November 9, 2016 - Pittsburgh City Paper

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[EDITORIAL] Editor CHARLIE DEITCH News Editor REBECCA ADDISON Arts & Entertainment Editor BILL O’DRISCOLL Music Editor MARGARET WELSH Associate Editor AL HOFF Web Producer ALEX GORDON Staff Writers RYAN DETO, CELINE ROBERTS Interns STEPHEN CARUSO, MEGAN FAIR, IAN FLANAGAN, LUKE THOR TRAVIS

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“ONE OF THE BAD PARTS OF THE STRIKE IN 1975 WERE THE PLAYERS THAT WE LOST.”

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Magician Lee Terbosic recreated a Houdini stunt in Market Square over the weekend.

Check out our photo slideshow at www.pghcitypaper.com.

Tune in to Five Minutes in Food History online at www.pghcitypaper.com where for the next few episodes we’re talking Iron City Beer.

{CP PHOTO BY STEPHEN CARUSO}

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Striking members of the Pittsburgh Symphony Orchestra perform a show at Rodef Shalom Temple in Oakland.

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AST THURSDAY, dressed in gray and black, Roberta Scope didn’t really stand out sitting in the back row of Oakland landmark Rodef Shalom Temple’s towering Levy Hall — except for the bright yellow ribbon pinned to her chest.

She had purchased the twirled strip of cloth to show support for the striking musicians of the Pittsburgh Symphony Orchestra during a free show put on earlier at the Kelly-Strayhorn Theater, in East Liberty. Now in Oakland, Scope was lending her ear to show favor for the striking performers yet again. “[Symphonies] are always not profitable, but they are important to have in your city,” Scope said, as she waited for a friend before the performance, titled “Music for the Soul,” began.

As the musicians’ work stoppage drags

into its sixth week, the strike leaves Pittsburgh’s Heinz Hall devoid of shimmering strings and bellowing brass, echoing only with questions about how and why Pittsburgh’s strike happened.

An extended Pittsburgh Symphony strike threatens to change the dynamic of ‘one of the best in the world’ {BY STEPHEN CARUSO} With negotiations still ongoing at press time, neither the musicians nor PSO management could be reached for comment on this story. Both sides have agreed to a media blackout during negotiations. But labor

troubles in concert halls are not limited to the Three Rivers, and they’re not new.

Pittsburgh’s symphonic musicians say they are on strike because of a proposed “15 percent pay cut, a freeze of the Musicians’ pension, and a reduction in the number of musicians,” according to a press release issued by the musicians when the strike started, on Sept. 30. The work stoppage marked the end of a long, fruitless negotiation process that, even after federal mediation, went nowhere since it began in February.

Symphony management has said the cuts are necessary to ensure the group’s long-term survival.

“It is extremely important to underscore that management and the Board of Trustees of the Pittsburgh Symphony are unwavering in our collective commitment CONTINUES ON PG. 08

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to our orchestra’s artistic mission and to its excellence — past, present, and future,” Melia Tourangeau, president and CEO, wrote in a Sept. 30 press release. “At the same time, we must squarely confront the very real financial crisis that we are facing.

Throughout the negotiation process — beginning in February and ongoing — we have been doing everything possible to work toward a solution which will place the organization on the best possible path to ensure the orchestra’s future.”

But the strike has already been costly.

In addition to canceled symphony performances through Nov. 18, several touring acts, like rocker Elvis Costello and comedians Brian Regan and Lewis Black canceled their shows in solidarity with the striking musicians.

And while labor unrest at the PSO is rare, it’s not unprecedented. The PSO last struck in 1975 — when the Steelers were only one-time Super Bowl champions. David Gillis, a recently retired PSO first violin, recalls that that strike was mostly over pay for the musicians from new media ventures, like recordings for TV and radio. “[Management was] doing a new model,” Gillis says. “They wanted us to do recordings.”

While these recordings helped “put the symphony on the map,” according to Gillis, management was attempting to “make up rules” about compensating musicians for the recordings. The symphony’s administration wanted to hand-pick the musicians for each recording rather than let the performers distribute the opportunities themselves.

“That was a real sticking point,” says Gillis.

However, even as the orchestra struck to defend its collective rights, the orchestra didn’t seem as “united” in 1975 as it is now, Gillis says. As evidence, he pointed to the many “marvelous” musicians who left the PSO during the strike — some never to return.

“One of the bad parts of the strike in 1975 were the players that we lost,” Gillis says. “The [former PSO] assistant principal bassoonist is still the principal bassoonist at the San Francisco Symphony.”

Andrew Mellor, a music critic who’s written for Gramophone, a classical-music magazine, heard the PSO play on a tour of Europe a few years ago. He has taken in some of the top orchestras in the world from Vienna to Philadelphia. But Mellor still remembers the “huge sense of attitude” and “rampant brass” that defined the PSO. For instance, he says its rendition of a Gustav Mahler piece made some of its peers’ performances sound “boring.” He did not hesitate to say the PSO was “one

PITTSBURGH CITY PAPER 11.09/11.16.2016

{CP PHOTO BY STEPHEN CARUSO}

PSO musicians and supporters circle Heinz Hall on Sept. 30.

of the best in the world.” That makes him concerned about the effect the labor dispute could have on the symphony and its cohesion.

“If enough musicians leave — even if they’re replaced — and the spirit of the orchestra is shattered, that particular sound culture could be under threat,” Mellor says.

However, Mellor doesn’t think that finding the right sound is necessarily related to pay. Noting that European musicians’ salaries are much lower — in the U.K., top orchestras’ musicians make about $50,900, according to The Guardian, or less than half of the base pay of PSO musicians — Mellor says the PSO found its brilliance by “attracting good, talented musicians.” “[They will need to] fit in and then react to the very special, indefinable sound culture and attitude that [the PSO] orchestra has,” Mellor says.

It’s that breakdown that drives Micah Howard, a double-bass player in the orchestra and the musicians’ negotiation chair, to push back against management’s proposed cuts that he described as “draconian” in a September interview with City Paper.

“We want a fair contract that will ensure the excellence of our institution,” Howard said then.

The base salary for a PSO musician is currently $107,000, with pension, benefits and 10 weeks of paid vacation. A 15 percent cut, as demanded by the PSO, would reduce the musicians’ base pay by $16,050 to $90,950.

According to the Berklee College of Music, starting salaries for symphonic musicians in the U.S. range from $28,000 to $115,000.

These salaries are important for at-

tracting the top musicians and keeping an orchestra performing in the fashion that Mellor recalls so vividly, according to Douglas Yeo, a retired trombonist who was a professional symphonic musician for 31 years in Baltimore and Boston.

“Wages alone are not the only factor in making orchestras good,” says Yeo, now retired in Arizona. “But the fact is, every orchestra is going to be good if it has the best possible players.”

That means competitive salaries. Legs crossed, still waiting for her companion in the Temple’s high-ceilinged hall, Scope likened the symphony’s competition for the best musicians to a pro football team chasing the best free-agent wide receiver.

But Yeo, who was involved in a work stoppage himself, when the musicians of the Baltimore Symphony were locked out by management in 1981, was hesitant to make such a comparison.

“When we talk about symphony musicians, there’s not a single player on a single professional sports team who’s making anywhere near what a symphony orchestra musician makes,” Yeo says.

He also mentioned the differences in audience size — while Heinz Hall can only fit 2,676 Mozart lovers, Heinz Field can hold 65,050 screaming, black-andgold fans.

Looking back at his experiences with management in Baltimore, Yeo described the work stoppage as “the usual dispute” over wages and working conditions, unlike the 1975 PSO strike of Gallis’ recollections.

But Gallis is more concerned for the PSO’s future from the present dispute due to the last part of management’s demands — “freez[ing] three open positions in the

orchestra for the term of this contract,” according to the PSO’s release when the strike started.

“That’s not a decision that should be in management’s hands, that’s a decision that should be in the music director and management’s hands,” Gallis says.

Gallis also referred to a letter, sent by the Pittsburgh Symphony Inc., the PSO’s operating body, to the striking musicians on Oct. 4. The message stated that “the PSI has an obligation to keep Heinz Hall open” and “[I]n order to do so, it may require us to hire replacement workers.”

The PSI since backtracked on that claim, saying it had “no intention” to hire any temporary workers, according to the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette.

However, Gallis says this threat, combined with management’s contract demand, could damage the cohesion that Mellor so admired about the orchestra’s performance. “[Managment doesn’t] want to have a 99-piece orchestra,” Gallis says. “They want to be able to just augment [with freelancers.]”

It’s a strategy that Gallis says isn’t happening in any other top orchestras, such as San Francisco, New York or Minneapolis,

which just suffered its own 15-month lockout. He fears that Pittsburgh could be headed toward a similarly lengthy dispute.

Back in Pittsburgh, the concert was about to begin at Rodef Shalom. Scope’s friend, Bob Devaty, a physics professor at the University of Pittsburgh, arrived, slipping past a few seated seniors and sitting down next to Scope. The hall has a capacity of 280 people and with every seat filled, spectators sat on the steps in the balcony and lined the rear walls.

Devaty has been going to Pittsburgh Symphony performances since 1985. As a physicist, he likes the organization and precision of a classical-music performance.

When looking forward into the ensemble’s future, he has concerns.

“The sad thing is it could be that management is correct,” Devaty says. “But if management gets their way they won’t have a world-class orchestra anymore.”

I N F O @PGH C IT YPAPE R . C O M

Editor’s Note: Negotiations to end the labor unrest at the Pittsburgh Symphony were actively ongoing as this story was being written. The strike was still ongoing at press time.

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PITTSBURGH CITY PAPER 11.09/11.16.2016

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DANCE CODE LGBT student denied from homecoming claims discrimination {BY RYAN DETO} AT CARRICK HIGH School, a lesbian student

and school officials are at odds after the student was barred from last month’s homecoming dance.

Sammyah Turner, a freshman at Carrick, and her mother, Maesha Turner, claim that Sammyah was denied entry because she’s a lesbian who prefers to dress in male clothing. Her homecoming outfit consisted of black slacks and a black button-down shirt with red suspenders and a red bowtie.

Sammyah told City Paper she had purchased a ticket for the dance and presented it, along with a homecoming wristband, the night of the dance, Oct. 7.

However, she forgot her school ID, and was told to bring it, so she could enter.

By the time Maesha arrived with the ID, a group of volunteers and security guards, and assistant principal Heidi Tamasko, had gathered next to Sammyah. The ticket-takers claimed Sammyah wasn’t on the list of approved students and Sammyah was in tears.

“It went so fast from ‘we have the confirmation and the wrist band and the ticket’ to ‘oh, she’s not on our list,’” says Maesha.

After a shouting match, where Maesha questioned the school for allowing Sammyah to buy a ticket just to deny her entry, and school officials saying that someone else must have bought the ticket for her, Sammyah and Maesha decided to leave. While they were walking away, an adult said, “And what is she wearing anyway,” according to Maesha.

“I feel like there was discrimination … because of the comment,” says Sammyah.

Tamasko denies the statement was made.

Sammyah is 15 years old. She came out last year and self-indentifies as a “stud,” or a lesbian who dresses in male clothing. Like many youths in the LGBT community, she says she was bullied.

“Boys really don’t like when girls try to dress like boys, so they bully me and call me names,” says Sammyah. “And then the girls are the same as the boys.”

Amber Sloan, who also identifies as a stud, is an LGBT advocate in Pittsburgh, particularly in the black community. She was contacted by the Turners and is sympathetic to their account of the event.

“We are at a different age, and a different era, but some people accept and

{PHOTO COURTESY OF MAESHA TURNER}

Sammyah Turner in her homecoming outfit

some people don’t,” says Sloan. “We are in a day and age where we have to accept these kids.”

However, Carrick High School principal Angel Washington denies there was any discrimination involved with Sammyah’s homecoming situation. Washington invited CP on Nov. 4 to an interview with her, Tamasko and three senior students involved in the school’s GayStraight Alliance to explain their side of the story.

“We try as hard as we can to be as inclusive in our practices,” said Washington at the interview. “In fact, our dress code isn’t even gender-specific. …

The accusation doesn’t make sense, and it’s hurtful because we know that other students were dressed almost identically to [Sammyah].”

Carrick senior Haley Freund, who identifies as gay, said there are a few students who might use bullying comments, but overall the atmosphere at Carrick has been welcoming to LGBT students. “Our school is very supportive. We have [LGBT]

groups, and there has never been any discriminatory action toward us or any other gay people that I know of.”

Washington said the high school does have a strict policy that bars students with a disciplinary record from attending dances. “We have some systems in place for the safety of the kids,” said Washington. “When students buy tickets to the dances, they have to meet certain criteria. … Criteria was laid out, and I can tell you that [Sammyah] did not meet the criteria.”

Washington wrote in her letter to students and parents at the start of the semester, outlining the criteria: “Homecoming dance is scheduled early this year (October 7, 2016), and any violations that lead to disciplinary action will prohibit a student from attending this dance, and may jeopardize future involvement in school activities.”

She asserts that Sammyah was never on the list to enter the dance because her disciplinary record disqualified her. Disqualifying factors include unexcused absences, fighting, monetary debts and suspensions, according to Washington.

But City Paper was unable to obtain Sammyah’s record due to student confidentiality.

Maesha says that before the homecoming event, Sammyah didn’t have many demerits, except for one unexcused absence, and overall she is a good student. Also, Maesha and Sammyah were under the assumption the ticket and wristband were good for admission, but Washington said that tickets and wristbands were issued merely as party favors this year to go along with a Hollywood theme.

Because Sammyah was never on Carrick’s list of dance attendees, Washington and her staff said another student, who didn’t attend the dance, bought a ticket and sold it to Sammyah’s date, who then gave it to Sammyah. Maesha and Sammyah deny this because both remember Sammyah calling Maesha when she was standing in line waiting to purchase the ticket.

Regardless, Maesha feels the Carrick policy might be a bit too strict, and could disproportionately affect those come from marginalized backgrounds, like LGBT students. She points out that Sammyah was invited to the Perry High School homecoming, which is in the same school district as Carrick, and

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attended without issue.

“Sammyah has been struggling at coming out and to be herself,” says Maesha. “That is what I teach my kids — be yourself, you’re allowed to. We have had a lot of problems with the bullying and to be turned away like that just puts [Sammyah] in another place.”

Carrick is part of the Pittsburgh Public School system and PPS spokesperson Ebony Pugh also denies any discrimination on the part of Carrick administrators or students. “We are aware of claims that the student was not permitted into the dance because [of] the student’s attire,” wrote Pugh in an email to CP. “There is no basis to the claim. In fact, photos of Pittsburgh Carrick’s homecoming court demonstrate the inclusive environment at the dance.”

Photos on Carrick’s Facebook page posted on Oct. 8 and 11 show what appear to be female students dressed in typically male attire. However, Maesha points out all the pictures were posted after she and Sloan posted pictures of Sammyah on Facebook, alleging Sammyah was discriminated against.

THRIVE is a Pittsburgh agency that deals with LGBT-related issues in local schools. Vanessa Davis of THRIVE didn’t issue a comment on the Carrick High homecoming issue, due to its complicated nature. But she did say, “THRIVE is working hard to communicate a better understanding of the non-discrimination policy, and we are constantly working to get that message out there.”

Washington defends her administration’s communication about who can and cannot attend school dances. She said there were two announcements at assemblies about the school’s disciplinary policy, as well as many smaller communication efforts.

She says her students have won awards for working toward increased student participation and that Carrick has an inclusive and safe environment.

“There are safe spaces posted throughout the school of teachers who support the ideology behind Gay-Straight Alliance and creating an inclusive environment,” said Washington. But she always thinks there is room for improvement.

“We can always do better with communication,”said Washington. “Perhaps we could share [discliplinary rules] better with freshman and new students.”

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[PITTSBURGH LEFT]

POWER COUPLES {BY CHARLIE DEITCH} AS I WRITE this column, polling places

59_4.75_x_4.75.indd 1

11/3/16

aren’t scheduled to open for another 18 hours or so.

But as sure as I’m sitting here, I’m confident of two things coming out of this election: Hillary Clinton will be the next President of the United States, and the race for the White House in 2020 will begin on or shortly after Nov. 9. I should note, however, that in case of an improbable Trump victory, I have made contingency plans, which include buying a gun and getting a lobotomy, so I can fit in with life in ’Merica under our new president.

Of course, I’m kidding; I probably won’t buy the gun.

But one thing that isn’t a joke is the earlier and earlier start to our presidentialelection cycle. It seems like Barack Obama wasn’t even sworn in yet in 2012, when candidates from both parties were “exploring” the possibility of a 2016 run. To be honest, I hate it. We’re rapidly approaching the time when people will start running for public office two or three election cycles ahead. It would be like Ted Cruz announcing tomorrow that he was running for the White House in 2028.

But I’m trying to turn my hate into something constructive. Rather than bemoan the early start to our election cycles, 4:25 PM I decided to jot down a short list of power couples I’d like to see join forces and run for president and vice president in 2020.

Bill Peduto and Darlene Harris An idea so grand, we had to put it on our front cover this week. We debated who to push for the mayor’s running mate and decided his most vocal critic, Pittsburgh City Councilor Darlene Harris, was perfect because, quite frankly, it made us laugh uproariously. After the election campaign we’ve just gone through, who doesn’t need a chuckle?

Pat Toomey and Rick Santorum

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In this day and age, everybody wants to talk about making policies that are “progressive” and good for “all Americans.” But sometimes I think regressivism hasn’t really been given a fair shot in this country, at least not on the grand scale these two could enact. Toomey and Santorum would lead the way on destroying social services, taking governance of a woman’s health choices, and making sure that everyone pays their fair share as long as they earn

less than $200,000. Plus, I’ve been needing someone to tell me to pull myself up by the bootstraps, a phrase that the Political-Correctness Police have banned just because it’s “racist” and “narrow-minded.”

Joe Sestak and John Fetterman This one isn’t a joke as much as it is a scenario that will never come true. Both men ran for U.S. Senate this year and were beat

by Katie McGinty. But the thought of two political figures who adhere to a pretty strict progressive agenda would be like a Bernie Sanders candidacy on steroids. Sestak, a former Navy Admiral, pissed off his own party when he ran against and beat Republican-turned-Democrat Arlen Specter six years ago. He’s a policy wonk and a realist who’s not beholden to party hacks. And Fetterman made hay earlier this year during his Senate run. He was able to get out in front of a national audience, and people liked what he had to say. I’m telling you — this is the progressive dream team that no one has dreamed up yet.

Blak Rapp Madusa and Jasiri X If the success of Bernie Sanders taught us just one thing, it’s that progressive Democrats are looking for real change in their candidates. Candidates who really care about the environment, women’s reproductive-health issues, the gender pay gap, living wages, infrastructure to help areas that need it the most and, most importantly, elected officials who care about the wave of social injustice that has gripped our nation. When I thought of this movement and who would lead it, I immediately thought of Blak Rapp Madusa and Jasiri X of 1Hood.

They are two of this region’s, and probably the country’s, most insightful activists, and they are already in the fight. Both use their music as a platform to draw attention to the top-down, institutionalized racism that leads to problems like police violence and poverty. In fact, the more I think of it, I’d vote for this ticket anytime. The 1Hood Party definitely needs to happen.

C D E I T C H @ P G H C I T Y PA P E R. C OM

12

PITTSBURGH CITY PAPER 11.09/11.16.2016

Weird Pittsburgh

3 MONTH Each GROUP class just over $5 for UNLIMITED 3 months from time of purchase.

Available through January 1, 2017 PACKAGE!

SEND YOUR LOCAL WEIRD NEWS TO INFO@PGHCITYPAPER.COM

{BY NICK KEPPLER}

+

A Pleasant Hills man accused of making millions in a mortgage-fraud scheme might get a new trial because his lawyer was caught napping in court. Prosecutors say James Nassida, former owner of Century III Home Equity, used fake property appraisals and inflated borrower incomes and assets to fool lenders into making millions of dollars in fraudulent loans. He split his time between a $1.3 million home and a Seven Springs vacation property, and drove an Aston Martin.

But most other details presented in the threeweek trial were much less sexy; prosecutors and witnesses gave lengthy explanations of banking procedures. U.S. District Judge Donetta Ambrose reportedly caught Nassida’s attorney, Stan Levenson, dozing off during the dull affair. Ambrose polled jurors and 11 out of 12 said they also spotted Levenson sleeping. According to the Pittsburgh PostGazette, Ambrose will likely appoint a new lawyer for Nassida, who may argue for a

leaving a ladder mark. Hall reportedly admitted to faking the robbery, hiding the items in a white trash bag outside. That’s when karma took over. Her boyfriend, apparently not in on the scheme, set the bag out on the street for trash pickup. The local trash-hauling service has no way of retrieving the valuables.

“They said it had already been dumped at the landfill,” Musulin said. “It’s probably covered up with hundreds of tons of garbage. It’s a bizarre situation.”

retrial or plea deal on the basis of insufficient assistance of counsel. “I’m embarrassed about it,” said Levenson, a veteran defense attorney, “and it shouldn’t have happened.” He added that cold medicine had made him drowsy.

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For an unknown reason, Christie Joyelle Hall faked a robbery at her Cambria County home, hiding valuables she reported stolen in a trash bag as police investigated her plundered-looking place, according to an arrest report. Hall allegedly told an officer that a handgun, a PlayStation, $2,000 in cash and $15,000 worth of her grandmother’s jewelry had been taken from her Westmont home. “The residence appeared to have been ransacked,” police Capt. George Musulin told the Tribune-Democrat of Johnstown. But police soon saw holes in Hall’s story, wondering how the alleged robber avoided conflict with her 140-pound British mastiff and accessed her second-floor residence without

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While enforcing an eviction, the Allegheny County Sheriff’s Office discovered more than 180 animals in a Pittsburgh home. Living in the Brookline house were 150 birds, 14 ferrets, 10 cats, seven dogs, two geckos, one turtle, one guinea pig and one bearded dragon, reports the Pittsburgh PostGazette. Forty-five-year-old Barbara Yogmas, who lived with her mother and 12-year-old son, apparently used Craigslist to gather pets others were giving up, creating a home condition an officer called “beyond deplorable” and leading to animal-cruelty and child-endangerment charges. The Western Pennsylvania Humane Society and Animal Rescue League took in the small zoo’s worth of creatures.

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A Pennsylvania court has upheld your First Amendment right to give the finger. When Jason Roy Waugaman of Pittsburgh returned their children to his ex-wife’s apartment in 2014, he allegedly accelerated his truck to drive within a “yardstick” of hitting her, reports TribLive.com, and flipped the bird as he drove off. Police charged Waugaman with reckless endangerment and disorderly conduct. In Common Pleas Court, he was found not guilty of the first charge but was convicted on the second. In Superior Court, he was cleared on appeal by Senior Justice Eugene B. Strassburger, who wrote: “Unless the First Amendment was repealed when I was not looking, giving someone the finger should not constitute a crime.”

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Police in Lebanon say that a hip-hop artist whose songs include “Sell Drugz” did in fact sell drugs. Twenty-nine-year-old Michael Persaud, a.k.a. rapper Montana Millz, sold 70 bags of heroin to an undercover officer over the span of an investigation, police told the Associated Press. Now some poor rookie lawyer in the Lebanon County district attorney’s office will have to download and decipher his amateur gangster-rap tracks (such as “Armed and Dangerous” and “Groupie Hoes”) to create an incriminating portrait for a jury.

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An 81-year-old man reported the theft of an “antique sausage stuffer” from his home in Milford Township, Juniata County, according to PennLive.com. The man apparently does not use the stuffer often; he could tell police only that it was taken some time since Jan. 1.

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LOCAL

“THIS IS MY LAST BAND. I’M JUST NOT GONNA STOP.”

BEAT

{BY MARGARET WELSH}

Anna Hale, who performs as Swampwalk, writes songs that sometimes feel like little brain-soothing meditations for day-to-day crises. She describes them, only half joking, as “mantras for the mentally disturbed.”

They are songs, she says, “to sing to yourself to make yourself feel good.”

Her layered, loop-based melodies — which she creates with the help of a fourtrack sequencer that she runs on a Gameboy — are simple. They’re also danceable, and full of surprising turns and hooks that stick to your memory like burdocks.

Friday, Hale releases her second Swampwalk record, Us vs. Them, a followup to last year’s Sweatin’ Out the Small Stuff. It’s a more ambitious effort than Sweatin’ Out, and leading up to the release, she’s still working out exactly how make it happen onstage. Her setup is always changing, but it’s usually a little complicated — in addition to the Gameboy, her current “robot family” includes a Pocket Piano synth, a Korg Volca Beats analog drum machine, Big Muff pedal, Voicelive 3 looper and a Stratocaster. “I know what I want it to be,” she says, laughing, referring to the project in general. “But as one person it’s hard to achieve.”

Us vs. Them, which Hale recorded in her parents’ basement, finds her tapping into her love of hip hop. The beats are darker and heavier and, overall, the lyrics are more overtly political. “I enjoy the lyrical importance of hip hop, but it’s hard to find a flow,” she says. “I’m trying to move that way, but at the end of the day I’m still a singer-songwriter.”

That said, Hales has a knack for catchy vocal patterns. Her sing-songy delivery on “Look Up” creates an ominous counterbalance to guest rapper Moemaw Naedon. But she most closely approaches rapper territory herself with “Not Yr Commodity,” where she calmly rages against the patriarchy. It’s well-mined subject matter, but Hale’s clever and subtly funny lyricism adds freshness and urgency.

Hale hopes fans of Sweatin’ Out’s (relatively) straight-ahead electro indie rock won’t bail on Us vs. Them, but she likely has nothing to worry about. Singing these songs to yourself feels just as good.

“I’d like think my ‘voice’ is still there,” she says. “I’m trying to expand, but it’s still there.”

MWELSH@PGHCITYPAPER.COM

SWAMPWALK RELEASE SHOW with VACATION, THE LOPEZ, BAT ZUPPEL 9 p.m.

Fri., Nov. 11. Gooski’s, 3117 Brereton St., Polish Hill. $6. 412-681-1658

14

Anna Hale {PHOTO COURTESY OF MICHAEL ORELLANO}

IN THE GAME

{PHOTO COURTESY OF CARSON CAMP/BASE CAMP PICTURES}

The Commonheart (Clinton Clegg, center, with cake)

FULLY GROWN {BY ANDY MULKERIN}

S

IX MEMBERS of The Commonheart,

give or take, are huddled up, preparing for practice. That’s what counts as a quorum when there are nine people in your band. Some have hauled in saxophones or trumpets. Singer Clinton Clegg, the band’s founder and de facto musical director, is making it clear where he stands in relation to the project.

“This is my last band,” Clegg says in earnest. “I’m just not gonna stop. If other people make life decisions or whatever — this band is gonna keep going with me. As long as I’m standing.”

Eyebrows around the room remain unraised. This is news to no one. And it’s part of what drives the band: Aside from being The Commonheart’s gritty and powerful voice, Clegg is its engine, and the glue that keeps it together. And when things fall apart — and they have — he picks up the pieces and keeps the band on track. That’s what’s gotten The Commonheart to where it is now: On the eve of the release of its first full-length, Grown, the ensemble has a rapidly growing local fan base thanks to

PITTSBURGH CITY PAPER 11.09/11.16.2016

a few sweet gigs and a good bit of legwork through its first two years.

It might look like an overnight success from a distance, but it’s one that has a decade of hard work behind it. Clegg came up playing open mics around town, first crossing paths with Commonheart guitarist Mikey DeLuca when both hosted the same open stage on alternating weeks. (In a musical meet-cute, someone got mixed up and showed up the wrong week.)

THE COMMONHEART CD-RELEASE SHOW WITH STEELTOWN HORNS

9 p.m. Sat., Nov. 12. Mr. Smalls Theatre, 400 Lincoln Ave., Millvale. $10. All ages.

412-821-4447 or www.mrsmalls.com

Then Clegg fronted jam-flavored rock band Backstabbing Good People, which found a measure of success before breaking up, suffering from what Clegg characterizes as a lack of musical focus — and perhaps too many frontmen. While Clegg went on to

found The Commonheart, Backstabbing’s keyboardist, Max Somerville, went forth to form Wreck Loose, another rock band with a growing group of devotees locally.

“That was the best thing that ever happened to Max,” Clegg notes, referring to Wreck Loose. “And also to our friendship: Max and I are closer than ever.”

The Commonheart hasn’t been so shabby for Clegg and company, either. Originally a relatively normal-sized rock band, The Commonheart began with Clegg and a few friends: Glenn Strother (formerly of Backstabbing Good People), Buddy Rieger and guitarist Arianna Powell. Powell left to tour with the likes of Nick Jonas — The Commonheart isn’t holding it against her — and the lineup slowly shifted. And grew.

“I can’t really say it enough: Next thing I know, I wake up and I have 10 people in my band,” Clegg says with a laugh.

Old friend and acoustic guitarist DeLuca and Backstabbing Good People drummer Shawn McGregor join him in the ensemble. Bassist Ava Lintz, keyboardist Lucas Bowman and guitarist Mike Minda CONTINUES ON PG. 16

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FULLY GROWN, CONTINUED FROM PG. 14

This direct-to-web series spotlights our region’s talented, innovative and diverse artists.

ED! RECE NTLY POST

THE CLARKS Go to wqed.org/sessions THANKS to Live Nation and Pittsburgh City Paper for their underwriting support.

round out the traditional rock-band lineup.

Then come the winds: trumpeter Nate Insko, saxophonist Abby Gross and flutist Jess Hohman, who, along with Stephanie Ballard, also provides backup vocals.

The point, early on, wasn’t to have a huge band — it was to have a focused one.

“Our drummer, Shawn McGregor, and I were talking, and we really wanted to do a band that was just mega-focused on a sound,” Clegg explains. “We don’t want to be a band that doesn’t have a genre-specific sound. With Backstabbing, we had a reggae song, we had a rock song — it was all over the place in terms of genre. We were like, ‘Let’s really build a band around my voice.’”

For all the grandiosity of its nine-piece sound, The Commonheart is still driven by Clegg’s voice. Powerful, rough, but precise, it fits right into a rock world that’s celebrating blues-driven acts like Alabama Shakes and Gary Clark Jr., the latter of whom provided The Commonheart’s biggest opening gig yet this past summer.

While opening for Clark got The Commonheart some good exposure with an audience that would appreciate its sound, it was just one piece in what could be seen as the perfect Pittsburgh publicity campaign this year. The band was a fixture on the Pirates’ “Friday Night Rocks” features, beamed into homes throughout the region on Root Sports on Friday nights, and performing live on Federal Street for a baseball crowd. And the band has made appearances on WDVE’s morning show, in addition to collaborating at times with cohost Randy Baumann, himself an accomplished keyboardist with an ear for classic rock and soul.

At times it feels like the stars are aligning for The Commonheart, whose down-toearth bluesy riffs and growling vocals offset slick production to create an ideal balance on the 11-track Grown. The band brings its first full-length into a music world that’s primed by throwback soul and blues artists who have lately stolen the rock spotlight.

It’s coming into its own in a local music infrastructure with radio and TV outlets that can beam the band’s polished sounds to a general audience.

But the real key is in the band’s focus.

Grown is an album, not just a collection of songs, just as The Commonheart is a band (albeit a big one), not just a collection of musicians. As the band prepares to ramp up its prominence in the local music world, and perhaps beyond, it serves as a lesson for up-and-coming artists: Stick with it, hone your efforts, surround yourself with the right people, and perhaps after a decade or so of hard work, you, too, will be an overnight success.

INF O @PGH C IT YPAPE R . C O M

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PITTSBURGH CITY PAPER 11.09/11.16.2016

NEW RELEASES {BY ALEX GORDON}

CLOUD INDETERMINATE (SELF-RELEASED) CL0UD.BANDCAMP.COM

Press play on Cloud’s latest release, a five-song, 45-minute sludge called Indeterminate, and you’ll hear the sounds of a storm approaching. Rain picking up, thunder booming, stormy stuff. A guitar riff (the only clean one on the album, by the way) enters a little later, and we spend a few minutes with it as the rest of the band joins in slowly. Once the song comes crashing into form past the threeminute mark, Indeterminate hits its stride and doesn’t let go.

INDETERMINATE SUCCEEDS BECAUSE THE BAND SEEMS TO KNOW ITS STRENGTHS That storm sticks around for the remaining 40 minutes, ceaselessly pummeling fat, distorted, monotonous (literally, the album is in one key) guitar lines for the duration. “Desert Weed,” the album’s only track with vocals (from Mephistofeles singer Gabriel Ravera), highlights the band’s more prog-rockish sensibilities and offers one of the few moments when the group sounds more Black Sabbath than Sleep.

It’s a blast. “Yggdrasil,” the closing track named for a mystical tree from Norse mythology (obviously), sounds like something that might sell well in Mordor, a 12-minute onslaught of standout riffs on an album up to its ears in standout riffs.

Storms approaching and riffs that beg to be called “menacing” and “ominous” might sound like red flags for exhausting, self-serious metal, but Cloud is not that. Cloud is gratifyingly indulgent, reveling in enough genre mores to be fun and familiar, but not to the point of cliché. Indeterminate succeeds because the band seems to know its strengths, and plays to them with complete confidence without overreaching. The thing’s a beast.

ALEXGORDON@PGHCITYPAPER.COM

LISTEN UP! You read City Paper’s music coverage every week, but why not listen to it too?

Each Wednesday, music editor Margaret Welsh crafts a Spotify playlist with tracks from artists featured in the music section, and other artists playing around town in the coming days.

Find it on our music blog, FFW>>, at pghcitypaper.com

{PHOTO COURTESY OF LISSA GOTWALS}

Mount Moriah

ROCK THE VOTE {BY MARGARET WELSH} FOR NORTH CAROLINA-based three-piece

Mount Moriah, Southern identity has always been at the center of the music.

While not always straightforwardly autobiographical, the band’s early work dealt heavily with frontwoman Heather McEntire’s experiences growing up as a queer woman in the South.

But on How to Dance, which the band put out in February, the songs take a wider aim, moving from personal narrative to larger cultural or even mystical experiences.

“This most recent [release] is definitely more cosmic in scope,” says guitarist Jenks Miller, by phone. “A lot of Heather’s writing is more abstract,” he explains. The band members don’t wish to write didactic music, and they don’t. “But,” he says, “one of the things we’ve always tried to do is marry this sense of poetry and … a progressive mindset to very classical-sounding Southern-rock forms.”

Over time, Mount Moriah has embraced that Southern-rock form with increasing vigor. Where 2013’s Miracle Temple, and especially 2011’s Mount Moriah, feel more like country-flavored indie rock, How to Dance brings a new intensity: The band has never sounded bigger or more embodied, like Fleetwood Mac reborn as a gospel choir.

The melodies may be too idiosyncratic to be sung in church, or at a protest, but they feel like hopeful rallying cries which beg to be shared in a collective setting.

But from a political standpoint, the Tar Heel State — which has recently drawn attention for, among other things, its antitrans “bathroom bill” — isn’t an easy place for progressives these days. “I’ve personally been very stressed out,” says Miller, speaking a few days before the presidential election.

But it isn’t just the presidential race, which will be decided before this interview goes to print. The kind of political instability that many Americans have felt for the last several months is something that, Miller says, North Carolinians feel all the time. In recent years, big donors have targeted the swing state, rapidly changing the political landscape. “The Republicans got the majority in Congress and the governor’s mansion and things just changed overnight,” Miller says.

“One of the things that’s really clear in North Carolina is how important local politics are. That stuff isn’t sexy, it’s not what people get excited about. And as a result, there’s been a huge shift to the right over the last few years.”

MOUNT MORIAH

WITH JAKE XERXES FUSSELL 8 p.m. Mon., Nov. 14. Club Café, 56 S. 12th St., South Side. $12. 412-431-4950 or www.clubcafelive.com

Mount Moriah is unlikely to start writing campaign jingles for progressive candidates. And How to Dance will only guide your vote in so far as it stirs up feelings of kinship and compassion for your fellow humans. But, Miller notes, “it’s good to talk about. … We’re trying to figure out, ‘How do we respond to [the political climate] as a band?’ And I think the answer … is that we need to be vocal about our identities as Southerners.

“We don’t want to pretend that these very challenging things aren’t happening here, so [we’re] looking at it in a very direct way and saying ‘We have just as much right to regional identity as anyone else. We don’t have to be these kind of good-ol’-boy Southerners to be Southern.’ I think carving out that space is empowering.”

MWELS H @PGH C IT YPAPE R . C O M

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diesel

CRITICS’ PICKS {PHOTO COURTESY OF CECILIA BROWN}

C LU B | LO U N G E

UPCOMING CONCERTS 1 1 / 1 0 | 9:00 P M | 18+

11/ 11 | 7:00 PM | AA

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Each week, we share photographs by our readers.

Thanks for sharing your

ORANGE photos with us!

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This week’s #CPReaderArt theme is ANIMALS. Tag your local photos of animals with #CPReaderArt, and we’ll regram our favorites!

12/8 | 7:00 PM | AA

for tickets visit LIVEATDIESEL.COM or Dave’s Music Mine (southside) 1801 e. carson st | pittsburgh |412.481.8800

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Elizabeth de Lise, one half of Philly-based folk duo Lizdelise, has a voice that is smooth and lilting, drawing you in with each careful harmony and lyric. The atmospheric guitar work and electronic, ambient touches fill the space around her vocals. Sometimes playful, sometimes full of grief, Lizdelise’s special brand of gloomy pop has a very refreshing feel to it. See and hear for yourself tonight, when the duo performs at Acoustic Music Works. Toronto-based guitarist Bob McAlpine and Pittsburgh’s own Aaron Lefebvre also perform. Meg Fair 8 p.m. 2142 Murray Ave., Squirrel Hill. $10. 412-422-0710 or www.acousticmusicworks.com

PITTSBURGH CITY PAPER 11.09/11.16.2016

pghcitypaper

From all the way across the pond, Gemma Ray lands at Hambones to deliver dramatic psychrock with a classic feel. Her latest effort, Exodus Suite, was recorded in a studio situated above a hangar that was home to Syrian refugees, and the darkness and uncertainty she witnessed surely seeps through h in the shady undertones of her nearly hour-long ong rock odyssey. Spurs, a band rooted in country ountry and Americana, performs along with h Emily Rodgers, whose haunting vocals float at over contemporarymeets-folk instrumentals. entals. MG 9 p.m. 4107 Butler St., Lawrenceville. eville. $10. 412- 681-4318 or www.hambonespittsburgh.com spittsburgh.com

[COMPOSITION] N] + SUN., NOV. 13 Fredrico Garcia-De Castro o has been living and composing ng in Pittsburgh since 2001. Castro cofounded nded the composer consortium Alia Musica usica in 2007 and continues to conduct, ct, compose and produce with fervor. r. NAT 28, a group of CMU graduates, duates, performs a retrospective of Garcia-De Castro’s work at the First Unitarian nitarian Church.

Part of the “Portraits” ts” series, which celebrates innovative novative local composers, tonight’s ’s performance will include six chamber mber works, a mix of ensemble pieces,, and solo instrumental

compositions. MF 5:30 p.m. 605 Morewood Ave., Shadyside. All ages. $12. www.nat28.org/ performances

[POP] + MON., NOV. 14 Tony Molina needs no more than about a minute to present a catchy melody with biting riffs and melodic, harmonic guitar-work. It’s smart and simple stuff, with an irresistible undertone of bummer. The Millbrae, Calif.based artist stops by Gooski’s with Maryland’s dreamy, tender shoegaze-pop band Wildhoney.

Opening the gig is Pgh’s own Chiller, who will most certainly change up the pace by bringing the punk sound and attitude that this town rocks so well. MF 9:30 p.m. 3117 Brereton St., Polish Hill. $5. 412-681-1658

[ROCK] + WED., NOV. 16 If you’re in the mood to bop around to some catchy-ass rock, get over to the Roboto Project for a four-way punch of rock-meets-pop excitement. Hailing from Massachusetts, Born Without Bones has that Weezer-style allure of grandiose rock with poppy hooks. Sometimes it’s bratty, sometimes it’s sad, but all the time it’s catchy. Also performing is New Jersey’s Save Face, an eclectic indie-punk outfit with a subtle twang. Pittsburgh’s moody rockers Salvage the Tongue and jangle-rockers Distant Futures will kick the gig off right. MF 7 p.m. 5106 Penn Ave., Bloomfield. $7.

All ages. www. robotoproject.org

Gemma Ray

{PHOTO COURTESY OF FREDRIK KINBOM}

[SINGER-SONGWRITER] + FRI., NOV. 11

TO SUBMIT A LISTING: HTTP://PGHCITYPAPER.COM/HAPPENINGS 412.316.3388 (FAX) + 412.316.3342 X165 (PHONE) {ALL LISTINGS MUST BE SUBMITTED BY 9 A.M. FRIDAY PRIOR TO PUBLICATION}

ROCK/POP THU 10 HARD ROCK CAFE. Kiss The Sky -The Definitive Jimi Hendrix Re-Experience. Station Square.

412-481-7625.

HOWLERS. Schnellertollermeier, Olympic Village, Mortis.

Bloomfield. 412-682-0320.

REX THEATER. Red Wanting Blue w/ Sam Goodwill. South Side.

412-381-6811.

FRI 11 DIESEL. Farewell, My Love, The Funeral Portrait, Matt Skajem.

South Side. 412-431-8800.

HAMBONE’S. Gemma Ray, Spurs, Emily Rodgers. Lawrenceville.

412-681-4318.

JAMES STREET GASTROPUB & SPEAKEASY. Eric Granata, James Drakes & Chris Taylor Trio w/ The Black Six. North Side. 412-904-3335.

REX THEATER. Ekoostik Hookah & Larry Keel Experience. South Side.

412-381-6811.

DOWNEY’S HOUSE. Mojo Dia DIESEL. September Mourning. & The Fireball Horns. Robinson.

South Side. 412-431-8800.

412-489-5631.

OAKS THEATER. Adam Gontier LOGAN’S PUB. Hell n’ Back. (of Three Days Grace). Oakmont.

Oakland. 412-578-8483.

412.828.6322.

OAKS THEATER. Pure Gold.

Oakmont. 412.828.6322.

THE R BAR. 3 Car REX THEATER. Wayne “The Garage Parks. Dormont.

Train” Hancock w/ The 412-942-0882.

Beagles Brothers. South TABLE 86 BY HINES Side. 412-381-6811.

WARD. Right TurnClyde. Mars. www. per 724-741-0860.

CATTIVO. Michale pa pghcitym .co Graves, The Renfields, Under A Nightmare, CATTIVO. The Goddamn False Flag Campaign.

Gallows, Gallows Bound, Lawrenceville. 740-424-0302.

Creep-A-Zoids, Six Speed Kill.

Lawrenceville. 412-687-2157.

PALACE THEATRE. Goo Goo Dolls. Greensburg.

724-836-8000.

BELVEDERE’S. DJ hates you THE R BAR. Billy The Kid & 2.0 & DJ killjoy. NeoN 80s Night. the Regulators. Dormont.

Lawrenceville. 412-687-2555.

412-942-0882.

DIESEL. Lost Kings. South Side.

SPIRIT HALL & LODGE. 412-431-8800.

13 Saints & The Dirty Charms.

MR. SMALLS THEATER. Lawrenceville. 412-586-4441.

Centrifuge Thursdays. At the Funhouse. Millvale. 603-321-0277.

PERLE CHAMPAGNE BAR. CATTIVO. Bongzilla, Wretch, Bobby D Bachata. Downtown.

Wizard Rifle, Sierra. Lawrenceville.

412-471-2058.

412-687-2157.

TUE 15

FULL LIST ONLINE

WED 16

SUN 13

LANDMARKS PRESERVATION RESOURCE CENTER

DJS

- A program of the Pittsburgh History & Landmarks Foundation Foundation

THU 10

Join us at the Landmarks Preservation Resource Center for ongoing workshops in November as we continue programming on architecture, history, design, urban planning, and other topics related to how cities function and historic preservation as a tool of community development.

THURSDAY, NOVEMBER 10 • 6:00 PM – 7:30 PM

MON 14

SAT 12 DIESEL. Soilwork, Unearth, Battlecross, Wovenwar & Darkness Divided. South Side. 412-431-8800.

HOW TO RESEARCH YOUR HOUSE HISTORY KELLEY STROUP House/Story

FRI 11

MP 3 MONDAY {PHOTO COURTESY OF MICHAEL ORELLANO}

SWAMPWALK

ANDYS WINE BAR. DJ Malls Spins Vinyl. Downtown.

412-773-8884.

THE FLATS ON CARSON. Pete Butta. South Side. 412-586-7644.

JAMES STREET GASTROPUB & SPEAKEASY. Downtempo & Ambient PLAY. North Side.

412-904-3335.

ONE 10 LOUNGE. DJ Goodnight, DJ Rojo.

Downtown. 412-874-4582.

THE R BAR. KAR-E-O-KEE. Dormont. 412-942-0882.

ROWDY BUCK. Top 40 Dance.

South Side. 412-431-2825.

RUGGER’S PUB. 80s Night w/ DJ Connor. South Side.

412-381-1330.

SPIRIT HALL & LODGE. TITLE TOWN Soul & Funk Party. Rare Soul, Funk & wild R&B 45s feat. DJ Gordy G. & J.Malls. Lawrenceville.

412-621-4900.

This workshop is a collaborative exploration of tips, techniques, and sources for researching your own house history. Whether you’ve begun and are overwhelmed or stuck, or you’re just getting started with your own research and are unsure how to proceed, join us for a small group discussion of first steps, next steps, and missteps.

Learn how to read a building for development clues, brainstorm ways to circumvent dead ends, and share your own research experiences.

Come willing to participate!

SATURDAY, NOVEMBER 12 • 10:00 AM – 1:00 PM

WOODWORKING WORKSHOP: BASIC JOINT PARTS II REGIS WILL Vesta Home Services This is the second of the two-part series on basic joints workshop. This session will cover the mortise and tenon and the dovetail joint.

SAT 12 DIESEL. DJ CK. South Side.

412-431-8800.

REMEDY. Feeling Without Touching. Lawrenceville.

412-781-6771.

ROWDY BUCK. Top 40 Dance.

South Side. 412-431-2825.

Each week we bring you a new song from a local artist. This week’s track comes from Swampwalk. Stream or download “Not Yr Commodity,” from the excellent new record Us vs. Them, for free at FFW>>, the music blog at www.pghcitypaper.com.

About the presenter: Regis Will is a woodworker, craftsman, and owner of Vesta Home Services, a consulting firm on house restoration and Do-it-Yourself projects. He blogs about his work at The New Yinzer Workshop.

ALL PROGRAMMING IS FREE TO PHLF MEMBERS. NON-MEMBERS: $5.

FOR MORE INFORMATION VISIT WWW.PHLF.ORG RSVPS ARE APPRECIATED. CONTACT MARY LU DENNY AT 412-471-5808 EXT. 527

SUN 13 THE FLATS ON CARSON. Pete Butta. South Side. 412-586-7644.

744 REBECCA AVENUE

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CONCERTS, CONTINUED FROM PG. 19

THE GOLDMARK. Pete Butta.

Reggae & dancehall. Lawrenceville.

412-688-8820.

WED 16 SMILING MOOSE. Rock Star Karaoke w/ T-MONEY. South Side.

412-431-4668.

SPOON. Spoon Fed. East Liberty.

412-362-6001.

ZANDERS SPORTS BAR & NIGHT CLUB. Jill West.

Monroeville. 724-387-2444.

Quartet. speakeasy. North Side.

412-904-3335.

THE MONROEVILLE RACQUET CLUB. Jazz Bean Live. Every Saturday, a different band.

Monroeville. 412-728-4155.

THE SPACE UPSTAIRS. Second Saturdays. Jazz-happening series feat. live music, multimedia experimentations, more. Hosted

by The Pillow Project. Point Breeze.

412-225-9269.

JAZZ THU 10

ATRIA’S RESTAURANT & TAVERN. The Bill Henry Band.

North Side. 412-322-1850.

PITTSBURGH WINERY. Divinity Roxx w/ Trio+ ft Shad Ali & Mariko R. Strip District. 412-566-1000.

JAMES STREET GASTROPUB & SPEAKEASY. Roger Humphries Jam Session. Ballroom. North Side.

412-904-3335.

RILEY’S POUR HOUSE. Lucarelli Brothers w/ Peg Wilson.

Carnegie. 412-279-0770.

RIVERS CASINO. Nick Fiasco. North Side.

421-337-1033.

VALLOZZI’S www. per PITTSBURGH. Eric pa pghcitym Johnson. Downtown. .co 412-394-3400.

FRI 11

FRI 11

HIP HOP/R&B THU 10

1LIVE STUDIO. DJ Goodnight: Open Elements. Avalon. 412-424-9254.

SAT 12 1LIVE STUDIO. DJ Goodnight: Open Elements. Avalon. 412-424-9254.

BLUES FRI 11 MIKE’S NEW MOON SALOON. Jack of Diamonds. Gibsonia.

724-265-8188.

SAT 12 JAMES STREET GASTROPUB & SPEAKEASY. Sweaty Betty Band.

Speakeasy. North Side. 412-904-3335.

SUN 13 FULL LIST E EMMANUEL EPISCOPAL CHURCH. ONLIN

565 LIVE. The Jazzed Owls.

Bellevue. 412-522-7556.

ANDORA RESTAURANT FOX CHAPEL. Pianist Harry Cardillo & vocalist Charlie Sanders.

Fox Chapel. 412-967-1900.

GRILLE ON SEVENTH. Tony Campbell & Howie Alexander.

Downtown. 412-391-1004.

JAMES STREET GASTROPUB & SPEAKEASY. Wilson, Grubbs & Heid, III. North Side. 412-904-3335.

SAT 12 JAMES STREET GASTROPUB & SPEAKEASY. Tony Campbell Saturday Afternoon Jazz Session. ballroom. Jeff Grubbs’ Double Bass

Jazz at Emmanuel “Harvest of the Heart.

An ecumenical jazz service, free & open to all. North Side. 412-231-0454.

ROCKS LANDING BAR & GRILLE. Tony Campbell & the Jazz Surgery.

McKees Rocks. 412 -857-5809.

TUE 15 BACKSTAGE BAR AT THEATRE SQUARE. Kenny Blake.

Downtown. 412-456-6666.

WED 16 JAMES STREET GASTROPUB & SPEAKEASY. Kosi, Riccardo Randellini & Patrick Whitehead.

Fundraiser to support BREW on Broadway, Pittsburgh’s only non-profit coffee house.

North Side. 412-904-3335.

Ask about our fall move-in specials!* Bethel Park Independent Retirement Living Bethel Park, PA | 412-329-6523 *SPECIAL PROMOTIONS ARE LIMITED WITH SPECIAL TERMS AND CONDITIONS. TALK WITH COMMUNITY MANAGEMENT FOR DETAILS. ©2016 HARVEST MANAGEMENT SUB LLC, HOLIDAY AL MANAGEMENT SUB LLC, HOLIDAY AL NIC MANAGEMENT LLC.

THU 10 DOWNEY’S HOUSE. Acoustic with Tracy Simmen. Robinson.

412-489-5631.

FRI 11 THE SOUTH SIDE BBQ RESTAURANT. Tony Germaine, singer/guitarist. South Side.

412-381-4566.

SAT 12 CARNEGIE LECTURE HALL. Lindsay Lou & The Flatbellys & The Stray Birds. Oakland.

CATTIVO. The Hills and the Rivers, Mara Yaffee, Death Has A Thousand Ears & the 4th River Music Collective Family Band. Album release.

Lawrenceville. 412-687-2157.

DOUBLE WIDE GRILL. The Skipper Johnson Band.

Mars. 724-553-5212.

FIRST UNITARIAN CHURCH. Moors & McCumber. Shadyside.

412-621-8008.

WALNUT GRILL-ROBINSON. Eclectic Acoustics. Robinson.

412-747-2100.

{FRI., JAN. 13}

Run the Jewels

Mr. Smalls Theatre, 400 Lincoln Ave., Millvale

{SAT., FEB. 11}

Valerie June

Carnegie Lecture Hall, 4400 Forbes Ave., Oakland {SAT., MARCH 25}

Green Day Petersen Events Center, 3719 Terrace St., Oakland

HAMBONE’S. Ukulele Jam. Lawrenceville. 412-681-4318.

WED 16 ALLEGHENY ELKS LODGE #339.

Pittsburgh Banjo Club. Wednesdays.

North Side. 412-321-1834.

PARK HOUSE. Shelf Life String Band. North Side. 412-224-2273.

SAT 12

COUNTRY

VASILY KALINNIKOV’S 150TH ANNIVERSARY CONCERT (18662016). The Russian composer, Vasily Kalinnikov (1866-1901) lived a tragically short life but composed music full of beautiful melodies.

His romantic and Russian-sounding music evokes folk music and surroundings of his native land.

This is a lyrical program; Kalinnikov’s complete published piano music and complete Romances for voice and piano are performed here for the first time. Tchaikovsky (1840-1893) thought highly of Kalinnikov and recommended him him for the conductorship at the Malïy Theatre in 1892. Rachmaninov (1873-1943) intervened with Kalinnikov’s publisher to help negotiate a better deal before the latter’s unfortunate early death. Katie Manukyan, Soprano Eric Dzugan, Piano Frick Fine Arts Auditorium, Oakland. 412-422-1630.

FRI 11

SUN 13

WORLD SUN 13 CARNEGIE LIBRARY, OAKLAND. King Fez. A six-piece belly dance rock band. Oakland. 412-622-3114.

PITTSBURGH WINERY. Alba Flamenca. Strip District.

412-566-1000.

REGGAE THU 10 PIRATA. The Flow Band.

Downtown. 412-323-3000.

FRI 11

SHEREE’S TAVERN. MOST WANTED. Sutersville. 724-872-9918.

SAT 12 RIVERS CASINO. Michael Christopher Trio.

North Side. 1-877-558-0777.

CLASSICAL FRI 11 GLENN MILLER ORCHESTRA. Palace Theatre, Greensburg.

724-836-8000.

PITTSBURGH CITY PAPER 11.09/11.16.2016

Valerie June

SUN 13

CAPRI PIZZA AND BAR. Bombo Claat w/ VYBZ Machine Intl Sound System. East Liberty. 412-362-1250.

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EARLY WARNING

ACOUSTIC {PHOTO COURTESY OF SHORE FIRE MEDIA}

TUE 15

NEIL RUTMAN, PIANIST. Kresge Theater, CMU, Oakland.

412-371-7447.

TUE 15 CARNEGIE MELLON UNIVERSITY WIND ENSEMBLE. The Carnegie Mellon University Wind Ensemble takes the stage to perform: Mozart’s Serenade No. 10 for Winds, Holst’s Hammersmith, Hanson’s Chorale and Alleluia, and Eric Whitacre’s Equus. Carnegie Music Hall, Oakland. 412-268-4921.

ORGANIST DAVID JONIES. St. Paul Cathedral, Oakland.

412-621-6082.

OTHER MUSIC THU 10 THE FUNHOUSE @ MR. SMALLS. Joe Fletcher & Paul Luc w/ James Hart. Millvale. 412-821-4447.

FRI 11 PITTSBURGH WINERY. Boogie Hustlers. Strip District. 412-566-1000.

SAT 12 PALACE THEATRE. Home Free.

A country Christmas. Greensburg.

724-836-8000.

PITTSBURGH WINERY. Beauty Slap. Strip District. 412-566-1000.

SONNY’S TAVERN. Those Manic Seas w/ Thousandzz of Beez & reid.

Bloomfield. 412-683-5844.

THE FUNHOUSE @ MR. SMALLS. The Garden, Illusion of Joy, Carol Blaze, Doors In The Labyrinth & DJ FORTUNE. Millvale. 603-433-7465.

WOOD STREET GALLERIES. Errata//Data. Ft. BLÆRG, Jeremy Bible, Spednar, xliv, Morgantics & Good Dude Lojack. Downtown. www.woodstreetgalleries.org.

MON 14 HAMBONE’S. Ian Kane. Jazz Standards, showtunes & blues.

Lawrenceville. 412-681-4318.

WED 16 HOWLERS. Toke, Heavy Temple, Horehound. Bloomfield.

412-682-0320.

What to do IN PITTSBURGH

Nov 9 - 15 WEDNESDAY 9 Candiria

Lalah Hathaway AUGUST WILSON CENTER Downtown. 412-456-6666.

Tickets: trustarts.org. 8p.m.

THURSDAY 10 Kiss the Sky Jimi Hendrix Tribute HARD ROCK CAFE Station Square. 412-481-ROCK Over 21 event.

Tickets: ticketfly.com or 1-877-4-FLY-TIX. 8p.m.

Red Wanting Blue REX THEATER South Side.

412-381-6811. Over 21 show.

Tickets: greyareaprod.com.

8p.m.

SMILING MOOSE South Side.

412-431-4668. All ages show.

Tickets: ticketfly.com or 1-877-4-FLY-TIX. 6:30p.m.

Stitched Up Heart

CARNEGIE SCIENCE CENTER North Side. Over 21 event.

Tickets: carnegiesceincecenter. org. 6p.m.

Ekoostik Hookah & Larry Keel Experience REX THEATER South Side.

412-381-6811. Over 21 show.

Tickets: greyareaprod.com.

8p.m.

Benjamin Scheuer: Live in Concert CITY THEATRE MAINSTAGE South Side. Tickets: citytheatrecompany.org.

Through Nov. 13.

SATURDAY 12

RIVERS CASINO North Side.

NEWS

Four Chord Music Festival

21+ Night: Glass

Sandra Bernhard “Feel The Bernhard”

FRIDAY 11 115

RED HOT CHILI PIPERS BYHAM THEATER NOV 12 © THE PITTSBURGH CULTURAL TRUST

CATTIVO Lawrenceville.

412-687-2157. All ages show.

Tickets: ticketfly.com or 1-877-4-FLY-TIX. 6:30p.m.

PAID ADVERTORIAL SPONSORED BY

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Over 21 event.

Tickets: riverscasino.com.

7p.m. & 10p.m.

Shadyside.

Tickets: thehillman.org or 412-968-3040. 7:30p.m.

The Living End

Red Hot Chilli Pipers

REX THEATER South Side.

412-381-6811. All ages show.

Tickets: ticketfly.com or 1-877-4-FLY-TIX. 8p.m.

Cannon Ball Jam!

BYHAM THEATER Downtown. 412-456-6666.

Tickets: trustarts.org. 7:30p.m.

SOLDIERS & SAILORS MEMORIAL HALL Oakland.

412-621-4253. Tickets: brownpapertickets.com/

Rhythmic Circus HILLMAN CENTER FOR PERFORMING ARTS: RCHARD E. RAUH THEATER

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XTAZA NIGHTCLUB Strip District.

All ages show. Tickets: fourchordmusicfestival.com.

12p.m.

MONDAY 14 Dark Tranquillity

REX THEATER South Side.

412-381-6811. All ages show.

Tickets: ticketfly.com or 1-877-4-FLY-TIX. 7:30p.m.

TUESDAY 15

event/2627692. 8:30p.m.

A Simple Space

Wayne “The Train” Hancock

AUGUST WILSON CENTER Downtown. 412-456-6666.

Tickets: trustarts.org/bridge.

11a.m. & 3p.m.

REX THEATER South Side.

412-381-6811. Over 21 show.

Tickets: greyareaprod.com.

8p.m.

SUNDAY 13 Goo Goo Dolls

In Flames & HELLYEAH: Forged in Fire Tour 2016

THE PALACE THEATRE Greensburg. 724-836-8000.

Tickets: thepalacetheatre.org 7:30p.m.

STAGE AE North Side.

Tickets: ticketmaster.com or 1-800-745-3000.

Doors open at 6p.m.

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[COMEDY]

GO HOME AND HUG YOUR DOG.

BERNHARDIER Sandra Bernhard’s new touring show is called Feel the Bernhard. But at the veteran comedian’s two Nov. 12 performances at Rivers Casino, don’t expect to hear much about politics.

For one thing, lately Bernhard airs topical commentary mostly on her Sirius XM Radio show, Sandyland, now in its second year. “It’s turned out to be really fun,” says Bernhard, who’d never done radio before. The loose variety format suits her. “Tiny, funny quotidian things that happen in my everyday life, I have an immediate outlet for it,” she says by phone from her home in New York City. “And great conversations with every kind of imaginable interesting person, from actors to fashion people to musicians to artists.”

Moreover, Feel the Bernhard, the latest of her cabaret-style performances dating to her edgy, landmark late-1980s show Without You, I’m Nothing, is fairly structured.

“All my shows are a real blend of stories, anecdotes, personal experiences, sort of a travelogue in terms of where I’ve been and what’s going on in the country,” she says. She works with a three-piece band: “It’s all woven together with great songs that I curate and I think do really interesting versions of, and that I think help tell the whole story.”

And while there’s room for improv, she won’t divulge any song titles: “I like to keep people on their toes and surprised.”

When she rose to fame following her memorable role in Martin Scorsese’s The King of Comedy (1983), Bernhard’s live audience was heavily gay. Today, “My audience has broadened,” she says. “I think people have opened up. I think the world’s very different — and in many ways, so much better! And unfortunately, that doesn’t always get the focus it deserves.”

The famously caustic Bernhard, 61, says she has changed, too. “When you’re 20 and you’re performing, you’re addressing a lot of insecurities and things you haven’t resolved yet,” she says. “And as you mature as a person, and as you get some mileage behind you in the rear-view mirror, you’re able to be a well-rounded, more eclectic performer.”

Of course, Bernhard will be here just four days after Election Day. So she’ll have to say something about the results. Interviewed in mid-October, and anticipating a Clinton win, she said, “I’ll be there to celebrate.”

DRISCOLL@PGHCITYPAPER.COM

SANDRA BERNHARD 7 and 10 p.m. Sat., Nov. 12. Rivers Casino, 777 Casino Drive, North Side. $35. www.riverscasino.org

22

Sandra Bernhard {PHOTO COURTESY OF KEVIN THOMAS GARCIA}

{BY BILL O’DRISCOLL}

Shaun Slifer’s “Shapeshifter, canis latrans” (foreground, left) and Jasen Bernthisel’s “This Is Revolting” (foreground, right)

[ART REVIEW]

BALANCING ACTS {BY LISSA BRENNAN}

OR CHECKS & BALANCES, now at SPACE gallery, curator Murray Horne gathers work from a half-dozen Pitttsburgh sculptors exploring the idea of duality. It’s an expansive playing field, and most of the artists drive the concept forward with focus.

These riffs on the theme are diverse and intriguing, ranging from the literal to the obscure. For instance, in Paul Bowden’s contribution, the interpretation is immediately obvious. He offers two pairs of matching all-white male nudes, doll-like in scale. One duo stands atop their pedestal shoulder to shoulder while the other pair stands back to back. There is no dearth of clarity here; we see physical proximity in both cases. What’s interesting is that in the face-to-face representa-

F

PITTSBURGH CITY PAPER 11.09/11.16.2016

tion there is no connection between the two, whereas in the back-to-back stance the implied bonding against a common enemy seems strong.

CHECKS & BALANCES continues through Nov. 27. SPACE, 812 Liberty Ave., Downtown. 412-325-7723 or www.spacepittsburgh.org

More often, the theme is a bit further below the surface. Shaun Slifer stuns with “Shapeshifter, canis latrans” and “Between Dog & Wolf,” two works incorporating paw prints and a taxidermist’s mannequin draped in a coyote pelt, the latter figure on a especially high pedestal. The result is a gorgeous, if chilling, meditation on the wild,

the tamed, and how thin the line between the two can be. It’s telling that the pose chosen for the undomesticated creature — mouth open, teeth ready — is not necessarily representative of how that creature exists independent of the intrusion of man.

Go home and hug your dog, and understand that while he does not mind donning a sweater, and may in fact enjoy it, he’s still ready to eviscerate a rabbit if the opportunity arises.

“This Is Revolting,” by Jasen Bernthisel, takes objects fraught with the potential for destruction and subtly reveals their vulnerability with a tiny, yet weighty, alteration. A net suspending a few dozen anvils, straight out of the Acme catalog by way of Warner Bros., is formidable and perilous. But each anvil is

patched with a standard-sized band-aid, covering, one assumes, something that hurts. The action that has transformed them is small, the result booming. As far as being revolting, the same can be said of Brandon Boum’s “Ter.ra.roam.� To be delicate, it shows matter at what appears to be different stages and is extremely evocative of the digestive process.

Jill Larson’s “Bittersweetâ€? is the Work Most Likely To Be Transformed. Its framework is a fairly standard sleeping setup: wooden headboard at the top, carved with a curlicue or two but nothing amboyant or garish, matched at the foot of the bed with a smaller version of the same. Aside from the atness of the paint job, there’s nothing here of note. But the space between is enthralling. Where you would expect to ďŹ nd a Sealy Posturepedic or, if you got really crazy, a Dial-By-Numbers system, you instead discover a bed of nails, hundreds of miniature spears lined barbs-up, sharp and spiked and impaling. But for one thing: Every prong has had its edge taken off, literally, by sweetness, also literally. Atop each skewer is a Kiss, the Hershey’s kind, foil-wrapped and waiting; a note from the artist instructs patrons to help themselves to one piece. It will be interesting to see whether throughout the course of the exhibition the candies will be replaced, or whether the swords they sheath will be left bare. Whether concluding with a trick or treat, the point, as it were, seems clear — in pursuing a little bit of sugar, you’re exposing something harmful.

The work dominating the gallery’s square footage is Sarika Goulatia’s “The Trivial Pursuit of the Superuous.â€? A jimjam of found objects, predominantly whitewashed — bicycle wheels, car parts, rooďŹ ng materials — are all crammed into a corner section of their own. Much of the rescued detritus is overhead, suspended and secure but still a little scary, and visitors are welcome to walk through the installation on what seems a perilous path, bravely tiptoeing through the passageways. Within is a single garment hung spare and clean but festooned with pins, a collaborative effort with Rita Malik, Maanya Goulatia and Eshaan Goulatia. (The pinned white shirt echoes some of Goulatia’s pieces at her recently closed Emerging Artist of the Year show at Pittsburgh Center for the Arts.) It’s difďŹ cult to interpret what exactly “Trivial Pursuitâ€? signiďŹ es, though: While the objects that ďŹ ll the junkyard like construction debris are interesting to look at, and there’s plenty of them to catch and occupy the eye, we’re not sure where else it’s going.

All in all, though, the varied works roundly succeed in engagement, sometimes going so far as entrancement.

Lust. Obsession. And the most shocking moment in opera history.

PATRICIA RACETTE as Salome

ROBERT BRUBAKER as King Herod

MICHAELA MARTENS as Herodias

NMON FORD as Jochanaan (John the Baptist)

ÇŚ Č? Ç„ ČœČœ ĘŽČœČž ÇŚ Š“Š‰š’ Š“™Š— ÇŚ ŽˆÂ?Š™˜ ˜™†—™ †™ Č–ČœČ? ÇŚ Č&#x;ČœČ?Ç‚Č&#x;Č ČĄÇ‚ČĄČĄČĄČĄ ”— •Ž™™˜‡š—ŒÂ?Â”Â•ÂŠÂ—Â†Ç€Â”Â—ÂŒÇ Â˜Â†Â‘Â”Â’ÂŠ UNDERSTAND EVERY WORD! Sung in English with texts projected above the stage.

Campaign by Creme Fraiche Design.

Season Sponsor

Tuesday Night Sponsor: Ambridge Regional Distribution & Manufacturing Center

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Tempers get short, arguments grow heated, and twelve jurors become...

Twelve Angry Men A drama by Reginald Rose

NOV. 11, 12, 13, 18, 19, 20, 2016 Fridays and Saturdays at 8:00 PM, Sunday matinees at 2:00 PM Tickets are $15, $10 for students - group rates available.

Handicapped Accessible.

1614 COURSIN STREET • McKEESPORT • (412) 673-1100 FOR RESERVATIONS INFO@MCKEESPORTLITTLETHEATER.COM

Soulful Sounds of Christmas FEATURING WILL DOWNING + NAJEE

Presented by Hill House Association

BYHAM THEATER | NOVEMBER 30th | 8 PM TICKETS: TRUSTARTS.ORG OR 412.456.6666 24

PITTSBURGH CITY PAPER 11.09/11.16.2016

[DANCE]

[ART REVIEW]

FLIGHT AND GROWTH

KEPT SECRET {BY NATALIE SPANNER} The facade of The Pittsburgh Center for Creative Reuse is a bold, green square painted onto a gray warehouse wall. It’s a cheery first impression. The center resells donated materials as art supplies.

Pittsburghers also use it as a hub for trading stories and inspiration.

The smell of old books, glue, and the soft chatter of the women in the fabric department — denoted by a hand-made sign hanging from the ceiling — makes me crave lukewarm Lipton tea and the sound of my grandmother’s sewing machine. It’s an unusual place for a gallery.

The Secret Show (each artist used the same secret ingredient, among other media) is hung on a far wall serving as a tiny gallery. It’s perfectly fitting to have the retail experience in the background; behind you, a 9-year-old girl looks for felt, while an old carpenter inspects scrap wood, and you use the same Exacto knife-like gaze to examine each of the six curious pieces of art. If you ask yourself, “What is this secret material?” then you’re conscripted into reuse culture yourself.

Looking for a particular material, you ponder the artists’ methods: Why use the material this way and not that way?

What’s the point?

Each artist challenges the viewer to pinpoint his or her message. Impressively, each piece stands alone, but “Black Life as a Spectator Sport With White Commentary,” by Terry Gibson, catches the eye. At its center is a large photograph of two small black children. The girl and boy wear their Sunday best and look at each other, bewildered … by all the attention. Fanned around the lower half of this image are dozens of tiny candid photographs of the backs of white men and women, all facing the central “spectacle.” The base of this collage incorporates newspaper clippings with phrases like “Islamic Arabs.” A banner full of African colors hangs over the European-looking frame. Attached to a chain, which hangs from the top, is a bouquet of dried flowers, in memoriam.

If you think repurposing is a waste, look again. The show also includes work

by Lynne Flavin, Erin Neszpaul, Vivienne Shao, Kai Smith — and Anne Davis, who in her artist’s statement writes: “ALL items are identifiable and ALL were eagerly waiting at home to be deployed for higher use.”

INFO@PGHCITYPAPER.COM

THE SECRET SHOW continues through Wed., Nov. 16. Pittsburgh Center for Creative Reuse, 412 N. Lexington St., Point Breeze. 412-473-0100 or www.pccr.org

{BY STEVE SUCATO}

Conservatory Dance Company dancers {PHOTO COURTESY OF JEFF SWENSEN}

PRESENTS...

“Black Life as a Spectator Sport With White Commentary,” a collage by Terry Gibson {PHOTO COURTESY OF ASHLEY ANDREWS}

M C KEESPORT LITTLE THEATER

For the annual Contemporary Choreographers program of Point Park University’s Conservatory Dance Company, Department of Dance chair Rubén Graciani dug a little deeper into the well of talented professional choreographers to select four who are steadily making names for themselves on the national scene.

One is Québec native and WinstonSalem, N.C.-based Helen Simoneau. She has created works for The Juilliard School, the American Dance Festival, and for her own company, Helen Simoneau Danse. For CDC’s dancers, Simoneau is restaging her 2009 work “Flight Distance 1.” Defined as the distance that animals like to keep between themselves and a threat of danger, Simoneau says the 13-minute piece explores human reactions to feeling crowded and other intrusions on personal space, as well as how people take and claim space.

Set to an original score by New Yorkbased composer-pianist Jerome Begin, “Flight Distance 1” was created for five dancers but has been expanded for a cast of 10. “I think what people will take away from this work is an intense sense of relationship from one person to another,” says Simoneau. “The performers have a hyperawareness of the space around them, so when one person moves, it affects everybody in some way.”

It’s Simoneau’s first time working with CDC dancers. Likewise for Chicago-based choreographer Stephanie Martinez, who is also using existing choreographic material, with her new work “Chrysalis.” The 17minute piece is drawn from a section of a work created on New York’s Ballet Hispanico this past June, and set to a mix of music from classical to tango. Martinez says that the idea for the work, featuring as all-female cast of 12, stems from her own her life’s journey.

“I thought about a splintered version of myself,” says Martinez. “My past, present and future, and how my life has taken different shapes and forms from when I was young to now approaching 50.”

Contemporary Choreographers receives six performances Nov. 16-20 at the school’s George Rowland White Performance Studio. Also on the program are works by Toronto native David Norsworthy and Montreal-based James Gregg, a 2015 Princess Grace Choreography Fellowship Award-winner.

INFO@PGHCITYPAPER.COM

Conservatory Dance Company presents CONTEMPORARY CHOREOGRAPHERS Wed., Nov., 16- Sun., Nov., 20. George Rowland White Performance Studio, 201 Wood St., Downtown. $10-24. 412-392-8000 or www.pittsburghplayhouse.com

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New Male Potency Formula Makes “The Little Blue Pill” Obsolete

Soaring demand expected for new scientific advance made just for older men. Works on both men’s physical ability and their desire in bed.

By Harlan S. Waxman Health News Syndicate New York – If you’re like the rest of us guys over 50; you probably already know the truth… Prescription ED pills don’t work! Simply getting an erection doesn’t fix the problem” says Dr. Bassam Damaj, chief scientific officer at the world famous Innovus Pharma Laboratories.

As we get older, we need more help in bed. Not only does our desire fade; but erections can be soft or feeble, one of the main complaints with prescription pills.

Besides, they’re expensive… costing as much as $50.00 each Plus, it does nothing to stimulate your brain to want sex. “I don’t care what you take, if you aren’t interested in sex, you can’t get or keep an erection. It’s physiologically impossible,” said Dr. Damaj.

MADE JUST FOR MEN OVER 50

SATISFACTION RATE (% Patients)

JAW-DROPPING CLINICAL PROOF

Vesele 88.1%

THE SCIENCE OF SEX

Vesele 82.0%

40 20 0

The new formula takes on erectile problems with a whole new twist. It doesn’t just address the physical problems of getting older; it works on the mental part of sex too. Unlike the expensive prescriptions, the new pill stimulates your sexual brain chemistry as well. Actually helping you regain the passion and burning desire you had for your partner again. So you will want sex with the hunger and stamina of a 25-year-old.

THE BRAIN/ERECTION CONNECTION

80 60

WORKS ON YOUR HEAD AND YOUR BODY

Vesele takes off where Viagra® only begins. Thanks to a discovery made by 3 Nobel-Prize winning scientists; Vesele® has become the first ever patented supplement to harden you and your libido. So you regain your desire as well as the ability to act on it.

In a 16-week clinical study; scientists from the U.S.A. joined forces to prove Nitric Oxide’s effects on the cardio vascular system. They showed that Nitric Oxide could not only increase your ability to get an erection, it would also work on your brainwaves to stimulate your desire for sex. The results were remarkable and published in the world’s most respected medical journals.

But now, for the first time ever, there’s a pill made just for older men. It’s called Vesele®. A new pill that helps you get an erection by stimulating your body and your brainwaves. So Vesele® can work even when nothing else worked before.

100

The new men’s pill is not a drug. It’s something completely different Because you don’t need a prescription for Vesele®, sales are exploding. The maker just can’t produce enough of it to keep up with demand. Even doctors are having a tough time getting their hands on it. So what’s all the fuss about?

Baseline 41.1%

Baseline 47.9%

OVERALL SATISFACTION

DESIRE FOR SEXUAL ACTIVITY

Baseline

Satisfaction . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 41.4% Frequency . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 44.9% Desire. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 47.9% Hardness . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 36.2% Duration . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 35% Ability to Satisfy . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 44.1%

Vesele 88.1% 79.5% 82% 85.7% 79.5% 83.3%

The study asked men, 45 to 65 years old to take the main ingredient in Vesele® once a day. Then they were instructed not to change the way they eat or exercise but to take Vesele® twice a day. What happened next was remarkable. Virtually every man in the study who took Vesele® twice a day reported a huge difference in their desire for sex. In layman’s terms, they were horny again.

They also experienced harder erections that lasted for almost 20 minutes. The placebo controlled group (who received sugar pills) mostly saw no difference.

AN UNEXPECTED BONUS: The study results even showed an impressive increase in the energy, brainpower and memory of the participants.

SUPPLY LIMITED BY OVERWHELMING DEMAND “Once we saw the results we knew we had a gamechanger said Dr. Damaj. We get hundreds of calls a day from people begging us for a bottle. It’s been crazy. We try to meet the crushing demand for Vesele®.”

New men’s pill overwhelms your senses with sexual desire as well as firmer, long-lasting erections. There’s never been anything like it before.

DOCTOR: “VESELE® PASSED THE TEST” “As a doctor, I’ve studied the effectiveness of Nitric Oxide on the body and the brain. I’m impressed by the way it increases cerebral and penile blood flow. The result is evident in the creation of Vesele®. It’s sure-fire proof that the mind/body connection is unbeatable when achieving and maintaining an erection and the results are remarkable” said Dr. Damaj.

HERE’S WHAT MEN ARE SAYING • I’m ready to go sexually and mentally.

• More frequent erections in the night (while sleeping) and in the morning.

• I have seen a change in sexual desire.

• Typically take 1 each morning and 1 each night. Great stamina results!

• An increased intensity in orgasms.

• My focus (mental) has really improved… Huge improvement.

• Amazing orgasms!

• I really did notice a great improvement in my ability.

HOW TO GET VESELE® This is the first official public release of Vesele® since its news release. In order to get the word out about Vesele®, Innovus Pharma is offering special introductory discounts to all who call.

A special phone hotline has been set up for readers in your area; to take advantage of special discounts during this ordering opportunity. Special discounts will be available starting today at 6:00am. The discounts will automatically be applied to all callers. The Special TOLL-FREE Hotline number is 1-800-325-1887 and will be open 24-hours a day.

Only 300 bottles of Vesele® are currently available in your region. Consumers who miss out on our current product inventory will have to wait until more become available. But this could take weeks. The maker advises your best chance is to call 1-800-325-1887 early.

THESE STATEMENTS HAVE NOT BEEN EVALUATED BY THE U.S. FOOD AND DRUG ADMINISTRATION. THIS PRODUCT IS NOT INTENDED TO DIAGNOSE, TREAT, CURE OR PREVENT ANY DISEASE. RESULTS NOT TYPICAL. 295471_9.7_x_10.indd 1

11/7/16 3:26 PM

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[ART REVIEW]

TOP MERCHANT {BY STUART SHEPPARD} SHAKESPEARE’S The Merchant of Venice

might be the hardest of his plays to interpret (after Hamlet), simply because of its harsh literalness, which can be difficult for modern audiences to accept. The caustic nature of this world is constantly at war with its ironic essence, producing a tense conflation that — if I may extrapolate a conceit from Harold Bloom — resembles an anti-Semitic version of La Dolce Vita.

Still, this work demands an interpretative stance, which usually is the death of most Shakespearean productions. Not this one, however, by PICT Classic Theatre.

If you’re going to see only one play this fall, you won’t have a better experience than this.

Alan Stanford’s direction is masterful, giving us a Shylock who is fresh to our 21stcentury eyes — quite an achievement after 400 years. Insightfully portrayed by James FitzGerald, this Shylock is not the comic villain or pathos-inducing character we are used to, but an angry soul steeped in doctrinal self-righteousness, as exemplified by his venomous delivery of the “Hath not a Jew eyes?” speech.

Martin Giles is superb as Shylock’s Christian antagonist, Antonio, and we can feel the moral gravity he must summon to counterweight the pound of flesh he is willing to forfeit.

Ken Bolden, who plays several roles, is hilarious as the Prince of Arragon. And Connor McCanlus brings a vaudevillian brilliance to Lancelot the clown.

Gayle Pazerski’s Portia exudes the strength and intelligence this character requires, both in the female and male guises of the role. Karen Baum as Nerissa, her sidekick, has the gift of making any part even larger with her casual intensity.

{PHOTO COURTESY OF KEITH A. TRAUX}

From left: James FitzGerald, Martin Giles and Luke Halferty in PICT Classic’s The Merchant of Venice

Michael Montgomery’s Gatsbyesque costumes are stunning, down to the seamed stockings and pinky rings. The lighting, by Keith A. Truax, illuminates in such a subtle manner you think the scenes are lit by the players’ emotions. Kristopher Buggey’s musical backdrops are wideranging in style, and lend the right touch of paradox so necessary to this story.

THE MERCHANT OF VENICE continues through Nov. 19. PICT Classic Theatre at the Union Project, 801 N. Negley Ave., Highland Park. $15-50.

412-561-6000 or www.picttheatre.org

Johnmichael Bohach’s profile stage arrangement evokes the feel of a courtroom, utterly appropriate to a play which continually calls us to judgment.

Whatever your personal interpretation, this is visceral theater, at its best.

INF O @PGH C IT YPAPE R . C O M

WELL SUNG

pher Segel’s stage adaptation, directed by Scott P. Calhoon and featuring a remarkably large cast of local performers.

Mockingbird is, of course, the story of a young girl, nicknamed Scout, and her coming of age in 1935 rural Alabama. She, along with her older brother, Jem, and their childhood friend Dill, are spectators to a nightmare of racial injustice which finds her father, Atticus, going up against a town of people once considered friends.

On one hand, Segel’s adaptation never quite makes the leap to self-contained theatrical event; much of the evening feels like someone reading the book aloud. But a big plus is that this version allows one of the novel’s strengths to come through, specifically Lee’s narration, here presented in monologues by Scout as a grown-up. We’ve all read the novel and seen the movie … but it’s still impossible not to tear up at the bittersweet, heartbreaking ending.

Calhoon permits some big playing from his actors, but he does move us through the story with dispatch and, best of all, elicits expressive, professional performances from his three young actors, Grace Vensel, Elliot Pullen and Simon Nigam (Scout, Jem and Dill). Brian Ceponis has the impossible task of obliterating Peck from our brains. I’m not sure that anyone could ever do that, but his is a thoroughly respectable attempt.

{BY TED HOOVER} HARPER LEE’S To Kill a Mockingbird was an immediate bestseller on its 1960 release and won the Pulitzer Prize. The 1962 film further embedded the book’s place in the culture, and the novel’s hero, lawyer Atticus Finch, has become such a touchstone (helped in no small part by Gregory Peck’s career-defining performance) that in 1997 the Alabama Bar Association erected a monument to him — a fictional character.

So here’s a work with no shortage of artistic and cultural baggage. Prime Stage Theatre, as part of its 20th-anniversary season, presents a solid production of Christo-

TO KILL A MOCKINGBIRD continues through Sun., Nov. 13. Prime Stage Theatre at the New Hazlett Theater, 6 Allegheny Square East, North Side. $10-30.

724-773-0700 or www.primestage.com

The production is notable for strong supporting performances, including Samantha A. Camp, Linda Haston, Webster Black, Alyssa LaVacca, Stefan Lingenfelter and Brian Starks. But everyone involved has paid proper respect to Lee’s contemporary classic.

I N F O@ P G H C I T Y PA P E R. C OM

NOW OPEN

A Family’s Collection Pittsburgh’s Treasures

FREE ADMISSION

More than 80 paintings, sculptures and decorative objects collected by Henry Clay Frick and Helen Clay Frick

THEFRICKPITTSBURGH.ORG | 412-371-0600 Image of Helen Clay Frick courtesy The Frick Collection/Frick Art Reference Library Archives

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PITTSBURGH CITY PAPER 11.09/11.16.2016

Through Adversity We Live: An Evening of Brazilian Music and Conversation with MCG Jazz & Special Guests

Friday, November 11, 7:30–9 p.m.

Featuring music by:

An evening of electrifying Brazilian music and stories inspired by CMOA’s current exhibition Hélio Oiticica: To Organize Delirium.

Lucas Ashby Jay Ashby Nilson Matta Flavio Chamis Chico Pinheiro Marty Ashby cmoa.org

For tickets, call 412.622.3288 or visit CMOA.org.

One of the four Carnegie Museums of Pittsburgh

LET S GET S CIAL ’

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FOR THE WEEK OF

11.10-11.17.16 Full events listed online at www.pghcitypaper.com Is Pittsburgh ready for a “kids’ drag show”?

We’ll find out Nov. 13, when Twinkle makes its local debut. The open-mic-style afternoon talent show, produced by Viva Valezz, isn’t strictly for drag: Kids ages 2-18 can perform any way they please, from singing or dancing to reading poetry, playing an instrument or doing magic tricks. What’s unique is that Twinkle expressly encourages performances by gender-fluid children — kids like Valezz’s son, Esai, who feel themselves to be either a little of both biological sexes, or neither. “Ever since he was 2 years old, he’s been sneaking my stilettoes into his bedroom,” she says. E (pictured), now 11 and a student at Pittsburgh’s Creative and Performing Arts School, favors dresses, nail polish, bright makeup and colorful scarves.

^ Sat., Nov. 12: Rhythmic Circus

thursday 11.10 (Valezz, a burlesque performer and producer, acknowledges that the fact that she taught dance classes in their home might have influenced E’s aesthetic.) E was one of 15 or so performers at the first Twinkle, held last year, in Columbus, Ohio, where Valezz lived before moving to Pittsburgh. There, before an audience of 75 or more, E did an archery act while costumed as Katniss from The Hunger Games.

On Nov. 13, on the stage of Most Wanted Fine Art, he’s planning a Madonna lip-sync tribute, says Valezz. To encourage other kids to join in, Valezz has also booked some PG-rated acts by adult performers, including a contortionist, a drag king, and two mothers and their gender-fluid child. Mostly, though, Valezz hopes Twinkle will help other gender-fluid kids do as well as E has. “He has really blossomed since we moved to Pittsburgh,” she says. “I just want him to be happy being himself.”

A majority of the event’s proceeds will benefit Proud Haven, a local resource for shelter and support for homeless, transgender and queer youth.

BY BILL O’DRISCOLL

3 p.m. Sun., Nov. 13. 5015 Penn Ave., Garfield. $2-5 (free for kids 12 and under). vivavalezz@gmail.com

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PITTSBURGH CITY PAPER 11.09/11.16.2016

WORDS Black Poets Speak k Outt began in 2014 as a hashtag campaign for videos eos of poets responding to police violence against African Americans. Following Nov. 9’s community ity workshop and reading here, presented by Pitt’s Center for African American Poetry and Poetics, three noted black poets give a free reading tonight at the Frick Fine Arts Center. enter. Atlanta-based Jericho Brown’s book Please ease won the American Book Award. Brooklyn’s oklyn’s Mahogany L. Browne (pictured) red) d is an executive editor at online literary magazine The Offing. ffing. And Amanda Johnston, n, from Austin, Texas, co-founded founded Black Poets Speak k Out. Bill O’Driscoll 5:30 :30 p.m.

Schenley Drive, Oakland. Free. www.caapp.pitt.edu edu

STAGE Stephen Adley Guirgis uirgis is perhaps today’s most acclaimed American playwright, ght, and his 2015 dark comedy y Between Riverside and Crazy zy y won the Pulitzer. But ask Bryant Bentley (pictured) why he likes this raucous

play about a cantankerous retired retire New York City cop named Walter, his ne’er-do-well son and a the people in their lives, and the answer is quite personal.

“The father-and-son pers relationship,” says Bentley, who plays the son, Junior, in Pittsburgh Public Theater’s Theater local-premiere production.

“It got me because somewhat of this show reminds me somew of my life, and my relationship with my father.” Bentley’s relation biological father has never acknowledged to him that ack Bentley is his son — a hurt the Columbus, Ohio-based actor drew on when he played Junior previously, at Washington, Ju D.C.’s Studio Theater: “Junior just wants to feel “J accepted. Walter can’t can even tell him he loves him.”

Bentley says he’s excited to perform opposite ex Eugene Lee (from the Public’s staging of August Wilson’s How I Learned What I Learned), as Le Walter, and the rest of the seven-member cast directed by Public favorite Pamela Berlin.

Despite its salty language and earthy comedy, says Bentley, this th show is intimate: “I feel like I’m in someone’s house. I feel like I’m som literally l watching watchi someone’s life.” The first performance is tonight. BO 8 p.m. Continues through Dec. 11.

1 621 Penn Ave., Downtown. $15.75-56. 412-316-1600 or www.ppt.org 412-3

^ Thu., Nov. 10: Black Poets Speak Out {PHOTO COURTESY OF KIA C. DYSON}

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^ Thu., Nov. 10: The Sea

STAGE

In Oakland NOW OPEN!

Point Park University’s Conservatory Theatre Company presents Edward Bonds’ The Sea. The 1973 comedy, drawing on themes from Shakespeare’s The Tempest, takes place during the Edwardian era in a seaside village where Willy and other oddball members of the town mourn the death of a beloved resident killed in a violent storm. The show is directed by David Cabot, a longtime favorite at Point Park’s The REP. The Sea is staged in the intimate Studio Theatre of the Pittsburgh Playhouse. Ian Flanagan 8 p.m. Continues through Dec. 4. 222 Craft Ave., Oakland. $10-24. 412-392-8000 or www.pittsburghplayhouse.com

friday 11.11 SCREEN “Films from Pittsburgh” don’t just mean Hollywood productions shot here. Today’s Do-It-Yourself & Community Archiving Symposium, courtesy of the Los Angeles-based Association of Moving Image Archivists, is focused on both preserving and exhibiting films made locally, whether by professional or amateurs.

The free, day-long event at the Omni William Penn Hotel includes talks and workshops on archiving AV materials (digitally and physically). There’s also an afternoon talk by local filmmaker Chris Ivey on his epic documentary series about gentrification, East of Liberty. Evening screenings include: ^ Thu., Nov. 10: Between Riverside and Crazy local treasure Tony Buba’s 1988 indie-classic feature Lightning Over Braddock; a program of short regional films on 16 mm; vintage films by design legends Charles and Ray Eames; and, of special note, “Envisioning Pittsburgh,” a program of archival rarities, including local TV-news footage and a promotional film created for Pittsburgh’s bicentennial, in 1957, all set to live scores by musicians Ben Opie and Colter Harper. BO 9:30 a.m.-10 p.m. 530 William Penn Place, Downtown. Free; register at www.amiaconference.net.

HAPPY HOUR $2 Well Drinks DAILY SPECIALS $1 Bottles of Domestic $3 Fireball Shots Football & Hockey $6 Pitchers of Miller Game Day specials Lite and Yeungling

All day everyday —Also Availabe—

328 Atwood twood wood Street r Oak Oa Oakland

CONTINUES ON PG. 30

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SHORT LIST, CONTINUED FROM PG. 29

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IST. INC

BEER D

Jigger’s Pub

stock it, If we don’tr it for you! we’ll orde

:ˊ˜ˑ˒˗Ë?Ë?˘˗ $Ë&#x;ËŽ (ËĄË™Ë˜Ë›Ë? 3$

Lager Bottles $OO 'D\ 6DWXUGD\ GXULQJ &ROOHJH Football %/$&. )5,'$< (11/25) .HJV (JJV 6WUDXE /DJHU 'UDIW 6SHFLDOV $// '$< *LYHDZD\V IURP DP WR 1RRQ

PORT Pittsburghâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s 1st IMibu tor tr Dis er Be t af & cr ! st be e th and still With over 550 Beers in stock, how could you go wrong?

30 Pack $ 20 20.49+ TAX

www.MELLINGERSBEER.com 412.682.4396

^ Sat., Nov. 12: Drinking Partners

COMEDY John Dick Winters really wants to know: When someone stencils â&#x20AC;&#x153;RAPEâ&#x20AC;? under the â&#x20AC;&#x153;STOPâ&#x20AC;? on a stop sign, who is the intended audience? â&#x20AC;&#x153;Is it for the dude whoâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s willing to do the worst thing imaginable to a woman â&#x20AC;&#x201D; but under no circumstances will break a traffic law?â&#x20AC;? The burly, bearded Pittsburgh comedian is back home to wrap his 30-city Celebrate the Ugly Things tour with tonightâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s live recording at Club CafĂŠ. The special edition of Comedy Roulette is hosted by Alex Stypula. BO 10:30 p.m. 56 S. 12th St., South Side. $10 (21 and over). 412-431-4950 or wwwclubcafelive.com

saturday 11.12 ART Interactive exhibit The Stories You Tell opens today in the Forum Gallery of the Carnegie Museum of Art. The museum encourages visitors to offer creative responses to the exhibit, which features works

by Romare Bearden, Mary Cassatt, Henri de Toulouse-Lautrec and many others. Attendees can place emoji tags beneath works, write a six-word story on the gallery wall or create collaborative stories with other visitors. IF 10 a.m.5 p.m. Exhibit continues through March 17. 4400 Forbes Ave., Oakland. $11.95-19.95. 412622-3131 or cmoa.org

^ Fri., Nov. 11: John Dick Winters

STAGE The EQT Bridge Theater Series begins its season with award-winning Australian acrobatic ensemble Gravity & Other Myths performing A Simple Space. The audience encircles a small stage while the troupe exhibits â&#x20AC;&#x153;exhilarating human physicality,â&#x20AC;? conjuring a narrative through body movements rather than words.

Featuring seven performers and a driven by a solo percussionist, the group, founded in 2009, performs this intimate, hour-long show at the August Wilson Center this morning and this afternoon. The show is recommended for those as young as 7. IF 11 a.m. and 3 p.m. 980 Liberty Ave.,Downtown. $10.50.

412-456-6666 or www.trustarts.org

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PITTSBURGH CITY PAPER 11.09/11.16.2016

EVERYONE IS A CRITIC EVENT: Pittsburgh Home Movie Day, Carnegie Library Main Branch, Oakland CRITIC: Erin Anderson, 33, an assistant professor from Bloomfield WHEN: Sat.,

Nov. 05

It’s part of a larger national event where they have people bring reels of film that are found footage or family footage, and they’ll screen it in a public setting. It was a very intimate screening. Mostly there were reels of film from people’s parents’ childhoods or archives that people have inherited. In a lot of cases, there are people watching these films for the first time because they’ve never had the equipment to be able to see them. Typically the person who brought the film was invited to give some context for it before watching. There was some really beautiful footage of around Oakland and Carnegie Mellon and Pitt back in the ’30s and scenes from Mount Washington looking at Downtown — scenes of the smog.

It’s interesting the range of monotonous things that you watch, and then something really beautiful will spring out, moments where you’re maybe starting to get lulled into a bit of boredom and then something just jumps out at you.

B Y IAN F L ANAGAN

LAWRENCEVILLE

WORDS

DEC. 1, 2, 3 & 4

Margo Orlando Littell reads from her debut novel Each Vagabond by Name at the Millvale Community Library this afternoon. The book is about a small Southwestern Pennsylvania town where bar owner Zaccariah and his former lover Stella, whose daughter disappeared 15 years prior, become entwined again when a strange group of travelers comes to town. The Brooklyn-based Littell, who was born and raised in Connellsville, will discuss her novel, answer question and sign copies. Refreshments will be provided by Tupelo Honey Teas. IF 1 p.m.

213 Grant Ave., Millvale. Free. 412-822-7081

This is a free and family-friendly event!

SAMPLE SHOPKEEPERS’ FAVORITE COOKIES AT 40 STOPS

STAGE The Hillman Center for Performing Arts welcomes the eclectic Rhythmic Circus and the Minneapolis-based troupe’s award-winning show Feet Don’t Fail Me Now! tonight. The show, which debuted in 2008, has tap dancers clacking and shuffling through various musical segments backed by a spirited seven-piece brass funk band and featuring “Heatbox,” the human beatbox. The Hillman Center is located on the campus of Shady Side Academy. IF 7:30 p.m. 423 Fox Chapel Road, Fox Chapel. $16-30. 412-968-3040 or www.thehillman.org n.org

2016

TALK They like comedy. They like drinking craft beer. r. And they’re good at both. Two o years ago, local comics Ed Bailey and nd Day Bracey launched their Drinking nking Partners podcast, and tonight ght they mark its 100th episode with special guests.

At the Pittsburgh Playwrights space, Downtown,, the politically minded pair hosts Braddock Mayor John Fetterman, rman, filmmaker and gadabout Rick k Sebak, and artist Baron Batch. The evening begins, celebratorily ily enough, with a beer tasting g by six local breweries and local al comic T-Robe does a set. BO O 7 p.m.

937 Liberty Ave., Downtown. $20-25. www.epicastnetwork.com astnetwork.com

Celebrate the season with cookies and pick up unique holiday gifts along the way. Hours for Cookie Stops vary by location.

Get all the info about this year’s tour including the map at www.lvpgh.com/cookietour or call 412.621.1616, ext.102.

> Sat., Nov. 12: Margo Orlando Littell

LAWRENCEVILLE

CORPORATION

{PHOTO COURTESY OF KATHRYN HUANG}

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THE PICKLED RED ONION AND FRISÉE MADE FOR A NICE LITTLE SALAD

EGGS AND KEBOB {BY ALEX GORDON} Breakfast cuisine in the Middle East covers a lot of ground, from egg-based dishes popular in Iraq to the dipping foods of Saudi Arabia and Lebanon.

When Ali Alibeji, co-owner of Dijlah in Lawrenceville, noticed the lack of authentic Middle Eastern breakfast in Pittsburgh, he knew he wanted his menu to incorporate that diversity.

Since debuting the weekend breakfast menu in September, one of the biggest draws has been their selection of foul (sometimes spelled ful, pronounced “fool”), a popular dish made from boiling fava beans with spices and vegetables.

There’s foul mudammas, made with tahini, tomatoes, onions, parsley and olive oil over pita bread. Or a sweeter rendition that includes tomatoes boiled with the beans.

Some plates might ring more familiar to American tastes, such eggs and sausage served over pita bread, or the eggs served with Dijlah’s signature Iraqi kebob. There are also two takes on shakshuka: The first offers scrambled eggs with tomatoes and parsley over pita, another in which the eggs are soft-cooked with sautéed tomatoes and topped with mozzarella.

Shaaria is a dish made with vermicelli noodles combined with cardamom, sugar, pistachios and coconut. Dipping dishes, served with pita bread, include hummus, pureed lentils and lebna, a strained yogurt from Lebanon.

While the current menu draws influence across a number of cultures, Alibeji, who took over as co-owner in 2015, has plans to introduce new items from other cuisines in the future. His original plan was to start small, but judging from the customer response so far, he sees room for growth.

AGORDON@PGHCITYPAPER.COM

4130 Butler St., Lawrenceville.

412-742-4998 or www.dijlahrestaurant.com

the

FEED

Celebrate chocolate in a supremely classy way, at The Chocolate Bar, presented by the Pittsburgh Cultural Trust.

More than a dozen purveyors will provide chocolate and chocolate-inspired nibbles, plus dance, music and a fashion show. Ticket includes a craft cocktail and a one-year membership to the Trust. 8 p.m. Sat., Nov. 12. Benedum Center, Downtown. $35 ($75 VIP tickets). www.trustarts.org

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{CP PHOTO BY VANESSA SONG}

Beef Butcher’s Roast with wild mushroom, root-vegetable purée and natural jus

DOWNTOWN FIXTURE {BY ANGELIQUE BAMBERG + JASON ROTH}

S

ONOMA GRILLE was a pioneer in the

Cultural District dining scene when it opened a dozen years ago. As the street-level restaurant in the Downtown Marriott Hotel, Sonoma focused on the wines and contemporary cuisine of Northern California at a time when fresh-localseasonal was still a dubious experiment around these cold, gray parts — not, like now, when it is the slogan of the trendy gastropub on every corner.

Sonoma Grille recently revamped its concept and menu, although the decor is largely unchanged from its original, perhaps overly literal, evocation of a Napa winery courtyard. The high ceiling, although comprised of black-painted acoustic tiles, allows for plenty of noise: On a half-full midweek evening, the dining room was notably loud.

In its original incarnation, Sonoma em-

PITTSBURGH CITY PAPER 11.09/11.16.2016

phasized its wine-pairing focus by organizing its menu according to oenophilic terms, such as “spicy, muscular and bold.” Possibly allowing that Pittsbughers have become more sophisticated wine consumers, the

SONOMA GRILLE 947 Penn Ave., Downtown. 412-697-1336 HOURS: Lunch daily 11 a.m.-3 p.m.; dinner Sun. 4-10 p.m., Mon.-Thu. 5-10 p.m., and Fri.-Sat. 5-11 p.m.

PRICES: Soups, salads, snacks and small plates $5-18; entrees $24-38; mixed grill, family-style entrees and chef’s table $18-60 LIQUOR: Full bar

CP APPROVED new Sonoma has abandoned this trope in favor of a straightforward kitchen menu accompanied by a wine list. Recipes have been brought up to date with kale and house-

made pickles and jams, but what makes this menu most au courant is its presentation of a variety of approaches to the size, format and formality of one’s meal. In addition to traditional entrees, we find tapas platters for two, mixed grill, sharable snacks and small plates, family-style meals and a fourcourse, fixed-price chef’s table. The overall tone is international and refined.

The chef’s tapas for two provided a curated tour of the menu and a surprising amount of food for the money. Served on a curved oak-barrel stave — a creative way to avoid crowding the table with dishes — it offered extra-small portions of five snacks and small plates. Baked oysters were spicy and a bit creamy, yet the brine just came through.

Silver-dollar-sized kimchi pancakes were a great idea, but the flavor was wan and the texture was heavy and dense. Pork belly

— basically a piece of bacon — was not sufficient to stand up to sweet, fruity jam, plus the relatively sweet pickled onion. Foie gras was whipped to an ultra-light consistency, but its flavor also took on too much of a fruity note, possibly from brandy. The surprising hit of the chef’s tapas was tater tots, big ones with creamy interiors, crispycrunchy exteriors and savory morsels of short rib on top.

After that, we each ordered an entrée.

We couldn’t quite identify the cut in the “Beef Butcher’s Roast,” but it was wonderful: well-browned nuggets that were moist inside with robust beefy flavor and, despite a stringy appearance once cut, a tender texture. Accompanying abalone and baby shiitake mushrooms were heavily browned as well. For the former, a large, multi-lobed mushroom, this created a pleasing textural contrast, but for the latter, it left them mostly dried out. There was puréed squash on the plate, as well as thickened jus and a sort of chimichurri; it could have been busy, but the flavors came together well.

Unfortunately, this wasn’t the case for the guinea hen with pickled red onion, frisée, sorrel pesto, blackberry jus and summer-squash beignet. The onion and frisée made for a nice little salad, but the poultry was lacking in moisture and, consequently, flavor. The sorrel pesto mingled with the blackberry jus for a flavor that was simultaneously fruity and bitter, and the squash beignets were dry.

We revived them, at least, with the delectably soft, creamy herb butter that had come with our bread basket. Filled with a variety of house-baked breads, including some slightly sweet, almost cake-like ones, this was one of the highlights of our meal and certainly among the top bread baskets we have had in a restaurant.

Service was friendly and knowledgeable, but, despite the aforementioned halffull dining room, excruciatingly slow. To Sonoma’s credit, the staff apologized in advance of any complaint and backed their word with complimentary desserts. Did we like chocolate, they asked. Chocolate mousse and mirror cake, the latter named for its shimmering glaze, were both decadently delicious. They accomplished exactly what they were intended to, which was to sweeten a potentially sour situation.

After a dozen years, Sonoma Grille was due for an update, and we liked the selectivity of this one. A complete overhaul might have lost Sonoma its niche as a safe, sophisticated but not stuffy choice among Downtown dining destinations. Some things we tried were better than others, but the best set a high bar. The menu offers plenty of choices, and the overall experience was polished and professional.

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[PERSONAL CHEF]

NEW MENU! WE CATER!

WESTERN AVENUE BURGER BAR

bar • billiards • burgers

DEVIL’S FOOD CAKE

BOOK YOUR HOLIDAY PARTY TODAY!

{BY SARAH SUDAR, WRITER AT EATPGH} We all have the recipe we pull out in the clutch, and this devil’s food cake is mine. It has been in my family for ages, and it’s one of my favorite cake recipes: chocolately, moist, and serves a base for a variety of flavors of icing. It’s also a one-bowl wonder that can be made in practically minutes.

Bonus: It’s vegan, so it’s sure to please just about everyone at your dinner table.

I make it all the time for birthdays celebrations, and have even made it into cupcakes for a “Pimp Your Own Cupcake” bar at my friend’s wedding. It might not look super fancy, but it’s delicious.

MONDAY & THURSDAY $2 Yuengling 16oz Draft ____________________ TUESDAY Burger, Beer, & Bourbon $11.95 ____________________ WEDNESDAY Pork & Pounder $10 ____________________ FRIDAY Sangria $3 ____________________ SATURDAY & SUNDAY 10:30am-3pm

INGREDIENTS CAKE: • 3 cups sifted flour • 2 cups sugar • 6 tbsp. unsweetened cocoa powder (I like Hershey’s Special Dark Chocolate Cocoa) • 1 tsp. salt • 2 tsp. baking soda • 2/3 cup vegetable oil • 2 tbsp. white vinegar • 2 tsp. vanilla • 2 cups cold water

Brunch Specials & Bloody Mary Bar

----- HAPPY HOUR ----1/2 OFF SNACKS $2 OFF DRAFTS $5 WINE FEATURE

HAPPY HOUR 1/2 11/ /2 DRAFTS Mon-Thurs 5-7 Fri & Sat 4:30-7:30

BLACK & GOLD FOOTBALL SUNDAYS

Mon- Fri 4:30 – 6:30pm

OPEN DAILY • 9AM - 1:30AM

900 Western Ave. North side 412-224-2163

862 WESTERN AVE. 412-321-4550

BenjaminsPgh.com

themoderncafe.com

INSTRUCTIONS Sift all the dry ingredients together three times into a large mixing bowl. Make three holes. Put the vinegar in the first hole, the vanilla in the second hole and the oil in the third hole. Pour cold water over the whole thing and mix well with a whisk. Pour cake batter into an ungreased 9-by-13-inch pan and bake at 350 degrees for 25-30 minutes or until a toothpick comes out clean. Let cool and then frost.

FROSTING: The best part about this cake is that you have so many options for frosting. Keep it simple with a dusting of powdered sugar; take the easy route of buying some buttercream at the grocery store; or make it yourself (try peanut- butter frosting).

Here’s my basic go-to: • 1 cup sifted powdered sugar • 1 tbsp. water • 2 tbsp. lemon juice Combine all ingredients into a bowl and mix well with a whisk. Pour icing over cake and use a spatula to cover cake evenly.

Sarah Sudar is a writer for eatPGH.com where she writes about food culture in Pittsburgh.

WE WANT YOUR PERSONAL RECIPES AND THE STORIES BEHIND THEM. EMAIL THEM TO CELINE@PGHCITYPAPER.COM.

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SPRING INTERNS WANTED City Paper’s editorial team is seeking several interns for the spring. Please send résumé, cover letter and samples to the appropriate editor listed below by Nov. 22, 2016.

Each internship includes a small stipend. No calls, please.

ARTS & ENTERTAINMENT INTERN The position is focused on reporting and writing about local people, performances, artworks and events, in fields including but not limited to theater, visual art, literature, dance and comedy. Send a cover letter, résumé and three writing samples to arts editor Bill O’Driscoll, driscoll@pghcitypaper.com.

MULTIMEDIA INTERN The multimedia intern will produce content for our digital platform at pghcitypaper.com. The right candidate must be capable of working in the field as well as in the office. Necessary skills include: recording and editing audio and video, writing and copy-editing, as well as a working knowledge of social media. Apply to editor Charlie Deitch, cdeitch@pghcitypaper.com.

MUSIC INTERN The music intern will have a working knowledge of the local music scene and assist the music editor by writing new-release reviews and previews of upcoming shows, as well as artist features. Apply to music editor Margaret Welsh, mwelsh@pghcitypaper.com.

NEWS INTERN The news intern will pitch and write stories for both the print and online editions, as well as assist news reporters with research and fact-checking. Basic writing and reporting experience required.

Please send résumé, cover letter and samples to news editor Rebecca Addison, rnuttall@pghcitypaper.com.

PHOTO INTERN We are looking for a photography intern with an artistic eye who can tell a story through images. Editorial work will include shooting assignments to supplement the paper’s news and arts coverage, both in print and online. Weekend availability is required.

Send a résumé and a link to an online portfolio to art director Lisa Cunningham, lcunning@pghcitypaper.com.

{CP PHOTO BY JOHN COLOMBO}

Pork & Beans’ bar manager Michael R. Anderson making a Dirty Grove cocktail

[ON THE ROCKS]

BEER AND BARBECUE Pork & Beans goes for a bold drinks program {BY CELINE ROBERTS} RICHARD DESHANTZ’S trifecta of Downtown with him after shifts. With 30 beers on restaurants, Meat & Potatoes, Butcher and draft and about 120 in bottles in formats the Rye and Täko, has taught Pittsburgh to ranging from 12 to 40 ounces, Pork & Beans expect great things from behind the bar. has a laser focus on beer. Order a 40 and Employing expert staffs, earning a James it’ll give you a brown bag to go with it. The Beard semifinalist award for Outstanding restaurant also offers wine (in cans, too!), cocktails and nitro cold-brew coffee on Bar Program two years running, and draft, for a total of 36 taps. creating excellently curated bar The cocktails a friend and I menus emphasizing each estabORE quaffed all went down nicely, VIEW M OF lishment’s individual character PHOTOSEANS and the menu provides an excelhave all been standard proceB PORKt & . a www lent tableau for every palate. The dure. When Keith Fuller, execur e pap pghcitym Tennessee Ninja Mint Julep is an tive chef of the highly respected .co herbal riff on a classic, sweet and and creative but now-closed Root satisfying. It’s served in a beans can 174, and DeShantz, with partner repurposed from its use in the house porkTolga Sevdik, teamed up for Pork & Beans, the city collectively started counting down. and-beans dish. (The beans are made and It opened in late October to the anticipation canned in-house.) The house gin and tonic, the P&B G and T, utilizes a custom artisan of foodies and drink enthusiasts alike.

The space is inviting, with bright colors tonic from Bittercube. and padded pink bar stools. A beer-can mosaic of a pig adorns one wall and a chainPORK & BEANS link, barbed-wire-topped fence separates 136 Sixth St., Downtown. 412-338-1876 or www.porkandbeanpgh.com the dining area from the front bar. A few outdoor tables and in-vogue glassed garage Since Pork & Beans is focusing on its doors pleasantly blend the street with the interior, which will be lovely for warmer beer program, I’ll be excited to return for dinner and take advantage of the beautidays and happy hours.

Michael R. Anderson, Pork & Beans’ bar ful wooden cooler-cabinet full of bombers, manager, has worked for the company’s which are 22 oz. bottles of beer. These are other three establishments and intends to be ordered for the table, like one might to bring the same quality and focus to this split a bottle of wine. “We wanted to keep new venture while keeping it playful. Each the wine list minimal to encourage sharing restaurant focuses on its own style, and beer at the table,” says Anderson. If Anderson is intent on Pork & Beans searching for the best of both worlds, order following suit. He pulled in Riley Snyder, a beer cocktail. The Scotch Cherry was a formerly of Beerhead, to run the beer pro- creamy delight, smoothly blending Cherry gram after sitting at his bar and chatting Heering and Scotch ale.

C E L I N E @ P G H C I T Y PA P E R. C OM

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PITTSBURGH CITY PAPER 11.09/11.16.2016

BOOZE BATTLES {BY CELINE ROBERTS}

Each week, we order the same cocktail at two different bars for a friendly head-to-head battle.

Go to the bars, taste them both and tell us what you like about each by tagging @pghcitypaper on Twitter or Instagram and use #CPBoozeBattles. If you want to be a part of Booze Battles, send an email to food-and-beverage writer Celine Roberts, at celine@pghcitypaper.com.

THE DRINK: MAI TAI

VS.

Tiki Lounge

Ease Modern Comfort Cuisine

2003 E. Carson St., South Side

1100 S. Braddock Ave., Regent Square

DRINK: 1944 Mai Tai INGREDIENTS: Myers dark rum, Myers light rum, triple sec, Curaçao, lime juice, lime-wheel garnish OUR TAKE: This innocent-seeming cocktail packs a serious alcoholic punch. Tropical flavors abound from the Curaçao and citrus. The key descriptive words for this drink are tasty, sour, simple and strong.

DRINK: Mai Tai INGREDIENTS: Dark rum; aged rum; mango rum; coconut rum; Pernod; grapefruit, pineapple and lime juices; and pineapple, lime and orange garnish OUR TAKE: This cocktail was incredibly smooth and creamy. The coconut notes and the aged rum balance out the sharpness of the citrus flavors, making it reminiscent of a Creamsicle.

Plenty of fresh fruit juice keeps it tart, but not overly sweet, and the garnish made the drink feel like a decadent treat.

This week on Sound Bite: Learn about the Zen of handmade pasta with Ten Penny chef Jamie Tavelaris. www.pghcitypaper.com

One Bordeaux, One Scotch, One Beer Poli Elisir Camomilla Liqueur Price: $ 34.99/bottle A sip of this delicate, chamomile-infused grappa makes the drinker feel she is standing in a sunny field of small chamomile flowers in full bloom. This would be an excellent, subtle ingredient for cocktails, or at 30 percent ABV, a delicious drink served straight over ice.

— RECOMMENDED BY STAFF WRITER CELINE ROBERTS

Poli Camomilla Liqueur is available at Fine Wine & Good Spirits stores by special order only.

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WINNING {BY AL HOFF}

SCENES OF DEVASTATING BEAUTY PAIR WITH THOSE OF MATTER-OF-FACT SADNESS

If you’re looking for a good cleansing cry after the interminable ugliness that has been the recent presidential campaign, consider The Freedom to Marry. Edward Rosenstein’s new documentary charts the decades-long fight to win marriage rights for gay couples, culminating in the favorable landmark Supreme Court decision. June 26, 2015 was an emotional day for everybody who fought for and cared about this issue, even the keep-itsteady lawyers who help craft and deliver the winning argument.

BOYS TO MEN

Evan Wolfson and Mary Bonauto

Two of them feature prominently here: Evan Wolfson, founder and president of Freedom to Marry, and Mary Bonauto, an attorney with GLAD. Wolfson starts his organization in 2001, and he recounts the very long fight — through early victories like the right to marry in Hawaii and the setbacks of Defense of Marriage Act and Prop 8. Bonauto is one of the attorneys who ultimately argues the case before the Supreme Court, and scenes of her methodically and calmly preparing her case remain nerve-wracking. Freedom also includes stories of gay couples whose fates depend on this decision, as if the pressure on Bonauto weren’t crushing enough.

The hard work of the lawyers matters, but history shows that marriage equality has also been a battle won from the ground up, by changing individual minds over the years until a majority of Americans support the issue. President Obama, himself a public convert on the matter, summed it up after the Supreme Court decision: “That slow steady effort is rewarded with justice that arrives like a thunderbolt … a vindication of the belief that ordinary people can do extraordinary things.” Get your hankies out.

The film kicks off the 35th annual Three Rivers Film Festival. This year’s festival is a partnership between Pittsburgh Filmmakers and Film Pittsburgh, and runs from Wed., Nov. 16, through Sun., Nov. 20. The schedule offers two dozen narrative and documentary features, as well as shorts program and a Steeltown event. See www.filmpittsburgh.org for complete schedule and ticket information.

AHOFF@PGHCITYPAPER.COM

Rosenstein and Wolfson, both Taylor Allderdice High School alums, are expected to attend the Freedom to Marry screening, which includes an opening-night reception.

7 p.m. Wed., Nov. 16. August Wilson Center, Downtown. $25 ($15 students)

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{BY AL HOFF}

ET IN MIAMI’S tough Liberty City

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neighborhood, Barry Jenkins’ luminous, deeply affecting Moonlight tells the story of one boy’s journey into manhood and self-discovery. The work is adapted from Tarell Alvin McCraney’s semi-autographical play In Moonlight Black Boys Look Blue, and incorporates material from Jenkins’ life (both men grew up in Liberty City). The story is told in three acts, depicting the protagonist as a child, a teenager and an adult.

We meet Chiron, a.k.a. Little (Alex R. Hibbert), a gangly toothpick of a kid, escaping bullies. Neglected by his mother (Naomie Harris), he finds a friend in Juan (Mahershala Ali), a drug dealer who, beneath his street-ready hardness, is sensitive to the boy’s need for nurturing. Little nominally has one friend, the livelier Kevin, who tries to school Little to adapt to the roughand-tumble ways of boys. Things don’t improve much when Chiron (Ashton Sanders) is a teenager; he’s still quiet, still bullied at school, still worried about being gay, and his home situation is even worse.

PITTSBURGH CITY PAPER 11.09/11.16.2016

Afloat: Juan (Mahershala Ali) teaches Little (Alex R. Hibbert) to swim

Moonlight is a beautifully layered film filled with so much emotional content and lyricism. Jenkins employs intimate camerawork, immersing viewers in Chiron’s fraught spaces. (When Juan teaches Little to swim, the camera is set at the waterline where waves occasionally obscure our view.) Scenes of devastating beauty pair

MOONLIGHT DIRECTED BY: Barry Jenkins STARS: Mahershala Ali, Alex R. Hibbert, Ashton Sanders, Trevante Rhodes, Naomie Harris Starts Fri., Nov. 11. Manor

CP APPROVED with those of matter-of-fact sadness. The acting is superb throughout, with all three Chiron actors mastering a particularly tricky character, one who barely speaks and works (not always successfully) to keep his vulnerabilities hidden.

This is not simply a coming-of-age story.

There is much here beyond Chiron’s bumpy transformation; Chiron’s identity — poor, black and gay — is a triple play that seems

irresolvable to him. It’s notable that Moonlight presents this specific set of identities so rarely explored in popular film, yet part of what makes the film so resonant is the space it provides for other experiences and resulting empathy. How do we know ourselves, and what version to present to others? What is the cost of conforming to expected roles, such as the hard masculinity dominant in Chiron’s world? How to make emotional connections, in spite of and because of, hurt and betrayal?

The final act catches up with grownup Chiron, now known as Black (Trevante Rhodes), and is dominated by his reunion with his old friend Kevin (André Holland).

Like all the film, the third act is carefully crafted, from its jarring introduction to its quiet moments of resolution. Jenkins also offers callbacks to moments from the two earlier acts: the trading of food for conversation, a pot of boiled water, aspects of Black’s appearance and, indelibly, Black’s longing for connection. It ends as it began, in a bittersweet spot between heartbreaking and hopeful.

A H OF F @ P G HC I T Y PA P E R. C OM

FILM CAPSULES CP

= CITY PAPER APPROVED

NEW ALMOST CHRISTMAS. A dysfunctional family gets together for Thanksgiving in this ensemble comedy directed by David E. Talbert. Look for stars Gabrielle Union, Danny Glover, Omar Epps and Mo’Nique, among others. Starts Fri., Nov. 11 ARRIVAL. Amy Adams stars as a linguist hired to help the military translate communications from aliens. Jeremy Renner and Forest Whitaker also star in Denis Villeneuve’s drama. Starts Fri., Nov. 11 DOCTOR STRANGE. The latest installment in the Marvel Cinematic Universe, directed by Scott Derrickson, isn’t your usual superhero movie. Sure, there are the typical action scenes and explosions, but the superpowers here are more about brains than brawn.

The story follows Dr. Stephen Strange (Benedict Cumberbatch), a world-class surgeon with a pretty sizable ego and swanky home complete with a packed trophy case to prove it. He also has a fast car, and when a car accident mangles his hands, his life comes crashing down.

Lost and in search of healing, he turns to Eastern medicine. But he gets more than he bargained for when he discovers the mystic arts and finds himself in the middle of a centuries-long war between our dimension and other dimensions. While the intricacies of the mystical world can be confusing at times, our introduction to this side of the Marvel Universe makes for a thoroughly enjoyable viewing experience, thanks to dazzling 3-D visual effects. While the plot follows the usual superhero origin-story arc, there’s enough variety to keep viewers on the edge of their seats. And even the final conflict is resolved in a fresh way. In 3-D, in select theaters.

(Rebecca Addison)

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REPERTORY SEVEN SAMURAI. Villagers hire mercenaries to protect them from raiders, but Akira Kurosawa’s 1954 masterpiece is far more than an action epic. It offers a series of layers commenting on social class, warfare and valor that intersect in the person of Toshiro Mifune’s wannabe warrior. In Japanese, with subtitles.

6:30 p.m. Wed., Nov. 9. Row House Cinema. $9 (movie only); $25 (movie and choice of bento box). (Bill O’Driscoll)

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Doctor Strange memory and emotion, without ever resolving. (Can it even?) Alain Resnais’ 1961 film is one of the great touchstones of European art cinema. In French, with subtitles. 5:30 and 9:30 p.m. Thu., Nov. 10. Row House Cinema SHAKE THE DUST. Adam Sjöberg’s recent documentary profiles breakdancing around the world, documenting how the art form thrives in poor communities. 6 p.m. Thu., Nov. 10. Carnegie Library, 7101 Hamilton Ave., Homewood. $5 suggested donation. www.sembenefilmfestival.org

Flournoy will do a Q&A. 6 p.m. Fri., Nov. 11. Carnegie Library, 7101 Hamilton Ave., Homewood. $5 suggested donation. www.sembenefilmfestival.org DEAD MAN. Johnny Depp stars in Jim Jarmusch’s 1995 Western (of sorts), in which an accountant from Cleveland finds the frontier a complicated and deadly place. Also stars Crispin Glover, Gary Farmer and Gabriel Byrne, and features the last screen appearance of Robert Mitchum. Nov. 11-13 and Nov. 15-17. Row House Cinema CONTINUES ON PG. 38

BLACK MARIA FILM FESTIVAL TOURING PROGRAM. This touring festival, now in its 35th year, offers a selection of cutting-edge shorts: animation, documentary, narrative and experimental. One of the featured films, “The End of Blessings,” was produced and directed by Point Park senior teaching artist John Rice and Pittsburgh poet and Carnegie Mellon English professor Jim Daniels. Rice and Daniels will do a Q&A after the screening. 7 p.m.

Thu., Nov. 10. GRW Theater, Point Park University, 414 Wood St., Downtown. Free

SAVING PRIVATE RYAN. Tom Hanks stars in Steven Speilberg’s 1998 World War II drama about brothers during the Normandy invasion. 7:30 p.m. Wed., Nov. 9. AMC Loews Waterfront. $5 HIROSHIMA, MON AMOUR. A brief affair between a French filmmaker (Emmanuelle Riva) and a Japanese architect (Eiji Okada) during a stay in Hiroshima spurs memories of war and past loves, as well as examining the complicated processes by which people forget and move on. Alain Resnaud directs this 1959 drama. In French and Japanese, with subtitles. 3:30 and 7:30 p.m. Thu., Nov. 10. Row House Cinema LAST YEAR AT MARIENBAD. Ostensibly a tale of a man and a woman at the luxurious Marienbad spa, and the affair they may have had — or may be having — this gorgeously photographed black-and-white film unspools elliptically, continuously commenting on time,

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Almost Christmas IN COUNTRY: A VIETNAM STORY. Three friends and Vietnam vets – Pittsburgh filmmaker and radio/ TV host Chris Moore, Andrew Boone and Leroy Perry — return to Vietnam 36 years later. They are joined

by Friends of Vietnam, a humanitarian organization that aids sick and disabled children of Danang.

After the screening, Moore and Vietnam vet Mike

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FILM CAPSULES, CONTINUED FROM PG. 37

[DAILY RUNDOWN] Down By Law DOWN BY LAW. In Jim Jarmusch’s cult-favorite 1986 film, three men (John Lurie, Tom Waits, Roberto Benigni) share a Louisiana jail cell and plot to escape.

Nov. 11-14 and Nov. 16-17. Row House Cinema GHOST DOG: THE WAY OF THE SAMURAI. In Jim Jarmusch’s 1999 film, Forest Whitaker is Ghost Dog, an enigmatic contract killer who fashions himself after the ancient codes of the Japanese samurai. A complication on a hit job disrupts his solitary existence, as he becomes entangled with the local mob.

Nov. 11-16. Row House Cinema

A newsletter you’ll actually want to read.

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FIDDLER ON THE ROOF. Norman Jewison directs this 1971 musical favorite about a Jewish farmer (portrayed by Topol) in pre-revolutionary Russia who must marry off his daughters. 7:30 p.m. Wed., Nov. 16. AMC Loews Waterfront. $5

STRANGER THAN PARADISE. In Jim Jarmusch’s moody black-and-white drama from 1984, a New York City hipster, his newly arrived cousin from Budapest and a buddy embark on a road trip to Cleveland and then Florida. Nov. 11-15 and Nov. 17. Row House Cinema ADAMA. David Felix Sutcliffe’s 2011 documentary explores the case of Adama Bah, an African-American Muslim teen, who is taken from her East Harlem home by the FBI and wrongfully imprisoned as a terrorist suspect. The film looks at the impact of the event on the New York City teenager and her immigrant family. To be followed by a Q&A session with Bah and Sutcliffe. 2:30 p.m. Sat., Nov. 12. Carnegie Library, 7101 Hamilton Ave., Homewood. $5 suggested donation. www.sembenefilmfestival.org TAMPOPO. Juzo Itami’s 1985 comedy is an affectionate look, through a series of vignettes and a riff on Westerns, at a small, family-run noodle shop, and the pleasure in both making and eating food. Eat before you come, or make plans to get noodles after the film. In Japanese, with subtitles. 7 and 9:30 p.m.

Sat., Nov. 12; 4:30 and 7 p.m. Sun., Nov. 13; and 7:30 p.m. Mon., Nov. 14. Hollywood A THOUSAND VOICES. David Aubrey directs this 2014 documentary which taps the adage “it takes a thousand voices to tell a single story.” The story here is of the Native American women of the Southwest, preserved and retold over centuries. The screening will be followed by a panel discussion featuring two women affiliated with the Council of Three Rivers American Indian Center, Kristen Spangler (Mohawk) and Michelle Leonard (Shinnecock). 6:30 p.m.

Tue., Nov. 15. Eddy Theater, Chatham University, Shadyside. Free. www.justfilmspgh.org THE TRAIL RUNNING FESTIVAL. Catch this year’s version of the touring short-film program, compiled from Seattle’s Trail Running Festival. It’s a

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dozen films highlighting folks running — through gorgeous scenery, and against difficult challenges.

7 p.m. Tue., Nov. 15. Hollywood

Stranger Than Paradise THE SPOOK WHO SAT BY THE DOOR. In Ivan Dixon’s somewhat thinky 1973 blaxploitation feature, a black man trains at the CIA, uncomplainingly putting up with a steady stream of racially motivated mistreatment. Then he secretly takes the skills he learned to the streets, seeking to foment a violent overthrow of the government. The provocation starts with the title’s wordplay on “spook” — slang for spy and a derogatory term for an African American. To be followed by a discussion led by filmmaker Christine Acham. 6 p.m. Thu., Nov. 17. Carnegie Library, 7101 Hamilton Ave., Homewood. $5 suggested donation. www.sembenefilmfestival.org THE STRANGER. In 1946, Orson Welles directed this taut drama about the search for a Nazi fugitive in Connecticut, starring himself, Edward G. Robinson and Loretta Young. To underscore the seriousness of the film’s plot, Welles incorporated documentary footage of Nazi concentration camps. Paul Guggenheimer, of WESA 90.5 FM, will introduce the film, and following the screening, he and Bob Hoover, retired book editor at the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette, will lead a discussion. 7 p.m. Thu., Nov. 17. Hollywood

DO YOU REALLY THINK THE SEVEN SEASONS BEFORE THIS WERE AN ANOMALY?

LINEUP CARD {BY CHARLIE DEITCH} It’s November, and that means the WPIAL high school football playoffs are in full swing. There are 16 games across Western Pennsylvania this weekend, so it’s the perfect time to go out and support local sports. Here are a handful of games that we think represent the best of the best. All games begin at 7:30 p.m. unless otherwise noted.

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Class 6A is offering two juicy semifinal matchups this week. The top-ranked Vikings of Central Catholic High (10-1) take on the fifth-ranked Pine-Richland Rams (7-4) Friday at North Allegheny High School. In the other contest, second-ranked North Allegheny (9-2) battles No. 5 Seneca Valley (7-4) at Martorelli Stadium in Ross Township.

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In Class 5A, the seventh-ranked Gateway Gators (7-4) will challenge the third-ranked McKeesport Tigers rs Friday at Norwin High School.

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In a Class 3A semifinal, No.1 Aliquippa (9-2) travels to Fox Chapel High School on Friday to take on the fourth-ranked Derry Trojans (11-0). The other semifinal in this division is probably bably the most intriguing matchup of the week and is even worth the drive to Beaver County. The second-ranked Beaver Falls Tigers (9-2) clash with the Mount Lebanon’s third-ranked Keystone Oaks Golden Eagles Friday night at Ambridge High School.

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It’s still the quarterfinals in Classes 2A and 1A, and while some lopsided games may still occur, there are some good matchups. In Class 2A, Munhall’s top-ranked Steel Valley Ironmen (10-0) travel to West Allegheny High School to take on the ninth-ranked Laurel Spartans Friday night. And in 1A, the undefeated Clairton Bears (10-0) are always fun to watch, even though they’re likely to beat the Fort Cherry Rangers (9-1) Friday night at Peters Township High School.

CDEITCH@PGHCITYPAPER.COM

Our animal-versus-birdversus-everything-else system of picking NFL games was moderately successful this last weekend. Of the 13 NFL games we picked using the system, we picked seven correctly.

While that’s a winning record, it’s barely better than a coin flip. So do you have an odd system for picking games?

Email us at info@pghcitypaper.com, and we’ll try it out and report the results.

{CP PHOTO BY LUKE THOR TRAVIS}

Andrew McCutchen

WHAT THE CUTCH? W

E ALL NEED to calm down, take

a deep breath and not do anything rash.

Yes, the evil empire known as the Chicago Cubs has won its post-rebuilding World Series before the longer-inrebuilding Pittsburgh Pirates could win theirs. But I’m starting to get the vibe that the Pirates are about to make the dumbest move since they signed Pat Meares to a $15 million contract extension in 1999.

I’ll be as clear as I can be: Trading Andrew McCutchen would be a huge mistake, a blunder of colossal proportions.

Yes, McCutchen was lousy this season — Derek Bell Operation Shutdown lousy — but hasn’t he done enough to earn a little grace from the team and the city?

Before McCutchen arrived on the scene in 2009, the team stunk — stunk like a Tuesday-morning tailgate-lot PortO-John after a Monday-night Steelers game. When he stepped into center field,

he showed us what baseball in Pittsburgh could be in the future, and then he delivered on the dream. The Pirates went to the postseason three times beginning in 2013, and McCutchen, a five-time All-Star, has won an MVP award and been in the top five in voting on three other occasions.

Andrew McCutchen trade talk is a conversation the Pirates shouldn’t be having {BY CHARLIE DEITCH} But now after posting the worst season of his career, following his four best, everyone’s ready to give Cutch the boot.

But before you give him that Megabus ticket to New York, Los Angeles or Chicago, take a minute to think about what exactly Pirates management is proposing.

McCutchen is signed to a team-

friendly contract through 2018. And yes, if he plays like he did in 2016, it’s a gross overpayment. But does anyone really think this is the end of McCutchen?

Do you really think the seven seasons before this one were the anomaly and that what we just experienced was the real Andrew McCutchen? Nobody with any knowledge of the game really thinks that, do they?

While his numbers were nowhere near Cutch-like, were they really let’stalk-trade bad? He hit .256, had 23 home runs, 79 RBI and six stolen bases. His onbase percentage was the most alarming number, falling from .401 in 2015 to .336.

Based on what McCutchen is capable of producing, it’s worth a small gamble to see if this was a good player having a bad season or devolution to the new normal.

My prediction? Andrew McCutchen will bounce back in 2017. Let’s hope it happens here and not in New York or Chicago.

C D E I T C H @ P G H C I T Y PA P E R. C OM

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[THE CHEAP SEATS]

THE BIGGEST LOSER {BY MIKE WYSOCKI} IT’S ALWAYS nice to have somebody who is doing worse than you; it makes you feel a little better about yourself.

As Pirates fans bemoan 37 championship-less years, our worries are nothing compared to fans of the Chicago Cubs and Cleveland Indians. Generations of broken hearts and futility clashed in the 2016 World Series. It was the series to determine just exactly who iss the biggest loser of all time.

This was a World Series as improbable bable as a Detroit Lionss vs.

Cleveland Browns Super uper Bowl. This showdown wn was an event less ss likely to occur than n Jim Belushi being nominated for an Oscar. The chances of this encounter er were the same odds as seeing a redneck making risotto while listening to classical music. Cleveland jumped to a three-gamesto-one lead and had to win only one of the next three to end a 68-year reign of hopelessness. The only way it couldn’t happen would be if the Indians were to “Cleveland” themselves. They lost game 5, went back home and got clobbered by a resurgent Cubs lineup. This set the stage for one of the great Game Sevens in baseball history. We are always quick to anoint something as the greatest ever. This time, though, there is some merit to the argument.

It was as if some higher power couldn’t decide which bunch of miserables to finally show mercy on. The Cubs took a 6-3 lead in the sixth inning after David Ross, in his final major league game, hit a solo home run off Andrew Miller. You might remember Ross from his stint as a Pirates catcher in 2005. Ross was a part-time handler for a pitching staff that included Kip Wells, Josh Fogg, David Williams and Oliver Perez. Now he was catching Jon Lester on a world stage.

The only way Chicago would not end its 108-year curse would be if the players were to “Cub” themselves. The Cubs entered the eighth inning up three runs. Lester easily got the first two hitters, and the Cubs were four outs away from unloading their longtime burden.

The virtually unhittable Aroldis Chapman took over for Chicago. Cleveland scored on him after a double by Brandon Guyer to cut the lead to two. Former Pirates outfielder Rajai Davis stepped to the plate. Davis played parts of the 2006 and

2007 seasons for the Bucs. Back then he was jockeying for pinch-hit appearances with Nyjer Morgan and Josh Phelps. Ten years later, he was staring down Chapman’s 100-mph fastballs with the hopes of an entire city weighing on him. Davis homered, sending the Tribe faithful to bedlam as he tied the game at six.

Somewhere, Steve BartSome man, the scapegoat fan from the Cubs’ 2003 fro postseason meltdown, po had trouble breathing.

Was it possible the Cubs could lose and he’d have remain in hiding for to re another couple of deano cades? Neither team ca scored in the ninth sc and the two teams an went to extra innings. we rains came. Mother Then the ra Nature just wanted to psychologically torture both fan bases for a little longer.

Someone’s misery had to end, but they’d have to wait out a rain delay. In the 10th, David Ross worked a leadoff walk and was replaced by a pinch runner. That run came around after a Ben Zobrist double; Miguel Montero added an insurance run to make it 8-6 Cubs.

From his bunker beneath the Biograph theater, Bartman resumed breathing as the Indians took the field. The first two hitters went down in order, and Chicago was one out away from vindication. But Cleveland’s Brandon Guyer walked and stole second. A Rajai Davis single scored Guyer, and it was a one-run game. Bartman began to unpack his suitcase.

The Cubs brought in pitcher Mike Montgomery to face the Indians’ last pinch-hitter, Michael Martinez, also formerly of the Pittsburgh Pirates. Martinez played here in the 2014 season, but his .138 batting average didn’t keep him around for long. It was his chance to push the Indians to victory, but lifetime .197 hitters won’t usually make your dreams come true. Martinez grounded weakly to third, and the Indians lost to the biggest losers of all time.

Finally, obnoxious Cubs fans can stop whining about Bartman, goats and black cats. Congratulations, Cubs — you have now won half as many World Series titles in 108 seasons as the Miami Marlins have in 23 seasons. For Cleveland, 1948 is the new 1908. Congratulations, Cleveland — in the battle of the biggest losers you came out on top. Well, sort of.

MIK E WYSO C K I IS A STANDU P C O ME DIAN. F O L L OW H I M ON T W I T T E R: @ I T S M I K E W YS OC K I

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PITTSBURGH CITY PAPER 11.09/11.16.2016

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If you are interested, please call Preferred Primary Care Physicians for more information at 412-650-6155.

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DJ SET

{BY BRENDAN EMMETT QUIGLEY / WWW.BRENDANEMMETTQUIGLEY.COM}

ACROSS

1. Holy See head honcho 5. RN’s touch 8. Reach to the heavens 12. Cy Young winner Hershiser 13. Topical butter 14. Listing for what’s on the tube 16. [Involved party was too large to list here] 17. Chopped down 18. Pet ___ 19. Does more than just fine 21. Confidently claimed 23. Recording artist’s showcases?

24. Hair braid 26. Chargers sometimes run them up: Abbr.

27. Color named after an Italian Renaissance artist 30. School facilities?

33. FBI agt.

34. Mounted 38. DJ’s activity, and this puzzle’s theme 43. Unwilling to listen 44. Zoologist Fossey 45. Approving word 46. Red head 51. Annoying brat 54. Hot house?

55. Brass instruments 59. Caves in 61. Most embedded

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PITTSBURGH CITY PAPER 11.09/11.16.2016

63. “Have ___ myself clear?”

64. Ancient city near the River Scamander 66. Commedia dell’___ 67. Wreck-finding technique 68. Song subject, often 69. Vauxhall wheel 70. There’s two in a sch. year 71. Shorn female 72. PayPal co-founder Musk

DOWN

1. 40-Down and others 2. Lawn care brand 3. ___ Jam 4. Rami’s “Mr. Robot” role 5. Guy in a cast 6. United States secretary of the treasury Jack 7. Palestine, in the Bible 8. Florida’s Sunshine City, briefly 9. Running long 10. Firm warning 11. Wandered about 13. Junk, to a sailor 15. Some home-schooler achievements: Abbr.

20. It’s made with two fingers 22. ___ et uxor (man and wife)

25. Professor in the Dan Brown thrillers 28. “Please stop talking now!”

29. The Chainsmokers, e.g.

30. Acid 31. Copy 32. Directing word 35. Dig in deep 36. Words from Pindar 37. Govt. group that scans your Yahoo! email 39. Panthers home: Abbr.

40. “Lady Freedom Among Us” writer 41. “Soup’s getting cold”

42. Benny 47. Actor Ed and his family 48. One singing for immunity 49. Take stock?

50. Go into a cocoon 51. Body part affected by heterochromia 52. Notes about the company picnic, say 53. Campaigner’s transport 56. Gem mineral 57. Cartoon dog walked on a treadmill 58. Dutch master Jan 60. Yellowish cheese 62. Home for 51-Down 65. KenKen constraint {LAST WEEK’S ANSWERS}

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FOR THE WEEK OF

Free Will Astrology

11.09-11.16

{BY ROB BREZSNY}

SCORPIO (Oct. 23-Nov. 21): “Don’t be someone that searches, finds, and then runs away,” advises novelist Paulo Coelho. I’m tempted to add this caveat: “Don’t be someone that searches, finds, and then runs away — unless you really do need to run away for a while to get better prepared for the reward you have summoned … and then return to fully embrace it.” After studying the astrological omens, Scorpio, I’m guessing you can benefit from hearing this information.

SAGITTARIUS (Nov. 22-Dec. 21): Go ahead and howl a celebratory “goodbye!” to any triviality that has distracted you from your worthy goals, to any mean little ghost that has shadowed your good intentions and to any faded fantasy that has clogged up the flow of your psychic energy. I also recommend that you whisper “welcome!” to open secrets that have somehow remained hidden from you, to simple lessons you haven’t been simple enough to learn before now and to breathtaking escapes you have only recently earned. P.S.: You are authorized to refer to the coming weeks as a watershed.

CAPRICORN (Dec. 22-Jan. 19): Musician and visual artist Brian Eno loves to dream up innovative products. In 2006, he published a DVD called 77 Million Paintings, which uses technological trickery to generate 77 million different series of images. To watch the entire thing would take 9,000 years. In my opinion, it’s an interesting but gimmicky novelty — not particularly deep or meaningful. During the next nine months, Capricorn, I suggest that you at-

tempt a far more impressive feat: a richly complex creation that will provide you with growthinducing value for years to come.

AQUARIUS (Jan. 20-Feb. 18): Do you know about the Lords of Shouting?

According to Christian and Jewish mythology, they’re a gang of 15.5 million angels that greet each day with vigorous songs of praise and blessing. Most people are too preoccupied with their own mind-chatter to pay attention to them, let alone hear their melodious offerings. But I suspect you may be an exception to that rule in the coming weeks. According to my reading of the astrological omens, you’ll be exceptionally alert for and receptive to glad tidings. You may be able to spot opportunities that others are blind to, including the chants of the Lords of Shouting and many other potential blessings. Take advantage of your aptitude!

PISCES (Feb. 19-March 20): Greenland sharks live a long time — up to 400 years, according to researchers at the University

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PITTSBURGH CITY PAPER 11.09/11.16.2016

of Copenhagen. The females of the species don’t reach sexual maturity until they’re 150. I wouldn’t normally compare you Pisceans to these creatures, but my reading of the astrological omens suggests that the coming months will be a time when at long last you will reach your full sexual ripeness. It’s true that you’ve been capable of generating new human beings for quite some time. But your erotic wisdom has lagged behind. Now that’s going to change. Your ability to harness your libidinous power will soon start to increase. As it does, you’ll gain new access to primal creativity.

ARIES (March 21-April 19): Now and then you display an excessive egotism that pushes people away. But during the next six weeks you will have an excellent chance to shed some of that tendency, even as you build more of the healthy pride that attracts help and support. So be alert for a steady flow of intuitions that will instruct you on how to elude overconfidence, and instead cultivate more of the warm, radiant charisma that is your birthright. You came here to planet Earth not just to show off your bright beauty, but also to wield it as a source of inspiration and motivation for those whose lives you touch.

TAURUS (April 20-May 20): “How often I found where I should be going only by setting out for somewhere else,” said inventor Buckminster Fuller. I don’t fully endorse that perspective. For example, when I said goodbye to North Carolina with the intention to make Northern California my new home, Northern California is exactly where I ended up and stayed. Having said that, however, I suspect that the coming months could be one of those times when Fuller’s formula applies to you. Your ultimate destination may turn out to be different from your original plan. But here’s the tricky part: If you do want to eventually be led to the situation that’s right for you, you have to be specific about setting a goal that seems right for now.

CANCER (June 21-July 22): The coming weeks will be a good time to fill your bed with rose petals and sleep with their aroma caressing your dreams. You should also consider the following acts of intimate revolution: listening to sexy spiritual flute music while carrying on scintillating conversations with interesting allies … sharing gourmet meals in which you and your sensual companions use your fingers to slowly devour your delectable food … dancing naked in semi-darkness as you imagine your happiest possible future. Do you catch my drift, Cancerian?

You’re due for a series of appointments with savvy bliss and wild splendor.

LEO (July 23-Aug. 22): “I have always wanted … my mouth full of strange sunlight,” writes Leo poet Michael Dickman in his poem “My Honeybee.” In another piece, while describing an outdoor scene from childhood, he innocently asks, “What kind of light is that?”

Elsewhere he confesses, “What I want more than anything is to get down on paper what the shining looks like.” In accordance with the astrological omens, Leo, I suggest you follow Dickman’s lead in the coming weeks. You will receive soulful teachings if you pay special attention to both the qualities of the light you see with your eyes and the inner light that wells up in your heart.

VIRGO (Aug. 23-Sept. 22): The Passage du Gois is a 2.8-mile causeway that runs between the western French town of Beauvoir-sur-Mer and the island of Noirmoutier in the Atlantic Ocean. It’s only usable twice a day when the tide goes out, and even then for just an hour or two. The rest of the time it’s under water. If you hope to walk or bike or drive across, you must accommodate yourself to nature’s rhythms.

I suspect there’s a metaphorically similar phenomenon in your life, Virgo. To get to where you want to go next, you can’t necessarily travel exactly when you feel like it. The path will be open and available for brief periods. But it will be open and available.

GEMINI (May 21-June 20):

LIBRA (Sept. 23-Oct. 22):

If you were an obscenely rich plutocrat, you might have a pool table on your super yacht. And to ensure that you and your buddies could play pool even in a storm that rocked your boat, you would have a special gyroscopic instrument installed to keep your pool table steady and stable. But I doubt you have such luxury at your disposal. You’re just not that wealthy or decadent. You could have something even better, however: metaphorical gyroscopes that will keep you steady and stable as you navigate your way through unusual weather.

Do you know what I’m referring to? If not, meditate on the three people or influences that might best help you stay grounded. Then make sure you snuggle up close to those people and influences during the next two weeks.

Modern toilet paper appeared in 1901, when a company in Green Bay, Wis., began to market “sanitary tissue” to the public. The product had a small problem, however. Since the manufacturing process wasn’t perfect, wood chips sometimes remained embedded in the paper. It was not until 1934 that the product was offered as officially “splinter-free.” I mention this, Libra, because I suspect that you are not yet in the splinterfree phase of the promising possibility you’re working on. Keep at it. Hold steady. Eventually you’ll purge the glitches.

Compare the person you are now with who you were two years ago. Make a list of three important differences. Testify at Freewillastrology.com.

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Savage Love {BY DAN SAVAGE}

I am a bi man in my late 20s in a poly relationship. My primary partner’s name is Erin. One of the rules she mandated is that I cannot date anyone else named Aaron or Erin. She thinks it would be confusing and awkward. Since those are fairly common names, I have had to reject other Aarons/ Erins several times over the last couple of years. My name is very uncommon, so she doesn’t have to worry about this on her side. Overall, it seems like a superficial reason to have to reject someone. Is there any sort of compromise here? We haven’t been able to think of any work-arounds.

NOT ALLOWED MULTIPLE ERINS

I can’t count the number of gay couples I’ve met over the years where both men or both women had the same first name. OK, OK, it’s not a parallel circumstance, I realize. But having a hardand-fast/deal-breaky rule about names — “I can’t date someone named Dan, you can’t date someone named Erin, my ideal has always been to love someone of the name of Ernest” — strikes me as silly and reductive. We are not our names, and our names are not ours. (I am not the only Dan Savage out there, nor am I the only Dan Savage capable of giving decent sex advice, as my substitute Dan Savages ably demonstrated this summer.)

So here’s my suggested workaround, NAME: Your primary partner stops being a ridiculous control queen.

But just in case you want a second opinion …

“This poor woman wants to make sure that when her lover cries out her name, he really means her,” says Dossie Easton, coauthor of The Ethical Slut: A Practical Guide to Polyamory, Open Relationships & Other Adventures. “I can understand this, but I’m wondering if there could be a work-around with nicknames. Many lovers have very personal nicknames for each other, and perhaps that would make the ‘Aaron/Erin’ problem manageable.”

Would you like a third opinion?

“It sounds like Erin has that most common of polyamorous fears: the fear of being lost in the crowd,” says Franklin Veaux, coauthor of More Than Two: A Practical Guide to Ethical Polyamory. “Some folks deal with this by passing rules against taking a date to a favorite restaurant or forbidding certain pet names. It sounds like Erin is dealing with her fear by saying, ‘Don’t date any more Erins.’ The problem is that names don’t make you unique. Erin isn’t special in NAME’s eyes because of her name. But sometimes putting words on a fear is the first step toward eliminating it. She says dating another Erin would be ‘confusing and awkward.’ What does that mean? What are Erin’s concerns? If it’s only feeling awkward, well, being an adult means feeling awkward sometimes!”

To recap: Your primary partner needs to get over it (Dan’s advice); your primary partner might be mollified if you swore to use only pet names for other Aarons/Erins (Dossie’s advice); keep talking and maybe your primary partner will get over it (Franklin’s advice). All in all, our expert panel doesn’t have a lot of sympathy for your primary partner’s position. So in the interest of fairness, I’m going to offer a defense of Erin’s position.

It’s not uncommon for people in open relationships to insist on a rule that seems arbitrary, even capricious, to their partners. I call these rules “Brown M&Ms,” a reference to 1980s hair-rock band Van Halen. The band’s touring contract stipulated that bowls of M&Ms be set out backstage with all the brown M&Ms removed. To see whether its contract had been followed to the letter — a contract that included a lot of technical requirements for its elaborate and potentially dangerous stage shows — all the band had to do was glance at those bowls of M&Ms. If a local promoter couldn’t be trusted to get something simple and seemingly arbitrary right, he couldn’t be trusted to get the bigger stuff right. And if the promoter didn’t get the big stuff right, it wasn’t safe for the band to perform.

Arbitrary rules in open relationships are like Van Halen’s brown M&Ms: a quick way to check if you’re safe. If your partner can’t be trusted to not sleep with someone else in your bed, not take someone else to a favorite restaurant, etc., perhaps they can’t be trusted to get the big things right — like ensuring your physical and emotional safety and/or primacy. So if obeying a rule that seems silly and arbitrary makes your partner feel safe to “perform,” i.e., secure enough to be in an open/poly relationship with you, then obeying that seemingly silly rule is the price of admission.

MANY LOVERS HAVE VERY PERSONAL NICKNAMES FOR EACH OTHER.

I, like many hetero, monogamously inclined single women in their 20s, have had a difficult time finding love in the Tinder age. I’ve been single for two years, peppered with some mundanely heartbreaking flings throughout. Recently, I met someone at work, and we’ve been dating for a few months. We’re emotionally and politically compatible, and he is solid and kind. The only issue is that I don’t feel the level of sexual chemistry that I’ve felt with others. Part of me feels like, at 26, I’m too young to settle in the passion department.

The other part of me feels like it’s a dating hellscape out there and I’d be an idiot to walk away. Please advise.

SEEKING HOT AND LASTING LOVE OR WHINING?

Dating is a hellscape, SHALLOW, but it has always been thus. Before Tinder and OkCupid and FetLife came along, women (and men) complained about singles bars, blind dates, moms who gave their phones numbers to dentists, and aunts who invited the mysteriouslysingle/obviously-gay sons of their best friends to Thanksgiving. It wasn’t unheard of for people to be single for a couple of years, and mundanely heartbreaking flings have always been a feature, never a bug.

As for the guy you’ve been seeing, if the spark isn’t there — no strong physical attraction — you should bail. You say you’re “monogamously inclined,” and that’s wonderful, and I support your lifestyle choice. The “monogamously inclined” need to prioritize strong sexual connections and sexual compatibility right along with kindness, solidity, and emotional and political compatibility.

On the Lovecast, bisexual men dating straight women, it ain’t easy: savagelovecast.com.

SEND YOUR QUESTIONS TO MAIL@SAVAGELOVE.NET AND FIND THE SAVAGE LOVECAST (DAN’S WEEKLY PODCAST) AT SAVAGELOVECAST.COM

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COSPLAYING FOR KEEPS {BY GABRIELLE FELLOWS}

NO WOMAN IN THE GEEK COMMUNITY is held to a higher standard than one who cosplays. Regardless of who approaches asking for her to pose for an obscenely strange photograph during a comic con, the expectation is — she must be kind, her costume must be accurate, and above all, she must be tough.

During the Wizard World Comic Con at the David L. Lawrence Convention Center, Downtown, last weekend, a slew of traveling cosplayers sat at the official event cosplay table, signing autographs and talking with fans. In addition, they hosted and participated in many of the different panels and events happening throughout the weekend, all while dolled up as their favorite characters.

Princess Morgan, a cosplayer from Cleveland, spent the con chewing peppermint patties, attempting to fight off feelings of nausea brought on by an oncoming cold. Her mom, whom she brought with her, would occasionally pop in to the cosplay booth and check on her daughter, fix her wig or makeup, and then pop back out.

Morgan Paige, a.k.a. Princess Morgan, has been cosplaying since she was 15 years old. She said she fell in love with cosplaying after attending her first comic con with some of her cousins.

“Cons were places I could be myself, so I continued going to them and dressing up,” she said. “About a year ago, I was going through some stuff in my life and decided I wanted to channel that into something creative. So I made my first costume by hand, and from there my career in cosplay took off.”

{CP PHOTO BY GABRIELLE FELLOWS}

Morgan Paige as the Corpse Bride at the Wizard World Comic Con

receive have to do with body image, something that Bunny said isn’t easy to hear or fix.

“Nobody is ever happy,” she said. “I used to have people say things like, ‘Oh well, you look like a guy, or your cleavage isn’t enough for this character.’ I just told myself that I’m going to work with what I got. It always hurts a little bit. … You just shrug it off because you know that there are a lot of people who love you and appreciate you for what you do. People on the internet with negative opinions don’t matter.”

“THIS IS ABOUT HAVING FUN. IF ANYBODY TELLS YOU OTHERWISE, IGNORE THEM BECAUSE THEIR OPINION DOESN’T MATTER.” Yuffie Bunny, another certified cosplayer, echoed Princess Morgan when she said that attending cons allowed her to be herself without being judged or made fun of. In fact, it made her even more friends.

“I was finally able to meet people who were into the same things I was into — anime, video games, comic books, Japanese culture and geek culture in general,” Bunny said. “At the time, in the early 2000s — during my time in high school and middle school — it wasn’t something people shouted from the rooftops about. We sort of kept it hush-hush.

“I had so much fun meeting people, talking about costumes, and I started making my best friends through cons and cosplay.

My fiancé and I even met at a convention.”

While cosplaying is something that can bring a lot of positivity into one’s life, it also makes the people involved a target for a lot of cyber negativity. Most of the comments or messages cosplayers

Mogchelle, an internationally known cosplayer and official guest of Wizard World, said that she chalks up any negative comments she receives to a lack of common courtesy. As a woman who works a full-time job as a software programmer, is a mother of two and is in a relationship, she says she just doesn’t have time for that sort of negativity in her world.

“I have my brainiac side and my creative side,” Mogchelle said.

“This is my stress relief. I’ve seen that bullying has been a lot more common, but it’s all online. If it’s online, I can brush it off and move on with my day. I’m going to have fun with it.”

Paige added that those who think cosplay is about a perfect costume, having a perfect figure or looking just like the character they’re emulating, are wrong.

“When you’re anybody on the internet, you’re going to get negativity,” she said. “This is about having fun. If anybody tells you otherwise, ignore them because their opinion doesn’t matter.”

INF O @ P G HC I T Y PA P E R. C OM

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