INDY Week 7.31.19 by Indy Week

DURHAM | CHAPEL HILL July 31, 2019

WHEN THE MALL WAS WA S KING

A Little Respect P. 8

The Criminal Kind P. 11

A local photographer’s lost images take us on a nostalgia trip to an era of short shorts, big hair, and bigger suburban commerce BY MICHAEL VENUTOLO-MANTOVANI, P. 12

Don’t You Forget About Me P. 17

AT THE JOSEPH M. BRYAN, JR., THEATER IN THE MUSEUM PARK

WEDNESDAY, AUGUST 7

AN EVENING WITH LY L E LOVE T T AN D H I S L ARG E B AN D PR E S E N TE D W I TH C AT ’S C R A D L E

SATURDAY, AUGUST 17 C E LE BRATI NG NI NA SI M ONE FEATURING LI SA SI M ONE I N CONC E RT

BRUCE HORNSBY & THE NOISEMAKERS/ AMOS LEE

In partnership with African American Heritage Commission, North Carolina Arts Council, National Trust for Historic Preservation, COME HEAR NORTH CAROLINA #ComeHearNC

SATURDAY, AUGUST 24

O LD C ROW MEDIC IN E SHOW PR E S E N TE D W I TH C AT ’S C R A D L E

T I C K E T S ncartmuseum.org/summer

or (919) 715-5923

presenting sponsor

supporting sponsor

pa r t i c i pat i n g s p o n s o r

2110 Blue Ridge Road, Raleigh 2 | 7.31.19 | INDYweek.com

WHAT WE LEARNED THIS WEEK DURHAM • CHAPEL HILL VOL. 36 NO. 29

DEPARTMENTS

5 When Raleigh started planning to improve Chavis Park, city staffers didn’t believe it used to have a children’s train until a community leader showed them photos.

6 News 17 Food

6 Caroline Sullivan leads Raleigh’s mayoral money race, but more than half of her donors come from outside the city.

18 Music 21 Arts & Culture

8 Some Silicon Valley types have started prepping for doomsday. That should tell you something about the future of work.

22 What to Do This Week 25 Music Calendar 29 Arts & Culture Calendar

10 Between 2014 and 2017, Hillside High’s lauded theater program director says he was forced to manage ninetytwo events without pay. 16 When news broke that Watts Grocery had closed, the internet trolls attacked. 18 “I had started to feel that the whole ‘three chords and the truth’ thing was a confining space,” Chris Stamey says of his new album. 21 As of this week, Marc Maron has put out 1,040 episodes of his popular celebrity-interview podcast, WTF.

Wendell Tabb runs one of the most acclaimed high school theater programs in the state. But he says Durham Public Schools won’t give him the respect he deserves (see page 10). PHOTO BY JADE WILSON

DUCED B

R NO

E L S BIA & Y A FI

FESTIV A LM

N CG L F F. O R G

PHOTOS BY MICHAEL GALINSKY DESIGN BY ANNIE MAYNARD

TICKETS & TEN PASSES

ON SALE AUG 1

TH CAROLIN

On the cover

N CG L F F. O R G / 9 1 9 - 5 6 0 -3 0 3 0

S O O N

20 NCG L

COMI

Y O U

T A NA THE

S E E

OLI

A U G U ST 1 5 -1 8 2 0 1 9

INDYweek.com | 7.31.19 | 3

NCDOT TO HOLD PUBLIC MEETING FOR THE PROPOSED PROJECT TO WIDEN N.C. 50 (CREEDMOOR ROAD) FROM I-540 TO NORTH OF N.C. 98 WAKE COUNTY

STIP PROJECT NO. U-5891 The N.C. Department of Transportation will hold a public meeting to present information on the proposed improvements to N.C. 50 (Creedmoor Road) Widening from I-540 to north of N.C. 98.

Your week. Every Wednesday.

This open house meeting will be held on Tuesday, August 13, 2019 at Amran Shriners Club located at 11101 Creedmoor Rd, in Raleigh from 4 p.m. to 7 p.m. Interested residents may attend at any time during the meeting hours. No formal presentation will be made. NCDOT representatives will be available to answer questions and receive comments regarding the project. All comments received will be taken into consideration as the project progresses. As information becomes available, it may be viewed online at the project website: www.publicinput.com/NC50-Creedmoor-Rd Anyone desiring additional information may contact Allison White, NCDOT Project Manager, by telephone at (919) 7076341 or by email at akwhite@ncdot.gov. Comments should be submitted by September 13, 2019.

Raleigh Durham | Chapel Hill PUBLISHER Susan Harper EDITORIAL

EDITOR IN CHIEF Jeffrey C. Billman ARTS+CULTURE EDITOR Brian Howe STAFF WRITERS Thomasi McDonald, Leigh Tauss ASSOCIATE ARTS+CULTURE EDITOR Sarah Edwards FOOD+DIGITAL EDITOR Andrea Rice EDITORIAL ASSISTANT Cole Villena THEATER+DANCE CRITIC Byron Woods RESTAURANT CRITIC Nick Williams VOICES COLUMNISTS T. Greg Doucette,

Alexis Pauline Gumbs, Courtney Napier, Barry Saunders, Jonathan Weiler CONTRIBUTORS Amanda Abrams, Jim Allen, Elizabeth Bracy, Timothy Bracy, Jameela F. Dallis, Khayla Deans, Michaela Dwyer, Spencer Griffith, Howard Hardee, Corbie Hill, Laura Jaramillo, Kyesha Jennings, Glenn McDonald, Josephine McRobbie, Samuel MontgomeryBlinn, Neil Morris, James Michael Nichols, Emily Pietras, Marta Nuñez Pouzols, Bryan C. Reed, Dan Ruccia, David Ford Smith, Zack Smith, Michael Venutolo-Mantovani, Chris Vitiello, Ryan Vu, Patrick Wall INTERNS Lena Geller, Thomas C. Martin, Sophia Wilhelm

ART+PRODUCTION

CREATIVE DIRECTOR Annie Maynard STAFF PHOTOGRAPHER Jade Wilson

CIRCULATION

CIRCULATION DIRECTOR Brenna Berry-Stewart DISTRIBUTION Laura Bass, Richard Lee,

Marshall Lindsey, Gloria McNair, Timm Shaw, Freddie Simmons, Hershel Wiley

ADVERTISING

DIRECTOR OF SALES John Hurld MARKETING EXECUTIVES Sarah Schmader,

Hanna Smith

CLASSIFIEDS ACCOUNT EXECUTIVE Amanda Blanchard

NCDOT will provide auxiliary aids and services under the Americans with Disabilities Act for disabled persons who wish to participate in this meeting. Anyone requiring special services should contact Diane Wilson, Human Environment Section, via e-mail at pdwilson1@ncdot.gov or by phone at (919) 7076073, as early as possible, so that these arrangements can be made.

WWW.INDYWEEK.COM

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

first initial[no space]last name@indyweek.com DISPLAY ADVERTISING SALES advertising@indyweek.com RALEIGH 919-832-8774 DURHAM 919-286-1972 CLASSIFIEDS ADVERTISING 919-286-6642 CONTENTS COPYRIGHT 2018 INDY WEEK

INDYWEEK.COM 4 | 7.31.19 | INDYweek.com

Persons who do not speak English, or have a limited ability to read, speak or understand English, may receive interpretive services upon request prior to the meeting by calling 1-800-481-6494.

Aquellas personas que no hablan inglés, o tienen limitaciones para leer, hablar o entender inglés, podrían recibir servicios de interpretación si los solicitan antes de la reunión llamando al 1-800-481-6494.

Tauss rds

millo,

eryols,

Smith, ani,

rt Wiley

nchard

e 200

ek.com eek.com 972

backtalk

INDY VOICES

Broken by Design

Pizza Pizza!

ast week, food editor Andrea Rice, who moved to the Triangle from New York eighteen months ago, dug into our local pizza scene, looking for a slice that felt like home. Mick Voiland responds: “As an NYC-born and Long Island-bred sixty-nine-year-old Italian of Neapolitan heritage who has lived in Garner since 2006 and who is a foodie and has cooked all his life, your article was the most comprehensive and well-researched thing I’ve ever read about my favorite food, pizza! My compliments! Just FYI, Brothers of New York Pizza (3450 Kildaire Farm Road, Cary) is one of my go-to places for a really good NYC-style pie.” Michael E. Tigar believes our history of pizza, which we dated to the early eighteenth century in Napoli, didn’t go back far enough. “Your article on pizza was a gem,” Tigar writes. “However, the history of pizza goes back farther than your sources suggest. Since the first century of the common era, France has had pissaladière, a yeast dough with anchovies and onions and sometimes cheese, plus since the 1500s also with tomatoes.” Emily, meanwhile, wonders why the Triangle’s best pizza has to be its priciest: “You are right— it’s important to look not just at what we might consider objectively ‘good’ pizza, but rather the way pizza exists in the ecosystem of the Triangle at large, how the heavy Northeast influence has shaped the pizza culture into the unique identity that I believe the Triangle is growing into. “Though I’m sure this was not intentional, I would like to point out a correlation in your pizza ratings. The two highest-rated pizza joint—Pizzeria Mercato and Pizzeria Del Toro—each have an average cost of around $15 per pizza. I’m sure you and I can both agree that this narrows the scope of potential people who can experience the best pizza. On the other end of this spectrum, the worst-rated places, Pizza Times and Benny Capitale’s, have an average cost of around $3, depending on topping amounts. “The only thing I can conclude from this is that good pizza in the Triangle isn’t accessible to the masses. And isn’t that part of what makes pizza delicious? The local pizza joints I look back on fondly in my memories democratized the community, bringing people together and giving everyone a chance to experience something good.” Want to see your name in bold? Email us at backtalk@indyweek.com, comment at indyweek.com or our Facebook page, or hit us up on Twitter: @indyweek.

EAST RALEIGH IS WORTH MORE TO THE CITY THAN THE BLACK LIVES ON IT BY COURTNEY NAPIER COURTNEY NAPIER is a Raleigh native, community activist, and co-host of the podcast Mothering on the Margins. NEXT WEEK: BARRY SAUNDERS, a former News & Observer columnist.

he last Black residents of South Park are weary. Black folks have been fighting to survive in Raleigh since emancipation, but especially since the city tried to extend Western Boulevard through this historically Black neighborhood in the seventies. And though displacement has harmed South Park economically, it’s the city’s success in all but erasing the significance of East Raleigh residents from its common history that has worn down its spirit. Go downtown and try to find information on display about the significance of Hargett Street and Moore Square to Raleigh’s Black community. Look at the sad state of the Top Green Center, where the city has declined for years to fund an archive room to showcase priceless artifacts of its Black history; or the longdelayed restoration of Chavis Park—in early planning meetings in the 2000s, city staffers didn’t even know Chavis had a children’s train before desegregation until community leader Lonnette Williams showed them old photographs—which has languished even as the city restored Pullen Park, just down the road, and even after city voters approved a parks bond in 2014 that was supposed to help. Though South Park residents have always had a vision for themselves, the city has rarely accepted it, at least without pushback. City officials have often seemed indifferent to or put off by the neighborhood’s demands, and the community’s leaders have been shut out of the most important committees and meetings in City Hall. The residents of East Raleigh have brought businesses, institutions, and

beauty to their home city and beyond, but their success has never really been part of Raleigh’s long-term plan. Raleigh, after all, wasn’t built for free Black people. As the city enters another election season, displacement is a fact with which we must reckon. When measuring the impact of our zoning laws, business regulations, and community overlay districts, we should look at why these policies exist in the first place. “The system isn’t broken,” a friend and real estate agent told me recently. “It’s working exactly as it was designed to.” Black neighborhoods like South Park are classic cases of city neglect. They’ve been passed over for enrichment opportunities, their parks and schools decimated, and residents have been ignored when they reported negligent landlords. And while there was no redlining in Raleigh (per se), the city found ways to concentrate its nonwhite, non-wealthy citizens—e.g., by locating the segregated Black schools near a quarry and a landfill and declaring that Black students wouldn’t be bussed elsewhere. Until the late sixties, many Black residents were denied access to mortgages. Investors bought single-family homes in Black neighborhoods and split them into multiple units to make more money. By the nineties, these neighborhoods were among the only places in town that would accept Section 8 vouchers or rent to people with poor credit or who had been previously jailed. Then, with downtown resurgent, the city’s developer friends swooped in, buying properties from investors and

struggling elderly homeowners. Loaded with cash and power, they began harassing the remaining residents with letters disguised as bills to induce them to sell on the cheap, so their houses could be flipped. The residents have no voice, not even support from the ones who promised to help. NIMBYs and YIMBYs alike are both focused on the privileged class and disregard the most affected residents. And though the city claims to want to “revitalize” what, frankly, it ruined in the first place, its plans often read like a thinly veiled land grab. Raleigh’s idea of revitalization has more to do with increasing tax revenue, by allowing things like guest houses and breweries, then increasing housing stock for under-resourced citizens. The land is worth more to them than the Black lives on it. The residents of South Park, however, haven’t quit fighting. Lonnette Williams continues to raise her voice when she sees the city disrespecting our elders’ legacy. Because, as she puts it, “Once I’m gone, it’s over. My generation is the last link to the past, and some of my neighbors have died waiting to witness the restoration of Chavis Park and the Top Green Center. If we have nothing to leave to teach you our heritage, it’ll be gone.” backtalk@indyweek.com INDY Voices—a rotating column featuring some of the Triangle’s most compelling writers and thinkers—is made possible by contributions to the INDY Press Club. Visit KeepItINDY.com for more information. INDYweek.com | 7.31.19 | 5

indynews

The Hidden Primary

EVERYTHING YOU NEED TO KNOW ABOUT THE MONEY RACE FOR RALEIGH’S CITY COUNCIL BY JEFFREY C. BILLMAN AND LEIGH TAUSS

ometimes numbers tell the story. But sometimes, that story’s not the whole story. On July 9, Raleigh mayoral candidate Caroline Sullivan announced that she’d raised more than $215,000 in the fundraising period that ended June 30, an insane haul indicative of a groundswell of support. The actual report, however, which we finally saw last week, told a more complicated tale. Turns out, about $35,000 of that sum came from a loan Sullivan made to herself. More important, Sullivan raised lots of money from out of state—from big Democratic players connected to her lobbyist husband. We don’t mention that to pick on Sullivan, but to highlight that the first batch of fundraising reports deserve closer scrutiny than they’re often given: who is supporting whom, which incumbents are struggling, which challengers are raking in big bucks. Strong fundraising doesn’t always mean a strong campaign, of course, and a lot will change over the next two months. But if you want a window into how the fight for Raleigh’s future is shaping up behind the scenes—the hidden primary—you’ve come to the right place.

THE FINE PRINT: The amount raised totals aggregated (meaning less than $50) and individual contributions for this election cycle; we subtracted loans from candidates, interest, reimbursements, and the like. We calculated the average donation by dividing the amount raised by the number of donors. Finance records do not list the names or addresses of aggregated donors, so we did not include them in our calculation of donors from Raleigh. Maxed-out donors are those who have given $5,400. Notable donors are prominent business people, philanthropists, politicians, and others we thought worthy of mention. “Inc.” denotes an incumbent.

MAYOR

Mary-Ann Baldwin

ABOUT: 62, VP of marketing for Holt Brothers Inc.,

Raleigh City Council member 2007–17.

RAISED: $124,905 | DONORS: 225 AVERAGE DONATION: $553 PERCENTAGE OF DONORS FROM RALEIGH: 87 CASH ON HAND: $122,213 | MAXED-OUT DONORS: None NOTABLE DONORS: Capitol Broadcasting CEO James

6 | 7.31.19 | INDYweek.com

Goodmon ($1,000); developer John Kane ($2,500); Holt Brothers VP Torry Holt ($2,500); realtor Kimberlie Meeker, daughter-in-law of former mayor Charles Meeker ($500). NOTES: Baldwin draws much of her support from the

downtown business world and the development sector.

Zainab Baloch

ABOUT: 28, numbers operation specialist at Even, 2017

candidate for Raleigh City Council. RAISED: $13,000 | DONORS: 38 AVERAGE DONATION: $342

PERCENTAGE OF DONORS FROM RALEIGH: 38 CASH ON HAND: $2,329 | MAXED-OUT DONORS: None NOTES: Baloch’s two largest contributions are both

in-kind—$4,200 for campaign design work and $5,100 for campaign consulting.

Charles Francis

ABOUT: 56, attorney and founder of North State Bank, 2017 candidate for Raleigh mayor. RAISED: $155,387 | DONORS: 277 AVERAGE DONATION: $561 PERCENTAGE OF DONORS FROM RALEIGH: 74 CASH ON HAND: $100,645 MAXED-OUT DONORS: Attorney George B. Autry Jr. NOTABLE DONORS: Former city manager Russell Allen ($500); Workplace Solutions CEO Dean Debnam ($5,200) and his wife, Debnam Property Management manager Sesha Debnam ($5,200); Torry Holt ($2,500); John Kane ($2,500); Indiana Pacers head coach Nathaniel McMillan $5,200); retired News & Observer publisher Orage Quarles III ($250). NOTES: Francis raised about $425,000 in his bid to oust

Nancy McFarlane in 2017, but that money never translated into a cogent message or enough support to win.

George Knott

ABOUT: 42, musician.

Knott has indicated to the Wake County Board of Elections that he does not intend to raise or spend more than $1,000.

Caroline Sullivan

ABOUT: 53, senior adviser for the N.C. Business

Committee for Education, Wake County commissioner 2014–16. RAISED: $179,547 | DONORS: 450 AVERAGE DONATION: $399 PERCENTAGE OF DONORS FROM RALEIGH: 49 CASH ON HAND: $180,504 MAXED-OUT DONORS: Fairco Inc. president Salomon Cohen; Health Decision CRO board member Stephen Decherney; developer Lattie Floyd Jr.; former Virginia governor Terry McAuliffe; Schnider Group executive administrator Lois Schnider and CEO Stuart Schnider.

NOTABLE DONORS: Wake Stone executives Samuel and Theodore Bratton ($500 each); former N.C. congressman Erskine Bowles ($500); former U.S. House Majority Leader Dick Gephardt ($500); James Goodmon ($1,000); state representative Verla Insko ($250); John Kane ($2,500); Florida attorney John Morgan ($1,000).

Andrews ($3,500); state representative Cynthia Ball ($500); former state treasurer Janet Cowell ($250); Wake County school board member Christine Kushner ($250); Umstead Coalition chairwoman Jean Spooner ($100); former mayor and developer Smedes York ($500).

of it from out of state, drawing on the strength of her lobbyisthusband’s connections. Richard Sullivan was one of Hillary Clinton’s top bundlers in the 2016 election.

ABOUT: 37, development director for the N.C.

NOTES: Caroline Sullivan has raised a lot of money—and a lot

Justin Sutton

ABOUT: 30, attorney.

Sutton filed to run for mayor in July, after the June 30 cutoff for campaign finance filings.

CITY COUNCIL AT-LARGE

James Bledsoe

ABOUT: 33, IT technician for N.C. Department of

Public Safety. Bledsoe’s second-quarter campaign finance filings were not available as of July 29.

Jonathan Melton

ABOUT: 33, attorney. RAISED: $55,806 | DONORS: 236 AVERAGE DONATION: $236 | CASH ON HAND: $31,474 MAXED-OUT DONORS: Contractor John Cooper;

Nicole Stewart (inc.)

Conservation Network, Raleigh City Council member 2017–present. RAISED: $66,295 | DONORS: 327 AVERAGE DONATION: $203 | CASH ON HAND: $53,912 MAXED-OUT DONORS: James Goodmon. NOTABLE DONORS: State representatives Sydney Batch ($100), Chaz Beasley ($100), Grier Martin ($250), and state senator Terry Van Duyn ($250); Eric Braun ($2,250); Sig Hutchinson ($250); Mayor Nancy McFarlane ($3,500); Charles Meeker ($2,000); former U.S. Senate candidate Deborah K. Ross ($250); Citrix executive Nate Spilker ($1,000); Caroline Sullivan ($100). NOTES: Raleigh’s council has two at-large seats, so the top-

two vote-getters will prevail. If two candidates do not reach 25 percent of the vote in October, the third-place candidate may call for a runoff.

CITY COUNCIL, DISTRICT A

attorney Stephanie Jenkins.

Joshua Bradley

($500 each); attorney and former planning commissioner Eric Braun ($750); Wake County Commissioner Sig Hutchinson ($250); John Kane ($1,000); former mayor Charles Meeker ($250); Brewery Bhavana co-owners Vansana and Vanvisa Nolintha (in-kind, $3,500 and $4,500, respectively); Centro owner Angela Salamanca (in-kind, $4,971).

Bradley has indicated to the Wake County Board of Elections that he does not intend to raise or spend more than $1,000.

NOTABLE DONORS: Samuel and Theodore Bratton

Portia Rochelle

ABOUT: 66, retired state employee. RAISED: $378 | DONORS: 1 (self ) AVERAGE DONATION: $378 | CASH ON HAND: $264

Carlie Allison Spencer

ABOUT: 24, law student. Spencer announced her campaign in July.

Russ Stephenson (inc.)

ABOUT: 63, architect, Raleigh City Council

member 2005–present.

RAISED: $50,291 | DONORS: 95 AVERAGE DONATION: $529 | CASH ON HAND: $41,217 MAXED-OUT DONORS: Dean and Sesha Debnam;

James Goodmon. NOTABLE DONORS: Dominion Realty CEO Alexander

ABOUT: 45, hotel accountant.

Patrick Buffkin

ABOUT: 36, staff attorney with the N.C. Utilities

Commission, member of the Raleigh Parks, Recreation, and Greenways Advisory Board. RAISED: $22,413 | DONORS: 148 AVERAGE DONATION: $151 | CASH ON HAND: $17,719 MAXED-OUT DONORS: None. NOTABLE DONORS: Eric Braun ($1,750); Wake County Commissioner Matt Calabria ($100); Charles Meeker ($100); David Meeker ($100).

Sam Hershey

ABOUT: 42, founder of Evim Solutions LLC. RAISED: $21,563 | DONORS: 24 AVERAGE DONATION: $898 | CASH ON HAND: $18,039 MAXED-OUT DONORS: Birgit and Loren Hershey. NOTABLE DONORS: Sam Hershey ($5,657). NOTES: Buffkin seems like the early favorite to replace the

retiring Dickie Thompson. More than three-quarters of Hershey’s funds came from people named Hershey.

CITY COUNCIL, DISTRICT B

David Cox (inc.)

ABOUT: 61, computer scientist with ABB, Raleigh

City Council member 2015–present.

RAISED: $18,810 | DONORS: 60 AVERAGE DONATION: $314 | CASH ON HAND: $17,401 MAXED-OUT DONORS: Dean and Sesha Debnam.

Brian Fitzsimmons

Kay Crowder (inc.)

ABOUT: 63, retired, Raleigh City Council

member 2014–present.

RAISED: $32,934 | DONORS: 106 AVERAGE DONATION: $310 | CASH ON HAND: $65,206 MAXED-OUT DONORS: James Goodmon. NOTABLE DONORS: Wake Citizens Advisory Council

co-chairperson Donna Bailey ($500); Janet Cowell ($100); John Kane ($2,500); Smedes York ($100).

ABOUT: 36, project manager of AssuredPartners,

Saige Martin

NOTES: More than half of Cox’s money comes from one

Bancorp CEO Richard Moore; Eleanor Crook Foundation director William Moore. NOTABLE DONORS: Eric Braun ($1,750); Texas retiree Eleanor Crook ($5,000); Sig Hutchinson ($250); Ruby Deluxe owner Timothy Lemuel ($100); Angela Salamanca ($500); Raleigh Denim co-founder Sarah Yarborough ($100).

former chairman of the Wake County Democratic Party, former member of the city’s Human Relations Committee. RAISED: $25,820 | DONORS: 142 AVERAGE DONATION: $182 | CASH ON HAND: $19,115 MAXED-OUT DONORS: None NOTABLE DONORS: Eric Braun ($2,750); state representative Darren Jackson ($250); Smedes York ($1,250). source—the Debnams.

CITY COUNCIL, DISTRICT C

April Parker

ABOUT: 25, policy and development coordinator for

Conservatives for Criminal Justice Reform.

RAISED: $53 | DONORS: 3 AVERAGE DONATION: $18 | CASH ON HAND: $38

member of the city’s Human Relations Committee, 2017 candidate for Raleigh City Council. RAISED: $3,290 | DONORS: 4 AVERAGE DONATION: $802 | CASH ON HAND: $1,040 MAXED-OUT DONORS: None

NOTES: Crowder rolled over significant coin from 2017, when she effectively ran unopposed. But Martin, whose father-in-law is a former state treasurer-turned-bankexecutive, should have all the funds he needs to compete.

Corey Branch (inc.)

CITY COUNCIL, DISTRICT E

for AT&T, Raleigh City Council member 2015–present. Branch’s second-quarter campaign finance filings were not available as of July 29.

David Knight

ABOUT: 41, associate director of technology

Wanda Hunter

ABOUT: 39, finance manager for Blueprint North Carolina. RAISED: 400 | DONORS: 1 (self ) AVERAGE DONATION: $400 | CASH ON HAND: $379

Ricky Scott

ABOUT: 58, teaching consultant, chairman of the

Mayor’s Committee for Persons with Disabilities, former member of the city’s Human Relations Committee. RAISED: $90 | DONORS: 2 AVERAGE DONATION: $45 | CASH ON HAND: $44 NOTES: Branch narrowly upset council member Eugene

Weeks in 2015, so anything’s possible. But Branch losing this year strikes us as unlikely.

CITY COUNCIL, DISTRICT D

Brittany Bryan

ABOUT: 38, regional manager for EBSCO. RAISED: $17,672 | DONORS: 66 AVERAGE DONATION: $268 | CASH ON HAND: $16,686 MAXED-OUT DONORS: Retired health administrator

Susan Yaggy.

NOTABLE DONORS: Attorney Andrew Epstein; Isaac Hunter’s Hospitality co-owner Zack Medford ($500).

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

ABOUT: 28, fund director for Open Road Alliance. RAISED: $55,724 | DONORS: 157 AVERAGE DONATION: $355 | CASH ON HAND: $34,795 MAXED-OUT DONORS: Writer Noel Moore; First

Shelia Alamin-Khashoggi

ABOUT: 56, owner of Beary Special Daycare, former

Burritos-Tacos-Nachos-Housemade Salsa-Margaritas!

ABOUT: 51, owner of Knight Consulting, former member of the Raleigh Water Conservation Task Force, former member of the Raleigh Parks, Recreation, and Greenway Advisory Board. RAISED: $68,656 | DONORS: 122 AVERAGE DONATION: $563 | CASH ON HAND: $66,682 MAXED-OUT DONORS: Eric Braun; Plexus Capital investment banker Molly Painter; Trail Creek Investments investors Hamilton Sloan and Temple Sloan; retiree Hamilton Sloan and homemaker Ann Sloan. NOTABLE DONORS: John Kane ($2,500); Sig Hutchinson ($250); Charles Meeker ($250); David Meeker ($250).

The Friends of the Durham Library’s Next Big Book Sale Only at Books Among Friends inside Northgate Mall, 1058 W. Club Blvd. Suite 252 Sat., Aug. 3: 10 a.m. – 12 noon, Members Only*; 12 noon – 4 p.m., Open to the Public

To advertise afodlnc.org. pet for adoption, *Memberships foror sale atfeature the door and online at Sun., Aug. 4: 1 – 4 p.m., $10 Bag Sale Open to the Public please contact advertising@indyweek.com

Stef Mendell (inc.)

ABOUT: 64, retired, Raleigh City Council

member 2017–present.

RAISED: $28,935 | DONORS: 118 AVERAGE DONATION: $245 | CASH ON HAND: $30,642 MAXED-OUT DONORS: Dean and Sesha Debnam. NOTABLE DONORS: Wake County Commissioners

Vickie Adamson and Jessica Holmes ($100 each); state representatives Cynthia Ball and Allison Dahle, and state senator Wiley Nickel ($250 each); Campbell Alliance co-founder Ann Campbell ($500).

NOTES: In 2017, Mendell edged out Bonner Gaylord, owing

largely to the fact that Gaylord didn’t take her seriously. (Gaylord had more than $100,000 in his campaign bank account on Election Day.) Now she’s the council’s most vulnerable incumbent.

jbillman@indyweek.com

To advertise or feature a pet for adoption, please contact advertising@indyweek.com INDYweek.com | 7.31.19 | 7

To advertise or feature a pet

news

EMILY GUENDELSBERGER DISCUSSES ON THE CLOCK 7 p.m. Aug. 1 | Flyleaf Books 752 Martin Luther King Jr. Boulevard, Chapel Hill 919-942-7373 | flyleafbooks.com

Rise of the Machines

THROUGH AN ON-THE-GROUND ACCOUNT, A NEW BOOK EXPLORES HOW AUTOMATION HAS HELPED CORPORATIONS GET RICH BY MAKING SHITTY JOBS SHITTIER BY JEFFREY C. BILLMAN

s it happens, Emily Guendelsberger and I had the same job, though not at the same time. We were both news editors at the Philadelphia City Paper. I left in 2010. She came on a few years later and stayed until the storied alt-weekly closed in October 2015. A few months before City Paper went belly-up, Guendelsberger set out to fact-check a claim being propagated by Uber that its drivers could make $90,000 a year, which she did by becoming an Uber driver and writing about her experience. She found, of course, that the $90,000 claim was wildly optimistic; she made about $9 or $10 an hour, as did most of the drivers she spoke with. The story got a lot of attention, including from book publishers, so when Guendelsberger found herself unemployed later that year, she decided to dive into a field that she found immensely fascinating: the intersection of technology and low-wage work, and how technology enables large corporations to control every facet of lowwage employees’ lives to extract profit at the expense of their humanity. The result is On the Clock: What Low-Wage Work Did to Me and How It Drives America Insane, published in July by Little, Brown and Company. At turns biting, darkly funny, and infuriating, On the Clock acts as a sort of spiritual successor to Barbara Ehrenreich’s seminal 2001 book Nickel and Dimed. In it, Guendelsberger tells the stories of three jobs she held: as an Amazon warehouse worker in Kentucky; as a call center employee for Convergys in Hickory, North Carolina; and at a McDonald’s in downtown San Francisco. “The point of the book,” she told me, “is not that these three are outliers. The system that these three companies are very successful within is really brutal on low-wage workers across the board. It’s just that some companies are better at programming stuff than others.” I misheard her: “You said they’re better at programming us?” I asked. “Programming stuff,” she corrected, then paused. “‘Programming us’ is not that far off, honestly.” Ahead of her appearance at Flyleaf Books on August 1— which includes a Q&A with former INDY staff writer and Splinter news editor Paul Blest—I spoke with Guendelsberger about what she learned from her experiences and what the future of low-wage work looks like. What follows is an abridged version of our conversation, edited for space and clarity. See a longer version at indyweek.com. 8 | 7.31.19 | INDYweek.com

INDY: How did you pick these three places to work at? Amazon’s been in the news a lot, and McDonald’s has been the subject of Fight for $15 campaigns. But I’m curious about the call center. EMILY GUENDELSBERGER: Call centers, even though they are sort of the archetype of jobs that go overseas, there still are just tons of call center jobs here. Frequently, smaller industrial towns will try to recruit them to make up for lost factory jobs. North Carolina did in the furniture sector out west. I spoke to, I believe it was the head of the Chamber of Commerce, and that was something that they were very happy to get, and that was considered a pretty OK job. Except if you knew anybody that had worked there, the whole [job] orientation, it seemed to be trying to put our minds at ease about whatever horrible stuff we’d heard

about the company. Because, you know, in a small town, you probably know somebody who has worked there, and people really did not like that place. In the introduction, you set up this interesting idea that we’ve been in an economic recovery for nine or ten years now, and there’s a lot of talk about how well the economy is doing by top-level metrics—GDP and unemployment. But there seems to be this disconnect between what those numbers are saying and what a lot of the people who are filling those jobs actually experience. When you see those numbers, what goes through your mind? That we need less simplistic ways of measuring how well the country as a whole is doing. Because, I think, either 90 or 95 percent of the jobs in the post-recession recov-

ery were not jobs like you would generally think of. They were contractor jobs. They were like temp jobs, part-time work. The recession, it’s as if it wiped out a whole bunch of jobs that were the older-school type of jobs with benefits, reasonable working hours, dependable salaries, that sort of thing. And then those jobs were replaced by more precarious jobs where you can’t really plan ahead for anything because you don’t get your schedule until, like, the day or two before your schedule starts, which makes it really difficult to arrange for childcare or doctor appointments, or, you know, literally anything. So, yeah, GDP is a really bad metric. GDP and unemployment are not good metrics for how well our jobs are doing. All these jobs kind of suck. There were these conversations, especially around five or ten years ago, about the skills gap, which is just ridiculous crap. There’s a study that came out pretty recently about how companies are complaining about how they can’t find qualified people to fill positions, and these are the free-market type, like neoclassical economics guys. And yet they are not applying their own theories of economics to—what do I do if I can’t get people to work my crappy job? In neoclassical economics, if you are not able to get enough workers to staff your business, that means you either need to pay more or make it more pleasant to work at. But they instead seem to to be drawn to this [idea that] America got real stupid and lazy. One of the things I find most irritating about people who complain about things like the skills gap is that they don’t have any idea what it’s like now. They maybe have memories of having a crappy job in the seventies or in the eighties. It has gotten really, really different in the last ten or twenty years because of how technology is so integrated into everything workers do these days. And it can be used to measure and time everything you do. Tell me about that. I read that, in the McDonald's handbook, there's an assembly line that's timed down to the second from when a customer approaches the counter to when the order should be presented. How programed is this entire working experience? I worked in shit food jobs, too, but that was twenty years ago when I was a teenager, and we didn't have anything like that. The average fast-food worker’s age today is twenty-nine years old. So with McDonald’s, I didn’t really get into that much of the specific timing metrics, just because it was so fast-paced all the time. I was just on register, and one of the very difficult things, I

think, for retail and fast-food workers now is that under-staffing has become sort of a science, like all of these algorithms try to calculate exactly how many people are needed for any time of the day. And then they get scheduled by an algorithm around those busy hours, which means that (a), your hours are super strange and usually irregular, and (b), are usually staffed at exactly enough people to keep the line of customers from rioting. But nothing more than that, truly. When you are in the middle of a rush, you're working at maximum productivity, because you don’t want the line to turn on you. You're talking about automation, and that’s only moving in one direction, right? Do you have any sense of what’s going to be left for some of these folks when, say, Amazon is able to have a fully automated packing line? We’re in this weird brackish period between human work and machine work, where humans and algorithms and other things are in direct competition for jobs. Right now, human beings are so much better at a lot of things, such as visual recognition, fine motor control, pattern recognition, conversation, empathy, all of these things, but humans, from the very cold-hearted market point of view, are worse workers ’cause we’re human. And that means we’ve got to go to the bathroom and go pick up our kids from school. In order to be on top of machines, humans have to try to repress all our human inefficiencies, which is basically just everything that makes you different from a robot that has no life outside of work, doesn’t get bored, and doesn’t have to pee and, you know, will never call out sick. I don’t know if you saw that New Yorker article a couple of years ago about how all the Silicon Valley guys are building luxury apocalypse bunkers. Some of them are, but a lot of other ones, like even the libertarian types, are really interested in universal basic income, which should be antithetical to libertarianism. These people in Silicon Valley are valued because they see the future. If all of these people who are looking ahead are seeing either a population that has had at least half of their jobs automated away and pacifying them through some amount of basic income or hiding from them in bunkers, like, I definitely think that things are going to change a lot in the next ten or twenty years. We should not leave what this new society is going to look like to people like [Uber co-founder] Travis Kalanick and [Amazon CEO] Jeff Bezos. jbillman@indyweek.com INDYweek.com | 7.31.19 | 9

news

Bad Actors

A CELEBRATED HIGH SCHOOL DRAMA TEACHER SAYS THE DURHAM SCHOOL BOARD FORCED HIM TO WORK OVERTIME WITHOUT PAY BY THOMASI MCDONALD

ast fall’s gala for the premiere of the musical The Color Purple was a landmark night for Hillside High School’s lauded theater program. Danny Glover and Margaret Avery, stars of the iconic 1985 film of the same name, were on hand. So was Donna “Kokumo” Buie, a Hillside grad who had a memorable scene toward the end of that movie, as well as Kevin Wilson Jr., another Hillside alumnus whose short film had just been nominated for an Oscar. Program director Wendell Tabb’s thirtytwo-year tenure has produced all kinds of success stories: graduates on TV and offBroadway, students gracing stages all over the world, and more than a hundred awards from the state theater conference. But in 2017, Tabb filed a federal lawsuit against Durham Public Schools, alleging racial discrimination and retaliation. Over more than a decade, he says, he’s been cheated out of tens of thousands of dollars in unpaid wages. This wasn’t merely the result of difficult school-funding choices, his lawsuit insists. Tabb says he was subjected to payback after he sued the school board in 2006 over the mistreatment of his son, who has cerebral palsy. At the crux of Tabb’s lawsuit—which is headed to mediation on August 15—is the allegation that, in addition to serving as director of Hillside’s drama department, the soft-spoken, always impeccably dressed Tabb also functioned as an unofficial, unpaid technical director, with a workload that included hanging lights, creating sound designs, and building sets. The white theater directors at Durham’s three other high schools—Riverside, Jordan, and Durham School of the Arts— have all had technical directors since the 2005–06 school year, the lawsuit alleges. The complaint says it’s no coincidence Hillside’s student population is about twice as black as the other schools: About 79 percent of Hillside students were African 10 | 7.31.19 | INDYweek.com

Wendell Tabb

PHOTO BY JADE WILSON

American during the 2016–17 school year, compared to about 41 percent at Jordan, 44 percent at Riverside, and 36 percent at DSA, a magnet school. "Despite the success of the Hillside High School Drama Program,” Tabb’s complaint says, “[the school board has] failed to provide Hillside High School with the same level of staffing and funding that it provides at comparable drama programs in high schools that are not predominantly black.” “What Wendell is saying is, ‘Look, you supplied technical directors to Riverside, DSA, and Jordan,’” says Stewart Fisher, Tabb’s attorney. “‘My program is as good, if not better than those programs. Why aren’t you giving me one?’” The complaint also alleges that Tabb has been required “as a condition of his continuing employment” by Hillside administrators and DPS officials to manage the school’s performing arts auditorium— scheduling events and maintaining and operating lighting and sound systems. The complaint lists ninety-two events between

2014 and 2017, including new student orientations, quiz bowls, leadership summits, science fairs, senior pictures, yearbook pictures, and banquets, for which Tabb acted as manager. “Despite repeated requests,” the complaint says, “he has not been paid for this work.” DPS’s white theater directors, on the other hand, either don’t do this extra work or are compensated for it, the lawsuit alleges. According to the complaint, Tabb began bringing up the issue of supplemental pay as far back as 1999, and since 2004 has contacted DPS officials and members of the Board of Education about it. In the summer of 2011, he told administrators that he was “paying the price, mentally and physically,” for not having a theater director. School officials responded that Hillside’s principal made that decision—but Hillside’s principal told Tabb he’d lobbied DPS for the theater director, the complaint says. Over the next several years, the lawsuit says, Tabb pleaded with school officials for a technical assistant and additional com-

pensation, but his requests were ignored. Finally, on May 12, 2016, he filed a discrimination complaint with DPS. That October, DPS established new criteria for a performing arts supplement that increased Tabb’s pay but “still did not address the historical deficits,” according to his lawsuit. In the complaint, Tabb argues that at least part of the reason for his alleged mistreatment is that top DPS administrators have “retained a lingering resentment against” Tabb over a high-profile federal lawsuit he and his wife filed against the system in 2006, in which they alleged a special-needs therapist had assaulted their then-ten-year-old son by taping his mouth shut. The Tabbs settled that lawsuit in 2009 for $75,000. Colin Shive, a lawyer for DPS, declined to comment, saying the school board “speaks through its court filings.” In those filings, DPS denied that race played a role in its decision not to hire a technical director at Hillside or pay Tabb for his additional work, and argued that Tabb had failed to “sufficiently state a claim for race-based discrimination.” In February, U.S. District Court Judge William L. Osteen rejected parts of DPS’s motion to dismiss and allowed Tabb to proceed with his claim that the school board had discriminated against him by failing to pay him for additional work for which it had compensated white theater directors. But Osteen dismissed other parts of Tabb’s complaint, saying he hadn’t produced evidence of retaliation or that he’d been compelled to work as an unpaid technical director. (Osteen called this extra work a “laudable … independent decision … [Tabb] made for the benefit of his students.”) Fisher says he’s guardedly optimistic headed into potential settlement talks. “We would hope the school board recognizes he has not been treated fairly, and we can reach a resolution,” he says. tmcdonald@indyweek.com

soapboxer

Substance, Optics & Games HOW CAN DEMOCRATS CALL TRUMP AN EXISTENTIAL THREAT BUT NOT DO ANYTHING ABOUT IT? BY JEFFREY C. BILLMAN

y my count, Robert Mueller’s testimony before the House Judiciary and Intelligence committees last Wednesday produced six significant headlines. He confirmed that he had not exonerated President Trump. He said that Trump asked his staff to falsify records. He suggested there were “currently” FBI investigations into whether people in Trump’s orbit were compromised. He agreed that Trump’s written answers to his questions were not “always truthful.” He admitted (more or less) that Trump had met the three elements of obstruction of justice. And, though he tried to walk it back, he let slip that, had Department of Justice policy not prohibited him from doing so, he would have indicted Donald Trump. But this being Washington, those six headlines were muddled in the kind of second-rate political theater only Congress can deliver: backbenchers desperate for a moment in the spotlight; Democrats eager for the kill; Republicans slobbering for the president’s affection; and, most significantly, a halting, underwhelming, and reluctant star witness. The Beltway media mainly judged it on those terms—the spectacle. For a prime example of the genre, see NBC’s Chuck Todd, who offered this trenchant analysis on Twitter: “On substance, Democrats got what they wanted: that Mueller didn’t charge Pres. Trump because of the [DOJ’s Office of Legal Counsel] guidance, that he could be indicted after he leaves office, among other things. But on optics, this was a disaster.” It says a lot about this moment—about the failures of the media, about the perils of polarization, about the frailty of our democratic norms—that a special counsel could tell Congress under oath that the president had committed crimes, and, because of the seventy-four-year-old’s lack of verve, this is considered a win for the president.

But it also speaks to how thoroughly Democrats have botched this whole affair. This spectacle, after all, was unnecessary. Mueller had already said what he needed to say. He’d laid out a report—448 pages—that all but begged Congress to do what he could not: hold Donald Trump accountable. I wrote after the Mueller report became public that House Democrats should begin impeachment hearings even though there was no chance the Senate would convict Trump and even though such a course could prove politically treacherous. It was, I argued, their constitutional obligation. They’ve obviously not done so. Speaker Nancy Pelosi—though she talks of “crimes that were committed against our Constitution” and Trump’s “existential threat to our democracy”—wants to go slow, waiting until they have the “strongest possible hand.” She’s deemed impeachment too risky, especially for her caucus’s freshmen, many of whom come from moderate suburban districts. She’s also worried that voters don’t understand how impeachment works, and that the base will ultimately be disappointed when the Senate shrugs aside the House’s indictment and Trump declares vindication. These aren’t unreasonable arguments. But they miss the point. It’s the same point missed by those who caution against focusing on Trump’s racism. Talking about his attacks on U.S. Representative Ilhan Omar, or his border concentration camps, or his embrace of white nationalists, they say, could detract from “kitchen table” issues that matter to voters: health care, the environment, education, jobs. To the degree it matters, Democrats should, of course, offer an agenda. But the dirty secret of American elections is that big policy proposals don’t matter all that much. In our polarized electorate, people are more motivated to vote against the

other side than for their own. The 2018 blue wave, for instance, didn’t happen because suburbanites fell in love with Democrats’ plans; rather, they were fed up with Trump’s antics, pissed off that the GOP tried to gut the Affordable Care Act, and wanted some adult supervision in Washington. Another thing: If you’re closely attuned to policy decisions, you probably see an administration that stumbles between dangerously inept and actively malevolent on most issues. If you’re not, however—most people aren’t—you see an economy doing pretty well. And for any other president, absent a recession in the next year, that would probably be enough to win reelection. But Donald Trump isn’t any other president. He’s not a normal president. And treating him like one could prove self-defeating. Consider this: On the one hand, Democrats are telling Americans that Trump is, in Pelosi’s words, an “existential threat to our democracy”: a corrupt, racist liar who has obstructed justice, violated campaign finance laws, welcomed foreign interference into elections, is defying congressional subpoenas, and might be a sexual predator. On the other hand, they’re not going to do anything about it—at least not yet. Eventually, perhaps. How does that not signal that this is all a game? This is the worst kind of mixed messaging, the kind that muddies any sense of moral clarity. And it’s the kind that could give Trump a second term. Of course, Donald Trump shouldn’t be impeached because it’s good politics. Donald Trump should be impeached because he is uniquely unfit to be president, because he’s a criminal, and because impeaching him is the right thing to do. If Trump truly poses a threat to our democracy, should we be talking about anything else? jbillman@indyweek.com

GLOSSY S N O I T A C I L B PU nk

Dri & t a E

FINDE R 20 18 –2

food Guide to le ltimate DY’s U in the Triang The IN

k and drin

T he IN DY's FR to all EE GUIDE things Tr iang le

Returning to full siz e this year! EAT.

01 9

D RI N K

SH O P.

PL AY.

r Promote you business s le’ in the Triangssy premier glo s! magazine Contact week.com y d in @ g in is advert

2 7 9 1 6 8 2 9 91

publication: till month of e du t en ym R 10/23 *No pa 4/24 - FI N D E Eat & Drink INDYweek.com | 7.31.19 | 11

WHEN THE MALL WAS WA S KING A local photographer’s lost images take us on a nostalgia trip to an era of short shorts, big hair, and bigger suburban commerce STORY BY MICHAEL VENUTOLO-MANTOVANI PHOTOS FROM MICHAEL GALINSKY’S THE DECLINE OF MALL CIVILIZATION 12 | 7.31.19 | INDYweek.com

T H E Y ’ R E A T T H E B O T T O M O F T H E E S C A L A T O R , faces obscured. They could be anyone—your grandparents, perhaps. They don’t have shopping bags. Perhaps they’ve just arrived, or maybe they’ve come for lunch at the food court … no. That’s not it. Look at the clothes: bold blocked pastels, light pinks, white pants, sneakers. They’re mall walkers.

f the unmistakable style doesn’t give the era away, the film stock’s grain does. We’re looking into the past, into the heart of a time and place that is all but gone: the American shopping mall, monolithic and, in the late eighties, ubiquitous. This is one of the most striking images in local photographer Michael Galinsky’s forthcoming photo book, The Decline of Mall Civilization, for which he’s raising funds on

Kickstarter to publish in August. (He’s surpassed his goal by nearly $30,000.) The composition is near-perfect, with the escalator’s lines and the floor’s tiles giving the image a distinct sense of movement. But it wasn’t composition Galinsky had in mind. Rather, it was simple point-and-shoot documentation, capturing a moment that would soon be lost to memory. In 1989, Galinsky—a native of Chapel Hill,

best known for images published in 2013 he took, while in high school, of a 1987 KKK march down Franklin Street—was a sophomore at New York University. Fascinated by the work of photographers William Eggleston and Robert Frank, and inspired by the anthropology and sociology he was studying in college, Galinsky wanted to examine the mall as a “privatized public square.” He began snapping photos at malls on Long Island. Encouraged by a professor to continue his work that summer, Galinsky and a friend packed up his friend’s dented Toyota hatchback and struck out to document malls across America. “I had recently read On The Road,” Galinsky says. “I had this romantic notion of what [the trip] could be. We’d meet interesting people and have wild adventures. This did not happen.” Hamstrung by what Galinsky describes as an inherent shyness and a lack of money, the duo plodded around the country for over a month, documenting fifteen malls from New York to Seattle, while crashing with friends, family, and sometimes in the back of the Toyota. Upon his return to New York, Galinsky grew discouraged by the art world’s disinterest in point-and-shoot street photog-

FINDER INDY'S GUIDE TO THE TRIANGLE • ON STANDS OCTOBER 23 • RESERVE BY SEPTEMBER 16 THE INDY’S EDITORIAL GUIDE ON WHERE TO EAT - WHERE TO DRINK - WHERE TO SHOP - WHAT TO DO PLUS A COMPLETE GUIDE TO CULTURE AND THE BASICS OF LIVING IN THE TRIANGLE

FULL SIZE MAGAZINE

30,000 COPIES DISTRIBUTED THROUGHOUT THE TRIANGLE 3 DISTRICTS • 18 NEIGHBORHOODS • HUNDREDS OF RECOMMENDATIONS INDYweek.com | 7.31.19 | 13

raphy. He filed the mall photos away and focused on filmmaking and New York’s thriving indie rock scene. In the decades since, Galinsky, along with his wife and creative partner, Suki Hawley, became an acclaimed independent filmmaker—from his debut, Half-Cocked, a black-and-white examination of Louisville’s nascent indie-rock scene, to the couple’s lauded Battle For Brooklyn. But he’s remained an avid photographer, documenting the flora and fauna of Chapel Hill’s verdant Merritt’s Pasture and sharing his trove of pictures of legendary indie-rockers. Twenty-one years after that cross-country journey, in 2010, Galinsky came upon the slides of those images while scanning his personal archives. He realized that he 14 | 7.31.19 | INDYweek.com

had documents of a disappearing moment. So he set up a Kickstarter campaign to fund the release of his first book of images, Malls Across America, in 2013. That run of fifteen hundred books sold out before Galinsky had a chance to solicit stores for copies. The Decline of Mall Civilization picks up where Malls Across America left off, offering yet another window into what was the cultural and civic hub of much of the U.S. And while both books examine the culture of the shopping mall at the height of its popularity, Decline approaches the images as companions to one another, rather than the two-page, single-image spreads of Malls Across America. “We spent a lot of time and effort pairing the images into diptychs that play off each

other in interesting ways,” Galinsky says. The fashions are amusing, the hairstyles embarrassing, the neon signage and retrofuturistic fonts almost a joke. But the photos are intimate portraits of a time when commerce was communal—and when you could still smoke inside. A Y O U N G M A N is trying to enjoy lunch break in a hurry, devouring his calzone at the food court; a mullethaired duo attempts to beat the high score on the arcade classic Golden Axe; two children stare longingly at a toy store; a woman lifts her young child from his stroller—a child who would now be in his early thirties, maybe with kids of his own.

t’s no coincidence that collective nostalgia trips happen in two-to-threedecade cycles, as it’s then that the shapers of our cultural capital—our filmmakers, fashion designers, and musicians—are reaching the peak of their creative careers. For those who grew up in the fifties, there was American Graffiti; for children of the sixties, Wonder Years; the seventies, Dazed and Confused (and That ‘70s Show). In the same way, the Durham native Duffer brothers’ Stranger Things reignited our curiosity in the styles, sounds, and looks (and New Coke) of the eighties. And while traces of eighties nostalgia can be found in fashion (hello, big hair and shoulder pads) and music (popular and

otherwise), nowhere is it more prominent than on our television screens. “San Junipero,” the most lauded episode of post-technology horror show Black Mirror, is drenched in the style of the Me Generation; Daniel LaRusso and Johnny Lawrence are once again karate-kicking all over Reseda in Cobra Kai; Alison Brie and Marc Maron take to the ring in the ladies’ wrestling gem GLOW; HBO’s masterful, haunting series Chernobyl examines the 1986 nuclear disaster that killed untold thousands (and nearly killed millions more). And then there’s Stranger Things, which first took us to the Upside Down in 2017. A central character of the Netflix show’s third season is the Starcourt Mall, which the producers built inside a derelict mall in an Atlanta suburb. In the show, set in summer 1985, the shiny, new mall is a beacon of growth for the fictional Hawkins, Indiana, and parallels its protagonists’ emotional evolution. Striking fear in the hearts of Hawkins’s mom-and-pops, the Starcourt Mall is a picture-perfect rendering of the classic malls of the eighties. This was the time when malls were king—and it makes you wonder from which local mall Matt and Ross Duffer drew inspiration: The long-shuttered South Square Mall, a cornerstone of Durham

indyweek.com

Your week. Every Wednesday. News • Music • Arts • Food

INDYweek.com | 7.31.19 | 15

life from 1975 to 2002, when it was overwhelmed by the then-new Streets at Southpoint. Or maybe the Northgate Mall, which just moved out of bankruptcy but still faces an uncertain future at the hands of its new investment-bank owners. Or perhaps Crabtree Valley Mall in Raleigh, which opened in 1972 and is today the largest enclosed mall in the Triangle, yet is still fighting for its very existence. (Mall officials recently unveiled a $290 million proposal for a thirty-floor mixed-use building that will replace a vacant Sears and, they hope, help the mall “evolve with the times.”) Or, more likely, it’s some amalgam of all of those—and other long-forgotten malls. The era of mall supremacy, the one Galinsky’s book documents, wasn’t longlived. Malls in America saw their boom begin in concert with the postwar generation’s migration to the suburbs and the rise of automobile culture. In 1956, an enclosed shopping center called Southdale opened in a Minneapolis suburb, the first mall. By 1960, there were more than forty-five hundred of them across the U.S. The boom peaked somewhere in the mid-nineties. By 2004, the U.S. had more than forty-seven thousand malls. The collapse came quick. Malls took their biggest hit from the Great Recession. Between 2007 and 2009, more than four hundred of the largest ones closed. By the time the economy regained steam, online shopping was ubiquitous, and the re-urbanization of America was underway, with young people returning to the cities their parents and grandparents had abandoned. The seemingly inescapable decline of what was once called the “New American Main Street” had fully taken hold. 16 | 7.31.19 | INDYweek.com

A MADONNA ACOLYTE, decked out in black lace and doused in Aqua Net, wanders through stacks of CDs and cassettes at the record store; three friends enjoy a cigarette on a mall bench; a woman snaps a photo of a car from the 1940s.

nlike Stranger Things, unlike Cobra Kai, and unlike “San Junipero,” The Decline of Mall Civilization exists as more than a paean to a bygone era. Despite its name, an homage to Penelope Spheeris’s landmark examination of Los Angeles’s early-eighties punk scene, Decline is a document detached from the haze of memory. Its subjects were real people, living real lives; its images are renderings of what life actually looked like in 1989. Maybe, somewhere in his subconscious, Galinsky knew then that someday these monoliths would go extinct. “I was twenty when I shot these,” Galinsky says. “My field of vision wasn’t that deep. But I was vaguely aware that they would be gone. I did understand the import of documenting something before it was gone.” He had no way of knowing what would come after them. But just as malls replaced the momand-pops across America, leaving oncebustling suburban hubs riddled with shuttered windows and empty sidewalks, now Amazon and eBay have rendered malls obsolete, monuments to an outmoded time when we shopped, ate, lingered, and smoked inside together. Which makes you wonder what nostalgia for the 2010s is going to look like twenty years from now. backtalk@indyweek.com

indyfood

Everything Zen

A MONTH AFTER WATTS GROCERY WENT BANKRUPT, AMY TORNQUIST TRIES TO TURN THE PAGE BY LENA GELLER

atts Grocery’s kitchen is empty, save for a lonely jar of cocktail onions forgotten in the back corner of the fridge. The bottles of wine and booze that once lined the mint-green shelves behind the bar are gone. Mixedmedia artwork by Watts co-owner Jeremy Kerman still decorates the walls, but the pieces displaying defunct Durham institutions—like the large portrait of hybrid vehicle startup Organic Transit, which filed for bankruptcy in June, and the whimsical depiction of Hummingbird Bakery, Watts’s sister-neighbor joint, which shut down in 2016—seem sinister, given that Watts itself closed a month ago in bankruptcy after twelve years on Broad Street. At first, Watts chef and co-owner Amy Tornquist—who is married to Kerman— didn’t want to talk about that. She was mourning the loss of Watts and distressed over the news coverage, which she says incited internet trolls. “There are all these people with this hidden rage,” Tornquist says. “I wish they would remeber that I’m a person, too.” A few weeks later, though, she seems at peace, less fixated on the backlash and channeling her energy into the future. “It’s not useful to regret,” she says. “You just have to keep shoveling and move forward.” Tornquist is wearing one of the limitededition t-shirts that beloved Ninth Street soda fountain and boutique Ox & Rabbit distributed on its last day of business in 2015, which feels apt: Ox & Rabbit’s owners closed to focus on their medical issues, and while Watts’s closure was brought on by financial difficulties, Tornquist says it was time to start a new chapter regardless. “Restaurants are great, but restaurants are for the young,” Tornquist says. “It’s a lot of heavy lifting, physically and otherwise.” Tornquist is only fifty-three, but she’s certainly put in a lifetime of restaurant work. While attending college at UNCChapel Hill, she became a chef-in-training

Amy Tornquist

PHOTO BY JADE WILSON

at Crook’s Corner, working as a protégé under the late Bill Neal. After graduating, Tornquist studied classic French cooking techniques at École de Cuisine La Varenne, a culinary school in Paris, and subsequently landed a job at the Michelin two-star restaurant Duquesnoy. But after three years in France, she got homesick. Tornquist has deep roots in North Carolina. Her family has inhabited the state for about three centuries. She was born at Watts Hospital, raised in Trinity Park, and educated in Durham schools. “I’m not sure it ever occurred to me to not come back,” Tornquist says. “I’m a family person, and my whole family lives here.”

After returning, Tornquist founded Sage & Swift Gourmet Catering with Kerman in 1993. She started serving food that emphasized local, seasonal ingredients and showcased her backgrounds in Southern and French cuisine, like fried okra with remoulade sauce and steamed haricots verts with bacon and spiced pecans. Though Watts and Hummingbird have come and gone, Sage & Swift endured, and Tornquist says she’s excited to devote her full attention to the catering company. “When you own a restaurant, you feel the burden every second of the day,” she says. “You worry about payroll, you worry about staff, you worry about liability, you worry

about the food. Catering isn’t as sexy, but it’s much more flexible, and I’m better at it.” The allure of a more flexible work schedule makes sense for Tornquist—her roundthe-clock stress from running Watts became aggravated in 2014, when she was forced to take a significant amount of time off due to illness, and worsened in 2016, when her mother died unexpectedly. “I’m an only child, and she was a single parent, so she shared a lot of my burdens,” Tornquist says. “Since she passed away, it’s just me.” Tornquist says she’s relieved that the restaurant-based pressure has lifted, but after a dozen years spent investing in the building, she’s not quite ready to part ways with it. So she and Kerman are transforming the Watts location into an event space called The Sage, which will soon be available to rent for business luncheons, cocktail parties, board meetings, holiday parties, and the like. (If a host wants their function catered, Sage & Swift is at their disposal.) In addition to hosting private events, The Sage will house fundraising dinners and monthly family-style meals, cooked by Tornquist and open to the public. The Sage’s first public event will be a “Chefs for Change” charity dinner on September 9; the dinner’s proceeds will benefit Families Moving Forward, a shelter serving families in Durham. Asked what she plans to cook, Tornquist seems at a loss for words, like there are too many possibilities running through her head. “Something late-summery,” she finally says. “Something with tomatoes, corn, probably butter beans.” Her face lights up. She’s landed on a dish: Tomatoes, corn, and butter beans are three key ingredients in Brunswick stew, like she used to make with her grandmother. “It isn’t particularly fancy, but it takes time and skill,” Tornquist says. “You have to be zen about it.” That, too, feels apt. food@indyweek.com INDYweek.com | 7.31.19 | 17

indymusic

CHRIS STAMEY

Friday, Aug. 2, 8 p.m., $12 Cat’s Cradle, Carrboro www.catscradle.com

Changing His Tune

A CHILDHOOD PIANO AND A WEALTH OF LOCAL SINGING TALENT LED CHRIS STAMEY DOWN THE PATH NOT TAKEN BY JIM ALLEN

played the repertoire of the day. But when I started playing in bands with my friends in high school, a bass guitar was a lot more practical: If you play bass, you always have a gig.

hris Stamey has spent four decades quietly cementing his legacy as a top-tier auteur of the indie-pop underground, both on his own and with bands like Sneakers and The dB’s. But around 2015, something shifted for him. “I had started to feel that the whole ‘three chords and the truth’ thing was a confining space, like [if ] literature followed only in Hemingway’s footsteps and Joyce had never existed,” Stamey says. Stamey’s response was to tap into the Tin Pan Alley influences of his childhood to craft his new double album, New Songs for the 20th Century, on which guest vocalists from jazz legend Nnenna Freelon to power-pop hero Marshall Crenshaw are accompanied by the likes of Bill Frisell, Nels Cline, and Stephen Anderson on Stamey-orchestrated pop/jazz tunes that take the template of Irving Berlin, Cole Porter, and the like as a starting point. We caught up with the Chapel Hill-based artist and producer for the backstory.

What made you decide to use other singers for these songs? Did you ever consider singing them yourself? Once I’d accumulated a small stack of scrawled notation in a pile next to the piano, I wanted to see what happened when, in an old-fashioned way, singers and players looked at the paper and made sounds out of it. Also, I wasn’t necessarily writing “confessionals” in my own voice. I was tempted to sing “It’s Been a While,” but gosh, Django [Haskins] sounds so great on it. I am now thinking about learning how to sing some of these, though. Honestly, they are a bit tricky at times, with some leaps and some notes that are not in the chords, and it’s been a relief to put them in the hands and throats of more accomplished vocalists.

INDY: Obviously, when you were absorbing the Great American Songbook in your youth, you were also listening to rock 'n' roll. How did you reconcile the two at that time? CHRIS STAMEY: I was skeptical of The Beatles at first, I remember that! “Beware of any enterprise that requires matching suits,” as the saying goes. I’m kidding, of course. Not really. Later I got to appreciate them a bit more. But the first radio songs I remember included those of Carole King, Burt Bacharach, Henry Mancini—some harmonically fertile material. Also, the ‘60s creative country of Roger Miller, Johnny Cash, Willie Nelson—what is “Crazy” but a Great American Songbook tune?

then. There were still, even in the very raw recordings, some meter changes and modulations that were kind of cool. The dB’s was more “anything goes,” as I remember it. I had a few tunes in the dB’s with richer changes, such as “She’s Not Worried” and “Espionage,” but that was more due to Peter Holsapple’s Pet Sounds influence, and looking back, I find his songs to be more consistently inventive on those two dB’s records I was on. I did write the song “Occasional Shivers” around that time, though—that was where this started up again.

How did your jazz/pop influences affect the way you went on to approach music as a young man, with Sneakers and The dB’s? Sneakers was all about The Kinks and Television; what came out was really like neither, but that was what was in the air

Some songs on the album could have fit comfortably into the mid-twentieth-century musical milieu, but others are obviously born of a more modern time. There are a few outliers on this record. With one of them, “I Am Yours,” I wanted

18 | 7.31.19 | INDYweek.com

Chris Stamey PHOTO BY DANIEL COSTON to go totally the other direction and write a song with only the same four chords as Max Martin uses on every hit song. So it’s there in contrast to the rest. I went back and forth on including it, but in the end, I thought it balanced the collection, and Millie [McGuire] sounds so great on it. “Dear Friend” is a bit outside the harmonic world of the rest; it’s more from the Carole King vocabulary. Regaining the family piano of your youth helped spark this album. How much had you composed at the keyboard before this? According to my mom, I told her at age five that I wanted to be a composer, based on a picture of one in a Childcraft Encyclopedia. And I started banging on the piano for many hours, trying to make the sounds I heard my dad make, as he

How did you choose vocalists? I started by writing new songs for a project with Kirsten Lambert, a Chapel Hill singer and family friend whose voice I’ve always loved. I knew Django, Brett [Harris], and Skylar’s [Gudasz] voices so well from the [tribute] concerts of the Big Star Third record, and their voices inspired some of the songs they sang. Nnenna Freelon is amazing. It was such a “wow” when she agreed to sing one. But I wasn’t looking for “musical character actors” like Mick Jagger, I was looking for folks who could really hit the notes with compelling tone each time, and also bring the lyrics to life. I’ve never heard Millie McGuire sing less than excellently; finding Faith Jones and Ariel Pocock was a great boon. Right now our area has a lot of outstanding singers; it wasn’t difficult. music@indyweek.com

music

BRIEF

NEW SONGS FOR THE 20TH CENTURY

AU G U ST

FR 2 COSMIC CHARLIE 8p



Omnivore Recordings; Jun. 28

Neither Chris Stamey's New Wave-era work with Sneakers and The dB's nor his subsequent solo career contain much that might lead his longtime fans to expect the stylistic detour of New Songs for the 20th Century. But as anybody who heeded his 2018 memoir, A Spy in the House of Loud, should know, Stamey's head has always held more musical info than the average rocker’s. And this double album is where he gets around to deploying it. Stamey's childhood in Winston-Salem was soundtracked by The Great American Songbook, though he eventually put the Gershwins and company on the back shelf to pursue a life in rock music. But when the piano that occupied his boyhood home returned to his possession, it inspired him to travel the path not taken. Having a solid grounding in the old-school mechanics of music, Stamey used that piano to write a batch of tunes paying homage to the great composers, replete with his own string-and-wind orchestrations. Switching things up even more, Stamey recruited a crew of guest singers to front the tunes, not to mention some world-class players to flesh things out. Sometimes, the results seem like they could have easily emanated from 1940s Tin Pan Alley, like when Ariel Pocock leans into the Billie Holiday inflections on the gently swinging “There's Not a Cloud in the Sky,” or when celebrated jazz vocalist Nnenna Freelon tucks into torch ballad “Occasional Shivers” (a ringer from Stamey's back catalog), aligning with its ghostly arrangement. But this isn't a fetishistic exercise in period references. Amid Bill Frisell and Nels Cline's pointillist guitars, "What Is This Music That I Hear" is jazzy and sophisticated but discernibly modern, with an adult-pop shimmer. And the melodic motion of "Life Is but a Dream" evokes Brian Wilson more than any pre-war songsmith. More than anything, Stamey's excursion may simply be about reminding us of the tools that are still available to songwriters if they know how to use them—as he clearly does. —Jim Allen

SA 8/3 • 8P

BENNY “THE BUTCHER”

W/ ADAM BOMB/CAPRI/CEEZ PESO & THE BUFFET BOYS

FR 9 STEPHEN MARLEY W/ DJ SHACIA PÄYNE & CONSTANCE BUBBLE 9p

SA 10 MOTHER’S FINEST 7p FR 16 WOODSTOCK AND BEYOND, FEATURING THE QUADRIVIUM PROJECT 7p 12TH PLANET 8p

SA 17 WE 21 BERES HAMMOND – NEVER ENDING

W/ HARMONY HOUSE SINGERS 7p

FR 23 JIVE MOTHER MARY

W/ BROTHER HAWK / BIGGINS / SIXTEEN PENNY 7:30p

SA 24 THE MAGNIFICENT DJ JAZZY JEFF 9:30p

FR 30 WAR WITHIN A BREATH SA 31

A TRIBUTE TO RAGE AGAINST THE MACHINE 8p METAL POLE MAYHEM 8p

CO M I N G S O O N

9/1 NIKE VS. ADIDAS PARTY

I LOVE THE 80’S / 90’S 9p

9/13 WILDER WOODS

LIVE IN CONCERT 7p

9/15 BRENT COBB AND THEM 7p 9/17 CLAUDIO SIMONETTI’S GOBLIN PERFORMING DEEP RED 7p

9/20 BLACK UHURU 8p 9/21 DAVID ALLAN COE 7p 9/27 DREW HOLCOMB & THE

NEIGHBORS W/ BIRDTALKER 6:30p

9/29 NOAH KAHAN 7p 10/3 WHITEY MORGAN

W/ ALEX WILLIAMS 7 pm

10/4 JIMMY HERRING AND THE 5 OF 7 7:30p

10/5 PERPETUAL GROOVE 8p 10/10 TRAOBA PRESENTS: THE 5TH ANNUAL NELSON MULLINS BATTLE OF THE BROKER BANDS! 4:45p 10/12 RUNAWAY GIN (TRIBUTE TO PHISH) W/ MOON WATER (WIDESPREAD PANIC TRIBUTE) 7p

10/19 THE DOBRE BROTHERS 11:30a 10/24 OBITUARY / ABBATH /

Your Week. Every Wednesday.

MIDNIGHT / DEVIL MASTER 6pm

10/25 RIPE W/ CASTLECOMER 8p 10/30 MARIBOU STATE: ALBUM LIVE TOUR 7p

11/2 ERIC GALES 7:30 pm 11/4 ALEJANDRO ARANDA IS 11/7 11/12

SCARYPOOLPARTY 7pm LIVE NATION PRESENTS

BIG K.R.I.T.

FROM THE SOUTH WITH LOVE 7pm LINCOLN THEATRE PRESENTS TIFFANY YOUNG – MAGNETIC MOON TOUR – ALL AGES SHOW 7pm

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

126 E. Cabarrus St.• 919-821-4111 www.lincolntheatre.com INDYweek.com | 7.31.19 | 19

music

Alone Together

NEW RECORDS BY AL RIGGS AND PLAYPLAY PLUMB PRIVATE AND PUBLIC SPHERES BY BRIAN HOWE

AL RIGGS: LAVENDER SCARE 

[Self-released; August 2]

RECYCLE THIS PAPER

20 | 7.31.19 | INDYweek.com

There are bedroompop auteurs that consistently make good and varied albums, and there are those that make a lot of albums. Then there’s Al Riggs. They occupy the rarer subset of bedroompop auteurs that do both. The Durham musician’s Bandcamp boasts nine albums since 2016, and their hit-to-miss ratio is Al Riggs PHOTO COURTESY OF THE ARTIST startlingly favorable. And while they have a certain elemental sparseness, these mostly aren’t songs of tossed-off simplicity; Riggs draws rich, complex melodies, themes, and timbres from poetically restricted means. Prior INDY favorite Hell House had roots in crepuscular folkrock, but Lavender Scare—one of Riggs’s best to date, which we premiered last week—goes full-on synth-pop, though it retains a quicksilver live feel, thanks to the use of MIDI-controlled virtual instruments. At various points, it has shades of rainy seventies singer-songwriters and aughties-mp3-blog ones, of Brian Wilson’s glazed churn and The Magnetic Fields’ moody bagatelles, of Xiu Xiu’s pounding electro-pop and Spacemen 3’s epic drift. On the coolly haunting opener, “Trauma Reversed,” Riggs’s lyrics glint in evocative fragments through gray clouds of reverb; the most prominent is the refrain, “You make a mountain of a man when you listen / When you break this house with your pride,” before the song dissolves into a beautiful silver starburst. This is a nod to the album’s maxim, “The first Pride was a riot,” a reminder of Stonewall radicalism in the commercialized queerness of Pride Month. The album’s title, too, carries a political charge, referring to the U.S. government’s McCarthy-era persecution of gay people. But Riggs diffuses those blaring alarms into the piquantly personal, soft-edged songwriting they’re known for. The organ-driven psychpop of “Blacklight” is accented with whispering clicks that grow into threshing blades, whipping between stereo channels. Standout “Moon and America, The Great Dance” has the most interesting palette, twisting Auto-Tune vocals through a hurdy-gurdy-like chord progression. I especially love the detailing on the beginning of “New Family Car,” the spontaneous vocal rhythm and claps that

slide into a glowering drone-rock chord. There’s fine sequencing in its high-contrast placement next to “Bloodmoon Satyrday,” a sustained-piano dream of pastoral country stretched between slow snares and fast hats, with horn tones pouring in like syrup. By the time the spring-wound arpeggios and low-slung vocal melody of “Dogs in Popular Songwriting” arrive, we’re engulfed in a misty, vivid world that feels beautifully alone, as if populated only by Riggs and the listener. It’s best entered via headphones, where each faint flutter and wry or cryptic observation stands revealed.

PLAYPLAY: INVOCATION 

[KnightWerk Records; July 26]

If you step on local dancefloors regularly, then you’ve no doubt encountered the fastpaced, high-energy, UK-rave-redolent music of PlayPlay, a Party Illegal mainstay who moved to New York last year but still considers Durham their second home. (Catch them at a Pinhook party August 24.) PlayPlay’s break- PlayPlay PHOTO COURTESY OF THE ARTIST beat-happy live vibe, which you might call progressively classic, is in full effect on their second EP, Invocation. A vivacious four-track snack, it suggests what nostalgia for nineties house, jungle, and hardcore (the techno kind, not punk) might feel like to future cyborgs, who can dance much faster than we can. The EP casts its gleeful spell with Bored Lord coproduction “Witchcraft,” where the filter-swept title gets an aerobic workout, dodging around the impact zone of a Godzilla-footed bass. Solo production “Beep Me” is a cold, steely touchtone hymn for the ghosts of pagers, while “Truromance” modulates to warmth, playful and French-twisted with gasps, giggles, and snakebite hats. All these effervescent energies ignite in “Protection,” with T5UMUT5UMU, where we outrun an apocalyptic wave of ring-mod shrieks and coiled arps before it goes full-on Blade Runner, dropping briefly into a dewy human register before rampaging back into the cyborg utopia with renewed force. Favoring clean lines and crisp transitions over studio shenanigans, Invocation is party-ready—as social as Riggs’s music is private, but just as personally distinct. bhowe@indyweek.com

indyscreen

SWORD OF TRUST 

Friday, Aug. 2, 2 p.m., $8–$10 The Carolina Theatre, Durham www.carolinatheatre.org

On Your Marc, Get Set, Go

YOU HAVE TWO CHANCES TO CATCH MARC MARON ON STAGE OR SCREEN THIS WEEK BY GLENN MCDONALD

In Sword of Trust, the very funny and surprisingly moving new film from director Lynn Shelton, Marc Maron is Mel, a pawnshop owner in Birmingham, Alabama, who stumbles into a strange moneymaking opportunity. When couple Cynthia and Mary (Jillian Bell and Michaela Sword of Trust PHOTO COURTESY OF THE FILMMAKERS Watkins) bring in principal actors build out their characan antique sword, a little Internet research ters’ backstories and quirks, and the movie reveals that the artifact has a story. According casually brushes against serious themes to an army of dimbulb conspiracy theorists, of addiction, motherhood, child abuse, and it’s one of several items that prove the Conquiet desperation. The film has deep symfederacy actually won the Civil War, and the pathy for these marginalized characters. rubes are willing to pay top dollar for it. The humor puts the tragedy into high-conMel, Cynthia, and Mary decide to join trast relief; the tragedy makes the jokes forces with internet-addled pawnshop funnier. It works like magic. assistant Nathaniel (Jon Bass) and descend Shelton also stitches in a fascinating subinto the weird, potentially violent world of textual thread beneath the laughs. Like a Deep South truthers. Things go sideways, number of recent films—including the new and then sideways again. One of the many Spider-Man—Sword of Trust deals obliquejoys of this film is that you truly have no ly with our current post-truth crisis, where idea what’s going to happen next. facts are dead and everyone can cultivate That’s on purpose. Shelton is known for her their own reality. This is most evident in collaborative, largely improvised filmmaking the conspiracy theory business but watch process. For each scene, the actors are given for the quieter moments, too. These talka “scriptment”—part script, part treatment— ative characters reveal themselves to one and encouraged to wing it. This results in an another by telling stories, patching togethoddly specific, wonderfully organic flow in all er memories into a narrative of their own of her films. (Her 2011 masterpiece, Your Sislives, as we all do. ter’s Sister, is in my personal all-time top ten.) “Here’s the problem with believing bullshit. Maron ups his game with a charismatIt’ll eventually erode away the real truth,” Mel ic performance that locks in perfectly with says. He’s talking about the Civil War fantaShelton’s directing style. The two have been sists, but could easily be talking about himcollaborating for years, on TV episodes and self, too. What do we do when the bullshit standup specials. Maron’s improvised monois our own? To bury a question like that in a logue halfway through the film is one of the story like this is evidence of Shelton’s oddball best screen performances in recent memory. genius. This is one of the best films of the year. Sword of Trust is a seriously funny movie, arts@indyweek.com but it’s also deeply empathetic. The four

stage

BRIEF

MARC MARON

Thursday, Aug. 1–Saturday, Aug. 3, 8 p.m. & 10 p.m. $30 Goodnights Comedy Club, Raleigh www.goodnightscomedy.com Actor, comic, and podcasting elder statesman Marc Maron is one of the most accomplished comedy artists of the last decade. His WTF podcast has elevated the celebrity interview to a kind of conversational art form. Maron’s archives, now at 1,040 episodes and counting, include indepth conversations with some of the biggest names in comedy (check out the Chris Rock episode); music (definitely check out the Keith Richards episode), and politics (OMG, the Barack Obama episode). Maron has also cultivated an impressive new career as an actor. His performance in Sword of Trust isn’t just the best work he’s ever done, it’s among the best work anyone has done this year. His Hollywood résumé is getting deep: Aside from his regular gig on the Netflix series GLOW, he’s hitting the big screen later this year with roles in the crime drama Wonderland and the highly anticipated Joker, with Joaquin Phoenix and Robert De Niro. But first, Maron returns to his core discipline of stand-up comedy this weekend for three nights at Raleigh’s venerable Goodnights Comedy Club. Maron is an old pro who can work a room with the best of them; his emotionally raw, extemporaneous style is so natural that you might not even notice the joke-writing chops underneath. At his best, he can conjure a feeling of genuine communion between performer and audience, generating a deeper kind of laughter through articulate storytelling, shared experience, and rigorous honesty. Success on screen and podcast aside, this is Maron’s natural habitat. —Glenn McDonald

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

INDYWEEK.COM INDYweek.com | 7.31.19 | 21

7.31–8.7 WHAT TO DO THIS WEEK

WEDNESDAY, JULY 31

G YAMAZAWA PRESENTS: A CAPELLA AT THE HAYTI

For three minutes each, more than twenty local rap juggernauts will try their hand at delivering some of their best lines without any musical accompaniment. Handpicked by Durham MC and National Poetry Slam champion G Yamazawa, the lineup features everyone from veteran Bull City bully rapper Jozeemo to cipher specialist Jrusalam and the ferocious vocabulist OC from NC. They’ll be completely disarmed, beat-wise, in an a capella context that brings them closer to the spoken word and slam poetry scene, which the event’s curator started cutting his teeth in when he was fourteen. “For me, the a capella realm is so natural, but it seems like rappers in most local areas generally don’t feel like they’re heard,” says G Yamazawa. “There’s a pretty wide space between the poetry world and the rap world. You would think that there would be more camaraderie, engagement, and interaction between the two art forms, but you don’t see it a lot.” What better place to host this event than a worship center such as Hayti Heritage Center, home of the Bull City Slam Tea—and, for one night, a sanctuary where stripped-down hip-hop piety can truly be tested? —Eric Tullis

and

FRIDAY, AUGUST 2 & SATURDAY, AUGUST 3

EDDIE GRIFFIN SATURDAY, AUGUST 3

SASAMI

Late last year, former Cherry Glazerr member Sasami Ashworth published a piece for the website Sungenre in which she interviewed four female audio engineers and producers about their craft. Her veneration of inclusive and passionate studio work was evident then, as it is now on her eponymous debut album, SASAMI, which includes contributions by Hand Habits guitar wiz Meg Duffy, jazz bassist Anna Butterss, and performers Soko and Devendra Banhart. Ashworth writes soft, often sad songs about communication and loss, their emotional resonance made thicker by a complex tangle of sounds. Ashworth sings in an even whisper that recalls Broadcast’s Trish Keenan, and a veneer of intimacy is applied to her vocals, guitar, and keys with reverb. The brittle shaking of a tambourine, which is the dominant instrumentation on the song “Free,” sits under caustic lyrics such as “You’ve got a lovely thing at home / So why confuse when you might lose it all?” Loamlands opens. —Josephine McRobbie KINGS, RALEIGH 9 p.m., $12–$14, www.kingsraleigh.com

Sasami 22 | 7.31.19 | INDYweek.com

HAYTI HERITAGE CENTER, DURHAM 8 p.m., $15, www.hayti.org

PHOTO COURTESY OF KINGS

Undercover Brother might have been one of the most ridiculous films ever made, but at least it helped keep two great black standup comedians employed. One of them, the Kansas-City-bred Eddie Griffin, went on to star in other famously ludicrous films such as Deuce Bigalow: European Gigolo and Norbit. On stage, however, Griffin is nothing short of comedic elegance. Like his former castmate, Dave Chappelle, Griffin’s ruminations skip from the intellectually obscene to uncle wisdom before you can utter the word “motherfucker.” If you only know him from his memorable Michael Jackson impersonation on HBO’s Def Comedy Jam, you’ve missed years of hilarity, which got a boost after Griffin’s 1997 special, Voodoo Child. This weekend, you’ll have four opportunities to catch up. —Eric Tullis RALEIGH IMPROV, CARY Various times, $35+, www.improv.com/raleigh

We Are Here

PHOTO COURTESY OF PAPERHAND PUPPET INTERVENTION

FREE TO BE FEARLESS. TO HOLD THE POWERFUL ACCOUNTABLE. TO BE A VOICE FOR THE VOICELESS.

FREE TO TELL THE TRUTH. TO CELEBRATE AND CRITICIZE. TO ADVOCATE FOR THE MARGINALIZED. FRIDAY, AUGUST 2—SUNDAY, AUGUST 4

WE ARE HERE

“What’s miraculous to me is that we’ve become a tradition that people bring their families to each year,” says Paperhand Puppet Intervention cofounder Donovan Zimmerman, reflecting on two decades of outdoor summertime pageants that use original live music and imaginative puppets—ranging from marionettes and shadow puppets to stagelength, multi-story creations—to tell socially critical, environmentally conscious stories from indigenous cultures the world over. We Are Here, Paperhand’s twentieth annual production, opens by focusing on our local ecosystem (including its home venue, Chapel Hill’s Forest Theatre). Then, Zimmerman and cofounder Jan Burger delve into an over-the-top tribute to vintage Japanese monster movies—whose supersized protagonists, remember, were mostly created by environmental disasters. Will anything be spared when gargantuan Earth defenders, one of which looks like a half-tardigrade, half-pinecone creature, square off against a giant monster based on The Great Pacific Garbage Patch? Aieee! Arrive early to catch preshow opening acts Jonathan Byrd and the Pickup Cowboys (August 2), The Bucket Brothers (August 3), and Honey Magpie (August 4). —Byron Woods FOREST AMPHITHEATRE, CHAPEL HILL 7 p.m. (6:20 pre-show), $10–$20 suggested, www.paperhand.org

FREE TO MAKE A DIFFERENCE. FROM CORPORATE INFLUENCE. NO PAYWALLS, NO SUBSCRIPTIONS.

FREE BECAUSE OF YOU. KEEP IT FREE. KEEP IT INDY.

WHAT ELSE SHOULD I DO? BLUE VENGEANCE AT ALAMO DRAFTHOUSE (P. 32), DREW FORTUNE AND JON WURSTER AT FLYLEAF BOOKS (P. 30), ALDOUS HARDING AT KINGS (P. 25), HEAR+THERE AT THE CARRACK (P. 29), MARC MARON AT GOODNIGHTS (P. 21), CHRIS STAMEY AT CAT’S CRADLE (P. 18), SWORD OF TRUST AT THE CAROLINA THEATRE (P. 21), SUMMER SISTERS AT KENNEDY-MCIIWEE STUDIO THEATRE (P. 31)

Join the INDY Press Club at KeepItINDY.com.

INDYweek.com | 7.31.19 | 23

Chocolate Lounge & Juice Bar

Alice Osborn Sat 8/3 Michael Daughtry Tue 8/6 Wine and Design Sat 8/10 Hugh Willard Fri 8/16 Neville’s Quarter Sat 8/17 Scott Bouldin Fri 8/2

Music Performed from 6pm to 9pm Beer & Wine Served Daily Timberlyne Shopping Center, Chapel Hill 1129 Weaver Dairy Rd • specialtreatsnc.com

OUR 2019-2020 PERFORMANCE SEASON IS HERE! 8/1-3

A MIDSUMMER NIGHT’S DREAM PRESENTED BY ONE SONG

8/9-11 URINETOWN: THE MUSICAL

PRESENTED BY CHSMA

TH RISSI PALMER 8/22 W/ XOXOK TH 9/5 RICHARD SMITH SAT ALICE GERRARD, ALLISON DE GROOT AND 9/21 TATIANA HARGREAVES SUN 9/22 KIM SO RA: A SIGN OF RAIN SUN 10/13

BOMBINO AND VIEUX FARKA TOURÉ: SONS OF THE SAHARA

Get tickets at artscenterlive.org

TH 8/1

DONAVON FRANKENREITER TH 8/1 DONAVON FRANKENREITER W/ MATT GRUNDY($20/$24) WE 8/7 MENZINGERS W/ THE

TH 8/8 NEUROSIS W/ BELL WITCH AND DEAF KIDS SU 8/11 BLACK JOE LEWIS & THE HONEYBEARS ($15/17)

MO 11/25 NEW FOUND GLORY

MO 8/19 PEDRO THE LION / MEWITHOUTYOU ($25/$27)

($27 / $32; ON SALE AUG 2, NOON )

TU 8/20 THE BIRD AND THE BEE

FTU 9/10 BLACK PUMAS ($15/$17) R 9/13 WHO’S BAD

WE 7/31 GABBY’S WORLD AND BELLOWS W/ MUSEUM MOUTH, JENNY BESETZT TH8/1SCHOOL OF ROCK ALLSTARS (SUPPORT FROM HOUSE BANDS OF SCHOOL OF ROCK CHAPEL HILL, CARY AND WAKE FOREST) FR 8/2 NEW SONGS FOR THE 20TH CENTURY (CHRIS STAMEY, DJANGO HASKINS, MILLIE MCGUIRE, KIRSTEN LAMBERT, ARIEL POCOCK AND MORE ($10/$12)

TU 11/5 THE WORLD IS A BEAUTIFUL PLACE & I AM NO LONGER AFRAID TO DIE FR 11/15 BLACK MIDI ($13) SA 11/16 THE BLAZERS ‘HOW TO ROCK’ REUNION WE 11/20 KING BUFFALO ($10)

ARTSCENTER (CARRBORO) SA 8/24 STEVE FORBERT ($20/$25)

SA 9/21 WHITNEY W/ HAND HABITS

TH 8/8 ANDREW BELLE W/ WILLIAM WILD ($15/ $17)

TU 9/24 BOB MOULD (SOLO) W/ WILL JOHNSON

TH 9/26 THE MOTET W/ EXMAG

SA 8/10 STEVIE, SCOTT YODER, PERSONALITY CULT ($8/$10)

WE 9/18 TINARIWEN ($30/$33) TH 9/19 SNOW THA PRODUCT

TH 8/15 ILLITERATE LIGHT W/ BRISTON MARONEY, ARSON DAILY ($12/$14) FR 8/16 SIDNEY GISH W/ LUNAR VACATION SA 8/17 DEAD ELVIS DAY: TCB, DEX ROMWEBER, PHATLYNX ($10) SU 8/18 DEAD RIDER W/ ENEMY WAVES MO 8/19 BEN DICKEY ($12)

WE 9/25 HOLLY BOWLING FR 10/25 JONATHAN WILSON ($20/$22 ) TH 11/14 ROBYN HITCHCOCK (SOLO) WE 11/20 SAN FERMIN ($18/$20) KOKA BOOTH AMPHITHEATRE (CARY) SA 9/21 MANDOLIN ORANGE W/MOUNTAIN MAN WE 10/16 WILCO CAROLINA THEATRE (DUR) TH 9/26 JOSH RITTER & THE ROYAL CITY BAND W/ SPECIAL GUEST AMANDA SHIRES MOTORCO (DUR) SU 9/15 BLEACHED ($15/$17)

SA 10/12 LANGHORNE SLIM ($18/$20)

FR 8/23 SHARK QUEST, THE SHOALDIGGERS, MYSTERY RANCH ($8)

WE 10/16 MELVINS AND REDD KROSS AND SHITKID

SA 8/31 ONE HIT WONDERS

SU 9/29 THE REGRETTES ($15)

TU 9/5 LIZ COOPER & THE STAMPEDE W/ HARPOONER

MO 9/30 GENERATIONALS W/ NEIGHBOR LADY

FR 9/6 BENJAMIN FRANCIS LEFTWICH ($15/$18)

TU 11/12 TR/ST (ON SALE: FRIDAY, JULY 26 @ 10AM LOCAL ) NORTH CAROLINA MUSEUM OF ART WE 8/7 AN EVENING WITH LYLE LOVETT AND HIS LARGE BAND

SA 10/19 MOONCHILD ($22/$25) SU 10/20 THE BAND CAMINO

W/ VALLEY

TU 10/22 NOAH GUNDERSEN ($17/$20) WE 10/23 OH SEES W/PRETTIEST

SU 9/8 QUINN CHRISTOPHERSON MO 9/9 THE NATIONAL PARKS AND WILD TU 9/10 LULA WILES W/ MK RODENBOUGH ($10)

SA 8/24 OLD CROW MEDICINE SHOW TH 8/29 CHAKA KHAN

EYES, NO WHAMMY

SA 9/14 OUTFIELDER, HONEY MAGPIE, A DIFFERENT THREAD

TH 10/24 KISHI BASHI

SU 9/15 SERATONES

SA 9/14 SNARKY PUPPY

TU 9/17 SHOOK TWINS

WE 9/25 RHIANNON GIDDENS AND FRANCESCO TURRISI THE RITZ (RAL)

FR 10/25 STIFF LITTLE FINGERS

W/ THE AVENGERS

SA 10/26 KNOCKED LOOSE

for directions and information

W/ ROTTING OUT, CANDY, SEEYOUSPACECOWBOY

www.teasersmensclub.com

WE 10/30 WIZARD FEST

24 | 7.31.19 | INDYweek.com

SA 10/26 CAT CLYDE ($12/$15) WE 10/30 JOAN SHELLEY W/JAKE XERXES FUSSELL ($15/$17; ON SALE 7/19)

MO 8/5 KYLE CRAFT & SHOWBOAT HONEY

MO 9/16 CAT POWER WANDERER TOUR 2019”

TH 10/17 WATCH WHAT CRAPPENS ($25/$28)

@TeasersDurham

WE 10/23 CITY OF THE SUN W/ OLD SEA BRIGADE

SA 8/3 DELHI 2 DUBLIN

W/ CAROLINE SPENCE

TH 10/10 WITT LOWRY ($16/$18)

TeasersMensClub

($25/$28; ON SALE 7/18)

SA 10/19 JOHN HOWIE JR & ROSEWOOD BLUFF W/DYLAN EARL AND SEVERED FINGERS

TH 12/5 JUMP LITTLE CHILDREN "YOU DON'T KNOW US BUT WE'RE FAMOUS" THE LICORICE TEA DEMOS + MAGAZINE PERFORMED IN THEIR ENTIRETY! (ON SALE 8/2)

SU 9/15 PENNY & SPARROW

MO 10/7 LUNA PERFORMING PENTHOUSE W/ OLDEN YOLK

An Adult Nightclub Open 7 Days/week • Hours 7pm - 2am

HAYRIDE: THE REVEREND HORTON HEAT, VOODOO GLOW SKULLS, THE 5678'S, DAVE ALVIN

JACKSON FOUR, GREG HUMPHREYS TRIO, THE CHORUS PROJECT

SU 10/6 BUILT TO SPILL- KEEP IT LIKE A SECRET TOUR ($28/$32)

156 Ramseur St. Durham, NC

TU 10/15 MIKE WATT & THE MISSINGMEN ($15)

SA 12/14 HORTON'S HOLIDAY

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

WE 10/9 ELDER ISLAND TH 10/10 CHARLIE PARR ($15)

FR 12/6 OUR LAST NIGHT

FR 8/23 BE LOUD '19: CHATHAM COUNTY LINE, THE OLD CEREMONY, TAN & SOBER GENTLEMEN

MO 8/26 WHY? W/ BARRIE

KYLE CRAFT & SHOWBOAT HONEY SA 10/12 O'BROTHER W/ THE END OF THE OCEAN AND HOLY FAWN ($14/$16)

TH 12/12 TWIN PEAKS W/ LALA LALA AND OHMME

SA 8/24 BE LOUD ‘19: THE

MO 8/5

W/HAWTHORNE HEIGHTS, FREE THROW, JETTY BONES

W/ SAMANTHA SIDLEY & ALEX LILLY ($15/$18)

TU 10/1 MT JOY W/ SUSTO

919-6-TEASER

FR 11/15 ALLAH-LAS W/ TIM HILL ($17/$20) SA 11/16 GAELIC STORM

SA0 9/28 ABBEY ROAD LIVE! ( 50TH ANNIVERSARY OF "ABBEY ROAD" )

(Not Valid for Special Events, expires 01-20)

WE 11/13 KIKAGAKU MOYO W/ MINAMI DEUTSCH ($15/$17)

SU 11/17 ADHOC PRESENTS: CRUMB W/ DIVINO NIÑO, SHORMEY ($20)

W/ THE SPIRIT OF THE BEEHIVE

Member Admission Price

DELHI 2 DUBLIN

SIDEKICKS, QUEEN OF JEANS

FR 9/27 RIDE

Present this coupon for

SA 8/3

FR/SA 11/1 & 2 (TWO SHOWS, FRIDAY AND SATURDAY) BILLY STRINGS

TH 9/19 KOLARS // THE SH-BOOMS SA 9/21 THE ROCKET SUMMER ($15/$17 SU 9/22 FREE THROW W/CHRIS FARREN, YOUTH FOUNTAIN, MACSEAL ( $14/$16) FR 9/27 LESLIE STEVENS

W/ HARMONY WOODS

MO 9/30 JONAH TOLCHIN

FR 11/8 THE DIP ($15/ $18)

TUE 10/1 THAT 1 GUY

SA 11/9 INFAMOUS

WE 10/2 B BOYS

STRINGDUSTERS W/ KITCHEN DWELLERS TU 11/12 CURSIVE / CLOUD NOTHINGS / THE APPLESEED CAST

SA 8/31 MIPSO

(PRESENTED IN ASSOCIATION W/ LIVENATION)

FR 10/11 EXPLOSIONS IN THE SKY 20TH ANNIVERSARY TOUR SA 11/23 CAAMP HAW RIVER BALLROOM FR 10/28 ANGEL OLSEN ($30/$33) FR 11/8 BIG THIEF W/ PALEHOUND ($20/$23)

TH10/3 BLANCO WHITE

SU 11/10 THE NEW PORNOGRAPHERS W/ LADY LAMB ($32/$35)

SA 10/5 TYRONE WELLS W/ DAN RODRIGUEZ ($17/$20)

DPAC (DURHAM) FR 11/22 & SA 11/23 SYLVAN ESSO

CATSCRADLE.COM  919.967.9053  300 E. MAIN STREET  CARRBORO

Your Week. Every Wednesday. indyweek.com

music7.31-8.7 WEDNESDAY, AUGUST 7

AN EVENING WITH LYLE LOVETT AND HIS LARGE BAND Lyle Lovett was named as Texas’s State Musician in 2011, and the title is well-earned. The Houston-born troubadour has been performing since the early eighties, with a career that’s swung back and forth between acting—Lovett eloped with Julia Roberts in the early nineties, following a whirlwind romance that began on a movie set—and music, with a career stocked full of jukebox classics like “She’s No Lady” and “If I Had a Boat,” which have kept Lovett a household name. And while he’s known for gently bucking country-music tradition in songs textured with blues and jazz influences, his raspy voice is a constant that always feels sweetly familiar, evincing nostalgia regardless of how many times you’ve heard it. Plunk down a picnic blanket and basket for this August installment of NCMA’s summer music series. (Lisa Simone plays next, on August 17, in a concert celebrating her mother, Nina Simone.) —Sarah Edwards NORTH CAROLINA MUSEUM OF ART, RALEIGH 8 p.m., $50–$65, www.ncartmuseum.org

WED, JUL 31

LOCAL 506 The Dollyrots, The Pink Spiders; $10-$12. 8 p.m.

ARCANA

POUR HOUSE Brass Lightning, Ctrl Alt Del Band; $8-$10. 9 p.m.

Sun Studies & Chessa Rich [$5-$10 SUGGESTED, 8 P.M.] Chessa Rich is well known locally as a backing musician, having contributed instrumentation and vocals for artists including Skylar Gudasz and Blue Cactus. She’s also a striking songwriter, creating spare and heady songs with the simple combination of guitar, keys, and her rich, moody voice. Sun Studies (Reid Johnson of Schooner) and Asheville’s Joshua Carpenter also perform. —Josephine McRobbie CAT’S CRADLE BACK ROOM Gabby’s World, Bellows, Museum Mouth, Jenny Besetzt; $10$12. 7:30 p.m. THE KRAKEN Glenn Jones & Friends; 7 p.m.

Lyle Lovett

SLIM’S Chaosmic, Friendship Commanders, Kult Icon; $7. 9 p.m.

THU, AUG 1

CAT’S CRADLE BACK ROOM School of Rock AllStars; $10. 6 p.m. ARCANA Electric Velvet; $5 suggested. 8 p.m. CAT’S CRADLE Donavon Frankenreiter, Matt Grundy; $20-$24. 8 p.m. THE CAVE Jphono1, Nice Derek, Analog Mountains; $5 suggested. 9 p.m. NEPTUNES PARLOUR Sleepwalkers; $10. 10 p.m. POUR HOUSE Local Band Local Beer: The Bronze Age, Wrigleyville, Atomic Buzz; $5. 9 p.m. SLIM’S Outsider, Blood Ritual, Charm; $5. 9 p.m.

PHOTO BY MICHAEL WILSON

INDYweek.com | 7.31.19 | 25

deep dive EAT • DRINK • SHOP • PLAY

The INDY’s monthly neighborhood guide to all things Triangle

Coming August 28:

NC STATE/HILLSBOROUGH ST.

For advertising opportunities, contact your ad rep or advertising@indyweek.com 26 | 7.31.19 | INDYweek.com

Sun Studies will perform at Arcana on Wednesday, Jul. 31.

PHOTO COURTESY OF THE ARTIST

FRI, AUG 2

KINGS SASAMI; $12-$14. 9 p.m.

CAT’S CRADLE BACK ROOM Chris Stamey, Django Haskins, Millie McGuire, Kirsten Lambert, Ariel Pocock; $10-$12. 8 p.m. THE CAVE Rock N’ Roll Hi-Fives, Friendship Commanders, Yawn Mower; $5 suggested. 9 p.m. WALNUT CREEK KIDZ BOP; $35+. 7 p.m. THE KRAKEN Radar’s Clowns of Sedation, The Yardarm; 8 p.m. LINCOLN THEATRE Cosmic Charlie; $15. 9 p.m. LOCAL 506 Maple Stave, Caustic Casanova, Bedowyn; $8. 8 p.m. THE PINHOOK

reassure fans of the groups’ collective musical strength. From contemporary yet nostalgic vocals to multifaceted production that integrates jazz-inflected grooves and contemporary hip-hop cadences, to witty raps, the band offers a unique combo to the hip-hop and R&B landscape. With Blanko Basnet, Ebz the Artist, and Wreck-N-Crew. —Kyesha Jennings THE RITZ Trial by Fire; $10. 7 p.m. SLIM’S Polyorchard, Cheveron, Biggins; $5. 9 p.m. THE STATION Eric Sommer; 8:30 p.m.

LINCOLN THEATRE Benny The Butcher, Adam Bomb, Capri, Ceez Peso & The Buffet Boys; $20-$65. 9 p.m. LOCAL 506 Bible of the Devil, Thunderlip, Knightmare; $10. 8:30 p.m. NIGHTLIGHT TOUCH Samadhi; $15. 9 p.m. THE PINHOOK Wailin Storms, Multicult, Super Thief; $8. 8:30 p.m. POUR HOUSE Bakalao Stars Album Release with Los Acoustic Guys, Tumbao; $7-$10. 9 p.m. RED HAT AMPHITHEATER Why Don’t We; $35+. 7 p.m. RHYTHMS LIVE Roy C. Birthday Celebration; $30. 8 p.m.

[$10-$12, 9:30 P.M.]

SAT, AUG 3

With their increased popularity and well-deserved success, Durham’s favorite neo-soul hip-hop trio is headlining a tour of their own. Appropriately titled, the “Young Bull is not an Individual Tour” aims to

BLUE NOTE GRILL The Beauty Operators; $8. 8 p.m. CAT’S CRADLE BACK ROOM Delhi 2 Dublin; $15-$17. 8:30 p.m.

THE RITZ Grits & Biscuits; $20. 9 p.m. SCHOOLKIDS RECORDS RALEIGH Fraud; 7 p.m. SHARP NINE GALLERY Thomas Taylor Extra Quintet; $20. 8 p.m.

THE CAVE Crystal Bright And The Silver Hands, Waking Up Moe; $5 suggested. 9 p.m.

SLIM’S Dirty Remnantz, Junior Jr, Thundering Herd; $7 suggested. 9 p.m.

Young Bull

SOUTHERN BOUNDARIES PARK Jazziando; 6 p.m.

THE CAVE Ami Madeleine, Ciarra Fragale; $5 suggested. 9 p.m.

THE STATION Kirk Farmer Band; 8 p.m.

NEPTUNES PARLOUR Atomic Rhythm All Stars; $5. 8 p.m.

SUN, AUG 4

POUR HOUSE Sensi Trails, Sound Destroyer; $7-$10. 9 p.m.

ARCANA Raika Balkan Band; 8 p.m. LOCAL 506 3TEETH, Author & Punisher, GOST; $18-$20. 7:30 p.m. THE MAYWOOD The Beast of Nod, Unflesh, Aversed, Minister Sin; $10. 8 p.m. MEYMANDI CONCERT HALL Neha Kakkar; $51+. 7 p.m. POUR HOUSE Jackson Lundy; $5. 2 p.m. POUR HOUSE Jazz Is PHSH; $12-$15. 10:30 p.m.

SLIM’S The New Aquarian, Stranded Bandits, Late For Church, Lunchbox Hero; $7. 8 p.m.

TUE, AUG 6 ARCANA Abbate/Engel, Hammond; 8 p.m. DURHAM PERFORMING ARTS CENTER Ringo Starr and His All Starr Band; $174+. 7:30 p.m. THE PINHOOK Drab Majesty, Body of Light, Hide; $12. 8:30 p.m.

RED HAT AMPHITHEATER

POUR HOUSE Jamison Ross; $20-$25. 8:30 p.m.

[$25+, 5 P.M.]

RED HAT AMPHITHEATER

Blues Traveler

Blues Traveler’s John Popper lacks the late period chutzpah of his pal Hootie, but he’s still out there. Since introducing harmonica to the Lacoste set on “Run Around,” the band has zigged and zagged in the most confounding of ways. Remember its 2015 all-collaborations record Blow Up The Moon, featuring 3OH!3 and JC Chasez? No? Seek it out for a bizarre and almost subversive listen. Who knew Blues Traveler had a “Lulu”? —David Ford Smith THE RITZ August Burns Red; $26. 7 p.m. THE STATION Crystal Bright & Griffanzo; 8 p.m.

MON, AUG 5

CAT’S CRADLE BACK ROOM Kyle Craft & Showboat Honey; $12-$15. 8:30 p.m.

Papa Roach [$28+, 6:30 P.M.]

At the turn of the millennium, NorCal raprock skidmarks Papa Roach unleashed Infest, its major label debut, on the world, including “Last Resort,” a generic-ass rap-rock single that spoke only to the superficial antiestablishment angst of well-off suburban white male mall rats. Nonetheless, “Last Resort” is considered an insurrectionary paragon of its genre. Twenty years later, the band and its hit single persist. —Patrick Wall SHARP NINE GALLERY Raleigh Jazz Orchestra; $10. 7 p.m.

WED, AUG 7 CAT’S CRADLE The Menzingers, The Sidekicks, Queen of Jeans; $18-$21. 8 p.m.

Young Bull will perform at the Pinhook on Friday, Aug. 2. CAT’S CRADLE BACK ROOM LaLa for Ta-Ta’s; $5 suggested. 8 p.m. KINGS The King Khan and BBQ Show, Paint Fumes; $16-$18. 8 p.m. LOCAL 506 Sonic Afternoon, Kid Advay, Flesh Tuxedo; $8. 9 p.m. NC MUSEUM OF ART Lyle Lovett and His Large Band; $59-$65. 8 p.m.

NEPTUNES PARLOUR Brothers Griiin; $5. 10:30 p.m. POUR HOUSE The Aristocrats, Travis Larson Band; $25-$30. 8:30 p.m. RED HAT AMPHITHEATER The Flaming Lips, The Claypool Lennon Delirium; $29+. 6:30 p.m. THE WICKED WITCH Taylor Kelly, The Kids Downtown, The Materials; $10. 8 p.m.

PHOTO COURTESY OF THE ARTIST

FOR OUR COMPLETE COMMUNITY CALENDAR

INDYWEEK.COM

Write advertising@indyweek.com to advertise on our pet page or feature a pet for adoption! INDYweek.com | 7.31.19 | 27

INDYWEEK.COM

Your week. Every Wednesday. 28 | 7.31.19 | INDYweek.com

art

7.31–8.7

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

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

Evee Erb & Sydney Sogol: A Force of Nature Textiles and sculptures. Thru Aug 3. Durham Art Guild, Durham. Golden Expressions Golden Belt resident artists show. Thru Aug 25. Grand Gallery at the Golden Belt Campus, Durham. goldenbeltarts.com. Berkeley Grimball, Jim Lux, Jim Oleson, Mary Stone Lamb, Phillip Welch Group show. Thru Aug 3. FRANK Gallery, Chapel Hill. Clarence Heyward: Conundrum Thru Aug 31. Triangle Cultural Art Gallery, Raleigh. triangleculturalart.com. John James Audubon: The Birds of America Ornithological engravings. Thru Dec 31. NC Museum of Art, Raleigh. ncartmuseum.org.

THURSDAY, AUGUST 1

HEAR + THERE Raymond Baccari is an MFA candidate in art at Western Carolina University whose interactive sound-based installations, he says, are driven by his “interest in introversion.” He’s well complemented by his collaborator for this Carrack exhibit, which runs through August 11 after Thursday evening’s opening reception. Justin Morgan Kennedy is an associate professor of sculpture at WCU whose artistic outlook is arguably extroverted, in that it is anthropological, focused on the study of dreams and shamanistic practices. For Hear + There, the pair has wired rocks for sound and mounted them upon thin rods on a stage of yellow pine, all collected along the rural waterways around where they live. The result is a slice of rural terroir—buttressed by projections, GPSmapped collagraph prints, and other artifacts—transplated into an urban gallery to create an interactive experience that is visually striking but altogether meditative. —Brian Howe

THE CARRACK MODERN ART, DURHAM 4–6 p.m., free, www.thecarrack.org

Hear + There PHOTO COURTESY OF THE CARRACK

OPENING Casey McGuire Installation art. Aug 2-31. Artist talk: August 3, noon. Artspace, Raleigh. Charlene Newsom, Kathy Daywalt, & Lee Mims Aug 1-Sep 3. Reception: August 2, 6-9 p.m. Gallery C, Raleigh. galleryc.net.

Nicole Simpkins: Giving What Takes Drawing and printmaking. Aug 2-Sep 28. Reception: August 2, 6 p.m. Artist Talk: August 3, noon. Artspace, Raleigh. Waterways Aug 2-31. V L Rees Gallery, Raleigh. vlrees.com.

ONGOING 150 Faces of Durham Photos. Thru Sep 3. Museum of Durham History, Durham. Tony Alderman: Waterline Paintings. Thru Aug 24. Craven Allen Gallery, Durham. cravenallengallery.com.

Ancestry of Necessity Group show. Curator, April Childers. Thru Aug 24. Reed Bldg, Durham. Jimmie Banks Retrospective Thru Sep 9. Rubenstein Art Center Gallery 235, Durham. artscenter.duke.edu. Wim Botha: Stil Life with Discontent Mixed media. Additional work on view at 21c Museum Hotel. Thru Aug 4. NC Museum of Art, Raleigh. ncartmuseum.org. Cary Gallery of Artists: A Few of Our Favorite Things Group show. Thru Aug 27. Cary Gallery of Artists, Cary. carygalleryofartists.org. Jillian Clark: Age Thru Aug 10. Through This Lens, Durham. throughthislens.com. Marsha Cottrell: Black and Light Works on paper. Thru Sep 8. CAM Raleigh, Raleigh. Kristen DeGree Screenprints. Thru Sep 9. Durham Arts Council, Durham. Empirical Evidence Group show. Thru Sep 30. Carrboro Town Hall, Carrboro.

Jim Kellough: Vine Paintings Thru Oct 10. Durham Convention Center, Durham. durhamarts.org. Stacey L. Kirby: The Department of Reflection Multimedia. Thru Aug 4. Ackland Art Museum, Chapel Hill. ackland.org. Michael Klauke: In So Many Words Paintings, work on paper, and video. Thru Aug 18. CAM Raleigh, Raleigh. Rachel Kosbab: Possibility Paintings. Thru Aug 22. Durham Arts Council, Durham. Justin LeBlanc: Probable Normal Hearing Thru Aug 18. CAM Raleigh, Raleigh. Hunter C. Levinsohn: Boats and Coats of the Times Thru Aug 18. Skylight Gallery, Hillsborough. Local Color Group show. Thru Aug 25. Hillsborough Gallery of Arts, Hillsborough. hillsboroughgallery.com.

Jim McQuaid: Detroit Thru Aug 10. Through This Lens, Durham. throughthislens.com. Outsider Art in the Visitors Center Group show. Works for sale. Thru Aug 30. Alexander Dickson House, Hillsborough. Portraying Power and Identity: A Global Perspective Thru Jan 31. 21c Museum Hotel, Durham. 21cmuseumhotels.com. QuiltSpeak: Uncovering Women’s Voices Through Quilts Thru Mar 8. NC Museum of History, Raleigh. ncmuseumofhistory.org. Susan Skrzycki: These Things Take Time Mixed media. Thru Aug 3. VAE Raleigh, Raleigh. vaeraleigh.com. Southern Oracle: We Will Tear the Roof Off Interactive sculptures. Thru Oct 31. NC Museum of Art, Raleigh. ncartmuseum.org. Tilden Stone: Southern Surreal Furniture. Thru Sep 8. Gregg Museum of Art & Design, Raleigh. gregg.arts.ncsu.edu. Dennis Szerszen: Unstill Waters Photos. Thru Aug 27. The Community Church of Chapel Hill Unitarian Universalist, Chapel Hill. Cheryl Thurber: Documenting Gravel Springs, Mississippi, in the 1970s Photos. Thru Mar 31. UNC’s Wilson Special Collections Library, Chapel Hill. Way Out West: Celebrating the Gift of the Hugh A. McAllister Jr. Collection Thru Aug 25. Ackland Art Museum, Chapel Hill. ackland.org.

Shawhan Lynch: Light Fusion Glass. Thru Aug 24. Craven Allen Gallery, Durham.

What in the World Is a Grain Mummy? Egyptology and art. Thru Aug 8. NC Museum of Art, Raleigh. ncartmuseum.org.

Christian Marclay: Surround Sounds Synchronized silent video installation. Thru Sep 8. Nasher Museum of Art, Durham. nasher.duke.edu.

Marthanna Yater: Growing Together Photos. Thru Aug 18. Horace Williams House, Chapel Hill. preservationchapelhill.org. INDYweek.com | 7.31.19 | 29

page READINGS & SIGNINGS Adrienne Marie Brown Pleasure Activism. Wed, Aug 7, 7 p.m. NorthStar Church of the Arts, Durham. northstardurham.com. Drew Fortune & Jon Wurster No Encore!: Musicians Reveal Their Weirdest, Wildest, Most Embarrassing Gigs. Mon, Aug 5, 7 p.m. Flyleaf Books, Chapel Hill. flyleafbooks.com. Emily Guendelsberger On the Clock: What Low-Wage Work Did to Me and How It Drives America Insane. Thu, Aug 1, 7 p.m. Flyleaf Books, Chapel Hill. flyleafbooks.com. Andy Parker For Alison: The Murder of a Young Journalist and a Father’s Fight for Gun Safety. Wed, Jul 31, 7 p.m. Quail Ridge Books, Raleigh. quailridgebooks.com.

Tamara Pizzoli Children’s book Tallulah the Tooth Fairy CEO. Mon, Aug 5, 6:30 p.m. Quail Ridge Books, Raleigh. quailridgebooks.com. Adam O’Fallon Price The Hotel Neversink. Tue, Aug 6, 7 p.m. Flyleaf Books, Chapel Hill. flyleafbooks.com. Jason Torchinsky Robot, Take the Wheel. Sat, Aug 3, 2 p.m. McIntyre’s Books, Pittsboro. mcintyresbooks.com. Grazia Walker Gregoria the Horseshoe Crab. Sat, Aug 3, 2 p.m. Quail Ridge Books, Raleigh. quailridgebooks.com. Doug Waller Lincoln’s Spies: Their Secret War to Save a Nation. Tue, Aug 6, 7 p.m. Quail Ridge Books, Raleigh. quailridgebooks.com.

MONDAY, AUGUST 5

DREW FORTUNE & JON WURSTER Dave Navarro once thought it was a swell idea to write a romantic message on the wall of Fiona Apple’s dressing room in his own blood. Ozzy Osbourne’s drummer supposedly stabbed somebody in the neck with a drumstick. Alice Cooper’s python had a disastrous digestive issue on stage. Twisted Sister’s Dee Snider remembers being chased by a crowd with bats and chains after one show. Such are the tales told in No Encore!: Musicians Reveal Their Weirdest, Wildest, Most Embarrassing Gigs, the new book by pop-culture journalist Drew Fortune, who has contributed to Vanity Fair, Rolling Stone, Esquire, and other major publications. His book collects four decades’ worth of stories of debauchery, bad decisions, wardrobe malfunctions, and concert fails, straight from aging rockers’ mouths. At Flyleaf Books, Fortune will be in conversation with another music-scene storyteller, the Superchunk drummer and radiohijinks personality Jon Wurster. —Brian Howe

FLYLEAF BOOKS, CHAPEL HILL 7 p.m., free, www.flyleafbooks.com

Drew Fortune PHOTO COURTESY OF FLYLEAF BOOKS

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

ature a pet for adoption, dvertising@indyweek.com

To advertise or feature SEPARATION AGREEMENTS adoption, Mu s iac pet Bu sfor i n eDIVORCE ss Law UNCONTESTED please contact In c o r p oBUSINESS r a t i o n / LLAW LC / MUSIC Pa r t n e r s h i p advertising@indyweek.com INCORPORATION/LLC Wi lls WILLS C o l l967-6159 ections (919)

967-6159

bill.burton.lawyer@gmail.com

YOUR WEEK. EVERY WEDNESDAY.

Announcing the 2019 Arts and Lecture Series with Ann Patchett, Karl Marlantes w/ Wiley Cash, and Sarah Rose Etter w/ Jeff Jackson. VIP subscriptions available. Please see our website for more details! 7.31

Andy Parker For Alison: The Murder of a Young Journalist and a Father’s Fight for Gun Safety 7pm

8.3

Grazia Walker Gregorina the Horseshoe Crab 2 pm

8.5 8.6

Tamara Pizzoli Tallulah the Tooth Fairy CEO 6:30 pm (introduction by Jaki Shelton Green) Doug Waller Lincoln’s Spies: Their Secret War to Save a Nation for Gun Safety 7pm www.quailridgebooks.com • 919.828.1588 • North Hills 4209-100 Lassiter Mill Road, Raleigh, NC 27609 CHECK OUT OUR PODCAST: BOOKIN’ w/Jason Jefferies

30 | 7.31.19 | INDYweek.com

To advertise or feature a pet for adoption, please contact advertising@indyweek.com

MUSIC•NEWS•ARTS•FOOD INDYWEEK.COM

stage OPENING The Bridges of Madison County Theatre Raleigh. Musical. Aug 7-18. Kennedy Theatre, Raleigh. dukeenergycenterraleigh.com.

age urne’s Alice er’s ter one rdest, st re, and es of raight sation dio-

Eddie Griffin Aug 2-3. Fri: 7:30 p.m. & 9:45 p.m. Sat: 7 p.m. & 9:30 p.m. Raleigh Improv, Raleigh. improv.com/raleigh. Hush Hush Mettlesome. Improv. Fri, Aug 2, 9 p.m. Okay Alright, Durham. thisismettlesome.com. Liquor House Comedy Festival Comedy. $5. Aug 2-3. Durty Bull Brewing Company, Durham. durtybull.com. Marc Maron Comedy. Aug 1-3. Thu: 8 p.m. Fri-Sat: 7:30 p.m. & 10 p.m. Goodnights Comedy Club, Raleigh. goodnightscomedy.com. A Midsummer Night’s Dream $10. Aug 1-3, 7:30 p.m. The ArtsCenter, Carrboro. artscenterlive.org.

ONGOING

FRIDAY, AUGUST 2 & SATURDAY, AUGUST 3

SUMMER SISTERS: PUBLIC DOMAIN It is the inevitable outcome when male-dominated legislatures pass laws concerning reproductive rights and gender identity: “We are not in full control or sole ownership of our bodies,” says veteran theater director Rachel Klem. “They are effectively placed in the public domain.” In its seventh iteration, Summer Sisters, an intergenerational group of forty-some literary and theatrical artists, took up the topic of social politics and women’s bodies in May; crowdsourced various takes on it in June; and then spent the past month editing and assembling a new collection of sober and satirical vignettes and songs. The results cover body image, abortion, assault, and “a great deal of biology,” including a uterine strength competition, a sex-education class “the way we’d want it to be,” and a poetic meditation on why justice and liberty are depicted as women. Plus, Robin Thicke gets hijacked. Carissa White directs. —Byron Woods

Between2Clouds Comedy Night Free. Sat, Aug 3, 9 p.m. Clouds Brewing, Raleigh. The Sunday Show Comedy. Free. Sun, Aug 4, 7 p.m. Yonder, Hillsborough.

NC STATE’S KENNEDY-MCIIWEE STUDIO THEATRE, RALEIGH 8 p.m., $10, www.facebook.com/SummerSistersProductions

Laurie Siegel, Amelia Sciandra, Mina Ezikpe, Emily Hill, and Carissa White in a 2017 Summer Sisters production PHOTO COURTESY OF SUMMER SISTERS

FOR OUR COMPLETE COMMUNITY CALENDAR

INDYWEEK.COM

INDYweek.com | 7.31.19 | 31

screen SPECIAL SHOWINGS An Actor’s Revenge $6. Sat, Aug 3, 7 p.m. The Cary Theater, Cary. thecarytheater.com. Adventureland Wed, Jul 31, 7 p.m. Alamo Drafthouse, Raleigh. drafthouse.com/raleigh. Alien $7. Fri, Aug 2, 8:30 p.m. NC Museum of Art, Raleigh. ncartmuseum.org. Can I Kick It? $11. Fri, Aug 2, 7 p.m. The Cary Theater, Cary. thecarytheater.com. Death Spa Tue, Aug 6, 2 p.m. & 9 p.m. Alamo Drafthouse, Raleigh. drafthouse.com/raleigh. Dragon Inn $6. Sun, Aug 4, 2 p.m. The Cary Theater, Cary. thecarytheater.com. Drunken Master Wed, Aug 7, 7 p.m. Alamo Drafthouse, Raleigh. drafthouse.com/raleigh. The Farewell Thu, Aug 1, 7:10 p.m. & 9:10 p.m. Carolina Theatre, Durham. carolinatheatre.org. Grateful Dead Meet-Up at the Movies $13. Thu, Aug 1, 7 p.m. & 9:50 p.m. Carolina Theatre, Durham. carolinatheatre.org. Harold & Maude $6. Sat, Aug 3, 9:30 p.m. The Cary Theater, Cary. thecarytheater.com. The Iron Giant Sun, Aug 4. Movie starts at sundown. Moore Square Park, Raleigh. Jaws $6. Thu, Aug 1, 7 p.m. The Cary Theater, Cary. thecarytheater.com. Jay Myself Thu, Aug 1, 7 p.m. Full Frame Theater, Durham. Laurel and Harry Short Comedies Wed, Aug 7, 7 p.m. Carolina Theatre, Durham. carolinatheatre.org. The Man From Hong Kong Mon, Aug 5, 9 p.m. Alamo Drafthouse, Raleigh. drafthouse.com/raleigh. Midnight Family Tue, Aug 6, 7 p.m. The Cary Theater, Cary. thecarytheater.com.

32 | 7.31.19 | INDYweek.com

Motion for Pictures Screening Series Short films. $6. Wed, Aug 7, 8 p.m. The Cary Theater, Cary. thecarytheater.com. Paris is Burning Thu, Aug 1, 8 p.m. Carolina Theatre, Durham. carolinatheatre.org. Sharknado $6. Thu, Aug 1, 9 p.m. The Cary Theater, Cary. thecarytheater.com. Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse Free. Thu, Aug 1. Food trucks: 7 p.m. Film: 8:30 p.m. Raleigh Little Theatre, Raleigh. raleighlittletheatre. org. Steamboat Bill Sun, Aug 4, 11 a.m. Alamo Drafthouse, Raleigh. drafthouse.com/raleigh. The Sugarland Express & Capricorn One Fri, Aug 2, 7 p.m. Carolina Theatre, Durham. carolinatheatre.org. Sword of Trust Fri, Aug 2, 2 p.m. Carolina Theatre, Durham. carolinatheatre.org. Teen Witch Wed, Jul 31, 2 p.m. & 9 p.m. Alamo Drafthouse, Raleigh. drafthouse.com/raleigh.

The Farewell—A bittersweet dramedy about a family that travels back to China to spend time with the family matriarch, who has a terminal cancer diagnosis. The twist? She has no idea that she’s dying. Rated PG. Them That Follow—A sinuous forbidden romance arises amongst a snakehandling Pentecostal congregation. Rated R.

N OW P L AY I N G The INDY uses a five-star rating scale. Read reviews of these films at indyweek.com. ½ John Wick: Chapter 3 – Parabellum— A bloody, Buster Keatonesque ballet meets Sam Peckinpah. Rated PG.  Men in Black: International—What if Men in Black, but Morocco and Chris Hemsworth’s torso? Rated PG-13.

OPENING

 Midsommar— Horror upstart Ari Aster’s latest isn’t quite as scary as his unforgettable Hereditary, but his tale of feckless American students and Swedish cultists is likewise brilliant in its treatment of trauma; it’s also a lot weirder and funnier. Rated R.

Fast & Furious Presents: Hobbs & Shaw—The Rock stars as brawny federal agent Luke Palagi Hobbs in this Fast & Furious spinoff. Rated PG-13.

 Toy Story 4—A spork’s severe ontological distress ballasts a half-daring, half-predictable extension of a beloved animated franchise. Rated G.

Tenebrae $7. Wed, Jul 31, 7 p.m. Carolina Theatre, Durham. carolinatheatre.org.

food & drink Beer Bourbon & Barbecue Festival More than sixty beers, forty bourbons, and barbecue. $35-$65. Aug 2-3. Koka Booth Amphitheatre, Cary. boothamphitheatre.com.

Federation Feeds Benefit for Raleigh-Cary Jewish Family Services. Tasting, activities, silent auction, cash bar, and music. Sun, Aug 4, 6 p.m. Market Hall, Raleigh. shalomraleigh.org.

WEDNESDAY, AUGUST 7

BLUE VENGEANCE Some cult movies simply haven’t found their cults yet. Blue Vengeance (1989) is overdue for the exalted midnight-movie status that films like The Room and Troll 2 boast. The first ten minutes alone contain an asylum breakout intercut with a medieval hallucination, a walking racial stereotype being interrogated at the most rundown police station in the history of cinema, and an inaudible flashback shot across a busy highway with cars obstructing the actors. Cowriter and director J. Christian Ingvordsen stars as the most beige-wearing protagonist ever, a milquetoast cop pursuing escaped “Mirror Man” serial killer Mark Trax (John Weiner), fresh out of the asylum. Trax, who enjoys killing with medieval weaponry when he’s not pulling out still-beating hearts, is murdering his way through the NYC music scene for convoluted reasons involving some very bad metal songs. Suffice it to say that this is the kind of film where someone tied up in a deathtrap screams, “This sucks!” and the climax involves a motorcycle-bicycle jousting duel; the shooting and editing is inferior to what most high-schoolers could do with their phones today. In summary, it is magnificent. If you can’t make this screening, it’s also (legally!) free on YouTube, and Vinegar Syndrome finally put it out on DVD last year. —Zack Smith

ALAMO DRAFTHOUSE, RALEIGH 2 & 9 p.m., $5, www.drafthouse.com/raleigh

Blue Vengeance PHOTO COURTESY OF THE FILMMAKERS

Mead Day $5 mead tastings. Free honey tastings. Sat, Aug 3, noon. Honeygirl Meadery, Durham. honeygirlmeadery.com.

Medium Well In Hell Metal and barbecue festival. $30. Sat, Aug 3, 3 p.m. The Maywood, Raleigh. themaywoodraleigh.com.

Slushfest Wine, cider, and beer slushies, snow cones, and live music. Adults: $21. Kids: $7. Sun, Aug 4, 2 p.m. Botanist & Barrel, Cedar Grove. botanistandbarrel.com.

indyclassifieds EMPLOYMENT FOSTER’S MARKET - RETAIL STAFF

Applicants must have the energy to be on their feet and the focus to multitask, but most importantly, the desire to engage our customers with a smile and perhaps a recommendation or two. 1st and 2nd shift, full and part time. Email customerservice@ fostersmarket.com or come by the Market.

DIRECTOR OF JAPANESE LANGUAGE INSTRUCTION NEEDED

Educational Growth Across Oceans seeks Director of Japanese Language Instruction. Position will develop programs; supervise course offerings, and train teachers to fulfill the needs of student customers. Will develop courses based on demand; teach Japanese to Japanese nationals as instruction recognized for credit in the Japanese school system; responsible for attracting new student populations, business development, and recruiting instructors. Instruction will occur primarily at the company office; classes may also be offered at other locations within the Raleigh- DurhamChapel Hill Combined Statistical Area (Raleigh MSA/ Durham- Chapel Hill MSA). Candidate must possess a bachelor’s degree in Japanese Language Instruction and must have five years’ experience in the field of Japanese language instruction. Interested parties should send resume and cover letter to Yoshimi Aoyagi, 5106 Oak Park Dr., Raleigh, NC 27612.

BODY • MIND • SPIRIT

DISPLAY ENGINEER NEEDED - RALEIGH

Display Engineer (Raleigh, NC) Participate in dvlpmt & qualification of Flat Panel Displays for both monochrome & color display products. Work on flat panel displays both at the component & system level, serve as a focal point between customer’s system dsgn team, the display EE team, display mechanical team, the supply base mgmt team, & the display suppliers, manage all activities necessary to deliver displays into final products from initial concept to production. Req Bach’s in Electronic Science or Electrical Enging w/ 5 yrs exp. Apply to: LXD Research & Display, LLC. 7300 ACC Blvd., Raleigh, NC 27617. Attn: HR.

P/T SCHEDULER – MUST LOVE ANIMALS

Walk & Wag in Chapel Hill/Carrboro is seeking a part-time scheduler. Must love animals and appreciate their human owners. Associate Degree required, Bachelor Degree a plus. 21 years or older, tech savvy, 24-hour access to the internet via a computer and smart phone. 20 hours a week (with opportunity for more). $20 per hour, independent contractor. Applicants must live in Chapel Hill or Carrboro. For more info www.walkandwagchapelhill.com/hiringscheduler. Send cover letter and resume to lisa@ walkandwagchapelhill.com.

NOTICE OF DIVORCE

919-416-0675

www.harmonygate.com holistic health TAI CHI

Traditional art of meditative movement for health, energy, relaxation, self-defense. Classes/ workshops throughout the Triangle. Magic Tortoise School - Since 1979. Call Jay or Kathleen, 919-360-6419 or www.magictortoise.com

SERVICES tech services COMPUTER ISSUES?

FREE DIAGNOSIS by GEEKS ON SITE! Virus Removal, Data Recovery! 24/7 EMERGENCY SERVICE, In-home repair/ On-line solutions. $20 OFF ANY SERVICE! 844-401-1673

Bankruptcy Boat, Car & Jet Ski Auction in Rockingham, NC, Online Only, Begins Closing 8/6 at 2pm, Property at 174 Airport Rd., Rockingham, NC, Bankruptcy Case # 18-10838, ironhorseauction.com, 800.997.2248, NCAL 3936

products PENIS ENLARGEMENT PUMP Get Stronger & Harder Erections Immediately. Gain 1-3 Inches Permanently & Safely. Guaranteed Results. FDA Licensed. Free Brochure: 1-800-354-3944 www.DrJoelKaplan.com (AAN CAN)

STAY IN YOUR HOME LONGER

with an American Standard WalkIn Bathtub. Receive up to $1,500 off, including a free toilet, and a lifetime warranty on the tub and installation! Call us at 1-855-393-3307 or visit www.walkintubquote.com/nc

ATTN STROKE SURVIVORS:

The I CARE FOR YOUR BRAIN Interactive Stroke Recovery Guide by board-certified neuropsychologist Karen D. Sullivan identifies 10 rules of rehab to maximize recovery.Order: 833-423-9237 www.ICFYB.com/guide

AUTO Your donation helps education, prevention & support programs. FAST FREE PICKUP - 24 HR RESPONSE - TAX DEDUCTION 888-641-9690

auctions BOAT, CAR, & JET SKI AUCTION

MISC. notices

DONATE YOUR CAR TO UNITED BREAST CANCER FOUNDATION!

FOR SALE

bang for your buck!

CONSTRUCTION EQUIPMENT AND TRUCKS AUCTION

ONLINE ONLY CONSTRUCTION EQUIPMENT AND TRUCKS AUCTION. Sun Aug 11th @ 5am -Tues Aug 13th at 11 am. Large selection located in NC and VA. Accepting Consignments. Bid online at MOTLEYS.COM/ INDUSTRIAL. Motleys Industrial. 919-280-1573. VA16.

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

CASH FOR CARS!

We buy all cars! Junk, high-end, totaled – it doesn’t matter! Get free towing and same day cash! NEWER MODELS too! Call 866-535-9689 (AAN CAN)

NOTICE OF SERVICE OF PROCESS BY PUBLICATION STATE OF NORTH CAROLINA WAKE COUNTY In the Wake County Court, Complaint for Absolute Divorce to Julio Fraiz: Take notice that a pleading seeking relief against you has been filed in the above-entitled action. The nature of the relief being sought is as follows: COMPLAINT FOR ABSOLUTE DIVORCE. You are required to make defense to such pleading not later than OCTOBER 28, 2019, and upon your failure to do so the party seeking service against you will apply to the court for the relief sought. This, the 31st day of July, 2019. Luisa M. Lamos, 100 Stratford Lakes Dr. Unit 225, Durham, NC 27713.

misc. NINVENTORS - FREE INFORMATION PACKAGE

Have your product idea developed affordably by the Research & Development pros and presented to manufacturers. Call 1-844-348-2206 for a Free Idea Starter Guide. Submit your idea for a free consultation.

APPLYING FOR SOCIAL SECURITY DISABILITY OR APPEALING A DENIED CLAIM?

Applying for Social Security Disability or Appealing a Denied Claim? Call Bill Gordon & Assoc., Social Security Disability Attorneys, 1-888-9894947! FREE Consultations. Local Attorneys Nationwide [Mail: 2420 N St NW, Washington DC. Office: Broward Co. FL (TX/NM Bar.)]

HAVE AN IDEA FOR AN INVENTION/NEW PRODUCT?

We help everyday inventors try to patent and submit their ideas to companies! Call InventHelp®,FREE INFORMATION! 855-648-6453

MOBILEHELP, AMERICA’S PREMIER ALERT SYSTEM

Whether You’re Home or Away. For Safety and Peace of Mind. No Long Term Contracts! Free Brochure! Call Today! 1-844-677-7675

classy at indyweek dot com

Love ? y d n i e th

e h t t r o Supp s e s s e n i s bu that . . . s u t r o supp

p o h S ! l a c lo INDYweek.com | 7.31.19 | 33

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

1 9 8

5 3 7

2 6 7 8 3 75

6 4 6 7 3

6 5 2

2 38 4

6 9 8 5 2

4 7 3 9

7 1 7

su | do | ku HARD

7 9

8 3 4 this week’s puzzle level:

8 3 4

3 6

# 34

4 9 3 1

5 1 8

# 61

4 7 3 5

HARD

7 9 6

# 62

There is really only one rule to Sudoku: Fill in the game board so that the numbers 1 through 9 occur exactly once in each row, column, and 3x3 box. The numbers can appear in any order and diagonals are not considered. Your initial game board will consist of several numbers that are already placed. Those numbers cannot be changed. Your goal is to fill in the empty squares following the simple rule above.

5 7 5

9 48 1 85

9 2

3 1 64 8 9 2

8 1

# 36

6 9 1 7 2 4 3 8 5

4 3 2 8 6 9 5 7 1

9 6 8 5 7 1 4 2 3

1 5 7 2 4 3 6 9 8

6 1 5 3 9 2 8 4 7

2 7 4 6 1 8 3 5 9

8 4 3 9 2 7 1 6 5

5 9 1 4 8 6 7 3 2

7 2 6 1 3 5 9 8 4

www.sudoku.com 7.31.19 5 8 1 4 7 9

7 3 6 2 5 8

4 9 2 6 3 1

9 1 4 3 2 5

6 9

6 5 3 8 4 7

2 7 8 9 1 6

8 4 7 1 6 2

8 7 6

3 6 9 5 8 4

# 64

CLASSY AT INDYWEEK DOT COM

Best of luck, and have fun!

solution to last week’s puzzle

HARD

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

# 62 1 8 5 3 7 4 2 930/10/2005 6 7 3 6 8 9 2 5 1 4 | | 34 7.31.19 INDYweek.com 4 2 9 1 5 6 8 7 3 5 7 2 6 1 8 3 4 9 3 9 8 4 2 7 1 6 5 6 1 4 5 3 9 7 2 8

# 61

# 63 3 8 9 7 5 4 2 1 6

5 3 4

HARD 3 2 4 5 8 6 1 7 9

4 3

5 6

3 5

9 2

2 1 9

1 2 5 7 9 3

# 63

2 1 3 5 4 6

8 5 4 7 9 2

6 7 9 3 8 1

7 3 2 6 5 4

9 6 1 8 3 7

4 8 5 2 1 9

3 2 8 1 6 5

1 9 6 4 7 8

5 4 7 9 2 3

# 64

6 2 8 7 5 3

4 3 9 1 6 8

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

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

• Email amanda: classy@indywEEk.com

chat

PLACE YOUR AD ON THE

#1 CHAT IN RALEIGH

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

100’S OF HOT URBAN SINGLES

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

back page CONTACT AMANDA: CLASSY@INDYWEEK.COM LAST WEEK’S PUZZLE

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

INDYweek.com | 7.31.19 | 35

back page

SMOKY MOUNTAIN WHISKEY CRACKERS ® available at: Saxapahaw General Store, Southern Season, New Hope Market, Special Treats, Heart of Carolina, Oasis Fresh Market

919-286-1916 @hunkydorydurham We buy records. Now serving dank beer.

DANCE CLASSES IN LINDY HOP, SWING, BLUES

At Carrboro ArtsCenter. Private lessons available. RICHARD BADU, 919-724-1421, rbadudance@gmail.com

DECK SPECIALIST

Weekly deadline 4pm Friday classy@indyweek.com

"We clean, stain, build, and repair decks" Russell 919-656-8274 Jerry 919-943-8044

HISTORY TRIVIA: • Academic Daniel Harvey Hill, Jr. died on July 31, 1924. In 1889, Hill had joined the first faculty of today’s NCSU. His 29 years at NCSU were instrumental to the university’s growth. • Camp Butner opened officially on August 4, 1942. Initially designed as a military training facility, Camp Butner also served as one of NC’s principal prison camps during WWII. Courtesy of the Museum of Durham History

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

PAPER PAPER PAPER PAPER PAPER PAPER PAPER PAPER PAPER PAPER PAPER PAPER PAPER PAPER PAPER PAPER PAPER PAPER

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

PAPER PAPER PAPER PAPER PAPER PAPER PAPER PAPER PAPER PAPER PAPER PAPER PAPER PAPER PAPER

contact amanda for ads!

classy at indyweek dot com