Mw final 032218 kd lang (v24 45) small 250 by Metro Weekly

CONTENTS

MARCH 22, 2018

Volume 24 Issue 45

HISTORICAL PERSPECTIVE Professor Bonnie J. Morris returns to D.C. with a timely new book on the history of feminism. By Randy Shulman

THE VOICE

Long regarded as having one of the greatest voices in the business, k.d. lang revists the album that assured her legacy as one of the world’s foremost out pop stars. By Doug Rule

GET OUT!

With Unsane, Steven Soderbergh wrings chilling horror from a frightening premise, and a dumb plot. By André Hereford

SPOTLIGHT: AMPED FOR ACTION p.7 OUT ON THE TOWN p.11 COMEDY WHIZ: DAVID ALAN GRIER p.12 HISTORICAL PERSPECTIVE: BONNIE MORRIS p.14 THE FEED p.19 COMMUNITY: ANTI-GUN BALL p.21 FORUM: BRANDON WOLF p.25 FORUM: KATE KENDELL p.27 COVER STORY: THE VOICE p.28 K.D. LANG’S 10 BEST SONGS p.31 GALLERY: VIEWFINDERS - 8 PHOTOGRAPHERS p.33 FILM: UNSANE p.34 FILM: ISLE OF DOGS p.35 NIGHTLIFE p.37 SCENE: NUMBER NINE p.37 LISTINGS p.38 SCENE: STOLI KEY WEST COCKTAIL CLASSIC p.44 LAST WORD p.46 Real LGBTQ News and Entertainment since 1994 Editorial Editor-in-Chief Randy Shulman Art Director Todd Franson Managing Editor Rhuaridh Marr Senior Editor John Riley Contributing Editor Doug Rule Senior Photographers Ward Morrison, Julian Vankim Contributing Illustrator Scott G. Brooks Contributing Writers André Hereford, Sean Maunier, Troy Petenbrink, Kate Wingfield Webmaster David Uy Production Assistant Julian Vankim Sales & Marketing Publisher Randy Shulman National Advertising Representative Rivendell Media Co. 212-242-6863 Distribution Manager Dennis Havrilla Patron Saint Leonard Cohen Cover Photography Jeri Heiden Metro Weekly 1775 I St. NW, Suite 1150 Washington, DC 20006 202-638-6830 All material appearing in Metro Weekly is protected by federal copyright law and may not be reproduced in whole or part without the permission of the publishers. Metro Weekly assumes no responsibility for unsolicited materials submitted for publication. All such submissions are subject to editing and will not be returned unless accompanied by a self-addressed, stamped envelope. Metro Weekly is supported by many fine advertisers, but we cannot accept responsibility for claims made by advertisers, nor can we accept responsibility for materials provided by advertisers or their agents. Publication of the name or photograph of any person or organization in articles or advertising in Metro Weekly is not to be construed as any indication of the sexual orientation of such person or organization.

MARCH 22, 2018 • METROWEEKLY

PHOTO COUTESY I.M.P.

Spotlight

Amped for Action

IKE ANY REASONABLY-MINDED, CONCERNED PARent of a 17-year-old, Donna Westmoreland is opposed to President Trump’s recent kowtow to the National Rifle Association, in which his proposed solution to the gun crisis in this country is not a ban on assault weapons or to raise age limits, but to arm high school teachers. Trump wants even more guns. “It’s so ridiculous on so many levels, I can’t even,” sighs the Chief Operating Officer of I.M.P., which owns and operates the 9:30 Club, Merriweather Post Pavilion, and The Anthem, the dazzling, new, 6,000-capacity concert venue on the southwest waterfront. “When our son was a child, if there was somebody we didn’t know very well, we would ask ‘Do you have a gun in your home?’ We didn’t want him to go there if they did. So, in a school? No way. No way.” Westmoreland is both moved and impressed by the Parkland, Florida students who are vigorously spearheading a movement to deal with the issue of gun reform in a meaningful way. “The students are coming through with a beacon-clear message that

Fall Out Boy

this has to change,” she says. “This is one of those frustratingly intractable [issues] where the logic is there, but for some reason, politics is keeping it from being resolved. The students are seeming to break that log jam.” To support the cause, I.M.P. is presenting “Stay Amped,” a concert on Friday, March 23, ahead of Saturday’s March For Our Lives. Fall Out Boy is headlining the benefit — which will help Everytown for Gun Safety Action Fund and Gabby Giffords’ Courage to Fight Gun Violence produce “sibling marches” across the country — and will be joined by G-Eazy, BeBe Rexha, Lizzo, and Cam, along with “surprise superstar guests.” All artists are donating their services. I.M.P. itself has a long history of producing concerts for social causes, including marriage equality and last year’s women’s march. “We are unabashedly liberal,” says Westmoreland. “And we’re a privately-held company. We don’t have to do that calculus of ‘What will the shareholders think?’ We feel we should support the things that we think are good and right. And so we do.” —Randy Shulman

Stay Amped is Friday, March 23, at The Anthem, 901 Wharf St. SW. Doors open at 6:30 p.m., show at 7:30 p.m. Tickets are $50 to $175. General admission. “Super Excellent Seats,” however, are available and when purchased, a ticket is donated to a student activist attending the March for Our Lives rally. Tickets available at The Anthem, Merriweather, or 9:30 Club Box offices and online at theanthemdc.com. MARCH 22, 2018 • METROWEEKLY

Spotlight NATIONAL SYMPHONY ORCHESTRA: VERDI’S REQUIEM

STEFANO PASQUALETTI

No one brings out all the sweeping drama and passionate intensity of Verdi’s great masterpiece quite like Gianandrea Noseda (pictured), a critic in The Guardian noted, saying the NSO’s Music Director “has Verdi in his system...electric from start to finish.” The Requiem is an oratorio, an opera, and a religious work all at once, and to give it full force, the NSO is joined by the Washington Chorus, the Choral Arts Society of Washington, and soloists from Washington National Opera’s Don Carlo — namely, Eric Owens, Russell Thomas, Leah Crocetto, and Veronica Simeoni. Thursday, March 22, at 7 p.m., and Friday, March 23, and Saturday, March 24, at 8 p.m. Kennedy Center Concert Hall. Tickets are $15 to $109. Call 202-467-4600 or visit kennedy-center.org.

HILLWOOD’S FABERGE EGG FAMILY FESTIVAL

PHOTO COURTESY OF HILLWOOD

The former estate of Marjorie Merriweather Post hosts an annual two-day festival in which guests can take part in a traditional Russian egg-rolling game, decorate their own Fabergé-inspired egg, take in performances from the Samovar Russian Folk Music Ensemble and Kalinka Dance Ensemble, and hear stories of Russian Easter traditions in a fun family play produced by Happenstance Theater. All that in addition to admiring all of the finer things Post collected, including many exquisite Russian imperial eggs and other fanciful Fabergé creations. You can also take a tour of Hillwood’s working greenhouse most days in March, also known as Orchid Month. Saturday, March 24, and Sunday, March 25, from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. Hillwood Estate, 4155 Linnean Ave. NW. Suggested donation is $18. Call 202686-5807 or visit HillwoodMuseum.org.

TRANSLATIONS

TEDDY WOLFF

British army engineers arrive in 19th-century rural Ireland to draw new borders and translate local place names into the King’s English in a work dating to 1980 from celebrated Irish playwright Brian Friel (Dancing at Lughnasa). “Born out of a contested cultural moment,” says Studio’s David Muse, “Friel’s classic about language and all of its limits will have particular resonance in this town at this time.” Directed by the company’s Belfast-born Associate Artistic Director Matt Torney and starring Caroline Dubberly, Megan Graves, Martin Giles, Molly Carden, Matthew Aldwin McGee, Jeff Keogh, and Joe Mallon. In previews. Runs to April 22. Metheny Theatre, 14th & P Streets NW. Call 202-332-3300 or visit studiotheatre.org. 8

MARCH 22, 2018 • METROWEEKLY

Spotlight RED BARAAT WITH ZESHAN B, WOMEN’S RAGA MASSIVE

RICHARD GASTWIRT

Jazz artist Sunny Jain conceived of and leads the bhangra-rooted party band Red Baraat, an ensemble returning to D.C. on their annual Festival of Colors tour. This year’s party, which celebrates spring rites as well as the South Asian Diaspora in America, also features as opening acts Zeshan B on Friday, March 23, and Women’s Raga Massive on Saturday, March 24, both starting at 8 p.m. The Hamilton, 600 14th St. NW. Tickets are $20 to $25. Call 202-787-1000 or visit thehamiltondc.com.

POPPYCOCK PRODUCTIONS

L.A. comedian Gloria Bigelow (pictured right) headlines a night of “high octane, high caliber” comedy also featuring Poppy Champlin (pictured left) — named America’s Funniest Real Woman on The Joan Rivers Show — and Michele Durante. The show is an official Baltimore Pride event, with some proceeds benefiting the GLCCB, Baltimore and Central Maryland’s GLBT Community Center. Tickets are $25 for general admission and $40 for VIP, which includes prefered seating and a meet and greet before the show with wine and cheese. Sunday, March 25, at 5 p.m. Magooby’s Joke House, 9603 Deereco Road, Timonium, MD. Call 410-252-2727 or visit magoobysjokehouse.com.

POPPYCOCK PRODUCTIONS

THE QUEER QUEENS OF QOMEDY

BROOKLYN: THE MUSICAL

RJ PAVEL

The title character in Mark Schoenfeld and Barri McPherson’s musical is on a journey to find her father, as told by a group of people suffering out on the streets led by the Street Singer. Briana Taylor is Brooklyn and DeCarlo Raspberry the Street Singer, in a cast also including Taylor Washington, Amana Leigh Corbett, Jonathan Helwig, Ashley K. Nicholas, Topher Williams, and Marika Countouris. The mostly sung-through show is directed by Michael Windsor and choreographed by Patricia “Pep” Targete. To March 31. Ainslie Arts Center in Episcopal High School, 3900 W. Braddock Rd., Alexandria. Tickets are $40. Call 703-933-3000 or visit monumentaltheatre.org. MARCH 22, 2018 • METROWEEKLY

MAIKE SCHULZ

Out On The Town

BIG APPLE CIRCUS AT NATIONAL HARBOR

National Harbor is celebrating its 10th anniversary by hosting the Big Apple Circus, now in its 40th year of presenting shows in a one-ring, intimate, and artistic style, including a full lineup of global artists and acts — but never exotic or wild animals, only rescue dogs, horses and ponies. From Nik Wallenda and the Flying Wallendas’ seven-person pyramid on the high wire to daredevil roller skating, a flying trapeze act to a master juggler, contortionist Elayne Kramer to comedian Grandma the Clown, the nearly two-hour show, directed by Mark Lonergan, has a little something for everyone. To April 1. Intersection of Waterfront Street and St. George Boulevard, National Harbor, Md. Tickets are $27.50, or $109 for VIP Ringside. Call 855-258-0718 or visit BigAppleCircus.com. Compiled by Doug Rule

FILM EASTER PARADE

It might not be top of mind when you think of Judy Garland classics, but this 1948 American musical film directed by Charles Walters is cited as the most financially successful for both Garland her co-star Fred Astaire. Easter Parade, with music by Irving Berlin, also features some of the dancing pair’s best-known songs, from “Stepping’ Out with My Baby” to the title track. Part of Landmark’s West End Cinema Capital Classics weekly screening series. Wednesday, March 28, at 1:30, 4:30, and 7:30 p.m., 2301 M St. NW. Happy hour from 4 to 6:30 p.m. Tickets are $10 to $12.50. Call

202-534-1907 or visit landmarktheatres.com.

HOT BITS QUEER EROTIC FILM AND ARTS FESTIVAL

Now in its second year, this two-evening festival presents a range of erotic indie video, soft to hardcore, as well as performance and visual arts, all documenting aspects of queer desire and sexuality that stray well beyond the mainstream commercial porn and sex industries. A collective of queer artists curated Hot Bits, which received over 113 film submissions from across the U.S., Europe, North Africa, and Central and South America. Saturday, March 31, at 8 p.m., and Sunday, April 1, at 7 p.m. Creative Alliance at the Patterson, 3134 Eastern Ave., Baltimore. Tickets are $10 in advance, or $13

at the door, or $18 for a festival pass to both nights. Call 410-276-1651 or visit creativealliance.org.

MILDRED PIERCE

This hybrid of film noir and “the women’s picture” allowed Joan Crawford to reinvent herself as an independent, career-oriented woman suffering in great luxury. “She was a queen at MGM for many years, and then they kicked her out very unceremoniously,” says film critic Nell Minow. “I think a large part of why that is her best performance is that she really was suffering in real life. She really was very humiliated. And that comes across in the role.” The AFI offers another screening of the 1945 classic, which garnered Crawford her one and only Oscar, as part of a series paying tribute to director Michael Curtiz.

Saturday, March 24, at 11:30 a.m. AFI Silver Theatre, 8633 Colesville Road, Silver Spring. Tickets are $10 to $13 general admission. Call 301495-6720 or visit afi.com/Silver.

RA XTRA: Q-MASON

A selection of short films from the Film and Video Studies program at George Mason University featuring students telling their LGBTQ stories. Rayceen Pendarvis of The Ask Rayceen Show hosts the evening, ending with a director talkback and reception. The lineup of 11 shorts includes: Alisa Posey’s Cope, a narrative electronic music video about the struggles of a high school girl with anxiety and depression, set to new music by the filmmaker; Michael Rose’s Both, a comedy about a young woman out to prove to her ex that she is over their rela-

MARCH 22, 2018 • METROWEEKLY

tionship; Haven Houston’s Right Man, Wrong Time, about “one of the best mistakes” one could make, dating someone older than yourself; Hannah Looney’s Gone, a modern twist on Bonnie & Clyde with music by Aylive; Kyle Finnegan’s Cling Wrap, about a boy and his mother, coming to the end of her battle with a terminal illness; and Jordon Jones’ Grace The Ghost, in which a recently heartbroken man is haunted by a not-so-ordinary ghost. Friday, March 30, at 7 p.m. HRC Equality Center, 1640 Rhode Island Ave. NW. Tickets are $12, or a VIP Pass for $25 in include the Talkback and Reception plus a complimentary cocktail and popcorn. Visit thedccenter.org.

CLAIRE BUFFIE

RAMEN HEADS

COMEDY WHIZ

Comedian David Alan Grier eases into Arlington Drafthouse to speak his piece.

AVID ALAN GRIER LOVES BRINGING HIS STAND-UP ACT TO THE nation’s capital. “It’s one of the venues and cities in which there’s a high intellect and an ability to appreciate, from the audience, intelligent conversation, political, cultural, artistic stuff,” he says. Detroit-born and raised, Grier has been performing in and around the District since the early ’90s, during the Emmy-winning heyday of In Living Color, the TV sketch series that introduced the multi-talented Yale Drama grad to millions. Of course, before Grier donned a dainty chapeau alongside Damon Wayans in the show’s iconic “Men On...” sketches, he was a Tony-nominated stage actor for his 1981 Broadway debut portraying baseball legend Jackie Robinson in The First. Subsequent returns to Broadway have brought two further Tony nods, for David Mamet’s Race and for Grier’s perfectly unctuous Sportin’ Life in the 2012 revival of The Gershwins’ Porgy & Bess. And he delivered a memorable Cowardly Lion on NBC’s live broadcast of The Wiz. Despite also appearing in countless films and TV series, he always heard the siren call of comedy. The stand-up bug bit while he was still at Yale. As Grier made the leap to Broadway, Eddie Murphy emerged on the stand-up scene. “I was really attracted to that world,” he says. “There was a lot of energy around comedy and I really wanted to be a part it. I did a couple of open mikes at Catch a Rising Star and the Improv. There was a sexiness that I clearly saw.” Grier will arrive at Arlington Drafthouse primed and ready to take on all the crazy that’s happening now, from the “nutty” White House, to his fellow Michigander Betsy DeVos embarrassing herself in a recent 60 Minutes interview. “If you wanna call it an interview,” he retorts. “Betsy DeVos was me, many times when I had to get up and give a book report on a book I never read. You hem and haw, you say a bunch of bullshit. It was really like watching a kid do an oral exam and they had not read the material.” —André Hereford David Alan Grier appears Friday, March 23 and Saturday, March 24 at Arlington Drafthouse, 2903 Columbia Pike, Arlington. Tickets are $25. Call (703) 486-2345 or visit arlingtondrafthouse.com. 12

MARCH 22, 2018 • METROWEEKLY

A mouthwatering survey of Japan’s culinary history, famous restaurants, and specialty ingredients, filmmaker Koki Shigeno takes a deep dive into the broth of the country’s ramen craze. The focus is on the country’s reigning ramen king Osamu Tomita, who is seen in the runup to his restaurant’s 10th anniversary celebration. Opens Friday, March 23. Landmark’s E Street Cinema, 555 11th St. NW. Call 202-452-7672 or visit landmarktheatres.com.

STAGE ALEXANDER AND THE TERRIBLE, HORRIBLE, NO GOOD, VERY BAD DAY

Cara Gabriel directs a musical adaptation of Judith Viorst’s book, documenting one day in a boy’s life and the hope for better days ahead. Christian Montgomery leads a cast that also includes Sylvern Groomes Jr., Sophie Schulman, Tiziano D’Affuso, Daniel Westbrook, and Sally Horton as Alexander’s mother. To March 31. Adventure Theatre MTC, 7300 MacArthur Blvd., Glen Echo. Tickets are $19.50. Call 301634-2270 or visit adventuretheatre-mtc.org.

BECOMING DR. RUTH Playwright Mark St. Germain illuminates in ways both poignant and unexpected the remarkable true story of consummate survivor Karola Siegel, better known to millions as perky sex therapist and media personality Dr. Ruth Westheimer. Directed by Holly Twyford, the play’s chief vehicle for conveying the reality of this steelwilled mother, educator, sex expert, and ex-paramilitary sniper is the masterful performance of Naomi Jacobson, whose rich approximation captures the famous accent, directness, and undeniable twinkle that’s endeared the good doctor to generations of fans. To March 18. Theater J, 1529 16th St. NW. Tickets are $39 to $69. Call 202-777-3210 or

visit theaterj.org. (André Hereford)

EVERY BRILLIANT THING

Developed with actor Jonny Donohue, Duncan MacMillan’s unusual one-person play pivots on interactions with the audience, collectively examining a child’s reaction to his depressed mother’s attempted suicide, and helping build a list of things worth living for. From the No. 1 item “Ice Cream” to No. #999, “the Alphabet,” Every Brilliant Thing is said to elicit as much laughter as it does tears in creating its catalog of gratitude. Jason Loewith directs Alexander Strain in the Olney Theatre Center production. Extended to April 1. Theatre Lab, 2001 Olney-Sandy Spring Road, Olney, Md. Call 301924-3400 or visit olneytheatre.org.

in Buffalo, Charlotte and George Hay are the stars of a floundering touring theater company currently staging repertory productions of Noel Coward’s Private Lives and a “revised, one nostril version” of Cyrano de Bergerac. The Maryland community theater Laurel Mill Playhouse offers a production directed by Larry Simmons. Opens Friday, March 23. Runs to April 15. 508 Main St., Laurel, Md. Tickets are $$15 to $20. Call 301-617-9906 or visit laurelmillplayhouse.org.

MUSIC AIR SUPPLY

COMMUNITY

Russell Hitchcock is 68 and Graham Russell is 67, and the two have been the principal members of this Australian soft-rock group for 43 years. Yet based on recent reviews from concerts elsewhere, time and age have done little to slow down Air Supply as a live act. In fact, lead vocalist Hitchcock can still sing “in the distinctive timbre that characterized Air Supply’s music in its heyday,” according to a review last summer in the Atlanta Journal-Constitution, whose critic further noted that the duo harmonizes together “as precise as ever.” For the most part, they’re expected to follow in Cher’s footsteps when they hit MGM National Harbor, keeping the show focused on their hits, with only occasional dips into their more recent recorded repertoire. Wednesday, March 28, at 8 p.m. Theater at MGM National Harbor, 7100 Harborview Ave., Oxon Hill, Md. Tickets are $31 to $176. Call 844-346-4664 or visit mgmnationalharbor.com

STAGE

AKUA ALLRICH

THE GOSPEL AT COLONUS

WSC Avant Bard revives its Helen Hayes Award-nominated retelling of the Oedipus tale, a synthesis of religious parable, Greek tragedy, and African-American gospel revue. William T. Newman, Jr., also returns as Preacher Oedipus, who recounts for his flock the tragic exile of Oedipus the King, now played by gospel recording artist Kenton Rogers. They’re joined by the joyous sounds of the Women’s Ecumenical Choir of Alexandria’s Ebenezer Baptist Church. To March 25. The Gunston Arts Center, Theatre Two, 2700 South Lang St. Arlington. Tickets are $10 to $35. Call 703-418-4804 or visit wscavantbard.org.

I LOVE YOU, YOU’RE PERFECT, NOW CHANGE

A celebration of the mating game from gay Tony-winning scribe and lyricist Joe DiPietro (Memphis) and composer Jimmy Roberts, this musical comedy revue takes on the truths and myths behind modern love and relationships, as presented in the form of a series of vignettes. Touted as the second-longest running musical Off Broadway (after The Fantasticks), I Love You... sees a Baltimore community version directed by Fuzz Roark, with Mandee Ferrier Roberts as musical director and a cast of six taking on over 30 characters, all in search of love. Opens Friday, March 23. To April 22. Spotlighters Theatre, 817 St. Paul St., Baltimore. Tickets are $18 to $22. Call 410-752-1225 or visit spotlighters.org.

MOON OVER BUFFALO

Ken Ludwig’s fast-paced screwball comedy circa 1995, a throwback farce, is a valentine to the stage, featuring characters with largerthan-life personalities. Set in 1953

This young jazz vocalist and composer, a D.C. native and Howard University alum, draws from traditional, modern, and African jazz styles while often singing in the showy, rangy manner of many of today’s leading soul/pop divas — when not channeling her idol Nina Simone. She returns to the Kennedy Center to showcase her intriguing pan-African and pan-African-American musical blend with two performances, the first of which is sold out. Saturday, March 24, at 7 and 9 p.m. Terrace Gallery. Tickets are $26 to $30. Call 202-467-4600 or visit kennedy-center.org.

AUGUST GREENE

A newly formed supergroup of rapper Common, pianist and composer Robert Glasper, and percussionist and producer Karriem Riggins, this trio performs a blend of jazz, hiphop, and soul, creating songs that are highly rhythmic yet smooth and suave, nearly trance-inducing, meditative offerings to help cope while pushing through the dark for brighter days. Joining the trio live is Burniss Travis on bass, Samora Pinderhughes on vocals and additional keys, and DJ

MARCH 22, 2018 • METROWEEKLY

PHOTO COURTESY OF MORRIS

HISTORICAL PERSPECTIVE

Professor Bonnie J. Morris returns to D.C. with a timely new book on the history of feminism.

HERE’S A GENERAL COARSENESS I ATTRIBUTE TO INTERNET CULTURE AND hate radio,” says Bonnie Morris. “Talk radio became nastier and nastier to induce ratings. Initially it was Rush Limbaugh and his remarks about ‘feminazis.’ I had students coming to me on the first week of classes saying, ‘Golly, you’re a great professor. I was afraid you’d be a feminazi.’ They felt completely comfortable using that language to their professor, who’s a Jewish woman. The popularization, through talk radio, of let’s put down feminists, resonated with all the people who later became the Tea Party. “And not only guys,” she continues. “Dr. Laura and Ann Coulter. Those women found that you could go as far as you wanted as a powerful female if what you were saying pleased conservative men.” Morris, a professor at George Washington University for 22 years and now a lecturer in the Gender and Women’s Studies Department at UC Berkeley, is discussing how the feminist revolution stalled and, actually, fell into retrograde. “We have a generation of kids who were homeschooled in very specific pro-America, anti-feminist rhetoric, who were able to get a law school education through Liberty University run by Jerry Falwell and Regents University founded by Pat Robertson. Those are schools that specifically train young conservatives to influence Washington, and it’s been very successful.” Morris will be in town this weekend to promote her latest book, The Feminist Revolution: The Struggle for Women’s Liberation (Smithsonian Books, $34.95), co-authored with D-M Withers. “It’s a very wonderful, big hardcover coffee table book, an illustrated social history of second wave feminism,” says Morris. “It goes from 1966 to 1988 and its nine chapters range from reproductive rights to women in the anti-war movement, the women’s music movement, which I enjoyed writing about, black feminism, publishing, Ms. Magazine, and a big, big, big, big, big section on lesbian

rights and the portrayal of lesbians in movies and TV.” Asked about the current wave of feminism manifesting through the #MeToo movement, Morris says, “It is simply an explosion of being fed up. These cycles of being pushed to the snapping point emerge every so often, and they’re usually triggered by some event, which, in the era of social networking, can galvanize a community instantly, because one person reports something on Facebook and then everybody has access to it. What shocks me is that only now did we bring to trial that gymnastics team doctor who had been helping himself to little girls for a generation. The fact that that only emerges so late speaks to how reluctant many kids are to talk about the abuse they endured. It’s so shameful, and it’s buried by parents who want them to succeed. There’s always a lag in the reportage about what is done to minors.” As for Trump, Morris thinks “he’s been dreadful for everything, but I think conversations about what’s happening have awakened people who might have been asleep.... My mother and I are speculating about whether or not the real issue that’s being hidden in Russia is paternity and whether Trump has fathered kids. That sometimes repels people once and for all. On the other hand, it’s so commonplace. Strom Thurmond was found to have been paying child support to a young black woman with whom, for all of his racism, he fathered a kid.” —Randy Shulman

Bonnie Morris will sign copies of “The Feminist Revolution” on Sunday, March 25, at the Smithsonian American History Museum from 1 to 3 p.m., and will appear on Monday, March 26 at 7 p.m. at Politics & Prose (5015 Connecticut Ave. NW) for a reading and signing. Visit Politics-Prose.com. Dummy. Thursday, March 29, at 8 p.m. Kennedy Center Concert Hall. Tickets are $39 to $149. Call 202-4674600 or visit kennedy-center.org.

DEAD MEN’S HOLLOW

A pure Americana sound of tight harmony vocals backed by traditional bluegrass instrumentation

is what this Washington band aims for — and achieves, according to a Washington Post review that praised the local band’s “blend of the traditional and the transcendent.” Sadly, after 17 years together, Dead Men’s Hollow plans to disband this summer, and readies a free farewell concert on the Millennium Stage. Thursday,

MARCH 22, 2018 • METROWEEKLY

March 29, at 6 p.m. Kennedy Center. Call 202-467-4600 or visit kennedy-center.org.

DREW KID

As part of its annual Artists-inResidence guidance program, Strathmore presents concerts by the year’s AIR roster of up-and-coming

artists, including this young FilipinoAmerican musician who offers his own take on soul and funk that incorporates jazz, even hip-hop elements that Kid has picked up from years of performing with local acts, including the Capital Focus Jazz Band and the Bohemian Caverns Jazz Orchestra. A few years ago, the Washington City Paper named

S ON AT I

DI BY BR MA RE C T T TE IAN TO D B FR RN Y IE L PL NO EY A W

1833, COUNTY DONEGAL: Languages and histories collide when British army engineers arrive to map the country and translate the country’s place names into English. A modern classic from an Irish master that reminds us how personal the political can be.

—The New York Times

“A period play of ideas… that have haunting resonance in our own era.”

FOR TICKETS CALL 202.332.3300 OR VISIT STUDIOTHEATRE.ORG

Politics are Brooklyn’s grunge/ punk act Dreamers and L.A.’s indierock band The Wrecks. Monday, March 26, at 7:30 p.m. Fillmore Silver Spring, 8656 Colesville Road, Silver Spring. Tickets are $25. Call 301-960-9999 or visit fillmoresilverspring.com.

OF MONTREAL

Despite its name, Of Montreal was founded and is led by singer-songwriter/multi-instrumentalist Kevin Barnes, who is based in the indierock hotbed of Athens, Ga. Barnes named his five-piece after a woman he once dated from Montreal. The odd name hasn’t stopped the eccentric ensemble, whose music is all over the psychedelic rock map, from gaining a devoted following. Of Montreal tours in support of its 15th studio set, White Is Relic/ Irrealis Mood, a six-track EP of songs inspired by the extended dance remixes that first emerged in the 1980s — and the result is as strange and baffling as that inspirational source. Mega Bog opens. Sunday, March 25. Doors at 7 p.m. 9:30 Club, 815 V St. NW. Tickets are $20. Call 202-265-0930 or visit 930.com.

TOM MEYER: NARRATIVE VISIONS

The president of Clyde’s Restaurant Group, a Culinary Institute of America alum, has cooked up something wholly unexpected with his latest project. And it’s one that has esseone that has nothing to do with food. In his spare time, Meyer has been studiously brushing up on his strokes and blobs as he steps closer attempting creating a personal universe of ghosts, devils, aliens, and demons flirting with everyday objects, animated trees, and an array of animals. All of that is on display in the self-taught painter’s first exhibition of his artwork at a gallery in Georgetown. Now to April 7. Addison/Ripley Fine Art, 1670 Wisconsin Ave. NW. Call 202-338-5180 or visit addisonripleyfineart.com.

Rebirth, an album Kid recorded as leader of the Oooh Child Ensemble, to its Best Local Music of 2015 list. Wednesday, March 28, at 7:30 p.m. The Mansion at Strathmore, 10701 Rockville Pike, North Bethesda. Tickets are $17. Call 301-581-5100 or visit strathmore.org.

GLEN HANSARD

The Irish singer-songwriter got his start in the group The Frames but is best known for his work with Czech musician Marketa Irglova in duo The Swell Season, which led to his Tony-winning score for Once. Hansard tours in support of his third solo outing, Between Two Shores. Saturday, March 24. Doors at 6:30 p.m. The Anthem, 901 Wharf St. SW. Tickets are $35 to $75. Call 202-8880020 or visit theanthemdc.com.

MIKE + THE MECHANICS

Mike Rutherford initially formed his group as a side project while waiting out the hiatuses from his main gig as a founding member of Genesis. The Mechanics scored a string of hits in its first few years —

“All I Need Is A Miracle,” “Living Years” — and has remained an offagain/on-again act ever since, with Let Me Fly, the band’s 8th album featuring all-new material — most of it even decent to good — released just last year. Interestingly, only Rutherford remains from the original lineup, and in 2010 he introduced an entirely new incarnation with two new vocalists, Andrew Roachford and Tim Howar, plus guitarist Anthony Drennan, keyboardist Luke Juby, and drummer Gary Wallis. It’s those six that carry on the torch today. Tuesday, March 27, at 7:30 p.m. The Birchmere, 3701 Mount Vernon Ave., Alexandria. Tickets are $45. Call 703-549-7500 or visit birchmere.com.

NATIONAL CHAMBER ENSEMBLE

Brahms’ dramatic String Sextet No. 2 and Mendelssohn’s vigorous Octet in E-Flat Major are considered two of the greatest Romantic works featuring the lush sounds of strings. They’re also the focus of the Spring “Strings Fever” concert from this Arlington-based group founded

MARCH 22, 2018 • METROWEEKLY

over a decade ago by a strings man himself, violinist Leonid Sushansky. A reception follows the performance. Saturday, March 24, at 7:30 p.m. Unitarian Universalist Church of Arlington, 4444 Arlington Blvd. Tickets are $18 to $36. Call 703276-6701 or visit nationalchamberensemble.org.

NEW POLITICS

The Danish punk-pop trio featuring David Boyd on lead vocals and guitar, Soren Hansen on bass, and Lluis Vecchio on drums, whips punk, pop, and dance-rock into a frenzy that certainly isn’t anything novel. For example, all throughout Lost In Translation, the band’s fourth set released last year, you hear echoes of other Nordic rock acts, from Sweden’s The Sounds to fellow Danes The Raveonettes, as well as Neon Trees, Mika, and that ultimate touchstone Queen, the latter most prominently on quirky single “One Of Us.” It’s the type of boisterous jam you can’t deny or resist, or dismiss. And with tunes this catchy, who needs novel? Opening for New

RENÉ MARIE: EXPERIMENT IN TRUTH

This local Grammy-nominated vocalist swings with verve and sings with the spirit of Eartha Kitt, as well as jazz’s pioneering leading ladies, from Ella Fitzgerald to Dinah Washington. Unlike many of her jazz contemporaries, however, Marie isn’t just putting her spin on other songwriters’ songs, or American Songbook standards. In fact, Marie garnered a nod from the Grammys in 2016 for Sound of Red, a Best Jazz Vocal Album contender featuring mostly originals. And Marie draws inspiration from folk in tackling social issues via her songwriting, as evidenced on two of her better known originals: the homelessness-themed “This Is Not A Protest Song” and “Three Nooses Hanging,” about racial tensions in Louisiana. Marie next performs on the University of Maryland campus as presented by the Clarice at a nearby, affiliated venue, the hybrid campus/community arts venue MilkBoy ArtHouse that also features a cafe and craft bar. Thursday, March 29, at 7 and 9 p.m. 7416 Baltimore Ave., College Park, Md. Tickets are $10 to $30. Call 240-623-1423 or visit milkboyarthouse.com.

SAN FERMIN

Named after the famous annual “Running of the Bulls” festival in Pamplona, Spain, the nine-piece New York band creates eclectic, eccentric — and sometimes just plain weird — chamber pop (or “Baroque pop”) similar to that of hipster-darlings Vampire Weekend, as well as Antony and the Johnsons.

Founded and led by composer Ellis Ludwig-Leone, the diverse group features two lead vocalists, Charlene Kaye and Allen Tate, plus trumpet player John Brandon, saxophonist Stephen Chen, violinist Rebekah Durham, drummer Michael Hanf, and guitarists Tyler McDiarmid and Aki Ishiguro. San Fermin tours in support of its third album Belong, which has only gotten better with additional listens since its release last year. Friday, March 30, at 8 p.m. The Barns at Wolf Trap, 1635 Trap Road, Vienna. Tickets are $25 in advance, or $30 day-of. Call 877-WOLFTRAP or visit wolftrap.org.

THE SOUL REBELS BRASS BAND FEAT. GZA & TALIB KWELI

An eight-piece brass band from New Orleans, the Soul Rebels draw from jazz, funk, rock, soul, and increasingly hip-hop to create an original musical blend that sounds just perfect when performed at boisterous, party-like live shows. In the past decade, the Soul Rebels have become a higher-profile act due to touring and supporting artists as varied as Green Day and Bruno Mars, Metallica and Trombone Shorty, plus an increasing number of rappers, including the socially conscious Kweli and Wu-Tang Clan’s GZA. It was two years ago at Michigan’s Electric Forest Festival that the two hip-hop artists first collaborated on stage with the band — consisting of founding members and percussionists Lumar LeBlanc and Derrick Moss, with trumpet players Julian Gosin and Marcus Hubbard, trombonists Corey Peyton and Paul Robertson, saxophonist Erion Williams, and sousaphonist Manuel Perkins Jr. All Good presents what is sure to be a rousing local show. Thursday, March 29. Doors at 7 p.m. 9:30 Club, 815 V St. NW. Tickets are $25. Call 202-265-0930 or visit 930.com.

DANCE CHRISTOPHER K. MORGAN & ARTISTS

Contemporary dance company performs a wide-ranging, mixed-repertory program for its debut as a Dance Place Resident Company, with the first evening including a post-show After Party reception honoring the group’s namesake leader and his new role as Dance Place’s artistic director. Morgan’s solo work Unpredictable Repeat Hesitation opens the program putting the audience in charge of the score — and of Morgan’s dancing. The program also includes: the world premiere of Tiffanie Carson’s B.U.G. – [Backlight. Uplight. Glare.], set to an original score played live by Wytold; Adriane Fang’s powerhouse duet Conflict Resolution, staged on Morgan and guest performer Alex Springer; and Morgan’s Inconstancy, a lighthearted look at relationships and the notion of greener pastures just beyond them, with an original score by David Schulman. Saturday, March 24, at 8 p.m., and Sunday, March 25, at 7 p.m. Dance Place, 3225 8th St. NE. Tickets are $25 in advance, or $30 at the door, or $75 for the Saturday “Toast Christopher!” After Party. Call 202-269-1600 or visit danceplace.org.

MARK MORRIS DANCE GROUP

A Kennedy Center co-commission based on a tragic, ancient Azerbaijani tale akin to Romeo and Juliet, Layla and Majnun centers on a young man’s zealous feelings for his lover, and how his perceived madness turns their would-be union into scandal, misfortune, and eternal longing. The dancers from this acclaimed gay-led contemporary troupe perform with singers and musicians from virtuosic panAsian group the Silkroad Ensemble, backdropped by a set from painter Howard Hodgkin. Thursday, March 22, and Friday, March 23, at 7:30 p.m., and Saturday, March 24, at 1:30 and 7:30 p.m. Opera House. Tickets are $29 to $99. Call 202-467-4600 or visit kennedy-center.org.

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Tickets are $20 online, or $25 at the door. Call 202-293-1887 or visit prettyboidrag.com.

ABOVE AND BEYOND

PAUL KLONIK

DR. RUTH AT THEATER J’S 2018 ANNUAL BENEFIT

NEW YORK CITY BALLET

The acclaimed company brings two distinct programs for this year’s annual visit to the Kennedy Center, and accompanied throughout the run by the Kennedy Center Opera House Orchestra. First comes Works by Balanchine, Martins & Peck, featuring three classic works by the company’s George Balanchine, including Divertimento No. 15, a work for 16 dancers set to Mozart’s score that Balanchine considered the finest ever written. The first program also features Peter Martins’ Zakouski, plus a new work from Resident Choreographer and Soloist Justin Peck, Pulcinella Variations. Tuesday, March 27, through Thursday, March 29, at 7:30 p.m. Opera House. The second program is an all-Robbins affair, celebrating the centennial of Jerome Robbins, the company’s co-founding choreographer and still one of its most influential dance-makers. The evening nods as well to the centennial of Leonard Bernstein, chiefly through the frequent collaborators’ first-ever work together, the ballet Fancy Free, which would go on to inspire the musical On The Town. Robbins’ postmodern dance elements set to Philip Glass and his quartet of frolicsome divertissements to Verdi’s The Four Seasons round out the program. Friday, March 30, at 7:30 p.m., Saturday, March 31, at 1:30 and 7:30 p.m., and Sunday, April 1, at 1:30 p.m. Opera House. Tickets are $29 to $99. Call 202-467-4600 or visit kennedy-center.org.

READINGS CASS SUNSTEIN W/BENJAMIN WITTES: CAN IT HAPPEN HERE?

Benjamin Wittes of the Brookings Institution will lead a conversation with the acclaimed legal scholar, Harvard Professor, and New York Times best-selling author and focused on Sunstein’s latest book, a thought-provoking collection of essays, from some of the nation’s leading thinkers, assessing the state and security of American democracy in the era of Trump. Thursday, March 29, at 6 p.m. Kramerbooks, 1517 Connecticut Ave. NW. Tickets, including one book, are $25. Call 202-387-1400 or visit kramers.com.

CHASING CHERRY BLOSSOMS: ELIZA SCIDMORE

The first female writer, photographer, and board member at National Geographic also led the effort to

bring the now-iconic cherry blossoms from Japan to the National Mall. The heroine is the subject of the first book in a new discussion series called From The Archive. National Geographic photo archivist Sara Manco shares Scidmore’s trailblazing story through archival images, while local stage actress Anne Stone brings the story to life through dramatic readings of her books. Thursday, March 29, at 7:30 p.m. National Geographic Society’s Gilbert H. Grosvenor Auditorium, 1600 M St. NW. Tickets are $25. Call 202-857-7700 or visit events. nationalgeographic.org/dc.

DRAG FUN SHAW’S TAVERN: DINNER-N-DRAG, SERVED!

Sometimes you’re dragging and you just can’t make it to brunch. And sometimes you want a regular, more traditional kind of meal — you

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know, at night, over wine. Well, these days, you can have just that with one of D.C.’s leading ladies of drag. Every Sunday night at Shaw’s Tavern, Kristina Kelly hosts a show over supper with half-priced bottles of wine and different dinner specials each week. Seating at 7 p.m., show at 8 p.m. 520 Florida Ave. NW. Reservations required via shawsdinnerdragshow@gmail.com. Call 202-518-4092 or visit shawstavern.com.

PRETTY BOI DRAG: PRETTYBOIDECADES

Founded two years ago by former DC King Pretty Rik E, this troupe of drag kings offers a tribute to “boi” bands and pop stars from the ’50s on into today, plus a whole lot of the rock, funk, disco, R&B, and hiphop that came in between. Sunday, March 25, from 2 to 5 p.m. Bier Baron Tavern, 1523 22nd St. NW.

Theater J welcomes the real-life inspiration and subject of its latest play Becoming Dr. Ruth, the one and only Dr. Ruth Westheimer. The groundbreaking sex therapist will reflect on her life and career as a trailblazing broadcast personality offering a refreshing — and still rather rare — sex-positive outlook in the mainstream, in a conversation with Georgetown University professor and best-selling author Deborah Tannen (You Just Don’t Understand). The evening will also honor prominent D.C. trial lawyer Hank Schlosberg for his 15 years helping to guide Theater J, including 11 years on the Theater J Council. Sunday, March 25, at 6 p.m. Washington Hebrew Congregation, 3935 Macomb St. NW. Tickets are $300, including a meal sponsored by Provisions Catering. Call 202777-3210 or visit theaterj.org.

NATIONAL CHERRY BLOSSOM FESTIVAL

The Tidal Basin should be ringed in pink-hued blossoms next week and weekend, per the National Park Service’s prediction of when the cherry trees will reach peak bloom (March 27-31). The annual four-week festival officially kicks off this weekend with the Opening Ceremony concert, pushed back a day so as not to interfere with the March for Our Lives. This year’s concert features musical performances by Japanese pop stars T.M.Revolution (also a Japanimation composer) and Akiko Yano (also a renowned jazz artist), D.C.-based Japanese drumming group Miyako Taiko, and the 6821 Quintet, a group of world-class musicians, part of the Potomac Music-Lab Project and named for the mileage distance between Tokyo and D.C., which will premier a specially composed piece. An additional performance comes from the Shodo Girls from Fukuoka Prefectural Yahata Chuo High School, who won the 10th Annual “Shodo Performance Koshien” competition as both the sharpest dancers and most innovative calligraphy artists — based on the large, dynamic work of calligraphy they created on the spot, during the dance. Sunday, March 25, from 5 p.m. to 6:30 p.m. Warner Theatre, 513 13th St. NW. Free, but advanced tickets required. l

theFeed

BLOCK PARTY

Want to see who blocked you on Grindr? Here’s how. By Bailey Vogt

LOCAL DEVELOPER IS GETTING ATTENTION for a website that allows Grindr users to see who has blocked them. C*ckBlocked lets Grindr users input their username and password, and then displays the profiles that have blocked them from view — data not accessible through the standard Grindr app. Trever Faden, who currently runs a real estate tech company in the D.C. area, created the application in his spare time after recently becoming single. “I downloaded Grindr, and as soon as I downloaded it and I opened it up, I realized, ‘Wow, there’s a lot of really interesting data here,’” he says. Faden found that when the block feature is used, both the people they have blocked and the people that have blocked them are stored within a user’s profile. While inaccessible through the app itself, it can be detected within the code of Grindr. “[Grindr blocking data] returns two lists — the profile IDs of the people that you’ve blocked, and then a list of people that you’ve been blocked by. I thought that was interesting because it makes sense that you would be able to see a list of all the people that you’ve blocked.” Faden then created C*ckBlocked, which takes the hidden information and visualizes it, by latching into Grindr’s private APIs. Since launching last week, the website has already had 30,000 users check to see who has blocked their profile. Faden has been tracking its spread on social media, and says his creation has led to some interesting stories.

“I’ve heard people say, ‘Oh, I’ve seen my significant other on here that said he wasn’t on the app,’” he says. “I also saw somebody who said they noticed someone who infected them with HIV and still isn’t declaring their status, and blocked their profile on Grindr.” As tempting as it may be to discover exactly who has blocked your profile, some have expressed concern about what Faden is doing with their login information. The developer says he does not have access to anything more than the user’s email. “Instead of me having to let you store your password on your computer in clear text, you can store an authentication token,” Faden says. “You’re the only person who has the keys. It’s you and Grindr. I’m just a guy in the middle kind of throwing things on both sides.” If a Grindr user wants to learn who has shielded them from view, Faden suggest they do it quickly, as his website may lose accessibility soon. “I would imagine they will try to shut me down very quickly,” he says. “They could just block that traffic, so that way nobody could use the app that I built, because if a request tries to go out from the server, it will just basically block it.“ Faden says he might poke around in other dating service apps to see whether C*ckBlocked will work. “I’ve gotten a lot of requests to see if there are other apps that have similar vulnerabilities in some way,” he says. “I’ll probably download and give them a shot, and so we’ll see.” l

INDEFENSIBLE BIGOTRY

Republican Congressman believed same-sex marriage would cause gay people to marry “everybody in California with AIDS.” By Rhuaridh Marr

EPUBLICAN CONGRESSMAN STEVE PEARCE once said that same-sex marriage would lead to people marrying “everybody in California with AIDS” to obtain health insurance benefits for them. Pearce, who also thought marriage equality would lead to “polymorphism,” made the comments in 2008, but they were recently uncovered by Huffington Post. After saying he would “not have the government tell anybody how to live their life,” Pearce then launched into a tirade about why the government should refuse to allow same-sex people to marry. “What’s going on with gay marriage is...the redefining of a social institution. And the redefinition has serious downside results,” Pearce said at an event in Carrizozo, New Mexico. “The next step then is polymorphism, where one marries many.” (We presume Pearce meant polygamy.) Pearce also believed that same-sex marriage would lead

to insurance fraud, with healthy single gay people marrying others to pass on their insurance benefits. “You can imagine that a person would say, ‘Oh all these people in California don’t have access to AIDS treatments.’ ... They might say this to themselves: ‘I’m gonna marry everybody in California with AIDS,’ and suddenly they’ve got access to the, maybe the benefit program, the health insurance that a single person has,” Pearce said. HuffPo reached out to Pearce’s spokeswoman, Keeley Christensen, who not only confirmed that he still doesn’t like same-sex marriage, but also didn’t distance Pearce from his belief that marriage would lead to insurance fraud. “Congressman Pearce believes the government should not be involved in redefining marriage. He personally believes marriage is between a man and a woman,” Christensen told Huffington Post. “The issue, however, is settled law.” l

MARCH 22, 2018 • METROWEEKLY

theFeed

BOOK OF LOVE

John Oliver has turned Mike Pence’s rabbit into a gay children’s book character. By Rhuaridh Marr

RE YOU AWARE OF BOTUS? MARLON BUNDO, Bunny of the United States, is the Second Family’s pet rabbit — meaning he belongs to anti-gay Vice President Mike Pence. He is also the star of a new children’s book, Marlon Bundo’s Day in the Life of the Vice President, which sees BOTUS follow VPOTUS on a typical day of (we presume) dreaming about hanging gay people and trying to get his extreme conservative platform onto Donald Trump’s desk. However, there’s nothing intrinsically awful about a cute children’s book, even if it’s from the family of a man who believes in conversion therapy and opposes same-sex marriage, right? Wrong. As John Oliver’s Last Week Tonight team discovered, part of the book’s nationwide tour will see it stop at anti-LGBTQ organization Focus on the Family in Colorado. “Congrats Pence, you even managed to ruin Marlon Bundo,” Oliver said during the segment. “Now none of us can enjoy a book about your rabbit. “Or can we?” Oliver added, revealing that — in a coincidence, we’re assured — his team has also written a book about Pence’s bunny. The twist? Their Marlon Bundo is a

MARCH 22, 2018 • METROWEEKLY

“story about Marlon Bundo falling in love with another boy rabbit, because our Marlon Bundo is gay — just like the real Marlon Bundo.” Yes, Last Week Tonight writer Jill Twiss has penned a children’s book where the vice president’s beloved pet rabbit is gay. A Day in the Life of Marlon Bundo, as its website notes, is “for every bunny who has ever felt different.” It follows Marlon as he meets the aforementioned boy bunny, plans to spend the rest of his life with him, and then encounters an evil stinkbug who objects to their love — one who just happens to look like the vice president.... And if you need this story to get even more delectable, there’s also an audiobook read by Jim Parsons, with special guests including Jesse Tyler Ferguson and RuPaul. The real kicker? Proceeds from the book will go to the Trevor Project, a crisis hotline for LGBTQ youth, and AIDS United, which is working to end the HIV/AIDS epidemic in America. “Those are two great reasons to buy this book,” Oliver said. “Another is that selling more books than Pence will probably really piss him off.” l

Community

THURSDAY, March 22 The DC ANTI-VIOLENCE PROJECT, a group dedicated to combating anti-LGBT hate crimes, holds its monthly meeting at The DC Center. 7-8:30 p.m. 2000 14th St. NW, Suite 105. For more information, visit thedccenter.org.

WARD MORRISON / FILE PHOTO

The Latinx Coalition holds a workshop on healing community through the arts, with artist Xemiyulu Manibusan, who will lead participants through an interactive art-making workshop as they consider the question: WHAT DOES TRANS

LATINX JUSTICE LOOK LIKE?

Hoffmann as Barbara Comstock at the 2017 High Heel Race

ANTI-GUN BALL

The workshop will focus on issues important to trans and intersex people of color. 6-7:30 p.m. 2000 14th St. NW, Suite 105. For more information, call 202-682-2245 or visit thedccenter.org.

Weekly Events

The second annual GAG Ball is aiming to topple NRA-funded representative, Barbara Comstock.

ARBARA COMSTOCK HAS BEEN IN TOPHER HOFFMANN’S proverbial crosshairs for a while. Last year, the activist even dressed as Comstock for the High Heel Race, in order to call attention to the Virginia Republican’s robust financial support from the National Rifle Association. “Comstock ranks number ten in the House of Representatives for career donations, and has been a target of ours for a while,” he says. “That’s why, at this year’s GAG Ball, we’ll be raising money to help unseat her.” Born in the aftermath of the 2016 Pulse nightclub shooting, the annual GAG Ball, now in its second year, raises awareness about gun violence. This year, however, the ball’s theme is specifically focused on toppling Comstock in November’s midterm elections. So while attendees are either dancing or watching over-the-top performances from drag queens and other entertainers, they’ll be helping GAG raise money to fund various demonstrations, as well as the production of an online video series this summer that will educate voters about Comstock’s vehement opposition to gun reform. “One of the things I like about GAG DC’s mission...is to ‘Name, Blame and Shame,’” says Otter Den promoter David Brown, who is partnering with Gays Against Guns to produce the event. “So calling out and talking about who’s doing what, the direct actions they’re taking related to gun violence, and communicating that to their constituents.” Hoffmann says Brown’s tradition of holding “parties with a purpose” dovetails nicely with GAG’s style of activism, which has included headline-generating “dieins” and other symbolic protests on Capitol Hill and in front of the headquarters of some of the NRA’s top corporate sponsors. “GAG is a descendant of ACT UP, so we’re all about raising awareness and causing a ruckus,” says Hoffmann. “We take queer theater tactics to the streets to draw a lot of attention to issues we care about. And that’s what we’ll be doing this summer.” —John Riley The second annual GAG Ball is Saturday, March 31 from 6 to 10 p.m. at The Living Room DC, 1008 Vermont Ave. NW. Tickets are $10 if purchased online before Mar. 24, and $15 if purchased afterwards or at the door. Visit gagballdc.com.

ANDROMEDA TRANSCULTURAL HEALTH

offers free HIV testing and HIV services (by appointment). 9 a.m.-5 p.m. Decatur Center, 1400 Decatur St. NW. To arrange an appointment, call 202-291-4707, or visit andromedatransculturalhealth.org.

DC AQUATICS CLUB practice

session at Takoma Aquatic Center. 7:30-9 p.m. 300 Van Buren St. NW. For more information, visit swimdcac.org.

DC FRONT RUNNERS run-

ning/walking/social club welcomes runners of all ability levels for exercise in a fun and supportive environment, with socializing afterward. Route distance is 3-6 miles. Meet at 7 p.m. at 23rd & P Streets NW. For more information, visit dcfrontrunners.org.

DC LAMBDA SQUARES, D.C.’s gay and lesbian square-dancing group, features mainstream through advanced square dancing at the National City Christian Church. Please dress casually. 7-9:30 p.m. 5 Thomas Circle NW. 202-930-1058, dclambdasquares.org. DC SCANDALS RUGBY holds

practice. The team is always looking for new members. All welcome. 7:30-9:30 p.m. King Greenleaf Recreation Center, 201 N St. SW. For more information, visit scandalsrfc.org or dcscandals@gmail.com.

THE DULLES TRIANGLES

Northern Virginia social group

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meets for happy hour at Sheraton in Reston. All welcome. 7-9 p.m. 11810 Sunrise Valley Drive, second-floor bar. For more information, visit dullestriangles.com.

HIV TESTING at Whitman-Walker Health. 9 a.m.-12:30 p.m. and from 2-5 p.m. at 1525 14th St. NW, and 9 a.m-12 p.m. and 2-5 p.m. at the Max Robinson Center, 2301 MLK Jr. Ave. SE. For an appointment call 202-745-7000 or visit whitman-walker.org.

IDENTITY offers free and confi-

dential HIV testing at two separate locations. Walk-ins accepted from 2-6 p.m., by appointment for all other hours. 414 East Diamond Ave., Gaithersburg, Md. or 7676 New Hampshire Ave., Suite 411, Takoma Park, Md. To set up an appointment or for more information, call Gaithersburg, 301-300-9978, or Takoma Park, 301-422-2398.

METROHEALTH CENTER

offers free, rapid HIV testing. Appointment needed. 1012 14th St. NW, Suite 700. To arrange an appointment, call 202-638-0750.

SMYAL offers free HIV Testing, 3-5 p.m., by appointment and walk-in, for youth 21 and younger. Youth Center, 410 7th St. SE. 202-5673155 or testing@smyal.org.

STI TESTING at Whitman-Walker

Health. 10 a.m.-12:30 p.m. and 2-3 p.m. at both 1525 14th St. NW and the Max Robinson Center, 2301 Martin Luther King, Jr. Ave. SE. Testing is intended for those without symptoms. For an appointment call 202-745-7000 or visit whitman-walker.org.

US HELPING US hosts a Narcotics Anonymous Meeting. The group is independent of UHU. 6:30-7:30 p.m., 3636 Georgia Ave. NW. For more information, call 202-4461100.

WOMEN’S LEADERSHIP INSTITUTE for young LBTQ

women, 13-21, interested in leadership development. 5-6:30 p.m. SMYAL Youth Center, 410 7th St. SE. For more information, call 202567-3163, or email catherine.chu@ smyal.org.

FRIDAY, March 23 GAMMA is a confidential, volun-

tary, peer-support group for men who are gay, bisexual, questioning and who are now or who have been in a relationship with a woman. 7:30-9:30 p.m. Luther Place Memorial Church, 1226 Vermont Ave NW. GAMMA meetings are also held in Vienna, Va., and in Frederick, Md. For more information, visit gammaindc.org.

The DC Center holds its CENTER AGING MONTHLY LUNCH social for members of D.C.’s senior community. 12-2 p.m. 2000 14th St. NW, Suite 105. For more information, visit thedccenter.org or call 202-682-2245.

WOMEN IN THEIR TWENTIES (AND THIRTIES), a social discus-

sion and activity group for queer women, meets at The DC Center on the second and fourth Friday of each month. Group social activity to follow the meeting. 8-9:30 p.m. 2000 14th St. NW, Suite 105. For more information, visit thedccenter.org.

Weekly Events BET MISHPACHAH, founded by

members of the LGBT community, holds Friday evening Shabbat services in the DC Jewish Community Center’s Community Room. 8 p.m. 1529 16th St. NW. For more information, visit betmish.org.

DC AQUATICS CLUB holds a prac-

tice session at Howard University. 6:30-8 p.m. Burr Gymnasium, 2400 6th St. NW. For more information, visit swimdcac.org.

PROJECT STRIPES hosts LGBT-

affirming social group for ages 11-24. 4-6 p.m. 1419 Columbia Road NW. Contact Tamara, 202-3190422, layc-dc.org.

SMYAL’S REC NIGHT provides a social atmosphere for LGBT and questioning youth, featuring dance parties, vogue nights, movies and games. For more info, email catherine.chu@smyal.org.

SATURDAY, March 24

Takoma Ave., Takoma, Md. For more information, visit swimdcac. org.

DC FRONT RUNNERS running/

walking/social club welcomes runners of all ability levels for exercise in a fun and supportive environment, with socializing afterward. Route distance will be 3-6 miles. Walker meet at 9:30 a.m. and runners at 10 a.m. at 23rd & P Streets NW. For more information, visit dcfrontrunners.org.

DIGNITYUSA sponsors Mass for

LGBT community, family and friends. 6:30 p.m., Immanuel Church-on-the-Hill, 3606 Seminary Road, Alexandria. All welcome. For more info, visit dignitynova.org.

SUNDAY, March 25 CHRYSALIS arts & culture group travels to Richmond to see exhibition on “The Horse in Ancient Greek Art” at the Virginia Museum of Fine Arts. Lunch in nearby Carytown neighborhood. Carpool at 9 a.m. from the King Street Metro Station in Alexandria. Drivers needed. For more information, contact Craig, 202-462-0535 or craighowell1@verizon.net.

Weekly Events BETHEL CHURCH-DC progressive

and radically inclusive church holds services at 11:30 a.m. 2217 Minnesota Ave. SE. 202-248-1895, betheldc.org.

DC AQUATICS CLUB holds a

practice session at Wilson Aquatic Center. 9:30-11 a.m. 4551 Fort Dr. NW. For more information, visit swimdcac.org.

Join The DC Center as it volunteers for FOOD & FRIENDS, packing meals and groceries for people living with serious ailments. 10 a.m.-noon. 219 Riggs Rd. NE. Near the Fort Totten Metro. For a ride from the Metro, call the Food & Friends shuttle at 202-669-6437. For more information, visit thedccenter.org or foodandfriends.org.

DC FRONT RUNNERS running/

The DC Center holds a

Catholic Mass for the LGBT community. All welcome. Sign interpreted. 6 p.m. St. Margaret’s Church, 1820 Connecticut Ave. NW. For more info, visit dignitywashington.org.

VOLUNTEER ORIENTATION

for those interested in helping out at The DC Center, especially as a Support Desk volunteer. Operations Manager Chris Rothermel will lead the training. Registration is required and the training is limited to 20 participants. 12-2 p.m. 2000 14th St. NW, Suite 105. For more information, visit chris@thedccenter.org.

Weekly Events DC AQUATICS CLUB holds a prac-

tice session at Montgomery College Aquatics Club. 8:30-10 a.m. 7600

MARCH 22, 2018 • METROWEEKLY

HSV-2 SOCIAL AND SUPPORT GROUP for gay men living in the

DC metro area. This group will be meeting once a month. For information on location and time, visit H2gether.com. Join LINCOLN

CONGREGATIONAL TEMPLE – UNITED CHURCH OF CHRIST for

an inclusive, loving and progressive faith community every Sunday. 11 a.m. 1701 11th Street NW, near R in Shaw/Logan neighborhood. lincolntemple.org.

METROPOLITAN COMMUNITY CHURCH OF WASHINGTON, D.C.

services at 9 a.m. (ASL interpreted) and 11 a.m. Children’s Sunday School at 11 a.m. 474 Ridge St. NW. 202-638-7373, mccdc.com.

RIVERSIDE BAPTIST CHURCH,

a Christ-centered, interracial, welcoming-and-affirming church, offers service at 10 a.m. 680 I St. SW. 202-554-4330, riversidedc.org.

UNITARIAN CHURCH OF ARLINGTON, an LGBTQ welcom-

ing-and-affirming congregation, offers services at 10 a.m. Virginia Rainbow UU Ministry. 4444 Arlington Blvd. uucava.org.

UNIVERSALIST NATIONAL MEMORIAL CHURCH, a welcom-

ing and inclusive church. GLBT Interweave social/service group meets monthly. Services at 11 a.m., Romanesque sanctuary. 1810 16th St. NW. 202-387-3411, universalist.org.

MONDAY, March 26 Weekly Events DC AQUATICS CLUB holds a

practice session at Dunbar Aquatic Center. 7:30-9 p.m. 101 N St. NW. For more information, visit swimdcac.org.

walking/social club welcomes runners of all ability levels for exercise in a fun and supportive environment, with socializing afterward. Route will be a distance run of 8, 10 or 12 miles. Meet at 9 a.m. at 23rd & P Streets NW. For more information, visit dcfrontrunners.org.

GETEQUAL meets 6:30-8 p.m. at Quaker House, 2111 Florida Ave. NW. For more information, email getequal.wdc@gmail.com.

DIGNITYUSA offers Roman

STI TESTING at Whitman-Walker

FIRST CONGREGATIONAL UNITED CHURCH OF CHRIST

welcomes all to 10:30 a.m. service, 945 G St. NW. firstuccdc.org or 202-628-4317.

HOPE UNITED CHURCH OF CHRIST welcomes GLBT commu-

nity for worship. 10:30 a.m., 6130 Old Telegraph Road, Alexandria. hopeucc.org.

Health. 10 a.m.-3 p.m. at both 1525 14th St. NW and the Max Robinson Center, 2301 Martin Luther King, Jr. Ave. SE. Testing is intended for those without symptoms. For an appointment call 202-745-7000 or visit whitman-walker.org.

The DC Center hosts COFFEE DROP-IN FOR THE SENIOR LGBT COMMUNITY. 10 a.m.-noon. 2000

14th St. NW. For more information, call 202-682-2245 or visit thedccenter.org.

US HELPING US hosts a black gay

men’s evening affinity group for GBT black men. Light refreshments

provided. 7-9 p.m. 3636 Georgia Ave. NW. 202-446-1100.

Center, 410 7th St. SE. 202-5673155 or testing@smyal.org.

WASHINGTON WETSKINS WATER POLO TEAM practices 7-9

STI TESTING at Whitman-Walker

p.m. Newcomers with at least basic swimming ability always welcome. Takoma Aquatic Center, 300 Van Buren St. NW. For more information, contact Tom, 703-299-0504 or secretary@wetskins.org, or visit wetskins.org.

TUESDAY, March 27 GENDERQUEER DC, a support and

discussion group for people who identify outside the gender binary, meets at The DC Center on the fourth Tuesday of every month. 7-8:30 p.m. 2000 14th St. NW, Suite 105. For more information, visit thedccenter.org. Queer-identifying women who have survived violent or traumatic experiences and are looking for support are invited to take part in a bi-weekly QUEER WOMEN

WORKING THROUGH TRAUMA GROUP at The DC Center.

Participants are encouraged to do an intake assessment with moderator and social worker Sam Goodwin. 6-7 p.m. 2000 14th St. NW, Suite 105. For more information, email Sam at samantha@ thedccenter.org.

Support group for LGBTQ youth ages 13-21 meets at SMYAL. 5-6:30 p.m. 410 7th St. SE. For more information, contact Cathy Chu, 202-567-3163, or catherine.chu@ smyal.org. Whitman-Walker Health holds its weekly GAY MEN’S HEALTH AND WELLNESS/STD CLINIC. Patients are seen on walk-in basis. No-cost screening for HIV, syphilis, gonorrhea and chlamydia. Hepatitis and herpes testing available for fee. Testing starts at 6 p.m, but should arrive early to ensure a spot. 1525 14th St. NW. For more information, visit whitman-walker.org.

WEDNESDAY, March 28 The DC Center hosts a monthly meeting of its HIV PREVENTION WORKING GROUP. 6-8 p.m. 2000 14th St. NW, Suite 105. For more information, visit thedccenter.org.

session at Takoma Aquatic Center. 7:30-9 p.m. 300 Van Buren St. NW. For more information, visit swimdcac.org.

The LAMBDA BRIDGE CLUB meets at the Dignity Center, across from the Marine Barracks, for Duplicate Bridge. No reservations needed. Newcomers welcome. 7:30 p.m. 721 8th St. SE. Call 202-841-0279 if you need a partner.

DC SCANDALS RUGBY holds prac-

Weekly Events

Weekly Events DC AQUATICS CLUB practice

tice. The team is always looking for new members. All welcome. 7:309:30 p.m. King Greenleaf Recreation Center, 201 N St. SW. For more information, visit scandalsrfc.org or dcscandals@gmail.com.

THE GAY MEN’S HEALTH COLLABORATIVE offers free

HIV testing and STI screening and treatment every Tuesday. 5-6:30 p.m. Rainbow Tuesday LGBT Clinic, Alexandria Health Department, 4480 King St. 703746-4986 or text 571-214-9617. james.leslie@inova.org.

OVEREATERS ANONYMOUS

holds an LGBT-focused meeting every Tuesday, 7 p.m. at St. George’s Episcopal Church, 915 Oakland Ave., Arlington, just steps from Virginia Square Metro. For more info. call Dick, 703-5211999. Handicapped accessible. Newcomers welcome. liveandletliveoa@gmail.com.

SMYAL offers free HIV Testing, 3-5 p.m., by appointment and walk-in, for youth 21 and younger. Youth

AD LIB, a group for freestyle con-

versation, meets about 6-6:30 p.m., Steam, 17th and R NW. All welcome. For more information, call Fausto Fernandez, 703-732-5174.

FREEDOM FROM SMOKING, a group for LGBT people looking to quit cigarettes and tobacco use, holds a weekly support meeting at The DC Center. 7-8 p.m. 2000 14th St. NW, Suite 105. For more information, visit thedccenter.org. JOB CLUB, a weekly support program for job entrants and seekers, meets at The DC Center. 6-7:30 p.m. 2000 14th St. NW, Suite 105. For more info, centercareers.org.

WASHINGTON WETSKINS WATER POLO TEAM practices 7-9

MARCH 22, 2018 • METROWEEKLY

Forum

LEADING THE CHARGE

We need to support the students who survived the Parklawn shooting, as they help bring about real gun reform. By Brandon Wolf

T HAS BEEN NEARLY TWO YEARS SINCE THE worst night of my life. On June 12, 2016, a gunman entered Pulse Nightclub in Orlando, just a few yards from the bathroom where I stood, and opened fire. What at first sounded like a music malfunction turned out to be gunshots. Armed with an assault rifle and countless rounds of ammunition, the shooter killed 49 people, including my best friends, Drew Leinonen and Juan Guerrero. For the past 20 months, I have committed myself to saving this country from gun violence. At first, my involvement felt like a coincidence. I instantly became an unwitting voice for other survivors and victims of mass shootings across America. But as the weeks went on, my voice and message steadied. I railed angrily on a broken political system that would cast aside mass violence as a pop culture phenomenon. I called out lawmakers that leveraged Orlando’s pain to get a leg up on the campaign competition. And I begged for legislation that would stop these things from happening again. In all, I felt an obligation, a responsibility to keep those 49 Pulse victims from dying in vain. I felt challenged to ensure that Drew’s voice didn’t die on the dancefloor with him. That’s why the news of a shooting in Parkland, Florida felt like a gut punch. In one instant, all the pain and trauma of Pulse came flooding back, and I wondered if I had failed those students. I considered the hours spent fighting for change and wondered if it had all been in vain. I wondered if I had let Drew down once again. Then a miraculous thing happened: the survivors from Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School opened my eyes. The first time I met these students, I was saddled with my sense of failure and regret. I stood with half a dozen of them and tried to think of words of encouragement to share. But I was speechless. How could I possibly have anything to share when, after 18 months of work, I had come up empty? How could I look them in the eyes when

I had failed them, just like so many others before me? And just when my silence turned to discomfort, that incredible group of students locked themselves in a hug around me and told me that things would be alright. That is why March For Our Lives is so important. And it’s the reason I will be in Washington, D.C. marching alongside the incredible students from Marjory Stoneman Douglas this Saturday. They have gathered around the people of this country, wrapped in a big group hug, and reminded us that the future is still bright. In one month, these teenagers have taken on one of the most polarizing issues in our nation’s history, amassed a social media army, and threatened the very existence of the gun lobby that currently cripples our political system. But they cannot win this battle alone. Where I once grappled with grief and regret, I am now filled with hope and determination. When this new community of survivors takes to the streets to demand justice, we must all be there to lift them up, clear their path, and protect them from the pitfalls ahead. The LGBTQ community has seen more than its share of horror and pain. All too often, we are the targets of violence and hatred. But what the Pulse shooting taught me is that we are not victims, we are warriors. And just like so often before, it is our duty to take to the front lines of progress and fight for the change this country deserves — this time with new allies by our side. l

“These teenagers have threatened the very existence of the gun lobby that currently cripples our political system.”

Brandon J. Wolf is vice president of The Dru Project, a nonprofit that promotes LGBTQIA equality. He is a spokesperson for the #noNRAMoney campaign, advocating for politicians candidates and the public to reject the National Rifle Association. The opinions expressed in Forum do not necessarily reflect those of Metro Weekly or its employees. Add your voice to Forum. Learn how at metroweekly.com/forum. MARCH 22, 2018 • METROWEEKLY

Forum

PARTING GLANCES

What the LGBTQ community has witnessed in the past two decades is nothing short of extraordinary. By Kate Kendell

HIRTY YEARS AGO, A CLOSE FRIEND GAVE ME a card with a quote by Ralph Waldo Emerson: “Do not follow where the path may lead. Go, instead, where there is no path and leave a trail.” It has been tacked somewhere close to my desk ever since. In my 24 years at NCLR — 22 as Executive Director — I was lucky enough to tread a path laid by others and I hope, as I end my tenure at NCLR at the end of this year, also marked some new territory. I am, for sure, about to chart an unknown trail. Since I was 17, I have never not had a job and I have never left a job without knowing exactly where I was going next. I could never afford that freedom and I was not that adventurous. While I still cannot afford the luxury of choosing not to work, at almost 58, I am ready to swing without a net for a bit. I am not sure exactly what I will be doing next, but I am clear it has been an honor of the highest order to walk this path for over two decades. When I first came to NCLR, in 1994, I was shocked at the harm and damage being done to far too many LGBTQ people in this country. Coming from Utah, where I grew up Mormon, I believed I had seen the worst. Not even close. From losing jobs and custody of kids, to family acceptance, selfworth, religious community, hope — we heard from dozens of queer people every day who struggled against what felt like a tidal wave of homophobia and stigma. Now, within the lifetime of a college graduate, we have witnessed a sea change, from out celebrities and openly LGBTQ elected officials, to fierce and unbowed allies and legal and policy wins. The place of LGBTQ individuals and families is cemented in our culture. We still see the lethality of anti-LGBTQ bigotry, but the ethos in our nation is that such bigotry is wrong and unacceptable. More importantly, we know it is wrong and unacceptable. There

is nothing wrong with us. We do not need to be fixed. We are beautiful, gifted and worthy. All this, in 24 years. It is breathtaking. I know that this moment seems particularly perilous, and I am not sanguine about the threat posed by this most venal and cruel Administration. Even as we mark how far we have come, we must have the vigilance and engagement demanded to protect our hard won gains and to assure that the most vulnerable in our community suffer as little as possible. But, by any measure, what we’ve witnessed in the past two decades is nothing short of extraordinary. All of us share the privilege of being such a witness. We all, in our own way, blazed a path and fought for a day when every LGBTQ person could wake up knowing that who they were and whom they loved did not limit either their opportunities or their dreams. That day, while still distant, is within sight. The fact that we can imagine such a day is a virtual miracle given where we were when I first crossed the threshold of NCLR. When I walk past that threshold for the last time as Executive Director at the end of the year, I do so with a heart filled to bursting with gratitude that I got to do this work and be part of bending that legendary arc of the moral universe. Now someone else gets to walk this path. Lucky them. l

“There is nothing wrong with us. We do not need to be fixed. We are beautiful, gifted and worthy.”

Kate Kendell is the Executive Director for the National Center for Lesbian Rights, a nonprofit committed to advancing LGBT equality through litigation, legislation, policy, and public education across the country. Visit nclrights.org. The opinions expressed in Forum do not necessarily reflect those of Metro Weekly or its employees. Add your voice to Forum. Learn how at metroweekly.com/forum.

MARCH 22, 2018 • METROWEEKLY

Long regarded as having one of the greatest voices in the industry, k.d. lang revists the album that assured her legacy as one of the world’s foremost out pop stars. By Doug Rule

OUR YEARS AGO, K.D. LANG MADE HER Broadway debut, replacing Fantasia Barrino for a month as the Special Guest Star in After Midnight. “It was intimidating, firstly, because we were doing original Duke Ellington arrangements and singing classic songs,” lang says. “It was intimidating to be a very white Canadian going into a superior allblack cast.... It was daunting, but it was a wonderful experience musically — working the Lincoln Center Jazz Band and singing the Duke Ellington songbook.” As daunting as it may be, lang is no stranger to the format, having spent several decades working jazz and pop bands both big and small — and her forte has long been in covering classic songs. The pioneering lesbian singer-songwriter got her start 35 years ago leading a Patsy Cline tribute band in Edmonton, Alberta, and won two of her four Grammys for her work with covers, including her international breakthrough duet with Roy Orbison on his song “Crying.” And yet, after all that, lang still gets nervous performing the standards, “especially if they’ve been sung by people like Ella Fitzgerald and Billie Holiday.” “I really believe, the minute I heard this person sing,” Tony Bennett said, before introducing lang on a recorded version of the duet “Moonglow,” “that this is one of the artists that will go up on the shelf with them,” meaning Holiday, Edith Piaf, and Hank Williams. On lang’s shelf, of course, sits another Grammy, one she earned with Bennett: Best Traditional Pop Vocal Album for A Wonderful World, their 2002 duets album in tribute to Louis Armstrong. Any way you look at it, lang’s career has not been predictable or followed any obvious course. Nor was her lasting success in the industry a foregone conclusion — especially considering that she came to fame as a country artist. “I think I was hard to swallow, pardon the pun, in a lot of ways,” she says. “I didn’t try to fit in, and I didn’t feel like it was necessary for me to change my ways to become better friends with the establishment of country music.” In fact, lang has previously characterized her shift away from the genre as a logical progression. “I was never interested in a lifetime career in country music,” she told Metro Weekly in 2016. “I love country music, and I loved being a part of it, but I never thought of myself as a country singer.” Not helping matters was a very public falling out with the genre — one that predates her public coming out by two years. In 1990, lang stirred up controversy by signing on to PETA’s “Meat Stinks” campaign. “If you knew how meat was made, you’d probably lose your lunch,” lang said in her ad. “I know, 28

MARCH 22, 2018 • METROWEEKLY

The

MATT DUBOFF

Voice

MARCH 22, 2018 â&#x20AC;¢ METROWEEKLY

I’m from cattle country — that’s why I became a vegetarian. Meat stinks, and not just for animals but for human health and the environment.” In addition to being banned by a number of country stations in the U.S. and Canada, lang also became persona non grata in her Alberta hometown, where a billboard that read “Home of k.d. lang” was burned to the ground. Fortunately, over time many have come around, aided by the fact that, as she puts it, “veganism and vegetarianism is far more common and practiced today.” “You know, it was questioning somebody’s lifestyle [and livelihood],” she says. “That’s always a slippery slope. When you’re talking about the complexity of survival and food and eating, that’s something I’ve struggled with every single day because vegetarianism is not free of causing suffering — many beings die in the harvesting of the rice fields, for example. So life itself comes with a complex relationship to death and suffering.” To find the right balance, lang tries not to overthink, or at least not to overdo, her diet. “It’s just a matter of being conscious and mindful of what you’re eating. I’m not strict organic because... everything has its own set of issues. I just try not to consume too much and to be thankful for what I have.” On thing lang is thankful for is being able to split her time between Calgary and Portland, Oregon, where she lives with her partner. “I’ve always just really loved Portland,” she says. “It’s my favorite place in North America. I just really feel at home there.” And three years ago, lang got the ultimate unofficial nod of recognition as a Portlander when Fred Armisen and Carrie Brownstein asked her to appear on their hit TV parody Portlandia. In the finale of Season 4, lang plays an exaggerated version of herself: a folkie on a feminist retreat who briefly gets lost in the forest flirting and “looking at wood” with a character played by Jason Sudeikis. “It was crazy, fun, exhilarating,” she says. “A lot of it is improvised, and it was thrilling to watch Carrie and Fred do their thing. They’re masters.” The liberal bastion of Portland is certainly far removed from the seemingly endless parade of controversies and hostile practices emanating from Washington in today’s conservative Trump Era. And yet, there can be no escaping or avoiding it. “When there is confusion and oppression, it affects all human beings regardless of nationality,” lang says. “It’s a human issue, it’s a global problem. It really extends past borders.” In addition to speaking out, “I think probably the best thing to do is make changes personally and catch yourself on your own prejudices and your own shortcomings and really try to change your relationship to yourself and to others first

“WHEN THERE IS CONFUSION AND OPPRESSION, IT AFFECTS ALL HUMAN BEINGS REGARDLESS OF NATIONALITY. It’s a human issue, it’s a global problem. It really extends past borders.”

MARCH 22, 2018 • METROWEEKLY

— and that’s a lifelong process.” She has similar thoughts on the state of gender relations. “I’m very happy that the #MeToo movement is in process,” she says. “It affects a lot of women and a lot of men. Again it’s about respecting others and respecting yourself. Whenever that happens, whenever that’s in the forefront, it’s a positive thing. It’s about respecting yourself and respecting others, and trying to make changes to [make relationships] healthier.” Reflecting on the changes since she came out 26 years ago, lang marvels that “people have grown up with me being out.” “Certainly,” she says, “I feel a deep sense of pride that I was able to impact the evolution of the LGBTQ community and the straight community in relationship to the liberties of our society.” But for all that, she’s not sure what advice she’d give to the next singing ingenue coming of age today. “I think probably it’s easier to be an out musician,” she says, “and there’s more music and a lot of great music out there. But at the same time the music business is more competitive and more confusing than ever — it’s getting better and worse simultaneously. I’m so glad that I’m not a youngster trying to navigate the system of the music business these days.... It’s just a wide open race, and the chances of being a huge star are less.” As far as supporting today’s music and musicians, lang puts another chink in Spotify’s armor. “I personally do not use the streaming options. I don’t feel like they support musicians as much as they should, and there are a lot of other options. Internet radio is something that I use a lot of.... I think radio is

“I FEEL A DEEP SENSE OF PRIDE THAT I WAS ABLE TO IMPACT THE EVOLUTION OF THE LGBTQ COMMUNITY and the straight community in relationship to the liberties of our society.”

k.d. lang’s 10 Best Songs By Sean Maunier

JERI HEIDEN

ETWEEN HER FAMOUSLY ANDROGYNOUS persona, a powerful and unmistakable voice, and a sound that has never sat fully on the fringes nor in the mainstream, k.d. lang has never been easy to categorize. We run down our picks for the 10 tracks that have defined her career. 10. Miss Chatelaine (1992) “Constant Craving” tends to loom over any discussion of lang’s breakout album Ingénue, but the seductive, high-femme fantasy “Miss Chatelaine” deserves praise as well. After being named Woman of the Year by women’s magazine Chatelaine, lang decided to run with the title, right down to performing the song in a stunning full formal dress on Late Night with Arsenio Hall. 9. Big Big Love (1989) “Big Big Love” was an early sign of the versatility we have come to expect from lang. For an artist whose style has long skewed towards the dusky and melancholy, she sounds truly in her element in this upbeat take on Wynn Stewart’s 1962 hit. 8. Lock, Stock and Teardrops (1988) Lang’s sultry, devil-may-care rendition of a heavily covered Roger Miller number earned her some well-deserved early recognition. While she would later became known for her covers of Joni Mitchell, Neil Young and most famously Leonard Cohen, she cut her teeth on covering classic country from the ’60s, songs that she updated yet also lent a certain timelessness to. 7. Western Stars (1988) This stunning slow burn of an opener to Shadowland may not be one of lang’s better known songs, but in many ways the powerful yet understated emotional heft she brought to it was a template not just for that album, but the rest of her career as well. 6. Crying (1989) While her star had long since risen in the Canadian country music scene, lang’s ground-

breaking duet with Roy Orbison was pivotal in introducing her to a wider American audience. Despite being a relative unknown at the time, she more than held her own alongside the legendary Orbison. 5. So in Love (1990) An early departure from country, “So in Love” showed a markedly different side of lang, one that could stand alongside the likes of Ella Fitzgerald and Shirley Bassey in delivering a haunting and seamless rendition of a classic Cole Porter number. 4. Sexuality (1996) This track off the criminally underappreciated All You Can Eat leaves little to the imagination. Hearkening back to the seductive country numbers of her early albums, “Sexuality” sees lang ditch the subtlety and turn subtext into text, suggesting to an unnamed lover, “Release yourself on me.” No matter your type or orientation, it’s hard not to get a tingle up the spine at that lyric. 3. Trail of Broken Hearts (1989) Perhaps the definitive track from Absolute Torch and Twang, “Trail of Broken Hearts” has lang’s voice hovering over a warm steel guitar. In many ways it bridges the gap between the smallhours country of Shadowlands and the more contemporary, vocal-driven pop of Ingénue. 2. Hallelujah (2004) Although famously prickly about his best-known song, Cohen himself once allegedly referred to lang’s interpretation as the definitive version. You can’t get much higher praise than that, and it was not for nothing. One could be forgiven for thinking for a second that “Hallelujah” had been written for her all along. 1. Constant Craving (1992) No contest here. lang brings incredible vocals to a song that manages to be fiery, starry-eyed, and tortured all at once. The lead single off her pivotal breakthrough album Ingénue has come to be known as the definitive k.d. lang track, and for good reason. Sean Maunier is Metro Weekly’s popular music critic. Read his reviews at metroweekly.com.

MARCH 22, 2018 • METROWEEKLY

“I’M SO GLAD THAT I’M NOT A YOUNGSTER TRYING TO NAVIGATE THE SYSTEM OF THE MUSIC BUSINESS THESE DAYS. It’s just a wide open race, and the chances of being a huge star are less.

MARCH 22, 2018 • METROWEEKLY

Among the non-Ingenue songs she’s likely to perform, at the top of the list is her splendid, powerful cover of “Hallelujah” by Leonard Cohen, the towering Canadian musical figure who died last year. Many — maybe too many — have tried their hand at what has become a pop standard, but few have earned the kind of praise or play that lang has. First giving her interpretation on Hymns of the 49th Parallel, her stellar Canadian covers album

JERI HEIDEN

more monitored in terms of royalties.” At the moment, lang doesn’t know what her next career move will be — or when, even if, she might record new music. “Eventually, hopefully, but it’s been a long time since I’ve had a vision of what I want to do in the future. Rather than force it, I’m just going to wait for it to happen.” If nothing else, it’s encouraging to consider it was only two years ago that she recruited fellow singer-songwriters Neko Case and Laura Veirs to team up as case/lang/ veirs. From that came an acclaimed album and a tour. She demurs when asked if there are other artists she hopes to collaborate with in similar ways in the future. “I don’t know, there’s a lot. I love the element of surprise and how life throws curves, so I wouldn’t even put it out there, probably.” She does squelch the idea of a longer or future run on the Great White Way, however. “Broadway is not my cup of tea,” she says. “I love to, I guess, habitually move from venue to venue. It makes me antsy when I’m stuck in the same theater for more than two nights.... It was definitely out of my comfort zone and I walked into the fire. I did it — I don’t think I have to do it again, ever, but it was a great experience.” By contrast, while she doesn’t love the constant interactions with the TSA and the back-and-forth of travel as a touring recording artist, the hassle seems worth the effort. “It comes to fruition when you’re on stage and doing what you’re meant to do,” she says. “It ends up being rewarding and enriching. Just being at the vortex between musician and audience and being a part of what I consider an offering is worth it.” Last year, lang decided to try something she hadn’t done before: revisit a past album. And not just any album — Ingenue, the 1992 set that propelled her into the mainstream as an out pop star, and featured two Grammy-nominated singles, her biggest hit “Constant Craving,” and “Miss Chatelaine.” After a 25th Anniversary Tour through Canada and Australia, lang and a seven-piece band are now reprising the feat on a tour of the U.S. “We took a little bit of liberty with a few songs,” she says, but most sound as they do on record. “Sometimes it transports me right back to being on stage 25 years ago. Obviously having toured that record and the success of that record and having lived 25 years, there’s a definite convoluted emotional relationship to the songs — all good.” And she’s looking forward to bringing the set to Strathmore. “I have very fond memories of my last show there. I always love to play in the great houses. It definitely makes a vocalist very happy to feel free to let go in such a great-sounding room.”

from 2004, lang has since performed the song everywhere from the Winter Olympics in Vancouver in 2010 to the Canadian Songwriters Hall of Fame in 2006, the year Cohen was inducted. “His passing is sad for us, of course,” she says, “but I think if anyone was prepared for the afterlife, it was Leonard.” As a singer and a musician,” lang continues, “just to look at his body of work and the profundity both as a human being and as a poet, it’s pretty astonishing what he was able to accomplish in his lifetime and the wisdom that he left us. I really feel like... he transcribed the wisdom of the gods and the deities and translated it into a language that human beings understand, and that’s a rare thing.” l k.d. lang performs Sunday, March 25, at 7:30 p.m., at the Music Center at Strathmore, 5301 Tuckerman Lane, North Bethesda. Tickets are $48 to $98. Call 301-581-5100 or visit strathmore.org.

Gallery

Viewfinders: 8 Photographers

ITH ITS LATEST EXHIBITION, HILL Center shines the light on eight photographers, each getting their own display. Karen Cohen presents her Surreality, Jane Mann continues with Layers II, Bruce McNeil explores In The Land of Eden, Mike Mitchell shows us Four Seasons in the C&O Canal National Historical Park,

Rindy O’Brien offers his timely series Anticipating Spring, Larry O’Reilly reveals Contemporary Still Lifes, Monica Servaites focuses Downside Up (pictured), and Richard Paul Weiblinger offers Unique Visions. Through April 29. The Galleries in the Old Navy Hospital, 921 Pennsylvania Ave. SE. Call 202549-4172 or visit HillCenterDC.org. MARCH 22, 2018 • METROWEEKLY

FINGERPRINT RELEASING - BLEECKER STREET

Movies

Get Out!

With Unsane, Steven Soderbergh wrings chilling horror from a frightening premise, and a dumb plot. By André Hereford

F ALL THE MENTAL HOSPITALS IN ALL THE TOWNS IN ALL THE world, poor Sawyer Valentini (Claire Foy) walks into Highland Creek. And they don’t let her walk out. The very idea that a fairly casual visit to consult a therapist might suddenly turn into a living nightmare of confinement inside a mental institution is genuinely terrifying. Working in indie mode, Steven Soderbergh keeps his newest film Unsane (HHHHH) casual, just another day in the nuthouse for Highland Creek’s paper-pushing staff, as the realization dawns on Sawyer that she has summarily and involuntarily been committed. But wait, it wasn’t entirely involuntary, because she signed the form herself. (Should’ve read the small print, Sawyer!) Thus, she’s stuck, after admitting to the therapist that sometimes she does have suicidal thoughts. Also, occasionally, she sees visions of David Strine (Joshua Leonard), a man who was stalking her back in Boston. At least, she thinks they’re just visions. She can’t be sure. Until she is sure that Strine has not only followed her to her new city, but he’s working inside this very hospital. Could the orderly doling out her daily meds actually be the man who stalked and terrorized her? Whether he’s real or imagined, Sawyer believes she’s been locked in a loony bin with the person she most fears, and that is enough to drive anyone truly mad. The plot machinations that place Sawyer in her predicament don’t hold up to rigorous scrutiny, so Soderbergh lets the harrowing premise and Foy’s frightened performance lead the way. Shot on an iPhone 7 Plus using wide-angle lenses, Unsane captures the bleak horror of feeling held captive by an uncaring staff inside a facility where lives are lost, or taken. 34

MARCH 22, 2018 • METROWEEKLY

Foy plays Sawyer as smart, resourceful, and sardonic. Her character is only idiotic when the plot needs her to be. Still, to her credit, this damsel in distress commits relatively few of the typical horror movie mistakes, and at no point does she jump into a car that won’t start. Rather, the script, by Jonathan Bernstein and James Greer, keeps Sawyer and the audience guessing, while poking mordant fun at all the “Highland Creeks and Tumbling Pines and Cedar Valleys of the world” that prey on the paranoid and well-insured. From his debut with sex, lies, and videotape, Soderbergh has been a master at lacing tension with bone-dry humor. He’s abetted here by erstwhile SNL impressionist Jay Pharoah, as Sawyer’s fellow patient Nate, hiding both a contraband cell phone and a secret. Juno Temple is not so masterful portraying Sawyer’s belligerent, cornrowed tormentor, Violet, who stays one-note crazy throughout the film. As Strine, Leonard strikes several chords of creepy with his blank affect and oversized glasses. He looks like a serial killer mugshot, silently lingering over Sawyer’s shoulder. Leonard employs that off-putting reserve most effectively in a flashback depicting the stalker’s escalating campaign of surveillance and harassment that drove Sawyer to hightail it out of town. continues on page 36

FOX SEARCHLIGHT PICTURES

Movies

High Flying Fur

Filled with heart, adventure, and whimsy, Wes Anderson’s Isle of Dogs is a masterpiece of stop-motion animation. By Randy Shulman

ECENTLY, TURNER CLASSIC MOVIES BROADCAST A COLLECTION OF quirky shorts from the 1930s and ’40s known as “Puppetoons.” Created by George Pal, the director who would later go on make War of the Worlds and The Time Machine, these little-known, super-stylized, mostly European-produced shorts are considered milestones of stop-motion animation. Literally thousands of “figures” were carved from wood, each minutely different, to produce characters that, when filmed one frame at a time and screened back at 24 frames per second, created a stunningly fluid, often surreal cacophony of perpetual, improbable motion. Stop-motion was nothing new, of course, but Pal elevated it to a new, ridiculously obsessive level. The Puppetoons, apart from some disconcerting racial insensitivities that were unfortunate harbingers of the times, are small works of jaw-dropping animated theatrics. Over the years, not much has changed in the way in which stop-motion is produced. It’s a long, laborious process, even with the assist of modern-day technology. And it takes a specific mindset, an almost extremist (read: masochistic) dedication to create a 100-minute feature. So it’s especially notable when a major director takes it on. Tim Burton has ventured into the painstaking waters several times — both as producer on Nightmare Before Christmas and as director on The Corpse Bride — but he got his start as an animator, so it’s in his DNA, one could say. Less obvious is a filmmaker like Wes Anderson, whose films are often wild joyrides, filled with equal parts misanthropy and glee, and more often than not, huge emotional vacancies needing to be filled. But Anderson is nothing if not a playful filmmaker. His human movies feel like they belong in the animated genre — The Grand Budapest Hotel is essentially one long Road Runner/Wile E. Coyote chase — and they’re just damn fun to sit through. Anderson’s films strive to be bigger than life, boldly etched, and whenever possible, frenentic and unbridled. Delirium unchained. Anderson waded into stop-motion territory in 2009 with the acclaimed The Fantastic Mr. Fox, an adaptation of Roald Dahl’s novel. He eschewed the smooth, slick plasticine visages typical of most stop-animated features for ones coated in fur. The abundant, animated hairs are forever in slight, kinetic motion, as though electrically charged. Add that to the slight herky-jerky quality of stop-motion and suddenly something amazing happens: the “puppets” connect more authentically with audiences than hand-drawn or computer-generated counterparts. It’s the closest animation gets to duplicating ) is reality, to creating life. And Anderson’s newest project, Isle of Dogs (

filled with so much life, you’ll almost forget you’re watching a masterpiece of art unfold before your eyes. You’re drawn in, fully, completely, assuredly. With its slightly insane narrative, one that fills in blanks via flashback, Isle of Dogs is at once a dark comedy and a trenchant (if thin) political parable. Because our attachment to dogs is hard-wired and primal, the film automatically creates a deep, emotional warmth lacking from many of Anderson’s human-based works (Moonrise Kingdom being the exception). It amusingly appropriates Japanese culture in its aesthetics, and yet it does so respectfully and with deep, abiding regard. Most importantly, however, it presents us with an array of fully-realized characterizations that grab hold of our hearts and squeeze as hard as possible. It’s a rare cinematic breed — filled with almost too many wondrous details to absorb on a single viewing alone. The basic story, by Anderson, Roman Coppola, Jason Schwartzman, and Kunichi Nomura, is set 20 years in the future, in a province of Japan where the dog population has run rampant. Outbreaks of “snout fever” and “dog flu” have given the dynastic Mayor Kobayashi (Nomura) and his political cronies — cat-lovers, all — reason enough to banish all canines to Trash Island. The fascist overtones aren’t politically subtle, but nor do they need to be: Anderson is in “wide brush stroke mode,” a comfort zone most of his films occupy, and yet he unearths nuance in the film’s design details and in the small, telling movements of the characters, even down to the simple blink of an eye. The adventure lurches into high gear when Atari (Koyu Rankin) — who also happens to be the ward of the mayor —

MARCH 22, 2018 • METROWEEKLY

FOX SEARCHLIGHT PICTURES

makes his way to Trash Island in search of his beloved Spots (Liev Schreiber). He’s befriended by a forever chattering pack of alpha dogs — Rex (Edward Norton), King (Bob Balaban), Boss (Bill Murray), and Duke (Jeff Goldblum), who feel a knee-jerk obligation to help Atari, a symbol of the masters they once adoringly served. Only one dog holds out — the stray Chief (Bryan Cranston), who warns, rather plainly, “I bite.” “Why should I help him?” says Chief to Nutmeg (Scarlett Johansson), an impeccably groomed show dog who knows “some tricks,” and who captures Chief’s interest. “Because he’s a 12-year-old boy,” she responds. “Dogs love those.” The journey undertaken by Chief and Atari is what powers the true emotional core of Isle of Dogs, and the build is masterful, direct, and rife with deeper meaning, like a perfectly crafted haiku. The film has its dark moments (it’s really not made for kids,

though most kids shouldn’t be too alarmed by it, given what they endure in cinema nowadays). For instance, a rallying cry from a rival political party intent on saving “man’s best friend” is met with murderous intent from the mayor’s administration in a scene involving sushi that is utterly mind-blowing to witness. The vocal performances are perfect — no complaints here — even down to Tilda Swinton’s squealing, prophetic pug named, appropriately, Oracle. But the real heroics come from the team of animators who bring the stop-motion “puppets” to life. They are astonishing, rich, masterfully unique creations. Anderson’s canny choice to film the dogs addressing the camera snout-on is nothing short of genius. In doing so, he ensures we don’t miss a single expression — or, for that matter, delicately animated teardrop. And by the end of Isle of Dogs, I suspect there won’t be a dry eye in the house. At least not among dog lovers. Cat lovers, on the other hand, will have to wait for a sequel. l

FINGERPRINT RELEASING - BLEECKER STREET

Isle of Dogs is rated PG-13 and opens Friday, March 23, at area theaters. Visit Fandango.com.

continued from page 34

There’s an air of Hitchcockian kink about the fact that the guy who directed, and pseudonymously shot and edited, this movie appears at times to be drawing the audience towards identifying more with the creep who’s desperate to ensnare and con-

trol the object of his obsession. While dancing on that precarious line, the film thankfully never fully crosses into the exploitation of so-called torture porn. There will be blood, however. By its third act, Unsane has dispensed with any mystery, and starts tallying up a body count. Under those deadly circumstances, Sawyer might go crazy trying to prove herself sane, as would practically anyone in her hospital slippers. Soderbergh conveys her frazzled, drug-addled state via a variety of handheld camera tricks, odd edits and superimpositions. Shots roam the hospital halls Shining-style, as the film cheekily references other classic horror scenarios, including a quick nod to Leonard’s most noted role in The Blair Witch Project. Ultimately, Unsane takes on the gleeful pace of a slasher pic, and even provides a meaty role, as Sawyer’s concerned mom, for Amy Irving, an Oscar-nominated actress well-acquainted with cinematic suspense. Her mere presence adds to the enjoyment of this cockamamie construction, which, scary though it may be, requires an unsane suspension of disbelief in order to completely satisfy. l

Unsane is rated R, and opens in theaters everywhere on Friday, March 23. Visit fandango.com. 36

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NightLife Photography by Ward Morrison

MARCH 22, 2018 â&#x20AC;¢ METROWEEKLY

Scene

DrinksDragDJsEtc... Thursday, March 22 9 1/2 Happy Hour: 2 for 1 on any drink, 5-9pm • Multiple TVs showing movies, shows, sports • Expanded craft beer selection • Music videos featuring DJ Wess BALTIMORE EAGLE Happy Hour, 3-9pm, all liquors, beers and wines up to 50% off • $5 Pitchers of Miller Lite all night long • $3 Well Drinks in Nest until 11pm, $3 in Tavern all day • March Madness Regional Semi-Finals • Thrifty Minute Thursday Drag Show, featuring Whimsy Thrift and Anita Minute, 8-10pm in the Nest • $5

Cover for ages 18-20, Free for 21 and up • Underwear Night, 9pm-2am • For men in underwear, all well drinks $2, 9pm-12am • Best Underwear Contest at Midnight • Code enforced in Code Bar after 9pm • College Night Thursdays, 9pm-2am • EDM Dance Party, 10pm-2am • Free admission to the Tavern • Admission to the Nest is free until 10:30pm • After 10:30pm, $5 Cover for 21 and up, $10 Cover for 18-20 • thebaltimoreeagle.com FREDDIE’S BEACH BAR Crazy Hour, 4-8pm • Karaoke, 9pm GREEN LANTERN Happy Hour, 4-9pm • Shirtless Thursday, 10-11pm • Men in

Number Nine - Saturday, March 17 Photography by Ward Morrison See and purchase more photos from this event at www.metroweekly.com/scene

Underwear Drink Free, 12-12:30am • DJs BacK2bACk NELLIE’S SPORTS BAR Beat the Clock Happy Hour — $2 (5-6pm), $3 (6-7pm), $4 (7-8pm) • Buckets of Beer $15 • All Leagues Night NUMBER NINE Happy Hour: 2 for 1 on any drink, 5-9pm • No Cover SHAW’S TAVERN Happy Hour, 4-7pm • $3 Miller Lite, $4 Blue Moon, $5 House Wines, $5 Rail Drinks • Half-Priced Pizzas and Select Appetizers • $4 Corona and Heineken all night TRADE Doors open 5pm • Huge Happy Hour: Any drink normally served in a cocktail glass served in a huge glass for the same price,

MARCH 22, 2018 • METROWEEKLY

5-10pm • Beer and wine only $4 ZIEGFELD’S/SECRETS All male, nude dancers • DJ • 9pm • Cover 21+

Friday, March 23 9 1/2 Open at 5pm • Happy Hour: 2 for 1 on any drink, 5-9pm • Friday Night Videos, 9:30pm • Rotating DJs • Expanded craft beer selection • No Cover BALTIMORE EAGLE Baltimore Bear Happy Hour, 3-9pm, all liquors, beers and wines up to 50% off • March Madness Regional Semi-Finals • Bad Bears After Dark in the Code Bar, 9pm • $5 Cover • DJ Scott Howard

in the Tavern, 9pm-2am • Summer Knight’s XXX Cabaret in the Nest, 10:30pm • Cover is $7.50 in advance, $10 at door • Elyx Vodka and Any Red Bull Flavor for $7 all day long • thebaltimoreeagle. com FREDDIE’S BEACH BAR Crazy Hour, 4-8pm • Karaoke, 9pm GREEN LANTERN Happy Hour, 4-9pm • $5 Svedka, all flavors all night long • Code RED Weekend: Toga Party, 10pm-2am • Jello Shots and Free Rail Drinks before 11pm • $5 Cover before 11pm, $10 after NELLIE’S SPORTS BAR Open 3pm • Guest DJs • Beat the Clock Happy Hour — $2 (5-6pm), $3 (6-7pm), $4 (7-8pm) • Buckets of Beer $15

NUMBER NINE Open 5pm • Happy Hour: 2 for 1 on any drink, 5-9pm • No Cover • Friday Night Piano with Chris, 7:30pm SHAW’S TAVERN Happy Hour, 4-7pm • $3 Miller Lite, $4 Blue Moon, $5 House Wines, $5 Rail Drinks • Half-Priced Pizzas and Select Appetizers TOWN Patio open 6pm • DC Bear Crue Happy Hour, 6-11pm • $3 Rail, $3 Draft, $3 Bud Bottles • Free Pizza, 7pm • No cover before 9:30pm • 21+ • Drag Show starts at 10:30pm • Hosted by Lena Lett and featuring Miss Tatianna, ShiQueeta-Lee, Riley Knoxx and Ba’Naka • DJ Wess upstairs, DJs BacK2bACk downstairs following the show • GoGo Boys after 11pm • Doors open at 10pm • For those 21 and

over, $12 • For those 18-20, $15 • Club: 18+ • Patio: 21+ TRADE Doors open 5pm • Huge Happy Hour: Any drink normally served in a cocktail glass served in a huge glass for the same price, 5-10pm • Beer and wine only $4 ZIEGFELD’S/SECRETS Men of Secrets, 9pm • Guest dancers • Rotating DJs • Ladies of Illusion Drag Show • Doors at 9pm, Shows at 11:30pm and 1:30am • DJ Don T. in Ziegfeld’s • Cover 21+

Saturday, March 24 9 1/2 Happy Hour: 2 for 1 on any

drink, 2-9pm • $5 Absolut and $5 Bulleit Bourbon, 9pm-close • Expanded craft beer selection • No Cover BALTIMORE EAGLE Happy Hour, 3-9pm • March Madness Regional Finals • Leather and Fetish Saturdays, Code Bar, 8pm-2am • Code enforced after 9pm in the Code Bar • Testosterone: Black Light Party, 9pm-2am • $7 Cover in advance online • Back to the Retro Saturdays: Nothing But ‘90s Dance Party in the Nest, 9:30pm-2am • Featuring DJ Vince Christopher • Drink Specials in the Nest • Long Island Leather Saturdays — $5 Long Islands all day • thebaltimoreeagle.com FREDDIE’S BEACH BAR Saturday Breakfast Buffet, 10am-3pm • $14.99 with

MARCH 22, 2018 • METROWEEKLY

one glass of champagne or coffee, soda or juice • Additional champagne $2 per glass • World Tavern Poker Tournament, 1-3pm • Crazy Hour, 4-8pm • Freddie’s Follies Drag Show, hosted by Miss Destiny B. Childs, 8-10pm • Karaoke, 10pm-close GREEN LANTERN Happy Hour, 4-9pm • $5 Bacardi, all flavors, all night long • JOX: The GL Underwear Party, 9pm-close • Featuring DJ David Merrill • $5 Cover (includes clothes check) NELLIE’S SPORTS BAR Drag Brunch, hosted by Chanel Devereaux, 10:30am-12:30pm and 1-3pm • House Rail Drinks, Zing Zang Bloody Marys, Nellie Beer and Mimosas, $4, 11am-close • Buckets of Beer, $15 • Guest DJs

NUMBER NINE Doors open 2pm • Happy Hour: 2 for 1 on any drink, 2-9pm • $5 Absolut and $5 Bulleit Bourbon, 9pm-close • Jawbreaker: Music of the ‘90s, with DJs BacK2bACk, 9:30pm SHAW’S TAVERN $15 Bottomless Mimosas, 10am-3pm • Happy Hour, 5-7pm • $3 Miller Lite, $4 Blue Moon, $5 House Wines, $5 Rail Drinks • Half-Priced Pizzas and Select Appetizers TOWN DC Rawhides host Town & Country: Two-Step, Line Dancing, Waltz and West Coast Swing, $5 Cover to stay all night • Doors open 6:30pm, Lessons 7-8pm, Open dance 8-10:30pm • General admission doors open 10pm • Upstairs: CTRL DC: 6-Year Birthday

Celebration, 11pm-close • Featuring DJs Devon Trotter, Jeff Prior, and Adam Koussari-Amin • Music and video by DJ Wess downstairs • Drag Show starts at 10:30pm • Hosted by Lena Lett and featuring Tatianna, ShiQueeta-Lee, Riley Knoxx and Ba’Naka • $15 Cover from 10pm-midnight, $12 after • 21+ TRADE Doors open 2pm • Huge Happy Hour: Any drink normally served in a cocktail glass served in a huge glass for the same price, 2-10pm • Beer and wine only $4 ZIEGFELD’S/SECRETS Men of Secrets, 9pm-4am • Guest dancers • Ladies of Illusion Drag Show with host Ella Fitzgerald • Doors at 9pm, Shows

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at 11:30pm and 1:30am • DJ Don T. in Ziegfeld’s • DJ Steve Henderson in Secrets • Cover 21+

Sunday, March 25 9 1/2 Happy Hour: 2 for 1 on any drink, 2-9pm • $5 Absolut and $5 Bulleit Bourbon, 9pm-close • Multiple TVs showing movies, shows, sports • Expanded craft beer selection • No Cover BALTIMORE EAGLE Lizzie Beaumont and Betty Whitecastle present Queens Who Brunch, 12-2pm • $34 per person includes All You Can Eat • Free pitcher of Mimosas per 4 admissions • Reservations highly sug-

gested and can be made online beforehand • March Madness Regional Finals • DJ Ryan Doubleyou in the Tavern • Sunday FunDay, 4-9pm • From 2-8pm, buy a cup for $5 and fill it with any Absolut Flavor and Mixer for $3 each time(excluding energy drink mixers) • thebaltimoreeagle.com FREDDIE’S BEACH BAR Champagne Brunch Buffet, 10am-3pm • $24.99 with four glasses of champagne or mimosas, 1 Bloody Mary, or coffee, soda or juice • Crazy Hour, 4-8pm • Gayborhood Night Piano Bar, 5-8pm • Karaoke, 9pm-close GREEN LANTERN Happy Hour, 4-9pm • Karaoke with Kevin downstairs, 9:30pm-close

NELLIE’S SPORTS BAR Drag Brunch, hosted by Chanel Devereaux, 10:30am-12:30pm and 1-3pm • House Rail Drinks, Zing Zang Bloody Marys, Nellie Beer and Mimosas, $4, 11am-close • Buckets of Beer, $15 NUMBER NINE Happy Hour: 2 for 1 on any drink, 2-9pm • $5 Absolut and $5 Bulleit Bourbon, 9pm-close • Pop Goes the World with Wes Della Volla at 9:30pm • No Cover SHAW’S TAVERN Happy Hour, 5-7pm • $3 Miller Lite, $4 Blue Moon, $5 House Wines, $5 Rail Drinks • Half-Priced Pizzas and Select Appetizers • Dinner-n-Drag, with Miss Kristina Kelly, 7pm • For reservations, email shawsdinnerdragshow@ gmail.com

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TRADE Doors open 2pm • Huge Happy Hour: Any drink normally served in a cocktail glass served in a huge glass for the same price, 2-10pm • Beer and wine only $4

Monday, March 26 9 1/2 Happy Hour: 2 for 1 on any drink, 5-9pm • Multiple TVs showing movies, shows, sports • Expanded craft beer selection • No Cover BALTIMORE EAGLE Happy Hour, 3-9pm, all liquors, beers and wines up to 50% off • Micro Brew Draft/Bottle Mondays — $4 all day • SIN: Service Industry Night, 11pm-2am • First Well Drink or Domestic Beer Free • 10% off your Food Order all day • thebaltimoreeagle.com

FREDDIE’S BEACH BAR Crazy Hour, 4-8pm • Singles Night • Half-Priced Pasta Dishes • Poker Night — 7pm and 9pm games • Karaoke, 9pm GREEN LANTERN Happy Hour all night long • Singing with the Sisters: Open Mic Karaoke Night with the Sisters of Perpetual Indulgence, 9:30pm-close NELLIE’S SPORTS BAR Beat the Clock Happy Hour — $2 (5-6pm), $3 (6-7pm), $4 (7-8pm) • Buckets of Beer $15 • Texas Hold’em Poker, 8pm • Dart Boards • Paint Nite, 7pm • Two Ping-Pong Tables NUMBER NINE Happy Hour: 2 for 1 on any drink, 5-9pm • No Cover SHAW’S TAVERN Happy Hour, 4-7pm • $3 Miller Lite, $4 Blue Moon, $5 House Wines, $5 Rail Drinks • Half-Priced Pizzas and Select Appetizers • Shaw Nuff Trivia, with Jeremy, 7:30pm

TRADE Doors open 5pm • Huge Happy Hour: Any drink normally served in a cocktail glass served in a huge glass for the same price, 5-10pm • Beer and wine only $4

FREDDIE’S BEACH BAR Crazy Hour, 4-8pm • Taco Tuesday • Poker Night — 7pm and 9pm games • Karaoke, 9pm

Tuesday, March 27

NELLIE’S SPORTS BAR Beat the Clock Happy Hour — $2 (5-6pm), $3 (6-7pm), $4 (7-8pm) • Buckets of Beer $15 • Karaoke and Drag Bingo

9 1/2 Happy Hour: 2 for 1 on any drink, 5-9pm • Multiple TVs showing movies, shows, sports • Expanded craft beer selection • No Cover BALTIMORE EAGLE Happy Hour, 3-9pm, all liquors, beers and wines up to 50% off • Fibbage Tuesdays, 8pm — How good are you at fibbing? • Free to play with your smartphone • $6 Any Flavor Martinis and $7 Manhattans (call liquors) • thebaltimoreeagle.com

MARCH 22, 2018 • METROWEEKLY

GREEN LANTERN Happy Hour all night long, 4pm-close

NUMBER NINE Happy Hour: 2 for 1 on any drink, 5-9pm • No Cover SHAW’S TAVERN Happy Hour, 4-7pm • $3 Miller Lite, $4 Blue Moon, $5 House Wines, $5 Rail Drinks • Half-Priced Pizzas and Select Appetizers • Half-Priced Burgers and Pizzas all night with $5 House Wines and Sam Adams

TRADE Doors open 5pm • Huge Happy Hour: Any drink normally served in a cocktail glass served in a huge glass for the same price, 5-10pm • Beer and wine only $4

Wednesday, March 28 9 1/2 Happy Hour: 2 for 1 on any drink, 5-9pm • Multiple TVs showing movies, shows, sports • Expanded craft beer selection • No Cover BALTIMORE EAGLE Happy Hour, 3-9pm, all liquors, beers and wines up to 50% off • Domestic Bottles are $3 all day • Team Trivia, 8-10pm • thebaltimoreeagle.com FREDDIE’S BEACH BAR Crazy Hour, 4-8pm • $6 Burgers • Beach Blanket Drag Bingo Night, hosted by Ms. Regina Jozet Adams, 8pm • Bingo prizes • Karaoke, 10pm-1am

GREEN LANTERN Happy Hour all night long, 4pm-close • Bear Yoga with Greg Leo, 6:307:30pm • $10 per class • Upstairs opens 9pm • Lantern GoGo Dancers, 10pm-2am NELLIE’S SPORTS BAR SmartAss Trivia Night, 8pm and 9pm • Prizes include bar tabs and tickets to shows at the 9:30 Club • $15 Buckets of Beer for SmartAss Teams only • Snatched Drag Show, hosted by Brooklyn Heights, 9pm NUMBER NINE Happy Hour: 2 for 1 on any drink, 5-9pm • No Cover SHAW’S TAVERN Happy Hour, 4-7pm • $3 Miller Lite, $4 Blue Moon, $5 House Wines, $5 Rail Drinks • Half-Priced Pizzas and Select Appetizers • Piano Bar with Jill, 8pm TRADE Doors open 5pm • Huge Happy Hour: Any drink normally served in a cocktail glass served in a huge glass for the same price, 5-10pm • Beer and wine only $4 l

Scene

The 5th Annual Stoli Key West Cocktail Classic Competition at Nellie’s Monday, March 12 • Photography by Ward Morrison See and purchase more photos from this event at www.metroweekly.com/scene

MARCH 22, 2018 • METROWEEKLY

MARCH 22, 2018 â&#x20AC;¢ METROWEEKLY

LastWord. People say the queerest things

“I love New York, and today I’m announcing my candidacy for governor.” — CYNTHIA NIXON, award-winning actress and progressive activist, challenging Gov. Andrew Cuomo for the Democratic nomination to be governor of New York. Nixon slammed Cuomo’s eight year record, arguing he had helped New York become the most unequal state in the country. Nixon has a long history of advocating for LGBTQ and women’s rights, and would become the state’s first female and out LGBTQ governor should she win.

“ You have to be qualified and have experience. She isn’t qualified to be the governor.” — CHRISTINE QUINN, former Speaker of the New York City Council, reacting to Nixon’s news. Quinn, the first openly gay Speaker of the council, attacked Nixon as an “unqualified lesbian,” saying Nixon was opposed to a “qualified lesbian” becoming mayor of New York. Nixon supported NYC Mayor Bill de Blasio instead of Quinn when they both ran for mayor in 2013. Quinn later apologized for criticizing Nixon’s identity, but did not retract the view that Nixon is unqualified to be governor.

“ What do they want? To look through my dick pics?” — CHRISTOPHER WYLIE, the gay whistleblower who revealed that Cambridge Analytica — which ran Donald Trump’s 2016 election campaign — harvested over 50 million profiles from Facebook, responding to news that Facebook is demanding to inspect his computer and phone. Observer journalist Carole Cadwalladr, who broke Wylie’s story, reported his comments in a tweet.

“This department is not going to make law, we are going to enforce laws that we are given to do. ” — Education Secretary BETSY DEVOS, speaking during a House Appropriations subcommittee, confirming that her department will not support transgender students who feel they have been discriminated against.

“Every time you see LGBTQ in an article, simply replace those letters with ISIS. Change nothing else. ” — Oklahoma Wesleyan University President EVERETT PIPER, in a highly criticized op-ed for the Washington Times, arguing that accepting LGBTQ people is akin to accepting members of ISIS. “In doing this, something will quickly become quite obvious,” Piper continued. “Sentences will emerge such as these: ‘Love is love and ISIS has the right to love who they want to love.’ ‘The ISIS community simply wants to be accepted and affirmed.’ ‘What right does anyone have to refuse to bake a cake for an ISIS wedding?’”

MARCH 22, 2018 • METROWEEKLY