[2] Missoula Independent • April 16–April 23, 2015
cover photo by Cathrine L. Walters
News
Voices/Letters Health care, Jennifer Fielder and Montana Disability Center.................4 The Week in Review Earthquake, Mavericks and Nancy Keenan ..................................6 Briefs Abuse allegations, hate crimes and Blackfoot restrictions ...................................6 Etc. Where in the world is Valerie Stamey?......................................................................7 News City launches experimental no-sale alcohol list ...................................................8 News Cyclists object to Bitterroot National Forest plan .................................................9 Opinion One suggestion to actually getting things done in Helena ............................10 Opinion Westerners need to stand up for public lands................................................11 Feature 12 reasons to love Missoula right now ............................................................14
Arts & Entertainment
Arts Looking for truth in Susan Carlson’s garbage art ..................................................18 Music Alejandro Escovedo, Sapient and Mountain Goats ............................................20 Books McGuane’s Crow Fair basks in tragic comedy ...................................................21 Film IWFF features all eye candy, few stories ...............................................................22 Movie Shorts Independent takes on current films.......................................................23 Flash in the Pan Street smart chicken..........................................................................24 Happiest Hour The Kettlehouse Crowler ....................................................................26 8 Days a Week Another reason we love Missoula: you ................................................27 Mountain High Cheers for Charity...............................................................................37 Agenda Backyard Chickens Workshop..........................................................................38
Exclusives
Street Talk .......................................................................................................................4 In Other News ..............................................................................................................12 Classifieds....................................................................................................................C-1 The Advice Goddess ...................................................................................................C-2 Free Will Astrolog y ....................................................................................................C-4 Crossword Puzzle .......................................................................................................C-6 This Modern World...................................................................................................C-12 PUBLISHER Lynne Foland EDITOR Skylar Browning PRODUCTION DIRECTOR Joe Weston ADVERTISING SALES MANAGER Heidi Starrett CIRCULATION & BUSINESS MANAGER Adrian Vatoussis DIRECTOR OF SPECIAL PROJECTS Christie Anderson ARTS EDITOR Erika Fredrickson PHOTO EDITOR Cathrine L. Walters CALENDAR EDITOR Kate Whittle STAFF REPORTERS Kate Whittle, Alex Sakariassen, Ted McDermott COPY EDITOR Kate Whittle ART DIRECTOR Kou Moua GRAPHIC DESIGNER Charles Wybierala CIRCULATION ASSISTANT MANAGER Ryan Springer ADVERTISING REPRESENTATIVES Steven Kirst, Tracy Lopez, Will Peterson ADMIN, PROMO & EVENTS COORDINATOR Leif Christian CLASSIFIED SALES REPRESENTATIVE Tami Allen FRONT DESK Lorie Rustvold CONTRIBUTORS Ari LeVaux, Scott Renshaw, Nick Davis, Ednor Therriault, Jule Banville, Matthew Frank, Molly Laich, Dan Brooks, Melissa Mylchreest, Rob Rusignola, Migizi Pensoneau, Brooks Johnson, Sarah Aswell
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missoulanews.com • April 16–April 23, 2015 [3]
[voices]
STREET TALK
by Cathrine L. Walters
Asked Tuesday, April 14, on the University of Montana campus. Tell us one reason you love Missoula right now. Follow-up: Jon Krakauer’s new book, Missoula: Rape and the Justice System in a College Town, comes out April 21. Do you plan on reading it? Brennan Cain: Because I know summer is around the corner and these periodic 60 degree days are worth it. Open dialogue: Yeah, absolutely. I’ve read Krakauer’s previous work and I’m interested to see how he portrays a serious issue in our community. Anything that highlights the topic in a constructive way is positive.
Randy Dormer: I love the campus and the people here, where you can see somebody wearing camouflage with a yoga mat in their backpack. What’s in a name? Yes, but not because I live in Missoula, because I love Jon Krakauer. I think he should have titled it differently though.
Sarah McLaughlin: I like the acceptance level of it. Everyone is so open and happy all the time. Out of sight, out of mind: I haven’t heard of the book but it sounds interesting and if I came across it I’d read it.
Follow his lead Standing up for what’s right isn’t always easy, and with an issue as contentious and important as water use, there is bound to be conflict and disagreement—which is why I think Sen. Fred Thomas deserves to be thanked for his service to Montana and for his vote in support of the CSKT Water Compact. By voting for the Confederated Salish & Kootenai Tribes Water Compact, Thomas did what it is critical for our elected officials to do—evaluate the proposal on its merits and how it will impact the people of Montana. He didn’t buy into the fact-less arguments of the opponents; he stood up for Montana’s hard working farmers, ranchers, irrigators and water users across the state to ensure that our water resources are available now, and for future generations. If the compact fails, the CSKT are required by Montana law to file legal claims to define their federally reserved water rights by June 30 of this year. If the compact is allowed to fail, thousands of Montana water users would be subject to litigation. Thomas did his part in protecting Montanans from the wave of costly litigation that will follow if the compact is not passed. Now that the compact has been passed out of the Senate and into the House, my only hope is that his counterparts in the House give this proposal the same time and consideration that Thomas did. John Crowley Manager Bitter Root Irrigation District Corvallis
Shut it down Erik Fister: The weather is getting nice again. I’ve lived here most of my life so I’m kinda partial to it. He said, she said: I don’t know. If I had the time. I guess I’d be interested in reading it to see someone else’s take on the investigation.
Mae Ikerd: Because it’s spring time. Birds are chirping and flowers are growing. It’s the best time to be on campus. Zootown pride: No. I’ve been in Missoula for almost 15 years and on campus for about 10. No matter what choices those people that were involved in that court case or book made, it won’t sway how I feel about this town.
[4] Missoula Independent • April 16–April 23, 2015
The Montana Developmental Center must be closed because it is not safe for too many of the people who live there. For the past decade reports of abuse and neglect have continued to emerge from the facility. Over the past year, with the Department of Justice involvement in investigations, those reports have crescendoed to a new high that cannot any longer be tolerated for the sake of ongoing client safety, let alone treatment goals. The problems are not new. They are endemic and culturally ingrained at the facility.
L
While the occasional heartening story arises at MDC, the abuse continues. Just this past year saw a rape, and a resident sent to the emergency room for five staples in his head after a staff assault. At some point we must throw in the towel and admit that the problems cannot be fixed at this facility in this location.
The problems are not new. They are endemic and culturally ingrained at the facility. The Department of Public Health and Human Services has had the chance to fix the problems and has failed to do so (notably, DPHHS is not opposing closure of MDC), the problems cannot be fixed in Boulder, the abuse continues, and the residents deserve to be treated safely. Roberta R. Zenker Staff attorney Disability Rights Montana Helena [Editor’s note: See our story on page 6]
Play by the rules Many on the left and in the media are praising Senate Bill 405 as a “bipartisan” health care solution. However, one thing is clear to the conservative legislators I serve with: SB 405 is an all-or-nothing expansion of Obamacare for Montana. There was no compromise in the drafting of this bill after it was rubber-stamped by the governor and the sponsor shot down all amendments in committee. Make no mistake about it, this bill is a massive expansion of Obamacare in our state and will add tens of thousands of new participants into a medical welfare program that was originally intended to provide medical care for the disabled and truly needy. To be clear, I think everyone should
have access to health care, but increasing Medicaid enrollment by such a large number is not a good way to go about getting that access. Members of a working group looked at this problem over the last two years and developed the Big Sky Health plan. This plan targeted the most needy populations and ensured that they get adequate medical coverage first. Most elements of the Big Sky Health plan–which were actual compromise proposals—were killed in the process. Every Montanan should know three things about SB 405: it is more federal government intrusion in the form of Obamacare by accepting $700 million from Washington, it dramatically expands the number of Montanans on medical welfare, and it will add more bureaucracy to our health care system that will cost the state millions of dollars in administration fees every year. I respect legislators who make decisions on policy for their constituents— that’s why they sent us here. But I am extremely disappointed that the Democratic caucus and a handful of Republicans would vote to throw out the legislative rulebook that we all voted on in January. In my law practice I work to uphold the rule of law. At home I teach my children the rules they should abide by, and here in Helena we are all expected to follow the rules that we adopt. Once we throw the legislative rules out the window we lose the ability to responsibly govern this state. A group of representatives who were upset that they weren’t getting their way used procedural maneuvering to sidestep the rules, rendering them basically meaningless. This group has decided that they will use any means necessary to get what they want even if it means breaking the rules. A civilized body should never resort to an “ends justifies the means” mentality. I have tremendous respect for the Montana Legislature and for the position of speaker and refuse to play games that dishonor those who helped me get here. I, and the majority of the conservative Republican caucus of the House will continue to uphold, follow and respect the rules of the Montana Legislature. Rep. Austin Knudsen Culbertson
etters Policy: The Missoula Independent welcomes hate mail, love letters and general correspondence. Letters to the editor must include the writer’s full name, address and daytime phone number for confirmation, though we’ll publish only your name and city. Anonymous letters will not be considered for publication. Preference is given to letters addressing the contents of the Independent. We reserve the right to edit letters for space and clarity. Send correspondence to: Letters to the Editor, Missoula Independent, 317 S. Orange St., Missoula, MT 59801, or via email: editor@missoulanews.com.
missoulanews.com • April 16–April 23, 2015 [5]
[news]
WEEK IN REVIEW
VIEWFINDER
by Cathrine L. Walters
Wednesday, April 8 Cole Snyder, the Ronan High School wrestler who was arrested on charges of distribution of dangerous drugs and sexual abuse of children the day after winning a state wrestling championship, pleads not guilty to two felonies.
Thursday, April 9 Acclaimed White Sulphur Springs-born author Ivan Doig dies at age 75, in Seattle. During his eight-year battle with cancer Doig wrote four novels, the last of which, Last Bus to Wisdom, is scheduled to be released in August.
Friday, April 10 Representatives from Adventure Cycling, the Missoula Redevelopment Agency and other local groups gather near Highway 93 to officially break ground on the Missoula to Lolo Trail, which is expected to be completed in June 2016.
Saturday, April 11 Shortly after midnight, a magnitude 3.6 earthquake strikes near Somers and reverberates throughout the Flathead Valley, according to the U.S. Geological Survey. No injuries or damages are reported.
Sunday, April 12 After waking up to a dusting of snow and chilly temperatures, the Missoula Mavericks open their season—and their campaign to defend their state American Legion title— by sweeping both games of a doubleheader against the Great Falls Chargers.
Monday, April 13 The Montana Democratic Party announces Nancy Keenan will take over as its new executive director. Keenan has served as a state legislator, three-term state superintendent of public instruction and former NARAL Pro-Choice America president.
Tuesday, April 14 Josh Vanek reveals that this will be the final year of Total Fest, the DIY music festival he founded and has helped organize with a crew of volunteers for the past 14 years in Missoula. Total Fest’s last hurrah is set for August 20-22.
Reason No. 13 to love Missoula right now: Because the city will close downtown streets for large annual events, including last weekend’s Downtown Grizzly Criterium road race, hosted by the University of Montana Cycling Team.
Disability Center
Closer to closure The embattled Montana Developmental Center, a state-run facility charged with caring for intellectually disabled adults, is one step closer to being shuttered forever. The House Human Services Committee voted 13-4 on April 13 to pass Senate Bill 411, moving it to the House floor for a vote. If enacted, SB 411 would close the facility by June 30, 2017. Allegations and findings of abuse have long plagued MDC. According to SB 411’s sponsor, Sen. Mary Caferro, D-Helena, 74 allegations of abuse have been reported at the facility over the past 15 months. Most recently, on March 10, the Montana Department of Public Health and Human Services issued the facility a Notice of Violations and Order for Corrective Action, citing “three very serious incidents” over just the previous four months. The MDC’s long history of institutional problems led Caferro to propose closing the facility during the
2013 legislative session. Though that effort failed, it did lead to reforms, including a new provision directing the Montana Department of Justice to investigate future claims of abuse. With allegations and findings of abuse persisting into this session, SB 411 passed the Senate with ease late last month. As it moves through the House, though, some are urging caution. Eric Feaver, president of MEA-MFT, a union that represents about 20 of MDC’s employees, says he’s “adamantly opposed” to closing MDC. For starters, he’s skeptical about the bill’s proposal to safely and effectively move those currently housed in the facility to community-based programs. While acknowledging there are “allegations, real and imagined, of patient abuse” at MDC, Feaver argues the issues can be better dealt with at MDC, which is subject to Department of Justice oversight, than in private care. He also points to the effect the closure would have on the town of Boulder, which relies on MDC for over 100 union jobs.
“I look at this bill and I think, ‘Really? We’re going blow up a primary government responsibility, we’re going to farm it out to the private sector, say goodbye to a bunch of union jobs and maybe rub out a community in the process?’ I think it’s nutty,” Feaver says. Bernadette Franks-Ongoy, executive director of Disability Rights Montana, a civil rights and advocacy group, takes issue with every aspect of Feaver’s argument. She says any private provider “would be shut down” if they had the level of abuse reported at MDC. She also argues that all 52 clients of the facility would be better off receiving care in their home communities—even the small minority who are committed to MDC for criminal matters. As for the welfare of Boulder and the preservation of union jobs, Franks-Ongoy deems those issues “a distraction.” “We really just need to do the right thing and not the wrong thing,” Franks-Ongoy says. “Keeping people locked away in institutions for purposes of creating jobs for a community is absolutely the wrong thing to do.” Ted McDermot
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[6] Missoula Independent • April 16–April 23, 2015
Melissa Kwasny (poetry) Monday, April 20th 7 pm Jeremy Pataky (poetry) Tuesday, April 21st 7 pm
103 S. 3rd St. W. • (406) 549-9010
[news] Hate crimes
Few and far between A Missoula resident pleaded not guilty to a racially motivated assault in Missoula County Justice Court last week, bringing to light a rarely used charge in Missoula. Susan Lafriniere used racial slurs during several encounters with an African-American man in her neighborhood beginning in 2013, according to the affidavit. In 2014, Lafriniere allegedly ran at the man, bumped her chest into him, yelled racial slurs and demanded he leave the premise. City Attorney Jim Nugent, who started working in Missoula in 1975, says he can’t remember a case quite like this one. “I cannot recall prolonged multiple encounters like this since I’ve worked as a city prosecutor,” he says. “We forwarded it to the county attorney because the conduct was so bad.” Lafriniere, born in 1947, is charged with a misdemeanor assault. On June 3, 2014, the victim went to Lafriniere’s neighbors’ house to do landscaping work. According to the affidavit, Lafriniere saw the victim go into her neighbors’ house, at which point she ran over and yelled at him to get out because he was “defiling the house with his presence.” The victim asked her to leave him alone, but Lafriniere allegedly continued to call him racial slurs. In addition to the misdemeanor charge, Lafriniere is subject to a sentence enhancement of two to 10 years in the Montana State Prison for an offense committed because of a racial bias. Montana established the hate crime statute in 1989. She remains free pending trial, as long as she complies with the conditions of her release, including no contact with the victim and his family. Since 2008, Missoula County has reported 49 racially motivated offenses, according to the Montana Board of Crime Control. The board says racially motivated offenses are the most commonly reported hate crimes, surpassing those involving religion, ethnicity/nationality, sexual orientation and disability. Montana has seen a total of 286 hate crimes reported statewide between 2008 and 2013. Rachel Carroll-Rivas, co-director of the Montana Human Rights Network, says hate crimes are often under-reported because some people may not be aware of the 1989 statute. She adds that collecting accurate data can be challenging because some people believe reporting can place a target on them. “How-
ever, we believe there’s safety in numbers, and it’s important to come together on the issue of hate crimes,” she says. Lafriniere’s pretrial hearing is scheduled for May 10. Courtney Anderson
Blackfoot River
Old rules, new process Earlier this month, Montana Fish, Wildlife and Parks began taking public comment on a new rule formalizing regulations along the Blackfoot River Recreation Corridor that have been informally in place for decades. So far, the most common question FWP fishing access site manager Christine Oschell has fielded from the public is what changes the proposal will bring to the Blackfoot. “And it’s an awkward question to answer,” she says, “because really nothing is changing.” However, the process does mark the first opportunity granted to the public to weigh in on certain access issues within the corridor. The rules governing recreation downstream of Russell Gates have historically been part of a formal agreement first struck between landowners and state agencies back in the 1970s. Oschell says she’s unsure why those rules—which include access up to 50 feet above the highwater mark and permitted camping only at designated sites—were never formalized. “We thought it was time to make sure this thing was vetted through the public,” Oschell says, “and through the [FWP] Commission as well.” Blackfoot landowner and official Big Blackfoot Riverkeeper Jerry O’Connell attributes the new rule in part to a concern raised at a recent meeting regarding the five-year renewal of the corridor agreement. O’Connell says a recreationist pointed out that the agreement impacts the public due to camping restric-
BY THE NUMBERS
49
States Montana joined on Monday when the legislature passed House Bill 284, which effectively outlaws bullying. Montana is the last state to pass such a law.
tions within the high-water mark—restrictions that do not exist in state law. It’s a legitimate concern, O’Connell adds. “I can’t argue with it … It just raises the specter of a possible snafu on getting the whole agreement approved.” Specifically, O’Connell fears any major changes made as a result of the rule review process could impact the willingness of some landowners to continue participating in the historic corridor agreement. Beyond that “specter,” O’Connell sees significant value in what the new rule will allow FWP to do. Oschell says the agency is already working on ramping up public education on what is and isn’t allowed along the lower Blackfoot. She expects a new brochure complete with map to be released sometime in the next few months, with possible signage at fish access sites to follow. “It’s a gracious program—gracious by the landowners and by the agencies and by the public that’s treated it well,” O’Connell says. “It deserves to be touted and also to be documented so that people who do come here fully understand it and appreciate it.” Oschell adds public comment on the proposed rule may also help make the case for expanding FWP’s float-in campsite program. The agency currently manages five designated campsites at three locations along the lower Blackfoot, and plans to monitor three to four potential additions throughout this summer. If all goes well, Oschell says, new sites should be ready to host campers by summer 2016. Alex Sakariassen
ETC. It’s been nearly a year since Ravalli County Treasurer Valerie Stamey was put on paid administrative leave for her masterful bungling of public finances. Her apparent incompetence, repeated threats to sic the FBI on sitting commissioners and ludicrous attempt to reclaim her seat in the 2014 Republican primary made her the most talkedabout person in the Bitterroot Valley. Now the Stamey name is back for a second haunting—without any trace of Stamey herself. Ravalli County has been unable to track down its wayward one-time celebrity since it first filed a lawsuit against her last June seeking $29,000 in fines. Her disappearance should come as no surprise, really. Stamey pulled a similar vanishing act in the midst of mounting legal troubles in North Carolina sometime around 2008, popping up in Montana under the name Valerie Addis. She landed a job as food services supervisor for Missoula County Public Schools, and by late 2010 was already facing allegations of misusing district funds. According to disciplinary documents, thenAddis admitted to using MCPS’s central kitchen for a personal catering event and to paying district employees for helping her prepare for it; MCPS accepted her resignation in February 2011. Those documents were released in the wake of a Montana Supreme Court decision in late March—a development that further contributed to the resurgence of the Stamey discussion. Ravalli County officials are now considering hiring a process server to track Stamey down, not just to recoup damages but to ensure no one else falls victim to her antics. A noble sentiment, but not necessarily the wisest allocation of resources. Stamey has already cost Bitterroot taxpayers tens of thousands in paid leave alone, and that money ain’t coming back. Plus, a quick Google search would now inform any potential employer of her sordid past. Closure would be nice, but at what cost? The reason for rethinking a nationwide manhunt for Stamey was perhaps best summed up by Montana Commissioner of Political Practices Jonathan Motl last October. Motl had been weighing whether to pursue criminal charges against Stamey and her husband. The inability of others to successfully serve Stamey in their own legal proceedings led Motl to the conclusion that “expending further public funds to bring a criminal action in this matter against Richard or Valerie Stamey would be a waste of taxpayers’ resources.” If only others could let go so easily.
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missoulanews.com • April 16–April 23, 2015 [7]
[news]
Checking it twice City commission launches experimental no-sale alcohol list by Ted McDermott
Beverage Drinkers’ Profile Orange You Fresh Tommylee and Vanessa
What brings you to the Iron Horse today? With our jobs and children it's almost impossible for us to have a private moment, so sometimes we sneak out and have a meal.
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Beverages of choice? Dr. Pepper & Blue Moon, with orange.
Come in, enjoy our NEW MENU with sunny-side seating in nicer weather! Where There Is Always Someone You’ll Know 501 N. Higgins 728-8866 ironhorsebrewpub.com
[8] Missoula Independent • April 16–April 23, 2015
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At first, Becki Hamilton wasn’t sure tions director, the list could be up to 25 MDAC was established as the Panhandling Working Group to address complaints what to think. A few weeks ago, two mem- names long. Merriam says the plan took shape over about aggressive behavior downtown. bers of the Mayor’s Downtown Advisory “I don’t think it’s one thing that’s going Commission presented Hamilton, manager the course of a year, after looking at what of the Magic Diamond Casino on West other cities have done to curb alcohol prob- to solve the problem,” says Rob Scheben, the Broadway, with proposals designed to curb lems and after talking with Missoula’s city’s crime prevention officer. “It’s a totality problems stemming from alcohol abuse. downtown police officer, local courts and of probably several different ways of going One idea called for alcohol retailers to vol- business owners, all of whom, Merriam about it, just like any other big problem.” untarily stop selling certain low-cost beverages with high alcohol content, such as pints of cheap vodka and single cans of malt liquor. The other involved the commission creating a list of people who downtown retailers would all agree to stop selling alcohol to, due to their persistently bad behavior while intoxicated. The first proposal immediately struck Hamilton as unrealistic. “I just took the things they listed on the draft [proposal], which was about five items, and over a sixmonth period it was about $100,000 that we would be missing out in sales,” Hamilton says. “And I explained that a lot of the people who photo by Cathrine L. Walters buy the single-serve cans and the smaller portioned beers and vodkas Becki Hamilton, manager of the Magic Diamond Casino on West Broadway, says she’s “all for” a new program designed to ban alcohol sales to a select and whiskeys aren’t all bums.” group of problem drinkers in downtown Missoula. The second proposal? Hamilton Even if the program makes a difference says she’s “all for” it. Magic Diamond relies says, reported “that alcohol misuse is beon alcohol sales to exist—but the bad be- hind many of the tickets that are written downtown, some wonder what that will mean for other parts of the city, especially havior that often results from drinking can downtown.” “It’s behind many of the complaints that with zero-fare Mountain Line buses providharm the casino’s business. She says the nosale list—which the city plans to unveil April we get at the mayor’s office and that busi- ing an easy means of accessing alcohol at nesses get about, ‘I’m scared to go down- businesses outside downtown. 30—is worth a shot. “They’re just going to walk farther,” “We already, as a store, have our own town, because there’s scary, icky, drunk no-sell, 86’d list,” Hamilton says. “But a lot people,’” Merriam says. “We know that that Hamilton says of those who are banned. of the people that are on that, we don’t have is there. So the idea behind a responsible al- “They’re just going to start walking to, like, their names. We just know what they look cohol retailer program is to try to figure out the south side of town to get their alcohol, like. So that no-sell list will help us kind of how we can curtail those kinds of behaviors because an alcoholic is always going to find through limiting access to alcohol for people a way to get drunk.” put names to faces.” City Councilman Jason Wiener, who So far, members of the Mayor’s Down- who are misusing it and who are causing is also an MDAC member, acknowledges town Advisory Commission have brought people to be upset downtown.” But even those who are promoting and the difficulty of truly cutting off access to their proposals to 15 of 18 downtown-area alcohol retailers and consistently received participating in the program aren’t sure if it alcohol, but he believes making it more comments similar to Hamilton’s. As a result, will work. “We don’t actually know what difficult to purchase could “help people they’ve scrapped the idea of asking stores kind of impact it will have,” Merriam admits. who are struggling with addiction come For that reason, the plan is being im- to grips with it.” to stop selling certain beverages and are fo“Maybe with a little clarity,” Wiener cusing instead on building and distributing plemented on a trial basis, from April 30 to the no-sale list. The list would include only October 30, at which point it will be reeval- says, “will come a willingness to make a those already ordered not to drink by a uated. In the meantime, organizers are change.” court. According to Ginny Merriam, an hopeful it will contribute to an effort that’s tmcdermott@missoulanews.com MDAC member and the city’s communica- been ongoing since at least 2007, the year
[news]
DOCUMENTARY FILM “BOUGHT” Free viewing and discussion about vaccinations, GMO’s and the pharmaceutical industry.
Wed. April 29th 6:30pm Please call to RSVP your seat.
photo courtesy of Lance Pysher
The Bitterroot Backcountry Cyclists disagree with the proposed Bitterroot Forest Travel Plan, which would close off about 178 miles of trails that are currently open to bicycles.
Geared up to fight Cyclists object to Bitterroot National Forest plan by Kate Whittle
The Bitterroot National Forest recently released the final draft of its first new forestwide travel plan since 1976—and some local mountain bikers aren’t happy with the proposed limits on cycling. The new plan closes off about 102,000 acres of the Blue Joint and Sapphire Wilderness Study Areas to motorized and mechanized transport, which includes snowmobile and mountain bike use. Bitterroot Backcountry Cyclists President Lance Pysher says he was “pretty shocked” by the final draft, which restricts motorized and mechanized access from 178 miles of trails, including popular paths in the Bitterroot like Blodgett Canyon and Bear Creek Overlook. “For us it’s the trails we like to go to on the weekends, and just get way out there alone,” Pysher says. “We’re getting out there and enjoying backcountry in a challenging environment.”
Bitterroot Forest Supervisor Julie King says she views mountain bikers as “a valuable partner,” but she believes the Forest Service’s hands are tied by federal law regarding wilderness and proposed wilderness areas. The Wilderness Act doesn’t mention bicycles, but explicitly bans motorized vehicles and “mechanical transport,” which has been interpreted as including bicycles. Additionally, King says they took into consideration the precedent set by a 2011 case in the Gallatin National Forest, where wilderness groups won a lawsuit that demanded more restrictions on snowmobile and bicycle use. “It was set before us a long time before that mechanized transport was not a compatible use in those areas,” she says. “...But maybe there’s other things we can look at for bicyclists that could be valuable for them or we could set up in the future.”
Mountain biking advocates nationwide have long argued against the Forest Service’s interpretation of the Wilderness Act, citing studies that indicate cycling has less impact on trails than other kinds of recreation. A 2006 National Park Service study concluded that “Horse and ATV trails are significantly more degraded than hiking and biking trails.” Pysher, for his part, says he’ll appeal the Bitterroot Travel Plan during the 45-day objection period, which started April 15. “There are people out there who are antimountain bike, they don’t think they belong in the backcountry at all, and unfortunately these people complain the loudest and the most,” he says. “The Forest Service is catering to the noisy people who don’t like mountain bikes.” kwhittle@missoulanews.com
missoulanews.com • April 16–April 23, 2015 [9]
[opinion]
Not all right The sign of a successful legislature is missing from Helena by Dan Brooks
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[10] Missoula Independent • April 16–April 23, 2015
The Montana Legislature passed Medicaid expansion last week as one passes a kidney stone: finally, and with a lot of illconsidered remarks. The working majority shepherded SB 405 through a hail of parliamentary maneuvers, during which Rep. Art Wittich called members of his own party traitors, Speaker of the House Austin Knudsen tried to renege on his “silver bullet” deal with Democrats and 49 Republicans voted to adjourn the 2015 session entirely. It was a spectacular breakdown of legislative decency. But in the end, the working majority worked, and Democrats, moderate Republicans and Gov. Bullock got the federally mandated Medicaid expansion that 70,000 Montanans have waited for since 2011. The governor celebrated by vetoing the second Republican tax bill of the session. I agree with him that Rep. Duane Ankney’s SB 200 inordinately benefited people at the high end of the income scale. But it reflected the will of a Republican Party that had just checked its radical wing to pass legislation central to the Democratic agenda. Perhaps signing their $200 million tax cut would have made a nice thank-you gift. Bullock differs with Republicans on the value of trickle-down economics, but they do control both houses in Helena. He might have rewarded their willingness to compromise with a compromise of his own. What we’re talking about here is comity: the attitude among our leaders that even when they disagree, other elected representatives deserve respect. Comity is the byword of any successful legislature, and it has all but vanished from the 2015 session. In an interview with Kristen Inbody of the Great Falls Tribune that can only be described as beautiful, Rep. Randy Pinocci, R–Sun River, provided a neat example of this phenomenon. Among other issues, he discussed his frustration with Bullock’s promise to veto the Republican budget proposal currently moving through the Senate.
“The majority of my constituents want smaller government,” he said. “What does the taxpayer want? I hear every excuse, but we spend money on [expletive] that’s ridiculous. I want to go to the Deaf and Blind School and see if they’re struggling.” He also lamented the failure of his proposal to drug-test welfare recipients, arguing that it would have saved lives. “How could it get to the Senate and then die? Something is rotten,” he said. “I’ve got dead children all over this state, and it could be fixed with this.”
“The license-plate slogan ‘Montana: Dead children all over’ would probably keep the Californians out.” The license-plate slogan “Montana: Dead children all over” would probably keep the Californians out. It’s easy to smirk at these intemperate remarks, but it’s also easy to see that Pinocci believes what he’s saying. He genuinely thinks that drug tests for welfare applicants will save kids’ lives. He apparently does not know that TANF recipients in states with similar programs have tested positive at a rate of about 2 percent, but that doesn’t mean he is crazy or heartless. It just means he’s wrong. But the thing about Rep. Pinocci is that he believes he is right. Like his failed bill resisting a nonexistent UN plan to abolish private property, his suspicion that deaf and blind kids are doing just fine
seems misguided—even silly. But Pinocci seems silly to us because we, too, are certain that we are right. It’s an epistemological conundrum. What this system needs is some acknowledgement on the part of the individual that other people might know better. Sometimes, what is immediately obvious to us can still be wrong. I’m willing to go dollars to doughnuts that life is hard for deaf kids who can’t see, but probably there is some other point of disagreement between myself and Rep. Pinocci where I am utterly certain that my own mistake is right. Perhaps the concession to this principle that we call comity could have avoided some of the more embarrassing moments of this year’s session. If Art Wittich had conceded that the majority could be right about Medicaid, he might not have abused his committee chairmanship so destructively. If the governor had conceded that the majority could be right about tax structures, he might have reassured the Republican Party that giving is a reliable way to get. Maybe Helena needs fewer leaders willing to stand up for what’s right and more negotiators willing to sit down and run a government. I admire Pinocci’s, Wittich’s and Bullock’s commitments to their principles. I’m just not sure they know better than everybody else. Readers of this column know I have committed some unproductive exaggerations—for example, when I said Wittich planned to replace the state’s puppy mills with puppy incinerators, or that U.S. Sen. Steve Daines nourishes himself by lassoing rainbows and drinking their pigment. These inaccuracies I regret. I’m pretty sure I’m right all the time, but once in a while people and circumstances conspire to suggest otherwise. I do what I can to overrule them, but occasionally I must submit to majority opinion. It’s the only way to get anything done. Dan Brooks writes about politics, culture and catchphrases at combatblog.net.
[opinion]
Worth keeping Westerners need to stand up for public lands by Todd Tanner
As Google Earth flies, it’s five miles and change from the Echo Lake Café in the Flathead Valley, one of Montana’s great little restaurants, up to a parking area at a trailhead that leads to Jewel Basin. Down here in the valley, we’re at 3,000 feet. Up where the gravel road dead-ends, you’re looking at 5,700 feet. If you make it all the way to the top of 7,500-foot-high Mount Aeneas, you’ll be rubbing elbows with some top-of-the-world views, not to mention mule deer and mountain goats. We’re talking about almost a mile of elevation change, yet the amazing thing is that once you leave the valley floor, all that land stretching on seemingly forever belongs to you and me and all of our fellow Americans. It doesn’t matter whether you live here in Montana, or in Colorado, Wyoming, New Mexico or New Jersey. All that acreage, which is administered on our behalf by the U.S. Forest Service, is ours. We can roam where we choose, we can hike, we can fish the lakes and pick fresh huckleberries for lunch and pitch our tents under all that Big Sky. We’re free to wander to our heart’s content on public land, and for a lot of Americans, that’s an incredible thing. Whether you actually visit these places in person—go hiking in Jewel Basin or hunt in western Montana’s backcountry—is almost beside the point. You still own those places, and you benefit from them, either directly or indirectly, because of all the clean air, clean water and wildlife, not to mention the billions of dollars, that our federal lands inject, year in and year out, into our economy. That’s a pretty incredible dividend, paid on the principal, or make that the principle, of our public lands. I’d go so far as to say that here in Montana and across the West, our public lands, which make up 50 percent or more of our states, equate to freedom. Let’s make that freedom and prosperity, because almost everything of substance, from our Western heritage to
our economy to our recreation, flows from the bounty of our public lands. That is why it’s so disappointing that 51 U.S. senators, every single one of them entrusted with our nation’s well-being, recently cast a vote that could help destroy the West—one that could turn over America’s public lands to multinational corporations, lock out hunters and hikers, and shift control of our timber, our grazing rights, and our minerals, along with the very lifeblood of the West—our water—to profiteers and foreign interests.
“This is about power, plunder and money. It’s about water, which is the source of all that power here in the West.”
That’s right. In an almost entirely party-line vote, 51 U.S. senators just voted in favor of Alaska Republican Sen. Lisa Murkowski’s budget amendment to sell off our public lands, with only three Republicans voting no. Colorado’s Cory Gardner was the lone Western Republican to vote no, joining all of the Western Democrats. The senators won’t tell you what transferring these lands out of federal management really means. No, they’ll
stand in front of their microphones, puffed up and proud, and state that they’re for smaller government and state’s rights and local control. But once you make your way through the obligatory smoke and mirrors, you come to the truth: This is about power, plunder and money. It’s about water, which is the source of all that power here in the West. And it’s about the fact that an awful lot of folks back in Washington want to privatize our federal lands. Montana writer Hal Herring called the vote “an attempt to re-create our country, to vanquish forever the notion that we citizens can hold anything in common. It’s a new paradigm, where the majority of Americans are landless subjects with little recourse in the courts or political process.” Now we have an important decision to make. Do we turn our back on this grand experiment in democracy? Do we accept that the future will always be smaller and shabbier than the past? Do we resign ourselves to a world where our freedoms are locked away behind “No Trespassing” and “Keep Out” signs? Or will we choose to fight for what’s ours? Because that’s the real question. Will we give up? Or will we as Western citizens stand up and defend the America that was passed down from our forefathers? It brings to mind a question that Elizabeth Willing Powel asked Benjamin Franklin following the Constitutional Convention in 1787. “Well, doctor, what have we got, a republic or a monarchy?” Franklin’s response still rings true today: “A republic, if you can keep it.” Todd Tanner is a contributor to Writers on the Range, a column service of High Country News (hcn.org ). He lives in Big fork and is an outdoor writer and the president of Conservation Hawks, a nonprofit that defends hunting and angling.
Tuesday, April 21st 6 PM – TOGETHER WE WIN: THE FIGHT TO ORGANIZE STARBUCKS 7 PM – PRIDE In 1984 Wales, gays and lesbians fight gender stereotypes as they lend their support to striking coal miners in Margaret Thatcher's repressive regime in England.
missoulanews.com • April 16–April 23, 2015 [11]
[quirks]
CURSES, FOILED AGAIN – Joey Patterson, 22, eluded Idaho authorities for several months, but then he posted his whereabouts on Facebook. He invited friends to play softball at Armory Softball Field in Caldwell. That’s where police found him. Monitoring social media has led officers to suspects before, Sgt. Joey Hoadley noted, explaining, “Surprisingly, even fugitives can’t keep from updating their Facebook status.” (Associated Press) Police arrested three suspects in a tailgate-stealing spree in Volusia County, Fla., after one of them tried to return one of the nine stolen tailgates to claim a reward. The victim paid the reward but called deputies, who located the trio. (Orlando’s WESH-TV)
OPPORTUNITY KNOCKS – The world’s largest international sperm bank moved its main U.S. office from New York to Orlando, Fla. Cryos International is definitely targeting college students, the company’s Jim Londeree said, noting nearby University of Central Florida is among the largest universities in the nation, providing “a huge donor base here.” He added that approved donors “can make up to $750 a month.” (Orlando Sentinel) SARAH PALIN TOLL BRIDGE – Russia unveiled plans to build a high-speed railway and freeway link between London and the United States—via Siberia. State railway boss Vladimir Yakunin, who helped develop the plan, dubbed Trans-Eurasian Belt Development (TERP), promised that the proposed 12,400mile route would “supercharge” global economic growth by connecting Russia’s oil and gas pipelines to the rest of the world. (Britain’s The Independent) MISSING THE POINT – A speaker at Australia’s sixth annual National Disability Summit had to be lifted onto the stage because there was no ramp for wheelchairs or mobility scooters. In addition, disabled participants, who each paid $2,000 to attend the privately organized event, were all seated at one table in the back of the room. A blog post by participant Jax Jacki Brown noted that the “accessible toilet was filled with chairs and used as a storage space,” and “the food provided was up on really tall tables” so wheelchair users couldn’t reach it. (Australia’s ABC News) BITTERROOT R OO
SLIGHTEST PROVOCATION – Police said Phyllis D. Jefferson, 50, stabbed her 61-year-old boyfriend while the two were eating chips and salsa at home in Akron, Ohio, after they got into an argument over who was eating all the salsa. (Cleveland’s WKYC-TV) Jerome Clemons, 44, set fire to his house in Boynton Beach, Fla., authorities there said, after his niece refused to give him a ride to a liquor store. (South Florida Sun Sentinel)
SERIES
THE SOUND OF NO HAND CLAPPING – Organizers of Britain’s National Union of Students Women’s Conference asked delegates to use jazz hands instead of clapping to avoid “triggering anxiety.” The aim, delegate Nona Buckley-Irvine explained, is “to show appreciation of someone’s point without interrupting or causing disturbance.” Gee Linford-Grayson agreed. “Plus,” she added, “who doesn’t like jazz hands?” (BBC News) OBVIOUS SOLUTION – California’s death row, the country’s largest, has run out of room. With 738 inmates in lethal limbo since a court invalidated the state’s lethal injection method nearly a decade ago, Gov. Jerry Brown asked the legislature for more than $3 million to open 100 new cells for condemned men at San Quentin Prison, which already has 715 inmates facing execution. Brown’s request, the Los Angeles Times said, “anticipates an average of 20 new arrivals on death row yearly” without a decrease in the existing condemned population. (NPR) WHEN GUNS ARE OUTLAWED – Australian authorities charged Erica Leeder, 26, with assaulting a police officer with breast milk. While being searched after her arrest on an unspecified warrant, Leeder was nude from the waist up when she grabbed her own breast and squirted milk onto the forehead, arms and clothes of a female officer conducting the search. The Western Australia Police Union said the assault charge was partially due to the possibility of the breast milk’s spreading disease. (United Press International)
Squirm Burpee Circus TICKETS $17.50 | $22.50 ONLINE at www.bARTc.org | BY PHONE 406.363.7946 IN PERSON Signal Square, 127 West Main, Hamilton, Tues-Thurs from 11 to 5 and Fri 10 to 4 Performances held at the Hamilton Performing Arts Center at Hamilton High School, 327 Fairgrounds Road
[12] Missoula Independent • April 16–April 23, 2015
When Patricia Leece, 61, answered a knock at her door in Lexington, Ky., stranger Ashley Sies, 31, pushed her way in and began choking Leece with a bra. After a 20-minute struggle, Leece said she managed to knock Sies unconscious by hitting her on the head with a ceramic chicken. (Lexington’s WKYT-TV)
BOTTOMS ARE TOPS – Luxury toilet seats topped the list of souvenirs brought home by the record number of Chinese tourists who celebrated this lunar new-year holiday in Japan. Costing around $540, the heated seats feature pulsating water jets, deodorizers and even music to cover up the sound of nature’s call. Many offer hands-free lid opening; some are portable and battery-operated. China’s state-run media reported that many of the toilet seats sold in Japan were made in China. (The Economist) WAY TO GO – Stephan Woytack, 74, died while attaching a cross to a grave marker at a family plot in Scranton, Pa. The tombstone unexpectedly tilted off its base, toppled and crushed him to death, according to police Officer Andy Kerecman, who called the accident “freaky.” (New York Daily News)
Green Business
Best Local Arts & Entertainment
Hardware Store
Art Gallery Band Museum Musician Photographer Writer Movie Theater
Hobby/Craft Shop Lodging Motorcycle/ATV Dealer New-Car Dealer Used-Car Dealer New Retail Store (Opened in 2014 or 2015)
Best Local Fashion & Beauty Cosmetics Day Spa Jewelry Kids' Clothing Women's Clothing Men's Clothing Lingerie Place for a Man's Haircut Place for a Woman's Haircut Shoe Store Tattoo Parlor Thrift Store
Best Local Food & Drink Appetizers Asian Food Bakery Barbecue Breakfast Brunch Budget Lunch Coffee Tea Delicatessen Burger French Fries Food Cart/Truck Fresh Produce Desserts Ice Cream/Frozen Yogurt Milk Shake Mexican Food Pizza Restaurant New Restaurant (Opened in 2014 or 2015) Family-Friendly Restaurant Restaurant Service Restaurant Wine List Outdoor Dining Romantic Dining Salad Sandwich Shop Seafood Steak Supermarket Retail Beer Selection
Pet Supplies Ranch Supply Store
Psst. Hey you. Yes, you. We need your help. It’s time for the Indy’s annual Best of Missoula reader poll and, if the past is any indication, your vote could determine who wins and who loses. No, really. Not to put any pressure on you or anything, but every year we ask readers to fill out a ballot and every year at least a handful of categories come down to the wire. Are you really going to let your favorite pizza joint down? Or your favorite local news anchor? Or your hair stylist? (Lookin’ good, by the way. Like what you did with the ’do.) Don’t be that person. Now is your moment to make a difference. It’s cool, there’s something in it for you, too. If you fill this out, we’ll pass along an invitation to the Independent’s Best of Missoula Party at Caras Park on Thursday, July 9. There’ll be live music from local bands, food, drinks and special activities for the whole family. It’s pretty much the biggest thing happening this summer, or so we’ve heard. But first things first: Fill out your ballot and let your opinions be known. It just might be the most important thing you do in the next five minutes. (Vote online at missoulanews.com for even more categories.)
Store for Gifts Home Appliances Home Electronics Store for Musical Instruments Toy Store
Best Local Nightlife Bar Bar Food Bar for a Stiff Pour Beer Selection Cocktail Selection Bloody Mary Margarita Casino Happy Hour Karaoke Bar Late-Night Munchies Microbrewery Place to Dance
Retail Wine Selection Vegetarian Food Wings Coffee Hut Convenience Store Liquor Store Pizza Delivery Place to Eat Alone
Place to Hear Live Music Pool Table Sports Bar
Best Local Sports & Recreation Bike Shop Bowling Alley Fly-Fishing Shop
Best Local Goods & Services
Golf Course
Adult Store Auto Repair Bank/Credit Union Big Box Store Bookstore CDs and Music Dry Cleaner Furniture Store Garden Center
Consider this the fine print: We require ballots to include your full name, email address and phone number in the spaces provided. Ballots missing any of this information, or ballots with fewer than 30 categories filled in, will be mocked, ridiculed and not counted. Same goes for photocopied ballots and ballots with unclear markings. Hard-copy ballots may be mailed or hand-delivered to the Indy office at 317 S. Orange St., Missoula, MT 59801, or dropped at any of the ballot locations listed below.
Health Club Place for Paddle Sports Gear Place to get a Snowboard Sporting Goods Store Store for Guns Store for Mountaineering Gear Store for Skis
Vote by May 13
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Name: Email: Phone:
Ballot Box Locations: Bagels on Broadway, Bernice's Bakery, Break Espresso, Bridge Pizza, Burns St. Bistro, Butterfly Herbs, Doc's Sandwich Shop, Draught Works Brewery, Five on Black, Good Food Store, Iza Asian Restaurant, Kettlehouse, Market on Front, Orange Street Food Farm, Piece of Mind, Press Box, Rockin Rudy's, Taco del Sol (all four locations), Taco Sano, The Trail Head, UC Center Market, Westside Lanes, Worden's Market
missoulanews.com • April 16–April 23, 2015 [13]
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ou’d have to be living under a rock to not know that a certain best-selling author is about to release his latest investigative book. Jon Krakauer’s Missoula: Rape and the Justice System in a College Town, due out April 21, will soon be the talk of national broadcasts and the focus of a far-reaching marketing campaign. Publisher’s Weekly reports the first printing will reach 500,000. Doubleday promises full-page ads in The New Yorker and The New York Times, and a Google campaign targeting Salon, Slate, CNN, Time, Jezebel and Rolling Stone, among others. A publicity tour will feature Krakauer and at least one of the victims from the book. In a short time, Missoula—and Missoula in general—will be a topic of conversation on talk shows and review pages, bandied about in many cases by people whose only impression of the town will come from whatever Krakauer writes. (Doubleday did not make review copies available before publication.) The reaction to this book has already been strong and varied. On one extreme stand the defiant locals outraged that Krakauer would dare drag Missoula’s name through the mud just to sell more books—a low blow that belies the progress and healing that’s happened in the years since a federal investigation found severe problems in how the city, county and University of Montana dealt with sexual assault cases. This contingent has attacked Krakauer based on principle or his reporting techniques (he didn’t interview several key players) or his alleged shortcomings with other books. On the other end of the spectrum are equally defiant locals who insist on keeping an open mind and welcoming an outside voice of Krakauer’s stature because there can never be enough discussion about an issue that plagues not just Missoula but college towns throughout the nation. They say it’s a necessary dialogue that deserves to continue, and something we can learn from. Consensus is impossible. Too many minds have already been made up. In the coming weeks, as everyone gets a chance to read Krakauer’s Missoula, we’ll hear a lot about what he got right and wrong, what came across fairly or unfairly. The Indy and other local media will cover the reactions and offer their own reviews, and we’ll watch as national outlets do the same through a slightly different lens. While there’s perhaps little we can agree on right now, it’s
safe to say it’s going to be a weird experience for those of us living here. That’s why we’re stepping back from the book for a moment. As Missoula prepares to be put under the microscope, we figured what better time to look at aspects of the community that are also putting us on the map, bringing us together or otherwise making this a pretty cool place to live. Here are 12 reasons to love Missoula right now.
1. BECAUSE AN ARMY OF LITTLE RED TRUCKS WON’T BE DENIED Every year, Missoula Children’s Theatre brings theater to small towns around the country and the globe. Annually, the nonprofit teaches 1,200 children, entertains 15,000 audience members, trains 500 volunteers and employs 120 full-time staff. About 70 percent of the money it earns comes from outside Missoula, but about that same amount is spent in Missoula—which makes it an important part of our economy. In the last 40 years of its existence, MCT has visited 1,100 communities worldwide. All in all, it reaches an estimated one million people a year. Beyond the numbers, MCT is an organization that has lasting influence on small towns that, unlike Missoula, don’t have a lot of arts opportunities. The theater company’s little red trucks travel throughout the country for one-week residencies that culminate in a community production. MCT also goes to military bases, where even a silly play about a princess and a pea can bring families together. The nonprofit’s recent partnership with the China National Theatre for Children provides a chance for the two countries to exchange ideas and theater training, and share the stage in production together. It’s the kind of promotion of international understanding that our own Mike Mansfield called for in an effort for world peace. In the past few years, MCT has come across some barriers. With school districts cutting arts budgets, it’s more difficult to bring the little red trucks to town. Federal sequestration cuts have led to the U.S. Air Force not renewing its contract with MCT. The organization’s current campaign, One Million Reasons to Say Yes (a nod to the people it reaches annually), is part of an effort to continue the company’s work, despite funding
[14] Missoula Independent • April 16–April 23, 2015
photo courtesy of Tree & Sky Media Arts
Missoula Children’s Theatre’s One Million Reasons to Say Yes campaign aims to raise enough money to keep the theater program traveling to communities across the country and around the globe.
cuts. An anonymous donor plans to give MCT $250,000 if it can raise the additional $750,000, which will help the organization retire its mortgage and free up $20,000 a month to push its theater programs. It’s a worthy goal for a company that—through stories of singing pirates, rabbit holes and caterpillars, magic frogs and wicked witches—continues to make Missoula a positive force in the world.
2. BECAUSE OUR CRAFT BEER SUPPORTS GREATER CAUSES Missoula has long been considered the nonprofit capital of Montana. Literally hundreds of charitable organizations proudly call the Garden City home, and we in turn proudly support their efforts. That aid often comes in the form of a check, but with the growth of Missoula’s craft beer scene comes a new way to give: by raising a pint glass. Years ago, the Kettlehouse Brewing Company began holding regular benefits for local nonprofits at its Myrtle Street taproom, kicking a portion of the evening’s beer sales to a specific organizations. These Community
UNites, now a Wednesday night staple at the Northside taproom, have raised money for and awareness of nearly every great cause around, from the Missoula Nordic Ski Club to the Montana Human Rights Network. “They are doing something that enhances the quality of life here, and that’s really what our beer is about,” says Kettlehouse operations manager Zeb Harrington. “It’s a quality of life enhancer, and it’s geared towards bringing people together, towards community.” On average, Community UNite has raised between $5,000 and $8,000 a year for local organizations. Starting this year, Kettlehouse is also donating an additional $250 to any organization whose UNite event sells more than 400 pints. Kettlehouse isn’t the only brewery that’s giving back. Shortly after opening in 2011, Draught Works Brewing launched its Tuesday night Cheers for Charity, an identical program that dedicates 50 cents per pint to a different cause each week. This June’s schedule includes the Missoula Ultimate league, the Montana chapter of the Sierra Club and Missoula’s Blue Mountain Clinic.
“We provide a venue for these nonprofits not only to raise money but to expand their outreach opportunities and reach people that might not otherwise know about them,” says Draught Works’ Ana Pederson. Over time, Draught Works has increasingly encouraged those nonprofits to make Cheers for Charity their own. Sitting at a table and passing out brochures is one thing. But in Pederson’s experience, truly making a splash requires creative thinking. She mentions the Tool Librarian Auction put together by the Missoula Urban Demonstration Project for their Cheers for Charity night. “They kind of knock it out of the ballpark in terms of what charitable organizations do, where they actually auction off people and their services,” Pederson says. Draught Works donates an estimated $10,000 annually through Cheers for Charity. This brand of beer-based giving has become the norm in Missoula. Events like its summer concert series have allowed Big Sky Brewing to contribute hundreds of thousands of dollars to organizations over the years, from United Way to Brennan’s Wave to the Five Valleys Land
projects or creative alternate uses. Upcycle on the Hip Strip features a store full of artistic goods fashioned entirely from other materials. You know about these long-time businesses—and many others that find new ways of using old things—but you may not know of artist Susan Carlson. Her current exhibit at the Radius Galley features, well, trash. “I think her work is so brave, because how do you have the confidence to put these things next to each other and frame it?” asks gallery co-founder Lisa Simon. “This is clearly garbage! This is not gold gild, it’s garbage, but to find the eye to put it together with other stuff that’s not garbage, and make something beautiful out of it? That’s a whole different plane of artistry.” Read more about Carlson on page 18.
4. BECAUSE UM’S BLACKSTONE LAUNCHPAD IS FOSTERING COOL NEW BUSINESSES When you walk into the Dram Shop and size up the roughly 30 beers on draft, you’re probably not thinking about how it came to be. You’re almost cer-
range of projects the LaunchPad has helped is broad— and exciting new developments are on the horizon. There’s an engineer looking to convert fracking wastewater into clean water and chemicals that can be sold on the open market. There’s also a computer scientist looking to develop an app designed to aid in disaster relief. Gladen was even presented with an idea for dog booties. “Every idea, I think, has got a seed of something in it,” Gladen says. “People have seen a problem, seen a need, and been like, ‘Gee, can we do something with that?’ And the methodology that we help people work through is one that says, ‘Don’t start with your idea and try and make that idea work. Figure out what it is you think you’re trying to solve, who are you trying to help with that, how are you trying to create value—and go figure out whether people agree with that. Do they have that problem?’” Once a need or problem has been identified, then a solution—in the form of a business or a nonprofit—can be imagined and pursued. That said, Gladen sees the LaunchPad’s mission as being much
to some people who don’t think they’re crazy to have the idea,” Gladen says, “or to pursue the idea.”
5. BECAUSE WE’RE POISED TO BECOME A DESTINATION FOR THE COUNTRY’S BEST TOURING ACTS Missoula has long held a healthy and resilient independent music scene. Venues have changed, promoters have come and gone, but someway and somehow bands have always had a basement or better to set up in and play. We could argue that right now Missoula crowds are being treated to the most exciting and diverse underground music in years. While these small and mid-level shows have found a way to persevere, Missoula has never been able to shake its status as an easy-to-skip stopover for major touring acts on the way to Seattle, Portland or even, gasp, Spokane. Nick Checota aims to change that perception. The owner of the Top Hat Lounge has already, through upgrades and an extensive remodel, turned
Local craft breweries have embraced Missoula’s many charitable organizations by hosting regular fundraisers. Draught Works, above, launched its Tuesday night Cheers for Charity program shortly after opening in 2011.
UM researchers found that athletes don’t necessarily need to choke down an energy bar after intense workouts, and that a burger and fries—in moderation—provides the same level of glycogen recovery.
Trust. Bayern Brewing dedicates a portion of its sales of Dancing Trout to Montana Trout Unlimited, and of its St. Wilbur Weizen to the Saint Bernard Rescue Foundation. Starting in June, Imagine Nation Brewing will donate 10 percent of the profits from every pint to a different cause each month; the brewery itself is attached to the Center for Positive Change, a space for local groups to host classes and other outreach events. Even the craft distilling industry has caught on, with Montgomery Distillery hosting special fundraising events along with its Moscow Mondays, during which $1 from each cocktail sold goes to a different nonprofit each week. “By and large, the people who come into our taprooms are very community-oriented people,” Harrington says. “They care about what’s going on in Missoula, and they want to help out others in need.”
broader than merely selecting and supporting profitable initiatives. “Part of the philosophy of what we do is less about trying to make their idea successful,” Gladen says. “It’s about helping them explore the idea of entrepreneurship. The idea that they can start something and helping them sort of think through that.” As the LaunchPad incubates more and more ideas, Gladen says the benefits won’t be limited only to those who have them. “Obviously, people starting businesses creates job opportunities for others,” Gladen says. “So the exciting thing is really about the ability for us to keep Montana talent in Montana, and not have smart people say, ‘You know what, if I want to get a good job and I want to get ahead, I’ve got to leave Montana to do that.’” Ultimately, though, Gladen says the draw of the LaunchPad—and its ability to foster entrepreneurship in Missoula—derives from the program’s simple openness. “The single most powerful thing for a lot of people who come in the door is just that they can come
3. BECAUSE OUR TRASH IS OFTEN TREASURE Missoula doesn’t like to waste much. Home ReSource saves things typically destined for the landfill and repurposes them for cost-effective renovation
tainly not thinking about how the owners, Zach and Sarah Millar, had to consult a lawyer, get a loan and develop a business plan in order to turn their dream for a new taproom into the bright, lively space where you’re standing. You’re probably thinking about what you want to drink. But Paul Gladen knows intimately—and thinks deeply about—all that has to happen for a business such as the Dram Shop to go from idea to reality. Gladen is the director of the Blackstone LaunchPad, a program housed at the University of Montana and devoted to aiding the entrepreneurial efforts of students, staff, faculty and alumni, including the Millars. “We’re really about trying to help people who have those ideas understand what it is they need to do, and help them get the help they need to make some of those things happen,” Gladen says. Since the LaunchPad was founded in February 2014, Gladen says an estimated 360 individuals have registered some 170 ideas for businesses or nonprofit projects they hope to someday get off the ground. Of those, only a handful, including the Dram Shop, have become fully functioning businesses. However, the
that venerable Front Street bar into downtown’s best room for live music. Last month, Checota purchased the Wilma Theatre and promised a similar transformation. With plans to boost the sound system, alter the seating and redesign the lobby—all without losing the historic landmark’s original character—he envisions the 1,100-plus-capacity theater becoming one of the Northwest’s premier destination venues.
6. BECAUSE THAT LOVE WE’RE TALKING ABOUT? IT CAN NOW ARRIVE ON YOUR SMARTPHONE No time is a bad time to tell someone you’re thinking of them. The only problem is that finding the actual time can often present a challenge. Bryony Schwan, a local businesswoman and former director of the Biomimicry Institute, has the solution. Kindkudos is a free iPhone app that allows users to send private and personalized messages of love, kindness and gratitude via voice, video or text message. Schwan developed the app in part because her sister lives in England, and it’s difficult
missoulanews.com • April 16–April 23, 2015 [15]
to keep in touch even though she thinks about her sister regularly. “I see this as an emotional helping hand,” Schwan says. “I figured if we made it easy for people to reach out, one-on-one, to their loved ones and send out positive messages, they would do it—and the world would be a better place.”
7. BECAUSE FASHION WEEK MEANS … MOTORCYCLES? Missoula Fashion Week launched last year among a group of downtown business owners and local designers. This year’s event features one special night far different from any notions of New York runways and E! talk shows. Two Wheel Nation incorporates a 1970s motothemed catwalk, local art and a motorcycle show, all hosted at Montgomery Distillery. Julia La Tray, DonkeyGirl clothing designer and one of the event’s organizers, says she wanted to create more of a happening than a typical fashion show, and bring together elements of the community that might not normally interact. “I thought how great would it be to have a motorcycle show and an art show, and really my long-term goal is that I’m hoping to drum up interest in a women’s motorcycle club in Missoula,” La Tray says. “I feel like in Missoula, more than other places I’ve lived, there’s a lot more camaraderie. I don’t have the sense that artists are like, ‘Hey, I’m just looking out for number one.’ Everyone is sort of a fan of everyone else.” Aimee McQuilkin, owner at Betty’s Divine and another organizer, adds that she feels that sense of camaraderie among the downtown boutiques who started Missoula Fashion Week last year. When she opened her store 10 years ago, the climate wasn’t so accepting. “The way that business is going—at least small businesses—we collaborate across different businesses and with competitors,” she says. “You know when we all work to do good, we all benefit from it. Just rather than all of us individually on our own, when downtown Missoula as a whole collaborates together, we can just accomplish so much more.” Two Wheel Nation gets rolling Tuesday, April 21, from 4 to 8 p.m. at Montgomery Distillery. Check out our calendar of events on page 27 for more Missoula Fashion Week events.
8. BECAUSE THE HUMANE SOCIETY OF WESTERN MONTANA SAVES ALMOST EVERY ANIMAL—INCLUDING TOM TURKEY On April 10, the day before the Humane Society of Western Montana’s biggest annual fundraiser, the shelter is buzzing with activity. Staffers juggle media requests with morning meals for kennel residents. A disabled black lab named “Tom Turkey,” who walks with the assistance of a four-wheeled cart, zips through the waiting area and bumps into a woman standing near the entryway. “Tom!” admonishes Executive Director Lora O’Connor in a tone that betrays her fondness for the animal; she brought him carrots that day with her homemade lunch. O’Connor asks one of her staffers to contain the exuberant lab before getting back to the business at
hand, which, as usual, is a lot. After working at the Humane Society for nearly 15 years and helping to grow it into one of the most successful shelters in the country, O’Connor is accustomed to this controlled chaos. In fact, she seems to thrive on it. Years ago, no one would have predicted that O’Connor, now 48, would become a companion animal expert. When she told her husband, local anesthesiologist Tim Provow, in 2001 that she intended to apply for a kennel assistant job in Missoula, he said he didn’t think she could stomach it. Media accounts of animal abuse always troubled her. He was afraid the homeless animals would make her feel sad and angry. Nevertheless, she applied in hopes of better understanding how a person could abuse their pet.
and her staff called upon the Humane Society’s extensive network of volunteers. They provided physical therapy and carts for the animals to walk on their own. O’Connor says she wasn’t the only shelter staffer weeping when Tom was first harnessed into his donated, custom-made wheelchair and took off running. Since 2007, the Humane Society adoption rate has climbed from 75 percent to 99 percent last year. The national average, according to the ASPCA, is 66 percent. Despite such accomplishments, O’Connor shrugs off personal accolades, instead diverting praise to others. (During the Ken Shughart Humanitarian Award dinner on April 10, the Humane Society announced a $1.5 million gift, the largest donation ever to the organization.) Without such community support,
an intense workout. A team of researchers at UM’s Department of Health and Human Performance, including Brent Ruby, rockstar director of the Montana Center for Work Physiology and Exercise Metabolism, and graduate student Michael Cramer, have found that a Five Guys burger basically provides the same glycogen recovery as fancy sports supplements. The study, which appeared in the International Journal of Sport Nutrition and Exercise Metabolism, tested 11 male cyclists who rode for 90 minutes followed by a four-hour recovery period. During that recovery period the cyclists ate either supplements or fast food items. The subjects then completed a 12.4mile time trial. Regardless of the diet, researchers found no difference in blood glucose and insulin responses between the rides and, just as significantly, no difference in performance during the time trials. That’s good news for fans of the Mo Club, but Ruby cautions not to go too crazy. “A lot of the articles out there are totally misrepresenting the study,” he said in a release. “We had participants eating small servings of the fast-food products, not giant orders of burgers and fries. Moderation is the key to the results we got.”
10. BECAUSE INDEPENDENT BOOKSTORES ACTUALLY THRIVE HERE
Lora O’Connor, executive director of the Humane Society of Western Montana, is credited with making the nonprofit a model for other animal rescue organizations. She also helped save Tom Turkey, a disabled black lab.
She went on to become an animal behaviorist and then the shelter outreach coordinator. In 2007, when the executive director position went vacant, O’Connor offered to fill in. She’s remained in the job ever since. Staying focused on what brought her here, O’Connor has dedicated a significant amount of time seeking out the root causes of animal abuse. She’s learned that far too often animal abuse results stems from a lack of resources. The shelter has since made significant gains in filling such a void. Under O’Connor’s tenure as director, the Missoula Humane Society has expanded its free behavior hotline from five hours a week to 40. Similarly, the foster parent program called “Helping Our Pets Excel” has grown from one cat and one dog family respectively to 219 total. Foster families care for sick and anxious animals, in addition to puppies and kittens. Among the best examples of how the Humane Society fulfills its mission statement—“Saving every animal. Every time.”—comes from Tom Turkey. In the weeks after the black lab and his two siblings arrived at the shelter in fall 2014, it became clear that Tom and another sibling, Green Bean, wouldn’t walk. Rather than euthanizing them—roughly 1.2 million dogs and 1.4 million cats are euthanized annually in shelters across the country, according to the ASPCA—O’Connor
[16] Missoula Independent • April 16–April 23, 2015
O’Connor says, the organization would not be the success it is today. “We’re a small city, small organization, but I know that we have great resources and great support,” she says. While O’Connor defers praise, Ginny Merriam, who serves on the organization’s board of directors and also works as the city of Missoula’s communications director, doesn’t shy away from lauding the executive director. “She’s really the moral compass,” Merriam says. “Save every animal, every time—it’s the real deal for her.” Merriam further credits O’Connor with carving out a national presence. This past year, shelter staffers for the first time attended regional and national training seminars to teach other animal rescue organizations about the strategies being used in Missoula. Under O’Connor’s leadership, the local Humane Society is becoming a model for other shelters across the country. “Lora has just quietly led us that way,” Merriam says. “We’re just so prosperous and successful.”
9. BECAUSE UM RESEARCHERS SAY A BURGER AND FRIES AFTER THE GYM ARE JUST FINE Hey athletes, you can put aside the Gatorade and stop choking down that cardboard energy bar after
If you’re online, you don’t have to look far to find someone decrying the state of contemporary literary culture or lamenting the loss of independent bookstores. If you’re in Missoula, though, things look quite a bit different. The Garden City’s literary scene is thriving—and the evidence, in the form of local books and local writers and near constant readings, is everywhere. One of the most obvious indications of how strong Missoula’s book culture has become can be found in Hip Strip mainstay Shakespeare & Co. Long a cramped store known for its idiosyncratically curated tables and shelves of books, Shakespeare & Co. is in the final stages of a substantial expansion, doubling the size of its physical shop. And owner Garth Whitson didn’t stop there. He also singlehandedly took a stab at deflating one of the greatest forces for corporatizing the world’s literary landscape when he launched a modest web-ordering system known as Garthazon. Shakespeare’s growth, though, didn’t happen in a vacuum. It was fueled by the demand of Missoula’s inordinate number of readers and writers—and by their commitment to preserving and enhancing the institutions that keep our literary scene going. In March, six months after Humanities Montana decided it could no longer sponsor the annual Montana Festival of the Book, a group of locals stepped up. Rather than watch the three-day extravaganza of readings, discussions and parties die off, Whitson, Fact and Fiction owner Barbara Theroux, Missoula Public Library director Honore Bray and Mountain Press publisher John Rimel, among others, announced plans to take over the event. That means the new, renamed Montana Book Festival will continue mostly as usual this year, kicking off Sept. 10. That community vibe extends to at least one bookstore’s reaction to Krakauer’s upcoming release. Theroux is planning to donate a portion of Missoula sales to First Step and the University of Montana’s Stu-
dent Advocacy Resource Center. “I am hoping that $2 per book can be donated,” Theroux says. “I want it to be substantial.”
11. BECAUSE OUR BURGEONING ARTS CULTURE NOW EXTENDS TO “EVERY GIVEN CHILD” People joke that in Missoula you can put on an artistic event and everyone else in the audience will also be an artist. We are lousy with artistic types—and we love it. It might come as a surprise, then, that not every resident is exposed to the arts. Studies show that the No Child Left Behind Act decreased funding for arts in the schools in favor of meeting testing standards.
will go through, but in Missoula, victims can find help and empathy from Erin Catterton, the Missoula Police Department’s crime victim advocate. “If you haven’t been through this world, it’s very confusing and scary,” Catterton says. “I try to make it as welcoming and non-stressful as possible.” Catterton, a University of Montana graduate with a background in social work, joined MPD’s sexual assault unit as a victim’s advocate last October. Her newly created, grant-funded position is part of MPD’s recent agreement with the Department of Justice to improve how it handles sexual assault cases. Catterton’s work is part of a host of changes implemented by the county and city, including a new 300-page manual for the best practices in handling sexual assault, in-service training
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The Missoula Police Department hired Erin Catterton last October to serve as a crime victim advocate as part of an agreement with the Department of Justice. She estimates she has about 10 pending sexual assault cases and 30 domestic violence cases in her workload.
Meanwhile, a recent study by cognitive neuroscientists at seven major universities reports “a strong link between arts education and cognitive development.” In other words, the more children are immersed in arts, the better they are at things like problem solving and information processing. Any Given Child, a new initiative facilitated by the Kennedy Center, aims to fix the arts deficit. Missoula was chosen as one of a handful of communities—along with Austin, Texas; Madison, Wisc.; Portland, Ore.; Baltimore, Md.; and others—to create an organized program in the schools for K–8 students. Chris Neely, director of Missoula’s Any Given Child program, is helping teachers and administrators find new ways to explore arts, on and off school grounds, in an effort to ignite better—and more exciting—learning. Despite the joke about everyone in Missoula being an artist, Any Given Child isn’t about making everyone a painter or dancer. But it should fortify the community. Ideally, it will instill an appreciation of art in kids, who will learn to be creative, critical thinkers no matter what they do when they grow up.
12. BECAUSE OF NEW CONFIDENTIAL COUNSELING RESOURCES Experiencing sexual assault or domestic violence can be one of the most traumatic events that anyone
for police detectives and additional software for case management. Catterton says her average day at the office starts with checking the jail roster to see if anyone’s been arrested for sexual assault, and then working with the detective assigned to the case and calling victims to let them know she’s available as a resource. Catterton counsels clients in a room that was recently remodeled to be more welcoming, as part of the grant requirement. “I try and listen and be there for them,” she says. If charges are filed, she’ll stay with a client throughout the trial process, which sometimes lasts for years. Catterton estimates she has about 10 pending sexual assault cases and 30 domestic violence cases in her workload. “There’s definitely hard days where you’re a little down,” she says. “But I like the relationships I make with my clients. Really, it’s pretty amazing that I get to be there for people who’ve had one of the worst days that’s ever happened to them.” Catterton also works in a part-time position with the Missoula County Crime Victim Advocate Office, and she adds that anyone dealing with sexual assault or domestic violence can call the Crime Victim Advocate office and get confidential counseling and advice on their options, without having to file a police report. editor@missoulanews.com
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missoulanews.com • April 16–April 23, 2015 [17]
[arts]
Circular logic Looking for truth in Susan Carlson’s spectacular world of garbage art by Micah Fields
W
hen Susan Carlson goes for a walk, she brings a leather backpack to hold scraps of curbside trash, the dirty treasures she takes home and pastes into her art and frames. As an assemblage artist, she’s looking for the neglected things that shout at her to be used. The things people toss from the windows of sedans and forget. Today, it’s circles. “Everything’s trying to be a circle,” she says. “You can’t collect squares like you can circles.” Standing at a crosswalk, she spots her first for the day: a wad of graph paper smashed into pulp, pressed flat, somewhat circular. She picks it up, holds it in the air. Blows it off. Carlson’s been collecting circles for so long that parts of her house are dedicated to circle storage. Drawers are stuffed with cellophane coin-collection sheets, their pockets filled with bottle caps, pop tabs, nuts, washers, gaskets, pieces of bark with holes where knots used to be. Friends pack boxes with circles and ship them to her from Illinois, her home state. “People collect circles for me,” she says. “I’ve used them before in a show, but I have a plan for a whole circle exhibit.” Today, aside from circle hunting, Carlson’s visiting Radius Gallery, where her work is displayed. She’s wearing stained canvas tennis shoes, a pilled argyle sweater, jeans and a cardigan. Her hair is stringy and sheened, clamped back with a tortoiseshell barrette. Other than coffee shops and the walls of her own home, Radius is her first real exhibition space, and she says she’s sold 21 pieces since the gallery’s opening last summer. Her newest pieces are contributions for the gallery’s upcoming exhibit, Everyone in Me is a Bird, an artistic response to the work of such cerebrally tormented writers as Ernest Hemingway, David Foster Wallace and Virginia Woolf. “My stuff ’s starting to sell,” she says, “and I’m not used to that. I mean, you’re talking to a self-taught artist with no self-confidence. I don’t know what these things cost.” Carlson’s work involves backlit shadowboxes and medical vials—which she also collects, by the hundreds—filled with bones and feathers, a shark tooth, a seal claw, a shell from a beach in El Salvador, a squirrel’s pelvis. One piece, “There is Science Behind It,” includes a plastic crucifix, its Jesus tangled in a child’s paddle ball string, all situated on top of a Darwinian evolution chart. Another, “Debt,” has a syringe in it, a wasp’s nest and a robin’s egg with yarn coming out of it. “People ask about my process, and I don’t know what to tell them,” she says. She points to her head.
“It’s crazy town up here! It’s a carnival! No height or weight restrictions. That’s my process.” In spite of Carlson’s inner carnival, there is a method to her work. There are themes. Humor, for one, pervades her style. Carlson’s art reflects a keen eye for contrast, a sensibility for distorting tradition, twisting conservatism. For example, her use of cockeyed religious symbols—Jesus on a cross with a toy phone and a protractor glued above his head, titled “Why Won’t You Answer My Call?”—gives the viewer the sense that Carlson is the type of artist who has fun with her work, at least a little bit. The playful juxtaposition of serious and silly images suggests that Carlson is the kind of person who would crack a dirty joke at Sunday Mass, or smoke a joint in the confessional. At its very heart, Carlson’s work is mischievous. “I love the idea that everyone has a different theory of what my pieces are about,” she says. Regarding “And Out of the Blue She’s in the Pink,” a combination of prescription pills, needles and a vial, she says, “There was this psychologist who came in and said, ‘That one’s about breast cancer, isn’t it?’ And I’m like, ‘No. I just have a huge collection of syringes.’ But that’s what I think my pieces should do, allow people to tell the story they want to tell. They don’t need to hear my story.” If you look closely, however, Carlson’s story is almost always present. Her love of circles, for instance, largely defines the space in her work. She uses circular BB gun targets as backdrops. She uses springs and punches holes in things. She uses circular stencils for needlepoint stitching. “She kind of talks in circles,” says Lisa Simon, cofounder of Radius Gallery, one of the few venues for contemporary art in Missoula. “This is her and her twin sister, in this photo,” Simon says, pointing to one of Carlson’s pieces on the wall, named “Mary, Mary Quite Contrary.” In comparison to Carlson’s other pieces, it is somber, full of muted blues and grays. It contains a crumpled image of the Virgin Mary, a photo of her twin and the top half of a violin. “She lives far away,” Simon says. “They don’t get along very well. There’s a lot of that in there, this ‘twinning’ of things. I don’t know what Susan’s story is, other than that she has this ability and she’s kind of lived under the radar. I mean, if you’re walking down the street with her, she’s just picking up garbage all the time.” Simon slides sideways to another piece, snatches it off the wall and walks to her desk in the rear of the gallery. She props it against her laptop. “Like this piece here, I think it’s so perfect, and I just wanna own it, but there’s nothing in it that is my
[18] Missoula Independent • April 16–April 23, 2015
“Mary Mary Quite Contrary,” by Susan Carlson
taste,” she says. “I think her work is so brave, because how do you have the confidence to put these things next to each other and frame it? This is clearly garbage! This is not gold gild, it’s garbage, but to find the eye to put it together with other stuff that’s not garbage, and make something beautiful out of it? That’s a whole different plane of artistry.” While Carlson might not outwardly subscribe to any highfalutin “artistic plane,” the intelligence of her work lies in her ability to choose, filter and arrange the countless items she collects—her eye for association. Where a painter might look to her color wheel for tools, Carlson looks to the world’s alleys and gutter drains. Her proficiency in the selection of junk, then, is what’s most impressive. Standing in her kitchen one morning, Carlson has started her day by boiling water for tea. At the kitchen
island, she begins crunching the dried remains of a basil plant in a cellophane bag, then funnels it all into a jar. When describing her influences, she characterizes her artistic origin as “quite accidental.” “When I had my own kids, it gave me the opportunity to teach them things, and back then it was papier-mâché,” she says. “They’d all leave the table, bored as hell, and I was, like, into it.” As the daughter of a used-book salesman in Chicago, Carlson inherited her appreciation for the neglected. She outlines her family lineage as ripe with creators—a woodcarver, a seamstress, a hobbyist painter—but not one that championed the idea that art was a serious pursuit. “Art was never portrayed as something you would actually do,” she says, straining her tea bag with a spoon.
[arts] In this respect, Carlson is a pioneer. For money, she nannies full-time—twins, coincidentally—but her life is devoted to art. She’s often seen with the stroller-bound toddlers in local museums, or visiting with artists in a café, or just walking around town, hunting for more circles. “I love stuff that’s old,” she says. “I see that things want to be something else, not just die and go away. I find beauty in something that’s been held, or abused.” Carlson speaks gently, and moves with a soft precision, but there is a hardness about her. She has what photographers call a “portrait face,” deeply contoured, shadowy in the trenches of wrinkles. She is a mother of three grown children, all artists of some strain: A rapper, a poet, an actor. Occasionally, between musings on art, she erupts in a rolling, gravelly cough. This
piece of trash worth making into art. I get ready to run behind her. How will we find it? Is there a change of dry clothes in her leather backpack? Before I can find out, she keeps walking, then ducks into a café for coffee and a doughnut. Just as easily as Carlson can get excited over a piece of trash, I realize, she can let it go. For an assemblage artist, trash is the quarry that never runs out, the public art supply store fueled by human consumption. It’s as if Carlson knows and operates, casually, under the assumption that the world is full of circular garbage and fresh starts. Later, on her porch, after an extensive tour of her circle collection, she picks up a stack of corroded metal circles. “Someone found these and brought them to me,” she says. “I don’t even know what they are.”
photo by Cathrine L. Walters
Susan Carlson collects objects off the streets for her art works, some of which will be on display for The Radius Gallery’s upcoming exhibit Everyone in Me is a Bird.
balance between the subtle and overt, the delicate and the weathered, she admits, is a common theme in her work. To demonstrate, she plucks a box-framed collage from a stack against the wall. There is a skull patch in the middle, flanked by items arranged in the margins. A ripped page of text. A rusted skeleton key. “It’s obvious in my work that I’m trying to work something out,” she says. “You can see in this one that it was a time in my life that I was very divided. Am I a mother? Am I an artist? What the fuck am I doing? How am I gonna pay my bills? Just pieces of me everywhere.” Back on the circle hunt, while crossing a bridge, the wind takes hold of Carlson’s graph paper circle and sends it over the railing. “Shit,” she says. We watch it flutter into the current, then disappear in a riffle. “Well,” she says, “we’ll just have to go get it downstream.” For a moment, I’m not sure if she’s serious. I’m not sure how far Carlson’s willing to go to save a
The circles are tile saw blades. She shuffles them, sets them down and walks down the front steps to reposition a sprinkler in the yard. While dodging the spray of water, she continues to elaborate on her drive to collect, and to create. She talks about her frustration with math and numbers, and how she wants to show that struggle in her work. She talks about her granddaughter, who was born recently. She talks about ayahuasca, a hallucinogenic Peruvian vine said to trigger moments of intense, psychedelic introspection. She says some people think she’s crazy. She says she’ll keep looking for circles, everywhere. “That’s what the newspaper headline will be,” she says, spreading her hands in the air, ‘SPINNING IN CIRCLES FINALLY PAYS OFF FOR LOCAL ARTIST.’” Susan Carlson and Courtney Blazon’s Everyone in Me is a Bird opens at Radius Gallery with a reception Fri., April 24, from 5 to 7 PM. arts@missoulanews.com
missoulanews.com • April 16–April 23, 2015 [19]
[music]
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Hurts so good Escovedo’s power stems from his darkest work Six years ago I lost a good friend to cancer. He was in his early 40s. A few months afterwards I sent his widow Lou Reed’s Magic and Loss to use as a soundtrack for her grief. Like a bison marching into the teeth of the storm, I prefer to face emotional pain headon, using music to fuel my journey. Like Magic and Loss, Alejandro Escovedo’s first two solo albums from the early ’90s, Gravity and Thirteen Years, have served me well over the years when the chips were down. The Austin-based songwriter is a mas- Alejandro Escovedo ter at linking emotionally naked lyrics with evocative music that frequently includes the plaintive prompted No Depression magazine to name him Artist of the Decade in 1998. He deserved it. tones of cello, accordion and delicate piano. From the funky menace of 1996’s “Slip” to the But Escovedo is a rocker at heart, and his pedigree reveals the punk roots that inform his harder music. propulsive, celebratory rock of “Anchor” from 2010’s Street His first band, the Nuns, opened for the last Sex Pistols Songs of Love, Escovedo waves a rock ’n’ roll flag of many show, in San Francisco. A San Antonio native, he re- colors. But it’s his darkest work that still pulls me in. Drop turned to Texas where he joined Austin cowpunk pio- the needle on “Tell Me Why” from Thirteen Years after sufneers Rank & File. He formed the Tex-Mex rockers True fering a crushing personal loss, and the restrained anguish Believers with his younger brother Javier. Despite tons of this elegiac, string-driven sucker punch will lay you out of local acclaim for their live shows and a great demo like a heavyweight uppercut. (Ednor Therriault) Alejandro Escovedo plays the Top Hat Thu., on Rounder Records, a label shakeup at EMI kept their major debut album shelved for 10 years. After that April 16, at 8 PM along with Susan Voelz and Love band’s demise Escovedo launched a solo career that is a Dog from Nebraska. $22/$18 advance. 18-plus.
Sapient, Eater’s Volume Two: Light Tiger On his most recent album, underground hip-hop artist Sapient offers a more experimental approach than his earlier albums, keeping it lighter on lyrics and more focused on sounds: layers of synthesized voices, heavy-hitting bass and, on occasion, funky big band backgrounds. A sitar even emerges at one point. Eater’s Volume Two: Light Tiger’s second song, “Dents,” features an introspective side of the rapper, highlighting his lyrical prowess coupled with an acoustic guitar. It is one of the album’s slower tracks and provides a successful juxtaposition against the intricate layering of the rest of the tracks. At times Eater’s borders on being too electronic.
Songs like “BEOTS!” feature background beats that inspire visions of a Super Mario Brothers video game. I can just see the strobe lights flickering while some guy in a white tank top and lime green sunglasses attempts to put himself into a sort of trance. Still, the album shows Sapient’s impressive ability to play with a variety of musical influences. From tongue-twisting lyrics like, “My thoughts are like cans of paint casted on the canvas in a random way,” to his multifaceted and unpredictable track structures, it’s clear Sapient is willing to push the limit. (Kellen Beck) Sapient plays The Real Lounge Sun., April 19, at 9 PM with David Dalla G and Surebert. $3.
Mountain Goats, Beat the Champ The new Mountain Goats album Beat the Champ is about professional wrestling. “Werewolf Gimmick” is about losing control of your fake personality. “The Legend of Chavo Guerrero” is about the conflict between childish hero-worship and adult reality. “Choked Out” is about enduring things other people can’t. As you may have noticed, these are classic Mountain Goats themes. It turns out that major issues in pro wrestling overlap with John Darnielle’s existing oeuvre to a surprising extent. That might explain why this album, which so easily could have descended into They Might
[20] Missoula Independent • April 16–April 23, 2015
Be Giants twee, sounds heartfelt and true. Tracks like “Heel Turn 2” and “Hair Match” are genuinely moving. In the same way Darnielle has deliberately bent his aesthetic darkness toward optimism since All Hail West Texas in 2002, Beat the Champ bends the inherent risibility of wrasslin’ toward dignity. He gives his struggling characters hope, if only in the form of something to lose. In so doing, he exercises what is perhaps his greatest artistic strength: empathy. Plenty of acts could do a concept album about pro wrestling. Only the Mountain Goats could do it seriously. (Dan Brooks)
[books]
Bittersweet McGuane’s Crow Fair basks in tragic comedy by Chris La Tray
For a writer of short stories, The New Yorker is done after an injury lays him up during harvest. By arguably the pinnacle for publication. Many great the end I was reminded of the classic Flannery O’writers will go their entire careers without placing a Connor story “Good Country People” in which a single piece between its covers. That said, of the 17 bible salesman comes to town and ends up stealing stories comprising Crow Fair, the new collection a young woman’s prosthetic leg. “Hubcaps” is one exception to the men-growingfrom Tom McGuane, nine of them were previously published in that magazine. If nothing else, it estab- old theme, with its subtler humor. This is the story of lishes McGuane’s pedigree as one of this country’s a boy with alcoholic parents. The boy is shown to be notable writers. The quality of the work proves him an outcast without us needing to be told, and he loves baseball. His interactions in a small town, including as among the best. Literary critics may point to his earlier novels (he’s the many ways he is bullied, is heartbreaking. The real joy I find in written 10) like The BushMcGuane’s writing is with his whacked Piano or 92 in the characters. These guys are Shade as his best work, but I bachelors or divorcees; ranchdon’t think I agree. Always deft ers or loan officers; successes with language, the stories in or failures (sometimes both at Crow Fair present a clarity I the same time). A couple of find lacking in his earlier stuff. them are straight-up assholes. In that sense this work isn’t so Fortunes have come and different from previous collecgone, the pretty girls are no tions To Skin a Cat and Gallonger taking a second look, latin County. Set in Montana, and parents are growing old, these stories are united by a getting dementia and fading. fairly constant theme throughNo matter what comedic liout: Western men growing old cense McGuane takes with and coming to terms with it. them, though, these people Such a theme might sugare treated with heart. The gest that getting through these stories are excellent medita17 stories could be a grim slog. tions on the regrets that so It isn’t. If there’s one thing many of us face as we muddle McGuane can pull off with through middle-age, and even aplomb, it’s comedy. Hilarity in the midst of laughter the ensues on a regular basis. We Crow Fair messages are poignant. It’s see this knack for comedy imThomas McGuane entirely possible I enjoy this mediately in opening story hardcover, Knopf collection so much because “Weight Watchers” when our 288 pages, $26.95 I’m neck deep in the demoprotagonist’s wealthy father is banished from his house because he’s gained too much graphic sweet spot for these stories to resonate—midweight, and it is up to the son to get him trimmed down dle-aged and bitter, yet hopeful about what the future before Mom will take him back. That clash, and the con- has in store for me. If there are any problems with the work, I would flict in how the son has seemed to step down in social class—at least in his father’s eyes—sets the tone for a point to a lack of strong female characters, an exception being the title character in the excellent “The story that highlights some ridiculous relationships. The second story ups the humor ante signifi- Prairie Girl.” I also don’t really see the small Montana cantly. “The House on Sand Creek” had just appeared towns I know reflected in McGuane’s communities; in The New Yorker when I saw McGuane read it to a this may be more of a case of him engaging in some packed house in the Wilma Theatre as part of the playful satire, though. In a sense, his towns—or the 2011 Montana Festival of the Book. He had the place sum of the people who occupy them—almost become roaring with laughter (McGuane had to pause several characters themselves. If, like me, you tend to think McGuane’s best times after he also cracked himself up). Many of his characters are bumbling, or get writing is found in his nonfiction, Crow Fair might themselves into absurd situations that make for amus- have you thinking otherwise. In this collection, he’s ing reading. In “The Good Samaritan,” for example, at the top of his game. hay farmer protagonist Szabo must take on a hired hand named Barney to make certain the work gets arts@missoulanews.com
divine fresh BOLD
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Every note speaks volumes.
Featuring R. Carlos Nakai, Native American Flute soloist
APRIL 25
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CELEBRATING 60 YEARS
missoulanews.com • April 16–April 23, 2015 [21]
[film]
Wild world International Wildlife Film Festival promises eye candy—and more than a few odd stories by Sarah Aswell and Josh Wagner
Wildlife films are known for sweeping shots across jungle landscapes where animals swing from trees and do battle on the forest floor. Each year, the International Wildlife Film Festival screens up to 60 films featuring bold cinematography and breathtaking animal acts. Besides dramatic images of exotic places, it’s the oddball films that often capture audience’s hearts. This year’s Poached deals with illegal egg collectors; the 5-minute Potty Time follows a sloth going to the bathroom; and Mine Detection Rats follows rats that seek out underground explosives. The 38th annual festival, which runs Sat., April 18–Sat., April 25, will also include special events like NextDoorPrisonHotel live-scoring the Dust Bowl movies The Plow that Broke the Plains and The River. Besides the Wildwalk, kid-friendly band The Whizpops! release their book, Stream That I Call Home, about the life cycle of bull trout. As always, our reviewers watched some of the more anticipated films, including the stellar Return of the River, which screens to audiences for free. As for some of the sweeping, high-budget films—they weren’t so impressed. Splashy cinematography doesn’t always include a good story. But with so many movies on the docket— and not just about egg swiping and sloth poop—what shakes out as the true favorites might come as a surprise. Return of the River Upon hearing about a documentary that is solely on the 100-year history of two dams along a river that you have never heard of, your first instinct is probably to, well, simply not watch it. But wait! What if you knew that you’d also learn about the history of the Pacific Northeast, salmon runs, river ecosystems and the largest dam removal project in history? While the movie is worth watching for the awesome footage of exploding dams alone, it is a must-see for the story it tells of an unlikely but hope-inducing environmental restoration project. Co-directed by John Gussman and Jessica Plumb, Return of the River chronicles the creation and eventual destruction of two dams located in Olympia National Park on the 45-mile-long Elwah River. The story begins at the turn of the 20th century, when the river flowed freely, the super-sized salmon numbered above a million and the settlers’ overarching view of nature was to tame it and profit from it. It ends decades later, after environmentalists, scientists and native tribes convince both the local population and the federal government to return the river to its natural state after two dams have drastically altered the landscape and the ecosystem. At the heart of the film is a tough lesson: We first used intellect and technology to alter the river for profit. Now we have to use our intellect and technology to restore it for the sake of our future. The movie is specifically about the Elwah River and the communities that
surround it, but there is much to take away about how to approach larger but similar highly political environmental issues—like climate change, just for starters. The film suffers from sometimes-corny first-person narration by the river itself, but is bolstered by well-edited interviews with a wide range of experts on both sides of the dam removal issue, including members of the Lower Elwah Klallam tribe, politicians, Port Angeles community members and the dam operators. Thoughtful cinematography and fascinating stills complete the inspiring story. (SA) Return of the River screens at the UC Theater Tue., April 21, at 6 PM.
The film ends with the famous (and famously overused) Gandhi quote, “Be the change that you wish to see in the world.” The choice of that quote is a good summary of the movie as a whole: it sends a good message, but it’s such a basic a message we’ve heard so often that it barely registers and almost annoys. (SA) Love Thy Nature screens at the Roxy Sat., April 25, at 3 PM. Enchanted Kingdom I have yet to watch all of the documentaries in the world, but I’m going to risk the last shreds of my reputation and say there’s nothing out there quite as visually spellbinding as Patrick Morris and Neil Nightingale’s En-
Return of the River
Love Thy Nature Unfortunately, not even the sonorous, Irish-tinged vocal talents of Liam Neeson could make this documentary a standout, especially during a week filled with so many other interesting and worthy films. Love Thy Nature explores the relationship between humans and nature, progressing from our initial harmony in ancient times to our current conflict to a possible future of reconnection. The film features generic footage of nature and humans with a voiceover by Neeson, who is “sapiens”— the collective voice of humankind. Interspersed are interviews with an assortment of experts, some interesting (such as evolutionary biologists) and some a little odd (such as a mind/body healer and yoga instructor). Director Sylvie Rokab strives to offer her audience a sweeping and powerful story, but the material falls short. It feels more like an infomercial for nature than a rousing cinematic experience. Probably due to the large scope of the movie-length project, a fascinating topic becomes much too simplified. A better viewing recommendation might be the “Cosmos” television series, which takes its time to explain interesting natural concepts to viewers without dumbing down or glazing over the material.
[22] Missoula Independent • April 16–April 23, 2015
chanted Kingdom. What this film offers the eyes is so dramatic, so intimate and so trenchantly adept at skating the fine slope of the uncanny valley, that it took a half hour for me to stop wondering whether this was really a nature film or if I’d mistakenly been given the CG reel for Tim Burton’s next fantasy production. Enchanted Kingdom is an 82-minute ocular Swedish massage, is what I’m saying. The documentary’s format resembles that of BBC’s well-known “Planet Earth” series, in that it surveys plant and animal life across a variety of terrain. But as much as this film rivals “Planet Earth” in its spectacle, the narrative structure of Enchanted Kingdom is a hot holy mess. From the outset, the narration is boring yet tolerable. But then information gaps start springing up, and the words and pictures grow increasingly disparate and arbitrary. This culminates in a complete breakdown of coherence during the final six minutes of the film. Swinging entirely out of left field in a desperate attempt to impose some sort of moral or thematic focus, Enchanted Kingdom’s finale feels like something plucked randomly out of a giant jar of previ-
ously rejected documentary endings. Leaving the wilderness we are beamed to a metropolitan fountain park where white middle-class children splash around in slow motion as Coldplay’s “Life in Technicolor II” accompanies the disjointed and hackneyed conclusion that nature is not only “all around us,” but also “in every one of us.” If you go, prepare for the visual cortex seduction of your life—especially since it will be in 3D— but consider bringing your own soundtrack. ( JW) Enchanted Kingdom screens at the Roxy Sat., April 18, at 6 PM. Planetary Guy Reid’s Planetary blasts vigorously off the launch pad, but winds up drifting blindly through empty space. Though clearly well-intended to address themes of urgent ecological significance, the film’s entire approach comes off as so shamefully lopsided and uninspiring that it ends up depleted of any vitality. The first half hour is fairly solid. Moving footage of Earth as seen from space accompanies interviews that drive home what our first experience of this external perspective meant to global consciousness. Then there’s a chilling anecdote about how the 1980s discovery that modernization was bringing about a mass extinction, killing off thousands of species per year, only made it to page 26 in The New York Times. The last moment I found myself caring about this film was during a passionate appeal for a paradigm shift in activist storytelling, and for wisdom to supplement technological advances. But it soon becomes clear that this movie isn’t really going anywhere. Planetary’s soundtrack is the kind of maddeningly meandering synth pad progression that Enya might have composed on a Nyquil infusion. The cinematography, a gyration of urban and nature shots, fails against the endless barrage of eco-apologist talking heads, all posed against the same blue background, rattling off pseudo-philosophical narratives, reinforcing the worldview of people who already agree with them. I hope that despite my personal experience of Planetary, the people who watch it are moved and inspired. I really do. But I spent most of my time fantasizing about all the ways their production budget might have gone toward actually making the world a better place. Or at least making a better film. ( JW) Planetary screens at the Roxy Wed., April 22, at 7 PM. The International Wildlife Film Festival runs Sat., April 18–Sat., April 25. Visit wildlifefilms.org for a full schedule and ticket information. arts@missoulanews.com
[film]
OPENING THIS WEEK
war. Screening at the Roxy Tue., April 21, at 6:30 PM. Visit mtlive.org.
GREY GARDENS (1975) Beloved cult documentary about two wealthy recluses who dress lavishly and live in squalor in an East Hampton manor. Screening at the Roxy Thu., April 16, at 7 PM.
KUMIKO, THE TREASURE HUNTER A Japanese woman embarks on a quest to the midwest after discovering a VHS of Fargo and taking it too seriously. Starring Rinko Kikuchi, Nobuyuki Katsube and Shirley Venard. Not rated. Screening at the Roxy Fri., April 10–Thu., April 16, at 8 PM.
MONKEY KINGDOM A baby monkey and its mama have to survive in the jungles of South Asia in this Disney nature doc. Rated G. Carmike 12.
THE LONGEST RIDE In case your DVD of The Notebook is starting to get scratched, a bull rider and an artsy college girl fall in love in this adaptation of a Nicholas Sparks novel. Starring Britt Robertson, Alan Alda and Scott Eastwood’s chiseled jaw. Rated PG-13. Carmike 12, Pharaohplex.
PAUL BLART: MALL COP 2 Rejoice, all ye who have been deprived of jokes at a fat man’s expense, ‘cuz Kevin James is back as the hapless security guard, and he’s headed to Vegas, baby. Also starring Raini Rodriguez and Eduardo Verástegui. Rated PG. Carmike 12, Pharaohplex.
WOMAN IN GOLD A Jewish refugee campaigns to recover artwork stolen by Nazis and some small measure of justice for their war crimes. Starring Helen Mirren, Ryan Reynolds and Daniel Brühl. Rated PG-13. Carmike 12.
TCM PRESENTS THE SOUND OF MUSIC 50TH ANNIVERSARY Julie Andrews and the gang come to the big screen for the commemorative screening of the beloved musical. Carmike 12. UNFRIENDED A bullied teen’s angry ghost kills off mean kids via Skype. See, these damn lazy millennials won’t even leave the house to torment each other anymore. Starring Heather Sossaman, Matthew Bohrer and Courtney Halverson. Rated R. Carmike 12.
NOW PLAYING CINDERELLA I don’t care how boring or silly this particular adaptation of the fairytale is, because if it has poufy ballgowns, prancing horses and Robb Stark being handsome, take my money. Update: I totally cried when Cinderella’s dad died. Starring Lily James, Cate Blanchett and Richard Madden. Rated PG. Carmike 12, Pharaohplex, Showboat.
Capsule reviews by Kate Whittle.
“Children, this is a little song I call ‘Wagon Wheel.’” The Sound of Music screens at Carmike 12 Sun., April 19 and Wed., April 22 at 2 and 7 PM.
THE DIVERGENT SERIES: INSURGENT Shailene Woodley is back as the heroine who must get her group of rebels to band together to fight the Man, or something. Also starring Ansel Elgort and Theo James. Rated PG-13. Carmike 12, Pharaohplex. FURIOUS 7 Let us all commemorate Paul Walker (RIP) in this, the seventh film about cars that are fast and men who are furious. Also starring Vin Diesel and Dwayne Johnson. Rated PG-13. Carmike 12, Pharaohplex, Showboat. GET HARD A millionaire who’s convicted of fraud turns to a black friend to prepare him for life be-
hind bars. Sensitive contemplation of American racial attitudes no doubt ensues. Starring Will Ferrell, Kevin Hart and Alison Brie. Rated R. Carmike 12, Pharaophlex. HOME A clumsy alien lands on earth and befriends a cheerful young girl. Be advised, the trailer features a Biggie reference that will make you feel delighted/old. Featuring the voices of Jim Parsons, Rihanna and Steve Martin. Rated PG. Carmike 12, Pharaohplex.
Planning your outing to the cinema? Visit the arts section of missoulanews.com to find up-to-date movie times for theaters in the area. You can also contact theaters to spare yourself any grief and/or parking lot profanities. Theater phone numbers: Carmike 12 at 541-7469; The Roxy at 728-9380; Wilma at 728-2521; Pharaohplex in Hamilton at 961FILM; Showboat in Polson and Entertainer in Ronan at 883-5603.
KING JOHN (STRATFORD FESTIVAL) Tom McCamus stars in this 2013 stage production of personal turmoil and royal tugs-of-
missoulanews.com • April 16–April 23, 2015 [23]
[dish]
A street-smart chicken by Ari LeVaux There are many ways a hen can die. If you raise them long enough, you’ll see your share. I’ve been keeping hens since before it was even legal in my hometown, since before anyone in Brooklyn or Portland had even heard of a backyard chicken. Along the way, in both the city and the country, I’ve seen hens meet all manner of early demise. But I’ve noticed one breed of hen keeps dodging life’s bullets. Buff Orpington chickens are survivors. My first clue to their talent for living came when a wandering Siberian husky snuck into my backyard while the hens were grazing. A more efficient chickenkilling machine than a Siberian husky does not exist. The wolfish canine made quick work of my hens. By the time we chased it out of the yard, six hens were dead. The only survivors were the two buff Orpingtons, both of whom were named Annabelle, because we could never tell them apart. Like all buff Orpingtons they were puffy and round, with reddish gold plumage. The Annabelles had survived the incident by strolling into the coop, through a door that was too small for the dog to fit through. I’ve since observed buff Orpingtons similarly retreat to the hen house when a non-bloodthirsty dog enters the scene. The loss of their coop-mates took a toll on those Annabelles. They started escaping the yard and wandering, I presume in search of their friends. One never made it back. Down to our last hen, we ordered another round of freshly hatched chicks. As soon as they met Annabelle, the chicks treated her as a mom, and she obliged. They jumped and pecked at her mouth to get food, stood or burrowed under her, and followed her away from the shadows of opportunistic ravens. Annabelle went on to become my first chicken, ever, to die of old age. Since then, every buff Orpington has been named Annabelle, including a pair in the current generation of spring chickens. When they were about two weeks old, I had let the chicks peck around the lawn on a hot afternoon, and was putting them back into their chick box. But I was having trouble catching a certain chick. A big chicken can be hard to catch. Baby chicks are usually easy. Yet this one stayed free not by quickness or agility, but by running to places that were too small for me to follow. It was Annabelle, of course.
[24] Missoula Independent • April 16–April 23, 2015
FLASH IN THE PAN
There are many qualities we look for in our chickens. Sometimes we want fancy feathers, or 300 eggs per year, or big breasts and thighs. The buff Orpington is a pretty-enough bird, but it’s no crested Polish or silver spangled Hamburg. In her prime, a buff Orpington is a solid layer, but not an egg machine like a California White. I would never eat a buff, so I can’t comment on their breast and thighs. Good natured and non-bullying, a buff Orpington is a solid chicken with no weaknesses, especially in the realm of common sense. Washington Post food columnist Tamar Haspel recently wrote an impassioned case for why the Rhode Island red is, in fact, the best chicken. I certainly would welcome one or two Rhode Island reds in my flock, but Haspel didn’t convince me of their superiority over Buff Orpingtons. Still, we share the same sentiment on diversity in one’s flock. “I don’t think we’ll ever have a flock that’s all Rhode Island reds. But we’ll never have a flock without them,” Haspel wrote. Since we’re on the subject, no flock should be devoid of an Ameraucana, either. These large birds with feathered ears and multicolored plumage are friendlier than buff Orpingtons, and in the coop they can out-lay most hens, in both size and number. Ameraucanas have a decent measure of street smarts, too. And their eggs are blue, and sometimes speckled. I got my new buff Orpingtons, as well as a couple of Ameraucanas, at a feed store. Day-old chicks can also be ordered online from many outfits, with Murray McMurray and Cackle Hatchery being the industry elders, and younger upstarts like Ideal Poultry and Meyer Hatchery gaining ground. I recently attended my first poultry swap, which is like a farmers market built around chickens. If you’re curious about the chicken-keeping lifestyle, or want to meet some other practitioners, and perhaps bring home some poultry, it’s worth a web search to find the next poultry swap closest to you. Having a couple of buff Orpingtons already in my growing flock gave me the confidence to purchase my most recent batch of random hens. In all likelihood, they will be wonderful girls, adding their quirky personalities and yummy eggs to the scene. But even if they turn out to be duds, or bullies, or dead too soon, I know that my flock will nonetheless rock on, thanks to the one breed that has never let me down.
[dish] Bernice’s Bakery 190 South 3rd West • 728-1358 On Monday, April 20th BERNICE'S WILL BEGIN SERVING ESPRESSO!! Yep, you heard us right. And, we have heard you. Bernice's espresso was created by the talented staff at Hunter Bay (and approved by the staff at Bernice's )to represent the full bodied flavor character of the infamous Bernice's Cup o' Joe. Our espresso is a rich Mocha Java blend of sweet berry African coffees united with Indonesian and Brazilian coffees for an espresso that compliments Bernice's palate of fresh baked treats. Serving 7 days a week 6am - 8pm. Now you can enjoy your morning croissant, muffin or scone with espresso! Wheee! Or, stop by after dinner and have a dessert with a demitasse. Bernice's: from scratch for your pleasure...always. xoxo bernice. Bernicesbakerymt.com $-$$ Biga Pizza 241 W. Main Street 728-2579 Biga Pizza offers a modern, downtown dining environment combined with traditional brick oven pizza, calzones, salads, sandwiches, specials and desserts. All dough is made using a “biga” (pronounced bee-ga) which is a time-honored Italian method of bread making. Biga Pizza uses local products, the freshest produce as well as artisan meats and cheeses. Featuring seasonal menus. Lunch and dinner, Mon-Sat. Beer & Wine available. $-$$ Black Coffee Roasting Co. 525 E. Spruce 541-3700 Black Coffee Roasting Company is located in the heart of Missoula. Our roastery is open M-F 6:30-5:30, Sat. 7:30- 4, Sun. 8-3. In addition to fresh roasted coffee beans we offer a full service espresso bar, drip coffee, pour-overs and more. The suspension of coffee beans in water is our specialty. $ The Bridge Pizza Corner of S. 4th & S. Higgins 542-0002 A popular local eatery on Missoula’s Hip Strip. Featuring handcrafted artisan brick oven pizza, pasta, sandwiches, soups, & salads made with fresh, seasonal ingredients. Missoula’s place for pizza by the slice. A unique selection of regional microbrews and gourmet sodas. Dine-in, drive-thru, & delivery. Open everyday 11 to 10:30 pm. $-$$ Brooks & Browns Inside Holiday Inn Downtown 200 S. Pattee St. 532-2056 Martini Mania with $4 martinis every Monday. The Griz Coaches Radio Show LIVE every Tuesday at 6pm, Burger & Beer special $8 every Tuesday. $2 well drinks & $2 PBR tall boys every Wednesday. Big Brains Trivia every Thursday at 8pm. Have you discovered Brooks & Browns? Inside the Holiday Inn, Downtown Missoula $-$$
Cafe Zydeco 2101 Brooks 406-926-2578 cafezydeco.com GIT’ SOME SOUTH IN YOUR MOUTH! Authentic cajun cuisine, with an upbeat zydeco atmosphere in the heart of Missoula. Indoor and outdoor seating. Breakfast served all day. Featuring Jambalaya, Gumbo, Étouffée, Po-boys and more. Beignets served ALL DAY! Open Monday 9am-3pm, Tuesday-Saturday 11am-8pm, Closed Sundays. Doc’s Gourmet Sandwiches 214 N. Higgins Ave. 542-7414 Doc’s is an extremely popular gathering spot for diners who appreciate the great ambiance, personal service and generous sandwiches made with the freshest ingredients. Whether you’re heading out for a power lunch, meeting friends or family or just grabbing a quick takeout, Doc’s is always an excellent choice. Delivery in the greater Missoula area. We also offer custom catering!...everything from gourmet appetizers to all of our menu items. $-$$ Eagles Lodge #32 Missoula 2420 South Avenue 543-6346 Tailgate with us before each Griz home game, and get a FREE ride to the game on our shuttle. Soup, salad and burgers served for lunch Monday thru Friday 11:00am to 2:30pm. Don’t forget to stop in for our Thursday Night Matadors & Friday Night Burgers, 6:00 to 8:00pm both nights. Live music EVERY Friday and Saturday night and admission is always FREE! El Cazador 101 S. Higgins Ave. 728-3657 Missoula Independent readers’ choice for Best Mexican Restaurant. Come taste Alfredo’s original recipes for authentic Mexican food where we cook with love. From seafood to carne asada, enjoy dinner or stop by for our daily lunch specials. We are a locally owned Mexican family restaurant, and we want to make your visit with us one to remember. Open daily for lunch and dinner. $-$$ The Empanada Joint 123 E. Main St. 926-2038 Offering authentic empanadas BAKED FRESH DAILY! 9 different flavors, including vegetarian and gluten-free options. Ask us about our Take and Bake Service! Plus Argentine side dishes and desserts. Super quick and super delicious! Get your healthy hearty lunch or dinner here! Wi-Fi, Soccer on the Big Screen, and a rich sound system featuring music from Argentina and the Caribbean. Mon-Thurs 11 am - 6 pm. Friday and Sat 118 pm Downtown Missoula. $
Burns Street Bistro 1500 Burns St. 543-0719 burnsstbistro.com We cook the freshest local ingredients as a matter of pride. Our relationship with local farmers, ranchers and other businesses allows us to bring quality, scratch cooking and fresh-brewed Black Coffee Roasting Co. coffee and espresso to Missoula’s historic westside neighborhood. Handmade breads & pastries, soups, salads & sandwiches change with the seasons, but our commitment to delicious, affordable food and over-the-top fun and friendly service does not. Mon-Fri 7 AM – 2 PM. Sat and Sun Brunch 9 AM – 2 PM. Reservations for Prix Fixe dinners on Fri and Sat nights. $-$$
Good Food Store 1600 S. 3rd West 541-FOOD The GFS Deli features made-to-order sandwiches, Fire Deck pizza & calzones, rice & noodle wok bowls, an award-winning salad bar, an olive & antipasto bar and a self-serve hot bar offering a variety of housemade breakfast, lunch and dinner entrées. A seasonally-changing selection of deli salads and rotisserie-roasted chickens are also available. Locally-roasted coffee/espresso drinks and an extensive fresh juice and smoothie menu complement bakery goods from the GFS ovens and Missoula’s favorite bakeries. Indoor and patio seating. Open every day 7am10pm $-$$
Butterfly Herbs 232 N. Higgins 728-8780 Celebrating 42 years of great coffees and teas. Truly the “essence of Missoula.” Offering fresh coffees, teas (Evening in Missoula), bulk spices and botanicals, fine toiletries & gifts. Our cafe features homemade soups, fresh salads, and coffee ice cream specialties. In the heart of historic downtown, we are Missoula’s first and favorite Espresso Bar. Open 7 Days. $
Grizzly Liquor 110 W Spruce St. 549-7723 www.grizzlyliquor.com Voted Missoula’s Best Liquor Store! Largest selection of spirits in the Northwest, including all Montana micro-distilleries. Your headquarters for unique spirits and wines! Free customer parking. Open Monday-Saturday 9-7:30 www.grizzlyliquor.com. $-$$$
$…Under $5 $–$$…$5–$15 $$–$$$…$15 and over
killer teas sake local brews
happy hour 3-6pm everyday
LUNCH & DINNER VEGETARIAN & GLUTEN-FREE NO PROBLEM
SAKE SATURDAYS
special sake cocktails • $1 off glass pours • bottle specials
APRIL
COOL
COFFEE SPECIAL
COFFEE
Peru
ICE CREAMS
dark roast fair trade, organic $10.95/lb.
BUTTERFLY HERBS Coffees, Teas & the Unusual
232 N. HIGGINS AVE • DOWNTOWN
SATURDAYS 4PM-9PM
MONDAYS & THURSDAYS ALL DAY
IN OUR COFFEE BAR
BUTTERFLY HERBS 232 N. HIGGINS AVE • DOWNTOWN
$1
SUSHI Not available for To-Go orders
missoulanews.com • April 16–April 23, 2015 [25]
[dish]
The Kettlehouse Crowler HAPPIEST HOUR
Hob Nob on Higgins 531 S. Higgins • 541-4622 hobnobonhiggins.com Come visit our friendly staff & experience Missoula’s best little breakfast & lunch spot. All our food is made from scratch, we feature homemade corn beef hash, sourdough pancakes, sandwiches, salads, espresso & desserts. MC/V $-$$ Iron Horse Brew Pub 501 N. Higgins • 728-8866 www.ironhorsebrewpub.com We’re the perfect place for lunch, appetizers, or dinner. Enjoy nightly specials, our fantastic beverage selection and friendly, attentive service. Stop by & stay awhile! No matter what you are looking for, we’ll give you something to smile about. $$-$$$ Iza 529 S. Higgins • 830-3237 www.izarestaurant.com Local Asian cuisine feature SE Asian, Japanese, Korean and Indian dishes. Gluten Free and Vegetarian no problem. Full Beer, Wine, Sake and Tea menu. We have scratch made bubble teas. Come in for lunch, dinner, drinks or just a pot of awesome tea. Open Mon-Fri: Lunch 11:30-3pm, Happy Hour 3-6pm, Dinner M-Sat 3pm-close. $-$$
photo by Alex Sakariassen
The backstory: A little over a year ago, Oskar Blues Brewery in Colorado released a zany new to-go package for craft beer. The aptly named “crowler,” a 32-ounce aluminum can, effectively combines the selective fillability of the growler with the outdoorsy and recyclable convenience of a can. The product promptly caught the attention of Missoula’s Kettlehouse Brewing Company, which has developed something of a reputation for being out in front when it comes to these sorts of craft beer vessel options. The process: A crowler starts its life as a lidless can behind the bar. Customers make their beer selection and, prior to being filled, the crowler is purged with CO2. The lid is applied and sealed with a specialized machine, and the label is scrawled with the brew name, alcohol-by-volume percentage and date of fill. The beer should stay fresh for up to a week. When empty, crowlers can simply be thrown in with the rest of your recycling. The perks: According to Kettlehouse operations manager Zeb Harrington, one of the biggest upsides to getting beer in a crowler is quality. The
packaging minimizes oxygen and light exposure— factors that can seriously alter the freshness and taste of beer in traditional glass growlers. Crowlers are also easy to discard. Most of all, it allows Kettlehouse to expand the number of brews offered in aluminum. “There’s a lot of folks who have been begging us for years to have other varieties of beer in cans,” Harrington says. “This doesn’t completely fill that need, but it’s definitely a start.” The deets: With summer just around the corner, Kettlehouse is racing to get the crowler ready to go. Harrington says it should make its official debut within the next two weeks. Pricing has yet to be finalized, but Harrington notes crowler fills will likely be a bit more expensive than growler fills. When they are ready, crowlers will be available only at the Kettlehouse’s Southside taproom, 602 Myrtle St. —Alex Sakariassen Happiest Hour celebrates western Montana watering holes. To recommend a bar, bartender or beverage for Happiest Hour, email editor@missoulanews.com.
Jimmy John’s 420 N. Higgins • 542-1100 jimmyjohns.com Jimmy John’s - America’s Favorite Sandwich Delivery Guys! Unlike any other sub shop, Jimmy John’s is all about the freshest ingredients and fastest service. Freaky Fast, Freaky Good - that’s Jimmy John’s. Order online, call for delivery or visit us on Higgins. $-$$ Le Petit Outre 129 S. 4th West • 543-3311 Twelve thousand pounds of oven mass…Bread of integrity, pastry of distinction, yes indeed, European hand-crafted baked goods, Pain de Campagne, Ciabatta, Cocodrillo, Pain au Chocolat, Palmiers, and Brioche. Several more baked options and the finest espresso available. Please find our goods at the finest grocers across Missoula. Saturday 8-3, Sunday 8-2, Monday-Friday 7-6. $ Market on Front 201 E. Front St. marketonfront.com The Market on Front is more than a market with a restaurant. It is an energetic marketplace which offers an epicurean experience to excite the senses. It is also an energetic, vibrant marketplace creating an opportunity to taste and take home the products of artisans who create excellent products at awesome prices. This community centered specialty food destination features gourmet yet traditional prepared foods, sandwiches, salads, specialty cheeses, charcuterie, local brews, wines, espresso and so much more! $-$$ Missoula Senior Center 705 S. Higgins Ave. (on the hip strip) 543-7154 themissoulaseniorcenter.org Did you know that the Missoula Senior Center serves delicious hearty lunches every weekday for only $3? (Missoula County residents over 60: $3, only $6 if younger and just stopping by) Anyone is welcome to join us from 11:3012:30 Monday- Friday for delicious food and great conversation. For a full menu, visit our website. $ The Mustard Seed Asian Cafe Southgate Mall • 542-7333 Contemporary Asian fusion cuisine. Original recipes and fresh ingredients combine the best of Japanese, Chinese, Polynesian, and Southeast Asian influences. Full menu available at the bar. Award winning desserts made fresh daily , local and regional micro brews, fine wines & signature cocktails. Vegetarian and Gluten free menu available. Takeout & delivery. $$-$$$ Korean Bar-B-Que & Sushi 3075 N. Reserve 327-0731 We invite you to visit our contemporary Korean-Japanese restaurant and enjoy it’s warm atmosphere. Full Sushi Bar. Korean bar-b-que at your table. Beer and Wine. $$-$$$
Orange Street Food Farm 701 S. Orange St. 543-3188 www.orangestreetfoodfarm.com Experience The Farm today!!! Voted number one Supermarket & Retail Beer Selection. Fried chicken, fresh meat, great produce, vegan, gluten free, all natural, a HUGE beer and wine selection, and ROCKIN’ music. What deal will you find today? $-$$$ Pearl Cafe 231 E. Front St. 541-0231 pearlcafe.us Country French meets the Northwest. Idaho Trout with Dungeness Crab, Rabbit with Wild Mushroom Ragout, Snake River Farms Beef, Fresh Seafood Specials Daily. House Made Charcuterie, Sourdough Bread & Delectable Desserts. Extensive wine list; 18 wines by the glass and local beers on draft. Reservations recommended for the intimate dining areas. Visit our website Pearlcafe.us to check out our nightly specials, make reservations, or buy gift certificates. Open Mon-Sat at 5:00. $$-$$$ Pita Pit 130 N Higgins 541-PITA (7482) pitapitusa.com Fresh Thinking Healthy Eating. Enjoy a pita rolled just for you. Hot meat and cool fresh veggies topped with your favorite sauce. Try our Chicken Caesar, Gyro, Philly Steak, Breakfast Pita, or Vegetarian Falafel to name just a few. For your convenience we are open until 3am 7 nights a week. Call if you need us to deliver! $-$$ Plonk 322 N Higgins 926-1791 www.plonkwine.com Plonk is an excursion into the world of fine wine, food, cocktails, service and atmosphere. With an environment designed to engage the senses, the downtown establishment blends quality and creativity in an all-encompassing dining experience. Described as an urban hot spot dropped into the heart of the Missoula Valley and lifestyle, Plonk embodies metropolitan personalities driven by Montana passions. Romaines 3075 N. Reserve Suite N 406-317-1829 www.romainessalads.com Romaines is a Certified Green Restaurant ® dedicated to making environmentally sustainable choices in all operations. We serve salads, sandwiches, and soups made from locally grown and raised produce and meats. The menu also includes vegan, vegetarian, and gluten free options, providing something for everyone on the menu. Locally brewed beers are on tap as well as regional wines pairing well with salads and sandwiches. $-$$ Taco Sano 115 1/2 S. 4th Street West 1515 Fairview Ave inside City Life 541-7570 • tacosano.net Once you find us you’ll keep coming back. Breakfast Burritos served all day, Quesadillas, Burritos and Tacos. Let us dress up your food with our unique selection of toppings, salsas, and sauces. Open 10am-9am 7 days a week. WE DELIVER. $-$$ Ten Spoon Vineyard + Winery 4175 Rattlesnake Dr. 549-8703 www.tenspoon.com Made in Montana, award-winning organic wines, no added sulfites. Tasting hours: Thursdays, Fridays, Saturdays, 5 to 9 pm. Soak in the harvest sunshine with a view of the vineyard, or cozy up with a glass of wine inside the winery. Wine sold by the flight or glass. Bottles sold to take home or to ship to friends and relatives. $$ Westside Lanes 1615 Wyoming 721-5263 Visit us for Breakfast, Lunch, and Dinner served 8 AM to 9 PM. Try our homemade soups, pizzas, and specials. We serve 100% Angus beef and use fryer oil with zero trans fats, so visit us any time for great food and good fun. $-$$
$…Under $5 $–$$…$5–$15 $$–$$$…$15 and over
[26] Missoula Independent • April 16–April 23, 2015
April 16–April 23, 2015
THURSDAYAPRIL16 Exhibiting artist Pamela Caughey discusses dealing with demons and presents”The Dragon in My Studio: The Importance of Risk Taking” at Radius Gallery, 114 E. Main. 5:30 PM. Beginner fencing lessons for kids start today at the Missoula Fencing Association, 1200 Sherwood St., with divisions for ages 6-8 meeting on Thursdays from 3:15-4 PM and ages 911 from 6:30-8 PM for six weeks. Register at missoulafencing.net, call 406-251-4623 or email missoulafencing@hotmail.com. The spring art fair in the UC includes all manner of handmade jewelry, clothing, ceramics and local art, plus plenty of enjoyable people-watching as you spot the stressed-out students hurtling toward finals. University Center Atrium, April 16-17 from 9 AM6 PM and April 18 from 10 AM-4 PM. Businessy types might be intrigued by Home ReSource’s 10 Tips to Zero Waste Your Business Seminar, with an interactive presentation about reducing cost and waste. 1515 Wyoming St. 4:306 PM, with refreshments included. Free.
nightlife
Feeling a little prickly. Neko Case plays the Wilma Tue., April 21, along with Rodrigo Amarante. 7 PM. $25.
The Soroptimist International Chapter of Missoula presents the Spirit of Excellence: A Celebration of Achievement awards banquet and benefit, with live tunes, emcee Heidi Meili, guest speaker Shawn Gray from Youth Homes and dinner catered by Café
Firenze. Ruby’s Inn, 5-9 PM. $35/$300 for a table of eight. Proceeds benefit the Susan Talbot Home for Girls and Missoula’s Girl Scouts. Hawaiian artist Esther Shimazu chats about her stoneware sculptures of Buddha-like figures at the Social Sciences Building, room 356. 5:10 PM. Free. Mary Place and Blue Moon heat up the afternoon with jazz at the Union Club every Thursday from 5:30-8 PM. Free. Celebrate young authors and illustrators at the eighth annual Aerie International gala, including live jazz, refreshments and readings from the 2015 issue of Big Sky High School’s literary magazine. Hosted by the Dana Gallery, 5:30-8 PM. $10/$8 for students/$25 for group of four. If you’d like to learn more or get in on the raffle tickets, email aerie.international@gmail.com. Muslide Charley pours a bucket of bluesy stuff all over Draught Works, 6-8 PM. No cover. Feel the wind in your hair when Carter Freeman cuts loose with tunes at Bitter Root Brewery in Hamilton, 68:30 PM. No cover. The Missoula Businesswomen’s Network gets together at Lolo Peak Brewery for the Spring Social with bevvies and complimentary appetizers. 6-8 PM. $10; register at the door or discoverMBN.com. Hone your chops at the Slow Jam, where musicians will play celtic, old time and contra dance tunes at relaxed tempos so beginners can easily join in. Starving Artist Cafe, 3020 S. Reserve St., off the corner of Reserve and Harve.
Every third Thursday of the month from 6-7:30 PM. Visit missoulastarving artist.com or email rocu@rocket mail.com for more info. Billings-based lawyer, private pilot and Rhodes scholar Carrie La Seur somehow found the time to write a novel (and what have YOU done lately?). The Home Place is about a Montana woman drawn back to her hometown after a mysterious death. Reading at Fact and Fiction, 220 N. Higgins Ave., at 7 PM. (See Spotlight.) Journalist Jeremy N. Smith reads from his strangely engrossing tale of global health statistics, Epic Measures: One Doctor. Seven Billion Patients. Shakespeare and Co., 103 S. Third St. W. 7 PM. None other than Dean Baquet, executive director at The New York Times, presents this year’s Dean Stone lecture, titled, “Quality Journalism in the Digital Age – Challenges & Opportunities.” (Cue a lot of reporters nervously tugging their collars.) University Center Ballroom, 7 PM. Free. Art history professor Valerie Hedquist presents “Portraits That You Can’t Mess Up—Andy Warhol’s Big Shot Photographs,” part of the Andy Warhol exhibit at Missoula Art Museum. 7 PM. Free. Have all the fun fun fun you can handle at the Surf’s Up Beach Boys Tribute, an early show at Stage 112. Doors at 6 PM. Free, but donations appreciated. Unleash your cogent understanding of the trivium at Brooks and
missoulanews.com • April 16–April 23, 2015 [27]
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inland seas Billings-based author Carrie La Seur boasts a resume that makes me a bit intimidated just looking at it: she graduated from Bryn Mawr, went on to become a Rhodes scholar at Oxford University and completed her law degree at Yale. She channels all that expertise into her work as an environmental lawyer, and founded the nonprofit Plains Justice, which has campaigned against the Keystone XL pipeline.
WHO: Author Carrie La Seur WHAT: Reading The Home Place WHERE: Fact and Fiction WHEN: Thu., April 16, at 7 PM HOW MUCH: Free
La Seur also has a pretty firm grip on the desperation of winter on the high plains, and the bleakness of being on the wrong side of the tracks in eastern Montana, as she explores in her debut novel, The Home Place. In the opening chapter, she writes of a young woman stumbling out of a house on the Southside of Billings, grabbing for a cigarette in the cold. “It’s a neighborhood of vacant lots, chain-link fences, and wide, dented siding, where broken-
Browns Big Brains Trivia Night. $50 bar tab for first place, plus specials on beer. 200 S. Pattee St. in the Holiday Inn Downtown. 7:30–10 PM. The Whitefish Theatre Company presents the Tony-winning sultry drama, Venus in Fur, about an actress’ audition turned strange and intriguing, at the O’Shaughnessy Center. Performances April 8–11 and 16–18 at 7:30 PM. $20. Call 862-5371. Don’t worry, Alejandro Escovedo lovahs, he wouldn’t let you down, and so the legendary singer-songwriter hath arrived to play the Top Hat at 8 PM, along with violinist Susan Voelz. $22/$18 in advance at the Top Hat, Rockin Rudy’s and online. 18-plus. Bust out a little geetar, tunesmiths, at the Open Mic with Cheree at the Eagles Lodge Missoula, 2420 South Ave. W. Runs 8:30-10:30 PM. Impress ‘em enough and you could get paid $50 as a showcased performer. Text 406-3965934 to sign up early. Bring an extra face, ‘cuz yours just might be melted off when Great Falls sludge outfit Piranha Dog plays this installment of the KBGA residency show, along with Swamp Ritual and Windhelm. VFW. 9 PM. $2/$5 for ages 18-20.
[28] Missoula Independent • April 16–April 23, 2015
down cars sit like ships run aground in this ancient inland sea.” The young woman gets into trouble, though, and her sister, who’s escaped to a posh Seattle neighborhood, gets sucked back into the drama. Check out La Seur’s way with words yourself when she reads at Fact and Fiction on April 16. —Kate Whittle
FRIDAYAPRIL17 Biologist David J. Anderson chats about his research on animal aggression and mating in “The Neuroscience of Sex and Violence,” as part of the annual lecture series sponsored by Rocky Mountain Laboratories. Hamilton High School Performing Arts Center, 7 PM. Free. Check out up ‘n coming smarties at the UM Conference on Undergraduate Research, with presentations, exhibits and performances on the third floor of the University Center from 9 AM-5 PM. The spring art fair in the UC includes all manner of handmade jewelry, clothing, ceramics and local art, plus plenty of enjoyable people-watching as you spot the stressed-out students hurtling toward finals. University Center Atrium, April 16-17 from 9 AM-6 PM and April 18 from 10 AM-4 PM. Take a trip around the li-berry with the tours at Missoula Public Library as part of National Library Week; drop in between 10 AM-2 PM. Free. Family Friendly Friday invites little ones to boogie while parental units kick
back at the Top Hat, starting at 6 PM, with a rotating lineup of local musicians providing all-ages tunes. No cover.
nightlife UM’s Joanna Klink reads from her latest poetry collection, Excerpts from a Secret Prophecy, and shares her wit and wisdom at Shakespeare and Co., 103 S. Third St. W. 7 PM. The Kyi-Yo Powwow brings together tribes and dancers from around the region for two days of drumming, dancing and presentations at the Adams Center. Grand Entry is on Friday at 7 PM and Saturday at noon and 7 PM. $12 for weekend pass, $5 for single session pass. Free for seniors and kids under 6. Check out griztix.com. The Stensrud Playhouse presents The Fatal Fifties Affair, a catered murder-mystery dinner show about 1950s sitcom stars and shocking secrets. Performances Fri., April 17-Sun., April 19 and Sat., April 25-Sun., April 26, at 7 PM. $47/$84 for two. Tickets at stensrudplayhouse.com or call 926-2477. Your paramour will appreciate your thriftiness at the Cheap Date Night, where the Missoula Public Library screens a free, recently released motion
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Nothing but a G thang. Canta Brasil and several others play the Jazzoula festival at St. Anthony’s, Mon., April 20–Thu., April 23. $25 festival pass. picture. Doors open at 6:45 PM and close at 7:15. Enter from the Front Street side of the building. Free. The UM World Rhythms Concert features Ghananian master drummer Edi Gbordzi, as well as the Brazilian Batucada Ensemble, the Mexican Marimba Band and the Salsa Band. Hot damn. Dennison Theater, 7:30 PM. $11/$6 seniors/$5 students. Montana Rep Theatre presents Leveling Up, local playwright Deborah Laufer’s comedic drama about gamers recruited to fly NSA drones. Crystal Theater, Fri., April 17-Sun., April 19, at 7:30 PM, plus 2 PM matinee on Saturday. $15. Find artistic sanctuary at Refuge, an original dance performance incorporating live music, visual art and video, with dancers Laurel Sears, Brittaney Gaudette and Claire Christensen and musicians Ryan Bundy and Robert Sears. Downtown Dance Collective, 121 W. Main St. Shows on Fri., April 17, at 7:30 PM, and Sat., April 18 at 2 and 7:30 PM. $10/$8 students. Denver country outfit Whiskey Wednesday takes over the Sunrise Thursday through Saturday, starting at 9 PM. No cover. Everybody’s queen for a night at I’ll House Your Prom, where DJs Mike Stolin, Hotpantz, M-AD and Mark Myriad are your emcees for an evening of sparkly dresses, photo-booth funny faces and drink specials you don’t havta hide from the principal. Badlander, 9 PM. No cover.
Minneapolis basshead Nostalgia throws down at the Palace, along with Skillbilliez, BrainFunk and EarthLink. 9 PM. $8/$13 for ages 18-20. The bird is the word when Magpies, Rooster Sauce, No Fancy and Bozeman’s Slomo Joe Trio party down at the VFW, starting at 9 PM. Cover TBA. Ted Ness and the Rusty Nails head on up to Lolo Hot Springs to soak ‘n stoke starting at 9 PM. $5, or free with cabin rental. Stringband Brothers Comatose wake up bright-eyed and bushy tailed at the Top Hat, along with our own Three-Eared Dog. 10 PM. $5. Huntington Beach crushers Last of Lucy rage it up at the Real Lounge, along with our own Arctodus and Earth-
bound. 9 PM. $5/$3 in advance. Cruise over to stage112.com.
SATURDAYAPRIL18 Whether you’re a Gryffindor, Ravenclaw, Hufflepuff or even more of a Slytherin, the inaugural Quidditch Tournament at UM presents two afternoons of magical competition for everyone to enjoy at Schreiber Gym, April 18 and 25. $5/$25 if you register as a team of seven. Visit missoulaministryofmagic.tumblr.com/quidditchtournament to learn more. The International Wildlife Film Festival presents eight days of vibrant films about critters, conservation and climate change at the Roxy Theater, Sat., April 18-
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missoulanews.com • April 16–April 23, 2015 [29]
[calendar] Sat., April 25. Visit wildlifefilms.org for a full schedule and info. $75 for full festival pass/$8 per screening, with discounts for students and seniors. (And see our writeup in Film.) Make like Arnold at the Big Sky Championships bodybuilding contest at the Dennison Theatre, with prejudging starting at 9 AM and events continuing all day. $20; tickets available at griztix.com. The spring art fair in the UC includes all manner of handmade jewelry, clothing, ceramics and local art, plus plenty of enjoyable people-watching as you spot the stressed-out students hurtling toward finals. University Center Atrium, April 16-17 from 9 AM-6 PM and April 18 from 10 AM-4 PM. Little ones can feel the rhythm at Kids’ Vibrations, a 45-minute educational blast with local musicians and Tangled Tones educators on the third Saturday every month through the school year. Missoula Senior Citizens’ Center, 705 Higgins Ave. 11–11:45 AM. Donations appreciated. Kick back and unleash your inner Van Gogh at Art on Tap, a sociable painting class led by an instructor, where you’ll depart with a finished artwork. Ten Spoon Vineyard, 4175 Rattlesnake Drive, on Feb. 14, March 14 and April 18 from noon-3 PM. Start planning summer adventures at the fourth annual Missoula Kids Camp Expo, where kids can play in the gym while parents browse through the booths. Mismo Gymnastics, 1900 W. Broadway. 1-4 PM. The Poverello Tile Painting party invites all ages and drawing abilities to come paint tiles used as decoration in the shelter. ZACC, 2-4 PM. $10/$8 for students, to cover the cost of the tile.
nightlife The Kyi-Yo Powwow brings together tribes and dancers from around the region for two days of drumming, dancing and presentations at the Adams Center. Grand Entry is on Friday at 7 PM and Saturday at noon and 7
Phil Mahn’s teapot, is one of the featured auction works at the Clay Studio of Missoula’s Potsketch gala, Sat., April 18, at the University Center Ballroom. 6–10 PM. $50 to attend. PM. $12 for weekend pass, $5 for single session pass. Free for seniors and kids under 6. Check out griztix.com. Find artistic sanctuary at Refuge, an original dance performance incorporating live music, visual art and video, with dancers Laurel Sears, Brittaney Gaudette and Claire Christensen and musicians Ryan Bundy and Robert Sears. Downtown Dance Collective, 121 W. Main St. Shows on Fri., April 17, at 7:30 PM, and Sat., April 18 at 2 and 7:30 PM. $10/$8 students. The spring edition of the Missoula Zoograss shindig gets underway at
[30] Missoula Independent • April 16–April 23, 2015
Stage 112 around 5 PM, with a picking circle hosted by the Bitterroot Jug Band followed by live tunes from Ted Ness and the Rusty Nails, Boulder’s Rocktin Grove and Kitchen Dwellers. $5 in advance at stage112.com, Rockin Rudy’s and Ear Candy.
turing dinner, drinks, silent and live auctions on an array of local ceramics and paintings. University Center Ballroom, 610 PM. $50. Check out theclaystudioofmissoula.org to check out the auction items and get tickets.
Remember when all the teen magazine heartthrobs had three first names? Anyway, me and Chad Michael Murray are gonna head over to Draught Works to kick it with John Adam Smith, playing tunes from 6-8 PM. No cover.
Flash the V for Victory when Zootown Cabaret presents the 1940s Radio Jubilee, musical theater, big-band swing and jazz, inspired by classic radio shows. Missoula Winery, 5646 W. Harrier. Shows at 7 and 9 PM. $10/$5 students and seniors.
The Clay Studio of Missoula presents its annual soiree, Potsketch, fea-
Class it up at the fifth annual Mad About the Library, a “Mad Men” in-
spired shindig with Silk Road tapas, drinks, keynote talk from Julie Biando Edwards and retro duds galore. Missoula Public Library, 7 PM. $35. Tickets available at missoulapubliclibrary.org/nlw. The Stensrud Playhouse presents The Fatal Fifties Affair, a catered murder-mystery dinner show about 1950s sitcom stars and shocking secrets. Performances Fri., April 17-Sun., April 19 and Sat., April 25-Sun., April 26, at 7 PM. $47/$84 for two. Tickets at stensrudplayhouse.com or call 926-2477. The Whitefish Theatre Company presents the Tony-winning sultry drama, Venus in Fur, about an actress’ audition turned strange and intriguing, at the O’Shaughnessy Center. Performances April 8–11 and 16–18 at 7:30 PM. $20. Call 862-5371. Montana Rep Theatre presents Leveling Up, local playwright Deborah Laufer’s comedic drama about gamers recruited to fly NSA drones. Crystal Theater, Fri., April 17-Sun., April 19, at 7:30 PM, plus 2 PM matinee on Saturday. $15. The Missoula Folklore Society Dance invites one and all to cut loose at the Union Hall, with tunes from Skippin A Groove. 7:30 PM. $9/$6 for members and students/free for volunteers and kids. Put up your rawk fist for the Metal Madness night at the Dark Horse, featuring Balance of Power, Universal Choke Sign, End Ever, Undun and Resurgence. 9 PM. $7. Put that gender in a blender and go for a spin at the ISCSM drag show at the Palace, with a throwback ‘80s theme. At the Palace at 9 PM. $5. 18-plus. Proceeds benefit the Rosalinda de la Luna scholarship fund. Get your pizza power pop on when Colleen Green plays the Real Lounge, along with the badass trio Upset (featuring an ex-Best Coast and Vivian Girls member) and local guests. Doors at 9 PM. $5. 18-plus. Right on. Grab a party-paddle and head on up to the Top Hat, where Miller Creek jam ‘n slam starting at 10 PM. $5.
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modern warfare This weekend, the Montana Rep Theatre scales down for an intimate show at the Crystal, with a drama from New York playwright Deborah Zoe Laufer. Leveling Up follows a young gamer who’s recruited by the NSA to live in a Nevada bunker and fly drones—and then has to deal with the fact that, just with the push of a button, he can kill people halfway across the world. It’s not science fiction, but WHAT: Leveling Up WHO: Montana Rep
photo by Cathrine L. Walters
WHERE: Crystal Theater
Mexico bunker, remotely operating drone strikes.)
WHEN: Fri., April 17–Sun., April 19, at 7:30 PM, plus 2 PM matinee on Saturday
Leveling Up was read at the Missoula Colony and premiered at the prestigious Steppenwolf Theatre Company in Chicago stage last year to positive reviews. The Montana Rep’s Visions and Voices project brings Leveling Up to the Missoula stage for the first time, with local director Tyler Nielsen and an original score and sound design by musician John Sporman. —Kate Whittle
HOW MUCH: $15
very much based in the reality of modern warfare. (In 2013, you might remember, the Indy profiled Missoula resident Brandon Bryant, who reported suffering PTSD symptoms from his time spent in a New
SUNDAYAPRIL19 Walk, crawl, wobble or slither your way to the WildWalk Parade, which kicks off the International Wildlife Film Festival with a costumed procession through downtown. Meet at the XXXXs at 11:15 AM for a noon start. Parade heads down to Caras Park for the WildFest party, noon-3 PM.
The International Wildlife Film Festival presents eight days of vibrant films about critters, conservation and climate change at the Roxy Theater, Sat., April 18-Sat., April 25. Visit wildlifefilms.org for a full schedule and info. $75 for full festival pass/$8 per screening, with discounts for students and seniors. (And see our writeup in Film.) Historian Greg Gordon, author of When Money Grew on Trees: A. B.
Hammond and the Age of the Timber Baron, chats about the little-known founder of Bonner, along with retired UM archivist Dale Johnson, at the History Roundtable at St. Ann Catholic Church in Bonner. 2-4 PM. Free. Jenn Adam and buddies party down at the Bitter Root Brewery in Hamilton as part of a fundraiser for the Bitterroot School of Music, 4-8 PM, with a raffle for a five-string violin.
missoulanews.com • April 16–April 23, 2015 [31]
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nightlife Get all squared away when old-timey outfit Basses Covered plays Draught Works, 915 Toole, from 5-7 PM. No cover. The esteemed Willard Peterson is your tuneful host this evening at Great Burn Brewing, 2230 McDonald Ave. Music starts at 6 PM. No cover. Share a table with neighbors at the Westside Community Dinner, a celebration with shepherd’s pie hosted by the NMCDC at Burns St. Community Center, 1500 Burns St. 6-8 PM. Free. Check out some of the best scribes of the West at the Prairie Songs environmental reading presented by Camas magazine at the Top Hat, 6-8 PM. Wartime Blues will provide tuneage. UM Italian Club hosts a screening of the 2013 subtitled Italian comedy, Zoran, My Nephew the Idiot, at the University Center Theater. 6:30 PM. Free. Montana Rep Theatre presents Leveling Up, local playwright Deborah Laufer’s comedic drama about gamers recruited to fly NSA drones. Crystal Theater, Fri., April 17-Sun., April 19, at 7:30 PM, plus 2 PM matinee on Saturday. $15. Hip-hop artist dad Sapient returns to Zootown to play the Real Lounge, along with David Dalla G and Surebert. 9 PM. $3. (See Music.)
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[32] Missoula Independent • April 16–April 23, 2015
nightlife The 11th annual Jazzoula brings snazzy locals like Josh Farmer Band, UM jazz bands, Canta Brasil, Kimberlee Carlson and many more. Nightly shows at St. Anthony’s, 217 Tremont Ave., Mon., April 20-Thu., April 23. Doors at 6 PM, shows at 6:30. $25 for festival pass/$12 per night, with discounts for students and seniors. Find tickets at Rockin Rudy’s or 542-0077; “Jazzoula” Facebook page for full lineup and info. Blue October, who you may remember from songs like “Hate Me” and “Into the Ocean” (which seemed, like, so meaningful when it came on the radio of your mom’s Oldsmobile while you drove to work at Subway) plays the Wilma. Doors at 7 PM, show at 8. $23.50 at Rockin Rudy’s and knittingfactory.com. As part of Missoula Fashion Week, the “no makeup” makeup class with Anna Rummel Tenenbaum imparts tips and tricks to enhance your features. Betty’s Divine, 7-8 PM. $5; sign up in advance at Betty’s.
MONDAYAPRIL20
TUESDAYAPRIL21
Poet Melissa Kwasny chats from her newest collection about sacred knowledge and relationships to the earth, Pictographs, at Shakespeare and Co., 103 S. Third St. 7 PM.
Adventurous photographer Lee Silliman chats about his excursions toting equipment into Yellowstone in “Viewing the West with a Big Camera,” a lecture at the Rocky Mountain School of Photography, 210 N. Higgins. 7 PM. Free.
The International Wildlife Film Festival presents eight days of vibrant films about critters, conservation and climate
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change at the Roxy Theater, Sat., April 18-Sat., April 25. Visit wildlifefilms.org for a full schedule and info. $75 for full festival pass/$8 per screening, with discounts for students and seniors. (And see our writeup in Film.)
The International Wildlife Film Festival presents eight days of vibrant films
missoulanews.com • April 16–April 23, 2015 [33]
[calendar]
photo by Cathrine L. Walters
Reach for the stars. The UM School of Theatre and Dance presents Dance in Concert at the Montana Theatre, Wed., April 22–Sat., April 25, at 7:30 PM. $20/$16 students and seniors. about critters, conservation and climate change at the Roxy Theater, Sat., April 18-Sat., April 25. Visit wildlifefilms.org for a full schedule and info. $75 for full festival pass/$8 per screening, with discounts for students and seniors. (And see our writeup in Film.) Come on baby, and take a magic carpet ride at the Two Wheel Nation party, featuring art, motorcycles, fashion show and liquor. Montgomery Distillery, 4-8 PM. Free.
nightlife The 11th annual Jazzoula brings snazzy locals like Josh Farmer Band, UM jazz bands, Canta Brasil, Kimberlee Carlson and many more. Nightly shows at St. Anthony’s, 217 Tremont Ave., Mon., April 20Thu., April 23. Doors at 6 PM, shows at 6:30. $25 for festival pass/$12 per night, with discounts for students and seniors. The one and only Neko Case sings the songs to make you feel the feelings at the Wilma, along with Rodrigo Amarante. Doors at 7 PM, show at 8. $25 at thewilma.com. Alaska-wilderness-lovin’ dude and UM MFA Jeremy Pataky reads from his debut poetry collection, Overwinter, at Shakespeare and Co., 103 S. Third St. 7 PM. Get hip 2 the Square Dance at the Top Hat, where Charmaine Slaven calls the dance while the Beet Tops provide the tunes, starting at 7:30 PM. No experience or partner necessary. Free.
WEDNESDAYAPRIL22 Up the p0nx when Boston hardcore outfit OC45 plays the ZACC Below’s Destruction Party (please don’t actually break anything, kids, but the demolition will start after this show.) Guests include Eat Strike and Thug Nasties. Show at 8 PM (for realsies), $5. All-ages. No booze. Good tymes. The International Wildlife Film Festival presents eight days of vibrant films about critters, conservation and climate change at the Roxy Theater,
[34] Missoula Independent • April 16–April 23, 2015
Sat., April 18-Sat., April 25. Visit wildlifefilms.org for a full schedule and info. $75 for full festival pass/$8 per screening, with discounts for students and seniors. (And see our writeup in Film.) Take a gander at the options for the new library when architects present their submissions at Missoula Public Library at 8 AM, 10 AM, 1 PM, 3 PM. Comment cards supplied.
nightlife As part of Missoula Fashion Week, the Spring Preview Fashion Show struts down the runway at Plonk, 5-6 PM. Free. The 11th annual Jazzoula brings snazzy locals like Josh Farmer Band, UM jazz bands, Canta Brasil, Kimberlee Carlson and many more. Nightly shows at St. Anthony’s, 217 Tremont Ave., Mon., April 20Thu., April 23. Doors at 6 PM, shows at 6:30. $25 for festival pass/$12 per night, with discounts for students and seniors. Full bar and refreshments available. Find tickets at Rockin Rudy’s or 5420077; and check out the “Jazzoula” Facebook page for full lineup and info. Historian Richard Ellis presents “Charles M. Russell: Cowboy Storyteller,” a lively evening about Montana’s beloved artist and b.s.-er. North Valley Public Library in Stevensville. 6:30-8 PM, free. Win big bucks off your bar tab and/or free pitchers by using your giant egg to answer trivia questions at Brains on Broadway Trivia Night at the Broadway Sports Bar and Grill, 1609 W. Broadway Ave. 7 PM. To warm up the noggin, here’s a trivia question: What year did the University of Montana first put the “M” on Mount Sentinel? Find answer in tomorrow’s nightlife. The weekly Dinner and a Movie series brings top-notch indie flim El Bulli: Cooking in Progress and good eats under one roof. Screening at the Crystal Theater at 7 PM. $7. Dinner menu from Silk Road available (not included in admission price). Matt Kepnes gives a presentation and signing for his travel guide, How to Travel the World on $50 a Day, at Fact and Fiction, 220 N. Higgins Ave. 7 PM.
Brooks & Browns presents SINGER/SONGWRITER at Brooks & Browns: Jesse, The Ocelot: 6:30-7:05 Betty Jane: 7:25-8:00 Luke Dowler: 8:35-9:10 Kappa Oie: 9:30-10:05 Sierra Kamplain: 10:25-11:00
FRIDAY, APRIL 24 Missoula Copy Center presents INDIE/POP at Free Cycles Missoula: Adam & Skylar: 5:45-6:20 Maiah Wynne & The Deadly Pear: 6:40-7:15 Boston Tea Party: 7:35-8:10 Letter B: 8:30-9:05 Catamount: 9:25-10:00
T&C Lounge presents COUNTRY at Stage 112: Caleb Coffey: 9:15-9:50 Dean & Riley: 10:10-10:45 Tammie Jones: 11:05-11:40 Good Old Fashioned: 12:00 – 12:35 Keema & The Keepsakes: 12:55-1:30
Piece of Mind presents BLUEGRASS at Stage 112: The Dirt Farmers: 10:00-10:40 Local Yokel: 11:00-11:40 Gil And The Spills: 12:00-12:40 Ted Ness And The Rusty Nails: 1:00-1:40
Garage Tees presents ELECTRONIC at The Real Lounge: Lushush: 9:15-9:50 Butter That Shit Up: 10:10-10:45 Partygoers: 11:05-11:40 Lecture: 12:00-12:35 Space Bass!: 12:55-1:30
Bitterroot Brewing presents FUNK/SOUL/REGGAE at Monk's Bar Missoula: In Walks Bud: 10:00-11:00 Off In The Woods: 11:20-12:20 Ore Bros: 12:40-1:40 Rebel Yell presents METAL/PUNK at The Real Lounge: Brad Craig: 10:00-10:35 Arctodus: 10:55-11:30 Hence, Fourth: 11:50-12:25 Latitude 45: 12:45-1:20 Rocky Mountain Cannabis presents PSYCHEDELIC at The Palace Lounge: The Steady Changes: 9:15-9:50 Certain Molecules: 10:10-10:45 Joie Rainbeau: 11:05-11:40 Baby Tyger: 12:00-12:35 Voodoo Horseshoes: 12:55-1:30
SATURDAY, APRIL 25 Hurraw! presents BLUES/JAZZ at Free Cycles: The Captain Wilson Conspiracy: 5:30-6:20 Moneypenny: 6:40-7:30 Ryan Bundy: 7:40-8:30 Blue Moon : 8:50-9:40
The Green Light presents ROCK at The Palace: The Bent Bones: 9:15-9:50 Red Carpet Devils: 10:10-10:45 One Leaf Clover: 11:05-11:40 Muddkickker: 12:00-12:35 Cain & Fable: 12:55-1:30 Painless Steel presents HIP HOP At Monk's: Rude Max: 9:30-10:05 Analicia & Mindless: 10:25-11:00 Tahj Bo: 11:20-11:55 Mesozoic Mafia: 12:15-12:50 Codependents: 1:10-1:45
missoulanews.com • April 16–April 23, 2015 [35]
[calendar]
Put her on a pedestal. Upset plays the Real Lounge Sat., April 18, along with Colleen Green. 9 PM. $5. 18-plus. Country fella Aaron Watson comes all the way outta Amarillo, so tip your hat when he plays the Wilma, with guests Good Ol’ Fashioned. Doors at 7 PM, show at 8. $15. Find creative minds and graceful feet at the UM School of Theatre and Dance’s annual Dance in Concert, featuring original choreography at the Montana Theatre. Performances Wed., April 22Sat., April 25 at 7:30 PM. $20/$16 students and seniors. Agent Orange sprays the old-skool punk sound around, along with Denver’s In the Whale and our own VTO. 9 PM. $18/$15 in advance. 18plus. Tickets at the Top Hat, Rockin Rudy’s and online. Dreamy pysch lady Shana Falana plays the Real Lounge, along with our own experimental boogiers Love is a Dog from Nebraska and Magpies. 9 PM. $4-$6. 18-plus.
THURSDAYAPRIL23 KBGA College Radio’s fourth residency evening at the VFW, hosted by the purr-fectly amiable Kosmic Kitten, includes such wizards as Farch, Traff the Wiz, Beatzlevox, and Jesse, the Ocelot with Lige Newton unleashing the boogie. 9:30 PM. $2/$5 for ages 18-20. The International Wildlife Film Festival presents eight days of vibrant films about critters, conservation and climate change at the Roxy Theater, Sat., April 18-Sat., April 25. Visit wildlifefilms.org for a full schedule and info. $75 for full festival pass/$8 per screening, with discounts for students and seniors. (And see our writeup in Film.)
nightlife The 11th annual Jazzoula brings snazzy locals like Josh Farmer Band, UM jazz bands, Canta Brasil, Kimberlee Carlson and many more. Nightly shows at St. Anthony’s, 217 Tremont Ave., Mon., April 20-
[36] Missoula Independent • April 16–April 23, 2015
Thu., April 23. Doors at 6 PM, shows at 6:30. $25 for festival pass/$12 per night, with discounts for students and seniors. The party don’t start ‘til Caroline Keys and Jeff Turman walk in, so don’t stop, make it pop, blow some speakers up 2nite at Draught Works, 6-8 PM. No cover. Teresa Waldorf and Rosie Ayers team for goofy shenanigans in Parallel Lives: An Evening of Funny Women, featuring comedic sketches about Disney moms, cabaret queens and other oddities of modern-day ladyness. Crystal Theater, April 23-25. Doors at 6:45 PM, show at 7:30. $15. Find creative minds and graceful feet at the UM School of Theatre and Dance’s annual Dance in Concert, featuring original choreography at the Montana Theatre. Performances Wed., April 22Sat., April 25 at 7:30 PM. $20/$16 students and seniors. UM Opera Theater presents their rendition of Mozart’s Idomeneo, a grand tale about the King of Crete and unfortunate coincidences. Music Recital Hall, Thu., April 23-Fri., April 24, at 7:30 PM. $11/$6 seniors/$5 students. The dress code is denim on denim when country singer Dylan Scott brings his baritone to Stage 112, with guests. Doors at 8 PM. $15/$12 in advance. Check out stage112.com. (Trivia answer: 1909.) Portland’s indie-folkers Shook Twins double your fun at the Top Hat, along with the Lil’ Trio. 9 PM. $14/$10 in advance at the Top Hat, Rockin Rudy’s and online. 18-plus. Missoula, I wish I knew how to quit you. Submit events at calendar@missoulanews.com at least two weeks in advance of the event to guarantee publication. Don’t forget to include the date, time and cost. If you must, snail mail to Calapatra c/o the Independent, 317 S. Orange St., Missoula, MT 59801. You can also submit online. Just find the “submit an event” link under the Spotlight on the right corner at missoulanews.com.
[outdoors]
MOUNTAIN HIGH
T
his week, 50 cents of every pint sold at Draught Works Cheers for Charity will be donated to the Shining Mountain Chapter of the Montana Wilderness Association. These guys do a whole lotta good for the huge expanse of mountains that surround Missoula. From the Great Burn to the west to the Seeley-Swan to the east and all the way down the Bitterroot, this chapter works on the principles of ensuring a wild future for western Montana. They act as advocates for the rest of us who might not have the time to show up at every public meeting but still think it's important that public agencies recognize Mon-
tanans desire to keep our state wild. They also volunteer as trail workers and plant bear grass in order to restore overused trails. So go show your support, check out their new summer wilderness walks booklet for some ideas on new hikes, and maybe even join their monthly wilderness book group where you can share your wilderness adventures with people who aren't sick of your slideshows yet. —Kellen Beck Draught Works’ Cheers for Charity benefiting the Shining Mountain Chapter is Tues., April 21, from 5-8 PM. 915 Toole Ave.
photo by Cathrine L. Walters
THURSDAY APRIL 16 Adventure Life hosts a screening of the BBC TV series “Wild China,” all about that country’s flora and fauna, at the Roxy. Doors open at 6:30 PM, showing starts at 7:00 PM. Appetizers provided by China Buffet.
SATURDAY APRIL 18 Bike yo’ booty all the way from Ravalli to Hot Springs on MOBI’s 19th annual overnight Hot Springs ride and reward your 62-mile biking self with an evening of soaking and live music at Symes Hotel. Return on Sunday through scenic Camas Prairie, 41 miles. $10 deposit by April 10. RSVP to Diane Norem at 728-4126 or drnorem@gmail.com. Killer abs not required for the annual Ecopentathlon, which features all sorts of activities throughout the day like the Clark Fork cleanup, recycle relay and campus food gardening. Find out more details and how to join in at hs.umt.edu/evst. The Appleseed Project hosts a two-day celebration of rifle marksmanship and commemorates the Battles of Lexington and Concord up at the Deer Creek Shooting Center, April 18-19 from 8:30 AM-4:30 PM. All ages and abilities invited for lessons and historic discussion. $60 for both days/$20 youth under 18/$40 to just do Saturday. Free for active law enforcement, military and elected officials. Remember to bring those trail snacks when you bike with the MOBI crew from Lolo Conoco all the way down to Hamilton on the 78-mile Happy Trails Ride along the nicely paved path. Lunch in Hamilton, with option of returning via eastside or
westside roads. Contact Nancy nwnewcomer@msn.com for more info.
at
Bitterrooters are invited to lend a hand at the volunteer work day at Daly Mansion Children’s Garden, where folks will be pruning, weeding and getting ready for a June planting. 10 AM-noon, with pizza lunch for volunteers afterward. Bring the kids and discover a new hobby at the guided Beginning Birder Walk at Lee Metcalf Wildlife Refuge outside Stevensville. Meet at the refuge headquarters for a 10 AM-noon trip with a little bit of walking. Free.
SUNDAY APRIL 19 Have a pic-a-nic out in the woods after MOBI’s group ride down Highway 200. Meet at Le Petit Outre at 10 AM and bike to Lubrecht Forest for lunch, for a 60 mile roundtrip. Contact Chris for info at 593-0032 or chrjau@gmail.com.
TUESDAY APRIL 21 The Shining Mountain Chapter of the Montana Wilderness Association hosts a shindig for their wilderness walks and continental divide trail projects at the Cheers for Charity nite at Draught Works brewery. 5-8 PM. The Montana Dirt Girls kick into gear with group cycling trips in the Missoula area, meeting up at 6 PM every Tuesday at various locations. Visit mtdirtgirls.tripod.com to sign up for the mailing list and find out more. calendar@missoulanews.com
missoulanews.com • April 16–April 23, 2015 [37]
[community]
Sussex School’s 29th Annual Ecothon Visit sussexschool.org to pledge your support. Sponsored by:
Curiosity tyy. Creativityy. Confidence.
When I was a kid, my dad was intrigued by the dot-com bubble, and DotComGuy in particular. In case you don’t recall, back in 2000 a computing systems manager named Mitch legally changed his name to DotComGuy, set up 24/7 webcams in his home and got corporate sponsors to pay for him to order all his groceries off the Internet. My dad thought this was a grand idea, and came up with a scheme of his own: WatchingChickens.com, where we’d broadcast a livestream of our backyard chicken coop. “You’ve got all the entertainment you want right there: sex, violence, the occasional murder when a raccoon breaks into the henhouse,” he’d say. WatchingChickens.com never came to fruition (Dad only vaguely understands what a webcam even is) but our backyard chickens are still a beloved fixture on the homestead. I moved out years ago,
but my parents still bring me cartons of fresh eggs when they visit. So I am delighted to tell you about this weekend’s Backyard Chickens workshop presented by experts with the Missoula Urban Demonstration Project, where you’ll learn about the joys of keeping chickens as pets and the benefits of their eggs. The dotcom bubble might have burst, but sustainable, small-scale agriculture isn’t a fly-by-night trend. —Kate Whittle MUD’s Backyard Chickens Workshop is hosted by the UM FLAT, 633 S. Fifth St., on Sat., April 18, 9:30-11:30 AM. $20/$10 for MUD members. Space is limited, sign up pronto at mudproject.org.
[AGENDA LISTINGS] THURSDAY APRIL 16
MONDAY APRIL 20
There’s no such thing as too many books, so check out the AAUW-PDK Used Book Sale for deals at the Orchard Homes Country Life Club, 2537 South Third St. W., Thu., 10 AM-8 PM, Fri., 10 AM-5 PM, Sat., 10 AM-5 PM and Sun., 10 AM-2 PM. Call 543-5975 for info.
The “safeTALK (Suicide Alertness for Everyone)” course invites UM staff and community members to learn how to identify and intervene when someone is at risk of suicide. Payne Family Native American Center, room 202, from 8:30 AM-noon. $30. Visit iers.umt.edu.
Meet your potential MCPS trustees at the Missoula School District Trustee Candidate Forum, with everyone who’s filed in the elementary and high school positions. City Council Chambers, 140 W. Pine St., from 7-8 PM.
FRIDAY APRIL 17 As part of Sexual Assault Awareness Month, the Student Advocacy Resource Center hosts an Honoring Survivors Shawl Round Dance on the UM Oval, noon12:30 PM. Refreshments provided, too.
SATURDAY APRIL 18 The Bitter Root Humane Association hosts Paws for a Cause, with live zydeco tunes, dinner and guest speaker Diane Myers, a certified Dog Listener. Sapphire Lutheran Homes in Hamilton, 7-9 PM. $40. Call 363-5311 for tickets and more info.
SUNDAY APRIL 19 The Missoula Area Secular Society presents the M.A.S.S. Lunch, where atheists, secular humanists, agnostics and other freethinkers meet. Take note the group is now meeting on the first and third Sunday of every month for brunch at 10 AM at the Stone of Accord, 4951 N. Reserve St. Free to attend, but the food costs you. Visit secularmissoula.org. Har Shalom Temple hosts the “Building Bridges across Group Lines” workshop, which aims to teach participants how to examine prejudice, understand discrimination and be better allies to other races, sexes and creeds. 3035 S. Russell St. 1-3 PM. Free; childcare provided.
The Missoula chapter of the National Alliance on Mental Illness hosts its annual meeting to announce this year’s board members and officers and hear from guest speaker Peter Snyder, regional director of the Providence Center. 202 Brooks St., Room 210. 10 AM-noon. Call 880-1013 to learn more. Rocky Mountain Rising Tide gets together to work on grassroots solution to the climate crisis, every other Monday at The Hive, 5:30-7:30 PM. The UM Gerontology Society screens Alive Inside, a documentary about the power of music to help dementia patients, at the UC Theater, 6-7:30 PM, with panel discussion and refreshments to follow. Free.
TUESDAY APRIL 21 The 10th annual Missoula Labor Film Festival celebrates civil action and advocacy with films including Cesar Chavez, Together We Win: The Fight to Organize Starbucks and Pride. Missoula Public Library, on Tue., April 14 and Tue., April 21, at 6 PM.
WEDNESDAY APRIL 22 Find help with food issues at the Overeaters Anonymous meetings on the third floor of St. Paul’s Lutheran Church on Brooks St., Wednesdays. Newbies can come at 6:30 PM, and the regular meeting begins at 7 PM. Free. Call 543-5509 for info.
AGENDA is dedicated to upcoming events embodying activism, outreach and public participation. Send your who/what/when/where and why to AGENDA, c/o the Independent, 317 S. Orange, Missoula, MT 59801. You can also email entries to calendar@missoulanews.com or send a fax to (406) 543-4367. AGENDA’s deadline for editorial consideration is 10 days prior to the issue in which you’d like your information to be included. When possible, please include appropriate photos/artwork.
[38] Missoula Independent • April 16–April 23, 2015
missoulanews.com • April 16–April 23, 2015 [39]