Planet Weekly 482 by The Planet Weekly

>>> STEPHEN'S REPORT | S T E P H E N S M I T H

SABAN'S PATIENCE // A WORK IN PROGRESS Photo: UA Athletic Photography

pring time has taught us two things, Mother Nature is bipolar and Alabama football needs to tighten up its character. The Tuscaloosa Police Department has been quite busy recently. Three Crimson Tide players were arrested and two have been dismissed from the program. A new story was released involving the 24-year-old victim in the Jonathan Taylor domestic violence incident, according to ESPN and Tuscaloosa News. She retracted her statement three days after Taylor

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was dismissed. The victim was arrested and charged with providing false information. Taylor will not play a single down of Alabama football, despite new findings in this strange story. Tyren Jones was poised to be Alabama’s third running back in its rotation, but multiple off-season issues have squandered his opportunity. He was already serving an indefinite suspension, due to violating team rules. Jones was recently arrested and

charged with marijuana possession. Senior defensive back Geno Smith has witnessed Saban’s patience for a third time. He will be able to rejoin the team, after taking care of some personal matters. “Our focus right now is to try and help Geno,” Saban said. “He’s always been a good student, he’s always done a good job and he’s a good competitor on our team. He’s always set a pretty good example in terms of how he’s played.” With this being said, Alabama’s head coach Nick Saban looks to move forward with spring practice. The Crimson Tide’s annual spring game is set for Sat, Apr. 18, 2015 at 2:00pm CT. Saban said he was pleased with the energy the players showed in practice Monday. “We got a great practice in,” Saban said. “I think the players responded well and we probably had one of our better practices of the spring. Alabama replaces three seniors on its offensive line in Austin Shepherd, Arie Kouandjio and Leon Brown. Saban said the only way Alabama will get experience is for the young guys to continue to play. “It’s been a work in progress, Saban said. “Especially on offense with losing so many experienced guys, and it’s created a lot of opportunities for our young guys. We like the way they are working and improving. I think the offensive line has come together pretty nicely.”

All five quarterbacks are getting an equal opportunity at the starting job, but Saban noted Jake Coker as the one who’s feeling the most comfortable right now. Alabama returns many pieces defensively next season. Its secondary looks to improve its coverage skills in 2015. Saban even took time to entertain the media’s question on Jonathan Taylor. He called the final result “unfortunate.” Saban said Taylor came in with specific guidelines and zero tolerance, but he didn’t live up to it. “We’ve created many opportunity for players through the years,” Saban said. “Sometimes it works out extremely well. We’re sad to say that in this case it didn’t, and we all take responsibility for that. We have a good program here at Alabama, and we have a lot of good players that have done a lot of good things for this community and on our team.” Saban said Alabama will continue providing opportunities for players and if there is any way that it could help Taylor overcome his issues, then it will help him. Alabama will take the field today for its seventh spring practice. It hopes to have sophomore left tackle Cam Robinson back this week. Robinson has been dealing with an ankle sprain. Cam Sims’s knee injury was the lone one reported from Saban in Monday’s press conference. It will be up to Robert Foster, Raheem Falkins, ArDarius Stewart and others to step up.

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inside

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STORIES 5 YELLOWHAMMER FESTIVAL // WILLIAM BARSHOP This is gonna be a lot of fun

6 FIRST-EVER SLOSS FEST // TREY BROOKS

HIGH TIDE SPORTS 23 THE TIDE'S FIRST SCRIMMAGE // GARY DAVIS Saban talks about the team

Huge lineup of bands for this mega-show

PUBLISHER

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COVER DESIGN

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ROAD TRIP

T R E Y B R OOK S

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H E R B N E U / SIMPSON POINT P R E SS

IMAGES

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CONTRIBUTING WRITERS R E G G I E ALL E N W ILLIAM B A R S H OP K AITLY N B LOUNT c a r a br a ke T R E Y B R OO K S J o rd a n c i s s e l l S H E E NA G R E G G G A R Y H A R R IS J IM R E E D BRETT REID j o n r o ger s VAN R O B E R TS ST E P H E N SMIT H R AC H E L ST E IN E R

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Email: publisher@theplanetweek ly.com Please direct correspondence to: publisher@theplanetweekly.com The Planet Weekly is a proud member of The West Alabama Chamber of Commerce. © 2015 All rights reserved. THE PLANET WEEKLY is a registered trademark. Planet Weekly is published every other Thursday. No part of this publication including editorials may be reproduced, in whole or part, by any means, including electronic retrieval systems, without the Publisher’s prior expressed written consent. One copy of each issue of THE PLANET WEEKLY is free to each of our readers. Any reader who takes more than four copies without expressed permission of the publisher shall be deemed to have committed theft. The views and opinions of the authors of articles appearing in this publication may not necessarily reflect the views and opinions of the Publisher.

8 CAPS CELEBRATION OF CHILDREN

CAPS strives to ensure a safe environment for at-risk children

9 RUBBER DUCKIES TO SOLAR CELLS // KAITLYN BLOUNT Taking a journey in science

13 NATURAL ALLERGY RELIEF // DR. RACHEL STEINER You'll want to see this if you suffer during the pollen season

14 ALBUM REVIEW // JORDAN CISSELL

"Sometimes I Sit and Think, and Sometimes I Just Sit"

FEATURE 4 THESE BOOTS // REGGIE ALLEN

How Nick Burroughs became kinky

entertainment 10-12

RESTAURANT GUIDE / WINE & BEER

THE FLAT SCREEN

MOVIE REVIEW

16-17

LOCAL Events Calendar

Road Trip

LOCAL music

PUZZLEMANIA / EDITORIAL CARTOON

HOROSCOPE

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APRIL 9 + APRIL 23

>>> D E S T I N Y | R E G G I E A L L E N

THESE BOOTS ARE MADE FOR WALKING // HOW T-TOWN'S NICK BURROUGHS BECAME KINKY

ick Rashad Burroughs knew he would be on Broadway one day. Maybe in a decade, he thought, but it was destined to happen. As a recent graduate of the University of Alabama, Burroughs had convinced himself that he might not make it on Broadway for another five or 10 years. But he had coached himself to keep faith and to keep auditioning, because his time on the stage would eventually come. He graduated in May. It came in July. He was walking through the terminal of a North Carolina airport when he got the call. As an actor, it was not unusual to make frequent travels to the concrete jungle for callbacks. This was his seventh. He had gotten the hang of these trips, and, once again, he was on his way back home to Birmingham. When he picked up the phone, he was given news sent from heaven. To those around him, it appeared as if he was given a death sentence. Tears were rolling down his cheeks and his body trembled with

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emotion. Bystanders in the terminal approached him to see if he was all right. He was more than happy to explain the good tidings. The young actor had been cast as the understudy for the lead role of Simon in the Broadway production of “Kinky Boots,” an adaption of the 2005 film. The musical revolves around a struggling shoemaker who enlists the help of Simon, a drag queen (who goes by the stage name Lola), in making a successful line of “footwear” to save his business. Since its debut on Broadway in 2013, the musical has been nominated for 13 Tony Awards and has taken home six. Though the casting astonished Burroughs, the true surprise was that he only auditioned for the national tour, not the Broadway show in New York City. Initially, Burroughs was not very confident that he would get the role. His competitors were much older, more seasoned, and had more Broadway credits than he did.

“And I was brand new and it was extremely shocking to me,” Burroughs said. It was a rare occasion. Jeffrey Tangeman, the head of directing and stage management programs at the University of Alabama, said that while Burroughs had the talent, it was the timing that had caught him off guard. Tangeman met the young actor in the fall of 2013 as a student in his directing class. He recalls how friendly and approachable he was from the beginning. That same night saw Burroughs audition for the theatre program’s fall lineup. His mind was blown. After seeing Burroughs act and sing, the director remembered thinking to himself, ‘If that is what we do here in this department, if that is the kind of student that we train as actors, we are doing something right.’ Tangeman was not surprised that he got the part. “He is perfect for the role,” Tangeman said. “He is something special. I felt that in the time that I knew him, he was going to do great things. What you never know is how quickly these things happen for someone, because the industry is so fickle. I mean, you never know. He is ambitious in a good way, and he’s got it all.” Burroughs was discovered through “Bama on Broadway,” an annual senior showcase trip to New York held by the university. Graduating students have the opportunity to showcase their talents in front of a handful of casting agents in the hopes of being signed. Last year, over 20 students attended. According to Tangeman, all received at least one call back. “Kinky Boots” was his first and only postshowcase audition. While his website says that he has been performing since he was three, theatre had not always been a passion of his. In his time at Shades Valley High School, he had planned to follow his family’s path in athletics, lettering in football and track and field. At one point, he even considered applying for a collegiate athletic scholarship before he discovered theatre. In what he called a “joke”, Burroughs auditioned for a play, “Separate but Equal,” one of the many plays entered in a statewide competition. Burroughs won the award for best performing actor. At this moment, Burroughs knew that this was something that he wanted to do for the rest of his life. Fast-forward a few years later, Burroughs is now in New York, on Broadway. As the understudy and member of the Angels, the show’s featured ensemble, he is always on his feet or in his heels. It took him quite some time to master the art of wearing the musical’s signature stilettos, and he had consulted one of his drag friends to master the trade. It paid off. On Saturday, January 17, Burroughs made his debut as the lead role. Tony award-winning and lead actor Billy Porter

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had fallen ill, and the young actor was given his time to shine, and to finally do his job. He performed both the matinee and evening shows as the head drag queen. “Tonight was an ultimate dream comes true,” Burroughs said on his Facebook that night. “Words can't express what I was feeling tonight. I never thought I would actually be performing as a leading man on Broadway with such an electric audience.” His audience has grown from students and faculty at the Capstone to the likes of former NFL player Michael Sam and his partner, Jonathan Bennett (Mean Girls), Lea DeLaria (Orange Is The New Black), lyricist Tim Rice and many other prominent figures. He has even hugged X-Men star and Broadway veteran Hugh Jackman. “There is something about the way he moves,” said Shea Smitherman, a current UA student that knew him during his time at the Capstone. It was during their time in Alpha Psi Omega, the honorary theatre fraternity on campus, when she realized just how talented he was. His movements: majestic and unexplainable. His voice: belting and powerful. She said she remembers how much he would doubt his talent, just how talented he was. Tangeman could not stop speaking highly of his former student. He claimed he is the “the most humble man that you would ever meet.” “And even if he had a little bit of an ego, you could forgive him,” Tangeman said. Though almost a year has passed since he first set foot on Al Hirscfeld Theatre, and though he has worn those signature boots daily, Broadway still has that “new-car smell”, and Burroughs still can’t believe his dreams are coming true. Playing a man who plays a woman makes for a great transformation, Burroughs said. Many people have known him for his explosive and magnetic personality, but wearing a wig and red high-heel boots is an entirely different story. He is a man empowered. “I feel like I transformed from a man to Beyoncé.”

>>> M U S I C | W I L L I A M B A R S H O P

YELLOWHAMMER FESTIVAL // GOOD VIBES AT THE ARBORETUM //

sn’t it about time Tuscaloosa had its own music festival? For a town so full of youth, talent and a healthy love for the arts, a unifying celebration was bound to emerge. Yellowhammer is a trial run for a full-scale eco-friendly music festival, and the inaugural event on April 19 promises crafts, snacks and a talented lineup of local bands, all in the springtime oasis of the University of Alabama Arboretum. “We’ve been using the hashtag ‘#GoodVibes’ on everything,” said Ben Tomlin, a student leader for the project. “The main thing we want is people to come and have a good time, and we have our fingers crossed for beautiful weather.” The Yellowhammer Festival will be orchestrated by Creative Campus, an arts advocacy group at the university. Rachel Raimist, the group’s co-director, said a big advantage of starting out smaller is that they can test run all the logistics and spot any speed bumps. “What does it sound like at the arboretum? Does the sound work?” Raimist said. “Will people show up? We need to know these things before we go forward with something bigger.” If the social media response is any indicator, people will indeed show up. The Facebook page for Yellowhammer had over 300 likes within 24 hours of being posted and shared by partner groups. A big draw, of course, will be the music. The Doctors and the Lawyers, the beating heart of Tuscaloosa’s rock scene, is set to play along with Lake Lyon, Agent Honeydew and an improv group called Off the Top. “I truly believe we have some of the most talented bands in the state,” said Alyx Chandler, another Creative Campus intern and frequent Planet Weekly contributing writer. “They just don't have a big enough audience, venue or festival for them to perform at to get their name out there.” Raimist said this event has been an itch the interns have had for years, and it’s a relief to finally scratch it.

“I interviewed over a hundred applicants for Creative Campus next semester, and the number one thing they said when we asked what kind of event they would like to do is ‘music festival!,’” Raimist said. “It’s hard to imagine how many moving pieces are involved. And the cost is a big factor for any music festival.” While interested music-lovers enjoy the show, they can hula-hoop, get a henna tattoo or cool off with a Steel City Pop. They can pick up a “seed bomb” to spread flowers in their neighborhood or get their face painted with the Yellowhammer logo. “Also, our festival is totally dog friendly!” Chandler added. Along with the goal to get the community out and exploring the arboretum, the Creative Campus arts coordinator Michelle Bordner said she hopes Yellowhammer can celebrate Earth Day with sustainability in mind. “It seems the best we can all do is try to be more aware of the footprint we are leaving behind and maximize our efforts to reduce our own wastefulness,” The hope is that this festival can raise awareness of the need for more sustainable efforts while also creating a creative and enjoyable environment to spend the afternoon.” Chandler said the eco-friendly aspect of the festival is important to the goal of making it even bigger in the future without leaving a negative mark on Tuscaloosa’s natural resources. “Sustainability is hugely popular right now,” Chandler said. “In student groups, whole cities, households, even in some parts of the government! This is a fabulous time to kick off Tuscaloosa's local sustainability scene, and not to mention music scene.” One reminder of our daily waste will be the coffee K-cups that offer a quick and easy cup of coffee, but leave a dangerous trail of plastic containers. “With the K-cups, the end goal is to focus on being able to give out ‘planters,’ which will be a cleaned out, used K-cup that people will be given a seed, dirt and

directions how to keep their plant alive and eventually transfer into a bigger container,” Chandler said. “People will also be given the chance to paint the outside of it.” Tomlin said a lot of the festival’s partners also promote sustainability, like Homegrown Alabama, Sassafras Center for Arts and Environment, UA Recycling, and Tide for Tusks. “We’ve been working really hard and I’m just excited for it to happen,” Tomlin said. “It’s going to be a great festival atmosphere and just good times all around.” Raimist said on top of being a great event for Tuscaloosa, the Creative Campus interns have the opportunity to build valuable skills like budgeting and reaching out to other organizations. “We’re here helping to push, helping to pull, and tapping you on the shoulder saying, ‘Did you think about this?’ or ‘How are you going to deal with this?’” Raimist said. “It can kind of look like when you have your foot on the brake and the gas at the same time . . . We help them lay off the brake and get moving.” If this is the first you are hearing about Yellowhammer, you will probably be caught in the media blitz in the coming days, with ads on posters, campus

TVs and all over social media trying to spread the word. The Creative Campus interns even did a photoshoot in their best “hippie” outfits so they would have plenty of content to avoid oversaturating their friends’ newsfeeds with the same logo for two weeks. “If the community comes out and supports this, we can really take it to the next level,” Raimist said. “We can’t do that unless we can demonstrate there is an interest.” Chandler said right now she is just looking forward to seeing it all come together. “I am super excited just to have a sunny, beautiful afternoon appreciating one of the coolest nature places in Ttown,” Chandler said. The Yellowhammer Festival will be held on April 19 at the UA Arboretum from 1 – 5 p.m.

GREENAPRIL BAR Fri 10 – Sons of Janis Score 2 Settle Arts show Sat 11 – Moose Kick with Tree Tops Thu 16 – Underwear Comedy Night! Thu 24 – The Kinky Aphrodesiacs w/The Blackwater Thieves Sat 25 – TAKE THE POWER BACK!

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APRIL 9 + APRIL 23

>>> RED CLAY DIARY | J I M R E E D

>>> M U S I C | T R E Y B R O O K S

AHEM AND MOO // FIRST-EVER SLOSS FEST DEPENDABLE FRIENDS COMES TO MAGIC CITY

almost hurt my neck the first time I see Moo Cow beside the Bessemer Superhighway. I guess I’ve seen Moo lots of times, but today I really pay attention. My name is Sollie. I’m too young to have a driver’s license, so I can only see Moo now and then when I’m a passenger in somebody else’s car. My Father says that girls my age should never ride a Birmingham bus alone, so I am not yet able to stop and see Moo up close. And I haven’t worked up the courage to ask Dad to pull over and let me pat Moo on the head. Would he laugh at me? By the way, Sollie is a nickname. My real name is Solitude—from a poem by my father’s favorite poet, Rilke. Solitude fits me, I guess, because I spend most of my time alone, and I like it that way. Most of the time. To entertain myself, I collect Dependable Friends. They are called Dependable Friends because I can count on them. They never look away or ignore me. They never fight or make fun of me. They Listen. Here are some of the Dependable Friends I write about in my red velvet diary: 1. Moo Cow. Moo Cow is this huge brown and white statue of a cow facing the Bessemer Superhighway on the left as you head toward Midfield. I really would like to pet Moo. Maybe when I’m old enough to drive. 2. Little Vulc. Little Vulc is a statue that looks sort of like Vulcan, the old Roman god who stands on Red Mountain. Little Vulc is big, but not as big as Vulcan. You can see him on the side of the road to your right as you head toward East Lake on First Avenue North. 3. Big Guy. Big Guy is this big statue of a man that stands beside the road to your left as you head through Tarrant on the way to Jeff State College. He is about as big as Vulcan, but he’s down on the ground where you can get a good look. Want to see the whole list? There are lots of other Dependable Friends on my list. As I tried to explain, they are Dependable Friends because I can always count on them to be there whenever I pass by. They are Dependable Friends because they don’t mind that I like to be alone most of the time. They understand that my name, Solitude, fits me just fine. But they would definitely call me Sollie if they could talk— because Dependable Friends respect my wishes. Dependable Friends don’t call me names or shove me or shun me. By the way, I’ve been thinking about Moo’s name. I don’t really know whether Moo is called Moo by anybody else. I just came up with that name because

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Moo is the sound that cows make. Based on that idea, I think Moo should call me Ahem instead of Sollie. Moo is the sound that cows make. Ahem is the sound that people make. I notice that cows moo a lot. I notice that humans say Ahem a lot. Fits, don’t you think? Anyhow, I’m still making a list of Dependable Friends. Here are a couple of others: 4. Miss Electra. Miss Electra is this twenty-foot-tall golden statue on top of the Alabama Power Company building Downtown. She is so beautiful, and she has this great hat. I hope you get a chance to see her. I would like to meet her in person someday. 5. Brother Bryan. Brother Bryan is a statue of a famous old preacher. He kneels at the intersection of Five Points South. The thing I like about him is that no matter what is going on around him, he stays peaceful and just stares up at the sky as if he would prefer to be alone, just like me. Maybe he doesn’t like to be shunned, either. That’s enough for now. Maybe I’ll share more of my red velvet diary list some other time. I like to think that there are other people like me who would like to be named Solitude. The funny thing is, we don’t get to know each other because we stay to ourselves. I had a new thought, so I’ll place it in my diary: If all those other Solitude-type people start making their own lists of Dependable Friends, maybe, just maybe, when they get their driver’s licenses, they might show up at one of the statues at the same time I do. Maybe we would meet and become Dependable Friends. Wouldn’t that be awesome © Jim Reed 2015 A.D.

t was once the industrial center of Birmingham. Since its closing, it has been the subject of reported hauntings and has been featured on several television shows for paranormal investigations. And now, its hosting a summer music festival. This summer, the famous Sloss Furnace National Historic Landmark in Birmingham will host the first ever Sloss Fest. The festival will take place on the 18th and 19th of July at the Magic City landmark. Since its announcement, the festival has drawn considerable buzz, with television spots running frequently and social media taking notice. For a first-year festival, Sloss offers an impressive lineup that focuses on modern alternative rock, though artists are not limited to this genre. The festival is a huge undertaking for Red Mountain Entertainment, the company that operates many venues in West Alabama, including the Tuscaloosa Amphitheatre and Oak Mountain Amphitheatre. Leading the pack of headliners for the festival is Modest Mouse, one of the most successful alternative bands of the past 15 years. Early in their career, Modest Mouse scored a major commercial hit with the song “Float On”. Although subsequent releases have yet to match that single in terms of airplay, Modest Mouse have remained critical darlings, and their touring has given them a rabid fanbase that leads to major slots at festivals nationwide. Another major festival act that headlines this group is Band of Horses. BOH incorporates a southern sound to traditional alternative rock, despite being from Seattle, the home of grunge. Their use of Americana has helped them gain fans in the Southeast. If you’ve seen the Sloss Fest commercial running recently, you’ll recognize Cage the Elephant’s “Ain’t No Rest for the Wicked” being used to sell the festival. The monster hit has led to a lucrative career for the band, who will headline the festival as well. One of

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the more unique bands in the history of rock has to be Primus, who’s sound can loosely be described as a mix between Frank Zappa, Rush and the Pixies. Recently, they have toured with a Willy Wonka theme, and they may bring that to their Sloss set. Joining these groups will be Alabama’s own St. Paul and the Broken Bones, who have recently broken through to mainstream exposure after years of playing the West Alabama circuit. There is also a major headlining spot that has yet to be announced. As you can see, the alternative genre is well-represented at Sloss Fest. Other alternative acts that fill out the lineup include Manchester Orchestra, Young the Giant and The New Pornographers. Folk acts are also given spots at the festival, such as Lord Huron and First Aid Kit. Rapper Tyler the Creator makes an appearance. Electronica is represented with artists like Big Gigantic and Purity Ring. And even local acts get in on the action as Lee Bains III and the Glory Fires are on the card. While Sloss Fest has certainly made an impression with its debut, it will be going against history if it wants to succeed. Major festivals in Birmingham have suffered over the years and gone under despite being well-received. Many remember City Stages, which brought top-selling acts to the Magic City. After City Stages was discontinued, the Crawfish Boil became the largest event in the city.Feb While Friday 27thsmaller, niche festivals have thrived in the city, Velcro Pygmies larger events have trouble surviving. Even with initialSaturday success,Feb Sloss Fest is 28th not a sure thing, though Mojothis Triowriter is certainly rooting for it. Sloss Furnace has longMar been a Wednesday 4th site of great intrigue Karaoke for the people of Birmingham and visitors. The economic w/DJ ProtoJ impact of the foundry and its closing, the subsequentThursday stories of Mar hauntings 5th that made its Halloween attraction, and Karaoke now its use as a music w/DJ venue ProtoJhave all contributed to a long and storied history. Now, Sloss Fest can add its legacy to the grounds.

>>> ACTIVITY | K A I T L Y N B L O U N T

EXPLORER WEDNESDAY // THE OUTDOORS AND NATURAL HISTORY FOR KIDS

PHOTOS: Kaitlyn Blount

ossils, fish, and bugs, oh my! This is just a sample of what awaits you if you were to visit the Alabama Museum of Natural History on a Wednesday afternoon. Explorer Wednesday, which is typically held once a month for children in 3rd, 4th, and 5th grades, is one of the many after school programs that the museum offers for young explorers that want to learn about the world around us, and have a blast doing it. Upon walking into the Alabama Museum of Natural History, located in Smith Hall on the University of Alabama campus, you are greeted by three stories of exhibits. Hanging over your head is the massive Basilosaurus cetoides, a genus of early whale that lived millions of years ago, and it’s also the state fossil of Alabama. All of this is laid out under a large,

glass roof that bathes the entire museum with natural light. As 3:30 rolls around, Explorer Wednesday kicks off with the group of children being led up to the third floor to start their tour, which is given by Allie Sorlie, the Education Outreach Coordinator for the museum. The third floor features a variety of animal exhibits, showcasing different species that are found around Alabama. Sorlie starts off by teaching the children about the animals, like the difference between an Alabama alligator and a crocodile. In case you ever need to identify one, Sorlie says that one easy way to tell is to check their snout; alligators have a U-shape, while crocodiles have a V-shape. Next, the group can move on to a large window that has a set of binoculars

available, and a chart listing the different types of trees native to the area. This gives the children an opportunity to try to find and identify the trees surrounding the museum on their own. One boy excitedly claims that he has identified an oak tree, and seeing as how this is Alabama and we have no shortage of oaks, chances are he was correct. After they’ve had their fill of tree finding, the group is taught about fish found in Alabama, and get to see a large variety of them mounted on a wall. There’s also fossils out on display that they can touch and get a close-up look at. As they make their way to the second floor, the group gets another chance to test their identification skills, as there is another window set up with binoculars, except this time with a chart showcasing local birds instead of trees. Next, Sorlie takes the children to an exhibit to teach them about bugs and insects, and how they compare to their prehistoric ancestors. After learning about the bugs, the group gets the opportunity to do some hands on work, and they are given nets and containers to catch some of their own. Luckily, the bugs today aren't quite the size as they were millions of years ago, because then the kids would definitely have a hard time catching specimens with nets. Sorlie takes the group outside, and shows the group a good place to find some bugs, and how to catch them. “When I find a bug, I’m smashing it!” one boy exclaims. Luckily, no bugs were harmed in the making of this activity, because Sorlie explained the importance to catching them alive, observing them in the containers, and then releasing them back where they were found. Sorlie explains that for the after school programs, they always do a tour and an outside activity, and hope that letting them do hands on work outside helps them gain a better experience. Sorlie also told the parents in the group an easy way to make bug containers at home, so the kids could take this knowledge home with them and continue to use it. “Even having them outside just looking at bugs helps them develop an appreciation for the outdoors and natural history,” Sorlie said. After the bugs are safely returned to their homes, the kids head back inside for one last activity: feeding the

fish. A classroom located on the first floor has a fish tank filled with native species, including some feisty crawfish. Sorlie tells the kids about the different types of crawfish and how to identify them, and how one particularly mean one had to be relocated after picking fights with the others too much. Before the kids head home, they get to choose two shark teeth each to take with them, as a way to remember their time at the museum. Explorer Wednesday offers kids the chance to learn about natural history in a fun and engaging way. Other after school programs include Museum Monday, for grades K-2nd, and Growing Up Wild Preschool Friday, which are all typically held once a month. Sorlie says that in addition

to the new faces they see in each group, they have a lot of kids that come back and repeat the tours. During the summer, the museum also has other camps, such as the Science Day Camp for 5th-8th graders, and the Art and Nature Day Camp for 3rd-5th graders. The summer also offers day trips that include canoeing and tubing on rivers in the surrounding area. This year, the museum will be having its 37th Annual Museum Expedition Camp in June. Explorers who participate in this week long camp with get to do paleontology field work in Greene County, Ala. All of the after-school programs and camps require pre-registration, and information concerning them can be found on the museum’s website, amnh. ua.edu.

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APRIL 9 + APRIL 23

>>> E V E N T | S T A F F R E P O R T

THE ANNUAL CAPS CELEBRATION OF CHILDREN

HELP YOUR BUSINESS ATTRACT NEW CUSTOMERS.

t’s time for the Child Abuse Prevention Services, Inc. (CAPS) annual celebration of children! The All Kids Festival will be held at Munny Sokol Park, near the horse arena, on Saturday, April 25, 2015, from 9 to 3 p.m. This is a free event for families to spend time and fun together and to celebrate children and Child Abuse Prevention month. The day will be filled with games and activities, bouncers, cartoon characters-Dora and Spiderman, Miss Alabama, Miss Stillman and Miss University of Alabama, the humane society, horseback riding, music, food and many more activities. Ensuring every child’s right to grow up in a safe, nurturing home and community is the collaborate goal of the CAPS staff and Board of Directors. Child Abuse Prevention Services of Tuscaloosa, Inc. is dedicated to the prevention and treatment of child abuse and neglect in our community, through school-based and communitybased programs, CAPS provides education for children, parents, and the community at large. Averaging about 10,000 reported cases of child abuse and neglect in the state of Alabama each year, more needs to be done to prevent trauma that affects a child for the rest of his/her life. CAPS Community-Based Prevention Education Programs provide public education regarding the problems of child abuse and neglect and the available treatment and prevention resources within our community. CAPS School Based Prevention Education Programs are designed to teach children how to set personal boundaries and what to do when those boundaries are threatened. SchoolBased Prevention Programs also teach

APRIL 9 + APRIL 23

child safety and life skills such as: anger management, conflict resolution, impulse control, and problem-solving and empathy skills. CAPS Parent Education Programs are designed to teach parenting skills that promote healthy family interactions. They also help parents learn positive parenting skills and non-abusive ways for dealing with their angry feelings. You can learn more about CAPS by visiting their website at capstuscaloosa.org.

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>>> S C I E N C E | K A I T L Y N B L O U N T

FROM RUBBER DUCKIES TO SOLAR CELLS T

“

ake a Journey in Science”, a spring lecture series hosted by the Rodgers Library for Science and Engineering, finished up its month long run with “The Evolution of Polymers: From Rubber Duckies to Polymer Based Solar Cells”, hosted by Paul Rupar, an assistant professor of chemistry at the University of Alabama. The final lightning talk was one of four presented throughout February and March, covering topics from biological engineering to LED light applications to nanotechnology, and finally polymer science. The “Take a Journey in Science” program started in the Spring of 2014, and after being a success with the students, it was brought back for another go around. The ten to fifteen minute long lightning talks serve as a way for University of Alabama professors to give students a glimpse into the research they conduct outside of the classroom. For Assistant Professor Paul Rupar, his main focus is polymer based chemistry. Rupar, who has been at the university for over two years, says that his motivation to do work in polymer science is driven by the fact that we are basically surrounded by polymers on a daily basis. You think polymer science doesn't affect your day-to day-life? Guess again. You interact with them everyday. “It’s kind of shocking how much polymers are everywhere,” Rupar said. The chair you’re sitting on? Well, if it’s plastic, then it’s made of polymers. The nylon carpet under your feet? Polymers. If your favorite shirt happens to say polyester on the name tag, then guess what? That’s right, polymers. There are countless things we interact with that we have polymers to thank for. Without polymers, you couldn't use your handy non-stick frying pan in the morning to cook your eggs, because we wouldn't have teflon. Without polymers, your shampoo wouldn't make your hair shiny and silky, because it would lack dimethicone. “Without synthetic polymers, your modern life would not exist,” Rupar said. “I think it’s one of the areas of chemistry that has impacted modern life the most.” Research being done today is working towards developing polymers that will further benefit our lives in other ways besides saving our breakfast from permanently becoming one with the frying pan. One example of this is the concept of self-healing polymers. Say for instance you drop your cell phone, and to your dismay there’s now a big scratch on the screen. If the screen were to have self-healing polymer properties, that scratch would be gone in a few days time. This technology can also be extremely useful when a certain polymer is either hard to replace or it’s hard to detect

when it is broken. While self-healing polymers are becoming available in our lives, Rupar says he doubts it will on the Terminator’s level, so don’t expect it to blow to smithereens and then immediately reform. As for Rupar and research with polymers, his focus is on improving the efficiency of synthetic polymers that would be used to build solar cells. Current solar cells operate at about a 20% efficiency, but they are expensive, heavy, and really easy to break. If solar cells were to be polymer based, they would be lighter, more flexible, and less expensive. Finding a way to more easily harness solar power would be a huge step in the way we generate energy. “The future will hopefully have very, very inexpensive polymer solar cells.” Rupar said. Overall, the lecture series was another huge success for the University of Alabama. Besides giving professors a chance to showcase their work, the brief lightning talks also give students the opportunity to get a more focused glimpse in to a subject they might have interest in. It also gets their foot in the door for future research opportunities. Rupar says that a couple of students contacted him after the event with questions about getting involved in polymer research. Based on the popularity of the “Take a Journey in Science” lecture series the past two years, hopefully the university will make it an annual event, and continue to give the public a chance to get a glimpse at topics in science that shape our world.

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APRIL 9 + APRIL 23

>>> W I N E R E V I E W

|JON ROGERS

TRAPICHE MALBEC // ENJOYABLE COMPLEXITY T

rapiche Malbec is a red wine from Argentina. In this review we’ll cover this wine’s price, alcohol content, taste, aroma and more. Argentina is well known for producing Malbec. It’s their primary varietal and according to the Wine Bible, Malbec from this region is “far more delicious” than in Bordeaux—which is ironic, because Malbec is native to Bordeaux. The winemaker for Trapiche Malbec is Sergio Eduardo Casé. For this review, I tasted the Trapiche Malbec: Vineyards 2013. In the glass, this wine is deep ruby in color. It’s a dark wine and you really can’t see much when looking through it. It’s a very leggy wine. I observed many legs falling at different speeds in the glass. After pouring, I noticed the aroma was very prevalent and noticeable. While sitting a good four feet from this wine I could still notice it. Up a little closer, the aroma was complex and just a bit tart on the nose. I also noticed some subtle oak and a bit of spice. The aroma was very enjoyable and there was little evidence of the alcohol in the wine. Trapiche Malbec alcohol content 13.5% per the bottle. The wine’s taste had a twist! I wasn’t expecting the tartness of the aroma to carry through to the flavor,

but it did. Which surprised me since this is a dark red wine. The tartness was subtle. Not “Granny Smith tart” but just enough citrus in the flavor to be noticed. In addition to that flavor was a more expected flavor of red fruits. Though, they were more bright than dark. The wine’s tannins were well structured and balanced. I noticed them mostly on the tongue. They weren’t overly grippy. Finish of Trapiche Malbec was medium and not carried by the tannins. More so by the flavor itself. Overall I found this to be an enjoyable Malbec. What I especially liked was its complexity and the surprise twist of a citrus flavor in a bolder red wine. However, if you tend to like a deep bold red wine, this may not be the right wine for you. The Trapiche website recommends pairing this wine with grilled meat, pasta and semi-hard cheeses. I would agree. The slight tartness in the flavor would probably cut through and compliment those foods well. Trapiche Malbec price $7.99.

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W here to E at in T uscaloosa

BREAKFAST / LUNCH Brown Bag

9425 Jones Road | Northport // 333.0970 Its speciality, fried green tomatoes, joins barbecue plates and fish filets on an extended list of meats and vegetables. Tues 10:30 a.m. – 5:30 p.m. | Wed-Sat 10:30 a.m. - 7:30 p.m. City Cafe 408 Main Ave | Downtown Northport // 758.9171 Established in 1936. Big on food, low on price. Open for breakfast and lunch. Historic downtown Northport. Closed weekends. CountryPride Restaurant 3501 Buttermilk Rd // 554.0215 www.ta.travelcenters.com Breakfast 24 hours. Lunch and Dinner buffet. Cracker Barrel Old Country Store 4800 Doris Pate Dr | Exit 76 // 562.8282 www.crackerbarrel.com International House of Pancakes 724 Skyland Blvd // 366.1130 Jack's 1200 Hackberry Lane | Tuscaloosa // 345.1199 Maggie's Diner 1307 Ty Rogers Jr. Ave | Tuscaloosa // 366.0302 Mr. Bill's Family Restaurant 2715 McFarland Blvd | Tuscaloosa // 333.9312 Panera Bread 1800 McFarland Blvd *402 | Tuscaloosa // 366.8780 Quick Grill 1208 University Blvd | The Strip | Tuscaloosa // 342.0022 Rama Jama’s 1000 Bryant Dr // 750.0901 Closest restaurant to Bryant-Denny Stadium. Sweet Home Food Bar 2218 University Blvd. | Tuscaloosa // 764-9346 Mon.-Fri. 7 a.m. – 4 p.m., Sat. 8 a.m. – 4 p.m., Sun. 11 a.m. – 4 p.m. The Waysider 1512 Greensboro Ave // 345.8239 Open for breakfast and lunch. Smoke free.

MEXICAN

Chipotle Mexican Grill 1800 McFarland Blvd E | Midtown Village // 391.0140 www.chipotle.com Don Rafa's 2313 4th Street | Temerson Square // 345.9191 El Mariachi 3520 McFarland Blvd E |Tuscaloosa // 409-8585 El Rincon (2 locations) 1225 University Blvd | Tuscaloosa // 366.0855 1726 McFarland Blvd | Northport // 330.1274 Fernando's Mexican Grill 824 McFarland Blvd E | Northport // 205.331.4587 Iguana Grill 1800 McFarland Blvd E | Midtown Village // 752.5895 Jalapeno’s Mexican Grill 2001 New Watermelon Rd | Northport // 342.3378 LaGran Fiesta 9770 Hwy 69 S // 345.8871 Los Calientes Mexican Grill 3429 McFarland Blvd E // 553.1558 Los Tarascos (2 locations) 1759 Skyland Blvd // 553.8896 3380 McFarland Blvd | Northport // 330.0919

FIVE Bar 2324 6th Street. // 205.345.6089 A restaurant/bar based on simplicity. We offer 5 entrees, 5 red wines, 5 white wines, 5 import beers, 5 domestic, and 5 signature cocktails, to go along with our full liquor bar. Dinner: Sunday - Thursday 5-10; Friday and Saturday 5-12 Lunch: Friday and Saturday 11-3; Sunday Jazz Brunch: 10-3 five-bar.com; 205.345.6089 Kozy’s 3510 Loop Road E | near VA Medical Center // 556.4112 Great locally-sourced foods and live piono music on the weekends. |killionrestaurants.com/kozys/ Twin 3700 6th St, Tuscaloosa in Tuscaloosa Country Club | 758-7528 | http://twinpowersactivate.com Certified USDA Prime Steaks; specialty Sushi and cocktails. Hours: 11 a.m. – 2 p.m.; 5 – 10 p.m. The Side by Side Restaurant 2410 University Blvd. | Embassy Suites | 561-2500 thesidebysiderestaurant.com

JAPANESE

Benkei Japanese Steak House 1223 McFarland Blvd // 759-5300 Hours: Mon–Thurs 5 p.m. - 9 p.m. | Fri–Sat 5 p.m. - 10 p.m. Bento Japanese Restaurant & Sushi Bar 1306 University Blvd // 758.7426 Hokkaido Japanese Restaurant 607 15th Street Open Sunday through Thursday from 11 a.m. to 10 p.m., and Friday and Saturday from 11 a.m. to 11 p.m. Ichiban Japanese Grill & Sushi 502 15th Street // 752.8844 Tokyo Japanese Steak & Sushi Bar 6521 Hwy 69 S | Hillcrest Center // 366.1177 Offers steak, seafood, tempura, teriyaki and sushi. Including cooking at your table, if you choose. Sun–Thurs 5 p.m. - 10 p.m. Fri & Sat 5 p.m. - 11 p.m. Kobe Steak House 1800 McFarland Blvd E | Midtown Village // 759-1400 Lunch: 11 a.m. - 2 p.m. | Dinner: 4:30 p.m. - 10 p.m. Sat & Sun 11:30 a.m. - 11 p.m.

ITALIAN

Avenue Pub 405 23rd Avenue

Broadway Pizzeria 2880 Rice Mine Road Northeast Tuscaloosa, // 391.6969 DePalma’s Italian Cafe 2300 University Blvd, Downtown // 759.1879 Menu ranges from sanwiches to finer pasta dishes and pizza. Varied beer and wine selection. Hours: Mon–Thurs 11 a.m. - 10 p.m. | Fri & Sat 11 a.m. – 11 p.m. www.depalmascafe.com Little Italy 1130 University Blvd. | Tuscaloosa // 205.345.4343 Mellow Mushroom 2230 University Blvd // 758.0112 Pizzas, calzones, hoagies and more. Open daily for lunch and dinner. www.mellowmushroom.com

Moe’s Southwest Grill (2 locations) 2330 McFarland Blvd E // 342.1487 1130 University Blvd // 752.0234 moes.com

Mr. G’s 908 McFarland Blvd N | Northport // 339-8505

Taco Mama 2104 A University Blvd, Tuscaloosa 409.8173

FINE DINING

Chuck’s Fish 508 Greensboro Ave | Downtown Tuscaloosa // 248.9370 Monday - Thursday 5-10 p.m. and Friday - Saturday 5-11 p.m. Steak, seafood, & sushi specialities. Daily specials: Monday - $20 Bottles of Wine; Tuesday - Ladies Night 1/2 off Domestic Beer and House Wine, Select $5 Martinis, $2 off Select Sushi Rolls for Everyone; Uptown Wednesday - $6 Uptown Shrimp; Featured Cocktails and $20 Bottles of Wine. Cypress Inn 501 Rice Mine Rd // 345.6963 Fax: 345.6997 | www.cypressinnrestaurant.com 2003 Restaurant of Distinction. Beautiful riverfront location. Steaks, seafood and more with Southern flavor. Wine list, full bar. Specialities of the house include Shrimp Cypress Inn and Smoked Chicken with white barbecue sauce. Kid friendly. Closed Saturday lunch. Mike Spiller is featured the first Thursday of every month. Happy Hour- Mon-Fri from 4:30 p.m. 6:30 p.m. featuring 1/2 price appetizers. $2 Domestic Draft Beers and $3 Well cocktails.

APRIL 9 + APRIL 23

Evangeline’s 1653 McFarland Blvd. North // 752.0830 Located in the Tuscaloosa Galleria. 2004 West Alabama Tourism Award Winning Restaurant. American Eclectic Cuisine. Lunch: Mon–Fri 11 a.m. - 2 p.m. | Dinner: Tues–Sat 5 p.m. - until... Fall: Saturday Brunch.

Margarita's Grill 1241 McFarland Blvd E // 343.0300

Pepito’s (2 locations) 1203 University Blvd | The Strip // 391.9028 1301 McFarland Blvd NE // 391.4861

Epiphany Cafe 19 Greensboro Ave | Downtown Tuscaloosa // 344.5583 “New American cuisine” with a strong emphasis on local produce, organic meats, and sustainable seafood. The menu is always changing and features include an extensive wine list, a large vibrant bar and martini lounge area, as well as patio seating. Reservations are available online at epiphanyfinedining.com or through open table. Hours: Mon–Sat 5 p.m. - until

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Olive Garden 2100 McFarland Blvd E // 750-0321 Open daily from 11 a.m. www.olivegarden.com

CASUAL DINING

Avenue Pub 405 23rd Avenue // Tuscaloosa Brunch, lunch, and dinner. Specialty cocktails, local pints, bottled beer, and wine. Mon - Fri. 11 a.m. – 11 p.m., Sat. Noon – 11 p.m., Sun. Noon p.m. – 9 p.m. Big Daddy’s Cafe 514 Greensboro Ave | Downtown Tuscaloosa // 759.9925 The Blue Plate Restaurant (Was Northport Diner) 450 McFarland Blvd, Northport // 462-3626 Brumfield's Restaurant 4851 Rice Mine Road | Tue. - Thu.: 11 a.m. - 9 p.m., Fri - Sat.: 11 a.m. - 10 p.m., and Sunday: 11 a.m. - 3 p.m. Buddy’s Ribs & Steaks 2701 Bridge Ave | Northport // 339.4885 Buffalo Wild Wings 2710 McFarland Blvd // 523.0273 Mon–Wed 11 a.m. - midnight | Thurs–Sat 11 a.m. - 2 a.m. Chicken Salad Chick

>>> RESTAURANTS |

W here to E at in T uscaloosa ( cont . )

The Shoppes at Midtown & Essex Square, Northport | Said to be the very best chicken salad that can be found anywhere. www. chickensaladchick.com Chili’s 1030 Skyland Blvd | Near McFarland Mall // 750.8881 Fax: 758.7715 // www.chilis.com Dave’s Dogs 1701 McFarland Blvd E | University Mall // 722.2800 Five Guys Burgers & Fries 1800 McFarland Blvd E | Midtown Village // 391.0575 www.fiveguys.com Glory Bound Gyro Company 2325 University Blvd // 349-0505 Glory Bound Gyro Company is a unique restaurant that focuses on great food and service in a funky, fun-filled atmosphere. Open Mon-Thu: 11am - 10pm | Fri - Sat: 11am-10pm | Sun: 11 a.m. - 9 p.m. Heritage House 700 Towncenter | Northport // 758.0042 Open Mon-Fri 7 a.m. – 6 p.m., Sat. 8 a.m. – 4 p.m. Hooligan’s 1915 University Blvd // 759.2424 From hamburgers to hummus. Open daily 10 a.m. - 11 p.m. Horny's 508 Red Drew Ave | Tuscaloosa // 345.6869 Mon 4 p.m. - 2 a.m. | Tues-Thurs 11 a.m. - 2 a.m. Fri 11 a.m. - 3 a.m. | Sat 4 p.m. - 2 a.m. New Orleans style atmosphere in the heart of Tuscaloosa on the strip. Horny's offerings include a full liquor bar, beer, and a variety of classic American food. Horny's Bar and Grill offers a limited late night menu from 1:30 a.m. - 2:30 a.m. Logan's Roadhouse 1511 Skyland Blvd E // 349.3554 Madear’s 1735 Culver Road // 343.7773 Mon–Fri 6 a.m. - 5 p.m. | 2nd & 3rd Sunday 11 a.m. - 3 p.m. Mugshots Grill & Bar 511 Greensboro Ave | Downtown Tuscaloosa // 391.0572 Great burgers & sandwiches. Unique setting, full service bar, veggie entrees, kid friendly, and open late www.mugshotsgrillandbar.com Newk’s Express Cafe 205 University Blvd. East // 758.2455 Fax: 758.2470 // www.newkscafe.com An express casual dining experience in a refreshing and stylish atmosphere. Serving fresh tossed salads, oven baked sandwiches, California style pizzas and homemade cakes from Newk’s open kitchen. Sun–Wed 11 a.m. - 10 p.m. | Thurs–Sat 11 a.m. - 11 p.m. O’Charley’s 3799 McFarland Blvd // 556.5143 Open daily for lunch, dinner and Sunday brunch www.ocharleys.com Panera Bread 1800 McFarland Blvd E | Midtown Village // 366.8780 www.panerabread.com Piccadilly Cafeteria 1701 McFarland Blvd E | University Mall // 556.4960 www.piccadilly.com Quick Grill 1208 University Blvd | The Strip // 342.0022 www.bamaquickgrill.com Ruby Tuesday (2 locations) 6421 Interstate Drive | Cottondale // 633.3939 Just off I-20/59 at exit 77. Near Hampton Inn and Microtel Inn 311 Merchants Walk | Northport // 345.4540 www.rubytuesdays.com Ryan’s 4373 Courtney Dr // 366.1114 Near Marriott Courtyard and Fairfield Inn Sitar Indian Cuisine 500 15th St // 345-1419 Southland Restaurant 5388 Skyland Blvd E // 556.3070 Steaks, chops and home-cooked vegetables Mon–Fri 10:45 a.m. - 9 p.m. T-Town Café 500 14th Street, Tuscaloosa | 759-5559 |www.ttowncafe.co Mon - Fri: 5 a.m. - 9 p.m., Sat: 5 a.m. - 3 p.m. Sun: 10:30 a.m. - 3 p.m. Tacogi 500 Greensboro Ave | Downtown Tuscaloosa // 342.3647 Tuscaloosa Burger & Seafood Company 1014 7th Ave. | Tuscaloosa // 764.1976 Over 160 craft beers. Tue. - Thu 10:30 a.m. to 10 p.m.; Fri - Sat 10:30 a.m. to 11 p.m.; Sun 10:30 a.m. to 10 p.m. Large selection of decadent desserts. Zoe’s Kitchen 312 Merchants Walk // 344.4450 A wonderful selection of Greek foods

SPORTS GRILL Baumhower's Wings of Tuscaloosa

500 Harper Lee Drive | catering-Pick-up Tuscaloosa // 556.5858 | Always fresh and always fun. Owned by former UA/ Miami Dolphins great Bob Baumhower. Kid Friendly Buffalo Phil’s 1149 University Blvd | The Strip // 758.3318 Sports grille with TVs galore. Diverse beer and wine selection, full bar Billy's Sports Grill Historic Downtown Northport // 879.2238 Good food, beverages and family friendly Monday through Wednesday from 11 a.m.-9 p.m., Thursday through Saturday from 11 a.m.-10 p.m., and Sunday from 10:30 a.m. till 9 p.m. (Sunday Brunch 10:30am-3pm). Buffalo Wild Wings 2710 McFarland Blvd. East | Tuscaloosa // 523.0273

Sports grille with TVs galore. Diverse beer and wine selection, full bar Champs Sports Grille 320 Paul Bryant Drive | inside Four Points Sheraton Hotel // 752.3200 Breakfast and lunch buffets. Sunday brunch 11 a.m. - 2 p.m. Hooter’s 5025 Oscar Baxter Dr | Next to Jameson Inn // 758.3035 Wings, clams, shrimp and of course the Hooters Girls www.hooters.com

>>> B E E R R E V I E W | B R E TT R E I D

HOPLANTA // MIXED EMOTIONS

Innisfree Irish Pub 1925 University Blvd | Tuscaloosa // 345.1199 Moe's BBQ 101 15th Street | Downtown Tuscaloosa // 752.3616 Mon-Sat 11 a.m. - 9 p.m. Bar open until 2 a.m., 3 a.m. on Fridays Mugshots Grill & Bar 511 Greensboro Ave // 391.0572 Great burgers. Full service bar. Open late. www.mugshotsgrillandbar.com Tuscaloosa Burger & Seafood Company 1014 7th Ave. | Tuscaloosa // 764.1976 Over 160 craft beers. Tue. - Thu 10:30 a.m. to 10 p.m.; Fri - Sat 10:30 a.m. to 11 p.m.; Sun 10:30 a.m. to 10 p.m. Large selection of decadent desserts Wilhagan’s 2209 4th St | Downtown Tuscaloosa // 366.0913 Wings U 1800 McFarland Blvd East Suite 218 | Pick-up Tuscaloosa // 561.3984 Features the first coal-fired pizza oven in Alabama. Owned by former UA/Miami Dolphins great Bob Baumhower. Completely open concept! www.wingsu.com WingZone 1241 McFarland Blvd E | Tuscaloosa // 342.2473

BARBEQUE

Archibald & Woodrow's BBQ 4215 Greensboro Ave | Tuscaloosa // 331.4858 Mon-Sat 10:30 a.m. – 9 p.m. | Sun lunch Bama BBQ & Grill 3380 McFarland Blvd | Northport // 333.9816 Dickey's BBQ (3 locations) 9770 Alabama 69; Midtown; and 13544 Hwy 43 North at Rose Blvd. in Northport. Texas Barbecue. | 344.6500 1800 McFarland Blvd, Midtown Village, Tuscaloosa. | 758-1133 13544 Hwy 43 North, Winn Dixie Shopping Center, Northport. | 330-1147 Dreamland (2 locations) 5535 15th Ave | Tuscaloosa // 758.8135 101 Bridge Ave | Northport // 343.6677 The legend. On game day, get there early if you want to make kickoff. Seating is limited. Hours: Mon–Sat 10 a.m. - 9 p.m. | Sun 11 a.m. - 7 p.m. Hick’s BBQ 4400 Fayette Hwy // 339.3678 // Tues–Sat 10 a.m. - 8 p.m. Moe's Original BBQ 2101 University Blvd.. // 752.3616 Mon–Sat 11am - 10pm | Bar service Mon-Sat 2am and Fri -3am | Kitchen closes at 10pm Pottery Grill (2 locations) Highway 11 | Cottondale // 554.1815 3420 Alabama 69 | Northport // 333.5848 Menu: thepotterygrill.com Awesome barbecue. The Pottery Grill serves up everything from pork, chicken, ribs and sausage to burgers, hot dogs and salads. Take-out and catering available. Tee’s Ribs and Thangs 1702 10th Avenue // 366.9974 |11 a.m. - 10 p.m. daily

STEAKS

Logan’s Roadhouse 1511 Skyland Blvd | next to Sams // 349.3554 Steaks, ribs and spirits Longhorn Steakhouse 1800 McFarland Blvd E | Midtown Village // 345-8244 #412 New Orleans Steak and Seafood House 824 McFarland Boulevard |11:00 a.m. till 11:00 p.m. daily. 248-7666 Nick's In the Sticks 4018 Culver Rd | Tuscaloosa // 758.9316 A long-time Tuscaloosa tradition. Good steaks at a reasonable price Try a Nicodemus if you have a designated driver. Outback Steakhouse 5001 Oscar Baxter Dr // 759.9000 Twin Restaurant 3700 6th Street |Tuscaloosa | 758-7528 A full service restaurant specializing in Sushi, Prime Steaks, made fresh daily pasta, and whiskey oriented cocktails. 11 a.m. - 2 p.m., 5 p.m. - 10 p.m. // Former Tuscaloosa Country Club

SEAFOOD

ecently I took a trip to Atlanta to see my friend Thomas and to take a trip to Athens. I know I can always look forward to a lot of laughs and a lot of time spent drinking good beer. Our main goal was to take a trip to Athens to check out Terrapin and another brewery called Creature Comforts. If you’ve never heard of them, believe me, you will soon. Their brewery/taproom is beautiful: reclaimed wood everywhere and it’s housed in what used to be an old tire shop in a downtown section of Athens. Anyways, after our trek to bulldog country, I knew I had to make a stop at one of my favorite beer stores to grab some supplies before I made it back to Alabama. Green’s always has a great selection of local beer from the area and sometimes, we even get the stuff in Alabama too. This time I picked up a six-pack of Red Brick’s Hoplanta IPA. I love Red Brick probably more than I like Sweetwater. All of their beers just taste better, and really, I find that when I drink a Red Brick beer it’s more sessionable, regardless of style, than any of Sweetwater’s brews. Here are my thoughts on the Hoplanta IPA from Red Brick: First of all, Red Brick has recently gone under a rebranding and it is loads better than what it used to be. Don’t get me wrong, the labels were fun, but that plain Jane labeling style is only fun for so long. The new and improved branding is much more up to date and much more colorful. Here’s a side-by-side of the old versus the new: (insert label picture here) I don’t want to jump to assumptions, but I believe the six-pack I got may have been a little old. When I poured, there was almost zero carbonation present. After the quarter of a finger width of white, frothy foam settled, it left a think splotchy film on top of the beer with some thin lacing around the glass. The color was about par for the course for an IPA; a slightly hazy amber color with some more lighter orange colors reaching the outer edges of the glass. The aroma is very nice, as with most Red Brick beers; strong in the way of citrus fruits mixed in with some pine notes as well as some bread-like malts that kind of brought it all together.

The taste of this beer is East Coast all the way, because of very strong citrus flavors and a powerful backbone of caramel and malt. Upfront you get a lot of caramel notes which soon fade after the hop character arrives on the back of your tongue and moves forward slowly. You get a lot of hop bitterness, but not as much of the citrus bitterness as I would like. See, here’s my dilemma, I really like some beers that rely on the hops to get your bitterness, but at the same time, I really love when beers can showcase the citrus and provide the beers entire bitterness from a wide variety of citrus fruits. Either way, this one has a lot of hop bitterness toward the back end of the beer. Finally, it finishes with a little bit of an alcohol burn, which is surprising considering it’s only a little over six and a half percent. Going on taste alone, I would be willing to say that Red Brick has Sweetwater beat across the board. I think there’s a fine line you cross on production for when you begin to lose flavor in exchange for more bottles filled. Red Brick has tons of great beers on its roster and this one is no different. The mouthfeel on this one was a slight letdown for me. Again, like I stated earlier, I could just have an older batch and that could be the reasoning for everything. There was almost zero carbonation detected through the whole beer and even on my tongue it felt uncarbonated. This was a pretty big bummer, and I know that I’m a snob for carbonating just right, but I want a little bit of something there to remind me it’s a beer. The beer feels slightly thick on the palate and a little heavy on the stomach as well. I definitely don’t think I could drink multiples of this one and be good to go. Either way, the mouthfeel did not accentuate the beer in any way and it actually made for somewhat of a disappointing ending to each drink. Overall, I just hope this was a bad bottle and not what the fine people over at Red Brick intended for me to drink. The flavor was great, but I think the age of the beer was what killed it for me. I hope that we’re getting better stuff in Alabama and not this under carbonated lesser of an IPA that I drank. Although, I’ve had this beer before and it’s been better. Keeping that in mind, I will absolutely buy this one again and again. Support the smaller guys out there and give them a chance. I can’t wait to make it back to Atlanta and the Red Brick tap room again so I can try something else wild and possibly find a new favorite, but more importantly, get a fresh Hoplanta that I know is up to code.

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APRIL 9 + APRIL 23

>>> R E S T A U R A N T review | S H E E N A G R E G G

THE LEVEE BAR AND GRILL // A GOOD RIVERSIDE DINING EXPERIENCE Photos: Sheena Gregg

f you’ve driven by Bridge Street in Northport lately, you’ve likely noticed a new eatery in town. Once home to Wintzell’s Oyster House, the new Levee Bar and Grill provides an updated waterfront dining experience adjacent to Dreamland Barbecue. Patrons will notice a number of updates on the building, including the removal of entrance palm trees, mounted fish, and the old garage doors that previously opened up the restaurant to the Black Warrior River. As a project of well-known restaurateurs Chris Bradshaw and Allen Aldridge, in addition to Gary McGee, formerly with Cypress Inn, The Levee Bar and Grill aims to provide an upscale seafood environment while also providing classic steak, chicken, and pasta entrees. Seeing the amount of posts on my social media emphasizing the arrival of The Levee, I knew this had to be my next lunch destination. With my husband/number one dining companion in tow, we set out to experience good food despite mixed reviews on the restaurant’s Facebook page. Having never been to Wintzell’s, I relied on my hubby to point out all of the building updates, including a large number of booth seating and an impressive river

view bar set up. Sitting down to take the environment in, I mentally noted the large banquet rooms that could easily accommodate private parties in the future. Our server shared a handful of specials while also inviting us to take a peek into the newly opened oyster bar and fresh seafood market adjacent to the restaurant. Though I wouldn’t call seafood my cuisine of choice, I was on a mission to try something true to the focus of the restaurant. I opted for a seared Ahi tuna salad including apples, grapes, roasted walnuts, and a wasabi vinaigrette. My husband went for the classic fried catfish and fries route at the encouragement of our server. We decided to start our meal with a pimiento cheese ball appetizer accompanied by pita triangles. It felt like only seconds before our server started bringing food to our table. We were first presented with hushpuppies that accompanied all meals. I had heard various reviews that commented on the extremes of food either being too salty or too bland. Noticing that The Levee acknowledged on their Facebook page that they had taken all of this feedback productively, I was ready to see if these seasoning modifications had come to fruition. Taking

APRIL 9 + APRIL 23

>>> RESTAURANTS |

W here t o E a t i n T u s c a l o o s a ( c o n t . )

4851 Rice Mine Rd NE #460 // 462.3399 McFarland Plaza Shopping Center & Temerson Square Tuscaloosa Burger & Seafood Company 1014 7th Ave. | Tuscaloosa // 764.1976 Tue. - Thu 10:30 a.m. to 10 p.m.; Fri - Sat 10:30 a.m. to 11 p.m.; Sun 10:30 a.m. to 10 p.m. Over 160 craft beers. Large selection of decadent desserts. The Levee Bar and Grill 1 Bridge Ave | Northport // 247.7772 Casual riverfront dining Open Sun–Thurs 11 a.m. - 10 p.m. | Fri–Sat 11 a.m. - 11 p.m. Wintzell's Oyster House 808 Skyland Blvd. at the intersection of Skyland and Alabama Highway 69. | 247-7772 | wintzellsoysterhouse.com/location/tuscaloosa/

CHINESE Buffet City

1747 Skyland Blvd E // 553.3308 All you can eat buffet. Open 7 days a week. Chang’s Chinese Restaurant 1825 McFarland Blvd N // 391.9131 China Fun 2600 University Blvd | Alberta City // 553.2435 Chongwah Express 1425 McFarland Boulevard, Northport. 333-1088 Hot Wok Express 6751 Alabama 69, Tuscaloosa // 758.0148

a bite of my hushpuppy I was pleased to taste the flavors of the hushpuppy without being overly salty. Our pimiento cheese ball was on the milder side, emphasizing more cheese flavor than pimiento or spice. Our salad and catfish quickly followed. I was impressed with the amount of tuna on my salad, and pleased to see that they had cooked my tuna medium rare as requested. I found the wasabi vinaigrette to be refreshing and appropriate for the flavors of my salad. My husband described his catfish as flavorful, hearty, and obvious that the oils used to cook it were clean. Sneaking a bite of his fries, I too could tell that clean oils were used to prepare his entrée. Overall, I found The Levee Bar and Grill to be a great dining experience. The colors and lighting of the restaurant suggest that the ambiance of a dinner meal would be just as good or better than my lunch experience. The large banquet rooms have the potential for hosting private parties in Tuscaloosa and the seafood market provides an additional opportunity to bring fresh seafood home to prepare. The Levee Bar and Grill is located at 1 Bridge Avenue in Northport and open daily at 11:00 a.m. Tweet us @ThePlanetWeekly and let us know where you are eating! Sheena Gregg, MS, RDN,LD is a registered dietitian nutritionist and local “Filipino foodie.” Follow her on Twitter @ AFilipinoFoodie

Lee Palace 6521 Highway 69 S // 391.9990 Open daily 11 a.m. - 10 p.m. Mr. Chen's Authentic Chinese Cooking & Oriental Market 514 14th St. | In the Oz Music shopping center // 343.6889 // Open Sun - Thu 11am - 9pm, Fri & Sat 11am - 9:30pm Pearl Garden 2719 Lurleen Wallace Blvd | Northport // 339.0880 Peking Chinese Restaurant 1816 McFarland | Northport // 333.0361 Open 7 days a week. Super lunch and dinner buffet. Hours: Sun–Thurs 11 a.m. - 9:30 p.m. | Fri & Sat 11 a.m. - 10 p.m. Swen Chinese Restaurant 1130 University Blvd | The Strip // 391.9887 Trey Yuen 4200 McFarland Blvd E // 752.0088

ASIAN CUISINE

Ruan Thai 1407 University Blvd // 391.9973 | ruanthaituscaloosa.com Exotic Thai cuisine. Offers vegetarian options, outdoor dining, and a full bar. Sushi on Thursdays. Lunch: Mon–Sat 11 a.m. -2 p.m. | Dinner: Mon–Thurs 5 p.m. - 10 p.m. Fri & Sat 5 p.m. -10pm | Sun 11 a.m. -3 p.m. Surin of Thailand 1402 University Blvd // 752.7970 Authentic Thai restaurant and sushi bar. Open daily. Lunch: 11 a.m. - 2 p.m. | Dinner: 5 p.m. - 9:30 p.m. www.surinofthailand.com

PIZZA AND SUBS

A Taste Of Chicago 1700 Greensboro Avenue 205-342-DOGS Mon. - Thurs. 10 a.m. - 9 p.m.; Fri. - Sat. 10 a.m. - 10 p.m. 17th Street and Greensboro Avenue. Authentic Chicago style foods. Italian Beef Sandwiches, Chicago Rib Tips, and Chicago Style Pizza. California Underground 13552 Highway 43, Northport | 339.8660 Firehouse Subs 1130 University Blvd | Tuscaloosa // 248.0680 Hungry Howie’s (2 locations) 1105 Southview Ln | South Tuscaloosa // 345.6000 1844 McFarland Blvd | Northport // 333.2633 1211 University Blvd | Tuscaloosa | The Strip // 366.1500 4851 Rice Mine Rd | Northriver/Holt // 345.3737 Lenny’s Sub Shop 220 15th St // 752.7450 Fax: 752.7481 // www.lennys.com Little Caesars Pizza 1414 10th Ave // 366.2220 | 1www.littlecaesars.com Little Italy 1130 University Blvd. // 345.4354 Mellow Mushroom 2230 University Blvd | Downtown Tuscaloosa // 758.0112 Subs n' You 2427 University Blvd. | Tuscaloosa // 205.758.0088 Roly Poly Sandwiches 2300 4th Street | Tuscaloosa // 366.1222 The Pita Pit 1207 University Blvd | The Strip // 345.9606 Hours: Mon–Sat 10:30 a.m. - 3 a.m. | Sun 11:30 a.m. - midnight Pizza 120 50115th St. East | 561.6853 Pizza Palace Buffet 6521 Alabama 69 | 752.5444 Tut’s Place 1306 University Blvd | The Strip // 759.1004

DELICATESSEN

Honeybaked Ham Company 421 15th St. E // 345.5508 www.honeybaked.com

Jason’s Deli 2300 McFarland Blvd // 752.6192 Fax: 752.6193 // www.jasonsdeli.com Located in the Meadowbrook Shopping Center. Jimmy John’s (3 locations) 1400 University Blvd | The Strip // 366.3699 1875 McFarland Blvd N | Northport // 752.7714 815 Lurleen B. Wallace S | Tuscaloosa // 722.2268 Delivery 7 days a week. www.jimmyjohns.com Manna Grocery & Deli 2300 McFarland Blvd E | Tuscaloosa // 752.9955 McAlister’s Deli (2 locations) 101 15th St | Tuscaloosa // 758.0039 3021 Tyler Dr | Northport // 330.7940 Sandwiches, salads and spuds www.mcalistersdeli.com Momma Goldberg’s Deli 409 23rd Ave // 345.5501 |www.mommagoldbergs.com Newk's 205 University Blvd E | Tuscaloosa // 758.2455 Schlotsky’s Deli 405 15th St. E // 759.1975 schlotskys.com Which Wich University Blvd.// Downtown Tuscaloosa // Mon – Sat 10:30 – 9 // Sunday 11 – 7 // Fun atmosphere,fresh ingredients, great sandwiches. 764.1673

COFFEE SHOP

Barnes & Noble 1800 McFarland Blvd E | Tuscaloosa 349.6366

Chloe's Cup 2117 University Blvd.| Tuscaloosa // 764.0218 Crimson Cafe International Coffee House & Gourmet Deli 1301 University Blvd | The Strip // 750.0203 Mon–Fri 7 a.m. - 11 p.m. | Sat & Sun 8 a.m. - 11 p.m. thecrimsoncafe.com Five Java Coffee, fresh juices, smoothies and treats from Mary's Cakes. Open Monday - Saturday at 7am; 9am on Sundays Heritage House 700 Towncenter | Northport // 758.0042 Open Mon-Fri 7 a.m. – 6 p.m., Sat. 8 a.m. – 4 p.m. Krispy Kreme Doughnut 1400 McFarland Blvd // 758.6913 www.krispykreme.com Starbucks (2 locations) 1800 McFarland Blvd E | Midtown Village // 343.2468 1901 13th Ave East | inside Super Target // 462.1064 starbucks.com

DESSERTS

Celebrations Bakery, Inc. 1832 McFarland Blvd N | Northport // 339.3221 Fax: 349.1945 Cold Stone Creamery 1130 University Blvd. | Tuscaloosa //343.1670 Specializes in customized ice cream Hours: Mon–Thurs 11 a.m. - 10 p.m. | Fri & Sat 11 a.m. - 11 p.m. Sun 12 p.m. - 10 p.m. Dunkin' Donuts 2520 Stillman Blvd. |Tuscaloosa// 349.3400 McCorvey Dr. | Tuscaloosa // 348.4041 www.dunkindonuts.com Mary's Cakes & Pastries 412 22nd Avenue | behind Opus | Northport // 345.8610 www.maryscakesandpastries.com Mon–Fri 8 a.m. - 6 p.m. | Sat 8 a.m. - 3 p.m. Smoothie King (2 locations) 415 15th Street | Tuscaloosa // 349.1721 Fax: 349.1945 1403 University Blvd | Tuscaloosa // 462.3664 Sweet CeCe's Frozen yogurt Treats 2217 University Blvd. | Downtown Tuscaloosa // 561.6458 A fun and friendly make your own creation, yogurt experience! TCBY (3 Locations) 2304 Mcfarland Blbd | Meadowbrook Shopping Center // 349.4661 // 2 Mcfarland Blvd | Northport | Essex Shopping Center // 758.6855 // 1130 Univ. Blvd. | The Strip // 345.0804 Yogurt In Love Patriot Center 7402 Highway 69 South Phone Number: 764.9173 Fax Number: 764.9228 Monday-Thursday 11 a.m. - 9 p.m., Friday & Saturday 11 a.m.-10 pm. Yogurt Lab 920 Paul W. Bryant Dr Ste 200 | Tuscaloosa // 347.9522 Yogurt Mountain 1800 McFarland Blvd E | Midtown Village // 342.1484 Mon–Thurs 11 a.m. - 11 p.m. | Fri & Sat 11 a.m. - midnight

TO HAVE YOUR RESTAURANT LISTED HERE PLEASE EMAIL PLANETEDITOR@YAHOO.COM

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>>> H E A LT H | D R . R AC H E L S T E I N E R

THE NATURAL ALLERGY COMBAT PLAN

f you live in Alabama, it’s no surprise that our state ranks as one of the worst states for allergy sufferers. Whether your poison is ragweed or just plain old pollen, your itchy, drippy nose and watery eyes are all proof you need that spring is here. If so, you are not alone–more than 35 million people in the United States suffer from seasonal allergies. As a result, the market for allergy medications is booming. Summer is not the only long season in this state, as Alabama has a prolonged allergy season as well. It is longer than most other states due to a shorter period of winter and longer growing season. While other parts of the country has a four to six week allergy season, here in Bama Land it is more like four to six months. Allergies are a disorder of the immune system. The immune system overreacts to a typically non-harmful substance such as pollen, cat dander, peanuts, dairy products, and dust that initiates a response to rid out the allergen. Our immune system is doing what is best for us, but the side effects include swelling, itching, runny nose and eyes, pressure headaches, and sneezing. For those who are suffering, these symptoms get old- fast! Our body’s’ immune system is very effective in ridding the body of what it perceives as harmful. Over the past week especially, lots of people are coming in my office with these complaints. I decided this would be the perfect time to address some natural ways to help manage allergies more effectively and hopefully cut down or eliminate the bothersome symptoms that come with the season. Drink a tablespoon of Apple Cider Vinegar three times a day. This is an old age remedy that is suggested to benefit in more ways than just allergies. It is thought to reduce mucous production and lower inflammation. The key is using organic, unfiltered apple cider vinegar and it can be easier to swallow by mixing the tablespoon in with a glass of water. Take a Probiotic. Allergies are a result of an imbalance of the immune system that causes the body to react strongly to certain stimuli in the environment. There has been a lot of recent research that shows that having healthy beneficial bacteria in the gut can cut down on the presentation of

allergies. Probiotics can be bought in the capsule form at most health food stores and a good source of it in your food is through yogurt that contains live active cultures. Salt Water Nasal Rinse. You can buy a Neti Pot, which is a kit that has been around for centuries and has recently gained much popularity. The kit comes with the saline solution and an elongated spout kettle. You can also make this yourself buy mixing 16 ounces of distilled, sterile, or previously boiled water with one tablespoon of salt. You can use a bulb syringe to flush out your nasal cavities. Nasal irrigation works by thinning out mucus build up in the sinus cavities and can help flush out bacteria that is in the nasal passage. You should feel immediate relief after using this. Eat a Healthy Diet. A study was published that proved children who ate a diet rich food in fresh fruits and vegetables such as grapes, apples, tomatoes, and oranges had fewer allergy symptoms than those who didn’t. Researchers are still trying to figure out the connection between diet and allergies, but nonetheless eating healthy will definitely work in favor of your body’s immune system. Drink Plenty of Water. If you are feeling congested or have a postnasal drip from the allergies you are experiencing, try drinking more water. Water helps thin the mucus in your sinus cavities and nasal passages, which can provide relief for the congestion. An easy way to make sure you are drinking enough water is dividing your body weight in half, and that is how many ounces of water you should be consuming daily. Try chiropractic care. Chiropractic is not a treatment for allergies but it has helped allergy sufferers. I have had many patients who are being treated with back, neck, and shoulder pain only to find the added bonus that their chiropractic treatments have also helped to reduce the severity of their seasonal allergies. Patients are reporting that they are able to greatly reduce the amount of allergy medication they required to manage their symptoms. I hope those who are suffering find some of these suggestions helpful to combat allergy season the natural way! Hang in there, summer is around the corner and things should calm down soon.

>>> PLANETWEEKLY • tuscaloosa's SOURCE for entertainment, music, sports & THE ARTS

BACKROAD ANTHEM APRIL 9 + APRIL 23

>>> A L B U M R E V I E W | J O R D A N C I S S E L L

>>> T H E F L A T S C R E E N | C A R A B R A K E

DRY HUMOR & EVERY- ZOMBIES FOR A NEW DAY OBSERVATION // GENERATION COURTNEY BARNETT

ourtney Barnett’s trademark streamof-consciousness delivery is less the smiling UPS representative ringing the doorbell and conveying a package directly into your hands, more the disgruntled teenager slinging handfuls of newspapers in the general direction of your porch as she squeals through her route behind the wheel of an ocean blue 1973 Plymouth Valiant. On Sometimes I Sit and Think, and Sometimes I Just Sit, her first full-length studio album, the Australian singer-songwriter talk-sings her way through song after rambling song, each a cavalcading synthesis of everyday observation, bone-dry humor, pop culture reference and poetic deliberation reminiscent of Bob Dylan’s 1965 hit “Subterranean Homesick Blues.” Barnett throws a lot the listener’s way in a little less than 40 minutes, and more of it than not finds its way to the porch. Album-opener “Elevator Operator” drops you right into the middle of a chunky, frayed Marc Bolan-esque riff as Barnett talks about Oliver, a 20-year-old in the titular occupation who bails on work one day to “count the minutes that the trains come late” and watch traffic from the top of a skyscraper. In “Pedestrian at Best,” she riffs on daylight savings time, origami, and existential crisis over Pixies-informed loudquiet-loud dynamics shifts and grating swells of overdriven, feedback-pierced guitar.

APRIL 9 + APRIL 23

Barnett delivers every line with laughably low affect, her dry disinterest emphasizing the comical in the commonplace. While doing laps at the community pool, the narrator of two-minute jaunt “Aqua Profunda!” identifies a potential love interest swimming in the lane beside her. But an attempt to impress the neighboring swimmer by holding her breath for too long ends in her coming up sputtering and gasping for air. By the time Barnett has recovered, the love interest is nowhere in sight. Nothing ever really happens in Barnett’s stories, but what makes them so compelling is that they could happen to anyone. Think of her as a sort of indie rock Larry David. Not every song on the record is conveyed in a torpedo of spoken-word screed. “Small Poppies” stretches along for several minutes in the kind of prim, reserved blues you’d hear at 11:20 p.m. on Saturday night in a champagne lounge in Charlotte, North Carolina, before launching into an extended coda of muscled drum bashes and trebly guitar jabs. On album-closer “Boxing Day Blues,” she ditches the talk-sing for a semi-croon, meditating on a relationship’s impending decline over the gentle rocking-chair strum of acoustic guitar. Barnett’s deft lyrical ability is perhaps best on display in “An Illustration of Loneliness (Sleepless in New York),” in which her narrator slogs through another restless night in her friend’s spare bedroom, a pulsing bass groove and springy guitar runs providing the support for her drowsy rhapsody. First she counts the cracks in the wall, then she considers the color of the ceiling (“It is a kind of off-white, maybe it’s a cream.”). But those are ultimately just distractions. “I’m thinking of you, too [or is it two?],” she admits. The song’s entire meaning all boils down to the spelling: Is she sending good juju to a partner across the East River in anticipation of their weekend picnic together, or is she stewing over an ex-lover’s adoption of a new companion? Barnett leaves that decision to you.

s far as television and movies are concerned, the living dead is the new fad. Zombies are everywhere, from horror movies to video games. After the huge success of The Walking Dead, one would think that it would be hard to pull off another great zombie show, but creators Diane Ruggiero and Rob Thomas managed to have pulled one out of thin air-or rather, out of a comic book. “iZombie” is the story of Liv Moore, a medical student who joins her friends on a yacht for a much needed night out, with disastrous consequences. During the party, the guests get attacked by a small zombie outbreak, one of the victims being Liv. She gets scratched, and an hour later she wakes up in a body bag with white skin, blue lips, and a hunger for human brains. Liv goes from promising medical student to a reclusive mortician living off of brains and hot sauce. Instead of just simple brain eating to survive, other things happen to Liv when she feeds. She takes on the traits and personality of the person, which also causes visions of how they died. This lends her an interesting job as a “psychic” for the local police, particularly as the sidekick to detective Clive Babineaux. Liv loses a fiance, but gains an unexpected ally in her boss, Dr. Ravi Chakrabarti, who thinks he can cure her. “iZombie” was originally a comic book by Chris Roberson and Michael Allred, published by DC Comics. Something else that makes this show interesting is that the cast is made up of almost all up and coming actors who do not have many credit under their name. Rose McIver plays Liv, who is mostly known as Tinkerbell on the hit show “Once Upon A Time”. Clive is played by Malcolm Goodwin, known for a few high ranking movies such as “Leatherheads” and “American Gangster”, and various television show appearances, including “Law & Order” and the newest show currently filming, “Wayward Pines”.

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Rahul Kohli has the least acting credits of the group, only having appeared in a few short films over the last few years. Other actors include Aly Michalka as Liv’s roommate Peyton, Robert Buckley as Major, Liv’s former fiance, and David Anders, who plays Liv’s rival and creator, Blaine DeBeers. Critics are also taking off with this show, including EW.com, which says, “... something of a Lady Frankenstein built from our best female-hero pop, iZombie nonetheless injects fresh life into the increasingly staid genre of supernatural TV.” Websites like IGN and Variety likens it to “Veronica Mars”, with a strong female lead and dry, sarcastic humor supplied by our heroin. The only thing curious about the plot is that it seems like no one in her immediate circle-her best friend and rommate, ex fiance, and her mother-all seem oblivious to her zombie traits, even though her hair went from brown to blond, her body went from sun kissed to the color of milk, and her lively, driven personality seemed to go flat for a while. One would wonder when someone would catch on to Liv’s little secret. Aside from that small plot hole, iZombie promises to be a witty, funny addition to nighttime television, and it lacks something that most shows rely on for views and interest-a love story or triangle. Liv, in the few episodes that have aired, only shows a little interest in her lost lover, but overall the show focuses more on Liv’s case solving and personal zombie crisis, which is refreshing considering most feminine leads seem to require some kind of male involved plot to go over well. “iZombie” has only three episodes so far, and new episodes air every Tuesday at 9/8 central. If you can’t catch it on television. you can watch new episodes on the CW website, cwtv.com, or on other streaming sites such as CouchTuner.com.

>>> M O V I E R E V I E W | V A N R O B E R T S

"FURIOUS 7" // A FRANCHISE THAT HAS ✭✭✭✭ NEVER THROTTLED BACK

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f you didn’t know actor Paul Walker perished in a fiery car crash back on November 30, 2013, you’d never know it by watching “Furious 7", the latest installment in the “Fast and Furious” franchise. “Saw” director James Wan and “Wanted” scenarist Chris Morgan had about half of this mammoth $250 million movie made when tragedy struck and claimed Walker’s life. Altogether, “Furious 7” emerges not only as a cinematic eulogy to Walker’s ephemeral career but also as a white-knuckled, super-charged, adrenaline-laced actioneer. Initially, “The Fast and the Furious” (2001) crossed the finish line as an above-average, illegal roadracing epic about an undercover cop that bolstered actor Vin Diesel’s box office clout while it forged Paul Walker’s career. Walker carried on with Tyrese Gibson after a disaffected Diesel bowed out of 2003’s sequel “2 Fast 2 Furious,” but the chrome-domed Diesel gave his blessing to the chronologically out-ofsequence “Fast and Furious: Tokyo Drift” (2006) with a post end credits cameo. Some consider “Tokyo Drift” the nadir of the franchise, but I contend that “Tokyo Drift” surpassed its skid mark of a predecessor. The three sequels that ensued fueled the franchise with even more vitality. Not even Walker’s demise could put the brakes on “Furious 7.” Mind you, “Furious 7” doesn’t qualify as an artistic magnum opus. Nevertheless, aside from either the James Bond blockbusters or the Harry Potter series, can you name a contemporary franchise with as many sequels as “The Fast and the Furious?” Whether we see an eighth entry, “Furious 7” has knocked the bottom out of the franchise. Wan and Morgan have concocted some preposterous high-octane stunts that defy gravity as well as logic but look extraordinary. Jason Statham, Kurt Russell, Djimon Hounsou, and Asian “Ong Bak” martial arts sensation Tony Jarr augment the original cast and invigorate these improbable shenanigans. If “Furious 7” marks your initiation to the franchise, you’re going to have a blast catching up

with the rest of us. “Furious 7” ranks as the top of the heap in a franchise that has never throttled back. In “Fast & Furious 6,” Diplomatic Security Service (DSS) agent Luke Hobbs (Dwayne Johnson of “Hercules”) persuaded Dominic Torretto (Vin Diesel of “xXx”) to assemble his crew, including former LAPD cop Brian O’Connor (Paul Walker of “Running Scared”), Roman (Tyrese Gibson of “Transformers”), Teg (Chris 'Ludacris' Bridges), and Han (Sung Kang of “Ninja Assassin”) to help him nab a band of global mercenaries. The criminal mastermind of the group, ex-British Special Forces commander Owen Shaw (Luke Evans of “Dracula Untold”), likes to think big. As just compensation, Hobbs promised pardons to Dom and his gang. Meantime, Hobbs showed Dom a photo of our protagonist’s long lost squeeze, Letty (Michelle Rodriguez of “Girlfight”), and this strengthened Dom’s resolve to seize Shaw. When “Furious 7” unfolds, we meet Shaw’s indestructible brother, Deckard Shaw (Jason Statham of “The Transporter”), who has just murdered Han in Hong Kong. Later, he wipes out an entire team of guards at the British hospital where his crippled brother clings to life. The indefatigable Deckard vows to make anybody who had anything to do with his brother’s calamity pay with their lives. After he ices Han, Deckard heads to Los Angeles and hacks into Hobbs’ computer. Hobbs catches him in the act, and they tangle, swap sledgehammer blows, and virtually demolish DSS headquarters. Hobbs narrowly escapes death when Deckard detonates a grenade. Not long after his larger-than-life brawl with Hobbs, Deckard has a package delivered to Dom’s house. The explosion doesn’t kill anybody, but little is left of the iconic house where Brian and Dom’s younger sister Mia (Jordana Brewster) met and washed dishes together. At this point, Brian’s wife Mia has given birth to a toddler, Jack, but she hasn’t told her husband that she is pregnant with another child. Brian is struggling to get the hang of taking Jack to day care in a mini-van, and

Brian’s first scene at day care is hilarious. Although he is confined to the hospital, Hobbs summons Dom to his bedside and tells him “like a brother” to take Deckard down. Deckard stalks our heroes at Han’s funeral, and Dom and he crash cars head-on into each other. Before they can do additional damage, an army of soldiers supervised by the natty Mr. Nobody (Kurt Russell of “Escape from New York”) intervenes and saves Dom from certain death. Mr. Nobody and Dom share a mutual friend, Hobbs, and Nobody is prepared to help Dom locate the elusive Deckard. Nobody shows Dom a sophisticated gadget that can track anybody anywhere. Basically, it’s reminiscent of CBS-TV’s “Person of Interest” computer. Mr. Nobody refers to it as “God’s Eye,” and he assures Dom that the government would have caught Osama bin Laden overnight had they had such a doodad. The problem is that the individual with the key component to “God’s Eye” is a mysterious somebody named Ramsey. Ramsey, it turns out, is being held captive by notorious terrorist Mose Jakande (Djimon Hounsou of “Amistad”) who wants the same gizmo. Several outlandish action set-pieces later, our heroes get what they want, but neither Deckard nor Jakande make it a picnic for them.

Director James Wan rarely lets the episodic action loiter, and he integrates the late Paul Walker seamlessly into several exciting escapades. One incredible cliffhanger scene occurs on a switchback highway atop a craggy mountain where our daredevil heroes struggle to extract Ramsey from a fortified bus armed with six Vulcan mini-cannons. At one point, Walker’s Brian O’Connor finds himself dangling from the wrecked bus as it teeters precariously over the edge of a precipice. Brian must scramble across the top of the bus before it plunges into the canyon below. Wan orchestrates several suspenseful, careening car chases. Another staggering stunt has our heroes propelling a priceless sports car through two luxury, skyscrapers in exotic Abu Dhabi to recover Ramsey’s device. “Furious 7” rivals a James Bond extravaganza with its breathtaking, melodramatic mayhem!

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APRIL 9 + APRIL 23

>>> EVENTS CALENDAR | T H E S O U T H E A S T ' S L A R G E S T NOTE: All events listed here have phone numbers in the 205 area code unless otherwise indicated.

THURSDAY, APRIL 9

THE BURNING OF THE UNIVERSITY WHEN: 5 p.m. COST: $5 non-members WHERE: 620 Greensboro Ave PHONE: 758.2238 LINK: historictuscaloosa.org DESCRIPTION: Another intriguing installment of the Sundown Lecture Series will focus on the fateful day that the University of Alabama was burned to the ground, presented by Dr. Robert Mellown. This event at the Dinah Washington Cultural Arts Center marks Historic Tuscaloosa’s 2015 Heritage Celebration and another year of dedication to Tuscaloosa’s rich historical roots. Refreshments served at 5 p.m. and the lecture will begin at 5:45 p.m. DOES THE MIND EXTEND BEYOND THE BODY? WHEN: 7:30 – 9 p.m. COST: Free WHERE: 250 Hackberry Lane PHONE: 348.5492 LINK: philosophy.ua.edu DESCRIPTION: Do you want a lecture that makes you think? Brie Gertler, a Commonwealth Professor of Philosophy at the University of Virginia, will present “Does the Mind Extend Beyond the Body?” as a Philosophy Today Guest Lecture, and the content is sure to keep you intrigued and amazed. Visit Shelby Hall to hear this distinguished thinker explore complicated thoughts.

FRIDAY, APRIL 10

LEAVE YOUR MEMORIES NOT YOUR PETS WHEN: 6 – 9 p.m. COST: Free WHERE: 751 Campus Dr PHONE: 251.656.8290 LINK: ferguson.ua.edu DESCRIPTION: Come to learn and spread awareness for the abandoned pet population of Tuscaloosa, especially the feral cats that roam the city. Students in the International Baccalaureate, or IB, program at Central High School will work with UA students to set up tables with posters and information that promotes the cause. Learn what you can do to help!

SATURDAY, APRIL 11

DRUID ARTS FESTIVAL WHEN: 10 a.m. – 6 p.m. COST: Free WHERE: Downtown Tuscaloosa at Government Plaza PHONE: 391.9200 LINK: visittuscaloosa.com DESCRIPTION: 6th Annual Druid City Arts Festival (DCAF) presented by Cadence Bank. DCAF’s goal is to provide a family friendly atmosphere that embraces the arts culture of Tuscaloosa while educating and inspiring the community. DCAF will have an enhanced kids section featuring numerous activities for children of all ages. Food vendors will be on site to offer a variety of treats for spectators; beer will be sold to participants of age. TEDX IN TUSCALOOSA COST: $50

APRIL 9 + APRIL 23

WHERE: Bama, 620 Greensboro Av PHONE: 758.0808 LINK: tedxtuscaloosa.com DESCRIPTION: In the spirit of ideas worth spreading, TEDx is a program of local, selforganized events that bring people together to share a TED-like experience. At a TEDx event, TED Talks video and live speakers combine to spark deep discussion and connection. Interested attendees should register on the website. Limited to 100 tickets total, but there are still tickets left. DANCE ALABAMA! WHEN: 2 p.m. COST: $14 – 20 WHERE: 328 Colonial Drive PHONE: 348.3400 LINK: ua.tix.com DESCRIPTION: Dance Alabama! returns to the stage for a spring concert featuring dances from hip-hop to ballet. Entirely produced by students, Dance Alabama! is a show that entertains Tuscaloosa every year, and continues to be a must-see. Saturday is the last day for this production at Morgan Hall, but you can see it April 9 at 5:30 on April 10 at 2 p.m. Don’t miss the opportunity to see the talent and hard work of these dancers! CHEROKEE WEAVING AT MOUNDVILLE WHEN: 10 a.m. – 2 p.m. COST: Free WHERE: Moundville Archaeological Park PHONE: 371.8732 LINK: moundville.ua.edu DESCRIPTION: Prior to European contact, Cherokee people wove textiles without the aid of spinning wheels or large looms. Early Cherokee sashes, nets and other open weave fabrics were very similar to those made by the prehistoric people at Moundville Archaeological Park. Catherine “Cat” Sloan (Cherokee) discusses how Euro-Americans intentionally introduced the spinning wheel and loom to change the division of labor among the Cherokee and other Southeastern Indian tribes. RELEASE THE FEAR RALLY COST: Free WHERE: 3721 26th Ave, Northport PHONE: 752.8300 LINK: turningpointservices.org DESCRIPTION: Turning Point’s Release the Fear Rally at the Northport Police Department will show support for all those who have been victims of sexual assault by releasing bubbles to signify the release of fear. The police department will offer free live entertainment, tasty refreshments and a self-defense demonstration as part of the event.

>>> PET PLANET | K E L S E Y C A M E R O N

ALASKA AND PEPSI // THINGS GO BEST WITH LOVE

nyone love winter? Alaska does, and she sure will melt your heart! This happy dog is Alaska, a 9-month-old female Husky/Shepherd mix. She has a thick and pretty tan, cream and brown coat. Alaska weighs about 25 pounds now but will get bigger. She will probably be around 40 to 50 pounds when full-grown. She and her sister were picked up by Animal Control and no one came to claim them. Her sister was adopted, which left poor Alaska by herself. She was at the shelter for about a month, so it was time to get her out! Alaska is a very friendly, fun dog! She is very playful and loves to be with you. She is still a puppy, so she will need training and structure to help her develop into a well-mannered adult dog. Alaska will require a fenced in yard if left outside any unattended. She may be a bit too big and energetic for an apartment unless she gets a lot of exercise. Alaska should be fine with children 12 and up, and she seems to get along with other dogs, but she tends to be the dominant dog. We have started her on crate training. Alaska is up to date on her vet care, spayed, heartworm negative and is microchipped. She is on heartworm and flea/tick prevention. She is such a pretty dog! Alaska will bring a lot of joy and fun to your household! Will you be the lucky person that gets to bring her home? If you are interested in giving Alaska the forever home she wants and deserves, visit the Humane Society of West Alabama at humanesocietyofwa.org or call us at 554-0011.

his sweet boy is Pepsi, a short-haired solid black male kitten with big, gorgeous eyes! His first birthday is on April 10th! Pepsi comes from a litter of kittens with soda-inspired names. Pepsi is such a sweetie! He loves playing with other kittens, though he'd do fine as an only pet if he was smothered with attention! He would do well with gentle children. We do not recommend him around dogs over 20 lbs. Contact us to meet Pepsi or submit an application to adopt the little guy! Pepsi is up to date on all of his vaccinations, negative for FIV and FeLK, and he is neutered. If you are interested in giving Pepsi the forever home he wants and deserves, visit the Humane Society of West Alabama at humanesocietyofwa.org or call us at 554-0011.

SUNDAY, APRIL 12

5TH STREET VINTAGE MARKET WHEN: 11 a.m. – 4 p.m. COST: Free WHERE: 4150 5th St PHONE: 345.4763 LINK: 5thstreetvintagemarket.com DESCRIPTION: Curated by This Ol' Thing Vintage, Grace Aberdean Habitat Alchemy and DJ Tom Kat Kitten, 5th Street Vintage Market brings a one of a kind shopping experience to the area. We will feature dozens of dealers from the region

>>> PLANETWEEKLY • tuscaloosa's SOURCE for entertainment, music, sports & THE ARTS

>>> M U S I C | S T A F F R E P O R T

PRENTICE CONCERT CHORALE TO PERFORM BRAHMS REQUIEM P

rentice Concert Chorale, under the direction of Leslie Poss, will present Ein Deutsches Requiem, Op. 45, by Johannes Brahms on Sunday, April 19 at 3:00 PM at First United Methodist Church, 800 Greensboro Avenue in downtown Tuscaloosa. General admission tickets, $10 for adults and $5 for students, will be available at the door. The Prentice Concert Chorale’s theme for the 2014-15 season is "Music You Love by People You Know." This is certainly one of the most beloved works in the choral repertoire, and is arguably Brahms’ most personal work as well as the largest he ever composed. Composition on the work began in 1865, and was likely inspired by the deaths of both his friend and fellow composer Robert Schumann, who died in 1854 after a suicide attempt and Brahms’ mother, who died in 1865 (whom the fifth movement, added last in 1868, memorializes). The complete seven-movement work with chorus, orchestra, baritone and soprano soloists premiered in 1869 in Leipzig. The texts Brahms chose span the Old and New Testaments, including passages from Psalms, Isaiah, Matthew and Revelation. Many of the texts softly comfort those who mourn, such as the opening “Blessed are they who are sorrowful…for they shall have comfort” from Matthew 5:4, and “I

will give you comfort, as one whom his own mother comforts” in movement five from Isaiah 66:13. Brahms dramatizes the fleeting nature of human life in the second movement with the text “For mortal flesh is as the grass” from 1 Peter 1:24. The famous fourth movement extols the beauty of heaven with “How lovely are Thy dwellings, O Lord of Hosts!” from Psalm 84. Musically, the climactic fugues in the third and sixth movements hearken back to religious works of other German composers, especially Handel. But the sweeping, overlapping and chromatic nature of the fugues’ themes is distinctly Brahms. Brahms himself derived the piano fourhand accompaniment, to be used in the is performance, from the orchestral score, which was customary at the time. The piano version lends a distinctly intimate feel to the piece, for which Brahms chose Biblical texts from the German Bible, instead of the liturgical text of the traditional Catholic Requiem Mass. In this way, Brahms’ setting of the Requiem was created to comfort those who grieve, as opposed to proclaim the fate of those who have died. Since the “German” in the title merely refers to the language of the text, it is said that Brahms would have preferred the title “A Human Requiem”, given his desire to create an intimate and universal message of comfort.

>>> EVENTS CALENDAR | T H E S O U T H E A S T ' S L A R G E S T who specialize in vintage goods, handmade items and vinyl records. Concessions available on site. ONE-ACT PLAYS WHEN: 2 p.m. COST: $10 WHERE: Rowand Johnson Hall, Stadium Drive PHONE: 348.3400 LINK: ua.tix.com DESCRIPTION: A night of student-written shows as UA Theatre and Dance presents UA Writes: Student Written One-Acts. Sunday is the last night for this series of shows, so be sure you don’t miss this amazing showcase of cutting-edge theatre and writing.

TUESDAY, APRIL 14

42ND STREET MOBILE ALABAMA WHEN: 7:30 COST: $14 – 20 WHERE: Rowand Johnson Hall, Stadium Dr PHONE: 348.3400 LINK: ua.tix.com DESCRIPTION: A naive chorus girl with big dreams is finally given her big break in a musical paying homage to the golden age of Broadway and movie musicals. Featuring show stoppers such as “We’re in the Money” and “Lullaby of Broadway,” you’ll leave the theatre snapping your fingers and kicking up your heels. Tuesday kicks off a week of performances, so pick a night to see this rousing production from the UA theatre department.

WEDNESDAY, APRIL 15

“WATERMELON WINE AND THE POETRY OF SOUTHERN MUSIC” WHEN: 6 p.m. COST: FREE WHERE: Southern Ale House, 1530 McFarland Blvd N. DESCRIPTION: This exceptional program is a free event with a mix of music, poetry and stories. A concert-reading featuring Alabama poet/author Jennifer Horne, Award-winning Nashville songwriter Anne E. DeChant and Award-winning Alabama author Frye Gaillard, this performance will explore the history of southern music and its influence on literature. Gaillard and Horne will present readings of their works, while Anne E. will perform her original songs reflecting the insight of the writings. This free event is sponsored by the Friends of the Library and the Tuscaloosa Public Library. Call 205-345-5820 for more information.

SATURDAY, APRIL 18

EARTHBOUND’S EARTHFEST WHEN: 1:30 – 3:30 p.m. COST: Free WHERE: 1010 Greensboro Ave PHONE: 255.8318 LINK: historictuscaloosa.org DESCRIPTION: A beloved event is returning for all who enjoy live music, clean water, and local food, beer, and art. Earthbound will play their annual outdoor rock concert, Earthbound’s Earthfest, at Avondale Brewery to celebrate Earth Day and promote Black Warrior Riverkeeper.The Black Warrior River basin includes parts of 17 Alabama counties and provides all of the water for Tuscaloosa and many other

cities. Come out for a fun night to support the environment!

SUNDAY, APRIL 19

YELLOWHAMMER FESTIVAL WHEN: All day COST: Free WHERE: 4800 Arboretum Way PHONE: 348.7884 LINK: creativecampus.ua.edu DESCRIPTION: The Yellowhammer Festival is an open community event focused on creative sustainability. This arts focused festival, taking place at the UA Arboretum, will feature live music from local bands, art-making activities and booths from campus groups and community organizations all connected through Creative Campus’ sustainability initiative. ANNUAL EARTH DAY GARDEN SHOW WHEN: 1:30 – 3:30 p.m. COST: Free WHERE: 1010 Greensboro Ave PHONE: 255.8318 LINK: historictuscaloosa.org DESCRIPTION: The 4th Annual Earth Day Garden Show at the Battle-Friedman House and Gardens promises a refreshing afternoon of plants and displays. Area experts will be available to give new ideas on making green spaces even greener. Numerous door prizes, plants, freebies, given to all participants. Two hours of fun and learning.

MONDAY, APRIL 20

LAVENDER GRADUATION WHEN: 7 – 9 p.m. COST: Free WHERE: 250 Hackberry Lane PHONE: 255.8318 LINK: capstonealliance.ua.edu DESCRIPTION: Lavender Graduation is an annual ceremony held to honor the accomplishments of lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, queer, asexual, and allied students at The University of Alabama. Students honored at this event have not only completed the academic requirements for a college degree but have also overcome the odds of being members of the marginalized LGBTQA+ community during their school years. The ceremony will be held in Shelby Hall room 1093. Go online to register a student.

TUESDAY, APRIL 21

VERSO | RECTO BY ASTRI SNODGRASS WHEN: 9 a.m. – 4 p.m. COST: Free WHERE: 700 Capstone Dr PHONE: 348.1891 LINK: art.ua.edu DESCRIPTION: Astri Snodgrass presents a body of new work representing her studio research as a painter. She employs various techniques which examine and attempt to expose an anatomy of painting. The public is invited to the artist reception May 1 from 6 - 8 p.m.

THURSDAY, APRIL 23

BRIGADOON WHEN: 7:30 p.m COST: $7 – 10 WHERE: Shelton State Community College, 9500 Old Greensboro Rd PHONE: 391.2277

>>> PLANETWEEKLY • tuscaloosa's SOURCE for entertainment, music, sports & THE ARTS

APRIL 9 + APRIL 23

>>> ROAD TRIP | S O U T H E A S T E R N CO N C E R T S A N D E V E N T S

THE DECEMBERISTS // ATLANTA // APRIL 10 & 11

THURSDAY, APRIL 9

NEW ORLEANS New Found Glory, Tipitina’s Amanda Palmer, The Civic Theater

HUNTSVILLE Aaron Lewis, Sammy T’s Music Hall MONTGOMERY ZZ Top, Montgomery Performing Arts Center

NASHVILLE

New Found Glory, Mercy Lounge NEW ORLEANS Jonny Lang, House of Blues Between the Buried and Me, Howlin’ Wolf Welcome to Night Vale, The Civic Theater

FRIDAY, APRIL 10

BIRMINGHAM Amanda Palmer, WorkPlay Theatre MONTGOMERY Trace Adkins, Wind Creek Casino ATLANTA

Shawn Mendes, Center Stage James McMurty, Variety Playhouse Libera, Symphony Hall Atlanta The Decemberists, Tabernacle NASHVILLE Jazmine Sullivan, Marathon Music Works

saturday, APRIL 11

BIRMINGHAM Pigeons Playing Ping Pong, Zydeco Theresa Caputo, BJCC HUNTSVILLE Jonathan Laird, Below the Radar MONTGOMERY Brad Paisley, Ingram Farms ATLANTA The Decemberists, Tabernacle The Bangles, Variety Playhouse NASHVILLE

EDDIE MONEY // NASHVILLE // APRIL 18

BIRMINGHAM // APRIL 16

Alan Jackson, Bridgestone Arena Lady Lamb, High Watt Jessie Baylin, 3rd and Lindsley Bar and Grill

BIRMINGHAM Kenny Chesney, BJCC Tim Reynolds w/ CBDB, Zydeco

ATLANTA Blue Man Group, Fabulous Fox Theatre Coal Chamber, The Masquerade Amanda Palmer, Variety Playhouse

ZAPPA PLAYS ZAPPA //

sUNday, APRIL 12

HUNTSVILLE Celtic Women, Von Braun Concert Hall NEW ORLEANS Hot 8 Brass Band, Howlin’ Wolf

MONDAY, APRIL 13

BIRMINGHAM Blue Man Group, BJCC

NASHVILLE The Decemberists, Ryman Auditorium The Time Jumpers, 3rd and Lindsley Bar and Grill

TUESDAY, APRIL 14

BIRMINGHAM I Prevail, Zydeco

ATLANTA OK Go, The Buckhead Theatre Jeremy Enigk, The Masquerade

ATLANTA David Sedaris, Fabulous Fox Theatre NASHVILLE Impractical Jokers, James K. Polk Theater

FRIDAY, APRIL 17

BIRMINGHAM Hinder, Zydeco

HUNTSVILLE Kozmic Mama, Hopper’s Bar and Grill ATLANTA Dave Chappelle, Tabernacle Bryan Adams, Verizon Wireless Amphitheatre Hot Tuna, Variety Playhouse NASHVILLE Joel McHale, Ryman Auditorium Wild Child, High Watt

SATURDAY, APRIL 18

BIRMINGHAM Roberta Flack, BJCC California & Montreal Guitar Trios, Alys Stephens Center ATLANTA Zappa Plays Zappa, Variety Playhouse

WEDNESDAY, APRIL 15

BIRMINGHAM The Acacia Strain, Zydeco

MONTGOMERY Bob Dylan, Montgomery Performing Arts Center ATLANTA Tesla, Tabernacle

NASHVILLE Frank Caliendo, James K. Polk Theater Nick Kroll and John Mulaney, Ryman Auditorium Eddie Money, Nashville Municipal Auditorium NEW ORLEANS Youngblood Hawke, House of Blues Papadosio, Tipitina’s

SUNDAY, APRIL 19

NASHVILLE Primus, Ryman Auditorium Hannibal Buress, James K. Polk Theater NEW ORLEANS Lady Lamb, Gasa Gasa Wild Child, Freret Street PubliQ House

THURSDAY, APRIL 16

BIRMINGHAM Zappa Plays Zappa, Iron City David Feherty, The Alabama Theatre Turbo Suit, Zydeco

HUNTSVILLE Eddie Money, Von Braun Concert Hall ATLANTA Flyleaf, The Masquerade The Waterboys, Variety Playhouse NASHVILLE Kevin Hart, Bridgestone Arena Anjelah Johnson, Ryman Auditorium NEW ORLEANS Sleater-Kinney, The Civic Theater The Waxahatchee, Gasa Gasa Nick Offerman and Megan Mullally, Mahalia

>>> R OA D T R I P D I R E C T O RY Travel the South's best venues. Visit their website for ticket info and more. Acoustic Café 2758 County Hwy 9 205.647.3237

Fox Theatre 660 Peachtree St NE 404.881.2100

Amphitheater at the Wharf 23101 Canal Rd 251.224.1020

The Hangout 251.948.3030 thehangout1.com

Bridgestone Arena 501 Broadway 615.770.2000

Marathon Music Works 1402 Clinton St 615.891.1781

Centennial Olympic Park 265 Park Ave W NW 404.223.4412

Minglewood Hall 1555 Madison Ave 901.312.6058

APRIL 9 + APRIL 23

Montgomery Performing Arts Center 201 Tallapoosa St 334.481.5100 The Nick 2514 10th Ave S 205.252.3831 Sloss Furnaces 20 32nd St N 205.324.1911 Verizon Wireless Amphitheatre 2200 Encore Pkwy

>>> VISIT US ON THE WEB @ THEPLANETWEEKLY.COM

404.733.5010 Von Braun Center 700 Monroe St SW 256.551.2345 WorkPlay 500 23rd St S 205.380.4082 Zydeco 2001 15th Ave S 205.933.1032

CASTING CROWNS // HUNTSVILLE // APRIL 23

Jackson Theater

MONDAY, APRIL 20

BIRMINGHAM Dave Chappelle, The Alabama Theatre Diana Krall, Alys Stephens Center NEW ORLEANS Tyler the Creator, House of Blues The Ting Tings, One Eyed Jacks

TUESDAY, APRIL 21

BIRMINGHAM Breaking Benjamin, Iron City

ATLANTA Sleater-Kinney, Tabernacle Matt and Kim, The Buckhead Theatre

WEDNESDAY, APRIL 22

ATLANTA Breaking Benjamin, Tabernacle

THURSDAY, APRIL 23

BIRMINGHAM Zoso, WorkPlay Theatre Motionless in White, Zydeco

HUNTSVILLE Casting Crowns, Von Braun Concert Hall MONTGOMERY Rodney Carrington, Montgomery Performing Arts Center ATLANTA The Who, The Arena at Gwinnett Center Testament and Exodus, The Masquerade Halestorm w/ The Pretty Reckless, Tabernacle NEW ORLEANS Bill Burr, Saenger Theatre

>>> LOCAL MUSIC | WHO'S PL AYING AROUND TOWN

YONAS //

CHASING DRAGONS //

MOOSE KICK // GREEN BAR // APRIL 11

ROUNDERS // APRIL 10

THURSDAY, APRIL 9

INNISFREE // APRIL18

DEBBIE BOND / RADIATOR RICK // DRUID CITY BREWING // APRIL 22

DJ Spinnzz, Rounders

Matt Bennett Acoustic, Rounders , Rhythm & Brews Doc Holiday with Defenders of the Universe, Green Bar Spank, Innisfree

FRIDAY, APRIL 10

Desperate Measures, Rhythm & Brews YONAS Live and DJ Spinnzz, Rounders Sons of Janis / Score to Settle Art Show, Green Bar Crazy Chester, Crimson Bar

SUNDAY, APRIL 19

Crimson Throwdown: Live Bands / festivities from 2 to 8 p.m., Crimson Bar Soul Tide, Innisfree

WEDNeSDAY, APRIL 22

Debbie Bond / Radiator Rick, Druid City Brewing Co. Karaoke with DJ Argo, Rounders

THURSDAY, APRIL 23

SATURDAY, APRIL 11

Moose Kick / Tree Tops, Green Bar Farmers Daughter, Rhythm & Brews TBA, Crimson Bar Sean Rivers Band and DJ Spinnzz, Rounders Eat a Peach, Innisfree

WEDNESDAY APRIL 15

Sauce Band, Rounders Rebel, Rhythm & Brews

"Watermelon, Wine, and the Poetry of Southern Music"

THURSDAY, APRIL 16

Underwear Comedy Night, Green Bar Elliot Davis Band, Rounders Snazz, Rhythm & Brews

This exceptional free event features Alabama poet/author, Jennifer Horn, award-winning Nashville songwriter, Anne E. DeChant, and award-winning Alabama author, Frye Gaillard. This concert of reading and performance will explore the history of Southern music and its influence on literature.

FRIDAY, APRIL 17

Gaillard and Horn will present readings of their works, while DeChant will perform her original songs reflecting the insight of the writings.

Karaoke with DJ Argo, Rounders

Southern Comfort, Crimson Bar Tequila Mockingbird, Innisfree Nic Snow Band and DJ Spinnzz, Rounders

Southern Ale House Restaurant starting at 6 p.m. APRIL 15

SATURDAY, APRIL 18

HAVE YOUR LOCAL MUSIC EVENT LISTED FREE in planet weekly. just EMAIL

PLANETEDITOR@YAHOO.COM

DownSouth, Crimson Bar Chasing Dragons, Innisfree

>>> LO C A L B A R S 4th & 23rd //

Capones // 248-0255

Gnemis Top Shelf Tavern // 343-0020

Mellow Mushroom // 758-0112

1831 // 331-4632

Carpe Vino // 366-8444

Gray Lady // 469-9521

Mugshots // 391-0572

Alcove // 469-9110

Catch 22 // 344-9347

Harry's Bar // 331-4151

Rhythm & Brews // 750-2992

Bear Trap // 345-2766

Copper Top // 343-6867

Houndstooth // 752-8444

Rounders // 345-4848

Big Al's // 759-9180

Crimson Bar // 764-0185

Innisfree // 345-1199

The Booth // 764-0557

Downtown Pub // 750-0008

Jackie's Lounge // 758-9179

Buffalo Wild Wings // 523-0273

Gallettes // 758-2010

The Legacy // 345-4848

>>> PLANETWEEKLY â&#x20AC;˘ tuscaloosa's SOURCE for entertainment, music, sports & THE ARTS

EFFECTIVE AFFORDABLE ADS 205.765.8007

APRIL 9 + APRIL 23

>>> PUZZLEMANIA | C R O S S W O R D P U Z Z L E

Across 1. "Hopalong Cassidy" star William 5. Yardsticks, for short 9. Like thick smoke 14. Dokey lead-in 15. "So ____" ("Amen") 16. Defrosts 17. Citrus drink 19. Innsbruck's region (var.) 20. Faith centered in Haifa 21. Jacket size 23. ___ Malaprop (Sheridan character) 25. White weasels 30. Colorful inner layer of some shells 33. King, in Portuguese 35. Rwanda tribe 36. Long-running morning show 37. Feminine ending 39. "What a piece of work ___!" (Shakespeare) 42. Sexologist Shere 43. No longer a minor 45. Rorschach test feature 47. Neither here ___ there 48. Bar mitzvah, e.g. 52. Type of bomber 53. "Tasty!" 54. A ton 57. Mischievous sprite 61. Torpedo vessel 65. Washday additives 67. Teaser 68. "House" actor 69. Addition column 70. Fortunate 71. Miami's county 72. Tabula ____ (clean slate) Down 1. Knucklehead 2. Southern staple 3. "You bet!" 4. Hard-working sort

APRIL 9 + APRIL 23

5. Compass point betw. S and SSE 6. Greenish blue duck 7. ____ number on (abused, in a way) 8. Home music system 9. Make an effort 10. Ho ___ Minh 11. Zipped-file format 12. ____ Jima 13. High-speed connection type 18. Middle measurement 22. Successor to RMN 24. Water, in Chinese 26. Architect Pei's first name 27. Nobel-winning author Gordimer 28. Muse with a lyre 29. Less straightforward 30. Very tiny 31. Aliens, briefly 32. Dance that originated in Cuba 33. Raises 34. Break off a relationship 38. Parmenides of ____ 40. Sharpton and Gore 41. Intrusively curious 44. "Anna Karenina" author 46. Brownish-gray 49. Truth in Lending org. 50. Synchronized 51. Key often used by Mozart 55. L-____ (drug used in Parkinson's treatment) 56. Bay Area cops' org. 58. Role for Lucy Lawless 59. Makes angry 60. Italian pronoun 61. Bible book between Gal. and Phil. 62. Certain undergarment 63. Alley of Moo 64. Band aid? 66. Half a fly

>>> PUZZLEMANIA| S U D O K U

It's easy to play Sudoku! Simply fill every column, row and 3x3 box so they contain every number between 1 and 9. The game is easy to play but difficult to master! Solution Page 21

SOLUTION FOR PUZZLEMANIA CROSSWORD ON PAGE 21

>>> PLANETWEEKLY â&#x20AC;˘ tuscaloosa's SOURCE for entertainment, music, sports & THE ARTS

>>> HOROSCOPES |

weekly overview Mental activity could keep you awake at night. Your subconscious mind seems to be very active at this time, too, so by tapping it you may be able to put its helpful attributes to good use. Consider journaling every day and your creative ideas could leap off the page, helping you resolve problems and gain a new perspective on life. Watch your dreams, too, as they can prove helpful. Later, your ability to get the best bargains comes to the fore. It's well worth socializing this week as it could significantly change your life. Whatever issues or challenges you face, someone you meet is bound to have an answer - or at least some advice. Even so, it doesn't mean you have to discuss your innermost secrets. Carefully choose the people in whom you confide. Venus dances into your sign this weekend, making you an attractive option. If romance is on your mind, this could be one of the better times to start dating. This week is all about action related to your goals and ambitions. The cosmos may have some amazing surprises for you in the form of encouraging events or people you meet. If you have been procrastinating concerning an important career plan, this is the time to get busy. However, you will also benefit from befriending likeminded people who might be able to offer you support. In addition, Mars and Venus in Taurus can bring a sensuous quality to your love life.

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A new influence kicks in, motivating you to start on all those plans and ideas you've been thinking about. Traveling, whether for pleasure or business, is strongly indicated, too. You'll benefit more by taking the road less traveled. If you're going on vacation, opt for places off the beaten track. They can open you to new life experiences. If you're thinking of taking a course, look for one with a different take on a familiar subject. Dedicated action can bring career progress. Allow your intuitive awareness to guide you through the maze of money matters this week. If you've despaired of ever getting your finances sorted out, the current alignment encourages you to renew your efforts. In this instance knowledge is power. The more you know, the more access you'll have to facts that can banish fears associated with not having enough money. However, you also need to do something. Charm can pave the way to a golden opportunity where career matters are concerned. What do you do if other people seem to question your motives? Perhaps you feel that a love interest, partner, or other people around you are being too inquisitive, and you don't like it! This week you'll need to flex your muscles and give as good as you get. If somebody seems to be trampling on your boundaries, let them know you won't tolerate it. The confidence you gain as a result should stand you in good stead in other areas of life. Your love life is getting much more interesting. If you're in a long-term partnership, taking on a challenge together could be good for you both, especially if you increase your joint income as a result. Looking for love? Opt for a more proactive approach to finding the person of your dreams. This doesn't just apply to socializing. You'll also benefit from adopting a positive lifestyle with plenty of exercise. If you feel good in yourself, others are likely to respond to this. You'll enjoy pitting your wits against others in a competitive sense, whether this involves sporting or entrepreneurial activities or both. This week's powerful Mercury focus encourages you to think in terms of strategies to get what you want. Whatever you do, don't leave things to chance. With just a little thought you can do so much better. Want to capture someone's heart? Show you're the best person for him or her, even if you have to act a little goofy to fulfill your dream. A calm, peaceful life may seem like an unattainable dream. This week looks just as hectic as ever, particularly on the home front. It's at such times when in the thick of it that you can make great progress. If you feel challenged, see it as a plus. It brings an opportunity to progress, even if unwillingly at first. You'll need to soothe your nerves after so much excitement, and with romance high on the agenda there are plenty of chances for that. There are two sides to the week ahead - very fast and very slow. When it comes to closing deals, getting a bargain, or sending your message out to the world, be quick off the mark. The faster you respond to the opportunities around you, the better off you will be. The Universe loves speed, so pick a goal and plan, talk, and advertise your way to success. After this you'll be ready to kick back and relax to soothe those frazzled nerves.

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PUZZLE SOLUTIONS

Are you on the same merry-go-round and feeling overwhelmed, with financial issues causing feelings of frustration? If so, the way to deal with this isn't to flail around in the water trying not to drown but to gather information and make intelligent decisions. You don't have to sort this out alone - get help. If you feel panic rising, this is the time to find someone who can inform you of solutions you never knew existed. Later, revive yourself with a homey get-together. Mind power rules this week, as does developing an insatiable curiosity. You'll go far if you read everything you can find and become inspired. Read motivational books if it will help you take action and do what you have to do. The information you pick up could be crucial in helping you get a better job, persuading your love interest out on a date, or explaining why you deserve a pay raise. Creativity and romance rock, too (if you're ready and willing).

>>> VISIT US ON THE WEB @ THEPLANETWEEKLY.COM

APRIL 9 + APRIL 23

>>> N E W S | T H E C H AM B E R OF COMM E R C E

NEWS

CHAMBER'S SHOP LOCAL CAMPAIGN GETS AGGRESSIVE

he Chamber launched an aggressive new phase of our shop local campaign in March. The ads are very direct for maximum impact. Our intent is to create a buzz that will have everybody shopping T-Town, all the time and shopping Northport, now! "Teasers" including Help Hoover Schools, Pave Vermont's Roads and Support Doctors in Other Cities began running on electronic billboards mid-March to intrigue citizens, thanks to our partners Lamar Advertising Company and Renfroe Outdoor Advertising. These teasers garnered much attention and proved the power of outdoor advertising! Ten ads were created in all by the talented and generous local firm Totalcom Marketing Communications and are additions to the original fun and colorful media blitz created by the firm and initiated by Mayor Maddox and Mayor Herndon in the spring of 2013. The websites referenced on the ads exist to educate citizens about why shopping local is so important. Money spent here is reinvested in the local economy to create more income and more jobsâ&#x20AC;&#x201D;Local tax dollars benefit our schools, roads, parks and more, and shopping locally supports local

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businesses that employ our family, friends and neighbors. You will soon see the new print, outdoor, television and web ads and hear radio spots. You can help this effort be successful by interacting with us on social media and using those components of the campaign as well as website banners. Contact robin@tuscaloosachamber.com for details. Big Brothers Big Sisters Plans Shining Star Event You're invited to attend this fundraiser for BBBS of West Alabama on Apr. 7 at 6p.m. at Cypress Inn Pavilion. Event will star Gene Stallings and feature Jay Deas. Tickets are $100/person, which includes dinner. Call 205-758-5734 or email Danielle@bbbswal. org for tickets. MBUSI Extends Application Deadline for Technical Programs Mercedes-Benz USI has extended the deadline for candidates interested in applying for its Mechatronics or Automotive Technician programs and seeks to strengthen the candidate pool by targeting high school

seniors. Candidates now have until Friday, Apr.10 to apply - the original deadline was Mar. 10. Both programs will start in the fall of 2015. Since these were launched three years ago, MBUSI has hired roughly 90 of the participants. For more info on how to apply, visit www.mbusi.com and click on the "Employment" tab for links to info about both programs, including how to apply, frequently asked questions, and details about the curriculum. Lake Tuscaloosa-North River Waterfest is April 10-11 The seventh annual Lake Tuscaloosa-North River Waterfest and Lake Clean Up, a twoday educational and cleanup event, is set for April 10 and 11 at Lake Tuscaloosa. The fest will include an education expo on Friday, Apr. 10 at the Phelps Activity Center for area fourth-grade students. The lake cleanup event is open to the public on Saturday, Apr. 11 at the Highway 43 boat landing from 8 a.m. -1 p.m. There will be raffle prizes, t-shirts, hotdogs and drinks available to participants. Call Tuscaloosa 311 at 205-2485311 with any questions.

The 100th Party to Benfit Kentuck Celebrate spring and day 100 of the 365 days of Kentuck with art and music! This benefit will be held upstairs at Chuck's Fish on Apr. 10 at 7p.m. Tickets are $35/each or $65/couple, which includes food and drinks. There will be a silent art auction and live music. Get details at www.kentuck.org. Purdue of Watchdog Document Services Receives Accreditation Trae Perdue, President of Watchdog Document Services, has recently received CSDS accreditation from The National Association of Information Destruction (NAID). The Certified Secure Destruction Specialist is the industry accreditation for individuals who are qualified to consult, advise, and speak at public venues on the topics of record destruction, storage, retention, compliance, as well as other related topics. Trae is available for speaking and consultation situations that involve the information destruction and compliance industry. For more info, call 205-3396322 or visit www.watchdogshredding.com.

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Photo: UA Athletic Photography

>>> H I G H T I D E | GARY HARRIS / wvua sports director

SABAN TALKS ABOUT CRIMSON TIDE'S FIRST SCRIMMAGE Pierschbacher, Kelly and Jackson) have sort of separated themselves and we need the other guys to play with more consistency to have the offensive line we want to have. Depth is going to be a huge issue for as we develop our young players." Junior left guard Shank Taylor (knee) sat out of the scrimmage but should return next week.

ollowing Friday's first spring scrimmage, Nick Saban gave a progress report on some key spots, including quarterback, where Alabama has question marks. No stats were released on the QBs, but Saban gave a general assessment of the candidates.

him, because he's such a good athlete. He had really good measurables when we tested everybody. If we rated the top 50 athletes on our team, he'd probably be one of them. So now is the time to find out if he could contribute at another position."

QUARTERBACKS "We sort of rotated all the quarterbacks today, so it was probably little bit more difficult for one guy to get into a rhythm," Saban said. "They all played probably a similar number of plays -thirty or forty plays apiece. All of them did some good things and all of them had some things to improve on." Senior Jake Coker entered spring as the early favorite at quarterback. "I'm really pleased with the way Jake has sort of practiced, but we've just got to get him to where he feels comfortable and confident and in sync in with the receivers so that we can execute a little bit better on a more consistent basis," Saban said. "It's not all on him. It's on all of us to get that." "I think the biggest thing is he's more comfortable with the system," Saban said of Coker. "He's playing with more confidence. I just think the system we're playing now is better suited for him in terms of what we're putting on him to do. We're actually playing in the gun a little bit more, which is probably more suited for him." When mentioning the other quarterbacks, Saban started with redshirt freshman David Cornwell, followed by junior Alec Morris and then true freshman Blake Barnett. He said all were doing a "pretty good job" this spring. Redshirt sophomore quarterback Cooper Bateman continues to get some reps at receiver. "He was doing well at quarterback," Saban said. "We have not moved him from quarterback. He still takes reps at quarterback. I just thought maybe we could create a role that might be beneficial to our team and may be beneficial to

RECEIVERS Another key spot is wide receiver, where the Tide is replacing its starting corps from last season, including AllAmerican Amari Cooper. Junior Raheem Falkins led the group today with five catches for 88 yards. Sophomore ArDarius Stewart had three grabs for 55 yards with a touchdown. Sophomore Robert Foster had three for 52 with a touchdown. Junior tight end O.J. Howard added two catches for 58 yards with a touchdown. "Our receivers just need to learn to pay attention to detail and learn how important it is to do the little things right so that we're all on the same page in the passing game," Saban said. OFFENSIVE LINE Up front, Bama is replacing three starters. The first unit on Friday included left tackle Cam Robinson, left guard Ross Pierschbacher, center Ryan Kelly, right guard Bradley Bozeman and right tackle Dominick Jackson. "We're really pleased with the two tackles," Saban said. "Cam and Dominick have really done a good job this spring. Ryan Kelly has done a good job this spring. (Ross) Pierschbacher has done a good job this spring. Those guys have really made progress. Then we've got another four or five guys in the pile kind of competing for the rest of the positions. Bozeman probably has the most experience. "I think depth there is critical. Brandon Greene is now playing there. J.C. Hassenauer has made progress as the backup center. "I think there's work to do, but I really do think that those four guys (Robinson,

RUNNING BACK Near the end of the scrimmage, freshman running back Bo Scarbrough was carted off the field with a knee injury. Saban wouldn't speculate on the extent of the injury, but indicated that Scarbrough is slated to have an MRI. Derrick Henry led all rushers with 11 carries for 112 yards and a touchdown. Kenyan Drake continues his impressive comeback as a running and receiving threat. "Kenyan Drake, even though he wore a black shirt out there (and) we just tagged off of him, was very effective in some of the things he did in the running game and the passing game," Saban said. "It was good to have him back out there." DEFENSIVE LINE Defensively, Alabama is loaded up front with interior stars Jarran Reed and A'Shawn Robinson. Josh Frazier is an outstanding prospect. Outside, UA has Jonathan Allen, D.J. Pettway and Da'Shawn Hand, among others. "The defensive front is probably the strength of our team right now," Saban said. "I think those guys showed that today. Made it difficult to run. Created a lot of negative plays with batted balls and pressure on quarterbacks and that sort of thing." INSIDE LINEBACKER Coach Saban said he was "really pleased" with the inside linebackers. "Reggie (Ragland) is having a really good spring," Saban said. "He's really assuming a role of being a leader. "Reuben (Foster) has had a really good spring. Shaun Dion (Hamilton)

has had a really good spring. I'm really pleased with the way those guys have improved and developed. "Keith Holcombe has really shown that he can play that position. Walker Jones has actually done a much better job this spring. "I'm really encouraged by all five of those guys and how they've played." SAFETY Perhaps the biggest question mark on defense is safety, where UA has to replace All-American and upcoming first round pick Landon Collins. Experience is limited in the Tide's back end. Saban was asked about the progress of true freshman early enrollee Ronnie Harrison. "Ronnie's a very bright guy," Saban said. "For guy who is a new freshman in the system, he's doing extremely well. He does have great athletic ability. Has great size and speed. He's really done a nice job. He and Hootie (Jones). And we moved Maurice Smith in there. All of those guys are guys we feel have to develop some confidence, knowledge and experience in the system. (They) made some mental errors today, but also made some really good plays. So if we can eliminate some of those mental errors, which I think we can, I think those guys have the ability to improve and be pretty good players for us."

SABAN LIKES TIDE'S SPIRIT Saban said that he liked the spirit and enthusiasm this team shows. "A lot of guys giving a lot of effort," Saban said. "I really like the sprint of how this team goes about what they do. Obviously the execution is not what we'd like for it to be on a consistent basis. A lot of good things out there. There's also a lot of things we need to clean up." "I think discipline is something that is really important to this team in terms of its development," Saban said. "Choices, decisions, how they buy in to the mission that we're trying to accomplish (and) how the team chemistry develops is something that I think is going to be very important to this group."

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