seemingly immortal North Carolina senator—who inadvertently provided the title of Powell’s current retrospective at the City of Raleigh Museum, You Really Stuck It to Me Today. As the story goes, that’s what Helms called Powell and said, with begrudging admiration, after one particularly bang-on barb. But in a long, nationally

syndicated career, Powell’s pen cut both left and right, packing a pugnacious time capsule with poly-political polemics. See a select forty of the fifteen thousand cartoons Powell has produced, including sketches dating back to his childhood, after taking in his public talk with museum director Ernest Dollar. The exhibit runs through the end of June. —Brian Howe

CITY OF RALEIGH MUSEUM, RALEIGH

6 p.m., free, www.cityofraleighmuseum.org

OPENING

Gifts, Carrboro. www.womancraftgifts.com.

Drink & Draw with the Durham Comics Project: Part of Durham Comics Fest. Fri, Jul 14, 7 p.m. Cocoa Cinnamon, Durham. www.durhamcomicsfest.org.

SPECIAL Onicas Gaddis: EVENT Paintings. Jul 14-31. Reception: Fri, Jul 14, 6-8 p.m. The ArtsCenter, Carrboro. www. artscenterlive.org. SPECIAL Hayti/Haiti/History: EVENT Performance by artists-in-residence Aya Shabu and Dasha Chapman. Sat, Jul 15, 4-6 p.m. Power Plant Gallery, Durham.www. powerplantgallery.com. See p. 27. SPECIAL The Masks of a EVENT Movement: Puppets

Bryce Lankard: Presentation about his Drawn to Water photography project. Wed, Jul 12, 7 p.m. The Cary Theater, Cary. www.thecarytheater.com.

SPECIAL Velma Ferrell: EVENT Textiles. Reception: Fri, Jul 14, 6-9 p.m. Womancraft Fine Handcrafted

by the Paperhand Puppet Intervention. Jul 14-Aug 1. Reception: Fri, Jul 14, 6 p.m. The ArtsCenter, Carrboro. www. artscenterlive.org. SPECIAL The Elegant Line: EVENT Abstract mixed media by Sudie Rakusin and clay forms by Susan Filley. Jul 14-Aug 5. Reception: Fri, Jul 14, 6-9 p.m. FRANK Gallery, Chapel Hill. www.frankisart.com. Truth to Power: Juried by Pedro Lasch of Duke University. Jul 13-Aug 6. Pleiades Gallery, Durham. www. PleiadesArtDurham.com.

submit! Got something for our calendar? EITHER email calendar@indyweek.com (include the date, time, street address, contact info, cost, and a short description) OR enter it yourself at posting. indyweek.com/indyweek/Events/AddEvent. DEADLINE: Wednesday 5 p.m. for the following Wednesday’s issue. Thanks!

Jones, Matt Hallyburton, and Curry Wilkinson. Thru Jul 15. Claymakers, Durham. www.claymakers.com. Fluid: Paintings by MyLoan Dinh. Thru Oct 15. Durham Convention Center, Durham. www. durhamconventioncenter.com. Focus on the Peck Collection: Seventeenth-century Dutch and Flemish master drawings. Thru Aug 6. Ackland Art Museum, Chapel Hill. www.ackland.org. From Here to Eternity: Quilted tapestries by Ann Harwell. Thru Jul 25. Betty Ray McCain Gallery, Raleigh. www. dukeenergycenterraleigh.com. Group Show: Twenty-five artists and craftspersons. Thru Aug 25. Horse & Buggy Press and Friends, Durham. www. horseandbuggypress.com. Gun Show: Sculptures by David Hess. Thru Aug 6. CAM Raleigh, Raleigh. www.camraleigh.org.

Cedar Creek Gallery National Teapot Show X: Thru Sep 5. Cedar Creek Gallery, Creedmoor. www.cedarcreekgallery.com.

The Long Goodbye...: Site-specific installation by Eric Yahnker. Thru Sep 10. CAM Raleigh, Raleigh. www.camraleigh.org.

Collections: Leah Sobsey. Thru Sep 30. 21c Museum Hotel, Durham. www.21cmuseumhotels. com/durham.

Looking South: Photography by Eudora Welty. Thru Sep 4. NC Museum of Art, Raleigh. www. ncartmuseum.org.

Court and Capital: Art from Asia’s Greatest Cities: Thru Dec 10. Ackland Art Museum, Chapel Hill. www.ackland.org.

More than One Story | Mas de una historia: Photography. Thru Feb 1. UNC Campus: Davis Library, Chapel Hill. www.lib. unc.edu/davis.

Crossing the Blue Hour: Photography by Peter Frncis Barnett and mixed-media sculptures and paintings by Shane C. Smith. Thru Jul 21. Guest Room Project Space, Carrboro. Discover Your Governors: Thru Aug 6. NC Museum of History, Raleigh. www. ncmuseumofhistory.org. LAST Earth Memory: The CHANCE Once and Future Paintings of Henry Dyer: Paintings. Thru Jul 19. Hillsborough Arts Council Gallery, Hillsborough. www. hillsboroughartscouncil.org. Egg in Nest: Students of Jenny Eggleston. Thru Jul 21. Halle Cultural Arts Center, Apex. www. thehalle.org. LAST Finished with Flame: CHANCE Stoneware by Julie

A Morir: Video installation by Miguel Angel Rios. Thru Sep 17. Ackland Art Museum, Chapel Hill. www.ackland.org. Nature’s Way: Water-media paintings by Nancy L. Smith. Thru Jul 31. Joyful Jewel, Pittsboro. www.joyfuljewel.com. No Damsel: Paintings by Dorian Lynde. Thru Aug 6. CAM Raleigh, Raleigh. camraleigh.org. North Carolina’s Natural Beauty: Linda Jones. Thru Jul 30. NC Museum of Natural Sciences, Raleigh. www.naturalsciences.org.

Precarious Edifices: Ashlynn Browning and Chieko Murasugi. Thru Jul 21. Miriam Preston Block Gallery, Raleigh. www. raleighnc.gov/arts. Pleasant Places: Digital paintings by Quayola. Thru Aug 13. NC Museum of Art, Raleigh. www.ncartmuseum.org. Show Off: Two curators showcase exhibitions: Anthony Hamilton (Digiscapes!) and Conner Calhoun (Waves to Live By). Thru Jul 29. Lump, Raleigh. www.teamlump.org. Small to Large: Delight in the Practice of Painting: Paintings by Margie Stewart. Thru Oct 23. Durham Arts Council, Durham. www.durhamarts.org. Teens, Inspired: Juried exhibition by N.C. high school students. Thru Sep 10. NC Museum of Art, Raleigh. www. ncartmuseum.org. Under Pressure: Prints and performance art. Mondays thru Aug 27. Visual Art Exchange, Raleigh. www. visualartexchange.org. Up Close: Paintings by Linda Carmel, textiles by Alice Levinson, sculpture by Lynn Wartski. Thru Jul 23. Hillsborough Gallery of Arts, Hillsborough. www. hillsboroughgallery.com. Visual Conversations: A Two Woman Art Show: Oil paintings by Aimee Cuthrell and Angela Tommaso Hellman. Thru Jul 22. Page-Walker Arts & History Center, Cary. www. friendsofpagewalker.org. Wearing the Sweats Out: Drawings by Tedd Anderson. Thru Jul 26. Golden Belt, Durham. www. goldenbeltarts.com. LAST West Virginia CHANCE Spring: Landscape paintings by Lynn Boggess. Thru Jul 15. Tyndall Galleries, Chapel Hill. www.tyndallgalleries.com.

One of Many: Prints. Thru Sep 10. Ackland Art Museum, Chapel Hill. www.ackland.org.

You + Me: Photographs from various artists. Thru Sep 4. NC Museum of Art, Raleigh. www. ncartmuseum.org.

Porcelain Jewelry: Jewelry by Mimi Logothetis. Thru Jul 30. Melissa Designer Jewelry, Hillsborough. www. melissadesignerjewelry.com.

You Can’t Get Butter (From a Dog’s Mouth): Paintings by St. George. Thru Jul 31. Caffe Driade, Chapel Hill. www.caffedriade.com. INDYweek.com | 7.12.17 | 33

stage

RECYCLE THIS PAPER Brian Posehn PHOTO BY SETH OLENICK

BILL BURTON ATTORNEY AT LAW Un c o n t e s t e d Di vo rc e Bu s i n e s s L a w UNCONTESTED In c o r p o r a t i o n / L LC / DIVORCE Pa r t n e r s h i p MUSIC BUSINESS LAW Wi l l s INCORPORATION/LLC WILLS C o l l e c t i o n s SEPARATION AGREEMENTS Mu s i c

967-6159 (919) 967-6159

bill.burton.lawyer@gmail.com 34 | 7.12.17 | INDYweek.com

THURSDAY, JULY 13–SATURDAY, JULY 15

BRIAN POSEHN

Where to even begin with Brian Posehn, comedian, actor, podcaster, musician, Deadpool comic book writer, self-proclaimed “Fartist” (really), and all-around aggrieved-sad-sack-made-good extraordinaire? From his early appearances on the postmodern sketch-comedy classic Mr. Show with Bob & David and his stand-up run with the original Comedians of Comedy to his recurring role on The Big Bang Theory and his Dungeons & Dragons-based Nerd Poker podcast, Posehn is always ready to let his geek flag fly. In his acting and stand-up, he relies on a baleful gaze, a com-

plaining vocal timbre, a Unabomber beard, and self-esteem-less body language to craft an underdog character you have to root for a little, even if he’s being a jerk. It’s bitterness beatified, snark as self-defense. If your life has felt short on cringelaughs lately, you could hardly do better than Posehn’s three-night stand in Raleigh this week. —Brian Howe

GOODNIGHTS COMEDY CLUB, RALEIGH 8 p.m. Thurs./7:30 & 10 p.m. Fri. and Sat., $21–$29, www.goodnightscomedy.com

OPENING ADF Faculty Concert: Dance. $11. Sun, Jul 16, 2 & 7 p.m. Duke Campus: Reynolds Industries Theater, Durham. www. americandancefestival.org. Roy Assaf and Ate9 Dance Company: Exhibit B: Dance. $33. Tue, Jul 18 & Wed, Jul 19, 8 p.m. Duke Campus: Reynolds Industries Theater, Durham. www.americandancefestival.org. Broadway Drag Bingo!: Vivica C. Coxx, Amazing Grace (Miss Gay Pride NC!), Stormie Daie, and Naomi Dix. $20-$25. Sat, Jul 15, 7-10 p.m. Durham Arts Council, Durham. www. durhamarts.org.

ADF PICK Betroffenheit: In this intense, unsettling fusion of psychological drama and dance, Jonathan Young’s central character is caught in the grip of guilt, addiction, and severe post-traumatic stress in the wake of a horrifying accident. Choreographer Crystal Pite’s dancers embody his inner demons, whose macabre

cabaret accompanies his struggles to come to terms with his loss. $25. Fri, Jul 14, 8 p.m. & Sat, Jul 15, 7 p.m. Durham Performing Arts Center, Durham. www.americandancefestival.org. —Byron Woods

Industries Theater, Durham. www.americandancefestival.org.

Bettie Reynolds: Cowgirl to Cattle Queen: Play. Sun, Jul 16, 2 p.m. Durham Arts Council, Durham. www.durhamarts.org.

Huggy Lowdown: Standup comedy. $20. Sun, Jul 16, 6 p.m. Goodnights Comedy Club, Raleigh. www. goodnightscomedy.com.

Bye Bye Birdie: Musical. $10$15. Wed, Jul 19-Sun, Jul 30. UNC Campus: Paul Green Theatre, Chapel Hill. www. playmakersrep.org. Caleb Synan, Adam Christie: The Make America Canada Again comedy tour. Hosted by Deb Aronin. $10. Sun, Jul 16, 8 p.m. 106 Main, Durham. Dogfight, the Musical: Musical. $14-$20. Fri, Jul 14-Sun, Jul 30. North Raleigh Arts & Creative Theatre, Raleigh. www.nract.org. See p. 26. Elvis Everywhere: A dendy/ donovan project. $33. Wed, Jul 12 & Thu, Jul 13, 8 p.m. Duke Campus: Reynolds

Haydini Magic: Hayden Childress, magician. Sat, Jul 15, 8 p.m. Fletcher Opera Theater, Raleigh. www. dukeenergycenterraleigh.com.

WTF PICK Licked Cupcake: The rules—and the misinformation—start early for girls. Knees together. Stay pure. Marry young. Have babies. And remember, your body changes irrevocably every time you have sex. In a country where only thirteen states require sex education to be medically accurate, eleven women in a comic support group discuss and debunk the moral codes they were raised to believe about sexuality in this frank, funny devised work at the Women’s Theatre Festival. $17. Thu, Jul 13-Sun, Jul 23.

Sonorous Road Theatre,, Durham. www. womenstheatrefestival.com. —Byron Woods Lombardi: Play. Wed, Jul 19-Sun, Jul 30. Kennedy Theater, Raleigh. www. dukeenergycenterraleigh.com. War on the Catwalk: The Queens from Season 9: Ru Paul’s Drag Race. $24. Wed, Jul 19, 8 p.m. Carolina Theatre, Durham. www.carolinatheatre.org.

ONGOING Anything Goes Late Show: Saturdays, 10:30 p.m. Goodnights Comedy Club, Raleigh. www. goodnightscomedy.com.

The Harry Show: Improv host leads late-night revelers in potentially risque games. $10. Fridays & Saturdays, 10 p.m. ComedyWorx Theatre, Raleigh. comedyworx.com. North Carolina’s Funniest Person Contest: Audiencejudged stand-up comedy competition. Tue, Jul 18 & Wed, Jul 19, 7 p.m. Goodnights Comedy Club, Raleigh. www.goodnightscomedy.com. RuPaul’s Drag Race Viewing and Open Amateur Drag Stage: Fridays, 8 p.m. Ruby Deluxe, Raleigh. www.facebook.com/ RubyDeluxeRaleigh.

Bulltown Comedy Series: Third Tuesdays, 9 p.m. Fullsteam, Durham. www.facebook.com/ BulltownComedySeries.

Under The Bridge Comedy Night Open Mic: Second Thursdays. London Bridge Pub, Raleigh. thelondonbridgepub.com.

The Chuckle & Chortle Comedy Show: Local stand-up comics. $7. Third Saturdays, 8:30 p.m. The ArtsCenter, Carrboro. www.artscenterlive.org.

 The Woodstock Tontine: Reviewed on p. 23. $17. Fri, Jul 14-Sun, Jul 16. Burning Coal Theatre at the Murphey School, Raleigh. www. womenstheatrefestival.com

food National Ice Cream Day Celebration: Live music by Back Porch Orchestra, lawn games, face painting, ice cream specials, more. Sun, Jul 16, 1-9 p.m. Maple View Ice Cream, Hillsborough. www. mapleviewfarm.com. Peregrine Farm Wine Dinner: Four-course wine dinner featuring produce from Peregrine Farm and local rabbit from Chatham Rabbit. $75. Wed, Jul 12. Glasshalfull, Carrboro. www. glasshalfullcarrboro.com. Wine Tasting: With Fearrington sommeliers and the occasional guest. Saturdays, 3-5 p.m. Thru Jul 30. The Goat, Pittsboro. www.fearrington.com/ eateries/the-goat.

Kidd Pivot and Electric Company Theatre’s Betroffenheit is our ADF pick of the week. PHOTO BY ROBERT WHITMAN

INDYweek.com | 7.12.17 | 35

page READINGS & SIGNINGS Fantasy Panel: Southern Authors for Children and Teens: Amanda McCrina, Shaila Patel, Beth Bowland, Chris Ledbetter, Leigh Statham, Brynn Chapman, E.M. Fitch, Julie Reece, Scott Reintgen. Sat, Jul 15, 6:30 p.m. Quail Ridge Books, Raleigh. www. quailridgebooks.com. Jan Harrington and Kit Weinert: Second Thursday Poetry series. Thu, Jul 13, 7 p.m. Flyleaf Books, Chapel Hill. www. flyleafbooks.com. Nancy MacLean: Democracy in Chains: The Deep History of the Radical Right’s Stealth Plan for America. Wed, Jul 19, 7 p.m.

screen Regulator Bookshop, Durham. www.regulatorbookshop.com. Jacqueline Ogburn: The Unicorn in the Barn. Sat, Jul 15, 3 p.m. Regulator Bookshop, Durham. www.regulatorbookshop.com. Matthew Quick: The Reason You’re Alive. Tue, Jul 18, 7 p.m. Quail Ridge Books, Raleigh. www.quailridgebooks.com. Philip Smucker: Riding with George. Wed, Jul 12, 7 p.m. Quail Ridge Books, Raleigh. www.quailridgebooks.com. J.C. Srasser: Gradle Bird. Sat, Jul 15, 11 a.m. McIntyre’s Books, Pittsboro. www. mcintyresbooks.com. Adriana Trigiani: Kiss Carlo. Mon, Jul 17, 7 p.m. Quail Ridge Books, Raleigh. www. quailridgebooks.com.

TUESDAY, JULY 18

NO MORE HIDDEN FIGURES: STEM DIVERSITY IN THE 21ST CENTURY It’s no secret that minorities and women are marginalized when it comes to professions involving science, technology, engineering and mathematics (STEM). This discrepancy was recently highlighted in the blockbuster film Hidden Figures, which inspired the title of this presentation. To empower underrepresented populations, Tashni Dubroy will discuss gender, socioeconomic, and racial disparities in STEM industries in “No More Hidden Figures: STEM Diversity in the 21st Century.” The presentation is in conjunction with RACE: Are We So Different?,, a current exhibition at the North Carolina Museum of Natural Sciences that explores race and racism in the United States. Dubroy is the founder of the Brilliant and Beautiful Foundation (BBF), which supports women pursuing scientific research and enterprises. She recently became executive vice president and chief operating officer of Howard University after serving as the youngest (and third female) president of Shaw University. Karen Clark of Radio One Raleigh hosts the event. —Xernay Aniwar

N.C. MUSEUM OF NATURAL SCIENCES, RALEIGH

7 p.m., free, www.naturalsciences.org/race 36 | 7.12.17 | INDYweek.com

Tashni Dubroy

PHOTO BY TERRENCE JONES PHOTOGRAPHY

SPECIAL SHOWINGS Moana: Movies by Moonlight. $5. Thu, Jul 13, 8:30 p.m. Koka Booth Amphitheatre, Cary. www.boothamphitheatre. com. — Outdoor movie. Free$6. Fri, Jul 14, 9 p.m. N.C. Museum of Art, Raleigh. www. ncartmuseum.org. Modulations: Live dance film by Alex Maness. Live music by Del Ward. Wed, Jul 19 & Fri, Jul 21, 8 p.m. 21c Museum Hotel, Durham. www.21cmuseumhotels. com/durham. Rogue One: A Star Wars Story: Outdoor movie. Free$6. Sat, Jul 15, 9 p.m. N.C. Museum of Art, Raleigh. www. ncartmuseum.org. — Sat, Jul 15, 2:30 p.m. Chapel Hill Public Library, Chapel Hill. chapelhillpubliclibrary.org. Repo Man: Followed by a performance by Karl Raymar. Tue, Jul 18, 7:30-11 p.m. Nightlight, Chapel Hill. www. nightlightclub.com.

OPENING War for the Planet of the Apes—Two years after the Apes events of Dawn of the Planet of the Apes, those damn dirty apes are at it again, losing ground in their war against humans. Rated PG-13. Wish Upon—A wish-granting monkey’s paw—uh, make that music box—is at the center of this horror flick. But will there be unintended consequences? (Spoiler: yes.) Rated PG-13.

A L S O P L AY I N G The INDY uses a five-star rating scale. Read reviews of these films at www.indyweek.com. ½ All Eyez on Me Me—This biopic claims to be Tupac’s untold story, but most of it could be cobbled together from YouTube clips. Rated R.  Beatriz at Dinner Dinner— The lonely, curious, empathic, and traumatized Beatriz (Salma Hayek, as a massage therapist squaring off with her wealthy clients) is the

kind of character we need to see more often. Rated R.  The Beguiled— Psychological subtleties make Sofia Coppola’s Civil War dream a challenging film, but some storytelling vigor would have made it a better one. Rated R.

sequel still features Jack Sparrow literally jumping a shark. Rated PG-13.  Spider-Man: Homecoming—Getting back to basics, a fifty-five-yearold superhero feels like a kid again. Rated PG-13.

½ Wonder Woman— This origin story doesn’t shrink from its hero’s beauty or brawn. Gal Gadot strikes the right balance as an idealist who relishes the battle but not the war. Rated PG-13.

½ The Big Sick— Married screenwriters Kumail Nanjiani and Emily V. Gordon’s autobiographical rom-com truthfully portrays the shifting cultural and romantic landscape of the U.S. Rated R.  Cars 3—Pixar’s latest is a smooth ride because it mainly runs on cruise control and Rocky references. Rated G. ½ Despicable Me 3—This franchise feels just about washed up, but your kids won’t care, because Minions! Rated PG. ½ The Fate of the Furious—The latest Fast & Furious film is outlandish and refreshingly self-aware, giddily embracing both elements of the label “dumb fun.” Rated PG-13.  Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 2—A muddier story and zestier jokes balance out to a worthy sequel to Marvel’s spacefaring hit, now with an Oedipal twist. Rated PG-13. ½ Kong: Skull Island— Set before 2014’s Godzilla, this reboot makes Kong’s origin feel like Apocalypse Now meets Starship Troopers. Rated PG-13.  Megan Leavey—The film lavishes love on the bond of a Marine and her bomb-sniffing dog but undersells everything else. Rated PG-13. ½ The Mummy— Tom Cruise’s increasing creepiness is the biggest impediment to a serviceable creature feature. Rated PG-13. ½ Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Men Tell No Tales—An improvement over its dire predecessor, this

FRIDAY, JULY 14

MICHAEL JACKSON’S THIS IS IT It’s difficult to disregard the profiteering that prompted the 2009 release of Michael Jackson’s This Is It merely four months after the singer’s untimely death. But then the music starts. Compiled from footage recorded during final rehearsals for Jackson’s could-havebeen concerts in London’s O2 Arena, the rockumentary plays like a toe-tapping elegy to a musical and cultural icon, revealing Jackson in his element: onstage, exhibiting a savant-like entertainment aptitude. Despite his infamous and crippling eccentricities, the film is a welcome reminder that Jackson’s creative flame was never snuffed out. In death, Jackson finally, and ironically, achieved the image rehab he sorely sought in life, and the film is a poignant coda to his career. See it outdoors at Saxapahaw Movie Night, a fundraiser for the nonprofit arts organization Culture Mill and its programs, which include creating original performing artworks and arts education in Alamance County schools. —Neil Morris

SAXAPAHAW RIVER AMPHITHEATER, SAXAPAHAW 8:30 p.m., $5 suggested donation, www.culturemill.org

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